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Why Once The Musical is a not Once but twice in a lifetime opportunity for Daniel Healy and Emma Lucia

Emma Lucia’s Girl and Daniel Healy’s Guy performing Falling Slowly in Once The Musical. Pictures: Mark Senior

DANIEL Healy and Emma Lucia are playing the lead roles together in Once The Musical not once, but twice.

They first did so in the regional premiere in Autumn 2018 at the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, and Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch.

Now, that production’s director and musical director, the regular team of Peter Rowe and Ben Goddard, have reunited the duo for the first British tour that opened this month (January) and will play the Grand Opera House, York, from February 3 to 8.

First a cult, micro-budget Irish film written and directed by John Carney in 2007, then a Broadway, West End and Dublin show, Once The Musical tells the uplifting yet yearning story of the hopes and dreams of two lost souls, a jilted Dublin street busker and a more positive Czech musician, who unexpectedly fall in love across five short days in the Southern Irish capital city.

“I’ve managed to fool a few people with my Irish accent, thinking I really must be from Dublin,” says Scotsman Daniel Healy:

The touring cast of 16 will be led by Scotsman Healy as Guy and Lucia, from Durham, as Girl, whose chemistry was apparent immediately when press and media were invited to meet the company three weeks into rehearsal at Toynbee Hall in London’s East End: a question-and-answer session introduced with rousing renditions of Irish pub and ceilidh songs and the show’s opening scene.

This peaked with Healy and Lucia’s performance of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová’s Oscar-winning signature song Falling Slowly, with all the actor-musician cast playing their part around them, “leaning into the story” in the pub setting.

Daniel’s relationship with Once goes back to “a long time ago”. “My first run-in with the show was when I was doing a show in LA [Los Angeles] called Backbeat and I had an audition for the Broadway version of Once but couldn’t do it because of various reasons,” he recalls.

“But then I understudied the lead and played one of the main characters, Eamon [the music studio manager where Guy and Girl record their album] in the London production, when I understudied Ronan Keating.”

Daniel Healy’s Guy, Emma Lucia’s Girl and Samuel Martin’s Bank Manager in Once The Musical

Daniel is a singer-songwriter in his own right, and friendship with the Boyzone singer turned into a co-writing partnership that elicited Keating’s single Breathe. “After he heard one of my songs, Ronan said, ‘I’d really like to write with you’, so I ended up writing six songs with him and touring with him in his band,” he says.

Emma saw Daniel in Once in the London production. “I was still at Mountview drama school, and doing Beautiful, the Carole King musical, on tour at the time [making her professional debut as Marilyn and understudying the lead role],” she says.

“Then I heard there was going to be a production of Once in Ipswich, and I know the musical director, Ben Goddard, from doing a couple of classes led by him at Mountview.

“You’d do all the songs you’d thought of doing for auditions and he’d give you tips and advice.”

Emma landed the role of Girl after two auditions, and it was only then that she met Daniel for the first time for rehearsals.

” I’ve always loved theatre,” says Emma Lucia. “My dad used to do a lot of am-dram and I knew it was something in my life I always wanted to do”

“Peter and Ben auditioned us separately and they must have felt we would have chemistry once we were put together,” she says. The partnership worked a treat – “we get on really well” – and there was immediate talk of a tour.

“But we needed a producer,” says Emma. “I didn’t think it was going to happen, so it was a quite a surprise when it did, but we’re so pleased,” says Daniel.

“The producers have given Peter and Ben complete control as they loved the show as it was in Ipswich.”

Hearing Emma’s Czech accent on stage in the rehearsal room and then her North Eastern one in the interview reveals how much work she put into preparing for the role. “I’d only met one person from the Czech Republic in my life, and briefly at that, so I contacted the Czech Embassy and they put me in touch with two Czech girls who were here for six months and loved the show!” she says.

It’s not like I’m playing Titus Andronicus, but I do empathise more with the human struggle than the musical one,” says Daniel Healy

“So, we met for a cup of coffee and talked about the show, and I recorded their voices and asked any questions that I felt I needed answering.”

Likewise, Daniel’s Dublin accent sounds spot on. “I think, without being big-headed, I’ve got an ear for accents,” he says. “I’d ask Irish friends too, and it’s all about not being afraid to ask.

“Though being Scottish doesn’t make it easier to learn because, when accents are close to each other, like these two, they’re actually more difficult to separate…but I’ve managed to fool a few people with my Irish accent, thinking I really must be from Dublin!”

Daniel and Emma’s instrumental skills are as important to their roles as their singing and acting. “My dad’s a guitarist, and I did musical theatre from the age of five, and TV dramas and films too, and I’ve now got a parallel career as a singer-songwriter,” says Daniel.

Emma Lucia as Girl in Once The Musical, playing the Grand Opera House, York, in early February

“I could never call myself a busker, but I have busked in the past, but I sympathise more with Guy’s struggle with not having the courage to follow through with his dreams when you hope you can make it as a singer-songwriter.

“It’s not like I’m playing Titus Andronicus, but I do empathise more with the human struggle than the musical one.”

Emma’s path to Once began with an itch to dance from the age of three. “I just couldn’t stand still,” she recalls. “Then I picked up on playing the piano [the instrument she plays in Once] at five years old.

“I’ve always loved theatre. My dad used to do a lot of am-dram [amateur dramatics] and I knew it was something in my life I always wanted to do.”

Exuding an air of positivity, she feels a strong connection with her role as Girl. “She sees it as her mission to help other people, and I empathise with that as I love to do that myself,” says Emma.

Once The Musical runs at Grand Opera House, York, from February 3 to 8. Box office: 0844 871 3024, at atgtickets.com/York or in person from the Cumberland Street theatre.

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Pianist Kieran White to “break the silents” at Helmsley Arts Centre screening of Buster Keaton’s Steamboat Bill, Jr

Buster Keaton, right, in Steamboat Bill, Jr

YORK composer, pianist, busker, tutor and Buster Keaton aficionado Kieran White will be Breaking The Silents at Helmsley Arts Centre on February 1.

Accompanied by White’s expressive, playful, gag-driven piano score, the Stoneface silent classic Steamboat Bill, Jr, will be shown at 7.30pm “as it was originally intended to be seen in an authentic re-creation of the early cinema experience in the picture houses of the 1920s”.

Let Kieran make his case for why someone would want to see a black-and white, silent 1928 Buster Keaton film in 2020, the age of endless reheated Disney classics and myriad Marvel movies.

“We live in an instant world. A world governed by consumerism and technology. What we want, we can get just by clicking a mouse. We have forgotten how to slow down. How to breathe,” he says.

“But Buster takes us back to a time when time itself was a different thing entirely. A time when moments were savoured, rather than squandered.”

York pianist Kieran White

From past experience of his Breaking The Silents shows, White anticipates a largely middle-aged and older audience, but he believes Keaton’s comedic elan should appeal to “anyone with a love of history, a nostalgia for days of yore and an unfettered imagination”.

“Breaking The Silents offers a wonderful evening for all the family,” he says. “A lot of belly laughs. An appreciation of Buster’s incredible athleticism and craftmanship but, most of all, a reawakening of that state of wonderment that children have but never know they have.”

The relentless pace of Keaton’s comedy on screen leaves no gap, no rest, no breath, in White’s score, but still he finds room for quickfire references to the Steptoe And Son theme music, Porridge and The Barber Of Seville.

“The joy of Steamboat Bill, Jr is the raw energy,” says Kieran. “You know that if the stunts went wrong then would be no take two.”

White’s piano has accompanied screenings of Keaton’s 1927 film The General at locations as diverse as Helmsley Arts Centre, the Yorkshire Museum of Farming at Murton Park and City Screen, Fairfax House and the Joseph Rowntree Theatre in York.

Last September, he presented a Breaking The Silents double bill of The General in the afternoon and Steamboat Bill, Jr in the evening at the JoRo. White’s labours of love had necessitated 11 days of writing for The General, a little longer for Steamboat Bill, Jr, drawing on his love of both Keaton’s comic craft and the piano.

Buster Keaton in Steamboat Bill, Jr’s never-to-be-forgotten stunt scene

“I was very inspired by my grandfather,” he says, explaining why piano was his instrument of choice. “He was a superb pianist and made the most complex music sound effortless.

“Ever since a very early age, I’ve been fascinated by puzzles too, particularly chess. Watching Pop play was like sitting inside a gigantic engine, seeing gears mesh, listening to the sound of tiny hammers. Music chose me!”

Where next might Breaking The Silents venture? “I think what I do is unique. Ultimately, I’d love to perform all over the world,” says Kieran.

In the meantime, here is a recommendation from York filmmaker Mark Herman, director of Brassed Off and Little Voice, to head to Helmsley Arts Centre on February 1 for the Keaton and White double act.

“Kieran White’s score and his live accompaniment raises an already almost perfect film to fresh heights,” he said after seeing The General. “It’s a shame that Buster Keaton never knew that his flawless performance could actually be enhanced.”

The next film to receive the White piano touch will be Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger. “It’s another silent but not laugh dependent!” says Kieran. Watch this space for updates on its progress to a screen near you.

Tickets cost £12, under 18s £6, on 01439 771700 or at helmsleyarts.co.uk.

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The Red Barn Murder case is re-opened as Maria Marten tells her side of story at SJT

Elizabeth Crarer in rehearsal for the lead role in The Ballad Of Maria Marten. All pictures: Giorgis Media

GOODBYE Polstead, say hello to The Ballad Of Maria Marten, the new name for Beth Flintoff’s captivating drama that first toured in 2018.

Directed by Hal Chambers in tandem with Ivan Cutting, an all-female cast will embark on a spring tour next month, starting off at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre before touring to Ipswich and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Elizabeth Crarer returns to the title role for this re-telling of a real-life Suffolk murder mystery in Summer 1827.

In a red barn, Maria Marten awaits her lover. A year later, her body is found under the floor of the barn in a grain sack, barely identifiable, and the manhunt begins.

Suzanne Ahmet and Emma Denly during rehearsals

Maria’s story sent shock waves throughout the country. The Red Barn Murder, as it became known, was national news, inspiring writers and filmmakers down the ages.

Here was the sort of gruesome tale that had all the hallmarks of a classic crime drama: a missing body, a country location, a disreputable squire and a village stuck in its age-old traditions.

However, amid all the hysteria, Maria’s own story becomes lost – until now. Chambers and Flintoff’s spine-tingling re-telling rediscovers her tale, bringing it back to vivid, urgent life.

Joining Crarer’s Maria in the cast will be Suzanne Ahmet, who SJT audiences may remember from her appearances there with Northern Broadsides in Hard Times and They Don’t Pay? We Won’t Pay!, together with Emma Denly, Jessica Dives, Sarah Goddard, and Susanna Jennings.

Cast members Jessica Dives and Sarah Goddard

Flintoff, a freelance playwright and theatre director from Hampshire, says: “As soon as I was approached to write the story of Maria Marten, I was intrigued. I hadn’t heard about her murder but was fascinated to hear about not just the story itself, but how it has been told to us.

“From the moment of the trial, the focus was on the murderer, not Maria. No-one seemed to be looking carefully at the intricacies of her life, beyond the basics. So, I wanted to tell the story entirely from her point of view.

“We are often presented with stories of women as ‘victims’, rather than as interesting, complicated people who had hopes and dreams, friends and lives of their own.”

Suzanne Ahmet and Elizabeth Crarer rehearsing The Ballas Of Maria Marten

The 2020 production is produced by Eastern Angles Theatre Company and Matthew Linley Creative Projects, in association with the SJT. Producer Matthew Linley says: “This thrilling true-life tale is as joyful as it is murderous. I’m delighted to be working with Eastern Angles and the Stephen Joseph Theatre to bring Polstead back to life as The Ballad Of Maria Marten.”

Eastern Angles specialise in combining heritage with theatre to make regional stories and hidden histories come to life on stage.

The Ballad Of Maria Marten will run in the Round at the SJT from February 11 to 15 at 7.30pm nightly, plus matinees at 1.30pm on February 13 and 2.30pm on February 15. Tickets, priced from £10, are on sale on 01723 370541 or at sjt.uk.com.





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Folk guitarist and singer John Smith confirmed for Pocklington spring gig

John Smith: Pocklington Arts Centre awaits

ANYTHING but plain John Smith, “the future of folk music”, will play Pocklington Arts Centre on May 21, fresh from a string of Australian dates.

Raised by the Devon seaside, guitarist, singer and songwriter Smith cut his folk teeth in the bars and clubs of Liverpool and has since released six albums, attracted 23 million Spotify streams and played to audiences in living rooms, festival tents and concert halls the world over. 

Steeped in the lineage of British folk, taking his cue from Richard Thompson and John Martyn in particular, Smith has evolved an innovative transatlantic blend of fingerstyle and slide guitar techniques to frame his songs of love, loss and the journeys we make.

On stage, Smith has opened for Iron and Wine, Tinariwen and Ben Howard and guested with Jackson Browne, Martin Carthy, Richard Hawley, Jarvis Cocker, Jerry Douglas, Glen Hansard and Rodney Crowell. 

In his occasional role as sideman, he has played guitar for David Gray, Lisa Hannigan, Lianne La Havas, Joe Henry and Joan Baez.

Welcoming Smith to Pocklington Arts Centre, director Janet Farmer says: “With his honey-on-gravel voice and mesmerising blend of fingerstyle and slide guitar techniques, John is without doubt the perfect addition to our live music programme for 2020. 


“He has quickly amassed a huge following of loyal fans and has opened for folk greats John Martyn, Davy Graham and John Renbourn, who described him as ‘the future of folk music’, and now we have the privilege of welcoming him to our stage.”

Smith has made six albums across 12 years: The Fox And The Monk in 2006; Map Or Direction in 2009; Eavesdropping in 2011; Great Lakes in 2013; Headlong in 2017 and  Hummingbird in 2018. Last year came two October singles, Burden Of The Road and Killing The Blues.

Tickets for his 8pm Pocklington gig are on sale at £15 on 01759 301547 or at pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

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Jorvik Viking Festival organisers seek record crowds with two weekends to enjoy

The Vikings are coming as the largest festival of its kind returns to York next month. All pictures: Charlotte Graham

VOYAGING Vikings will make a nine-day stop in York next month for the 36th annual celebration of all things Norse, the Jorvik Viking Festival.

The largest event of its kind in Europe, drawing 45,000 people each year, this winter’s festival will run from February 15 to 23, incorporating two weekends to give even more visitors a chance to explore the lives of those who settled in the city.

Festival-goers also can look at how Vikings were perceived by other cultures around the world during their travels – sometimes trading, sometimes raiding. 

Shield Maidens at the 2019 Jorvik Viking Festival

The mainstay living history encampment in Parliament Street will provide a constant presence, with the smell of woodsmoke and fresh timber filling the air from demonstrations of Viking woodturning and metal work.

Event manager Gareth Henry, from the festival organisers, the Jorvik Viking Centre, says: “Weekends are by far the busiest time for the Jorvik Viking Festival, and incorporating two weekends makes the festival accessible to any families whose half-term holidays don’t align with those of York and North Yorkshire.

“We’re hoping that more people than ever before come along to experience a slice of our proud Norse heritage and enjoy the vast range of events on offer this year.”

Strong Viking women at last year’s Jorvik Viking Festival

Across the nine days, a host of events, activities, demonstrations and talks are available, many of them free of charge as part of the educational goals of York Archaeological Trust, the Jorvik Viking Centre owners.

“Being surrounded by all things Viking is a superb and fun way of learning about this remarkable culture,” says marketing manager Beth Dawes.

“Whether you spend time chatting to the re-enactors who repopulate the Viking city for us; attending lectures and expert talks; trying out new skills in a hands-on workshop, or even just watching the magnificent March To Coppergate through the city streets, everyone takes away something new when they visit.”

Voyaging Vikings ahoy: the 36th Jorvik Viking Festival in York is fast approaching

New for 2020 will be a Viking costume competition, looking to find the best-dressed Viking in York on Saturday, February 15 at 3pm on the festival’s St Sampson’s Square stage.

New too, a Trichinopoly workshop, teaching the art of Viking wire weaving on February 18, has sold out already.

A new route will be announced for the parade through the city centre, March to Coppergate, on Saturday, February 22, giving new opportunities to photograph around 200 costumed re-enactors as they walk through the city streets.

Full details of all the 2020 festival events are available online at jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk, where visitors can pre-book tickets for key events.  Some events, including the Viking Banquet on February 15 and the night-time son-et-lumiere Battle Spectacular in the Land of Darkness, have sold out, so reservations for other activities and the lecture programme are recommended strongly.

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Ayckbourn’s 84th play will be a satire on family, relationships, politics and the state of the nation at Scarborough’s SJT

Alan Ayckbourn: 84th full-length play Truth Will Out will be premiered this summer at the SJT. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

THE truth is out. Alan Ayckbourn’s 84th full-length play will be premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, this summer.

Truth Will Out, Ayckbourn’s up-to-the-minute satire on family, relationships, politics and the state of the nation, will run on various dates in the SJT programme between August 20 and October 3.

Written and directed by the former SJT artistic director, it follows hot on the heels of Ayckbourn’s 80th birthday play, Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present, in 2019.

“Everyone has secrets,” entices the new play’s synopsis. “Certainly, former shop steward George, his right-wing MP daughter Janet, investigative journalist Peggy, and senior civil servant Sefton, do.

“And all it’s going to take is one tech-savvy teenager with a mind of his own and time on his hands to bring their worlds tumbling down – and maybe everyone else’s along with them. A storm is brewing…”

Jemma Churchill and Naomi Petersen in Alan Ayckbourn’s 80th birthday play, Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present, at the SJT in September 2019. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

As is customary in the SJT summer season, Ayckbourn also will direct an Ayckbourn revival, this time his 20th play, the very dark Just Between Ourselves, premiered at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, on January 28 1976, followed by its London premiere at the Queen’s Theatre on April 20 1977.

Ayckbourn calls it one of his “winter” plays, written in the winter months, like Ten Times Table and Joking Apart, wherein he attributed their darkness to being penned at this time of year.

Booked into the SJT diary for performances on various dates from June 18 to October 3, Just Between Ourselves dissects man’s inadvertent inhumanity to woman.

Dennis thinks he is a master at DIY and a perfect husband. In reality, he is neither of those things. When he decides to sell his car, Neil turns up as a potential buyer, wanting it for his wife Pam’s birthday.

The two couples become unlikely friends, aided and abetted by Dennis’s meddling live-in mother, Marjorie. A collision course is inevitable in “the one with the car”, set in a garage and a garden over four successive birthdays.

Northern Broadsides head from Halifax to Scarborough with Quality Street in May

SJT artistic director Paul Robinson will direct The Ladykillers, Graham Linehan’s spin on the 1955 Ealing comedy motion picture screenplay by William Rose, by special arrangement with StudioCanal and Fiery Angel, London.

This in-house production, playing on various dates between July 9 and August 15, will re-tell the story of the sweetest of sweet little old ladies, alone at home but for a parrot with a mystery illness. Both of them are at the mercy of a ruthless gang of criminal misfits, who will stop at nothing to achieve what they want. Surely there can only be one possible outcome?

Linehan’s writing credits include Father Ted, Black Books, The IT Crowd, Count Arthur Strong and Motherland. Now comes The Ladykillers, to be directed by Robinson with the stylish madcap humour that he brought to The 39 Steps in 2018.

Meanwhile, the SJT has confirmed South Yorkshireman Nick Lane will write the winter show for The Round for the fifth year in a row after his off-the-wall Christmas adaptations of Pinocchio, A Christmas Carol, Alice In Wonderland and Treasure Island.

Lane’s idiosyncratic take on Hans Christian Andersen’s story of The Snow Queen will be directed by Robinson, with music and lyrics once more by Simon Slater, for a run from December 3 to 30. 

Katie Arnstein in Sexy Lamp: playing the SJT on May 26

The SJT’s own productions will be complemented by a busy season of visiting shows, such as The Canary And The Crow on May 7 and 8, Middle Child’s grime and hip hop-inspired gig theatre show about the journey of a working-class black child accepted into a prestigious grammar school.

In Where There’s Muck There’s Bras, on May 7, North Yorkshire stand-up poet Kate Fox offers a comical and thought-provoking insight into “the real Northern Powerhouse: Northern Women – the sung and the unsung”.

On May 9, Roald Dahl And The Imagination Seekers presents a thrilling story told through performance, games and creative play that explores such extraordinary Dahl tales as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The BFG and The Twits.

Quality Street, new artistic director Laurie Sansom’s directorial debut for Halifax company Northern Broadsides, will be on tour at the SJT from May 12 to 16. This Broadsides production is a rare revival of Peter Pan author JM Barrie’s delicious farce, a play so well known in its day that it gave its name to the ever-popular British chocolates, made in Halifax since 1936.

Key date for Alistair McGowan: piano and comedy on May 21 at SJT

Alistair McGowan: The Piano Show on May 21 combines the satirical Evesham comedian’s impressionist skills with his new-found prowess on the piano.

In It’s Miss Hope Springs, on May 23, self-confessed “blonde bombsite” Ty Jeffries plays the piano and sings mind-bogglingly catchy numbers from her all-original self-penned repertoire.

Scarborough’s Elvis tribute act, Tony Skingle, presents Elvis – The ’68 Comeback on May 24. Two nights later, Sexy Lamp asks: “Have you ever been treated like an inanimate object?” in Katie Arnstein’s show that combines comedy, original songs and storytelling to “shed a bright light on how ridiculous the industry can be and why Katie is refusing to stay in the dark”.

Sexy Lamp is pitched “somewhere between the comedy of Victoria Wood, the comfort of going for a drink with your best mate, and the high drama of Hamlet (although it is nothing like Hamlet”.

Hope springs eternal : It’s Miss Hope Springs plays SJT on May 23

Anglo-Japanese theatre company A Thousand Cranes visit Scarborough with The Great Race! on May 29 and 30. This thrilling story of how the Eastern Zodiac calendar was created is billed as “the perfect show for children in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics”.

Forged Line Dance Company’s Treasure, on June 3, will be a fearless and physical dance performance that explores “our innate human fascination with our seas and coastlines”.

In Chores on June 20, two brothers must hurry to clean their room before their mum comes back. What could possibly go wrong in a circus-comedy for the whole family, all the way from Australia?

Great Yorkshire Fringe favourites Morgan & West serve up Unbelievable Science on September 19, when they combine captivating chemistry, phenomenal physics and bonkers biology in a fun-for-all-the-family science extravaganza.

Mischievous magical science double act Morgan & West in Unbelievable Science on September 19

Tickets for all shows are priced from £10 and will go on general sale from Friday, March 13, preceded by priority booking for the theatre’s membership scheme, The Circle, from March 6, on 01723 370541 or at sjt.uk.com.

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Musical double act Michael Ball and Alfie Boe on their way to Leeds for February gig

Back together at Leeds First Direct Arena: Michael Ball and Alfie Boe

CHART-TOPPING duo Michael Ball and Alfie Boe will play Leeds First Direct Arena on February 25 on their Back Together tour.

The singing double act will be on an arena tour from February 22 to March 7 for ten dates in the wake of the November 2019 release of their third album, Back Together, on Decca Records.

The album of duets features The Greatest Show; Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again; Sunrise, Sunset; Circle Of Life; Come Fly With Me; Queen Medley; My Way; Something Inside So Strong; I Will Always Believe; Let It Be Me; Somethings Gotten Hold Of My Heart; Army and Brothers In Arms.

Back Together follows the success of Ball and Boe’s debut, Together, Britain’s best-selling album of 2016, and 2017 number one Together Again, the latest addition peaking at number two in the charts en route to achieving gold sales.

After decorated careers in theatre and opera, Ball and Boe have  sold more than one million albums in the UK, received two Classic BRIT awards and presented two ITV specials.

Last August Ball and Boe returned to Boublil and Schoenberg’s musical Les Miserables for a 16-week run at the Gielgud Theatre, London.

For ticket availability for February 25, go to firstdirectarena.com/events/.

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How the Music Works for Opera North as new redevelopment is named the Howard Opera Centre

Architect’s visualisation of the redeveloped Opera North estate, showing the Howard Assembly Room, new restaurant, box office and atrium on the left and the Howard Opera Centre on the right.

OPERA North’s redeveloped headquarters in Leeds will bear the name of philanthropist Dr Keith Howard OBE.

The Howard Opera Centre will take on this title in recognition of the Yorkshire benefactor’s personal gift of £11.25 million towards the opera company’s redevelopment project, Music Works.

It is thought to be among the largest private donations ever made to a British arts company outside of London.

Dr Howard, a lifelong opera lover and cricket fan, is the founder of Emerald Group Publishing and president of Opera North.

The Howard Opera Centre will house Opera North’s rehearsal studios, costume and wigs workshop and administrative offices.

The redevelopment work on New Briggate and Harrison Street will create a world-class facility to make opera; a new education studio and additional rehearsal spaces, including a new rehearsal room for Opera North’s orchestra and chorus and a suite of music coaching rooms.

The Howard Opera Centre will join another space named ten years earlier in recognition of Dr Howard’s support for the company, the Howard Assembly Room, a 300-seat performance venue offering a diverse calendar of jazz, world music, folk, classical concerts, children’s opera, talks, film and installations.

Originally opened in 2009 after extensive restoration, the Howard Assembly Room is closed during the Music Works redevelopment project. It will reopen in 2021 with a new dedicated and fully accessible entrance and atrium, an increased number of performances and a new restaurant and bar, replacing a row of previously vacant shop units on New Briggate.

The redevelopment project began on site last summer and is being delivered by Henry Boot Construction, a Sheffield regional construction contractor with a commitment to reducing environment impacts.

The overall target for the Music Works fundraising campaign is £18 million.  Opera North has raised £15.6 million to date, including the £11.25 million gift that combines £9 million with £2.25 million in Gift Aid.  Leeds City Council has contributed £750,000, together with the lease of the vacant shops on New Briggate, and funding of £499,999 has been awarded by Arts Council England.

The balance of the funds raised so far has come from private donors, trusts and supporters, including a £1 million donation from the Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation, as well as a significant contribution from Mrs Maureen Pettman and major gifts from private individuals.

Councillor Jonathan Pryor, from Leeds City Council, left, Dr Keith Howard, and Opera North’s general director, Richard Mantle, attending the <Leeds company’s 2019/20 season launch at Harewood House. Picture: Justin Slee

In addition, gifts have been pledged by the Wolfson Foundation, Backstage Trust, the Kirby Laing Foundation, the Foyle Foundation and the Garfield Weston Foundation.

Although 87 per cent of the target has been raised, there remains a funding gap of £2.4 million to close. Opera North is  looking to patrons, Friends and audiences to play their part in the success of the redevelopment at many different levels. Work also continues to attract funding from further charitable trusts and foundations and the business community in Leeds.

Richard Mantle, Opera North’s general director, said: ““Opera North is delighted to be able to recognise the extraordinary generosity of our longstanding supporter and friend, Dr Keith Howard, whose contribution to this project means that we are able to create a new artistic home for the company, as well as improving the infrastructure, access and visitor experience for the Howard Assembly Room.

“The Howard Opera Centre will be a true centre of excellence, bringing together rehearsal spaces for world-class opera productions with coaching rooms, where singers can develop their vocal expertise, and specialist costume workshop spaces.

“A new hub for our education work will create an inclusive space for our work with young people from across the city, bringing children and young people right to the heart of our creative community.”

Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “We are pleased to see this significant redevelopment now taking shape, creating a vastly improved artistic and educational hub for one of Leeds’s leading cultural assets.

“Opera North makes a huge contribution to the city, both in terms of the vitality and diversity of work seen on stage, and also through its work with children, young people and communities throughout our region.

“Through the revitalisation of a neglected section of New Briggate, the improved facilities for the Howard Assembly Room will work in tandem with our wider aspirations for the area as part of the Heritage Action Zones and Connecting Leeds programmes, creating a vibrant destination and supporting our plans for a better-connected city.” 

Opera North employs more than 250 people, such as costume makers, stage managers, electricians, stage technicians, props makers, sound and lighting technicians, educators, designers and musicians, in addition to working with around 370 freelance performers, creatives and artists each year.

Opera North’s opera productions are created and premiered in Leeds, where the company performs at Leeds Grand Theatre each season before touring its opera productions to theatres across the country.

The Music Works redevelopment is scheduled to be completed in phases, with the Howard Opera Centre opening in late 2020, and the Howard Assembly Room, restaurant and atrium scheduled for completion in 2021.

Watch a short film about Music Works at https://youtu.be/4xQU4q0xFD4

Work to replace the vacant shop units on New Briggate, Leeds, with a new restaurant and bar, December 2019. Picture: Tom Arber

MUSIC WORKS

“More live music, for everyone”.

 More performances in the Howard Assembly Room every year;

 A dedicated entrance for the Howard Assembly Room;

 An open, welcoming building that is fully accessible at all levels;

 New public spaces and an atrium.

Music Works will enable Opera North to host a full year-round programme of performances, workshops and small-scale productions in the Howard Assembly Room, increasing the number of performances given at the venue.

The best global musicians and artists will be brought to Leeds each year, creating a

diverse calendar of jazz, world music, folk, classical concerts, children’s opera, talks, film and installations.

 A new restaurant and bar, open to everyone all day;

 A refurbished Opera North box office and reception for Leeds Grand Theatre

 Restoration of a Grade II listed building

A crane moves steel on to the construction site at the top of the new Howard Opera Centre, looking east towards the Quarry House government offices, January 2020. Picture: Tom Arber

Music Works will regenerate a row of vacant shops directly beneath the Howard Assembly Room to

create a new restaurant and bar alongside a refurbished box office. A new dedicated “front door” will be established for Opera North and the Howard Assembly Room; the building will be open to everyone from morning until late at night for coffee, lunch, dinner and drinks.

Cutting-edge facilities for making opera: The Howard Opera Centre:

 A new purpose-built Music Rehearsal Studio;

 Three new music practice rooms;

 Refurbished Costume Workshop and Dye Room;

 A new artist and Company green room.

A home for Opera North Education:

 A new, flexible Education Studio;

 A new music coaching room for students;

 Break-out spaces and “secret garden” for school groups;

 A shared entrance for students, artists and staff, placing young people at the heart of the company.

An environmentally sustainable cultural flagship for Leeds:

 An environmentally sustainable and efficient estate;

 Photovoltaic panels to generate energy;

 A significant contribution to the New Briggate public realm;

 A major capital investment in the run up to 2023 Leeds cultural celebrations;

 Investment in digital infrastructure to increase efficiency and reduce environmental impact.

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The Sandy Denny Project to open new season at Selby Town Hall with rare show

The Sandy Denny Project: rare treat at Selby Town Hall. Picture: Paul Michael Hughes

SELBY Town Hall’s spring season opens on February 1 with an 8pm performance by folk-rock supergroup The Sandy Denny Project, paying homage to the late Fairport Convention folk-rock singer.

“Featuring, among others, Sally Barker, a former finalist on BBC One’s The Voice, they don’t play a great many gigs together,” says Selby Town Council arts officer Chris Jones. “This is one of only a couple of shows announced for 2020 – a rare treat.”

In a tragically short career – she died at the age of 31 – Sandy Denny sealed her place among the most influential and best-loved singer-songwriters of the past 50 years.

Britain’s pre-eminent folk-rock singer, she began her performing career with The Strawbs, then joined Fairport Convention, formed Fotheringay and released four solo albums.

Her song Who Knows Where The Time Goes? has been recorded by Judy Collins, Eva Cassidy, Nina Simone and Cat Power, while her wider work has been the subject of numerous reissues, documentaries and high-profile tribute concerts.

Sally Barker, from The Poozies, and fellow former Fotheringay MkII member PJ Wright, from The Dylan Project, are joined in The Sandy Denny Project by frequent Fairport Convention guest Anna Ryder, fast-rising singer, fiddler and guitarist Marion Fleetwood and a rhythm section of bassist Mat Davies and drummer Mark Stevens, from the now-defunct folk-rock group Little Johnny England.

Sandy Denny’s writing is approached not in the manner of a tribute band slavishly copying the records, but as an interpretation of her work by six musicians who share a folk-rock pedigree.

“Although Sandy died in 1978, her songs remain as fresh, poignant and as beautiful today as the time that they were penned, and with every year her reputation as a songwriter and interpreter of traditional material continues to grow,” says Chris.

“The repertoire of The Sandy Denny Project reflects the amazing legacy left behind by Sandy, through her work with the early incarnations of Fairport Convention, the sublime Fotheringay and her incredible solo songs.

“February 1 is a rare chance to see these six fantastic musicians perform their pitch-perfect tribute. The band really are of the highest folk-rock calibre and this is an opportunity no folk fan will want to miss.”

Tickets cost £19 on 01757 708449 or at selbytownhall.co.uk or £21 on the door from 7.30pm.

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Strictly’s Giovanni Pernice says This Is Me in York Barbican summer dance show

This is him: Giovanni Pernice in This Is Me

STRICTLY Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice will lead his cast of professional dancers in This Is Me at York Barbican on June 11.

For his fourth year of touring, the 29-year-old Sicilian will be joined by leading lady Giulia Dotta, a professional dancer on Dancing With The Stars Ireland, who performed with Pernice on his first two solo tours and has appeared around the country in shows such as Rip It Up and Here Come the Boys.

The poster for This Is Me, Giovanni Pernice’s new touring show

In the company too will be Oksana and Jonathan Platero. Oksana is a former Strictly professional, reaching the quarter-final with Judge Rinder in 2016. Her husband, Jonathan, is a world salsa champion and they both dance on the Latin version of So You Think You Can Dance? on American television.

The line-up of dancers from around the world also will include Larisa Untila, Valerio La Pietra and Domenico Palmisano.

This Is Me is directed and choreographed by dance power-couple Trent Whiddon and Gordon Grandosek Whiddon. This duo has performed in such shows as Burn The Floor and on screen in Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing With The Stars, as well as creating the musical Le Hotel. 

Giovanni Pernice on stage, leading his company of dancers

Pernice’s new show will pay homage to the music and dances that have inspired a career that has taken him from competition dancer to Strictly regular on BBC One.

Last summer, Strictly trio Pernice, Aljaž Škorjanec and Gorka Marquez played Harrogate Convention Centre on June 25 and Hull Venue on July 17 on their 38-date Here Come The Boys tour.

Tickets for This Is Me’s 7.30pm performance are on sale on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.