Charlotte Hanna-Williams’s Jean Leslie, Jamie-Rose Monks’ Johnny Bevan, Sean Carey’s Charles Cholmondeley, Holly Sumpton’s Ewen Montagu and Christian Andrews’ Hester Leggatt in Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical. All pictures: Matt Crockett
LIKE Six The Musical, Operation Mincemeat’s reputation precedes its York arrival.
Six began as a Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society student show at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe; Operation Mincemeat was a Hail Mary of a change of tack by Edinburgh Fringe purveyors of “weird comedy” SplitLip, premiered at the New Diaroma Theatre, London, in May 2019. Edinburgh that summer, the West End in May 2023 and Broadway in February 2025 ensued, and now comes its first-ever tour.
The technical demands of SplitLip’s bravura show necessitated a two-day “get-in”, leading to the decision six weeks ago to switch the first night from Monday to Tuesday.
Unusually too, that led to the reviewers being posted in Rows D and E in the Stalls, rather than the familiar Row B and C in the Dress Circle, a regular position that affords a more panoramic view and less attrition for the ears. So near the stage, you can see the whites of the eyes, but music can take on the aural impact of white noise, particularly when those songs are often so hyper-energetic and intense.
Charlotte Hanna-Williams’ Jean Leslie in Operation Mincemeat
On the tour poster by the Clifford Street entrance, the wording ‘77 five-star reviews’ had been struck through to say ‘88’, as if a dare to reviewers to keep that count rising for “the best reviewed show in West End history”.
Six The Musical swanned in with much the same anticipation, or hype, if you prefer, and reviewers couldn’t resist giving six out of five verdicts for a novelty girl-power musical that put the herstory into history, turning Henry VIII’s wives into a competitive sextet vying to be lead singer in a girl band, as much a concert as an historical drama.
Operation Mincemeat is rooted in history too: the improbable but true story of perhaps the Second World War’s “most audacious intelligence coup”, the one where MI5 operatives deceived Nazi Germany over the intended invasion target of Sicily in 1943 by floating a dead body with the fake, misleading documents of a Royal Marines officer on to the Spanish coast.
That bizarre plot could make a play, and twice it has been transformed into a film, drawing on Ewen Montagu’s book for 1956’s The Man Who Never Was and 2021’s Operation Mincemeat, the Colin Firth one directed by John Madden.
Christian Andrews’ Hester Leggatt
Jamie-Rose Monk’s Colonel Johnny Bevan
SplitLip’s David Cumming, Natasha Hodgson, Felix Hagan and Zoe Roberts bring a comedy troupe’s sense of satire, experimentation, sketch structure, restless energy and order from chaos, beloved of Monty Python, The Fast Show and Patrick Barlow’s National Theatre of Brent shows and The 39 Steps revamp.
Consequently, the character-driven storytelling is Operation Mincemeat’s strongest suit, the humour delightfully British, knockabout, full of mischief, fizz, sometimes fury, and send-ups of British intelligence stereotypes, with room aplenty for pathos too to complement all the quips and stings so quick off the lips.
However, the songs are so prominent that Operation Mincemeat feels rather too close to a sung-through musical, and too often they go on too long and could do with more melody, rather than the propulsion and force typified by the lurid Nazi rap of Das Ubermensch that opens Act Two. Christian Andrews’ rendition of Hester Leggatt’s paean Dear Bill is a rare sobering intervention.
One review elsewhere in the country had suggested the “big question on our lips was: how on earth do you make a successful comedy musical about a wartime story?” Mel Brooks might wish to point you in the direction of 1967’s film The Producers and subsequent 2001 Broadway musical, featuring Springtime For Hitler et al.
Holly Sumpton’s Ewen Montagu
Brooks had a better balance of dialogue and music, but if Operation Mincemeat’s songs overplay their hand, former Sheffield Theatres artistic director Robert Hastie and tour director Georgie Straight nevertheless deliver a sophisticated, sassy, technically slick, fast-moving comic romp with stylish set and costume design by Ben Stones, full of elegant lines, intelligence-office minutiae, German cabaret club chic and classic English suits, jackets, braces and ties, as crisp as Jenny Arnold’s choreography.
Above all, Operation Mincemeat has superb performances by a cast of five, each kept busy with playing “Others” as well as the five principals, Holly Sumpton’s pin-sharp, pin-striped Ewen Montagu; Sean Carey’s awkward Charles Cholmondeley; Montagu’s co-devisor of Operation Mincemeat; Christian Andrews’ fastidious senior secretary Hester Leggatt; Jamie-Rose Monk’s Colonel Johnny Bevan, the intemperate boss, and Charlotte Hanna-Williams’ eager-to-learn 19-year-old clerk, Jean Leslie.
Part of the comedic impact lies in the multitude of gender swaps in the role-playing, designed to counter the Boys Club strictures that prevailed at the time. Company new recruit Monk has particular fun as ‘Our Man in Huelva’ and MI5 operative Ian Fleming; Carey’s Cholmondeley delivers a series of amusingly baffling one-liners; Andrews maximises his series of outré Others, especially his glitter-spattered coroner; Hanna-Williams has the peachiest singing voice; Sumpton, immaculate in dress code, sometimes inscrutable in manner, is both the ace and the joker in the pack.
A bells-and-whistles finale looks ahead to what the protagonists did next, but crucially too the show pays tribute to Glyndwr Michael, the homeless Welshman, who had died of rat poisoning in London, his body subsequently being given the invented persona of William Martin for Operation Mincemeat’s act of deception.
SplitLip’s Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical runs at Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Wright & Grainger: Stories, poems, songs and gentle chaos in Say It & Play It at The Old Paint Shop on June 11. Picture: Afternoon Film
YORK Theatre Royal Studio is being transformed once again into The Old Paint Shop cabaret club for a month-long season of shows.
The June 4 to 26 programme opens with Queer Spaces, a joyful celebration of Pride in Thursday’s 7pm showcase of work by queer artists in the aftermath of May 30’s York Pride fiesta on Knavesmire.
This sparkling one-off night of new LGBTQ+ performances by actors, poets and writers includes award-winning artists trying out new material for the first time. Produced by Yorkshire queer touring theatre company Roots (Fringe First winners with Happy Meal), the show’s proceeds will support new local artists.
The season continues with a mix of Old Paint Shop favourites and exciting new acts, performing a mix of comedy, live music, burlesque and more.
Seating will be cabaret club-style and unreserved, offering an intimate theatrical experience, where audience members are encouraged to grab a drink at the bar, sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
June 5, 5 The Penny Magpie Theatre Company presents 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche, 8pm, SOLD OUT.
WELCOME to 1956 whenthe Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein is holding its annual quiche breakfast. As the assembled ‘widows’ await the announcement of the society’s prize-winning quiche, the atomic bomb sirens sound. Has the Communist threat come to pass? How will the ‘widows’ respond as their idyllic town and lifestyle faces attacks?
Winner of a national Best Amateur Production award after a sell-out run at Theatre@41, Monkgate, in 2024, 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche is a tasty recipe of humour, sexual innuendos, unsuccessful repressions and delicious discoveries, written by Evan Linder and Andrew Hopgood.
June 6, Story Time with Mama G, 1pm and 3pm
MAMA G will be sharing original stories, songs and some of the best picture books on the market in an uplifting story time for the whole family. Expect dancing and giggles galore as pantomime dame Mama G shares the power of being who you want and loving who you are!
She has been telling stories since 2018. In that time, she has been a semi-finalist on Britain’s Got Talent, performed her show off-Broadway, performed at libraries, festivals, prides, museums and theatres all over the UK and penned the book Oh Yes I Am!, published in 2024.Suitable for age three upwards.
June 6,Haus of Games: Pride Month Party, 8pm
FASTEN your seatbelts and prepare for turbulence, darling, aboard Spread Eagle Airlines. The Isolation Creations are back, ready to take you sky-high with their old-school drag spectacular, Haus of Games.
This time, these Trolley Dollies take you on a first-class flight full of bingo, party games, music, and mayhem, all served with their signature blend of Carry On-style comedy, retro glamour and outrageous charm.
Celebrating Pride Month with laughter, glitter and a generous serving of nonsense at 30,000 feet, this camp fest of fun promises fabulous prizes and more double-entendres than an in-flight safety demo. Think Lily Savage meets Dame Edna, with more than a splash of Les Dawson. Dress code: Seaside Summer Holiday or Mile High Club chic; prizes for the best-dressed passengers!
June 10, Amber Topaz in Red, 8pm
INTERNATIONAL cabaret siren Amber Topaz presents a new, classy, sassy, fabulous musical revue, celebrating redheaded musical theatre stars of stage and screen.
This delicious cocktail of Old Hollywood glamour and West End and Broadway classics is brimful of iconic show-stopping numbers, honouring the formidable flame-haired trailblazers that have shaped musical theatre herstory.
From the golden era of Hollywood to the bright lights of Las Vegas, Red embodies legendary artists such as Rita Hayworth, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, Shirley MacLaine, Gwen Verdon and many more. The show is choreographed and directed by Nikki Woollaston, resident director of the Les Misérables worldwide tour.
June 11, Wright & Grainger Say It & Play it, 8pm
FRIENDS and working partners since Easingwold schooldays, Wright & Grainger serve a carefully curated evening of stories, poems, songs and gentle chaos.
Known for their internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning adaptations of Ancient Greek myths, sometimes Alexander Flanagan Wright & Phil Grainger do something a tad different.
Say It And Play It will be a set full of their shorter stuff, the collaborative stuff, the poems that stand on their own, the beautiful tracks they have been writing.”It’s a gorgeous weave of our home-grown stuff, grown and told on home turf,” they say.
June 12, Tracey Collins, An Evening With Elvis Lesley, 8pm
COMEDIAN Tracey Collins (Shell Suit Cher, Audrey Heartburn) brings her one-woman musical comedy show to the York stage in the guise of Elvis Lesley, who is preparing to leave their day job in the UK and gyrate their way back to the bright lights of Las Vegas!
Brilliantly reworked songs, surreal stories, heart-stopping hip gyrations and a whole lotta chaos are in store but will Elvis Lesley nail the famous lip curl, sensuous croon and jiggly legs? Find out when witnessing Elvis as you have never seen them before!
June 13, The Jazzville Quartet with Kirsty Hughes, 8pm
YORK jazz combo The Jazzville Quartet present an evening led by London-based fabulous Kirsty Hughes, who sings in a variety of styles and settings, including West End shows and cabaret.
Royal Academy of Music graduate Kirsty will be showcasing her love of Judy Garland and the great jazz singers in an intimate cabaret-style performance, joined by piano maestro, arranger and composer Alec Robinson, saxophonist Alex Fisher, double bassist Tim Murgatroyd and drummer Steve Hanley.
The Jazzville Quartet will explore the Great American Songbook in a joyful celebration of swing and Latin classics and haunting jazz ballads. A few surprises are in the pipeline too.
June 17, Neil Haigh’s Comedy Masterclass Ruined by Stewart Wright, 8pm
NEIL Haigh’s Comedy Masterclass Ruined By Stewart Wright combines clowning, improvisation and theatrical storytelling as a beleaguered acting lecturer channels 20 years of disappointment into a one-off masterclass amid a backdrop of professional pressure and personal crisis. Will a surprise guest be his ruin or saviour?
Haigh’s experience with groundbreaking theatre company Cartoon de Salvo and Wright’s 30 years as a comic character actor (Smack The Pony, Bridget Jones’s Diary) combine exquisitely in their stage duo, shaped with BAFTA-nominated Justin Sbresni as their comedy consultant.
York audiences may recall Wright from his role as Welsh welfare officer Sergeant Dave in the Theatre Royal premiere of Debbie Isitt’s Military Wives – The Musical last September.
June 18, Rock Paper Goose, 8pm
YORK indie pop band Rock Paper Goose comprises multi-instrumentalists Nathan Greaves (vocals, guitar, synth) and Olly Whitehouse (vocals, synth, bass). They write catchy melodies over the top of infectious, colourful music that takes equal inspiration from rock, pop and EDM to create life-affirming shows full of playful energy and joy. Songs from September 2025’s debut album, Okay!, will be complemented by new, unreleased material.
June 19, Velvet Jazz Night with Luka Watabe, 8pm
LUKA Watabe brings rich, smooth vocal styling and Old Hollywood glamour to her sophisticated repertoire of classic jazz standards and modern songs, delivered with a sleek jazz twist by her professional musicians.
June 20, Freida Nipples presents…The Exhibitionists, 8pm, sold out
YORK’S international burlesque artist Freida Nipples returns to the Old Paint Shop with some of her favourite and most fabulous performance artists from across the UK and further afield.
From burlesque to drag and beyond, the unexpected will be in store. “Get ready to be dazzled, shocked and in awe by these performers,” says Freida. “Only a few things are guaranteed, glamour, gags and giggles. Get ready to explore the world of The Exhibitionists.”
Freida’s past Theatre Royal shows have paraded drag queens, acrobats, whipcrackers, circus artists, sideshow performers and stripteasers of many different flavours, from comedy caricatures to sensual fan dancers.
June 26, Karl Mullen, 8pm
YORK pianist Karl Mullen, upright-piano busker, The Phoenix fixture and Leeds Piano Competition Pub Piano Champion, closes the season by serving up his high-energy mix of everything from Chopin to Oasis, via Led Zeppelin and Les Dawson, packed with outrageous and heartfelt stories from decades of gigging and street playing.
Tickets can be booked on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Rachel Anderson in Pickering Musical Society’s Let’s Do It!, The Cole Porter Songbook
GRAHAM Spink was invited to attend Monday’s dress rehearsal of Pickering Musical Society’s upcoming concert Let’s Do It!, The Cole Porter Songbook.
HAVING been involved in amateur theatre for most of my life, I was amazed at just how polished and professional the production already looked with more than a week still to go before opening night.
The first thing that catches the eye is the magnificent full-size grand piano taking pride of place centre stage. Director Courtney Brown and Luke Arnold have certainly pushed the boat out with this production, and it is refreshing to see a different style of staging, with a compact jazz band positioned on stage alongside the performers, rather than hidden away in the orchestra pit.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from an evening dedicated to one of the legends of the Great American Songbook, but the programme has been cleverly structured.
The first half focuses on music from Cole Porter’s hit musicals, including Kiss Me, Kate and Anything Goes, while the second half takes on a more intimate cabaret atmosphere.
Here, the on-stage musicians and grand piano really come into their own, acting as both backdrop and accompaniment for a selection of Porter’s best-known songs, ranging from upbeat jazz numbers to moody, sensual ballads.
The production features a relatively small principal cast, wonderfully supported by the talented students of the Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance. Even at this stage, the standard of performance was exceptional.
Personal highlights for me included Anything Goes from the musical of the same name, Too Darn Hot from Kiss Me, Kate and the charming Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? from High Society.
To conclude, I would like to thank Luke and Courtney for inviting me to enjoy this early preview of what promises to be a thoroughly entertaining and stylish production.
I would highly recommend the show and encourage everyone to book tickets before they sell out — I have already been online this morning and booked ours!
Pickering Musical Society presents Let’s Do It!, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 9 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01751 474833 or www.kirktheatre.co.uk.
Rosalinda at the double: Alexandra Mather, left, and Olivia Turner, in rehearsal for their shared role – two performances each -in York Opera’s Die Fledermaus. Picture: David Kessel
YORK Opera is marking not one but two milestones with John Soper and Elizabeth Watson’s production of Die Fledermaus from tomorrow to Saturday.
This year is the company’s 60th anniversary and the 40th anniversary of its first appearance at York Theatre Royal: hence the summer production choice of Johann Strauss II’s party opera, wherein lavish host Prince Orlofsky seeks fresh amusement at his New Year’s Eve party. What better place for disguises, deception and revenge served with chilled champagne?
On an earlier occasion, Doctor Falke had been humiliated by his old friend Herr Eisenstein, who persuaded him to dress for a party as a bat [Die Fledermaus]. After much amusement and ridicule, eventually he was abandoned to wander the streets of Vienna. Falke plots his revenge with a cocktail of hidden secrets, mistaken identities and a splash or two of champagne that leads to a comedy of errors that soon takes flight. Will the bat be revenged?
Olivia Turner and Alexandra Mather will share the role of Rosalinda; likewise, Stephanie Wong and LaLa Marais both will play Adele, after the decision to double cast the principal roles was made in response to the high calibre of talent displayed at the auditions.
Olivia Turner: Making her York Opera debut as Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus. Picture: David Kessel
Here Olivia and Alexandra a series of questions on being the two faces of Rosalinda in York Opera’s Die Fledermaus.
How would you describe Rosalinda’s character?
Olivia: “She is a glamorous and spirited character who enjoys flirting with her many admirers. She is intelligent and likes to think she can outwit her unfaithful husband.”
Alexandra: “She’s sassy, spirited and more than a little mischievous. She’s intelligent and enjoys staying one step ahead of everyone around her. While she’s quick to challenge her husband’s infidelities, she’s not entirely innocent herself, which gives the character a wonderfully cheeky hypocrisy. She’s fun-loving, free-spirited, flirtatious and full of personality.”
Do you play a different role on the nights when you’re not playing Rosalinda?
Olivia: “No, I will only be performing the role of Rosalinda tonight and on Friday.”
Alexandra: “No. Rosalinda is quite a substantial role, so we’re making the most of our nights off when we’re not performing! That said, I’ll certainly be there watching and cheering Liv on. I’ll be performing the role of Rosalinda tomorrow and on Saturday.”
Alexandra Mather rehearsing a scene from Die Fledermaus with Karl Reiff. Picture: David Kessel
Have you performed in Die Fledermaus previously?
Olivia: “No, this is my first time performing in Die Fledermaus, but I watched a production at the Royal College of Music, which I really enjoyed.”
Alexandra: “No, this is my first time, although it’s a piece I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. I’ve been familiar with and loved the music for years, so it’s a real pleasure finally to be performing it.”
What’s your big number in the show?
Olivia: “Csárdás, where I am disguised as a Hungarian Countess and am trying to convince the party I am Hungarian through the music of my homeland.”
Alexandra: “Like Liv, my showcase number is the Csárdás. However, my personal favourite piece to perform is probably the Watch Duet. I remember seeing a performance featuring Joan Sutherland when I was about 14 and becoming completely obsessed with it. It’s one of the pieces that first sparked my interest in opera, so performing it now feels particularly special.”
Have you worked separately or together in rehearsal?
Olivia: “During rehearsals we would generally run the scenes separately to allow each of us to explore our own ideas and styles, but we have been supporting each other throughout the process, which has been helpful.”
“Rosalinda is a glamorous and spirited character who enjoys flirting with her many admirers,” says Olivia Turner. Picture: John Saunders
Alexandra: “A bit of both. We’ve rehearsed scenes separately so that we could each develop our own interpretation of Rosalinda, but we’ve also spent a lot of time watching and learning from each other. It’s been a very supportive process, and it’s always useful to have someone nearby who knows your lines when you suddenly forget them!”
What is your history of performing with York Opera?
Olivia: “This is my first time. Everyone has been so welcoming and it has been a pleasure to be involved in this 60th anniversary production.”
Alexandra: “I’ve been performing with York Opera for nearly ten years, and I feel incredibly privileged to be part of the company. They are one of the most welcoming and supportive groups I’ve ever worked with. It may sound clichéd, but they really do feel like a family. York Opera provides opportunities for performers to sing and act at a very high level alongside a full orchestra and exceptional musicians, and I’ve always felt both challenged and supported here.”
What is the principal joy of singing on the York Theatre Royal stage?
Olivia: “I am very excited as this will be my first time singing on the Theatre Royal stage.”
Alexandra: “York Theatre Royal is a fantastic venue. It’s large enough to feel exciting and impressive, but intimate enough that you never lose the connection with the audience. Smaller comic moments still land beautifully, and you can really feel the audience responding to what’s happening on stage. It’s also wonderful to bring local audiences into a thriving local theatre and support a venue that plays such an important role in York’s cultural life.”
York Opera in Die Fledermaus, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow (3/6/2026), Thursday and Friday, 7.30pm, Saturday, 4pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Alexandra Matherin the role of Rosalindain York Opera’s photoshoot at Little Wold Vinery, South Cave, Brough. Picture: David Kessel
Four more questions for Alexandra:
What does sharing the role with Olivia bring to the production?
“It’s a really interesting opportunity to see another person’s interpretation of the role and to learn from their approach. Every performer brings something different to a character, so it’s fascinating to watch how Liv has developed her Rosalinda. It’s also been lovely getting to know her throughout the rehearsal process, and we’ve been able to support each other along the way.”
What are the primary delights of Die Fledermaus as a “party opera”?
“The joy of Die Fledermaus is that it’s light, frothy and enormous fun. It’s wonderfully easy to watch and enjoy. The waltzes and Strauss melodies sweep you along and create an atmosphere of pure celebration.
“At the same time, it has moments of genuine beauty, such as the Act II ensemble Brother Mine, where the pace briefly slows and you’re treated to some glorious, warm-hearted music. It’s a show that balances comedy, elegance and charm perfectly.”
Alexandra Mather in discussion with Die Fledermaus co-director Elizabeth Watson. Picture: David Kessel
How does the directing partnership of John Soper and Elizabeth Watson work?
“They work together extremely well because they bring different strengths to the production. John is a fantastic designer who creates and builds all of our sets himself, so he approaches the show with a very strong visual perspective. Liz is particularly skilled at character work, relationships and emotional storytelling.
“John also has an excellent comic instinct and a brilliant sense of timing, while Liz excels at shaping the more romantic and emotional moments. Together they create a really effective balance.”
What is coming up next for you in 2026?
“Next, I’ll be appearing in Michael Frayn’s classic farce Noises Off with Pick Me Up Theatre at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre in October. I’m very much looking forward to swapping one kind of comic chaos for another and trading operatic farce for one of the greatest stage comedies ever!”
Alexandra Mather‘s Rosalinda, left, and Stephanie Wong’s Adele, enjoying York Opera’s photoshoot at Little Wold Vinery ahead of this week’s production of Die Fledermaus. Picture: David Kessel
Who’s who and what’s what at York Pride 2026 at Knavesmire
FESTIVALS full of Pride, ideas and comedy are the headline acts in Charles Hutchinson’s selection of culture in colourful bloom as May turns to June.
Putting the unity into community, love and equality: York Pride 2026, Knavesmire York, today, 11am to 7.30pm
THE 90-munite York Pride parade sets off from Parliament Street to Knavesmire at 12 noon for a full day of Pride, protest, visibility, music, cabaret, family entertainment and community celebration.
The main stage line-up features Nadine Coyle, Joe McElderry, Urban Cookie Collective, Nicki French, Michael Marouli, Roxanne Cooper, Sweet Like Sabrina, Heavenly Bodies, Jordan Smart, DJ Rory Hoy and York Stage’s cast of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. For full festival details, go to: yorkpride.org.uk. Entry is free.
Alexander McCall Smith: Discussing his books at York Festival of Ideas on June 7 at 6.30pm in Room PZA/103 in the Piazza Building, Campus East, University of York. Picture: Alexander McCall Smith Portraits
Festival of the fortnight: York Festival of Ideas, Place & Space, today until June 12
YORK Festival of Ideas 2026 explores Place and Space in more than 200 mostly free in-person and online events designed to educate, entertain and inspire.
Led by the University of York, the event features world-class speakers (such as Nicola Sturgeon, Clive Myrie, Dame Kelly Holmes, Alexander McCall Smith, Sally Wainwright and Sian Williams), performances, exhibitions, tours, family-friendly activities, a Michael Morpurgo celebration day and much more, with topics ranging from archaeology to art, history to health, politics to psychology, football to Manchester’s Music Soul. For the full programme, go to: yorkfestivalofideas.com.
Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Hosting the finale to Pocklington Arts Centre one-day Comedy Festival today
Comedy event of the week: Pocklington Comedy Festival, today, from 1pm
POCKLINGTON Arts Centre’s Comedy Festival opens with Seeta Wrightson’s work-in-progress (WIP) Fringe Preview of Middling at 1pm, followed by Out Of The Box at 2pm and Brennan Reece’s WIP Fringe Preview of New Jokes at 2.45pm.
Marcel Lucont presents Les Enfants Terribles – A Game Show For Awful Children at 4pm. Then come Tom Neenan’s WIP Fringe Preview at 4.30pm; Sarah Roberts’ WIP Fringe Preview at 6.15pm and the Mixed Bill finale at 8pm, bringing together Lou Wall, Marcel Lucont, Tal Davies, Pravanya Pillay and Raj Poojara, hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
“You sit here,” says Pierre Novellie, who will be standing over there at Theatre@41, Monkgate
Novellie idea of the week: Pierre Novellie, You Sit Here, I’ll Stand There, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, today, 5pm, tickets available, and 8pm, sold out
IT’S time for Pierre Novellie to do stand-up! It’s time for you to watch! “Why not just embrace that, for God’s sake?” he ask on his return to Theatre@41, Monkgate. “All earthly glories fade!
Novellie is co-host of the Frank Skinner, Budpod and Button Boys podcasts and has been seen and heard on World’s Most Dangerous Roads (Dave), The Mash Report (BBC2), Stand Up Central (Comedy Central), The Now Show and The News Quiz (BBC Radio 4). Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
The ELO Experience: Celebrating 50 years of Jeff Lynne songs at York Barbican
Tribute gig of the week: The ELO Experience, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
IN 2025 Jeff Lynne’s ELO performed their last live shows on the Over & Out Tour. Now tribute act The ELO Experience are mounting their own 20th anniversary tour with a set of greatest hits and album gems spanning more than 50 years of Lynne’s music.
Between 1972 and 1986, ELO achieved more combined UK and US Top 40 hits than any other band, including 10538 Overture, Evil Woman, Living Thing, The Diary Of Horace Wimp, Don’t Bring Me Down and Mr Blue Sky. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The book cover artwork for Fiona Mozley’s new novel, Awake Awake
Book event of the week: An Evening with Fiona Mozley, Awake, Awake, Waterstones, Coney Street, York, June 4, 7pm
“WHAT if you can no longer trust your memories,” asks York author Fiona Mozley in her third novel, Awake Awake, published on June 4 by John Murray.
Booker-Shortlisted for her debut Elmet, and now resident in Edinburgh, Fiona returns to her home roots to discuss her new meditation on memory, loss and moral courage in a York-located story that revolves around a woman haunted by vivid memories of things she suspects never could have happened.
Her hour-long talk will be followed by a Q&A between Fiona and the audience and a book-signing session will be held afterwards. Tickets: £6, Waterstones Plus Card members £5, at https://www.waterstones.com/events/an-evening-with-fiona-mozley-at-waterstones-york/york.
Molly Whitehouse and Dan Poppitt in rehearsal for Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ premiere of Love At First Bite
Premiere of the week: Black Sheep Theatre Productions in Love At First Bite, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, June 4 to 6, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
JOSH Woodgate directs Dan Poppitt and Molly Whitehouse’s seductive new work Love At First Bite, wherein dating can be hell, but what if one of them were a creature of the night?” What happens when Alan and Minnie meet at a speed-dating night? A spark flickers. Dates follow. Laughter lingers.
“Yet beneath the rhythms of a familiar rom-com, something waits in the dark,” say Poppitt and Whitehouse, who play the lovers in York company Black Sheep’s premiere. “One of them is a vampire – but the secret shifts. Each night, the actors trade fangs and the audience is left to wonder who is hunter, who is prey.” Blending sharp-fanged wit with a brush of gothic shadow, their play toys with romance, rewrites folklore and invites audiences to consider what it means to love…and to hunger! Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Charlotte Hanna-Williams, left, Jamie-Rose Monk, Seán Carey, Holly Sumpton and Christian Andrews in SplitLip’s Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical. Picture: Matt Crockett
Musical of the week: SplitLip in Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, Grand Opera House, York, June 2 to 6, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
THE year is 1943 and we are losing the war but, luckily, we can gamble all our futures on a stolen corpse. Singin’ In The Rain meets Strangers On A Train in SplitLip’s Operation Mincemeat, the Olivier and Tony award-winning musical take on the unbelievable true story of the twisted secret mission that won us the Second World War.
Bursting at the seams with chaos beyond invention, the question is: how did a dead body, a fake love letter and MI5 operative Ian Fleming come together to wrong-foot Hitler? Let Christian Andrews, Holly Sumpton, Seán Carey, Charlotte Hanna-Williams and latest recruit Jamie-Rose Monk tell the tale. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Sofia Romano in Silver Stage’s murder mystery Club Mistero, on tour at Helmsley Arts Centre
Immersive murder mystery of the week: Silver Stage & Solent University presents Club Mistero, Helmsley Arts Centre, June 5, 7.30pm
LOSE yourself inside the dazzling but dangerous Club Mistero in 1920s’ New York City, where a flighty barman, outspoken diva, secretive showgirl, neglected wife and an owner with eyes on every corner all become suspects when someone is, seemingly, nowhere to be found. Clutch your pearls, ol’ sport, murder is afoot.
In the heart of a speakeasy, surrounded by deception and secrets, a web of betrayal, revenge and power is spun, whereupon tensions rise as the line between friend and foe is blurred, but who will survive the night? Silver Stage’s Evelyn Foy, George Mclean, Niamh Boyle, Sofia Romano and Borna Vitlov will keep you guessing to the very end. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Navigators Art’s poster for On Location, on show at City Screen Picturehouse from June 7
Exhibition launch of the week: Navigators Art presents On Location, York Festival of Ideas, City Screen Picturehouse, York, June 7 to July 3, from 10.30am each day
ON Location, a free art exhibition of some of York’s finest visual artists, explores ideas of place and space, venturing widely beyond conventional landscapes. Open every day in the cafe and upstairs gallery from 10.30am, the show will be launched officially on June 8 from 6pm to 8.30pm in the gallery (free admission, no booking required, all welcome).
The Gold brick road leads to York Barbican for Shalamar on their 50th anniversary tour
Gig announcement of the week: Shalamar, The Gold Tour, Celebrating 50 Years, York Barbican, July 2, 7.30pm
FORMED in Los Angeles in 1976, Shalamar became a defining force in late-1970s and 1980s’ R&B, funk and dance music with 18 UK Top 75 hits, 11 Top 40 singles, four Top Ten hits and more than 25 million records sold worldwide.
Body-popping Jeffrey Daniel and Howard Hewett, from the classic 1982 line-up, are joined by Carolyn Griffey, the female lead vocalist since 2001, to perform A Night To Remember, Take That To The Bank, The Second Time Around, Make That Move, Dead Giveaway, There It Is, Friends and Dancin’ In The Sheets et al. Special guest will be Gwen Dickey, The Voice of Rose Royce. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
York Opera cast members for Die Fledermaus: back row, David Hartley, Olivia Turner and Stephanie Wong; front row, John Soper and Alexandra Mather. Picture: John Saunders
In Focus: York Opera in Die Fledermaus, York Theatre Royal, June 3 to 6, 7.30pm Wednesday to Friday; 4pm, Saturday
YORK Opera is marking not one but two milestones with John Soper and Elizabeth Watson’s production of Die Fledermaus next week.
This year is the company’s 60th anniversary and the 40th anniversary of its first appearance at York Theatre Royal: hence the summer production choice of Johann Strauss II’s party opera, wherein lavish host Prince Orlofsky seeks fresh amusement at his New Year’s Eve party. What better place for disguises, deception and revenge served with chilled champagne?
On an earlier occasion, Doctor Falke had been humiliated by his old friend Herr Eisenstein, who persuaded him to dress for a party as a bat [Die Fledermaus]. After much amusement and ridicule, eventually he was abandoned to wander the streets of Vienna.
Falke plots his revenge with a cocktail of hidden secrets, mistaken identities and a splash or two of champagne that leads to a comedy of errors that soon takes flight. Will the bat be revenged?
For an opera deemed the ideal introduction for those new to the genre, the cast includes an exciting mix of singers new to the group and familiar faces, singing an opera full of memorable tunes and comic moments in English.
Alexandra Mather and Olivia Turner will share the role of Rosalinda; likewise, Stephanie Wong and LaLa Marais both will play Adele, after the decision to double cast the lead roles was made in response to the high calibre of talent displayed at the auditions.
The cast also features Molly Raine (Orlofsky); India Ashberry (Ida); Hamish Brown (Eisenstein); Karl Reiff (Alfredo); Ian Thomson-Smith (Falke); Mark Simmonds (Frank); Alex Holland (Dr Blind);Helen Tomlinson (Melanie); Katie Cole (Faustine) and Lilah Payton (Felicity).
Directors Soper and Watson say: “Prince Orlofsky states ‘when you have seen one opera, you have seen them all’. This is definitely not the case with a York Opera production. Our Die Fledermaus bubbles with lively choruses, memorable music and revenge – served chilled – just like flowing champagne.”
They are joined in the production team by conductor Edward Venn. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
In Focus too: National Centre for Early Music presents Olivia Chaney, Sons Of Art: Purcell Revisited, York Festival of Ideas, NCEM, York, June 5, 7.30pm
Olivia Chaney
OLIVIA Chaney, York musician, Grammy nominee and haunting voice of Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights”, plays a sold-out concert for York Festival of Ideas tonight.
Olivia’s deep connection to the music of Henry Purcell runs throughout her life. Now comes Sons Of Art,her latest performance and album project highlighting the deep affinities between the Baroque composer and the modern singer-songwriter: a shared immediacy, a delight in word-setting and a fearless mix of high art and street culture.
For Olivia, this is not classical crossover but a radical reclamation – a conversation across centuries that feels startlingly fresh. Tonight’s show is part of a tour heralding the upcoming Purcell album, as this modern English songwriter, now 44, reimagines Purcell’s works in a refreshingly natural and contemporary way, alongside original compositions and a chamber ensemble.
“It’s kind of a home show, as I’ve lived in York for seven years,” says Olivia. “My now husband [George Younge] was a lecturer in medieval history at the university, but he’s quit to be a furniture designer and maker, with his workshop in Escrick, though we may be moving from York.
“For this concert, I’ve been corresponding with Delma (NCEM director Delma Tomlin] and thought how nice it would be to combine with the York Festival of Ideas.
“I’ve played a few shows in York before, but usually at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall [at the University of York].”
Olivia, however, also took part in a poignant concert on February 28 at the NCEM, where Eliza Carthy and Special Guests performed The Songs of Martin Carthy in celebration of the Robin Hood’s Bay folk titan’s 60-year legacy.
“It was a really emotional night, and I did something – I wept,” she recalls. “We’d just done The Life & Songs of Martin Carthy, a huge event at EartH Theatre, in Hackney, in September put on with Jon Wilks, with all the great and good of the folk world, Maddy Prior, Billy Bragg, Peggy Seeger, Martin Simpson, Eliza, Martin, and video contributions by Paul Weller, Van Dyke Parks and Bob Dylan. That one was particularly moving, Dylan saying Martin was a huge influence on him.”
Since then, Olivia had been to America to record her next album. “I came home, jumped in the shower and headed to the NCEM to pay tribute to Martin. I hadn’t expected him to be there [given his health], but then I saw him shuffling out of the green room to watch the concert. It was such a moving night.”
Now, Sons Of Art finds Olivia renewing her creative partnership with New York producer-pianist Thomas Bartlett. “The first album I made with him was called Shelter,” she says. “I’d written it on the North York Moors at Hawnby – before I lived in Yorkshire – when I’d been touring heavily in America and wanted to get away from everything. I had a Bechstein piano that my friends helped me transport there, then I had this surreal experience of writing songs in this bucolic setting and then recording them in mid-Manhattan!”
The release of next album Circus Of Desire, was delayed by Covid’s intervention, being held back until 2024. In the hiatus, her Six French Songs EP emerged in 2023.
“My third album with Thomas [the aforementioned Sons Of Art] will come out next year, and this season’s shows are a signposting of the start of the project: one that I’ve wanted to do for more than a decade, revisiting Purcell.”
Meanwhile, Olivia’s profile has been heightened by the presence of her stark, haunting rendition of the 19th century traditional folk ballad Dark Eyed Sailor in a pivotal scene in Emerald Fennell’s outre film “Wuthering Heights”.
“In a sense, I can’t answer completely how it came about in that the director ‘stumbled across the song’, like how after I made Six French Songs, French director Andre Techine – who had Catherine DeNeuve in all his films – found my song Auprès de ma Blonde, one of the first things I put on YouTube, which I then re-recorded for him.” she says. “The film was premiered at Cannes but never got taken up, so I’ve never seen it.”
Back to Emerald… “Having seen other movies by both Andre and Emerald, I think they were each looking for music to drive their narrative, so maybe that’s why Emerld settled on Dark Eyed Sailor, which she decided would be in “Wuthering Heights” right from the beginning.”
What’s more, Emerald was insistent on using the version she had first heard, rather than a new recording. Namely, Olivia’s recording to harmonium accompaniment for BBC Radio 2’s The Folk Show, made on May 22 2013. “There’s something about the rawness of radio sessions, and that was my first ever live session for Mark Radcliffe’s show,” she says.
“I remember painting my nails on the way to the studio, and I guess that session was the beginning of me finding my sound, delving back into folk music.
“In a way it’s a surprise that Emerald hasn’t chosen something from my albums, but she ended up using the song twice, once when Cathy realises she has married the wrong man, and then later an instrumental version, orchestrating out my harmonium.”
How did Olivia react when she attended the premiere. “What was a big surprise was that I thought it might be a little bit imperceptible, or be swamped by all the other music [by Charli xcx], but I was struck by how spare it was, so that you could hardly hear my harmonium,” she says.
“Emily Brontë’s novel is in my top ten, and I thought, ‘how can they use this happy song?’, but Emerald uses it so cleverly, where it’s seven years since Heathcliff went away and has now returned, so the theme is fidelity, as so many songs about sailors and soldiers are.”
Olivia reckons Fennel’s previous work, Saltburn, is superior. ““Wuthering Heights” is so ambitious, so hard to pull off, but where it maybe fails is in its humour,” she says. “But then there is no humour in my work. I’m not into humour in my art. I like humour but I want to be moved by art.”
Olivia Chaney, Sons Of Art: Purcell Revisited, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, June 5, 7.30pm. SOLD OUT.
Olivia Chaney: back story
BORN in Florence to a writer and painter-turned-academic, Olivia grew up listening to everything from Prince to Joni Mitchell to Henry Purcell.
This eclectic mix of influences sparked a passion for song-writing that she nurtured at Chetham’s School of Music and The Royal Academy.
After showcasing at SXSW and a stint as lead singer for electronica outfit Zero 7, she signed with Nonesuch, leading to collaborations with Kronos Quartet and a Grammy nomination for Offa Rex, The Queen Of Hearts, a collection of Fairport Convention-era classics made with Portland, Oregon band The Decemberists in 2017.
Olivia’s first solo album, 2015’s The Longest River, produced by Leo Abrahams, was followed by 2018’s Shelter, recorded in New York City with producer-pianist Thomas Bartlett. Both explored inherited trauma, the clash of tradition and modernity and the paradoxes of love.
In 2023 came Six French Songs, her spontaneous set ofFrench chanson, from medieval ballad to 1960s’ pop, made over two summer evenings at Reservoir Studios with Bartlett and violinist Sam Amidon.
York Pride: Day of Pride, protest, visibility, music, cabaret and family entertainment at Knavesmire tomorrow. Picture: Milner Creative
YORK Pride 2026 celebrates love, equality and community as thousands head to Knavesmire for a day suffused with with music, colour and unity as the LGBT+ rainbow flies proudly across York tomorrow from 11am to 7.30pm.
Free to attend, the festival promises a full day of Pride, protest, visibility, music, cabaret and family entertainment, opening with the 90-minute Pride parade from Parliament Street at 12 noon. Bring rainbow attire, water, comfortable shoes and sun cream or umbrellas (depending on the Yorkshire weekend weather).
The Main Stage line-up features Girls Aloud’s Nadine Coyle, musical star and pop singer Joe McElderry, Urban Cookie Collective, Nicki French, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’s Michael Marouli, Roxanne Cooper, Sweet Like Sabrina, Heavenly Bodies, Jordan Smart, DJ Rory Hoy and York Stage’s cast for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, performing the show’s biggest numbers ahead of the Grand Opera House run from October 16 to 24.
The Main Stage will be hosted by Ash Palmisciano, Mamma Bear and St Sordid Secret, bringing Pride energy, Yorkshire warmth, crowd moments and celebration throughout the day.
The Cabaret Stage returns with a packed line-up of drag, cabaret and queer performance, hosted by Miss Kitty Lee and Crudi Dench. On the bill will be RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’s Victoria Scone, JTG featuring Janice D, Tanya Hyde and Gloria Hole, Luna Hex, Queen Queef, Polly Glamourous, Elle Vosque, Sasha Glam, King Butch, Marigold Addams as Jane McDonald, Pembo, Robynne Ryske, Reese Wetherspoon, Ferne Ando and Mark Anthony.
Crudi Dench: Hosting Cabaret Stage at York Pride tomorrow and presenting Someone Help Her! in The Basement tonight
Crudi Dench, by the way, also will be presenting her “almost finished” debut solo show, Someone Help Her!, in her “ancestral homeland” of York in The Basement at City Screen Picturehouse tonight (29/5/2026) at 8pm.
Ring, ring, who is it? Drag comedian, West End writer, delusional icon and “all-round cheeky Northern piglet” Crudi Dench, of course, who will be taping the pilot episode for her new TV show, Someone Help Her! and needs the assistance of surprise celebrity guests in the audience (you) to help those phoning in.
Chaos ensues in this long-awaited, chaotic debut hour from the star and writer of award-winning, sell-out Edinburgh Fringe shows Drag Queens vs Zombies and Drag Queens vs Vampires. Expect stand-up comedy, audience interaction and a fabulous telephone that Crudi will pick up bravely without receiving a text beforehand. Box office: https://www.outsavvy.com/event/34931/crudi-dench-someone-help-her-york.
Across the festival site, York Pride 2026 will featurethree stages, a dedicated dance tent, two bars, 100 stalls and food & drink traders, charities, community groups, sponsor spaces, an expandedFamily Area and the UK’s largest one-day funfair, plus the proud hosting of York Trans Pride.
Who’s who and what’s what at York Pride2026
The Family Area will bring family-friendly entertainment, activities, performances and creative spaces for children, young people and families, making York Pride a celebration for all ages.
York Pride is free to attend, a policy only made possible by donations, sponsorship, fundraising, traders, volunteers and community support. Every donation and every purchase from the festival’s official shop helps keep Pride free and protects the future of the event.
Explore the website at https://www.yorkpride.org.uk/to find out more about the Pride Parade, accessibility, volunteering, trading, sponsorship, donating, shopping, travel information, performers and everything planned for York Pride 2026.
Follow @yorkpride for the latest announcements and updates.
John McCusker: Fiddler, composer, producer, trio regular, podcaster and masterclass teacher
SCOTTISH fiddler John McCusker is joined by virtuoso multi-instrumentalist and singer Sam Kelly and flute, whistle and guitar player Toby Shaer in his folk trio to perform a thrilling combination of instrumental dexterity, heartfelt songs and live energy on the eve of the York Festival of Ideas 2026.
“It was a really lovely surprise to learn it’ll be part of the festival,” says musician, composer and producer John. “I think it will influence what we’ll put in the set-list. It makes you look at the gig through a different lens, thinking about it being part of a festival of ideas.
“I always love coming to York. It feels like I’ve played everywhere there! It’s 36 years of touring now, where one of the lovely things is how places feel very familiar, like the NCEM in York, where we’ve made many friends and the stage feels very comfortable.”
Born in Belshill, fiddle, tin whistle, cittern and guitar player John began touring with the Battlefield Band at the age of 17. Now 53, he says: “One of the things I’ve always strived to do over those 36 years is to keep myself creatively stimulated, after working with many musicians that have inspired me.
“I feel lucky in having done things like bumping into Eddi Reader, who said she’d fallen in love with the songs of Robert Burns and then doing that record with her, or making a record with Kris Drever and Roddy Woomble [2008’s Before The Ruin].
“I’ve never had a plan. I’ve just bumped into people and ended up working with them, touring or making records, and hopefully they’re drawn to me by the magic that happens between us.”
John continues: “Like working with Michael McGoldrick and John Doyle [in an acoustic folk trio rooted in contemporary Celtic and roots music], when we didn’t want the magic to stop after doing Celtic Connections together.
“We’ve just done 40 gigs this year where what we play is barely discussed. We just go on stage and the creativity happens, the chemistry clicks.”
Now John’s attention turns to the John McCusker Trio with Sam Kelly and Toby Shaer, where their fusion of original compositions, traditional melodies and contemporary folk bursts with innovation, joy and soul.
“We’ve just made an EP that’ll be available at the gig – it was being pressed last week,” he says. “With Sam and Toby, it feels like we’re not just copying the other trios. This trio has its own qualities, developed by touring together several times.
“What we’ve discovered is that if I were to play what I play with McGoldrick and Doyle, it doesn’t sound right with Sam and Toby, so instead we try to play to our strengths, not doing something the other trios would, but thinking about what tunes would suit Sam and Toby. I’m loving the discovery of that, albeit I’m trying to do less travelling now.”
“After 36 years, I feel I still have so much to learn,” says John McCusker. Picture: Elly Lucas
John, who now lives in Perth & Kinross, has turned his hand to hosting a podcast, The Fiddle Line, interviewing the likes of fellow Scottish fiddlers Ali Bain and Duncan Chisholm. “The premise is that, as musicians, we meet at festivals, in recording studios or at concerts halls, where we’ll give each other a hug, play tunes together, but I didn’t know what Duncan’s back story was until I interviewed him for the podcast. I’m really enjoying doing the shows.”
John is also hosting fiddle weekends, “having shied away from teaching until I went to the Belfast Trad Festival”. “I did five days solid, teaching five hours a day, as well as concerts, where beforehand I was thinking ‘why am I doing this? I don’t like teaching’, when usually I’ll just do a two-hour masterclass at the Cambridge Folk Festival, but I so enjoyed it that I started teaching last year in the local village hall, in Crook of Devon, just outside Kinross,” he says.
“One of the teaching sessions was with Duncan [Chisholm], where he gave a masterclass and we recorded the podcast live.”
From differing trios to podcasts and fiddle-teaching weekends, John is keeping himself “creatively happy”. “It’s this love of still learning, learning how to get better at teaching and podcasting,” he says. “After 36 years, I feel I still have so much to learn.
“I remember when I used to play in folk clubs at the age of 12, then joining the Battlefield Band at 17, then touring the world with Mark knopfler, playing arenas where the crowds got bigger and bigger, feeling out of my depth working with these genius musicians from all over, thinking how did I get here?
“But you learn so much by soaking it all up – and there are so many sides to it. I remember a chat with John Doyle and Michael McGoldrick, when we were playing at 100 miles an hour and feeling we were not getting anything back from the audience.
“We had to learn about the pacing of our gigs, when we were getting faster and faster. Or learning by talking to Ali Bain about what it was like in the early days.
“Or feeling that when I started playing with the Battlefield Band, I remember being young and touring with older musicians and observing the way they talked to the audience and set up a set of tunes or a song. That had a huge impact on me; how, after telling a joke, you can play anything because you have the audience right there.”
John returns to his statement of “sometimes wanting to travel less”, then qualifies what he means. “One thing I’ve never got tired of is how, when someone plants a creative seed, it blossoms into a record or into touring,” he says.
This applies to working with Sam and Toby. “We’re thinking, ‘what can we do with all these sounds?’; ‘how can we bring in as many influences as possible to the sound?’. I’m really buzzing off working with them, having been a fan of Sam for years, when I had no idea of his love of old songs.”
Tomorrow’s gig has sold out. Box office for returns only: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Jump to it:Charlotte Hanna-Williams, left, Jamie-Rose Monk, Sean Carey, Holly Sumpton and Christian Andrews in SplitLip’s Operation Mincemeat. Picture: Matt Crockett
THE decision to write the brash musical Operation Mincemeat was the last roll of the dice from its quartet of young British creative talents after years of performing sketch shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Next week, the world tour announced at the entrance of the United Nations in New York City on May 13 2025 arrives at the Grand Opera House, York, where musical comedy troupe SplitLip’s Olivier, WhatsOnStage, Off-West End and Tony awards winner will run from June 2 to 6.
What began as a tiny and tiny-budgeted Fringe show at London’s 77-seat New Diorama Theatre in May 2019 – after a scratch performance at The Lowry, Salford –triggered sold-out runs at Southwark Playhouse and Riverside Studios, followed by a West End premiere at the Fortune Theatre in May 2023, subsequently drawing 88 five-star reviews and 64 award nominations and rising, while building a fanbase known affectionately as “Mincefluencers”.
“We wish to thank the audiences who continue to carry this show with love and enthusiasm,” say writer-composers David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts.
“Operation Mincemeat reminds us that in uncertain times, the bonds between allies are more important than ever – and that message feels especially relevant as we consider all the great nations in which our show will now have the opportunity to play. This show continues to be the adventure of a lifetime, and we’re wildly excited about what’s to come.”
Charlotte Hanna-Williams’s Jean Leslie in Operation Mincemeat. Picture: Matt Crockett
SplitLip’s musical is set in 1943, when the Allied Forces are on the ropes, but luckily they have a trick up their sleeve. Correction, not up their sleeve, per se, but rather, inside the pocket of a stolen corpse. Equal parts farce, thriller and Ian Fleming-style spy caper, Operation Mincemeat tells the wildly improbable true story of the twisted covert operation that turned the tide of the Second World War.
Bursting at the seams with the kind of chaos that no-one could invent, the question is: how did a dead body, a fake love letter and – of all people – MI5 operative Ian Fleming come together to wrong-foot Hitler?
In a nutshell, five actors play more than 80 roles as MI5 plans to fool the Nazis as to where an Allied invasion of Italy was to occur. “We had been devouring every kind of source we could for telling the story of Operation Mincemeat, and we’d come to this realisation that it chimed every macabre, sick, twisted bell in all our horrible heads,” recalls Felix Hagan. “By miles, the funniest thing that we could think of at the start was that Ian Fleming was involved.”
SplitLip had a track record for “weirder, cabaret-style work” when they crafted Operation Mincemeat as their first musical, whose style spanned period ballads to hip-hop. “We approached every number completely with a clean slate as to what is the correct musical palette for this one song,” says David Cumming, who originated the role of Charles Cholmondeley, the nerdy MI5 conceiver of the subterfuge.
“And so we were less thinking about who’s going to be watching it; we were like, what does the story require in this moment, for this moment to be the best it possibly can be?”
Jamie-Rose Monk’s Johnny Bevan in Operation Mincemeat. Picture: Matt Crockett
Directed by Robert Hastie, former artistic director of Sheffield Theatres and director of Chris Bush and Richard Hawley’s Sheffield musical Standing At The Sky’s Edge, the touring cast combines Christian Andrews, Holly Sumpton, Seán Carey and Charlotte Hanna-Williams from the West End production with latest recruit Jamie-Rose Monk.
“I first saw it in the West End,” says Jamie-Rose. “I thought how sometimes, when you have a high expectation of a show with a bit of hype about it, that it doesn’t live up to it, but Operation Mincemeat absolutely smashed it, with so many characters in it, making you wonder how they did it and how it was one of things that could only work in the theatre, taking you on a storytelling journey.”
Charlotte recalls her first encounter. “I had friends who’d seen it before it went into the West End, but even at that point, when I was in the process of auditioning, I didn’t know what to expect,” she says.
“I was just in awe, and I was really excited from an actor’s point of view. It was such an exciting prospect, so rewarding to do, but also thinking, ‘oh my god, how on Earth are there only five actors doing this?!”
Charlotte was also struck by how “it’s a true story that’s managed to completely pass people by when we’re learning about the [Second World] War at school”.
“We do often see the male side of history, but actually this show is really good at showing how instrumental women were,” says Charlotte Hanna-Williams
Jamie-Rose rejoins: “The first thing that hit me when I watched it was the spirit of the show: the spirit of deception and the strategy involved. It really captures how a small group is trying to pull off this mad thing, which we see play out for real.”
The female perspective is a strong feature too. “We do often see the male side of history, but actually this show is really good at showing how instrumental women were,” says Charlotte.
“It’s not shoved down your throat, but it’s great to discover these people, and now even more research has been done by fans of the show, leading to a book about or characters, so it really shows how so many individuals came together, and quite unexpectedly, not the generals but people who work in the office.”
Jamie-Rose was delighted to be joining the debut Operation Mincemeat tour in February: “It’s a real gift to know that you’re about to do an excellent, tried-and-trusted show with brilliant writing, characters and music that we know works. It’s a real treat, but it’s also quite scary, because there’s expectation, which is terrifying but exciting too.”
Charlotte could draw on her West End experience of performing in the show. “You’re running on adrenaline a lot. That’s why we rehearse really thoroughly, so if anything goes wrong, we pick each other up 100 per cent. That’s why I’m really proud about doing this show.”
“It’s really good to get to play someone I would never be cast as normally. It’s one of my favourite moments,” says Jamie-Rose Monk of performing the role of MI5 operative Ian Fleming in Operation Mincemeat
Among her roles is Jean Leslie: “She’s the only female character being played by a female member of the cast! There’s lots of gender swapping for roles,” she says. “Jean is a young woman coming into MI5, which, at the time, was a bit of a boys’ club, and there’s this expectation that she’ll be part of the typing pool, but I get to play a character who’s really true to herself and is more than the girl who makes the tea.
“There’s also a moment of real poignancy in her journey, and it’s such a privilege to tell her story.”
Visiting York for the first time, Jamie-Rose’s principal role is Johnny Bevan. “He’s the ‘boss boss’, tasked by Downing Street to make up a deception plan, and I guess the main thing we get from Bevan are the stakes of the operation, where it’s so fast paced and fun, but it’s also serious with life consequences if it’s not pulled off successfully,” Jamie-Rose says.
“I also play Haselden [Francis Haselden, British Vice-Consul in Huelva], who’s in Spain, tasked with making sure it goes well, but he’s not so good at that, and Ian Fleming, who you see at the start at MI5. It’s really good to get to play someone I would never be cast as normally. It’s one of my favourite moments.”
Summing up the five-star appeal of Operation Mincemeat, Charlotte concludes: “It appeals to all demographics. Someone said, their husband usually hates musicals, but now he’s bought the soundtrack album!”
SplitLip in Operation Mincemeat: A New Musicalt, Grand Opera House, York, June 2 to 6, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday matinees. Also Hull New Theatre, July 6 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Thursday & Saturday matinees; Leeds Grand Theatre, September 7 to 12, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: York, atgtickets.com/york; Hull, hulltheatres.co.uk; Leeds, leedsheritagetheatres.com.
[hanse] Pfeyfferey: York Early Music Festival 2026 artists in residence. Picture: Vasilisa Gorbacheva
YORK Early Music Festival is to mark its 50th year in July with a spectacular new commission, the majestic York Fanfare, Flourish At 50, to be played several times during the opening weekend.
To create the fanfare, the festival joined forces with West Yorkshire composer Sam Meredith and the all-female German ensemble [hanse] Pfeyffery – it translate as [town] pipes – to create this magnificent piece of music.
Wakefield- born composer and multi-instrumentalist Meredith, who now lives in London, was a finalist in the 2023 NCEM Young Composers Award.
He was chosen from a strong line up of applicants, all alumni from the composers award, to be this year’s Commission Composer for the York Early Music Festival.
“We put out a call to all 100 of our award alumni, inviting bids from these composers,” says festival director Delma Tomlin. “[hanse] Pfeyffery then had conversations with selected composers and settled on Sam.”
Last year, Meredith completed his MA in Opera-Making and Writing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His work has been performed at the Barbican, London, and the annual Bauhaus Festival, London, under the tutelage of John Harle, who has commissioned him to write pieces for big band, large ensemble and most recently a duet for saxophone and piano.
Meredith has sung and toured with the Idrisi Ensemble and was proud to appear in the choir for Alan Bennett’s 2025 film The Choral, filmed in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, directed by Nicholas Hytner.
The Yorkshire Fanfare will be performed by this year’s festival artists in residence, [hanse] Pfeyffery, a Renaissance wind band that specialises in improvised and rediscovered music from around 1500 played on shawms, cornetto, dulcian, slide trumpet and trombone.
The ensemble of Hannah Geisel, shawm, Lilli Pätzold, cornett, and Alexandra Mikheeva, slide trumpet and trombone, were finalists in the 2024 York International Young Artists Competition when they won the Cambridge Early Music Prize.
Composer Sam Meredith
The York Fanfare will open this year’s festival on Friday, July 3, played on the grass outside the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, at 6.20pm before the opening concert by I Fagiolini, and then be performed outside the West Door of York Minster before The Sixteen’s concert on Saturday, July 4 at 6.45pm, 7pm and 7.15pm.
The last chance to catch [hanse] Pfeyffery playing the fanfare will come on BBC Radio 3’s The Early Music Show, broadcast live from the NCEM, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, on Sunday, July 5 at 5pm.
[hanse] Pfeyffery also will perform Serenade for Isabella: The Casanatense Chansonnier at the York Early Music Friends Coffee Concert, a morning of music, conversation and coffee at the NCEM on July 4 from 10.30am to 11.30am.
Hosted by the Friends and open to everyone, the concert features works from the Casanatense Chansonnier, written as a wedding gift for Isabella d’Este in Ferrara in 1492, but also serving as a repertoire book for her piffari, or court wind-players.
[hanse] Pfeyffery will perform works from the Chansonnier based on vocal originals by Dufay, Agricola and Josquin, alongside instrumentally conceived pieces from Southern Germany, reflecting the powerful cultural exchanges that occurred at the Italian courts, creating a new secular repertory that would become widely popular across Europe.
York Fanfare composer Sam Meredith says: “In this piece, I wanted to emulate the rousing and awe-inducing nature of a traditional fanfare, while also creating a sense of playfulness, joy and celebration, more in the spirit of folk and dance music.
“The often syncopated landscape that emerged, first during the compositional process and then through working with [hanse] Pfeyfferey, is hopefully an exciting and an energetic tribute to the National Centre for Early Music, who commissioned this fanfare to introduce the 50th Early Music Festival in York.”
Dr Christopher Fox, who has been involved in selecting and mentoring the young composers for the NCEM Award since 2011, says: “Every year I am amazed at the imagination and skill of the composers who create music for the award scheme. The workshop day, at which eight young composers develop their work with a professional ensemble, is always very exciting.
“It’s also been a delight to see so many of the NCEM composers, such as Sam Meredith, go on to make a name for themselves. The NCEM alumni are a fantastic bank of compositional talent.”
For the full festival programme and tickets, visit ncem.co.uk/whats-on/yemf.
YORK Barbican’s orchestra-in-residence ended its season with a mixed bag centred around Bruch’s First Violin Concerto – by far the most famous of the three he wrote – alongside two overtures from opposite ends of the Romantic era, plus Britten’s Sea Interludes and Ravel’s La Valse.
It was all very tastefully delivered but lacked the final punch that a meatier second half – with a symphony perhaps – might have produced.
Bradley Creswick made his name hereabouts as leader for 25 years of the Royal Northern Sinfonia, of which he is now Leader Emeritus. He lollops onto the stage with a mischievous smile that radiates both surprise and delight, but his casual demeanour belies a fluent technique and a seriousness of intent.
He immediately took a slower tempo than that suggested by the opening chords: his entire approach to the introduction was leisurely, liberally laced with rubato, and his mellow tone in the slow movement was ideally suited to its tear-jerking melodies.
It was not until the jaunty rhythms of the finale that he really let loose, bouncing crisply through both main melodies and accelerating with panache through the coda. Accompanying his relatively wayward tempos, especially in the first two movements, would have tested a lesser conductor than Simon Wright. However, the orchestra stayed in remarkably close attendance, even matching Creswick’s energy in the finale.
Each half of the afternoon was prefaced with an overture. The horn quartet at the start of Weber’s Der Freischütz was stylish, near faultless in fact. Not to be outdone, the violins were positively spine- tingling in the Vivace section.
Creswick humbly took a seat with them after the interval, when Verdi’s overture to La Forza del Destino offered the brass a chance to show their mettle, especially in the final prolonged crescendo – a trick Verdi had learned from Rossini.
Britten aligned four of the six sea interludes in his opera Peter Grimes into a suite, to which he appended the passacaglia that falls between the two scenes of Act 2.
In many ways, the different moods of the interludes reflect varied aspects of Grimes’ own volatile personality. Playing them as a suite relies on the chameleon qualities of an orchestra.
Two aspects here predominate. The woodwinds need to be highly flexible, running around seemingly in circles while the rest of the orchestra remains largely calm, as in ‘Dawn’. He also uses an extensive percussion section. Wright handled both these superbly.
He also brought extra emphasis to the dark underlay of ‘Moonlight’, while benefiting from the aplomb of his viola soloist in the Passacaglia, and encouraging some real shrieking from his winds in ‘Storm’.
Ravel’s ‘choreographic poem’ La Valse was at first rejected by Diaghilev as not being balletic enough, but was eventually staged. Above all, it needs to dance, particularly in its apotheosis when its constituent parts seem to disintegrate.
After conjuring a passionate mood for the central section, Wright was not afraid to launch into stridency in the final frenzied chords when the waltz seems to self-destruct.
