York Musical Society: March and June concerts cancelled
YORK Musical Society’s next two concerts on March 28 and June 13 at York Minster have been cancelled in light of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Chair Irene Plaistowe says: “We had already taken this decision when the Minster announced that it was shutting its doors. We did not wish to put at risk members of the public or YMS members.
The March 28 concert, Requiem Aeternam, would have featured Fauré’s Requiem and Michael Haydn’s Requiem. June 13’s programme, Splendours Of The Baroque, comprised Vivaldi’s Gloria, Marcello’s Trumpet Concerto in D minor and Handel’s Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba and Coronation Anthems.
“Our tickets were sold through the Minster box office, so they will contact anyone who bought a ticket online to arrange a refund,” says Irene. “If a ticket was bought in person or over the phone, contact the Minster box office in the same way you bought your ticket. Everyone will get a refund.”
Nothing happening full stop. Now, with time on your frequently washed hands, home is where the art is and plenty else besides
Exit 10 Things To See Next Week in York and beyond for the unforeseeable future. Enter home entertainment, wherever you may be, whether still together or in isolation, in the shadow of the Coronavirus pandemic. From behind his closed door, CHARLES HUTCHINSON makes these suggestions.
Compiling your Desert Island Discs
CREATE your own Desert Island Discs and accompanying reasons, should you ever be called to answer Lauren Laverne’s questions on the BBC Radio 4 Sunday morning staple. Cue Eric Coates’s opening theme, By The Sleepy Lagoon, then your eight music choices, one book choice, one luxury.
Then play your list, but cutting it down to eight will be much harder than you first expect.
Make a cut-out of Lauren Laverne and do your own edition of Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs, suggestion number two
AND while you are about it, also take every opportunity to raid the Beeb’s Desert Island Discs back catalogue at BBC Sounds. Recommendations? Ian Wright, former footballer, turned broadcaster; Dr John Cooper Clarke, sage Salford stick insect and man of multitudinous words; Kathy Burke, Camden Town actress, comedian, writer, producer and director.
Make a timetable for the day
LIKE you would at work…though this timetable may not be possible, if indeed you are working from home.
Nevertheless, should the time need passing, allow, say, an hour for each activity, be it writing; reading; playing board games at the stipulated distances apart or card games, which can be done on your own, such as Patience; watching a movie, maybe a long-neglected DVD rescued from a dusty shelf; or whatever else is on your list.
“Puzzles are wonderfully relaxing yet keep the brain very active ,” says jigsaw enthusiast and York actor Ian Giles
Re-discover a childhood joy
PLUCKING one out of the air, how about jigsaw puzzles, a favourite of Mother Hutch and Granny Pyman before her.
“They are wonderfully relaxing yet keep the brain very active and there’s a feeling of creative satisfaction on completion,” recommends York actor Ian Giles, a devotee of such puzzle solving.
Singing
YORK singer Jessa Liversidge runs the Singing For All choir, as heard savouring I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing at Big Ian’s A Night To Remember at a packed York Barbican (remember those days?) on Leap Year Saturday.
Now, abiding by the Government’s Avoid Unnecessary Social Contact advice, to keep people singing, she is planning a range of online singing opportunities to suit not only her Singing For All and Easingwold Community Singers folks, but “any frustrated singers”. “Get in touch to find out how to join,” says Jessa, whose Twitter account is @jessaliversidge. She posts regularly.
Still on song: York singer Jessa Liversidge would like to reach the world to sing online
Lighting a candle
THE Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend Dr John Sentamu, is asking us all to place a lighted candle in our window at 7pm this coming Sunday “as a sign of solidarity and hope in the light of Christ that can never be extinguished”.
Baking
ALL those cookbooks that you bought for the nice pictures, but have never opened since, are bursting with opportunities to try out a new dish…if the supermarket shelves have not been emptied by 10 o’clock in the morning.
Why not raid the store cupboard too, check the dates (and the dried dates from last Christmas) and see if anything may come in handy. The likelihood is more and more hours will have to be spent at home; this is a chance to stretch your culinary skills.
Candlelight: The Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend Dr John Sentamu’s Sunday request
Gardening
HOPEFULLY, going for walks, maintaining a safe, previously anti-social distance, will still be a possibility, as advocated by Prime Minister Johnson, until otherwise stated.
If not, or if isolation is your way ahead, spring is in the air, gardens are turning green, the grass is growing. Gardening will surely be one of the unbroken joys of the ever-so-uncertain path that lies ahead.
Should you not have a garden, windowsills are havens for green-fingered pursuits: the seeds of much content.
And what about…
Podcasts. Books. More podcasts. More books. Box sets (yawn). Discovering a new band online, or maybe an old one you had long neglected. Writing a 10 Things like this one. Reading Bard of Barnsley Ian McMillan’s morning Tweets, or any time of day, in fact. Reading York musician and motivational speaker Big Ian Donaghy’s perennially positive thoughts for the day @trainingcarers, BIGIAN #DEMENTIAisAteamGAME. Watch Channel 4 News, especially Jon Snow, one bright-tied 72 year old who should defy the imminent Government “curfew” on the over-70s. (UPDATE: 19/3/2020. Or maybe not. Tonight he broadcast from his central London home.)
Poetry in motion: Ian McMillan’s joyous Tweets from his early-morning walks
And finally…
PLEASE stop flicking through social media at every turn…except for displays of the ever-so-British black humour in response to the new C-word.
Any suggestions for further editions of 10 Things To Do At Home And Beyond are most welcome. Please send to charles.hutchinson104@gmail.com
SATURDAY’S
Pizzafest live music and pizza event at the Fulford Arms, York, has been called
off.
Dan Gott,
from event curators Snakerattlers, says: “Unfortunately, we’ve had to
cancel Pizzafest this coming weekend due to the current Covid-19
situation.
“All the
bands on the line-up will be playing at another Pizzafest in the future, when
things have calmed down. We suggest you keep your ticket for the next
Pizzafest, as it will still be valid.”
Before
Monday’s Government statement on avoiding unnecessary social contact in pubs, Dan
had said, “all being well”, he hoped a Pizzafest could take place in June. Instead,
the date now will be announced in due course.
“Ticket
purchasers for Saturday are entitled to a £10 refund, which can be made by
emailing thefulfordarms@gmail.com,”
he added.
Saturday’s Pizzafest would have been an all-day event with “a wealth of tip-top, dance-til-you-drop, underground garage rock bands from throughout the UK”. Half way through, a truckload of free pizza would have arrived, with the invitation to “eat as much as you like”.
The line-up was to have included York motorpunk rockers Segregates launching their new vinyl single, Preach To Me. On the bill too were Snakerattlers; Thee Girl Fridays; The Strays; The Sleazoids; Surf Muscle; Hellfire Jack; The Bikini Bottoms; What’s Wrong With Homer?; Percy and Gillman.
THURSDAY’S Dementia Friendly Tea Concert at St Chad’s Church, Campleshon
Road, York, has been cancelled, in response to the latest Government advice on
the Coronavirus outbreak.
Husband and wife Robert and Alison Gammon, on piano and clarinet, were to have played a 45-minute programme of classical music at 2.30pm, featuring Camille Saint-Saens’ Clarinet Sonata and Niels Gade’s Fantasy Pieces, to be followed by tea, coffee and homemade cakes.
Organisers Alison Gammon and Nick Nightingale say: “We have lots of
events planned for later in the year and we are looking forward to
welcoming you back as soon as possible. When holding the concerts once
again becomes advisable, we will email everyone and let you know. In
the meantime we send our sincere best wishes to you all.”
SELBY
Town Hall is cancelling all public ticketed events from today initially until
the end of April.
The
decision has been taken “in light of the Prime Minister’s announcement
yesterday and the UK government’s instructions regarding social distancing”.
A
statement from Selby Town Council arts officer Chris Jones said: “This is a
fast-changing situation, and we will be monitoring advice from the Government
and Public Health England on a day-by-day basis to inform our course of action
from May onwards.
“Rest assured that the health of our customers, performers,
volunteers and staff is our highest priority.”
The Selby Town Hall auditorium
Selby Town Hall will be contacting all ticket holders “as soon as
we can”. “It may be possible to rearrange some performances either for later in
the year or early 2021, while others will sadly be cancelled altogether,” said
Chris.
“To all our customers, you are fantastic. We are incredibly grateful for the support you have given, and continue to give, to the venue. We ask for your patience while our small team deal with what is an unprecedented situation.
“It will take us a few days to establish new dates for shows or confirm full cancellations. The most important message for the moment is not to travel to shows here in the near future, to stay safe, and to look after one another. We will be in touch with you all individually in due course.”
POCKLINGTON Arts Centre is closing its doors to the public with effect from today in response to the Government’s Coronavirus measures, but vows to re-emerge “stronger and more vibrant than ever” in its 20th anniversary year.
A statement released by director Janet Farmer and venue manager James Duffy this morning said: “In the light of the Government’s latest advice for people to avoid non-essential contact, we have taken the decision to close PAC to the public as of today (Tuesday, March 17).
“The health and safety of our staff, visitors, artists and volunteers is of utmost importance to us and therefore we do not feel it is prudent to remain open to the public at this time.”
Their statement continues: “We don’t know yet how long this closure will last, but this will be at least until Easter 2020 [mid-April]. Further updates will be announced in due course.
“During this period, it is critical that we continue to support our staff, artists and creative partners. We will be working closely with our peers across the region and indeed the country, and we are determined that PAC will emerge from this challenge stronger and more vibrant than ever. We will be publishing more on this in the coming days.”
Anyone who has booked a ticket or is due to attend a public event at PAC will be contacted by the box-office team over the next few days to organise a refund and/or discuss the cancellation.
Robert Plant: booked to headline this summer’s Platform Festival with his new band Saving Grace
“Tickets can be refunded but we would ask you to consider supporting the
venue and artists by not accepting a refund, if you are able to afford to,” suggested
the statement. “We will of course try to reschedule events, but this may take
some time, so please bear with us in these very challenging times.”
Pocklington Arts Centre will be setting up a crowdfunding page later
this week. “We’ll publish details of this on our social media accounts,” said
Janet and James. “If you feel able to donate to this, your support would be
most welcome to help secure the long-term future of the venue.”
The statement concluded: “Please visit our social media channels and
website [pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk] for daily/weekly updates and as to when
PAC will reopen.
“Many thanks for your understanding. We very much appreciate your patience in
this unprecedented situation. Take care and keep safe.”
Pocklington Arts Centre’s spring and summer programme to mark the East
Yorkshire venue’s 20th anniversary was launched on March 6 with a
party night of New Orleans Mardi Gras jazz by the New York Brass Band.
Planned as the epicentre of the celebrations is the fifth Platform
Festival of music and comedy, hosted by PAC at The Old Station, with the
headline attraction of Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant’s new project, Saving
Grace, on July 10.
Full details can be found at platformfestival.net and
pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
HAS there ever been a more cynical, anti-arts, pro-insurance industry posh pals statement from Prime Minister Johnson than yesterday’s first Coronavirus daily briefing?
For one so notoriously careless with words, despite his love of a luxuriant lexicon, his careful avoidance of enforcing a shutdown of pubs, clubs, theatres etc, in favour of merely recommending “avoiding unnecessary social” interaction, effectively amounts to washing his and his Government’s hands of the future of one of the power houses of British life: the entertainment industry.
No formal closures means no chance of insurance pay-outs. In an already increasingly intolerant, Right-veering Britain, with its Brexit V-sign to Europe, could it be this is another way to try to suffocate and stifle our potent, provocative, influential, politically challenging, counter-thinking, all-embracing, anti-divisive, collective-spirited, often radical, always relevant, life-enriching, rather than rich-enriching, font of free expression, protest and empowerment?
Was this the day the music died?
History shows that the arts, the pubs, the theatres, the counter-culture, has always found a way to bite back, to fight back, often at times of greatest repression and depression. No Margaret Thatcher, no Specials’ Ghost Town.
We and our very necessary social interactions shall be back, hopefully after only a short break. Meanwhile, we are all in the hands of science, that equally progressive bedfellow to the arts.
Lights out: Ellen Kent Company’s La Boheme at the Grand Opera House on Friday falls victim to Coronavirus social contact measures
THE Grand Opera House, York, is suspending all shows with immediate effect in light of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Coronavirus statement to “avoid unnecessary social contact”.
Mark Cornell, group chief executive officer of the Ambassador Theatre Group, the theatre’s owners, has issued a group-wide statement. “In response to the Prime Minister’s statement this evening, advising the UK public to avoid unnecessary social contact, including in theatres, we regret to inform you that shows in all Ambassador Theatre Group UK venues are temporarily suspended with immediate effect,” he said.
“We understand that this decision comes as a disappointment, and a massive inconvenience for those of you already on the way to a venue this evening, but ultimately we all want the same thing: the health and safety of our communities, and we believe this is the correct decision to make.”
Mr Cornell’s statement continued: “Given the current ambiguity and lack of clarity as to how long our theatres may be closed for, we hope to provide you with an update within the next 48 hours regarding the exchange of tickets. We will be consulting with industry bodies including the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre and the government over the immediate future.
“For now, we would like to thank you for your understanding and patience,
and to recognise the incredible efforts and support of producers, artists,
partners and customers over this difficult period.”
The Grand Opera House has no show tonight, but Round The Horne is in the diary for Wednesday; Psychic Sally, 10 Years And Counting for Thursday; Ellen Kent Company’s La Boheme for Friday and Madama Butterfly for Saturday, and the musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story for March 24 to 28.
Meanwhile, Tom Bird, executive director of York Theatre Royal, was holding a meeting this evening. A statement will follow.
Still on…then off: Jimmy Dalgleish as Tom, left, Olivia Caley as Hattie and Jack Hambleton asTom in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Tom’s Midnight Garden. Picture: Matthew Kitchen
Tonight’s 7.30pm performance of Tom’s Midnight Garden at the John Cooper Studio, Theatre @41 Monkate, York IS going ahead, but Pick Me Up Theatre artistic director Robert Readman will call off this week’s run after that.
His Twitter statement at 6.38pm this evening read: “In light of the Government’s latest measures, we will be closing Tom’s Midnight Garden after tonight’s show. Do come if you have tix for another day and we will accommodate as many as possible. We are also sad to announce the postponement of Sondheim 90 and The Pirates Of Penzance. “
Sondheim 90: A Birthday Concert, in celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday was to have taken place on Sunday; Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates Of Penzance from April 17 to 25, both at 41 Monkgate.
The poster for Sheridan Smith’s return to playing Cilla Black, this time on tour in Cilla The Musical
SHERIDAN Smith will revisit
her portrayal of Cilla Black in Cilla The Musical at Leeds Grand Theatre from
November 9 to 21.
She first played the late Liverpool
pop star and television presenter in Jeff Pope’s award-winning ITV mini-series
Cilla in 2015.
The part was written for Smith originally for a stage show but was then transferred to television, whereupon her performance won her a 2015 National TV Award and TV Choice Award and she was nominated for a BAFTA and EMMY Award too.
Now, expecting a baby in May, 38-year-old Smith has agreed to step inside the role of Cilla once more in impresario Bill Kenwright’s stage production, penned again by Pope.
Sheridan Smith in the role of Cilla Black for ITV’s 2015 mini-series Cilla
Her past theatre credits include her first Olivier Award nomination for Little Shop Of Horrors at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London, and her first Olivier Award and WhatsOnStage Award for playing Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical.
Smith, from Epworth, near Doncaster, then won an Olivier Award and an Evening Standard Theatre Award for her role as Doris in Flare Path. Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler at The Old Vic brought her another WhatsOnStage Best Actress Award and she enjoyed a celebrated run in the West End as Fanny Bryce in Funny Girl in 2018.
Cilla The Musical’s heart-warming musical adaptation of Pope’s television series first toured in 2017, when nominated for Best New Musical in the WhatsOnStage Awards.
Kara Lily Hayworth played Cilla after
ten rounds of auditions and a final four sing-off at The Cavern in Liverpool
for the tour that visited the Grand Opera House, York, in January 2018.
Kara Lily Hayworth played Cilla in the tour of Cilla The Musical that visited the Grand Opera House, York, in January 2018
Directed by Kenwright and Bob Tomson,
Pope’s story “follows the extraordinary life of an ordinary teenage girl from
Liverpool, Priscilla White, and her rocky, yet incredible, rise to fame”.
By the age of 25, she was recognised as
international singing star Cilla Black. By 30, she had become Britain’s
favourite television entertainer, leading to such series as Blind Date and Surprise Surprise.
The musical score features such Cilla landmarks as Anyone Who Had A Heart, Alfie and Something Tells Me.
Tickets are on sale on 0844 848 2700
or at leedsgrandtheatre.com.
Did you know?
JEFF Pope wrote the screenplays for Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman; Essex Boys; Philomenaand Stan & Ollie. His television work includes the BAFTA-winning ITV drama Mrs Biggs and Cilla, both starring Sheridan Smith.
THERE’S still life in the boyz! Boyzlife, the supergroup of Irish boy
band graduates Brian McFadden, from Westlife, and Boyzone’s Keith Duffy, will
play York Barbican on October 15.
Their live show is drawn from a joint back catalogue of 18 number one
singles, nine chart-topping albums and combined global record sales of 60
million. Expect to hear World Of Our Own, Mandy, Uptown Girl and Flying Without
Wings among many fan favourites.
First playing together in 2016, Boyzlife embarked on part one of their
2020 travels on February 1 at Hull Bonus Arena, selling more than 35,000
tickets for a 32-date tour that will run until March 28, with limited tickets
still available for Sheffield City Hall on March 24 (box office, 0114 2
789 789 or sheffieldcityhall.co.uk).
Part two of the tour is booked in for September 1 to November 1, taking in
further Yorkshire dates at Victoria Theatre, Halifax, on September 10, The
Dome, Doncaster, October 17, and Scarborough Spa, October 23.
McFadden, 39, featured on all Westlife’s number one singles and albums before
leaving in 2004, since when he has released five albums and 17 singles in a
solo career launched with the UK number one Real To Me in September 2004.
Duffy, 45,finished touring with Boyzone on October 25 last year
on their Thank You And Goodnight Tour after six UK number one singles and five
number one albums in a career where he also has branched out into acting in
Coronation Street, Broken Nation and Fair City.
York tickets go on sale from today on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office; Halifax, 01422 351158 or victoriatheatre.co.uk; Doncaster, 01302 370777 and 08442 770700 or dcit.co.uk; Scarborough, 01723 821888 or scarbroughspa.co.uk.
