BBC Young Chorister of the Year Award winner Naomi Simon: Singing at the York Community Choir Festival on March 11
NAOMI Simon, 2022 winner of the BBC Young Chorister of the Year Award, has agreed to sing at her home city’s Community Choir Festival on March 11 at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York.
Naomi, 16, was a chorister at York Minster before taking up a scholarship at Rugby School to pursue her love of music. She is the daughter of JoRo Theatre patron Frances Simon, a speech and drama coach in York.
Joining Naomi will be a fellow BBC finalist, soprano-singing Bootham School pupil Sam Brophy. Each will sing solos before they perform a duet together.
From the age of seven, Sam has sung in choirs across the country, and now that his family lives in York, he sings in the York Minster Choir. Last December, he was the soprano soloist for Walking In The Air at the York Minster performance of Carrot Productions’ The Snowman.
York Community Choir Festival was started by JoRo trustee Graham Mitchell seven years ago. From small beginnings, the event has grown to a format of 33 choirs of all ages and singing styles performing in eight concerts over seven days.
“In a little coup for the event, the organising group is absolutely thrilled that Naomi and Sam are able to perform a short set for us on the final Saturday of the week-long festival,” says Graham, the Jo Ro’s community engagement director.
“Naomi’s performance in the BBC live final displayed a wonderful maturity and understanding of the carol that she chose to sing, Mary, Did You Know?, which wowed the three judges.
“Naomi has a busy schedule and we’re extremely fortunate that she can be in York when the festival is on. The festival itself is a celebration of music making regardless of age, ability or genre.
“Any choir based in the York area can apply to join in. This year, in addition to the vast range of adult choirs, we’ll have two primary school choirs performing in different concerts and about 100 pupils from Huntington School will sing in four different choirs run by the school – all on the Thursday night alongside three adult choirs. “
Graham adds: “The variety of song, genre and singing styles is absolutely marvellous and there’ll be no repetition in any concert. To confirm the variety of music on offer, on the night Naomi and Sam will be singing, we’ll have the York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir, ladies’ close harmony group Track 29, the mixed voices of The Celebration Singers and Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy.”
“The whole world of music will be on stage with at least four choirs performing in every concert. Show tunes, pop, folk, world music, classical, gospel, close harmony, blues and jazz will all feature.
“From primary school choirs to young adult choirs, adult choirs to pensioner-only choirs, singing in male, female or mixed voice choirs, the festival is a celebration of how people come together to make music and have fun.
“Pensioners choir The Rolling Tones and York Wellbeing Choir, for example, are both aimed at enjoyment and combating loneliness.”
Tickets for this fundraising event for the JoRo Theatre’s Raise The Roof appeal are available at £6 to £10 at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk or on 01904 501935 during opening hours.
“The festival is a celebration of how people come together to make music and have fun,” says organiser Graham Mitchell
Who is singing and when at the York Community Choir Festival
THE cook, the dinosaurs, the pots and the mums serve up a week of cultural contrasts, as recommended by Charles Hutchinson.
Exhibition of the week: Lincoln Lightfoot, Grand Opera House, York, until May 31
ALIENS, dinosaurs, UFOs, even King Kong, invade the Grand Opera House box office as York artist Lincoln Lightfoot explores surreal concepts reminiscent of the poster art for the Fifties and Sixties’ B-movie fixation with comical science-fiction disasters.
Depicting unusual happenings with large beasts, staged in familiar settings and on iconic architecture, from York Minster to the Angel of the North, Lightfoot’s artwork escapes from everyday problems to tap into the fears perpetuated by the news media and politicians alike in a post Covid-19 world.
Artist LIncoln Lightfoot surveys his dinosaurs towering over York Minster in an earlier exhibition at The Den at Micklegate Social, York
The gig of the week: Courtney Marie Andrew, Leeds Brudenell Social Club, Wednesday, doors 7.30pm
PHOENIX singer, songwriter, poet and artist Courtney Marie Andrews initially approached making her latest album, Loose Future, by composing a song every day. Feeling “the sounds of summer” flowing through her writing in a Cape Cod beach house, she collected material imbued with romance, possibility and freedom for recording at Sam Evian’s Flying Cloud Recordings studio in the Catskill Mountains, New York State.
Dipping in the creek every morning before proceeding, she wanted to embody the feeling of letting love in after the break-up reflections of 2020’s Old Flowers. Hear the results in Leeds. Box office: brudenellsocialclub.co.uk.
Courtney Marie Andrews: Plunging into new love in her Loose Future songs at Leeds Brudenell Social Club
Topical monologue of the week: Black Treacle Theatre in Iphigenia In Splott, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Wednesday to Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee
GREEK myth meets modern reality in Gary Owen’s “horribly relevant” one-woman drama Iphigenia In Splott, set in contemporary Cardiff and rooted in the ancient tale of Iphigenia being sacrificed by her father to placate the gods.
Under the direction of Jim Paterson, York company Black Treacle Theatre presents Livy Potter in this 75-minute monologue about Effie, whose life spirals through a mess of drink, drugs and drama every night, and a hangover worse than death the next day, until one incident gives her the chance to be something more. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Livy Potter: “Spiralling through a mess of drink, drugs and drama every night” in the role of Effie in Gary Owen’s monologue Iphigenia In Splott
Food for thought: Prue Leith: Nothing In Moderation, Grand Opera House, York, Thursday, 7.30pm
“I’M probably nuts to try it, but it’s huge fun,” says Dame Prue Leith as she mounts her debut tour at the age of 83. Nothing is off the menu as she shares anecdotes of the ups and downs of being a restaurateur, food writer, novelist, businesswoman and Great British Bake Off judge.
For the first time, Dame Prue tells tales of how she has fed the rich and famous, cooked for royalty and even poisoned her clients, while singing the praises of food, love and life. Audience questions will be answered post-interval. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Cook’s confessions: Prue Leith opens up in Nothing In Moderation on her debut theatre tour
The show that comes with strings attached: Chloe Bezer in The Slow Songs Make Me Sad, York Theatre Royal Studio, Friday, 7.45pm
CELLIST, writer and theatre maker Chloe Bezer’s “rollicking night of cabaret storytelling about post-natal depression” is her chance to make her mark, deal with the big stuff, and leave an inheritance before she is an ex-cellist and theatre maker.
Refusing to stay silent over the stuff usually kept quiet, and resolutely life affirming, Bezer addresses unrecognised hardships faced by new mothers, complicated relationships with making music and the question of what we leave behind. Cue clowning, heartfelt stories and raucous cello songs. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Writer, performer, musician and mother: Theatre and home maker Chloe Bezer in a whirl in The Slow Songs Make Me Sad
Mum’s the word: Mumsy, Hull Truck Theatre, Thursday to March 25
AS part of Hull Truck’s 50th anniversary programme, Hull playwright Lydia Marchant delivers the world premiere of Mumsy, wherein Sophie (Jessica Jolleys), her mum Rachel (Nicola Stephenson) and nan Linda (Sue Kelvin) battle through the friendship, drama and love of mother-daughter relationships.
“What a privilege to be directing this funny, warm, authentic new play,” says director Zoe Waterman. “Crammed into a one-bed flat in Hull with rising bills and decreasing wages, three generations of women push at their circumstances – and sometimes each other – to let their dreams soar.” Box office: 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk.
Not keeping mum: Sue Kelvin, as nan Linda, in rehearsal for Hull Truck Theatre’s world premiere of Lydia Marchant’s Mumsy
Top of the pots: York Ceramics Fair, York Racecourse, March 4 and 5,10am to 5pm
THE Craft Potters Association has curated artworks from 60 prominent British ceramicists and potters, hailing from Cornwall to Scotland, for the return of York Ceramics Fair after a Covid-enforced short break.
Among the Yorkshire makers there will be Ruth King, Loretta Braganza and Emily Stubbs, from York, Katie Braida, from Scarborough, Penny Withers, from Sheffield, and fair chair Anna Lambert, from Keighley. Both Emily and Katie will be giving a demonstration. For tickets and a full list of exhibitors, go to: yorkceramicsfair.com.
Emily Stubbs: Taking part in the York Ceramics Fair at York Racecourse
High old time of the week: Attic Theatre Company presents James Rowland in Learning To Fly, Helmsley Arts Centre, March 4, 7.30pm
COMBINING theatre, comedy and music in his new show, James Rowland tells the story of a remarkable friendship he made when he was a lonely, unhappy teenager with the scary old lady who lived in the spooky house on his street.
“It’s about connection, no matter what the obstacles; about love’s eternal struggle with time; about music and its ability to heal,” says Rowland. “It’s also about her last wish: to get high once before she dies.” Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyartscentre.co.uk.
James Rowland: Winging it in Learning To Fly at Helmsley Arts Centre
Comedy coupling incoming: An Evening Shared With Jasper Carrott and Alistair McGowan, Grand Opera House, York, April 16, 7.30pm
COMEDIANS Jasper Carrott and Alistair McGowan join forces to “split the bill and your sides” with a night of stand-up and impressions.
Their pairing for a one-off festival appearance turned out to be a match made in comedy heaven, prompting the decision to tour together. They first played the Grand Opera House in November 2018, when McGowan’s opening set prompted Carrott to say, “I said ‘warm them up’, not boil them!”. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Countering the winter blues: Doubletake Projections’ Colour and Light illumination at York Minster
DARKNESS and light, American and Scottish singers, Yorkshire brass players and a York comedian will draw the crowds in the week ahead, advises Charles Hutchinson.
Light show of the week: Doubletake Projections’ Colour and Light, York Minster, 6pm to 9pm nightly until February 23
DOUBLETAKE Projections are using projection mapping to re-imagine the facade of York Minster’s South Transept in a free public show visible from the South Piazza.
Brought to the city by the York BID (Business Improvement District) to illuminate the cathedral during winter’s dark nights, this immersive digital experience is running on an eight-minute loop. Viewers are invited to stay for as many showings as they wish. No booking is required.
In addition to paying homage to the cathedral’s construction and incorporating nods to local history, York Minster’s medieval stained glass is in the spotlight. Collaged compositions of biblical stories told through the glass is being animated and beamed onto the towering transept walls, shining a new light on the medieval window illustrations.
Using animation techniques and styles, the after-dark projection show showcases elements of the rich historical archives in a new way while emphasising the grandeur and ornate detail of York Minster’s architecture.
Chop chop! Demon barber Sweeney Todd (Neil Wood) and resourceful pie-maker Mrs Lovett ( Julie-Anne Smith) make a fast buck from their tasty venture in a cutthroat world in York Light’s Sweeney Todd. Picture: Matthew Kitchen
Dark show of the week: York Light Opera Company in Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, York Theatre Royal, Wednesday to March 4, 7.30pm, except February 26; 2.30pm, February 25 and March 4
YORK Light return to York Theatre Royal for a 70th anniversary production of “one of the darkest musicals ever written”, Stephen Sondheim’s noir thriller Sweeney Todd, directed by Martyn Knight with musical direction by Paul Laidlaw.
Neil Wood plays the Georgian-era misanthropic barber who returns home to London after 15 years in exile, seeking vengeance on the corrupt judge (Craig Kirby) who ruined his life. The road to revenge leads him to open new tonsorial premises above the failing pie shop run by Mrs Lovett (Julie-Anne Smith). Cue a very tasty meaty new ingredient to boost sales in this now cutthroat business. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Shepherd Group Brass Band: Performing with the Black Dyke Band at Grand Opera House, York
Fundraiser of the week: York Brass Against Cancer 2, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 2.30pm
YORK’S Shepherd Group Brass Band joins up with West Yorkshire’s world famous Black Dyke Band for a charity collaboration in aid of York Against Cancer. BBC Radio Leeds presenter David Hoyle hosts this two-hour concert. Box office: atgtickets.com/york
Belinda Carlisle: Revisiting her decades of hits at York Barbican
California calling: Belinda Carlisle, The Decades Tour, York Barbican, Monday, 7.30pm
NOW living in Bangkok and once the lead vocalist of The Go-Gos, “the most successful all-female rock band of all time”, Los Angelean Belinda Carlisle, 64, has enjoyed chart-topping solo success too with Heaven Is A Place On Earth.
At a gig rearranged from October 2021, hopefully The Decades Tour set list will be taking in Runaway Horses, I Get Weak, Circle In The Sand, Leave A Light On, Summer Rain, (We Want) The Same Thing, Live Your Life Be Free, In Too Deep and Always Breaking My Heart from her eight studio albums. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Suzanne Vega: Songs and stories from New York in York on Wednesday night
Storyteller of the week: Suzanne Vega, An Intimate Evening Of Songs And Stories, York Barbican, Wednesday, 7.30pm
2022 Glastonbury acoustic stage headliner Suzanne Vega, 63, plays York Barbican as the only Yorkshire show of the New York singer-songwriter’s 14-date tour.
Emerging from the Greenwich Village folk revival scene of the 1980s, Vega has brought succinct, insightful storytelling to songs of city life, ordinary people and social culture. Her support act will be Tufnell Park folk singer and traditional song archivist Sam Lee. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Rob Auton: Send in the crowds in York, Pocklington and Leeds
Crowd pleaser: Rob Auton, The Crowd Show, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 24 (Burning Duck Comedy Club) , 8pm, sold out; Pocklington Arts Centre, May 27, 8pm; Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds, June 5, 7.30pm
CHARMINGLY offbeat York poet, stand-up comedian, actor and podcaster Rob Auton returns home from London on his 2023 leg of The Crowd Show tour. Next Friday’s show is crowded out already but space is available at his Pocklington and Leeds gigs.
After his philosophical observations on the colour yellow, the sky, faces, water, sleep, hair, talking and time, now he discusses crowds, people and connection in a night of comedy and theatre “suitable for anyone who wants to be in the crowd for this show”. Box office: Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; Leeds, hydeparkbookclub.co.uk.
KT Tunstall: A nut in every soundbite on her latest album, showcased at York Barbican on Friday
Doing her Nut: KT Tunstall, York Barbican, February 24, 8pm
SCOTTISH singer-songwriter KT Tunstall returns to York on Friday for the first time since she lit up the Barbican on Bonfire Night in 2016. In her line-up will be Razorlight’s Andy Burrows, on drum duty after opening the gig with his own set.
The BRIT Award winner and Grammy nominee from Edinburgh will be showcasing songs from her seventh studio album, last September’s Nut, the conclusion to her “soul, body and mind” trilogy after 2016’s Kin and 2018’s Wax. Box office: kttunstall.com and yorkbarbican.co.uk.
A tale of love: Will Parsons as Davy and Kayla Vicente as Yvonne in Central Hall Musical Society’s Sunshine On Leith at the JoRo Theatre. Picture: Joly Black (jolyblack4@gmail.com)
You should walk 500 miles for: Central Hall Musical Society in Sunshine On Leith, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, February 23 to 25, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
SUNSINE On Leith, aka “the Proclaimers’ musical”, is a tale of love; love for family, love for friends, love for romantic partners and love for our homes, as one tight-knit family, and the three couples bound to it, experience the joys and heartache that punctuate all relationships.
Secrets will be revealed, relationships made and lost and broken hearts mended once more, all while singing the songs of Charlie and Craig Reid in this student production by the University of York’s musical theatre society, directed by Romilly Swingler. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Anna Rose James: Workshops and open mic shows at UK Ghost Story Festival. Picture: Nicolas Laborie
YORK actor-writer Anna Rose James will be the Ghost Of Festival Present at this week’s UK Ghost Story Festival at the Museum of Making, Derby Silk Mill, Derby.
“I’ll be running two workshops on Friday, hosting an open mic on Sunday, live-tweeting the rest and sharing a creative response to the whole thing at the end,” she says, ahead of attending the event from tomorrow until Sunday.
Anna will lead Friday’s Ghosts and Comedy workshop in the River Room from 2pm to 3pm, followed by the Ghostly Origins session in the Studio Space from 5pm to 6pm. Sunday’s open mics will be at 10.30am and 12 noon in the River Room.
Anna, or AR James as she is profiled in the festival speakers’ biographies, is a queer, bisexual actor-writer of unsettling entrances and exits in the form of poetry, flash fiction, auto-fiction, screenplays and scripts.
She co-founded Sonnet Sisters, Six Lips Theatre and The Podvangelist and is the voice of 3CC0 in Tin Can. Her works include Unknown (York publisher Stairwell Books), Little Irritants (Analog Submission Press) and 100 Friggin’ Poems.
Here Anna Rose James answers five questions on the ukghoststoryfestival.co.uk blog
What was the first ghost story you read, Anna?
“The first ones I remember encountering were actually told to me, and they were poems: Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, which remains a favourite, and The Listeners by Walter de la Mare – another narrative lyric that portrays a traveller who knocks upon a ‘moonlit door’ only to wait in the silence of the ‘listeners’, the phantoms who inhabit the house.
“Unlike the thoroughly conclusive The Raven, The Listeners is a swift draft of pure anticipation – silence and waiting and the unknown.”
Do you have a favourite ghost story, be it on the page or on the screen?
“The ones I’m writing will always be my favourites, but I can’t share those yet. I also won’t rank any single tale above the rest, but one of my favourites is The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens. I’ve only read and heard it so far, but I imagine it would also make a great short film in the right hands.
“I am fascinated by the cyclical impression of the titular character’s dreadful premonitions – the repetition of the haunting refrain, ‘Hallao, below there!’ and the tragic futility of his being trapped with the knowledge of impending doom and the inability to do anything to prevent it.
“There’s a real sense of ‘so close!’ – the narrator takes an interest in his strange case, the visions must surely be warning him for a reason, but…ultimately, fate strikes again. The real-world parallels with Dickens’s own life (and death) are a perfectly eerie cherry on the cake.”
What was the first ghost story you wrote?
“I wish I could find it to share pictures because it was a riot. The Time Machine was, I suspect, inspired equally by Jurassic Park and Sister, Sister! Penned at the tender age of seven, I used poster paints, masking tape and glitter glue to weave a (literally) incredible story about some friends who travelled back in time, saw some dinosaurs and got eaten.
Meanwhile in the present day (or future, presumably), someone had given birth to twins who then suddenly faded away (presumably the people who’d been eaten). It was non-stop until it stopped abruptly before seven-year-old me came up with an ending.”
What is the enduring appeal of the ghost story form?
“The social aspect of telling and being told, sharing the creeps and relishing the feeling of doling out some ghoulish experience. Watching a friend’s face as you lay out the reveal. The thrill of the unearthly clues, the surprising explanations.
“We love to be scared. We love it when stories can still surprise us, even with all we know. And until we know what’s beyond the veil of death, we’ll have this eternal playground of ideas to explore, whether we’re tugging at a thread we feel we shouldn’t or attempting to make peace with something completely out of our control and understanding.”
What are you particularly looking forward to at the festival?
“I’m a sucker for psychogeography so I can’t wait for Ally Wilkes’ workshop on Landscape and Location in Horror on Sunday. I’m an old lovey too so all the performances are top of my list.
“I’m also super excited to get stuck into my own workshops on comedy and origins in ghost stories, and to hear what the attendees have cooking in their own cauldrons at the open mic slots!”
A fierce-faced warrior at Jorvik Viking Festival, back in York from today
THOSE pesky Vikings are invading again, promising battles and big beards, as Charles Hutchinson wrestles with what to do in half-term week.
Festival of the week: Jorvik Viking Festival 2023, today until February 19
SWORDS and seaxes are being sharpened, shields reinforced, beards groomed and tents prepared as York braces itself for the annual invasion of 9th century raiders, Norse warriors, craftspeople and traders in half-term week.
Welcoming 40,000 visitors each year, Europe’s largest Viking festival takes over the city centre with living history encampments, a combat-and-display arena and a Battle Spectacular on February 18, inspired by Arab writer Ibn Fadlan’s accounts of Viking traders.
Among further highlights will be theBest Beard Competition, today, 11am; Strongest Viking Competition, February 18, 11.15am; March To Coppergate, February 18, 1.30pm, from Dean’s Park; talks and lectures; crafting workshops and a traders’ market. Full details at: jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk
Melanie Watson in Mythos: Ragnarok: Making its York Barbican debut on the Jorvik Viking Festival Fringe
Festival Fringe event of the week: Mythos: Ragnarok, Jorvik Viking Festival, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm
MYTHOS: Ragnarok retells mythical tales of the apocalypse through wrestling, yes, wrestling, in a Fringe event new to the 2023 Viking festival programme, presented by Mythological Theatre and Phil McIntyre Live.
Half-brothers Odin and Loki must overcome primordial giants, rivals gods and goddesses and their own ambitions in their quest to seize power over the Nine Worlds through the grappling sport in Mythos’s York Barbican debut. Warning: Contains strobe lighting, scenes of violence, references to death, indirect sexual references, occasional bad language and actors specialising in professional wrestling skills. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
A chance to dress up as rebel: One of the activities at the Marvellous And Mischievous, Literature’s Young Rebels exhibition at York Art Gallery. Picture: Charlotte Graham
Exhibition of the week: Marvellous And Mischievous, Literature’s Young Rebels, York Art Gallery, until June 4
OPENING just in time for half-term week, York Art Gallery presents the British Library’s touring exhibition of memorable characters from children’s literature.
Favourites such as Pippi Longstocking, Jane Eyre, Matilda, Dirty Bertie, Zog, Tracey Beaker, Peter Pan and Dennis the Menace feature in this exploration of characters who break the rules and defy conventions. Around 40 books, manuscripts and original artwork from 300 years of literary rebels, outsiders and spirited survivors will be complemented by an activity room with a busy programme of workshops and events.
Anastasia Bevan: Soprano soloist at York Guildhall Orchestra’s all-Beethoven concert tonight
Classical concert of the week: York Guildhall Orchestra, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
YORK Guildhall Orchestra will be joined by Leeds Festival Chorus for the Angels’ Hallelujah Chorus, from the oratorio Christ On The Mount Of Olives in a wholly Beethoven night.
The Egmont Overture and Fidelio Overture and the Meeresstille und Glückliche Fahrt setting of two Goethe poems feature too before the climactic, gloriously melodious Symphony No. 9, “The Choral”, billed as “a real work out for orchestra, choir, and soloists” Anastasia Bevan, Sarah Winn, Sam Knock and Matthew Kellett. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Dnipro Opera take to the York Barbican stage in Carmen
Ukrainians in York: Dnipro Opera inCarmen, York Barbican, Sunday, 7pm
DNIPRO Opera, from Ukraine, perform Georges Bizet’s opera of fiery passion, jealousy and violence in 19th century Seville in French with English surtitles (CORRECT), to the accompaniment of a 30-strong orchestra.
Carmen charts the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who falls head over heels in love with Carmen, a seductive, free-spirited femme fatale, abandoning his childhood sweetheart and neglecting his military duties, only to lose the fickle firebrand to the glamorous toreador Escamillo. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The double act that nearly was…and now is: Danielle Reid’s Charlie Chaplin and Jerone Marsh-Reid’s Stan Laurel in Told By An Idiot’s Charlie & Stan
Double act of the week: Told By An Idiot in Charlie & Stan, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm, plus 2pm, Thursday and 2,30pm, Saturday
IN 1910 the unknown Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel set sail for New York on a voyage of discovery as part of Fred Karno’s music hall troupe, sharing a cabin and then spending two years together touring North America, with Stan as Charlie’s understudy.
In a fantastical reimagining that plays fast and loose with the facts, Told By An Idiot tells the story of “the greatest comedy double act that nearly was” in Paul Hunter’s homage to the English comedy legends pre-fame, played out by Danielle (CORRECT) Bird’s Chaplin and Jerone (CORRECT) Marsh-Reid’s Laurel in the style of a silent comedy to a Zoe Rahman piano score. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Katie Melia’s Charity Hope Valentine in York Stage’s Sweet Charity
Musical of the week: York Stage in Sweet Charity, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Tuesday to Sunday, 7.30pm, except Sunday; 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday matinees
THE John Cooper Studio will be transformed into a seedily seductive Fandango Ballroom from St Valentine’s Day for Sweet Charity, the 1966 Broadway musical with a book by Neil Simon, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields.
Played by Katie Melia, Charity Hope Valentine fantasises about three things in life: romance, luxury and escaping the questionable ballroom clientele. Lovable, gullible and spirited, she longs to find a lover who can sweep her off her feet but Charity keeps handing over her heart and earnings to the wrong man. Hey big spender, box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Velma Celli: On song in a night of drag diva belters at Pocklington Arts Centre
Drag show of the week: Velma Celli, Pocklington Arts Centre, Thursday, 8pm
YORK drag queen supreme Velma Celli, alias West End musical actor Ian Stroughair, promises an overindulgent diva fiesta in celebration of the songs, mannerisms and behaviour of Mariah, Whitney, Aretha, Cher, Britney and many more.
Cue cheeky impressions, belting singing and saucy banter from the international star and creator of A Brief History Of Drag, Me And My Divas, Equinox and Irreplaceable (in praise of David Bowie). Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
The Forest Awakens: The new hole at The Hole In Wand Yorkmagical golf course
In Focus: The Hole In Wand York on course for more magic at wizard visitor attraction
FORE! Watch out, The Hole In Wand York, the “World’s Most Magical Golf Course”, has a new woodland hole at the Potions Cauldron visitor attraction in the Coppergate Shopping Centre, York.
In a magical makeover, wands have been raised and spells cast to create The Forest Awakens hole and several additions for wizards to enjoy, including a new quest.
Opened last May, the award-winning mini golf venue also has upgraded the tavern area to help with the visitor flow and journey.
For The Forest Awakens, a hole based on the North York Moors National Park’s Dalby Forest, near Pickering, a new scent and soundtrack have been added to the room to create an immersive experience.
The hole places wizards among the trees as they aim for a hole in one, looked on by magical creatures of the darkened and mythical forest.
Chief Wizard Oliver Brayshaw says: “‘We’re excited to reveal the new holes; we know that our visitors are really going to enjoy them. Both Hole 6 and 7 are quite eerie but great fun.
“We have designed and built the holes and upgraded the tavern with the visitor journey in mind to ensure that everyone that visits has a fantastic experience.”
At The Hole In Wand York, in Coppergate Walk, wizard players take on nine magical golf holes. Along the “course” are bubbling cauldrons, magical portals and a giant picture frame where they become part of the painting. Visitors can do cast a Light Spell to illuminate the way in the dark hole and awaken the spirits.
At the end of the adventure, players will find out if they have the magical powers of a Serpent, Basilisk, Unicorn or Wizard. Every player will receive a magic potion gift to take home and hopefully find Grobblenook.
Wizard golf with a potion drink costs from £6.99 per person. The minimum age for players is three and the maximum group size is six wizards with wands. To book tickets, go to: theholeinwand.com/york
York Ice Trail: Taking the theme of A Journey Through Time in 2023
AS the new Ice Age dawns in the city centre, Charles Hutchinson has advice on winter warmers to discover.
Free event of the week: York Ice Trail, York city centre, today and tomorrow, from 10am
YORK Ice Trail’s theme for 2023 invites city-centre visitors to time-travel to prehistoric ages, walk through history and step into the future for A Journey Through Time.
Organised by Make It York, the free trail features ice sculptures sponsored and conceived by York businesses and designed and made by ice specialists Icebox for a second year. Look out for the National Railway Museum’s interactive sculpture in High Petergate celebrating Flying Scotsman’s centenary, one of 36 sculptures standing to attention in York’s streets this weekend. Icebox will be doing live ice carving at St Sampson’s Square.
Free trail maps will be available from the Visitor Information Centre on Parliament Street or can be downloaded online at visityork.org/ice.
The poster for Fool(ish)’s improvised comedy show Fooling Around
Hot date of the week: Fool(ish) in Fooling Around, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Tuesday, 7.30pm
JOIN Fool(ish) for Fooling Around, an improvised romantic comedy cum early Valentine’s evening of love, laughter and hand-crafted chaos. Taking audience stories and suggestions, the Chicago-trained York improvisers create a spontaneous series of inspired love-scenes.
From first dates to happy never afters, Fooling Around aims to sweep you off your feet in its off-the-cuff Yorkshire twist on American long-form comedy on the theme of dreams, desires and total disasters. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Platform for song:Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s Hello, Dolly! cast members Jamie Benson as Barnaby Tucker, left, Helen Spencer as Dolly Levi and Stuart Sellens as Cornelius Hackl
Musical of the week: Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company in Hello, Dolly!, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, February 8 to 11, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee
KATHRYN Lay makes her JRTC directorial debut alongside musical director husband Martin Lay as the Joseph Rowntree Theatre’s in-house fundraising company kicks off the Haxby Road theatre’s spring season with glitz, glamour and a troupe of tap-dancing waiters in the Broadway classic Hello, Dolly!
Featuring Put On Your Sunday Clothes, It Only Takes A Moment and the title number, Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart’s musical is the JRTC’s most ambitious production to date. NHS psychiatrist Helen Spencer plays Dolly Levi, the strong-willed widow and self-proclaimed match-making meddler, who strives to woo tight-fisted millionaire Horace Vandergelder while spreading joy and confusion among everyone she encounters in 1885 New York. Box office:01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Reflective:Harry Baker will be feeling Unashamed at The Crescent, York
Poet of the week: Say Owt presents Harry Baker: Unashamed, The Crescent, York, Wednesday, doors, 7.30pm
WORLD poetry slam champion, poet and maths graduate Harry Baker likes to write about the “important stuff”. Hope, dinosaurs, German falafel-spoons and such like.
His work has been shared on TED.com and viewed millions of times worldwide, as well as being translated into 21 languages. Post pandemic lockdowns, he is delighted to be back on stage with his “most heartfelt, playful, unashamedly Harry Bakery” show to date. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Richard Dawson: The past, present and future is here at Selby Town Hall
One for the future: Mediale presents: Richard Dawson, Selby Town Hall, February 11, doors, 8pm; on stage, 8.30pm; no support act
AUDACIOUS Northumbrian psych-folk and exploratory rock singer-songwriter Richard Dawson is welcomed to Selby Town Hall for the opening night of Selby Creates’ winter arts programme.
Dawson will be showcasing his latest album, last November’s The Ruby Cord, a grim, sinister vision of times ahead that journeys into an immersive, solipsistic metaverse 500 years from now to complete a trilogy focused on the medieval past (on Peasant), the present (on 2020) and the sci-fi future. Box office: selbytownhall.co.uk.
Steve Knightley: New one-man show in Pocklington
Solo venture of the week: Steve Knightley, Pocklington Arts Centre, February 11, 8pm
ONE half of folk/roots duo Show Of Hands since 1992, Steve Knightley will be performing material that surfaced over two years of isolation and inactivity in his new one-man show.
Insights, anecdotes and a bunch of new songs will attempt to chronicle and draw a line under an “extra episode in all our lives”, alongside Knightley’s headline-refreshed renditions of Bristol Slaver and You’ll Get By and covers of Forever Young and The Boys Of Summer. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Resol String Quartet: Stepping in for the Fitzwilliam String Quartet tonight
Late replacement of the week: Late Music presents Music On The Edge: The Lapins, today, 1pm; Resol String Quartet, tonight, 7.30pm, both at Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York
AFTER the Fitzwilliam String Quartet unavoidably had to pull out of Late Music’s February evening concert, Fitzwilliam viola player Alan George has found a replacement quartet at very short notice. Step forward the Resol String Quartet, formed at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2018.
“They came up to St Andrews for a masterclass with us – plus a concert in the town a few weeks later – and everyone was very impressed,” says Alan. “We’ve already recommended them for our university series.”
Resol String Quartet’s alternative programme of string quartet music for tonight features works by Haydn, Julian Broughton and Beethoven and Alasdair Morton-Teng’s arrangements of traditional tunes.
Late Music’s February brace of concerts opens with The Lapins – Susie Hodder-Williams, flute, Chris Caldwell, saxophone, and James Boyd, guitar – performing Music On The Edge at lunchtime.
World premieres of David Lancaster’s Au Lapin Agile, Gwilym Simcock’s Suite for Solo Flute and new works by David Power and Hayley Jenkins will be complemented by the British premiere of Athena Corcoran-Tadd’s Confluence (Hope Is A Boat) and Bach and Tippett pieces. Box office: latemusic.org or on the door.
The Lapins: Performing Music On The Edge at Late Music’s afternoon concert today
Relaxing afternoon: Lillian Hetherington, Mille Mazzone and Michael Capecci,Dementia Friendly Tea Concert, St Chad’s Church, Campleshon Road, York, February 16, 2.30pm
UNIVERSITY of York music students Lillian Hetherington, Mille Mazzone and Michael Capecci play violin and piano works by Wieniawski, Schostakovich and Dvorak.
As usual, 45 minutes of music will be followed by tea and homemade cakes in the church hall in a relaxed afternoon gathering ideal for those who may not feel comfortable at a formal classical concert. No charge but donations are welcome for hire costs and Alzheimer’s charities.
Re-enchanted: Josie Long at the double at The Crescent. Picture: Matt Crockett
Longer time in York: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Josie Long: Re-Enchantment extra matinee, The Crescent, York, February 18, 3pm
AFTER her 7.30pm gig sold out – as had her last appearance at The Crescent in Lefty Scum – comedian Josie Long has added a matinee performance of Re-Enchantment. Inspired by London feminist writer Lola Olufemi’s sentiment that “after defeat, re-enchantment is necessary”, Josie’s new stand-up set is infused with humanity, compassion and some brief political rants.
The triple Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee, underdog Fringe hero and delirious new mother returns with a show about the changes wrought by time, passion, moving to Scotland and loving the world under – let’s face it – difficult circumstances.
“Josie is one of our all-time favourite comedians, so we’re very excited to bring her new show to York and add an extra matinee show as well,” says Burning Duck promoter Al Greaves. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
In Focus: York Ice Trail’s 36 sculptures this weekend
A Journey Through Time, Parliament Street – Make It York
Growing The Future, Parliament Street – Dalby Forest
Cash-asaurus T-Rex, Parliament Street – YorkMix Radio
York to London Skyline, Parliament Street – Grand Central
Atey Ate Miles Per Hour, High Ousegate – Ate O’Clock
121 years of making magic, Spurriergate – Grand Opera House, York
Every Moment Matters, North Street – Park Inn by Radisson
Where ever I lay my hat…. , Station Rise – The Grand, York
100 years of LNER, Station Road – LNER
York Quest App: The Roman, Micklegate – York BID
The Enchanted Unicorn, Middletons – The Hole In Wand
Ginny the Dragon, Middletons – York Gin
20,000 Leagues Under the Ouse, Middletons – City Cruises
The Monstrous Chimera, Middletons – Middletons
York Quest App: The Butcher, Kings Staith – York BID
Coppergate Viking, Coppergate Centre – Coppergate Centre
E.T. Comes Home, Piccadilly – Spark: York
York Quest App: Dick Turpin, Walmgate – York BID
Adventure Is Out There, The Stonebow – Hiscox
York’s Chocolate Story Clock, Kings Square – York’s Chocolate Story
Erupted Volcano, Grape Lane – Lucia Bar
The York Rose Diamond by Kay Bradley, Low Petergate – Bradley’s Jewellers
Minus 200 Degrees Coffee, Low Petergate – 200 Degrees Coffee
York Quest App: Anne Lister, Goodramgate – York BID
Gothic Grotesque, Minster Piazza – York Minster
Celebrating 100 years of Flying Scotsman, High Petergate – National Railway Museum
York Quest App: Guy Fawkes, Gillygate – York BID
The Pearly Cow, Clifton – No .1 Guesthouse
Layers of Time, Exhibition Square, St Leonard’s Place – North York Moors National Park
York Quest App: Wally Herbert, Museum Street – York BID
Ryedale Roman Hoard, Museum Gardens – Yorkshire Museums Trust
Greek Minotaur, Lendal – The Judge’s Lodging
Busloads To Love!, St Helen’s Square – York Park & Ride
The Bettys Express Train, Davygate – Bettys
Fire Breathing Dinosaur, St Sampson’s Square – Cut and Craft
Live Carving by Icebox, St Sampson’s Square – York Ice Trail
Fact File
THE last York Ice Trail took place in March 2022 after a pandemic-enforced one-year hiatus. More than 40 ice sculptures lined the city streets, with 25,000 people participating in the trail.
Post-pandemic, York Ice Trail appealed to more residents than pre-pandemic in 2020, increasing from 23 per cent to 39 per cent.
Highlights
THE grounds of Middletons Hotel will be transformed into a mystical world of mythology, including four ice sculptures and photo opportunities throughout the day. York Gin, City Cruises and The Potions Cauldron will be on site, with crafts, competitions and surprise creatures.
Sister proper The Judges Lodgings features an ice sculpture too. Check out the Thwaites Shire Horses in all their finery.
On the anniversary front, the National Railway Museum celebrates Flying Scotsman’s centenary with an interactive sculpture. The Grand Opera House marks 121 years of making musical magic and LNER highlights its 100-year milestone.
York’s chocolate heritage will be rendered in ice with York’s Chocolate Story’s working Terry’s Clock Tower with a hot chocolate twist.
Learn more about York’s history with York BID’s six sculptures, all inspired by York historical figures that can be found on the York Quest app.
Busloads To Love, by main sponsor York Park & Ride, offers the chance to be the driver and take a selfie. The sculpture, celebrating the importance of the bus in public transport, will be situated on St Helen’s Square.
Travel from York to London with Grand Central’s Skyline sculpture, or be transported into another space and dimension with Hiscox’s adventure-bound sit-on space shuttle. For those wanting to go back to the future, discover Ate O’Clock’s DeLorean-inspired Atey Ate Miles Per Hour sculpture.
Live ice carving across the weekend at St Sampson’s Square will show how Icebox’s sculptors bring the ice trail to life.
Quotes
Sarah Loftus, Make It York managing director, says: “York Ice Trail 2023 will spark imaginations, transporting visitors across time and dimension from sculpture to sculpture. Our ice partners at Icebox have done a phenomenal job at bringing the ideas to life and we can’t wait to see all 36 sculptures line the streets of York.”
Councillor Keith Aspden, City of York Council leader, says: “The York Ice Trail brings imaginative, ‘cool’ and unique sculptures to York’s streets and is much loved by residents and visitors, so it’s excellent to see the event return once again. This year’s theme and creations are paying a fitting tribute to York’s rich history and imagination of our local businesses.”
Greg Pittard, Icebox managing director, says: “It is our privilege to be returning as the sculptors for the second year for York Ice Trail 2023. From mammoths to DeLoreans, the carvers have been working non-stop since late-August to deliver A Journey Through Time. This year’s theme has inspired some incredible designs and we can’t wait to unveil all of this year’s ice creations.”
John Godfrey, of First Bus in York, says: “We would encourage everyone planning to come and enjoy the Ice Trail to think about sustainable travel to get here and consider leaving the car at home or using the Park and Ride network. This helps avoid congestion, which makes travel around York easier, especially with such an event creating a bustling and lively atmosphere.”
Arsen Petrosyan: Armenian duduk specialist, playing music from his homeland on March 10
AFTER a quiet start to 2023 at the National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, the spring concert season begins to bloom in full in early March.
Before then, the NCEM’s community singing group meets for a Cuppa And A Chorus session on February 20 at 2pm, with further sessions to follow on March 20, April 17, May 15, June 19 and July 24.
“After the Covid lockdowns, we’re opening up for more members to join this popular chance to connect through singing,” says NCEM director Delma Tomlin.
I Can Play, the NCEM’s programme for sharing music-making opportunities with D/deaf children across York, continues this season at Milthorpe School, on February 25 and March 18, with support from the York children’s charity Lollipop.
“We started this programme several years ago, went online during Covid, and then moved to the York Music Centre, based at Millthorpe School, in September,” says Delma. “It’s lovely for the children to feel part of the broader activity there.”
Guitars at the double: Lulo Reinhardt & Yuliya Lonskaya
The NCEM’s Family Friendly umbrella reopens for Leeds company Opera North’s Little Listeners performance of Mini Vixen on February 26 at 11.30am and 1.30pm.
Based on the music and story of Janacek’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen and led by a cast of professional opera singers and musicians, this musical adventure takes place in a mystical woodland where a Vixen meets a Fox. As their friendship grows, they discover how working together is vital to protect their home and the habitat around them.
Singing and movement is encouraged at this interactive, relaxed, fun concert, where Opera North invites you to “experience the magic of opera, storytelling and music, whatever your age”.
“For Opera North’s singers, Mini Vixen gives them an opportunity to work in very different circumstances and develop their professional skills,” says Delma.
What follows is an NCEM spring diary of “thought-provoking concerts, guaranteed to entertain, to intrigue and to make you smile,” says Delma.
Andrew McCormack Trio: Terra Firma concert on April 28
First up will be multi-instrumentalists, composers and folk scholars The Rheingans Sisters on March 3. Nominated for Best Duo/Group at the 2019 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Peak District siblings Rowan and Anna play instruments made largely by their luthier father, Helmut Rheingans.
Further folk concerts will be performed by Leveret, the all-English trio of Sam Sweeney, fiddle, Andy Cutting, button accordion, and Rob Harbron, concertina, on March 15 and Firelight Trio, featuring Moishe’s Bagel accordion and piano player Phil Alexander, on March 29.
Leveret rely on mutual trust and musical interaction to create new settings of their repertoire in the moment, while Firelight Trio’s Alexander, Gavin Marwick (fiddle) and Ruth Morris (nyckelharpa) play European folk, from Swedish polkas to Scottish reels, French waltzes to klezmer, topped off with original tunes.
Make a note of two more folk gigs already booked for the autumn: Scottish fiddle quartet RANT (Bethany Reid, Anna Massie, Lauren MacColl and Gillian Frame) on September 21, and The Furrow Collective’s night of story-songs and seasonal carols, rearranged for December 5 (after last December’s visit had to be postponed).
Jazz bookings are led off by the piano-driven Andrew McCormack Trio’s Terra Firma concert with bassist Joe Downard and American drummer Rod Youngs on April 28.
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt: Devine Moments on slide guitar
The Oxley-Meier Guitar Project delivers jazz, heavy metal, Flamenco, Tango and Turkish-influenced music from Pete Oxley, Nicolas Meier, bassist Raph Mizraki and drummer Paul Cavaciuti on May 18.
The University of York Jazz Orchestra combines standards and new compositions, under the direction of the Roller Trio’s James Mainwaring on June 16. Soft Machine guitarist John Etheridge and special guest Kit Holmes promise blues, folk, jazz and African grooves on June 18 at 6.30pm as part of the York Festival of Ideas.
On the international front, Armenian duduk player Arsen Petrosyan leads his quartet in Hokin Janapar: My Soul’s Journey, his March 10 return to the NCEM to play traditional, early, classical and sacred music from his homeland after a Making Tracks concert there four years ago.
Django Reinhardt’s grand-nephew, the gypsy swing, North African and Indian-inspired guitarist Lulo Reinhardt, from Germany, pairs up with folk, jazz and bossa nova guitarist Yulija Lonskaya on May 9 in his NCEM debut.
The Instituto Cervantes, National Centre for the Promotion of Music and NCEM link up for Beyond The Spanish Golden Age, Music Of The Spanish Enlightenment, two 7pm concerts backed by Inaem, the Spanish Ministry of Sport and Culture, with funding from the European Union’s Nextgeneration.eu fund.
Concerto 1700: 18th century Spanish string trios on May 14
Spanish early music ensemble La Galania perform 17th century works of passion, jealousy, love, sweetness, reproach and death with soprano Raquel Andueza on May 13; violinist Daniel Pinteno’s Concerto 1700 focus on 18th century string trios by Castle, Boccherini and Brunetti on May 14 in their York debut.
Grammy Award-winning Rajasthan slide guitarist Vishwa Mohan Bhatt plays the NCEM for the first time, accompanied by table player Pandit Subhen Chatterjee, in Devine Moments on May 22. York Festival of Ideas welcomes American countertenor Reginald Mobley and French jazz pianist Baptiste Trotignon for a night of songs written by black composers such as HT Burleigh, Florence Price and J Rosamond Johnson, together with a reflection on the origins of Negro spirituals and slave songs, on June 13.
From 6.30pm to 7pm, Dr Matthew Williams, who runs the University of York’s black music programme, gives an illustrated talk on how Negro spirituals, a hymn to resilience and a symbol of hope and faith in humanity, influenced ragtime, barbershop, jazz, gospel, blues, rock techno and electronic music. After the concert, he hosts a Q&A session with Mobley and Trotignon.
The snappily attired Budapest Café Orchestra switch between gypsy and folk-flavoured music in their unconventional set of Balkan and Russian pieces, Romantic masterpieces and Gaelic folk anthems on June 22.
Further highlights include Frame Ensemble musicians Irine Rosnes, violin, Liz Hanks, violin, Trevor Bartlett, percussion, and Jonny Best, piano, accompanying the April 18 screening of the BFI digital restoration of Frank Hurley’s 1919 film, South (U): Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Glorious Epic of the Antarctic.
American countertenor Reginald Mobley: Singing songs by black composers at York Festival of Ideas
Hurley photographed Shackleton’s 1914-1916 expedition to Antarctica aboard Endurance, during which the ship was crushed by ice, leaving the crew stranded. Unseen since it sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915, the wreck of Endurance was found at last in March 2022.
The University of York Baroque+ Day on May 7 features Consone Quartet with basset clarinet player Emily Worthington, performing works by Haydn, Stadler and Mozart at 12 noon.
Consone Quartet members and University of York students will be holding a free masterclass (booking required) at 2.30pm. The day ends with Lucy Russell and Rachel Gray directing the University Baroque Ensemble in Ah! Vienna – Vienna Before Mozart, featuring Biber, Schmelzer, Bertali and Fox pieces.
Improvising violinist Nina Kumin presents A Baroque Fantasy on May 14 at 10.30am, a free concert where she focuses on fantasy, from and freedom by letting the solo violin fantasias of Nicola Matteis take centre stage.
Presented in association with BBC Radio 3, the NCEM Young Composers Award 2023 Final will be held on May 12 at 7pm, when the selection of new pieces written for The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble will be played.
Raquel Andueza & La Galania: 17th century Spanish music of passion, jealousy, love, sweetness, reproach and death on May 13
In the second Family Friendly concert of 2023 for children aged five upwards, parents and carers, the London-based Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment performs a newly crafted version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute by Hazel Gould, on April 1 at 10.30am.
In this fun-packed show, Kirsty is a bird and Tim is a bird catcher who needs to catch a new bird every day to take to the Queen. Kirsty wants to remain free, whereupon Tim is caught in a dilemma when the Queen sets them a series of challenges. Will music save the day?
During the York Festival of Ideas, the NCEM plays host to Claudio Kon Do Brasil, an introduction to the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira, run by Brazilian-born musician, percussionist and workshop leader Claudio Kron, who moved to Britain 30 years ago and now lives in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.
“Guaranteed to keep you on your toes”, two sessions will be held on June 17: 10.30am to 12 noon for teenagers and adults; 2pm to 3.30pm for children aged seven upwards and their families.
All concerts at the NCEM, St Margaret’s Church, start at 7.30pm, unless stated otherwise. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Hannah Davies: Poetic monologues at York Explore Library in Pilot Theatre’s Monoliths for York Residents’ Festival
THE best things in life are not always free, but plenty are this weekend for York residents. Charles Hutchinson also highlights the best value in theatre, music, art and comedy.
Event of the week: York Residents’ Festival 2023, today and tomorrow
ORGANISED by Make It York, York Residents’ Festival 2023 combines more than 100 attractions, events and offers this weekend. Historical attractions such as York Minster, Jorvik Viking Centre, Fairfax House, York Castle Museum, Barley Hall and The Guildhall will be opening their doors for free to residents.
Further highlights include wizard golf at The Hole In Wand; free river cruises with City Cruises; chocolate tours at York’s Chocolate Story; behind-the-scenes tours of York Theatre Royal and a virtual reality experience with Pilot Theatre’s Monoliths, featuring poetic monologues on city, country and coastal northern landscapes by Hannah Davies, Carmen Marcus and Asma Elbadawi at York Explore Library. Restaurants, cafés and shops are taking part too. For full details, go to: visityork.org/resfest.
Fat chance…to see Sofie Hagen in her Fat Jokes show at Theatre@41
Comedy gig of the week: Sofie Hagen: Fat Jokes, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Tuesday, 8pm
EDINBURGH Fringe comedy award winner Sofie Hagen presents Fat Jokes, a storytelling show bursting with big jokes, fat punchlines and unforgettable moments. “Come as you are and enjoy an actual fat person at the top of her game,” says the Danish-born, London-based comedian’s publicity blurb. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Travelogue of the week: Around The World In 80 Days, York Theatre Royal, Thursday, 2pm and 7.30pm; Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
PRODUCERS Tilted Wig are teaming up with York Theatre Royal for a nationwide tour of Around The World In 80 Days in creative director Juliet Forster’s circus-themed version of Jules Verne’s story, first staged on York playing fields in 2021.
Original cast member Eddie Mann will be joined by Alex Phelps, Katriona Brown, Wilson Benedito and Genevieve Sabherwal, who each multi-role as the rag-tag band of travelling big-top performers embarks on a daring mission to recreate Phileas Fogg’s fictitious journey, interwoven with the true story of Nellie Bly’s globe-travelling deeds. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Anna Meredith: Genre-crossing composer and musician heading for The Crescent in Independent Venue Week. Picture: Gem Harris
Innovators of the week: Please Please You presents Rozi Plain and Mayshe-Mayshe, The Crescent, York, Tuesday, 7.30pm; Anna Meredith and Elsa Hewitt, The Crescent, York, Friday, 7.30pm
WINCHESTER singer-songwriter Rozi Plain showcases her fifth album, Prize, released on Memphis Industries on January 13. Highlights among its ten tracks include the blissful single Agreeing For Two, the synth explorations of Painted The Room and the woozy jazz inflections of Spot Thirteen.
Later in the week, in a special show for Independent Venue Week, The Crescent welcomes Anna Meredith MBE, the genre-crossing composer and producer whose work straddles contemporary classical, art pop, electronica and experimental rock. Guitar, drums, cello and tuba feature in her band. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Liam Brennan’s Inspector Goole in An Inspector Calls, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Tristram Kenton
Political thriller returns: An Inspector Calls, Grand Opera House, York, February 7 to 11, 7.30pm nightly plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Thursday matinees
PREMIERED at the Theatre Royal in 1989, Stephen Daldry’s radical take on Yorkshireman J B Priestley’s thriller An Inspector Calls returns to York next month with tour regular Liam Brennan once more in the role of Inspector Goole.
Written at the end of the Second World War and set before the First, Priestley’s time play opens with the Birling family’s peaceful dinner party being shattered by the inspector’s call and subsequent investigations into the death of a young woman as the dangers of casual capitalism’s cruelty, complacency and hypocrisy are highlighted. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Leroy Virgil: Teaming up with York band The Black Skies at The Crescent
Country gig of the week: Hellbound Glory & The Black Skies, The Crescent, York, February 7, 7.30pm
RENO resident and Hellbound Glory main man Leroy Virgil has single-handedly invented an outlaw country music sub-genre he affectionately calls “Scumbag Country”.
His stories from the seedy underbelly of the place he calls home in sunny Nevada are full of character observations and introspection, set to a soundtrack of folk and blues-laced Americana. His York gig will be one of only three on his debut British tour to promote latest long player The Immortal Hellbound Glory: Nobody Knows You.
Young York alt/rock band The Black Skies will be his backing band as well as playing their own set at this double bill of whisky-drenched, low-slung country and rock’n’roll from the American mid-west and Yorkshire. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
The poster for York Ceramics Fair 2023
Going potty for pottery: York Ceramics Fair, York Racecourse, March 4, 10am to 5pm, and March 5, 10am to 4pm
AFTER a short break to find a new venue, York Ceramics Fair makes a March return indoors at York Racecourse for a fourth instalment with an “impressive line-up of ceramicists”, complemented by activities, events, talks and more besides.
A free shuttle bus will be running between York Racecourse, on Kavesmire Road, and the Memorial Gardens Coach Park, in Station Road, York. Tickets: via Eventbrite at yorkceramicsfair.com/ticket-info.
Nik Briggs: Directing York Stage in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie: Teen Edition
Looking ahead: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Teen Edition, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, May 29 to June 3
YORK Stage will be holding the first round of auditions for the Teen Edition of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie today, seeking black, Asian and mixed-race performers aged 13-19 to fulfil Nik Briggs’s company’s commitment to represent the diverse community of Sheffield, the show’s setting, through his casting. A second audition day follows on February 4.
Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae’s coming-of-age musical follows the true-life story of 16-year-old Sheffield schoolboy Jamie Campbell as he overcomes prejudice and bullying to step out of the darkness to become a drag queen. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
York Chamber Music Festival: Messiaen’s Quartet For The End Of Time, Lady Chapel, York Minster, 24/1/2023
THE prestigious York Chamber Music Festival began its tenth anniversary celebrations with a concert of Messiaen’s visionary work, the Quartet For The End Of Time, in an event contributing to Holocaust Memorial Week.
The venue of York Minster’s Lady Chapel, in front of the Great East Window – which depicts the beginning and end of all things, from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation, and is fittingly known as the Apocalypse Window – seemed perfect.
Add into this mix four superb musicians, who had to negotiate the cold temperature and generous acoustic – Sacha Rattle (clarinet), John Mills (violin), festival director Tim Lowe (cello) and John Lenehan (piano) – and all the boxes for a wondrous concert seemed to be ticked. Sadly, this was not the case.
The opening Liturgie de cristal began well enough with lovely clarinet and violin birdsong imitations (blackbird and nightingale) but as soon as the piano joined in, it was obvious that it was not fit for purpose. The “power of the mighty angel” framing a quite lovely central section of the Vocalise, pour l’Ange qui annonce la fin du temps, simply never materialised.
To be sure, the Abîme des oiseaux for solo clarinet was played to perfection. Rattle’s delivery was spellbinding, the velvety-rich tone simply gorgeous and even a problematic Minster acoustic seemed to embrace, to cushion, the poignant sound world.
Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus opened with a moving cello solo, lovely playing from Lowe, but the piano sound was simply poor. The Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes fared better with all the instruments playing in unison, but the need for balance meant that the “music of stone, formidable granite sound” barely had a look in.
There was beautiful playing in the Fouillis d’arcs-en-ciel, pour l’Ange qui annonce la fin du temps and the sublime violin solo was focused and indeed transcendental, but as a duet it never made the “slow ascent…towards paradise”.
As I was leaving I had only one remaining concern, that the excellent John Lenehan in particular, simply deserved better than this.
YORK Residents’ Festival 2023 combines more than 100 attractions, events and offers this weekend.
Organised by Make It York, this annual event returns on Saturday and Sunday, when historical attractions such as York Minster, Jorvik Viking Centre, Fairfax House, York Castle Museum, Barley Hall and The Guildhall will be opening their doors for free to residents.
They also can enjoy free wizard golf at The Hole In Wand, Coppergate Walk, free river cruises with City Cruises and free chocolate tours at York’s Chocolate Story, King’s Square. Theatre lovers can go behind the scenes at York Theatre Royal and experience virtual reality with Pilot Theatre’s Monoliths, featuring sweeping soundscapes and poetic monologues by Hannah Davies, Carmen Marcus and Asma Elbadawi at York Explore Library.
Offers across York eateries and restaurants include 22 Yards Wine, Ambiente Tapas, Brew York, Forest and Trio Mezze Bar. Plus. Look out for retail offers exclusively for residents at Avorium, The Yorkshire Soap Company, Dean’s Garden Centre, The Hat Shop and more besides.
For those preferring to explore the city on foot, plenty of free and discounted walking tours are available. York Photo Walks’ free walks provide the chance to learn and improve photography skills while learning more about the history of York. The Wizard Walk of York promises spellbinding family-friendly walks.
To participate in York Residents’ Festival, you must present a valid York Card, student card or identity card that proves York residency. If presenting an identity card, this must clearly state ‘York’ (such as a driving licence or older person’s bus pass).
Sarah Loftus, Make It York’s managing director, says: “We’re delighted that we have more than 100 attractions, events and offers for Residents’ Festival weekend. This is a great opportunity for residents to rediscover some of the brilliant attractions, retail and food and drink offers on their doorstep. A huge thank-you to our Visit York members for their excellent offers and to our main sponsor, Grand Central.”
Councillor Keith Aspden, leader of City of York Council, says: “I’m delighted that York Residents’ Festival is once again back this year. The weekend is a great way to enjoy our city and support our businesses. There is a lot explore and discover, with I hope something for everyone on offer during this fun-packed weekend of activities.
“Our thanks go to all the partners around the city who have come together to make sure that more than 100 attractions, events and offers are available for residents.”
The full list of offers for York Residents’ Festival can be found at: www.visityork.org/resfest. Please note, some venues require pre-booking.
Alternatively, wade your way through this comprehensive guide!
Attractions
Barley Hall, 2 Coffee Yard, off Stonegate, YO1 8AR
Saturday and Sunday, 10am – 4pm. Free entry after 2pm.
Barley Hall is a medieval townhouse, tucked away down one of the oldest streets in York. The exhibition The Bard At Barley Hall features costumes worn by famous actors. Pre-booking is required online or by phone. Select the “Free Adult” or “Free Child” option or by calling 01904 615505.
Bedern Hall Bartle Garth, St Andrewgate, York, YO1 7AL
Saturday and Sunday, 10.30am to 3.30pm. Free entry.
Discover one of York’s true hidden medieval gems – from butchers to bakers and pork pie makers, chorals to squirrels – as Bedern Hall continues its centuries-old tradition of good food, good friend, and good times. Pre-booking is not required.
Beningbrough Hall, Gallery and Gardens, Beningbrough, YO30 1DD
Grab your calling cards as you explore the garden and uncover the fascinating stories of the people who shaped Beningbrough with never-been-told-before stories from the latest research, voices from the past, interactive elements and family trail. Pre-booking is not required.
Black Swan Folk Club 23, Peasholme Green, York, YO1 7PR
Winter Folk Day performances by folk musicians. Two sessions 2pm to 5.30pm and 7.30pm to 10.30pm in the Black Swan Inn’s Wolfe Room. Pre-booking is not required.
Brew York, Unit 6, Enterprise Complex, Walmgate, York YO1 9TT
Saturday only. Free 30-minute brewery tour and tasting at 1pm and 2pm.
Founded in Walmgate in 2016, Brew York boasts a £2million state-of-the-art production facility and global distribution. See where it all began with a mini-tour of the original brewery as you enjoy a fresh beer on them. Pre-booking is required via email.
City Cruises, King’s Staith Landing and Lendal Bridge Landing
Immerse yourself in history at this iconic site and experience views over the city. A new roof deck, walkways and staircases have opened up parts of the tower, where a new interpretation brings the tower’s history to life. Pre-booking is not required.
DIG: An Archaeological Adventure, St Saviour’s Church, St Saviourgate, YO1 8NN
Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 4pm. Free entry after 2pm.
Discover exciting artefacts from 2,000 years of York history at DIG. Children can grab a trowel and dig up the clues that show how people lived in Roman, Viking, medieval and Victorian times. Pre-booking is required online or by phone. Select the “Free Adult” or “Free Child” option or by calling 01904 615505
Free half-day bike hire (for five hours). One hire per person. Deposit necessary. Pre-booking is required via telephone or email quoting Residents’ Festival.
Holgate Windmill, Windmill Rise, Holgate, York YO26 4TX.
Visit York’s only surviving windmill, built in 1770, now restored and in full working order. Stoneground wholemeal and spelt flour milled here is available for sale. Pre-booking is not required.
Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 4pm. Free entry after 2pm.
Discover York’s Viking legacy at the award-winning Jorvik Viking Centre. Meet a Viking of Coppergate, be up close with rare artefacts and take in the sights, sounds and smells of Viking York. Pre-booking is required online or phone. Select the “Free Adult” or “Free Child” option or by calling 01904 615505.
LNER Community Stadium (York RLFC), Kathryn Avenue, Monks Cross Drive, Huntington, York, YO32 9AF
Sunday only. Free tours at 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm (12 people maximum per tour)
Head inside the inner sanctum of North Yorkshire’s premier rugby league teams. The LNER Community Stadium hosts the York Knights and Valkyrie, who offer residents the chance to join them on stadium tours, sharing the full matchday journey of the players and taking in the club’s history. Meet at the York RLFC club shop 15 minutes before your booked tour time. Pre-booking is required by filling out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc-rW6csfuGUuWpc2otzeB0_PdMUp4sqkB2bf6v-xH_4U1X4g/viewform?usp=sf_link
Lost Earth Adventures, Brimham Rocks, Summerbridge, Harrogate, HG3 4DW
Saturday and Sunday. Free three-hour taster session.
Try rock climbing and abseiling at Brimham Rocks. Suitable for all abilities and anyone aged 7+. All equipment included. Maximum two people per booking. Pre-booking is required via email.
Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, Fossgate, York, YO1 8XD
Fascinating tales, awe-inspiring architecture and intriguing, rare artefacts to be explored at this timber-framed building. The Merchants’ Coffee House will be open, serving food and drinks. Pre-booking is not required.
Merchant Taylors of the City of York members will be on hand to explain the many colourful facets and intriguing 600-year history of this medieval hall. Pre-booking is not required.
National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, YO1 9TL
A Residents’ Festival weekend special taster for the NCEM’s monthly singing session, Cuppa & A Chorus. No experience necessary; only a willingness to sing. Hot drinks and cakes too. Pre-booking is required online.
Pilot Theatre – Monoliths VR, at York Explore Library, Library Square, Museum Street, York YO1 7DS
Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 12:30pm and 1.30pm to 5pm. Free event.
A chance to experience virtual reality with York company Pilot Theatre’s Monoliths, exploring three northern environments with sweeping soundscapes and poetic monologues, in an event sponsored by York BID. Monoliths is an arresting testament to the inextricable link between person and place.
The Guildhall, St Martin’s Courtyard, Coney Street, York, YO1 9QL
Residents will have access to all areas of The Guildhall, with a self-guided interactive tour of the 15th century medieval hall, historic council chamber and committee room. All cakes and coffees will have 10 per cent off at the Riverside Cafe for the weekend, and those who complete the quiz will be in with a chance of winning a £20 voucher for the Cafe Lounge. The venue’s wedding coordinators will also be on hand to show any newly engaged couples around. York Gin will be running free gin tastings and talks for residents from 11am on both days. Pre-booking is not required.
Visit “the world’s most magical golf course” in the heart of York. This Wizard-style adventure will see you tackle a bubbling cauldron and become part of a giant picture while you search for Grobblenook! Entry only; excludes potion. Pre-booking is required online. Use code RESFEST2023.
William’s Den, Castle Farm, Wold Hill, North Cave, East Riding, HU15 2LS
Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 4pm. Free entry (but small booking fee).
Custom-built family adventure playscape with indoor play areas, climbing ropes and zip lines, woodland walks and pizza dining. Pre-book your free tickets for William’s Den online using the promo code YKRES2829. A booking fee of 50p is payable.
Discover the regiments’ stories from 1685 to the present day. Trails, crafts and object-handling. While here, collect a free mini-sketch book (made from recycled coffee cups), pencil and sketching guide to sketch your favourite parts of York as you go around the city. Pre-booking is not required.
York Art Gallery, Exhibition Square, York, YO1 7EW
The galleries of fine art and ceramics are free to enjoy. Discover a new display of treasures from the stores. See jewels of the collection in a new light plus rarely displayed works. Pre-booking is required online. Maximum group size of six.
York BID – Reunion, St Sampson’s Square, York, YO1 8RR
On show until February 6.
York’s winter nights are being brightened up by Kumquat Lab’s light art installation, Reunion. Brought St Sampson’s Square by York BID, this artwork represents connectedness and the act of gathering together.
Immerse yourself in 400 years of York’s history, whether the Victorian street Kirkgate, infamous prisoners in the spooky cells or the Swinging Sixties. Pre-booking is required online. Maximum group size of six.
The Friends of York Cemetery will open the Pritchett Chapel for self-guided walking trails, catacomb tours, garden walks and much more. Discover the cemetery’s history and make a cone bird feeder, an activity ideal for children. Free tea/coffee and cake. Pre-booking is not required.
York Cold War Bunker, Monument Close, York, YO24 4HT
York Cold War Bunker uncovers the secret history of Britain’s Cold War. Enter the blast-proof doors and investigate the more unusual side of York’s heritage. In active service from the 1960s to the 1990s, the bunker was designed as a nerve-centre to monitor fallout in the event of a nuclear attack. Pre-booking is required online. Use code RESFES101
York’s Chocolate Story, King’s Square, York, YO1 7LD
Drop in to use a range of Lego and Duplo to build the wonderful city of York. Take inspiration from historic maps of York from the city’s archives. What will you create? Pre-booking is not required.
York Explore Library: Mapping Historic York Exhibition, Library Square, York YO1 7DS
Explore the history of York’s built environment. Learn about York as it was, as it is, and as it might have been in this display of original material from the city’s archive. Pre-booking is not required.
York Mansion House, St Helen’s Square, York, YO1 9QL
Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 5pm (last admission 4pm). Free entry.
Walk in the footsteps of lords and ladies, cooks and butlers. Explore four floors, from the authentic Georgian kitchen below stairs to the 18th century splendour above, steeped in 300 years of scandal, secrets and superstition. Pre-booking is not required.
York Medical Society has its own rooms within a beautiful Grade II listed building in Stonegate, providing a location for topical lectures, events and wedding receptions. Explore the building; refreshments will be available, with proceeds supporting York Foodbank. Pre-booking is not required.
Experience panoramic views of York from the highest point in the city: York Minster’s Central Tower. See medieval stonework and gothic grotesques as you climb 275 steps to the top. You must be aged 8+ to climb the tower.
Trips run every 45 minutes, starting at 10.15am on Saturday, with the last taking place at 3.30pm. On Sunday, the first trip begins at 1.15 pm; the last at 2.45pm. Trips can only be booked in person on the day, are weather dependent and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Health and safety conditions apply; see website for details.
York Steiner School, 33 Fulford Cross, York, YO10 4PB
A warm welcome awaits all York families at the seasonal craft day and tour. Experience the magic of a Steiner education over a hot drink in the cosy community room and find out why parents rate them so highly! Pre-booking is required via email or telephone. Numbers are limited to four families per session.
Yorkshire Heart Vineyard & Brewery, The Vineyard, Pool lane, Nun Monkton, York, YO26 8EL
Sunday, 10am to 3.30pm. Free vineyard tour and wine tasting.
Yorkshire Heart are offering wine tasting in their Winehouse café and a short vineyard and winery tour on the hour every hour from 11am until 2pm. Pre-booking is not required.
Yorkshire Museum, Museum Gardens, Museum Street, York, YO1 7FR
Home to some of the greatest archaeological and geological finds in Britain. Explore York’s Roman, Viking and medieval past through a range of artefacts and meet our prehistoric predecessors in Yorkshire’s Jurassic World! For all the family. Pre-booking is required online. Maximum group size of six.
York Theatre Royal, St Leonard’s Place, York, YO1 7HD
Find out more about the fascinating history of the Theatre Royal, discover secrets about the backstage world and learn more about the building. Pre-booking is required via the box office.
Join York’s Hidden History and uncover the city’s ancient, natural and scientific secrets on their guided walks. For the Residents’ Festival, they will be offering a York Ice Walk in the morning and a Micklegate Meander in the afternoon. Pre-booking is required via the events section of their Facebook page: facebook.com/yorkshiddenhist
The photo walks involve learning and developing photography knowledge, while exploring York’s rich history, people, nature and architecture. The aim is to inspire you to stretch your creative legs when out and about with your camera. Walks will take two hours. Pre-booking is required via email or phone.
Wizard Walk of York, Shambles, by the railings of St Crux Church, York.
Join The Wizard of York for family fun with spellbinding magic, comedy and a dash of history. Ideal for ages five to ten and their families. Pre-booking is required via email. Please include details of the total number of adults and children.
All Saints’ Church has two days of events, with a coffee morning and church history talk on Friday, followed by tours of the stained glass and anchorhold, fun family activities, and illuminated evensong and benediction on Saturday. All welcome. Pre-booking is not required.
Central Methodist Church, St Saviourgate, York, YO1 8NQ
This Grade II-listed building, built in 1840, is one of the few chapels of its period still intact. See the horseshoe-shaped interior with gallery and box pews and listen to the organ, one of the finest in York. Pre-booking is not required.
St Denys Church Welcome Day, Walmgate, York, YO1 9QD
A warm community welcome is extended to allcomers with tea, tours, talks and entertainment under the theme of “Eat-Pray-Love…”, telling the history and ambition of St Denys Church, alongside refreshments both bodily and spiritual, while celebrating the refurbished church fabric and fabulous ‘Henry’ organ installation.
Trinity Church York, St Anthony’s Hall, Peasholme Green, York, YO1 7PW
Visit the medieval hall to see timber bracing, 15th century carvings and the home of a thriving church. Mini-lectures at 10am, 11am and 1pm on Saturday on Medieval Motherhood, How York Became Christian and The York Conservation Trust. Pre-booking is required via email.
Explore the garden where the Terry chocolatier family lived on its opening weekend for 2023. Five acres of garden rooms surround their former home. Discover fragrant borders, wildlife areas and glasshouse, alongside a more formal pond and lawn. Pre-booking is not required.
Behind York Minster, discover this intriguing house on a tour. See the collection of fine antiques, art and furniture created by the wealthy, eccentric Industrialist Frank Green, who gave it to the National Trust in 1930. Pre-booking is required online via the website. Select National Trust member option and type RESFEST when asked for a membership number. Bring valid York Card or residency ID on the day.
