More Things To Do in York and beyond as a blaze of colour hits the streets. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 14, from The York Press

Sinead Corkery: Making her York Open Studios debut in Monkton Road, York

PERFECT weather greets the opening of studio doors as artists parade their skills while politics comes under the spotlight in Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations.

Art event of the month: York Open Studios, today and tomorrow; also April 12 and 13, 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.

Rob Rouse: Headlining Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club’s bill at The Basement tonight

Comedy bill of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, Rob Rouse, David Eagle, Ben Silver and Damion Larkin, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 8pm

ROB Rouse, from The Friday Night Project, Spoons, BBC3’s Comedy Shuffle, Mad Mad World, Upstart Crow and Rob And Helen’s Date Night self-help podcast, headlines tonight’s bill, hosted by Laugh Out Loud promoter Damion Larkin.

Support act David Eagle, a member of north eastern folk band The Young’uns, mines comedy from exploring how his blindness turns the most ordinary, commonplace events into surreal, convoluted dramas. Box office: 01904 612940 or lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.

Ged Graham: Leading the Seven Drunken Nights celebration of The Dubliners, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Prestige Productions

Irish craic of the week: Seven Drunken Nights: The Story of the Dubliners, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

SEVEN Drunken Nights takes a trip down memory lane in celebration of The Dubliners’ 50-year performing career on a 2025 global tour of 300 shows across 42 weeks. The Irish Rover, The Town I Love So Well and Dirty Old Town will be joined by new additions Paddy On The Railway and The Lark In The Morning in a new production for this year’s travels.

The show’s 2017 founder, frontman and narrator, Dublin-born writer and director Ged Graham, says: “The connection we’ve built with the audience over the years is incredible; they know we’re keeping the iconic music of The Dubliners alive with the same passion that they have for it.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Telling the whole story: Writer-performer Andrew Margerison in Dyad Productions’ That Knave, Raleigh

Historical play of the week: Dyad Productions in That Knave, Raleigh, Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 7.30pm; Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 9, 7.30pm

DYAD Productions follow up I, Elizabeth with a return to the Elizabethan era in That Knave, Raleigh, writer-performer Andrew Margerison’s story of Elizabethan explorer, sailor, dandy and warrior Sir Walter Raleigh, Elizabeth I’s favourite and James I’s knave. 

The Huguenots, America, the Armada and execution: is that the whole story? “There is so much you don’t know,” says Margerison of Raleigh, father, husband, writer, poet, adventurer, philosopher, soldier, tyrant, egotist, lover, traitor, alchemist, visionary and victim.

“The final chapter of Raleigh’s life is perhaps the most daring, strange and utterly heart-breaking. See the fall from grace taken directly from historical record; marvel at the magnetism of a man who seized every opportunity.”Box office: Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk; York, tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

The Manfreds: Playing Joseph Rowntree Theatre for the first time this weekend

Sixties’ nostalgia of the week: The Manfreds, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

TICKETS are down to the last few for the chance to see The Manfreds in their Joseph Rowntree Theatre debut, featuring original Manfred Mann members Paul Jones and Tom McGuinness, both 83.

The set list takes in such Sixties R&B hits as 5-4-3-2-1, Pretty Flamingo, The Mighty Quinn and Do Wah Diddy Diddy, intermixed with jazz and blues covers from their solo albums. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Al Murray: Rolling out his barrel of laughs at York Barbican as the Guvnor puts you right on Sunday night

Political insights of the week: Al Murray, Guv Island, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm

THE people have spoken. The Pub Landlord is back for another round of Guv Island with “New Extra Brew Material”in 2025, having pulled pints and punters at the Grand Opera House in March 2024.

Standing up so you don’t have to take it lying it down anymore, the Guvnor will “make sense of the questions you probably already had the answers to”. “Country, the UK, lost its way, seeks life partner/mentor/inspiration. Good sense of humour essential. No timewasters, tedious show-offs or offend-o-trons need apply. HR free zone,” says Murray. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Inspired By Theatre’s principal cast for Jonathan Larson’s musical Rent at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York. Picture: Dan Crawfurd-Porter

Musical of the week: Inspired By Theatre in Rent, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, April 10 to 12, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

YORK company Inspired By Theatre – the new name for Bright Light Musical Productions – 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.

Jan Noble in his verse drama Body 115. Picture: jannoble.co.uk/body115

Odyssey of the week: Jan Noble in Body 115, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 11, 7.30pm

EVER wished you were somewhere else? Ever wished you were someone else? Escaping the rain, a journey on the London Underground becomes a descent into the underworld in Body 115, 2023 winner of the London Pub Theatre Award for Best Innovative Play.

Written and performed by Jan Noble, directed by Justin Butcher, this tale of broken hearts, old flames and open roads follows Noble’s down-and-out poet-hero through the sewers and tubes of King’s Cross Station to the heart of Italy. Part invocation, part rain dance, this poetic odyssey is delivered with a contemporary kick. From the terraces at Millwall to fashionable Milan, expect shadowy encounters, dodgy connections and chance meetings with a host of poet ghosts.

“Body 115 is an epic poem, a tale of inner and outer journeys in explicit homage to Dante’s Divine Comedy,” says Noble. “From the rain-washed, subterranean underworld of King’s Cross, ‘Body 115’ – the long-unidentified victim of the 1987 fire – becomes Virgil to my Dante in a rhapsodic paean to the trammelling ecstasy of loss: a trans-European odyssey turned safari of the soul.” Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Dianne Buswell & Vito Coppola: Strictly Come Dancing professionals team up for Red Hot And Ready

Show announcement of the week: Burn The Floor presents Dianne Buswell & Vito Coppola in Red Hot And Ready, York Barbican, July 6, 7.30pm; Leeds Grand Theatre, July 18, 7.30pm, and July 19, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing’s stellar professional dancers, 2024 winner Dianne Buswell and 2023 victor Vito Coppola, will star in the new show from the Burn The Floor stable, created by Strictly creative director Jason Gilkison.

Billed as “a dynamic new dance show with a difference”, Red Hot And Ready brings together Buswell, Coppola and a cast of multi-disciplined Burn The Floor dancers from around the world, accompanied by vocalists and a band. Expect “jaw-dropping choreography, heart-pounding music and breathtaking moves, from seriously sexy to irresistibly charming”. Box office: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.

John Simpson: BBC News world affairs editor puts leaders and lunatics in the dock at the Grand Opera House, York, on Monday

In Focus: More political insights of the week: John Simpson: The Leaders & Lunatics Tour, Grand Opera House, York, April 7, 7.30pm

IN his bold, unflinching look at leadership, veteran BBC journalist and broadcaster John Simpson CBE ponders why some inspire while others descend into tyranny. “And…are all tyrants ‘lunatics’,” he asks.

After six decades of unparalleled access to world leaders – and lunatics – Simpson explores the personalities that have shaped history. From notorious figures such as Assad, Saddam, Mugabe and Gaddafi to admired leaders Gorbachev, Mandela, Havel and Zelensky, he reveals their common threads, unique quirks and lasting impact.

Drawing on his first-hand encounters and personal dealings, Simpson will unravel the enigmatic personas of Putin, Xi Jinping, bin-Laden and Thatcher, while pondering what links Mandela and Princess Diana or Zelensky and Mugabe.

In an increasingly volatile world, BBC News world affairs editor Simpson will navigate the intricate web of international relations, delving into the complexities of the most pressing global challenges of our time – conflicts, war, famine, economic crises and climate change – to reveal how the actions and decisions of leaders, from despots to visionaries, have shaped these crises and continue to influence our world today.

Simpson, now 80, has spent all his working life with the BBC, reporting from more than 120 countries, including 30 war zones, and interviewing myriad world leaders on his foreign correspondent beat.

As a household name who has covered almost every major event in the world from the 1960s to present day in his fearless journalism, he will turn from interviewer to interviewee to take questions from the audience in the second-half Q&A.

What on earth is going on, John? Hear his answers at this talk “truly for our troubled times”, when Simpson promises to entertain, enlighten, and inspire as he provides “insights into past and present events, with no doubt some focus on Trump and the shifting global order”. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

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world affairs editor of BBC News. He has spent all his working life with the BBC, and has reported from more than 120 countries, including thirty war zones, and interviewed many world leaders.

In an increasingly volatile world, John will also examine the most pressing challenges of our time – war, famine, economic crises, and climate change – to reveal how the actions and decisions of leaders, from despots to visionaries, have shaped these crises and continue to influence our world today.

In the second half, the floor is yours. Ask your questions as John offers sharp insights into past and present events, with no doubt some focus on Trump and the shifting global order.


John Simpson: Leaders and Lunatics Tour

After a sell-out tour in 2024, legendary journalist and broadcaster John Simpson CBE is returning to the stage for an exclusive evening packed with unparalleled insights from one of the most distinguished foreign correspondents of our time.

With decades of first-hand encounters and personal dealings, John will explore the enigmatic personas of global figures such as Putin, Xi Jinping, bin-Laden and Thatcher.

John will navigate the intricate web of international relations, delving into the complexities of our global issues – from conflicts, war and famines, to world economies and climate change.

What links Mandela and Princess Diana? Or Zelenskiy and Mugabe? John will reveal the common threads linking these figures, and offer a unique perspective on the impact they’ve had on world affairs.

As a household name who has covered almost every major event in the world from the 1960’s to present day, you will have an opportunity to ask John your questions – what were these leaders and lunatics really like, and what on earth is going on? Don’t miss John for an evening that promises to entertain, enlighten, and inspire with his fearless journalism and captivating storytelling.

What on earth is going on? An event truly for our troubled times – don’t miss this enlightening and compelling evening.

Seven Drunken Nights confirmed for York matinee and evening gig among six Yorkshire dates on biggest tour in 2024

Seven Drunken Nights – The Story Of The Dubliners: Matinee and evening performances at Grand Opera House, York next March

SEVEN Drunken Nights – The Story Of The Dubliners will return to Grand Opera House, York for two performances on March 10 2024.

In its sixth year, after a Scandinavian tour, the celebration of the Irish music of Ronnie Drew, Luke Kelly, Barney McKenna, John Sheahan, Ciaran Bourke and Jim McCann will be on the road for 79 British and Irish dates.

Further Yorkshire performances on the biggest ever Seven Drunken Nights tour will be at Sheffield City Hall on March 20, Cast, Doncaster, March 21 and 22, Bridlington Spa, April 6, St George’s Hall, Bradford, April 12, and Hull City Hall, May 15.

Much more than a jukebox musical celebration of The Dubliners, the show is steered by its writer and director Ged Graham, whose narration charts the band’s path from their first gig at legendary Dublin pub O’Donoghue’s in 1962.  The Irish Rover, The Leaving Of Liverpool, Belle Of Belfast City, Dirty Old Town, The Banks Of The Rose, Star Of The County Down and The Town I Love So Well and many more Irish favourites will be performed by Graham’s cast of musicians and singers, who last filled the Grand Opera House on April 23 this spring.

Graham is delighted to have received the backing of the families of The Dubliners. “It was very nerve-racking meeting their relatives, as I didn’t know how they would react,” he says. “But meeting Luke Kelly’s brother, Paddy, early on during the first tour was just brilliant.

“He and his family have been so supportive of the show. Likewise, Barney McKenna’s sister came to see the show when we toured Ireland and was very complimentary of how we told the story. Their support means so much to everyone involved with the show.”

In addition to glowing reviews, Seven Drunken Nights has also received praise from the families of The Dubliners. Ged Graham said, “It was very nerve-racking meeting relatives of The Dubliners, as I didn’t know how they would react. But meeting Luke Kelly’s brother, Paddy, early on during the first tour was just brilliant. He and his family have been so supportive of the show.

Likewise, Barney McKenna’s sister came to see the show when we toured Ireland and was very complimentary of how we told the story. Their support means so much to everyone involved with the show.”

Looking ahead, Seven Drunken Nights is set for its record year internationally, performing nearly 300 shows during 42 weeks on the road.

The show’s popularity has been a life-changing experience for Graham, who says: “I can’t quite believe it. Seven Drunken Nights seems to have touched so many people who have become real fans of the show, reigniting their love of The Dubliners.

“It’s had a massive impact on my life, giving me the confidence to write more and be involved in many other productions, including the runaway success Fairytale Of New York. It truly is a great privilege to bring the music of The Dubliners to the stage every night and keep their legacy alive.”

York tickets for the March 10 matinee and evening shows are on sale at atgtickets.com/york. Tickets for all venues on the 2024 tour can be booked at sevendrunkennights.com.