A shoe-in for standing out: Frankie Bounds’s Jamie New, centre, with his classmates in York Stage’s Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
WHY will York Stage be returning to Everybody’s Talking About Jamie from tomorrow to October 24 only three years since staging the Teen Edition?
“‘Jamie’ is one of my favourite musicals,” reasons director Nik Briggs. “Having seen it in its early development at the Sheffield Crucible, I always knew I wanted to bring it to York, which we did with the premiere of the Teen Version in June 2023 at Theatre@41, Monkgate, but when the full version became available I knew I had to bring it to the Grand Opera House.
“Having spoken to the then theatre director, Laura McMillan, she knew we’d create a truly beautiful production. Being able to bring this story to York’s biggest theatre for the first time ever is truly an honour, and the bold and gritty new production we’ve created is one I can’t wait to share with York.”
Director Briggs re-imagines Tom MacRae and Dan Gillespie Sells’s award-winning musical with a raw, authentic edge to “capture the electricity, humour and heart that has made ‘Jamie’ a modern British classic”.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie director Nik Briggs
Inspired by a north-eastern true story, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie follows the path of 16-year-old council estate schoolboy Jamie New, who never quite fits in. Supported by his loving mum and his friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, defeats the bullies and, spoiler alert, steps into the spotlight to become the star he was born to be.
Staged by a vibrant cast and professional production team, Briggs’s 2026 show will blend Gillespie Sells’s infectious pop score and MacRae’s fearless, funny book and lyrics with York Stage’s trademark theatrical grit and emotional honesty.
“This is a story about identity, courage and the power of self-expression,” says Nik. “Our new production will dive deeper into Jamie’s world – its highs, its heartache and its hope – and celebrate the beautiful mess of growing up different in a small city,” says Nik.
Taking the role of Jamie New will be professional Huby actor Frankie Bounds, still boyish looking at 25. “Playing a 16-year-old schoolboy will be a good challenge,” he says. “It’s a real beast of a role as Jamie doesn’t ever really leave the stage – and it’s not like anything I’ve done before, having played these super-muscular men!
“I said ‘it’s not my usual cup of tea’, but Nik said he wanted to bring something of that broody demeanour back to Jamie,” says lead actor Frankie Bounds, front
“So when Nik messaged me, I replied very honestly and said ‘it’s not my usual cup of tea’, but he said he wanted to bring something of that broody demeanour back to Jamie, which definitely adds to it as it goes back to the core of the original Sheffield Crucible production, with Jamie being gay and having to find himself when his mum’s going through difficult things and his [absent] dad has said terrible things about him.
“There’s a lot of myself in my performance, where I like to challenge myself and other people too – the audience – at the shows.”
York Stage’s design for ‘Jamie’ will be “ever-circling”. “The show has the feel of everything unravelling around Jamie and the set mirrors that,” says Frankie, who has carried that sense of unpredictability into rehearsals.
“Working with Jo [Joanne Theaker-Spencer], who plays Jamie’s mum [Margaret] is just so inspiring. We’ve had several conversations where we’ve built up the trust to try things out.
Ryan Addyman’s Jamie New in York Stage’s June 2023 production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie: Teen Version at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
“I trained in the Meisner Technique [before graduating with an MA in musical theatre from Mountview Academy of Performing Arts], which is all about being different each time and responding to what’s in front of you. Jo gets that, knowing that I’ll do the work, but it will be different each night, to make it both joyful and heartbreaking.
“There’ll be belly laughs one minute, then you’ll get gut-punched the next, with that special energy in the room, where we’ve really bonded together as a cast that comes from different generations.”
Frankie has been familiarising himself with wearing Jamie’s high heels. “They’re in the car right now!” he says, mid-interview at the Angel on the Green, in Bishopthorpe Road. “For the first ‘performance’ we did at York Pride, Nik said, ‘I’ve got something for you’ – and I saw the shoebox!
York Stage’s cast for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, including Joanne Theaker-Spencer’s Margaret (striped top) and Frankie Bounds’ Jamie New (front, centre)
“Bearing in mind I’d never worn heels before, it was almost like a rites of passage. You don’t walk ‘heel first’; it has to be ‘toe first’ – and it means I’m now over six feet tall! They’re much more comfortable now; bright red, of course. What else could they be?!”
Frankie’s dogs Billy and Bob [both of the small white Coton de Tulear breed, originally from Madagascar] were initially circumspect on encountering him in six-inch heels. “They didn’t like the sound of the shoes, or maybe it was my height in them. Hearing me stomping around in them as I cooked lunch, they would cower away,” he says.
Audiences surely will react very differently at the sight of Frankie, when everybody will be talking about more than Jamie’s shoes at the Grand Opera House.
York Stage in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Grand Opera House, York, October 16 to 24, 7.30pm except October 18 and 19; 2.30pm Saturday matinees; 4pm, Sunday. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
York Stage’s poster for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at the Grand Opera House, York
Weaving a different spin on The Odyssey: Amelia Bullmore’s Penelope in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
FROM The Penelopiad’s feminist twist on The Odyssey to Miller’s Death Of A Salesman, the Brontë sisters’ other story to Jamie’s blossoming, Charles Hutchinson watches autumn find its fifth gear.
Greek tragedy twist of the week: Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, Odyssey: Her Story, York Theatre Royal, until October 31
BOOKER Prize winner Margaret Atwood revisits Homer’s The Odyssey in an exuberantly irreverent and darkly humorous retelling where she gives voice to Odysseus’s silenced wife, Penelope – still awaiting his return 20 years after the Trojan War – and her chorus of maids in a tale of injustice, betrayal and revenge that exposes the truth behind the myth. Creative director Juliet Forster’s cast is led by Happy Valley and Riot Women star Amelia Bullmore. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Jess Murray’s Emily, left, Lara Stafford’s Charlotte and Millie Rhodes’s Anne Brontë in York Settlement Community Players’ Underdog: The Other Other Brontë. Picture: John Saunders
York premiere of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Underdog: The Other Other Brontë, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
CHARLOTTE Brontë (played by Lara Stafford) has a confession about how one sister (Emily, Jess Murray) became an idol and the other became known as the third sister. You know the one. No, not that one. The other, other one: Anne (Millie Rhodes).
Claire Morley directs Settlement Players in Sarah Gordon’s irreverent retelling of the life and legend of the Brontë sisters as you have never seen the Yorkshire scribbling sisters before. Premiered at the National Theatre in 2024, this is not a story of well-behaved women but of the power of words, sisters and sisterhood, love and jealousy, support and competition. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
The poster for Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds – Live! The Concert Experience! at York Barbican
Iconic score of the week: Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds – Live! The Concert Experience!, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
FOR the first time, audiences can experience a concert rendition of Jeff Wayne’s score for The War Of The Worlds, presented by Kilimanjaro, who bring the double album to life with West End performers, live band, orchestra and animation.
“For this concert tour, I’ll be stepping back from the podium,” says Wayne. “But the production will showcase exceptional artists from the West End and other major performing mediums, supported by a band, orchestra, animation and other concert elements. It will stand as a true companion to my arena tours.” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Andy Studdart, as Willie Loman, and Linda Tester, as The Woman, Willy’s mistress, in 1812 Theatre Company’s Death Of A Salesman. Picture: Joe Coughlan
Ryedale play of the week: 1812 Theatre Company in Death Of A Salesman, Helmsley Arts Centre, tomorrow until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
DIRECTED by Julie Lomas, Helmsley’s 1812 Theatre Company presents Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman, charting the last 24 hours of struggling salesman Willie Loman (played by Andy Studdart), who cannot understand how he failed to win success and happiness.
Through a series of tragic soul-searching revelations of the life he has lived with his wife, sons and business associates, we discover how his quest for the “American Dream” kept him blind to the people who truly loved him. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Jonathan Agnew: Cricket chat in An Evening With Aggers at Kirk Theatre, Pickering, tomorrow
Not just cricket: Jonathan Agnew, An Evening With Aggers, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, tomorrow, 7.30pm
TEST Match Special broadcaster and former BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew presents an evening of candid insights and anecdotes packed with humour and cricketing gold, iconic archive clips and previously unseen footage.
From covering the Olympic Games in Rio to commentating on the unforgettable Super Over finale of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, he reflects on the defining moments of his career and his days in the commentary box with Brian Johnston and Sir Geoffrey Boycott, with surprises aplenty too. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk
York Stage’s cast for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, led by Frankie Bounds as Jamie New, the Sheffield schoolboy with dreams
Bold and unapologetic musical of the week: York Stage in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Grand Opera House, York, Friday to October 24; 7.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday, plus 2.30pm Saturday matinees and 4pm Sunday
TOM MacRae and Dan Gillespie’s Sheffield musical plays the Grand Opera House for the first time in Nik Briggs’s production for York Stage that restores the grit to both complement and counter the glitz in the uplifting underdog story of Jamie New (Frankie Bounds), a 16-year-old schoolboy from a Steel City council estate with big dreams and the courage to stand out when it would be easier to stay quiet.
Equipped with the love of his mum, the support of his friends and the strength to face the world head on, Jamie fights prejudice, finds his voice and discovers the freedom of stepping into the spotlight on his own terms. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Tom Stade: Dismantling rules and redefining them his way at York Barbican
Come and see for yourself why…Tom Stade Rules, YO1 Radio Live Lounge, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm
CANADIAN free spirit Tom Stade takes aim at the absurdities of modern times with his incisive, gloriously unfiltered wit as he grapples with rebellion, responsibility and the tension between the old and the new. From unspoken social codes to cultural divisions, identity to marriage, Stade dismantles all the rules and redefines them his way. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Ben Bowman in Michael Starring Ben
Recommended but sold out already: Michael Starring Ben, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm
TAKE a journey back in time to recall Michael Jackson’s music and magic in Michael Starring Ben, featuring “the UK’s ultimate Michael Jackson tribute star”, Ben Bowman.
Neither associated with nor endorsed by the Michael Jackson Estate, this tribute to the King of Pop features a live band, dazzling costumes and Jackson’s iconic dance routines in its showcase of Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5’s greatest hits.
Samuel Moore: Flamenco guitarist in concert at Milton Rooms, Malton
Flamenco guitarist of the week: Samuel Moore, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 7.30pm
MESMERISING West Yorkshire flamenco guitarist, tutor and author Samuel Moore transports you to the heart of Spain in Saturday’s concert. Winner of the Manhattan International Music Competition in 2023 and Vienna International Music Competition in 2025, he has performed across the UK, Europe and North America, playing solo at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London.
Bringing to life the rich colours, rhythms, and sounds of Andalucía, his repertoire encompasses original compositions, traditional flamenco forms and masterworks by Ramón Montoya, Niño Ricardo and Sabicas. His 2019 debut album with classical guitarist Michael Christian Durrant, Guitar, The Heart Of Spain, was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London; his solo debut, Camino Flamenco, will be released on November 20. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Alex Voysey: Leading Faux Bonamassa blues concert at Kirk Theatre, Pickering
Blues gig of the week The Alex Voysey Blues Band presents Faux Bonamassa, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Saturday, 7.30pm
ALEX Voysey was nominated for Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year in the 2025 UK Blues Federation Awards. Now his band re-imagines the musicianship of blues titan Joe Bonamassa, blending Bonamassa’s greatest songs of the past two decades with Voysey’s virtuosity, improvisation and contemporary blues mastery. Expect to hear Sloe Gin, The Ballad Of John Henry, Athens To Athens, Woke Up Dreaming, Dustbowl, A Conversation With Alice and Stop. Box office: kirktheatre.co.uk/events/alex-voysey.
Beth Orton: Promoting new album The Ground Above at Leeds Howard Assembly Room. Picture: Kasia Wozniak
WHAT were the chances? Beth Orton last played Leeds on October 16 2022 at the Brudenell Social Club on her Weather Alive tour. Now she will return on…October 16 2026, this time making her Howard Assembly Room debut at Leeds Grand Theatre as part of her eight-date British tour.
The Norfolk-born singer-songwriter will be showcasing The Ground Above, her ninth studio album (if you include 1993’s SuperPinky Mandy, produced by William Orbit and released only in Japan in a limited-edition print).
Self-produced by Orton, the June 26 album bridges the gap between folk, spiritual jazz and the Great American Songbook and is described by record label Partisan Records as her “most direct and unapologetic music to date; urgent, raw, embodied and emotionally fearless, moving between subconscious expression and expansive, timeless song craft.
The cover artwork for Beth Orton’s The Ground Above (Partisan Records)
“Her voice, as distinctive as ever, delivers melodies reminiscent of classic songbook form. Throughout the album, Orton documents survival and renewal, motherhood and identity, political unease and the ongoing choice to stay – in love, in art, and in the world.”
The slow-building, life-affirming first single, Waiting, with its shades of Laura Nyro, Carole King and early collaborator Terry Callier, is “a celebration of moving out of the holding pattern fear keeps us in,” says Orton, now 55.
“We are all vulnerable beings living out invincible lives,” reckons Orton, whose songs “look through a prism of many years at once” The track listing comprises The Ground Above, Before I Knew, Cigarette Curls, Waiting, Celestial Light, I’ll Miss You, Love You Right and Otherside, crafted in her London home studio, one that houses a battered old piano that she saved from Camden Market.
“We are all vulnerable beings living out invincible lives,” says Beth Orton. Picture: Kasia Wozniak
Through the years, BRIT Award winner Orton has accrued genre-defying collaborations with not only Callier and Orbit but also Chemical Brothers, Andy Weatherall, Red Snapper, Bert Jansch and Jim O’Rourke.
For The Ground Above, she began with live recordings, then sculpted and expanded the songs over a year-long process, working with multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, Vernon Spring’s Sam Beste, drummers Chris Vatalaro (Antibalas and Radiohead) and Vishal Nayak (Nick Hakim), trumpet player Christos Styliandes and The Invisible’s bassist, Tom Herbert.
Future Sounds presents Beth Orton, Howard Assembly Room, Leeds Grand Theatre, October 16, doors 7pm for 7.45pm start. SOLD OUT. More details: https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/beth-orton-2/.
Martyn Joseph: Playing All Saints Church, Pocklington on November 19
HURRICANE Promotions will present three concerts at All Saints Church, Pocklington, in the coming months.
In the diary are Martyn Joseph on November 19, The Young’uns At Christmas on December 22 and An Evening With Josh Ritter (Solo) on January 29 2027, all starting at 7.30pm.
Welsh singer-songwriter Martyn Joseph will be returning to Pocklington, where all his previous concerts have sold out. Noted for his emotional power and honesty, his shows combine poetic songwriting, social observation and moments of pin‑drop intimacy.
Expect refreshed energy, new stories and a renewed sense of purpose shaped by time away from the stage in an evening of songs of hope, struggle, compassion and the everyday heroism found in ordinary lives.
Joseph’s set will move from soaring anthems to quiet, reflective moments, delivered with the warmth, humour and generosity that have become his trademark. Ticket demand will be high, so early booking is essential at martynjoseph.net.
The Young’uns At Christmas: Playing seasonal songs old and new at All Saints Church, Pocklington, on December 22
Three-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winners Sean Cooney, Michael Hughes and stand-up comedian David Eagle, of Teesside combo The Young’uns, have spent two decades proving that stories sung in three-part harmony can change the way we see the world. Now comes their special set of seasonal songs old and new at All Saints Church, Pocklington, with tickets on sale via theyounguns.co.uk.
“Their concerts are packed with glorious singing, warm harmonies, heartfelt storytelling, relentless repartee and quick-fire humour, creating evenings that leave audiences uplifted, inspired and thoroughly entertained,” says promoter James Duffy.
Rooted in Stockton, County Durham, but celebrated far beyond, The Young’uns have become one of the UK’s most loved folk acts, touring extensively throughout Britain and internationally across Europe, North America and Australia, performing everywhere from village halls and arts centres to major concert halls and festivals.
Along the way, they have released nine albums since 2007, including the 2018 BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winning Strangers and most recently 2023’s Tiny Notes.
“Few live acts can make an audience laugh, cry and sing at the top of their lungs in the space of two hours. The Young’uns do it every night,” says James.
Their work has continually pushed the boundaries of what folk music can achieve. The Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff, telling the remarkable true story of a young Teessider who fought fascism in the 1930s, grew from a 2019 concept album into a theatre production that toured nationally and internationally, including playing York Theatre Royal in October 2021 with its combination of documentary, theatre and song.
Alongside their touring, The Young’uns have written for BBC Radio 4, collaborated with leading orchestras, appeared on national television and radio and delivered workshops and community projects across the UK.
“Whatever the setting, their belief remains the same: the best songs are about real people, and the most powerful stories are often hidden in plain sight,” says James.
Josh Ritter: Playing Leeds and Pocklington on his Acoustic Europe Tour 2027
Josh Ritter’s Acoustic Europe Tour 2027 will open at the Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, on January 28 (also promoted by Hurricane Promotions) before the Idaho-born American singer-songwriter, artist and author plays Pocklington the following night.
“Hello all! I’m coming back to Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands early in the new year for a solo tour!” Ritter posted on Instagram. “A lot of places that I haven’t been in many years and some that are like home. I’m so excited. I hope to see you there, and thank you for the opportunity to live this wild life.”
His 12th studio album, I Believe In You, My Honeydew, was released in September 2025. Over more than two decades, his songwriting has transcended generations, including luminaries such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Bob Weir covering his songs.
Ritter has released two novels: 2011’s Bright’s Passage and 2021’s The Great Glorious Goddamn Of It All. Stephen King enthused in The New York Times Book Review that Bright’s Passage “shines with a compressed lyricism that recalls Ray Bradbury in his prime…This is the work of a gifted novelist.”
Ritter played The Old Station, Pocklington, on October 27 2013 at the annual Pocktoberfest as part of that year’s Josh Ritter Acoustic World Tour, having performed previously at Pocklington Arts Centre on April 20 2011.
Tickets for Ritter’s two Yorkshire gigs on his European tour are on sale at https://joshritter.com/.
Amelia Bullmore in rehearsal for her lead role as Penelope in The Penelopiad at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
FROM The Penelopiad’s feminist twist on The Odyssey to Alan Carr testing new material, the Brontë sisters’ other story to Jamie’s blossoming, Charles Hutchinson Hutchinson watches autumn find its fifth gear.
Greek tragedy twist of the week: Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, Odyssey: Her Story, York Theatre Royal, today until October 31
BOOKER Prize winner Margaret Atwood revisits Homer’s The Odyssey in an exuberantly irreverent and darkly humorous retelling where she gives voice to Odysseus’s silenced wife, Penelope – still awaiting his return 20 years after the Trojan War – and her chorus of maids in a tale of injustice, betrayal and revenge that exposes the truth behind the myth. Creative director Juliet Forster’s cast is led by Happy Valley and Riot Women star Amelia Bullmore. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Nancy Cadogan: Exhibiting At The Bend In The River at Beningbrough Hall from today
Exhibition opening of the week: At The Bend In The River: Paintings by Nancy Cadogan, Beningbrough Hall, Beningbrough, near York, today 11am to 4pm
LONDON figurative artist Nancy Cadogan explores how a place is shaped by memory, artistry and human connection in At The Bend In The River, an exhibition spread across four rooms of Beningbrough’s Reddihough Galleries that brings together newly commissioned large-scale paintings, drawings and immersive creative spaces that respond to the National Trust estate’s Ouse riverside setting, historic house and changing landscape.
Through art, film, drawing and creative writing, Cadogan invites visitors to “pause and reflect on the journeys we take and the places and memories that sustain us”. Look out too for intimate works that reflect on women, time and storytelling. Tickets (as part of National Trust admission): nationaltrust.org.uk/beningbrough.
Alan Carr: Two gigs in one day at Pocklington Arts Centre
Comedy gigs of the week: Alan Carr, Work In Progress, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow, 3pm and 7.30pm
THE Celebrity Traitors 2026 winner, comedian, television presenter and quiz host Alan Carr is heading to Pocklington for a brace of “very special work-in-progress shows” ahead of his Have I Said Too Much? tour, when he will play York Barbican on March 13 2027. Box office: Pocklington, pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; York, yorkbarbican.co.uk.
James Fountain: Trumpet soloist for York Guildhall Orchestra’s concert at York Barbican
Classical concert of the week: York Guildhall Orchestra, York Barbican, tomorrow, 3pm
YORK Guildhall Orchestra launches its new season with a Sunday afternoon programme of works by Malcolm Arnold, William Walton and Spanish composer and pianist Manuel de Falla.
Arnold’s ebullient Trumpet Concerto, composed in 1981, will be played by soloist James Fountain after the opening orchestral fanfare of Walton’s Crown Imperial. De Falla adapted his 1919 ballet Three Cornered Hat, featuring Spanish folk and dance music, into two orchestra suites; the second will be performed tomorrow. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Jess Murray’s Emily, left, Lara Stafford’s Charlotte and Millie Rhodes’s Anne Brontë in York Settlement Community Players’ Underdog: The Other Other Brontë
York premiere of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Underdog: The Other Other Brontë, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 13 to 17, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
CHARLOTTE Brontë (played by Lara Stafford) has a confession about how one sister (Emily, Jess Murray) became an idol, and the other became known as the third sister. You know the one. No, not that one. The other, other one: Anne (Millie Rhodes).
Claire Morley directs Settlement Players in Sarah Gordon’s irreverent retelling of the life and legend of the Brontë sisters as you have never seen the Yorkshire scribbling sisters before. Premiered at the National Theatre in 2024, this not a story of well-behaved women but of the power of words, sisters and sisterhood, love and jealousy, support and competition. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Henry Raby: Wrestling with the twin emotions of hope and anger at The Old Paint Shop
Poetry gig of the week: The Old Paint Shop presents Henry Raby, Hope and Anger, York Theatre Royal Studio, October 14, 8pm
YORK punk poet and Say Owt artistic director Henry Raby wrestles through the twin emotions of hope and anger with a spoken-word cocktail of poetry and comedy as he seeks to understand the righteous and the rotten. “Come and share in fist-clenched frustration and celebrate examples of the world, and the heartfelt people in it, at their shiniest and brightest,” says Henry. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
“Reaching 25 years in music is incredibly emotional,” says York Barbican-bound Katherine Jenkins
“Reunion with old friends” of the week: Katherine Jenkins, 25 Year Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, October 15, 7.30pm
WELSH mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins, 46, the biggest-selling classical artist of the 21st century, plays York Barbican as the only Yorkshire venue on her 25 Year Anniversary Tour, her first in five years. “Reaching 25 years in music is incredibly emotional, but this tour is truly a celebration of the fans who have been there from the very beginning,” she says.
“To be heading out across the UK and Ireland for 18 special shows feels less like a celebration of a career and more like a reunion with old friends, and I can’t wait to stand on stage, look out into those familiar faces and share it all over again.” Jodok Cello supports. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
York Stage’s cast for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, starring Frankie Bounds as Jamie New
Bold and unapologetic musical of the week: York Stage in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Grand Opera House, York, October 16 to 24, 7.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday, plus 2.30pm Saturday matinees and 4pm Sunday
TOM MacRae and Dan Gillespie’s Sheffield musical plays the Grand Opera House for the first time in Nik Briggs’s production for York Stage that restores the grit to both complement and counter the glitz in the uplifting underdog story of Jamie New (Frankie Bounds), a 16-year-old schoolboy from a Steel City council estate with big dreams and the courage to stand out when it would be easier to stay quiet.
Equipped with the love of his mum, the support of his friends and the strength to face the world head on, Jamie fights prejudice, finds his voice and discovers the freedom of stepping into the spotlight on his own terms. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Tom Stade: Playing by his rules at York Barbican
Come and see for yourself why…Tom Stade Rules, YO1 Radio Live Lounge, York Barbican, October 16, 7.30pm
CANADIAN free spirit Tom Stade takes aim at the absurdities of modern times with his incisive, gloriously unfiltered wit as he grapples with rebellion, responsibility and the tension between the old and the new. From unspoken social codes to cultural divisions, identity to marriage, Stade dismantles all the rules and redefines them his way. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Tracy-Ann Oberman’s Geri Essendine and Seb Carrington’s David Stillington in Present Laughter. Picture: Simon Annand
FROM classic Coward in Present Laughter to Frayn’s funniest farce, Noises Off, Alan Carr’s work in progress to Joe Jackson’s hope and fury, Charles Hutchinson piles up the good stuff for the week ahead.
Coward classic of the week: Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Augusta Productions present Present Laughter, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
TRACY-ANN Oberman stars as hugely successful actress Geri Essendine – who has been 39 for the best part of a decade – in Lindsay Posner’s new touring production of Noel Coward’s celebrated portrayal of the temptations and pitfalls of theatrical celebrity.
On the cusp of departing for a tour of Africa, Geri finds herself besieged by a bevy of would-be lovers, her long-suffering secretary, estranged husband and an obsessed young playwright. Will she ever disentangle herself from their tightening clutches and incessant demands? Then again, deep down, does she really want to? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Pick Me Up Theatre cast members Pearl Mollison, left, Craig Kirby, Alexandra Mather, Andrew Isherwood, Helen Spencer, Adrian Cook and Mark Simmonds, under the withering eye of Rory Mulvihill, right, director of the play-within-the-play in Michael Frayn’s Noises Off
Slamming doors, falling trousers and flying sardines of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Noises Off, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
MICHAEL Frayn’s backstage farce Noises Off takes a wicked look at the follies of theatre folk, whose susceptibility to out-of-control egos, memory loss and passionate affairs turns every performance into a high-risk adventure.
This play-within-a-play captures a touring theatre troupe’s production of Nothing On in three stages: dress rehearsal, the opening performance and a performance towards the end of a debilitating run. Robert Readman directs a stellar York cast of Helen Spencer, Andrew Isherwood, Alexandra Mather, Rory Mulvihill, Pearl Mollison, Mark Simmonds, Craig Kirby, Jessica Hardcastle and Adrian Cook. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Joe Jackson: Returning to York Barbican tonight
Yorkgig of the week: Joe Jackson + Band, Hope And Fury Tour 2026, York Barbican, tonight, doors 7pm
JOE Jackson played York for only the second time at York Barbican on July 29 2022 as part of his Sing, You Sinners! Tour, having first shared a bill with Todd Rundgren and improvisational string quartet Ethel at the Grand Opera House in June 2005.
Now, the Portsmouth-raised singer, musician, songwriter, bandleader, producer, author and campaigner, 72, returns with his regular band to perform work from throughout his career and to showcase his 23rd studio album Hope And Fury, released in April. Conner Youngblood supports. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Screening accompanied by live orchestra
Visual journey of the week: Avatar: The Last Airbender In Concert, 20th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, tomorrow, 7.30pm
The 20th Anniversary Tour of Avatar: The Last Airbender In Concert combines a live orchestral performance with a two-hour visual journey through fan-favourite moments from the animated series, shown on a full-size cinema screen.
This special edition features new surprises, inviting fans to experience the story in a new light. Original dialogue and sound effects remain intact, while Emmy Award-winning composer Jeremy Zuckerman’s score is performed live, synchronised with the visuals. From taiko and erhu to strings and clarinets, the orchestra brings every moment to life, immersing you in the elemental world of Aang, Katara, Toph, Zuko and the rest of Team Avatar. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
An artwork by Angela Hall from the York Created exhibition at Pyramid Gallery, York
York exhibition of the week:York Created: Paint-Clay-Print-Collage From The Heart Of The City, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, until November 14
YORK Created: Paint-Clay-Print-Collage From The Heart Of The City features a “collection of talented artists from across our fair city”. “Some have exhibited with us before, others are new to us,” says Pyramid Gallery manager Fiona Macfarlane. “All the works are for sale.”
Taking part are potters Danny Aitkin, Chiu-i Wu, Loretta Braganza, Ben Arnup, Emily Stubbs, Jessica Jenyns and Ruth King, painters Rory Barke, Carolyn Coles, Jill Tattersall, Ric Liptrot, Lesley Birch, Mick Leach, Lesley Shaw and Angela Hall and stained glass artist Helen Bower. Opening hours are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.
Tom Carradine & Lili Redman: Wartime music, merriment and memories at Kirk Theatre, Pickering
Festival of the week: Pickering 1940s Weekend, V For Victory, Johnny Victory, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Friday, 7.30pm; Tom Carradine’s Wartime Songbook , Sunday, 7.30pm
JOHNNY Victory opens the Pickering 1940s weekend on Friday by heading back to the good old days to guide singalongs of vintage songs that helped to keep wartime morale high and brought us together. Johnny combines songs from music hall days, 1920s, 1930s and 1940s’ wartime hits and show tunes with a warm, cheeky humour.
On Sunday, moustachioed maestro Tom Carradine leads a joyous, toe-tapping celebration of the songs that kept Great Britain smiling through two World Wars in a nostalgic show packed with rousing classics, history, humour and stories behind the songs, such as the tragic tale of the Powell brothers who wrote Pack Up Your Troubles. Joining Tom will be cabaret songbird Lili Redman, his podcast co-host of The A To Z Of Wartime Song, to perform Gracie Fields, Vera Lynn and deliciously cheeky numbers. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Victoria Firth in Batty!: Exploration of “the wildness – as opposed to madness – of women” at Helmsley Arts Centre
Alternative coming-of-age story of the week: Victoria Firth in Batty!, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
WRITTEN and performed by Victoria Firth and directed by Natasha Holmes, Batty! is the story of a woman who fears she might be a witch: an ordinary woman stuck with an extraordinary shape-shifting companion, a wild thing. This curious twosome shares a disintegrating cottage in a forest on the cusp of another world that lies beyond responsibilities and social norms and where myths and magic are real.
Featuring an original soundscape and live song, Batty! combines “the intimacy of private conversations, raucous stories, snorting humour, gay abandon and exquisite tenderness” in its exploration of “the wildness – as opposed to madness – of women and how our feral side can reconnect us to ourselves and our environment”. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Celya AB: Saturday Night Live UK writer on stage at Theatre@41
How to break free from shame, as advised by: Celya AB, We Must Stop Meeting Like This, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 8pm
HAVE you ever forensically over-thought your life choices? Are they all somehow connected to a passing comment your Spanish teacher made when you were 15? Has it made an impact on everything from your love life to your career? Stand-up comedian and Saturday Night Live UK writer Celya AB’s new show focuses on breaking free from shame and what ensues when you do. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/.
The Paul Simon Songbook, performed by Alastair James and his seven-piece band at Helmsley Arts Centre
Tribute gig of the week: The Paul Simon Songbook, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
ALASTAIR James and his seven-piece band highlight the carefully crafted arrangements inspired by Paul Simon’s most iconic live and studio performances, featuring renditions of Mrs Robinson, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Scarborough Fair, Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover, Still Crazy After All These Years, Late In The Evening, You Can Call Me Al and Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Brodsky Quartet: Playing chamber concert at Helmsley Arts Centre on Sunday
Classical concert of the week: Brodsky Quartet, Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 2.30pm
SINCE forming in 1972 as the Cleveland Quartet in Middlesbrough, the Brodsky Quartet has performed more than 3,000 chamber music concerts on the major stages of the world and released 70-plus recordings.
The quartet’s name is taken from the Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky, himself a passionate chamber musician, and the 2026 line-up comprises Krysia Osostowicz and Ian Belton, violins, Paul Cassidy, viola, and Jacqueline Thomas, cello. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Alan Carr: Testing out new material in two gigs in one day at Pocklington Arts Centre
Comedy gigs of the week: Alan Carr, Work In Progress, Pocklington Arts Centre, Sunday, 3pm and 7.30pm
THE Celebrity Traitors 2026 winner, comedian, television presenter and quiz host Alan Carr is heading to Pocklington Arts Centre for a brace of “very special work-in-progress shows” ahead of his Have I Said Too Much? tour, when he will play York Barbican on March 13 2027. Box office: Pocklington, pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; York, yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The Human League’s Joanne Catherall, Susan Ann Sulley and Phil Oakey
SHEFFIELD’S new wave synth-pop pioneers The Human League will headline Futuresound’s Live At York Museum Gardens bill on July 3 next summer.
Joining the South Yorkshire electronic combo will be three very special guests, all hailing from the vibrant 1980s’ music scene: Go West, Blancmange and new wave punk singer Toyah [Willcox].
This is the second headline act to be announced by Leeds promoters Futuresound Group after pop-soul singer Olly Murs was confirmed for July 9 as part of the event’s expansion to two weekends for the first time in its fourth summer season.
The Human League’s Phil Oakey leading the Sheffield band at Scarborough Open Air Theatre in June 2025. Picture: Cuffe and Taylor
Synonymous with English electronic music since forming in 1977, The Human League gained international acclaim in 1981 with third album Dare! and its quartet of singles, The Sound Of The Crowd, Love Action (I Believe In You), Open Your Heart and the UK chart-topping Don’t You Want Me.
Championed by the then brand-new television tastemakers MTV, Dare! catapulted Phil Oakey, Joanne Catherall, Susan Ann Sulley and co across the Atlantic as leading players in the “Second British Invasion” of the United States.
A further six hit albums, an innovative remix album, a live album, six EPs, 29 singles and 13 career-spanning compilations later, The Human League have sold more than 20 million records worldwide.
They notched further hits with Mirror Man, (Keep Feeling) Fascination, The Lebanon, Life On Your Own, Louise, Human, Heart Like A Wheel, Tell Me When and One Man In My Heart while Oakey reached the top three with Together In Electric Dreams, his 1984 collaboration with Italian producer Giorgio, long incorporated in The Human League’s live sets.
Blancmange’s Neil Arthur at Scarborough Open Air Theatre in June 2025. Next summer Blancmange will support The Human League at Live At York Museum Gardens. Picture: Cuffe and Taylor
The Human League last played outdoors in York at the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend in the evening rain on July 28 2023: contrary weather to contrast with the set’s highlight, Being Boiled. In June 2025, they performed to a sold-out 8,000-capacity crowd at Scarborough Open Air Theatre.
This summer’s third Live At York Museum Gardens series featured sold-out headline performances by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Self Esteem and Super Furry Animals, topped off with a Sunday York Comedy Festival headlined by Russell Howard and Ross Noble.
Watch this space for more concert and comedy announcements for Futuresound’s newly extended collaboration with York Museum Trust in the Museum Gardens.
Did you know?
YORK Museum Gardens welcome around 1.3 million visitors a year as a space for relaxation and enjoyment.
Futuresound’s poster for The Human League, Go West, Blancmange and Toyah at Live At York Museum Gardens on July 3 2027
Madness: A third slice of nuttiness at York Racecourse in 2027
CAMDEN Town Nutty Boys Madness will return to the Knavesmire track for a third post-racing appearance next summer after earlier Music Showcase Weekend concerts on July 23 2010 and July 22 2022.
James Brennan, head of marketing and sponsorship, says: “The energy and sense of fun that Madness bring to every show is just what people need: a fun evening, hopefully in summer sunshine, that they can really look forward to enjoying. Everyone will have a favourite Madness song and it will be fantastic to hear them ring out around Knavesmire.
“As soon as this season ends, we will be on sale with a price freeze for next year, so it makes sense to lock in the date.”
Formed as the North London Invaders in 1976, Madness rose on the crest of the Ska wave, notching a discography that runs to 13 studio albums, 19 compilations, four live albums, two soundtracks, four box sets, three EPs, 43 singles, five video albums and 37 music videos since 1979.
Among their 27 Top 30 entries are debut hit The Prince, One Step Beyond, My Girl, Night Boat To Cairo, Baggy Trousers, Embarrassment, The Return Of The Las Palmas 7, Grey Day, Shut Up, It Must Be Love, Cardiac Arrest, the chart-topping House Of Fun, Driving In My Car, Our House, Tomorrow’s (Just Another Day/Madness (Is All In The Mind), Wings Of A Dove, The Sun And The Rain, Michael Caine, One Better Day, Yesterday’s Men, Uncle Sam, (Waiting For) The Ghost Train, Lovestruck, Sorry and NW5.
Along the way, Madness have performed at Glastonbury, Camp Bestival and many other festivals, received the Ivor Novello Award and took part in Danny Boyle’s Opening Ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics. They last played on North Yorkshire soil on June 6 this summer at Scarborough Open Air Theatre.
Still in the Madness line-up from the original Magnificent Seven are Graham “Suggs” McPherson, lead vocals, Mike Barson, keyboards & piano, Lee Thompson, saxophone, Dan Woodgate, drums, and Mark Bedford, bass guitar.
On the track, the European Breeders Fund Lyric Stakes will be the £70,000 Listed contest centerpiece of a six-race card that will precede the evening concert. To book, visit yorkracecourse.co.uk; no booking fees; free parking on race day.
A second headline act will be announced for the York Racecourse Music Showcase Saturday race day on July 24 2027. Watch this space.
Angela Hall’s artwork from York Created at Pyramid Gallery
FROM classic Coward in Present Laughter to Frayn’s finest farce, Noises Off, York’s unlocked buildings to Joe Jackson’s hope and fury, Charles Hutchinson piles up the good stuff for the week ahead.
Exhibition opening of the week: York Created: Paint-Clay-Print-Collage From The Heart Of The City, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, until November 14
YORK Created: Paint-Clay-Print-Collage From The Heart Of The City features a “collection of talented artists from across our fair city”. “Some have exhibited with us before, others are new to us,” says Pyramid Gallery manager Fiona Macfarlane. “All the works are for sale.”
Taking part are potters Danny Aitkin, Chiu-i Wu, Loretta Braganza, Ben Arnup, Emily Stubbs, Jessica Jenyns and Ruth King, painters Rory Barke, Carolyn Coles, Jill Tattersall, Ric Liptrot, Lesley Birch, Mick Leach, Lesley Shaw and Angela Hall and stained glass artist Helen Bower. Opening hours are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.
Dennis Rollins: Delivering Funky-Funk! to YorkJazzFest’s Bishopthorpe Road Car park Finale tomorrow
Festival of the week: YorkJazzFest, today and tomorrow
TODAY, Beppe Lombardo’s inaugural YorkJazzFest features: 6pm, Flowerden, The Winning Post; 6pm, Mutant DJ Jazz, Angel On The Green; 6.30pm, Emma Foulds Quintet, York Arts Barge; 7pm, SwanNek, Young Thugs Studios; 8.30pm, Al Morrison Quartet, The Winning Post; 8.30pm, Olivia Cuttill, York Arts Barge; 9pm, Borgia, Angel On The Green, and 9pm, Lovedancin’ DJ, Young Thugs Studios. For tickets, go to: yorkjazzfestival.com.
Tomorrow, the Bishopthorpe Road Car Park Finale runs from midday with free entry and no ticket required. On the bill are: 12 noon, YorkJazzFest Orchestra; 1pm, Vipertime; 2.15pm, Big Bamboo; 4.15pm, Fergus Quill Sextet, and 6pm, Dennis Rollins’ Funky-Funk! Ian Chalk concludes the event at The Phoenix Inn at 8pm; free entry.
Federico Pendenza: Two world premieres at this afternoon’s York Late Music concert
Season finale of the week: York Late Music presents Federico Pendenza, Folk Roots To Classical Form, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviouragte, York, today, 1pm
UNIVERSITY of York guitarist Federico Pendenza concludes York Late Music’s concert season with Folk Roots To Classical Form, featuring William Walton’s only piece written for guitar (following a persuasive word from Julian Bream!), two intimate pieces by the “Chopin of the guitar”, Agustín Barrios, and two world premieres, Macey Collins’s Impressions Of Tension and Noor Hingorani’s Pomegranates On My Altar, which draws on the Persian Sofreh wedding ceremony, where pomegranates represent joy, passion and strength. Box office: latemusic.org/federico-pendoza-guitar or on the door.
York Unlocked: Unlocking York’s significant, hidden and secret buildings
Free discoveries of the week: York Unlocked, today and tomorrow
YORK Unlocked opens York’s most interesting, significant, even hidden and secret buildings to the public completely for free, although some buildings require free pre-booked tickets. This weekend’s festival enables residents and visitors alike to see York in a new way and aims to educate and inspire a love of architecture this weekend. To download the full programme, go to: https://www.york-unlocked.org.uk/_files/ugd/972e50_ba8593730b26433e8b060829ff5bd5ac.pdf.
Michael Shafar: Headlining Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club at The Basement
Comedy gigs of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, today, 4pm and 8pm
LAUGH Out Loud promoter Damion Larkin has added an extra show at 4pm in response to ticket demand for tonight’s 8pm bill of Michael Shafar, Ant Dewson, Mike Carter and Gary Jennison.
Former lawyer Shafar left Australia to ply his comedy trade over here. Dewson is a comedian, mediocre piano player and singer of silly songs, many of them rude. Carter covers everything from living with your nan in your 30s to the realities of engaging in “kinky stuff” when you have a coordination disorder. Jennison promises dance-offs, game shows, magic and unbridled chaos. Box office: lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.
Brian Bilston: Poetic words at Milton Rooms, Malton
Poet of the week: Brian Bilston, How To Lay An Egg With A Horse Inside, Milton Rooms, Malton, tomorrow, 7.30pm
BRIAN Bilston, a poet with more than 500,000 followers on social media, returns to the stage this autumn with his latest book, How To Lay An Egg With A Horse Inside, as he takes a journey through the hows, whys and whats of reading, writing and enjoying poetry every day.
Bilston has published such collections as You Took The Last Bus Home, Alexa, What Is There To Know About Love? and Days Like These, along with debut novel Diary Of A Somebody, poetry for younger readers and his 2025 album of poetry set to music, Sounds Made By Humans, recorded with The Catenary Wires. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Tracy-Ann Oberman’s Geri Essendine and Seb Carrington’s David Stillington in Present Laughter. Picture: Simon Annand
Coward classic of the week: Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Augusta Productions present Present Laughter, Grand Opera House, York, October 6 to 10, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
TRACY-ANN Oberman stars as hugely successful actress Geri Essendine – who has been 39 for the best part of a decade – in Lindsay Posner’s new touring production of Noel Coward’s celebrated portrayal of the temptations and pitfalls of theatrical celebrity.
On the cusp of departing for a tour of Africa, Geri finds herself besieged by a bevy of would-be lovers, her long-suffering secretary, estranged husband and an obsessed young playwright. Will she ever disentangle herself from their tightening clutches and incessant demands? Then again, deep down, does she really want to? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Pick Me Up Theatre cast members Pearl Mollison, left, Craig Kirby, Alexandra Mather, Andrew Isherwood, Helen Spencer, Adrian Cook and Mark Simmonds, under the withering eye of Rory Mulvihill, right, director of the play-within-the-play in Michael Frayn’s Noises Off
Slamming doors, falling trousers and flying sardines of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Noises Off, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, October 6 to 10, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
MICHAEL Frayn’s backstage farce Noises Off takes a wicked look at the follies of theatre folk, whose susceptibility to out-of-control egos, memory loss and passionate affairs turns every performance into a high-risk adventure.
This play-within-a-play captures a touring theatre troupe’s production of Nothing On in three stages: dress rehearsal, the opening performance and a performance towards the end of a debilitating run. Robert Readman directs a stellar York cast of Helen Spencer, Andrew Isherwood, Alexandra Mather, Rory Mulvihill, Pearl Mollison, Mark Simmonds, Craig Kirby, Jessica Hardcastle and Adrian Cook. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Joe Jackson: Returning to York Barbican
Gig of the week: Joe Jackson + Band, Hope And Fury Tour 2026, York Barbican, October 7, doors 7pm
JOE Jackson played York for only the second time at York Barbican on July 29 2022 as part of his Sing, You Sinners! Tour, having first shared a bill with Todd Rundgren and improvisational string quartet Ethel at the Grand Opera House in June 2005.
Now, the Portsmouth-raised singer, musician, songwriter, bandleader, producer, author and campaigner, 72, returns with his regular band to perform work from throughout his career and to showcase his 23rd studio album Hope And Fury, released in April. Conner Youngblood supports. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Acosta Danza in Andonis Foniadakis’s new work Pearls. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
In Focus: Carlos Acosta’s Acosta Danza in Cuban Baroque, York Theatre Royal, October 3, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
IN this new double bill from Acosta Danza, the lush artistry of the Baroque period intersects with the energy, creativity and vibrancy of Cuban dance. Emerging from the 17th and 18th centuries, the creative movement was characterised by deep colour, elaborate detail and intricate decoration.
Produced by Valid Productions in collaboration with York Theatre Royal, Cuban Baroque opens with the world premiere of Andonis Foniadakis’s new work Pearls, a journey to the rhythmic heart of Baroque, followed by choreographer and set designer Goyo Montero’s 2011 work Chacona.
Artistic director Carlos Acosta says: “I am very excited about this programme which will encapsulate the essence of Acosta Danza, fusing as it will, classical, Cuban and contemporary vocabularies and styles.
“I am, of course, a big fan of both choreographers and am delighted that Andonis will create a brand-new piece on my dancers. I look forward to seeing how that develops over the coming months.
“The flavour of the evening is summarised neatly by the title Cuban Baroque, but essentially this is a programme that anyone interested in any kind of dance can enjoy. I look forward, as always, to seeing how audiences react to the atmosphere this programme will create at its premiere in our first-ever visit to the wonderful York Theatre Royal.”
Acosta Danza in Goyo Montero’s 2011 workChacona at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
Theatre Royal chief executive Paul Crewes says: “It is truly wonderful that York audiences will be the first to experience this phenomenally exciting dance programme on our stage and we are really looking forward to working in collaboration with Carlos Acosta and his company on the show.”
Set to Esteban Sallas’s Salve Regina, the work explores the classic chaconne-looping structure that circles through phases of acceleration, fracture and rebound. As the score shifts from Baroque lyricism toward Cuban drive, Foniadakis showcases the fusion between memory and contemporary.
Andonis Foniadakis says: “The piece is being built as a chaconne in the broadest sense: a looping architecture that keeps circling back to the same theme like a mantra, each return opening a new variation in colour, density and impulse.
Cuban rhythmic principles will seep into the texture (clave, layered pulses, dance-derived momentum) and begin to tilt the baroque theme from within — bringing Sallas’s music fully into the present.
“In this dialogue, contrast becomes fusion: baroque memory meets Cuban propulsion; choral breath meets percussive drive; live sound meets a discreet electronic halo — shaping a single energetic trajectory that stays clear, intense, and emotionally resonant.”
Acosta Danza in Goyo Montero’s Chacona. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
Closing the 1hr 20 min programme is Goyo Montero’s powerful Chacona, a piece that originally was created for the Staatstheater Nürnberg Ballett during Montero’s 17-year tenure as director. Chacona is the final movement of Bach’s masterwork Partita No.2 in D Minor for violin, accompanied in this performance by guitar and piano. Physically and musically demanding, classical in sound and contemporary in heart, it requires total cohesion from the ensemble of 16 dancers.
Goyo Montero says: “This is going to be my fourth collaboration with Acosta Danza since 2015. To bring this work to them and adapt it to their fearless and exceptional dancers is something I am looking forward to very much. To restage this early work and revisit it for them will develop the work further and keep it alive, relevant and ever changing, a choreographer’s dream!”
In addition, Acosta Danza will hold an Open Class today (3/10/2026) at 10am on the Theatre Royal stage in an exclusive opportunity to watch how the dancers warm up and prepare ahead of a performance. This non-participatory event is open to all ages.
The York Theatre Royal premiere of Cuban Baroque will be followed by performances at Sadler’s Wells in London and Norwich Theatre Royal with further 2027 dates to be added. Box office for shows and Open Class: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Did you know?
ACOSTA Danza performed Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana at the Grand Opera House, York, in January 2026.
Acosta Danza in Pearls at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
SINGER, songwriter and guitarist Rachel Croft returns in force to her musical home ground of York as part of her UK and Europe-wide tour marking the emergence of an exciting and powerful new direction in her music.
Once a busker on York’s streets, later a fixture alongside jazz pianist Karl Mullen at The Phoenix Inn, Rachel is now based in London and has become an internationally recognised musician and multidisciplinary artist, with works featured on Netflix and BBC Two.
Rachel has performed from Europe to Central America, been honoured as Caffè Nero’s Artist of the Month and released music from Abbey Road Studios.
On support duty will be dream grunge artist KAYE, who moved from York to London in 2024. Blending heavy, textured instrumentals with ethereal vocal melodies, her haunting, immersive songs draw inspiration from alt rock, shoegaze, indie and folk, influenced by Jeff Buckley, Daughter and Mary In The Junkyard.
KAYE has established herself on London’s live music scene, performing at the George Tavern, the Ivy House, the Finsbury, and New Cross Inn. On Sunday, she will perform a stripped-back, offering a more intimate and delicate side to her music. Box office: https://thecrescentyork.com/events/rachel-croft-5/.
