THE world’s first Tourette’s superhero lands in Scarborough Art Gallery this February half-term with a free “interactive, inclusive and incredible” superhero-themed experience.
Heroes Of The Imagination, from 10am to 1pm on Saturday, February 22, invites
disabled and non-disabled children to discover their own powers, create a
superhero identity and use their imagination to change the world.
Touretteshero herself will be there with her team to help children make
masks, create capes, perfect their moves and launch their new superheroes in a
magical photo studio.
Touretteshero was founded by Matthew Pountney and Jess Thom, an artist, play worker and comedian who has Tourette’s syndrome and finds her tics are a source of imaginative creativity. She has never been seen in the same room as Touretteshero, by the way!
“Touretteshero needs you!” says Jess. “Bring your ideas, excitement and
energy to celebrate difference and save the world from dullness.”
Scarborough Museums Trust chief executive Andrew Clay says: “We’re excited to host internationally acclaimed company Touretteshero to inspire and energise us in our journey towards becoming more accessible and inclusive.
“We have some way to go but
we’re committed to radically improving access over the next few years,
particularly at Scarborough Art Gallery, including installing a lift.”
Taking place on the ground floor of the gallery, in The Crescent, this celebration of creativity,
imagination and neurodiversity will allow children to choose and move between
activities.
There will be a chill-out area, quiet and busy spaces and plenty of
staff and helpers on hand, plus a Mobiloo outside the gallery on The Crescent: a
Changing Places accessible loo with an adult-size changing bed and ceiling
hoist.
The fully accessible, multi-sensory drop-in activities for disabled and
non-disabled children and their grown-up sidekicks are free, but places are
limited and booking is essential. The event is recommended
particularly for children aged five to 13.
Further free half-term events being run by Scarborough Museums Trust include:
Fabulous
Fossils, Rotunda Museum, Tuesday, February 18, 10.30am to 12 noon and 1.30pm to
3pm;
Superheroes
of Science, Rotunda Museum, Thursday, February 20, 10am to 12 noon and 1pm to
3pm;
Explorer
Backpacks and Trails, Rotunda Museum, Scarborough Art Gallery and Woodend,
available every day.
To book for Heroes Of The Imagination, and for more information on all the half-term events, call 01723 374753 (Scarborough Art Gallery) or 01723 353665 (Rotunda) or visit scarboroughmuseumstrust.com/whats-on/.
YORK linocut artist Gerard Hobson is exhibiting
for the first time at Beningbrough Hall, Beningbrough, near York.
His Winter Wildlife In Print show at the
National Trust property combines prints for sale in the Hayloft gallery with 14
sculptural
scenes in the outbuildings, gardens, grounds and parkland, inspired by
creatures that make Beningbrough their winter home.
Throughout
winter until March 1, they can be seen only on Saturdays and Sundays, from 11am
to 3.30pm, and additionally during the February half term.
Created out of linoprints, cut out and mounted to make Hobson’s
3D installations, birds are swooping, climbing or nesting among the trees, from
owls and robins to cuckoos, wrens and swifts.
Eyes should
be kept peeled for the naughty magpies with their stolen ring. Do look out,
too, beyond the ha-ha to the parkland to spot a pair of boxing hares, better
seen close-up should anyone be carrying binoculars.
Bang goes the common knowledge, by the way, that boxing hares
are a brace of males scrapping over a female. Apparently, as a sign reveals,
the fights involve a male and a female, not welcoming his persistent attention.
Who knew, the lady hares are effectively saying “Do one” or “Get yourself a
better chat-up line”!
These outdoor
installations are the first time Gerard Hobson has used his work in this way,
and in creating the exhibition, he has made many new pieces especially for the
Beningbrough garden.
Not only birds, but other animals too make an appearance in
unexpected places, searching for food and preparing to hibernate or sleep,
whether bats, mice, stoats or a hedgehog.
Make sure to head upstairs in the stables to
the Hayloft for an indoor exhibition showcasing more of Gerard’s printed work,
all for sale. Visitors also can create a feeder in the bothy and pick up
one of the special colouring-in sheets in the walled garden restaurant, while
in the laurel den a dawn chorus soundscape is a reminder of warmer days to
come.
Here Charles Hutchinson puts the questions on
the art of the matter to artist Gerard Hobson.
You have a background as a zoologist and botanist. What draws you
to depicting nature and wildlife, Gerard?
“One of my earliest recollections was collecting a set of bird cards
given away with PG Tips tea (I would love to do a set for Yorkshire Tea).
“This moved on to sets of animals both native and around the world,
which then grew into a love of nature.
“At the age of about 16, I had a ten-minute chat with a careers adviser,
who asked me what my interests were. I said ‘nature and art’ and he said ‘there’s
no money in art, go down the science route’, hence the zoology.
“My first job after graduating was with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and
this is where my knowledge of plants developed.”
In this age of climate change concern and the extinction of creatures,
your art can make a powerful statement …but at the same time, in the short
film shown in the Beningbrough Hall bothy, you talk of your art being fun.
Discuss…
“People who buy my prints tell me they’re bright and cheerful and have a
sense of fun about them. I’m pleased they get that response but I also hope
that my images might create a greater interest in wildlife.
“I think most people are aware of the loss of habitat and species and
the impact of global warming on our environment, but people feel the problem is
so great that their small contribution isn’t going to make any difference.
“I hope my art may stir people to become more interested in the wildlife
around them, to feed the birds and join their local wildlife trust. To share
this with their children and their children’s children and hopefully
generations of young people will become more interested in the birds and woodlands
around them. Maybe some will go on to be environmental campaigners – who knows!”
Your past work often has been of individual creatures. How did
you come up with the idea of doing installations and sculptural scenes for
the Beningbrough exhibition?
“When I was asked to do an exhibition at Beningbrough, they told me they
wanted me to do something outdoors but they wanted me to use my linocuts.
However, I knew this was going to create several problems.
“Life-size birds outside would just disappear into the great outdoors,
so I had to do everything twice its normal size.
“I wanted the work to be original because somehow, once you reproduce
art, it seems to lose its essence, but trying to make my paper linocuts
waterproof also proved challenging.
“I felt each installation needed some sort of narrative. So, my
vision for the exhibition was not just about the art but for each one to be
linked with some related fact or folklore.”
How does the impact of a group of birds/hibernating animals/etc
contrast with those past works?
“I think the outdoor display at Beningbrough challenged me artistically
as I have never done an outside exhibition before and I wanted to come up with
something a little bit different and quirky: a seek and find concept.
“As an artist you are looking at ways to develop, but not lose your
style. Before the offer at Beningbrough came about, I’d been considering doing
some framed images of my linocuts in naturalistic settings using fake plants,
branches, mosses etc.
“When I was about 12, I started collecting taxidermy and had quite a
large collection, but over the years it has become less fashionable. However,
taxidermy still interests me as an art form, hence the thought of putting my
linocuts in cases.”
What influence did the Beningbrough Hall outbuildings and grounds have
on your work. Furthermore, did the task of creating work for the outdoors present
different challenges?
“When I was asked to do the exhibition, the brief was very broad and
they basically gave me carte blanche on the spaces around the grounds, which
was fantastic!
“I obviously wanted to do something that was on a circuit so I around a few times, identifying my favourite
trees and possible places to put things.
“Many of the themes for the installations came from the spaces
themselves. The stumpery led to the creation of a group of mushrooms and the
tool shed looked like a good setting to put animals and birds for sheltering
away from the cold winter weather.”
What impact did the winter season have on the work?
“The winter weather has created a few problems. When we were installing
the exhibition, it seemed to be constantly raining, which made the installation
a very cold and wet experience!
“Once the exhibition was up, we had a couple of weeks where various pieces
were coming away from their metal dowel. (I’m not sure if it was the persistent
rain or the wrong sort of glue being used.)
“Added to which, very high winds brought down the swallow installation
twice and the boxing hares were blown over. There has also been a problem with
the thrush installation being attacked by what we think is the resident jackdaw
population! “However, through it all, the gardeners and volunteers at
Beningbrough have been fantastic at helping put things right.”
What will happen to the installation pieces after the exhibition ends on
March 1?
“Good question, no idea. Some of the pieces have weathered, which gives
them a look of an old loved toy. I don’t think they’ll last outdoors
permanently. I’m open to suggestions.”
What do you like most about linocuts as an artform?
“I went on a printmaking course at York College about ten years ago and
I was particularly taken with producing linocuts.
“Carving away on lino has a very therapeutic feel to it, and it was through
this medium that I developed my own style. Prior to this, I’d been quite good
at art technically, but didn’t have a particular look to my art, so this
technique seemed to release me into something I’d been trying to do for years.
“When you produce a piece of art, you can feel quite attached to it, and
it can be quite difficult to part with. With a linocut, because it’s one of a
limited edition, you can always hold one back for yourself or a loved one.”
What are you working on next? York Open Studios 2020 on April 18, 19, 25
and 26, perhaps?
“My exhibition in the Hayloft gallery at Beningbrough is running until
the beginning of March, with the sales from this keeping me quite busy at the
moment, and I want to keep refreshing this part of the show, so that returning
visitors get to see something a little different each time.
“Also, I need to crack on with some new work for York Open Studios,
which I’m very excited about this April.”
Gerard Hobson’s Winter Wildlife In Print exhibition and
installations are on show at Beningbrough Hall, Beningbrough, near York, until
March 1. To plan a visit, go to nationaltrust.org.uk/beningbrough for
more information.
Did you know?
SINCE childhood, Gerard Hobson has had a love for birds, animals
and art. His fascination with wildlife saw him qualify as a zoologist from
Bangor University in 1984 and he then worked for a couple of years for
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust as a botanist. Later he became an illustrator for the
trust, working on leaflets and sign boards.
After relocating up north, Gerard worked for Yorkshire Wildlife
and continued to develop his work on a freelance basis. In more recent years,
he has turned his hand to woodcarving and these days focuses his attentions on
print making, having studied the art form in York.
YORK artist Gerard Hobson will hold the first of three print-making
workshops in the Hayloft gallery at Beningbrough Hall, Beningbrough, near York,
on Saturday to tie in with his Winter Wildlife In Print exhibition and
installations at the National Trust property.
Alas all three 10am sessions – using Beningbrough’s garden for
inspiration – are fully booked: the first two, this weekend and on February 8,
focusing on linoprint making; the third, on February 22, being a family
printmaking session.
Hobson’s Hayloft print exhibition and 14 sculptural scenes in the outbuildings,
gardens, grounds and parkland are inspired by creatures that make Beningbrough
their winter home.
Throughout winter until March 1, they can be seen only on
Saturdays and Sundays, from 11am to 3.30pm, and additionally during the
February half term. To plan a visit, go to nationaltrust.org.uk/beningbrough for
more information.
Created out of linoprints, cut out and mounted to make Hobson’s 3D
installations, birds are swooping, climbing or nesting among the trees, from
owls and robins to cuckoos, wrens and swifts.
Eyes should be kept peeled for the naughty magpies with their
stolen ring. Do look out, too, beyond the ha-ha to the parkland to spot a pair
of boxing hares, better seen close-up should anyone be carrying binoculars.
Bang goes the common knowledge, by the way, that boxing hares are
a brace of males scrapping over a female. Apparently, as a sign reveals, the fights
involve a male and a female, not welcoming his persistent attention. Who knew,
the lady hares are effectively saying “Do one” or “Get yourself a better
chat-up line”!
These installations are the first time Gerard Hobson has used his
work in this way, and in creating the exhibition, he has made many new pieces
especially for the Beningbrough garden. Not only birds, but other animals too make
an appearance in unexpected places, searching for food and preparing to
hibernate or sleep, whether bats, mice, stoats or a hedgehog.
Helen Osbond, exhibition manager for the National Trust, says: “We’re
thrilled to host so much of Gerard’s work at Beningbrough this winter. In working
towards the exhibition, it’s been a real insight to see how, as an artist, he
draws on his botanist background in his designs, and there’s a short video in
the bothy showing the process and steps taken in the intricate art of
linoprinting.”
Make sure to head upstairs in the stables to the Hayloft for an indoor exhibition showcasing more of Gerard’s printed work, all for sale.
“It’s not only the chance to discover the series of sculptural scenes, we want the visit to be an immersive experience,” adds Helen. “Visitors can create a feeder in the bothy and pick up one of the special colouring-in sheets in the walled garden restaurant, while in the laurel den there’s a dawn chorus soundscape; a reminder of warmer days to come.”
Did you know?
SINCE childhood, Gerard Hobson has had a love for birds, animals and art. His fascination with wildlife saw him qualify as a zoologist from Bangor University in 1984 and he then worked for a couple of years for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust as a botanist. Later he became an illustrator for the trust, working on leaflets and sign boards.
After relocating up north, Gerard worked for Yorkshire Wildlife and continued to develop his work on a freelance basis.
In more recent years, he has turned his hand to woodcarving and these days focuses his attentions on print making, having studied the art form in York.
KENTMERE House Gallery, in Scarcroft Hill, York, will be open for York Residents Festival on January 25 and 26 from 10am to 6pm.
The work of around 70 artists is on show at any one time in Ann
Petherick’s home gallery: some from York, some from Yorkshire, others from
artists across the country.
“This includes Freya Horsley’s atmospheric York townscapes, which have attracted many admirers, and David Greenwood’s vigorous pastels of Skeldergate Bridge and many York townscapes, along with the distinctive red brick houses of the Knavesmire area,” says Ann, who extends a welcome to all, not only York residents
“There’s also exciting new work from nationally known artist Susan
Bower, who lives near Tadcaster but whose work is mostly shown in London.”
Prices
start at £200 for original works and £50 for original prints. “We also have books
and cards exclusive to the gallery, reductions, special offers, five per cent discounts
for residents and a free 14-day home trial.”
The gallery’s involvement in York Residents Festival has been a great success in previous years. “A gallery in a home setting is still a curiosity, and I believe many people feel some slight trepidation at entering,” says Ann, whose usual opening hours are 11am to 5pm on the first weekend of every month, every Thursday evening from 6pm to 9pm and at any time by appointment – “just a phone call in advance to check we’re in” – on 01904 656507.
“Alternatively, we work on the principle that ‘if we’re in, we’re open’ – just ring the bell. But you would be amazed how many visitors say they have been walking past for years but never been in. The Residents Festival emboldens them, however, and gives them that little extra incentive.
“Then there are many – even some living nearby – who say that
they didn’t even know the gallery existed. It’s truly one of York’s hidden gems
and this festival is the ideal time to sample its unique atmosphere and to
introduce it to your friends.”
In addition to the art on display, Kentmere House is an interesting property in its own right. “It was built by the Methodist Church in 1898 as their own offices and a staff dwelling,” says Ann.
“The quality of the workmanship and materials used in the building is exceptional, and it’s one of the few buildings in York roofed with distinctive Westmoreland green slates.
“We bought the property in 1991: the large rooms, high
ceilings and spacious staircase make it ideal for use as a gallery. Two
rooms, the hall, stairs and landing are used for display, with more than 100
paintings at any time.”
Should you be wondering, the name Kentmere was chosen by
one of the Methodist staff involved at the time, as he was a frequent visitor
to the village of the same name in the Lake District.
YORK Artworkers Association’s 25th anniversary exhibition at Pyramid Gallery went so well last year that the group has decided to hold another.
Members
will be exhibiting at Terry Brett’s gallery in Stonegate, York, from Saturday
to February 23. “I’m anticipating it
will look unusually full,” he says.
“We want
to show everyone’s work if we can, but I expect the walls to look very full of
pictures, in the style of the Royal Academy Summer Show, but better. The standard
of work being submitted is very high and I foresee a really exciting exhibition
in both first-floor galleries and all the way up the staircase too.”
Art,
ceramics and jewellery by 30 members will be on show in an exhibition curated
by Terry, who is a YAA member himself.
“York
Artworkers Association was formed 26 years ago by a group of artists and people
who were working in design, graphics and galleries in order to provide a social
network of people interested in the arts,” he says.
“They meet
every month at Joseph’s Well, off Micklegate, where they invite speakers to
talk about a topic that could be anything do to with their own art practice or
an art-related organisation. Recent speakers have included a former member of
the theatrical drumming group Stomp and a sculptor who demonstrated modelling a
horse in clay.”
Last year’s
silver anniversary was marked by the Pyramid show, open to all association
members working in the arts. A book was produced to accompany the exhibition.
The sequel
will feature more members, several of whom will be present at Saturday’s launch
from 11am on a day when refreshments will be served until 2.30pm.
York painters
and printmakers taking part will be Richard and Valerie Bell; Dave Cooper;
Chrissie Dell; Adrienne French; Mandy Grant; Anna Harding; Luisa Holden; John Jirkwood;
Caroline Lord; Bernadette Oliver; Peter Park; Kate Pettitt; Liz and Saul
Salter; Lesley Seeger; Lesley Shaw; Jill Tattersall; Donna Taylor and Joe
Vaughan.
Catherine
Boyne-Whitelegg, Francesca Green, Sophie Hamilton, Ilona Sulikova and Chris
Utley will contribute ceramics; Tim Pierce, sculpture, and Ann Southeran,
stained glass.
Needlework,
felting and textiles will be shown by Carol Coleman, Cathy Needham, Sarah
Jackson and Julia Wilkins; weaving by Jacqueline James; basketry by Heather
Dawe, and jewellery by Karen Thomas and Richard Whitelegg.
All of the work will be for sale and exhibition images can be seen at pyramidgallery.com and on social media. Pyramid Gallery, York, is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm, and on some Sundays from 12.30pm to 4.30pm.
YORK artist Sue Clayton
will unveil a new collection of portraits at Pocklington Arts Centre ahead of
World Down Syndrome Day in an exhibition inspired by her son.
Running from January 14 to
March 21, Downright Marvellous At Large celebrates adults with Down Syndrome
and comes on the eve of her son James turning 18.
Look out too for a giant
pair of hand-knitted odd socks, made using hundreds of knitted squares donated
by the public after an appeal last year.
Sue, who lives in
Wigginton, will introduce the 12 new portraits and the giant socks in a preview
event open to the public on Thursday, January 16, from 6pm to 8pm.
The portraits feature what
Sue sees as the “unrepresented and significant” social presence of adults with
Down Syndrome, each one depicting a person with the genetic disorder at work or
play.
“I put on the original Downright Marvellous exhibition in 2015, which mainly depicted young children who have Down Syndrome, but this time I wanted to make it more a celebration of adults as 2020 is a milestone year for us as James turns 18,” she says.
“A lot of the pieces also
feature siblings, as I wanted to highlight the importance that siblings play in
the lives of those with Down Syndrome too.”
Sue is planning to hold a celebratory event at Pocklington Arts Centre on World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD), Saturday, March 21, the last day of her exhibition. Watch this space for more details as they emerge.
Many people wear odd socks
on WDSD, a global day that aims to raise awareness and promote independence, self-advocacy and freedom of choice for people
with the congenital condition.
Should
you be wondering “why socks?”, they are used because their shape replicates the
extra 21st chromosome that people with Down Syndrome
have.
“I hope the socks installation will add an extra fun dimension to the exhibition, which the whole community can get behind, while importantly raising awareness of – and celebrating – the uniqueness and diversity of Down Syndrome,” says Sue.
She made a radical change mid-career to become a self-taught, full-time artist. Soon she achieved recognition from Britain’s Got Artists in 2012 and as Outstanding Visual Artist in the 2018 York Culture Awards for her Heroes Of York project in 2017-2018.
Those heroes were York
Theatre Royal pantomime dame Berwick Kaler; singer, writer and motivational
speaker Big Ian Donaghy; animal welfare practitioner Mary Chapman; the late
Suzanne Asquith, of North Yorkshire Police; Andrew Fair, from Sainsbury’s, Monk
Cross, and Professor Steve Leveson, of York Against Cancer.
Sue is drawn to painting portraits
because: “It insists upon the idea that the more you look at a face, the more
you see.
“Every single aspect – the
eyelids, the nostrils, and the complexion – reveals the personality and
character of every individual person,” she says. “I feel it’s especially important
to represent those who are sometimes socially ‘unseen’.”
Influenced by Rembrandt,
York artist William Etty and more contemporary painters such as Jenny Saville and Tim Benson, Sue enjoys
working with dynamic colours to make marks “that should not be there but
somehow work”.
“My approach to portraits
not only apprehends the likeness of my subjects, but their inner life too,” she
says.
To find out more about
World Down Syndrome Day, visit worlddownsyndromeday2.org.
CASTLE Howard’s Christmas opening drew a record 67,000
visitors as A Christmas Masquerade lit up the North Yorkshire stately home.
The figures have been released as the
house, near York, closes for the winter, with teams busy removing dozens of
Christmas trees, not least the 26ft tree that dominated the Great Hall and tens
of thousands of decorations and baubles that graced every public room as part
of Charlotte Lloyd Webber’s festive installation with a commedia dell’arte theme.
“It has been a superb year, and a real credit to those
involved in making Castle Howard the most festive place to visit throughout
November and December,” says chief executive officer John Hoy, who has enjoyed
his second Christmas at Castle Howard.
“For the first time, the house stayed
open into the New Year, closing on Sunday, January 5 and enabling us to welcome
over 5,000 additional visitors.”
Alongside the Christmas decorations,
family traditions continued to be honoured with opportunities to meet Father
Christmas, while Santa Paws took up residence in the estate’s garden centre to
greet well-behaved dogs of all breeds and sizes for the first time. More Twilight
Evenings, when the house stayed open after dark, were fitted into the seven-week
opening.
The good weather throughout those seven
weeks allowed families to enjoy Skelf Island, the new adventure playground, as
part of the Christmas experience. Launched in July 2019, the playground has had
a successful impact on footfall and, in addition, the Friends of Castle Howard
membership has almost doubled, the scheme experiencing a 48 per cent rise
throughout 2019.
Although the house will be closed until
March 21, the grounds, woodlands and Skelf Island playground remain open
throughout the winter.
THIS week is the last chance to see Scarborough photographer Richard
Beaumont’s exhibition at the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
In his debut show, Scarborough And Its Surroundings, he takes a personal
look at his coastal hometown.
“As a schoolboy in the 1960s, I wanted to be a photographer,” says
Beaumont. “I didn’t particularly see it as a way of making money; I just wanted
to create pictures of what interested me at the time.
“My father had other ideas about a possible future career and carefully
steered me towards studying the science subjects, university and a career in
business, saying that there would be time for photography when I retired.”
That time has come. “Following retirement in 2013, the passion was still
there and I gradually began to revive my interest,” says Beaumont. “In 2017, I
successfully completed a postgraduate diploma in photography at the British
Academy of Photography and now accept the occasional assignment and continue to
build my portfolio.”
Summing up his photography, he says. “I like to observe as well as see
and create a bit of language in each shot that I take.”
Scarborough And Its Surroundings – A Personal View runs in the SJT corridor gallery until Saturday, January 12. Gallery opening hours are 10am to 6pm, Mondays to Saturdays, except during show times (mostly evenings, but some afternoons too, so please check the website, sjt.uk.com, before travelling). Entry is free.
NORTH Yorkshire artist Paul
Blackwell will exhibit his Treescapes at Village Gallery, Colliergate, York,
from January 14 to February 22.
Blackwell and his wife,
fellow artist Anne Thornhill, ran a gallery in Grosmont, on the North York
Moors, for more than 20 years before selling up and moving to an 18th century
farmhouse overlooking the Esk Valley near Whitby. Here they have a barn studio,
where they both continue to work.
Blackwell uses many different
media, from oil and acrylic to pastel and pastel pencil. “Paul is passionate
about wildlife and the natural landscape and a lot of his work is done from the
14 acres they have as a small nature reserve,” says Village Gallery owner and
curator Simon Main.
Blackwell reveals he has always
had two passions in his life. “The first is rugby and the second, malt whisky,”
he says. “But I also like to paint a bit: landscapes mainly.
“My work is a reflection of
my interest in the complex and emotional interchange of colours, as I attempt
to convey the vibrancy and radiance of a landscape and the depth of its
emotional impact.
“I often use the medium of
pastel as it’s particularly suited to my way of working, using colour
juxtapositions to create energy and dynamism, rhythm and balance.”
After starting work on site, usually in monochrome, Blackwell enjoys exploring the colour structure once back in the studio. Frequently keeping the formal content simple, he creates a uniformity of atmosphere and feeling through his application of colours, as can be seen at Village Gallery from next Tuesday.
Gallery opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. In addition, the gallery will play host to a preview evening on January 13 from 5pm to 8pm, when Paul Blackwell will be on hand to discuss his work. Free tickets are available from Simon Main on 07972 428382 or 01904 411444 or at simon@village-on-the-web.com.
Veteran Yorkshire arts journalist CHARLES HUTCHINSON doffs his cap to the makers and shakers who made and shook the arts world in York and beyond in 2019.
New play
of the year: Alan
Ayckbourn’s Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present, at Stephen Joseph Theatre,
Scarborough, from September 4
Sir Alan
Ayckbourn penned one play to mark his 80th birthday, then decided it
wasn’t the right one. Instead, writing more quickly than he had in years, he
constructed a piece around…birthdays. Still the master of comedy of awkward
truths.
Honourable mention: Kay Mellor’s Band Of Gold, Leeds Grand Theatre, November 28 to December 14.
You
Should Have Seen It production of the year: Arthur Miller’s A View From The Bridge, York
Theatre Royal, September 20 to October 12.
Once more, the
sage Arthur Miller bafflingly did not draw the crowds – a Bridge too far? – but
Theatre Royal associate director Juliet Forster found resonance anew for this
age of rising intolerance in Trumped-Up America and Brexit Britain.
York’s
home-grown show of the year: York Stage Musicals in Shrek The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, September
12 to 21
Nik Briggs
swapped directing for his stage return after five years in the wind-assisted
title role and stunk the place out in Shrek tradition in a good way. Jacqueline
Bell‘s Princess Fiona and Chris Knight’s Donkey were terrific too.
Honourable mention: Pick Me Up Theatre in Monster Makers, 41 Monkgate, October 23 to 27
Company
launch of the year: Rigmarole
Theatre in When The Rain Stops Falling, 41 Monkgate, York, November 14 to 16
MAGGIE
Smales, a previous Hutch Award winner for her all-female Henry V for York
Shakespeare Project, set up Rigmarole to mount Andrew Bovell’s apocalyptic
Anglo-Aussie family drama. More please.
Touring
play of the year: The
Comedy About A Bank Robbery, Grand Opera House, York, February 5 to 12
Crime pays
for Mischief Theatre with a riotous show, so diamond-cutter sharp, so rewarding,
in its comedy, that it is even better than the original botched masterplan, The
Play That Goes Wrong.
Honourable mention: Nigel Slater’s Toast, York Theatre Royal, November 19 to 23
Political
play of the year:
Handbagged, York Theatre Royal, April 24 to May 11
In a play of wit, brio and intelligence, Moira Buffini presents
a double double act of 20th century titans, Margaret Thatcher and
The Queen, one from when both ruled, the other looking back at those days, as
they talk but don’t actually engage in a conversation.
Director
of the year: Emma Rice
for Wise Children’s Wise Children, in March, and Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers, in
September, both at York Theatre Royal
Emma Rice,
once of Cornwall’s pioneering Kneehigh Theatre and somewhat briefly of
Shakespeare’s Globe, has found her mojo again with her new company Wise
Children, forming a fruitful relationship with York Theatre Royal to boot.
Watch out for Wuthering Heights in 2021.
York
director of the year:
John R Wilkinson, Hello And Goodbye, York Theatre Royal Studio, November
Theatre Royal associate artist John R Wilkinson had long called for the return of in-house productions in the Studio and what he called “the blue magic of that space”. He duly delivered a superb reading of Athol Fugard’s apartheid-era South African work starring Jo Mousley and Emilio Iannucci.
Comedy show of the year: Sir Ian McKellen in Ian McKellen On Stage With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others…And You, Grand Opera House, York, June 17
A delightful variation on the An Evening With…format, wherein Sir Ian McKellen celebrated his 80th birthday with a tour through his past. His guide to Shakespeare’s 37 plays was a particular joy.
Honourable mention: John Osborne in John Peel’s Shed/Circled In The Radio Times, Pocklington Arts Centre bar, March 27
Event launch
of the year: Live
In Libraries York, York Explore, autumn
In the
wood-panelled Marriott Room, veteran busker David Ward Maclean and Explore York
mounted a series of four intimate, low-key concerts, the pick of them being Bonnieville
And The Bailers’ magical set on October 25. Along with The Howl & The Hum’s
Sam Griffiths, Bonnie Milnes is the blossoming York songwriter to watch in
2020.
Festival
of the Year: The
Arts Barge’s Riverside Festival, by the Ouse, July and August
Under the
umbrella of Martin Witts’s Great Yorkshire Fringe, but celebrating its own identity
too, The Arts Barge found firm footing with two locations, an ever-busy tent
and, hurrah, the newly docked, freshly painted barge, the Selby Tony. The Young
Thugs showcase, Henry Raby, Rory Motion, Katie Greenbrown, jazz gigs, a naked Theo
Mason Wood; so many highs.
Honourable mentions: York Festival of Ideas, June; Aesthetica Short Film Festival, November.
York Barbican gig of the year: The Specials, May 9
Still The Specials, still special, on their 40th anniversary world tour, as the Coventry ska veterans promoted their first studio album in 39 years, Encore, still hitting the political nail on the head as assuredly as ever.
Honourable mentions: David Gray, March 30; Art Garfunkel, April 18; Kelly Jones, September 14.
Happiest nights of the year: Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre in Twelfth Night, Castle car park, York, July 4 and September 1
JOYCE Branagh, Kenneth’s sister, set Shakespeare’s comedy in the Jazz Age, serving up “Comedy Glamour” with a Charleston dash and double acts at the double. “Why, this is very midsummer madness,” the play exhorts, and it was, gloriously so, especially on the last night, when no-one knew what lay just around the corner for the doomed Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre.
Most moving night of the year: Glory
Dazed, East Riding Theatre, Beverley, January 26
Cat Jones’s play, starring York actor Samuel Edward Cook, brings
to light issues surrounding the mental health of ex-servicemen as they seek to
re-integrate into civilian society while struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder. The post-show discussion with ex-soldiers from Hull spoke even
louder.
Solo show of the year: Serena
Manteghi in Build A Rocket, autumn tour
NO sooner had she finished playing Ophelia in Shakespeare’s
Rose Theatre’s Hamlet than Serena Manteghi revived her remarkable role as a seaside
resort teenage single mum in Christopher York’s award-winning coruscating play.
Honourable mention: James Swanton in Irving Undead, York Medical Society, October 10 to 12.
Favourite interview of the year: Brian Blessed, giving oxygen to his An Evening With Brian Blessed show at Grand Opera House, York, in August
The exuberance for life in Brian – Yorkshire man mountain, actor, mountaineer and space travel enthusiast – at the age of 83 would inspire anyone to climb Everest or reach for the stars.
Gig of
the year: John
Newman, The Out Of The Blue Tour, The Crescent, York, June 30
THE unsettled
Settle sound of soul, John Newman, and his soul mates parked their old camper van
outside the almost unbearably hot Crescent, threw caution to the wind and burnt
the house down on a night that must
have been like watching Joe Cocker or Otis Redding on the rise in the Sixties.
Honourable mentions: Nick Lowe’s Quality Rock’n’Roll Revue, Pocklington Arts Centre, June 25; The Howl & The Hum, The Crescent, York, December 14
Exhibition
of the year: Van
Gogh: The Immersive Experience, York St Mary’s, York, now extended to April 2020
This 360-degree digital art installation uses technology to create
a constantly moving projected gallery of 200 of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous
19th century works in the former church. Breathtaking, innovative, and,
yes, worth the admission charge.
Honourable mention: Ruskin, Turner and The Storm Cloud, Watercolours and Drawings, York Art Gallery, from March 28
Christmas
production of the year: The Wizard Of Oz, Leeds Playhouse, until January 25
AFTER its
£15.8 million transformation from the West Yorkshire Playhouse to Leeds
Playhouse, artistic director James Brining gave West Yorkshire’s premier
theatre the grandest, dandiest of re-opening hits. Still time to travel down
the Yellow Brick Road with Agatha Meehan, 12, from York, as Dorothy.
Exit
stage left: Berwick
Kaler, retiring on February 2 after 40 years as York Theatre Royal’s pantomime
dame; Tim Hornsby, bowing out from booking acts for Fibbers on June 29, after 27
years and 7,500 shows in York; Damian Cruden, leaving the Theatre Royal on July
26 after 22 years as artistic director; James Cundall’s Shakespeare’s Rose
Theatre, in September, after hitting the financial icebergs .
Gone but
not forgotten: York Musical Theatre Company leading man,
director, teacher, chairman, bon viveur and pub guvnor Richard Bainbridge, who
died on July 6.