Footsbarn Theatre in La Petite Gerda. Picture: Jean-Pierre Estournet
AFTER playing the Edinburgh Fringe for the first time in 15 years, travelling troupe Footsbarn Theatre heads to Danby, North Yorkshire for one afternoon only on August 17.
An international cast will be performing the world premiere production of an English version of La Petite Gerda, the classic fairytale of The Snow Queen, with a combination of masks, puppetry, music and mayhem.
Adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen story, La Petite Gerda follows one girl’s quest to save her best friend, Kay, from the Snow Queen’s clutches. On Gerda’s epic journey, she meets a real princess, is attacked by robbers and rides on the back of a talking reindeer and a singing crow, as she discovers courage that she never knew she had.
Footsbarn Theatre celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021 and has been based in France for 25 years. Showing no sign of slowing down in its passion for groundbreaking theatre, the company has appointed singer, songwriter, musical director and theatre director Sadie Jemmett as its artistic director with a brief to reach new audiences with its community-based theatre.
Footsbarn Theatre artistic director Sadie Jemmett. Picture: Molly Hughes
“Taking the reins of Footsbarn is an incredible privilege and a considerable responsibility,” she says. “I first saw Footsbarn in Berlin just after the wall came down. They blew my young mind! Their adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was like nothing I had ever seen before.
“Since becoming artistic director, the number of people from all over the world that have contacted me to wish me luck, and to tell me how Footsbarn had changed their perception of theatre, is a testament to the company’s legacy and legendary status in the theatre world.
“I am eternally grateful and so happy to be bringing the company back to the UK. It will be a wonderful show in the best Footsbarn tradition.”
Thursday’s performance takes place at Joan of Arc Hall, Esk Valley Camphill Community, Botton Village, Danby, in the North York Moors National Park. Box office: eventbrite.com/e/la-petite-gerda-tickets-639274355807
Music is a key component in Footsbarn Theatre’s La Petite Gerda. Picture: Footsbarn Theatre
The Magpies: Hosting their folk festival at Sutton Park today
ART and cinema outdoors, folk and classical festivals, nostalgic gigs and ant adventures on a theatre terrace prompt Charles Hutchinson into arts action.
Heading to the park: The Magpies Festival, Sutton Park, Sutton-on-the-Forest, near York, today. Gates open at 10am; live music from 12 noon
TRANSATLANTIC folk trio The Magpies head into the final day of their open-air festival of music, activities, stalls and food and drink. They will be among today’s main stage acts (at 8pm), along with Liz Stringer, Honey & The Bear, Blair Dunlop, Rachel Sermanni and Edward II.
The Brass Castle Stage plays host to Jack Harris, Megan Henwood, Tom Moore & Archie Moss, Gilmore & Roberts and Bonfire Radicals, concluding with a Ceilidh with Archie Moss. Box office: themagpiesfestival.co.uk.
York River Art Market: Up to 30 artists and makers per day down by the riverside
Art in the open air: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk byLendal Bridge, York, today and tomorrow, then August 19 and 20, 10am to 5.30pm
YORK River Art Market returns for its eighth summer as York’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris. Organised by founder, director and artist Charlotte Dawson, the weekend event showcases a different variety of more than 30 independent artists and makers from all over Yorkshire and beyond each day.
Boom, by Evie Measor, from New Visuality’s exhibition project, Colour, at Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre
Easels at the ready: Sketching in the Garden, Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, Blossom Street, York, until September 23, 10am to 5pm daily
THE Bar Convent invites artists and those who would like to give it a go to use its easels free of charge in the garden, where art and heritage combine to create an outdoor sketch space.
This opportunity coincides with the Bar Convent’s exhibition run of Colour, featuring works by young York artists, who have used photography skills and innovative AI technology to reinterpret York’s heritage buildings and landmarks. Why not draw inspiration from the exhibition to create your own artistic interpretations?
The Greatest Showman Sing-A-Long: Part of the Outdoor Cinema season at Castle Howard
Screen on the green: Outdoor Cinema at Castle Howard, near York today and tomorrow
THIS outdoor cinema experience in the grounds of Castle Howard presents Matilda The Musical (PG) today at 2pm, Grease (PG) tonight at 8pm, The Greatest Showman (PG) Sing-A-Long tomorrow at 2pm and Top Gun: Maverick tomorrow at 7pm.
Gates open at 12 noon for the afternoon screenings; 6pm for The Greatest Showman; 5pm for Top Gun: Maverick. Picnics and drinks are welcome at all screenings but no glassware. Blankets and camping chairs are allowed. Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult. Box office: castlehoward.co.uk.
Pianist Katya Apekisheva: One of 30 international musicians playing at North York Moors Chamber Music Festival
Classical festival of the week: North York Moors Chamber Music Festival, Welburn Manor marquee, near Kirkbymoorside, and assorted churches, Sunday to August 26
THE 15th North York Moors Chamber Music Festival ventures Into The Looking Glass for a fantastical fortnight with 30 international musicians, including pianist Katya Apekisheva, French horn virtuoso Ben Goldscheider and violinists Charlotte Scott and Benjamin Baker.
Directed by cellist Jamie Walton, the festival takes inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s 1872 novel to “explore the psychology of the mind through the prism of music, conveying its various chapters with carefully curated music that takes the audience on an adventurous journey through many twists and turns”. For the programme and tickets, head to: northyorkmoorsfestival.com. Box office: 07722 038990.
The Searchers & Hollies Experience: Sixties’ nostalgia at the double at the JoRo
Tribute show of the week: The Searchers And Hollies Experience, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Sunday, 7.30pm
IN The Searchers & Hollies Experience: The Best Of Both Worlds, The FOD Band celebrate the magical, haunting hits of these legendary Sixties’ harmony bands from Liverpool and Manchester respectively. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Newen Afrobeat: Chile meets Fela Kuti at The Crescent
Chilean gig of the week…in York: Newen Afrobeat, The Crescent, York, Thursday, 7.30pm
NEWEN Afrobeat, a 13-piece Chilean orchestra, make music inspired by the legacy of Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. Applying a Latin stamp, they unify the African rhythms with a colourful and energetic staging, embedded in a deep social message that talks about their roots and cultural awareness.
In a ten-year career of four albums and eight international tours, Newen Afrobeat have performed at Montreal International Jazz Festival, WOMEX, Africa Oyé and Felabration Lagos. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Janet Bruce, left, and Cassie Vallance: Hosting Story Craft Theatre’s The Secret Life Of The Garden
Children’s event of the week: Story Craft Theatre in The Secret Life Of The Garden, Friday, 11am and 1pm
HAVE you ever imagined shrinking down to the size of an ant to go on an awesome adventure through a garden? York company Story Craft Theatre’s Janet Bruce and Cassie Vallance provide that opportunity in their magical new show, packed full of fun and wonder on the Theatre Royal patio.
This interactive production for two to eight-year-old children combines visual storytelling tools, such as puppets and Makaton signs and symbols, with games and dancing, plus crafting and colouring sheets beforehand. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Herman’s Hermits: Hits, hits, hits at Pocklington Arts Centre
Retro gig of the week: Herman’s Hermits, Pocklington Arts Centre, August 19, 8pm
FORMED in 1964, Manchester band Herman’s Hermits chalked up 23 hits, hitting the peak straightaway with the chart-topping I’m Into Something Good.
Producer Mickie Most oversaw their glory days with such smashes as No Milk Today, There’s A Kind Of Hush, Silhouettes, Mrs Brown, You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter, Wonderful World, I’m Henry VIII, I Am, Just A Little Bit Better, A Must To Avoid, Sleepy Joe, Sunshine Girl, Something’s Happening, My Sentimental Friend and Years May Come, Years May Go. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Hospital drama: Dan Crawfurd-Porter’s bed-ridden Whizzer with Helen Spencer’s Dr Charlotte, left, Rachel Higgs’s Cordelia, Chris Mooney’s Marvin, James Robert Ball’s Mendel, Nicoloa Holliday’s Trina and Matthew Warry’s Jason (seated)
FALSETTOS, William Finn and James Lapine’s “very Jewish, very gay” 1992 Tony Award winner, had been made unavailable for the British stage after a London production met with opposition over a lack of authenticity and accuracy.
However, negotiations spanning two years have paid off for “art with a point” York company Black Sheep Theatre Productions, whose director, Matthew Clare, has acquired exclusive UK rights to present the off-Broadway hit.
It would be good to see such persistence rewarded at the box office, but York theatregoers’ resistance to try out unfamiliar works is long established. Nevertheless, the support from Wednesday’s audience was admirably vocal from start to finish.
Matthew Warry’s Jason makes a move on the chess set. Is he a pawn in a game between his father, Chris Mooney’s Marvin, and his mother, Nicola Holliday’s Trina?
Falsettos pairs 1981’s March Of The Falsettos, a humorous study of men’s immaturity, with 1990’s Falsettoland, a graver piece penned in reaction to the devastating impact of the Aids epidemic on New York’s gay community.
In 1979, New Yorker Marvin (Chris Mooney) leaves his wife Trina (Nicola Holliday) and son Jason (Matthew Warry, aged 13) to live with Whizzer (Dan Crawfurd-Porter), his younger lover. They have known each other for nine months, says Whizzer; ten, insists the older, more hooked Marvin. They are arguing already.
Naively, Marvin expects to retain a tight-knit family. A subject he has discussed with his psychiatrist, the neurotic, insomniac Mendel (James Robert Ball), who in turn becomes a listening ear for latest client Trina. So much so, they marry, setting up the family unit Marvin had envisaged.
Nicola Holliday’s Trina with James Robert Ball’s Mendel mid-exercise
All this is expressed in song in a sung-through musical full of Sondheim emotional truths and vexatious Woody Allen humour (especially in Ball’s Mendel). All have their say, not only Marvin and the fast-exiting, exasperated Whizzer, but Trina and Jason too. Mendel listens and listens, cross-legged and looking as awkward as the conversations.
On opening night, sound balance favoured band over voice in this first act, meaning not everything was clear to the ear, for all the heart-felt, often beautiful singing. Such a hindrance to comprehending fully what was going on was detrimental to the show’s impact at this juncture, and the standalone March Of The Falsettos number in luminous white only added to that sense of bafflement.
Ollie Kingston’s choreography was fun here, but that scene came and went like a ghost. Such are the limitations of a sung-through structure, where more narrative would be helpful.
Fresh impetus in Falsettoland: Rachel Higgs’s Cordelia. left, and Helen Spencer’s Dr Charlotte
Post-interval, frustration vanishes. The voices can be heard far better; the singing is more dramatic; the songs are superior, as two storylines play out two years later in 1981: Jason’s preparation for his bar mitzvah and Whizzer’s reunion with Marvin under the spreading cloud of Aids.
Into the story, and very welcome too, come Marvin and Whizzer’s lesbian neighbours, Dr Charlotte (Helen Spencer), struggling with the rising tide of Aids patients, and girlfriend Cordelia (Rachel Higgs), forever cooking up another nibble.
Just as Marvin and his family learn to grow up, so Falsettoland is a far more mature piece than March Of The Falsettos. It is better balanced too with the presence of Charlotte and Cordelia being all important. Spencer brings gravitas; Higgs, puppyish devotion, amid the “hospital bed humour”.
Performances all round settle down as the night progresses to match the high quality of the singing. Ball’s Mendel is the comic driving force; Jarry delights as Jason, being pulled hither and thither but remaining single-minded too; Holliday’s resolute Trina handles the big ballads with aplomb.
Black Sheep Theatre’s poster for Falsettos
In a heightened drama without conventional heroes and villains, the gay characters of Marvin and Whizzer are depicted with three-dimensional complexity, devoid of any stereotyping. They play chess, they play squash, they bicker, they learn, their love blossoms, and in turn the stage chemistry of Mooney and Crawfurd-Porter grows too.
Staging Falsettos has been a passion project for Matthew Clare, who leads his four-piece band with suitable conviction from the keyboards, while Kingston’s choreography is alive to both humour and dramatic effect and the building-block set design is practical and amusingly adaptable.
Art with a point? Yes, indeed. Black Sheep Theatre Productions and the JoRo are to be commended for bringing Falsettos to York’s attention. The more variety there is to the city’s theatre portfolio, the better, when playing safe would be the easier path.
Black Sheep Theatre Productions perform Falsettos at 7.30pm tonight and tomorrow; 2.30pm and 7.30pm, tomorrow. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Clara Darcy’s Jen Stevens in Esk Valley Theatre’s premiere of Mark Stratton’s Deals And Deceptions. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
IN artistic director Mark Stratton’s first play for Esk Valley Theatre, Danny and Jen leave London and head to an isolated cottage in the North York Moors. City clashes with country, dark forces are at work and humorous situations arise.
“We may think we know the person we are married to, but do we?” asks Stratton, who is joined in the cast by Clara Darcy, Dominic Rye and late addition Elizabeth Boag at the Robinson Institute, Glaisdale, near Whitby. “What someone chooses to show the world is not always who they are. If they trade in deals and deceptions, then a day of reckoning will surely come.”
Here Mark discusses triple threats, London versus Yorkshire, debut plays and the impact of making a house move with CharlesHutchPress.
What prompted you to write a play for Esk Valley Theatre and why now, Mark?
“Ever since Esk Valley Theatre was formed, we’ve looked for a contemporary play that reflected something of life in the North York Moors and haven’t discovered anything suitable in nearly 20 years! So, I thought it was time for me to have a go at writing one and Deals And Deceptions is the result.”
Does your experience as a director and actor help you to write a play?
“Certainly. Actors and directors probably absorb more knowledge of play writing than they realise. I think it was Stephen Joseph who thought that all actors should have a go at writing. It definitely makes you appreciate the craft and gives a greater understanding of what makes a play work.”
A Rye look: Dominic Rye as investment company boss Danny Stevens in Deals And Deceptions. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
What inspired you to write Deals And Deceptions?
“Over the years I’ve had a growing fascination with the way people manipulate their personality to suit a particular situation. Deals And Deceptions looks at some of the ways people shift personality and that is the driving force behind the play.”
What is the style of the piece?
“Good question. I personally find it difficult to put a label on it, but some people have described it as a thriller drama. Having said that, it generates good amounts of laughter and if you have any knowledge of farming and life in the Moors then I think it reflects something of the dry Yorkshire humour that exists in our communities.”
What is the tone? Gravely serious or darkly humorous or both?
“A bit of both, although the tone is lighter to begin with and gradually shifts to a darker place as the narrative unfolds.”
Leaving London for the North York Moors…dare CharlesHutchPress mention American Werewolf In London?!
“I guess leaving London for the North York Moors is where the similarities end and there are no attacking wolves!”
Mark Stratton as North York Moors farmer Wink Towson in Deals And Deceptions. “He’s an amalgamation of a number of farmers that I’ve met over the years,” says Mark. “He’s got a twinkle in his eye and a wry sense of humour”. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Why do people learn more about themselves when they change their living environment?
“I’m pleased you’ve asked that, because one of the central themes is about the journey of self-discovery that Jen goes on. She’s forced to adapt to a new way of life and finds joy and enlightenment through leaving her past behind.”
How much does the isolated North York Moors setting add an extra character to the play?
“The North York Moors is definitely an additional character and the presence of the Moors looms large throughout the play.”
What attracts people to move from London to Yorkshire?
“The dream of a better way of life with cleaner air to breathe? A romantic vision of country life? I guess there are many reasons, but in Deals And Deceptions Danny and Jen leave because they have to. They are on the run, but only Danny knows why.”
Elizabeth Boag: Answering the late call to return to Esk Valley Theatre for summer 2023
Describe the characters of Danny and Jen Stevens…
“When we first meet them, they appear as a thirty-something city couple who’ve done well for themselves, and it seems that Danny runs some kind of investment company. But is Danny speaking the truth? They have to leave London in a hurry… and I can’t give away any more than that!”
Why pick Dominic Rye and Clara Darcy for these roles?
“We held our usual round of auditions and Dominic had all the attributes we were looking for. They are tremendous.
“We also had a late addition to the cast with Elizabeth Boag stepping in at the last minute to play ‘The Woman’. Liz is a phenomenal actor who was in our production of Same Time Next Year and luckily for us, she was able to join the company at a moment’s notice.”
How much does the isolated North York Moors setting add a fifth character to the piece?
“The North York Moors is definitely an additional character and the presence of the Moors looms large throughout the play.”
Esk Valley Theatre’s poster for the premiere of Mark Stratton’s debut play Deals And Deceptions
Writing, directing and performing the role of farmer Wink Towson: the triple threat, Mark Stratton style! Discuss…
“It’s something I always said I would never do! I guess I always thought it would signify an out-of-control ego. However, I wrote the play initially with two actors in mind to play five characters and we’ve now ended up with four actors. Because Wink is older than the others it made sense for me to take it on. It’s very much a cameo and I hope the ego remains firmly in control.”
Have you sought any advice on writing a play from esteemed Esk Valley Theatre supporter Sir Alan Ayckbourn?
“Not directly, but I have had the great pleasure of working with Alan as an actor and also working with him as an assistant director last year. I’ve seen a huge number of his plays over the years and he remains the foremost influence on everything I do in the theatre. He is a giant in the industry and a master of his craft. It would be a fool who couldn’t learn something from him.”
Esk Valley Theatre in Deals And Deceptions, Robinson Institute, Glaisdale, Whitby, until August 26; Monday to Saturday, 7.30pm; 2.30pm matinees on August 10, 12, 15, 17, 22 and 24. Box office: 01947 897587, 10.30am to 1pm; 3.30pm to 7.15pm, or eskvalleytheatre.co.uk.
Cast:Clara Darcy asJen Stevens; Dominic Rye as Danny Stevens and gardener Jed Winter; Elizabeth Boag, The Woman; Mark Stratton, Wink Towson. Writer anddirector: Mark Stratton.
Bull: Headlining The Boatyard Festival at Bishopthorpe Marina today
SHAKESPEARE in gardens, music and magic by the riverside, an LGBTQ musical premiere and a riotous hen party on stage are among Charles Hutchinson’s eye-catchers for upcoming entertainment.
Festival of the week: The Boatyard Festival, The Boatyard, Bishopthorpe Marina, Ferry Lane, Bishopthorpe, York, today, 10am until late
THIS family-friendly music festival will be headlined by ebullient York band Bull. Look out too for Bonneville, Tymisha, London DJ Zee Hammer, Yorky Pud Street Band, The Plumber Drummer, City Snakes, Rum Doodle and Hutch.
Further attractions will be stilt walkers, a hula-hoop workshop, a giant bubble show, magic, face painting, fayre games, stalls, food and drink, with free admission for accompanied children. Box office: head to the-boatyard.co.uk/events/ for the QR code to book.
Four Wheel Drive director Alfie Howle and cast member Alison Gammon park up at the National Centre of Early Music for a garden of delights in A Midsummer Day’s Dream
Crazy chaos of the week: Four Wheel Drive presents A Midsummer Day’s Dream, National Centre for Early Music, York, today at 11am, 12.30pm and 2.30pm
FOUR Wheel Drive, producers of “off-road theatrical experiences” in York, invite children aged seven to 11 and their families to a musical, magical and mystical diurnal reimagining of William Shakespeare’s romcom in the NCEM gardens (or indoors if wet).
Four Athenians run away to the forest, only for the sylvan sprite Puck to make both the boys fall in love with the same girl while also helping his master play a trick on the fairy queen. Will all this crazy chaos have a happy ending? Anna Gallon and Alfie Howle’s interactive 45-minute adaptation will allow children to engage in the mischief-making Midsummer action, performed by Gallon, Katja Schiebeck and Esther Irving. Grab a boom-wacker and book tickets on 01904 658338 or necem.co.uk.
Three in one: Esk Valley Theatre writer, director and actor Mark Stratton
Debut of the week: Esk Valley Theatre in Deals And Deceptions, Robinson Institute, Glaisdale, Whitby, until August 26
IN artistic director Mark Stratton’s first play for Esk Valley Theatre, Danny and Jen leave London and head to an isolated cottage in the North York Moors. City clashes with country, dark forces are at work and humorous situations arise.
“We may think we know the person we are married to, but do we?” asks Stratton, who is joined in the cast by Clare Darcy and Dominic Rye. “What someone chooses to show the world is not always who they are. If they trade in deals and deceptions, then a day of reckoning will surely come.” Box office: 01947 897587 or eskvalleytheatre.co.uk.
Is this the hen party from hell? Will best friends fall out in Bridesmaids Of Britain? Find out tomorrow night
Hen party comedy heads to hen party haven: Bridesmaids Of Britain, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7pm
BILLED as “the girls’ night out to remember”, welcome to Diana Doherty’s Bridesmaids Of Britain. Becky is the overly loyal maid-of-honour whose life unravels as she leads best friend Sarah on a wild ride down the road to matrimony.
Things go awry, however, as competition between Becky and Tiffany – Sarah new BFF (best friend forever, obvs) – over who is the bride’s bestie threatens to upend the wedding planning that has been in the making since primary school. Be prepared for dance-offs, sing-offs and eventually shout-offs at the “hen do of the year”, held in a caravan. Will this wedding story have a happy ending, or will these best friends rip each other apart? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Dan Crawfurd-Porter’s Whizzer and Chris Mooney’s Marvin in rehearsal for Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ Falsettos, opening at the JoRoon Wednesday
York premiere of the week: Black Sheep Theatre Productions in Falsettos, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Wednesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee.
YORK company Black Sheep Theatre Productions has been granted an exclusive British licence by Concord Theatricals and composer/lyricist William Finn to stage Finn and James Lapine’s “very gay, very Jewish” musical Falsettos, thanks to the persistence of director Matthew Clare.
In its late-Seventies, early-Eighties American story, set against the backdrop of the rise of Aids, Marvin has left his wife Trina and son Jason to be with his male lover Whizzer, whereupon he struggles to keep his Jewish family together in the way he has idealised. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Pennine Suite: Topping Friday’s bill of York bands at The Crescent
York music bill of the week: Northern Radar presents Pennine Suite, Sun King, Everything After Midnight and The Rosemaries, The Crescent, York, Friday, 7.30pm to 11pm
PENNINE Suite play their biggest headline gig to date in an all-York line-up on a rare 2023 appearance in their home city. The five-piece draws inspiration from the alternative rock movements of the 1980s and 1990s, interlaced with shoegaze and pop melodies, typified by the singles Far and Scottish Snow. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Garden secrets: Which character will York Shakespeare Project veteran Frank Brogan play in Sonnets At The Bar? It’s all hush-hush until August 11
Bard convention: York Shakespeare Project in Sonnets At The Bar, Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, Friday to August 19 (except August 14), 6pm and 7.30pm plus 4.30pm Saturday performances
YORK Shakespeare Project returns to the secret garden at Bar Convent for another season of Shakespeare sonnets, this time directed by Tony Froud. Reprising the familiar format, the show features a series of larger-than-life modern characters, each with a secret to reveal through a sonnet.
Inside writer Helen Wilson’s framework of the comings and goings of hotel staff and guests, the characters will be played by Diana Wyatt, Judith Ireland, Sarah Dixon, Frank Brogan, Maurice Crichton, Nigel Evans, Harold Mozley, Froud and Wilson. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Ceridwen Smith in Next Door But One’s The Firework-Maker’s Daughter . Picture: James Drury
Talking elephants of the week: Next Door But One in The Firework-Maker’s Daughter, York Theatre Royal patio, August 12, 11am and 2pm
YORK theatre-makers Next Door But One’s adventurous storyteller travels to Lila’s Firework Festival in this intimate, inclusive, accessible and fun stage adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novel, replete with talking elephants, silly kings and magical creatures.
As Lila voyages across lakes and over mountains, she faces her biggest fears and learns everything she needs to know to become the person she has always wanted to be. Makaton signs and symbols, puppetry and audience participation play their part in Ceridwen Smith’s performance. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Grace Petrie: Switching from folk musician to stand-up comedy act on tour in York, Leedsand Sheffield
Change of tack: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Grace Petrie: Butch Ado About Nothing, The Crescent, York, September 17, 7.30pm
FOLK singer, lesbian and checked-shirt-collector Grace Petrie has been incorrectly called “Sir” every day of her adult life. Now, after finally running out of subject matter for her “whiny songs”, she is putting down the guitar to work out why in her debut stand-up show, Butch Ado About Nothing, on her return to The Crescent.
Finding herself mired in an age of incessantly and increasingly fraught gender politics, the Norwich-based Leicester native explores what butch identity means in a world moving beyond labels, pondering where both that identity and she belong in the new frontline of queer liberation. Petrie also plays Old Woollen, Leeds, on August 31 (8pm) and The Leadmill, Sheffield, on September 10 (7.30pm). Box office: gracepetrie.com; York, thecrescentyork.com; Leeds, oldwoollen.co.uk; Sheffield, leadmill.co.uk.
Take a seat: James Robert Ball, left, in the role of Marvin and Trina’s psychiatrist, Mendel Weisenbachfeld, with Chris Mooney’s Marvin James
YORK company Black Sheep Theatre Productions is running a list of Eight Reasons Not To Miss Falsettos in emphatic block capitals on Facebook ahead of next week’s York premiere at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre.
One reason: the limited availability. “Falsettos is a show that is not available for licence in the United Kingdom for normal theatre companies to perform,” it reads. “Falsettos is only available by special agreement with the composer, William Finn, and Concord Theatricals for production by Black Sheep Theatre Productions and is very unlikely to be done in the UK any time soon.
“If you miss this production, you won’t be able to find another one any time soon,” it re-emphasises.
For a barrier-breaking LGBTQ+ American musical where “love can tell a million stories”, that statement only tells half the story. Let director Matthew Clare fill in the rest as Black Sheep stick to their mission of making “Art with a point”.
“It’s been done only once before in the UK by a semi-pro company, off-West End, in London. It lasted for a week – there was a big backlash against it as a very gay and very Jewish musical,” he says.
“No-one in the cast was Jewish and lot of the Hebrew in it was pronounced wrongly, leading to a letter being signed by prominent members of the Jewish community and published in the Guardian. Miriam Margolyes and David Baddiel spoke on the matter, and in the light of that letter, pressure was put on to close the production. That’s what happened.
“Subsequently, the performing right were not available in the UK and that’s still the case, but now I have attained exclusive rights for Falsettos in the UK.”
Father and son in conversation in Falsetttos: Chris Mooney as Marvin with Matthew Warry as 12-year-old Jason
How come? “Concord Theatricals have the rights in America, so I contacted them. That was nearly three years, during Covid, saying when everything gets back to normal, how could I make a production happen?” recalls Matthew.
“They initially said, ‘No, there are no rights in the UK’, but I kept pushing and through thatI got in touch with William Finn, the composer.”
First by email, then in conversation. “I talked openly with him, saying I wanted to be faithful to the piece. He’s Jewish, and we have Jewish representation on the production team,” says Matthew.
“My vision for our production was discussed by Concord with William, and they then said, ‘that’s fine, we agree for you to do it’.”
Permission was granted in spring 2022, a rights fee was agreed and paid, and Matthew then dealt directly with Concord in the UK. “It’s still heavily managed by them,” he says. “I’ve talked to them about twice a month, as I also did Elegies For Angels, Punks And Raging Queens through them, and because of that they’ve now kind of backed off over the last two months.
“They did stipulate that the child in the show – Jason – has to be male and there could be flexibility with other casting, though it all has to be as stated for gender. The cast also has to have an understanding of Jewish customs, such as bar mitzvahs, and we made sure the cast was au fait with everything by day one of rehearsals.”
Written by Finn and James Lapine, Falsettos is a Tony Award-winning sung-through musical that combines 1981’s March Of The Falsettos and 1990’s Falsettoland in its late-Seventies, early-Eighties story of Marvin (played by Chris Mooney), who has left his wife, Trina (Nicola Holliday) and 12-year-old son, Jason (Matthew Warry), to be with his male lover, Whizzer (Dan Crawfurd-Porter), and struggles to keep his Jewish family together in the way he has idealised.
Nicola Holliday rehearsing the role of Trina, Marvin’s ex-wife and mother of Jason
“It’s a beautiful and heart-breaking story that explores the definitions of maturity and masculinity through this non-traditional family, and via a character who is immature at the start, as the AIDS pandemic comes to light,” says Matthew.
The cast of seven is completed by James Robert Ball as psychiatrist Mendel Weisenbachfeld, Helen Spencer as Dr Charlotte and Rachel Higgs as her girlfriend Cordelia. Together they must “bring their characters to life and present them in the most realistic and emotionally impactful ways”, as championed in another of the aforementioned eight reasons to see Falsettos.
“In this show, we have a fairly large representation of LGBTQ+ people in the cast and production team, and that brings with it an understanding of the roles and how to play them,” says Matthew of a musical whose characters and roles have played “a significant role in promoting diversity and inclusivity in the theatre community”.
“It’s important that these characters are presented in a realistic and sensitive manner, hooking audiences and ensuring the best possible show for you to watch!
“The themes are timeless, delving into the importance of acceptance, the strength of chosen families, defining masculinity and maturity, and the resilience needed to face life’s challenges. Its messages of love, compassion and unity resonate across the generations and continue to be relevant in our ever-changing world.
“That’s why we did Elegies For Angels, Punks And Raging Queens too. Theatre with a point is the best kind of theatre, and I want people to think and reflect on what they’ve just seen after the show.”
Black Sheep Theatre Productions in Falsettos, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, August 9 to 12, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Copyright of The Press, York
Black Sheep Theatre’s poster for Falsettos
In profile: James Robert Ball, who is playing Mendel Weisenbachfeld
SUMMING up his role in Falsettos, James Robert Ball says: “Mendel is a middle-aged Jewish psychiatrist, an intellectual, but he’s a nervous wreck, trying to solve his own problems by solving everyone else’s.
“He’s treating the main character, Marvin, who has left his wife, Trina, because he’s gay and has stopped the charade of living a married life with a woman. Mendel starts treating Trina too, meddles his way into the family, then marries her and becomes the new father figure to Marvin and Trina’s son, Jason.”
Assessing Falsettos’ characters, James says: “They’re all very fleshed out. No-one is the hero. No-one is the villain. They each have their own neuroses and manipulate someone else but they all have heart too.
“The show is kind of a close observation of family dynamics and messy modern dynamics at that.”
James is a musical theatre composer and lyricist, musical director, actor, author, piano and singing teacher, pianist, accompanist and “Sondheim obsessive”. “I’m a freelance professional musician,” says the piano, trombone and clarinet player. “When I’m in shows as a musician, I’m a professional; when I’m doing a show like this, I’m an amateur.”
Director Matthew Clare originally had James in mind to be the rehearsal pianist, but his performances for York Stage as Mr Mushnik in Little Shop Of Horrors in July 2022 and Baron Bomburst’s spy Goran in a Vulgarian double act with Jack Hooper’s Boris in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in April demanded further roles. Step forward James’s Mendel Weisenbachfeld.
James Robert Ball’s psychiatrist Mendelin conversation with Nicola Holliday’s Trina in Falsettos
“The core of what I’m good at as an actor is that there isn’t much acting required, because Mendel is quite like me, and it’s a ‘schticky’ character again, having done Mr Mushnik with a similar vibe and similar characteristics,” he says.
Broad, physical humour marked out his double act with Jack Hooper in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. “We put a lot of work into that partnership, and particularly for the kids in the audience, it was perfect old-time vaudeville humour,” says James.
“I had a great time working with Jack – it takes loads of effort to look that silly and get that beat going.”
Humour of a different dynamic is at play in Finn and Lapine’s “emotionally truthful” musical, one rooted in verbal volleyball before gradually turning into “hospital/deathbed humour” (or gallows humour, to use a more familiar term). “It’s all about the awkwardness in the moment, like in Woody Allen’s films,” says James.
“Stephen Sondheim is a useful reference here. It’s similar to Into The Woods in how the patter of chatter is translated into song, and how there’s a contrast in song styles with the ballads being more melodic.”
Did you know?
JAMES Robert Ball’s debut novel, A Botanical Daughter, will be published in March 2024. He teaches singing and performance at York Stage School.
Did you know too?
JAMES Lapine has collaborated frequently with Stephen Sondheim, as well as William Finn, in his career as a stage director, playwright, screenwriter and librettist, not least on Into The Woods.
Frank Brogan: Returning to the Bar Convent secret gardennext week. Picture: John Saunders
YORK Shakespeare Project is rediscovering the secret garden at the Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, in Blossom Street, York, for another season of Sonnets At The Bar from August 11 to 19.
“The invitation is as warm as ever,” says this year’s director, YSP chair Tony Froud. “On a summer’s evening, it has always proved a lovely experience. While sipping your complimentary drink in the convent’s delightful garden setting, sit back and enjoy a taste of Shakespeare that is both entertaining and accessible.”
Sarah Dixon: New sonneteer for York Shakespeare Project. Picture: John Saunders
Reprising the familiar format, the show features a host of larger-than-life modern characters, each with a secret to reveal. Each character in turn will speak a Shakespeare sonnet to expose the heart of their story, to the surprise of the audience.
On this occasion, audiences will watch the comings and goings as hotel staff and guests take a turn in its garden. “Eavesdrop on the gossip,” reads the invitation. “They may take you into their confidence – perhaps revealing more than they intend – and each will have a Shakespeare sonnet to share.”
Maurice Crichton: Co-founder of York Shakespeare Project’s Sonnet Walks, now starring in Sonnnets At The Bar. Picture: John Saunders
“It’s a simple device that always seems to work,” says Tony. “Very often the actor can be halfway through the sonnet before the audience realises that the language has become Shakespearean.”
York Shakespeare Project first brought Shakespeare’s sonnets to life in 2014 with Sonnet Walks, wherein peripatetic audience members encountered colourful characters as they walked around the streets of York.
Judith Ireland: Regular sonneteer for York Shakespeare Project. Picture: John Saunders
“Many people will remember the Sonnet Walks fondly,” says the show’s writer, Helen Wilson. “But staging the show in a single setting has great advantages, allowing characters to meet, exchange conversations and reappear.”
Helen, who created the original walks in 2014 in tandem with YSP stalwart Maurice Crichton, has shaped the 2023 script based on the cast’s improvisations. “We have been inspired by the show’s hotel setting, but our hotel is very different to the Bar Convent,” says Helen.
Who will Diana Wyatt play?Find out from August 11 to 19. Picture: John Saunders
“The combination of eccentric staff and a whole variety of residents with fascinating back stories has offered great possibilities.”
Tony’s cast features actors aplenty familiar to YSP regulars and a new face. “A big part of the fun in the show is guessing which unusual characters they will be playing,” says Helen.
Tony, Helen and Maurice will be joined in the garden by Frank Brogan, Harold Mozley, Judith Ireland, Diana Wyatt, Nigel Evans and new sonneteer Sarah Dixon.
Helen Wilson, pictured performing in the 2021 Sit-down Sonnets at Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate, has written the hotel scenario for Sonnets At The Bar
“The show will be around 45 minutes long,” says Tony. “Our sonnets are aimed at those aged 14 plus but may be enjoyed by younger folk with the right support from their accompanying adult. Two under 14s per adult will be admitted for free. We very much look forward to seeing you.”
York Shakespeare Project presents Sonnets At The Bar in the Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre garden from August 11 to 19, except August 14, at 6pm and 7.30pm, plus 4.30pm Saturday performances on August 12 and 19. Box office: yorktheatreroyal.co.uk or 01904 623568. The price (£10, £5 for 14 to 17 year olds) includes a drink.
Director Tony Froud with the Sonnets At The Bar banner on the railings at the Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre in Blossom Street, York
Star Stone in the guises of Rosey Colored-Glasses, Young Star and Rebel-Punzel in #MeToo. Picture: Abby Ballin
AHEAD of her Edinburgh Fringe run, American artist Star Stone previews her groundbreaking one-woman show #MeToo at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tomorrow night.
In a true story centred on her real-life experiences with sexual assault and gender-based violence on her journey from childhood to adulthood, Star flips the script for survivor-led narratives in her hour-long “edu-tainment comedy”.
“This is not a show focused on a single perpetrator, it’s a show focused on organisations and systems that function to uphold rape culture,” says Star. “From pretend shamans and sex cults to Tinder **** boys and Burning Man, I find humour in otherwise challenging situations, investigating how we can learn from these types of experiences and explore why these events all happened in the first place.”
In witnessing Star’s journey, tomorrow’s York audience will see “how culture raises female-identified youth to have body insecurities and lack of information regarding sex”.
“It further implies that our first glimpse of sexual violations can begin as children, that our boundaries begin their tests in primary school, and how all of this only intensifies as an adult,” says Star, who also will address the need for urgency in the fight for safe access to women’s health care in the United States since the historic overturning of Roe v Wade,” she says.
“We in the United States have a tendency to exploit people’s pain and experiences. We have a term for it: it’s called ‘trauma porn’. So when you watch the news in the USA, a lot of it is about the violence that’s happened that day, especially on the local TV stations. Often that violence is at the expense of a minority group.”
Star grew up loving comedy, first doing improv and sketches and now progressing into using comedy in a solo show. “But #MeToo is not a stand-up show. It’s a solo show that uses solo theatre techniques. It’s a natural progression for me,” she says.
“It’s not a monologue. It’s a show with 30 different characters, and I take those characters into scenes with each other, with a narrator character introducing it and breaking the show into character scenes. Some are real-life characters; others are personifications.”
Post Los Angeles beginnings in 2018-2019, Star had intended to take the show to New York City but Covid sent it into hibernation until now. “York will be the first performance since 2019,” she says.
Why York, not New York, Star? “I do everything for myself and I was hunting down where I could do a preview for Edinburgh, reaching out to a lot of theatres. I got in touch with Alan [Park] at Theatre@41 and luckily he had a space for it. It’ll be my first time in York.”
Tomorrow, York, then the Edinburgh Fringe, are important steps for Star as she seeks to spread her wings internationally. “The topic of gendered violence is universal, and I’m interested in sharing this work with audiences across Europe and engaging in discussions with other survivors in the audience through a talk-back at future shows,” she says.
“It’s a crucial part of this journey. To only share my show with USA audiences wouldn’t make sense. It’s a global issue, regardless of where you live, so it’s important to hear responses in the UK and hopefully in Europe as an indicator of why this subject needs discussing.”
Star Stone in #MeToo: A One-Woman Show, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, August 3, 7.30pm. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/events. Edinburgh Fringe: Venue 21, C Arts, C Venues, C Aquila, August 14 to 20 at 3.55pm; tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/metoo-a-one-woman-show. Age suitability: 16 plus.Show directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson.
“My work aims to share the humanity in the unreasonable, the gross, the unthinkable, and the wild,” says Star Stone. Picture: Abby Ballin
Star Stone: the back story
WRITER, creator and performer of #MeToo; actress, producer, playwright and poet with background in yoga teaching for ten years.
Graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and UCB LA’s Improv School.
Graduate of Community Word Project’s Teaching Artist Project, New York City-based social justice-orientated programme. Worked within New York City school system and in Zoom classrooms as theatre educator.
Teaching artist for Marquis Studios in Coney Island and Wingspan Arts in Brooklyn.
Worked with New York City Mayor’s Office in 2022 to end gender-based violence. Hosted Voices: Survivor’s Speak, an evening of healing and transforming through the arts in collaboration with ArtTransforms.
Worked with Neo-Political Cowgirls for Girl Gaze programmme, supporting teenage girls to develop stories for film.
Former member of Oakland Slam Poetry team, creating poems as act of resistance to rape culture.
Former host of League of Professional Theatre Women’s online open-mic series, focusing on works in progress by New York City female-identified theatre creatives.
Performed #MeToo at Hollywood Fringe Festival and SoloFest, Los Angeles. Next up: York and Edinburgh.
Star Stone: “Particularly interested in the intersection of education and entertainment”. Picture: Abby Ballin
Artist statement, from starstonespeaks.com website
“I AM particularly interested in the intersection of education and entertainment, where the theatre is a classroom and an audience is left with a desire for self-inquiry and to engage in public discourse.
“My work aims to uplift survivors and normalise conversations around subjects like body image and mental health. I use comedy as a tool to tackle challenging subjects.
“I create as a reminder that we cannot shy away from vulnerability, from honesty, and from revealing our humanity. If anything, my work aims to share the humanity in the unreasonable, the gross, the unthinkable, and the wild, because my life has been each of these things. It has also been full of magic and joy.
“With each new play or poem, my approach is always to find the ‘Lila’ – the divine play of it all.”
On the ropes: Kate Whittaker’s Polly Stokes feels the force of Zee Williams’s Matilda Blackwellon the attack in The Sweet Science Of Bruising
York College & University Centre BA (Hons) Acting for Stage and Screen Graduating Students in The Sweet Science Of Bruising, York Theatre Royal Studio, July 20 and 21
TWO years of intense training have gone into this climactic graduating production by York College & University Centre’s first cohort of Acting for Stage and Screen BA students.
They deliver a knockout punch with Joy Wilkinson’s torrid 2018 drama The Sweet Science Of Bruising, an epic tale of passion, politics and pugilism set in the underground world of 19th-century women’s boxing.
Mirroring the rounds of a boxing bout in its dramatic rhythm, each scene is short and sharp, some dominated by jabs, others by body blows, some completed with a count to ten. Every step of the way, director James Harvey duly has his cast floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee.
Philippa Hickson’s Violet Hunter, left, with Shell Murphy’s Aunt George
Already, the students had staged a spring showcase for agents at the Theatre Royal, one of two industry partners in the course alongside Screen Yorkshire. An auditorium buzzing with energy greets them – CharlesHutchPress was ringside for the Friday performance – and ever louder cheers meet each scene’s denouement in the compact Studio, where the actors are within punching range.
These exultations peak in response to the retaliatory barrage of punches unleashed by Molly Shackshaft’s Anna Lamb on her vile creep of a gaslighting husband, Andrew Joseph-Hilyer’s anything-but-angelic Gabriel Lamb.
Liam Wilks’s Victorian-moustachioed “Professor” Charlie Sharp doubles as silver-tongued master of ceremonies at Islington’s Angel Amphitheatre – egging on the audience’s responses from round one – and twinkle-eyed, if thin-skinned, subversive boxing promoter with his roster of fledgling female talent.
Jim Carnall’s title-chasing boxer Paul Stokes with Liam Wilks’s boxing promoter “Professor” Charlie Sharp
Each protagonist has a reason for turning to boxing: Shackshaft’s young mother and charity crusader Anna Lamb has been pushed too far by her cheating, controlling, belittling, physically abusive husband; Philippa Hickson’s trainee doctor Violet Hunter has found her path to progression in the medical profession blocked by Jordan Benson’s insufferable Dr James Bell.
Zee Williams’s resourceful, Descartes-quoting Irish lady of the night and typesetter for The Times newspaper, Matilda Blackwell, craves a puncher’s chance of a fresh opportunity to make money; Kate Whitttaker’s hardy north easterner Polly Stokes is steeped in boxing from the bouts of her “brother” Paul (Jim Carnall), with preternatural punching power of her own. Her performance matches it in its impact.
Wilkinson’s script is combative and comedic, fiery and feminist, startling and exhilarating, a hit to the head, a punch to the gut. This is gloves-off theatre, fuelled by Wilkinson being drawn to “powerful women whose bodies contrast with ‘feminine ideals’ and force us to rethink what we’re capable of”: women such as Fay Weldon’s She-Devil, Alien’s Ellen Ripley and Terminator’s Sarah Connor.
Zee Williams’s prostitute Matilda Blackwell and Andrew Joseph-Hilyer’s callous client Gabriel Lamb
Reactions in the audience are all the stronger for Wilkinson’s play being refracted through our age of #MeToo, high-profile boxing champs such as Nicola Adams and Katie Taylor, Roe v Wade and a rising repression of women’s rights, whether in Afghanistan or the United States.
What a superb choice of play by programme leader Harvey, his decision made in part in response to the preponderance of woman in the 2021 intake. His cast responds with a champion performance.
In boxing parlance, did this Bruising encounter leave you reviewer seeing stars (in the making), courtesy of Kaitlin Howard’s fight direction? It would be unfair to pick out any performer over another, given the high quality all round. Instead, let’s hope to see them again as they join the professional ranks.
Alex Cardall’s Eeyore, left, Robbie Noonan’s Tigger, Benjamin Durham’s Winnie the Pooh and Lottie Gregan’s Tigger in Disney’s musical adventure Winnie The Pooh. Picture: Pamela Raith
GEORGIAN glories, Forties’ swing bombshells, the joy of SIX, storytelling with pizza and Pooh and Tigger adventures bring a bounce to Charles Hutchinson’s step.
Children’s show of the week: Disney’s Winnie The Pooh, Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday, 5pm; Wednesday, 11am and 2pm
DEEP in the Hundred Acre Wood, a new musical adventure unfolds for A A Milne’s beloved characters Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and their best friends Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Owl and Tigger.
Accompanying the modern narrative and life-size puppetry in Jonathan Rockefeller’s show will be Nate Edmondson’s score, featuring Grammy Award-winning songs by the Sherman Brothers, such as The Blustery Day, The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers and Whoop-De-Dooper Bounce, plus Milne’s The More It Snows (with music by Carly Simon) and Sing Ho in a new arrangement. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
7 Days at the races: Craig David at York Racecourse Music Showcase weekend, today
SOUTHAMPTON soul singer Craig David, of 7 Days romancing fame, performs hits galore after today’s racing on Knavesmire. Fill Me In, Walkaway, Rise & Fall, All The Way and I Know You are likely to feature in his early evening set with a finishing time of 7.30pm.
Gates open at 11.15am for the 2.05pm start to the seven-race card. Best bet for a ticket, as the County Stand and Grandstand & Paddock are full already, will be the more informal Clocktower Enclosure. Buy on the gate.
Alexander Flanagan Wright, left, and Phil Grainger: Premiering Helios at the Stilly Fringe tomorrow night
Stilly Fringe storytelling: James Rowland in Piece Of Work, tomorrow, 7.15pm; Wright & Grainger in Helios, tomorrow, 8.45pm, At The Mill, Stillington, near York
AHEAD of his Edinburgh Fringe run, James Rowland opens the Stilly Fringe 2023 storytelling double bill with Piece Of Work, his follow-up to Learning To Fly. Combining story, comedy and music, Piece Of Work takes the form of a road trip searching for the writer of a letter that exploded Rowland’s life. Will he find a sense of home and maybe save a life too?
Edinburgh-bound Alexander Flanagan Wright and Phil Grainger introduce Helios, their latest instalment of stories and songs rooted in Greek myths, in the wake of Orpheus, Eurydice and The Gods The Gods The Gods. Any Stilly Fringe benefits? 1. Pizzas are on the menu from 6.30pm. 2. One ticket covers both shows at tickettailor.com/events/atthemill/957195.
The poster for Spark Comedy Fringe
Funday Sunday: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Spark Comedy Fringe, Events Space @ Spark:York, York, tomorrow, 4pm
FOUR acts in one day are on the Burning Duck bill of Edinburgh Fringe previews, kicking off at 4pm with comedian, animator and computer programmer Neil Harris’s Codebreaker show about the Enigma machine, Alan Turing and Bletchley Park, followed by Stanley Brooks’s I Can Make Me Rich, an inspirational, interactive seminar to change your life and bring you cash at 5.30pm.
In Eryn Tett Finds Her Audience at 7pm, this absurdist stand-up misfit combines surreal storytelling with odd observations and wordplay; Tom Lawrinson concludes the cornucopia of comedy with weird, wonderful and completely unexpected punchlines in Hubba Hubba at 8.30pm. Each show costs £5 in advance for guaranteed entry or you can Pay What You Want post-show. A £15 ticket gives entry to all four performances. Box office: wegottickets.com/spark-comedy-fringe.
SIX of the best: Henry VIII’s Queens hit back in song at Leeds Grand Theatre. Picture: Pamela Raith
Musical of the week: SIX The Musical, Leeds Grand Theatre, Tuesday to Sunday
TOBY Marlow and Lucy Moss’s Spouse Girls musical/pop concert wowed York in late-June. Now Leeds awaits the dancing queens with attitude who tell their story in song to decide who suffered most at Henry VIII’s hands once he put a ring on that wedding finger.
Look out for Knaresborough actress Lou Henry in the role of the apparently not-so-squeaky-clean Catherine Howard, short-lived wife number five. Box office (probably for frustration only): 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
In the swing of things: Alice McKenna, left, and Gleanne Purcell-Brown in Alan Plater’s Blonde Bombshells Of 1943 at the SJT. Picture: Pamela Raith
Forties’ flavour of the week: Blonde Bombshells Of 1943, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Wednesday to August 26
ZOE Waterman directs a cast of eight actor-musicians in the SJT, Bolton Octagon and Keswick Theatre by the Lake’s lavish, lively co-production of Hull playwright Alan Plater’s warm and witty musical play.
Meet The Blonde Bombshells, the most glamorous all-girl swing band in the north, whose membership goes down every time they play a GI camp. Now an important BBC job is in the offing and Betty needs to find new musicians fast. Expect Glenn Miller, George Formby, Fats Waller and Andrews Sisters classics aplenty. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Castle Howard, egg tempera on gesso on canvas, by Amy Dennis, on show in the Northern Prospects exhibition at Janette Ray Rare Books
Exhibition of the week: Northern Prospects, Janette Ray Rare Books, Bootham, York, Wednesday to Friday, 10am to 5pm, until August 19
LOTTE Inch Gallery’s pop-up show of York and northern paintings, prints and ceramics at Janette Ray’s bookshop is being expanded with ceramics by York artists Ben Arnup, Mark Hearld and Ruth King among the new additions.
As Lotte turns her hand once more to creating artistic showcases in non-traditional exhibition spaces, after her hiatus from curating, she presents works by Tom Wood, Marie Walker Last, David Lloyd Jones, Amy Dennis, Nicky Hirst, Kelly Jayne, Robert H Lee, Isabella Maclure, Geoff Morten and Malcolm Whittaker in “unusual corners” amid the shop’s treasure trove of books on the visual arts.
Who will be in Mad Alice’s Georgian Rogues Gallery? Find out each day at the York Georgian Festival
Festival of the week: York Georgian Festival, Thursday to Sunday
DUST off your petticoat and powder your best wig for a plethora of engagements at York Mansion House, Fairfax House, Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre and elsewhere at the inaugural York Georgian Festival.
Learn to dance the minuet; discover Georgian family life with Horrible Histories writer Terry Deary; revel in Mad Alice’s Georgian Rogues Gallery; solve the mystery of tricky Dick Turpin’s missing corpse in an immersive murder mystery night and take a peep behind-the-scenes with York’s curators. For full festival details and tickets, head to: mansionhouseyork.com/yorkgeorgianfestival.
Katie Melia: From starring in Sweet Charity to hosting the Life Is A Cabaret fundraiser at Theatre@41, Monkgate
Fundraiser of the week: Life Is A Cabaret, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 7.30pm
KATIE Melia returns to Theatre@41 after her February lead role in York Stage’s Sweet Charity to present a concert in aid of Reflect: Pregnancy Loss Support, looking to surpass the £3,000 raised at her first fundraiser for this North Yorkshire charity.
Alexa Chaplin, Jack Hooper and Dale Vaughan sing stage and screen hits from Wicked, Spamalot, Dreamgirls and Grease; West End star and director Damien Poole goes Eurovision with Rise Like A Phoenix; Emily Ramsden and Elf The Musical leading lady Sophie Hammond perform too. Tickets update: sold out. For returns only, tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Chesney Hawkes: Meadowfest headliner. Picture: Axel Muench
In Focus: Meadowfest, Malton’s Boutique Midsummer Music Festival, today, 10am to 10pm
MALTON’S boutique music festival takes place within the riverside meadows and gardens of the Talbot Hotel, Yorkersgate.
Anticipate a relaxed, joyful, family festival of uplifting sunshine bands, all-day feasting and dancing like no one’s watching.
Grab a hay bale, street food and something to sip and enjoy a mix of live music over two stages with Yorkshire bands to the fore.
Be Amazing Arts hosts the pop-up venue The Creativitent, a hive of activity with creative arts workshops, performances and storytelling, arts and craft zones and facepainting!
The Creativitent gives the opportunity for children, young people and their families to “discover their inner creativity, take to the stage, get crafty”.
This House We Built: Playing the Hay Bale Stage at 5pm. Picture: Ben Audsley
Music line-up
10am, Malton School Soul Band, Meadow Stage; 10.30am, Graeme Hargreaves, Hay Bale Stage; 11am, Gary Stewart, Hay Bale Stage; 12 noon, The Caleb Murray Band, Meadow Stage; 1pm, Alchemy Live, tribute to Dire Straits, Hay Bale Stage; 2pm, The Alex Hamilton Band, Meadow Stage; 3pm, Arrival, The Hits of Abba, Hay Bale Stage; 4pm, Alistair Griffin & Band, Meadow Stage; 5pm, This House We Built, Hay Bale Stage; 6pm, Huge, York party band, Meadow Stage; 7.15pm, The Y Street Band, Hay Bale Stage; Chesney Hawkes, Meadow Stage headliner, 8.45pm.
