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Darkness and light, new love and death inform Mary Gauthier’s songs from the heart at The Crescent gig tonight

“There are bridges that only music can cross,” says American folk songwriter Mary Gauthier. Picture: Alexa Kinigopoulos

AS November’s nights close in on winter’s chill, New Orleans folk singer, songwriter and author Mary Gauthier arrives in York tonight to showcase her new album, Dark Enough To See The Stars.

Released by the 60-year-old Grammy nominee on Thirty Tigers in June, her ninth studio set of truth-telling songs finds Mary mourning the loss of dear musician friends John Prine, Nanci Griffith and David Olney on How Could You Be Gone and ’Til I See You Again, while offering optimism in her celebration of the joy of new love and personal contentment.

The title track, co-written with Beth Nielsen Chapman, acknowledges how loss and darkness can bring a beautiful sense of clarity and an understanding of what truly matters. “I got that line [‘But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars”] from Martin Luther King’s I’ve Been To The Mountaintop speech,” says Mary.

“He was teaching us that through pain and suffering we grow, and there are important things to gain from struggle, where sometimes it is the darkness that brings the light. It’s a beautiful metaphor”.

The combination of Covid’s grip and the loss of friends has been a time of “madness” for Mary, one that had led to her outpourings in song. “I tend to write about what it is I’m going through and what I think the world is going through, and I do that in a personal way, but that could be quite boring and narcissistic,” she says.

“The answer is to go deeper, and by doing that you strike a universal chord. I have to go underneath the surface to find a thread that links us all. I’ve learned over the writing of this record that The Beatles were right: love is all you need. Love is all there is.

“That love matters is what I cling to, especially in times of grief, and it all started with the death of my friends John Prine and David Olney, who was one of the geniuses of Nashville and had a heart attack on stage.”

Mary continues: There’s been a lot of grief, and what I’ve been made aware of is that people who I loved and loved me were really intensely loved and loved intensely in my life and I get to keep that love. It raises the stakes when you’re aware of how transient life is.

The artwork for Mary Gauthier’s 2022 album, Dark Enough To See The Stars

“Since the age of AIDS, I’ve been so aware of death, especially when it hits young people. In my 20s, working in a gay club, that [AIDS] was my first pandemic, so those feelings are not new to me. Losing all those beautiful young men; now it’s a feeling compounded by age.

“I have lost so many friends. It makes the relationships that remain alive so much more important, always ending messages with love. Relationships and love really matter, especially in times of grief and loss, and at times of such [political] division like now. I have family members that see American politics the other way, and I love them, so we don’t talk about it because we’d end up mad with each other.”

Beliefs lead to divisions, says Mary. “But I’m not trying to change the mind of anyone. That’s not my job. I’m a songwriter, and my job is to work withing the realms of the heart, to connect with the heart.

“Sympathy is to have feelings, but empathy is a very complex form of love; empathy is walking in someone else’s shoe, becoming the other in a song, putting yourself in the body of a female or a soldier, for example. It’s a very powerful medium that bypasses reason because it’s about the heart; it’s a feeling in your body,” she elaborates.

Dark Enough To See The Stare follows Rifles & Rosary Beads, Mary’s award-garlanded 2018 album co-written with U.S. veterans and their families that served to help them cope with the trauma experienced both abroad and at home.

Three years later came her first book, Saved By A Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting, a memoir wherein she shared her life experiences from addiction, abandonment and loss to compassion, empathy, kindness and ultimately triumph, subsequently named in Rolling Stone magazine’s Best Music Books of 2021.

“The way I think songwriting works is that songs can make people feel something and that creates empathy, and through that the heart can have a conversation with the mind,” she says. “There are bridges that only music can cross.” 

Mary Gauthier, The Crescent, York, tonight (23/11/2022), 7.30pm. Seated show with all seating unreserved. Support act Jaimee Harris will then perform with Gauthier. Box office: thecrescentyork.seetickets.com/event/mary-gauthier/the-crescent/2378227 or on the door.

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Expect musical mayhem when everyone wishes to be a star in Pick Me Up’s Nativity!

Toni Feetenby’s Jennifer Lore in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Nativity! The Musical

PICK Me Up Theatre director Readman never appeared in a Nativity play in his North Yorkshire schooldays.

“My first appearance on stage was as an animal in Snow White,” says Robert, whose production of Nativity! The Musical opens at the Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow (24/11/2022).

“My brother Mark was King Herod in Bubwith Church in 1969! The first time I got close to a Nativity was when I directed the York premiere of Tim Firth’s Flint Street Nativity at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre in 2011.”

How he is at the helm of Debbie Isitt and Nicky Ager’s musical, adapted for the stage by the creator of the British franchise of four family Christmas films released between 2009 and 2018.

Stuart PIper: Making his Pick Me Up Theatre debut as Mr Maddens in Nativity! The Musical

“I was looking for a Christmas show as our Grand Opera House slot falls pre-panto,” says Robert. “Scott Garnham [Malton-born actor, singer and producer] played Mr Maddens in the professional tour and West End run, and I knew that if Scott had loved it, we would too. I also love the film!

“I managed to gain the rights in April 2021. Browsing on the Music Theatre International website, I applied, assuming it would be a ‘No’ because it had been on a professional tour, and so I was very surprised and delighted to get a ‘Yes’!”

The musical is based on the original film. “All the gags are there and the grand finale in the bombed Coventry Cathedral ruins,” says Robert, introducing the story of St Bernadette’s School attempting to mount a musical version of a Nativity play. “The only trouble is, teacher Mr Maddens has promised the children that a Hollywood producer is coming to see the show to turn it into a film.”

Against this backdrop, Mr Maddens, his crazy teaching assistant Mr Poppy and the unruly children struggle to make everyone’s Christmas wish of starring in the Nativity play come true.

Christmas quackers: Jack Hooper’s Mr Poppy in Nativity! The Musical

“Nativity! is loaded with British humour, kids being themselves, pathos and daftness, and there’s a romantic happy end,” says Robert.

“The music is very catchy and totally suits the essence of the story. As Debbie Isitt directed the film, she had a natural understanding of what style was required, and the melodies add a whole new element to the script, based very closely to the screenplay. I just love the music.”

Nativity! The Musical features all the sing-a-long favourites from the film series, such as Sparkle And Shine, Nazareth, One Night One Moment and She’s The Brightest Star.

“They’re complemented by a whole host of new songs filled with the spirit of Christmas,” says Robert. “Mr Poppy gets a solo, the ensemble is given songs, and the romance between Mr Maddens and Jennifer Lore is told in music.”

School roll call-cum-role call: All the St Bernadette’s pupils and teachers, as played by Robert Readman’s cast for Pick Me Up Theatre’s Natvity! The Musical

Joined in the production team by musical director Sam Johnson and choreographer Lesley Hill, Robert is directing a cast that combines faces both new and familiar to Pick Me Up audiences.

Making their company debuts will be Stuart Piper as Mr Maddens, Stuart Hutchinson as Gordon Shakespeare and Jack Hooper as Desmond Poppy, while the returnees will include Toni Feetenby as Jennifer Lore, Jonny Holbek as The Critic ( Patrick Burns) and Alison Taylor as Mrs Bevan. Look out too for Rhian Wells’s Miss Rye, Rosy Rowley’s Mr Parker (yes, Mr Parker), Kelly Stocker’s Receptionist and Martin Rowley’s Lord Mayor,

Alongside the principal children’s roles of Ollie (Jonah Haig), Star (Beau Lettin) and the Angel Gabriel (Faatah Sohail) will be Team Shakespeare and Team Poppy, comprising 38 children between them.

“We held open auditions for three shows, September’s Matilda The Musical Jr, Nativity! and next month’s The Sound Of Music all at the same time in June, so we could get to know the children,” says Robert.

Team Maddens at the dress rehearsal for Pick Me Up Theatre’s Nativity! The Musical

“Many of them are in all three shows, and it’s proved a very successful method as the children have become friends, and working with them is a pleasure because they’re relaxed and happy to be in rehearsal. I’ve also been blessed with excellent choreographers, Lesley and her assistants Emily and Lily Walker, and with parents willing to give support.”

Coming next for York company Pick Me Up will be Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound Of Music at Theatre@41, from December 16 to 30. Looking ahead to 2023, “we’ll be celebrating the 60th anniversary of Joan Littlewood’s musical Oh What A Lovely War in April and Agatha Christie’s thriller And Then There Were None in September, both at Theatre@41, Monkgate,” says Robert.

“For Halloween, we’ll be doing a Grand Opera House double bill of Young Frankenstein and The Worst Witch. Christmas will bring Nicholas Nickelby to Monkgate for its York premiere.”

Pick Me Up Theatre in Nativity! The Musical, at Grand Opera House, York, November 24, 25, 26, 29 and 30, December 2, 7.30pm; November 26, 2.30pm; November 27, 3pm; December 1, 2pm, 7pm; December 3, 12pm, 4pm. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or atgtickets.com/York

Copyright of The Press, York

Pick Me Up Theatre’s poster for the York premiere of Debbie Isitt and Nicky Ager’s Nativity! The Musical
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NCEM and BBC Radio 3 seek entries for Young Composers Award competetion

Wind-blown: The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble members Adrian France, Tom Lees, Gawain Glenton, Conor Hastings, Andy Harwood-White and Emily White

ENTRIES are sought for the NCEM Young Composers Award 2023.

Each year the award is presented by the National Centre for Early Music, York, in association with BBC Radio 3, who welcome the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble as partners for next year.

Young composers are invited to write a new piece for this virtuoso period instrument group based on a popular tune from the Spanish “Golden Age” of the 16th and 17th centuries, creating their composition in the same spirit by using the melody as a starting point for musical ideas.

The award is open to young composers resident in Great Britain up to the age of 25 and is judged in two age categories: 18 and under and 19 to 25. 

NCEM director Dr Delma Tomlin says: “The Young Composers Award continues to be one of the highlights on the NCEM’s calendar and is an extremely important part of the organisation’s work.

“For the 2023 awards, we are delighted to be working with the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, an award-winning group with a host of distinguished recordings to its name.

“The winning compositions will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show, a wonderful way to launch the careers of aspiring young composers.”

NCEM direcor Dr Delma Tomlin: “The Young Composers Award continues to be one of the highlights on the NCEM’s calendar”

BBC Radio 3 controller Alan Davey says: “Here at Radio 3, we believe that it is vital to encourage and support creative exploration, as this is the only way to keep classical music alive with the idea of an ever-growing canon, attracting new audiences with a sense of exploration and discovery.

“That is why we are so proud to partner with the National Centre for Early Music once more for its 2023 Young Composers Award. This collaboration enables us to expose our audiences at home to some of the brightest talents in Early Music practice, broadcasting their works on our Early Music Show.”

Gawain Glenton, the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble’s co-director, says: “A key part of our mission as an ensemble is to expand the horizons of our beautiful instruments.

“We’re therefore thrilled to return as the ensemble-in-residence and can’t wait to see what the young composers write for us. Pieces from our last appearance in 2018 have since become part of our core repertoire. We’re looking forward to once again showcasing the work of the UK’s wonderful young artistic voices.”

Composers must register their interest by 12 noon on February 17 and scores should be submitted by March 17 2023. Full details, including the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble’s guide on how to write for their instruments, can be found at: https://www.youngcomposersaward.co.uk/

The shortlisted composers will be invited to a collaborative workshop at the NCEM, at St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, led by composer Christopher Fox and the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble. In the evening, the shortlisted pieces will be performed with the judges present, when the two winning compositions will be announced. The NCEM will meet all travel and accommodation costs for those selected to attend.

The winning works will be premiered in a public performance at the Stoller Hall in Manchester on November 9 2023, when the concert will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show. 

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on Carducci String Quartet, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, 11/11/2022

Carducci String Quartet: “Nothing if not adventurous”

THE Carduccis, who are celebrating their 25th anniversary, are nothing if not adventurous.

Although they played Beethoven’s mighty Op 127 at the end of their programme for the British Music Society of York, they opened with Fanny Mendelssohn and Simon Rowland-Jones.

Felix Mendelssohn’s older sister was discouraged from composing even by members of her own family; it was not a “ladylike” activity. She was not to be deterred. But it took until the late 20th century for the quality of her works to receive proper recognition.

Fanny’s String Quartet in E flat, although written in 1834, was first published more than 150 years later, in 1988. Unusually, it opens with an enchanting slow movement of lyrical meanderings, which set the tone for the succeeding Allegretto. The Carduccis made one of their few false moves of the evening by opening this too fast for the fugal activity it contains, which had to be reined back.

A minor-key Romance, which moved briefly into the major, was unexpectedly edgy. The finale, Allegro molto vivace, was best suited to the Carduccis’ mood and enjoyed impeccable ensemble despite its furious tempo.

Simon Rowland-Jones’s Quartet No 7 was written for this group five years ago. It is subtitled Flock Of Knot (a knot is a small shore bird of the sandpiper family, should you be wondering). Its three inter-linked movements chart the sudden arrival, feeding procedures and equally startling departure of birds encountered during a winter stroll on Holkham Beach, Norfolk.

A babel of high-lying birdcalls, in rapid, tightly woven counterpoint, suddenly swoops low. The resultant calm is deceptive, growing ever more intense, although at a much slower pace; after a forceful climax, it fades into a cello solo that leads into the final, lively scherzo, which recalls elements of the opening. As the tessitura rises, it starts to fade into a concluding viola solo.

It can hardly be coincidental that Rowland-Jones is a viola player himself, having been a founder member of the Chilingirian Quartet. Autobiography aside, the piece is beautifully structured and constantly intriguing; it earned the Carduccis’ keenest attention.

We must be forever indebted to Prince Nikolai Golitzïn for commissioning the first three of Beethoven’s five late quartets. The first of these – and the only one to be published during the composer’s lifetime – was Op 127 in E flat major, and was given by the Carduccis as if their lives depended on it.

The opening chordal motif, twice repeated, was bold and rich and led into an Allegro of intoxicating momentum. The second variation in the Adagio was almost jaunty, but elsewhere its atmosphere was reverential, including wonderful dialogue between leader and cello and a pianissimo coda that evoked the former’s sweetest tone.

In the Scherzando, rhythms were incredibly crisp, reaching a peak of nervous electricity in its Presto section. Similarly, accents were supremely resolute in the finale, which reached a spellbinding vision of heavenly bliss in the coda before a dazzling finish. This was Beethoven playing of world class.

Review by Martin Dreyer

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Looking for More Things To Do in York and beyond? Success will be found inside this story. Hutch’s List No. 106, from The Press

What is success, ponders Sara Pascoe, comedian, presenter, actress, writer and mum, at York Barbican

A COMEDIAN’S quest, a musical Nativity, winter storytelling, open studios, folk luminaries and supreme songwriters put a spring in Charles Hutchinson’s step as the season for scarves arrives

Comedy gig of the week: Sara Pascoe: Success Story, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm

EXPECT “name-dropping, personal stories and anecdotes” from comedian Sara Pascoe, who will be mulling over status, celebrities, her new fancy lifestyle versus infertility, her multiple therapists and career failures in Success Story.

“What I want to explore is how do we define success and when do we define it,” she says. “Does it change with age? Do we only want things we can’t have? When we attain our goals, do we move the goal posts and become unsatisfied with what we’ve got and want something else instead?” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Mayhem incoming: Pick Me Up Theatre’s cast for Nativity The Musical

Christmas musical of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Nativity! The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, November 24 to 26, 29 and 30, December 2, 7.30pm; November 26, 2.30pm; November 27, 3pm; December 1, 2pm, 7pm; December 3, 12pm, 4pm

ROBERT Readman directs York company Pick Me Up Theatre in Debbie Isitt and Nicky Ager’s humorous musical, built around St Bernadette’s School’s calamitous attempt to mountain a musical Nativity play.

Unfortunately, teacher Mr Maddens has promised that a Hollywood producer will attend the show to turn it into a film. 

Join him, his crazy teaching assistant Mr Poppy and the unruly children as they struggle to make everyone’s Christmas wish come true to the songsheet of Sparkle And Shine, Nazareth, One Night One Moment, She’s The Brightest Star and a heap of new Yuletide songs. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or atgtickts.com/york.

Ye Wretched Strangers Storybook: Tales from North America and Britain at York Mansion House

Promenade theatre event of the week: Ye Wretched Strangers Storybook, York Mansion House,  St Helen’s Square, York, tonight, 7.30pm

YE Company of Wretched Strangers, a transatlantic community theatre troupe of performers and storytellers from Yorkshire and Wisconsin, present sometimes comic, sometimes serious, always intimate and often poignant tales from Britain and North America, spanning 1799 to 1942, in the refurbished home to the Lord Mayor of York.

Laughter, smiles and a tear or two will be elicited by A Christmas Eve Ghost Story, the Creation Myth of the Ojibwe Tribe of Native Americans, A York World War Two Tale and other stories of ordinary people often forgotten by history on both sides of the Atlantic. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/ye-wretched-strangers-storybook/

Wizard, photographic collage, by Claire Morris, on show at the Winter Artists Open House

Christmas shopportunity of the week: Winter Artists Open House, South Bank, York, today, 11am to 4pm

FIVE York artists are opening studios today in South Bank with an eye to the Christmas market. At Kay Dower’s Corner Gallery, at 2 Telford Terrace, her acrylic paintings and prints of corners of York, the Yorkshire coast and quirky still-life objects will be complemented by photographic collages by Claire Morris, inspired by vintage books.

Kate Buckley’s “origami meets porcelain” sculptural ceramics and Marie Murphy’s modern, geometric paintings, prints and illustrations of urban landscapes can be found at 31 Wentworth Road. Mixed-media artist Jill Tattersall’s vivid, dreamlike artworks in paints, inks and dyes on handmade paper await at the Wolf At The Door studio, 15 Cygnet Street.

Saxon: Seize a ticket for their Seize The Day date at York Barbican

Heavy metal gig of the week: Saxon, Seize The Day World Tour, Hull City Hall, Tuesday; York Barbican, Wednesday, 7.30pm

BARNSLEY heavy metal veterans Saxon bring their 23rd studio album, February’s Carpe Diem, to stage life, led as ever by Biff Byford. “Can’t wait to get out on a real tour again, it’s gonna be monumental!” he says. “See you all out there. Seize the day!” Special guests will be Diamond Head. Box office: Hull, hulltheatres.co.uk;  York, yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Jane Weaver: Purveyor of an eco-friendly hum and pop for post-new-normal times

Songwriters of the week: Mary Gauthier & Jaimee Harris, Wednesday; Jane Weaver & Jake Mehew, Thursday, both at The Crescent, York, 7.30pm

NEW Orleans roots singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier is backing up June’s release of Dark Enough To See The Stars with a rare UK tour this month. The album mourns the loss of dear friends John Prine, Nanci Griffith and David Olney, but the optimistic side to Gauthier bursts through songs of new love and personal contentment.

Her seated show is followed the next night by Jane Weaver’s standing gig. An unshakable leading light of Britain’s experimental pop music landscape, this Manchester musician released her latest album, Flock, last year with its eco-friendly hum and pop for post-new-normal times. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Oysterband: Bound for Pocklington Arts Centre

Rare sighting of the week: Oysterband, Pocklington Arts Centre, Thursday, 8pm

OYSTERBAND play Pocklington as the only northern gig in their 2022 autumn diary. Formed in Canterbury in 1976, the veteran six-piece still perform with the spirit a punk ceilidh band but with depth and sensitivity to their songwriting, coupled with the strength of John Jones’s voice.

Songs from the five-time BBC Folk Award winners’ March album, Read The Sky, are sure to feature. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Bellowhead: Reuniting for first tour in six years

Folk event of the year: Bellowhead’s Broadside Tenth Anniversary Tour, Harrogate Convention Centre, Friday, doors 7pm for 8pm start

FOLK big band Bellowhead are reuniting for a “special one-off” tenth anniversary tour of their fourth album, 2012’s Broadside, their first Top 20 entry in the UK Official Album Charts, fuelled by such favourites as Roll The Woodpile Down and 10,000 Miles Away.

Support comes from Stroud fiddler Sam Sweeney, who served in Bellowhead from 2008 to their last tour in 2016 and is now back on the front line alongside Jon Boden and John Spiers. Tickets update: Sold out; for returns only, contact 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk.

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REVIEW: NE in Oliver!, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, lots more until 26/11/22 ****

Zachary Pickersgill as orphan Oliver: “Could not give more to his role”

NE in Oliver!, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, 7.30pm tonight (last few tickets), then next Tuesday to Saturday; 2.30pm matinees, tonight and next Saturday, both sold out. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk

CREATIVE director and producer Steve Tearle is playing Fagin for the fourth time in Lionel Bart’s beloved musical account of Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist.

He knows both part and musical inside out – he has appeared in six productions since the late-1970s – but he was determined to freshen it up anew, not so much new twists as more Twist.

NE Musicals York may have stripped back its name temporarily to NE but Tearle has embellished Oliver! with short extra scenes, a “fruitier” frisson to Chris Hagyard’s Mr Bumble and a cast of thousands (well, almost), divided into two teams, Dawkins and Twist, for alternate performances.

Steve Tearle’s Fagin: Arch, devious, but humorous too

Tearle reckons this  production is the darkest of NE’s three versions in the past decade – 2015, 2018 and 2022 – signified by the thunder and dark Victorian attire of the opening and wholly encapsulated in the menacing performance of Eric Jensen’s jemmy-wielding Bill Sikes.

Last spotted on stage pushing Priscilla the bus and being a bigoted bar-room rowdy in the Aussie outback in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical, Jensen graduates to a principal role – after the original Sikes had to withdraw for health reasons – with aplomb.

If your reviewer says he even murdered My Name – his big, brutal song in the spotlight – it is meant in the most positive way. By his side, unlike Bill, Bonnie behaves impeccably in the canine spotlight as his English bull terrier, Bullseye.

Anyway, we digress. The opening number sets out Tearle’s stall as 45 children explode from everywhere in a burst of stamping feet to fill the stage for the workhouse number Food, Glorious Food. Tearle has adapted Robert Readman’s My Fair Lady set, utilising its framework for a walkway and to present scenes on a mezzanine level, and he is not averse to his cast frequenting the aisles too in a blur of mischief-making.

Maia Beatrice’s Nancy, right, with Erin Greenley

His Fagin and Zachary Pickersgill’s Oliver even make use of the orchestra pit, when seeking cover from being found. (You will note too the decking out of the pit apron in dockside wood in a striking designer’s flourish.)

Space aplenty is necessary for the ensemble scenes, whether in the pub, the streets, the workhouse, or Fagin’s den of young pickpockets. Tearle’s passion for community theatre is emblazoned across these scenes, so full of life, filling the stage at every opportunity, whether with Fagin’s Gang, Tearle’s young charges relishing taking their early steps on the boards, or with the ever-enthusiastic adult chorus.

Ellie Roberts’s choreography revels in having to accommodate so many limbs, typified by the outstanding Oom-Pah-Pah, while bringing personality to the oh-so-familiar set-piece numbers. Who Will Buy? is a particular delight.

Tearle’s scheming yet lily-livered crook Fagin, Jensen’s bruiser Sikes and Hagyard’s amusingly slimy, meddlesome beadle Mr Bumble will be appearing in all the performances, as will Kelvin Grant’s upstanding Mr Brownlow and Tom Henshaw’s antagonistic undertaker Mr Sowerberry. 

What a scream! Chris Hagyard’s Mr Bumble and Fiona Cameron’s Widow Corney make a comically crotchety couple

CharlesHutchPress saw Thursday’s company, so please forgive no mention of the alternate cast when praising Maia Beatrice’s heartbreaking Nancy (As Long As He Needs Me); Fiona Cameron’s heartless, on-the-make Widow Corney (I Shall Scream); Melissa Boyd’s gothic Mrs Sowerberry (That’s Your Funeral) and Scott Kendrew’s smug bully, Noah Claypole.

Zachary Pickersgill is fearless in the title role, as mobile as a dancer in moving around the stage, and not fazed by that most difficult of songs for a young voice, Where Is Love?. Whether cheeky, defiant, angry, or searching for love amid constant change and adversity, he could not give more to his orphan Oliver.

Toby Jensen hits his groove as a suitably artful Dodger, leading Consider Yourself with swagger, but one tip: keep the head up to look the audience in the eye, projection being so vital to giving off the all-important air of self-confidence that will carry through to the finale with its foretelling of the post-Fagin era.

Rather than cor-blimey, apples-and-pears Cockernee accents, Tearle and his cast are not so specific about placing Oliver! in London’s East End. That ensures clarity throughout, save for the occasional line that needs more volume or those moments when the band overpowers the singing in the sound balance.

Menacing: Eric Jensen’s Bill Sikes

Tearle’s Fagin is arch, devious, but he finds the humour in the old rogue too, whether in improvised asides (such as when struggling to put on his coat), or in his signature song, Reviewing The Situation, where he reviews the song in progress and banters with violinist Olivia Virgo.

He excels in his costume designs too, while Scott Phillips’s orchestra is a joy, flowing between strings and brass, equally adept at the uptempo and the contemplative grand ballad.

All in all, this is an Oliver! with more: more detail, more cast members, more humour, more drama, more shows, spread over two weeks. What more encouragement do you need to join Fagin’s gang and co? If you don’t go, well, that’s your funeral.

Review by Charles Hutchinsion

Oliver, Oliver: Zachary Pickersgill, left, and Fin Walker are alternating performances in the lead role in NE’s Oliver!
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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on York Opera in HMS Pinafore, York Theatre Royal

Jack Storey-Hunter’s Ralph Rackstraw, Polina Bielova’s Hebe, centre, and Alexandra Mather’s Josephine in York Opera’s HMS Pinafore. All pictures: Ben Lindley

Gilbert & Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore, York Opera, at York Theatre Royal, 7.30pm tonight; 2.30pm and 7.30pm tomorrow. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

THREE members of York Opera make important debuts in the company’s latest foray into Gilbert & Sullivan. They contributed significantly to the triumphant success of opening night.

Annabel van Griethuysen’s ingenious production mines a good deal more humour than is usually found in HMS Pinafore. Jack Storey-Hunter gives an extremely assured performance in the role of Ralph Rackstraw. Tim Selman steps up to the rostrum to conduct his first opera with the company.

But there is so much strength in depth in this company that you can virtually guarantee a really satisfying evening, whatever they do. So it is here. Good G & S relies on a sturdy chorus. The ladies – the First Lord of the Admiralty’s ‘sisters and his cousins and his aunts’ – seem to have welcomed some new blood and sing with immense conviction and presence. They are clearly enjoying themselves.

John Soper’s Sir Joseph Porter KCB surrounded by ‘his sisters and his cousins and his aunts’

The men are equally lusty, slightly older hands maybe, but none the worse for wear and all the more credible as hard-bitten tars. An innovation here is a semi-chorus of eight, four ladies, four men, who deliver three sea shanties, including an especially offbeat version of What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor?.

The other two shanties are not quite so effective and, for the sake of continuity, one in each of the two acts would be enough. But the idea is excellent. It was typical of a production that goes out of its way not to rely on the traditional ‘business’ that so often dogs Savoy operas. Who has ever seen a sailor chased by a mouse here? Or Rackstraw having soothing cream applied to his wrists after being released from irons? There were countless such instances, most of them witty.

There are many old friends among the principals, none more so than John Soper as Sir Porter. Believe it or not, he has been with this company for more than 50 years, yet his baritone is as firm as ever. He struts his stuff superbly but is not above laughing at himself. When I Was A Lad was hilarious. He catches the eye whenever he appears.

Ian Thomson-Smith is another old hand with the company and his Captain Corcoran – albeit wearing commander’s stripes – does not disappoint. I Am The Captain Of The Pinafore goes with tremendous verve and he is a cheery soul throughout, even when he has to play straight man to Porter.

Ian Thomson-Smith’s Captain Corcoran with Anthony Gardner’s piratical Dick Deadeye

Jack Storey-Hunter’s Rackstraw announces himself in a firm, confident tenor, declaring his love for Josephine. He is not above re-joining his mates but maintains an admirable manner even when seemingly spurned by his intended. This was a most promising start.

First-night nerves can kick in unexpectedly and Rebecca Smith at first made a restrained Buttercup, but she sustained a perfect West Country brogue – emulated to a degree by the chorus men – and relaxed as the evening progressed.

Alexandra Mather’s Josephine followed a similar course. As the top of her soprano opened out in Act 2, so too did her personality. Both will progress over the five shows.

There are more than useful contributions from Anthony Gardner’s piratical Dick Deadeye and Polina Bielova’s effervescent Hebe, who ends up as Sir Joseph’s bride. Hers is a voice that we shall undoubtedly hear again. Fine cameos from Alex Holland’s bo’sun and Mark Simmonds’ carpenter round out the principals.

Alexandra Mather’s Josephine, the Captain’s daughter

Joseph Soper’s permanent set, with poop deck above and behind the quarterdeck, emblazoned with VR insignia, more than serves the purpose. It is backed up in similarly authentic style by Maggie Soper’s costume team.

Amy Carter’s carefully conceived choreography does not always earn the discipline it deserves. Doubtless it will improve with time, but better to cut the numbers and keep it tight than throw everyone into the ring for every dance.

Last, but certainly not least, is Tim Selman’s sizeable orchestra, which includes several established figures including leader Claire Jowett. They have rhythmic zest to burn. Occasionally Selman follows his soloists rather than lead them and tempos sag slightly. Otherwise, he keeps a firm hand on the tiller.

As the nights draw in and temperatures dip, I can think of no better way to warm your spirits than this rousing show. You dare not miss it.

Review by Martin Dreyer

The lusty-voiced Men’s Chorus in York Opera’s HMS Pinafore

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Shed Seven to play ‘gig of the Millennium’ in Leeds city centre next summer with Cast and Skylights. When do tickets go on sale?

The poster for next summer’s Shed Seven invasion of Leeds Millennium Square

YORK heroes Shed Seven will take over Leeds Millennium Square on July 15 in an exclusive open-air Yorkshire show next summer.

Joining them on Sounds Of The City 2023’s 6pm to 10.30pm bill will be Britpop cohorts Cast, John Power’s Liverpool indie rock combo, and fellow terrace-anthem York group Skylights.

“This is a HUGE show for us, and we hope the Shed Seven family will make the pilgrimage to Leeds and join us on what’s sure to be a special night,” say The Sheds, who played to a 10,000 crowd at Leeds First Direct Arena in December 2019. 

All tickets for this standing-only outdoor triple bill with a 6,000 capacity are priced at £35 (£38.50 with booking fee) and go on sale tomorrow (18/11/2022) at 9am at millsqleeds.com/whatson-event/shed-seven-sounds-of-the-city/

Shed Seven’s Paul Banks and Rick Witter

UPDATE 19/11/2022

GONE in a flash. All tickets have been snapped up within a day for Shed Seven’s Leeds Millennium Square gig.

The Sheds took to Twitter today to say: “SOLD OUT. A massive heartfelt thank you to everyone who bought tickets for our Leeds Millennium Square show yesterday. We can’t wait for this show, 6,000 people singing along with us in the sunshineeeeee …. Old and new tunes… maybe some special guests too! Love the Sheds x”

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REVIEW: The Cher Show: A New Musical, Grand Opera House, York, to Saturday, 3.5/5

Millie O’Connell’s young Cher, Babe, with Tori Scott’s Georgia, her mother, in The Cher Show. Picture: Pamela Raith

THERE may be only one Cher, 76 and now ‘dating’ Alexander Edwards, 40 years her junior – “Love doesn’t know Math,” she says – but it takes three Chers to portray her in The Cher Show: A New Musical.

Sharing out Cher are Millie O’Connell as Babe (childhood, Sonny Bono and Cher up to The Sonny And Cher Comedy Hour); Barnsley-born Danielle Steers as Lady (the Seventies’ solo years) and Debbie Kurup as Star, the Cher-leader role of narrator and “oldest and wisest” Cher (the movie years, her relationship with bagel factory worker, bartender and actor Rob Camiletti (Sam Ferriday), the “Comeback” finale, auto-tune anthem Believe topping the charts et al).

Missing out are the Dead Ringer For Love duet with Meat Loaf and any direct reference to the 2002-2005 Living Proof: The Farewell Tour. Meanwhile, the 2018-2020 Here We Go Again tour of America (and the postponed 2022 British leg) and Cher’s role as Ruby Sheridan in Mamma Mia! 2: Here We Go Again, the 2018 excuse for a second Abba movie, have both added to her legacy since The Cher Show made its June 2018 debut in Chicago.

No complaints at any absentees: the running time of two and a half hours (including a 20-minute interval) has so much to cram in already from Cherilyn Sarkisian’s life as the 100 million record-selling “Goddess of Pop” and “Queen of Reinvention”, singer, actress, television host, fashion icon, drag queen favourite and charity founder.

Seventies’ shimmer: Danielle Steers as Lady in The Cher Show. Picture: Pamela Raith

No time to lose, Rick Elice’s book seeks to crack the whip in trademark Cher style, opening with Kurup’s Star undergoing a crisis of confidence in her dressing room and seeking words of comfort from her younger selves, Babe and Lady.

Hearing all three speak in that quavering Cher alto with her distinctive vowel sounds is a tad freaky at first, but it instantly establishes their rapport, as they observe each other, comment and banter, sing together, overlap but never undermine. When shall we three meet again? In studio, divorce court or in pain? When the hurly-burly’s done, when the battle’s lost and won.

Battles aplenty there are, from childhood days of dyslexia and feeling she did not fit in at school as an Armenian American with dark hair, days when her truck driver father, with his drug and gambling habits, just upped and left. Yet there is humour aplenty, a knowing Cher trademark, both in Elice’s book and in Arlene Phillips’s direction, from the moment O’Connell’s Babe enters on a bike, aged six, in Sixties’ Cher garb and already with an adult voice.

The balance of light and darker; of being funny and being laughed at; success and slumps; falling in love and out of love; the tongue in cheek and not turning the other cheek; having hits and fallow spells; singing and acting; concerts and TV, (over)working and motherhood, ebbs and flows throughout. All played out against a backdrop of a woman having to fight against a man’s world, rebelling against convention, whether dealing with Phil Spector (Ferriday), Sonny Bono (Guy Woolf this week, alternating on tour with Lucas Rush), Greg Allman (Ferriday again) or TV directors.

Cher leader: Debbie Kurup’s Star in The Cher Show. Picture: Pamela Raith

There are constants too: the love and support of her mother Georgia (Tori Scott); the constant drive for reinvention; the eye for a costume of her designer, Bob Mackie (Jake Mitchell).

Whether singing solo, in duets or sometimes, better still, as a trio, the three Chers do Cher proud, capturing the drama, passion, swagger, yearning, defiance, assertiveness and droll melancholia of that extraordinary alto voice. Never settling into broad impersonation, they find the heart and humour and hurt in Cher, both individually and collectively, attuned to the facial and bodily mannerisms, the gradual change in the singing tone too.

Woolf seeks to make Sonny a rounded figure, a man of talents and faults alike, but one who kept playing his part in her career; Ferriday has a field day with assorted cameos as men who came and went.

If you enjoyed Gabriella Slade’s costume design brio with bling dazzle in SIX, then you will love it in The Cher Show, where she broadens the colour palette, denoting a different mood board for each Cher, but with black and silver still to the fore for Star and the ensemble alike.

Three Chers: Millie O’Connell, as Babe, left, Debbie Kurup, as Star, and Danielle Steers, as Lady. Triptych picture: Matt Crockett

Tom Rogers’ set combines row upon row of garment bags and wig stands with recording studio and concert hall paraphernalia and room for home interiors and spectacular performances on towering steps.

Oti Mabuse’s choreography plays true to the Cher trademarks and is thrilling for the three Chers, rather less so for the well-drilled but somewhat monotone ensemble.

Best number? Every detail coming together, from singing to choreography, orchestrations to design, for Bang Bang. Believe seeps in and out, acting like a theme tune; Half-Breed is poignant; Strong Enough, resilient; I Got You Babe as love-struck as a crush could ever be; The Shoop Shoop Song, cannily returned to its 1960s’ roots.

Three cheers for the three Chers, but if I could turn back time, a tightening of the text would have been beneficial. Less Cher to share, yes, but better for the glitter and the grit, the wow factor and the wit before the party finale.

The Cher Show: A New Musical, runs at Grand Opera House, York, turning back time until Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or atgtickets.com/York

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Not only Oliver wants some more, so does director Steve Tearle as NE add new scenes and stretch JoRo Theatre run to a fortnight

Eric Jensen’s Bill Sikes and director Steve Tearle’s Fagin in an argumentative scene in rehearsal for NE’s Oliver!

THE company name is becoming ever shorter, but NE’s production runs in York are growing longer.

Formerly NE Musicals York, NE will be stretching Lionel Bart’s Oliver! into a second week at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, under the direction of Steve Tearle, who is playing Fagin for the fourth time in his career at 62.

“It’s our first venture into doing a fortnight in the theatre,” says Steve. “We wanted to do a show where, if we were going to have two casts, we were going to have a return on it by lengthening the run. We wanted it to be two weeks, not just for us as a company but as an experience for everyone involved.  

“Two performances have sold out already [the Saturday matinees] and four have only limited availability [November 18, 19, 25 and 26, 7.30pm]. We’re selling 100 tickets daily and have sold more than 2,800 so far, but you can always ask for more!”

Where once ‘NE’ stood for the company’s roots of New Earswick, now it is an anagram for creating “New and Exciting” musical productions, the latest being a revised version of Oliver! that complements the familiar songs and characters with added scenes to “bring the story to life in more detail”.

Toby Jensen’s Artful Dodger, left, Callum Richardson’s Charley and Matthew Musk’s Nipper

“It was revised in 2018, when Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh revised it,” says Steve. “So now we have Bill Sikes in Act One with Fagin. 

“I’ve put in a new scene that explains why Nancy so loves Oliver because he stops Sikes from hitting her, and we’ve also revamped Mr Bumble’s character, played at every performance by Chris Hagyard, making him much more fruity!”

The two teams of performers – Team Dawkins and Team Twist – will play alternate performances, led by Zachary Pickersgill and Fin Walker sharing the role of Oliver Twist, the boy who asks for more.

Henry Barker and Toby Jensen will be the Artful Dodger; Fiona Ann Cameron and Aileen Stables, Widow Corney, and Perri Ann Barley and Maia Stroud, Nancy. “They’re playing Nancy in contrasting ways, one older, one younger, so they’re very differing characters,” says Steve.

The intimidating role of Bill Sikes has been re-cast after the original actor had to pull out for health reasons. “Luckily, Eric Jensen has stepped in to play his first big role on stage. Last time, he pushed the bus around and appeared in the bar scenes in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical,” says Steve.

Ali Butler Hind’s Mrs Sowerberry, Chris Hagyard’s Mr Bumble, and Tom Henshaw’s Mr Sowerberry 

“He’s been on the equivalent of a speed-dating experience to achieve what he has!  To go from where he was to where he is now is unbelievable. He’s taken to it like a duck to water. Who knew he had it in him! And he’s getting on so well with the dog, Bonnie, an English bull terrier, who’s playing Bill’s dog, Bullseye.”

Steve himself is performing in Oliver! for the sixth time, having played Mr Sowerberry for the Tyneside Theatre Company in the late-1970s, Mr Brownlow for York Opera and Fagin four times, first for the Tyneside company in the 1980s and now completing a hattrick for NE, after earlier performances eight and four years ago.

“That’s one of the reasons I can direct it because I know the story so well, the characters so well, the songs so well, that I can concentrate on getting the vision I want,” he says. “It means I can try something new, something different. This is our simplest production of Oliver!, quite dark, and I believe it’s our best,” says Steve, who is joined in the production team by musical director Scott Phillips and choreographer Ellie Roberts.

“We have an amazing set too, costumes designed exclusively for this production and 45 children coming on from everywhere in the opening number. Each show, half of them leave after half an hour; the other half stay to do the rest of the show, and we alternate that with each show. The parents have been amazingly supportive, which we really appreciate.”

Steve is “fanatical” in his research for the show’s costumes. “I think it’s really important, when you’re taking someone back to that Victorian time, to be accurate. You want someone to love this musical for everything it stands for, especially if it’s the first time they’re seeing the show, coming with their parents,” he says.

Oliver at the double: Zachary Pickersgill, left, and Fin Walker will share the title role in NE’s Oliver!

“I’ve even researched tattoos, which became fashionable in the 1700s, particularly around the docks.

“I’m also passionate about everyone creating their own back story for their role, so that they really live their character.”

Steeped in theatre through his family’s heritage – Osmond Tearle, Godfrey Tearle et al – Steve has been at the helm of NE for ten years, with one guiding principle, ever since being invited to take over by NEMS stalwart Mavis Massheder.

“I’ve gone back to true community theatre,” he says. “I believe in introducing people to performing theatre for the joy of it and the discipline of it too.

“I love it when we take on people who are just starting out because they have to begin somewhere, and if you don’t give them the chance, how will they ever develop? There are so many life lessons from doing theatre.”

Perri Ann Barley’s Nancy in the rehearsal room

NE will re-emerge next year with a new name, still incorporating ‘NE’, as Steve looks to expand the company’s vision. “I need to get rid of the word ‘musicals’ from the title to the point where it isn’t necessary for songs to be in the shows. It could be dance; it could be drama; a whole dance show, a straight play, but definitely not a music revue night.

“I want to attract more dancers and more people who are interested in drama that maybe can’t sing. In essence, we’ll look to do three shows a year, like Nik Briggs with York Stage and Robert Readman with Pick Me Up Theatre.”

NE in Oliver!, at Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, today until Saturday, then November 22 to 26, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm matinees, November 19 and 26. Box office: 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Did you know?

FORMED in 1914 as the New Earswick Dramatic Society, the society has mutated into New Earswick Dramatic and Operatic Society, New Earswick Operatic Society, New Earswick Musical Society, latterly NE Musicals York and now NE. A new name will be announced shortly.

Director Steve Tearle leading a rehearsal for Oliver! with his young charges

Did you know too?

WEST End actor, musical theatre performer and singing teacher Ashley Stillburn is NE’s new patron.

He grew up in North Yorkshire, performing on the York stage, before heading south in 2011 to study at Guildford School of Acting, where he graduated with a First in musical theatre.

He has since starred in Les Miserables and played the Phantom in The Phantom Of The Opera in London. From Buxton, in the Peak District, he teaches singing online and in person.

“We particularly look forward to Ashley coming up to York to talk to our young actors,” says director Steve Tearle.

Copyright of The Press, York