One of Judy Burnett’s paintings at Morten Gallery, Bridlington
YORK artist Judy Burnett is exhibiting paintings and collages in the Hills, Fields and Shifting Tides exhibition at Morten Gallery, High Street, Old Town, Bridlington, until August 14.
East Yorkshire artist Hannah Hoad’s linocut prints are on show too in the summer exhibition at the coastal gallery run by ceramicist Jenny Morten.
“These two artists have a lifelong love of the beautiful Wolds area surrounding the sweeping bay of Bridlington,” says Jenny. “Judy walks along the coastal paths drawing the changes in the seasons, capturing the myriad effects of light and the rich textures of colours and forms in her sketchbook.”
Hannah Hoad, left, gallery owner Jenny Morten and Judy Burnett launch the Hills, Fields and Shifting Tides exhibition at Morten Gallery
Once back in her studio, she develops her studies into compositions of multi-layered complexity through hand-painted collage, inks and acrylics.
“Hannah picks out the diversity of bird and animal life against a backdrop of subtle patterns and tones with a printmaker’s eye, transferring her sketches into finely worked linocuts, where bold black outlines are softened by hand- painted watercolour,” says Jenny.
Most of the works on show are small in scale with a jewel-like quality that delights the viewer on close inspection. Original framed works are displayed in both the main and side galleries with mounted pieces in browsers available too.
Morten Gallery’s opening hours are: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm.
A linocut by Hannah Hoad at Morten Gallery, Bridlington
Mark Watson: Instructions on How You Can Almost Win at The Crescent. Picture: Matt Crockett
COMEDIAN Mark Watson marks the return of full-capacity gigs at The Crescent community venue, York, with a sold-out 8pm show tonight.
York promoter Al Greaves’ Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Bristol-born Watson, 41, in How You Can Almost Win. Doors open at 7pm.
Watson says: “In 2017, I went on the show The Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls. It involved being abandoned on an island, starved half to death, almost struck by lightning, cut off from all loved ones and turned into a psychological wreck. I was pretty sure it was the most challenging situation I would ever be in. Then, in 2020, the entire planet basically went into survival-show mode.”
As we crawl from the wreckage of the pandemic, tonight Watson dispenses droplets of wisdom brought back from his island misadventure to suggest ways we can adapt. “But still with jokes,” he promises.
Mark Watson, in his pyjamas, sharing the screen with show host Tim FitzHigham at the first Your Place Comedy livestream in April 2020
During the first lockdown last year, Watson was part of the first double bill for Your Place Comedy, the virtual comedy club set up to support independent venues across the Yorkshire and Humber region.
On April 19 2020, a pyjama-clad Watson and Hull humorist Lucy Beaumont performed live online from their homes, in his case, in the living room, in hers, down the pub, The Dog And B**tard, that she and fellow comedian husband Jon Richardson have set up in their Hebden Bridge garden.
Watson, comedian, novelist, sports pundit, Taskmaster survivor and No More Jockeys cult leader, is noted for cramming spiritual enquiries, high-octane observational comedy and pathological overthinking into his evenings of stand-up.
AS The Hepworth, in Wakefield, plays host to a major Barbara Hepworth retrospective, Two Bigs Egos In A Small Car podcasters Chalmers & Hutch discuss Yorkshire’s great sculptors.
Elsewhere, PINGDEMONIUM! What next for arts and culture amid Covid chaos and show cancellations?
Vanguard Bristol Street Art and Colston on-his-side- shows at M Shed, Bristol: do sculptures still stand up or are murals THE sign of the times?
Michael Lambourne: Researching the story of Black Shuck, the Demon Dog of East Anglia
“NEVER look into the eye of Black Shuck,” warns actor, director, teacher and now writer Michael Lambourne, a familiar face and booming voice to York theatregoers.
Now relocated to his Fenland roots, he returns north this weekend to present the Theatre At The Mill premiere of Black Shuck: How It Came For Me, his “responsive storytelling experience” based on the legend of the Demon Dog of East Anglia: a hound of unnatural size and omen of misfortune to those who encounter its stare.
“According to the folklore tale of the black dog, if you see its eyes, it foretells your demise,” says Michael, who is yet to have such a creepy canine experience but has come across myriad versions of the story, whether of the scratch on the Blythburgh church door, or from Bungay, Blakeney Point or Chatteris Fen.
“The Darkness have a song called Black Shuck on their first album, Permission To Land, as they’re Lowestoft boys,” he continues. “Originally it’s a story from Norse mythology, from the Danes who took over East Anglia, telling of life and death, about everyone’s mortality.”
He is speaking en route to Southend-on-Sea earlier this week to teach his theatre students before setting off to North Yorkshire to perform Black Shuck on Saturday evening (24/7/2021) under the sails of At The Mill’s outdoor theatre at Stillington Mill, near York, where he played Prospero in The Flanagan Collective’s production of The Tempest by the mill pond in June 2016.
“I’ve been wanting to tell stories about where I’m from, and I thought, ‘what better way to tell East Anglia’s story than with a ghost story’, as I look to create art myself, stepping to the fore doing my own work, writing it, creating it and performing it, and hopefully it will appeal!” he says.
“Saturday will be the first airing of the new piece, and this performance came from a kind of call to arms that Alex [At The Mill co-founder, playwright, storyteller, musician and director Alexander Wright] made two to three months ago.
Michael Lambourne with fellow Flanagan Collective cast members Amie Burns Walker, back, and Holly Beasley-Garrigan in the grounds of Stillington Mill when performing The Tempest in June 2016
“I thought, ‘what better time than the present to do that?’, and for this first show, I’m just going to use the ambience of the beautiful garden and my vocal timbre. By the time dusk comes around, there’ll be the hoots of owls.”
Exploring the enduring effect that Black Shuck has on Fenland folklore, Michael’s performance will offer a personal account of how a rural myth can become a chilling part of the present day.
The choice of folklore tale and its portent of exit stage left chimed with his own experience. “I went from a happy 40 year old to being in hospital with the doctor telling me my symptoms could signal my demise,” recalls Michael, husband of Paines Plough co-artistic director Katie Posner (formerly associate director of Pilot Theatre in York) and father of Heidi.
In the doctor’s hand was the scan that would signify whether Michael had cancer that would need an operation and “could shuffle me off my mortal coil”.
“I’d had a biting pain in my leg for months, where it got to the point I couldn’t walk – it was almost like a dog had bitten me in the leg. I was still way off from thinking of going for an MRI scan, but then I heeded Katie’s advice.”
Scans at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge revealed a black hole in his spine, where his number two vertebrae should have been. Five days of being prodded and poked in hospital followed.
Michael was diagnosed with lymphoma, the blood cancer. “It had manifested itself in my back, apparently after I fractured my spine, though I can’t think of any time in my life when my back has caused me problems,” says the walking and cycling enthusiast.
The poster for Michael Lambourne’s new show, Black Shuck: How It Came For Me at Theatre At The Mill, Stillington
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy sessions were necessary, but not an operation. “As well as ‘demise’, the Black Shuck folklore signifies your life is about to change, and how you respond to it is up to you. I embraced it, but not that thing where people talk of ‘fighting’ cancer,” says Michael.
“I want to build my body back into balance, using art as catharsis. It just so happens that ball was passed to me and I handled it this way.
“At the final session of chemotherapy, I was overcome with emotion; the nurse would have loved to have given me a hug, but she couldn’t because of the Covid situation, so she just took me by the hand. But by then it wasn’t even a sense of relief. It was just emotion.”
Happily, Michael conducting this interview and performing Black Shuck would indicate his ongoing recovery. “I’m in remission now and hopefully I’ll be able to tell this story for many years to come,” he says.
“I don’t dwell on it in Black Shuck, though it’s an inherent part of the story. The piece is 95 per cent there and now I’m confronting that thing of deciding ‘what is the real message?’.”
Push him further, and Michael urges: “Time is precious and we need to spend it well. Rather than waiting for things to happen, you must actively change it yourself.”
What better way to do that tomorrow night than to experience the stare of Michael Lambourne as he relates the story of Black Shuck. “I’ll be telling the tale in my natural Fens accent, connecting with the place I come from, as my family are truly from the Fens. That’s my heritage,” he says. “It’s not a great stretch to think my forefathers knew about Black Shuck and talked about the demon dog in the pub.”
Shona Cowie: Scottish storyteller of visionary tales
SCOTTISH storyteller Shona Cowie will open the evening with her tale of Bruadarach (noun: dreamer/visionary) at 7.30pm.
Once a creative associate at York Theatre Royal, Shona presents myths of re-imagining and transformation from the Scottish oral tradition, myths called on for centuries as guides through times of change.
A highly physical performer, who brings mime and song to the traditional Celtic style, she is dedicated to bringing front and centre those who have too often been pushed to the margins of stories.
“I worked with Shona at the Theatre Royal, and now we’ll both be doing our ‘fireside chats’ at Stillington,” says Michael Lambourne. “Her work is very lyrical and spiritual, told with a wonderful Scottish lilt.”
In addition, on Sunday at 2pm, Shona will present Beware The Beasts, a show for families (age five upwards), where she will provide case studies from leading monster evaders and offer instruction on the most effective ways to avoid being squashed, eaten or turned into a nugget.
For tickets for tomorrow or Sunday, go to: tickettailor.com/events/atthemill/.
Did you know?
Here is the opening verse to Black Shuck by The Darkness:
“In a town in the east The parishioners were visited upon By a curious beast And his eyes numbered but one and shone like the sun And a glance beckoned the immediate loss Of a cherished one It was the coming of the… Black Shuck”
Abel Selaocoe: “Vivid imagination is more than matched by the versatility with which he puts it into play”
Ryedale Festival: Abel Selaocoe, Birdsall House, Birdsall; Jess Gillam Ensemble, St Peter’s, Norton, both July 22
THURSDAY brought two of the musical world’s most engaging characters to Ryedale. Say the name “Abel”and you can only mean the cellist Abel Selaocoe. Similarly with “Jess”, which has to be saxophonist Jess Gillam.
Both are early in their careers, have rocketed to fame and are setting new trends. Essentially this means that you go to hear them, rather than looking to see what they intend to play. So the music becomes less important than the musician. Nothing wrong with that.
Abel’s appearance in the morning covered a whole gamut of genres, crossing boundaries with the flick of a bow. He is a man whose vivid imagination is more than matched by the versatility with which he puts it into play.
He began and ended with improvisations strongly flavoured by his South African background – singing, Sprechgesang, growling throat-song, Xhosa clicks and, yes, cello, including percussive effects. He constantly surprises, which is all part of the fun.
But he also played two movements from a Bach solo suite, which were frankly mesmerising. He threw in plenty of rubato, but it all seemed to fit. Bach would have loved it.
Elsewhere he was gamely supported by the piano of Benjamin Powell, as in Macmillan’s Kiss On Wood, where the early dissonances dissolved into an ethereal contemplation, exactly as they should in a piece inspired by the Good Friday versicle Ecce Lignum Crucis.
Shchedrin’s In The Style Of Albéniz was well geared to Abel’s flashier side and none the worse for that. We could sit back and admire his – and Powell’s – virtuosity. There really seemed to be something of the Spaniard in them both.
Giovanni Sollima’s Lamentatio may be becoming a little hackneyed but it is always a tear-jerker when played like this, soulful and plaintive at its close. It just proved once again what a chameleon Abel is. You cannot but be inspired by his enthusiasm.
Jess Gillam: “Used a soprano saxophone, which sounded much like a full-bodied clarinet since she used no vibrato”. Picture: Robin Clewley
In her evening appearance, Jess was joined by seven other musicians – a string quintet (including double bass), a xylophonist doubling on marimba, Elsa Bradley, and a pianist, Leif Kaner-Lidström. For almost the whole programme, she used a soprano saxophone, which sounded much like a full-bodied clarinet since she used no vibrato.
In an arrangement of Alessandro Marcello’s Oboe Concerto, with the five strings in support, she delivered a gorgeous slow movement, its long lines yielding easily to her breath control, and was contrastingly sprightly in the finale. John Harle’s Flare was an exciting compendium of sax effects (Harle was a player himself), which involved the ensemble in clapping, alongside frenetic whirls and cross-rhythms.
She had set the scene with a Meredith Monk solo, Early Morning Melody, evoking sunrise. Elsewhere she seemed to be in thrall to minimalism. No harm in a little Philip Glass – here a piece intended for saxophone, Melody No 10. One or two other works were pale imitations that verged on “easy listening”.
Bjork’s gently jazzy Venus As A Boy was pleasing. Jess reserved most of her true personality until the end. In an arrangement of Piazzolla’s Histoire du Tango, she first rocketed around the spectrum, then turned wistful and lilting, before a no-holds-barred ending that screeched erotically.
A little more of this kind of variety might have enlivened the programme still further. But she picks her support wisely: they shadowed her every step of the way.
Kati Debretzeni: “She sounded as if there were at least three of her”
Ryedale Festival: Violins of the Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment, Hovingham Hall, Hovingham, July 21
ONE of the benefits of the pandemic – there have not been many – is the rethinking it has brought about. Social distancing makes it impossible for the entire Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment (OAE) to take the stage together. So the eight violins have decided to break out and do their own thing.
This was the second of two Baroque concerts they gave in the receptive acoustic of Hovingham’s old riding stables. All eight opened boldly in a Telemann concerto with four solo roles, making the most of the dissonance in the slow movements and adding really crisp rhythms to the powerful unison that opened the finale.
Thereafter, we enjoyed smaller groupings. Kati Debretzeni appeared on her own in an improvisation (Passaggio Rotto) and fantasia in A minor by Nicola Matteis the elder, who settled in England in the 1670s. Carefree in the first part, she was so brilliantly in command of the advanced techniques in the second that she sounded as if there were at least three of her.
After a dance-like start, Dan Edgar and Claire Holden engaged in much jocular dialogue in Telemann’s ‘Gulliver’ Suite in D, regularly changing tempos on the spur of the moment. The prelude to Bach’s third partita for solo violin made an engaging arrangement for a foursome, also highly conversational.
Even more exciting was the first movement of his ‘Italian’ concerto, in a wonderful arrangement for a quartet whose shading was masterly.
The sudden tempo changes in Giovanni Gabrieli’s Canzon Duodecimi Toni, written for two brass choirs, worked well in this building, although without quite the bite of the original. But the blend was impeccable. A threesome by Joseph Fux was well crafted, as you might expect from him, its suspensions a little forced, but the voices dovetailed neatly in its finale.
Finally, another concerto by Telemann, this time for only four players, brought some magical pianissimos, almost prefiguring Mendelssohn’s fairy music. The sheer panache and enjoyment of these players was a tonic throughout the evening.
Art Of Protest Projects give a fresh look to the No 4 Church Lane Café frontage in York
THE No 4 Church Lane Café in a “hidden city-centre corner” is joining York’s new urban art plan.
Tucked away just off Coney Street, the café has commissioned Guardians Of York perpetrators Art Of Protest Projects to deliver a shot of vibrant colour in the form of a geometric painted mural, designed by the projects’ in-house team of Brenna Allsuch and Natasha Clarke.
“The new mural has instantly changed the landscape and vibe of the area and added a sense of playful excitement,” says Brenna. “The fresh splash of paint speaks for itself and invites patrons to enjoy a brew and a butty while bringing a new sense of identity to the area.”
Prompting smiles: The new look at No 4 Church Lane Café
Café owner Tess Harrison says: “I couldn’t be happier with the delivery of this wonderful mural and the smiles it has brought to my everyday regular customers, as well as the new business it’s brought in.
“From the planning stages right through to the execution and final reveal, the team at AOP Projects has made this a really fun experience and it’s turned out to be an emotional journey for me as my shop front has a whole new vibe!”
This café frontage adds to AOP Projects’ portfolio of murals and art trails across York and beyond, most notably the Guardians Of York project in tribute to “lockdown heroes”, created by Brighton street art collective The Postman, that wrapped up this week.
Even the paving has been jazzed up at No 4 Church Lane
“We’ve been working on some exciting things across Yorkshire, but we definitely place a priority on developing our home base: the city of York,” says project support manager Brenna.
“The crew is looking to add more urban art in the form of paintings, installations and interactive seating and lighting displays as York continues on its path to upgrading the city streets and creating an edgy and visually appealing vibe for both locals and tourists.
“Watch out for more projects hitting the streets in the coming months and visit our website at artofprotest.co.uk to learn more about upcoming events and urban art.”
Brenna Allsuch, Art Of Protest Projects’ project support manager, artist and ICU nurse at York Hospital, stands by her Guardians Of York mural, designed by The Postman, in Bishopthorpe Road, York. Picture: Dave J Hogan
Founder and director Jeff Clark sums up AOP Projects’ mission: “There is a real thirst here for continuing to make the city walls our canvas and to make York an urban art hot spot. This is our speciality, we liaise with artists and city planners to deliver world class-murals that tell stories and involve the community.”
Farther afield, AOP Projects have teamed up with Doncaster Creates and Doncaster Council to unveil a facelift to a derelict park in Doncaster, with support from Arts Council England and external grant funding.
“We’re excited to announce the reimagination of Baxter Park, Wheatley, through the use of street art, sustainable play structures and rewilding, completely transforming the landscape of this urban space, finished with naturalisation and grassing of the surrounding space” says Jeff.
Static’s gable-end wall mural and “jaw-dropping horizontal floor paint” at Baxter Park, Wheatley, Doncaster
Doncaster Creates and AOP Projects have commissioned Static, a London artist duo with Scarborough roots, to design a gable-end wall mural and apply “jaw-dropping horizontal floor paint” to the park’s grounds.
Wood worker and designer Lewis Morgan, from Doncaster, has designed and constructed an array of sustainable, functional wood play structures and created several innovative, visually striking bug hotels, dotted around the park. “These beneficial structures support biodiversity and offer a space for propagation, encouraging the natural ecology to flourish,” says Jeff.
To unify the space and facilitate the health of natural flora and wildlife, Street Scene, from Doncaster Council, have implemented a rewilding and grassing initiative to “bring ongoing growth to support the park’s aesthetic and ecological elements”.
A close-up of Static’s street art at Baxter Park
“This multi-phased park relaunch and the engagement sessions that have guided the designs and outcomes have already sparked a lot of excitement, as the primary mission is to transform the landscape and narrative of this area in need of imagination and rediscovery,” says Jeff.
“The vision for Baxter Park, in Wheatley, is to be a place of play for families and children and to detract from antisocial behaviour that can be problematic in an urban park. Through public engagement and programmes to support a healthy space, this park will not only be visually appealing, but will give back to the community.”
Created with longevity in mind, Baxter Park will be a space where Doncaster locals and visitors can enjoy wildlife in an urban setting with a big, bold splash of colour and imagination.
Art Of Protest Projects director Jeff Clark: Overseeing the creation of a “world-leading urban art space” in Doncaster
“Art has always been about affecting the hearts and minds of the people who live in and among it,” says Jeff.
“The opportunity to take a space such as Baxter Park in Doncaster, which lacked investment, and turn it into what is now a world-leading urban art space was just too good to turn down.”
Mike Stubbs, creative director of Doncaster Creates, says: “We are thrilled to welcome Static to Doncaster and Lewis Morgan back to his hometown to support this project, which will enhance the park area and the local community.
The floral meets the mural in Static’s designs for Baxter Park, Doncaster
“The collaboration with Doncaster Council is incredible: to see the fusion of art and nature in an urban setting. I’m really pleased to see kids playing footie in the park already.”
Static artists Craig Evans and Tom Jackson say: “We’re really pleased to be part of this project at Baxter Park. There’s sometimes scepticism about how much ‘painting a wall’ can change things, but once people see it being done, the majority respond positively.
“We’ve been working towards this project for over a year, and to finally be here and to see the way residents are responding, particularly in the wake of Covid and the restrictions on where people can go, feels rewarding, with people enjoying an area that otherwise seems to feel overlooked.”
“Four Quartets deals with such endless essential perennial questions of time, the spirit, the soul, the journey of the soul in life – big, big ideas,” says Ralph Fiennes. Picture: Matt Humphreys
RALPH Fiennes’s week-long run of his world premiere of T S Eliot’s Four Quartets will mark the return to full-capacity audiences at York Theatre Royal from Monday.
Good news for those who had missed out on tickets when the most in-demand production of the reopening Love Season was first put on sale with social distancing in place. This week’s unlocking of Step 4 has freed up the sudden availability of seats aplenty.
Please note that under the still-cautious Theatre Royal’s Covid-safety practices: “We strongly recommend that you wear a face covering out of respect for fellow audience members,” the management advises.
Star of stage and screen Fiennes is directing and performing in the world premiere of T S Eliot’s final masterpiece in his York Theatre Royal debut as the zenith of the Love Season after premiering the Royal & Derngate, Northampton and Theatre Royal, Bath co-production in Bath from May 25 to June 5.
After this summer’s regional tour, he will transfer Four Quartets to the Harold Pinter Theatre, London, for 36 performances from November 18 to December 18.
Fiennes’s solo theatre adaptation features Burnt Norton, East Coker, The Dry Salvages and Little Giddings, published together in 1943 in a quartet of four interwoven, symphonic meditations that ranges across themes of time, nature and the elements, faith and the quest for spiritual enlightenment and war and mortality.
Mostly written during the Second World War, when the closure of London playhouses during the Blitz interrupted Eliot’s work in theatre, his epic poem cycle contains “some of the most exquisite and unforgettable reflections on surviving periods of national crisis”, apt for our pandemic times.
Here, Fiennes answers a series of questions on Four Quartets, verse, versatility and villains
Where did the idea for doing Four Quartets come from?
“I’ve known it since I was quite young – we had the TS Eliot recording – so it’s something that’s been floating in and out of my awareness over the years. In the first lockdown last year I gave myself little things to engage my mind and memory, and I thought I’d learn Four Quartets.
Ralph Fiennes in rehearsal for Four Quartets
“And then various things I thought I’d do the early part of this year went away – films and so on – and it sort of transitioned.
“Could it not be put in a context where it was not just recited in a suit or something, but given a kind of gently, appropriately judged theatrical context?”
What happened next?
“I was daunted and excited in equal measure by what it might be, but with the help of my agent Simon Beresford, [creative producer] James Dacre got behind it and liked the idea.
“Then the Eliot estate got behind it and then a lot of very talented people in theatre production were available – like Hildegard Bechtler, Chris Shutt and Tim Lutkin, all brilliant in their field.
“I’m a great believer in the energies of things signalling whether they’re meant to happen or not, so it seemed that the cumulative gathering of people being available and wanting to be part of it sent me a sign that this had some viability.”
Why does Four Quartets appeal to you?
“I think it deals with such endless essential perennial questions of time, the spirit, the soul, the journey of the soul in life – big, big ideas. In the end you could say the takeaway is ‘Live in the present’ but Eliot goes deeply into how we’re trapped in notions of sequential time.
“But it’s a very human quest by a man who I think has been through the wringer internally himself – questioning his existence, very unhappy marriage, sense of identity – and then the war crystallising this sense of quest. So it’s endlessly mysterious, but I think there are also ways of speaking it that are conversational and accessible.”
“One of the key and most common responses was: ‘My God, it’s so modern; my God, it’s all about now’,” says Fiennes of Four Quartets’ resonance in lockdown times.
How much is Eliot’s voice in your head?
“Not much at all. I said to the team on our first day of rehearsal back in February that I thought we should all listen to Eliot’s recording – the master’s voice – but we all came away with a very strong sense that this was not helpful for us if we want to make this accessible.
“It’s an old-school delivery with a certain kind of refined English intellectual speaking: it has its own kind of beauty and it’s wonderful to hear his voice, but the dynamic of its communicative ability more for younger people today I think is questionable, because it feels from another time. I want the poem to communicate to younger minds; I want it to be active.”
Four Quartets was written in the 1930s and 1940s, when the world was in crisis. How strong is the resonance with today?
“Very strong. We’re trapped in our houses, we’re denied all these norms of social interaction, assumptions about life and work and travel are all taken away, and so I sense we’re left with: what are we, who am I, what is of value in my life, in our shared lives?
“It continues to be a crisis of what we don’t know, where this thing is going. And Eliot references a sense of where we have to embrace not knowing: ‘And what you do not know is the only thing you know’.
“Doing it for colleagues and friends in rehearsal, one of the key and most common responses was: ‘My God, it’s so modern; my God, it’s all about now’. And that was a very frequent response to it.”
What do you hope this interpretation will achieve?
“I want to enable the poem to be heard. Eliot has not been a focus in the theatre for a while. In his writing there is a religiosity, or questions of faith, which perhaps is unfashionable.
T S Eliot: Writer of Four Quartets
“I love Eliot’s poetry: I think it continues to communicate and I think often great writers suffer from the zeitgeist or the vogue of the moment and get relegated and forgotten about.
“I have a belief that the poem can work and I think it does chime with the big questions or the existential questions that I think we are asking about who we are – and I think that’s thrown into focus by the Covid crisis.”
Why have you decided to take the performance to regional theatres?
“That was part of the proposition. First of all I just said, ‘Can we do this?’. Then Simon and James said, ‘What about doing it as a regional tour, to offer it to regional theatres who may be excited to be able to open their theatres with this?’.
“And that appealed to me. It appealed to me to not do it in London, just purely to have the experience of going to different cities. That excited me because it’s different – I’ve not done it and I’m very aware that there are committed theatre audiences all over the country, so it was a bit of a no-brainer. I love the idea of being on the road: it’s rather romantic.”
Why have you chosen theatres such as York Theatre Royal?
“I was very protective of the sense of intimacy. In some theatres we’re not selling the very top circle because I wanted to keep the sense of intimacy and didn’t want to have to go into the level of projected voice, where there are certain nuances and delicacies that often get diluted.
“The poem has to feel like a conversation. I remember going on stage and doing a bit and saying, ‘Can you hear? Is it working?’. It was just putting my toe in the water as to how it felt in the theatre because it’s all very well walking the paths of Suffolk, where I am, doing it to the sheep, but the thing is, how will it land?
You have enjoyed huge success in both film and theatre. Do you have a preference?
“I love the very simple thing that you walk on to a space, either a monologue in this case, or with other actors, and you start something and you create immediately.
“I want to enable the poem to be heard,” says Fiennes. “Eliot has not been a focus in the theatre for a while”
“Even as I get older, the simple essential magic or possibility of that is endlessly fascinating – so simple and so profound at the same time.
“Film is full of huge potential thrills in terms of what the end experience can be for an audience but the process of film-making is not actor-friendly really. But then you might say, surely in front of a theatre audience you don’t have the chance to do it again?
“No, you don’t, but there is a dynamic of contact with an audience so you’re in a dialogue with the people receiving it. I suppose the short answer to the question is, I think I’m more at home in the process of theatre.”
Your career has covered everything from the Bard to Bond. Do those jobs feel different in your head, or is it all just acting?
“It is a sort of truism that good writing is always attractive, whether it’s classical or modern writing. You can just feel the crackle. I think I’ve got any actor’s hunger as to what’s a good part where there’s human complexity, there’s dramatic impact. We all like to be challenged and stretched.”
Is it true that villains are more fun to play?
“In a kind of basic way. They’re not fun if they haven’t got any complexity to them. Actually, one of the challenges of Voldemort is that he was mostly just sheer, distilled evil – the point of Voldemort [in the Harry Potter films] is that he doesn’t have a conscience – and that was quite a challenge because there was no doubt or inner contradiction.
“What puts the full stop on Richard III being a great part is his sense of regret or fear about what’s he’s done, and suddenly you have this other colour – doubt – and then he puts the lid on it. So that stuff is great. If there’s endless degrees of grey, I think that’s really human.”
Ralph Fiennes in TS Eliot’s Four Quartets, York Theatre Royal, July 26 to 31, 8pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
“I think I’ve got any actor’s hunger as to what’s a good part where there’s human complexity, there’s dramatic impact,” says Fiennes
Back story
BORN in Ipswich on December 22 1962 , Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes has appeared in such films as Schindler’s List; The English Patient; The Grand Budapest Hotel; The Constant Gardner; Skyfall; In Bruges; The Dig and The Harry Potter series.
Winner of a Tony Award for playing Hamlet, Fiennes has performed many of theatre’s most iconic roles. London theatre credits include Shakespeare’s Anthony And Cleopatra (National Theatre) and Richard III (Almeida) and Ibsen’s The Master Builder (Old Vic).
York Theatre Royal’s full statement on its Covid-safety protocol after all legal restrictions were lifted on July 19 under Step 4 of the “Roadmap to Recovery”, restoring full-capacity audiences:
“We are proud to be See It Safely-approved by the Society Of London Theatre and UK Theatre, so you can feel confident and safe knowing that we are following the latest Government and performing arts guidelines.
“We’ve outlined more about what to expect from a visit to the theatre below:
* Multiple hand sanitation points around the building, including on entry.
* Increased cleaning regime before and after performances.
* Face coverings worn by all staff and volunteers working in public areas.
* Windows and doors open, whenever possible, to allow fresh air to circulate.
“We strongly recommend that you wear a face covering out of respect for fellow audience members and our companies when coming into the theatre.
“As the situation is constantly changing, we shall continue to adapt our approach in line with any new guidance and your feedback.
Find out more by visiting the website at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/four-quartets/
York Theatre Royal: Returning to full capacity from Monday
Rick Astley: Soul favourite’s post-racing show is a definite runner at York Racecourse tomorrow evening
IT ain’t worth a thing if it got that confounded ping, but let’s hope this NHS Covid app hazard does not apply to any of Charles Hutchinson’s suggestions as Step 4 starts to kick in.
Outdoor concerts of the week in York:York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Rick Astley, Friday evening; McFly, Saturday late-afternoon
YORK Racecourse was never gonna give up on Rick Astley performing on a race day, even if the original show had to fall by the wayside last summer. Sure enough, the Newton-le-Willows soul crooner, 55, has been re-booked for tomorrow for a post-racing live set.
McFly: Promising Young Dumb Thrills at York Racecourse on Saturday
After Saturday afternoon’s race card, the re-formed McFly will combine such favourites as All About You, Obviously and 5 Colours In Her Hair with songs from their 2020 return, Young Dumb Thrills, such as Happiness, Tonight Is The Night and You’re Not Special. The County Stand has reached capacity for Saturday already.
Friday’s racing starts at 6pm; Saturday, at 2.05pm. For tickets, go to: yorkracecourse.co.uk.
Rachel Podger: The violinist plays, after self-isolation, for online viewing from the York Early Music Festival. Picture: Theresa Pewal
Online concert home entertainment of the week: Rachel Podger, The Violinist Speaks, York Early Music Festival
WHEN Baroque violinist Rachel Podger fell victim to the dreaded “pingdemic”, she had to forego her July 13 concert performance, condemned to self-isolate instead.
In stepped Florilegium violinist Bojan Cicic to play the very same Bach, Tartini and Biber repertoire at St Lawrence Church, Hull Road, at only three hours’ notice.
Rachel, however, subsequently recorded The Violinist Speaks without an audience at the NCEM for a digital livestream premiere at 7.30pm last Saturday. This online concert is now available on demand until August 13; on sale until August 9 at: ncem.co.uk/events/rachel-podger-online/ncem.co.uk
Twinnie: Twinning with Velma Celli for tomorrow’s double bill at Impossible York
York’s queen of vocal drag meets York’s country queen: The Velma Celli Show with special guestTwinnie, Impossible York, St Helen’s Square, York, tomorrow, 7pm, doors; show, 8pm
YORK’S international drag diva deluxe, Velma Celli, will be joined by country singer Twinnie at The Velma Celli Show at Impossible York on her return home from recording sessions for her second album in Nashville.
“My mate and fellow Yorky the awesome Twinny is my v. special guest tomorrow night at Impossible – York,” says Velma, the cabaret creation of Ian Stroughair, on Instagram. Like Ian, Twinnie has starred in West End musicals, most notably in Chicago, under her stage name Twinnie-Lee Moore.
Tickets cost £15, £20 for VIP stage seating, at ticketweb.uk.
Michael Lambourne: Fenland storyteller at Theatre At The Mill, Stillington, this weekend
Storytellers of the week: Michael Lambourne and Shona Cowie, Theatre At The Mill, Stillington, near York, Saturday and Sunday
NOT that long ago a familiar bearded face and booming voice on the York stage before heading south, Michael Lambourne will return north on Saturday to present the 7.30pm premiere of Black Shuck, a “responsive storytelling experience” based on the legend of the Demon Dog of East Anglia.
Penned and performed by Lambourne, Black Shuck is the tale of a hound of unnatural size, an omen of misfortune to those who see its eyes, wherein he explores the enduring effect it has on Fenland folklore in a personal account of how a rural myth can become a chilling part of the present day.
Scottish storyteller and physical performer Shona Cowie will open the evening with her Celtic tale of the dreamer and visionary Bruadarach and then present Beware The Beasts, a show for families (age five upwards), at 2pm on Sunday.
Shona will provide case studies from leading monster evaders and offer instruction on the most effective ways to avoid being squashed, eaten or turned into a nugget. Box office: tickettailor.com/events/atthemill/.
Ralph Fiennes in TS Eliot’s Four Quartets, on tour at York Theatre Royal next week
First full-capacity shows at York Theatre Royal since mid-March 2020: Ralph Fiennes in T S Eliot’s Four Quartets, July 26 to 31
YORK Theatre Royal will return to full-capacity audiences with effect from Monday’s performance of T S Eliot’s Four Quarters, performed and directed by Ralph Fiennes.
Good news for those who had missed out on tickets for the most in-demand production of the reopening Love Season when it was first put on sale with social distancing in place. This week’s unlocking of Step 4 frees up the sudden availability of seats aplenty.
Please note, however, the wearing of face coverings will be strongly encouraged; some safety measures will continue too, but not temperature checks on the door.
Wall art: The poster for Miles And The Chain Gang’s first gig in York in 18 months. Picture: Jim Poyner
Back on the Chain Gang: Miles And The Chain Gang, supported by King Courgette, The Fulford Arms, York, July 29, 8pm
AFTER an 18-month hiatus. York band Miles And The Chain Gang will return to the concert platform next week, tooled up with new material.
In the line-up are singer, songwriter, storyteller, published poet and radio presenter Miles Salter, on guitar and vocals, Billy Hickling, drums and percussion, Tim Bruce, bass, and Alan Dawson, lead guitar, augmented for this gig by Fay Donaldson’s flute and saxophone.
The Gang have been working on a debut album, recording with producer Jonny Hooker at Young Thugs Studios in York. Tickets cost £7 at thefulfordarms.co.uk or £8 on the door.
Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s poster for next week’s brace of Gilbert and Sullivan shows
Fundraiser of the week ahead: Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company Does Gilbert And Sullivan, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, HMS Pinafore, July 29, 7.30pm, and July 31, 2.30pm; The Mikado, July 30 and 31, 7.30pm
THE Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company, the JoRo’s in-house performing troupe, are producing concert versions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s biggest light opera hits, HMS Pinafore and The Mikado, next week.
The shows will be brimful of popular tunes and brilliant characters, with all profits from this topsy-turvy musical madness going straight back to the Haxby Road community theatre.
Rachel Croft: Cafe concert at Forty Five, with Reap What You Sow EP to follow in September
Music Café society gig of the week ahead: Rachel Croft, Forty Five Vinyl Café, Micklegate, York, July 31, 7.30m
NEXT Saturday at Forty Five, York singer-songwriter Rachel Croft will showcase tomorrow’s release of Reap What You Sow, a cinematic, moody taster for her four-track EP of the same name on September 9.
Exploring a more potent, bluesy style throughout, further tracks will be second single Time Waits For No Man, Roots and Chasing Time.
Rachel will be supported by Kell Chambers and Evie Barrand. Tickets cost £10 via fortyfiveuk.com/whatson.
The Trials Of Cato: Tomos Williams and Rob Jones with new trio member Polly Bolton, playing Primrose Wood Acoustics in early August
Going down in the woods next month: The Trials Of Cato, Primrose Wood Acoustics, Pocklington, August 5, 7pm
BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winners The Trials Of Cato will headline the third Primrose Wood Acoustics session in Pocklington on August 5.
Organised by Pocklington Arts Centre, the outdoor concert series will complete its summer hattrick by popular demand after sold-out sylvan shows on July 1 and 8.
Leamington Spa singer-songwriter Polly Bolton joins co-founders Tomos Williams and Rob Jones for the showcase of imminent second album Gog Magog. Tickets cost £14 on 01759 301547 or at pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
McFly: McFlying out of the starting stalls at York Racecourse on Saturday
THE glorious summer weather may be on the downturn by the weekend, but McFly’s Danny Jones will be hoping for more clement conditions than on one past visit to North Yorkshire.
“When we played Dalby Forest [June 26 2009], if I remember right, there was a huge, thick fog all around us that night, and people at the back could hardly see a thing,” recalls the re-grouped London band’s lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist, ahead of Saturday’s post-racing concert at York Racecourse: their first show in 18 months.
McFly, the boy band formed in 2003 by Bolton-born Jones, Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd, returned last year with album number six, Young Dumb Thrills, after a ten-year gap and a detour into boy-band supergroup McBusted.
Why “Young Dumb Thrills” when Danny, for example, is 35? “I think it’s partly about reminiscing, but you know what, we always say ‘what do we want to do, where do we want to go with our music’, just as we did when I was 17 when I moved down to London, and Dougie was 15, and we thought we knew it all,” he says.
“But when we-reformed and we were making the album, I said, ‘Guys, we’re still young; we could still be a young band starting out’.”
McFly’s Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones performing at the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend concert in July 2012
Danny never doubted McFly would return one day from their hiatus that began in 2016. “I knew it was never going to stop. We just needed a holiday; after 13 years you need a break, after 13 years of carnage, you really do, but this way we can come back for 15 more years,” he says.
In the boy-band 2000s, McFly flew to the pop peaks regularly, making chart history as the youngest ever band to have a debut album go straight to number one in the UK, when July 2004’s Room On The 3rd Floor beat The Beatles’ long-standing record, set with Please Please Me in March 1963.
They have chalked up seven number one singles and ten million album sales, and their high-energy York Racecourse set could parade 5 Colours In Their Hair, Obviously, That Girl, All About You, You’ve Got A Friend, I’ll Be OK, I Wanna Hold You, Don’t Stop Me Now, Please, Please, Star Girl, Baby’s Coming Back, Transylvania and One For The Radio.
Saturday’s set definitely will combine past and present, after their 2020 renaissance with the singles Happiness, Tonight Is The Night and You’re Not Special from the number two-charting album Young Dumb Thrills.
They are busy recording again. “Young Dumb Thrills was more ‘one song is this, one song is that’ stylistically; it wasn’t sonically together, but now I’m finding the new album we’re working on is more collective sonically,” says Danny.
Bridegroom Danny Jones leaves St Mary’s Priory Church, Old Malton, on his wedding day after marrying Malton model Georgia Horsley in August 2014
“It’s still in the really early stages. We’ve built this amazing studio in West London, where we used to rehearse downstairs, and after the business run by the guy who owned the building didn’t survive, we’ve taken over the rehearsal room to make a recording studio down there with a hang-out space upstairs.
“We’re working with friends and new people to find our new identity for the new record, and it’s kind of ’70s and ‘80s’ rock.”
Why draw on ’70s and ’80s rock, Danny? “We’re working on that line of ‘where do guitars belong in the pop world now?’, and we thought we should be influenced by pop bands who do ‘rock’ really well, like The Who and Oasis, because though we all have such different musical influences, we can agree to pull on Springsteen, Bryan Adams and Van Halen,” he says.
McFly, who had to forego playing Scarborough Open Air Theatre last July in the first Covid-crocked summer, will be returning to York Racecourse after their previous Music Showcase Weekend show in July 2012, having played York Barbican already that April.
Lancastrian Jones is no stranger to the Broad Acres of Yorkshire. “My sister Vicky lives in Leeds and my in-laws are in Malton,” he says.
Rick Astley: Opening the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend tomorrow evening post-racing
Should you need reminding, he is married to Malton model Georgia Horsley, a former Miss England, their wedding ceremony having been held at St Mary’s Priory Church, Old Malton, on August 2 2014.
Malton, of course, is synonymous with racing or, more precisely, racing stables. “Behind my in-laws’ house are the stables of a really well-known Irish trainer [although the name escaped Danny’s recollection,” he says. “I’d never seen a racehorse before or seen the veins on a horse close up. Amazing!”
Don’t bet on Danny having a bet on Saturday afternoon. “I’m just not a fan of losing!” he says, but McFly fans will be on to a winner. “You give them what they want. We’re not self-indulgent. If they’re not having a good time, we’re not having a good time, and vice versa.”
That rules out any colts bolting out from the latest studio sessions but guarantees plenty of favourites coming home triumphantly.
Rick Astley plays York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend tomorrow evening post-racing; McFly, Saturday late-afternoon, post-racing.
Tickets for these combined racing-and-concert events are on sale at yorkracecourse.co.uk.As well as free car parking, no booking fees apply, but please note, admission is not available on a concert-only basis; the gates will be closed at the time of the last race.
UPDATE: 24/7/2021 McFly arrive at York Racecourse, ready to play to more than 30,000 racegoers after the Saturday race card.
