Category: Music

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More Things To Do in York and beyond when ghosts take over gardens. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 43, from The York Press

Sir Alan Ayckbourn: Marking 60th anniversary of his comedy Relatively Speaking with rehearsed reading and Q&A at the SJT tomorrow. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

FROM garden ghosts to Friends parody, Ayckbourn anniversary celebrations to Toussaint’s saxophone, Charles Hutchinson finds joy both outdoors and indoors.

Anniversary landmark of the week: Alan Ayckbourn’s Relatively Speaking, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Sunday, 2.30pm

AS part of the SJT’s fundraising weekend with Director Emeritus Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Sunday’s 60th anniversary rehearsed reading of Ayckbourn’s Relatively Speaking will be followed by a Q&A with Sir Alan.

Greg and Ginny are living together, but Greg suspects he is not the only man in her life. Prompted by Ginny’s plan to “visit her parents”, he decides to follow her. Ginny is in fact going to see a considerably older lover, but only to break up with him. Greg mistakes the ex-lover and his wife for Ginny’s parents, a situation only compounded by Ginny’s arrival. Antony Eden directs a cast of Hayden Wood, Gina Burnell, Liza Goddard and Russell Richardson. Box office:  01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Ghosts In The Garden: York’s haunted history told in 58 wire-mesh sculptures

Spectral trail of the season: Ghosts In The Garden, across York, until November 2

ORGANISED by York BID (Business Improvement District), the Ghosts In The Gardens sculpture trail has returned to York’s public gardens, ruins, hidden corners and green spaces in a free family event featuring 58 3D wire-mesh figures inspired by York’s haunted history.

Crafted in partnership with York creative team Unconventional Design, the translucent figures range from soldiers to monks, with ten new spectral sculptures to “ensure fresh surprises for returning visitors”.

Dave Johns: Playing Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club tonight in rare York outing

Comedy gig of the week: Dave Johns, Paul Pirie, Josh Sedman and Damion Larkin, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, YO1 Live Lounge, York Barbican, today, 8pm

I, DANIEL Blake actor and comedian Dave Johns has appeared on the stand-up circuit since 1989. Now highly selective about where and when he performs, tonight’s show is a rare chance to catch him in York.

Scotsman Paul Pirie specialises in blurring the lines between real-life anecdotes and flight of fancy, jumping from bitchy to silly. Yorkshire comedian Josh Sedman is equipped with quips, “Wetherby Teeth” and a lovely head of hair. Promoter Damion Larkin hosts as ever. Doors open at 7:30pm. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Dame Imogen Cooper: Piano concert at Helmsley Arts Centre tonight. Picture: Sussie Ahlburg

Classical concert of the week: Dame Imogen Cooper, Helmsley Arts Centre, today, 7.30pm

AFTER playing St Peter’s Church, Norton, at July’s Ryedale Festival, pianist Dame Imogen Cooper returns to Ryedale this weekend to play Bach’s Nun Freut Euch, Lieben Christen G’mein, arranged by Kempff;  Bach’s chorale-prelude Nun Komm’ der Heiden Heiland, arranged by Busoni and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 899. Post-interval, her programme continues with Beethoven’s Seven Bagatelles and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 935. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Alicia Belgarde (Monica), left, Daniel Parkinson (Chandler), Enzo Benvenuti (Ross), Eva Hope (Rachel), Amelia Atherton (Phoebe) and Ronnie Burden (Joey) in Friends! The Musical Parody, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith

The one where they sing: Friends! The Musical Parody, Grand Opera House, York, September 30 to October 4, Tuesday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5.30pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

NEW York and Las Vegas hit Friends! The Musical Parody is a musical comedy packed with iconic moments from all ten seasons of the beloved television series, complemented by an original musical score. Join Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe, the world’s most famous group of twenty-somethings, as they navigate love, friendship and life’s ups and downs in 1990s’ New York City.

“Whether you’re in a love triangle, trying to make it as an actor, or just can’t quit your day job, you’ll be laughing, crying, and quoting your favourite lines all night long,” the show promises. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Saxophonist Jean Toussaint: Opening autumn season at National Centre for Early Music on Wednesday

Jazz gig of the week: Jean Toussaint, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, October 1, 7.20pm

THE Jean Toussaint Quintet – saxophonist, composer and bandleader Toussaint, pianist Emile Hinton, bassist Conor Murray, drummer Ben Brown and trumpet player Joti – showcases his JT5 project’s latest album, recorded at London’s Vortex jazz club in 2024.

York Music Forum students will be working with Toussaint earlier in the day to share their work on stage from 7.20pm to 7.40pm. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Sue Ryding, left, recalling her 40-year comedy partnership with the late Maggie Fox (inset) in LipService in Funny Stuff at Pocklington Arts Centre

Reflections on grief: LipService in Funny Stuff, Pocklington Arts Centre, October 2, 7.30pm

SUE Ryding is one half of legendary satirical duo LipService. In March 2022, her comedy partner, York actress and writer Maggie Fox, died  leaving Sue with a shipping container full of 40 years of stage props, costumes, wigs, hats, shoes, sheep, you name it.

This show looks at all the “stuff” we accumulate, hoard and hate to let go in her humorous and creative response to grief, wherein Sue struggles to part with a life-sized stuffed sheep, a badger onesie, some ruby slippers, a sinking bog, Charlotte Bronte’s knickers and a host of soft toys. Touring anecdotes are combined with archive footage from LipService shows. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Tom Smith: Editors’ frontman, playing solo show at Stockton on the Forest Village Hall

Indie rock gig of the week: Tom Smith, Stockton on the Forest Village Hall, near York, October 3, 7.45pm

TOM Smith, frontman of Birmingham indie rock band Editors since 2022, heads north to play a seated village hall gig in North Yorkshire, hosted by Off The Beaten Track and The Crescent, York. Expect a selection of new solo work alongside Editors’ favourites. Box office for returns only: thecrescentyork.com.

Cooper Robson: Say Owt Slam special guest at The Crescent, York

Sizzling spoken words of the week: Say Owt Slam with special guest Cooper Robson, The Crescent, York, October 3, 7.30pm

HEATON slam champion and left-wing, left-field loudmouth Cooper Robson returns to York for a special-guest full set of hard-hitting poetry, raucous comedy and outlandish at The Crescent. Robson sports “more meter than Mo Farrah, more nonsense than a sapling touching Tolkien-tree”, while spouting more trash than a government coastal policy. Box office: thecrescentyork.com or on the door.

Pixies: Playing York for first time in 40-year career next May

Gig announcement of the week: Pixies, York Barbican, May 20 2026

CELEBRATING  40 years since their 1986 formation in Boston, Massachusetts, Pixies will head out on their Pixies 40 worldwide tour next year. The British and European leg will open with their long-overdue York debut on May 20 at York Barbican.

Founding members Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering will be touring with bassist Emma Richardson as they head to the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Tickets for their only Yorkshire concert are on sale at bnds.us/ziwfqx or yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/pixies.

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After 40 years, Pixies to make long-overdue York debut with May 20 Barbican show

Pixies: 40th anniversary tour heads for York Barbican next spring

PIXIES will play York for the first time in their 40-year career on their Pixies 40 tour next spring.

Celebrating four decades since their formation in Boston, Massachusetts, the American alt.rock band will open the British and European leg of their travels at York Barbican on May 20, the only Yorkshire venue on a 13-date June and July itinerary also taking in Ireland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Tickets go on sale today at 10am at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/pixies/ and https://bnds.us/ziwfqx.

Founding members Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering will be joined by bassist Emma Richardson on a tour that fittingly will kick off on British soil, where they were first embraced by the music press before storming the globe.

More than 35 years since their groundbreaking platinum-certified album Doolittle album catapulted Pixies into the UK top ten, and more than 20 years since their re-formation at the Coachella festival, Francis and co are deep into their second creative act.

Pixies: Emma Richardson, Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering

From their first chaotic club shows, Pixies redefined what a live concert could be. No glamour, no stage banter, only a relentless, explosive surge of sound. A glimpse into a new way rock music could be performed.

1987’s Come On Pilgrim introduced Pixies’ surreal, fragmented songwriting. 1988’s Surfer Rosa proved they were unlike anything else and 1989’s Doolittle broke wider, twisting pop hooks into dark shapes and dragging swelling crowds into their jagged rhythm.

1990’s Bossanova and 1991’s Trompe le Monde ensued as relentless tours across the United States and Europe cemented Pixies as the essential alt-rock ticket before their 1993 split. Their 2004 reunion was seismic: instant sell-outs, Coachella triumph and bigger audiences than ever.

Sharper, fiercer, and now spanning generations, Pixies became living proof of their own influence with five albums since 2014: Indie Cindy; Head Carrier (2016); Beneath The Eyrie (2019); Doggerel (2022) and The Night The Zombies Came (2024).

Pixies’ poster for their Pixies 40 travels, opening at York Barbican on May 20 2026. Royal Albert Hall, London, debut awaits on May 28.

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National Centre for Early Music launches new season on October 1. Who’s playing?

Saxophonist Jean Toussaint: First blast of brass in the NCEM’s autumn season on October 1

THE National Centre for Early Music autumn season will open next Wednesday with Grammy-winning saxophonist, composer and bandleader Jean Toussaint’s 7.20pm concert at St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York.

Born on the Dutch Antilles island of Aruba, Toussaint grew up in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

He moved to London in 1987, since when he has used the capital as his base. For his return to York with his latest project, JT5, he will share the stage with emerging British jazz talent, performing material from his latest album, JT5 Live At The Vortex 10/08/2024, recorded at the London jazz club last summer.

Supported by Ronnie Scott’s Charitable Trust, York Music Forum students will be working with Toussaint earlier in the day to share their work on the NCEM stage from 7.20pm to 7.40pm.

Trumpet player Byron Wallen: Raising the Black Flag at the NCEM on October 24

“Our autumn season welcomes a host of artists from across the world, bringing the highest-quality music-making to the city and continuing to share opportunities for the young, and the not so young, to get involved,” says NCEM director Delma Tomlin.

Pianist Jonny Best will be joined by violinist Susannah Simmons, cellist Liz Hanks and percussionist Trevor Bartlett for Frame Ensemble’s live accompaniment of Northern Silents’ presentation of Julien Duvivier’s 1929 French silent film The Divine Voyage on October 6.

As with Northern Silents’ sold-out performance of South in 2023, Frame Ensemble’s improvised score will capture the atmosphere of Duvivier’s lushly photographed tale of faith and hope about rapacious businessman Claude Ferjac sending his ship, La Cordillere, on a long trading journey, knowing it has been repaired poorly and is likely to sink. An entire village of sailors, desperate to support their families, has no choice but to set sail.

Virtuoso guitarists Gordon Giltrap & John Etheridge team up for 2 Parts Guitar on October 14; Damien O’Kane’s Irish tenor banjo and Ron Block’s five-string bluegrass banjo link up the following night to showcase their third joyously innovative album in seven years, Banjovial, the sequel to the ground-breaking Banjophony and Banjophonics.

Heidi Talbot: Previewing November 21 album Grace Untold at NCEM on October 23

On October 23, Irish singer-songwriter Heidi Talbot returns to the NCEM ahead of the November 21 release of her new album, Grace Untold, a collection of songs based around Irish goddesses and inspirational women, performed in York with Toby Shaer on fiddle and flute and Innes White on guitar.

Byron Wallen, London-born composer, traveller, educator and trumpet and flugelhorn player, heads back to the NCEM on November 24 with a very personal project: an exploration of childhood memories and the emotional strains between a mother and her son, separated by the Atlantic Ocean.

Performed with pianist and keyboard player Nick Ramm, Black Flag is in part a response to the photographic work of Annabel Elgar, whose images will be shared on screen. Emotional, searing, poignant and tough, this will be an evening to reflect and explore the shifting balance of power between the urban and the rural, together with the toxicity of colonialism, but with a glimpse of light before the sun.

“As our 25th year draws to a close, we are particularly pleased to welcome trumpeter and composer Byron Wallen as he shares his very personal exploration of childhood in Black Flag,” says Delma. “Likewise to invite you to enjoy an extraordinarily upbeat show of rhythms in the company of N’Faly Kouyaté and to share the haunting tapestry of sounds from Armenia and Iran with duduk player Arsen Petrosyan.”

N’Faly Kouyaté : Showcasing new album Finishing on November 12

Booked in for November 12, Songlines Music Awards winner N’Faly Kouyaté is a living bridge between ancestral heritage and future sounds, inviting you to a musical odyssey of songs that stir the soul, inspire reflection, elicit smiles and set bodies moving.

Playing balafon, kora, n’gonin, djeli doundoun, djeli tamamba and the toumba (congas), Guinean musician Kouyaté will be showcasing music from his September 12 album Finishing, with Afro Celt Sound System, where Celtic voices and instrumentation meet the vibrant heartbeat of African rhythms.

On November 17, Arsen Petroysan will be joined by Mehdi Rostami, on setar, and Adib Rostami, on kamancheh, to perform haunting melodies and intricate improvisations in a meditative and emotional journey through the ancient Armenian and Iranian cultures.

On November 16, at 6.30pm, wry Kent folk musician Chris Wood – a six-time BBC Folk Award winner and key member of The Imagined Village alongside North Yorkshire’s Martin and Eliza Carthy – offers reflections on minor league football, empty nest syndrome, learning to swim, Cook-in-Sauce and the Gecko as a  metaphor for contemporary society in celebration of “the sheer one-thing-after-anotherness of life”.

The folk focus next falls on The Jeremiahs, the Irish band of Joe Gibney, vocals, Matt Mancuso, fiddle and vocals, Conor Crimmins, flute, and James Ryan, guitar, in their NCEM debut on December 3.

Chris Wood: Celebrating “the sheer one-thing-after-anotherness of life” on November 16

The NCEM teams up with Explore York library service and Mayfield Valley Arts Trust for Baroque Around The Books on December 8 and 9, when Dowland’s Foundry, with tenor Daniel Thompson and lutenist Sam Brown, presents  Facets Of Time in various York libraries to explore the meaning of time through music and poetry. Full details can be found at ncem.co.uk/baroque-around–the-books.

York Early Music Christmas Festival 2025 will run from December 5 to 14, featuring Fieri Consort& Camerta Oresund, Consone & Chiaroscuo Quartets, Marian Consort & ECSE, Apollo’s Cabinet, Helen Charlston, Joglaresa and Apollo5. A full preview will follow in The York Press soon.

Festive folk fixtures Green Matthews – modern-day balladeers Chris Green and Sophie Green – will see out the old year at the NCEM with their Midwinter Revels concert of Christmas carols and winter folk songs on ancient and modern instruments on December 16.

“Our autumn season is creative, engaging and will be hugely rewarding,” says Delma. “We look forward to welcoming you.”

Concerts start at 7.30pm unless stated otherwise. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

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How Edward Leigh is making Friends! about more than the friends in musical parody, on tour at Grand Opera House, York

Edward Leigh’s Gunther in Friends! The Musical Parody, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, next week. Picture: Pamela Raith

FRIENDS! The Musical Parody is the one with new songs and iconic moments – pivot points – from 236 television episodes squeezed into two hours on stage.

After New York and Las Vegas hit runs for satirical duo Bob and Tobly McSmith’s show, now the Hairspray musical producers and The Full Monty stage director are taking the escapades of “the world’s most famous group of twenty-somethings” on the UK road. Next coffee stop, Grand Opera House, York, from September 30 to October 4.

Join not only Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe as they navigate love, friendship and life’s ups and downs in 1990s’ New York City, but also such supporting staples as Central Perk coffee shop worker Gunther, played by Knaresborough actor Edward Leigh, in this nostalgic musical comedy replete with an original musical score and favourite lines aplenty.

“Everyone seems to know Friends but didn’t know there was a musical – and not did I,” admits Edward, as he settles into a multi-role-playing role that calls on him to be the warm-up master of ceremonies for the show-opening re-creation of the live taping of a Friends TV episode and to launch Act Two with a Friends quiz.

“We started rehearsals in London, then did a six-week run at the Barn Theatre in Cirencester over the summer, before coming back for a couple of weeks’ rehearsals for the tour. We opened at Nottingham Theatre Royal last Wednesday and got a very strong response. Really lovely. The cast got a little teary!”

What does putting Friends on stage bring to stories of a love triangle, trying to make it as an actor or never quite quitting the day job? “Because it’s live, it’s on stage and it’s theatrical, it’s heightened, though the TV show has many moments above reality,” says Edward.

Edward Leigh’s Gunther craves to “Part Of Their Gang” in his song in Friends! The Musical Parody. Picture: Pamela Raith

“But because our show is a parody and we’re playing in a live setting, it allows us to be as big in our performances as we want to be.

“Part of the challenge is taking iconic moments from the ten TV seasons and then converting them into a coherent two-hour musical, with some of those moments being turned into original songs, such as for Ross’s ‘pivot’ and Gunther’s aria of unrequited love for Rachel.”

Before landing the role of Gunther, Edward had “watched Friends but never avidly”. “Then I did watch it for professional reasons and I found I knew a lot more of it than I realised,” he says.

Friends! The Musical Parodyis set in Joey’s apartment, Monica’s apartment and Central Perk. “We also have the opening credits on a sofa by the fountain,” says Edward.”We’re cramming in as much as we can on stage in a musical.

“The songs are all original with a slight homage to the Friends theme tune too, so the core of the show is the songs that we learnt from day one in the rehearsal room.”

The inclusion of ‘Parody’ in the show title is significant. “It’s a fair assumption that it’s a comedy show! But that’s not the whole show,” says Edward. “There are definitely satirical songs but genuinely heartfelt moments too, but we do lean into  the parody element, particularly for my song Part Of Their Gang, lamenting how Gunther is never part of the group.

Alicia Belgarde (Monica), left, Daniel Parkinson (Chandler), Enzo Benvenuti (Ross), Eva Hope (Rachel), Amelia Atherton (Phoebe) and Ronnie Burden (Joey) in Friends! The Musical Parody, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith

“Maybe other than in the first episode, it was a running gag that Gunther was pretty much in every episode, becoming a fan favourite and consistently part of the show. In our show, I play Gunther and a variety of iconic characters, with Gunther always being on the periphery, but still very much in love with Rachel. For that song there’ll be familiar faces that appear without being expected.”

Why is Friends is still so popular 31 years since its first American broadcast? “I can make an informed guess, but if I knew the answer, I would make my own TV series!” says Edward. “But it offers comfort: you watch it with friends, just as you first did at seven o’clock each episode.

“We’ve noticed the love of fans of the TV show, who bring their family, maybe those who discovered Friends through streaming, and they love how our show has a warmth, a silly warmth, to it. It’s fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously and nor do we. That’s what people are enjoying about  it.”

The central focus may be on Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe, but the likes of Gunther have a chance to shine too. “That’s part of why Friends is such a brilliant TV series. Everyone has a moment in our show to show good they are, so it’s an ensemble piece despite the titular leads.”

Friends! The Musical Parody, Grand Opera House, York, September 30 to October 4, Tuesday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5.30pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york. Warning: May cause spontaneous PIVOT-ing!

Knaresborough actor Edward Leigh, who has appeared previously at the Grand Opera House in A Boiling Frog, Shrek The Musical and We Will Rock You

Edward Leigh: the back story

EDWARD’S family moved to Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, when he was three. After attending King James’s School, when he performed at the Frazer Theatre, he moved away to study theatre at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts from 2011 to 2014.

On graduating, he worked abroad for two years, performing on cruise ships and appearing in an Italian tour of The Blues Bothers that took in Sicily and Sardinia. “Unbeknown to me, The Blues Brothers is really big in Italy!” he says.

Having re-settled in Knaresborough, he married in 2019. “We met at school. It’s a real Knaresborough love story,” he says.

He has appeared in such shows as A Boiling Frog, at the Grand Opera House, York, in his “am-dram” days; Shrek The Musical with Mark Goucher Productions, playing Papa Bear and Shrek cover. “It was a fun role with a lot of prosthetics,” he recalls. “It would take an hour to put them on and 45 minutes to take them off after each show.”

He toured in We Will Rock You on either side of the Covid lockdowns, first as Ensemble and cover Brit, then Ensemble and Brit, playing the Grand Opera House in February 2022.

“It’ll be like coming home to appear there in Friends!,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

He will be on tour in Friends! The Musical Parody until May 2 2026.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No 41, from Gazette & Herald

Joanne Shaw Taylor: Promoting new album Black & Gold at York Barbican

FROM blues guitar to saxophone solos, culinary festivities to Friends on song, Charles Hutchinson finds the ones to entertain you.

Blues guitarist of the week: Joanne Shaw Taylor, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm

DISCOVERED by Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart at 16, and now 39, West Midlands blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Joanne Shaw Taylor showcases her tenth studio album, Black & Gold, on her return to York Barbican.

Known for her blazing guitar work and soulful voice, Shaw Taylor fuses blues, rock, soul and pop into her live set of new songs such as Hell Of A Good Time, fan favourites from past albums and nods to blues greats. Support comes from Ferris & Sylvester. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Skosh chef-proprietor Neil Bentinck: Cookery demonstration at St Crux Hall on September 27 at 1pm at York Food & Drink Festival

Festival of the week: York Food & Drink Festival, cooking until September 28

HIGHLIGHTS of this autumn’s York Food & Drink Festival include 70 street food and produce stands in Parliament Street; the Entertainment Marquee on Parliament Street, serving a bill of Live for St Leonard’s Hospice music acts; more live music in St Sampson’s Square, and demonstrations, events, tastings, and sampling at St Crux Hall.

Further events will be two taste trails; Bedern Hall Pork Pie Competition; the Food Factory in St Crux Hall and Museum Gardens; Chocolate Bar Challenge; Jorvik Viking Centre’s activities with an historic twist and the Meet The Makers drinks fair. For the full festival programme, head to: yorkfoodfestival.com.

Katie Spencer: Introducing new album What Love Is at Kirk Theatre, Pickering. Picture: Tom Arran

Folk gig of the week: Friday Folk Night presents Katie Spencer, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, September 26, 7.30pm

RAISED in the East Yorkshire flatlands on the fringes of Hull, Katie Spencer’s music is influenced by the landscapes that shaped her. Her songwriting and guitar playing reflect a sense of space and movement, drawing inspiration from Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Michael Chapman.

New album What Love Is will be released on October 3. Produced by Matt Ingram, known for his work with Laura Marling, its ten compositions explore themes of love, introspection and personal growth. Her live performances are peppered with humour and storytelling. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

Tom Little: Headlining Hilarity Bites Comedy Club bill at Milton Rooms, Malton. Picture: Alexis Dubus

Comedy gig of the week: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club presents Tom Little, Seeta Wrightson and Kieran Lawless, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm

TOM Little, 2015 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year winner and BBC Radio New Comedy Award finalist, plays the well-read fool, taking on diverse facts but refusing to deal with them conventionally.

Bradford-born Seeta Wrightson, 2025 Female Pilot Club winner, spins engaging stories with wit, drawing on her dual Asian and British heritage. From humble beginnings, she has wandered through life wondering exactly where she fits, having adventures aplenty figuring it out.  Nothin’ Butt Funny Comedy award winner Kieran Lawless is an Irish comedian based in Manchester. Doors and bar open at 7pm.Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Snake Davis: Sax to the max at Helmsley Arts Centre

Saxophonist of the week: Snake Davis Band, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

STILL highly in demand as a session player, cheering up records by Olly Murs and Shania Twain lately, and playing to  crowds of up to 70,000 with Japanese rock god Eikichi Yazawa, saxophonist Snake Davis gains most joy from performing warm, friendly venues such as Helmsley Arts Centre.

Leading his four-piece band, featuring guitar, bass guitar and drums, Davis plays “the floaty to the danceable”, from soul to jazz, Northern Soul to pop and world, original material to classic sax pieces such as Baker Street and Night Train. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Sir Alan Ayckbourn. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Actors, Audiences And Ayckbourn, It’s All Relative, The McCarthy, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Friday, 7pm

AN evening of Sir Alan Ayckbourn in two halves opens with Ayckbourn archivist Simon Murgatroyd exploring the creation of Relatively Speaking on its 60th anniversary. The second half is a chance to hear stories from a group of actors with years of experience of working with the former SJT artistic director and prolific playwright. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Dame Imogen Cooper: Piano concert at Helmsley Arts Centre on Saturday. Picture: Sussie Ahlburg

Classical concert of the week: Dame Imogen Cooper, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

AFTER playing St Peter’s Church, Norton, at July’s Ryedale Festival, pianist Dame Imogen Cooper returns to Ryedale this weekend to play Bach’s Nun Freut Euch, Lieben Christen G’mein, arranged by Kempff;  Bach’s chorale-prelude Nun Komm’ der Heiden Heiland, arranged by Busoni and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 899 (Op. 90). Post-interval, her programme continues with Beethoven’s Seven Bagatelles (OP. 33) and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 935 (Op. posth. 142). Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Apollo Theatre Company’s merry crew in Round The Horne

Nostalgia of the week: Apollo Theatre Company in Round The Horne, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, September 29, 7.45pm; September 30, 1.30pm and 7.45pm

FROM 1965 to 1968, no show on British radio was bigger than the ground-breaking Round The Horne. Classic comedy fans will be in their element as Apollo Theatre Company transports the audience back to the anarchic, boisterous atmosphere of the BBC’s Paris Theatre during the recordings, complete with a live band and sound effects.

Combining infamous movie spoofs with regular characters such as Julian & Sandy, Rambling Syd Rumpo and J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock, Round The Horne’s merry crew drew up to 15 million listeners per week and made stars of Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick and Betty Marsden. Now take a step back in time to experience this vintage comedy live. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Alicia Belgarde (Monica), left, Daniel Parkinson (Chandler), Enzo Benvenuti (Ross), Eva Hope (Rachel), Amelia Atherton (Phoebe) and Ronnie Burden (Joey) in Friends! The Musical Parody, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith

The one where they sing: Friends! The Musical Parody, Grand Opera House, York, September 30 to October 4, Tuesday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5.30pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

NEW York and Las Vegas hit Friends The Musical Parody is a musical comedy packed with iconic moments from all ten seasons of the beloved television series, complemented by an original musical score. Join Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe, the world’s most famous group of twenty-somethings, as they navigate love, friendship and life’s ups and downs in 1990s’ New York City.

“Whether you’re in a love triangle, trying to make it as an actor, or just can’t quit your day job, you’ll be laughing, crying, and quoting your favourite lines all night long,” the show promises. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Sue Ryding, left, recalling her 40-year comedy partnership with the late Maggie Fox (inset) in LipService in Funny Stuff at Pocklington Arts Centre

Reflections on grief: LipService in Funny Stuff, Pocklington Arts Centre, October 2, 7.30pm

SUE Ryding is one half of legendary satirical duo LipService. In March 2022, her comedy partner, York actress and writer Maggie Fox, died and Sue was left with a shipping container full of 40 years of stage props, costumes, wigs, hats, shoes, sheep, you name it.

This show looks at all the “stuff” we accumulate, hoard and hate to let go in her humorous and creative response to grief, wherein Sue struggles to part with a life-sized stuffed sheep, a badger onesie, some ruby slippers, a sinking bog, Charlotte Bronte’s knickers and a host of soft toys. Touring anecdotes are combined with archive footage from LipService shows. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

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REVIEW: Steve Crowther’s verdict on The Academy of St Olave’s, St Olave’s Church, Marygate, York, September 20

Conductor Alan George and the Academy of St Olave’s at St Olave’s Church, Marygate, York

A MUSICAL heart attack announced the Allegro giocoso opening of Carmen’s prelude to Act I.

The stately march – a striking Spanish-style fanfare – was splendidly led by the trumpets. Really fine flute and clarinet decorations added to the festive atmosphere. The violins – a tad fewer than usual – relished the main ‘toreador’ rhythmic drive.

The transition to the slower, darker Andante moderato was pretty seamless. Here the standout performer was Alexandra Nightingale(oboe), who clearly relished the famous ‘fate’ solo.

The clarinet, bassoon, and low strings contributed prominent supporting figures, giving the oboe’s solo a rich, smoky atmosphere. Talking of seamless, I didn’t realise I was listening to the Strauss Kaiser-Waltzer until my foot started tapping – silently, obviously.

Standouts: a lovely cello solo (Rachel Brown) gently echoed by Mark Sykes on horn, briefly joined by Becky Jobling on flute, creating a chamber-music intimacy.

The second half belonged to Sibelius and his magnificent Symphony No. 7 in C major. Despite the sectional outline in the programme notes: Adagio – Vivacissimo – Adagio – Allegro molto etc., this is a continuous single-movement work with no breaks.

It is the challenge of the conductor to ensure a sense of organic growth rather than a patchwork of varied tempo changes, and Alan George did just that.

The opening Adagio sets the tone with the cellos and violas beginning the long, slowly ascending scale that generates the symphony’s opening sustained sonority.

They were joined by the violins, which brightened the musical atmosphere: this gradual unfolding set the symphony’s sense of organic growth. To be sure, greater string numbers would have given more body to the sound— the string section is the continuous living fabric of the symphony— but the playing was nevertheless very good and effective.

There were lovely lyrical flute, oboe and clarinet (Lesley Schatzberger) contributions, as well as prominent calls, responses and climactic fanfares from Mark Sykes (horn) and Tom Taylor (trumpet). But it was the three trombone solos that could be said to form the backbone of the work— each appearance more majestic than the last— and James Stockwell’s performance was very good indeed.

Carl Nielsen’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (1926), like the Sibelius Symphony, is a single continuous movement lasting approximately 20 minutes. However, the Concerto falls naturally into two large sections separated by a brief pause.

A short, gentle string opening gives way to the flute’s first cadenza-like entrance: lyrical but with sudden leaps and quirky turns. The rapid staccato and brilliant arpeggio passages gave flautist Becky Jobling a chance to display her obvious technical prowess, while the plaintive, cantabile melody in the central poco adagio section was played beautifully.

I don’t usually associate humour with the music of Carl Nielsen, but the ‘military’ side drum exchanges eliciting playful trills and unexpected pauses were indeed quite witty.

But this is a flute concerto, and in the closing faster section we had the necessary virtuoso fireworks – fast tonguing passages, huge leaps, duets – more like duels – with both brass and percussion. The closing sign-off, featuring a solo cadenza and a muted, poetic “that’s all for now, folks,” was priceless.

What really struck me when listening to this splendid performance was the spectre of Igor Stravinsky and Petruska in particular. Nielsen’s concerto isn’t (obviously) imitation, but it shares Stravinsky’s love of rhythmic asymmetry, lean chamber-style orchestration and sudden colour changes, giving the Flute Concerto a modern, unsentimental brilliance.

Review by Steve Crowther

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REVIEW: The Coal Porters, All Saints Church, Pocklington, September 19

The Coal Porters at All Saints Church, Pocklington. Picture: Paul Rhodes

THE evening after the night before, plus a bad head cold. On the face of it, the signs weren’t encouraging for The Coal Porters’ Pocklington show, (hardly) fresh from Sid Griffin’s 70th birthday concert bash at The Water Rats, in King’s Cross, London – a show Griffin himself put in his top three.

We need not have worried, thanks to the power of bluegrass and Griffin’s ‘the-show-must- go-on’ attitude. A double whisky whisked in and down at the interval certainly helped as well.

Griffin assembled The Coal Porters, billed as alt. bluegrass, primarily to entertain. There is something life affirming about the way banjo and fiddle sound together, with double bass and mandolin floating over the top on a round of harmonies.

Griffin is a musician and writer, one of the founding fathers of today’s alt. country genre with The Long Ryders. Like his hero Gene Clark (who featured later in Looking For Lewis And Clark), he is critically acclaimed but has never troubled the hit parade despite lifting roofs off venues all over.

Alongside him were three extroverts, Kerenza Peacock on exuberant fiddle and vocals, Andrew Stafford on bass and Neil Robert Herd on guitar and vocals, going strong after two decades. In the more reflective camp, but out front anyway, was Paul Fitzgerald on banjo and vocals.

The band’s red jackets and black over-long trousers gave them the appearance of trad bluegrass, but the set list blew such notions away. Griffin’s jacket would end up hung over the church pulpit.

Across 23 songs and some 100 minutes the band threw themselves into a wide range of music. From the traditional bluegrass of Bill Monroe to ‘Porterised’ punk and rock songs reborn as country.

Heroes, by David Bowie, too ubiquitous, can rarely have sounded better, while Another Girl, Another Planet, by The Only Ones, confirmed that the best tunes can work in any genre if handled with care and again topped the original.

Griffin’s own songs could also make the journey back to punk rock. The Day The Last Ramone Died worked best (although Pocklington scored low for Ramones T-shirts in the audience).

The Coal Porters’ sincerely sung love of the material was clear, and also for one another. With their leader ailing and singing with teacup in hand (would one more song of souls in restless agony see him off?), the others took a number of turns. Peacock received  the biggest hand for her instrumental Chopping The Garlic while Fitzgerald showed us his love of Chuck Berry.

Talking to charleshutchpress.co.uk  earlier in the week, Griffin, a man who knows a thing or two about a good line, memorably said: “It’s what I do, it’s what we do, as Robbie Robertson said of The Band. Good times, bad times, I make music. I don’t have riches or fame. I’m just happy.”

All Saints Church is a venue that brings the best out of performers, with clear sightlines and lovely sound. It inspired Griffin to set aside his solo album in favour of a rousing version of I Am A Pilgrim (a stand-out single from The Byrds’ Sweetheart Of The Rodeo).

Played for the love of the music and despite illness, Griffin and his friends gave us a wonderful night of feelgood music.

Review by Paul Rhodes

Coming up at All Saints Church, Pocklington are Chris Smither on October 29, 7.30pm, and The Unthanks At 20 – already sold out – on November  22, 7.30pm. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/pocklington/all-saints-church/chris-smither/e-moryao.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond when seeking cultural nourishment. Here’s Hutch’s List No 42, from The York Press

York oboe player Desmond Clarke: Performing on Navigators Art’s YO Underground #5 bill at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse

FOOD for thought for heading out and about as York Food & Drink Festival opens and Inspector Morse is on the case in Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations.

Navigators Art presents YO Underground #5, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 7.30pm

YORK arts collective Navigators Art’s regular fulcrum of left-field new music, words and performance returns this weekend with a focus on ethnic instruments, acoustic-electronic improvisation, words and guitar-based fusion, plus passionate new songwriting.

Expect bold, beautiful and adventurous sounds from flautist Carmen Troncoso, York oboe player Desmond Clarke and Osc~, No Spinoza and a new York ‘supergroup’, the NSC Sound Union, combining members of Soma Crew and Namke Communications. Admission is £6 at www.ticketsource.co.uk/navigators-art-performance) or £10 on the door.

Sam Blythe: Taking on a multitude of roles in George Orwell’s Animal Farm at Theatre@41, Monkgate

Solo show of the week: Sam Blythe in Animal Farm, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 7.30pm

CELEBRATING 70 years of its publication on August 17 1945 and 30 since the first performance of Guy Masterson’s solo adaptation of George’s Orwell’s satirical allegorical dystopian novella, Sam Blythe takes up Masterson’s mantle on stage.

Bringing all of Orwell’s multiple characters to vivid life, Blythe transforms into Snowball, Napoleon, Squealer, Boxer, Clover, Mollie, Benjamin, Muriel, the Sheep, Dogs, Cows, Hens and the Cat in a performance designed to shock, enchant, bewitch and bewilder, ringing out Orwell’s prescient warning that politicians through the ages, and of all creeds and colours, will often let power corrupt them. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Rebecca Vaughan’s Lady Susan in Dyad Productions’ Austen’s Women: Lady Susan. Picture: Seamus Flanagan

Magnificently crafted tale of manipulation and manners of the week: Dyad Productions in Austen’s Women: Lady Susan, York Theatre Royal Studio, today, 2pm; Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 7.30pm

DYAD Productions return with a new solo comedy show, Jane Austen’s 1794 tale of manipulation and manners. Directed by Andrew Margerison, company regular Rebecca Vaughan plays devil-may-care widow Lady Susan, oppressed, rebellious daughter Frederica, long-suffering sister-in-law Catherine, family matriarch Mrs De Courcy and insouciant best friend Alicia.

At the vanguard of Vaughan’s wickedly humorous adaptation is the charming, scheming and witty Lady Susan, taking on society and making it her own, but has this coquette met her match? Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Skosh chef-proprietor Neil Bentinck: Cookery demonstration at St Crux Hall on September 27 at 1pm at York Food & Drink Festival

Festival of the week: York Food & Drink Festival, cooking until September 28

HIGHLIGHTS of this autumn’s York Food & Drink Festival include 70 street food and produce stands in Parliament Street; the Entertainment Marquee on Parliament Street, serving a bill of Live for St Leonard’s Hospice music acts; more live music in St Sampson’s Square, and demonstrations, events, tastings, and sampling at St Crux Hall.

Further events will be two taste trails; the Food Factory in St Crux Hall and Museum Gardens; the Pork Pie competition in Bedern Hall; Curry & Comedy at the NCEM; Yahala Mataam’s refugee pop-up restaurant night and cookery school; Tang’s festival debut; Jorvik Viking Centre’s activities with an historic twist and the Meet The Makers drinks fair. For the full festival programme, head to: yorkfoodfestival.com.

One of Simon Baxter’s photographs from All The Wood’s A Stage, his joint exhibition with Joe Cornish at Nunnington Hall. Picture: Simon Baxter

Ryedale exhibition launch of the week: All The Wood’s A Stage, Nunnington Hall, near York, from today to March 29 2026

ALL The Wood’s A Stage will continue the 2022 showcase Woodland Sanctuary, exhibited originally at the Moors Centre in Danby. This latest chapter features predominantly new photographs that celebrate the beauty and vital significance of trees, woodlands and forests across the UK.

Photographers Joe Cornish and Simon Baxter depict trees as silent performers on nature’s stage, encouraging us to observe, listen and reflect. Trees provide joy, peace and inspiration, being lungs of the Earth, guardians of biodiversity and a crucial part of our mental and physical well-being. Through changing seasons, they symbolise life, death and renewal. Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/nunnington-hall.

The poster for The Return Of The Legends, featuring Strictly Come Dancing alumni Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waites, at York Barbican

Dance show of the week: The Return Of The Legends, starring Brendan, James, Pasha, Vincent and Ian, York Barbican, today, 7.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing alumni Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite follow up 2024’s  Legends Of The Dancefloor with new Latin, tango, rumba and ballroom routines and more Strictly stories in The Return Of The Legends. Joined by a supporting cast, they deliver a night of dancing, camaraderie, music and laughter. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.  

Robert Took, Georgina Liley, Catherine Warnock and James McLean in Mikron Theatre’s Hush Hush!, on tour at Clements Hall, York

Touring play of the week: Mikron Theatre in Hush Hush!, Clements Hall, York, Sunday, 4pm

IN a daring theatrical mission, Marsden’s Mikron Theatre Company infiltrates the clandestine world of wartime code-breaking in Lucie Raine’s Hush Hush!, exposing the vital contributions of the unsung heroes of Bletchley Park’s Hut 3, whose ingenuity and unwavering resolve helped secure victory.

Peggy Valentine arrives at Bletchley in 1940, 18 years old, headstrong and gifted. Finding herself in a world of boffins, soldiers and debutantes, Peggy must shoulder the burden of high-pressure war work while navigating a new world of feuds, friendships and growing up in a frame of absolute secrecy. Mikron’s crack team of actor-musicians, Georgina Liley, Robert Took, Catherine Warnock and familiar face James McLean, blends original songs, live music and compelling storytelling. Box office for returns only: 01484843701 or email admin@mikron.org.uk.

Tom Chambers as Detective Chief Inspector Morse in the first Inspector Morse original stage play, House Of Ghosts, at Grand Opera House, York

Murder mystery of the week: Inspector Morse: House Of Ghosts, Grand Opera House, York, September 23 to 27, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

BIRMINGHAM Repertory Theatre and Simon Friend Entertainment are touring the Inspector Morse franchise’s debut original stage play, House Of Ghosts, penned by Alma Cullen, directed by Anthony Banks and starring Tom Chambers.

A chilling mystery unfolds when a young actress dies suddenly on stage during a performance, prompting Detective Chief Inspector Morse to embark on a gripping investigation. What begins as a suspicious death inquiry takes a darker turn when the legendary inspector, in tandem with Detective Sergeant Lewis, uncovers a connection to sinister events in his own past, 25 years earlier. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Kieran Hodgson: Voicing his thoughts on the USA

Comedy gig of the week: Kieran Hodgson: Voice Of America, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 26, 8pm

AMERICA. What happened, man? Ever since he was a little loser kid in a little loser country (yes, England), Holmfirth-born Kieran Hodgson has been putting on an American accent and dreaming a big American dream.

Nowadays, however, it’s not so simple. Didn’t America go completely bananas? Didn’t he get too old for dreaming? And when Hollywood comes calling, does Kieran actually sound American after all? Here he assesses how a scared world feels about the USA and impersonates a bunch of old prospectors and former Presidents. Box office for returns only: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

The horror, the horror: Dead Northern returns to City Screen Picturehouse

Film event of the week: Dead Northern presents The Festival of Horror, City Screen Picturehouse, York, September 26 to 28

IN “the world’s most haunted city”, Dead Northern hosts three days of film and live events, taking in music, social activities, food, drink and merchandise. Friday Frights opens with a 10.30am showcase of student short films and videos, followed by UK premiere of Sun at noon with a Q&A.

The 2pm short film showcase focuses on Teeth, Claws, Tentacles and Clowns. At 4pm the Dead Talks talk reveals Dracula’s mysterious connection to York under the splendid title of Who Are You Calling A Count?! A mystery Dracula classic film re-surfaces at 5pm and the UK premiere of Hellhouse LLC: Lineage is booked in for 7.30pm. The night concludes with the Welcome Social & Quiz with the Independent Horror Society.

Saturday Screams kicks off with the Flesh & Bone short film showcase at 10.30am, followed by the world premiere of A Mother’s Recall at noon and the Twisted Tales short film showcase at 1.45pm.

The 3.30pm UK film premiere will be Home Education, concluding with a Q&A, and the 5.30pm classic feature will be the 40th anniversary release of A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge.

7.30pm’s Signature Live Event will be Spirits By Spirits; the 8.45pm feature film will be The Beast Of Riverside Hollow, with a Q&A, and the night ends with the VIP Awards Party at 11pm.

Day three, Sunday Shock The 28th, launches with the 10.30am classic feature, 1981’s Evil Dead, followed by the UK premiere of Nightfall – A Paranormal Investigation at noon and the Spectres & Shadows short film showcase at 1.30pm.

The UK premiere of Tabula Rasa will be shown at 2.45pm; the 4.15pm screening of He Kills At Night will include a Q&A, and Inside The Mind will be the theme of the 6pm short film showcase. In Dead Talks Part II at 7.30pm, the Independent Horror Society welcomes special guests for When Horror Struck Again, a discussion on underrated sequels.

The festival concludes with a classic feature, 1987’s Evil Dead II.  For more details on Dead Northern Part VI 2025 Horror Film Festival, visit deadnorthern.co.uk/dead-northern-2025-horror-film-festival.

In Focus: York Printmakers’ 10th Anniversary Handmade Print Fair, York Cemetery, today and tomorrow

Russell Hughes discussing monoprinting. Picture: Chris Kendall Photography

THIS weekend York Printmakers celebrates a decade of creativity, collaboration and craftsmanship with its 10th Annual Print Fair, designed for lovers of original art and handmade processes.

This year’s fair reflects the group’s continuing mission: to keep traditional printmaking alive, accessible and valued.

Over the past decade, York Printmakers has grown into a vibrant collective of more than 40 artists, all committed to the authenticity of printmaking. The fair showcases a wide range of techniques — from linocut to collagraph, screen print to woodcut — all created by hand.

“People are often surprised to learn the difference between a reproduction and a handmade print,” says founding member Sally Clarke. “At our fair, you get to see the blocks, the plates, the tools — and meet the people who made them.

“In a world where everything is easily copied, our fair champions the original: prints made by hand, with care and intention.”

Bridget Hunt describing how to make a collograph plate. Picture: Chris Kendall Photography

This year’s milestone event reflects on ten years of artistic evolution, celebrating the unique voices of long-standing members while championing the newer members to the collective: artists whose fresh perspectives and experimental approaches are helping to shape the future of the craft.

“It’s always a pleasure to welcome new members, especially those just discovering printmaking or beginning their creative journey,” says long-standing member Russell Hughes. “They bring energy and new ideas that inspire even the most experienced among us. And in return, we’re able to share knowledge and techniques that have stood the test of time. That exchange is what keeps the group dynamic and evolving.”

Visitors can explore a rich variety of work, meet the makers and buy original prints directly from the artists.

York Printmakers’ 10th Anniversary Handmade Print Fair,  Chapel and Harriet Room, York Cemetery, Cemetery Road, York, September 20 and 21, 10am to 5pm. Free entry.

York Printmakers’ poster for this weekend’s print fair at York Cemetery

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REVIEW: York Stage in The Wizard Of Oz, Grand Opera House, York ****

Over the rainbow: Erin Childs’ Dorothy Gale performing the opening number in York Stage’s The Wizard Of Oz

APOLOGIES for taking so long to be off to see the Wizard – Prague holiday prevailed – but there is still time to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Grand Opera House.

That road starts outside the auditorium, a lovely welcoming touch by York Stage, whose abundantly colourful production is directed and produced by Nik Briggs, with fabulous ensemble choreography by Damien Poole and thrilling, resourceful musical direction by Jessica Viner, whose birthday happened to fall on the performance attended by your reviewer.

Such is the attention to detail that the Tannoy interval music includes Carry On Wayward Son by…Kansas, and it is to Kansas that we must head for L Frank Baum’s one heck of a weird story, so memorably converted from his 1900 novel to a film wonderland for Judy Garland as over-the-rainbow farm girl Dorothy Gale in 1939.

Vintage performance: Stu Hutchinson’s Tin Man

A-level student Erin Childs takes that iconic ruby slipper-clicking  role in York Stage’s show, in tow with Toto, played by Briggs’s dog Freddie, leaving his mark on the production in more way than one with an urgent deposit, and, once on that yellow brick road by Elanor Kitchen’s puppet, handled so dextrously by puppeteer Sarah Jackson. No such mishap for the puppet.

Childs’ Dorothy hits the heights from the off with her rendition of Over The Rainbow, familiar yet with a finale that brings more resonance to the words. Kansas accent spot on, fringe flopping over her eyes, she leads Briggs’s high-spectacle staging of John Kane’s Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation with appropriate pluck and persistence, although her speaking voice tends towards being high pitched at times.

After the spectacular tornado de force of the storm scene, propelled by Adam Moore’s magical evocation of a twister that tosses Dorothy’s bed hither and thither, she is joined on the journey to Emerald City by Florence Poskitt’s Scarecrow, Stu Hutchinson’s Tin Man and Finn East’s Lion (having played the Guard in Pick Me Up Theatre’s 2018 production).

Magical: Carly Morton’s Glinda

Poskitt, one half of musical duo Fladam, is a supremely expressive  physical comedic talent, perfectly suited to the wobbly legged, woolly thinking  Scarecrow, but every so often her lines were wont to lose clarity as sentences lengthened. Nevertheless, her performance is a work of clowning joy.

Hutchinson’s Tin Man conducts himself like a matinee idol from a Hollywood cigarette card series with just the right air of camp. Even better is Finn East’s Lion, his natural stage warmth, playfulness and show-stealing presence on full throttle. If I Were King Of The Forest had always been one of the lesser tunes in Harold Arlen and EY Harburg’s score…until now, when East parades his full vocal range like a latterday Meat Loaf.

Carly Morton’s Aunt Em/Glinda spars splendidly with Emily Alderson’s curmudgeonly Miss Glutch and green-with-envy Wicked Witch of the West, while Ian Giles picks up where he left off in reprising his Pick Me Up dual roles as Professor Marvel and the Wizard Of Oz with avuncular aplomb, aided by a giant screen representation of the Wizard’s face with Giles’s distinctively thick head of hair.

The green party: a stylish ensemble scene in York Stage’s The Wizard Of Oz

Ensemble supporting roles for Munchkins, Winkies and more besides are played with abundant energy by adults and juniors alike, at their best in Munchkinland and especially The Jitterbug.

Briggs calls on the costume wizardry of Charades and Sheffield Theatres, as well as York Stage resources, while Shone Productions’ set is top notch too. The poppy field dance is a particular delight.

Viner works her musicians to full capacity, taking on such familiar songs with relish as York Stage’s The Wizard Of Oz feels very much at home at the Grand Opera House.  

York Stage in The Wizard Of Oz, Grand Opera House, York, tonight at 7.30pm; tomorrow, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Flo Poskitt’s Scarecrow, left, Stu Hutchinson’s Tin Man, Erin Childs’ Dorothy Gale and Finn East’s Lion in York Stage’s The Wizard Of Oz

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Bluegrass band The Coal Porters play ‘church-based entertainment venue’, All Saints in Pocklington, tonight

The Coal Porters: Led by Sid Griffin at All Saints Church, Pocklington, on September 19

THE Coal Porters, the world’s first “alt-bluegrass” act, play All Saints Church, Pocklington, tonight as one of “two (count ’em) encounters with church-based entertainment venues” on their nine-date tour.

Prominent figures in the UK Americana and bluegrass scene for 17 years, Sid Griffin’s band are back in the saddle throughout this month, performing one Yorkshire concert already at Filey Americana Festival at Filey Evron Centre on September 7.

In a further highlight, eighth-generation Kentuckian Griffin marked his 70th birthday with a special gig at the Water Rats, London, last night.

2025 has been quite a year for Long Ryders and Coal Porters frontman Griffin, both on the road and in the recording studio. “The Long Ryders have made a record and now The Coal Porters are firing up again for this tour,” he says.

Tonight AMA Award winner Griffin leads The Coal Porters at All Saints Church on vocals, mandolin, harmonica and autoharp, accompanied by Grammy winner and Adele string section leader Kerenza Peacock on fiddle and vocals; Paul Fitzgerald on banjo and vocals; Andrew Stafford on bass and Neil Robert Herd on guitar and vocals.

“We’ve played St Mary’s Creative Space, an absolutely beautiful church in Chester, and a deconsecrated church in Glasgow, so we love playing civic buildings of interest in any form or shape, which are worth their weight in plutonium,” says Sid. “If they can’t hear a choir singing the praises of the Lord, they can hear us.”

How does Sid know which of his songs will suit the his long-running American alternative country band The Long Ryders or the fiddle, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar and doghouse bass, four-part harmonies and melodies of The Coal Porters’ alt. bluegrass?

“Some of the acoustic songs are really written in the singer-songwriter/troubadour tradition, and are not right for the scale of The Long Ryders, and likewise some songs need those drums and bass,” he says. “I can tell upon writing a song where it should go – and the audiences hardly ever disagree!

The tour poster for The Coal Porters’ September travels

“There’s a danger that you start writing songs that you know the band can play, and that’s a mistake as you have to challenge them to get out of their comfort zone. You really have to watch that. It’s one of the pitfalls.

“You have to extend yourself, but not too far, you have to be different, but not too far, which seems contradictory. The Ramones and Credence Clearwater Revival managed to do that, but it’s usually the point at which bands split.

“The Temptations changed, ZZ Top changed, but sometimes you can’t do that – and that’s the thing. I’ve always tried to traverse, with The Long Ryders experimenting and The Coal Porters being entertaining – and being told  we’re too entertaining for hillbilly!”

Sid takes his point further. “We’ll take songs by Bob Dylan or David Bowie and we’ll ‘Porterise’ them, knowing we’re playing a Dylan/Bowie song but in a bluegrass form, being true to the idiom.

“The bluegrass police don’t like it. It’s like The Stanley Brothers again. People always want it to be better but different, and it’s pretty impossible to square the circle,” he says. “Traditionalists don’t like it but Coal Porters fans love us to death, so the question is, how do you make things better than yesterday?”

Should he shed the optimism in The Coal Porters’ performances, ponders Sid.  “That would be a mistake when you have to entertain but also give the audience a mirror of what’s going, but are we giving them respite, an escape, from what’s going on?” he says.

“I take performances at least as seriously as recording. They’re staring at you; you have their complete, undivided attention. They’ve paid their money, they’re facing you, whereas at home they’re not paying as much attention to a screen.

“Live gigs are now so important because no-one’s making money out of albums. Merch stands are important too. People come up to ask me questions  when it’s their moment to have that conversation with someone that has influence and they really want to give me their opinion.”

Singer, songwriter, band leader, musicologist, broadcaster and author Sid Griffin has lived in London for 33 years, where music will continue to frame his life. “It’s what I do, it’s what we do, as Robbie Robertson said of The Band. Good times, bad times, I make music. I don’t have riches or fame. I’m just happy,” he says, as he turns 70.

“It’s what I’ve been doing for a long time and I’ll keep doing it. I’m very pleased anyone wants to hear what I have to say. It’s very touching that these middle-aged guys, usually in their Clash and Ramones T-shirts, come with their wives and their kids and say what our music has done for them.”

Coming up next will be The Long Ryders’ sixth studio album, the follow-up to 2023’s September November. “It’ll be out in March/April. No title yet,” says Sid. “We recorded in a little town in the desert with producer Ed Stasium [who has worked with the Ramones, Talking Heads, Motörhead and the Smithereens, among others].

“It was a really great experience to get together with the guys again. It’ll possibly be our last one but it was a lot of fun to do.  Now we’ve got to be mix it for release in the spring.”

Hurricane Promotions present The Coal Porters, All Saints Church, Pocklington, tonight, 7.30pm. Box office: sidgriffin.com/tour; Pocklington, ticketsource.co.uk/hurricane-promotions/the-coal-porters/2025-09-19/19:30/t-eaoqmak.