Martha Wainwright: Marking 20 years of debut album Martha Wainwright
MARTHA Wainwright will play Leeds City Varieties Music Hall on June 1 (7pm), All Saints Church Hall, Pocklington, on August 27 (7.30pm) and The Foundry, Sheffield, on August 28 (7.30pm) on her 18-date 20th Anniversary Tour.
The Montreal-born singer-songwriter will be marking 20 years since she released her self-titled debut album, when she stepped out of the shadow of her illustrious North American musical family (father Loudon Wainwright III; mother Kate McGarrigle; brother Rufus Wainwright).
On May 23, [PIAS] will release this album on vinyl for the first time, alongside CD and digital versions with extra tracks and a bonus disc of 14 rarities and alternate versions. Gems include Bring Back My Heart, featuring Rufus Wainwright, Our Love with Kate & Anna McGarrigle and Far Away, featuring the late Garth Hudson, of The Band.
“In the years before my first album was released, I was doing my own version of ‘artist development’ – playing a lot of gigs and going into the studio to make demos,” recalls Martha. “I got to New York City in 1998. It was a magical blur of fun and discovery, meeting musicians, playing and seeing shows and going into the studio. Hopping from bar to bar in the Lower East Side and Williamsburg.
“These are some of the recordings that came out of that time. Some were released as EPs that I would sell at shows but others have never been released. These are the ones that best reflect that time and the wild eclecticism I’ve always had, for better or worse, as an artist.”
Vinyl track list: Far Away; G.P.T.; Factory; These Flowers; Ball & Chain; Don’t Forget; This Life; When The Day Is Short; Bl**dy Mother ******* Asshole; TV Show; The Maker and Who Was I Kidding.
Digital/CD track list: Disc 1, 20th Anniversary: Far Away; G.P.T.; Factory; These Flowers; Ball & Chain; Don’t Forget; This Life; When The Day Is Short; Bl**dy Mother ******* Asshole; TV Show; The Maker; Who Was I Kidding; Whither Must I Wander; Bring Back My Heart (featuring Rufus Wainwright); Baby and Dis, Quand Reviendras-Tu?
Disc 2, Outliers: Can You Hear Me *; The Sex Song *; The Dead *; Factory #2 *; Our Love *; Far Away (with Garth Huson) *; Pretty Good Day; The Car Song; It’s Over; I Will Internalize; Bye Bye Blackbird; New York, New York, New York; When the Day is Short (Demo) * and Year of the Dragon. *Never before released.
“Twenty years ago my life as an artist took shape when my first record was released,” says Martha. “In many ways that record defined me, as well as launched me into a now over-20-year-long career that has made me who I am.
“It was after ten years of playing in bars, making cassettes and EPs to sell at my shows, singing backup for my brother Rufus, falling in love and out of love, practising, writing, singing until I could barely sing anymore, partying, playing with musicians and listening to great artists, working with my ex-husband in the studio for two years, all that created this first record.”
Martha continues: “Labels wouldn’t sign me when I started and I had to craft, with the help of many people, an album that would finally be licensed and released in 2005. My first record tells my story and when it was finally released I was able to work and tour and have a career in music – something that I always wanted but wasn’t sure would happen.
“Twenty years later, with six other albums under my belt, two kids and a career that is chugging along, I can safely say my first record paved my way forward.
“On May 23, we will release the record on vinyl for the first time ever as well as digitally release unheard songs, outtakes and early material from that ten-year period of discovery that led to my first record. There will be a tour with a few great musicians, where I’ll play the record in its entirety, as well as a few new songs. There’s no 48-year-old me without the 28-year-old me.”
Jason Donovan: Doin’ fine in 2025 at York Barbican
PAY attention to Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations and, like Jason Donovan, you will be doin’ fine.
Good Neighbour of the week: Jason Donovan: Doin’ Fine 25, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
LAST seen in York in fishnets and face paint as Dr Frank N Further in The Rocky Horror Show at the Grand Opera House last October, Australian singer and actor Jason Donovan now takes an “incredible ride” through 35 years in music, theatre, film and television.
His long-awaited sequel to Doin’ Fine 90 features Donovan’s most beloved songs from his stage shows, Joseph, Priscilla, Rocky Horror and Grease, alongside nods to his TV times in Neighbours and Strictly Come Dancing and his biggest pop hits, Especially For You, Too Many Broken Hearts, Any Dream Will Do and Sealed With A Kiss. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Gary Stewart: Rise and shine at Bluebird Bakery in Acomb
Singer-songwriter gig of the week: Gary Stewart, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, tonight, doors, 7.30pm for 8pm start
PERTHSHIRE-BORN singer-songwriter Gary Stewart, now living in Easingwold after 15 years on the Leeds music scene, writes songs in the folk/pop vein, influenced by the Sixties and Seventies’ songbooks of Paul Simon, James Taylor, The Eagles, Joni Mitchell and Carole King.
The left-handed multi-instrumentalist has released four albums, the latest being June 2021’s self-recorded Lost, Now Found, penned in lockdown. Stewart also plays drums for Leeds band Hope & Social, bass for Fleetwood Mac tribute band Weetwood Mac and fronts his seven-piece re-working Paul Simon’s 1986 album Graceland. Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.
Levellers: Performing in Collective acoustic mode at York Barbican
Acoustic re-boot of the week: Levellers Collective, York Barbican, tomorrow, doors, 6.30pm
LEVELLERS firstdecided to “do something a bit different with their extensive back catalogue” in 2018, teaming up with fellow Brighton group The Moulettes to record two albums that radically reworked their folk rock and anarcho-punk songs, first with producer John Leckie on We The Collective, then with Sean Lakeman on 2023’s Together All The Way.
Now, their 17-date 2025 spring tour coincides with this week’s release of their Levellers Collective/Live CD and DVD, recorded in 2023 at London’s Hackney Empire. Tomorrow’s support act at Levellers’ only Yorkshire date will be Amelia Coburn. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Jon Culshaw: Out to impress at Grand Opera House
Making a good impression: Jon Culshaw: Imposter Syndrome, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
AFTER more than 30 years on the circuit, impressionist Jon Culshaw, the chameleon voice of BBC Radio 4’s Dead Ringers, BBC One’s The Impressions Show and Channel 4’s Partygate, debuted his one-man show, Imposter Syndrome, at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe, (when he also appeared as Hughie Green in Lena, the year after his solo performance in Les Dawson: Flying High).
Now Culshaw is on a 28-date tour, combining comedy and music as he conjures an array of personalities from the worlds of entertainment, politics and beyond, from Liam Gallagher to a gangster-rapping Gordon Brown. Meanwhile, Candace Bushnell’s True Tales Of Sex, Success And Sex In The City tour date in York on March 11 has been cancelled. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
John Shuttleworth: 40 years of bonhomie, bon mots and persistently, perkily mundane yet quirkily profound songs at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall. Picture: Tony Briggs
Comedy positivity of the week: John Shuttleworth, Raise The Oof, Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, March 12 and 13, 7.30pm
JOHN Shuttleworth, the good-natured Sheffield sage and perky Yamaha organ purveyor of charmingly mundane songs fashioned by actor Graham Fellows, celebrates his 40th anniversary on his Raise The Oof tour, full of nostalgia and new stories.
Here come tales of his early days with neighbour and clarinettist Ken Worthington, the humorous realities of married life with miserable wife Mary, and John’s relentless determination to mail off his cassette demos to today’s cutting-edge acts – Chris Rea and the Lighthouse Family, he says – hoping for a late-career breakthrough. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Becca Drake: Guest poet at York Literature Festival’s Howl Owt night at The Blue Boar
York Literature Festival gig of the week: Howl Owt, The Blue Boar, Castlegate, York, March 13, 7.30pm
FOR the second year running, two forces of the York poetry scene team up for the ultimate spoken-word showcase. Join Chloe Hanks and Stephanie Roberts from Howlers Open Mic and Henry Raby from Say Owt for an evening of performances by York poets and writers, bolstered by a special guest.
This time, their roles will be reversed with the Say Owt crew taking over the open mic and the Howlers welcoming the guest, Becca Drake, York poet, Little Hirundine printmaker and researcher with a PhD in late-medieval English. Performers can sign up for three-minute open-mic spots on arrival. Admission is free.
Neil Foster’s Cosme McMoon, left, Jackie Cox’s Florence Foster Jenkins and Mike Hickman’s St Clair in Rowntree Players’ Glorious!
Play of the week: Rowntree Players in Glorious!, The True Story Of Florence Foster Jenkins, The Worst Singer In The World, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, March 13 to 15, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
COVER your ears! Here comes Glorious! The True Story Of Florence Foster Jenkins, The Worst Singer In The World, as told by Peter Quilter in his joyous and heart-warming comedy with music, based on the life of an eccentric 1940s’ New York socialite with a passion for singing but a voice for disaster.
Enthusiastic but tonally erratic soprano Florence (played by Jackie Cox) gave private recitals for charity, sang at extravagant balls, made bizarre recordings and revelled in a triumphant sold-out final performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall at 76. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Mike + The Mechanics: Re-living 40 years at York Barbican on March 14
40th anniversary celebration of the week: Mike + The Mechanics, Looking Back – The Living Years, York Barbican, March 14, 7.30pm
AFTER opening their Refueled! tour at York Barbican in April 2023, Mike + The Mechanics return next Friday on their Looking Back – Living The Years 40th anniversary travels. Expect the set list to combine Over My Shoulder, The Living Years and All I Need Is A Miracle with selections from their nine albums and a“drift into some of Genesis’s much loved classic tracks”.
Guitarist and founder Mike Rutherford will be joined in the band line-up by lead vocalist Andrew Roachford and Canadian-born vocalist Tim Howar. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
In Focus: Navigators Art, YO Underground, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, March 15, 7.30pm
Performance artist Carrieanne Vivianette
YORK arts collective Navigators Art hosts a “slightly different forthcoming event”, YO Underground, in The Basement next weekend.
The first in a new series of performance showcases will present Say Owt Slam winner Cooper Robson, performance artist and writer Carrieanne Vivianette, inspiring young poet Oliver Lewis, champion beatboxer Cast, genre-crossing musical duo Gorgo and internationally renowned singer Loré Lixenberg.
Say Owt Slam winner Cooper Robson
“The YO Underground title is apt, not only because our venue is The Basement at City Screen Picturehouse,” says Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen. “The format will be familiar from the group’s popular Basement Sessions but will feature original music, spoken word and comedy with a more experimental edge than usual.
“It will be a platform for local and regional performers whose work may wander off the beaten track but definitely deserves an audience. New and emerging artists will have equal billing with more established names.”
Advance tickets cost £8. For full details and booking, visit TicketSource via https://bit.ly/nav-events.
Mezzo-soprano and physical theatre, comedy and free improv performer Loré Lixenberg
The second in the series is planned for Sunday, April 27 and will showcase Wire Worms, the Leeds Doom Folk five-piece, whose folk-rooted but boundary-stretching debut album, The First To Come In, explores explore weird, supernatural and experimental notions, inspired by the traditions of Mumming and Guising found throughout the British Isles.
“Navigators Art encourages innovation, improvisation and collaboration, as well as excellence, and would like to hear from performers in any medium who might suit future events,” says Richard. Email navigatorsart@gmail.com or follow @navigatorsart on Facebook and Instagram.
Navigators Art’s poster for the inaugural YO Underground event at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse
Velma Celli’s show poster for Show Queen At The Movies’ debut York performance at City Screen Picturehouse
YORK drag diva deluxe Velma Celli will return to her former glam stomping ground at City Screen Picturehouse this summer in Show Queen At The Movies.
“I am thrilled to be heading back to City Screen on July 26, but not in The Basement as my head is too big for that space now! So, I am in Screen One! That’s right. Velma in a cinema!” says Velma, the vocal drag alter-ego of West End musical star Ian Stroughair.
“This new show, Snow Queen At The Movies, will explore all your favourite movie soundtracks from Barbra Streisand to Judy Garland. The Bodyguard to Dirty Dancing. Flashdance to Purple Rain. West Side Story to Titanic. Pretty Woman to The Shining…maybe not The Shining!”
City Screen will be one of Velma’s two “bigger” York shows this year to complement her Drag Brunch residency in the Impossible York Wonderbar and MC duties at the Yorktoberfest Beer Festival at York Racecourse. Tickets for the 9pm show are available at https://shorturl.at/j8wHC.
Tickets for Velma’s return to York Theatre Royal’s main stage on November 12 will go on sale later this year. Watch this space.
Horrible Histories author Terry Deary comes face to face with a Tudor peasant from Terrible Tudors at the Grand Opera House, York
TERRYDeary, author of the world’s best-selling children’s history series, Horrible Histories,will make a special appearance on stage during March 15’s 11am and 2.30pm performances of Terrible Tudors at the Grand Opera House, York.
The morning show has been added in response to popular demand, to the delight of Birmingham Stage Company founder, manager, director, writer and actor Neal Foster.
“We are thrilled to have the writer and creator of Horrible Histories, TerryDearyhimself, appearing in Terrible Tudors,” he says. “Terry started his career as an actor, so we can’t wait for the fun to start when he joins the company for these two special shows.”
Birmingham Stage Company, regular visitors to the Grand Opera House, whether with myriad Horrible Histories shows or stage adaptations of David Walliams’s books, will be back in York from March 13 to 15 to perform both Terrible Tudors and Awful Egyptians.
Billed as “history with the nasty bits left in”, Horrible Histories shows combine multi-role-playing actors with eye-popping Bogglevision 3D special effects that bring historical figures and events to life on stage as they “hover at your fingertips”.
History makers: Birmingham Stage Company in Terrible Tudors. Picture: Mark Douet
Quick revision course: Terrible Tudors spans the horrible Henries to the end of evil Elizabeth in a show full of legends and lies about the torturing Tudors. Discover the fate of Henry’s headless wives and what happens in his punch-up with the Pope. Meet Bloody Mary and see Ed fall dead in his bed. Survive the Spanish Armada as it sails into the audience.
From the fascinating Pharaohs to the power of the pyramids, Awful Egyptians reveals the foul facts of death and decay with the meanest mummies in Egypt. Are you ready to rumble with Ramesses the Great? Dare you enter through the Gates of the afterlife?
“Terrible Tudors and Vile Victorians were the first Horrible Histories stage adaptations we did, in 2005, and we had never envisaged we’d be celebrating Terrible Tudors’ 20th anniversary,” says Neal. “It’s the longest run of any show we’ve ever had [Foster set up the company in 1992]. It’s been a major part of my life, and I can’t imagine what my life would have been without the Horrible Histories.
“I studied History and Ancient History at A-level, covering Greek and Roman history and mediaeval British and European history – and I absolutely loved it! So, to get the chance to combine my two loves, acting/comedy and history, has been wonderful.”
Terry Deary’s Horrible Histories stories remain the perfect vehicle for Neal. “All this history of homo sapiens is very strange and hasn’t got any better. Never mind the Terrible Tudors, there will now be the Terrible Trumpings,” says Neal.
Neal Foster: Birmingham Stage Company founder, manager, director, writer and actor
“I think we did actually nail it with our first performances, which was a great feeling, gaining the trust of the publishers and of Terry Deary. The reaction of the children was amazing, and though some things change, some things don’t , and kids still love the 3D Bogglevision.
“Bogglevison was pioneering 3D when we started using it and had an amazing impact, but I was worried that films would overtake us when they decided to create 3D worlds with great depth, but it went in and out of fashion again in only three years. With our shows, I’m confident our audiences won’t have experienced anything like we do in the cinema, whether it’s Egyptian mummies reaching out to grab you or Spanish cannonballs being fired at you!”
Twenty years on from Terrible Tudors’ debut, Neal continues to train Birmingham Stage Company actors to “react to what the audience has just seen, where you have to let them calm down before you start again, because the reaction is is so great, and that’s still the case after all these years,” he says.
“I remember The Times doing a two-page spread on it with theatre critic Benedict Nightingale being asked to give his opinion on it and dismissing it as a cheap stunt. Then BBC Radio 4 invited me and Benedict on to discuss it. I said, ‘you haven’t seen it, have you?’, and he had to admit he hadn’t.
“He then came to see the show and he loved it – and we still use his quote where he says ‘it’s the best use of technology in a show’!”
Birmingham Stage Company in Awful Egyptians, bound for the Grand Opera House, York, next week. Picture: Mark Douet
Neal admits to feeling “very jealous”when he sees the lead actor “playing my part, as I still regard it” in Terrible Tudors. “I still want to do it myself, having directed it,” he says. “Like doing shows to 2,000 people at the Manchester Opera House. You’re there, feeling every moment of the show, when it’s, funny, tense, or pure slapstick, and you’re taking the audience on that journey for one hour 45 minutes.
“That’s the difference with cinema. On stage, it can change with each performance. How the audience reacts is what makes it an exciting experience, keeping it alive and fresh, like when we first did it.
“Plus we have updated sequences, one about Elizabeth I, after I read a great new book about Hampton Court [The Palace by Gareth Russell], which addressed a few myths about her.
“We’ve always said her teeth went black and that she went bald, which is why she wore wigs, but one of the ambassadors talked about how her hair went grey, so that’s why she wore wigs, and her teeth went yellow, not black, though many were missing.
“I keep reading history books – I’m always excited when a new Dan Jones book comes out – and they do inspire me by putting a new angle on it, which I’m quick to incorporate in the productions.”
Although Birmingham Stage Company did address the First and Second World Wars in its Barmy Britain shows, Neal has a theory why Terry Deary’s Horrible Histories series is yet to address the 20th century.
“It’s not the subject but the fact that what these shows do is take an anarchic look at history and maybe 20th century history is still too close with parents and grandparents still alive who experienced something horrible, whereas with the Terrible Tudors, the pain has gone,” he says. “For the 20th century, it’s more difficult to give it a Horrible Histories spin.”
Looking ahead to the Saturday performances with Terry Deary, Neal says: “It’s not often that he does it, but every so often he does, if he’s free, and he particularly loves Terrible Tudors as he co-wrote that production.
“I’ve given him quite a lot to do, with a good running joke, so we’ll be getting together to rehearse next Friday and he’ll be doing both the morning show and afternoon show. He’s 79 now but he doesn’t look it!
“The actors [Jack Ballard, Rob Cummings, Megan Parry and Stuart Ash] are very excited because they’ve never met him – and I’ll be doing the shows too as I can’t resist working with Terry when we get the chance.”
Birmingham Stage Company in Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors, March 13, 10.30am; March 14, 6.30pm; March 15, 11am (extra performance) and 2.30pm. Awful Egyptians, March 13, 6.30pm; March 14, 10.30am; March 15, 6.30pm. Age guidance: Five plus. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Birmingham Stage Company’s poster for next week’s visit to the Grand Opera House, York
A dancer at full stretch in the Everyday Dance Festival. Picture: Bec Hudson Smith
EVERYBODY Dance Festival 2025 will take over the Main House stage at York Theatre Royal for two days from tomorrow.
Run by York Dance Space, the event will feature 26 schools in 75-minute performances split between 7pm tomorrow and on Saturday.
Showcasing and celebrating dance in schools and community settings across Yorkshire, the festival is a chance for young performers to shine and share their creativity with a live audience and immerse themselves in all things dance.
Let’s dance at the Everybody Dance Festival at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Bec Hudson Smith
This week’s event brings together Dance Space Projects, Children’s and Young People’s Dance Network North, York Dance Space, Yorkshire Dance and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.
Taking part tomorrow will be: Skipton Girls High School; Park Grove Primary Academy; Tang Hall Primary School; All Saints RC School; St Wilfred’s RC Primary School; Horizon Community College; York High School; Phoenix Youth Academy; Richmond School; Scarcroft Primary School; St Aelred’s RC Primary School and St Paul’s C of E Primary School.
Throwing shapes in the Everybody Dance Festival. Picture: Bec Hudson Smith
Saturday’s bill presents: Tang Hall Smart; Dance United Yorkshire; Hempland Primary Academy; York Youth Dance; St Oswald’s Primary School; Knavesmire Primary School; CHARGE Boys; CHARGE Dance; North Tyneside Youth Dance; Reflections; Activate York Dance Space; Tadcaster Youth Dance; Sherburn C of E Primary Academy and Luttons Community Primary Academy, from West Lutton, Malton.
For tickets, ring 01904 623568 or book online at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/everybody-dance-festival-2025/.
Balletic grace in the Everybody Dance Festival. Picture: Bec Hudson Smith
AHEAD of the March 14 opening of his XXX exhibition, York-raised artist Harland Miller has donated a trio of oil paintings from his Bad Weather Paintings series to York Art Gallery.
This Pop Art suite pays homage to three Yorkshire destinations close to the Yorkshireman’s heart: Whitby, Scarborough and York.
Painted exclusively for the Exhibition Square gallery, the works comprise two large-scale canvasses, a 2024 painting of the centrepiece of his Covid-curtailed 2020 exhibition, York, So Good They Named It Once, and Whitby, The Self Catering Years, and one work on paper, Scarborough, Have Faith In Cod.
Inspired by his upbringing in 1970s’ Yorkshire, Miller creates colourful and graphically vernacular works that convey his love of popular language and attest to his enduring engagement with its narrative, aural and typographical possibilities.
The donated works are a celebration of his home city and childhood memories and the gallery is delighted to receive this thoughtful gift.
“I wrote a short story once titled ‘It was after I was born that all this started to happen’, and for me ‘all of this’ started to happen in York,” says Miller, who will turn 61 on March 11. “Naturally these were things that were happening for the very first time: first job, a paper round, first kiss on Oggy’s pond.
“Fast forwarding to what was probably my most influential initiation as an artist, which was undoubtedly the first time I saw great art in the flesh so to speak, and that for sure was at the York Art Gallery.
“With its very civic facade, it wasn’t a place as a kid then that you would just wander into, but once I had…and hadn’t been thrown out, I became a regular visitor. I saw some great individual shows there but always loved to wander around the permanent collection and particularly the seascapes.”
Miller continues: “Fast forwarding again, this time some 40 odd years, and after showing my own work in York Art Gallery, and again, not being thrown out! I was so moved by the reaction, that after the gallery closed, a week after the exhibition had opened, due to Covid, I felt very keenly that I wanted people to experience my work for longer than that.
“I wasn’t sure how much longer, but you can’t get much longer than forever and that seemed to just about cover it. I really hope that other young artists will get as much pleasure as I have from wandering around the gallery and I hope that my paintings will be a part of that.”
Dr Beatrice Bertram, senior curator at York Art Gallery, says: “We have harboured a long-term ambition to acquire Harland’s work and are thrilled to finally be able to represent this internationally significant artist in our collection.
“These fantastic works were created exclusively for us in 2024 and are quintessentially Miller in character: immediately recognisable, beautifully painted and subtly witty. All three will make fantastic additions to our permanent collection, and we’re particularly pleased to be able to share his new painterly, expressive version of York, So Good They Named It Once with audiences here in Miller’s home city – the original York!
“During the forthcoming Harland Miller: XXX exhibition, these wonderful works will be displayed in our first-floor galleries for visitors to see. We are incredibly grateful to Harland for his generous gift and continued support of the gallery.”
To commemorate the donation, in tandem with curated art marketplace Avant Arte, Miller is releasing a limited-edition print of York, So Good They Named It Once, based on his original painting of the same name. This edition aims to raise funds for York Art Gallery.
The 27-colour silkscreen print with spot colours on 600gsm Somerset Tub Sized Radiant White paper will measure 100 by 66 cm and will be available in an edition of 50 exclusively on avantarte.com this April.
York-raised artist Harland Miller with his title work for the XXX exhibition at York Art Gallery. Picture: Ollie Hammick, copyright of White Cube, 2019
Miller’s much-anticipated XXX, billed as a nationally important exhibition for York, Yorkshire and Great Britain, will run from March 14 to August 31, open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
Represented as ever by White Cube, Miller will showcase paintings and works on paper from his Letter Paintings series, stirred by his upbringing in 1970s’ Yorkshire and an itinerant lifestyle in New York, New Orleans, Berlin and Paris during the 1980s and 1990s.
Coinciding with the release of a book of the same title by Phaidon, XXX features several new Miller works, including one that celebrates his home city, in a hard-edged series that melds the sacred seamlessly with the everyday, drawing inspiration from medieval manuscripts, where monks often laboured to produce intricate illuminated letters to mark the beginning of chapters.
In these works, the Yorkshire Pop artist uses bold colours and typefaces to accentuate the expressive versatility of monosyllabic words and acronyms such as ESP, IF and Star.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a Q&A with the artist plus community activities to “inspire, inform and involve all”. Tickets: yorkartgallery.org.uk/tickets.
Back to front: Harland Miller walks towards his Pelican Books spoof dust jacket York, So Good They Named It Once at York Art Gallery in February 2020. Picture: Charlotte Graham
Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Natasha Bedingfield : A brace of London pop acts bound for York Racecourse
SOPHIE Ellis-Bextor and a special guest appearance by Natasha Bedingfield will form the dancefloor-filling double bill for the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend on July 25.
At the only evening meeting of the Knavesmire racing calendar, they each will play a set after the seven-race sporting action.
Kitchen Disco queen Ellis-Bextor, 45, will draw on her five top ten albums and eight top ten singles from a pop career now stretching beyond 25 years. Expect Murder On The Dancefloor, Take Me Home, Get Over You, Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer) and latest single Freedom Of The Night.
After featuring in the epic final scene of Emerald Fennell’s November 2023 dark comedy Saltburn, Ellis’s 2001 hit Murder On The Dancefloor enjoyed a resurgence, charting at number two for a second time in the UK Singles Chart and at number 58 in the Billboard Top 100, while reaching more than 11 billion global streams across all streaming and social platforms.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor: Last played York in December 2023 on her Christmas Kitchen Disco tour at York Barbican.
Natasha Bedingfield, 43, has sold more than ten million albums and received multiple award nominations, including a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Her 2004 hit Unwritten re-entered the UK Top 20 last years and was inducted into the Spotify Billions Club.
Bedingfield also made the top ten with Single, the chart-topping These Words, I Wanna Have Your Babies, Soulmate and Alibi (The Other Girl Version) with Ella Henderson and Rudimental last year.
Racing and music fans can take advantage of a range of deals on General Admission, meaning entrance to the main Grandstand and Paddock enclosure starts at £40 per person for a group of six. As well as free car parking, there are no booking fees. To book, visit yorkracecourse.co.uk.
On the track, the seven thoroughbred contests will include the Listed EBF Lyric Stakes, worth £70,000 in prize money.
Ronan Keating: Boyzone singer to play solo show at York Racecourse on July 26
Post-racing on the next day (July 26), Ronan Keating will take to the Music Showcase Weekend stage. Earlier in the season, on a new race day on Saturday, June 28, Olly Murs will perform.
James Brennan, head of marketing and sponsorship, says: “A summer evening on the Knavesmire is all about having fun and enjoying yourself, and you can’t get better sounds of the summer than those performed by Sophie and Natasha. I’m looking forward to an event that music and racing fans will remember with real fondness.”
Please note, these race days are integrated racing and music events and admission is not available on a “concert only” basis. At each meeting, the gates will be closed at the time of the last race.
Olly Murs: On track for York Racecourse on June 28
Ian Weichardt, Christie Peto, centre, and Evie Jones rehearse Hospital Doors under the watchful eye of writer-director Matt Harper-Hardcastle. Picture: James Drury
NEXT Door But One’s new production, Hospital Doors, shines light on the lived experience of disabled, LGBTQ+ and unpaid carer communities in York in next week’s premiere at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York.
On joining Arts Council England’s Investment Programme in 2023, the York community arts collective set an ambition of creating a new play that intertwined the real-life stories of three of their long-standing community collaborators.
Since then, chief executive officer and artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle has been running workshops with disabled, LGBTQ+ and unpaid carer groups to produce a script that explores the uniqueness and commonalities from across these identities.
After 18 months of development, Hospital Doors will meet an audience for the first time from March 12 to 15 in a limited series of public performances at Theatre@41.
“I cannot wait to share Hospital Doors,” says Matt. “It really feels like a flagship production for Next Door But One.
“It epitomises our whole ethos and approach to creating theatre; putting the community first, involving them from day one and staging exciting and compelling stories which amplify often overlooked or unheard voices.”
As well as Hospital Doors being an artistic ambition for Next Door But One, the show is a personal investment for Matt. “My own identity has an affinity to all three community groups, so to be able to bring my full self into this process and align my own lived experience with that of all the participants involved has been a really special one. And I think it has made the script even more compelling and relatable,” he says.
Evie Jones, left, and Christie Peto will make their Next Door But One debut in Hospital Doors at Theatre@41, Monkgate. Picture: James Drury
Matt’s play follows three estranged siblings who are thrown together for the first time in years when their dad falls ill. Peppered with the humour of family life, Hospital Doors offers a window into intersecting conversations about disability, sexuality, illness and care, all held within the same, chaotic family frame.
This intimate show, set in fleeting, transient places – in corridors, over garden walls, on phone calls – is stacked with questions and reflections of modern family dynamics, and the joy that can be found in the mundane efforts we all make to understand those we love.
Hospital Doors promises to be visually striking, with set and costume design by Stella Backman and Hull-based team Jessie Addinall and Amelia Hawkes contributing an ambitious lighting, video and creative caption design.
Producer Joshua Goodman says: “The team we have formed to create Hospital Doors are bringing so much skill and passion to the production that we are certain we can bring a memorable experience to our audiences, but the final performance isn’t where this all ends.”
The one-act play will be followed by a Playback Theatre performance on several dates, when the audience will be encouraged to stay on to share their own stories inspired by the play. These will then be improvised by a team of specialised performers and musicians.
“We know that a lot of our audiences appreciate time and opportunity to reflect on what they have just watched, and this will facilitate that,” says Joshua. “It will also help us to better understand our work and what resonates with people, which will only benefit the future of our work and ensure any developments remain informed by our community.”
Hospital Doors writer-director and Next Door But One chief executive officer and artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle
Here, writer-director Matt Harper-Hardcastle discusses Hospital Doors with CharlesHutchPress.
What did the research and development (R&D) for this play involve over 18 months, Matt?
“We started by asking three of our community groups – disabled adults, LGBTQ+ young adults and unpaid carers – what a play that was representative of them would look like.
“From there we ran workshops on characterisation, creative writing and improvisation to shape the narrative, with every workshop focused on what they wanted Hospital Doors to say.”
How did you turn that research into a play?
“It was a purposefully gradual process, which started with an exchange of stories from across the different communities to find common ground, leading to an anthology of stories, poems, mood boards, Venn diagrams, pictures and transcriptions that I then formed into some initial scenes.
“These scenes went back to the groups who ‘red penned’ them or improvised around them to create more detail. This back-and-forth process went all the way through 2023 until we produced a rehearsed reading for all our community members to come to, provide feedback on and ‘sign off’, as it were.”
How have your own experiences influenced your writing of this play?
“They have really shaped the writing. As a gay, disabled man who shared caring responsibilities for my mum before she died, everything that was shared with me in the research & development I felt an affinity and empathy towards.
“It’s very rare that as a writer you get to bring so many facets of your identity into one script, so I’ve not only relished in the process, but also felt a great sense of responsibility.”
At the heart of NDB1’s mission is working with the community, with this production being the epitome of that work. Is that why you call it your “flagship show”?
“Absolutely. When we joined Arts Council England’s Investment Programme, one of our artistic ambitions was to look at how we could tighter braid the participation and performance strands of our work together; how we could work with our communities to create performances that then shared their experiences with wider audiences.
“It all connects – and Hospital Doors is a really thorough and public display of our commitment to this.”
Aside from filmmakers Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, it is hard to think of British writer-directors who would address these subjects so directly: disability, sexuality, illness & care and death. How come you discuss all four in one play?
“It can sometimes feel quite blinkered to make a show that is only about one subject or one identity, because in truth we don’t exist as a silo. A show about disability would naturally bring in conversations of relationships, as it would care, and so rather than ignoring that we looked at it intentionally.
Ian Weichardt and Evie Jones in rehearsal for Next Door But One’s Hospital Doors. Picture: James Drury
“And in doing so, by placing these seemingly very different identities side by side, actually what it does is amplify them all and support a richer discourse in the very complex commonalities between them.
“Put it simply, our work exists to bring people together and that’s what we are hoping to do via this approach with Hospital Doors.”
Are all the cast – Christie Peto, Ian Weichardt and Evie Jones – new to Next Door But One?
“Yes – which is great, as we love working with new artists! We put a lot of effort into casting for this show, not only because we needed to form a trio of siblings, but also we really wanted to be as authentic as possible to our communities and therefore we sought actors who had a shared lived experience with our communities and therefore the characters.
“All three actors care very much about the play and what we are trying to achieve, but also have a wicked sense of humour which is making rehearsals very fun indeed. Ian is originally from York, Christie is from Leeds and Evie is a University of York alumnus.”
What strikes you as the best benefit of performing in the black box space of the John Cooper Studio at Theatre@41, Monkgate?
“We held our rehearsed reading there in 2023, so it feels like we are coming full circle, but also it’s the intimacy of the space, which we really wanted for Hospital Doors. We want the stories, the characters, the words and the emotions to be almost tangible to our audiences.”
What part will the set and video design, lighting, creative captions and sound design play in the show?
“We are condensing huge topics and hundreds of stories into a one act three-hander, so the design helps to bring in the epic scale of that mission! All of the design helps to paint the wider world of the play, show us the characters’ pasts, bring life to their memories and help us understand how much they are revealing or concealing.
“The creative captioning not only increases access to the performance, but also puts the important stuff front and centre – the words and stories handed to us by our community.”
What happens next to Hospital Doors? Maybe a full tour?
“This is definitely not the end of Hospital Doors. We could R&D it forever, but we needed to decide when to put down the pen and share it with an audience. That is now. What we learn from this, what we find resonates with or speaks to our audiences, will shape another future iteration that will then tour.”
What do Playback Theatre performances involve? When will they take place in the York premiere run?
“Playback Theatre will be our Act 2. Audiences who have watched Hospital Doors will be invited to stay and share their own stories, inspired by the play, and then watch them spontaneously performed by a team of actors.
“Our actors care very much about the play and what we are trying to achieve, but also have a wicked sense of humour which is making rehearsals very fun indeed,” says writer-director Matt Harper-Hardcastle of Evie Jones, left, Christie Peto, right, and Ian Weichardt. Picture: James Drury
“This aims to give our audiences more time to reflect on what they have watched, connect with the play more and also understand what others have in common with it too.
“Also hearing the stores that Hospital Doors evokes in our audiences will help us understand the real moments of resonance and therefore how we should develop the play in the future. Playback Theatre will accompany all performances except the Thursday matinee and Saturday evening.”
How has NDB1 progressed in the company’s nine years? What fills you with the most pride?
“A lot has changed since we started; we’ve grown in size, in reach, in skill, in profile, in impact, but what has stayed the same is our values of what we do and why we do it. Even in the toughest of times these haven’t faltered and have always been our driving force. So I’m really proud of that.
“There are too many moments to think of that I’m most proud of, but I always have an anecdote from a recent project in my back pocket that I like to share that I think epitomises our work.
“The one I’m currently sharing a lot is from a carer who attended our Arts and Loss workshops. She recently lost her partner and was heavily in the throes of grief. At her first workshop, she cried a lot but wanted to stay, safe in the space we had created.
“Slowly she started to share her story. She then started using her experience to offer advice to others. She enjoyed being creative with new friends. At the end of the project, she gave me a hug and whispered ‘this is the happiest I’ve been all year’.
“It’s those moments – and there are many more like it – which are priceless, get me up in the morning and make me immensely proud of what NDB1 does.”
Next Door But One presents Hospital Doors at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, March 12 to 15. Performances:7.30pm, except March 13, 7pm; 2pm matinees, March 13 and 15. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Hospital Doors cast and creative team:
Actors: Christie Peto, Ian Weichardt, Evie Jones
Writer and director: Matthew Harper-Hardcastle
Designer: Stella Backman
Video, lighting and creative captions designers: Amelia Hawkes and Jessie Addinall
Sound designer and composer: Lara Jones
Company and stage manager: Jane Williamson
Next Door But One: the back story
OVER the past nine years, York community arts collective Next Door But One has been creating touring productions inspired by the lived experience of the communities from across their arts participation programme.
This has included Operation Hummingbird’s exploration of themes of bereavement and care; The Firework-Maker’s Daughter, created in partnership with neurodivergent young people and their families, and their most recent tour, She Was Walking Home, shaped from the real-life testimonies of 33 women living, working and studying in York.
Next Door But One’s poster for Hospital Doors, next week’s production at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
Festival commission: BBC New Generation artist and mezzo soprano Helen Charlston will perform new Anna Disley-Simpson work with theorbo player Toby Carr in In Heaven & Hell…Yours To Choose on July 9 at Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York, at 6.30pm. Picture: Julien Gazeau
HEAVEN & Hell will be the theme of the 2025 York Early Music Festival, a summer fiesta of 19 concerts in eight days featuring international artists from July 4 to 11.
The Sixteen, the Tallis Scholars and Academy of Ancient Music will be taking part, as will French orchestral ensemble Le Consort, led by rising-star violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte, in their York debut with an “exceptional rendition of exceptional of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons – but not quite as you know it”.
The festival will intertwine three very different themes: firstly, the music of Renaissance composer Orlando Gibbons, opening with viol consort Fretwork (Friday, July 4); secondly, the genius of the Baroque, focusing on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Sunday, July 6).
Thirdly, the strand that lends itself to the 2025 title: a reflection on Man’s fall from grace – from Heaven to Hell – in biblical times with YEMF artistic advisor and BBC New Generation artist Helen Charlston and her fellow Gramophone Award-winner, lutenist and theorbo player Toby Carr (Wednesday, July 9) in the medieval Guildhall of the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall.
Fretwork: Viol consort will open York Early Music Festival with Renaissance music of Orlando Gibbons in My Days: Songs and Fantasias with mezzo soprano Helen Charlston on July 4 at 7.30pm at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York
The Tallis Scholars (Saturday, July 5) and The Sixteen (Monday, July 7) will share their programmes in the glorious surroundings of York Minster; the Spanish ensemble Cantoria (Tuesday, July 8) will present a sizzling array of ensaladas and villancicos in their A La Fiesta programme and Swiss- based medievalists Sollazzo (Thursday, July 10) will return to York for the first time since winning a prestigious Diapason d’Or award.
Thefestival will finish with a flourish in the company of the Academy of Ancient Music and their leader, violinist Bojan Čičić (Friday, July 11) in a celebration of Bach’s violin concertos.
York Early Music Festival continues to support emerging musicians with invitations to two 2024 York Early Music Festival Young Artists Competition winners, Ayres Extemporae and Ensemble Bastion.
Once again, the festival will showcase a variety of York’s beautiful historic buildings, such as the Minster, the medieval Merchant Adventurers’ Hall and the intriguing hidden architectural gem Bedern Hall.
The Sixteen: Returning to York Minster to present Angel Of Peace on July 7at 7.30pm
In an open call for the York Early Music Festival Special Commission, NCEM Young Composers Award alumni were invited to respond to the Heaven & Hell theme by writing a piece to be performed by Charlston and Carr as part of their In Heaven & Hell…Yours To Choose programme featuring Purcell, Strozzi, Monteverdi, Charpentier and Humfrey works on July 9.
Anna Disley-Simpson has been awarded the commission from a competitive field of 24 applications for her piece Heaven Or Hell, for which she will collaborate with librettist Olivia Bell, drawing inspiration from Kurt Weill. Expect her composition to be “deliberately subversive and unexpected in several ways,” Anna promises.
Supported by the Hinrichsen Foundation and an anonymous donor, Anna will receive a commission fee of £2,000, plus travel and accommodation expenses within the United Kingdom to attend a workshop with the musicians in London and the York premiere.
Looking forward to the July event, festival director Dr Delma Tomlin says: “We are thrilled to welcome friends old and new to what promises to be a fantastic celebration of music from an outstanding array of artists.
Le Consort: French orchestral ensemble will make York Early Music Festival debut on July 6, performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, at 7.30pm
“Celebrating over 500 years of music from across Europe, we are particularly delighted to be able to welcome ensembles from France, Switzerland, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands to our wonderful city. We look forward to welcoming visitors and residents alike to eight wonderful days of music-making.”
The full programme and booking details can be found at ncem.co.uk/whats-on/yemf/. Bookings also can be made on 01904 658338, via boxoffice@ncem.co.uk and in person at the NCEM, Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York.
York Early Music Festival: the back story
ESTABLISHED in 1977, the festival is designed to celebrate York’s myriad of medieval churches, guildhalls and historic houses through historically informed music-making of the highest international standard.
The annual event is the “jewel in the crown” of the National Centre for Early Music’s annual programme, enjoyed by York residents and visitors from all over the UK and across the world.
The Tallis Scholars: Performing Glorious Creatures programme at York Minster on July 5 at 7.30pm. Picture: Hugo Glendinning
Stamford Bridge Community Choir: Using Makaton signing when performing at York Community Choir Festival tonight. Picture: Murray Swain
A CHORUS of song, a play counting the cost of economics and an eye for comedy help to fill Charles Hutchinson’s in-box of entertainment for the week ahead.
Festival of the week: York Community Choir Festival, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm nightly, plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
MORE than 1,250 singers are performing this week at the JoRo. Tonight features Stagecoach Performing Arts Choir, The Sounds Fun Singers, The Garrowby Singers, In Harmony Ladies Choir and Stamford Bridge Community Choir; tomorrow, Huntington School Choirs; York Military Wives Choir and Heworth Community Choir, and Friday, York Theatre Royal Choir; Eboraca; Some Voices York; Bishopthorpe Community Choir and Harmonia.
The Saturday matinee presents Excel Learning Trust Schools’ Choir, The Rhythm Of Life Singers, The Fairburn Singers and The York Celebration Singers; Saturday evening, York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir, Chechelele, York Sing Space, The Wellbeing Choir and Main Street Sound Ladies Barbershop Chorus. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Rob Auton: One in the eye for comedy at The Crescent, York, tonight
The eyes have it: Rob Auton: The Eyes Open And Shut Show, Burning Duck Comedy Club at The Crescent, York, tonight, 7.30pm; Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, May 3, 7.30pm
“THE Eyes Open And Shut Show is a show about eyes when they are open and eyes when they are shut,” says surrealist York/Barmby Moor comedian, writer, artist, podcaster and actor Rob Auton. “With this show I wanted to explore what I could do to myself and others with language when eyes are open and shut…thinking about what makes me open my eyes and what makes me shut them.” Box office: York, thecrescentyork.com; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Queenz: On song in Drag Me To The Disco at the Grand Opera House, York
Drag show of the week: Queenz, Drag Me To The Disco, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm
JOIN the gals for “an electrifying, live vocal, drag-stravaganza, where Dancing Queenz and Disco Dreams collide for the party of a lifetime”, created and produced by David Griego. Flying their rainbow-coloured flag high in the sky, Bella Du-Ball, Dior Montay, Candy Caned, Billie Eyelash and ZeZe Van Cartier serve up sass, singalongs and a message of love, equality and acceptance.
Craig Colley, alias Billie Eyelash, says: “Drag queens really do come in all shapes and sizes, but if you want to see some hilarious, stupidly talented, beautiful and of course humble ones, Queenz really is the show for you.” Age guidance: 14 plus. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Gorka Marquez and Karen Hauer: Dancing on Speakeasy terms at York Barbican tomorrow
Dance spectacular of the week: Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez, Speakeasy, York Barbican, tomorrow, 7.30pm
STRICTLY Come Dancing professionals Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez follow up Firedance with new show Speakeasy on their biggest tour so far. Expect exhilarating live music and breathtaking choreography as they unlock the door to an undercover world of elegance and iconic dance flavours.
From the clandestine New York Speakeasy to the sultry Havana dance floors and from the burlesque cabaret clubs of the mid-1900s to the glittering mirror balls of Studio 54, this “delicious dance experience” serves up Mamba, Salsa, Charleston, Foxtrot and Samba moves. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Joe Sellman-Leava, left, and Dylan Howells in It’s The Economy, Stupid! at Helmsley Arts Centre. Picture: Duncan McGlynn
Fringe show of the week: Worklight Theatre in It’s The Economy, Stupid!, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday,7.30pm
NAMED after the phrase coined by James Carville, strategist for Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, It’s the Economy, Stupid! employs storytelling to uncover the true cost of low financial literacy in a world ruled by money.
Directed by Katharina Reinthaller, this 60-minute Edinburgh Fringe hit tells the true story of a family caught up in the 1990s’ recession, losing home and livelihood under the economic conditions that led the world from post-war boom to housing and cost-of-living crises. Using an old board game, bags, boxes, projection mapping and a sprinkle of magic, writer Joe Sellman-Leava and Dylan Howells explore how macroeconomic forces can win elections and why the force that dominates personal lives is so complicated. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Greg Brice: Blues guitarist to play Milton Rooms, Malton
Blues gig of the week: Greg Brice, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm
BACK when Greg Brice played the pubs, clubs and bars of the West Midlands, he would find even tough audiences hanging on to his every word within a few bars. His intricate fingerstyle guitar and strident electric slide connected in the raw and immediate way that only proper roots music can. Now, in blues and Americana clubs alike, his songwriting is capturing people’s imagination. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Edwina Hayes: Heading from Beverley to Malton on Sunday night
Singer-songwriter of the week: An Evening With Edwina Hayes, Milton Rooms, Malton, Sunday, 7.30pm
EAST Riding musician Edwina Hayes brings together English folk, Americana and the northern singer-songwriter tradition to create her own sound. She has toured with Jools Holland, Van Morrison, Loudon Wainwright III and the late Nanci Griffith, who covered her song Pour Me A Drink and once called her “the sweetest voice in England”. She last released an album, Ruby Rose, in 2021. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Artwork by Rosebay, on show at Helmsley Arts Centre from today
Exhibition of the week: Rosebay, Helmsley Arts Centre, today to May 2
YORK Open Studios 2021 and Ryedale Open Studios 2023 artist Rosebay uses marker pens filled with acrylic paint as the quickest and most direct way to fill big canvasses that celebrate the unsung corners of the natural and built world. “The bark of a tree, a patch of rock, the place where weeds spring out of a crack in the pavement: all have their own magic and all are worthy of attention,” she says.
“Drawing on elements of Pop Art, graffiti art and cartography, sometimes my paintings home in on a tiny area and turn it into a whole landscape; sometimes I step back and take in a larger scene, often weaving together images I have seen as I walk.” Rosebay will be very happy to discuss her paintings when visiting the arts centre on March 16 and 30.
