Category: Music

Posted on

More Things To Do in York and beyond as wizards and Stars Wars take over. Here Hutch’s List No. 21 from The York Press

The Wizard of York, Dan Wood, sets his spellbinding WizardFest in motion for three magical days. Picture: The Story Of You

NOT only a new festival of wizardry, but Charles Hutchinson has plenty more wizard ideas too for the Bank Holiday weekend and beyond the wand.

Enchanting festival of the week:  WizardFest, waving a wand over York, today to Monday

ORGANISED by The Wizard of York, Dan Wood, York’s first ever festival of wizardry promises 25 activities, events, workshops and fantastical food and drink, featuring  the city’s most magical businesses.

Highlights include Wizard Walk of York walks; a Brick Magic LEGO workshop; screenings of the first three Harry Potter films at City Screen Picturehouse; Professor Kettlestring’s Puzzling World needing  help to defeat dark wizard Mortius Darktrix; The Cat Gallery’s Black Cat Trail and Make It York’s Owl Trail; Monday’s Magical Night Market at Shambles Market and a fancy dress parade between St Helen’s Square and York Minster at 3pm on Monday. Plan your magical itinerary and make bookings at wizardwalkofyork.com/wizardfest.

York Printmakers’ poster for the 2025 Festival of Print

“More than an exhibition” of the week: York Printmakers, Festival of Print, 22 High Petergate, York, until July 20, open every Friday and Saturday, 10am to 5pm, and Sundays, 10am to 4pm

YORK Printmakers celebrate creativity, craft and community in a curated exhibition of original prints, from linocut and etching to screenprint and collagraph, complemented by demonstrations, talks and workshops. Visitors can explore the stories and processes behind each piece and meet the makers behind the art.

“This year’s festival is more than an exhibition,” say the organisers. “It’s an invitation to discover, to ask questions and to support York artists keeping traditional and contemporary printmaking alive.” Entry is free.

Festival Of The Force: The Star Wars convention from another galaxy, here in York

Film convention of the week: Festival Of The Force, York Railway Institute, Queen Street, York, Sunday, 10am to 5pm

MAY the Force be with you for this Star Wars convention, Festival Of The Force, whose mission is to deliver an immersive experience in celebration  of the Star Wars universe while building a strong sense of community among collectors, fans, and cosplayers of all ages. Look out for a galaxy of merchandise, celebrity appearances and fan-led events. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk/e/festival-of-the-force-tickets.

Wanted in York: Julian Clary swaps guns for puns and putdowns in A Fistful Of Clary on Sunday

Camp sight of the week: Julian Clary in A Fistful Of Clary, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

JULIAN Clary goes Western as he saddles up for entendres at the double, sure that the men in the audience won’t be able to keep their hands off his Rawhide.

The lucky few will play with him on stage in the Hang‘em Low saloon, but life in the Old West was tough. Not all of Julian’s wild bunch will be around to witness the final shoot-out when he gives himself selflessly at high noon to the last man standing. Tickets update for Clary’s pun fight: still available at atgtickets.com/york.

Sophie Ellis Bextor: Disco nights at York Barbican and York Racecourse

Dancefloor diva at the double: Sophie Ellis Bextor, York Barbican, May 26, Spring Bank Holiday Monday, 7.30pm; York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend 2025, July 25, after 8.23pm last race  

“IT will be wonderful to bring the disco fun to everyone,” says Sophie Ellis Bextor, lockdown queen of the Kitchen Disco online sessions, as she heads to York twice. Buoyed by Murder On The Dancefloor’s appearance in the final scene of Emerald Fennell’s film Saltburn returning her 2001 smash to number two in the UK charts, she takes to the road with a career-spanning set also featuring  Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love), Take Me Home (A Girl Like Me) and Freedom Of The Night.

The former lead singer of theaudience will be joined by special guest Natasha Bedingfield for the post-racing concert on Knavesmire in July. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk (last few tickets); yorkracecourse.co.uk.

Jon Mills’s cast for Miles Salter’s short play One Step Beyond, premiering at the Black Swan Inn next week

Premiere of the week: Yortk Settlement Community Players presents Miles Salter’s One Step Beyond, Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York, May 26 to 28, 7.30pm

STEVE and Kerry have been married a long time. Steve’s vinyl collection may tear them apart. Luckily they have a counsellor…and Steve’s friend Boring Ryan on hand to help them out. It must be love, love, love. Jon Mills directs Stuart Green, Pamela Gourlay, Liz Quinlan, Chris Meadley and Jess Murray in York writer Miles Salter’s short play for YSCP’s Direct Approach project. Tickets to enter this House of Fun:  £5, pay on the door, cash or card.

Victoria Delaney, left, and Clare Halliday in rehearsal for York Actors Collective’s production of Tiger Country at Theatre@41, Monkgate

Hospital drama of the week: York Actors Collective in Tiger Country, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, May 27 to 31, 7.30pm, Tuesday to Friday; 2.30pm and 6pm, Saturday

NINA Raine’s doctors-and-nurses drama, last performed at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2014, is revived by Angie Millard’s company York Actors Collective.

This fast-paced play considers doctors’ dilemmas as a range of clinical and ethical issues come under the spotlight in a busy hospital. Professionalism and prejudice, turbulent staff romances, ambition and failure collide as Raine depicts an overburdened health service and the dedicated individuals that keep it going. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Nick Mohammed’s alter-ego, Mr Swallow, in Show Pony, cantering into the Grand Opera House next week and in the autumn. Picture: Matt Crockett

Comedy gig of the week: Nick Mohammed Is Mr Swallow in Show Pony, Grand Opera House, York, May 28 and October 23, 7.30pm

COMEDIAN, writer, Ted Lasso regular and Taskmaster loser Nick Mohammed transforms into his alter-ego, Mr Swallow in Show Pony, a new show that will “cover everything from not having his own sitcom to not having his own sitcom… and everything in between (critical race theory). As per – expect magic, music and a whole load of brand-new mistakes”.  Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Sir Tim Rice: Mulling over a life in musicals at the Grand Opera House, York

Musical knight of the week: Sir Tim Rice, My Life In Musicals – I Know Him So Well, Grand Opera House, York, May 29,7.30pm

LYRICIST supreme Sir Tim Rice reflects on his illustrious career at the heart of musical theatre, sharing anecdotes behind the songs, both the hits and the misses, complemented by stories of his life and live performances by leading West End singers and musicians, led by musical director Duncan Waugh. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Posted on

More Things To Do in York and beyond Gary Oldman’s exit stage left, minus bananas. Hutch’s List No. 20, from The York Press

Bull: “Reverse headlining” Sunday’s bill at the By The Blue Bridge Festival on the Arts Barge

First published on May 17 2025

AS the Arts Barge launches a new season and Mikron head to an allotment, Charles Hutchinson welcomes signs of the summer season ahead.

Festival of the week: By The Blue Bridge, Arts Barge, Foss Basin, York, today (17/5/2025) and tomorrow

BULL bassist, illustrator and designer Kai West and Rowan & Friends curator and frontman Rowan Evans launch the Arts Barge’s 2025 season with the By The Blue Bridge festival of music and art.

Today features free workshops from 11am to 2pm, including Water Poetry with Becca Drake, Digital Plotting with Des Clarke and a Sound Workshop led by a collective from the Hague. Musical acts from 3pm will be Sinead Una, Rowan & Friends, Captain Starlet, Gaia Blandina, Slagroom, Des Clarke, Gabriella Hunzinger and The Rattlers.

Sunday’s theme is “Folky and Weird”, kicking off with an open-mic session from 12 noon to 2pm, followed by “reverse headliners” Bull at 4pm, plus Oli, We Are Hannah, Mugwort, Kirk, Big Rain In The Morning, The Caterpillars and headliners Milkweed. Box office https://wegottickets.com/f/13779/.

Bella Gaffney: The Magpies’ folk musician plays solo at Rise@Bluebird Bakery tonight. Picture: Esme Mai

Folk gig of the week: Bella Gaffney, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, tonight (17/5/2025), 7.30pm

FOLK troubadour and guitarist Bella Gaffney, one third of The Magpies, weaves together original compositions and traditional tunes from British folk and Americana traditions, as heard on her 2023 album Reflections. Support act Jake Robinson sings soulful interpretations of folk classics and jazz-inspired originals. Box office: eventbrite.com/e/bella-gaffney.

This summer, The Magpies will be hosting their annual festival at Sutton Park, Sutton on the Forest, near York, on August 8 and 9. Tickets are on sale at themagpiesfestival.co.uk.

Mikron Theatre Company actor-musicians Georgina Liley, left, James McLean, Robert Took and Catherine Warnock in Operation Beach Hut, on tour at Scarcroft Allotments, York, on Sunday. Picture: Robling Photography

Outdoor entertainment of the week: Mikron Theatre Company in Operation Beach Hut, Scarcroft Allotments, Scarcroft Road, York, Sunday (18/5/2025), 2pm

HARVEY Badger’s Operation Beach Hut whisks Sunday afternoon’s audience away to the golden sands of Fiddling-On-Sea for the annual Best Beach Hut competition as stressed-out city dweller seeks solace by the sea. As the competition day draws closer, the history of the seaside floats to the surface, washing up a host of characters and stories from centuries gone by. Soon Holly realises far more is at stake than a prize for best beach hut.

Marianne McNamara’s cast of four actor-musicians, Georgina Liley, Robert Took, Catherine Warnock and returnee James McLean, combine Marsden company Mikron’s theatrical trademarks of storytelling, original songs and live music with the guarantee of a whale of a time. No tickets required; a pay-what –you-feel collection will be taken post-show.

Harry Hill: New Bits & Greatest Hits shake up the Grand Opera House on Sunday fun day

Get on board the laughter train: Harry Hill, New Bits & Greatest Hits, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday (18/5/2025), 7.30pm

JOIN Harry Hill on his on his Diamond Jubilee lap of honour in celebration of 60 glorious years of fun, laughter and low-level disruption. Marvel as he offers new insights into the hot topics of the day from the culture wars to the origins of Tiramisu.

Guffaw with delight as big-collared Harry delves into his back catalogue, using his patented Old Bit Randomiser tom reactivate old favourites. Look out for son Gary, Stouffer The Cat, the Badger Parade with guest appearances from The Knitted Character and Abu Hamster, plus the chance for one lucky audience member to join Harry in a double act. Box office: for returns only, atgtickets.com/york.

Nikita Kuzmin: From Strictly Come Dancing star to Cinderella-style dance drama of star-crossed lovers in Midnight Dancer

Dance drama of the week: Nikita Kuzmin in Midnight Dancer, Grand Opera House, York, May 20, 7.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing’s Ukrainian star dancer and choreographer Nikita Kuzmin leaps into York in his debut British and Irish solo tour: “a fairytale ball like no other and a night full of music, sequins, and world- class dancing”.

A company of dancers and West End singer Rebecca Lisewski join him in a classic romance story as two star-crossed lovers meet only to be torn apart in this modern-day Cinderella dance drama. Will they reunite at the masked ball, or will real life put an end to their fairytale fantasy? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Sisters doing it for themselves: Hayley Bamford’s Deloris Van Cartier, centre, leading the nuns in song in Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy

Nun better musical of the week: York Musical Theatre Company in Sister Act: A Divine Musical Company, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, May 21 to 24, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

KATHRYN Addison directs York Musical Theatre Company in Alan Menken’s American musical with Hayley Bamford in the sassy role of “novice nun” Deloris Van Cartier.

When club singer Deloris witnesses nightclub owner Curtis Jackson (Zander Fick), commit murder, the police hide her in a convent, where she meets the Mother Superior (Kirstin Grififths) and an ensemble of 22 nuns. Cue multiple upbeat numbers as friendships grow and the convent is saved from financial ruin. Hallelujah!  Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Switch way now? Thomas Frere and Cal Stockbridge in Clap Trap Theatre’s Switcheroo, the play told two ways, as comedy, then in serious mode. Picture: Jay Sillence

Role-swapping play of the week: Clap Trap Theatre in Switcheroo, York Theatre Royal Studio, May 22 to 24, 7.45pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Post-show discussion, May 23. Also Hemsley Arts Centre, May 31, 7.30pm

TOM Needham’s play Switcheroo is based on the simple premise that “it’s not what you say, it’s the way that you say it”. Presented by Ryedale company Clap Trap Theatre, the story follows three siblings who, when it comes to scattering their mother’s ashes, are hit with a bombshell revelation that turns their world upside down.

The first act is a full-blown, larger-than-life comedy, whereupon the actors swap characters to repeat it as a serious drama. Paul Birch directs a cast of Thomas Frere (Alex/Sam), Clap Trap co-founder Cal Stockbridge (Sam/Pat) and Dominic Goodwin (Pat/Alex). Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Paul Chowdhry: On tour in Englandia at York Barbican on Friday

Comedy gig of the week: Paul Chowdhry, Englandia, York Barbican, May 23, 7.30pm

PAUL Chowdhry, the most successful British Indian stand-up comedian in British history, heads to York on his 41-date itinerary. “After more than a quarter of a century and half my

life on comedy stages, it’s time for my biggest tour ever,” says The Paul Chowdhry PudCast podcaster. “I hope to see you there. If not, I’ll be in massive debt and doing benefit gigs for the foreseeable future.” To help Chowdhry avoid that scenario, book tickets at yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Neigh sayer: Elf Lyons horsing around at Theatre@41, Monkgate

Horse show of the year: Elf Lyons: Horses, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, May 23, 8pm

WELCOME to the first ever comedy show performed entirely by a horse. Made by award-winning comedian, clown, theatre practitioner and teacher Elf Lyons, performed by Treacle. Horse box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk

Posted on

REVIEW: York Musical Theatre Company in Sister Act, A Divine Musical Comedy, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York ****

Hayley Bamford’s Deloris Van Cartier, now hiding as Sister Mary Clarence, centre, in York Musical Theatre Company’s Sister Act, A Divine Musical Comedy. Picture Lucy Baines, Joy Photography

AFTER York Stage Musicals’ York premiere in 2014 and Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver’s Mother Superior and Landi Oshinowo’s Deloris Van Cartier on tour at the Grand Opera House in  2024, Sister Act, A Divine Musical Comedy returns to the city in Kathryn Addison’s hands in 2025.

You can see why companies are making a habit of staging Alan Menken’s Broadway and West End musical spin on Emile Ardolino’s 1992 movie. We know nuns en masse are fun from the film, so full of cheery daftness.

Then add Motown, funk, soul and disco pastiches and even a brief burst of rap by Little Shop Of Horrors’ maestro Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater and a sassy book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellener, steeped in the original spirit and re-booted with theatrical camp sparkle.

Jack Hooper’s Eddie Souther performing I Could Be That Guy. Picture: Lucy Baines, Joy Photography

It has been the norm for the likes of Alexandra Burke at Leeds Grand Theatre and Cleopatra Rey for York Stage to whoop up the lead role of lounge singer Deloris in the Whoopi Goldberg manner, but the movie part was first offered to Bette Midler.

Step forward Hayley Bamford, and, wham-bam, Bamford still stands out from her fellow wimple wearers, on account of her height, her strut and her soul-filled lung power.

We lose the nods to Richard Roundtree movies, Pam Grier and Shaft, but Addison’s smart production still echoes the American Seventies of Studio 54, Saturday Night Fever and Telly Savalas’s Kojak (although the programme states Act I is set at Christmas 1997 in Philadelphia, New Jersey).

Director Kathryn Addison, right, in rehearsal with Kirsten Griffiths (Mother Superior), right, and Hayley Bamford (Deloris Van Cartier)

Bamford’s Deloris has been placed in protective custody by gun-shy, profusely sweaty cop Eddie Souther (Jack Hooper) after witnessing her cool but cruel mobster lover  Curtis Jackson (Zander Fick) commit murder.

She may sing Take Me To Heaven, but Curtis has taken her closer to hell. Now she must flee from the Mafia’s clutches into the safety and sanctity of the Queen Of Angels convent, whose stained glass frames double as the nightclub decor.

Bamford’s irrepressible Deloris kicks the habits into shape, transferring the sisters’ hapless, off-key singing from doleful into soulful and herself into a divine diva. In doing so, she impresses Monsignor O’Hara (Rob Davies); exasperates the earnest Mother Superior (Kirsten Griffiths, whose singing hits the spectacular heights); re-invigorates the rundown neighbourhood’s church services and coffers, and rekindles the flame in Eddie’s schooldays crush.

Philadelphia mobster Curtis Jackson (Zander Fick, second from left) and his hoodlums, Eddie (Jonathan Wells), TJ (James Dickinson), Pablo (Adam Gill) and Joey (Joe Marucci). Picture: Lucy Baines, Joy Photography

Addison directs with an eye to both individual expression and collective impact, bringing an irreverent edge to the comedy and fabulous flair and fun to the choreography, while musical director John Atkin’s11-strong orchestra are as soulful as James Brown’s band The J.B.’s.

Bamford is feisty, lippy, funny and a natural show leader; Hopper’s amusing Eddie pulls at the heart strings; Eve Clark, in her gap year after A-levels, announces her singing talent as Sister Mary Robert; Fick’s Curtis, with his cigarette-card moustache,  is a matine-idol villain, and Katie Melia, so “super excited to be playing Sister Mary Patrick”, is exactly that in her scene-stealing role.

Look out too for Sandy Nicholson’s Sister Mary Lazarus, rapping in shades, and the bungling badinage of Curtis’s hoodlums, Joe Marucci’s Joey, James Dickinson’s TJ, Adam Gill’s Pablo and Jonathan Wells’s soon-to-be-deadie Eddie. All’s well that ends up Wells, however, as he has three further cameos, topped by a camp flurry as a drag queen.

Sister Act, A Divine Musical Comedy, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, until Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: limited availability on 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Posted on

Jessa Liversidge to perform A Tapestry Of Life concert for Mental Health Awareness Week at The Courthouse, Thirsk. Further concerts to follow in York & Husthwaite

Easingwold singer and workshop leader Jessa Liversidge, left, with her poet sister Andrea Brown

First published on May 16 2025

EASINGWOLD singer, songwriter and community singing workshop champion Jessa Liversidge will perform A Tapestry Of Life today (16/5/2025) as part of Rural Arts’ Mental Health Awareness Week at The Courthouse, Thirsk, at 6.30pm.

Jessa’s 60-minute, one-woman musical performance, inspired by Carole King’s  album Tapestry, features such much-loved songs as You’ve Got A Friend, Will You Love Me  Tomorrow?, It’s Too Late, So Far Away, I Feel The Earth Move and Natural Woman, interspersed with original songs, rooted in the powerful poetry of Jessa’s sister, Andrea Brown, from her Life, Love, Loss collection.

“With titles such as Unrequited Love, The Girl Who Wasn’t Enough, If Only, Crazy, Sorry and Beautiful Day, these new pieces reflect on life’s big themes of love and friendship and loss, situations and journeys, that every human can identify with and all go through, just as Carole King’s timeless songs on Tapestry do,” says Jessa.

In addition to her debut Courthouse concert, she will be running a Friday Feelgood Singing Session earlier in the day, with a discount available if booking for both the workshop and performance at ruralarts.org. Tickets are on sale at ruralarts.org/whats-on/performances/jessa-liversidge/.

Further performances of A Tapestry Of Life will follow in Dundee-born Jessa’s Scottish homeland, at Leslie Town Hall, Fife, on May 31 at 7.30pm (UPDATE on 22/05/2025: CANCELLED) ; Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, on June 15 at 6pm (tickets, tickets.41monkgate.co.uk), and her Husthwaite Village Hall debut on July 18 at 7.30pm (tickets, 07836 721775 or at sheila_mowatt@btinternet.com).

Jessa and Andrea in 1970s’ childhood days in Dundee

In 1971 Carole King released her award-winning album, Tapestry, whose  themes of love and friendship are still so relevant more than 50 years later. Thousands of miles away, two sisters were born in Dundee that year.

Jessa moved to Yorkshire at 18, Andrea stayed in Dundee, and although they followed very different pathways, their bond grew stronger as they followed their dreams and went through difficult times, such as losing their parents.

In 2022, Andrea published a first book of poetry, Life, Love, Loss, inspired by her experiences.  “I wrote this show during 2024, sparked by my sister’s poetry book,” says Jessa. “As a family, we hadn’t realised she wrote poems until she said she wanted to read at our mother’s funeral, and and then at our father’s too.

“Andrea works as a medical practice manager and wrote the poem Three Sides To Every Story during Covid, written from the doctor’s side, the patient’s side and Reception’s side. She then came up with the idea of a self-challenge to write a poem a day, and a lot of them were quite personal and emotional.”

Jessa “thought it would be lovely to set them to music”. “Andrea wrote about struggles that people go through, and I, as a sister, felt bad that I hadn’t realised it. Her revelations drew us closer,” she says.

The cover artwork for Jessa’s album recording of A Tapestry Of Life

“I’d never really written my own music, so I started writing songs using my looping skills, layering up harmonies, and it felt very therapeutic to work on them.”

A photograph that Jessa found of Andrea and herself in their childhood days reminded her of the cover to Carole King’s Tapestry, and the seed for A Tapestry Of Life was sown. “I’d sung Carole King’s songs through the years but had never focused on the album,” says Jessa. “Almost any of them could have featured in the show, but I picked out nine in the end to go with nine of my compositions.

“Hopefully I’ve created a journey through the show that’s not seamless but certainly is a journey, and I talk a little between songs about the stories behind them. Like Ripples In The Water, which reflects on four of us going our different ways but having strong roots that hold us together, and not realising how lucky we were as children but appreciating how close we are as adults, having gone through so much separately.”

Jessa first pieced together A Tapestry Of Life for a performance at the Durham Fringe last year. “It was a chance to try out material, as well as play Carole King songs, and I got good feedback from that, so it was a really positive experience and a very emotional one too, because people remembered when they first heard Carole’s songs; the feelings that the songs triggered in them.

“It was the same with Andrea’s poems set to music, with people identifying with those experiences. The way I perform it, just me and the piano, and the style I perform the show in, a heartfelt style where I just tell the story with my voice, and just a little piano assistance underneath, means the audience can really feel the emotions.”

“People have said the music has helped them connect with Andrea’s poetry,” says Jessa Liversidge

Creating the song settings of Andrea’s poetry came naturally to Jessa. “I struggle to call some of them songs as it’s me singing the poems, but some have more layers of harmonies; on others, it’s me playing one or two chords, almost improvising as I go along.

“Hopefully the music complements the poems and it’s more than just me reciting them. People have said the music has helped them connect with the poetry.”

The choice of intimate performance spaces has a further benefit. “Performing in a small space makes people think more about the possible meaning behind Carole King’s lyrics too,” says Jessa.

She has made an album version of A Tapestry Of Life, recorded live over a day at Beck View Studios in Scarborough, where she was joined by Malcolm Maddock, who played the piano parts on Carole King’s songs. The album is available at Jessa’s concerts, as well as on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.

As well as performing, Jessa spends her week leading choirs, singing groups and workshops, as well as one-to-one singing teaching. Her regular groups include York Military Wives Choir, Easingwold Community Singers, children’s choir Wigginton Singstars  and her dementia-friendly group Singing For All.

Jessa Liversidge’s poster artwork for A Tapestry Of Life, her show combining Carole King songs from Tapestry with Jessa’s musical settings of her sister Andrea’s poetry

As a certified vocal health first aider, Jessa knows how to bring the best out of voices safely and will happily share plenty of healthy voice tips through her singing sessions.

Today’s (16/5/2025) workshop participants will take part in useful vocal warm-ups, then work with Jessa on songs linked to the A Tapestry Of Life show, both King and Liversidge compositions.

There is no need to be able to read music; all parts will be taught by ear and the songs will be tailored to whoever takes part. Jessa is known for her encouraging and positive leading style and is experienced at bringing diverse groups of people together to sing, so the workshop will be suitable for all abilities and levels of experience. Younger singers will be welcomed if accompanied by an adult, who would be responsible for them at all times.

Workshop singers will be able to take a break at teatime, then return in the evening to enjoy the show, with an opportunity for those who wish to perform the songs they have learned in the afternoon as part of the performance. 

More information on Jessa and her singing leadership can be found at jessaliversidge.com or JessaLiversidgeSinger on Facebook.



Posted on

Strictly Come Dancing star Nikita Kuzmin leaps into Grand Opera House in star-crossed modern fairytale Midnight Dancer

Nikita Kuzmin in his debut solo dance spectacular, Midnight Dancer, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York

First published on May 15 2025

STRICTLY Come Dancing’s Ukrainian star dancer and choreographer Nikita Kuzmin leaps into the Grand Opera House, York, on May 20 in Midnight Dancer, his debut British and Irish solo tour.

The Kyiv-born holder of six Italian Championship Latin and Ballroom titles invites you to “a fairytale ball like no other and a night full of music, sequins and world-class dancing” in the company of fellow dancers Sophie Baker, Thomas Charles, Lowri Hamilton, Samuel Lake, Charlotte Lee, Zara Liu, Seamus Mcintosh, Daniel Rae and Andreea Toma.

Joining 27-year-old Kuzmin too will be singer Rebecca Lisewski, who has appeared in Mamma Mia! and Cabaret in the West End and the UK tour of The Spongebob Musical.

Follow the highs and lows of a classic romance story as two star-crossed lovers meet only to be torn apart. Will they reunite at the masked ball or will real life put an end to their fairytale fantasy?

Presenting 2024 Celebrity Big Brother runner-up Kuzmin “like you’ve never seen him before”, Midnight Dancer promises a modern-day Cinderella story with “all of your favourite dancefloor anthems, dazzling costumes and explosive dancing”.

“Whenever I create my shows, I want them to be different, so every detail matters about the narrative,” says Nikita. “I need a narrative, as a dancer, as a creative person, otherwise I don’t see the point if they don’t have a story.

“When I see other shows without a narrative, I feel they get lost. A show can only resonate with me if it has meaning.”

Explaining the roots of his debut solo show, Nikita says: “It was always quite clear to me, I knew where I wanted to go with it, after many years of prepping it, making the show with creative director Tom Jackson Greaves, who I’m working with for the first time.

Nikita Kuzmin in the poster artwork for Midnight Dancer, heading for York on May 20

“We started at the beginning of last year’s Strictly season, and I’ve spent every single day for the last eight months working on it. It’s been a lot of work.”

In putting the show together, “being in my position, you do have the final say, but I do like to listen to other opinions, and we chose what we’re doing as a collective of me, the [creative] director and the company – though I always have quite a say!” says Nikita.

When picking the company of dancers, “I look for characters; I look for different movement, distinguishing one from the other; I look for the sparkle in the eye; the intensity inside the body,” he says.

“It needs technique but I love individuality and to see people move in a way that I wouldn’t necessarily do. To find people who embrace that quality, it’s fantastic.

“I think my job and Tom’s job is to ask ‘when do we want to see the individual, when do we want to see the collective?’, and it should be like ocean waves that have their individual course but are also collective – and I think we’ve done a pretty good job of doing that.”

The tour opened on March 8 in Bromley. “It’s gone so much better than I expected. It’s a dream come true,” says Nikita. “I think it’s surprising the audience in how we’ve created something that is very different from other Strictly [off-shoot] shows, by not following the usual course but by going our own way and exploring feelings in a deep way, like a movie that starts well, then goes badly and then all is well again at the end.”

Selecting one word to describe Midnight Dancer, Nikita chooses “drama”. “That’s my favourite word,” he says. “It’s a very dramatic show, but you know what, I love how deep, how fast paced, it is,” he says of a show with 53 songs and 120 costumes.

Nikita Kuzmin in Midnight Dancer, “a classic romance story where two star-crossed lovers meet only to be torn apart”

“The most important thing is to have fun. I think audiences are in for the best night ever. If not, let’s make them feel better, with plenty of banter from me as well. I always try my best.

“I think we’ve done the show in such a way that it’s very clear when we’re doing the story and when we’re breaking off from that to have a chat, and I’m really proud of that.”

Nikita’s own performance draws on “a combination of things”. “I have a certain character on Strictly, and I do play to that, but I also like to be honest on stage. I’ll discuss my feelings in a very honest way, being funny or talking of sometimes feeling a bit scared performing on my own,” he says.

“Being honest makes the audience feel we’re all together in this show because I can be honest with them, they can be honest with me.”

Midnight Dancer will be on the road until May 24. Looking ahead, Nikita’s return is confirmed already for his fifth season as a Strictly professional. “I’m so excited. I can’t wait. You never know how it will go,” he says.

“I would say the year I reached the final [with Layton Williams in 2023] was my favourite, but I would take every year I’ve done it because I love to be partnered with different personalities. You always try to make sure they have the best time ever and enjoy every bit of it.”

Before then, “I’m looking to have a little vacation, a little break, before Strictly,” says Nikita. “Exciting projects” are in the pipeline too. Watch this space.

Nikita Kuzmin in Midnight Dancer, Grand Opera House, York, May 20, 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Posted on

Nun better as Hayley Bamford takes on Deloris Van Cartier’s role in York Musical Theatre Company’s Sister Act The Musical

Hayley Bamford in rehearsal for the lead role of Deloris Van Cartier in York Musical Theatre Company’s Sister Act The Musical

First published on May 15 2025

YORK Musical Theatre Company will perform Sister Act The Musical at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, next Wednesday (21/5/2025) to Saturday under the direction of Kathryn Addison with Hayley Bamford in the sassy role of “novice nun” Deloris Van Cartier.

As you will recall from Emile Ardolino’s 1992 film, the story is centred on club singer Deloris, who  witnesses her partner, nightclub owner Curtis Jackson (Zander Fick), commit murder, forcing the police to hide her in a convent where she meets the Mother Superior (Kirstin Grififths) and an ensemble of 22 nuns. Cue multiple upbeat numbers as friendships grow and the convent is saved from financial ruin. Hallelujah!

“The company chose this show, and they did ask me for my thoughts,” says Kathryn of Alan Menken’s musical with its 1970s-inspired score. “I think it’s a super piece of theatre that’s even better than the film. It’s ideal for this company. It has everything in it you want in a musical.  

“There’s a real depth to it, beyond the music, with real emotion to Deloris’s story, but it’s also fun and the music is fabulous. The voices are phenomenal. It has a beautiful original score for a show that needs the right style vocally and physically to retain the essence of the movie’s jukebox musical hits.”

Deloris Von Cartier will forever be associated with Whoopi Goldberg’s tour-de-force movie performance and was played by Cleopatra girl group singer, I’d Do Anything  finalist and West End musical actress Cleopatra  Rey in York Stage Musicals’ York premiere at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre: a September 2014 production on which Kathryn worked.

Sister Act The Musical director Kathryn Addison

Explaining her choice of Hayley for the role, she says: “Hayley never stops. From  the moment she rocks up, it’s an absolute powerhouse performance.

“We had some amazing auditions for the part, and they all really delivered. I had no preconceived ideas about who should play Deloris, but I needed a special spark and that’s what Hayley brought to the room. That energy.

“It’s an instinct. You can’t necessarily say what it is, but there’s a combination of things that strike you. It’s about having the right style and being able to adapt to the demands of this part, understand what you have to do, and Hayley has done that.”

Singer, children’s party entertainer and Hay Jays Disco boss Hayley has long contemplated auditioning for Deloris. “I saw that production at the Opera House, and had considered doing the show with Ripon Operatic Society,” she says. “I thought, ‘I’d love to audition for it’, but the timing wasn’t right, but now it’s come about naturally for me to do it in York, as if it was meant to be.”

Hayley auditioned last autumn and began singing rehearsals in January, followed by floor rehearsals since March. “It’s been such good  fun to do,” she says. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve toyed with it for some time now, because I’ve had it in my mind that Deloris is played by a very famous black actress [Whoopi Goldberg].

Hayley Bamford, front, centre, with fellow cast members for York Musical Theatre Company’s production of Sister Act The Musical

“But when John [musical director John Atkin] said it wasn’t written specifically for a black actress, but was first offered to Bette Midler, then I could see Deloris as just a club singer where you have to put your own take on it.

 “Deloris is a woman with dreams, and she has her ups and downs as we all do, but it’s what she learns from her experience that’s important.”

Hayley has loved the challenge of playing Hayley. “I played Morticia in The Addams Family a few years ago, but it wasn’t as big a role as this. It’s been good for my brain. Teaching myself things again. Like Deloris, we all have dreams to fulfil to work in theatre.

“Luckily my voice is naturally quite a low voice, the Whoopi Goldberg level, so I can do the American  voice like that, but I think I’m camper than Whoopi – and you don’t want to be a copycat.”

Kathryn concludes: “What Hayley is very good at is being able to use her physicality in scenes, and it’s very definitely not like Whoopi! It’s Hayley’s interpretation; we get the whole character because she gets the movement right. Hayley is tall with long limbs and that brings individuality to her performance.”

York Musical Theatre Company in Sister Act The Musical, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, May 21 to 24, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Posted on

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 20, from Gazette & Herald

Hayley Bamford in rehearsal for her lead role as Deloris Van Cartier in York Musical Theatre Company’s production of Sister Act The Musical

FROM Holmes & Watson to Wright & Grainger, a play told two contrasting ways to funny nun business, Charles Hutchinson fills diaries for arty times ahead.

Nun better musical of the week: York Musical Theatre Company in Sister Act The Musical, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

KATHRYN Addison directs York Musical Theatre Company in Alan Menken’s American musical with Hayley Bamford in the sassy role of “novice nun” Deloris Van Cartier.

When club singer Deloris witnesses nightclub owner Curtis Jackson (Zander Fick), commit murder, the police hide her in a convent, where she meets the Mother Superior (Kirstin Grififths) and an ensemble of 22 nuns. Cue multiple upbeat numbers as friendships grow and the convent is saved from financial ruin. Hallelujah!  Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Improv show of the week: Unwritten, The Literary Improv Show, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, tomorrow, doors 7.30pm, show 8.30pm

EVER wondered what Whose Line Is It Anyway? would be like with a literary twist? The Bluffs take classic short-form improv games, then infuse them with storytelling flair. Every show is unique, shaped by audience suggestions and spontaneous creativity. An evening of humour, surprises and plot twists awaits. Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise. 

Dominic Goodwin, left, and Thomas Frere in Clap Trap Theatre’s Switcheroo, the play told as comedy and then seriously seriously

Role-swapping play of the week: Clap Trap Theatre in Switcheroo, York Theatre Royal Studio, tomorrow to Saturday, 7.45pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Post-show discussion, Friday. Also Helmsley Arts Centre, May 31, 7.30pm  

TOM Needham’s play Switcheroo is based on the simple premise that “it’s not what you say, it’s the way that you say it”. Presented by Ryedale company Clap Trap Theatre, the story follows three siblings who, when it comes to scattering their mother’s ashes, are hit with a bombshell revelation that turns their world upside down.

The first act is a full-blown, larger-than-life comedy, whereupon the actors swap characters to repeat it as a serious drama. Paul Birch directs a cast of Thomas Frere (Alex/Sam), Clap Trap co-founder Cal Stockbridge (Sam/Pat) and Dominic Goodwin (Pat/Alex). Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheratreroyal.co.uk; Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

The poster artwork for ACT’s production of Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty at Helmsley Arts Centre

Ryedale play of the week: ACT in Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty, Helmsley Arts Centre, tomorrow, 7pm

SHERLOCK Holmes and Dr Watson are back on the case as ACT (Ampleforth College Theatre) presents Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty, an investigation into the Bohemian king’s stolen letters that cascades into an international mystery filled with spies, blackmail and intrigue.

Faced with world peace at stake, Holmes and Watson join forces with American actress Irene Adler to take down cunning criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty and his network of devious henchmen. Box office: Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Paul Chowdhry: Heading for York Barbican with his Englandia show

Comedy gig of the week: Paul Chowdhry, Englandia, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm

PAUL Chowdhry, the most successful British Indian stand-up comedian in British history, heads to York on his 41-date itinerary. “After more than a quarter of a century and half my life on comedy stages, it’s time for my biggest tour ever,” says The Paul Chowdhry PudCast podcaster. 

“I hope to see you there. If not, I’ll be in massive debt and doing benefit gigs for the foreseeable future.” To help Chowdhry avoid that scenario, book tickets at yorkbarbican.co.uk.

The Dunwells: Returning to Pocklington on Friday

The boys done well: The Dunwells, All Saints Church, Pocklington, Friday, 7.30pm

LEEDS duo The Dunwells continue their working relationship with Hurricane Promotions’ James Duffy, who has promoted brothers Joe and David’s indie-folk/Americana band across Yorkshire, not least at the market town’s Platform Festival and Pocklington Arts Centre, where he worked for many years. Box office: thedunwells.com.

Alexander Flanagan Wright in Wright & Grainger’s Helios at Helmsley Arts Centre

Storytelling show of the week: Wright & Grainger present Helios, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

A LAD lives halfway up an historic hill. A teenager is on a road trip to the city in a stolen car. A boy is driving a chariot, pulling the sun across the sky. Welcome to Wright & Grainger’s story of the son of the god of the sun that transplants the Ancient Greek tale into a modern-day myth wound around the winding roads of rural England and into the everyday living of a towering city.

“It’s a story about life, the invisible monuments we build into it, and the little things that leave big marks,” say friends since Easingwold schooldays Alexander Flanagan Wright and Phil Grainger. “Join us in a little room with a tape player and a delicate tale to tell.” Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Jed Potts: Playing with The Hillman Hunters at the Milton Rooms, Malton

Blues gig of the week: Ryedale Blues Club presents Jed Potts & The Hillman Hunters, Milton Rooms, Malton, May 29,

EDINBURGH guitarist and vocalist Jed Potts fronts Jed Potts & The Hillman Hunters and Under-Volt and also plays with The Katet, The Blueswater, Nicole Smit and occasionally with American blues artist Brandon Santini too. This time he has The Hillman Hunters for company.

Potts first picked up a guitar at nine and performed his first gig at 16.”Blues is my musical first language and it infuses everything I play,” he says. “Even when I’m playing with The Katet or Thunkfish, the blues is always there. I don’t think I could hide it even if I wanted to.” Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Posted on

REVIEW: Paul Rhodes’s verdict on Sons Of Town Hall, Ripon Arts Hub, May 17

Sons Of Town Hall: Riparian return to Ripon

THE return of Sons Of Town Hall is always something to be celebrated. Come fair winds or foul, this acoustic duo, who have built a whole world around their fictitious adventures travelling by raft, have a soft spot in their hearts for Ripon, once Britain’s northernmost canal point.

Having seen the pair many times, it’s fascinating how much people care about them, despite never courting popular appeal. Kind folk everywhere, including the Thompsons of Ripon, give them a berth, feed them, then invite them back.

A sold-out Arts Hub was only too ready to welcome them again, just as they had in 2017, 2019 and 2021. The pair may also have spent time in the Ripon Workhouse. You can tell by the way they manage a crowd that they would have no issues controlling a ship’s crew. With just a smile and a look, they can tame a crowd (although Ripon needed very little restraint). It is these warm moments of connection with the audience that summon the goosebumps.

Sons Of Town Hall: “Even William Tell couldn’t split their voices and they had us all singing”

While the songs are full of depth and emotion, it is the theatre and stories that really set them apart from most of their peers. With a hundred years of exploits to draw on, they will hopefully be spinning these yarns for many years to come.

Their tall tales between numbers are well travelled and really set up the songs. From experience, they were perhaps not at their absolutely best. Their jokes have landed better and the repartee has been both warmer and sharper, but their harmonies remain flawless and the guitar rang crisp and clear. Even William Tell couldn’t split their voices and they had us all singing.

We find our heroes at an interesting time. With two strong albums and a world-class talent, they could justifiably look to take their act to bigger stages and leave these homely halls behind.

“On their day, Sons Of Town Hall are the finest acoustic duo touring these rocky shores,” says reviewer Paul Rhodes

Their ambitious podcast, Madmen Cross The Water, shows them embracing our digital age. You wonder if they would want to. Or it might all go south, with Ben Parker becoming a Japanese axeman and David Berkeley free to run the hills of Santa Fe singing for his supper. Hopefully, the former.

Showcasing songs from their second album, Of Ghosts And Gods, the 90-minute set saw the old giving way to the new. Poseidon gave up its spot for the wonderful airborne New Orleans and St Christopher was supplanted by mutiny. There were a number of standouts. Wild Winds’ chorus blew hard, while Whalebone built slowly towards its crescendo.

On their day, Sons Of Town Hall are the finest acoustic duo touring these rocky shores. You’d be mad to miss them.

Review by Paul Rhodes 

Posted on

More Things To Do in York and beyond as laughter returns to waterside landmark. Hutch’s List No. 19, from The York Press

Pease in our time: John Pease tops bill at Patch’s new Funny Fridays comedy forum at the Bonding Warehouse

A NEW comedy night in a bygone location and Shakespeare on a council estate stand out in Charles Hutchinson’s picks for cultural exploration.

Laughter launch of the week: Funny Fridays, Patch, Bonding Warehouse, Terry Avenue, York, May 9, doors 7pm for 7.30pm start

LIVE comedy returns to the Bonding Warehouse for the first time since the days of the late Mike Bennett presenting the likes of Lee Evans and Ross Noble under the Comedy Shack banner. Stand up for Funny Fridays, hosted by York humorist Katie Lingo (alias copywriter Katie Taylor-Thompson) with an introductory price of £6.50.

On her first bill will be Kenny Watt, Tuiya Tembo, BBC New Comedy Awards semi-finalist Matty Oxley, Saeth Wheeler and Edinburgh Fringe Gilded Balloon semi-finalist John Pease. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk/e/funny-fridays-at-patch-tickets.

Sean Heydon: Magical sleight of hand at the Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club tonight

Magical comedy gig of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club presents Sean Heydon, Big Lou, Oliver Bowler and MC Damion Larkin, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 8pm

LAUGH Out Loud headliner Sean Heydon has performed to A-list celebrities and blue-chip companies, as well as at comedy clubs, with his combination of madcap comedy,  sleight-of-hand magic and illusions for more than 15 years.

Big Lou offers a modern twist on old-school joke telling in the Les Dawson style; comedian, actor and writer Oliver Bowler discusses life experiences on the mean streets of Bolton; regular host and promoter Damion Larkin keeps order. Box office: 01904 612940 or lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.

Anastacia: Playing York Barbican on her Not That Kind 25th anniversary tour

Anniversary tour of the week: Anastacia, Not That Kind Tour, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.45pm

CHICAGO singer-songwriter Anastacia , 56, heads to York on her European tour marking the 25th anniversary of her debut album Not That Kind and its breakthrough hit  I’m Outta Love.

Further singles Not That Kind, Paid My Dues, One Day In Your Life,  Left Outside Alone and Sick And Tired charted too, as did 2001 album Freak Of Nature (reaching number four) and 2004’s chart-topping Anastacia, 2005’s Pieces Of A Dream, 2008’s Heavy Rotation, 2014’s Resurrection and 2015’s Ultimate Collection Her special guest will be Casey McQuillen. Box office: for returns only, yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Newton Faulkner: Unveiling new songs from his upcoming Octopus album at The Crescent, York

“No technological funny business” of the week: Newton Faulkner, Feels Like Home Tour 3, The Crescent, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

LET Reigate singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner describe his York gig: “Folks, I give you the Feels Like Home Tour 3. We’re talking no technological funny business in my set-up. I love switching my focus back to just playing and singing. I also cannot wait to introduce you properly to the new material and my new head.”

Often Faulkner has found himself in his home studio working solo, but not for this next record, nor for this tour. His new phase is full of collaboration, one where “seeing these songs come to life on stage is going to be nothing short of joyous” ahead of the September 19 release of Octopus. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape on his return to York Theatre Royal after 45 years. Picture: Gisele Schmidt

York theatre event of the year: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, until May 17

OSCAR winner Gary Oldman returns to York Theatre Royal, where he made his professional debut in 1979, to perform Samuel Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd Krapp’s Last Tape in his first stage appearance since 1989.

“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says the Slow Horses leading man. “It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.” Tickets update: check availability of returns on 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

York musician Steve Cassidy: Once he worked with John Barry and producer Joe Meek, now he plays with his mates on regular nights at the JoRo

Return of the week: Steve Cassidy Band, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

YORK singer, songwriter, guitarist and former head teacher Steve Cassidy will be joined by special guests when he lines up as usual with John Lewis on lead guitar, Mick Hull on bass guitar, ukulele, guitar and vocals, Brian Thomson on percussion and George Hall on keyboards.

Expect rock and country songs, as well as instrumental pieces, selected especially for this evening. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Mark Holgate’s Oberon and Suzy Cooper’s Titania, centre, with Sam Roberts’s Demetrius, left, Amy Domeneghetti’s Helena, Will Parsons’ Lysander and Meg Olssen’s Hermia in York Stage’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Reinvented play of the week: York Stage in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Grand Opera House, York, May 6 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees

YORK pantomime golden gal Suzy Cooper turns Fairy Queen Titania opposite York-born Royal Shakespeare Company actor Mark Holgate’s Fairy King Oberon in Nik Briggs’s debut Shakespeare production for York Stage.

In his first co-production with the Cumberland Street theatre, Briggs relocates the Bard’s most-performed comedy from the court of Athens to Athens Court, a northern council estate, where magic is fuelled with mayhem and true love’s bumpy path is played out to a new score by musical director Stephen Hackshaw and Nineties and Noughties’ dancefloor fillers, sung by May Tether. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Katherine Toy in rehearsals for AKA Theatre’s The Flood, on tour in York, Hull and Leeds. Picture: Cian O’Riain

Premiere of the week: AKA Theatre Company in The Flood: A Musical, Friargate Theatre, York, May 9 and 10, 7.30pm; Godber Studio, Hull Truck Theatre, Hull, May 13, 7pm; Leeds Playhouse Burton Studio, May 14 and 15, 8pm

AKA Theatre Company’s premiere of Lucie Raine and Joe Revell’s musical The Flood blends live music and heartfelt storytelling based on true accounts of facing up to disaster in West Yorkshire in 2015.

 “This is a story about what it means to come together when everything falls apart,” says writer-director Raine, who uses a cast of five actor-musicians. “It’s not just a play. It’s a tribute to resilience and creativity, inspired by Hebden Bridge and its people. It’s a celebration for all communities who have faced adversity and emerged stronger.” Box office: York, ticketsource.co.uk; Hull, hulltruck.co.uk; Leeds, leedsplayhouse.org.uk. 

Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox: Putting the retro into today’s hits at York Barbican

Nostalgia for today: Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox: Magic & Moonlight Tour 2025, York Barbican, May 7, doors 7pm

AFTER chalking off their 1,000th show, retro collective Postmodern Jukebox are on the British leg of their Moonlight & Magic world tour. Enter a parallel universe where modern-day hits are reimagined in 1920s’ jazz, swing, doo-wop and Motown arrangements. Think The Great Gatsby meets Sinatra At The Sands meets Back To The Future.  Dress vintage for the full effect. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk. 

In Focus: York Late Music, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, Stuart O’Hara & Marianna Cortesi, today at 1pm; Trio Agile and Northern School of Contemporary Dance, today at 7.30pm

Stuart O’Hara & Marianna Cortesi

YORK Late Music plays host to two concerts today, the first featuring bass Stuart O’Hara and pianist Marianna Cortesi  this afternoon as Sounds Lyrical presents settings of poets Hugh Bernays, John Gilham, Richard Kitchen and Alan Gillott by composers Thomas J Crawley, Robert Holden, Jenny Jackson, Katie Lang, Dawn Walters and James Else.

The concert comprises: Elizabeth Lutyens’ Refugee Blues (Auden); David Blake’s Morning Sea (CP Cavafy); Dawn Walters’ Pre-dawn (Richard Kitchen); Jenny Jackson’s Collecting Stones (Richard Kitchen); Robert Holden’s Flaneur (John Gilham) and Katie Laing’s Maker (Richard Kitchen).

Then come Thomas J Crawley’s Leather Heart (Hugh Bernays); James Else’s Retras IV (Alan Gillott); Tim Brooks’s Jeer (Lizzie Linklater); David Blake’s Voices (CP Cavafy) and Stephen Dodgson’s Various Australian Bush Ballads, 2nd Series. The programme also includes music by David Blake and Elizabeth Lutyens.

Northern School of Contemporary Dance dancer Antonio Bukhar Ssebuuma: Performing with Trio Agile tonight

TONIGHT’S concert marks a first collaboration between York Late Music and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Trio Agile and NSCD’s Freedom Dances programme.

Bringing together the freedoms of dance, music and rhythm, Trio Agile combine their experimental flair and improvisatory talent with four dancers from the Leeds school, Antonio Bukhar Ssebuuma, Darcy Bodle, Genevieve Wright and Maya Donne.

The 7.30pm performance blends a range of styles from across the globe in a shared expression of the power and joy of the arts, including new works from Indian composer and performer Supriya  Nagarajan, Angela Elizabeth Slater, David Lancaster, Steve Crowther, David Power, Athena Corcoran-Tadd and James Else.

Curated by James Else in partnership with the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, the programme comprises: Susie Hodder-Williams & Chris Caldwell, Prelude; Angela Elizabeth Slater,  Weaving Colours; Paul Honey, Une Valse Assez Triste; James Else, Freedom Dances and David Lancaster, The Compendium Of Ingenious Mechanical Devices.

Then follow Susie Hodder-Williams & Chris Caldwell, Pas de Deux; Tom Armstrong, Aunt Maria’s Dancing Master; Paul Honey, Pizzìca; Athena Corcoran-Tadd,  To You; Supriya Nagarajan,  Mohanam Raga; Steve Crowther,  Once Upon A Time Harlequin Met His Columbine; David Power,  Something In Our Skies; Susie Hodder-Williams & Chris Caldwell, Light Dances and Athena Corcoran-Tadd , Hope Is A Boat.

The musicians will be: Susie Hodder-Williams, flutes; Chris Caldwell, saxophone and bass clarinet; Richard Horne, vibraphone and percussion; Supriya Nagarajan, voice, and Paul Honey, piano.  

Chris Caldwell, Susie Hodder-Williams and composer James Else will give a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm with a complimentary glass of wine or juice.

Tickets are on sale at latemusic.org or on the door.

Posted on

Violinist Ella Hodgson-Laws and pianist Catherine Laws bring Inspirations & Contrasts to York Late Music today

Ella Hodgson-Laws and Catherine Laws: York Late Music programme of Inspirations & Contrasts

THE mother-and-daughter duo of young violinist Ella Hodgson-Laws and pianist Catherine Laws present a programme of Inspirations & Contrasts at the Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, for York Late Music this afternoon.

The lush intensity of Amy Beach’s Romance Op. 23 is drawn together with the driving dance rhythms and timbral invention of new pieces by York composers and lyrically reflective music by Lili Boulanger (Nocturne) and Jessie Montgomery (Peace).

The 1pm to 2pm programme includes premieres of a new commission from young composer Billy Ainsworth, Attention To Detail, and a newly completed Sonata for Violin and Piano by York-based Chilean composer Carlos Zamora. Tim Brooks’s Three Dances for Violin and Piano and Tina Davidson’s Bar None will be performed too. Tickets are on sale at latemusic.org and on the door.