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More Things To Do in York and beyond when disproving ‘rotten state of modern Britain’. Hutch’s List No. 43, from The Press

The Maniac (Andrew Isherwood), left, peruses the Anarchist’s case file as Inspector Burton (Paul Osborne) interrupts him in Black Treacle Theatre’s Accidental Death Of An Anarchist . Picture: John Saunders

FROM ‘Rocky 2’ for Jason Donovan to a music-hall spin on Shakespeare’s ‘Two Gents’, Charles Hutchinson looks at a mighty crowded week ahead.

Last chance to see: Black Treacle Theatre in Accidental Of An Anarchist, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, today, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

YORK company Black Treacle Theatre stage Dario Fo and Franca Rame’s uproarious 1970 Italian farce in a new adaptation by Tom Basden, creator of Plebs and Here We Go, who updates the setting to the rotten state of present-day Britain.

Shining a satirical light on bent coppers, politicians and everything in between under Jim Paterson’s direction, the riotous drama is set in a police station where a suspect has “accidentally”’ fallen to his death, but did he jump or was he pushed? As the police attempt to avoid yet another scandal, a mysterious imposter (Andrew Isherwood’s Maniac) is brought in for questioning. Cue cover-ups, corruption and (in)competence. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk

Dinosaur World Live: Invading York Theatre Royal on Monday and Tuesday

Children’s show of the week: Dinosaur World Live, York Theatre Royal, October 21, 4.30pm; October 22, 10.30am and 4.30pm

DARE to experience the dangers and delights of dinosaurs in this mind-expanding, “roarsome” interactive Jurassic adventure, winner of the 2024 Olivier Award for Best Family Show.

Grab your compass and join Dinosaur World’s intrepid explorer on a venture across uncharted territories to discover a pre-historic world of astonishing, life-like dinosaurs. Meet a host of impressive creatures, not least every child’s favourite flesh-eating giant, the Tyrannosaurus Rex. A post-show meet and greet offers brave explorers the chance to make a new dinosaur friend. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Jason Donovan, centre, as Dr Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, back at its regular York haunt, the Grand Opera House, next week

Touring musical of the week: The Rocky Horror Show, Grand Opera House, York, October 21 to 26, Monday to Thursday, 8pm; Friday, Saturday, 5.30pm and 8.30pm

AUSRALIAN actor, pop singer and soap star Jason Donovan returns to the Grand Opera House in a musical theatre role for the first time since playing drag act Mitzi Del Bar in Prisclla, Queen Of The Desert in November 2015.

“Rocky is panto for adults,” says Jason, 56, who is reprising his role as sweet transvestite Dr Frank N Furter on tour, after 25 years, in Richard O’Brien’s cult send-up of horror and science-fiction B-movies as squeaky clean American college couple Brad and Janet end up in the mad, seductive scientist’s Transylvanian lair. Box office: atgtickets.york.com.

Tempest Wisdom: Directing York Shakespeare Project for the first time in The Two Gentlemen Of Verona

Play of the week: York Shakespeare Project in The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 22 to 26, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

‘TWO Gents’: possibly Shakespeare’s first play and definitely the only one with a part for a dog. But can the newly employed performers at Monkgate Music Hall pull off their production?

Under-rehearsed knife throwers, strongmen, musicians and comedians must pool their skills in Tempest Wisdom’s dazzling take on this rarely performed comedy, delivered by York Shakespeare Project. “Book now for the event of the 19th century!” says Tempest. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Steve Huison as his alter ego, working men’s club cabaret host Squinty McGinty, at The Crescent, York

Cabaret turn of the week, Steve Huison, Crescent Cabaret, The Crescent, York, October 23, doors, 6.30pm for 7.30pm start

AFTER exhibiting oil portraits of actors and musicians at Pyramid Gallery this summer, actor, artist and The Full Monty star Steve Huison presents The Crescent Cabaret in his guise as Squinty McGinty, “Agent to the Stars”, more usually to be found hosting Cabaret Saltaire.

Promoted in tandem with Pyramid Gallery owner and musician Terry Brett, who will make a stage appearance with Ukulele Sunshine Revival, this charity event will raise funds for Refugee Action York from meat raffle ticket sales at Huison’s affectionate, if outrageous, spoof of a typical northern working men’s club. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Company Wayne McGregor in Autobiography, on tour at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Andrej Uspenski

Dance show of the week: Company Wayne McGregor, Autobiography, V102 and V103, York Theatre Royal, October 25 and 26, 7.30pm

GENETIC code, AI and choreography merge in a Wayne McGregor work that reimagines and remakes itself anew for every performance. Layering choreographic imprints over personal memoir and in dialogue with a specially created algorithm that hijacks McGregor’s DNA data,Autobiography “upends the traditional nature of dance-making as artificial intelligence and instinct converge in creative authorship”.

Now, AISOMA, a new AI tool developed with Google Arts and Culture – “utilising machine-learning trained on hundreds of hours of McGregor’s choreographic archive – overwrites initial configurations to present fresh movement options to the performers, injecting unfamiliar and often startling content into the choreographic ecosystem”. “Life, writing itself anew,” explains McGregor. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Nadia Reid: Making her Band Room debut on the North York Moors

Moorland gig of the season: Nadia Reid, The Band Room, Low Mill, Farndale, North York Moors, October 26, 7.30pm

THE Band Room promoter Nigel Burnham first tried to book New Zealand singer-songwriter sensation Nadia Reid on her first British tour in 2017. “Persistence has paid off,” he says, welcoming her to “the greatest small venue on Earth” as part of a series of intimate, magical solo shows.

Noted for her evocative lyrics and introspective, folk-infused soundscapes, Reid has been described as “an understated, wise guide through uncertain territory”, drawing comparison with Joni Mitchell, Laura Marling, Gillian Welch and Sandy Denny. Latest album Out of My Province took her to Matthew E White’s Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, Virginia, where producer Trey Pollard surrounded her songs in luminous washes of southern country soul. Box office: 01751 432900 or thebandroom.co.uk.

Elbow: First headliners confirmed for second season of Live At York Museum Gardens, staged by Futuresound Group next summer

Gig announcement of the week: Futuresound Group presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Elbow, July 3 2025

GUY Garvey’s Mercury Prize-winning Bury band Elbow are confirmed as the first headliner for Futuresound’s second Live At York Museum Gardens concert weekend, after the sold-out success of Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary shows and Jack Savoretti this summer.

Elbow will be supported by Ripon-born, London-based singer-songwriter Billie Marten and Robin Hood’s Bay folk luminary Eliza Carthy & The Restitution. Box office: futuresound.seetickets.com/event/elbow/york-museum-gardens/3195333.

Recommended but sold out: James Swanton presents The Signal-Man, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, October 24 to 30, 7pm

James Swanton: sell-out run of The Signal-Man at York Medical Society. Picture: Jtu Photography

“SOMETHING unprecedented has happened: we’ve sold out the entire run over a month in advance! A first in my experience,” says York gothic actor and storyteller James Swanton ahead of the home-city leg of his Halloween Dickens show, The Signal-Man, with The Trial For Murder “thrown in for fun”.

“The Signal-Man is one of the most powerful ghost stories of all time and certainly the most frightening ever written by Charles Dickens. It’s paired here with The Trial For Murder, in which Dickens treats the supernatural with just as much terrifying gravity.”

James adds: “We’re privileged to be a partner event with the York Ghost Merchants for their annual Ghost Week celebrations.”

What happens in The Signal-Man? “A red light. A black tunnel. A waving figure. A warning beyond understanding. And the fear that someone – that something – is drawing closer,” says the storyteller of Dickens’s darkest explorations of the spirit world.

Over the past year, James has played monsters in The First Omen (20th Century Studios) and Tarot(Sony), as well as the title roles in two BBC chillers: The Curse Of The Ninth in Inside No. 9 and Lot No. 249, Mark Gatiss’s annual ghost story, a performance that spurred the Telegraph reviewer to call James “the scariest man on TV this Christmas”.

His Dickens work includes sell-out seasons of the Christmas Books at the Charles Dickens Museum, London, and his one-man play Sikes & Nancy at the West End’s Trafalgar Studios.

Are you too late for tickets for The Signal-Man? Fear not, James will be returning to York Medical Society from November 25 to 28 and December 2 to 5 for his annual performances of Dickens’s Christmas ghost stories, A Christmas Carol, The Chimes and The Haunted Man, suitable for age eight upwards. Tickets for these 65-minute 7pm performances are on sale on 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

One ghost story will be told each night: November 25 to 27 and December 2 to 4, A Christmas Carol; November 28, The Chimes; December 5, The Haunted Man.

In Focus: Black Sheep Theatre Productions presents Songs For A New World, National Centre for Early Music, York, Oct 24 to 26

Co-director and actor Mikhail Lim in one of myriad posters for Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ production of Songs For A New World


YORK company Black Sheep Theatre Productions completes its October double bill of Jason Robert Brown productions with his 1995 theatrical song cycle Songs For A New World.

Tony Award-winning composer Brown is best known for his musicals Parade, 13 and The Last Five Years, the 2001 two-hander staged by Matthew Peter Clare’s company in collaboration with Wharfemede Productions at the NCEM last week.

First produced Off-Broadway at the WPA Theatre in New York, Songs For A New World defies conventional musical theatre formats. As described by Brown and original director Daisy Prince, the show is “neither musical play nor revue” but exists as a “very theatrical song cycle.”

“While it lacks a linear plot, the production explores universal themes such as hope, faith, love, and loss through a powerful collection of emotionally charged songs,” says Matthew, the production’s co-director, musical director and producer.

Black Sheep Theatre’s re-imagined production speaks directly to the growing uncertainty and tension of today’s political and social climate. Co-director Mikhail Lim and the creative team have crafted a fresh and relevant interpretation, designed to “resonate with audiences navigating the complexities of modern life”.

Songs For A New World cast member Rachel Higgs

This version expands the original cast of four to feature eight performers from York and beyond, creating a rich and multifaceted rendition.

“We believe this show will be a breakthrough in York’s theatre scene, offering something fresh, exciting, and deeply engaging,” says Mikhail. “The music alone will make audiences want to listen on repeat, but the show also connects emotionally, tugging on heartstrings and encouraging a renewed contemplation of today’s world.

“We hope audiences leave the theatre not only moved by the performances but also reflecting on the deeper themes we explore.”

After staging William Finn and James Lapine’s Falsettos at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, now Black Sheep Theatre has worked meticulously on every aspect of Songs for A New World.

Ayana Beatrice Poblete and Reggie Challenger in Songs For A New World

“The team is confident that this production will be a definitive version of Brown’s iconic work, delivering a truly unforgettable experience to all who attend,” says Matthew.

Black Sheep Theatre Productions, Songs For A New World, National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, October 24 to 26, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk.

Creative team:
Co-director, musical director & producer: Matthew Peter Clare

Co-director: Mikhail Lim
Assistant director & choreographer: Freya McIntosh

Cast:
Ayana Beatrice Poblete; Katie Brier; Lauren Charlton-Mathews; Reggie Challenger; Rachel Higgs; Mikhail Lim; Adam Price and Natalie Walker.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond when seeking that lovely jubbly feeling. Hutch’s List No. 38, from Gazette & Herald

Lethal tea maker: The Black Widow at York Dungeon

DEL Boy in a musical, a Dungeon murderess, a Greek teen tragedy and gruesome Tower tales promise entertainment and enlightenment, advises Charles Hutchinson.   

New attraction of the week: The Black Widow, York Dungeon, Clifford Street, York, daily from 10am

HERE comes this Hallowe’en season’s new show at York Dungeon. Be prepared to encounter the grim tale of Britain’s first female serial killer: Mary Ann Cotton.

A north easterner with a propensity for lacing tea with a drop of arsenic, the Black Widow was convicted of only one murder but is believed to have killed many others, including 11 of her 13 children, and three of her four husbands. Box office: thedungeons.com/york/tickets-passes/. Pre-booking is essential.

Sam Lupton’s Del Boy on a date with Georgina Hagen’s Raquel in Only Fools And Horses The Musical at the Grand Opera House, York

“Plonker” musical of the week: Only Fools And Horses The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm matinees today and Saturday

BASED on John Sullivan’s long-running BBC One series, his son Jim Sullivan and comedy treasure Paul Whitehouse’s West End hit, Only Fools And Horses The Musical, combines 20 songs with an ingenious script.

“Join us as we take a trip back in time to 1989, where it’s all kicking off in Peckham,” reads the 2024-25 tour invitation. “While the yuppie invasion of London is in full swing, love is in the air as Del Boy sets out on the rocky road to find his soul mate, Rodney and Cassandra prepare to say ‘I do’, and even Trigger is gearing up for a date (with a person!).” Box office for the last few tickets: atgtickets.com/york.

Chris Mooney and Helen “Bells” Spencer in Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years, the debut collaboration between Black Sheep Theatre Productions and Wharfemede Productions

Debut of the week: Wharfemede Productions & Black Sheep Theatre Productions in The Last Five Years, National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, tonight to Saturday, 7.45pm

HELEN Spencer and Nick Sephton launch their new York company, Wharfemede Productions, in tandem with Black Sheep Theatre Productions, by staging The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown’s emotive musical story of two New Yorkers, rising novelist Jamie Wellerstein and struggling actress Cathy Hiatt, who fall in and out of love over the course of five years.

Combining only two cast members, York theatre scene luminaries Chris Mooney and Spencer, with a seven-piece band, expect an intimate and emotive evening of frank storytelling and gorgeous music. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/wharfemede-productions-ltd.

Alexander Flanagan-Wright in Helios, his modern take on the Fall of Phaeton, performed under the Great Hall dome at Castle Howard

Theatrical event of the week: Wright & Grainger in Helios, The Great Hall, Castle Howard, near York, today, 5pm and 7.30pm

A LAD lives halfway up an historic hill. A teenager is on a road trip to the city in a stolen car. A boy is driving a chariot, pulling the sun across the sky. In a play about the son of the god of the sun, Helios transplants the Ancient Greek tale into a modern-day myth wound round the winding roads of rural England and into the everyday living of a towering city.

“It’s a story about life, the invisible monuments we build to it, and the little things that leave big marks,” says writer-performer Alexander Flanagan-Wright, who presents his delicate tale with a tape-player beneath the Great Hall dome’s mural, painted by 18th century Venetian painter Antonio Pelligrini, whose depiction of the Fall of Phaeton was the thematic inspiration behind Helios. Box office: castlehoward.co.uk.

Alison Weir: Gruesome tales of executions, beheadings and Royal intrigue from 900 years at the Tower Of London

Literary event of the week: Kemps Bookshop Presents Alison Weir – Ghosts & Gruesome Tales Of The Tower, Milton Rooms, Malton, tonight, 7.30pm

IF any place could lay claim to a host of tortured souls and ghosts, it would be the Tower of London. Historian Alison Weir regales her Malton audience with chilling ghostly tales of grim events, bloody deeds, intrigues and violent deaths the Tower has witnessed over 900 years and the ghosts that reputedly haunt it. After her talk, she will take questions and sign copies of her books. Box office: 01653 696240 themiltonrooms.com.

Mary Bourne, left, and Jessa Liversidge: Uplifting journey of song in Songbirds at Helmsley Arts Centre

Songbirds: A Celebration of Female Musical Icons, with Jessa Liversidge and Mary Bourne, Helmsley Arts Centre, October 25, 7.30pm

DEVISED and performed by vocalists Jessa Liversidge, from Easingwold, and Mary Bourne, from Kingston upon Thames, Songbirds is an uplifting journey of song, celebrating “some of the most iconic female singers and songwriters ever known”, from Carole King and Annie Lennox to Kate Bush and Adele. Special guests include HAC Singers and Easingwold Community Singers. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Nadia Reid: Making her Band Room debut on the North York Moors

Moorland gig of the season: Nadia Reid, The Band Room, Low Mill, Farndale, North York Moors, October 26, 7.30pm

THE Band Room promoter Nigel Burnham first tried to book New Zealand singer-songwriter sensation Nadia Reid on her first British tour in 2017. “Persistence has paid off,” he says, welcoming her to “the greatest small venue on Earth” as part of a series of intimate, magical solo shows.

Noted for her evocative lyrics and introspective, folk-infused soundscapes, Reid has been described as “an understated, wise guide through uncertain territory”, drawing comparison with Joni Mitchell, Laura Marling, Gillian Welch and Sandy Denny. Latest album Out of My Province took her to Matthew E White’s Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, Virginia, where producer Trey Pollard surrounded her songs in luminous washes of southern country soul. Box office: 01751 432900 or thebandroom.co.uk.

Elbow: Headlining first day of second season of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts

Show announcement of the week: Futuresound Group presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Elbow, July 3 2025

GUY Garvey’s Mercury Prize-winning Bury band Elbow are confirmed as the first headliner for Futuresound’s second Live At York Museum Gardens concert weekend, after the sold-out success of Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary shows and Jack Savoretti this summer.

Elbow will be supported by Ripon-born, London-based singer-songwriter Billie Marten and Robin Hood’s Bay folk luminary Eliza Carthy & The Restitution. The York exclusive postcode presale (for YO1, YO24, YO30, YO31 and YO32) goes on sale today at 10am at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/elbow/york-museum-gardens/3195333?pre=postcode. General sales open at 10am on Friday at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/elbow/york-museum-gardens/3195333.

In Focus: Nunnington Hall Autumn Festival, October 19 and 20

Nunnington Hall: Autumn garden tours next weekend

VISITORS to the National Trust property of Nunnington Hall, near Helmsley, can enjoy the manor house being decorated for autumn next weekend.

The garden team will be running garden tours and apple-juicing demonstrations, and there will be an opportunity to do autumn-themed crafts.

Programming and  partnerships officer Elena Leyshon says: “We’re delighted that our annual Autumn Festival will be returning to Nunnington Hall this year. Visitors can explore the hall decorated for autumn and join our garden team on orchard and wildlife tours, and live apple-juicing demonstrations.

“We’ll have a range of local makers and creators demonstrating and selling their work, from willow weaving to felting.

“There will also be some delicious autumnal treats in the tearoom to enjoy, so come along and enjoy a sweet treat in our tearoom and celebrate the best of the autumnal season with us.”

Robert Dutton and Andrew Moodie’s exhibition, A Yorkshire Year, continues at Nunnington Hall and will be be open to visitors over the festival weekend.

Nunnington Hall  Autumn Festival, October 19 and 20, 10.30am to 5pm each day, with last entry at 4.15pm. Visiting stalls will be on site until 4pm. No booking is required. Normal property admission applies, with free admission for National Trust members and under fives.

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Gig announcement of the week: Futuresound Group presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Elbow, July 3 2025

Elbow: July 3 headliners for next summer’s Live At York Museum Gardens concert series

GUY Garvey’s Mercury Prize-winning Bury band Elbow are confirmed as the first headliner for Futuresound’s second Live At York Museum Gardens concert weekend, after the sold-out success of Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary shows and Jack Savoretti this summer.

Elbow will be supported by Ripon-born, London-based singer-songwriter Billie Marten and Robin Hood’s Bay folk luminary Eliza Carthy & The Restitution.

The York exclusive postcode presale (for YO1, YO24, YO30, YO31 and YO32) goes on sale tomorrow at 10am at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/elbow/york-museum-gardens/3195333?pre=postcode. General sales open at 10am on Friday at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/elbow/york-museum-gardens/3195333.

Rachel Hill, project manager for Futuresound Group, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with the York Museum Gardens team once more for another great event.  This year was such a proud moment for all involved. 

“Witnessing how incredibly important it is to the people of York, their support and how it was received is so heart-warming.  Seeing the city come to light and witnessing the benefits of the economic impact was a wonderful thing.”

 Richard Saward, head of operations at fellow event promoters, York Museums Trust, said: “We are excited to welcome the concerts back to York Museum Gardens in 2025.  The events last year brought in new audiences to the city and the gardens, with the income we raised invested back into our museums, galleries and collections.”

Watch this space for further news of next summer’s Live At York Museums Gardens programme.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond as temperatures drop and festive fervour rises. Hutch’s List No.49, from The Press, York

The Gesualdo Six, with director Owain Park, centre, back row: Two concerts in one evening at NCEM

CHRISTMAS music, Scrooge the farmer, artist fairs and pantomime frolics set up Charles Hutchinson for the festive season ahead.

Festival of the week: York Early Music Christmas Festival, today until December 9

YORK Early Music Christmas Festival 2023 takes the theme of Music, Minstrels and Mystery, with today’s concerts by Flutes & Frets (Bedern Hall) and The Gesualdo Six & Fretwork Viol Consort (NCEM) having sold out already.

So has December 9’s finale, the Yorkshire Bach Choir’s Bach Christmas Oratorio (Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall), but tickets are still available for The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen, Fiddlesticks, The Marian Consort, Ceruleo and Baroque In The North. For concert details and tickets, visit ncem.co.uk. Box office: 01904 658338.

James Lewis-Knight and Emily Chattle in a scene from Badapple Theatre Company’s Farmer Scrooge’s Christmas Carol. Picture: Karl Andre

Tour opening of the week: Badapple Theatre Company in Farmer Scrooge’s Christmas Carol, until December 30

A GRUMPY farmer? From Yorkshire? Surely not! Welcome to Kate Bramley’s rural revision of Dickens’s festive favourite, A Christmas Carol, now set on Farmer Scrooge’s farm and in his bed in 1959 in Green Hammerton company Badapple Theatre’s tour of Yorkshire and beyond.

York actors James Lewis-Knight and Emily Chattle play multiple roles in a tale replete with local stories and carols, puppets and mayhem, original songs by Jez Lowe and a whacking great dose of seasonal bonhomie. For tour dates and ticket details, visit: badappletheatre.co.uk or call 01423 331304.

South Bank Studios artist Carolyn Coles: Taking part in this weekend’s Christmas Artists Trail

Artists with Christmas in mind: South Bank Studios Christmas Artists Trail, hosted by South Bank Studios, Bishopthorpe Road, York, today and tomorrow, 10am to 4pm

JOIN artists, illustrators and makers in the South Bank area of York for a weekend of festive cheer and a chance to visit artists’ houses and studios. For sale will be paintings, illustrations, ceramics, textiles, cards and gifts.

Taking part: Jill Tattersall, at 11 Mount Parade, today and tomorrow; Marie Murphy, 38, Scarcroft Road, today; Donna Maria Taylor, Carolyn Coles, Karen Winship, Rebeca Mason (11am to 4pm, in the loft), Katie Hill (outside) and Rachel Jones (outside) at South Bank Studio, today only.

Other art events happening in York over the weekend will be PICA Studios’ open studio, in Grape Lane, today and tomorrow, 10am to 5pm, and Rogues Atelier’s open studio, in Fossgate, today and tomorrow, 10am to 5pm.

Damion Larkin: Hosting Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club at The Basement

Comedy gig of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, today, 5pm and 8pm

ESSEX comedian Markus Birdman headlines Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club’s brace of Basement gigs today. Joining him will be Tal Davies, Hasan Al-Habib and promoter/master of ceremonies Damion Larkin.

In 2022, Birdman suffered a stroke and ended up with a platinum heart, the subject of his Platinum Tour show. This year he was a semi-finalist on Britain’s Got Talent. Box office: lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.

Nina Cumin, left, Jonathan Sage and Kate Ledger: York Late Music concert of Anthony Gilbert works tonight

York Late Music: Micklegate Singers, After Byrd, today, 1pm; Nina Kumin, Jonathan Sage and Kate Ledger, 7.30pm, both at Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York

MICKLEGATE Singers bring together three anniversaries, Byrd, Rachmaninov and Thomas Weelkes, in a lunchtime musical sandwich of more than 500 years of a cappella choral music.

In the evening, Nina Kumin, violin, Jonathan Sage, clarinet, and Kate Ledger, piano, mark July’s death of Anthony Gilbert by performing four of the British composer’s works, plus music by Nicola LeFanu and David Lumsdaine, who both knew him well. Box office: latemusic.org or on the door.

Kirk Brandon: Fronting Spear Of Destiny at The Crescent

40th anniversary gig of the week: Spear Of Destiny, The Crescent, York, Wednesday, 7.30pm

FORTY years on from Epic Records’ release of Spear Of Destiny’s debut album, The Grapes Of Wrath, Kirk Brandon leads his punk-influenced power rock band on a 17-date November and December tour.

On the back of American travels, Brandon will be performing with his longest-serving line-up:  Adrian Portas (New Model Army/Sex Gang Children), Craig Adams (Sisters Of Mercy/The Cult/The Mission) and Phil Martini (Jim Jones And The Righteous Mind), bolstered by Clive Osborne on saxophone and Steve Allen-Jones on keys. Support comes from former Simple Minds bassist Derek Forbes & The Dark. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Kate Rusby: Showcasing her new Christmas album, Light Years, at York Barbican on Thursday

Festive folk gig of the week: Kate Rusby, Established 1973 Christmas Tour, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm

BARNSLEY folk nightingale Kate Rusby marks turning 50 on Monday with the release of her seventh Christmas album, Light Years, and an accompanying tour that opens in York.

In the company of her regular band, coupled with the added warmth of the Brass Boys, Kate combines carols still sung in South Yorkshire pubs with her winter songs and favourite Christmas chestnuts. Look out for the fancy dress finale. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Rowntree Players having a ball in rehearsal for Cinderella

Pantomime opening of the week: Rowntree Players in Cinderella, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, December 9 to 16, except December 11

HOWARD Ella directs Rowntree Players in a rollicking romp of a pantomime, wherein Cinderella and Buttons are fighting to save the Windy End Hotel when the Queen announces a ball to celebrate Prince Charming’s birthday.

Trouble is brewing with the arrival of a “truly horrific trio”, determined to find themselves a prince. Expect song, dance, all the traditional silliness…and a mad rush for the last few tickets for all performances. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Billie Marten: Dropping into The Crescent with her Drop Cherries album. Picture: Katie Silvester

Recommended but sold out already

RIPON singer-songwriter Billie Marten, now based in London, returns home to Yorkshire to showcase her fourth album, Drop Cherries, on which she explores the struggle with modernity versus tradition, nature, mental health, relationships and “a general voyeurism on the world as she sees it”. Clara Mann supports.

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As Billie Marten plays a not-so-secret gig, podcasters Chalmers and Hutch discuss the rise of the Ripon singer-songwriter…

Billie Marten: Ripon singer-songwriter in full bloom on third album Flora Fauna and at secret Harrogate gig with a full band. PIcture: Katie Silvester

WHAT else do culture vultures Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson cram into Episode 57 of Two Big Egis In A Small Car?

How about Blade Runner and where next for billionaires in space?

What’s going on with Covid passports and arts venues?

What can the arts expect from novel Tory Culture supremo Nadine Dorries?

What is the future for album covers?

What was CH’s verdict on Tonderai Munyevu’s Mugabe, My Dad And Me at York Theatre Royal, The Woman In Black at the reopened Grand Opera House, York, and the pie-laden Waitress at Leeds Grand Theatre?

How does it feel to face up to the questions for the revived People We Love exhibition, soon to return to York Minster.

To find the answers, listen to: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1187561/9226087

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Billie Marten breaks free from toxic bonds in return to nature for May’s Flora Fauna

“The general sentiment breeds happiness and optimism, which is something I wasn’t particularly familiar with thus far,” says Billie Marten of her single Garden Of Eden. Picture: Katie Silvester

RIPON singer-songwriter Billie Marten releases new single Garden Of Eden today, to be followed by third album Flora Fauna, her first for Fiction Records, on May 21.

Raised in the rolling hills of North Yorkshire on the songcraft of Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Joan Armatrading and Kate Bush, Billie made her studio debut, Writing Of Blues And Yellows, at the age of only 17 in 2016.

Feeding Seahorses By Hand followed in 2019 and Garden Of Eden ends the recording silence since then, accompanied by a video created with Lydia Poole.

“It’s a song of growth and competition to evolve as individuals in an increasingly suffocating and vacuous society,” says Billie. “I liked the idea of humans growing up like tomatoes in the greenhouse, needing water and oxygen and space, but not getting any of it.

“The idea of seeking the natural elements and needing only that to survive plays into my constant dichotomy of living urban or bucolic. The choruses act as a burst of relief to allow space to breathe and to express that want of living right.

“The name Flora Fauna is like a green bath for my eyes,” says Billie Marten, introducing her new album

“This was one of the first pivotal songs for me as the general sentiment breeds happiness and optimism, which is something I wasn’t particularly familiar with thus far.”

Recorded with Rich Cooper in London, Flora Fauna blends Billie’s signature hushed, resonant vocals with a rapid pulse and rich instrumentation, her inspirations now stretching from Krautrock pioneers Can to Broadcast, Arthur Russell to Fiona Apple.

Built on her trademark minimalist acoustic folk foundations, Billie’s third album is a more mature work, fostered around a strong backbone of bass and rhythm. Shedding the timidity of past recordings in favour of a more urgent sound, the songs mark a period of independence for Marten as she learned to nurture herself and break free from toxic relationships.

Returning to nature has played a significant role. “I wasn’t really treating myself very well, it was a bit of a disruptive time. All these songs are about getting myself out of that hole; they’re quite strong affirmations.

“The name Flora Fauna is like a green bath for my eyes. If the album were a painting, it would look like flora and fauna: it encompasses every organism, every corner of Earth, and a feeling of total abundance.”

The track listing will be: Garden Of Eden; Creature Of Mine; Human Replacement; Liquid Love; Heaven; Ruin; Pigeon; Kill The Clown; Walnut and Aquarium.