Category: Exhibitions

Posted on

More Things To Do in York and beyond as Quality Street comes to chocolate city. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 20, from The Press

Jamie Smelt’s Recruiting Sergeant, Paula Lane’s Phoebe Throssel, Aron Julius’s Captain Valentine Brown and Alex Moran’s Ensign Blades in Northern Broadsides’ romp through J M Barrie’s Regency rom-com Quality Street at York Theatre Royal

LOOKING to make a list of every brilliant thing you could do? Here are Charles Hutchinson’s suggestions for the week ahead.

Play of the week: Northern Broadsides in Quality Street, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm, plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees 

NORTHERN Broadsides, from Halifax, the home of Quality Street chocs, heads to the chocolate city of York with this delicious J M Barrie farce, whose lead characters featured on the first tin to take the Regency rom-com’s title in 1936.

Artistic director Laurie Sansom stirs a good helping of Yorkshire wit from retired workers at the Halifax factory into Barrie’s story of determined heroine Phoebe Throssel, who runs a school for unruly children, and Captain Valentine, who needs teaching a lesson in love. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

The poster for Lisa Cortés’s documentary Little Richard: I Am Everything, showing at City Screen Picturehouse

Film event of the week: Little Richard: I Am Everything, City Screen Picturehouse, York, Tuesday, 8pm

DIRECTOR Lisa Cortés’s documentary tells the story of “the black queer origins of rock’n’roll, exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman”.

Delving into Little Richard’s complicated inner world, with its switchbacks and contradictions and service to both God and music, Cortés conducts interviews with family, musicians and scholars to reveals how he created an art form for ultimate self-expression, and yet what he gave to the world he was never able to give to himself. Box office: picturehouses.com.

Park life: Alan Park enlists for performing list-making solo show Every Brilliant Thing, Shared Space’s debut production

List of the week: Shared Space presents Every Brilliant Thing, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Wednesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee  

THEATRE@41 chair Alan Park swaps off-stage duties for on when appearing in Every Brilliant Thing, an hour-long show built around a list that spans a lifetime spent trying to prove life is beautiful, written by Duncan Macmillan with input from Jonny Donahoe.

Based on both true and untrue stories, this play about depression and the lengths we go to for those we love is staged by new York theatre company Shared Space, directed by Maggie Smales. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Morgan Wade: Making her York Barbican debut on Thursday

Country gig of the week: Morgan Wade, Crossing State Lines (And Oceans!) Acoustic Tour, York Barbican, Thursday, 8pm

MORGAN Wade, the 28-year-old country singer from Floyd, Virginia, plays York on the back of her “once-in-a-decade debut”, 2021’s Reckless, first released through Thirty Tigers and later picked up by Sony Music Nashville.

Wade wrote or co-wrote a song cycle that addressed the reality facing teens and 20-somethings, embracing raw desire, the reality of getting high and getting sober and the realm of crawling through the wreckage, with tough vulnerability and hurt in her voice. Kat Hasty supports. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk (limited availability).

Jamie Stapleton’s Cap’n Billy Bones, left, Jack McAdam’s Dirk, Lee Gemmell’s Long John Silver and Paul Toy’s Doctor Livesey in Baron Productions’ Treasure Island

Adventure of the week: Baron Productions in Treasure Island, St Mary’s Church, Bishophill Junior, York, Thursday to Saturday, 7.30pm

YORK company Baron Productions stages Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 coming-of-age adventure story of buccaneers and buried gold, wherein 12-year-old Jim Hawkins finds a treasure map that belonged to the pirate Captain Flint. On board the Hispaniola, he and his friends Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livesey duly set off to a faraway island.

Daniel Wilmot’s thoroughly dashing cast includes Lee Gemmell’s Long John Silver, Paul Toy’s Doctor Livesey, Ellie Guffick’s Dick Johnson, Jamie Stapleton’s Cap’n Billy Bones, Molly Barton-Howe’s Morgan and Jack McAdam’s Dirk. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/baron-productions.

The agony and the Ecstasy: Octopus Dream in I Love You, Mum – I Promise I Won’t Die at York Theatre Royal Studio

Studio show of the week: Octopus Dream in I Love You, Mum – I Promise I Won’t Die, York Theatre Royal Studio, Friday, 7.45pm, and Saturday, 4pm and 7.45pm

MARK Wheeller’s fast-moving, emotionally charged play tells the true story of the tragic death of Dan, a cool, creative and talented South London schoolboy, who took a lethal dose of Ecstasy at an illegal rave.

At 16, he had plans, plenty of them, but losing his life was not one of them. Directed by Elliot Montgomery, Cobie Scott-Ward, Amy Zoldan, Alex Colley and Sean Radford use Dan’s own words to describe the choices he made and the impact on his family and friends in a journey from tragedy to redemption. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Nicholas Wright: Violin soloist at York Guildhall Orchestra concert at York Barbican

Classical concert of the week: York Guildhall Orchestra, Bernstein, Korngold & Rachmaninoff, York Barbican, May 20, 7.30pm

VIOLINIST Nicholas Wright heads back to York from his Vancouver home to play Hollywood film composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D with the York Guildhall Orchestra.

Conducted by Simon Wright, the orchestra’s final concert of the 2022-2023 season also features Bernstein’s Overture to Candide and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No 2, written nine years after his first. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Sarabeth Tucek: Re-emerging as SBT at STH, as in Selby Town Hall

Long-awaited return of the week: Sarabeth Tucek, Selby Town Hall, May 20, 8pm

AMERICAN singer-songwriter Sarabeth Tucek has re-emerged from a decade in hibernation – or more precisely “concentrating on other creative endeavours” – with a May 19 double album, Joan Of All, and a new moniker, SBT, her long-time nickname.

On her first British itinerary since 2011, she will be joined by her band for 18 dates. Support slots go to Kiran Leonard and dbh. Box office: 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk.

In Focus: Ben Fogle: Wild, York Barbican, May 19, 7pm and Harrogate Royal Hall, May 21, 7.30pm

Ben Fogle: Helping to find “the ocean of possibility” in his Wild show

BROADCASTER and adventurer Ben Fogle’s latest walk on the wild side is a 22-date tour full of hair-raising and uplifting stories from a life of amazing encounters.

Taking in Yorkshire trips to York and Harrogate next week, the Animal Park, Lost Worlds and New Lives In The Wild presenter will be sharing stories of hope, possibility and positivity and offering tips on “finding your ocean of possibility”.

Lessons learned from a career that has taken the 49-year-old Londoner to some of the most extreme locations in the world, whether filming for documentaries or tackling some of mankind’s greatest physical challenges.

A former Reservist in the Royal Navy, Ben embarked on the BBC’s ground-breaking Castaway series in 2000, when 36 adventurous souls ditched the rat race for a year-long social experiment, marooned on the remote Scottish island of Taransay in the Outer Hebrides.

“I think it’s all luck, but you make a bit of that yourself,” he says, reflecting on the past 23 years. “I have always loved travel, nature, the outdoors – that’s why I did Castaway. But it was a much more intense experience than anything I could have had under normal circumstances.

“I get asked about Castaway a lot and will be talking about it on the tour, as it’s a big part of me and relative to so much of what I do and have done.”

“Y2K” was “a definitive time”, Ben says. “It was pre-mobile phones, social media didn’t exist, so many things were very, very different. Now things have changed so profoundly, it would be difficult to go back to that innocence and simplicity.

“A [television] channel might try it again one day but no one has replicated it so far. Partly due to the fact nothing like it existed at that time, and people went for very pure and innocent reasons. The landscape has changed, people go on TV now for fame and fortune and that naturally changes the dynamic.

“Heading off to spend a year on an island with a load of strangers gave me a real grounding and a foundation of what it takes to make a simple, off-grid life.”

Those foundations allowed Ben to build his career and stood him in perfect stead for his many varied TV projects. Perhaps none more so than the 12 years of global travel for New Lives In The Wild, wherein he meets people living extreme, off-grid lives in a world now dominated by ease of communication and all too often dictated by being on-grid.

“Castaway definitely gave me the qualifications to be able to do a series like New Lives – to spend time with people living their whole life the way I did for 12 months,” he says. “I have a better understanding of the trials and tribulations, the highs and lows, the benefits and sacrifices they make.

“The more people I have spent time with over 12 years of making that show, the more I understand what goes into making a sustainable, off-grid life like that. A lot of these people are quite reserved, not anti-social necessarily, but they perhaps don’t enjoy being round other people. But as I have experienced it, they can open up with me – there’s almost a mutual respect between us.”

Ben’s experience of meeting those who live in some of the world’s most diverse environments forms the basis of his Wild tour as he takes audiences on a journey to relive inspiring and uplifting tales he has encountered on his travels to the wilderness of northern Sweden, the jungles of Honduras, the hostility of Chernobyl and the mountains of Nepal.

Having previously filmed in Chernobyl, when he met those who returned to live there as it continues to recover from the 1986 nuclear disaster, Ben made a private visit in September after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Early in the conflict, Russian armed forces seized the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – and soldiers were later reported to have radiation poisoning following their operations in the highly contaminated area.

More than a year after the invasion, he does not foresee the conflict ending soon. “I fear this is in for the long run, decades and decades of unrest in that part of the world,” he says. “I can’t see a quick resolution unfortunately.

“It’s another thing the tour will look at: the effects that war and disaster can have on places, not just the landscape but the people too. It seems harsh to say, but war is part of what happens in a world where seven billion people live. It’s another way that man destroys the environment around us, but can also provide examples of how a place can bounce back.”

Ben’s love of the great outdoors reaches back to his own childhood, where his time was divided between rural Dorset and central London, complemented by extended school holiday trips to the Canadian wilderness to visit his paternal grandparents.

Could he ever step fully out of modern life and would he take his family, wife Marina and children Ludo and Iona, along for the adventure?

“I’m incredibly lucky that I get to straddle two worlds, being in the urban world with all it offers, then going off to the wilderness – and that gives me perspective, which is so important in life,” he says.

“There’s definitely something about that kind of life that appeals to me, but not right now. Ludo and Iona are 14 and 12 this year and are very much involved in urban living.

“They are very well travelled. They have spent time in the jungle, in remote islands, wood cabins, the Norwegian wilderness. But then they go to school and are very much engaged with ‘normal’ society, and love researching on computers, having pizza or going to the cinema.”

Ben’s family lives outside London now. “That helps,” he says. “We ride horses, go wild swimming, long dog walks. But it’s balance; I want them to be street savvy as well as being able in bush craft skills. I want my children to be able to wire a plug and start a fire, to make a bed and to put up a tent. They’re all skills for life and don’t need to be exclusive.

“It’s one of the biggest lessons I think I’ve learnt from meeting hundreds of people all over the world – that too many people follow a prescription for life and don’t think about how you can change that.

“Yes, on one hand I live a prescriptive life with two children, a couple of dogs, paying taxes, being very much part of society. But on the other hand, I have a pretty alternative life, spending the majority of the year away from home because of what I do for a living.

“People ask why I’m not living in a cabin in the woods, but there are sacrifices to make for that life – and I love those great cultural events, arts, cinema, books, so what I have realised is that the search for a perfect balance is what is more important.

“My life is not something everyone could have, not everyone could do it. But I hope that after joining me on the Wild tour, people will consider what kind of things they can do in their own life, the small changes to make to find that balance.”

“Too many people follow a prescription for life and don’t think about how you can change that,” says Ben Fogle

Ben Fogle: the back story

FORMER Royal Navy Reservist Ben appeared on the BBC series Castaway in 2000, marooned on an island in the Outer Hebrides for a year.

He has since presented Animal Park, Countryfile, Wild In Africa, Wild On The West Coast, Crufts, One Man And His Dog, Country Tracks Extreme Dreams, A Year Of Adventures, Storm City, Harbour Lives, Countrywise, Trawlermen’s Lives and New Lives In The Wild.

Hehas made documentaries on Prince William in Africa, disease in Ethiopia, Captain Scott in Antarctica and crocodiles in Botswana.

He has travelled extensively in South and Central America and has toured the world for various broadcasting assignments to more than 200 places including Tristan Da Cunha, Pitcairn, St Helena, East Timor, Nepal, Namibia, Kenya, the Arctic Circle, Zambia, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, Libya, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Tahiti, Maldives, Tanzania and Morocco.

He has worked as a special correspondent for NBC News and has published more than 15 books, including The Teatime Islands, Offshore, The Crossing, Race To The Pole, The Accidental Adventurer, The Accidental Naturalist, Labrador, Land Rover and English.

He has run the Marathon Des Sables, swum from Alcatraz to San Francisco, and is a keen sailor, marathon runner, boxer and cyclist.

Ben married Marina in 2006 after meeting her in the park while walking their dogs, Inca and Maggi. They have two children, Ludo and Iona.

For Wild tickets: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk.

The elephant in the room: Around The World In 80 Days at Hull Truck Theatre

REVIEW: Hull Truck Theatre/Theatre By The Lake, Hull Truck Theatre, until May 20 ***

AROUND The World In 80 Days is a race against time, a race that involves cramming in so much that ironically Laura Eason’s play runs the risk of feeling like it is taking too long.

Such a challenge faces both American writer Eason and director Hal Chambers, although designer Louie Whitemore definitely has the right idea in utilising a revolving stage to build the sensation of constant movement.

Whitemore’s basic set is bare: a set of the imagination on which anything can happen, anything can arrive: an elephant, a sledge, a train, a trading vessel, even a circus to start the second half.

Naomi Oppenheim’s puppetry, Jess Williams’s movement direction and Claire Llewellyn’s fight direction all add to the visual spectacle in a production rooted in physical theatre and dextrous feats as much as symbols of English Victoriana and colonialism.

French novelist Jules Verne’s story finds eccentric Victorian English gent Phileas Fogg (Stefan Adegbola) placing a wager with his stuffy Reform Club cronies that he can traverse the globe in 80 days. His entire fortune is at risk.

Adegbola’s immaculate, precise, tea-drinking, unflappable but not-always scrupulous Fogg takes on his challenge with the help, sometimes hindrance, of French valet Passepartout ( a clowning, Chaplinesque little tramp of a comic turn from Miriam O’Brien).

On his trail and on his tail is Dyfrig Morris’s Inspector Fix, who has convinced himself Fogg is a thief and will go to the ends of the world to prove it. He plays the buffooning fall guy in comic tradition.

As Fogg races from Italy to India, skips ship in Hong Kong and heads into dustbowl America, into the story are woven Tricia Adele-Turner’s Captain Speedy, Purvi Parmar’s Captain Blossom, Nicholas Prasad’s Mr Naidu and Niall Ransome’s scene-stealing, all-American Colonel Stamp Proctor when Chambers’ production hits its stride in the more inventive, more thrilling second half.

The danger rises and suddenly romance is in the air. Saba Shiraz’s Mrs Aouda, joining the protective Fogg from India onwards, has the measure of the Englishman, challenging him in a discussion on Britain’s colonial acquisitions, not least because Adegbola’s Fogg carries himself with an air of arrogant assumption of superiority.

Amid the chaotic humour, the playful music, the crazy commotions reminiscent of a Mischief caper, and the celebration of Britain’s age of invention, that more serious note gives Eason’s script a topical resonance.

Box office: 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk.

Posted on

More Things To Do in York and beyond – outside or even in the schoolroom. Hutch’s List No. 19 for 2023, from The Press

Heathers The Musical: Too cool for school at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith

FROM a dead-cool musical to a ‘Sueperfan’, a Strictly ten to guitar pyrotechnics, Charles Hutchinson has tips on how to have a better week.

School outing of the week: Heathers The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

WELCOME to Westerberg High, 1989, where Veronica Sawyer (played by Jenna Innes) is just another nobody craving a better day, until she joins the beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers. Now her dreams of popularity may finally come true.

Enter mysterious teen rebel Jason  ‘JD’  Dean (Jacob Fowler), who teaches her that it might kill to be a nobody, but it is murder being a somebody in Andy Fickman’s touring production with electrifying choreography by Gary Lloyd. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Federico Pendenza: Lunchtime concert at St Saviourgate Unitarian Chapel

Tributes of the week:  York Late Music, Reginald Smith Brindle, 1pm today; Sir Harrison Birtwistle: A New Matrix, 7.30pm today, St Saviourgate Unitarian Chapel, York

YORK Late Music pays tribute to two British composers, both Lancastrian, one a major name, the other an unjustly forgotten figure surely due for a revival.

The lunchtime programme celebrates the work of Reginald Smith Brindle, best known for his solo guitar work. Guitarist Federico Pendenza plays four works by Smith Brindle, pieces by Poulenc and a Chris Gander world premiere.

The evening’s tribute to Sir Harrison Birtwistle, based around the clarinet, acknowledges the work of York musician Alan Hacker, his musical associate. Works by Birtwistle, Messaien and Peter Maxwell Davies will be complemented by short pieces composed following Birtwistle’s death in April 2021. Box office: latemusic.org or on the door.

Lulo Reinhardt & Yuliya Lonskaya: Guitar duo at the NCEM

Guitar duo of the week: Lulo Reinhardt & Yuliya Lonskaya, National Centre for Early Music, York, Tuesday, 7.30pm

LULO Reinhardt, from Koblenz, Germany, is the grandnephew of Django Reinhardt. As to be expected, Lulo has a repertoire of gypsy swing, but he has extended his musical horizons to embrace music from North Africa and India.

Yuliya Lonskaya, from Mogilev, Belarus, performs her own style of classic, folk, jazz and bossa nova arrangements. Together they make beautiful music. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Katie Melua: Love & Money tour date at York Barbican

Singer-songwriter gig of the week: Katie Melua, Love & Money Tour, York Barbican, Monday, 7.30pm

KATIE Melua, the Georgian-born, West London-based singer-songwriter, returns to York Barbican to promote her ninth album, March 2023’s Love & Money, 20 years on from her chart-topping debut, Call Off The Search.

Melua, 38, will combine such hits as The Closest Thing To Crazy, Call Off The Search, Nine Million Bicycles and If You Were A Sailboat, with songs from the new release. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Sueperfan Eleanor Higgins with her cardboard cutout of Sue Perkins

Sue Perkins superfan of the week:  In PurSUEt, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Tuesday, 8pm

IN Eleanor Higgins’s LGBT confessional comedy drama, ‘Woman’ is seated in a therapist’s office, sent there to deal with her drink problem. But she does not have a problem and nor does she need therapy. She needs Sue Perkins. They are meant for each other. If only Sue could see that too, but how can she when she is too busy being a celebrity?

‘Woman’ sets out in pursuit of her love, following Sue’s every move online, breaking in backstage at the BBC. But can she keep it all together while battling her out-of control boozing? Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Chris Singleton: Giving tips on How To Be A Better Human at Theatre@41

Conversation of the week: Chris Singleton in How To Be A Better Human, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Wednesday, 7.30pm

THIS spoken-word comedy about grief and self-acceptance tells Chris Singleton’s story of losing two of the biggest relationships in his life – father and wife – in the space of a few months.

Directed by Tom Wright, Singleton uses PowerPoint comedy, autobiographical storytelling and poetry to open conversations on mental health. Finding lightness and humour in death, loss and divorce, he explores how we can lose everything but find strength to rebuild. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Can you namet them all? Strictly Come Dancing: The Professionals at York Barbican

Dance show of the week: Strictly Come Dancing: The Professionals, York Barbican, Friday (sold out) and May 31, 7.30pm

TEN Strictly professionals – count’em – partner up for a tour directed by the BBC show’s creative director, Jason Gilkison, promising “world-class dance, stunning choreography and sparkling sets and costumes”.

In the theatrical ensemble will be: Dianne Buswell; Vito Coppola; Carlos Gu; Karen Hauer; Neil Jones; Nikita Kuzmin; Gorka Marquez; Luba Mushtuk; Jowita Przystal and Nancy Xu. Tickets for the second performance are still available at yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Pete Oxley and Nick Meier of the Oxley-Meier Guitar Project

Guitars galore: Oxley-Meier Guitar Project, National Centre for Early Music, York, May 18, 7.30pm

THE Oxley-Meier Guitar Project head for York with a new album ready for release. In the line-up are Pete Oxley and Nick Meier, guitars, Raph Mizraki, bass and percussion, and Paul Cavaciuti, drums, who specialise in melodically and texturally driven contemporary jazz.

Oxley-Meier bring ten differing guitars to each concert, including fretless nylon, acoustic and electric 12-strings, sitar-guitar and 11-string fretless. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Posted on

Spark Studios’ makers exhibit works of colour and community – or its loss

Kai West’s poster for the Spark* Studios Makers exhibition

SPARK* Studios Makers’ resident artists Dominic Brooks, Leon Francois Dumont, Jake Moore, Lucy Topham and Kai West are exhibiting at Spark:York, Piccadilly, York, this weekend.

Based in Spark’s MAKE space for the past 18 months, the York artists are showcasing their distinctly individual styles and talents.

On display in the SHOW space upstairs on Saturday, from 12 noon to 10pm, and Sunday, from 12 noon to 8pm, are a collection of 2D artworks in oils, acrylics, mixed media, pen and digital.

“You’ll see a conscious emphasis on colour, themes on community, and the absence of it in the pandemic years we’ve lived through,” says artist Leon Francois Dumont. “There’s plenty of figurative work and a mixture of realist works, alongside the more fantastical, abstracted and imagined.” Admission is free.

Dominic Brooks’s poster for Spark* Studios Makers show




Posted on

Kentmere House Gallery has a right royal spotlight on Coronation weekend

Castle Howard Lily Pond, by Fred Cuming RA

KENTMERE House Gallery is marking the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla by highlighting artists with a “Royal” connection this weekend.

“We have always specialised in bringing nationally known artists to York, many of them being members of Royal art societies, who show regularly in central London,” says Ann Petherick, owner and curator of the long-running gallery in Scarcroft Hill, York. 

“Some of the societies’ names are a little confusing, having changed over the years. years. For example, ROI stands for Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and RE for the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers, but the standard of their work is unmistakeable.” 

On show at Kentmere House Gallery down the years have been works by members of the RA (Royal Academician); ROI (Royal Institute of Oil Painters); RE (Royal Society of Painter-Etchers); RWS(Royal Watercolour Society) and RBA (Royal Society of British Artists).

Harbour Shelter, by Roy Freer ROI

Ann also draws attention to N.E.A.C., the New English Art Club. “It’s not royal but it deserves to be,” she says.

Kentmere House Gallery will be open on Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 5pm, or later by appointment on 01904 656507 or 07801 810825.

The gallery is open every Thursday evening, 6pm to 9pm, and on the first weekend of each month, 11am to 5pm. Visitors are welcome at the gallery at any other reasonable time or by contacting by phone.

“If you need a refuge from all things Coronation-related this weekend, Kentmere House Gallery is where you can find it, by immersing yourselves in some of the finest present-day art in the north,” says Ann.

She’s Late Again, by Susan Bower RBA
Posted on

More Things To Do in York and beyond in the virtual and real world. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 18 for 2023, from The Press, York

Flying Scotsman VR: The virtual reality experience at the National Railway Museum to mark the steam locomotive’s 100th birthday

AS Flying Scotsman meets virtual reality, Charles Hutchinson goes full speed ahead to keep you on the right track for entertainment by rail, on land or indoors.

New attraction of the week: Flying Scotsman VR, National Railway Museum, York

THE new virtual reality experience at the NRM celebrates Flying Scotsman in the iconic steam locomotive’s centenary year, taking visitors on a journey back in time and around the world, bringing the golden age of rail travel to life.

Commissioned by the Science Museum Group and developed in collaboration with Figment Productions and Sarner International, the experience uses free-roaming VR headsets to provide a multi-sensory experience that includes an understanding of how steam locomotion works from inside the boiler. Admission to the NRM is free but a charge does apply for Flying Scotman VR. Booking is advised at railwaymuseum.org.uk.

Steve Cassidy: Back among friends at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre

York stalwart of the week: Steve Cassidy Band, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

THE Steve Cassidy Band and friends perform a selection of rock, country music and ballads, combining something old with something new.

York singer, guitarist and songwriter – and former headmaster – Steve recorded in the 1960s with York-born composer John Barry and pioneering producer Joe Meek. Tomorrow night he is joined by his band members and guests at his favourite theatre. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Midge Ure: Synths in synch in Band Electronica concert of two Ultravox albums in full

Retro gig of the week:  Midge Ure & Band Electronica, The Voice And Visions Tour, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

ON 2019’s The 1980 Tour, Midge Ure & Band Electronica revisited Ultravox’s Vienna album and Visage’s debut LP. Now, on his twice-rearranged follow-up tour, Voice And Visions, Ure marks the 40th anniversary of Ultravox’s synth-driven, experimental Rage In Eden and Quartet albums. Box office: atgtickets.com.york.

Space exploration: A spaceman lands in York in Lincoln Ligthfoot’s playfully surreal art at the Grand Opera House

Art talk of the week: Lincoln Lightfoot, Grand Opera House, York, Thursday, 6pm

YORK Open Studios 2023 artist Lincoln Lightfoot presents a 90-minute Grand Opera House Creative Learning artist talk and workshop to complement his ongoing exhibition in the Cumberland Street theatre’s box office.

In his retro art, Lincoln explores surrealist concepts reminiscent of the absurdist poster art that captured  the Fifties and Sixties’ B-movie fixation with comical science-fiction disasters, but now played out on the 21st century streets and landmark buildings of York. Tickets:  atgtickets.com/york.

Gary Meikle: Expressing his loathing of stupid questions in 2.5 comedy show at York Barbican

Likely to cause a stir: Gary Meikle, 2.5, York Barbican, Friday, 8pm

SCOTTISH comedian Gary Meikle returns to York Barbican with his third live show, or 2.5 as he calls it. Top professionals and industry people may have advised him not to be so crude or edgy, but “as a kid growing up in the care system, I was told that I’d be either dead or in jail by the time I was 30, so I tend not to listen to others and do things my way,” he says.

In a “continued celebration of me being me” in defiance of cancel culture, Meikle discusses equality between the sexes, medication side effects, his loathing of stupid questions  and “how our ancestors were idiots”. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Guy Masterson: One actor, 69 roles in Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood at Theatre@41

Tour de force of the week: Guy Masterson, Under Milk Wood, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 7.30pm

CELEBRATING the 70th anniversary of Under Milk Wood, Olivier Award winner Guy Masterson portrays one day in the life of Llareggub, a fictional town by the sea somewhere in Wales, as he assiduously conjures up all 69 of Dylan Thomas’s ebullient inhabitants in a feat of memory and physical virtuosity.

Complemented by Matt Clifford’s soundscape, Under Milk Wood is bawdy and beautiful, sad and sensual and, through the music of language, leaves indelible, unforgettable images of humanity. Masterson, Richard Burton’s nephew by the way, has clocked up more than  2,000 performances, from Swansea to the West End, Trinidad to New Zealand, over 30 years. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Jessica Steel: Showcasing debut album Higher Frequencies at The Crescent

Made of Steel: Jessica Steel, The Crescent, York, May 7, 7.30pm

YORK powerhouse singer Jessica Steel performs her October 2022 debut album, Higher Frequencies, in full for the first time.

A fixture at Big Ian Donaghy’s A Night To Remember charity concerts at York Barbican, hairdressing salon boss Jessica made the album with songwriter-producer Andy Firth, late of the Britpop band The Dandys. “There’s an interesting contrast between uplifting music and sad lyrics throughout the album, as well as a recurring theme of finding hope through adversity,” she says. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Lloyd Cole: First York gig in 23 years

Commotion incoming: Lloyd Cole, York Barbican, October 17

LLOYD Cole will team up with former Commotions compadres Blair Cowan and Neil Clark at York Barbican for the only Yorkshire gig of his 17-date autumn tour to showcase his 12th solo album, On Pain, set for release on June 23.

On his first York appearance since a solo show at Fibbers in May 2000, Cole will play two sets, the first acoustic, the second, electric with the band. Box office: lloydcole.com/live or yorkbarbican.co.uk.

In Focus: Tim Crouch, Truth’s A Dog Must To Kennel, York International Shakespeare Festival, York St John University Creative Centre, tonight, 8pm

Tim Crouch: King Lear and a virtual reality head set combine in Truth’s A Dog Must To Kennel at York International Shakespeare Festival. Picture: Stuart Armitt

TIM Crouch’s 2022 Edinburgh Fringe First winner plays the York International Shakespeare Festival after visiting New York and playing a London season.

Taking on the character of The Fool, Shakespeare’s King Lear meets stand-up comedy meets the metaverse as Crouch dons a virtual reality headset to explore Lear in a post-pandemic world and interrogate theatrical form and the essence of live performance.

“It’s reductive to say I have a favourite Shakespeare play: King Lear. They’re all great but I have a relationship with this play that goes a little deeper,” says the Bognor Regis-born experimental theatre maker, actor, playwright and director, whose work rejects theatrical convention, especially realism, and invites audiences to participate in each performance’s creation.

“I played Lear at university [Bristol] at a King Lear Symposium at Ferrara in northern Italy, at the age of 20, which is a little young! I then directed a 90-minute production for the Royal Shakespeare Company ten years ago.”

The play contains everything, he contends. “Complex relationships. Love. Madness. Families.  Obscene wealth and the hypocrisy of wealth. Towards the end, Lear becomes a socialist champion. He has this moment of enlightenment, realising that everything on top of that is superfluous,” says Tim.

“This egotistical figure has his power removed, his ego removed, discovering compassion in the truest sense.”

Tim then refracted King Lear through the Covid shroud of the past three years. “I also saw Lear in Trump and in some degree in Boris Johnson, seeing the world governed by egomaniacs, of which Lear is an example,” he says.

“Or like Succession [the television series about a wealthy family at war], where Brian Cox plays this grotesque maniacal figure. It’s Rupert Murdoch really!”

Tim views King Lear through the eyes of The Fool. “He doesn’t have a name; he’s slightly mysterious, he’s depressed and he leaves before the end of the play, before anyone has been killed,” he notes.

“He just disappears, and I’m fascinated by people leaving, just getting up and going, so I dramatise his moment of departure in this show.”

“What would a contemporary Shakespearean Fool be? I think it would be Stewart Lee,” says Tim Crouch

Tim exposes King Lear through a modern lens. “I don’t know what’s gone wrong with the world. Maybe it was always this way, but there are these deep schisms that are dividing the world. Men like Trump,” he says. “Playing this show in New York was extraordinary! Over here, there is civil war in Brexit, just as there is civil war in Lear’s family.”

Experiencing theatre only digitally during the pandemic has had an impact on his show too. “As a theatre maker, my passion for live theatre was exacerbated by lockdown when you could only watch theatre online,” says Tim.

“’Live theatre’ is tautological because, to me, theatre is only live, whereas in the pandemic, we had an image of theatre that was only on a screen, so that prompted me to put on a virtual reality headset at times in this play.”

What happens then? “The conceit of this piece is that I take The Fool back to the point of his departure, and now he will witness his exit, the blinding of Gloucester and what I think is the most powerful scene in theatre ever: the Dover cliffs scene where the blinded Gloucester’s imagination is brought into play through his son’s act of imagination, saving his father,” says Tim.

“Theatre is an adult form of imagination, taking us to a different place and learning from that journey, but keeping us safe while doing that. Shakespeare’s lines are very precise; they are an invitation to see what I see through language, to then narrate The Fool’s return through this middle-aged bald guy [Tim is 59] in a headset, that people will experience through their ears.”

Stand-up comedy features in Tim’s performance too. “That’s partly a nod to The Fool, wondering wondering ‘what would a contemporary Fool be’? I think it would be Stewart Lee, a comedian who doesn’t have an agent and does no social media,” he says.

“I don’t claim to be a stand-up but use the form to say things about the experience of being together in a room. When we’re in the same place at the same time, just look at how brilliant and transformative we can be through using our mind, our body, our imagination.

“But theatre is increasingly becoming the preserve of the wealthy, though the imagination dematerialises that, not succumbing to any socio-economic structure. Children have the greatest imagination, but sadly that then gets replaced with wanting to be TV stars and wanting to make money.”

Assessing the “international” in the York International Shakespeare Festival, Tim says: “The thing that I’m endlessly inspired by is that Shakespeare does and yet doesn’t exist in his plays when there’s now a thirst for autobiographical and biographical plays, which limits them.

“Whereas there’s a quality to his work and to the work of many playwrights of that time who didn’t nail their colours to one mast and can be interpreted by each age, nationality and culture. There’s an objectivity to these plays that requires whoever does a production to find themselves in them – which should be the case with every play, I think.”

Box office: yorkshakes.co.uk.

Posted on

York Open Studios artist Nduka Omeife to take part in York Cultural Awareness Week

York Open Studios artist Nduka Omeife: Playing his part in York Cultural Awareness Week

YORK Open Studios 2023 artist Nduka Omeife will give a demonstration of his working practices tomorrow (25/4/2023) afternoon at the York Cultural Awareness Week, run by York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals.

Nigerian watercolour artist Nduka, whose wife is a nurse at York Hospital, will be taking part in the African/Caribbean Day, held in the MEC Classroom 1 and 2 on the Fifth Floor.

Nduka, who moved to York 18 months ago, exhibited his portraits, figures, street scenes and studies of still life and nature in Baker Street, Clifton, in his York Open Studios debut over the past two weekend. His latest work finds him embracing York’s architecture and cyclists.

One of Nduka Omeife’s watercolours from his York Open Studios portfolio

Nduka is a first class honours graduate in graphic design from the University of Benin, Nigeria. A Nigerian Breweries scholar, he has worked in various organisations as a graphic artist, head of creative and brand alignment officer, his last Nigerian post being as the creative head of one of the African country’s largest banks. 

A prolific painter, whose work explores wet-on-wet and dry approaches to watercolour painting, his official engagements have not deterred him from his love of painting. He owns a gallery and has many art collections. 

York Cultural Awareness Week runs from today until Saturday. Highlights include A Family Day Out in Bootham Park from 10am to 3pm on Saturday. The festival’s cultural focus will fall on Africa and the Caribbean; Great Britain, Europe and America; the Philippines, and Asia, India, Nepal and Pakistan.

Posted on

More Things To Do in York and beyond, strictly in the name of entertainment. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 17, from The Press

Boundary breakers: Kevin Clifton’s Scott Hastings and Faye Brookes’s Fran in Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom The Musical, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith

SHAKESPEARE all shook up, a trio of musicals, a singular Magic Number, orchestral Potter and Tolkien and rocking Goths put Charles Hutchinson’s week ahead in good shape.

Dance show of the week: Strictly Ballroom The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, Monday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

STRICTLY Come Dancing champ Kevin Clifton is joined by Dancing On ice runner-up and Coronation Street soap star Faye Brookes in Baz Luhrmann’s Australian romantic comedy musical.

Directed by Strictly’s Aussie-born judge Craig Revel Horwood, it follows rebellious ballroom dancer Scott Hastings (Clifton) as he falls out with the Australian Federation and finds himself dancing with Fran (Brookes), a beginner with no moves at all. Inspired by one another, this unlikely pairing gathers the courage to defy both convention and families. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

From Ukraine, with love: Kyiv National Academic Molodyy Theatre, from Ukraine, will perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream at York International Shakespeare Festival on April 28. Picture: Oleksii Tovpyha

Festival of the week and beyond: York International Shakespeare Festival, various venues, running until May 1

THIS festival’s fifth edition combines more than 40 live events with others online, taking in international, national and York-made performances, talks, workshops, exhibitions and discussions.

Look out for the Kyiv National Academic Molodyy Theatre, from Ukraine, performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream (April 28); Flabbergast Theatre’s The Tragedy Of Macbeth (April 26); artists from Poland, Croatia and Romania and Tim Crouch’s exploration of King Lear in a post-pandemic world, virtual-reality head set et al, in Truth’s A Dog Must To Kennel (April 29). For the full programme and tickets, go to: yorkshakes.co.uk.

Virtual reality meets King Lear: Tim Crouch in Truth’s A Dog Must To Kennel at the York International Shakespeare Festival. Picture: Stuart Armitt

Soundtracks of the week: The Music Of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit and The Rings Of Power In Concert, York Barbican, Monday, 4pm; The Magical Music Of Harry Potter Live In Concert, Monday, 8pm

THIS brace of concerts has been rearranged from April 6 to 24, both featuring a symphonic orchestra, choir, star soloists and an original actor. The first, a two-hour matinee celebrating the music inspired by the work of J R R Tolkien, spans the threatening sounds of Mordor, the shrill attack of the black riders and the beautiful lyrical melodies of the elves. 

The second showcases the Harry Potter film soundtracks by John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper and Alexandre Desplat, complemented by music from the Harry Potter And The Cursed Child stage show. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Crowning gory: Harry Summers’ Richard, seated, becomes king in a York Shakespeare Project rehearsal for Richard III. Picture: John Saunders

“Petty, narcissistic and vengeful psychopath” of the week: York Shakespeare Project in Richard III, Friargate Theatre, Lower Friargate, York, Wednesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

PHASE Two of York Shakespeare Project, projected to run for 25 years, is launched with former British diplomat Daniel Roy Connolly’s modern-day account of “the York play”, Richard III, set amid the frenetic, calculating and brutal politicking of the House of Commons.

“Telling Shakespeare through what is comfortably the most corrupt institution in the country, the play explores the cut and thrust of power’s crucible, with laws ignored and lies sown,” he says. Harry Summers leads the cast. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/ridinglights.

Romeo Stodart: Solo night at the Fulford Arms for the Magic Numbers singer

Low-key gig of the week: An Evening With Romeo Of The Magic Numbers, Fulford Arms, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

O ROMEO, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo Stodart on Sunday night? The lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of indie rockers The Magic Numbers will be in lonesome mode at the Fulford Arms. Expect Magic Numbers gems and equally magic numbers from 2011 solo album The Moon And You. Box office: thecrescentyork.seetickets.com.

Steve Tearle: Director, Narrator and Mystery Man in NE’s Into The Woods

Bewitching show of the week: NE in Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee

STEPHEN Sondheim’s darkly witty musical is a grown-up twist on the classic fairytales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack And The Beanstalk, here narrated by NE director Steve Tearle.

After the curse of a once-beautiful witch (Pascha Turnbull) leaves a baker (Chris Hagyard) and his wife (Perri-Ann Barley) childless, they venture into the woods to find the ingredients needed to reverse the spell.  Encounters with all manner of fairytale favourites ensue, each on a quest to fulfil a wish. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Mayflies writer-composer Gus Gowland, seated with cast members Emma Thornett, left, Rumi Sutton and Nuno Queimado

Musical premiere of the week: Gus Gowland’s Mayflies, York Theatre Royal, April 28 to May 13, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

THREE into two will go when York Theatre Royal stages the world premiere of resident artist Gus Gowland’s musical Mayflies, wherein he explores how people present different versions of themselves in relationships and how it can then all come crashing down.

Three actors, Nuno Queimado (May), Rumi Sutton (May/Fly) and Emma Thornett (Fly), will alternate the roles, with each pairing offering a different perspective on the relationships within this contemporary love story, traced by Gowland from first flourish on a dating app to the last goodbye in person. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Cold Cave: Headlining the Friday bill at the Tomorrow’s Ghosts Festival in Whitby

Goth gathering of the week: Tomorrow’s Ghosts Festival Spring Gathering 2023, Whitby Pavilion, Whitby, April 28 and 29

BACK in black in the home of Dracula, Whitby’s premier gothic music and alternative arts festival returns with headline appearances by Cold Cave (April 28) and New Model Army (April 29) and a Friday club night into the early hours by Leeds living legends Carpe Noctum.

The Friday bill features a rare performance from American goth rock special guests Christian Death, alongside sets by The Rose Of Avalanche and Siberia. Saturday features special guests Lebanon Hanover, Ist Ist and The Nosferatu. Box office: ticketweb.uk.

Posted on

Sign of the times as Pocklington Arts Centre launches design rebrand for maximum impact on new journey

Pocklington Arts Centre’s new logo, designed by Red Bonsai

POCKLINGTON Arts Centre is introducing a new look to all design, print and soon its website too.

“The development of a contemporary, iconic logo responds to the need to engage new audiences and the demand for clarity and definition in a booming, fast-paced online experience,” says venue director Angela Stone.

After a thorough briefing and selection process, three design agencies were identified to “respond to the nuances of delivering a strong iconic presence that would honour the heritage and reputation of Pocklington Arts Centre (PAC), while appealing to new audiences unfamiliar with the respected and well-beloved East Yorkshire venue”.

Red Bonsai, a creative branding and graphic design studio based in Pocklington, were ultimately selected to develop their proposed concepts. “We were really pleased to be selected to work with the management team to rebrand this unique venue,” says creative director Ashley McGovern.

The poster for this week’s concert by Sabrina Francis with the new Pocklington Arts Centre logo

“I have always enjoyed and admired the arts centre, being a regular audience member. This distinctive venue brings some significant names to the East Riding, and with Pocklington also being our design studio’s hometown, we jumped at the chance.”

Ashley continues: “The new identity illustrates the flexibility and multi-purpose use of Pocklington Arts Centre. Picking up on historical references, we sought to characterise this in a simple gobo (a type of theatrical stage lighting) stencil-style graphic.

“The identity will be used throughout all marketing collateral, on all printed material, on the new website, social media, interiors, and the building fascia signage. We are now working on animated screen idents!

“The new branding is designed to engage with a broader audience. The fresh new look is aimed at ensuring the continued relevance and ambition of the arts centre.”

“We’re excited to welcome our patrons to join us on this exciting new journey,” says Pocklington Arts Centre venue director Angela Stone

PAC has committed to rolling out this new look over the coming months, with the latest What’s On posters and spring brochure out this week with a glimpse of the new design style and logo.

As part of its commitment to the environmental impact of print and paper wastage, distribution will be monitored carefully and reviewed regularly as PAC acknowledges a considerable uplift in online browsing and booking, but there will be a stock of brochures available to pick up during box office opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10am to 4pm, Thursday, 10am to 5pm, and Saturday, 10am to 1pm.

Angela Stone says: “We are grateful to have received funding from ERYC Arts Development Fund to create refreshed brand guidelines that have been devised to deliver maximum impact using a design template, reducing our ongoing design costs and delivering a much more intuitive, user-friendly website experience.

“Watch this space for updates on how we will translate this clear design language throughout the building to improve directional signage and our intentions to create a flow from the outside of the building, through the foyer, into the box office and beyond! We’re excited to welcome our patrons to join us on this exciting new journey.”

For details of PAC’s spring programme, head to: pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Posted on

More Things To Do in York and beyond for optimists, walkers and nights in full swing. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 16, from The Press

Plum job: Robert Daws at the typewriter in his role as P. G. Wodehouse in Wodehouse In Wonderland at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Pamela Raith

THE Plum life of Wodehouse, Godber’s walk into the future, happy and angry comedy, Bros big band style and mountain adventures on screen jostle for a starring role in Charles Hutchinson’s week ahead.

PG tips and Wooster source of the week: Wodehouse In Wonderland, York Theatre Royal, Thursday to Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee

IN William Humble’s play set in the exiled English author’s New York State home in the 1950s, P. G. Wodehouse is trying to write the latest instalment of Jeeves and Wooster. However, a would-be biographer, his wife, his daughter and even his two Pekingese dogs have other ideas.

Performed by Robert Daws, Wodehouse In Wonderland presents stories of first meeting Jeeves, Wodehouse’s addiction to soap operas, and why he wrote books “like musical comedies without music”, combined with Broadway songs composed by Kern, Gershwin, Porter and Novello with lyrics by Wodehouse himself, but is there a darker story to be told too? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Garrett Millerick: Thumbs-up to optimism with an angry hue

Grumpy comedy gig of the week: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Garrett Millerick: Just Trying To Help, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Sunday, 8pm

THE world’s angriest optimist returns for another bash at sorting out life’s inexplicable complications in a night of comedy for people who like to keep things simple.

Stand-up comedian, writer and director Garrett Millerick investigates the unintended consequences of doing our best, the mayhem that ensues when people try to help, in a cathartic appeal for calm from one of the least calm people in the country. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

On their knees: Jane Thornton and John Godber in Godber’s new comedy Living On Fresh Air, on tour at the SJT from Wednesday

State of the nation report of the week: John Godber Company in Living On Fresh Air, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Wednesday to Saturday, 7.30pm, plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

PLAYWRIGHT John Godber and wife Jane Thornton play newly retired Yorkshire couple Caroline and Dave, who have everything they have ever wanted: a nice house, a hot tub, a small mortgage, a few savings and a new smart meter.

However, Covid and the cost-of-living crisis changes everything. Their son has moved back home, their money is disappearing, the hot tub’s gone, the lights are going out and the smart meter is stressful. Time to head for the hills for their new-found hobby of walking, but far can you go living on fresh air as Godber projects an even gloomier future ten years on in this bleak comedy? Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.  

Johannes Radebe: Expressing Freedom in movement at Grand Opera House

Dance show of the week: Johannes Radebe in Freedom Unleashed, Grand Opera House, York, Wednesday, 7.30pm

CONFIRMED for the 2023 series of Strictly Come Dancing, South African dancer and international champion Johannes Radebe returns to the Grand Opera House with his cast of dancers and singers.

Freedom Unleashed combines African rhythms and party anthems with a touch of ballroom magic in a jubilant celebration of culture, passion, and freedom. Completing the company will be South African singer-songwriter Ramelo, a former contestant on The Voice South Africa. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Millie Manders & The Shutup: Songs of loss, betrayal and political unrest at The Crescent, York

Band to discover of the week: Millie Manders & The Shutup, The Crescent, York, Wednesday, 7.30pm

NEWSFLASH 19/4/2023: Unfortunately, illness has forced this gig to be rescheduled. New date is July 7. All tickets remain valid but refunds are available from point of purchase.

NORTHERN SkaFace presents cross-genre punks Millie Manders & The Shutup, a band noted for grinding guitars and irresistible horns, topped off by Manders’ vocal dexterity. Their lyrics deliberate on themes of loss, betrayal, anger, anxiety, heartbreak and bitterness, environmental catastrophe and political unrest. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Matt gloss: Bros singer Matt Goss gives songs the big band and orchestral makeover at York Barbican

Hitting his swing: The Matt Goss Experience with MG Big Band and the Royal Philharmonic, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm

BROS frontman and Strictly Come Dancing 2022 contestant Matt Goss had to reschedule his York gig after the recurrence of a shoulder/collar bone injury. Original tickets remain valid for the new date (20/4/2023).

“I never give less than 100 per cent on every single show I do, so I had to adhere to the medical advice,” says Goss, 54, who headlined Las Vegas for 11 years. Expect his biggest hits, new original music and a Cole Porter tribute in a night of swing, glitz and swagger. Dressing to the nines is encouraged. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Pulling faces:

Seriously silly: Phil Wang, Wang In There, Baby!, Leeds City Varieties, Thursday, 7.30pm, sold out; Grand Opera House, York, Friday, 7.30pm; York Barbican, September 23, 7.30pm

HOT on the heels of his Netflix special, David Letterman appearance, role in Life & Beth with Amy Schumer and debut book Sidesplitter, Phil Wang discusses race, family, nipples and everything else going on in his Philly little life in his latest stand-up show, Wang In There, Baby! Box office: atgtickets.com/york; yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Mountain high: Film feats at York Barbican

Film event of the week: BANFF Mountain Film Festival World Tour, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm

THE world’s most prestigious mountain film festival presents the 2023 Blue Film Programme, a new adrenaline-fuelled collection of short films by the best adventure filmmakers and explorers as they push themselves to the limits in the most remote corners of the globe. Witness epic human-powered feats, life-affirming challenges and mind-blowing cinematography on the big screen. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

 Miles And The Chain Gang: Launching new single Charlie 

Single launch: Miles And The Chain Gang, Victoria Vaults, Nunnery Lane, York, April 29, doors 7pm; first band 8pm

MILES And The Chain Gang launch their April 21 single, Charlie, at the Vaults, where they will play their rock’n’roll the old-fashioned way in the vein of Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen.

The York band are fronted by singer, songwriter, poet, storyteller and podcaster Miles Salter, organiser of the new York Alive festival. In the support slot on this night of blues, soul and funk, The Long Shots, featuring Chain Gang rhythm section Steve Purton and Mat Watt, give their debut public performance. Box office: theyorkvaults.com.

Scouting For Girls: New album and autumn dates in York, Leeds and Sheffield

Gig announcement of the week: Scouting For Girls, York Barbican, November 10, Leeds O2 Academy, November 23, and Sheffield O2 Academy, November 24

WEST London trio Scouting For Girls will follow up the October 13 release of their seventh indie-pop album, the life-affirming The Place We Used To Meet, with a 22-date autumn tour. York, Leeds and Sheffield await. Tickets go on sale on April 21 at 10am at gigst.rs/SFG.

“As the name suggests, it’s an album about going back to our roots and starting again. Falling back in love with music,” says band leader Roy Stride. “Heartbreaking, anthemic, fun and pop, indie and serious, anything went as long as we loved it. It’s the best collection of songs we’ve ever had, and I’ve loved every minute of making it.”

In Focus: Leeds Fine Artists’ exhibition, Awakening, at Blossom Street Gallery, York

The Midnight Hour, by Kate Buckley, at the Leeds Fine Artists show in York

LEEDS Fine Artists are marking the arrival of spring with Awakening on their return to Blossom Street Gallery, York.

Among those showing new work are York artists Tim Pearce, Kate Buckley, Luisa Holden and Gail Fox.

Both Pearce and Buckley also are taking part in York Open Studios this weekend and next weekend too, 10am to 5pm each day.

Mixed-media artist Pearce’s paintings and sculptural ceramics, informed by Cubist sensitivity to form, colour and rhythm, can be found in his studio, house and garden at Brambles, Warthill, York.

Light, shadow, surface and space come into play in Buckley’s contemporary, press-moulded sculptural porcelain artworks for the wall and home at 31 Wentworth Road, York.

Leeds Fine Artists (LFA), an association of artists from across Yorkshire, was established in 1874, making it one of the oldest regional arts bodies in the UK. From its beginnings in Leeds, it has spread throughout Yorkshire and is now among the most prestigious arts organisations in the north.

Lamona For Blossom Street, by Gail Fox

LFA has more than 50 exhibiting members working in two and three dimensions in a broad span of media and seeks to encourage and promote art and artists throughout Yorkshire.

An annual exhibition is held in the Crossley Gallery at Dean Clough, Halifax, and other exhibitions are organised across the region each year, bringing together the wide range of styles and approaches of LFA’s members.

In addition to group exhibitions, many LFA artists exhibit individually, both in Yorkshire and internationally as well as promoting excellence in the visual arts through education.

Applications to join LFA are welcomed from fine artists practising in all areas of the visual and applied arts. For more details, go to: leedsfineartists.co.uk/yorkshire/leeds-fine-artists-become-a-member/.

Membership is by election, decided by a panel of members, who look for a high standard in each applicant’s work, including quality, content and consistency, as well as a professional approach to exhibiting.

Awakening is on show at Blossom Street Gallery, Blossom Street, York, until May 28.

Work by Leeds Fine Artists members on show and for sale at Blossom Street Gallery, York
Posted on

Who’s taking part in York Open Studios 2023? Here are the new intake, the regulars and the returnees for York’s April artathon

Student Emma Yeoman: Displaying flora and fauna in sculptures and on canvas in the grounds of York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, at York Open Studios

YORK Open Studios’ two April weekends are fast approaching.

More than 150 artists and makers within the city or a ten-mile radius of York will open their doors to visitors, presenting painting and print, illustration, drawing and mixed media, ceramics, glass and sculpture, jewellery, textiles, photography and installation art.

Opening hours will be 10am to 5pm on April 15 and 16, followed by April 22 and 23. In addition, a preview evening will be held on April 14, from 6pm to 9pm, with details of participating artists available at yorkopenstudios.co.uk and in the event directory distributed around the city.

Admission is free for these opportunities to view and buy art and gain an insight into artists and makers’ inspirations, creative processes and skills.

As ever, regulars will be taking part alongside York artists and students new to the annual event that is always keen to champion emerging talent.

Three bursary artists will showcase their work: Peter Baker, whose his site-specific installation in reclaimed wood, shards and shells on four floors responds to the quirks and constraints of Fishergate Postern Tower; Jade Blood, contributing to the “People’s Banner”, a community textile at Bootham School Arts Centre, Bootham, and Sam Edward, hiding tiny sculptures around the city centre to be found during the weekends.

Edward, from South Cottage Workshop, in Shipton Road, has scattered small concrete sculptures that he describes as “miniature monuments, resembling obelisks, monoliths and memorials, but scaled down, to memorialise moments from York”.

In his work, he has snatched overheard conversations and appropriated text to commemorate the time we are living in.

Bee Place, by John Hollington, at 68 Ouse Lea, York

In addition, in his studio, you will discover the production behind the monuments and see the process live as an ongoing work.

New participants are: realist watercolour painter Nduke Omeife, at 37 Baker Street, Clifton; furniture designer and maker John Green, 4 Compton Street; Joanne Edmonds, watercolour painter of architecture, interiors and decoration, at PICA Studios, Grape Lane; painter Rae George, sharing her experiences as a woman artist in her mid-30s inspired by art history, expressive colours and fleshy forms, at PICA Studios, and Lisa Power, who paints and draws 3D small cottages based on Irish vernacular architecture, also at PICA Studios.

Illustrator Sammy Davies, at 32 Emerald Street, focuses on mixed-media works on paper, inspired by nature and mind meanderings; Ali Hunter, at 52 Rose Street, creates pen and ink drawings on paper, drawn from home interiors, fashion, style and décor, inspired by Instagram; Gonzalo Blanco, at Rose Dene, Moor Lane, Strensall, paints perspectives of York and Yorkshire in oils through the seasons.

Marta Szulczewska, at Creative Studio York, Unit 14, Bull Commercial Centre, Stockton Lane, makes functional ceramics in stoneware clay, from mugs, vases and plant pots to dishes and ornaments, each finished off with a positive inscription. Printmaker Jen Dring, at 53 Burnholme Avenue, explores the name of God in her imaginative linocuts and experiments with collage printing triggered by small moments in daily life.

Painter Kerry Ann Moffat, at 33 Third Avenue, Heworth, works in oil on upcycled pieces of wood and handmade cotton rag, highlighting the contrast between light and shadows. Photographic artist Amy D’Agorne, at Apartment 4, 5a Hallfield Road, specialises in long-form research-based projects, shot on analogue film, pitched between documentary and fine art.

Lesley Peatfield, at The Studio, The Old School, Skirpenbeck, experiments with cameras, phone, techniques and approaches in her landscape, abstract and street photography of whatever catches her eye. Illustrator/artist Nick Ellwood, at 7 Lastingham Terrace, celebrates people, character and behaviour through his paintings, drawings and prints.

Relief printmaker Jon Haste, at Unit 15b, Danesmead Business Wing, York Steiner School, 33 Fulford Cross, creates hand-made limited editions inspired by  flora and fauna, natural habits and wild experiences in the outdoors. Printmaker Rachel Holborrow, at 69 Danum Road, Fulford, uses mostly lino in her exploration of botanical form and its tangled relationship with humanity, delving into surreal folklore and unpacking feminine archetypes.

Photographer Luke Downing’s series of film poetry, at 82 Ambrose Street, York, explores memory, longing and nostalgia in a combination of 8mm footage, original music and spoken word.

Lemonoadeshow, by Jade Blood, who will be contributing to the People’s Banner at Bootham School Arts Centre

Emma James, at 39 Copmathorpe Lane, Bishopthorpe, paints big skies, wild remote spaces and abandoned shelters in acrylics and inks, in response to the Yorkshire landscape and stories of people who lived there. Photographer Scott Dunwoodie, at The Homestead, Moor Lane, Bishopthorpe, creates his architectural and still-life prints using a hybrid of digital and traditional darkroom techniques.

Parkington Hatter, at 61 Sutherland Street, South Bank, makes freehand digital drawings, each containing a surprise for the eagle-eyed. Printmaker Stephen Bottrill, at 8 Middlethorpe Drive, favours etching, photo etching, linocut and serigraphy for his small and large images of current and historical political observations prompted by urban art. Intuitive mixed-media artist Lenka Pavuk, at 13 Vincent Way, uses a variety of materials and media, with the essential element of epoxy (resins) in her imaginative works.

Duncan McEvoy, of 22 Swinerton Avenue, photographs the working railway, frequently abroad, looking east, always hunting for anachronisms, seeking out industrial settings, people and place and everyday sights, “because the present moves constantly to the past,” he says. Leo Corey, at 27 Boroughbridge Road, explores Cuban identity in his paintings, using the human figure and its body language to connect the public with his culture and heritage.

Printmaker Bridget Hunt, at 5 Malvern Avenue, focuses on colour, form and texture in her abstract and representational prints of landscapes, still life, plants and animals. At the same location, Patricia Ann Ruddle combines printmaking and photography, fascinated by the Yorkshire coast’s human and organic aspects.

Watercolour painter Dianne Turner, at 19 Wetherby Road, Acomb, layers translucent colours in her atmospheric pieces inspired by architecture and nature. Digital printmaker Peijun Cao, at 60 Jute Road, creates surreal images from photographs using clouds, eyes and dandelions to produce striking images.

Textile artist Jo Yeates, at South Bank Studios, Southlands Methodist Church, Bishopthorpe Road, employs stitching, tearing, fraying and layering in her seascapes, landscapes and abstract pies, working with paper, fabric, paint and stitch, often using reclaimed and repurposed materials.

Among students showcasing their work are Harriet Fleetham, at South Cottage Workshop, Shipton Road, who combines York’s architecture and street names in her twist on traditional handmade books, and mixed-media artist Emma Yeoman, exhibiting her intricate display of fauna and flora in sculpture and on canvas in the grounds of York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk

Faith Noblet, at Phoenix Court, York St John, “challenges the inconspicuousness of the material matter of a photograph” through her analogue photography, realised by manipulation, distortion and deception of the image. Rebecca Mihill, at 13 Nunthorpe Grove, plays with line, symmetry and curves in her contemporary jewellery made from recycled silver.

Sunflower power: An artwork by Cuban artist Leo Moray at 27, Boroughbridge Road, York

Returning for the 2023 York Open Studios are: Chiu-I Wu; Frances G Brock; John Hollington; Lesley Birch; Gerard Hobson; Steve Williams; David Campbell; Jacqueline James; Sarah Raphael Balme; Emily Harper-Gustafson; Freya Horsley; Sarah K Jackson; Evie Leach; Ric Liptrot, Jess Mahy, Katrina Mansfield and Lesley Shaw.

So too will be: Ealish Wilson; Greg Winrow; Boxxhead; Robert Burton; Jo Walton; Charmian Ottaway; Lesley Williams; Poppy Burr; Anna Cook; Fiona Lane; Becki Harper; Anna-Marie Magson; Philip Magson; Ann Sotheran; Jo Ruth; Sarah King; Catherine Boyne-Whitelegg; Mo Burrows; Emma Frost; Richard Whitelegg; Cathy Needham, Rukshana Afia and Emma Whiting.

Returning too are: Sally Clarke; Adrienne French; Dylan Connor; Peter Park; Anna Vialle; Rosie Bramley; Liz Foster; Michelle Galloway; Kate Petitt; Reg Walker; Emma Welsh; Judith Glover;  Tim Pearce; Carrie Lyall; Linda Harvey; Jane Duke, Malcolm Ludvigsen; Cathy Denford; Chrissie Dell; Amy Stubbs; Emily Stubbs; Ruth Beloe; Milena Dragic and Marc Godfrey-Murphy (MarcoLooks).

Playing their part too will be: Laetitia Newcombe; Phil Reynolds; Claire Castle; Penny Phillips; Pamela Thorby; Elliot Harrison (York360);  Meredith Andrea; Lincoln Lightfoot; Carol Douglas; Kay Dower; Claire Morris; Kate Buckley; Colin Black; Carolyn Coles; Laura Duval; Nicola Lee; Donna Maria Taylor; Caroline Utterson; Karen Winship and Amanda Allmark.

Add to that list: Mick Leach; Sharon McDonagh; Jill Tattersall; Marie Murphy; Kate Semple; Lauren Terry; Marcus Jacka; Ruth King; Mark Hearld; Joanna Wakefield; Jo Bagshaw; Lucy McElroy; Simon Palmour; Ben Arnup; Toni Mayner; Emma Whitelock, Richard Frost; Constance Isobel; Jacqueline Warrington; Phil Bixby and Caroline Lewis.

Step forward too: Peter Donohue; Angela Anning; Lucie Wake; Anthea Peters; Derek Gauld; Pennie Lordan; Joanna Lisowiec; Nick Kobyluch; Michelle Hughes; Ted Schofield; Adele Karmazyn; Jane Dignum; Mark Druery; Ruth Claydon; Jane Atkin; Fran Brammer and Jo Rodwell.

Visit the website, at www.yorkopenstudios.co.uk for full details of all the artists, makers and locations and to access the York Open Studios interactive map. Alternatively, this year’s free printed directory can be picked up at tourist hubs and artist locations throughout York city centre and the wider city region.