Leveret: Andy Cutting, left, Sam Sweeney and Rob Hebron
FIDDLER Sam Sweeney returns to the National Centre of Music, Walmgate, York, on Friday, this time in a collaboration with fellow English folk musicians Andy Cutting, button accordion, and Rob Hebron, concertina.
Together they perform old and new tunes as Leveret, each player being regarded as an exceptional performer and master of his instrument. Their performances combine consummate musicianship, compelling delivery and captivating spontaneity; their playing is relaxed and natural, drawing audiences in and inviting them to share in music making that is at once spontaneous and yet deeply timeless.
Tickets for this 7.30pm concert are on sale on 01904 658338 or at ncem.co.uk. Please note, under-35s tickets have sold out.
Henry Raby, left and Stu Freestone: Co-founders of Say Owt Slam
SAY Owt, York’s loveable gang of garrulous/grandiloquent/just plain good poets, is celebrating a decade of performance poetry, spoken word, rap and music at The Crescent Community Venue, York, on October 18.
Established in 2014, Say Owt hosts high-energy nights of words and verse, led by York-born artistic director, “nerd punk poet laureate”, playwright, Vandal Factory co-artistic director and arts & activism podcaster Henry Raby and co-founder, associate artist, actor, Nottingham Forest devotee and The Cheese Trader cheesemonger Stu Freestone.
“As our first ever event was ten years ago, the team has decided to host a party to celebrate,” says Henry. “Whether you’re a regular, or never been to a Say Owt gig before, everyone is welcome to this party of performance poetry.
Say Owt squad member Hannah Davies: Taking part in 10th anniversary Say Owt Slam, Henry Raby vs Hannah Davies vs Stu Freestone vs Bram Jarman
“It’s been a privilege to put on poetry gigs for the people of York. We’ve hosted such legends as Hollie McNish, Harry Baker and [Barmby Moor-raised] Rob Auton and made so many friends and met so many amazing poets along the way.”
Looking forward to next Friday’s 8pm party, Henry says: “We want this gig to be a poetry party. Get ready for cheering, thumping your feet on the floor and kindling a love for words!
“Our first ever event was a poetry slam, where poets battle to win the adoration of the audience, so we’ve decided the four members of the Say Owt Squad will take part in a mini-slam to find out once and for all who is the best poet out of the four: Henry Raby vs Hannah Davies vs Stu Freestone vs Bram Jarman!”
Elizabeth Chadwick Pywell: York poet and teacher, winner of Northern Debut Award for Poetry: Out-Spoken Press Programme at the 2022 Northern Writers’ Awards
What else, Henry? “We wanted to highlight the amazing spoken-word scene in York by inviting our local poet pals to take to the stage. Performers will include Crow Rudd (surveyor of Sad Poets Doorstep Club), Chloe Hanks (co-host of Howlers) and Elizabeth Chadwick Pywell (rouser at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb).
“We’ve also invited back two Say Owt Slam Champions, previous winners at our poetry slams. Ruth Awolola is a Nigerian Jamaican poet, performer, theatre maker and creative facilitator, based in Manchester.
“Sophie Shepherd has been a poetry slam enthusiast ever since competing in the Say Owt slams whilst at York Uni [University of York]. She’s continued her love of slam since moving back down south by creating the Rhyme Against The Tide slam in Weston-super-Mare.”
West Yorkshire rapper, beatboxer and playwright Testament. Picture: Anthony Robling
On the bill too will be York alt-rock band Everything After Midnight, performing a special acoustic set. “They’ve recently decided to call it a day (or call it a night?), so they’ll be playing their second-to-last-ever gig at our birthday party! And you can’t spell ‘penultimate’ without ‘ultimate’!” says Henry.
“Finally, we have a very special guest in the form of West Yorkshire-based rapper and playwright Testament, whose critically acclaimed work ties together strands of poetry, rap and lyrics. He’s a Guinness World Record-breaking beatboxer with numerous TV appearances on BBC, ITV and Sky Arts to his name.
“He performed Orpheus In The Record Shop at Leeds Playhouse in 2020 and 2022; he’s appeared on the BBC Radio 4 poetry show The Verb, BBC1xtra and BBC Radio 6 Music many times, and his work has received praise from voices diverse as Alan Moore, Lauren Laverne, Mark Thomas and the progenitor of Hip-Hop himself, DJ Kool Herc.”
Say Owt 10th Birthday Bash,The Crescent Community Venue, The Crescent, York, October 18. Doors open at 7.30pm for 8pm start. Tickets £8 on £13 in advance, pay whichever tier you want, at https://thecrescentyork.com/events/the-big-say-owt-10th-birthday-bash/. Or, pay £15 on the door.
“The contrast between Joy Division and New Order is very apparent, but both complement each other very well,” says Peter Hook. Picture: Ivan Karczewski
PETER Hook & The Light launch the British and Irish leg of their Substance world tour at York Barbican on Thursday.
Make that Substance times two in a concert where bassist Hook and co will play those compilation albums by his former bands Joy Division and New Order in full on a 17-date tour that also takes in Bradford St George’s Hall on November 1.
“It still amazes me how enjoyable it is to play the Substance LPs,” said Peter in his tour announcement. “The contrast between Joy Division and New Order is very apparent, but both complement each other very well.
“My only frustration is not being able to play more of our records each night. I am totally looking forward to the next phase. So, let’s enjoy some Substance and get ready for the future. Lots of love, Hooky.”
“If I knew where that bass playing came from, I’d bottle it and be a millionaire,” says Peter Hook. Picture: Mark McNulty
Hook, now 68, first revisited Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures in May 2010 for a commemorative charity concert, setting in motion his concert re-play of subsequent albums by both Manchester bands, one per year: Closer, Still, Movement, Power Corruption & Lies, Low Life, Brotherhood, Technique and Republic to this juncture while amassing 600 concerts en route.
Get ready for his re-visit of New Order’s seventh album, Get Ready, next April in Bristol, Manchester and London after focusing on Factory Records’ brace of Substance compilations in Australia, New Zealand, North America and now the UK and Ireland.
“Every time we made a new album, we hardly played it again, so it’s been great to play all those albums live as as I feel they should be played,” says Peter. “Now, because New Order are so commercial, either me or my son came up with idea of doing both Substance albums together because they’re so contrasting.
“Joy Division’s album [Substance 1977-1980] is so intense and full of B-sides, whereas New Order’s album is just hits wall to wall more or less, and everyone knows them all.
“I like Joy Division being more difficult, finishing with our best-known work [Love Will Tear Us Apart],so as long as we do that one well, fine!
“I’m the driver. I always was and I still am,” says Peter Hook
“The tracks are just not like New Order [witness Warsaw, Leaders Of Men, Digital, Autosuggestion and Incubation], and it used to be that Joy Division fans would go to the bar during New Order songs and vice versa, but now they watch both.”
The Substance concerts will feature the track listing of both albums in their vinyl editions complemented by 12 tracks per night from the more comprehensive CD versions. “If someone wants to be ornery and throw in one we haven’t done…” challenges Peter.
Hook’s melodic bass remains one of the most distinctive guitar sounds in rock after 48 years. “My mother once said you’ve got to have a gimmick in showbusiness,” he says. “She saw us once at the [Manchester] Arena, but she didn’t like it. ‘I won’t bother again,’ she said. ‘Why don’t you get a proper job like your brother?’. He was a policeman!
“If I knew where that bass playing came from, I’d bottle it and be a millionaire. I do thank Ian Curtis for encouraging me to play that way, whereas Barney [Bernard Sumner] said ‘follow the guitar’. I said I’d only follow it to the bar!
“I’m the driver. I always was and I still am. I want a great melody. I remember people saying I can always tell it’s you, and at first I thought that was bad! You can get paranoid about it, but the more I sound like me, the happier I am. Now, when someone asks me to play on something, they want me to sound like me.
The poster for the British and Irish leg of Peter Hook & The Light’s Substance world tour
“When you’ve written 400 songs, riffs can become difficult to write, but I’m still enjoying it and I love the fact that people are grateful. Like Wolfgang Flür, from Kraftwerk, asking me to play on two songs or Damon Albarn asking me to play on Aries, a number one for Gorillaz in America.”
Joining Hook on tour will be David Potts, his regular companion from Monaco and Revenge, on guitar and vocals, new addition Martin Rebelski, from Doves, on keyboards, and Paul Kehoe on drums.
“Paul Duffy, who normally plays with The Coral, will be playing with us as my son [bassist Jack Bates] is away with Smashing Pumpkins on a world tour. Jack is the only bass player I’ve met who can play just like me, and he can do other styles as well, so he’s better than me.”
Don’t expect a rapprochement between Hook and his former Joy Division and New Order cohorts Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris any time soon. “When I started these concerts, Barney and Stephen were so adamant, so desperate, that I shouldn’t do it, but I thought, ‘why are you saying that?,” he says.
“I did wonder who would come, but I’ve been delighted so many young people have come through hearing the songs on the radio or through the film [Control]. What I adore about the audience is that they have great taste in music and without them I’d be nothing.”
Peter Hook & The Light, Substance World Tour, York Barbican, October 10, doors 7pm; start 8pm; curfew 11pm. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk. Also: Tomorrow’s Ghosts Festival, Whitby Pavilion, November 2. Box office: tomorrowsghostsfestival.co.uk.
Navigators Art & Performance’s poster for Co-Audenation. W H Auden picture: George Cserna, 1956
YORK collective Navigators Art & Performance presents Co-Audenation: A Creative Exploration of W. H. Auden, a night of spoken word, live music and performance art, at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, on October 19.
“This is a revised and expanded version of our sold-out summer show for the York Festival of Ideas and York Civic Trust’s York Trailblazers sculpture trail project, for whom we researched and constructed one of the sculptures commemorating York’s unsung heroes,” says Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen. “Our W. H. Auden tansy beetle sculpture can be seen outside City of York Council’s West Offices in Station Rise.”
All works in October 19’s 7pm to 10pm show are written or inspired and influenced by W. H. Auden, the “Picasso of modern poetry” born in Bootham, York, on February 21 1907.
Navigators Art & Performance’s tansy beetle sculpture of W. H. Auden for York Trailblazers at West Offices, Station Rise, York
“A leader of the British avant-garde at a time of cultural upheaval in Europe, Auden experimented ceaselessly with poetic form and subject matter,” says Richard. “Openly gay and defiantly anti-establishment, he was controversial and influential in his views on politics, morals, love, and religion. His poem Funeral Blues was popularly featured in the film Four Weddings And A Funeral.”
Navigators Art’s inspiring line-up features award-winning and published Yorkshire writers and performers in a mixed-media event replete with songs and physical theatre, as well as poetry.
“Expect the unexpected!” says Richard. “An informal discussion will precede the main event from 6pm. All ticket holders are welcome to attend. The performance will begin at 7pm after a short break.”
Carrieanne Vivianette: Leeds performance artist
Taking part will be:
Anthony Vahni Capildeo: poet, professor and writer in residence at the University of York.
Antony Dunn: poet, dramatist and screenwriter.
Carrieanne Vivianette: performance artist and experimentalist from the creative hotlands of Leeds.
Elizabeth Chadwick Pywell: York poet, English/Drama tutor and co-host of Rise Up! at Bluebird Bakery in Acomb.
Ian Parks: Award-winning and widely published poet and translator; editor of Versions Of The North: Contemporary Yorkshire Poetry
Anthony Vahni Capildeo: poet, professor and writer in residence at the University of York
Jane Stockdale: Singer and multi-instrumentalist from beloved York alt. folk legends White Sail.
Janet Dean: Poet and novelist exploring contemporary themes through the prism of history.
JT Welsch: Exploratory musician and poet; lecturer in English and Creative Industries at University of York.
Richard Kitchen: Visual artist, poet and Navigators co-founder.
Plus contributions from York luminaries Alan Gillott, Hugh Bernays and others.
For full details and tickets, go to: https://bit.ly/nav-auden. “Advance booking is advised,” says Richard.
Aein Nasseri (Alland) and the CAPA College Chorus (Vox) in Red Ladder Theatre Company’s Sanctuary. Picture: Robling Photography
RED Ladder Theatre Company’s powerful and moving new musical, Sanctuary, asks “What kind of society do we want to live in?”
Presented in collaboration with the Theatre Royal, Wakefield, and CAPA College, Wakefield, composer-lyricist Boff Whalley and award-winning playwright Sarah Woods’ topical political drama is directed by artistic director Cheryl Martin in her first production since taking over the Leeds company.
Sanctuary opened at the Wakefield theatre on September before setting off on an eight-week tour of theatres, community venues and churches that visits Selby Abbey tonight; Hull Truck Theatre tomorrow and the Welsey Centre, Harrogate, on Saturday.
Red Ladder’s musical premiere charts one man’s plea for help and refuge at a time when not all strangers are welcomed. When young Iranian Alland (Aein Nasseri) begs to be given sanctuary at a church in northern England, sparking a community to react in all the ways each member believes to be right, young church worker Molly (Ingrid Bolton-Gabrielsen) joins forces with vicar Fiona (York actress Emily Chattle) to resist both the angry vigilantes and the hard-hearted authorities beyond the church walls to try to protect him.
Holding a special community service where voices on all sides sing their songs of redemption and condemnation, Fiona asks the question to everyone present: “Do we give Alland over to the State or live up to our well-versed ideals of compassion?”
The creative team has worked closely with people hoping to call the UK home, shaping Alland’s story. Writers Whalley and Woods spent the past six years collaborating on projects for Welsh National Opera, in partnership with the Oasis Centre for refugees and asylum seekers, to co-create original operas for a more diverse audience. Director Martin spent eight years directing women refugees and asylum seekers in shows for Manchester’s Community Arts Northwest.
Earlier this year, Leeds-based Mafwa Theatre ran sessions with the team and CAPA College students, who then created their own workshops for secondary school pupils, supported by asylum seekers, that have helped shape the production.
This unique collaboration between Red Ladder, Theatre Royal Wakefield and CAPA College, featuring a chorus of performing arts students, mixes hard-hitting ideas with memorable melodic tunes and harmonies.
Martin says: “Sanctuary comes at a critical moment in the conversation about immigration, refugees and asylum seekers. I hope this musical helps open up this conversation because it’s one that goes to the heart of who we are and the kind of society we want to live in.”
Co-creator Woods says: “Boff and I have been collaborating for a number of years, including co-creating work with people seeking refuge and asylum, and this is a story that we both feel needed to be told.
“There is a lot of hostility in the media when it comes to immigration, and we want to counter this narrative by offering audiences different viewpoints. I believe the stories we tell can really affect change in the world.
“A lot of people who come to the UK seeking asylum are here because they’ve stood up against oppression, doing things that many of us might not have the strength to do. We can learn a lot from them and the stories they share with us.”
Co-writer Whalley says: “Working with refugees and asylum seekers over the past handful of years has been an education. A steep learning curve in understanding how both Theresa May’s ‘hostile environment’ and the non-stop onslaught of the trash media has impacted Britain.
“We’re a nation in turmoil over immigration. A country at war with itself over small boats – whilst at the heart of it all are desperate people fleeing war and imprisonment, searching for hope and a place to call home.
“And that’s why Sanctuary is important right now. Which all sounds a bit grim, doesn’t it? And grim isn’t a great starting point for good musical theatre! So the idea is to make this big subject entertaining as well as poignant and educational.”
Whalley continues: “It’s my job with the music to use melody and harmony to draw people in, to create shared moments, to give the audience a helping hand into this story of a young asylum-seeker looking for sanctuary.
“Music is such a powerful tool, and it can cross divides, it can patch up differences between people. Which is what Sanctuary will hope to do.”
Sanctuary welcomes everyone in, challenging audiences to consider: “Do we want safety and freedom for only ourselves, or for us all?” “Come on in – the service is about to begin,” reads the invitation.
Did you know?
SANCTUARY is supported by the Mayor of West Yorkshire’s Safer Communities Fund.
Did you know too?
ALL performances will be captioned via The Difference Engine, a tool that enables deaf and hard-of-hearing people to read performance captions on their phone.
Red Ladder Theatre in Sanctuary, Selby Abbey, October 7, 7.30pm; Hull Truck Theatre, Hull, October 8, 7.30pm; Wesley Centre, Harrogate, October 12, 7.30pm. Box office: Selby, 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk; Hull, 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk. Age guidance: 13 upwards.
Ryan Adams: “Remains a performer you need to watch, never sure how he’ll react or respond”
IT CAN be hard to read someone in the dark, an audience or a performer for that matter.
After 30 songs (more if you throw in the skits) and more than three hours, the standing ovation was a little unexpected. North Carolina-born Adams obviously has a real affection for York – this was his fourth show here since 2007 – and he talked of moving him and his cats to the UK.
“I love you so very much, York. You have always treated me like one of your own. I love you all so very much,” he wrote later in his Instagram account. It was clear we felt the same way.
With more than 1.2 million followers, he remains a big deal and can certainly command an audience. Adams tours with side lamps, piano and acoustic guitars for company (so presumably lots of space in the large tour bus outside). The same set-up as his April 2023 concert in the same venue, this time ostensibly marking the 20th anniversary of 2004’s Love Is Hell and tenth anniversary of 2014’s self-titled album.
A sufferer from Meniere’s disease, he is particularly susceptible to bright lights, and a red LED light led to an early dressing down for one unthinking audience member. From there it was a mostly digital-free affair, which allowed us to focus on the songs and the voice in the gloaming.
Adams is an expressive, wonderful singer, and a very capable guitarist. With this artist though, the music is not the only show in town. As he matures (50 next year, God willing), he remains a performer you need to watch, never sure how he’ll react or respond.
He can win any shootout with a heckler, but this spikiness is leavened by his quick sense of humour. His (presumably) impromptu songs about the Spin Doctors and a significant part of Lenny Kravitz were hilarious.
Adams is obviously watching the audience closely too, ruefully noting an attractive blue dress heading for the exit. Most of his songs pick up on that theme in some shape or form, and in that sense he is a natural heir to the cry-in-your-beer honky-tonk greats such as Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams.
Carolina Rain (the highlight from 2005’s 29 album) is a southern gothic short story in song form and Adams inhabited every word before the long guitar outro. It felt more vital, in fact, than his take on Williams’s I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry that came immediately before.
“This music is not healthy for anyone,” he said early in the second set, and while in large doses that may be true, there were many vital, gorgeous moments. His take on Bob Dylan’s Love Sick ached with lyricism, and his Bobnesss’ influence was also writ large on To Be Young – one of the tunes that lit up the second half of the second half.
Adams’s act is a bizarre mix of assertive confrontation and exaggerated solicitousness that sees him stop songs to say “Bless you” to a sneeze.
“Like trying to ride a really elegant bull” was Adams’s typically leftfield way of describing playing in our city. While that line (rightly) fell flat, he does have an unusual view of the world – and it was clear he was among friends.
That said, his diatribes about his divorce and his strident dismissal of the ‘lech’ tag made for more uncomfortable listening. It will probably always be too soon to joke about.
The second set dragged along rather, the chair for John Steinbeck’s ghost remained resolutely empty behind him, and not quite everyone made it to the final curtain. Come Pick Us Up, his final number, he may not have, but as the ovation faded, we left the richer for watching a unique talent share his very soul with us.
THE Academy’s Autumn Concert opened with Gabriel Faure’s Suite: Masques et Bergamasques, Op. 112. Not only have I never heard of this work, but I would never have recognised Faure as the author.
The opening Allegro, brimming with pastoral wit and energy, was delivered with clear relish but I couldn’t get the musical image of the great Arthur Sullivan out of my head. And then to the ball. The performance vividly reimagined the aristocratic formal nonsense in this ritualised Menuet. But goodness me, the signing off was simply divine. The Gavotte was rhythmically tight, the strings holding the melodic line with cute woodwind contributions.
As a stand-alone movement, the closing Pastoral worked just fine, and it was well performed too. But I could not link it whatsoever to the first three movements; not sure if it was a Faure thing or a me thing. Probably the latter.
On the whole, Bruckner’s Adagio (from the String Quintet in F Major) was both committed and persuasive. The contrapuntal dialogue was well expressed – clear and nicely judged. There were, however, some intonation issues but with the strings so exposed, there are no hiding places.
I have waited years to say this: the Beethoven (Rondino in Eb for Wind Octet, WoO – whatever that is, 25) was dreadful. Irredeemably so.
It wasn’t that the horns weren’t quite on top of their game, which they weren’t, but that the music in the contrasting central section was meant to be humorous; alas it wasn’t. Indeed the musical ‘jokes’ made Shakespeare’s gags sound as though they were written by Ben Elton.
OK, there was some excellent woodwind playing, especially Lesley Schatzberger (clarinet) whose playing was simply divine.
The ‘brass fanfare’ ushering us politely back to our seats always works well and the Scottish piper’s piobaireachd [pipe playing] announcing Mendelssohn’s ‘Scottish’ Symphony No. 3 was a delight.
I really enjoyed the Academy’s performance of this remarkable symphony: it was infused with a buoyant energy, lovely phrasing, reliable string playing – the key to success – and top-notch woodwind contributions – for example, Alexandra Nightingale (oboe) in the closing Allegro Guerriero.
What struck me in Alan George’s assured direction was the weighty, solemn sound world of Beethoven or indeed Brahms. Not throughout, which would have been overwhelming, but in the opening Andante con moto and third movement Adagio with its stirring, almost triumphalist, processional music. The touching, lyrical wind and string responses humanised matters. Impressive.
YORK unlocks for the weekend. Charles Hutchinson unlocks the door to multiple other delights too.
Festival of the week: York Unlocked 2024, today and tomorrow from 10am
IN its third year, York Unlocked welcomes residents and visitors to experience York’s architecture and open spaces with the chance to discover, explore and enjoy around 50 sites.
This year’s new addition is a children’s trail book; families can pick up a free copy from York Explore Library, All Saints’ Church, North Street, or The Guildhall. Full details of the participating locations, from Spark: York to City Screen Picturehouse, Terry’s Factory Clock Tower to Bishopthorpe Palace, Holgate Windmill to York Railway Station, can be found at york-unlocked.org.uk. Entry is free, including those requiring booking.
Rachel Croft: Heading back to York to play The Crescent
Return of the week: Black Deer Live in association with TalentBanq presents Rachel Croft Live, supported by Tom Sheldon Trio, The Crescent, York, tonight, doors 7.30pm
AFTER relocating to London almost three years ago, thunderous alt-rock singer-songwriter Rachel Croft returns to York for an explosive hometown show, backed by a full band.
Caffe Nero Artist of the Month in February 2024, she has performed at The O2 Arena Blue Room, Bush Hall and Camden Assembly in London, the Bitter End in New York and Bluebird Cafe in Nashville and such festivals as Cambridge Folk Festival, Secret Garden Party and Black Deer. Her cinematic songs have featured on Netflix, the BBC and in rotation in Tesco, Waterstones and Centre Parcs stores. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Much more than stripping assets: York’s queen of burlesque, Freida Nipples, hosts The Exhibionists in The Old Paint Shop
Cabaret night of the week: Freida Nipples presents…The Exhibitionists, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 8pm; Halloween Edition, October 26, 6pm and 9pm
YORK’S award-winning burlesque artiste Freida Nipples launches the Theatre Royal’s new Old Paint Shop cabaret season with some of her favourite fabulous performance artists from across Great Britain.
“From burlesque to drag and beyond, be sure to expect the unexpected,” she says. “Get ready to be dazzled, shocked and in awe. Only a few things are guaranteed: glamour, gags and giggles.” Tickets update: all three shows have sold out. For returns only, call 01904 623568.
Frankenstein (On A Budget): One man, one monster, one glorious dream at Friargate Theatre, York
“Comedy musical Hammer Horror homage you didn’t know you needed”: Frankenstein (On a Budget), Friargate Theatre, York, tonight, 7.30pm
ONE man, one monster, one glorious dream to singlehandedly tell the most famous cult horror story of all time on absolutely no budget whatsoever. What could possibly go wrong? Inspired by Mary Shelley and Boris Karloff, Frankenstein (On a Budget) features one actor, some decidedly dodgy backdrops, new music, weather-based based puns, cardboard props, gore and flashing lights.
Can the ill-fated doctor build his monstrous creation, play 25 characters, sing songs aplenty, attempt accents from across the world, perform a dance routine, and ultimately save the day in only 60 minutes? Find out tonight. Age guidance: 14 upwards. Box office: ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.
The Shires: Playing York on intimate acoustic tour
Country gig of the week: The Shires: The Two Of Us Tour, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
GREAT Britain’s biggest country music export, The Shires, return to York on their intimate acoustic tour, where Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes play songs from 2015 debut, 2016’s My Universe, 2018’s Accidentally On Purpose, 2020’s Good Years and 2022’s 10 Year Plan.
The Shires have achieved three consecutive UK Top Three albums, four UK Country album chart toppers, more than 100 million streams, two gold-certified records and two CMA Awards, headlining the Royal Albert Hall too. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Aein Nasseri (Alland) and the CAPA College Chorus (Vox) in Red Ladder Theatre Company’s Sanctuary. Picture: Robling Photography
Play of the week: Red Ladder Theatre Company in Sanctuary, Selby Abbey, October 7, 7.30pm; Hull Truck Theatre, Hull, October 8, 7.30pm; Wesley Centre, Harrogate, October 12,7.30pm
DIRECTED by new Red Ladder artistic director Cheryl Martin, this timely premiere by Sarah Woods and musician Boff Whalley tells the vital story of Alland, a young Iranian man who begs to be given sanctuary at St Mary’s Church in a northern town, sparking a community to react in all the ways each member believes to be right.
Featuring a chorus of Wakefield’s CAPA College students, Sanctuary mixes hard-hitting ideas with melodic tunes and harmonies, asking the question: do we want safety and freedom for only ourselves, or for us all? Box office: Selby, 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk; Hull, 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk.
Carrie Hope Fletcher: Love Letters in song form at York Barbican
Musical theatre revue of the week: Carrie Hope Fletcher, Love Letters, York Barbican, October 8, doors 7pm
WEST End musical theatre actress, author and vlogger Carrie Hope Fletcher explores all forms of love, from romantic to maternal, unrequited to obsessive, all told through a concert of musical theatre favourites, accompanied by specially written letters about each song by Carrie.
She is best known for playing Éponine and Fantine in Les Misérables, Veronica in Heathers, Wednesday in The Addams Family, Cinderella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella on the London stage. Her special guest will be Bradley Jaden, her West End co-star in Les Miserables. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Ed Gamble: Not discussing hot dogs in Hot Diggity Dog at the Grand Opera House. Picture: Matt Crockett
Comedy gig of the week: Ed Gamble, Hot Diggity Dog, Grand Opera House, York, October 9, 7.30pm
ED Gamble is promising “all your classicGamble ranting, raving and spluttering, but he’s doing fine mentally. Promise”. After all, he co-hosts the award-winning podcast Off Menuwith James Acaster, is a judge on Great British Menu and Taskmaster champion, hosts Taskmaster The Podcast and The Traitors: Uncloaked and has his own special, Blood Sugar, available on Amazon Prime. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Not Gonna Lie: Fool(ish) Improv use audience true stories to improvise “unbelievable comedy”
Improv gig of the week: Fool(ish) Improv present Not Gonna Lie, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, October 10, 8pm
PAUL Birch and co will take the truth to task by using real stories from the audience to improvise “unbelievable comedy”. Not so much Who’s Line Is It Anyway but more Who’s Lie Is It Anyway, Fool(ish) welcome you to a playful night of joy, nonsense and completely making things up.
“Come confess and unburden yourselves of some silly secrets, tales of the office and childhood memories and we will shape them into surreal sketches and sensational scenes,” say the Yorkshire improvisers trained by the best in Chicago Long-Form improv. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Sharleen Spiteri: Leading Texas at Scarborough Open Air Theatre next summer
Gig announcement of the week: Texas, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, July 26 2025
SCOTTISH band Texas, fronted as ever by Sharleen Spiteri, will return to Scarborough Open Air Theatre for the first time since July 2018 to showcase five decades of songs, from I Don’t Want A Lover, Say What You Want and Summer Son to Inner Smile, Mr Haze and Keep On Talking next summer. Irish rock band The Script are confirmed already for July 5. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.co.uk and ticketmaster.co.uk.
Carrie Hope Fletcher on stage in Love Letters, on tour at York Barbican
WEST End musical theatre star, author and vlogger Carrie Hope Fletcher will explore all forms of love, from romantic to maternal, unrequited to obsessive, in Love Letters at York Barbican on Tuesday.
Joining her for this concert of musical theatre favourites will be West End leading man Bradley Jaden, her Les Miserables co-star, one of three special guests on her 14-date autumn tour.
Best known for playing Éponine and Fantine in Les Misérables, Veronica in Heathers, Wednesday in The Addams Family, Cinderella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella and Beth in the arena tour of The War Of The Worlds alongside Jason Donovan, Carrie’s tour marks her return to the stage after time away since giving birth to daughter Mabel, now seven months old.
“My last job finished on New Year’s Eve: panto in Crawley. I was Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty, the villain. It’s the best role – Sleeping Beauty is asleep for half the show!” says Carrie, 31.
“That was my second panto, and again I did it with Evolution Productions [co-producers of the York Theatre Royal pantomime] after Canterbury in the first year, both written and directed by Paul Hendy, who’s so much fun and just knows the essence of what makes a good panto.
“Last year I also did my first tour, called An Open Book, where I told stories from throughout my career that I hadn’t told before and paired them with songs, and we had such a great time, I wanted to do another show like that.”
Here comes Love Letters. “The fun thing is that it will be a different set list every night,” says South Harrow-born Carrie. “There are six songs that will be sung every night, at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of each act, with ten in between that will be completely different at each show.
“A list of songs will go live on social media before each concert, where fans can pick out their venue and make their choices from 25/26 songs per show.”
At first Carrie said that the six songs sure to feature each night were a secret but then she revealed: “There are three I can confirm: Journey To The Past, from Anastasia; Home, from Beetlejuice The Musical and Someone’s Waiting For You from The Rescuers.”
Carrie Hope Fletcher in her dressing room
Explaining the theme behind Love Letters, Carrie says: “I just felt that because the world is so fast paced, especially with social media, that I miss the slow-paced art of writing a letter, when you know that the writer has taken time to prepare before writing the words. It’s not just about people we love, but things we love as well: musical theatre, books, Disney.
“I’ve written a love letter to go with every song, dedicated to a person or a thing. Audience members for each show can send in a love letter and I’ll choose one and read it out. We’ve been going through the letters that have come in over the past few weeks and a lot of them are dedicated to someone who’s coming to the show with them.”
Assessing why love is the subject of so many songs, Carrie says: “It’s the thing that unites us all. We all feel love for someone or something one way or another, and we feel it deep down, whether it’s for a person, a pet or a favourite film.”
Carrie’s career has required her to sing some of the greatest songs in musical theatre. “There’s a responsibility singing those songs, especially when playing roles that people hold great affection for. Like singing I Dreamed A Dream in Les Miserables, where it’s become bigger than the musical.
“People attach it to their own lives, so I do feel that sense of responsibility when the opening chords are played and you know you have to deliver.
“It put things in perspective when people say, ‘you’re not a doctor, or a lawyer defending someone, you’re just putting on a wig and singing’, but for people who come to the theatre, it’s a chance to escape and that one night could have a life-changing effect on someone. You have to remind yourself that what you’re doing is important to people.”
Carrie finds joy in singing, joy that transfers to the audience too. “It’s a joy I feel just to sing and that’s what people latch on to. Maybe the joy I get from it separates me from others. That’s what people connect to,” she says.
“ I do think that musical theatre is based in expressing emotion, and if you’re not feeling it one night, then it won’t transmit to the audience.”
Carrie Hope Fletcher with special guest Bradley Jaden, Love Letters, York Barbican, October 8, doors, 7pm. Box office: yorkbarbian.co.uk. Carrie will play the lead role in Nikolai Foster’s production of Calamity Jane, on tour at Grand Opera House, York, from April 29 to May 3 2025. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The poster for the 2025 tour of Calamity Jane starring Carrie Hope Fletcher
CARRIE Hope Fletcher will lead the cast in the 2025 tour of Jamie Wilson Productions’ revival of the Watermill Theatre’s whip-crackin’ production of Calamity Jane prior to a West End run. The Grand Opera House, York, awaits from April 29 to May 3.
“Calamity Jane is one of those roles that doesn’t come around all too often,” says Carrie. “She’s action, romance and comedy all packed into one character, and I can’t wait to take on the challenge of filling her shoes.”
Marking the tenth anniversary since the Watermill show hit the road, next year’s production reunites the creative team with direction by Curve artistic director Nikolai Foster, co-direction and choreography by Nick Winston, orchestration and music supervision by Catherine Jayes and set and costume design by Matthew Wright. Lighting design will be by Tim Mitchell and sound design by Ben Harrison.
Producer Jamie Wilson says: “With this new version of Calamity Jane first opening at The Watermill Theatre in 2014, I am delighted to be collaborating with them again to finally bring this wonderful production back to theatres all over the country after a ten-year absence.
“We have been waiting for the right moment and artist to step into Calamity’s boots and bring this hilarious and joyful musical back to the nation, and we are thrilled that Carrie Hope Fletcher will be leading the company as the iconic Calamity Jane. Carrie is one of the UK’s most talented artists whose broad fan base will introduce this much beloved musical to audiences across the country.”
Based on the cherished 1954 Doris Day movie, this foot-stomping new production features such songs as The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away), The Black Hills Of Dakota, Just Blew In From the Windy City and the Oscar-winning Secret Love.
The tour publicity invites you to “meet the fearless, gun-slinging Calamity Jane, the biggest mouth in Dakota territory and always up for a fight. She’ll charm you hog-eyed, however, especially when trying to win the heart of the dashing Lieutenant Gilmartin, or shooting insults at the notorious Wild Bill Hickok.
“But when the men of Deadwood fall hard for Chicago stage star Adelaid Adams, Calamity struggles to keep her jealousy holstered. Her heart’s a thumpin’… but who for? What are you waiting for, you wild coyotes? Whip -crack-away!”
Tickets for the 7.30pm evening performances and 2.30pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday matinees are on sale at atgtickets.com/york.
Carrie Hope Fletcher: More than one million views every month on her YouTube channel
Carrie Hope Fletcher: back story
Born: October 22 1992, South Harrow, Harrow
Occupation: Actress, author and vlogger.
Theatre includes: Elizabeth in The Crown Jewels (West End/UK tour), Grusha in The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Rose Theatre), Cinderella in Cinderella (Gillian Lynne Theatre), Fantine in Les Misérables: The Concert (Gielgud Theatre), Veronica in Heathers (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty (Marlowe Theatre), Brenda in The Christmasaurus Live (Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith), Wednesday in The Addams Family (Music and Lyrics), Eponine in Les Misérables (Dubai – Cameron Mackintosh), Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Music and Lyrics), Eponine in Les Misérables (Queen’s), Beth in Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds (arena tour), Wind In The Willows (Regent’s Park Open Air), Jane Banks in Mary Poppins (Disney Theatrical/Cameron Mackintosh), Jemima in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Young Eponine in Les Misérables.
Television: In Two Minds, Break Kids, Princess Beatrix in Wilhelmina and Dog & Duck.
Concerts: Once – In Concert (London Palladium), Treason – The Musical in Concert (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), When The Curtain Falls (Cadogan Hall), Jason Robert Brown in Concert (Haymarket Theatre), West End Does Love (FortyFour Productions), West End Does Christmas (FortyFour Productions), West End Does Animation (FortyFour Productions), Edges (Prince of Wales), Andrew Lippa in Concert, Sheytoons in Concert (St James) and Ramin Karimloo’s 2012 tour Road To Find Out.
Carrie’s first solo tour in 2023, An Open Book, toured UK and played London Palladium (sold out) in a celebration of her career so far.
Music: Debut solo album When the Curtain Falls was released in March 2018, produced by 2300 Records. Reached Top 20 in UK album charts and number two in iTunes Soundtrack Charts. 2022 Grammy nominee for Best Musical Theatre Album for Cinderella (Original Concept Album) and Les Misérables: The Staged Concert (Live Album).
Presenting: Host of 2016 Olivier Awards in the Piazza; backstage host of 2018 Olivier Awards at Royal Albert Hall.
Books: First book All I Know Now: Wonderings and Reflections on Growing Up Gracefully, was released in 2015; On The Other Side, July 2016; All That She Can See, 2017; When The Curtain Falls, July 2018; In The Time We Lost, 2019; first children’s book, Into The Spotlight, a reimagining of Noel Streatfield’s Ballet Shoes, September 2020; With This Kiss, 2022; The Double Trouble Society, 2023.
Awards: Three-time winner of Best Actress in a Musical at WhatsOnStage Awards for roles of Cinderella in Cinderella, Veronica Sawyer in Heathers and Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family. Also won WhatsOnStage Award for Best Takeover in a Role for Eponine in Les Misérables
Social media: Established online presence with more than 472,000 followers on X, 600,000 on Instagram and 630,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel with more than one million views every month. Named in The Sunday Times Influencer List as one of UK’s top 100 influencers.
Davide Ortu’s illustration for the book cover for Carrie Hope Fletcher’s 2023 children’s novel, The Double Trouble Society And The Worst Curse
Carrie Hope Fletcher: the writer
“I HAVE written eight novels and one non-fiction book, my first book [All I Know Now: Wonderings and Reflections on Growing Up Gracefully, published in April 2015], written off the back of the lifestyle blog I wrote from 2011 onwards.
“I was 22 when I wrote it with all the knowledge of what I thought I knew as a teenager. I could easily write another now at 31,” she says.
“I wrote for Little, Brown Books for the first five books and then switched to Harper Collins. I have this incredible editor, who transferred to Harper Collins, and I followed her.
“My recent books were my first children’s books, the Double Trouble Society series. Last year Puffin published The Double Trouble Society And The Worst Curse, where the Double Trouble Society know how to handle witches but can they manage vampires, werewolves and ghosts as well?
“I have ideas for my next books, both for children and the adult market, but I’ve been preoccupied with being a new mum!”
Carrie Hope Fletcher: the vlogger
“YOU can find them on YouTube @Carrie. It’s mainly behind the scenes of musical theatre. I’ve been doing it for 11-12 years now and it’s been a delight to keep doing it,” says Carrie, who has made 893 videos and has 628,000 subscribers.
The cover artwork for Michael Palin’s new book, in focus at the Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow
FROM a talkative traveller to a Californian Kate Bush tribute act, York’s weekend of open doors to a best-of-British musical revue, Charles Hutchinson seeks diverse cultural opportunities.
Globe-trotter of the week: Michael Palin, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
IN the words of Monty Python alumnus, actor, presenter and Yorkshireman Michael Palin: “In There And Back – The Diary Tour 2024, I’ll bring to life the fourth collection of my diaries and the first to be released for ten years.
“Lots of fun as I go through the Noughties, and some dark times too. I constantly surprise myself with the sheer amount I took on.” Tickets update: still available at atgtickets.com/york.
Baby Bushka: Delighting in the theatricality of Kate Bush’s songs at Pocklington Arts Centre
Tribute show of the week: Baby Bushka, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow, 8pm
THE music and magic of Kate Bush has reached across the seas and skies to San Diego, California, where the eight women of the bewitching Baby Bushka have honed their wide-eyed, other-worldly versions of Kate’s baroque, ethereal pop.
Performed in jump-suits by Natasha Kozaily, Lexi Pulido, Nancy Ross, Leah Bowden, Batya Mac Adam-Somerm, Marie Haddad, Heather Nation and Melanie Medina, their kooky rock show is filled with four-part harmonies, avant-garde choreographed dancing, theatrical props, costumes and glitter masks. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
The Korgis: This is the time for everybody to learn about their favourite songs at Selby Town Hall
Sing something synth-full: The Korgis Time Machine, Selby Town Hall, tomorrow, 7.30pm
WHIRL back in time with The Korgis as they undertake a musical and audio/visual journey though the songs and bands that influenced them. Best known for their 1980 hit Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime, the Bristol synth-pop band will put their spin on songs by The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, 10cc, The Buggles, Peter Gabriel and their own songs of peace and hope with The Korgis and, earlier, with Stackridge.
If I Had You, Bringing Back The Spirit Of Love, If It’s Alright With You Baby and Something About The Beatles will feature, along with new compositions from this year’s two-album set, UN – United Nations. Questions will be taken too. Box office: 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk.
Lucy Porter: No regrets about her regrets at Selby Town Hall
Comedy gig of the week: Lucy Porter, No Regrets!, Selby Town Hall, Friday, 8pm
REGRETS? Frank Sinatra had too few to mention, but Lucy Porter has hundreds, and she is raring to go into graphic detail about all of them. From disastrous dates and professional calamities to ruined friendships and parenting failures, she charts all the mistakes she has made, works out why they happened, and ponders how her life would have turned out if she had acted differently.
Porter posits that if you regret something, you can use it to change your ways. “See the thing you regret as your rock bottom, and let it spur you on to become a better person,” says Porter, who names guilt as one of her top five hobbies as a middle-aged, middle-class, left-leaning ex-Catholic. Box office: 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk.
Barbara Dickson: Reflecting on her career in music and musical theatre at All Saints Church, Pocklington, and Leeds City Varieties
Folk gigs of the week: Hurricane Promotions present Barbara Dickson & Nick Holland, All Saints Church, Pocklington, Friday (sold out) and October 16, 7.30pm. Also Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, October 20, 7.30pm
SCOTTISH folk singer Barbara Dickson and her pianist Nick Holland explore her catalogue of songs in these acoustic concerts in intimate settings, where the pair will let the words and melodies take centre stage as they draw on Dickson’s folk roots, contemporary greats and her classic hits, from Another Suitcase In Another Hall to I Know Him So Well. Box office: barbaradickson.net; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Festival of the week: York Unlocked 2024, Saturday and Sunday
IN its third year, York Unlocked welcomes residents and visitors to experience York’s architecture and open spaces with the chance to discover, explore and enjoy around 50 sites.
This year’s new addition is a children’s trail book; families can pick up a free copy from York Explore Library, All Saints’ Church, North Street, or The Guildhall. Full details of the participating locations, from Spark: York to City Screen Picturehouse, Terry’s Factory Clock Tower to Bishopthorpe Palace, Holgate Windmill to York Railway Station, can be found at york-unlocked.org.uk. Entry is free, including for those requiring booking.
Stevie Williams & The Most Wanted Band: Heading to Helmsley
“Wild journey” of the week: Stevie Williams & The Most Wanted Band, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
LED by powerhouse vocalist Stevie Williams, The Most Wanted Band take their audiences on a wild musical journey with tight grooves, searing guitar solos and a rhythm section that hits with precision in an accomplished, high-energy, explosive show. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Courtney Brown: From playing Ado Annie in Oklahoma! to assistant-directing Pickering Musical Society’s Wonders Of The West End
Ryedale musical show of the week: Pickering Musical Society, Wonders Of The West End, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, October 10 to 13, 7.30pm
PICKERING Musical Society performs the best of British musicals, from the early 20th century to current hits next week, when the full company will be joined once again by Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance students. Lesser-known gems will complement show-stopping favourites.
Regular performer Courtney Brown, seen latterly as the Princess in Aladdin and Ado Annie in Oklahoma!, steps up to the role of assistant director alongside regular director Luke Arnold after expressing an interest in directing. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Sharleen Spiteri: Fronting Texas at Scarborough Open Air Theatre next summer
Gig announcement of the week: Texas, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, July 26 2025
SCOTTISH band Texas, fronted as ever by Sharleen Spiteri, will return to Scarborough Open Air Theatre for the first time since July 2018 to showcase five decades of songs, from I Don’t Want A Lover, Say What You Want and Summer Son to Inner Smile, Mr Haze and Keep On Talking next summer. Tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday at scarboroughopenairtheatre.co.uk and ticketmaster.co.uk. Irish rock band The Script are confirmed already for July 5.
