Tag: grand opera house york

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More Things To Do in York & beyond, as the puns stack up & bakery burlesque teases. Hutch’s List No. 11, from The York Press

Darren Walsh: Puns by the punnet load at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York

A PLETHORA of puns, a dysfunctional American family musical, an alien invasion in film and theatre and a bakery burlesque night confirm variety is the spice of Charles Hutchinson’s arts life.

Comedy show like no other, bar pun: Darren Walsh: Do You Like Puns?, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 8pm

WITNESS a pun Goliath in person when Darren Walsh brings his 8ft frame to York for his Do You Like Puns? show. Noted for his Jokes On The Street series on social media, he combines sound effects, videos, one-liners and improvised jokes spun off audience suggestions. “Book now, li is two short,” he says. Think about it. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Catrin Mai Edwards’ Martha, left, Estella Evans’ Mary Lennox and Dexter Pulling’s Colin in The Secret Garden The Musical at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Marc Brenner

Actor-musician show of the week: The Secret Garden The Musical, York Theatre Royal, until April 4

TONY Award-winning director John Doyle, artistic director of York Theatre Royal from 1993 to 1997, returns to pastures past in more ways than one to present his actor-musician staging of Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman’s Broadway musical account of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s story of love, loss, healing and hope, set on Yorkshire moorland in 1906.

Newly orphaned, Mary Lennox is sent to live with her widowed uncle at the secluded Misselthwaite Manor, a house in habited by memories and spirits from the past. On discovering her Aunt Lily’s neglected garden, she vows to breathe new life into its mysterious stasis as she learns the restorative magic of nature. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

The Budapest Café Orchestra: Fronted by Christian Garrick at Helmsley Arts Centre

Snappiest attire of the week: Christian Garrick & The Budapest Café Orchestra, Helmsley Arts Centre, tonight, 7.30pm

CHRISTIAN Garrick (violin, darbuka), Murray Grainger (accordion), Kelly Cantlon (double bass) and Adrian Zolotuhin (guitar, saz, balalaika, domra) team up in this refreshingly unconventional and snappily attired boutique orchestra. Playing gypsy and folk-flavoured music in a unique and surprising way, The Budapest Café Orchestra combine Balkan and Russian traditional music with artful distillations of Romantic masterworks and soaring Gaelic folk anthems.

Established by British composer Garrick in 2009, BCO have 16 albums to their name, marked by an “astonishing soundscape and aural alchemy” characteristic of larger ensembles, evoking Tzigane fiddle maestros, Budapest café life and gypsy campfires. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.    

This charming man: Nigel Havers is ready to talk at the Grand Opera House. Picture: Matt Crockett

Laughter, nostalgia and charm equals: Nigel Havers Talking B*ll*cks, Grand Opera House, York, March 23, 7.30pm

LET esteemed actor and self-deprecating raconteur Nigel Havers introduce his touring talk show. “Join me, a stage, and a lifetime of gloriously ridiculous stories to share with you. You’ll get the full Havers experience: charm, wit, and absolutely no running in slow motion.

“Of course, there’ll be behind-the-scenes gossip, tales of triumph (and disaster), moments of sheer madness, and a fair bit of talking b*ll*cks. And just when you think you’ve got me figured out, I might surprise you.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Dale Vaughan, left, Ryan Richardson, Monica Frost, Niamh Rose, Fergus Green and Matthew Warry, at the back, in rehearsal for Pick Me Up Theatre’s Next To Normal

American musical of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Next To Normal, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, March 25 to April 4, 7.30pm except March 29 and 30; 2.30pm matinees, March 28 and 29, April 4

ANDREW Isherwood directs York company Pick Me Up Theatre in Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt’s Tony Award-winning musical exploration of family and illness, loss and grief as a suburban American household copes with crisis and mental illness.

Dad is an architect; Mom rushes to pack lunches and pour cereal; their daughter and son are bright, wise-cracking teens but their lives are anything but normal, because Mom has been battling manic depression for 16 years.Next To Normal presents their story with love, sympathy and heart. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Mike Wozniak: Coming off The Bench to perform twice at the Grand Opera House, York

Sit-down stand-up of the week: Mike Wozniak: The Bench, Grand Opera House, York, March 25 and September 12, 7.30pm

THE Bench is the new stand-up tour show from Mike Wozniak, wherein in a story about a bench will be prominent. Previous experience of or strong opinions about benches are not required. Let Wozniak worry about that.

This Oxford-born comedian, writer, actor and former medical doctor portrays Brian in Channel 4 sitcom Man Down, is part of the team that makes Small Scenes for BBC Radio 4 and co-presents the Three Bean Salad podcast with Henry Paker and Benjamin Partridge. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Gorillaz: Bringing The Mountain to Leeds next Wednesday

Yorkshire gig of the week: Gorillaz, supported by Trueno, Leeds First Direct Bank Arena, March 25, 7.30pm; doors 6pm

DAMON Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s BRIT and Grammy-winning British band showcase their chart-topping ninth studio album  in Leeds after two warm-up shows at Bradford Live. Spanning 15 songs that embody the collaborative Gorillaz ethos, The Mountain creates a “playlist for a party on the border between this world and whatever happens next, exploring the journey of life and the thrill of existence”. Box office: gorillaz.com. 

Bonnie Baddoo, Gareth Cassidy, Amy Dunn and Morgan Bailey in Imitating The Dog’s War Of The Worlds. Picture: Ed Waring

All’s Wells that ends in the worst nightmares of the week: Imitating The Dog in War Of The Worlds, Leeds Playhouse, March 25 to 28, 7.45pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

FOUR performers enter the stage and construct an epic road movie before your eyes in Imitating The Dog’s re-invention of H G Wells’s apocalyptic tale of alien invasion and the unfolding destruction of everything we hold dear as extraterrestrial life-forms land from the skies.

Using miniature environments, model worlds, camera tricks and projection, the ever-audacious Leeds company mixes the live and the recorded, the animate and the inanimate to ask “What would you do if order broke down? What would you do to survive? How far would you go to protect your own?” Box office: 0113 213 7700 or leedsplayhouse.org.uk

Vitamin String Quartet: Eroding boundaries between classical, dance, hip-hop and pop at Grand Opera House, York

Billie Eilish, Bridgerton & Beyond concert of the week: Vitamin String Quartet, Grand Opera House, York, March 27, 7.30pm

ERASING  the boundaries between classical, dance, hip-hop and pop, Vitamin String Quartet perform renditions of everything from Billie Eilish to BTS, Taylor Swift to The Weeknd and Danny Elfman to Daft Punk. Formed in 1999, this Los Angeles group comprises Tom Lea, viola, Wynton Grant and Rachel Grace, violins, and Derek Stein, cello. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Freida Nipples: Baps & Buns burlesque on board a baguette at Rise@Bluebird Bakery

Cabaret of the week: Freida Nipples presents Baps & Buns Burlesque, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, March 27, 8pm, doors 7pm

YORK’S queen of burlesque, Freida Nipples, swaps teas for tease as she turns the bakery cafe into a cabaret joint for a night of fun, frolics and freedom of expression in all shapes and sizes.

On the fabulously zesty menu will be Donna Divine, Ezme Pump, Callum Robshaw and Freida herself, hosted by Harvey Rose. Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.

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We need to talk about Nigel before Havers heads to Grand Opera House on Monday to reflect on five decades of stage & screen

Ready to talk: Nigel Havers heads to the Grand Opera House on Monday

LET Nigel Havers, veteran actor, host of BBC One auction show The Bidding Room and self-deprecating raconteur, explain why he will be “Talking B*ll*cks” at the Grand Opera House, York, on March 23.

“Well, I loved my first tour – and I think the audiences did too – so here we go again! Join me, a stage, and a lifetime of gloriously ridiculous stories to share with you. You’ll get the full Havers experience: charm, wit, and absolutely no running in slow motion,” he says.

“I’ll be taking you on a thoroughly entertaining trot through five decades in showbiz. From my early days as a fresh-faced drama school hopeful, to the highs and lows of a career that’s seen me in everything from Chariots Of Fire and Empire Of The Sun to Don’t Wait Up and some rather marvellous West End plays – and more than my fair share of [London] Palladium pantos.”

Anything else, Nigel? “Of course, there’ll be behind-the-scenes gossip, tales of triumph (and disaster), moments of sheer madness, and a fair bit of talking b*ll*cks. And just when you think you’ve got me figured out, I might surprise you,” he teases.

“Let’s just say there’s a taste of my very first acting role and a little showcase of one of my off-stage talents – I’ll leave you guessing. So, come along for a night of laughter, nostalgia, and, dare I say, charm. It’s going to be a lot of fun – I promise.”

To put flesh on these bones, Nigel delayed lunch with his wife Georgiana Bronfman for a quick chat – more hors d’oeuvres than main course – with CharlesHutchPress. Having “talked b*ll*cks on the road last year, he has decided to tour again, split into spring and autumn itineraries.

“I did 12 dates and it was such fun, as it’s the first time I’ve been on stage without having to learn lines,” he says. “I can just walk on stage and ‘talk b*ll*cks’. I just go wherever my mind takes me.

“Because I haven’t got a script, I feel very free. I feel great. Whereas if you’ve got a script, you think, ‘Oh my God, what if I forget that bit?’ I don’t have any worries about that anymore. I can’t dry because I can just go on to another anecdote.”

He keeps the show to a tight 90 minutes. “It’s 45 minutes, an interval, than another 45 minutes, and no audience questions,” says Nigel, now 73.

“I can’t think of anything better than doing this show. It’s more fun than I’ve ever had!” says Nigel Havers ahead of his York visit. Picture: Matt Crockett

“I come offstage on a high. I have a dry martini, and then go out to dinner with my missus, which is great. It’s a really wonderful evening. And then I’m on to the next town. It’s fantastic. I can’t think of anything better than doing this show. It’s more fun than I’ve ever had!”

Nigel will be reflecting on a five-decade career that has taken in everything from The Charmer to Passage To India, Benidorm to Coronation Street, Yasmina Reza’s Art to the “golden oldies” version of Oscar Wilde’s “trivial comedy for serious people”, The Importance Of Being Earnest, that he brought to the Grand Opera House with Martin Jarvis as John Worthing to his Algernon Moncrieff in Lucy Bailey’s touring production for the Bunbury Company of Players in November 2015.

“Martin and I had done it at the National Theatre 30 years before, and I said, ‘maybe we should do it again’. Martin wasn’t sure at first, but when I further explored why I wanted to re-visit it, he agreed,” he recalls.

Explaining his working practice, Nigel says: “I’ve always been a ‘letter-box’ actor. When a script comes through the letter box, I’ll think, ‘I’ll do that…”

Or not? “I don’t think I’ve ever turned anything down. At least, I can’t remember doing that. You learn by doing things, and as a young actor, a lot of my contemporaries would say ‘I don’t do that’, but I’d say ‘yes’,” says Nigel.

“I used to walk around the BBC at White City, when no-one would check who you were, and you could meet all the producers and end up being cast.”

Unlike the typical 9 to 5 career, actors spend great parts of their life being “someone else”, whether on screen or stage or in the rehearsal. Nigel disagrees, however. “You’re still playing roles all day [in other jobs] because we all do that – and acting takes that further, but it’s a job and it feels like that.

Nigel Havers in the role of Algernon Moncrieff in the Bunbury Company of Players’ production of The Importance Of Being Earnest, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, in November 2015. Picture: Tristram Kenton

“My wife doesn’t think it’s a serious job – because you can make it look easy. But it’s like watching tennis and thinking, ‘I could do that’. In reality, anyone who makes it look easy is good at it.”

Nigel is a fixture in the London Palladium pantomime, the biggest show of the year each winter in London. “It’s second nature now,” he says. “I play myself mostly. Last year I was the Keeper of the Privy [in Sleeping Beauty]. There was no plot! I was just abused by Julian [Clary], as everyone in the show is. I’m just his foil!” He will be back for more Clary putdowns next Christmas in his 20th consecutive year in pantomime.

Meanwhile, his talking tour rolls on, where the only bump in the road is the title. “Whenever I go on any TV or radio show, they tell me, ‘Whatever you do, don’t mention the title of the show.’ ‘What? Talking B-?’ ‘Don’t say that!’,” he says.

“You could call b*ll*cks ‘nonsense’. If you talk ‘b*ll*cks’, you can talk to anyone – and ‘b*ll*cks’ isn’t a swear word. Lindsay Hoyle [Speaker of the House of Commons] confirmed that the other day in Parliament.”

Beyond anecdotes, what features in the show? “I do a bit of magic, which always goes wrong. I love doing magic tricks, but I do them really quite badly!” says Nigel. “I also make the perfect dry martini at the end. I drag my wife on stage to help me hand out the glasses to the audience. But I don’t allow her to speak because that would cost me money!”

Nigel’s lunch was calling, but not before one last question. Does he have one particular role he still craves playing? “Absolutely nothing that I haven’t done yet! I never have those ambitions. I just wait for the latter box.”

Nigel Havers: Talking B*ll*cks, Grand Opera House, York, March 23, 7.30pm . Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Never mind the title! The poster for Nigel Havers’ Talking B*ll*cks tour show

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 11, from Gazette & Herald

Leeds abstract surrealist Nicolas Dixon, front, spotted at the launch of the debut RARE v WET exhibition with WET proprietors James Wall and Ella Williams and RARE Collective organiser Sharon McDonagh

A SURREALIST wine bar exhibition, a comedy thriller in an hotel and Australian children’s games  stir Charles Hutchinson’s interest.  

Exhibition of the week: Nicolas Dixon, RARE v WET, at WET, Micklegate, York, until April 22

YORK  artist and event organiser Sharon McDonagh and DJ/artist Sola launch their RARE v WET series of solo exhibitions in aid of York charity SASH (Safe and Sound Homes) at WET, James Wall and Ella Williams’ indie wine bar and restaurant, with Nicolas Dixon first up.

Leeds abstract surrealist Dixon’s murals and artworks have become landmarks in Leeds, including at Kirkgate Market, Trinity Shopping Centre and the University of Leeds, as well as Leeds United tributes to the 1972 FA Cup Winners at Elland Road and the iconic Bielsa the Redeemer in Wortley. On show is a mixture of new and older work, both prints and originals.

In the shadows: Michael Hugo in Claybody Theatre’s The Grand Babylon Hotel. Picture: Andrew Billington

Thriller of the week: Claybody Theatre in The Grand Babylon Hotel, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees; Harrogate Theatre, April 1 to 4, 7.30pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee

CONRAD Nelson directs an ensemble cast of multiple flamboyant characters in a rollicking comedy thriller of rapid-fire character changes, sharp humour and theatrical fun, presented in association with the New Vic Theatre.

In Deborah McAndrew’s  adaptation of Arnold Bennett’s novel, Nella Racksole discovers steak and beer are not on the menu for her birthday treat at the exclusive Grand Babylon Hotel, prompting  her American millionaire father to buy the chef, the kitchen, the entire hotel. Cue  kidnapping and murder. Have Theodore and Nella bitten off more than they can chew? Box office: Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk.

Bluey’s Big Play: Australian bean bags, games and cleverness at Grand Opera House, York

Children’s show of the week: Windmill Theatre Co in Bluey’s Big Play, Grand Opera House, York, 10am, tomorrow and Friday; 10am, 1pm and 4pm, Saturday and Sunday

COMBINING puppets and original voices from Ludo Studios’  Emmy Award-winning Australian children’s television series, including Dave McCormack and Melanie Zanetti as Dad and Mum, this theatrical adaptation is based on an original story by Bluey creator Joe Brumm, featuring music by series composer Joff Bush. When Dad wants a bean bag time-out, Bluey and Bingo have other plans as they pull out all the games and cleverness at their disposal. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

The Brand New Heavies: Acid Jazz joy, funk, love and fancy clothes at York Barbican

York gig of the week: The Brand New Heavies, York Barbican, tomorrow, doors 7pm

EALING Acid Jazz pioneers The Brand New Heavies – Simon Bartholomew, vocals and guitar, Andrew Levy, bass and keyboards, and Angela Ricci, vocals  – mark their 35th anniversary with a 12-date tour that takes in York Barbican as their only Yorkshire destination. Expect  joy, funk, love and fancy clothes. Galliano support. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Lizzie Lawton’s Jack Worthing, front, and Jorja Cartwright’s Algernon Moncrieff in Rowntree Players’ The Importance Of Being Earnest

Comedy classic of the week: Rowntree Players in The Importance Of Being Earnest, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee

ROWNTREE Players bring Oscar Wilde’s 1895 farcical comedy of manners to the York stage in the original four-act version reconstructed by Vyvyan Holland, under the direction of Hannah Shaw.

Lizzie Lawton’s Jack Worthing and Jorja Cartwright’s Algernon Moncrieff lead double lives under the false name of “Ernest” to escape social obligations, leading to romantic entanglements and comedic misunderstandings, played out by a cast featuring Jeanette Hambridge’s Lady Bracknell, Bethan Olliver’s Gwendolen Fairfax, Katie Shaw’s Cecily Cardew, Wayne Osguthorpe’s Reverend Canon Chasuble, Rebecca Thomson’s Miss Prism and Max Palmer’s Lane/Merriman. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Jessica Fostekew: “The silliest of comedy for the scariest of days”in Iconic Breath at Pocklington Arts Centre

Comedy gig of the week: Jessica Fostekew: Iconic Breath, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 8pm

ICONIC Breath, Jessica Fostekew’s most rousing and uplifting show yet, provides the silliest of comedy for the scariest of days as The Guilty Feminist, Hoovering and Contender Ready podcaster discusses tolerance and temperance.

 “I can feel myself becoming an emotional wildebeest right when my world (and the whole world, thanks) demands cool, collected, ultra detached, saint-like kindness and understanding,” says Fostekew, who has hosted two series of Sturdy Girl Club on BBC Radio 4. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

This won’t hurt: Andrew Margerison, Rebecca Vaughan and Gavin Robertson in General Medical Emergency Ward 10

Hospital drama homage of the week: Dyad Productions and Company Gavin Robertson in General Medical Emergency Ward 10, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 7.30pm

UNITING for the first time, Dyad Productions and Company Gavin Robertson’s Rebecca Vaughan, Andrew Margerison and the aforementioned Gavin Robertson knit every cliché-ridden doctors-and-nurses TV and film drama into a pacy comedy mash-up spoof that promises to leave you in stitches.

On Dr Ann Fleming’s first day at St David’s, her unfortunately-named mentor, Dr Death, is determined to show her who’s boss. As medical emergencies overload the hapless staff, Dr Fleming must juggle a complicated budding love affair with a kidney and a nosey hospital boss. Not literally, of course. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

The Budapest Café Orchestra: Fronted by Christian Garrick at Helmsley Arts Centre

Snappiest attire of the week: Christian Garrick & The Budapest Café Orchestra, National Centre for Early Music, York, Friday, 7.30pm, sold out; Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

CHRISTIAN Garrick (violin, darbuka), Murray Grainger (accordion), Kelly Cantlon (double bass) and Adrian Zolotuhin (guitar, saz, balalaika, domra) team up in this refreshingly unconventional and snappily attired boutique orchestra. Playing gypsy and folk-flavoured music in a unique and surprising way, The Budapest Café Orchestra combine Balkan and Russian traditional music with artful distillations of Romantic masterworks and soaring Gaelic folk anthems.

Established by British composer Garrick in 2009, BCO have 16 albums to their name, marked by an “astonishing soundscape and aural alchemy” characteristic of larger ensembles, evoking Tzigane fiddle maestros, Budapest café life and gypsy campfires. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.    

Hope & Social: Unforgettable spectacle, energetic songs and chaotic moments at Milton Rooms, Malton

Ryedale gig of the week: Hope & Social, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm

LEEDS band Hope & Social’s eight musicians pour their heart and soul into creating exuberant, high-energy tunes in gigs full of pure joy, infectious enthusiasm, unforgettable spectacle and chaotic moments.

Each performance by “Yorkshire’s own E-Street Band” is spiced up with Northern wit and self-deprecating humour as a powerhouse three-piece horn section and intricate five-part harmonies contribute to a massive sound that spans genres, drawing influence from soul, indie, folk, disco and art rock. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Crosscut Saw’s Alex Eden : Leading his blues band at Milton Rooms, Malton

Blues gig of the week: Ryedale Blues Club presents Crosscut Saw, Milton Rooms, Malton, March 26, 8pm

YORKSHIRE blues trio Crosscut Saw’s Alex Eden (lead singer, guitarist and harmonica player), Richard Ferdinando (drums) and Richard Green (bass) draw inspiration from Magic Sam, RL Burnside, Taj Mahal and Dr John in performances marked by raw energy and unpredictability.

They hold a monthly residency at the Duck & Drake in Leeds, have played the Great British Blues Festival and Tenby Blues Festival, collaborated with TJ Norton, Paddy Wells and The Haggis Horns and worked as a backing band for Jake Walker and King Rollo. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond a mysterious garden and abstract surrealism. Hutch’s List No. 10, from The York Press

Elizabeth Marsh in rehearsal for The Secret Garden The Musical at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Marc Brenner

A MAGICAL Yorkshire garden, an hotel comedy thriller, a surrealist wine bar exhibition and Pulp confessions exhibition stir Charles Hutchinson’s interest.  

Musical of the week: The Secret Garden The Musical, York Theatre Royal, March 17 to April 4

TONY Award-winning director John Doyle, artistic director of York Theatre Royal from 1993 to 1997, returns to pastures past in more ways than one to present his actor-musician staging of Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman’s Broadway musical account of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s story of love, loss, healing and hope, set on Yorkshire moorland in 1906.

Newly orphaned, Mary Lennox is sent to live with her widowed uncle at the secluded Misselthwaite Manor, a house in habited by memories and spirits from the past. On discovering her Aunt Lily’s neglected garden, she vows to breathe new life into its mysterious stasis as she learns the restorative magic of nature. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Leeds abstract surrealist Nicolas Dixon, front, spotted at Thursday’s launch of his RARE v WET exhibition with WET proprietors James Wall and Ella Williams and RARE Collective organiser Sharon McDonagh, right

Exhibition of the week: Nicolas Dixon, RARE v WET, at WET, Micklegate, York, until April 22

YORK  artist and event organiser Sharon McDonagh and DJ/artist Sola launch their RARE v WET series of solo exhibitions in aid of York charity SASH (Safe and Sound Homes) at WET, James Wall and Ella Williams’ indie wine bar and restaurant, with Nicolas Dixon first up.

Leeds abstract surrealist Dixon’s murals and artworks have become landmarks in Leeds, including at Kirkgate Market, Trinity Shopping Centre and the University of Leeds, as well as Leeds United tributes to the 1972 FA Cup Winners at Elland Road and the iconic Bielsa the Redeemer in Wortley. On show is a mixture of new and older work, both prints and originals.

Stephen Joseph Theatre favourite Bill Champion as American billionaire Theodore Racksole in Claybody Theatre’s The Grand Babylon Hotel, on tour at the SJT next week. Picture: Andrew Billington

Thriller of the week: Claybody Theatre in The Grand Babylon Hotel, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, March 18 to 21, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

CONRAD Nelson directs an ensemble cast of multiple flamboyant characters in a rollicking comedy thriller of rapid-fire character changes, sharp humour and theatrical fun, presented in association with the New Vic Theatre.

In Deborah McAndrew’s  adaptation of Arnold Bennett’s novel, Nella Racksole discovers steak and beer are not on the menu for her birthday treat at the exclusive Grand Babylon Hotel, prompting  her American millionaire father to buy the chef, the kitchen, the entire hotel. Cue  kidnapping and murder. Have Theodore and Nella bitten off more than they can chew? Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Baroque Alchemy’s Lyndy Mayle and Piers Adams: Playing NCEM tonight

Classical-electronic concert of the week: Baroque Alchemy, National Centre for Early Music, York, tonight, 7.30pm

ANCIENT and modern meet in a spectacular musical fusion in Baroque Alchemy, the realisation of recorder virtuoso Piers Adams and keyboard player Lyndy Mayle’s long-held dream. Ever since the rise of synth-led bands and New Age music in the 1980s, Red Priest frontman Adams has nurtured a vision to combine the drama of baroque music with the expansive sound-world of the electronic era. Now Baroque Alchemy turn the traditional early music recital on its head for the 21st century. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Dominic Halpin & The Hurricanes: Evoking the Grand Ole Opry in A Country Night In Nashville at the Grand Opera House

Tribute gig of the week: A Country Night In Nashville, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

A COUNTRY Night In Nashville re-creates the scene of a buzzing Honky Tonk in downtown Nashville, capturing the energy and atmosphere of a night in the home of country music in a journey through the history of its biggest stars past and present. Hits from Johnny Cash to Alan Jackson, Dolly Parton to The Chicks, Willie Nelson to Kacey Musgraves are showcased by Dominic Halpin & The Hurricanes. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

The book cover for Mark Webber’s I’m With Pulp, Are You?, under discussion by the author and guitarist at York Literature Festival

Book event of the week: York Literature Festival, I’m With Pulp, Are You?, An Evening With Mark Webber, The Crescent, York, March 17, 7pm

PULP guitarist and avant-garde film curator Mark Webber discusses I’m With Pulp, Are You?, his visually rich chronicle of the Sheffield band’s history from the perspective of a fan-turned-manager-turned-guitarist.

In his music memoir, 40 years of archived material comes to life as Chesterfield-born Webber recalls his fascination with David Bowie, The Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol and counterculture, writing fanzines and organising concerts from the age of 15, joining Pulp in 1995 and playing on Different Class, This Is Hardcore, We Love Life and More, 2025’s recording renaissance after a 24-year hiatus. Box office: 01904 623568, yorktheatreroyal.co.uk or yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk.

Bluey’s Big Play: Australian fun and games for children at the Grand Opera House

Children’s show of the week: Windmill Theatre Co in Bluey’s Big Play, Grand Opera House, York, March 19 to 22, 10am, Thursday and Friday; 10am, 1pm and 4pm, Saturday and Sunday

COMBINING puppets and original voices from Ludo Studios’  Emmy Award-winning Australian children’s television series, including Dave McCormack and Melanie Zanetti as Dad and Mum, this theatrical adaptation is based on an original story by Bluey creator Joe Brumm, featuring music by series composer Joff Bush. When Dad wants a bean bag time-out, Bluey and Bingo have other plans as they pull out all the games and cleverness at their disposal.  Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Scouting For Girls: Re-visiting Everybody Wants To Be On TV at York Barbican

York Barbican gigs of the week: Scouting For Girls, Everybody (Still) Wants To Be On TV Tour 2026, March 17, doors 7pm; The Brand New Heavies, March 19

AS Scouting For Girls’ vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Roy Stride puts it: “I can’t believe we’re already celebrating the 15th anniversary of our second album [Everybody Wants To Be On TV], and I’m beyond excited to get back on the road in 2026! The shows are going to be immense: a massive nostalgic Scouting singalong every night.” Expect further hits to feature too.

Ealing Acid Jazz pioneers The Brand New Heavies – Simon Bartholomew, vocals and guitar, Andrew Levy, bass and keyboards, and Angela Ricci, vocals  – mark their 35th anniversary with a 12-date tour that takes in York Barbican as their only Yorkshire destination. Expect  joy, funk, love and fancy clothes. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

The Brand New Heavies: Acid Jazz joy, funk, love and fancy clothes at York Barbican

Comedy classic of the week: Rowntree Players in The Importance Of Being Earnest, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, March 19 to 21, 7.30pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee

ROWNTREE Players bring Oscar Wilde’s cherished 1895 farcical comedy of manners to the York stage in the original four-act version reconstructed by Vyvyan Holland, under the direction of Hannah Shaw.

Lizzie Lawton’s John Worthing and Jorja Cartwright’s Algernon Moncrieff lead double lives under the false name of “Ernest” to escape social obligations, leading to romantic entanglements and comedic misunderstandings, played out by a cast featuring Jeanette Hambridge’s Lady Bracknell, Bethan Olliver’s Gwendolen Fairfax, Katie Shaw’s Cecily Cardew, Wayne Osguthorpe’s Reverend Canon Chasuble, Rebecca Thomson’s Miss Prism and Max Palmer’s Lane/Merriman. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

A collage from the rehearsal photo-shoot for Rowntree Players’ production of The Importance Of Being Earnest

Comedy gig of the week: Rob Rouse, Funny Bones, Helmsley Arts Centre, March 20, 8pm; Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, March 21, 7.45pm

FRESH from being picked as the Comics’ Comic Best Act of the Year 2025, Rob Rouse is touring Funny Bones: a daft whirlwind of craftily spun tall tales, a bucketful of manic energy, canny stagecraft, eerily convincing characters and a barrage of one-liners.

“Warning: this show has been meticulously assembled to make you laugh as much as possible,” says Rouse. “However, you will not learn anything from it. You may even come out stupider than when you came in.” Box office: Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk; Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Super scooper: Funny Bones comedian Rob Rouse and his skeleton dog on tour at Helmsley and Scarborough

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Midge Ure’s sonic bridges will be instrumental to immersive A Man Of Two Worlds show at York Barbican on Nov 20

Midge Ure: A Man Of Two Worlds but in one place, York Barbican, on November 20

MIDGE Ure will deliver an “immersive live experience” at York Barbican on November 20 on his visionary A Man Of Two Worlds Tour.

Tickets for this “bold new chapter from one of the UK’s most pioneering musical forces” will go on sale on Friday at 9.:30am at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/midge-ure/.

Scottish musician, producer and songwriter Ure, 72, promises a “rare and deeply personal concert experience on a tour that will “blend classic album tracks and fan favourites with cinematic instrumentals in a seamless, emotionally resonant journey through his expansive career”.

He last played York in April 2023, joined by Band Electronica on his  Voice & Visions Tour at the Grand Opera House to mark the 40th anniversary of Ultravox albums Rage In Eden and Quartet, released in September 1981 and October 1982 respectively, backed up by landmark songs from Ure’s back catalogue.

Ure & Band Electronica first performed there in November 2017 when headlining a 1980s’ triple bill with The Christians and Altered Images, returning in October 2019 on The 1980 Tour, when Ultravox’s 1980 album, Vienna, was performed in its entirety for the first time in four decades, complemented by highlights from Visage’s self-titled debut album, .

Having celebrated his 70th birthday with a sold-out Royal Albert Hall show in 2023, followed up with a major UK tour in 2024, Ure now challenge musical expectations with a new live concept for 2026.

“This is my two worlds coming together,” explains the Slik, Rich Kids, Ultravox and Visage musician.  “Almost every album I have made over the last 40-plus years has featured at least one instrumental track. Instrumental music is one of my main loves.”

For the first time, these often-overlooked instrumental pieces will share the stage with the songs generations know and love. Interspersed throughout the performance, they will act as sonic bridges.

“I realised most of these have never been performed live,” reflects Ure. “So my intention on this tour is to seamlessly insert some of these atmospheric, cinematic instrumentals between a selection of hits and favourite album tracks.”

The result is a curated show designed not only as a set list of songs, but also as a multi-sensory narrative “to take the audience on a journey rather than just play a list of individual songs,” adds Ure. “This will be an immersive experience for the audience both visually and sonically.”

From his glam rock days with Slik, through the punk-tinged energy of The Rich Kids (also featuring Glen Matlock, later of the Sex Pistols), to encapsulating the electronic sound of the 1980s with Ultravox and Visage, Ure has been at the forefront of innovation.

His role in co-writing and producing the 1984 global anthem Do They Know It’s Christmas? and helping to orchestrate Live Aid at Wembley Stadium remains among the most significant moments in modern music history.

After a career crowned with Ivor Novello, Grammy, and BASCAP awards and a legacy of gold and platinum-selling records, Ure now brings fans something completely new.

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Tommy Carmichael to complete hat-trick of “silly-billy” roles in York Theatre Royal pantomime as Muddles in Snow White

Tommy Carmichael in the poster announcing his return to the York Theatre Royal pantomime in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

THE funny fixtures are in place for both the 2026-27 York Theatre Royal and Grand Opera House pantomimes.

After Jimmy Bryant was confirmed for a second season in UK Productions’ The Further Adventures Of Peter Pan: The Return Of Captain Hook, playing Smee from December 5 to January 3 at the Cumberland Street theatre, now Tommy Carmichael has signed up for a third winter of daft-lad tomfoolery in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs at the Theatre Royal.

After starring as ever-cheerful Charlie in Aladdin in 2024 and Jangles in Sleeping Beauty last Christmas, Doncaster-born Carmichael will play Muddles, reuniting once more with regular panto dame  Robin Simpson. 

Tommy Carmichael’s Jangles with panto dame Robin Simpson’s Nurse Nellie in York Theatre Royal’s 2025-26 pantomime Aladdin. Picture: S R Taylor Photography

Now based in Livingston, near Edinburgh, Carmichael has played Timternet in Big Strong Man (national tour), Silly Willy in Robin Hood (The Maltings, Ely), Chief Weasel in The Wind In The Willows (national tour), “Himself” in Big Strong Man (CAST, Doncaster), Buttons in Cinderella (The Maltings, Ely), Queen Of Hearts in Alice In Wonderland (national tour) and Bagheera in The Jungle Book (national tour).

Written by Paul Hendy and directed by Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs will be co-produced with award-winning Evolution Productions, the team behind such York pantomimes as Jack And The Beanstalk, Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty.

Juliet says: “We are delighted to have Tommy back with us for Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs this year! Robin [Simpson] and Tommy have such a fabulous energy and comedic rapport when they’re on stage together and we know audiences will love having them back to bring all the laughs once again.

Tommy Carmichael: Actor and children’s theatre tutor

“Feedback from last year was just so brilliant and we already have performances which are closing to selling out, so it’s never too early to get your tickets.”

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs will run from December 4 to January 3,  with the promise of “lavish costumes, stunning sets, hilarious jokes and dazzling special effects”.

Family tickets are available for all performances with savings of up to £61 on bookings for four tickets. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond, whether clay for today or early Elvis era. Hutch’s List No. 9, from The York Press

Ben Arnup: York ceramicist taking part in York Ceramics Fair

THE cream of ceramics, the dancing Gentleman Jack, Harry Enfield’s comedy characters and two cases for Sherlock Holmes make for a cracking week ahead, reckons Charles Hutchinson.   

Top of the pots: York Ceramics Fair 2026, York Racecourse, Knavesmire, York, today, 10am to 5pm; tomorrow, 10am to 4pm

EXPLORE work by more than 70 of the UK’s finest makers in a balanced mix of established artists and emerging talent, complemented by inspiring talks and demonstrations, in this Craft Potters Association event run by the makers.

Among those taking part will be Ben Arnup, Hannah Billingham, Cosmin Ciofirdel, Ben Davies, Sharon Griffin, Jaroslav Hrustalenko, Jin Eui Kim, Ruth King, Francis Lloyd-Jones, Emily Stubbs, Asia Szwej-Hawkin, Shirley Vauvelle and Jo Walker. Tickets: yorkceramicsfair.com.

Heather Lehan, left, and Julie Nunès in rehearsal for Northern Ballet’s Gentleman Jack at Leeds Grand Theatre. Picture: Colleen Mair

Dance premiere of the week: Northern Ballet in Gentleman Jack, Leeds Grand Theatre, today, then March 10  to 14, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm matinees on March 12 and 14

THIS groundbreaking new ballet marks a trio of ‘firsts’: the first time the story of Anne Lister has been told through ballet, the first large-scale commission for Northern Ballet since 2021 and the first under artistic director Federico Bonelli.

Yorkshirewoman Anne, the “first modern lesbian”, lived, dressed and loved as she desired, not as 19th century society expected of her. Northern Ballet’s interpretation of her life is choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.

Candie Payne: Singer-turned-artist taking part in pop-up art fair at RedHouse Gallery, Harrogate. Picture: Chris Morrison

Pop-up art event of the week ART at RedHouse Gallery, Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate, today, 10am to 6pm

REDHOUSE Gallery, in Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate, introduces ART, its inaugural pop-up fair dedicated to contemporary art, prints, archive editions and sculpture, showcasing young and emerging artists from Harrogate and beyond.

Many of the artists will be attending the event. Among those taking part are Schoph, Christopher Kelly, Candie Payne, Thomas James Butler, Florence Blanchard, Alfie Kungu, Gareth Griffiths, David Rusbatch and Siena Barnes.

Harry Enfield: No Chums but a cornucopia of comedy characters on his return to York, where he cut his comedy teeth in his university days

Comedy legend of the week: Harry Enfield And No Chums, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

FROM the meteoric rise of Thatcherite visionary Loadsamoney to the fury of Kevin the Teenager, satirical comedian and self-styled “stupid idiot” Harry Enfield  reflects on 40 years in comedy, bringing favourite characters back to life on stage.

Then comes your chance to ask the former University of York politics student (Derwent College, 1979 to 1982) how comedy works, what makes him most proud and what would he say to those who suggest “You wouldn’t be allowed to do your stuff today, would you?”. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Aisling Bea: Tales of travel, home, history, music, lovers and enemies at York Barbican

Big life answers of the week: Aisling Bea, Older Than Jesus, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm

BAFTA and British Comedy Award-winning Irish stand-up, actor and writer Aisling Bea presents  tales of travel, home, immigration, history, sex, babies, music, lovers and enemies and will even answer your big life questions.

“It’s not about the destination, babes, it’s about the journey, but also the destinations are very important,” says Kildare-born Bea, creator, writer and star of Channel 4 and Hulu series This Way Up. Older than Jesus? Yes, Bea is 41. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Josh Jones: Still trying to earn his cat’s respect on tour at Theatre@41, Monkgate

Wrestling with humour: Josh Jones, I Haven’t  Won The Lottery So Here’s Another Tour Show, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, March 11, 8pm

MANCHESTER comedian Josh Jones follows up Gobsmacked with I Haven’t  Won The Lottery So Here’s Another Tour Show as he finds himself knee deep into his 30s, where nothing thrills him more than a Greggs’ Sausage Roll and an M&S food shop.

Living a more sedate life is not without its challenges, however, as he is still trying to earn his cat’s respect. “I’ll be keeping it light: nothing super-political, nothing controversial, and it’s definitely not going to change your life,” he says of a set brimful of history, cats and his love of wrestling. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Jordan Gray: Asking if the cost of success is worth it at Theatre@41, Monkgate

Gray matter of the week: Jordan Gray, Is That A C*ck In Your Pocket , Or Are You Just Here To Kill Me?, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, March 12, 8pm

JORDAN Gray, creator of ITV’s Transaction, hits the road with a guitar on her back and some very poorly written death threats in her DMs after she stripped off live on Channel 4, and won a BAFTA in the process, but bigots went ballistic.

Is the cost of success worth it, she asks in her new show. How do you live up to your own sky-high expectations? Join Gray as she explores all this and more in her “rootinest, tootinest, shootinest” hour of musical comedy yet. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Claire Martin: Joining jazz forces with IG4 at NCEM, York. Picture: Kenny McCracken

Jazz gig of the week: IG4 with Claire Martin, National Centre for Early Music, York, March 12, 7.30pm

VOCALIST Claire Martin joins IG4  pianist and composer Nikki Iles, saxophonist Karen Sharp and rising star bassist Ewan Hastie, 2022 BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year, to perform Iles’s new arrangements of  Tom Waits, Burt Bacharach, Anthony Newley and Joni Mitchell songs, complemented by her stylish reworking of the American songbook, including Cole Porter and Johnny Mandel. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Baron Productions’ cast for Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal In Bohemia and The Speckled Band at St Mary’s Church, Bishophill Junior

Thriller double bill of the week: Baron Productions in Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal In Bohemia and The Speckled Band, St  Mary’s Church, Bishophill Junior, York, March 13 and 14, 7.30pm

SHERLOCK  Holmes and Dr Watson embark on two of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most captivating cases, presented by York company Baron Productions. London private detective Holmes has always despised love, until the day he pits his wits against mysterious blackmailer Irene Adler, who has a powerful hold over the King of Bohemia, one that could turn Holmes into a changed man if he dares do battle with her.

Then, when a desperate young woman begs Holmes for protection against her cruel stepfather, he and Watson must face a deranged doctor – who can commit horrible murders without entering his victims’ rooms – and a sinister “speckled band”. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/baron-productions.

Elvis Costello: Revisiting his 1977-1986 back catalogue in Radio Soul! at York Barbican in June. Picture: Ray Di Pietro

Gig announcement of the week: Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Charlie Sexton, Radio Soul!: The Early Songs Of Elvis Costello, York Barbican, June 17

ELVIS Costello will return to York Barbican for the first time since May 2012’s Spectacular Singing Book tour, joined by The Imposters’ Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher and Texan guitarist Charlie Sexton.

Costello, 71, will focus on songs drawn from 1977’s My Aim Is True to 1986’s Blood & Chocolate in 1986, complemented by “other surprises”. Tickets: yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/elvis-costello/.

In Focus: Northern Ballet’s world premiere of Gentleman Jack, Q & A with principal dancers Gemma Coutts, Saeka Shirai & Rachael Gillespie

The woman in black: Gemma Coutts’s Anne Lister in Northern Ballet’s Gentleman Jack. Picture: Guy Farrow

Gemma Coutts on playing playing Anne Lister, 19th century icon and Yorkshirewoman, described by some as the “first modern lesbian”

What steps brought you to Northern Ballet?

“I grew up in Thailand, where I attended my first ballet school. At the age of 16, I joined the English National Ballet School and graduated in 2021. After this, I joined Northern Ballet where I am now in my fifth season with the company.”

Were you aware of Anne Lister/Gentleman Jack before being invited to create the ballet? What stuck you most about her story? 

“No, I was not aware of Anne Lister or her story prior to the ballet. Having learned more, Anne’s confidence and the social impact of her actions really stood out to me.”

How have you found the process of working with choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa to create the ballet and originate this role? 

“I have really enjoyed working with Annabelle. She is a passionate woman who knows what she wants. This means that we work quickly and with purpose, which suits my style and has allowed us to really dive into the roles.” 

How would you describe this ballet in three words? 

“Challenging. Evocative. Powerful.”  

What are you most looking forward to about performing Gentleman Jack?

“I am looking forward to performing in London as my family are coming to watch all the way from Indonesia. I always enjoy my time in London as I get to see many friends from my English National Ballet School days.”

Saeka Shirai, right, in rehearsal with Gemma Coutts for Northern Ballet’s Gentleman Jack. Picture: Colleen Mair

Saeka Shirai on playing the part of Marianna Lawton, friend and lover of Anne Lister,who breaks Anne’s heart by marrying Charles Lawton.

What steps brought you to Northern Ballet?

“I’m from Osaka, Japan and trained with the Yuki Ballet Studio and Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. I danced with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet for four years and then with Poznan Opera Ballet for two. This is my fourth season with Northern Ballet.

Were you aware of Anne Lister/Gentleman Jack before being invited to create the ballet? What stuck you most about her story? 

“I had some awareness of Anne Lister before working on the ballet, and what struck me most was her courage.”

How have you found the process of working with choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa to create the ballet and originate this role? 

“It’s been an inspiring and collaborative process. She knows very clearly what she wants, which I found very similar to Anne Lister herself. That clarity made the creative process focused and exciting, especially when originating a new role.”

What are the defining characteristics of your part and how are you embodying those on stage? 

“I think Marianna is graceful, elegant and emotionally expressive. On stage, I try to bring her character to life with smooth movements and a mature presence.”

Are you excited to be premiering in Leeds, portraying a real person and story rooted here in Yorkshire? 

“Yes, of course we are very excited!”

How would you describe this ballet in three words? 

“Brave, bold and confident.”

What are you most looking forward to about performing Gentleman Jack? Do you have a favourite place to visit?

“Wherever we go, the audience is always so warm and welcoming. It really means everything to us. I hope the ballet brings them as much joy as they give us.”

Rachael Gillespie (Ann Walker), right, rehearsing for Northern Ballet’s Gentleman Jack with Gemma Coutts (Anne Lister). Picture: Colleen Mair

Rachael Gillespie on playing Ann Walker, Anne Lister’s long-term partner and eventual wife, who sets Ann on a path to being a different type of woman.

What has been your dance journey?

“I have been dancing with Northern Ballet for 18 years.” 

Were you aware of Anne Lister/Gentleman Jack before being invited to create the ballet? What stuck you most about her story? 

“Her strength, courage and intelligence really stood out for me. To step out of social expectations to be her true self is so brave and empowering.” 

Are you excited to be premiering in Leeds, portraying a real person and story rooted here in Yorkshire? 

“It’s always so special for us to tour and share our stories across the UK. We have an incredible amount of loyalty from our audiences, old and new, so it’s so important to keep them involved with our performances.”

How would you describe this ballet in three words? 

“Empowering, innovative, enriching.” 

Gentleman Jack choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Picture: Colleen Mair

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REVIEW: Fiery Angel in Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile, Grand Theatre, York, in cruise mode until Saturday ****

Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot: Immaculate investigations in Death On The Nile. Picture: Manuel Harlan

WE know of Agatha Christie’s monumental achievements, but what of Ken Ludwig, whose contribution to Fiery Angel’s European premiere of his adaptation of Death On The Nile is of equal significance?

Born in York – of the Pennsylvania, not Yorkshire, variety – he is “America’s preeminent comic playwright”, as well as author, screenwriter and director, whose work has been performed in 30-plus countries in more than 20 languages.

Screwball comedies are a specialism, but he has carved out a niche too in putting his stamp on Christie’s thrillers, working in tandem again with director Lucy Bailey and producers Fiery Angel after their sold-out collaborations on And Then There Were None in 2023 and Murder On The Orient Express in 2025.

Death On The Nile is his most humorous yet. Par example, if you have never seen Belgian detective Hercule Poirot wiggle and jiggle with his cane while talking of rumpy-pumpy, now is your chance in a play as full of punchlines as suspense and murder. 

Indeed, Ludwig even branches out into meta-theatre as Mark Hadfield’s Poirot and Bob Barrett’s Colonel Race form not only a partnership in crime-solving but also a comic double act.

When Colonel Race reveals his exasperation at the tradition of Poirot rounding up everyone to deliver his whodunit verdict, Hadfield’s Poirot counters: “I love it!” We love it too, of course, hence the typically packed audience on Wednesday night, none more excited than young Charlie in the stalls row in front, as the next generation joins the Christie fan club.

Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot, left, Esme Hough’s Jacqueline De Bellefort, Nye Occomore’s Simon Doyle and Libby Alexandra-Cooper’s Linnet Ridgeway in Death On The Nile. Picture: Manuel Harlan

Bailey, Ludwig and Hadfield make for a playful, yet also serious triumvirate at the heart of Death On The Nile, the balance just right, so that the tension still cranks up but the humour works a treat too, serving as comic relief rather than being irreverent.

Death On The Nile is later-days Poirot when everything is turning as grey as his little cells of logic and brain power, as he contemplates retirement and his luxury paddle steamer cruise beneath the Egyptian sun is for rest and recuperation in the affable company of Colonel Race.

Bailey’s productions opens with the familiar silhouette of Hadfield’s Poirot in dapper hat and coat on a railway platform as Esme Hough’s Jacqueline De Bellefort is mid-clinch with Nye Occomore’s Simon Doyle. It will not end well, his instinct lets us know.

Whoosh, the plot thickens at a meet-the-cast party at the British Museum to mark the imminent return of a sarcophagus to Egypt on board the SS Karnak. Mike Britton’s superbly adaptable set now transforms into the two decks of the steamer, from which no-one can escape in transit.

His use of sliding slatted doors facilitates creating differing bedroom cabins, with connecting balconies, while Oliver Fenwick’s lighting then shines through the slats to add to the air of mystery (along with Bailey’s further use of figures in silent silhouette, or even whispering in an ear while moving furniture in scene changes). Mic Pool’s sound design is vital to the rising sense of claustrophobia too.

Further scenes take place to the front of the sliders, culminating in the aforementioned Poirot dressing-down. On the subject of dressing, everyone is dressing up the max in Britton’s gorgeous designs for the women and elegant suits for the men.

Double act: Bob Barrett’s Colonel Race and Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot in Death On The Nile

If one triangle – Bailey, Ludwig and Hadfield – is crucial to the style and interpretation of content, then another is the play’s fulcrum. Hough’s Jacqueline, by now jilted by Occomore’s Doyle in favour of heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Libby Alexandra-Cooper) has followed their every honeymoon step and now on to the steamer, where her choice of colour (red) spells danger.

Alexandra-Cooper’s neurotic Linnet has every right to be nervous, and not only because of Jacqueline’s unwanted presence. What happens next, your reviewer will not divulge, but only the sarcophagus is not under suspicion when the inevitable murder takes place.

Bailey’s cast has so many performances to enjoy, from Alexandra –Cooper’s haunted Linnet to Nicholas Prasad’s shy doctor Ramses Praed, topped off by the comic interplay of Terence Wilton’s veteran theatre darling Septimus Troy and Glynis Barber’s chameleon society butterfly Salome Otterbourne.

Above all else, Hadfield’s Poirot may have a limp from a wartime injury but he has a spring in his impish step, yet he is still fastidious and stern in conducting his investigations, capturing the overlapping tones of Ludwig’s script. Poirot has a closing point to make too: the importance of love and how it should not be cheated.

It would be a crime to miss Fiery Angel’s Death On The Nile, so full of style and wit.

Fiery Angel in Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile, Grand Opera House, York, tonight and tomorrow, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Mark Britton’s slatted set design for the paddle steamer in Death On The Nile. Picture: Manuel Harlan

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 9, from Gazette & Herald

JAPANESE prints, a Belgian detective, a Tudor queen and a West Riding pioneer are all making waves in Charles Hutchinson’s early March recommendations. 

Exhibition of the week: Making Waves, The Art of Japanese Woodblock Print, York Art Gallery, until August 30, open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm

MAKING Waves: The Art of Japanese Woodblock Print presents Japanese art and culture in more than 100 striking and iconic works from renowned artists such as Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige and Kitagawa Utamaro, among many others.

At the epicentre of this intriguing insight into the history and development of Japanese woodblock printing is the chance to see Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, one of the most recognisable and celebrated artworks in the world. Tickets: yorkartgallery.org.uk.

York Community Choir Festival 2026: Showcase for choirs aplenty at Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York

Festival of the week: York Community Choir Festival 2026, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tonight to Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

THE annual York Community Choir Festival brings together choirs of all ages to perform in a wide variety of singing styles on each bill. Across the week, 43 choirs are taking part in nine concerts, making the 2026 event the largest yet. Concert programmes feature well-known classical and modern popular songs, complemented by show tunes, world music, folk song, gospel, jazz and soul. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Death On The Nile: European premiere of Ken Ludwig’s new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s murder mystery at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Manuel Harlan

Murder mystery of the week: Fiery Angel presents Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile, Grand Opera House, York, March 3 to 7, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

AFTER tours of And Then There Were None and Murder On The Orient Express, Death On The Nile reunites director Lucy Bailey, writer Ken Ludwig and producers Fiery Angel for the European premiere of a new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile.

On board a luxurious cruise under the heat of the Egyptian sun, a couple’s idyllic honeymoon is cut short by a brutal murder.  As secrets buried in the sands of time resurface, can Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Mark Hadfield), untangle the web of lies? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Nick Patrick Jones’s Henry VIII and Lara Stafford’s Anne Boleyn in Black Treacle Theatre’s Anne Boleyn. Picture: John Saunders

Historical drama of the week: Black Treacle Theatre in Anne Boleyn, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

YORK company Black Treacle Theatre presents Howard Brenton’s account of one of England’s most important and intriguing historical figures: Tudor lover, heretic, revolutionary, queen Anne Boleyn (played by Lara Stafford).

Traditionally seen as either the pawn of an ambitious family manoeuvred into the King’s bed, or as a predator manipulating her way to power, Anne – and her ghost – re-emerges in a very different light in Brenton’s epic play, premiered by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in 2010. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Poetry event of the week: York Poetry Society, Poetry Pharmacy launch celebration, Jacob’s Well, Trinity Lane, York, Friday, 7.30pm to 9.30pm 

TO mark Friday’s opening of the third Poetry Pharmacy, part bookshop, part apothecary, part reading room, and venue for readings, workshops, creative writing clubs in Coney Street, founder Deborah Alma talks about its concept of fostering the therapeutic effects of poetry.

Local poets are invited to read poems with this aim in mind in the second half. “Normally we ask of non-members a £3 entry fee, but on this occasion, if you write a poem relevant to the evening, all we will ask is that you read it to us as part of the programme,” says programme secretary Marta Hardy.

Irish dance and magic combine in Celtic Illusion, on tour at York Barbican

Magical experience of the week: Celtic Illusion, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm

AFTER dazzling audiences across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada and the USA, this thunderous Irish dance and grand-illusion magic show is making its premiere UK tour in 2026. 

Created by Anthony Street, illusionist and former lead of Lord Of The Dance, Celtic Illusion brings together dancers from Riverdance and Lord Of The Dance, who perform to a soaring original score and remastered classics by composer Angela Little. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, as Anne Lister, rehearsing for Northern Ballet’s Gentleman Jack. Picture: Colleen Mair

Dance premiere of the week: Northern Ballet and Finnish National Opera and Ballet in Gentleman Jack, Leeds Grand Theatre, Saturday to March 14, except Sunday and Monday, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm matinees on March 12 and 14

THIS groundbreaking new ballet marks a trio of ‘firsts’: the first time the story of Anne Lister has been told through ballet, the first large-scale commission for Northern Ballet since 2021 and the first under artistic director Federico Bonelli.

Yorkshirewoman Anne, the “first modern lesbian”, lived, dressed and loved as she desired, not as 19th century society expected of her. Northern Ballet’s interpretation of her life is choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, leading a female artistic team that includes Sally Wainwright, writer of the BBC/HBO television series Gentleman Jack. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.

The poster for the Merely Players’ Fakespeare exposé at Helmsley Arts Centre

The Great Shakespeare Fraud of the week: Merely Players, Fakespeare, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

THERE are two problems with deception: being found out and not being found out. In 1794, noted antiquarian Samuel Ireland is delighted when his son William brings him unknown documents in the hand of Shakespeare, obtained from an anonymous source. However, scholars question their authenticity and denounce Samuel as a forger.  The household is thrown into turmoil and family skeletons come tumbling out of cupboards.

Roll forward to  2026, when Samuel, William and their housekeeper Mrs Freeman meet again to sort out the truth of it all, if such a thing is possible. So runs Stuart Fortey’s tragicomic, scarcely believable, deceptively truthful tale of 18th century literary fraud  and family deceit. Box office:  01439 771700 or  helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Very Santana: Celebrating Carlos Santana’s songs and guitar mastery at Milton Rooms, Malton

Tribute gig of the week: Very Santana, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm

VERY Santana’s musical time travel experience celebrates the beautiful guitar melodies and creatively diverse, challenging songs of Carlos Santana, performed with room for extra improvisation.

The set list spans the Santana legacy, from the Abraxas album early peaks of Black Magic Woman, Oye Como Va and Samba Pa Ti, through the late 1970s’ hits such as Europa and She’s Not There, to the modern-era Grammy winners Smooth and Maria-Maria. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Harry Enfield: No Chums but a cornucopia of comical characters at Grand Opera House, York

Comedy gig of the week: Harry Enfield And No Chums, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

FROM the meteoric rise of Loadsamoney, a Thatcherite visionary, to the fury of Kevin the Teenager, satirical comedian and self-styled “stupid idiot” Harry Enfield  reflects on 40 years in comedy, bringing favourite characters vividly back to life on stage.

Then comes your chance to ask how it all works for the former University of York politics student (Derwent College, 1979 to 1982), discover what makes him most proud and find out what would he say to the many who ask, “You wouldn’t be allowed to do your stuff today, would you?”. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Elvis Costello: Revisiting his 1977-1986 back catalogue in Radio Soul! at York Barbican in June. Picture: Ray Di Pietro

Gig announcement of the week: Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Charlie Sexton, Radio Soul!: The Early Songs Of Elvis Costello, York Barbican, June 17

ELVIS Costello will return to York Barbican for the first time since May 2012’s Spectacular Singing Book tour, joined by The Imposters’ Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher and Texan guitarist Charlie Sexton.

Costello, 71, will focus on songs drawn from 1977’s My Aim Is True to 1986’s Blood & Chocolate in 1986, complemented by “other surprises”. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/elvis-costello/.

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Jimmy Bryant to bounce back as Smee on pantomime return to Grand Opera House in The Further Adventures Of Peter Pan

Jimmy Bryant: First name out of the pirate’s hat to be confirmed for The Further Adventures Of Peter Pan at Grand Opera House, York

COMEDY turn Jimmy Bryant will brew up a storm of laughter on his return to the Grand Opera House, York, in UK Productions’ swashbuckling pantomime The Further Adventures Of Peter Pan: The Return Of Captain Hook.

After shining as Buttons in Cinderella, the Cumberland Street theatre’s most successful panto ever, Bryant will take to the high seas as Smee from December 5 to January 3 2027 with his combination of comic timing, glorious chaos and heart-warming mischief.

“I’m absolutely pixie-dust levels of thrilled to be sailing back to the Grand Opera House, York!” says actor, comic performer and immersive theatre enthusiast Jimmy. “Last year’s audiences were honestly unforgettable, and the thought of stepping back onto that stage gives me goosebumps.

“Smee is such a brilliantly bonkers character – loyal, chaotic, always in the wrong place at the wrong time – and I promise we are going bigger, bolder and sillier than ever before.

“This show is packed with spectacle, surprises and so much heart. York, get ready, because this Christmas we’re not just going to Neverland…we’re going to blow the roof off it!”

Grand Opera House theatre director Allie Long enthuses: “Cinderella was our most successful pantomime to date, and that was due in no small part to Jimmy’s brilliant and hilarious turn as Buttons.

“We’re thrilled to have Jimmy returning, and we can’t wait to welcome him — along with the rest of The Further Adventures Of Peter Pan cast — to the stage for what promises to an unforgettable pantomime season at the Grand Opera House.”

It’s Smee: Jimmy Bryant in the poster for UK Productions’ 2026 pantomime at the Grand Opera House, York

UK Productions producer Martin Dodd adds: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Jimmy Bryant back aboard at the magnificent Grand Opera House, York, for this year’s panto, which is going to be to be a ship-shape riot!

“Jimmy’s Smee will be a masterclass in comic chaos, the perfect first mate to mischief, mayhem and a certain ticking crocodile lurking in the wings. There’ll be pirates, planks and plenty of hooks, but the biggest catch this Christmas is your ticket. So, hoist the mainsail, gather your crew and hook your tickets now!”

Bryant’s theatre credits include Cockfosters (Southwark Playhouse), Costard in Love’s Labour’s Lost (Cockpit Theatre), Al Capone in Peaky Blinders: The Rise, Herr Kutte in Jack & The Beanstalk (Cheltenham Playhouse), In The Dead Of The Night(UK tour), Doctor Who: Time Fracture (BBC/Immersive Everywhere) and The Immersive Wolf Of Wall Street (Stratton Oakmont Productions).

Among his film credits are Morris in PINKY! (ESA Films) and ROBBED The Movie, written and directed by Bryant.

Uniting leading UK pantomime producer UK Productions with the Grand Opera House for the fifth time, The Further Adventures Of Peter Pan is designed to appeal to families, offices, families and friendship groups alike.

Audiences are invited to “race to book before the best seats walk the plank”. “In panto land, it’s never too early to secure your spot, because once tickets start flying, they’ll be gone quicker than Peter Pan with a sprinkling of pixie dust. Grab your seats now before they’re swallowed by the crocodile,” reads the press release.

Further casting will be announced. Tickets are on sale at atgtickets.com/york.