Jeff Beck: playing York Barbican for the first time this spring
GUITAR great Jeff
Beck will play York Barbican on May 19 on his nine-date British tour.
Tickets for the two-time Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame inductee and serial Grammy Award winner will go on sale on Friday, February 14 at 10am.
Joining blues,
rock and jazz guitarist Beck on tour will be Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Rhonda
Smith on bass and Vanessa Freebairn-Smith on cello.
Beck’s tour will begin on May 17, taking in a second Yorkshire show at Sheffield City Hall on May 23 and climaxing with a London finale at the Royal Albert Hall on May 26 and 27.
Over the
course of a career stretching beyond 50 years, Beck has won eight Grammy awards;
been ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of
All Time and been inducted into the Rock’n’Roll
Hall of Fame, both with The Yardbirds and solo.
Beck replaced
Eric Clapton as The Yardbirds’ lead guitarist in 1965, going on to form The
Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart on vocals and Ronnie Wood on bass. So much has
followed and, now 75, the Wallington-born guitarist is working on new music for
release in 2020 on Rhino/Warner Records.
From Friday, tickets for Beck’s York Barbican debut will be available at yorkbarbican.co.uk and myticket.co.uk, on 0203 356 5441 or in person at the Barbican box office.Sheffield tickets: sheffieldcityhall.co.uk, myticket.co.uk or 0114 278 9789.
STORYTELLER, poet and BBC Radio 4 regular John Osborne returns
to Pocklington Arts Centre on Thursday to present his beautiful, funny and
uplifting new theatre show about music and dementia.
Last March,
he performed a quietly spoken double bill of John Peel’s Shed and Circled In
The Radio Times in the bar; intimate, convivial storytelling in an intimate,
convivial space.
Now, inspired by seeing a friend’s father face a dementia
diagnosis and the feelings of warmth and positivity and unexpected twists and
turns the family went through, he has put together You’re In A Bad Way.
“This is the fifth theatre show I’ve made and it’s definitely my favourite,” says Osborne. “That’s because I never planned to write about something as personal as dementia, and I’d never written about such a big topic before, which I felt was intimidating and other writers would do it.
“But I was faced with this dilemma when my friend’s father was
diagnosed with dementia a couple of years ago. It was a really interesting
thing to observe, because though it was horrible and terrifying and sad, it was
also beautiful and magical with special moments.
“It felt like such a beautiful story that I wanted to tell. Just
because you’ve been diagnosed with something, it doesn’t mean it’s the end.”
Osborne recalls the circumstances behind his friend’s
revelation. “My friend and I go to Glastonbury every summer. We started at 21
and we’ve been going for 17 years now and we never miss a year,” he says.
“So, it was one of those sweet things we like to do, but it was
at Glastonbury she told me about her father. Glastonbury is kind of where these
things do happen, when you’re spending so much time together.
“I was saying I felt I was getting too old for Glastonbury, for putting
up tents and the like, and it was then she suddenly told me about her dad’s
dementia, and I thought, ‘what’s happening to us?’. But everyone has these
stories, don’t they?”
This set in motion You’re In A Bad Way. “I started thinking
about my relationships, friendships; growing up and now not being as young as
you used to be, but also about having the luxury of growing old, and then my
friend’s father dementia diagnosis,” says Osborne. “I also found myself
thinking about how music plays an important part in our lives.”
Gradually, music and dementia joined in union as Osborne wrote
the show. “Initially, I was looking at music from my own point of view, but the
more I researched dementia, sport and music were two things that were so important
to dementia patients,” he says.
“Like hearing an old commentary from a cup final their favourite
team won. Someone who has been unresponsive to any stimulus can suddenly go back
to where they first heard that commentary.
“It’s the same with music, where they can remember the lyrics
from years ago, but can’t now remember who anyone is.”
Before he went ahead with You’re In A Bad Way, Osborne sought
his friend’s approval for him to talk about her family’s story on stage. “She
works in theatre and said she was happy if a theatre show did discuss these
things,” he recalls.
The poster artwork for John Osborne’s dementia-and-music show You’re In A Bad Way
When premiering the show at last summer’s Edinburgh Fringe, Osborne
spent time at a dementia care centre in the Scottish capital to ensure he was
fully informed about the experience of caring for someone with dementia.
“I met these fantastic women at LifeCare Edinburgh, and we
talked about what they do and how they wanted to raise awareness of what they
do,” says Osborne. “We raised money at the end of every performance to give to
LifeCare.
“It was really good to get information and stories from them and
to be able to repay them by mentioning LifeCare at each show.”
Osborne says that every time he performs You’re In A Bad Way, he
learns new things about dementia. For example, the feeling of isolation when confronted
by loved one falling into the black hole
of dementia. “If you’ve got a parent with dementia, it can be very hard to
communicate about it with your friends, as your relationship with your family
is so specific to you,” he says.
“In the case of my friend, her response was to drop everything to
support her father, whereas her sister couldn’t deal with it at all and wasn’t
there for him. She ran away from it.
“But whatever your reaction, there are thousands of reasons for
why people do what they do in those circumstances.
“That’s why I wanted to do my research and not be out of my
comfort zone when people tell me their own stories at the shows. I’ve met
people who have stayed and supported; I’ve met people who ran away.”
Looking
forward to Thursday’s Pock performance, what tone can the audience expect? “As
it’s such a big topic, I’ve tried to make the show funny and life affirming and
relatable,” says Osborne.
“I don’t
want it to be sad or serious; I think it’s important for it to be a good story
to someone who has no association with dementia, as well as being sensitive to
those who live surrounded by the illness.”
Osborne is busy writing his next show for this summer’s
Edinburgh Fringe. “After two serious shows, You’re In A Bad Way, and before
that, Circled In The Radio Times, which was also about getting older, I
thought, ‘I really want to write something fun’,” he says, introducing My Car
Plays Tapes.
“I’d had my first car for years, but it broke down. I did my John
Peel’s Shed tour in it, and that’s partly why it broke down, when a little
Fiesta isn’t meant to do that many miles, with a box of records in the back.
“So, I got the cheapest replacement car possible, with no
electric windows, no CD player, but it’s got a tape player. Suddenly I was
re-united with the tapes I made when I was 16, when I would have had no reason
to listen to them again otherwise.
“That’s set me off writing about being forced to re-visit your
past.” Hopefully, the resulting show will make its way to Pocklington
post-Edinburgh Fringe.
In the meantime, tickets for Thursday’s 7.30pm performance of You’re In A Bad Way are on sale at £10 on 01759 301547 or at pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk or £12 on the door, with a special price of £9 for a carer of someone with dementia.
A Bunch Of Amateurs writers Ian Hislop, left, and Nick Newman
PRIVATE Eye
editor and Have I Got News For You team captain Ian Hislop and Nick Newman’s
comedy A Bunch Of Amateurs will play York Theatre Royal from June 2 to 6.
What happens in this play? Keen to boost his flagging career,
fading Hollywood action hero Jefferson Steele arrives in England to play King
Lear in Stratford, only to find that he is not in the birthplace of
Shakespeare, but in a sleepy Suffolk village.
Instead of starring alongside Sir Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi
Dench, the cast members are a bunch of amateurs trying to save their theatre
from ruthless developers.
Jefferson’s monstrous ego,
vanity and insecurity are tested to the limit by the enthusiastic am-dram thespians
who share his spotlight. As acting worlds collide and Jefferson’s career
implodes, he discovers some truths about himself and his inner Lear.
After tours of Hislop and Newman’s The Wipers
Times and Trial By Laughter, Trademark
Touring, Karl Sydow and Anthology Theatre, in association with The Everyman
Theatre, Cheltenham, will be taking A Bunch Of Amateurs on the road from April 23 to July 4.
Hislop and Newman say: “Following successful national tours of The Wipers Times and Trial By Laughter, we are thrilled to be touring the very first
play we wrote, A Bunch Of Amateurs: a love
letter to the world of amateur theatre and a celebration of the overweening
absurdity of Hollywood stardom.”
A Bunch Of Amateurs will
be directed by Robin Herford, whose production of Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy Ten
Times Table for impresario Bill Kenwright’s Classic Comedy Theatre Company is
running at the Grand Opera House, York, this week.
Herford is best known for directing The Woman In Black, the Stephen Mallatratt stage adaptation of Susan
Hill’s novel that he commissioned in 1987 when artistic director of the Stephen
Joseph Theatre. The Woman In Black has
been running in the West End for 30 years, always directed by Herford, along
with the regular tours.
Tickets for A Bunch Of Amateurs are on sale on 01904 623568, at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk or in person from the Theatre Royal box office.
Note the name of the pub: the perfect prescient setting for The Last Quiz Night On Earth
QUICK question. Did you see Chip Shop Chips, Box Of Tricks Theatre Company’s show at Pocklington Arts Centre last year?
Yes? So,
presumably you will want know when they will be returning to Pock and what in?
The answers
are Friday, March 20 in The Last Quiz Night On Earth, an immersive, innovative
new play by Alison Carr for theatre devotees and pub quiz enthusiasts alike, who
are promised “a very different experience of live performance”, set in a pub.
In the Box
Of Tricks locker already are the award-winning Manchester company’s shows
SparkPlug, Narvik and Under Three Moons. Now they follow two sold-out
tours of Chip Shop Chips with Carr’s pre-apocalyptic comedy, The Last Quiz
Night On Earth, as an asteroid heads to Earth in a tour that also visits the
Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, for performances in the bar on March 24
and 25.
Writer Alison Carr and assistant director Kitty Ball in the rehearsal room for The Last Quiz Night On Earth. Picture: Alex Mead
Next
question. What happens? “It’s the final countdown. Landlady Kathy invites
audiences to the last quiz night on earth with Quizmaster Rav. He is the host
with the most,” say Box Of Tricks, an associate company at the SJT, by the way.
“But with
time ticking, some unexpected guests turn up out of the blue. Bobby wants to
settle old scores and Fran wants one last shot at love. Expect the
unexpected to the bitter end and plenty of drama as the show gets quizzical.”
Hannah
Tyrrell-Pinder directs the play, with design by Katie Scott. Pub landlady Kathy
will be played by Meriel Scholfield, who has appeared in Coronation Street,
Last Tango In Halifax, Holby City and Doctors, while Shaban Dar will take the
role of pre-apocalyptic Quizmaster Rav.
Playwright
Alison Carr’s past works include Caterpillar and Iris; her latest play,
Tuesday, has been commissioned for the National Theatre’s 2020 Connections
programme, to be performed by 40 groups from across the country. The Last Quiz Night On Earth is her first
for Box Of Tricks.
Box Of Tricks director Hannah Tyrrell-Pinder
Next
question. Why did she write The Last Quiz Night On Earth? “I started two other ideas
before this one but they wouldn’t take hold. The idea of a quiz night kept
popping into my head but I’d dismiss it because I was worried it’d been done
too often before.
“So,
I kept plugging away and overcomplicating things, until eventually I thought ‘okay,
lean into it – a quiz night and what? A quiz night AND the world is about to
end. It all opened up from there and a quiz night became the only way to tell
this story.
“It
brings so much to explore like togetherness and community, camaraderie, competitiveness.
Throw into the mix an asteroid heading straight for us, and the stakes get
higher. It’s the final chance to say the unsaid, heal rifts, get the last word,
make peace with regrets or try to do something about them.”
Alison
wanted to combine the known and the unknown, the safe and the downright terrifying. “My
vision was to create something that audiences don’t just sit and watch but are
part of – but not in a scary way,” she says.
Meriel Schofield as pub landlady Kathy in The Last Quiz Night On Earth. Picture: Alex Mead
“Personally, the thought of audience participation makes me feel
sick, but a quiz is something we can all do, whether we’re a general knowledge
expert or the neatest so we can do the writing.”
Comparing The Last Quiz Night On Earth with her past work,
Alison says: “There
are elements there like a fractious sibling relationship, and having something
quite extreme or unexpected going on.
“But, overall, it’s quite a departure, especially the characters’ interaction with the audience. My jumping- off point was to write something fun. A play about an imminent apocalypse might not sound like larks and giggles, but around the time I got the call, I’d been researching a lot of serious, dark material for other plays I was writing.
“It
takes its toll. So, when Hannah got in touch, my first thoughts were ‘yes
please’ and ‘for my own well-being, it’s got to be fun’. Plus, I always want to
be challenging myself, not trotting out the same-old, same-old. And just like
‘dark’ doesn’t mean humourless or hard-going, ‘fun’ certainly doesn’t equal
something fluffy or meaningless. It is the end of the world, after all.”
Shaban Dar as pre-apocalyptic Quizmaster Rav
Alison
names Victoria Wood as her biggest inspiration. “She was, is, and always will be,”
she says. “Her voice is so distinctive and so northern. She’s why I tried
writing anything in the first place. She brought joy to so many and achieved so
much, she was a grafter.
“I’ll
always try and see any Edward Albee or Tennessee Williams plays I can: they’re
so big and fearless. Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen Of Leenane is one of my
favourite plays. Lee Hall, Bryony Lavery, Zinnie Harris. I recently saw and
read some Annie Baker plays and I’m in awe of her.
“Having
said all that, I’m not so much a fan of particular playwrights as I am plays
and theatre in general. I try and see as much theatre as I can in the North
East and beyond.”
Last
question, Alison, why should the good people of Pocklington and Scarborough seeThe Last Quiz Night On Earth? “Well,
there’s a quiz – a real one. Real questions, real teams, real swapping of answer
sheets to mark,” she says. “You don’t have to be good at quizzes (I’m not) or,
if you are, great, come and show off.
Chris Jack as Bobby in Box Of Tricks’ production
“And when
you’re not trying to remember which British city hosted the 1970 Commonwealth
Games, there’s a story unfolding around you about family and regrets and last
chances. About making your mark, about grabbing the bull by the horns and not
waiting until it’s too late to say ‘I love you’ or ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘I’ve never
liked that colour on you’.
“I
wouldn’t want anyone other than Box of Tricks making The Last Quiz Night On
Earth. Their work is never pretentious or intimidating, it’s welcoming and warm
and a good night out. What better way to meet our fiery demise?”
Box Of Tricks present The Last Quiz Night On Earth, Pocklington Arts Centre, March 20, 7.30pm, and Stephen Joseph Theatre bar, Scarborough, March 24, 1.30pm (Dementia Friendly performance) and 7.30pm; March 25, 7.30pm. Box office: Pocklington, 01759 301547 or at pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
YORK artist Linda Combi was so struck by a Channel 4 News story on The
Last Gardener Of Aleppo that she has responded with an exhibition of the same
title.
“This work is a new departure for me and it’s taken some time to complete, but at last it’s nearly ready,” she says.
Linda’s artwork will be on show from February 25 to April 6 at The Angel on the Green café bar – “where the footfall is huge,” she says – in Bishopthorpe Road, York.
“The news story featured Abu Waad, who ran a garden centre in the
besieged city Syrian city of Aleppo, assisted by his 12-year-old son Ibrahim,” she
recalls.
“Throughout the film, Abu Waad – his name means ‘Father of the Flowers’ –
described his love and admiration for flowers and plants. This last remaining
garden centre was an oasis of calm and beauty for the citizens of Aleppo, who
were experiencing death and destruction all around them.”
Not long after the film was made in 2016, Abu Waad was tragically killed by a bomb that fell nearby.
Father Of The Flowers, in memory of Abu Waad, The Last Gardener of Aleppo, by Linda Combi
“His garden centre was closed and his son Ibrahim was left fatherless. I wanted to commemorate Abu Waad’s life and work through art and decided to hold an exhibition where 80 per cent of any proceeds from the exhibition and card sales would be divided between the charities UNHCR and The Lemon Tree Trust,” says Linda.
“Because of the continuing horrors being endured by the Syrian people, it feels important to celebrate life and beauty at this time.”
Many of Linda’s pieces in the exhibition are illustrations inspired by the words of Abu Waad and based on Syrian carpet designs found in her research. All the work is mixed media, incorporating painted papers, drawing, and stencil.
As well as work directly relating to the story of Abu Waad, further
pieces take the theme of The Oasis in celebration of secure and beautiful
places, such as gardens, set in harsh environments.
“The Lemon Tree Trust is involved in helping refugees create gardens in
their strange new surroundings, and so I’ve included an artwork about the
journeys made by refugees who often travel carrying seeds from home,” says
Linda.
“Both the UNHCR and The Lemon Tree Trust have responded positively to
this exhibition, offering materials for display and distribution. I’m
grateful for the good work that they do.”
Linda’s The Last Gardener Of Aleppo will be launched on February 25 from
8.30pm.
Hazelnut, by Linda Combi
Here, Charles Hutchinson interviews Linda Combi ahead of The Last
Gardener Of Aleppo opening.
What form did your research take, Linda?
“I watched the Channel 4 News story The Last
Gardener Of Aleppo over and over again on YouTube, drawing Abu Waad and his son
Ibrahim, and taking down the words of Abu Waad about his love of flowers and
plants.
“I then found images of Syrian carpets on the net,
but also visited the Islamic Room of the British Museum to draw from their
decorative tiles.
“I needed images of drones, of bombers, and of
destruction from bombing, sadly too often available on the news.
“Finally, I downloaded a map of Aleppo, which I then used for my collages. York Central MP Rachael Maskell’s talk at a public meeting a few years ago, about how events in Syria have unfolded, was really informative, and I thank her for that.
If the pen is mightier than the sword, can art be mightier than the bomb (in the long run)?
“I’ve been very inspired by the works of Banksy,
particularly his public art on The Wall in Palestine, and his Bethlehem ‘Walled
Off Hotel’.
Desert Flower, by Linda Combi
“Political cartoons are powerful instruments for
highlighting hypocrisy and dictatorship. Picasso’s Guernica is
horribly relevant today.
“OK, these art forms haven’t stopped the bombing, but they have shone a light on the atrocities. As well as enriching our lives and reminding us of joy, art can be critical and informative and have the power to undermine those in power.
“I’ve been hugely impressed by the creativity shown
in the placards seen on the streets during protests during the past few years.”
Poppies are so evocative of the First World War. Your art is embracing flower power too. What makes them such a potent symbol in the face of human atrocities?
“As a San Francisco hippie who discovered the joys of gardening on
arriving in the UK, I do believe in flower power.
“Abu Waad’s flowers brought moments of joy to the citizens of Aleppo
during the destruction of that city, and who saw death all around them. He
believed that flowers could ‘nourish the soul’.
Despite Everything, by Linda Combi
“I’ve always been impressed by how flowers and their ’seasons’ are so important to the British. The arrival of snowdrops, then the daffodils, followed by bluebells and tulips: all herald the end of a long and dark winter. So, in an extreme situation like war, flowers bring a sense of the life force even more powerfully.”
What work do the charities UNHCR and The Lemon Tree Trust do?
“The UNHCR is the global United Nations Refugee Agency, which aims to
save lives, protect rights and help refugees to work for a peaceful and
productive future.
“They also help displaced communities and stateless people, and they believe
everybody has the right to seek asylum from violence and persecution, war
or disaster. “Their work is varied, involving education, providing shelter,
protecting migrants at risk, and highlighting the desperate plight of migrants
around the world.
“The Lemon Tree Trust believe that ‘gardening has the power to
positively address issues of isolation and mental health’.
“They help to create community gardens in refugee camps by working with
those refugees who are so very far from home.
The Flower Is The Essence Of The World, by Linda Combi
“The Refugee Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show was a moving example of how important this can be for refugees. One woman said, ‘We had so many flowers in Syria. This garden makes me happy’.”
What materials have the two charities offered for display and distribution?
“They’ve been very enthusiastic about the exhibition and have offered posters, leaflets, T-shirts and stickers, as well as publicising the exhibition on their social media.”
What are you working on next?
“The next project will be work with Refugee Action York on some teaching
materials. I’d also love to do more T-shirt designs for the Good
Organisation, who work with the homeless in York.
“As for personal work, I’ll be continuing the theme of migration, but
this time the emphasis will be on borders.
“I’ve lived in San Diego for a time and have witnessed migrants being
sent back over the border to Mexico after attempts trying to get into the USA.
“We walked along part of The Wall dividing Mexico and the USA and
talked to border patrol officers there.
This Tree Will Live – Despite Everything, by Linda Combi
“My time in Israel also fed into my preoccupation with walls and
divisiveness. My Sicilian ancestors came to the USA not knowing what the future
held for them, but they were made welcome and did create a good life and a
large family.
“I was welcomed to the UK many years ago, and so the issue of immigration has been central to my life.”
Will you be creating one of your humorous York calendars for 2021?
“It’s too late for a 2021 calendar but I’d love to create one for a
charity.
“As for the York calendars, I feel that though the tourist boom in York
might have boosted the economy, luxury flats and new cafes and restaurants
aren’t inspiring to draw!
“However, I can imagine being enticed by the prospect of a calendar that
would celebrate quirky, lesser-known pubs hidden away in York.”
Linda Combi’s poster for her Angel on the Green exhibition
Linda Combi: The Last Gardener Of Aleppo exhibition, Angel on the Green, Bishopthorpe Road, York, February 25 to April 6.
BONNEVILLE And
The Bailers, the York band du jour you just have to see, will play The Crescent
in York on February 20.
“This show is
what I’ve been working towards for the past six months with my fabulous new
band The Bailers,” says Bonnie Milnes, the fast-rising York combo’s singer and country-noir
songwriter. “I’ve loved smashing out hits with these world-class musicians and
can’t wait to take it to the stage at a venue I’ve always dreamed of
headlining.
“Next Thursday’s audience can expect a mix of heart break and
full-frontal sass as I write material on some tough times with some kickass
comeback songs. I’d describe the show as feminist, sexy and straight from
heart.”
Before then, on Wednesday, Bonnie is “so excited to be sharing a new single, Baby Drive, with an absolutely beautiful video shot by Luke Downing on a beautiful day at Rufforth Airfield, starring myself and my best friend and bass player Jack Garry”. “The song’s about thinking you’re in love with your best friend,” she says.
Bonnie Milnes and Jack Garry in a still from Luke Downing’s video for Baby Drive, Bonneville And The Bailers’ new single. View the video at https://youtu.be/h6H9Va9RNjA
Looking ahead, Bonnie says: “We don’t have any other York shows lined up
but we have got an exciting little tour of gigs that kicks off tomorrow
(February 11) in Hull [at 9.15pm at The Sesh at The Polar Bear, in Spring Bank]
and we’ll be supporting York’s own Benjamin Francis Leftwich at Komedia, Brighton,
on February 26.”
Meanwhile, Bonnie has been building a rehearsal studio with Young
Thugs’ sound technician Matt Woollons. “Called Boom, this has been my base for
writing, rehearsing and – before long – recording something new,” she says.
Tickets for February 20 cost £8 at eventbrite.co.uk/e/bonnie-and-the-bailers or seetickets.com, or in person from Earworm Records, in Powells Yard, Goodramgate, or The Crescent, off Blossom Street. Alternatively, pay more on the door from 7.30pm.
SAXON frontman Biff Byford will release his debut solo album, School Of
Hard Knocks, on February 21, backed up by his first ever solo tour in the
spring.
Among the ten British dates for the 69-year-old West Yorkshireman will
be Leeds City Varieties Music Hall on April 21.
In a show of two halves in ”An Evening With…” format, Honley-born Byford will be in conversation with American comedian Don Jamieson in the first, discussing his life and career with the That Metal Show star. After the break, Byford and his band will perform new tracks, covers and maybe a sprinkling of Saxon gold dust.
The tour poster for Bill Byford’s ten spring dates
“It’s a show I’ve wanted to do for a long
time and one which I don’t think has been done in hard rock before. It’s going
to be something a little bit different, it will be very cool and a lot of fun,”
says Byford, who played bass for assorted Barnsley bands as a teenager by night
while working at a colliery by day.
“The second half will
consist of some old songs, some new songs, some cover versions and some songs
off the solo album. It’s going to be great and I’m really looking forward to it.
So, I’ll see you there.”
The album artwork for Bill Byford’s School Of Hard Knocks
Produced by Byford at Brighton Electric Studios, School Of Hard Knocks reflects
the personality of this “Heavy Metal Bard of the North”, his loves
and musical versatility. Fulfilling his long-standing wish to explore rock’n’roll
a little more, the album takes a personal journey, highlighting his life and
his passionate interests, from growing up in the industrial north to the
history of the Middle Ages.
Byford’s old-school British hard rock album embraces a variety of
musical genres, taking in the Yorkshire folk classic Scarborough Fair, most
famously covered in the 1960s by Simon & Garfunkel and now given a new
arrangement by Byford and guitarist Fredrik Åkesson.
Tickets for April 21 are on sale at myticket.co.uk, cityvarieties.co.uk or on 0113 243 0808.
Louis Tomlinson: set fair for Scarborough this summer
LOUIS Tomlinson is
extending his debut solo world tour to take in Scarborough Open Air Theatre on
August 15.
Tickets for the
chart-topping Yorkshire singer-songwriter go on general sale at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com
on Friday at 9am.
One fifth of One
Direction, Doncaster-born Tomlinson, 28, released his debut album Walls on
January 31.
“I feel like this is
the start of my career, with so much to look forward to and all the plans in
place,” he says. “Honestly, I’ve been through every emotion possible in the
past few years and come out the other side stronger and more confident than
I’ve ever been.
“I know I’ve made an
album that my fans will like, one that sounds like me and has its own identity.
There were times I wasn’t sure if this was what I should be doing. Now I can’t
imagine doing anything else.”
Opening in Barcelona
on March 9, Tomlinson’s world tour will play Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Sydney,
Tokyo, Rio De Janeiro and five sold-out British dates nights before heading to
North America.
Peter Taylor,
director of Scarborough OAT promoters Cuffe & Taylor, is delighted to be
bringing Tomlinson to the East Coast. “Louis was an integral part of the
biggest global pop phenomenon of the past 20 years and is also a proud
Yorkshireman, so this is going to be a must-see date for his fans.
“His debut album is
brilliant and demand for tickets for his World Tour has been immense. We cannot
wait to welcome Louis and his fans to this special arena for what will be a
fantastic night.”
Post One
Direction, Tomlinson began his solo days with two collaborations, Just Hold On
with Steve Aoki
and the brooding duet Back To You with Bebe Rexha. Last year, the singles
flowed: the raucous Kill My Mind; the heartfelt Two
Of Us; the reflective We Made It and the soaring Don’t Let It Break Your Heart.
Now comes Walls, an
album with a nod to his love of indie-rock and lyrics “rooted in real life that
dig deep on subjects ranging from relationships and family to the folly of
youth and days of self-doubt”.
Tomlinson’s August 15 tickets
also will be available from Friday on 01723 818111 and 01723 383636 or in
person from the Scarborough Open Air Theatre box office, in Burniston Road, and
the Discover Yorkshire Coast Tourism Bureau, Scarborough Town Hall, St Nicholas
Street.
YORK Opera members past and present have been saddened to
hear of the death of founder member, director and chairman Roy Gittins.
A chemistry teacher – indeed head of chemistry at Tadcaster Grammar
School until his retirement – Roy also had a lifelong love of theatre.
Initially, this was as an amateur actor in roles ranging from William Shakespeare to Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, before he was introduced by teaching colleague John Warburton to a group of young singers on the cusp of “graduating” from the York Youth Operatic and Choral Society.
Not finding a company in York to suit their love of opera and
operetta, instead they formed City Opera Group in 1966, Roy joining as their
mentor and first chairman.
Over a 25-year span, he directed around 40 operas, including Verdi’s Nabucco and Macbeth, Rossini’s William Tell and Vaughan Williams’s unjustly neglected English folk opera Hugh The Drover, a production highly praised by the composer’s widow, Ursula Vaughan Williams, who came to see it.
After working for many years in the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, Roy oversaw the move of major shows to York Theatre Royal with his production of Puccini’s Turandot in 1986, when the company became known as York Opera.
His contribution to York Opera and the musical and artistic life of York has been immense and he will be remembered with great affection and gratitude. Roy leaves a daughter, Rachel Morgan, and son, Paul Gittins, to whom York Opera send their love and deepest sympathy.
The poster artwork for Farnham Maltings’ tour of Kevin Dyer’s The Man Who Left Is Not The Man Who Came Home
HELMSLEY Arts
Centre will be the only Yorkshire stop for Kevin Dyer’s new play on the lives
of military wives, The Man Who Left Is Not The Man Who Came Home.
“Britain has armed
forces in many countries. Their partners are waiting at home for them to come
back,” says writer-director Dyer, ahead of the March 14 performance by the
Farnham Maltings company. “Some listen to the news, some don’t. Some have
affairs, some don’t. Some sing in choirs and put on a brave face, some don’t.
All of them find a way to get on with it.”
Dyer began his research by chatting to women who had been married to men who had gone to war. “Most of us with partners say goodbye to them when they go to work, but we know that they’re going to come back. Not so, if you’re a ‘military wife’,” he says.
“It soon became
clear in my conversations that the pressures on the pair of them – the wife and
her man – were immense, extraordinary and not at all like civvy street.”
Dyer knew quickly that he had no wish to write about the experience of being “over there”. “There are lots of documentaries and pieces of semi-fiction that have covered that,” he reasons. “But the stories of the women who watched their man go, spent time thinking, wondering, hoping, coping whilst he was away, then experienced him coming back home, were vivid, inspiring, and largely untold.”
He had a few “basic questions” for the women whose men went to war. “What was it like before he went? What was it like saying goodbye? What was it like once he’d gone? What was it like the moment he came back? What was it like after the first buzz of his return had passed?” he asked.
“I heard stories of love, hate, betrayal, uselessness, kids, mates, denial, madness,” says Dyer. “The stories are varied and never simple.”
The Man Who Left Is Not the Man Who Came Home is the product of more than 100 one-to-one interviews with soldiers and their wives, where secrets, regrets and experiences have been shared for the first time.
The resulting play tells
the story of Ashley, a young British soldier, and his wife Chloe just before,
during and after he is posted to serve in Afghanistan.
“Chloé’s future
hopes come with imminent challenges,” says Dyer. “Being married to the military
means facing deployment. Behind closed doors, there is tenderness and humour
too, but as the day of Ashley’s departure comes ever closer, anxiety and
confrontations multiply.
Dyer’s story of
resilience, hope and change – and knowing that the man you love, who is going
to war, might not come back – will be performed by Stephanie Greer and Sam C
Wilson with military wife Sam Trussler. An open conversation on the themes of
the play and the country we live in will follow the 7.30pm performance.
Dyer’s play, both
innovative and emotional, carries this warning: “Though we hope that the
experience of the play will be moving, relatable or cathartic, and there’s no
intention to shock, there’s a chance that, for some audience members, it could
incite emotions and memories that are upsetting or strong feelings about war.”
Tickets are on sale on 01439 771700 or at helmsleyartscentre.co.uk. Age guidance: 14+ only.
