Category: Theatre

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What happens when iconic songs collide with parallel realities? Find out in Wharfemede Productions’ Musicals Across The Multiverse at Theatre@41 Monkgate

Wharfemede Productions artistic director Helen “Bells” Spencer, right, leading a rehearsal for Musicals Across The Multiverse

THE musical multiverse is on the move but with the visionary creative team of director Helen “Bells” Spencer and co-creator and musical director Matthew Clare still at the helm.

After the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company staged Musicals In The Multiverse as its “most ambitious concert production ever” in June 2023, now Helen’s Wetherby-founded company, Wharfemede Productions, takes up the multiverse mantle for Musicals Across The Multiverse, featuring a stellar cast of performers drawn from across Yorkshire’s vibrant talent pool.

Promising to be “even more inventive and boundary-pushing”, this out-of-this-universe sequel will take over Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from September 10 to 13, with its “nod to the Marvel franchise and the Spiderverse”.

“Musicals Across The Multiverse is a bold and exhilarating theatrical experience that reimagines your favourite musical theatre numbers like never before,” says Wharfemede Productions artistic director Bells, whose daily diary combines being a consultant psychiatrist with motherhood and her multiple theatrical pursuits.

“Step into a multiverse where the classics you know and love still exist, but not as you remember them. You’ll hear the songs that you know and love, but with their traditional presentation turned on its head, so they’re different but still recognisable.

Musical director Matthew Clare, right, in rehearsal with Wharfemede Productions cast members for Musicals Across The Multiverse

“Think unexpected style swaps, minor to major key switches, surprising gender reversals, era-bending reinterpretations, genre mash-ups and more, offering audiences a witty, heartfelt journey through the many worlds of the multiverse.

“Inventive, genre-defying and packed with surprises, Musicals Across The Multiverse is a celebration of creativity and theatrical flair that promises to delight, challenge and thrill audiences. This is musical theatre recharged, remixed and ready to take you on an interdimensional journey you won’t forget.”

Bell is “absolutely thrilled” to be working with Matthew again. “He’s incredibly talented,” she enthuses. “Collaborating with him is always a joy. He’s not only a brilliant musician and composer, but also an endlessly inspiring creative partner. His ability to take an idea and elevate it into something truly original is nothing short of magic.

“Our friendship and shared passion for musical theatre have been at the heart of developing this piece. We both love exploring the ‘what ifs’ of familiar stories and pushing the boundaries of traditional performance. We’re not afraid to take risks, flip conventions on their head, and do things a little differently – and that spirit of playful reinvention is what Musicals Across The Multiverse is all about.”

In Bells’ cast will be Abbie Law; Ben Holeyman; choreographer Connie Howcroft; David Copley-Martin; Ellie Carrier; Emilia Charlton-Mathews; Emily Hardy; Emma Burke; Jack Fry; Jai Rowley and James Ball.

Musicals Across The Multiverse choreographer Connie Howcroft, right, working on moves with Zander Fick, Ben Holeyman, Abbie Law and Lauren Charlton-Matthews

So too will Kirsty Barnes; Laertes Singhateh; Lauren Charlton-Mathews; Matthew Warry; Mickey Moran; Naomi Mothersille; Nick Sephton; Richard Bayton; Rosy Rowley; Tess Ellis; Zander Fick and Bells herself.

“Our cast is nothing short of phenomenal,” she says. “This time we have multiple new additions from the production of Les Miserables I did this summer at Leeds Grand Theatre, and it means we now have a lovely mix of people from York and Leeds, who haven’t done a show together before, making it a really unique mix.

“They’ve thrown themselves into this wild, imaginative world with energy, humour and heart. Rehearsals have been full of laughter, creativity, and genuine moments of magic. Watching this show come to life with such an amazing group of performers from across Yorkshire has been a total privilege.

“Hopefully this format is something we can continue to grow. We’re now talking with The Carriageworks about taking shows there as well as to York.”

Bells and Matthew’s original concept for the parallel universes of this musical multiverse emerged from a conversation among York’s musical theatre performers about songs they would love to sing but would never have the opportunity to do so in a fully staged musical production, on account of, for example, the gender or the age of the character in the original setting.

“This is musical theatre recharged, remixed and ready to take you on an interdimensional journey you won’t forget,” says director Helen Spencer

“We pride ourselves in Wharfemede Productions on being an inclusive and welcoming artistic space for all,” says Bells. “The concept for this show allows our wonderfully talented and diverse cast to perform songs that explore and celebrate who they are, to push some of the traditional musical theatre boundaries and ultimately honour some of the best musical songs ever written.

“What’s been really lovely, working with Matthew, is how we can not only swap the gender in a song but also the feel of a song or the genre to match the gender swap. There isn’t a single song in this show that’s in its original format, which is an amazing challenge, but Matthew is such a genius in doing the musical arrangements.

“Santa Fe, from Disney’s Newsies, for example, was made famous by Jeremy Jordan in the Broadway musical, but is now being sung by Kirsty Barnes, who has just starred as Sister Mary Robert, the postulant in Sister Act, with LIDOS at The Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds.

“Matthew describes the arrangement as ‘written in the style of Chopin’s Preludes’, so it’s much more lyrical with piano and cello that really changes the song.”

Reflecting on lessons learnt from the first iteration of the musical multiverse, Bells says: “The  changes made to songs really excited everyone, and we’re always looking to push things further, like in the mash-ups, where we’ll have A Million Dreams, from The Greatest Showman, pared with How Far I’ll Go, from Disney’s Moana, and Defying Gravity, from Wicked, with Go The Distance, from Hercules.

Hands across the multiverse in the Long Marston Village Hub rehearsal room

“We got really good feedback on the close-harmony singing last time, singing that’s challenging but really lovely to do, so we’ll be doing more of that , and we’ll also have maybe four more solos than before as we had so  many people auditioning and the standard was so high.

“I’m also really excited about using British Sign Language again, as we did last time with Jack Fry for Cell Block Tango, from Chicago. Now we’ll be using it from Listen from Dreamgirls.

“Another highlight will be Zander Fick singing Sally Bowles’s Cabaret in a darker, more modern male version, where there will be no jazz hands to be seen.”

Among further “very different” interpretations will be Connie Howcroft’s rendition of the Genie’s Friend Like Me from Disney’s Aladdin. “It’s very clearly not a cartoon and not male!” says Bells.

“We also have a couple of major-to-minor key swaps that turn positive songs into ‘villain’ songs. Don’t Rain On My Parade is so well known that changing the key makes it so different and so challenging to sing – and it’s not only a genre swap but a gender swap too. It’s now more of an aggressive, very funky song, performed by Ben Holeyman.

The Wharfemede Productions cast for Musicals Across The Multiverse

“Emma Burke, who played Cosette in Les Miserables this summer, will do a very moving version of Anthem from Chess, in a gender and genre swap, highlighting the role of the Women Land’s Army in the Second World War.”

Look out too for three sets of mothers and children – Bells and Laertes Singhateh, Rosy and Jai Rowley and Emilia and Lauren Charlton-Mathews – singing Slipping Through My Fingers from Mamma Mia!

“It”s lovely for us to sing such a gorgeous song together,” says Bells. “Every mother feels that sense of pride yet loss at their children growing up.”

Matthew Warry will join Laertes, Jai and Lauren in The Place Where The Lost Things Go – “the Emily Blunt one” – from Mary Poppins Returns. “It’s a switch from Mary Poppins singing it, so now we have children singing an adult’s song,” says Bells.

As rehearsals take shape at Long Marston Village Hub, Bells concludes: “We can’t wait to share this unique, genre-bending show with you. Come and see what happens when musical theatre gets turned on its head – and support community theatre at its most daring, dynamic and joy-filled.”

Wharfemede Productions present Musicals Across The Multiverse, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 10 to 13, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Out of this universe: Wharfemede Productions’ poster for Musicals Across The Multiverse

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 37, from Gazette & Herald

You, Me And Who We’ll Be: Josie Brookes and Tom Madge’s enchanting exhibition at Nunnington Hall

CHILDREN’S outdoor adventures and diverse exhibitions, improvised Austen and American folk blues are among Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations as August makes way for September. 

Children’s exhibition of the week: Josie Brookes and Tom Madge, You, Me And Who We’ll Be, Nunnington Hall, near York, until September 7

ENTER the colourful worlds of children’s illustrators Josie Brookes and Tom Madge. Through bold, eye-catching artwork, the Newcastle-upon-Tyne duo creates stories that explore the many ways we can help and understand each other, make friends and build relationships.  

Discover your own helpful superpower in the Big Small Nature Club or join best friends Nader and Solomiya on a journey to find home. A dress-up station lets you share in the adventures of Molly the Flower. Before you go, help the story grow by adding your own artwork to the interactive gallery. Collages, prints and animation add up to plenty to inspire children. Tickets: Normal admission charges to Nunnington Hall apply at nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/nunnington-hall/exhibitions.

Kate Stables of This Is The Kit: Playing The Crescent in York tomorrow

York gig of the week: This Is The Kit, The Crescent, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm

THIS Is The Kit is the pseudonym of Winchester-born, Paris-dwelling songwriter, banjo strummer and pinhole camera aficionado Kate Stables, who makes albums of  “cataclysmic honesty and welcoming tonal embraces” that place companionship at a premium.

Stables will be accompanied in her experimental folk quartet by bass player Rozi Plain, drummer Jamie Whitby-Coles and guitarist Neil Smith, as she was at The Citadel, the former Salvation Army HQ in Gillygate, York, in November 2021. Box office for returns only: thecrescentyork.com/events.

Mandi Grant: Launching There Are Places To Remember exhibition at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, tomorrow

York art preview of the week: Mandi Grant, There Are Places To Remember, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, tomorrow, 6pm to 9pm

BE among the first to see South Bank Studios artist Mandi Grant’s new collection There Are Places I Remember on the bakery walls in Acomb. On show will be lyrical paintings of shapes, colour and textures in a combination of oil, acrylic and wax techniques.

Wine, soft drinks and nibbles will be served. Tickets are free but please register to attend at eventbrite.com/e/mandi-grant-art-preview-evening-tickets-1515431479349?aff=oddtdtcreator. Mandi’s exhibition will run until October 23.

Nunnington Hall: Playing host to Dawn Of The Dinos

Children’s adventures of the week: Dawn Of The Dinos, Nunnington Hall, near York, until August 31, 10.30am to 5pm

ENTER the Nunnington that time forgot with outdoor dinosaur-themed games around the gardens and main lawn for the family as you don your explorer’s hat and stomp around with your favourite dinosaurs.

In addition, around the gardens you can find a quiet creative hub with art supplies  and children can enjoy the Lion’s Den play area, where little explorers can climb up, over and wobble along a natural obstacle course, including tree-stump steps, a rope bridge and a wooden climbing frame to conquer. Inside the house, family-friendly art events and activities are running too. Normal admission applies, with free entry for National Trust members and under fives at nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/nunnington-hall/events.

Jake Xerxes Fussell: North Carolina singer, guitar picker and composer making York debut on September 3

American folk music for anxious times: Jake Xerxes Fussell, National Centre for Early Music, York, September 3, 7.30pm

PLEASE  Please You & Brudenell Presents promote the York debut of North Carolina singer, guitar picker and composer Jake Xerxes Fussell, whose intuitive creative process draws from traditional music and archival field recordings, incorporating elements of Southern folk song and blues into new works for the anxious modern world.

Folklorist Fussell released his fifth album, When I’m Called, last summer as his first on Fat Possum Records. He teamed up again with producer James Elkington to write and record music for Max Walker-Silverman’s feature film Rebuilding, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Austentatious: Improvising new Jane Austen story from audience suggestions at Grand Opera House, York

Improv show of the week: Show And Tell present Austentatious, An Improvised Jane Austen Novel, Grand Opera House, York, September 5 and 6, 7.30pm

THE all-star Austentatious cast will improvise a new Jane Austen novel, inspired entirely by a title from the audience. Performed in period costume with live musical accompaniment, this riotous, quick-moving West End hit comedy guarantees swooning.

The revolving Austentatious cast includes numerous award-winning television and radio performers, such as Cariad Lloyd (QI, Inside No.9, Griefcast, The Witchfinder),Joseph Morpurgo (Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee), Rachel Parris (The Mash Report), Graham Dickson (After Life, The Witchfinder) and more. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Pottery workshop at Fangfest Festival of Practical Arts

Silver anniversary of the week: Fangfest Festival of Practical Arts, Fangfoss, East Riding, September 6 and 7, 10am to 4pm each day

FANGFOSS is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Fangfest with the All Things Silver flower festival; veteran cars; archery; the Stamford Bridge Heritage Society; music on the village green; children’s games; the Teddy Bear Trail and artists aplenty exhibiting and demonstrating their work. 

Opportunities will be provided to try out the potter’s wheel, spoon carving and chocolate making. Some drop-in activities are free, while others are more intensive workshops that require booking in advance. Details of these can be found at facebook/fangfest or Instagram:@fangfestfestival. Look out too for the circus skills of children’s entertainer John Cossham, alias Professor Fiddlesticks, and the Pocklington and District Heritage Trust mobile museum. Admission is free.

Anton Du Beke: Making a song and dance out of Christmas at York Barbican

Show announcement of the week: Anton Du Beke in Christmas With Anton & Friends, York Barbican, December 21, 5pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing judge and dashing dancer Anton Du Beke will return to York Barbican with his festive show, Christmas with Anton & Friends, whose debut tour visited York on December 10 last year. Anton, 59, will be joined as ever by elegant crooner Lance Ellington, a live band and a company of dancers to create an evening of song and dance with added Christmas dazzle, concluding with a big medley.

“I loved doing the shows so much last year – they were simply magical – so I genuinely can’t wait to get on the road and do it all again,” says the King of the Ballroom. Box office:  yorkbarbican.co.uk.

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Glynis Barber and Bob Barrett to star in Agatha Christie’ Death On The Nile at Grand Opera House in Fiery Angel’s 2026 tour

Glynis Barber’s Salome Otterbourne in Fiery Angel’s 2026 production of Death On The Nile, bound for Grand Opera House, York.  Picture: Jay Brooks

GLYNIS Barber and Bob Barrett are to join Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile at the Grand Opera House, York, from March 3 to 7 2026.

Barber will play Salome Otterbourne and Barrett will take the role of the Belgian detective’s trusted friend Colonel Race in the UK & Ireland tour of the European premiere of Ken Ludwig’s new stage adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1937 thriller.

Death On The Nile will reunite Ludwig, director Lucy Bailey and producers Fiery Angel, whose sell-out tours of Christie’s And Then There Were None and Murder On The Orient Express visited the Grand Opera House in November 2023 and March 2025 respectively.

Glynis Barber became a household name when she starred opposite Michael Brandon in the television series Dempsey And Makepeace.  Further  TV credits include series regulars Norma Crow in Hollyoaks, Gertrusha in NBC’s The Outpost and Glenda Mitchell in EastEnders, as well as Jean McAteer in The Royal, DCI Grace Barraclough in Emmerdale, Fiona Brake in Night & Day and Soolin in Blake’s 7. 

Her previous brushes with Agatha Christie came when she starred as Cora van Stuyvesant in Agatha Christie’s Marple: Endless Night and as Lola Brewster in Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side. 

Her recent theatre credits include The Best Man (West End), Stalking The Bogeyman (Southwark Playhouse), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (West End) and The Graduate (UK Tour).

Completing his Agatha Christie hat-trick at the Grand Opera House: Bob Barrett’s Colonel Race in Lucy Bailey’s touring production of Death On The Nile, heading for York next March. Barrett played Doctor Armstrong in And Then There Were None in 2023 and Monsieur Bouc in Murder On The Orient Express in 2025. Picture: Jay Brooks

“I couldn’t be more excited to be returning to the stage and working with the brilliant team at Fiery Angel and director Lucy Bailey,” said Glynis.  “This iconic play from Agatha Christie’s phenomenal body of work keeps audiences on the edge of their seat and I can’t wait to be part of a cast that will bring this gripping drama to theatres all over the UK and Ireland.”

Bob Barrett is best known as Sacha Levy in the long-running Holby City, a role he played from 2010 to 2022.  On film, he played George Bryan in John Madden’s Shakespeare In Love.  On stage, he played the Grand Opera House in And Then There Were None and Murder On The Orient Express. 

 “To have the chance of being in one Agatha Christie tour, getting to work with the incomparable team of Lucy Bailey and Fiery Angel, was special,” said Bob. “To get to be in three is a great privilege I shall never forget.” 

What happens in Death On The Nile? On board a luxurious cruise under the heat of the Egyptian sun, a couple’s idyllic honeymoon is cut short by a brutal murder.  As secrets buried in the sands of time finally resurface, can the world-famous detective Hercule Poirot untangle the web of lies and solve another crime?

Director Lucy Bailey will be joined in the production team by designer Mike Britton, lighting designer Oliver Fenwick, sound designer Mic Pool, movement director Liam Steele and associate director Lucy Waterhouse. Helena Palmer is the casting director.

The UK & Ireland Tour is presented by Fiery Angel in association with Agatha Christie Limited. Further casting is to be announced.

Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile, Grand Opera House, York, March 3 to 7 2026, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Age guidance: 12 plus. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

The 2026 tour poster for Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile

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West End stars Tobias Turley and Rachel Grundy to join Cinderella panto cast at Grand Opera House from December 6

Meet Prince Charming and Cinderella, Tobias Turley and Rachel Grundy, in UK Productions’ Cinderella at the Grand Opera House, York

WEST End performers Tobias Turley and Rachel Grundy are joining the pantomime cast for Cinderella at the Grand Opera House, York, from December 6 to January 4 2026.

Turley, breakout star of ITV’s Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream, will play Prince Charming, opposite musical theatre actress Grundy as Cinderella in the UK Productions show.

Somerset-born Turley rose to fame as the winner of the 2023 series, captivating audiences with his commanding vocal performances. Since then, he has lit up stages in Mamma Mia! The Musical, Heathers The Musical, Hot Mess and West Side Story.

This winter he will bring his velvet voice and romantic flair to a festive performance that “promises to sweep audiences off their feet”. “I’m really looking forward to stepping into the role of Prince Charming in York this Christmas,” says Tobias. “It’s a fantastic story, and I can’t wait to be part of the fun and festive magic of panto season.”

Grundy’s musical theatre credits span the West End and major UK tours. Known for her vocal power and stage charm, she has played Janet in The Rocky Horror Show, Brooke in Legally Blonde: The Musical, and Dinah in Starlight Express.

Her Cinderella will bring a mix of modern sparkle and heartfelt storytelling to the classic fairytale heroine. “I’m over the moon to be playing Cinderella in York this Christmas!” says Rachel. “Panto season is always such a magical time, and it’s a dream come true to don the glass slippers in such a stunning city. I’ll be sweeping from the Shambles to the stage – and I can’t wait to bring some sparkle to the beautiful Grand Opera House!”

Josh Brown, venue director for the Grand Opera House York, says: “Tobias and Rachel come with strong West End credentials and will be a huge hit in York. We’re thrilled to welcome such exceptional talent to the Grand Opera House stage in what will be another hugely popular, show-stopping panto from UK Productions.”

Taking on the role of the Fairy Godmother will be musical theatre performer, singer and Coronation Street alumna Lisa George, who played Beth Tinker on the Weatherfield cobbles for a decade.

Jimmy Bryant’s Buttons, Lisa George’s Fairy Godmother and Luke Attwood’s Harmony Hard Up and Brandon Nicholson’s Melody Hard Up in Cinderella

Casting spells, commanding laughs and guiding the heroine on her journey to the ball, she will be equal parts maternal, magical and mischievous in a performance of grace, gusto and glitter.

Comedy performer Jimmy Bryant will bring buckets of warmth, cheek and infectious energy to Buttons. Stealing scenes (and shoes) will be the Ugly Sisters, played with outrageous flair, sky-high heels and industrial-strength hairspray by West End drag stars Luke Attwood and Brandon Nicholson.

Here comes a “double dose of diva energy, armed with cutting one-liners, scandalous shade and a wardrobe so fierce it should come with flashing lights and a fire hazard warning”.

They promise to wreak havoc with style and to sabotage the slipper with flair, delivering their Harmony and Melody Hard Up double act with “costume changes quicker than a royal scandal, insults wrapped in rhinestones and comedic timing so sharp it could slice through a pumpkin carriage”.

“Cinderella and Prince Charming better watch their backs,” warn Attwood and Nicholson. “Because this year, it’s not about finding the shoe, it’s about stealing the spotlight. We’ve got the looks, the legs and the lungs to belt a ballad from Bootham to Blackpool. York, darling, prepare yourselves…the real stars of the ball have arrived!”

At the heart of Cinderella will be a new script by Jon Monie, winner of Best Script at the Great British Pantomime Awards, whose writing combines snappy dialogue and set-pieces with nods to pantomime traditions, contemporary wit and magical storytelling.

Martin Dodd, of UK Productions, enthuses: “This year’s Cinderella is supercharged with energy, glamour and world-class talent. With stars of the West End and screen lighting up the stage, this production is bursting with magic, music and mayhem. From jaw-dropping vocals to laugh-out-loud comedy, it’s pantomime at its absolute finest, unmissable, unforgettable and undeniably spectacular!”

“Tickets are flying faster than Cinderella’s coach at midnight; don’t be the one left holding a pumpkin,” says Ryan Harper, head of marketing and communications. “Book now, or risk missing the most magical, side-splitting, show-stopping event in York this Christmas!”

For tickets, go to: atgtickets.com/york.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond as summertime blues stretch into September. Hutch’s List No.37, from The York Press

Comedian Tommy Cannon’s poster for his Keeping The Magic Alive night of reminiscences at Kirk Theatre, Pickering

BLUE skies and outdoor activities, veteran comedy and American folk blues stir Charles Hutchinson into action. 

Comedy night of the week: An Audience With Tommy Cannon, Keeping The Magic Alive, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, tonight, 7.30pm

BEST known as one half of comedy duo Cannon & Ball, national treasure Tommy Cannon presents a night of entertainment and nostalgia with the billing of “Legend, Laughter & Legacy – Live On Stage” as he shares stories from his 50-plus career in showbusiness, many in tandem with Bobby Ball. 

Expect behind-the-scenes secrets, career highlights and heartfelt reflections on his life on and off screen, delivered with charm, warmth and wit. Recollections from the golden days of British television to his stage work and appearances on hit shows will be topped off with special surprises (maybe a song), archive clips and a Q&A, when you can ask Tommy anything. Box office:  01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

Kirkgate decorated for summertime at York Castle Museum. Picture: Anthony Chappel-Ross

Museum activities of the week: Summer At York Castle Museum, Eye of York, York, until August 31, Mondays, 11am to 5pm; Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm

INSPIRED by the vibrant and colourful Victorian galas of bygone years, enjoy live music, street performances, seasonal crafts and interactive trails in York Castle Museum’s bustling summer programme.

Victorian street Kirkgate is transformed into a traditional summer scene from 19th century York. On Sundays, live musical entertainment can be heard in the yard; on Tuesdays, The Silly History Boys perform circus skills; History Riot perform regularly as Phinneas Fickletickle returns with his Totally Tremendous Time-Travel Tincture. Tickets: yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk.

The Blue Room, original painting, by Horace Panter, from Blue Sky Paintings show at RedHouse Gallery, Harrogate

Exhibition of the week: Horace Panter, Blue Sky Paintings, Journeys Across America, RedHouse Gallery, Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate, until September 18

BLUE Sky Paintings is the new travelogue exhibition by The Specials bassist and Pop Art painter Horace Panter, combining paintings from his ongoing Americana series with new oversized prints. “The myth still beckons. America and its dream,” he says. “As a musician, touring America means basically playing where the water is. The ‘Flyover States’ (that enormous bit in the middle) are the bits that fascinate me these days.

“In recent years, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time in both Texas and South Dakota. Photos from these visits constitute the subject of many of the pieces in this exhibition. Of course, the commonality across the collection is the blue sky. I’m drawn to the intensity of the colour, the light and shade, and always aim to represent its fullness.” Opening hours are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

Camp manoeuvres: Living History Weekend at Eden Camp Modern History Museum

Family fun days of the week: Living History Weekend, Eden Camp Modern History Museum, Old Malton, today and tomorrow, 10am to 5pm

STEP back in time at Eden Camp, where the past comes alive with re-enactors around every corner in the Living History Weekend programme of displays, talks and activities.

Meet with medics; try out authentic ration recipes; explore a Sherman Tank and its escape hatch, and enjoy live music in the engine shed, with space aplenty to show off dance moves. Why not dress up in Forties fashion to become part of the weekend? Box office: edencamp.digitickets.co.uk.

Kate Stables of This Is The Kit: Playing The Crescent next Thursday

York gig of the week: This Is The Kit, The Crescent, York, August 28, 7.30pm

THIS Is The Kit is the pseudonym of Winchester-born, Paris-dwelling songwriter, banjo strummer and pinhole camera aficionado Kate Stables, who makes albums of  “cataclysmic honesty and welcoming tonal embraces” that place companionship at a premium.

Stables will be accompanied in her experimental folk quartet by bass player Rozi Plain, drummer Jamie Whitby-Coles and guitarist Neil Smith, as she was at The Citadel, the former Salvation Army HQ in Gillygate, York, in November 2021. Box office for returns only: thecrescentyork.com/events.

Mandi Grant: Launching There Are Places To Remember exhibition at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb

Art preview of the week: Mandi Grant, There Are Places To Remember, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, August 28, 6pm to 9pm

BE among the first to see South Bank Studios artist Mandi Grant’s new collection There Are Places I Remember on the bakery walls in Acomb. On show will be lyrical paintings of shapes, colour and textures in a combination of oil, acrylic and wax techniques.

Wine, soft drinks and nibbles will be served. Tickets are free but please register to attend at eventbrite.com/e/mandi-grant-art-preview-evening-tickets-1515431479349?aff=oddtdtcreator. Mandi’s exhibition will run until October 23.

Jake Xerxes Fussell: American folklorist singer, guitarist and songwriter at the NCEM

American folk music for anxious times: Jake Xerxes Fussell, National Centre for Early Music, York, September 3, 7.30pm

PLEASE  Please You & Brudenell Presents promote the York debut of North Carolina singer, guitar picker and composer Jake Xerxes Fussell, whose intuitive creative process draws from traditional music and archival field recordings, incorporating elements of Southern folk song and blues into new works for the anxious modern world.

Folklorist Fussell released his fifth album, When I’m Called, last summer as his first on Fat Possum Records. He teamed up again with producer James Elkington to write and record music for Max Walker-Silverman’s feature film Rebuilding, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Christmas cheer: Anton Du Beke to return to York Barbican with festive friends

Show announcement of the week: Anton Du Beke in Christmas With Anton & Friends, York Barbican, December 21, 5pm. Also Royal Hall, Harrogate, December 1, 7.30pm, and St George’s Hall, Bradford, December 17, 7.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing judge and dashing dancer Anton Du Beke will return to York Barbican with his festive show, Christmas with Anton & Friends, whose debut tour visited York on December 10 last year. Anton, 59, will be joined as ever by elegant crooner Lance Ellington, a live band and a company of dancers to create an evening of song and dance with added Christmas dazzle, concluding with a big medley.

“I loved doing the shows so much last year – they were simply magical – so I genuinely can’t wait to get on the road and do it all again,” says the King of the Ballroom. Box office: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; Bradford, bradford-theatres.co.uk.

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REVIEW: York Shakespeare Project in Sonnets In Bloom, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, until Saturday ****

Harry Summers’ Reverend Planter and Stuart Lindsay’s Doug O’Graves in York Shakespeare Project’s Sonnets In Bloom at Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, York. All pictures: John Saunders

SONNETS In Bloom 2025 is the ninth iteration of York Shakespeare Project’s summer sonnet celebration. Make that Sonnets In Full Bloom at the flower fete in the churchyard of Holy Trinity, Goodramgate,  where the emphasis is on the new.

New director, Josie Connor; new scenario writer Natalie Roe; nine debutants among the 12 sonneteers; seven Shakespeare sonnets making their YSP bow among the 13 featured here.

Welcomed with a complimentary drink, the audience takes its place on benches and seats arranged in circular fashion around the churchyard, to the muffled accompaniment of evening street sounds from Goodramgate’s restaurants and bars.

Oliver Taylor’s broken-hearted forager Arti Choke

YSP’s Sonnets have taken myriad forms: sonnet walks around the city centre and Dean’s Park; sit-down sonnets under Covid social distancing; sonnets in the Bar Convent gardens. Holy Trinity, favourite York church of the loved-up Anne “Gentleman Jack” Lister, has been a regular host, and this time war, more than love, is in the air.

More specifically, an alternative version of the war of the roses breaks out among the competitors in a fractious regional leg of Summer In Bloom. Given the profusion of puns among Roe’s humorous character names, perhaps it could be renamed Punfight At The OK Floral. Hoe hoe.

First of those horticultural names is the cactus-loving Reverend Planter (Sonnets’ debutant Harry Summers in genial mood), who will oversee the “arrival of participants with their prized entries, some more competitive than others. But where is the special guest? And who will win the People’s Vote?” All in good time, all in good time, although all will be revealed within a fast-moving hour.

Difference of opinion: Tom Langley’s Ally Lottment, left, and Benjamin Rowley’s Pete Shoveller clash in Sonnets In Bloom

Under YSP’s format, each colourful character will move seamlessly from amusing introductory scene/mood/motive-setting chatter – either with a fellow character or breaking down theatre’s fourth wall in direct address to Rev Planter’s flock – to performing an apt sonnet from Shakespeare’s repertoire of 154. In the vicar’s case, “When I Consider Everything  That Grows”.

The sonnets, the characters, the names, keep a’coming. Next, James Tyler’s Tom Martow, proud Yorkshire marrow connoisseur (“to marrow, and to marrow, and to marrow”). Then Stuart Lindsay’s gravely serious Scottish sexton Doug O’Grafves, dour digger of depths and confirmed misanthropist.

Next comes the interplay of returnee Grace Scott’s May Blooms, fantastic flower arranger and generational rose grower; Lily Geering’s Lily White, unfailing friend to May; Benjamin Rowley’s Pete Shoveller, poet and patient but tongue-tied pursuer of Lily, and Sonnets returnee Emilie Knight’s Rose Thorn, May’s ruthless rival. Annie Dunbar’s Blossom Springs, conscience-stricken apprentice to Rose, becomes entangled in the floral furore too.

Tipsy-topsy-turvy encounter with wine: Xandra Logan’s Inny Briation

Bubbling away is the intrigue of the appearance/non-appearance of Stuart Green’s Freddie Firm-Carrot, celebratory gardening superstar. In a running joke, Tom Langley’s Ally Lottment, disdainful PA  to Firm-Carrot, keeps being mistaken for his absent boss, before Firm-Carrot turns up at last, his lack of interest in his brief for the day indicated by calling Goodramgate “Goodramsgate”.

Debutant Oliver Taylor catches the eye with his lovelorn Arti Choke, kitchen warlock and broken-hearted forager, while returnee Xandra Logan makes the most of the boozed-up indiscretions of Inny Briation, home winemaker and anywhere, anytime wine-drinker.

Connor directs with momentum and a sense of mischief, matching the fun in Roe’s script, and fittingly the whole cast assembles for the final sonnet, delivering one line each of “That Time Of Year Thou May’st In Me Behold”, book-ended by a joint first and last line in a communal floral finale.

Celebrity selfie: Grace Scott’s May Blooms with Stuart Green’s gardening superstar Freddie Firm-Carrot

Coming next from YSP after this summer’s display of flower power will be Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy, “the play that outsold Shakespeare”, at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from October 22 to 25 (box office, tickets.41monkgate.co.uk

York Shakespeare Project in Sonnets In Bloom, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, tonight, 6pm and 7.30pm; tomorrow, 4.30pm, 6pm and 7.30pm.

Box office: 01904 623568;  https://www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/sonnets-in-bloom-2025/; in person from York Theatre Royal box office. Price, including a drink: £10 or £5 for age 14 to 17.

Lily Geering’s Lily White, unfailing friend to May Blooms in Sonnets In Bloom

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REVIEW: Noises Off, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until Sept 6 *****

Cast adrift: Nothing On director Lloyd Dallas (Adam Astill), front, makes a sharp point to Selsdon Mowbray (Christopher Godwin); Garry Lejeune (Alex Phelps); Brooke Ashton (Olivia Woolhouse); Freddie Flowers (Andy Cryer); Belinda Blair (Valeria Antwi); Dotty Otley (Susan Twist) and Tim Allgood (Charlie Ryan) in Noises Off. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

IT was supposed to be Mission Impossible. No-one had ever staged Michael Frayn’s play within a play in the round in 43 years.

“Good luck!” said Frayn when told of director Paul Robinson and designer Kevin Jenkins’ meticulous but surely mad plan.

Well, the joke is now on all the naysayers – and you, dear readers, will be the ones having the last laugh if you head to the SJT.

Commotion in motion: Andy Cryer’s Freddie Fellowes and Susan Twist’s Dotty Otley in Noises Off. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

This, after all, is the Mecca for theatrical comedies, the home of myriad Alan Ayckbourn premieres, and who should be looking on from his familiar box but Sir Alan on Tuesday night (12/8/2025).

Frayn’s farce is so good that frankly it is indestructible, but Robinson and Jenkins’ thoroughly rounded production makes it even more joyous. Chaos conducted with precision and audacity.

The nature of theatre in the round is its 360-degree inclusivity. You can see everything, yet without being able to see everything (given the inevitability of actors having their back to you), and part of the pleasure is seeing the enjoyment of all around you.

Eternally exasperated: Adam Astill’s Lloyd Dallas, director of Nothing On, the farce within the farce in Noises Off. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

On top of that is the proximity of the actors: they and you are in the lion’s den; the amphitheatre on a not-so-Colosseum-sized scale. In this instance, you can see, hear and feel the fear of the play within the play going wrong, the heartbeat of Frayn’s classic farce – and the precursor to all that Mischief-making by The Play That Goes Wrong gang.

In a nutshell, in the round, your awareness of the physicality of acting is heightened and, in turn, your appreciation of the comedic skills of the likes of Ayckbourn stalwart Christopher Godwin, Andy Cryer and SJT debutant Alex Phelps, who has charmed  York audiences in the recent past with both his dexterity and the way he makes words dance.

Farce is all about doors – or doors and plates of sardines in the case of Noises Off, as exasperated director Lloyd Dallas (SJT debutant Adam Astill) reminds his hapless company as they prepare for a tour of the fractious and ever increasingly fractured farce Nothing On that will close, it just so happens, in Scarborough.

Christopher Godwin’s old soak, Selsdon Mowbray, in Noises Off. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

The SJT stage has three doorways, all put to maximum use with doors placed in  them, and then Jenkins adds the all-important mezzanine level, with its three doors, plus a trapdoor entry and exit in Act Two.

We join the never-still Astill’s Lloyd initially in the rehearsal room for Nothing On, a clunky, maladroit farce with a bizarre obsession with sardines.

This utterly actorly thespian, soon to give his Richard III in Aberystwyth, must somehow pull together Lloyd’s bank of has-beens (Godwin’s drunkard veteran Selsdon Mowbray and Susan Twist’s tour-backing Dotty Otley); touring plodders (Cryer’s over-thinking, physically fragile Freddie Fellowes and Valerie Antwi’s admirably unflappable Belinda Blair), and wannabes (Alex Phelps’s young buck Garry Lejeune and Olivia Woolhouse’s company ingenue Belinda Blair).

Annie Kirkman’s Poppy Norton-Taylor trying to keep Nothing On on track in Noises Off at the SJT. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Then add the ever-harassed technical team, Charlie Ryan’s dogsbody Tim Allgood and Annie Kirkman’s equally overworked Poppy Norton-Taylor.

All the stage world is here: the luvvies and the loveless, the boozer and the philanderer, the sex, the drudgery and the rock’n’rollicking fallouts of a theatre tour, experienced in rehearsal room, then backstage mid-production run and finally on the tour’s catastrophic, calamitous last night.

While your reviewer would never dissuade anyone from partaking of a tipple in either interval, it is rewarding to watch the set changes conducted with a choreographic flourish as doors are reversed and the set turns inside out in the transition from backstage to stage. Ryan’s Tim and Kirkman’s Poppy stay in character to oversee the changes.

Thwarted by a door: Alex Phelps’s restless Garry Lejeune and Olivia Woolhouse’s Brooke Ashton in Noises Off. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Robinson’s cast is wonderful, especially Twist’s dotty old-stager Dotty, Godwin’s scene-stealing Selsdon and, above all, Phelps’s Garry, with his stair tumbles and earnest air in never quite saying what he feels the need to express.

Simon Slater’s music is irresistibly perky, matching the desperate desire of Nothing On’s cast to prove the show must go on, no matter what befalls the warring players.

You will love the moment when Astill’s Lloyd, arriving for the final performance, is amazed to discover the staging is in the round: a soupcon of meta-theatre in a tour-de-farce masterpiece.

Noises Off, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until September 6, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday  and 2.30pm Saturday matinees. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com

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REVIEW: James Willstrop in Daddy, Tomorrow Will I Be A Man?, Friargate Theatre, York ***1/2

James Willstrop’s publicity picture for Daddy, Will I Be A Man Tomorrow?

JAMES Willstrop thrives on taking centre stage, whether seeking to dominate the international squash court or playing leading man in Yorkshire musical theatre productions.

This, however, is different. This is Willstrop solo, no opponent to beat, no fellow cast members by his side, albeit with musical director Sam Johnson omnipresent on keyboards behind him.

A Fringe solo show is new terrain for Harrogate action man Willstrop, 50 minutes of self-lacerating examination conducted as a training exercise, sweat band on his fevered brow, squash racket in hand, kit bag by his side. And two chairs, as if he is both psychiatrist and patient.

No smashed rackets to report. Instead, in the most adept physical element of his musical monodrama, Willstrop transforms “Push, push” from his gruelling fitness regime into the racket becoming a baby cradled in his arms. Later, when conducting a dad-and-lad chat, the racket serves as his son Logan.

Willstrop conducts multiple conversations in those 50 minutes, sometimes with his late mother, Lesley, sometimes with his wife Vanessa, sometimes with Logan, sometimes with himself, sometimes breaking down theatre’s fourth wall to speak directly with his audience as he asks: “Where’s the solution when two dreams collide?”. Squash champion or putative parent?

The poster for James Willstrop’s York preview of Daddy, Will I Be A Man Tomorrow?

Interestingly, his main opponent here is Willstrop himself, the younger James, the one chasing those dreams of being the world’s number one squash player, and in doing so pushing his relationship with fellow squash player Vanessa to the limit. Likewise, he puts himself in a bad light in regretful reflection on not spending enough time with his ailing mum in his teenage days.

In exploring what success really means and what really matters, there is less joy than you might expect, although Willstrop excels in the show’s comedic moments, especially when multi-role-playing. A psychiatrist would surely tell him he is being too harsh on himself.

Johnson has put the musical flesh on Willstrop’s skeletal, narrative songs, the best being his candid confessional tale of his IVF experiences. The York preview exposed the need for a microphone. Happy to report that James is now using one for Edinurgh Fringe run at The Space @ Niddry Street (Lower).

James Willstrop in Daddy, Tomorrow Will I Be A Man?, Edinburgh Fringe, Venue 9, The Space@Niddry Street (Lower), August 13  to 16, 5.25pm; August 18 to 23, 7.25pm. Box office: 0131 2260000 or edfringe.com. Age guidance: 12 plus.

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Sonnets in Bloom turn Holy Trinity Goodramgate churchyard into competitive garden fete with writer Natalie Roe and director Josie Connor at helm for YSP

Sonnets In Bloom script writer Natalie Roe, left, and director Josie Connor on a churchyard bench at Holly Trinity, Goodramgate, York, where the 50-minute performances will be staged

YORK Shakespeare Project’s summer celebration of Shakespeare’s sonnets returns to the churchyard of Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, York, from August 15 to August 23.

In the ninth iteration of these annual YSP shows, Sonnets In Bloom brings together the Bard, director Josie Connor, scenario scriptwriter Natalie Roe and a cast of 12 sonneteers.

“The last two shows have attracted record audiences so we’re delighted again to be offering a summer taste of Shakespeare that is both entertaining and accessible,” says producer Maurice Crichton.

The year’s show has been scripted by Natalie Roe in her first involvement with YSP’s Sonnets project. “Natalie has incorporated a record 13 sonnets into her script, including seven that have not featured in previous YSP productions,” says Maurice.

“Shakespeare wrote at least 154 sonnets. We have plenty more to go at but the new ones in this show mean we will have featured more than a third of the total across the nine sonnets productions we have so far put on.”

In Natalie’s script, “Reverend Planter is very excited that his church is hosting the regional leg of Summer in Bloom. You are all warmly invited to enjoy a complimentary drink and to see the goings-on. Participants are arriving with their prized entries, some more competitive than others. But where is the special guest? And who will win the People’s Vote?”

“The churchyard and Goodramgate were very inspiring,” says Natalie. “There are lots of little references that I’ve put in because, if you know a space well, why not?! So there are references to the trees and the shops and restaurants on the street.

“I’ve been inspired by the nature in Shakespeare’s sonnets. It was being outside in the gardens at Bar Convent for the Sonnets there that gave me the idea of using sonnets full of nature and growth.”

Natalie has a copy of Shakespeare’s Sonnets that she bought on a National Express coach trip to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage at Stratford-upon-Avon in her school days. “It’s full of stars and love hearts next to the parts that I particularly liked as a moody teenager,” she says.

“For Sonnets In Bloom, I went through it and picked ones that fitted with performing outdoor theatre in a beautiful churchyard setting in the summer, and that’s why we have the setting of a church flower show, which is ripe for having lots of comedic characters, and then thinking about which sonnet would suit them.” Step forward Reverend Planter, the grave digger and assorted members of the congregation.

“It’s lovely to be able to create characters around a concentrated theme and the concentrated emotions in the sonnets, where I enjoy the richness of the imagery and there’s a frequently a metaphor that is then beautifully elaborated on.

“When writing the monologue that leads into each sonnet, what I’m looking for is for the character to have a dilemma, and in some ways Shakespeare’s sonnets come with the dilemmas ready made.”

York Shakespeare Project’s poster for Sonnets In Bloom 2025

Josie Connor is directing YSP for the first time, having worked with Natalie previously when she directed her script, Leaves, for York Settlement Community Players’ pub theatre initiative, The Direct Approach, in 2023.

“When Nat contacted me about Sonnets In Bloom, there was no doubt in my mind about saying yes,” says Josie. “I had heard Nat speak about the Sonnets shows in previous conversations and why they’re such a hit each year, I was very excited to be asked to be a part of this collaborative project this year – and her script compliments the churchyard setting brilliantly.

“Working with Nat is always a pleasure. Her work has great realness with comedic timing, even in dramas, and I think we’re both fans of creative collaboration. Nat and I met on a film set in 2017, where I saw her understanding for production as a whole, so reconnecting again to collaborate creatively while I’m building as a director was a no-brainer.”

In turn, Natalie says: “I was already a friend of Josie when she directed Leaves for The Direct Approach. Scripts are sent in anonymously, and she picked mine before knowing it was by me, so the play found her.”

Now they are in tandem again, working on Sonnets In Bloom’s wide variety of colourful characters, who each find an opportunity to give voice to one of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

This year, the cast of 12 is mostly new to the Sonnet shows and younger too. “Only three performers have been involved previously, and with a new writer and a first-time Sonnets director, this production will take a fresh look at a trusted format,” says Maurice.

The cast in full comprises new sonneteers Harry Summers, James Tyler,Stuart Lindsay, Benjamin Rowley, Oliver Taylor, Tom Langley, Annie Dunbar, Lily Geering and Stuart Green, alongside returnees Grace Scott, Emilie Knight and Xandra Logan.

“When we were casting, we were looking out for the usual understanding of what they’re reading, energy and wanted to see not only what they could offer, but mainly see how and if each actor takes direction,” says Josie.

“That’s a very important part in the casting process; it reassures me that they will work well with any other actor, location and situation they’re put in.”

One last question for Josie: What can Shakespeare say in a sonnet that he cannot in a three-hour play?! “Let me call him and get back to you on that…do you think he’d be in the Yellow Pages?” she says.

York Shakespeare Project in Sonnets In Bloom, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, August 15 to 23, 6pm and 7.30pm, plus 4.30pm, August 16 and 23. Box office: 01904 623568; yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/sonnets-in-bloom-2025/; in person from York Theatre Royal box office. Running time: 50 minutes.

Sonnets In Bloom 2025 cast members Emile Knight, left, Annie Dunbar, Oliver Taylor, Benjamin Rowley, Lily Geering, Harry Summers, James Tyler, Grace Scott, Tom Langley, Stuart Green, Stuart Lindsay and Xandra Logan at Holy Trinity churchyard. Picture: John Saunders

What’s coming up next for Josie Connor?

“I HAVE some exciting projects in the near future/next year, which will continue my directing path,” she says. “However, for now I’m keen to collaborate with more actors and try out new pieces!”

Copyright of The York Press