Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Archives

Mr Willy Wonka, played by Jonathan, in Ryedale Youth Theatre’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory at the Milton Rooms, Malton

MISSING out on Gary Oldman’s sold-out Krapp’s Last Tape on his York Theatre Royal return? Charles Hutchinson digs up plenty of consolation prizes.

Ryedale musical of the week: Ryedale Youth Theatre in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Milton Rooms, Malton, tonight to Saturday, 7.15pm plus 2pm Thursday and Saturday matinees

RYEDALE Youth Theatre brings Roald Dahl’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory to the Malton stage in a magical adventure that journeys into Willy Wonka’s fantastical world.

Expect stunning performances and enchanting music in a family-friendly production perfect for all ages. Only 100 tickets are still available after sales of 1,200. Box office: yourboxoffice.co.uk/ryedale-youth-theatre.

Inspired By Theatre’s principal cast members in Rent, playing the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, from tomorrow

York musical of the week: Inspired By Theatre in Rent, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

YORK company Inspired By Theatre follow up Green Day’s American Idiot with another groundbreaking rock musical, Jonathan Larson’s Tony Award-winning story of love, resilience and artistic defiance.

Set in New York City’s East Village at the height of the AIDS epidemic, Rent follows a group of young artists struggling to survive, create and hold on to hope in the face of uncertainty. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Welcome back: Gary Oldman in the York Theatre Royal dressing rooms

York theatre event of the year: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, April 14 to May 17

ONCE the pantomime Cat that fainted thrice in Dick Whittington in his 1979 cub days on the professional circuit, Oscar winner Gary Oldman returns to the Theatre Royal to perform Samuel Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd Krapp’s Last Tape in his first stage appearance since the late-1980s.

“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says the Slow Horses leading man. “It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.” Tickets update: New availability of returns and additional seats on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Abigoliah Schamaun: In pursuit of the “Holy Visa” in Legally Cheeky, on tour at Pocklington Arts Centre

Comedy gig of the week: Abigoliah Schamaun, Legally Cheeky, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow, 8pm

ABIGOLIAH Schamaun thought she had it all; the flat, the career, the life partner. This US transplant was living the American Dream…in London. Then one day, the Wicked Witch of Westminster, told Abigoliah to click her sparkly heels and go “home”. In that moment, everything changed. To lose would mean losing everything.

Abigoliah’s quest for the Holy Visa began, and the fight was very much on. Legally Cheeky charts her journey in a heart-warming tale of highs, lows, twists and turns as she recounts the year that shook her and partner Tom to the core. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Snake Davis, right, will be teaming up with Stu Collingworth at Helmsley Arts Centre on Friday night

Jazz gig of the week: Snake Davis with Stu Collingworth, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

SAXOPHONIST to the stars Snake Davis will be joined by Hammond organist, composer and vocalist Stu Collingwood for an evening of soul pop and jazz. Davis performs regularly with famous artists at huge venues but is “far happier being himself at Helmsley Arts Centre”.

Collingworth has toured with Tony Christie, Alan Barnes and Elaine Delmar and has a residency at Charts in Newcastle. He and Davis have enjoyed a creative partnership for a decade, fired by a love of melody and groove. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Aleysha Jade in Curious Investigators at Pocklington Arts Centre on Saturday. Picture: Grant Archer

Family show of the week: One Tenth Human in Curious Investigators, Pocklington Arts Centre, Saturday, 1.30pm

SCRIBBLE and Clipboard have a job to do, sorting out the recycling, but Scribble keeps finding new things to investigate. When she discovers a mysterious egg hidden in the rubbish, the pair needs the audience’s help to rescue an unborn chick. Can you save a mysterious egg from a smashing and what will you discover along the way?

Curious Investigators is a cracking adventure, created in collaboration with engineering experts from Lancaster University, in a delightfully surprising, highly visual show for three to seven-year-olds and their grown-ups, hatched by One Tenth Human. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Wrongsemble in Three Little Vikings, a story of cooperation, bravery and making your voice heard at Helmsley Arts Centre

Children’s show of the week: Wrongsemble in Three Little Vikings, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 2.30pm

A TRIO of brave little Viking girls saves the day in Leeds company Wrongsemble’s bold and funny adventure story for little rebels by Bethan Woollvin, creator of Little Red and I Can Catch A Monster.

Once upon a time in a Viking village, everything seems to be going wrong. Chickens are disappearing, trees are falling down. When the silly Chieftain will not listen to the three littlest Vikings, can they work together to figure out how to save the day in a 50-minute tale of cooperation, bravery and making your voice heard. Suitable for age three upwards. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Mark Druery: Taking part in York Open Studios this weekend

Art event of the month: York Open Studios, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 5pm

YORK Open Studios showcases 160 artists and makers at 117 locations in its largest configuration yet in its 24 years. Artists and makers, including 38 new participants, span ceramics, collage, digital art, illustration, jewellery, mixed media, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, textiles and wood, Full details and an interactive map can be found at yorkopenstudios.co.uk; brochures in shops, galleries, cafes and tourist hubs. Admission is free.

The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon: New album and York Barbican autumn date. Picture: Kevin Westenberg

Gig announcement of the week: The Divine Comedy, York Barbican, October 21

NEIL Hannon will promote The Divine Comedy’s 13th studio album, September 19’s Rainy Sunday Afternoon, on a 16-date autumn tour. Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, April 17 at 10am at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/the-divine-comedy-2025/.

Written, arranged and produced by Hannon and recorded at Abbey Road Studios, the album spans his usual range of emotions – sad, funny, angry and everything in between – as he “works through some stuff”: mortality, memories, relationships and political and social upheaval.

*Made for Chering: Millie O’Connell’s Babe, left, Debbie Kurup’s Star and Danielle Steers’ Lady in The Cher Show: A New Musical. Picture: Matt Crockett*

FROM Cher times three and Charlie and that chocolate factory, to G&S and Oliver!, musical entertainment dominates Charles Hutchinson’s diary.

Cher, Cher and Cher alike: The Cher Show: A New Musical, Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm; 2.30pm, Wednesday and Saturday

TURNING back time, Millie O’Connell’s Babe, Danielle Steers’s Lady and Debbie Kurup’s Star share out the Cher role in The Cher Show, the story of the American singer, actress and television personality’s meteoric rise to fame as she flies in the face of convention at every turn.

This celebration of the “Goddess of Pop” and “Queen of Reinvention” packs in 35 hits, I Got You Babe, If I Could Turn Back Time, Strong Enough, The Shoop Shoop Song, Believe et al. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or atgtickets.com/York.

*Oliver at the double: Fin Walker, left, and Zachary Pickersgill will be sharing the title role in NE’s production of Oliver!*

Community musical of the fortnight: NE in Oliver!, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, November 16 to 19 and 22 to 26, 7.30pm; 2.30pm, Saturday matinees

NE, formerly NE Musicals York and soon to be renamed again, are performing a fortnight’s run for the first time, presenting Lionel Bart’s musical Oliver! in a revised version that complements the familiar songs and characters with added scenes to “bring the story to life in more detail”.

Two teams of performers will be undertaking alternate performances, led by Zachary Pickersgill and Fin Walker, sharing the role of Oliver Twist, and Henry Barker and Toby Jensen’s Artful Dodger. Director Steve Tearle plays Fagin for the fourth time, joined in the production team by musical director Scott Phillips and choreographer Ellie Roberts. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Exhibition of the week: Lesley Seeger & Katherine Bree, Pigment & Stone, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, in collaboration until November 27

*Jewellery designer Katherine Bree, left, and artist Lesley Seeger in the North Yorkshire countryside*

LESLEY Seeger and Katherine Bree form Yorkshire-London collaboration for the painting and gemstone show Pigment & Stone at Pyramid Gallery.

In a celebration of form and colour with an earthy elemental twist, city jewellery designer Katherine has chosen paintings by Huttons Ambo landscape painter Lesley as inspiration for her new collection of gemstone treasures.

Katherine divides her collections into the four elements – earth, air, fire and water – and this provides a perfect complement to Lesley’s elemental paintings, which she describes as “talismans that will reveal themselves over time with their rich histories of place, layers and colour”.

*Love-struck at sea: Jack Storey-Hunter’s sailor Ralph and Alexandra Mather’s Josephine, the Captain’s daughter, in York Opera’s HMS Pinafore*

Light opera of the week: York Opera in HMS Pinafore, York Theatre Royal, Wednesday to Saturday, 7.30pm; 2.30pm Saturday matinee

YORK Opera sets sail in Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta HMS Pinafore or The Lass That Loved A Sailor, steered by a new command of stage director Annabel van Griethuysen and conductor Tim Selman.

The story follows Ralph (society newcomer Jack Storey-Hunter), a lovesick sailor, and Josephine (Alexandra Mather), the Captain’s daughter, who are madly in love but kept apart by social hierarchy. All aboard for such G&S favourites as We Sail The Ocean Blue, Never Mind The Why And Wherefore and When I Was A Lad. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

*Charlie And The Chocolate Factory cast members in the rehearsal room at Leeds Playhouse. Picture: Johan Persson*

Yorkshire’s big opening of the week: Charlie And The Chocolate Factory – The Musical, Leeds Playhouse, November 18 to January 28

CHOCK-A-BLOCK! Around 30,000 chocoholics have booked their golden ticket already for Leeds Playhouse’s winter musical spectacular, presented in association with Neal Street Productions and Playful Productions ahead of a British tour.

Songs such as The Candy Man and Pure Imagination from the film versions of Roald Dahl’s sweet-toothed adventure will be bolstered by new songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Gareth Snook’s Willy Wonka, Kazmin Borrer’s Veruca Salt and Robin Simoes Da Silva’s Augustus Gloop lead James Brining’s cast; Amelia Minto, Isaac Sugden, Kayleen Nguema and Noah Walton share the role of Charlie Bucket. Box office: 0113 213 7700 or leedsplayhouse.org.uk.

*Chloe Latchmore: York Musical Society’s mezzo-soprano soloist for The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace at York Minster*

Classical concert of the week: York Musical Society, The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace, York Minster, November 19, 7.30pm

YORK Musical Society’s dramatic performance of Sir Karl Jenkins’s powerful work The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace features full orchestra and soloists soprano Ella Taylor, mezzo-soprano Chloe Latchmore, tenor Greg Tassell and baritone Thomas Humphreys.

Jenkins’s work will be complemented by Joseph Haydn’s lyrical 1796 Mass In Time Of War – Missa In Tempore Belli, also known as Paukenmesse (Kettle Drum Mass in German), on account of its kettle drum solo. Box office: 01904 623568, at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk and on the door.

*The poster for South Bank Studios’ Art & Craft Winter Fair at Southlands Methodist Church*

Looking for Christmas presents? South Bank Studios Art & Craft Winter Fair, Southlands Methodist Church, November 19, 10am to 5pm

SOUTH Bank Studios’ winter fair assembles 28 artists and crafters, who will be displaying and selling their original artwork and creations, targeted at the Christmas market.

Browers and buyers alike can tour the 18 studios within the church building’s upper floors with a chance to meet assorted artists in situ. Entry is free and refreshments are available throughout the day.

*Julie Madly Deeply: Sarah-Louise Young celebrating the life and songs of Dame Julie Andrews at Theatre@41. Picture: Steve Ullathorne*

Truly scrumptious show of the week: Sarah-Louise Young in Julie Madly Deeply, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, November 20, 7.30pm

AFTER her glorious An Evening Without Kate Bush, Fringe favourite Sarah-Louise Young returns to York with her West End and Off-Broadway smash in celebration of “genuine showbiz icon” Dame Julie Andrews.

Fascinating Aida alumna Young’s charming yet cheeky cabaret takes a look at fame and fandom by intertwining Andrews’ songs from Mary Poppins, The Sound Of Music and My Fair with stories and anecdotes of her life, from her beginnings as a child star to the challenges of losing her singing voice, in a humorous, candid love letter to a showbusiness survivor. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

*Strictly between them: Ten – yes ten, count’em – Strictly Come Dancing professionals will be sashaying their way to York Barbican next May*

Hot ticket of the week: Get a move on for Strictly Come Dancing – The Professionals, York Barbican, May 12 2023

HURRY, hurry! The last few tickets are still on sale for a spectacular line-up of ten professional dancers from the hit BBC show: Strictly professionals Dianne Buswell; Vito Coppola; Carlos Gu; Karen Hauer; Neil Jones; Nikita Kuzmin; Gorka Marquez; Luba Mushtuk; Jowita Przystal and Nancy Xu.

“Don’t miss your chance to see these much-loved dancers coming together to perform in a theatrical ensemble that will simply take your breath away,” says the Barbican blurb. Box office: ticketmaster.co.uk/strictly-come-dancing-the-professionals-2023-york.

Tag: Charlie And The Chocolate Factory

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 14, from Gazette & Herald

Looking for More Things To Do in York and beyond? I got you, babe. Time to share Hutch’s List No. 105, courtesy of The Press