Kit Stroud’s Edmund Swettenham, left, Katy Barrow’s Mitzi, Victoria Beale’s Mrs Swettenham, Catherine Edge’s Letitia Blacklock, Paul Betts’s Sergeant Mellors, Adam Kadow’s Inspector Craddock, Joy Warner’s Dora ‘Bunny’ Bunner, Oscar Langford’s Patrick Simmons, Jennifer Jones’s Julia Simmons, Em Sinclair’s Phillipa Haymes and, front, Julie Russell Wilson’s Miss Marplein Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced
A MURDER is announced and will take place on Friday, October the Thirteenth, at Little Paddocks at six thirty P.M. Friends, please accept this, the only intimation. So runs the public notice in the local newspaper, The Chipping Cleghorn Gazette.
You will find it on the programme cover for the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s latest fundraising production for the JoRo. A landmark show too, as this is the first Miss Marple mystery to be staged there.
“Not only am I a huge Agatha Christie fan, A Murder Is Announced is my favourite Miss Marple mystery and in my top three of all Agatha Christie’s stories,” enthuses director Alex Schofield in his programme note.
This is not the only first connected with this week’s production. Appearing as Miss Marple, Julie Russell Wilson is performing her first theatre role since returning to Yorkshire last year, while Adam Kadow is making his company debut – and Christie bow too – as “dry-humoured detective” Inspector Craddock.
They give the outstanding performances in Leslie Darbon’s adroit adaptation of a murder mystery with all the classic Christie features, in Schofield’s words: “a closed group of suspects; characters who may not be what they seem and plenty of red herrings.
“But importantly it also ‘plays fair’ and gives us, her audience, the opportunity to solve the mystery, which I invite you all to do.” A group lining the auditorium wall on Thursday was seeking to do just that, somewhat excitedly in the interval, prompting a gentleman nearby to ask them to desist as he did not want his own speculations to be influenced. Such is the abiding appeal of a Christie mystery.
When so much misery about Britain’s decline percolates the airwaves, what a delight to sit back and enjoy something as indestructible as Agatha Christie’s quintessentially British crime capers. This one has a country pad, stocked with a stoical family, a loud clock, two doors into the drawing room (one barred from opening) and a paranoid Hungarian housemaid (Katy Barrow’s delightfully scatty Mitzi).
Christie’s story assembles childhood friends, the haughty Letitia Blacklock (Catherine Edge) and often befuddled Dora “Bunny” Bunner (Joy Warner), the mischievous siblings Patrick (Oscar Langford) and Julia Simmons (Jennifer Jones) and a young widow, Phillipa Haymes (Em Sinclair).
Intrigued by the newspaper announcement, enter nosy neighbour Mrs Swettenham (Victoria Beale) and, clinging to her arm, her son, unpublished writer Edmund (Kit Stroud, magnetically drawn to the wall on each entry, perhaps to hide his incongruous man-bun).
Suddenly. Lights out. Three bullets. Torch light. One dead body (Paul Betts’s Rudi Scherz). One murder for Kadow’s wry, meticulously methodical, flamboyant Craddock or Wilson’s ever astute, under-the-radar amateur sleuth Miss Marple to crack. One case? Soon make that two, spoiler alert.
Schofield’s production is fast-moving fun, led by Kadow and Wilson’s terrific turns and precise diction, with the company nailing both the humour and deadly set-pieces in Darbon’s script. Chocolate cake, a taciturn village bobby and not every costume fitting well, what a vintage British visit to the amateur theatre unfolds.
Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company in Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tonight, 7.30pm (last few tickets); tomorrow, 2.30pm (sold out). Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Isabel Azar’s Clare, centre, with her family servants, Clare Meadley’s Peppa and Emily Hansen’s Alma, in Black Treacle Theatre’s Poor Clare. The bowl containing her hairpins will reappear later in Jim Paterson’s production as a begging bowl.Picture: John Saunders
FIRST, the history bit. The Franciscan order of the Poor Clare Colettines was based at St Joseph’s Convent, in Lawrence Street, York, founded in 1865 by nuns from Bruges. Where once it housed 40 nuns, now the site provides student accommodation. How very York in 2026.
The original Poor Clare is the subject of American playwright Chiara Atik’s 2021 play, premiered in Los Angeles and given its European debut at the Orange Tree Theatre, London, in 2025.
Black Treacle Theatre founder and director Jim Paterson read a review and then the script ,“intrigued by the description of the play’s deliberately anachronistic use of modern, ‘Gen Z’ dialogue and attitudes in the telling of the lives of these religious figures in 13th century Italy.”
Hot on the heels of York Settlement Community Players’ staging of Sarah Gordon’s irreverent re-telling of the Brontë Sisters’ literary lives, Underdog: The Other Other Brontë, with its frank and fruity language and modern sensibilities, Theatre@41 plays host to another conflation of old and modern in its York premiere. This one, however, is as much reverent as irreverent.
PJ Gregan’s zealous but never pious Francis in Black Treacle Theatre’s Poor Clare. Picture: John Saunders
Paterson’s cast is in medieval costumes, complemented in Richard Hampton’s design by a plain white backdrop. Then, the first time you hear each and every actor speak with an American accent straight out of Hollywood’s rom-coms or Frank Zappa’s satirical song Valley Girl, you will be puzzled.
Think Legally Blonde. Every second word, like, is ‘like’. Hey you guys, give us a break. But wait, Atik’s script is so smart and sharp and wise that you are soon wholly on board.
As it happens, Clare is played by an American actress, Isabel Azar, from Memphis but now extending her studies in York to opera singing with a view to a career embracing acting, writing and opera. She is Catholic too, drawing her even closer to St Clare, founder of the Poor Clare order of nuns.
In Atik’s faithful re-telling, Clare is a young noblewoman in 13th century Assisi, where she is preparing for marriage to an aristocrat and a life of even more wealth and privilege than she has already as part of the second most wealthy family in the central Italian town – even if younger sister Beatrice (Eleanor Stephenson) and their mother Ortolana (Victoria Delaney) will argue over whether they are rich or not.
Isabel Azar’s Clare in her putative wedding dress with her high-society mother, Victoria Delaney’s Ortolana. Picture: John Saunders
Yes, of course they are: at the start, Azar’s Clare is idling the day away with her droll servants, Emily Hansen’s Alma and Clare Meadley’s Peppa, endlessly titivating her hair. Stephenson’s Beatrice cares only about clothes. Such superficiality is rife in this high society.
Yet the presence of Ben Reeves-Rowley’s Beggar, bowl in hand, is a haunting reminder that poverty besets Assisi too. Into the town strides Francis (yes, that Saint Francis of Assisi, played by PJ Gregan), who has turned his back on his privileged upbringing to campaign tirelessly for the poor and the redistribution of wealth. A man of bare feet and facts laid bare. Zealous, yes, pious, no.
Azar’s Clare finds herself drawn to rather more than the beautiful robe and golden locks of Gregan’s Francis, as he sets her on her way to a life of devotion to the cause of caring for the needy. Yet she has a long way to go when she initially assures him she will still give to charity after her marriage.
Eleanor Stephenson’s Beatrice, left, Victoria Delaney’s Ortolana and Isabel Azar’s Clare looking delightedly at one of her wedding presents, a book, in Black Treacle Theatre’s Poor Clare. Picture: John Saunders
Atik’s play moves with such pace and vigour that past productions have eschewed an interval, but here the break was a perfect chance at Wednesday’s performance to ask each other questions. “It’s not what I expected,” was the most common reaction, but uttered with approval and excitement at what was to follow.
Reeves-Rowley will reappear in modern clothing, linking with the modern world, as he begs for money from the front row while spinning his life story.
Azar’s Clare will find herself in discussions with bewildered sister and bemused mother and Gregan’s Francis alike. The more the two converse, and indeed clash in the high point of Paterson’s production, the more she feels compelled to reject aristocratic airs for service to the poor. By now, she is wearing a scratchy hair shirt to remind her constantly of the suffering, while his robe is no longer ostentatious blue but dull brown.
Come the finale, Azar’s Clare is in nun’s habit, addressing the ills of the modern world directly. The play was doing that already, albeit indirectly, but this monologue seeks to trigger more to follow Clare’s lead.
Eleanor Stephenson’s Beatrice, Victoria Delaney’s Ortolana and Isabel Azar’s Clare bathe their feet in the company of servants Alma (Emily Hansen) and Peppa (Clare Meadley). Picture: John Saunders
Paterson’s cast all enjoy the wit and fizz of Atik’s dialogue. Stephenson’s Beatrice is a riot, spoilt, blinkered but amusing; Gregan’s Francis has weight and authority but boyish charm too. Azar’s Clare combines impish humour and quiet intelligence with rising defiant steel as radiance settles on her.
Azar’s mother was in Wednesday’s audience, all the way from Memphis. She was not the only one whose face was wreathed in smiles after encountering such a bravura play.
Black Treacle Theatre in Poor Clare, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until November 7, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
P.S. Should you be wondering, if you attended Poor Clare, in keeping with the play’s meeting ground of modern and medieval, director Jim Paterson chose “medieval bardcore” renditions of songs by the likes of Lady Gaga, performed by such artists as Hildegard von Blingin’ and Beedle The Bardcore, each as magical as a madrigal, for the scene changes.
PJ Gregan’s Francis and Isabel Azar’s Clare finding common ground – and clothing – on Richard Hampton’s set, with its wheel-on chapel, in Black Treacle Theatre’s Poor Clare. Picture: John Saunders
Norman Carpenter Up Ladder, one of 70 wire-mesh ghost sculptures featured in Ghosts After Dark in York Museum Gardens. Picture: Celestine Dubruel
YORK’s ghosts are gathering in York Museum Gardens this week for five nights of captivating storytelling and after-dark adventure, orchestrated by York BID and York Museums Trust.
Running from last night to Sunday, Ghosts After Dark sees all 70 wire-mesh sculptures from York BID’s city-wide 2026 Ghosts In The Gardens trail being assembled in one setting, giving visitors the chance to see the ghosts and the gardens in a “completely different light”.
Ghosts After Dark first came to York Museum Gardens in 2024, bringing together 46 sculptures. Two years on, the event has expanded beyond the main Museum Gardens into historic spaces, not only King’s Manor courtyard and Library Lawn, but also taking in the Anglian Tower, Edible Wood, Artists’ Garden, St Olave’s Churchyard and the area beside York Art Gallery.
Lit atmospherically among the trees, ruins and hidden corners of the gardens, more ghost sculptures than ever are being joined by as many as eight live storytellers, telling stories every 15 minutes to the accompaniment of sound and smoke.
Victorian Penny Farthing Rider in Ghosts After Dark. Picture: Celestine Dubruel
Among them are Mad Alice, from the Bloody Tour of York, with her stories of the Executioner, Judge, Tudor Lady and Saxon Monk at the Abbot’s House, King’s Manor, and Dr Dorian and Davina Deathly, from Deathly Dark Tours, uncovering the haunted history behind the Stone Mason, Saxon Monk, Nun and Butcher in front of St Mary’s Abbey ruins.
Meet Guy Fawkes, from York Dungeon, on his trailer at The Plot; the Doomsayer, from York Dungeon too, with her tales of the plague-infested streets of 1551 York, in the Undercroft, and the Wild Man of The Woods, exploring the lore of the Fox, Falcon, Cat and Bear in Beast’s Corner.
Step into Viking York for Norse storytellers from Jorvik Viking Centre to share sagas of fearless warriors, mighty gods and epic voyages in the Gloomy Woods setting.
In addition to 24 ghost sculptures new to Ghosts After Dark (including ten new to this year’s Ghosts In The Gardens) and two gardens new to the event, an immersive Witch Encounter has been introduced too that “may include jump scares”.
Bear in the wood at Ghosts After Dark. Picture: Celestine Dubruel
In The Cell, you will find the restless Isabella Billington, York’s most infamous Witch, from York Dungeon, on her last night before her execution for murder. Official records state that she and her husband crucified her mother in Pocklington, duly offering a calf and cockerel as a burnt sacrifice.
The event brochure forewarns: “Please be aware: all the stories you will hear tonight are based on real history. Some may be exaggerated, embellished, or quite gruesome. Not all talks are suitable for young children – if in doubt, please ask the storyteller.”
Look out too for the event’s first night market, featuring suitably themed pop-up stalls around the gardens and outside the Yorkshire Museum, including Isla Coole‘s Horrifically Good Books (newly opened in Goodramgate) and, more tenuously, Socktopus’s sock store (which seemed to be stretching things a tad)!
The Potions Cauldron, Villains Rum, Poetry Pharmacy and Braithwaite Gallery are taking part too, along with Ye Olde York Dungeon Spook Shop at The Cell, Mad Alice’s Curiosity Shop at King’s Manor and the Jorvik stall at Midgard. Oh, and what’s that queue at the Observatory? Ah, yes, the ever-busy York Ghost Merchants are selling exclusive ghosts anew.
Edwardian Builder With Lunch at Ghosts After Dark. Picture: Celestine Dubruel
York BID’s operations manager, Carl Alsop, says:“There’s something really special about experiencing York Museum Gardens after dark and this year, visitors will have more to discover than ever.
“We’ve taken everything people loved about the first Ghosts After Dark and made it bigger. All 70 ghosts will be gathered together across an expanded route, with atmospheric lighting, fog, live storytelling, interactive artwork and plenty of surprises hiding in the darkness.
“The event brings this year’s free Ghosts In The Gardens trail to a brilliant crescendo, giving people the chance to see the sculptures all together in some of York’s most historic spaces. We want people to make an evening of it: explore the ghosts, visit the night market and enjoy the city’s shops, restaurants, cafés and bars while they’re here.”
Jocelyn Palmer, senior events manager at York Museums Trust, says: “We are delighted to be working with York BID to bring back Ghosts After Dark to York Museums Gardens. The ghosts are a well-loved part of the city’s autumnal calendar, and we’re delighted to be hosting them all together again for this series of evening events.
“It is wonderful to have a rich seasonal programme across York, and particularly in the Museum Gardens, to bring a little light, and perhaps some spooky sights, to the autumn evenings.”
Elizabethan School Boy With Catapult at Ghosts After Dark. Picture: Celestine Dubruel
Ghosts After Dark runs from 5.30pm to 9.30pm each evening, with timed entry slots available for every 20 minutes until last admission at 8pm. Visitors should allow approximately 90 minutes to uncover the full experience.
AMONG the 70 sculptures are: Edwardian Rail Signaller; Norman Carpenter Up Ladder; Victorian Lamplighter; Bear; Long Duck; Musician With Fiddle; Victorian Newsboy With Newspaper; Stuart Nurse With Syringe; Mouse; Cat Sleeping; Bat Sleeping; Victorian Beekeeper; Tudor Executioner; Victorian Penny Farthing Rider; Edwardian Builder With Lunch; Georgian Butcher Emptying Slop Bucket; Fox; Squirrel and Saxon Monk Praying.
Did you know?
THE translucent, narrow-gauge wire-mesh ghost sculptures for Ghosts In The Gardens and Ghosts After Dark are crafted by York creative agency Unconventional Design.
St Mary’s Abbey ruins bathed in light for Ghosts After Dark. In the foreground is one of the robin bird boxes on show in York Museum Gardens. Picture: Celestine Dubruel
Jane Asher as The Queen and Laura Main as The Dresser in Daisy Goodwin’s play The Dresser, on tour at York Theatre Royal next week. Picture: Robert Day
DAISY Goodwin wrote ITV’s historical drama series Victoria. Now, her debut play, 2025’s By Royal Appointment, is to tour to York Theatre Royal next week in a co-production presented by Daniel Schumann, Lee Dean and The Arts Theatre, Cambridge.
Directed by Anthony Banks and designed by Jonathan Fensom, the play stars Jane Asher as The Queen and Laura Main as The Dresser, replacing the originally announced Samantha Womack.
By Royal Appointment explores their relationship and how the pair created the public image of the world’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who was famous for her discretion, never saying anything in public that could ruffle the lightest of feathers. However, Her Majesty had one way of expressing what she really thought – through her wardrobe.
Goodwin’s humorous, poignant and celebratory play considers the kind of power that only a Queen can wield, charming the world through coats and admonishing her family through a carefully chosen hat.
Yet Goodwin depicts The Queen as uninterested in fashion, her look being managed by her Designer (played by David Robb), her Milliner (Matthew Cottle’s role) and most powerful of all, her Dresser (Main).
In By Royal Appointment, the Dresser is a working-class girl who goes from advising The Queen on the colour of her lipsticks to the real power behind the throne. However, the Dresser, like all royal favourites, is living on borrowed time.
Taking the regal role in Goodwin’s behind-the-scenes peek into the world of our most popular monarch and the image she presented to the world is “acting royalty” Jane Asher, the queen of cake bakers to boot.
“I was asked if I would like to do the role,” says Jane, now 80. “I was sent the play – I didn’t know it existed. It’s pretty much new but was first done in a different version last year. I read it and thought it was a somewhat terrifying prospect, but I knew the producer, Lee Dean, who asked me to do it before there was a director attached.
“By chance, a few weeks previously, Anthony had sent me a lovely message via my agent after seeing me in a rehearsed reading at the Orange Tree [Richmond, London]. I knew of him and his work, and when Lee suggested him to me I jumped at it.”
By Royal Appointment is based loosely on the books by The Queen’s senior dresser, Angela Kelly: Dressing The Queen (2012) and The Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, The Dresser And The Wardrobe, (2019)].
“She more or less became her carer towards the end and had been given permission by The Queen to write the books,” says Jane.
“So the role was irresistible for me: challenging, terrifying but wonderful too. People do really seem to be enjoying it: people of my age group and younger too, really love it, remembering some of The Queen’s clothes that got into your psyche. To see those clothes being brought to life again is remarkable, but of course it’s about much more than that.”
By Royal Appointment is being well received on tour. “I’ve done a great many new plays and I always enjoy it, partly because the writer is usually still alive – and so ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’ is still available,” says Jane.
Jane Asher as The Queen, surrounded by regal clothing in By Royal Appointment. Picture: Robert Day
“You never know how the audience will take it, whether they will laugh or go quiet, but they’re enjoying this play, where with some jokes you get the most from them if you know the history. Overall it’s one of those plays that’s both funny and sad.”
By Royal Appointment is a slice of theatre vérité. “All the characters are taken from reality, so what you have – almost a first – is the chance to go behind the scenes, getting an insight backstage,” says Jane, who drew mostly on the script for her characterisation.
“I didn’t do specific research beyond checking certain dramatic moments in The Queen’s life, such as Lord Mountbatten’s boat being blown up by IRA bombers, happier times too, and her children’s marriages.
“I’ve gone mainly with Daisy’s view because she’s such a good writer about the Royals. It’s terrifying that so many other actors have played The Queen, and I’ve not ignored them, because they’re deeply ingrained, but I can only do Jane Asher’s version, which will never be The Queen, but audiences will accept this version.”
Did Jane ever encounter The Queen? “Yes, like many actors, I’ve been lucky enough to meet her a few times, like at a do at Buckingham Palace, and when my husband [illustrator and political cartoonist Gerald Scarfe] received the CBE [in October 2008], The Queen did the ceremony and I was there that day.”
Here is a statistic to ponder: “People dream about The Queen more than any other figurehead, which is relatively common,” says Jane. “It may be rather banal to say, but she did reign for an incredibly long time.
“She was so incredibly good at her job, fantastic in that way of being tactful and resolute that no-one should know her political views, and she did such wonderful things in speaking through her ‘clothes’.
“She just loved being in her head scarf and knitted skirt in the Highlands, because I can imagine that if you have to dress up in grand, uncomfortable clothes, you would long to get back into casual wear!”
Central to Jane’s role in By Royal Appointment is the clothing. “I love clothes, so of course it’s a lovely part of the job of acting to wear completely different clothes, but in a play like this, with eight or nine changes, it can get a bit tiring. I’d love to go back to playing a cavewoman!”
Jane wrote about clothing in Jane Asher’s Costume Book: Over 100 Costumes for Children and Adults and How to Make Them. “I thoroughly approve of things like Vinted,” she says. “I’ve always appreciated beautiful clothes that have been kept. I like being dressed in period clothes or ‘vintage’ clothes as they’re now called – but second-hand as I called them.”
Daniel Schumann, Lee Dean and The Arts Theatre, Cambridge, presentBy Royal Appointment, York Theatre Royal, November 10 to 14, 7.30pm plus 2pm Wednesday & Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees; post-show discussion with cast members after Thursday’s 7.30pm show. Age guidance: 14 plus. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
One last question for Jane Asher, cookery book writer
What do you consider to be the Queen of cakes?
“That’s so tricky: as with most food, so much depends on one’s mood! I don’t have a particularly sweet tooth so although I love making beautiful iced cakes for special occasions, if I was making one for myself to have a slice with a cup of tea I’d choose something like the old-fashioned Madeira – simple but delicious…”
Jane Asher: Actress, businesswoman and author
Jane Asher: back story
Stage credits include: Twelfth Night, The Circle (Orange Tree Theatre); A Song At Twilight, Moon Tiger (Theatre Royal Bath); An American In Paris (Dominion Theatre); Great Expectations (West Yorkshire Playhouse); The Gathered Leaves (Park Theatre); Pride And Prejudice (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Charley’s Aunt (Menier Chocolate Factory); TheImportance Of Being Earnest, Farewell To The Theatre, Bedroom Farce (Rose Theatre Kingston), TheReluctant Debutant (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre).
Before The Party (Queen’s Theatre); Blythe Spirit, Henceforward, House/Garden (Vaudeville Theatre); Festen (Almeida Theatre), Look Back In Anger (Royal Court Theatre, Criterion Theatre); Making It Better (Hampstead Theatre, Criterion Theatre); Measure For Measure, Romeo and Juliet, The Happiest Days Of Your Life… (Bristol Old Vic, US tour); Old Flames (Bristol Old Vic).
Peter Pan (Shaftesbury Theatre); Strawberry Fields, The School For Scandal, To ThoseBorn Later (National Theatre); The Philanthropist (Royal Court Theatre, Mayfair Theatre, Broadway); The Shallow End, The Worlds Biggest Diamond, Treats (Royal Court Theatre) and Things We Do For Love (Gielgud Theatre).
Her film credits include: A Family Affair; Splinter; Burn Burn Burn; I Give It A Year; Alfie; Closing Numbers; Death At A Funeral; Deep End; Dream Child; Henry VIII And His Six Wives; Paris By Night and Runners.
For television:Crossing Lines; Pompidou; Eve, Stella; The Old Guys; Poirot: 3 Act Tragedy; The Palace; A For Andromeda; Crossroads; Miss Marple; The Mistress; Brideshead Revisited and The Mill On The Floss.
Books: Three novels,The Longing, The Question, and Losing It.
Lifestyle, costuming and cake-decorating books: Jane Asher’s Fancy Dress; Jane Asher’s Quicky Party Cakes; Jane Asher’s Tricks Of The Trade; Jane Asher’s Costume Book; Jane Asher’s Children’s Parties; Jane Asher’s Eat For Treats; The Complete Christmas Book; Jane Asher’s Calendar Of Cakes; Jane Asher’s Complete Book Of Cake Decorating Ideas; The Best Of Good Living With Jane Asher; Good Living At Christmas With Jane Asher; Cakes For Fun; Beautiful Baking and Jane Asher’s Easy Celebration Cakes.
Children’s books: Moppy Is Angry; Moppy Is Calm; Moppy Is Happy; Moppy Is Sad and Rhymes For All Seasons.
Businesswoman:Owns a company that makes party cakes and sugar crafts for special occasions.
Did you know? Jane is a shareholder in the satirical magazine Private Eye.
Did you know too? Jane has served as the president of the National Autistic Society since 1997.
LFay: Opening the first New Music Stage bill at York Theatre Royal on Saturday
FOR the second year running, Aesthetica Film Festival is playing host to the Aesthetica New Music Stage as part of its Music At Aesthetica programme.
Designed to support emerging talent, this event brings together ten breakthrough British and Irish acts making waves in the music scene already, whether in indie, folk, jazz or pop, before they explode onto the world stage.
Supported by TALENTBANQ, Caffè Nero, Innovate UK, Leeds Conservatoire, Imagesound and Beggars Group, performances take place across two sessions, 1pm to 3.40pm and 6.10pm to 8.50pm, with five acts in each one.
Who are the acts for the New Music Stage?
LFay, 1pm to 1.20pm
LFAY is a lyricist and vocalist from rural Norfolk, crafting a vibrant sound that fuses old-school hip-hop, urban jazz and neo-soul with elements of jungle, drum & bass and breaks.
LFay delivers playful yet insightful observations on the impact of isolation and youth experience, drawing inspiration from her free party and rave culture roots, while incorporating textures and imagery influenced by the pirate radio scene of the 1990s. Her music has been featured on BBC Radio 1, BBC 1Xtra, Capital XTRA and BBC Introducing, where she has been named a One Tto Watch 2026 for Suffolk and Norfolk.
Katherine Aly, 1.35pm to 1.55pm
KATHERINE Aly is a rising alt-pop artist known for her genre-defying sound. Her distinctive orange aesthetic and a commitment to pushing creative boundaries have garnered praise from the press including Wonderland, Notion and Earmilk. BBC Introducing described Aly’s songs as “educational”, reflecting her distinctive lyrical approach and incisive perspective on relationships.
Her music operates as a form of “humorous anthropological research”, set against an hyperpop soundscape that fuses alternative pop with an experimental edge. Her work has received airplay on BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6 Music and support from BBC Introducing Scotland, who . named her as their Future-Ready Artist of 2026.
Lepani, 2.10pm to 2.30pm
LEPANI is a Fijian-born, New Zealand-raised independent artist, songwriter and producer. Blending alternative pop, R&B and soul and drawing on a diverse range of influences to create a smooth sound, his music has gained 14 million streams across digital platforms.
Since making Manchester home, he has immersed himself in the grassroots scene, performing regularly in venues across the city and building relationships with fellow artists. Lepani has performed internationally too, including at Pacific Roots Festival in Amsterdam. His upcoming project explores vulnerability, mental health and his challenging relationship with his music career.
Chisara, 2.45pm to 3.05pm
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY artist Chisara mixes radical hope with punk, curiosity and philosophy in their Afro-art-pop sound, making music that asks you to shine your light on the world while interrogating the chaos and contradictions at its core.
Chisara’s voice, lyricism and skilful storytelling has led to achievements across theatre, film and visual arts, including a George Butterworth Award; choreography for Steve McQueen’s Blitz; mentoring from Brian Eno through Netflix’s composer programme and recognition from BBC Introducing London, The Great Escape, The Roundhouse, Tate Britain and the National Theatre.
Circe, 3.20pm to 3.40pm
BRIGHTON artist, writer and multi-instrumentalist Circe makes cinematic dark-pop, where huge synths, distorted guitars, strings and layered vocals collide with sharply drawn storytelling. Taking cues from Björk, FKA twigs and Kate Bush, her sound filters visceral electronics through something more romantic, atmospheric and melancholy.
Her music has appeared in Netflix’s Crew Girland Elite; Amazon Prime’s Hanna and Channel 4’sMade In Chelsea. Circe has toured with The Midnight, as well as headlining Latitude Festival’s BBC Introducing Stage and The Great Escape. Jack Saunders of BBC Radio 1’s Next Wave called Circe “insanely talented and definitely someone we are backing”.
Pavey Ark, 6.10pm to 6.30pm
PAVEY Ark are a cinematic indie-folk band from Hull, making music wherein atmospheric vocals, strings and horns glide over finger-picked guitar, melodic bass and complex percussion. The result is a sound that evades immediate comparison. Pavey Ark are known for sublime live shows, having played SXSW Texas, the Glastonbury Acoustic Stage and Cambridge Folk Festival.
Their second album, 2025’s More Time, More Speed, was mixed by producer Paul Butler and selected for Record Store Day 2026, with a live in-store performance at Rough Trade. Debut album Close Your Eyes And Think Of Nothing (2020) was lauded by Uncut and Record Collector, receiving airplay on BBC Radio 6 Music.
PH, 6.45pm to 7.05pm
MANUFACTURED in Northwest London, lyrical rapper PH’s modern alternative sound blends old-school hip-hop with influences from cultures around the world. He has collaborated with Soulja Boy, The Game, Onyx and Swayvee, as well as producers including Oliver Bassil, who has worked with NBA YoungBoy and That Mexican OT.
PH’s 2024 collaboration with rising artist SoloCelo, You Girl has become a summer anthem, amassing more than one million streams. The pair followed up with Hell N’ Back. PH has travelled to Lagos and Rio de Janeiro to create music and visual content, including a Hollywood-style video aired on Nigerian television.
WineMom, 7.20pm to 7.40pm
DUBLIN four-piece WineMom WineMom are stepping their way firmly to the forefront of the Irish music scene. Led by powerhouse frontwoman Rosanna, their sound draws parallels to Fleetwood Mac and Blondie.
In their first year, they supported Kingfishr, Jane’s Addiction and Deacon Blue, as well as making a surprise appearance at Electric Picnic. Debut EP Grand Affair came out in April 2026. Now WineMom are excited to bring their self-styled brand of “Nostalgia Rock” to the rest of the world.
Other People’s Leisure, 7.55pm to 8.15pm
OTHER People’s Leisure (OPL) are making waves on their own terms. The Scottish electronic duo of Craig A and Craig P craft immersive live performances using analogue hardware, digital production and multi-projection visuals, creating melody-driven music that translates seamlessly to their expansive sets, with lyrics adding emotional depth and drawing from a background in songwriting.
Taking influence from Bicep, Caribou, Four Tet and Junior Boys, OPL make indie-infused electronica that “sits equally at home on the dance floor and the journey home”. Their debut release earned support from BBC Introducing and a placement on Apple Music’s New In Dance playlist.
Roe, 8.20pm to 8.50pm
DERRY songwriter Roe describes herself as “an emotional car crash with free will and an impulse to write”. Roe’s influences span Irish singer-songwriters such as Orla Gartland to American artists Medium Build and Rainbow Kitten Surprise.
Through live performances at Reeperbahn, SXSW and a UK arena run supporting Snow Patrol, she has connected with audiences all over the world. Her 2022 debut album That’s When The Panic Sets Inwas called “an exceptionally sophisticated succession of confessional songs” byThe Irish Times. Everything since has been made without a label or publisher on her own terms and with a small, dedicated team around her.
ALONGSIDE the day of live music, the programme features a talk by Jess Iszatt, presenter of BBC Introducing on BBC Radio 1, an industry panel featuring Futuresound and Beggars Group and networking opportunities with Universal Music, Rough Trade Recordsand Domino Recording Company. For the full festival programme and tickets, go to: asff.co.uk.
Jess Iszatt: BBC Introducing presenter giving a talk at Aesthetica Film Festival
Isabel Azar’s Clare in rehearsal for Black Treacle Theatre’s Poor Clare at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York. Picture: Jim Paterson
FROM the 16th Aesthetica Film Festival to a nocturnal ghost sculpture trail, Strictly stars after hours in Vegas to punk poet Dr John Cooper Clarke, Charles Hutchinson says yes to November events.
Life-changing story of the week: Black Treacle Theatre in Poor Clare, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
THE lives of the young St Clare and St Francis of Assisi are the subject of American playwright Chiara Atik’s comedy Poor Clare, presented in York for the first time by Black Treacle Theatre, directed by Jim Paterson.
Noblewoman Clare (Isabel Azar) is set for marriage to a rich aristocrat and a life of wealth and privilege in 13th century Assisi, but then she meets Francis (PJ Gregan), whose strong faith and commitment to rejecting the established order and serving the poor makes her look at her life in a new way. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Ghosts After Dark: Taking over York Museum Gardens for five nights from November 4
Sculpture trail of the week: York BID and York Museums Trust present Ghosts After Dark, York Museum Gardens, today to Sunday, 5.30pm to 9.30pm; timed entry slots until 8pm
AFTER the Ghosts In The Gardens free public art trail of 70 wire-mesh sculptures – including ten new ones – across 32 city-centre locations concluded last Sunday, Ghosts After Dark takes over for five atmospheric nights of nights of live storytelling, light, smoke and sound next week in the Museum Gardens, plus King’s Manor courtyard and Library Lawn, the Anglian Tower, Edible Wood, Artists’ Garden, St Olave’s churchyard and the area beside York Art Gallery.
Representing a fascinating person, creature or story connected to York’s history, each sculpture was made by York creative agency Unconventional Design. A new interactive experience and the inaugural night market will be further highlights of the 90-minute trail. Bookings: www.theyorkbid.com/ghosts-after-dark/.
Heading for the Aesthetica Film Festival in York
Festival of the week: Aesthetica Film Festival, York, today to Sunday
IN its 16th year under the artistic directorship of Cherie Federico, Aesthetica Film Festival welcomes filmmakers, games developers and virtual reality experts from around the world. The five-day programme comprises screenings, VR & games labs, a podcasting lounge, industry masterclasses and workshops, networking sessions, live performances, pitching opportunities, the New Music Stage and much more. For the full programme and tickets, go to asff.co.uk.
Strictly Come Dancing stars Pasha Kovalev, Brendan Cole, Vincent Simone, Ian Waite and James Jordan head to York Barbican in Legends in Vegas: After Hours. Picture: Ryan Howard
From Strictly to Sin City dance show of the week: The Legends in Vegas: After Hours, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
THE Legends, alias Strictly alumnae Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite, reunite for a third tour, Vegas: After Hours, where the dance floor never sleeps as they bring the spirit of Sin City to life through breathtaking routines and nonstop entertainment, set to a soundtrack inspired by the greatest Las Vegas performers of all time.
Think neon lights and electric nights, roulette tables spinning, glamorous showgirls, dazzling casinos, desert sunsets, lavish pool parties, whirlwind weddings, iconic hotels and world-class entertainment, captured in dance. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Julie Russell Wilson’s Miss Marple, centre, leading the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company cast in Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced
Murder mystery of the week: Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company in Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
WHEN a mysterious announcement appears in the local newspaper, stating the date and time a murder will take place in a quiet village home, curiosity and disbelief turn quickly to alarm: it is chillingly clear that the threat is all too real.
What follows is a classic Agatha Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities and long-held secrets for the sharp-witted Miss Marple (Julie Russell Wilson) to unravel in Alex Schofield’s fundraising production in aid of the JoRo.
“Christie was a master of surprise who understood that audiences love being challenged,” says Schofield. “Then there’s the incredible premise. Someone reveals that a murder is going to take place, but not who the victim will be. From that moment on, anyone could be the victim and anyone could be the killer.
“There’s also something wonderful about hearing a collective gasp from the audience when their expectations have been turned upside down.”Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
An artwork from Kate Brown’s Among exhibition at Helmsley Arts Centre
Exhibition of the week: Kate Brown, Among, Helmsley Arts Centre, until February 26 2027
NORTH Yorkshire artist Kate Brown gathers new and existing works on paper that reflect on her engagement with place through lived experience, observation and making, “inviting a slower way of looking, encouraging reflection on our place within the environments we inhabit and the relationships that shape them”.
Using ink, pigment, copper leaf and natural materials, she creates layered compositions that evolve through an intuitive process of accumulation, erasure and response. Rather than depicting specific landscapes, the works emerge from direct encounters with the natural world and from the ongoing use of mind maps and rhizomatic diagrams as tools for thinking, connecting and understanding. Organic forms, shifting marks and delicate surfaces suggest patterns of growth, movement and relationship, alluding to seasonal change and the transient nature of experience.
Special guest Heather Findlay performing with the John Hackett Band
Ryedale gig of the week: John Hackett Band with special guest Heather Findlay, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
YORK singer-songwriter Heather Findlay will be the special guest of John Hackett Band, the prog-rock band led by Steve Hackett’s brother, whose second album, Red Institution, was released last year.
From Hackett’s pastoral flute textures, through the funky interplay between drummer Duncan Parsons and bassist Jeremy Richardson, to the intricacies of Nick Fletcher’s lead guitar, the group embraces pop, rock, jazz, classical, funk and all stops in-between, from tender ballads to hair-raising instrumental workouts. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Dr John Cooper Clarke: Showcasing new poetry collection Have It at the Grand Opera House, York
Punk poet of the week: Dr John Cooper Clarke, Grand Opera House, York, Friday, doors 7pm
SALFORD sage Dr John Cooper Clarke’s anarchic punk poetry and no-nonsense approach to his work has led to a career spanning cultures, art forms and continents, drawing audiences from clubs to arenas. On his 20-date tour, Cooper Clarke, 77, promotes his new collection, Have It, the follow-up to 2024’s What, as well as performing fan favourites with his trademark machine-gun delivery. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The Shires’ Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes: Playing songs from Bonfire the night after Bonfire Night at York Barbican
Country gig of the week: The Shires, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm
BRITISH country duo The Shires – Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes – promote their sixth studio album, July 3’s Bonfire, on their 12-date UK tour, their first with a full band in four years. Expect new songs celebrating togetherness, escapism and positivity, complemented by fan favourites. Kaylee Bell supports. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Seann Walsh: Find out why “This Is Torture” at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Jiksaw
York comedy gig of the week: Seann Walsh, This Is Torture, York Theatre Royal, Friday, 8pm
I’M A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! 2022 series survivor Seann Walsh has decided to name his latest stand-up tour show after the phrase he says the most: “This Is Torture”. The dishevelled Camden comedian brings his signature blend of chaos and charm to York to put himself through an anxiety filled-hour. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Karl Bushby: The Man Who Walked The World
In Focus:Norwell Lapley Productions present Karl Busby: The Man Who Walked The World, York Theatre Royal, November 22, 6.30pm
KARL Bushby, the Yorkshireman who walked the world, will set out to York Theatre Royal from his Hull home on November 22 to tell his extraordinary story.
Adventurer Karl, now 57, set off from Punta Arenas, Chile, in 1998 with the almost unimaginable ambition of walking all the way home to East Yorkshire.
He made himself two promises: he would use no transport to advance his journey and he would not return home until he had completed the entire expedition on foot. After 28 years, he was welcomed home to Hull on November 2.
Along the way, Karl has crossed some of the world’s most hostile landscapes, faced life-threatening dangers and endured immense physical and psychological challenges, pushing himself to limits few could comprehend.
From navigating the perilous Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia, to tackling the frozen expanse of the Bering Strait, between Russian and Alaska, his journey is a remarkable testament to courage, resilience and the indomitable human spirit.
Now, York audiences are invited to step inside an adventure spanning continents, cultures and generations. Through first-hand storytelling, Karl will reveal the experiences behind the headlines: the moments when survival hung in the balance, the obstacles that threatened to derail his mission, the sacrifices demanded by a life on the move and the extraordinary determination that kept him heading towards home. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Keyhole urgency: Psychological thrills in The Housemaid: The Play
EVERY house has its secrets. The question is: who holds the keys? Find out the answer in The Housemaid: The Play, whose debut tour will visit the Grand Opera House, York, from November 23 to 27…NEXT year.
ATG+ pre-sale opens at 10am on November 5; general sales follow from 10am on November 6 at atgtickets.com/york/.
Based on Freida McFadden’s best-selling novel, the psychological thriller makes its stage bow in Melting Pot’s gripping new production, led by Simon Friend and Hanna Osmolska (Life Of Pi; Paranormal Activity), to be mounted in collaboration with Lionsgate,
Adapted by stage and screen writer Bekah Brunstetter (Tony Award nominee for The Notebook; The Five-Star Weekend) and directed by Tony Award and Olivier Award nominee Matthew Dunster (2:22 A Ghost Story; The Hunger Games: On Stage), the show will be based on both the Lionsgate film, released last December en route to grossing $400 million at the box office, and McFadden’s literary phenomenon.
Directed by Paul Feig from a screenplay by Rebecca Sonnenshine rooted in McFadden’s book, the film was produced by Todd Lieberman, Laura Fischer and Feig.
Opening at the Richmond Theatre, London, on September 14 2027, the stage production marks the latest step in the studio’s continued expansion of The Housemaid franchise, where the film sequel, The Housemaid’s Secret, is in production already, set for a global theatrical release on December 17 2027.
Bekah Brunstetter will write the play. She earned a Tony Award nomination for her work on the book for the Broadway musical The Notebook. Last year, her play Mother’s Day debuted as part of the DNA New Works Program at La Jolla Playhouse, University of California, San Diego. Her play The Cake has been produced more than 100 times globally.
Brunstetter also created the television series The Five-Star Weekend, starring Jennifer Garner and Regina Hall, and her television work includes American Gods, This Is Us and Maid, for which she won a Writers Guild of America Award.
Matthew Dunster is a theatre and film director and writer. Previously an actor, he has directed or written more than 60 theatre shows, often with major companies, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Royal Court, Young Vic, Royal Exchange, Shakespeare’s Globe and The Bridge, as well as directing on the West End, Broadway and internationally. He has been the associate director of The Young Vic and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
His theatre credits include: 2:22 A Ghost Story, which ran in the West End for 694 performances; Shirley Valentine and The Pillowman (The Duke of York’s); The Homecoming (Young Vic); Dealer’s Choice (The Donmar) and The Hunger Games: On Stage (Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre).
Dunster has been nominated for four Olivier Awards and his Broadway production of Hangmen was nominated for five Tony Awards.
American author Freida McFadden is known for her psychological thrillers and medical-themed suspense novels. She gained widespread recognition with The Housemaid (2022), which became a viral sensation, leading to two sequels: The Housemaid’s Secret (2023) and The Housemaid Is Watching (2024).
McFadden’s work has been selected as one of Amazon Editors’ best books of the year; she has won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Paperback and she is a Goodreads Choice Award winner.
Beyond her literary successes, McFadden has been lauded for her contributions to literature, with her novels consistently appearing as #1 on bestseller lists (The New York Times, Amazon Charts, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Sunday Times and Publishers Weekly). To date, her novels have been translated into more than 45 languages.
“With the stage play debuting next year and our sequel film in production, the momentum behind The Housemaid franchise continues to grow,” says Jenefer Brown, Lionsgate’s president for Global Products & Experiences.
“We’re thrilled to work with Simon, Hanna, Bekah and Matthew to bring this story to the stage in an entirely new way, giving audiences the chance to experience its suspense, twists and turns live.”
Melting Pot producer Simon Friend says: “Bekah’s adaptation of The Housemaid is exactly what we’d hoped for – a fresh and uniquely theatrical take on this wildly popular story – and made with Matthew Dunster’s vision, it will certainly bring a thrilling new dimension to the franchise.”
John Scarland’s Christmas card of The York Waits: On sale through Kentmere House Gallery
KENTMERE House Gallery has produced its own exclusive Christmas card featuring The York Waits, one of the world’s longest-established Renaissance music ensembles.
Designed by artist John Scarland, the 7” x 5” card is printed on good-quality card in packets of five priced at £2.50, available in person from the gallery at 53, Scarcroft Hill, York, Y024 1DF, or by post by phoning gallery owner Ann Petherick on 01904 656507 or emailing her at [email protected] . Postage and envelopes are included in the price.
The York Waits have performed continuously since 1977, bringing sounds such as the shawm and sackbut band and the “great consort” of recorders, plus mixed ensembles that include voices and violins, crumhorns and curtails, to audiences throughout the UK and in several European countries.
Naturally, there have been personnel changes, bringing in younger musicians with new skills, ideas and repertoire, but one founder member remains and others have performed with The York Waits for more than 20 years.
The York and Yorkshire group was formed by seven young men who developed a passion for the music of the Medieval and Renaissance periods and for its instruments, at a time when accurate reproductions were becoming more widely available.
The ensemble gave itself a powerful raison d’être by setting out to re-create the salaried city band of York, which existed from medieval times to the early 1800s. Many municipalities in England and continental Europe employed such ensembles, each with a range of civic duties, such as bringing music to the masses.
For many years, The York Waits performed in carefully researched and re-created clothing of the Renaissance period, and the band still clambers into costume for traditional processions and historical re-enactments.
The York Waits have made ten recordings inspired by historical themes, including the Spanish Armada, the life and times of Richard III and Henry VIII, plus York’s most notorious native, Guy Fawkes, complemented by a sequence of recordings of early Christmas music.
Concert programmes have been constructed around such varied themes as pilgrimage and the Gunpowder Plot. Sometimes there are readings drawn from original sources, but the emphasis is always on the music of the chosen period and the instruments that were heard at the time, providing a vivid soundtrack to the past.
In the 2026 line-up are Tim Bayley, Lizzie Gutteridge, Anna Marshall, Susan Marshall and William Marshall, who will join forces with Ex Corde Vocal Ensemble to perform Christmas In Renaissance Rome under the direction of Paul Gameson at the National Centre of Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, on December 11 at 6.30pm as part of the York Early Music Christmas Festival 2026.
The programme will combine large-scale sacred polyphony with traditional Italian seasonal songs and instrumental music. Selections from two Christmas masses frame the evening: Arcadelt’s Missa Noe Noe and Palestrina’s Missa Hodie Christus Natus Est.
Motets by de Silva, Victoria, lullabies and instrumental pieces, reflecting both formal liturgical practices and more domestic Christmas traditions, complete the festive celebrations. Tickets are on sale at 01904 658338 or at ncem.co.uk.
Kentmere House Gallery will be open this weekend, November 7 and 8, from 11am to 5pm each day.
Tunde Baiyewu and Paul Tucker of Lighthouse Family
NEWCASTLE pop-soul duo Lighthouse Family will revisit their 1995 debut album, Ocean Drive, complemented by their greatest hits, at York Barbican on March 8 2027.
Singer Tunde Baiyewu and songwriter, keyboardist and producer Paul Tucker met while studying at university and working at the same bar in the Tyneside city, going on to sell 15 million albums worldwide.
Ocean Drive, featuring Lifted, Goodbye Heartbreak and the title track, achieved six-times platinum status in the UK. 1997 follow-up Postcards From Heaven delivered further favourites including High, Raincloud and Lost In Space.
Third album Whatever Gets You Through The Day followed in 2001, and after a long creative hiatus, Baiyewu and Tucker returned in 2019 with Blue Sky In Your Head, their first studio album in 18 years, which reached number three in the UK album chart.
Lighthouse Family will play further Yorkshire shows at Sheffield City Hall on March 7 and Bradford Live on March 20 2027. Box office: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Sheffield, sheffieldcityhall.co.uk; Bradford, trafalgartickets.com.
Marti Pellow
No Marti No Party? Yes, Marti Pellow promises ‘non-stop hits and dancing’ at York Barbican on September 13
SCOTTISH singer and musical actor Marti Pellow will mark 40 years in music on his No Marti No Party tour, visiting York Barbican on September 13 2027.
From the much-loved songs of Wet Wet Wet to his solo favourites, expect a night of non-stop hits, dancing and a party atmosphere befitting the occasion.
When asked what fans can expect, Pellow, 61, replied: “The clue is in the title of the tour, it’s what the fans always sing back to me when the lights go down.”
The poster for William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet In Concert 30th anniversary tour
William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet is now + live music and DJ for 30th anniversary tour. York Barbican awaits
COMMUNION One and GEA Live, in collaboration with Disney Concerts and Baz Luhrmann, will bring the global tour for the 30th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet Film In Concert to York Barbican on October 21 2027.
Visiting three continents in all, and set to make its world premiere at the Sydney Opera House on September 29 next year, the tour will stop in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, York, Birmingham and Manchester next autumn.
Academy Award-winning Leonardo DiCaprio and Emmy-winning Claire Danes star as Romeo and Juliet in the bold retelling that made Shakespeare feel dangerous and romantic for a new generation and continues to influence fashion, music and culture that still reverberates today.
Presented on a cinema screen with the original dialogue and action intact, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet Film In Concert features a hybrid ensemble performing the film’s score and music live in sync with the screen.
Blending rock and orchestral musicians with vocals, electronics and a DJ, they will channel Luhrmann’s signature fusion of classic storytelling and contemporary sound.
“One of the greatest surprises over the past three decades has been watching Romeo + Juliet find new audiences again and again. That’s the enduring magic of Shakespeare and cinema,” says filmmaker Luhrmann, whose film marked its 30th anniversary on November 1.
“This concert celebrates both, while inviting audiences around the world to experience the film’s emotion, music, and theatricality in a completely new way.”
“Romeo + Juliet has influenced generations of filmmakers, musicians, and audiences, and its impact continues to be felt 30 years later,” says Floris Douwes, producer and managing director at GEA Live. “Our goal was to create a live experience that honours that legacy while giving audiences a fresh reason to fall in love with the film all over again.”
The poster for York Theatre Royal and Glasgow Citizens Theatre’s 2027 co-production of Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman
YORK Theatre Royal is to revive Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman in a first co-production with Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre in 2027.
Running in York from March 2 to March 27 (preceded by previews from February 24) and in Glasgow from April 7 to May 1, Miller’s dissection of the American Dream will be directed by Citizens’ Theatre artistic director Dominic Hill.
In a second major co-production, York Theatre Royal will continue its creative collaboration with the Emma Rice Company and Nottingham Playhouse with a revival of Kneehigh and Emma Rice’s Tristan & Yseult. Last seen on stage in 2017, the production will be staged at York Theatre Royal from April 6 to 17 as part of a nationwide UK tour.
Theatre Royal chief executive officer Paul Crewes says: “We’re very excited about this upcoming season. Most notably, in a first for us, we will be working with our friends at Citizens Theatre in Glasgow on Arthur Miller’s modern classic Death Of A Salesman, directed by the fabulous Dominic Hill. This is a wonderful collaboration with a great theatre.
“Spring 2027 will also see us co-producing again with the Emma Rice Company and Nottingham Playhouse on a revival of Tristan & Yseult. I have such fond memories of originally producing this show with Emma when we were both at Kneehigh alongside Mike Shepherd. I can’t wait for York audiences to have the chance to finally see this production that successfully toured the world for many years.
Dominic Hill says: “I am delighted to be directing a new production of this brilliant Arthur Miller play that is one of the most influential works of the 20th century. It could not be more timely in the age of Donald Trump’s politics of greed and toxic masculinity.
Tristan & Yseult: First time on a British stage since 2017. Picture: Richard Grassie
“But Death Of A Salesman is also an ordinary working man’s story, as a family tries to wrestle with living up to expectation and forging their own path. I can’t wait to see the reaction from audiences in York and Glasgow to this new production.”
In Miller’s play, after 34 years on the road, travelling salesman Willy Loman returns home exhausted. A man who has sacrificed everything in pursuit of success and recognition. Yet the American Dream seems always just out of reach. As his career falters and the debts mount, Willy is lost in memories of the past as his family try desperately to reconcile the man they love with the tragic consequences of his delusions.
Miller’s powerful and heartbreaking 1949 story about the pursuit of wealth and popularity remains devastatingly relevant today.
ADAPTED and directed by Emma Rice Company founder Emma Rice, Carl Grose and Anna Maria Murphy’s Tristan & Yseult will return to the UK for the first time in ten years, offering a rare chance to encounter a modern masterpiece fresh and live on stage.
Created in 2003, Tristan & Yseult took the theatrical world by storm. Visceral, playful and heartbreakingly beautiful, this internationally celebrated production blends myth, music, movement and storytelling in a landmark show that has inspired a global generation of artists and audiences. Next year it returns, remade and remastered.
The York Theatre Royal, Emma Rice Company and Nottingham Playhouse co-production will feature music by Stu Barker, original set and costume design by Bill Mitchell, set and costume design by Vikki Mortimer, choreography and intimacy coordination by Etta Murfitt, sound design by Simon Baker and lighting design by Malcolm Rippeth.
Tickets can be booked on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
