Tag: grand opera house york

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 4, from Gazette & Herald

A scene from Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Tristram Kenton

CUBAN dance luminary Carlos  Acosta’s Havana reinvention of The Nutcracker tops  Charles Hutchinson’s latest selection of cultural highlights.

Dance show of the week: Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana, Grand Opera House, York, Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

CAST illness has put paid to tonight and tomorrow’s performances, but dance superstar Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana will still turn up the heat in his modern Cuban twist on the snow-dusted 1892 Russian festive ballet on Friday and Saturday. Built on Cuban composer Pepe Gavilondo’s arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s score, Acosta moves the celebration of joy, life, love and family to modern-day Havana.

More than 20 dancers from Acosta’s Cuban company Acosta Danza perform the familiar story of a young girl transported to a magic world, but one newly incorporating the culture, history and music of his home country. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Tim Delap’s John Middleton and Kara Tointon’s Constance Middleton in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Constant Wife. Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic; set and co-costume designer Anna Fleischle; co-costume designer Cat Fuller

Play of the week: Royal Shakespeare Company in The Constant Wife, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday , 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

SET in 1927, The Constant Wife finds Constance as a very unhappy woman. “Nonsense,” says her mother, who insists “she eats well, sleeps well, dresses well and she’s losing weight. No woman can be unhappy in those circumstances”. 

Played by Kara Tointon, she is the perfect wife and mother, but her husband is equally devoted to his mistress, who just happens to be her best friend. Tamara Harvey directs the new adaptation by Home, I’m Darling playwright and Rivals television series writer Laura Wade. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Mishmash’s Ruby’s Worry: Easing worries at NCEM, York

Family show of the week: Mishmash: Ruby’s Worry, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, Saturday, 11.30am and 2.30pm

RUBY had always been happy, perfectly happy, until one day she discovered a worry. The more she tries to rid herself of that worry, the more it grows and grows. Eventually she meets a boy who has a worry too. Together they discover that everyone has worries, and that if you talk about them, they never hang around for long! Mishmash’s Ruby’s Worry is told through live music, song, puppetry and physical theatre, taking the audience on a delightful musical adventure. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Talent showcase of the week: HAC Studio Bar Open Mic Jan 2026, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

THIS social evening in Helmsley Arts Centre’s Studio Bar offers the opportunity to hear Ryedale musicians and artists perform. The bar will be open serving beer from Helmsley Brewery and Brass Castle Brewery, an assortment of gins, wines from Helmsley Wines and more. There is no need to book to listen or participate, just turn up.

Mountaineer Simon Yates, of Touching The Void fame, has sold out his My Mountain Life talk on Friday at 7.30pm. Box office for returns only: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Femme Fatale Faerytales: Telling Mary, Mary’s contrary tale

A homecoming, a haunting, a holy rebellion: Femme Fatale Faerytales present Mary, Mary, Fossgate Social, Fossgate, York, February 1 and 2, 8pm (doors 7pm)

MARY, Mary quite contrary, wouldn’t you like to know how her garden grows? Step into the fairytale world of Femme Fatale Faerytales as Sasha Elizabeth Parker unveils a dark, lyrical, feminist re-telling of an age-old classic. Part confession, part ritual, part bedtime story for grown-ups, Mary, Mary invites you to meet the woman behind the nursery rhyme in all her wild, untamed, contrary glory.

In her York debut, expect enchanting storytelling, poetic prophecy and a subversive twist on the tales you thought you knew on two intimate, atmospheric nights in one of York’s cult favourite haunts. Box office: wegottickets.com.

Packing in the acts for PAC Comedy Club line-up at Pocklington Arts Centre

Comedy gig of the week: PAC Comedy Club, Pocklington Arts Centre, February 5, 8pm

RICH Wilson, winner of the New Zealand Comedy Festival Best International Act award, tops the PAC Comedy Club bill next Thursday. He has performed at all the major UK comedy clubs, as well in New York and Las Vegas and at the Perth Fringe, Melbourne International Festival and Edinburgh Fringe.

Supporting Wilson will be Jonny Awsum, who shot to fame on Britain’s Got Talent with his high-energy musical comedy, and Yorkshireman Pete Selwood, who specialises in observational material with killer punchlines, introduced by surrealist compere and BBC New Comedian of the Year regional finalist Elaine Robertson. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

The Yorkshire Gypsy Swing Collective: In full swing at Milton Rooms, Malton

Jazz gig of the week: The Yorkshire Gypsy Swing Collective, Milton Rooms, Malton, February 7, doors, 7.30pm

THIS gypsy jazz supergroup with musicians from all around Yorkshire plays music inspired by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli of the Quintette du Hot Club de France. 

The collective of Lewis Kilvington and Martin Chung, guitars, James Munroe, double bass, Derek Magee, violin, and Christine Pickard, clarinet, remains true to Django and Stephane’s spirit while pushing the genre of gypsy jazz forward into a modern sphere. Expect fast licks, burning ballads and even some Latin-inspired pieces. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Liz Foster: Exhibiting at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, from February 12

Exhibition launch: Liz Foster, Deep Among The Grasses, Rise:@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, February 12 to April 10

YORK artist Liz Foster’s new series of abstract paintings, Deep Among The Grasses, invites you into rich, expansive imagined spaces where she explores memory, landscape and the childhood feeling of being immersed in wild places.

Full of colour, feeling and atmosphere, this body of work is being shown together for the first time. Everyone is welcome at the 6pm to 9pm preview on February 12 when Leeds-born painter, teacher and mentor Liz will be in attendance.

Super Furry Animals: Playing first shows in ten years in 2026, including Live At York Museum Gardens

Gig announcement of the week: Live At York Museum Gardens present Super Furry Animals, York Museum Gardens, July 11

FUTURESOUND completes the line-up for its third Live At York Museum Gardens season with Welsh art-rock icons Super Furry Animals, celebrating more than 30 years together with multicolour hits and off-piste deep cuts, lovingly handpicked from  nine albums.

Gruff Rhys, Huw Bunford, Cian Ciarán, Dafydd Ieuan and Guto Pryce are returning to the concert platform in 2026 for the first time in ten years. Joining them in York will be a quartet of special guests, unconventional kindred spirit Baxter Dury, compatriot indie-pop septet Los Campesinos!, fast-rising Nottingham alt-country group Divorce and the Welsh Music Prize-nominated woozy, Sixties-inspired psychedelia Pys Melyn.

Futuresound Group project manager Rachel Hill says: “We’re thrilled to announce Super Furry Animals as the final headliner for our third Live at York Museum Gardens series. None of it would be possible without the collaboration, trust and support of the team at York Museums Trust and being able to put together such an incredible line up for the summer makes us excited for the future of our partnership.”

York exclusive postcode presale (YO1, YO10, YO19, YO23, YO24, YO26, YO30, YO31 and  YO32) go on sale at 10am today at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/super-furry-animals/york-museum-gardens/3567101?pre=postcode.

General sales open at 10am on Friday at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/super-furry-animals/york-museum-gardens/3567101.

Tickets are on sale already for Liverpool’s  Orchestra Manoeuvres In The Dark on July 9 and South Yorkshire ’s Self Esteem on July 10 at futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events.

The poster for Super Furry Animals’ concert in York Museum Gardens

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More Things To Do in York & beyond as Royal Shakespeare Company revisits 1920s. Hutch’s List No. 4, from The Press

Kara Tointon as Constance Middleton in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Constant Wife. Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic; set and co-costume designer Anna Fleischle and co-costume designer Cat Fuller

LAURA Wade’s new adaptation of The Constant Wife for the RSC leads off Charles Hutchinson’s latest selection of cultural highlights.

Play of the week: Royal Shakespeare Company in The Constant Wife, York Theatre Royal, January 26 to 31, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

SET in 1927, The Constant Wife finds Constance as a very unhappy woman. “Nonsense,” says her mother, who insists “she eats well, sleeps well, dresses well and she’s losing weight. No woman can be unhappy in those circumstances”. 

Played by Kara Tointon, she is the perfect wife and mother, but her husband is equally devoted to his mistress, who just happens to be her best friend. Tamara Harvey directs the new adaptation by Home, I’m Darling playwright and Rivals television series writer Laura Wade. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Aesthetica Art Prize winner Tobi Onabolu’s Danse Macabre, on show at York Art Gallery

Last chance to see: Aesthetica Art Prize and Future Tense: Art in the Age of Transformation, York Art Gallery, today and tomorrow, 10am to 5pm

YORK arts movers and shakers  Aesthetica present  two landmark exhibitions, the 2025 Aesthetica Art Prize  and Future Tense: Art in the Age of Transformation, featuring large-scale immersive installations by prize alumni Liz West and Squidsoup.

On show among work by 25 shortlisted entries are main prize winner, London artist-filmmaker Tobi Onabolu’s exploration of spirituality, mental health and the human psyche,  Danse Macabre, and Emerging Prize winner Sam Metz’s bright yellow structures in Porosity, reflecting his sensory experience of the Humber Estuary.

Squidsoup’s Submergence immerses audiences in an ocean of 8,000 responsive LED lights, blurring the line between digital and physical space, while Liz West’s Our Spectral Vision surrounds visitors with a radiant spectrum of colour in a sensory encounter. Tickets: yorkartgallery.org.uk/tickets.

Ceramicist Emily Stubbs, left, and seascapes artist Carolyn Coles showcase their new work in The Sky’s The Limit at Pyramid Gallery, alongside Karen Fawcett’s bird sculptures

Exhibition launch of the week: Carolyn Coles, Emily Stubbs and Karen Fawcett, The Sky’s The Limit, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, today until mid-March

SOUTH Bank Studios artist Carolyn Coles and PICA Studios ceramicist Emily Stubbs will be on hand from 11.30am to 2.30pm at today’s opening of The Sky’s The Limit, their joint exhibition with wildlife sculptor Karen Fawcett.

Like Carolyn, Emily has been selected to take part in York Open Studios 2026 on April 18 & 19 and April 25 & 26. Look out too for work by Pyramid Gallery’s Jeweller of the Month, Kate Rhodes, from Hebden Bridge. Gallery opening hours are: 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

Anna Hale: Killer punchlines, musical flair and spiky resilience in Control Freak at The Crescent on Sunday

Comedy gig of the week: Anna Hale: Control Freak, The Crescent, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

ANNA Hale, comedian, singer-songwriter and unapologetic control freak, likes to write the jokes and the songs, plan the lighting cues and even sell the tickets for her gigs. When life spins out of control, however, can one perfectionist keep the show together, and, crucially, not let anyone else have a go?

Find out when encountering the killer punchlines, musical flair and spiky resilience of the 2024 Musical Comedy Awards Audience Favourite winner’s debut tour show. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Glenn Moore: So many Moore jokes at The Crescent on Tuesday

Show title of the week: Glenn Moore: Please Sir, Glenn I Have Some Moore, The Crescent, York, January 27, 7.30pm (doors 7pm)

EDINBURGH Comedy Award nominee Glenn Moore has written too many jokes again, so expect a whirlwind of punchlines from the Croydon stand-up and presenter on Tuesday. Here comes more and more of Moore after appearances on Live At The Apollo, Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week, 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, The News Quiz, Just A Minute and his own BBC Radio 4 series, Glenn Moore’s Almanac. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Snow and frost in Cuba: Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana brings heat and ice to the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Johan Persson

Dance show of the week: Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana, Grand Opera House, York, now January 30 and 31, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee 

UPDATE 27/1/2025: Cast illness has put paid to January 28 and 29’s performances.

DANCE superstar Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana turns up the heat in his modern Cuban twist on the snow-dusted 1892 Russian festive ballet. Built on Cuban composer Pepe Gavilondo’s arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s score, Acosta moves the celebration of joy, life, love and family to modern-day Havana.

More than 20 dancers from Acosta’s Cuban company Acosta Danza perform the familiar story of a young girl transported to a magic world, but one newly incorporating the culture, history and music of his home country. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Mike Joyce: Tales from his drumming days for The Smiths at Pocklington Arts Centre

On the beat: Mike Joyce, The Drums: My Life In The Smiths, Pocklington Arts Centre, January 28, 7.30pm

DRUMMER Mike Joyce has been asked numerous times, “What was it like being in The Smiths?”. “That’s one hell of a question to answer!” he says. Answer it, he does, however, both in his 2025 memoir and now in his touring show The Drums: My Life In The Smiths.

To reflect on being stationed behind singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr from 1982 to 1987, Joyce will be interviewed by Guardian music journalist Dave Simpson, who lives near York. Audience members can put their questions to Joyce too. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

The poster for Country Roads’ celebration of Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers et al at York Barbican

Country celebration of the week: Country Roads, York Barbican, January 30, 7.30pm

COUNTRY Roads invites you to a celebration of country superstar royalty featuring such hits as 9 To 5, The Gambler, I Walk The Line, Ring Of Fire, King Of The Road, Crazy, Rhinestone Cowboy, Jolene, Dance The Night Away, Walkin’ After Midnight and many, many more as the stars of fellow tribute show Islands In The Stream return in this new production. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Mishmash’s delightful musical adventure Ruby’s Worry, easing worries at the NCEM

Family show of the week: Mishmash: Ruby’s Worry, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, January 31, 11.30am and 2.30pm

RUBY had always been happy, perfectly happy, until one day she discovered a worry. The more she tries to rid herself of that worry, the more it grows and grows. Eventually she meets a boy who has a worry too. Together they discover that everyone has worries, and that if you talk about them, they never hang around for long! Mishmash’s Ruby’s Worry is told through live music, song, puppetry and physical theatre, taking the audience on a delightful musical adventure. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

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Kara Tointon makes stage return after five years away in The Constant Wife. Next stop: York Theatre Royal from Monday

Kara Tointon’s Constance Middleton in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Constant Wife. Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic; set and co-costume designer Anna Fleischle; co-costume designer Cat Fuller

KARA Tointon  returns to the York stage on Monday for the first time since February 2017.

On that occasion, she appeared as Bella Manningham in Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight at the Grand Opera House. Now she takes the title role in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s touring production of The Constant Wife at York Theatre Royal.

2010 Strictly Come Dancing winner Kara is starring in Olivier Award winner Laura Wade’s new version of W Somerset Maugham’s sparkling 1926 comedy of ill manners, directed by RSC co-artistic director Tamara Harvey.

“I haven’t done any theatre for a little while, not since I had my second son in 2021, but it doesn’t feel that long as time travels so quickly,” says Kara, 42. “For the last few years, I’ve been focusing on being a mum and moving to Norway in May 2024.

“My partner [Marius Jensen] is Norwegian and has always spoken to the boys [Frey, seven, and Helly, four] in his native tongue and wanted them to understand the language as well as speaking it, so we were spending more and more time there.

Actress Kara Tointon: Back on stage for the first time since having her second son in 2021

“In 2024, because they hadn’t started school yet – they start the year they turn six – we decided to settle in Norway, in the most southern part, where it does get extremely dark by 3.30pm, so you really have to make sure you have your Vitamin D. The sky is so different out there: it’s like nothing you’ve seen over here.”

The Constant Wife returns to Kara to British shores, leading Harvey’s cast from January 16 at The Grand Theatre, Blackpool,  to May 16 at Bath Theatre Royal, before embarking on a Transatlantic Crossing aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2.

“I’m back – and it’s a really big role!” says Kara of playing Constance Middleton, who is a deeply unhappy woman in 1920s’ London.  “Nonsense,” says her mother. “She eats well, sleeps well, dresses well and she’s losing weight. No woman can be unhappy in those circumstances.”

Constance may be the perfect wife and mother, but her husband is equally devoted to his mistress, who just happens to be her best friend.

“It’s a gift of a part, and I’ve been an avid fan girl of Laura’s work for years, since I saw a friend in her play Posh. She and Tamara are the best of friends, and they’re like a power team [having worked together on Wade’s play Home, I’m Darling].  It’s a bit of a ‘pinch me’ moment for me to be working with them. Every time Tamara gives me a note in the rehearsal room, it pushes me to do my best, and that’s exciting,” says Lara.

Tim Delap’s John Middleton and Kara Tointon’s Constance Middleton in The Constant Wife. Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic; set and co-costume designer Anna Fleischle; co-costume designer Cat Fuller

“I think what’s incredible with this play is that we’re coming up to 100 years since it was written, but it’s now so relevant that it could be set in 2026, which makes it really relatable. The way Somerset Maugham had written this character as such a powerhouse, she steals the scene in every scene, and it forces us to consider how we make decisions in the moment when sometimes we should take stock.”

In a nutshell, returning home from dropping off her daughter at boarding school, Constance finds her husband disporting himself with her closest friend on the chaise longue. “The play’s about  how she deals with that situation, in that pivotal moment, and you think she’s wonderful because she handles it in such a brilliant way,” says Kara.

“It’s incredible that Somerset Maugham wrote such an incredible piece about a female character from a male perspective, and now I’m enjoying being in a room full of female-led vibes, where Laura and Tamara have elevated the play for a modern audience.

“They’ve made the perfect cuts and turned the structure into three parts, where we flashback once, and then we go back to the moment where we left off for the flashback.”

Harvey’s production will be full of 1920s’ style. “When I had the fitting for the gold dress, it felt very, very special. To have something made for you – really made for you – is fantastic,” says Kara. “The sets are fantastic too: it’s a visual feast, so luxurious.”

Kara Tointon in the tour poster for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Constant Wife

Recalling her experience of reading the first few pages of Wade’s adaptation. Kara says: “I laughed out loud – and that’s a good sign! I would say it’s a comedy, though you wouldn’t say a woman walking in on her husband having an affair should be a comedy, but you find yourself falling in love with these three very strong women in the play with their very different feelings and views.

“You can see that even though they’re very different, they’re very close – and that’s lovely to play, so I would say it’s a comedy with feeling.”

The Constant Wife is billed as a “comedy of ill manners”. “It’s all about humanity,” says Kara. “Everyone is messing up. Even with Constance, no matter how brilliantly she plays it, you could question some of the decisions she makes.

“When we do what we do to survive, everyone has a different way of surviving, and that’s why watching any drama is interesting because it makes you question how you would deal with difficult situations.”

Royal Shakespeare Company in The Constant Wife, York Theatre Royal, January 26 to 31, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Also Leeds Grand Theatre, April 13 to 18. 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.

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Carlos Acosta turns up the heat but still brings the snow to Nutcracker In Havana at Grand Opera House from Wednesday

Snow and frost envelop Cuba as Carlos Acosta reinvents Nutcracker in Havana. Picture: Johan Persson

UPDATE 27/1/2025. CAST illness has put paid to January 28 and 29’s performances. January 30 and 31 performances will go ahead.

DANCE superstar Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana turns up the heat at the Grand Opera House, York, next week in his modern Cuban twist on the snow-dusted 1892 Russian festive ballet.

Giving a new spin to the Tchaikovsky/Petipa/Ivanov classic, built on Cuban composer Pepe Gavilondo’s arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s score,  Acosta moves the celebration of joy, life, love and family to the Cuban capital, where he was born – full name Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada – on June 2 1973 and trained with the National School of Ballet.

More than 20 dancers from Acosta’s Havana-based company Acosta Danza perform the familiar story of a young girl transported to a magic world, but one newly incorporating the culture, history and music of his home country.

Acosta invites you to join Clara in her humble home in Havana as she prepares to celebrate Christmas with her family. The beer cans are on the tree and Cuba is suitably hot. When Clara is gifted a Nutcracker doll, she embarks on the journey of a lifetime, to defeat the Rat King and enter into the world of the Sugar Plum Fairy accompanied by her Nutcracker Prince, as Cuba collides with the Land of Sweets, bringing snow to Havana.

Now artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet too after retiring from a globe-travelling dance career that took in 17 years with the Royal Ballet in London, as well as English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Houston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, Acosta has choreographed Carmen and Don Quixote previously and deemed The Nutcracker ripe for re-invention next.

Nutcracker In Havana choreographer Carlos Acosta

“I have performed so many versions of The Nutcracker and I think that putting it in Havana creates a production which is totally different from any other production out there,” he says. “This is not going to be a European feel, where you are in a Victorian mansion and everything is period; this is much more Cuba now,” he says.

“When we started to work on the show, I started to play in my mind that we could re-work the score to incorporate Cuban rhythms. That was going to be a significant change because the audience will hear Nutcracker and Tchaikovsky in a completely different light with conga rhythms, guaracha, son – the music of Havana.”

The Nutcracker is set amid the excitement and anticipation of a family party on Christmas Eve, but as a child growing up in Havana, Acosta was unable to take part in such festivities. “I wanted to give the Cuban people the Christmas they never had,” he says. “We started to celebrate Christmas from the coming to the island of Pope John Paul II in 1998 because before that Christmas was banned.”

Acosta’s production touches on the Cuban diaspora, the thousands of people who fled the island into exile. “The magician, the Drosselmeyer character, is the uncle who left to Miami 30 years ago and has now returned to Havana with lots of presents and then he brings this kind of magic with him,” he says.

Co-produced by Norwich Theatre and Acosta Danza’s production partner Valid Productions, Nutcracker In Havana aims to draw new audiences to dance. “The show has been created to tour beyond just the largest theatres to audiences in places that don’t normally get the benefit of having a Nutcracker,” says Acosta.

“I hope everyone will come. I hope this production pulls from different sectors of the population, from the Latin world, the classical world, the contemporary world, because it’s a melting pot of everything.

A scene from Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana. Picture: Tristram Kenton

“There’s a lot of humour as well. It is different but it still does what The Nutcracker is supposed to do, which is fun and warm; it’s just a show about family and friends.”

Acosta’s production brings together video projection and set design by Nina Dunn, whose credits include Bonnie And Clyde, 9 to 5 The Musical and Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Don Quixote, complemented by  costumes by Angelo Alberto (Goyo Montero’s Imponderable and Raul Reinoso’s Satori with Acosta Danza and lighting by Andrew Exeter(Oti Mabuse: I Am Here, The Full Monty UK tour and Johannes Radebe: House of JoJo).

Norwich Theatre chief executive officer Stephen Crocker says: “At its heart, it is The Nutcracker story that you can expect with all of the magic and joy that goes with that. It is balletic at its core and it’s pushing the boundaries of ballet by bringing that Cuban feel into it.

“I’ve joked it’s the only Nutcracker I know where the corps de ballet becomes a conga line. It has a sense of fun and it’s also a spectacle – and theatre needs spectacle.

“It’s an intensely personal show to Carlos and it has been joyous to help him realise that. It’s a special moment for somebody whose career has been so ensconced in ballet and who has danced so many Nutcrackers in his life, and with him coming from Cuba there is real heart to this show.”

Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana with Acosta Danza, Grand Opera House, York, now January 30 and 31, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

The poster for Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana, on tour at Grand Opera House, York, from January 28 to 31

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REVIEW: The Talented Mr Ripley, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday ****

Bruce Herbelin-Earle’s Dickie Greenleaf, left, and Ed McVey’s Tom Riley in The Talented Mr Ripley. Picture: Mark Senior

“HAVE you ever thought you are being watched,” asks Ed McVey’s Tom Ripley, the nobody who wants to be someone else, someone more, at the outset of director Mark Leipacher’s new stage adaptation of The Talented Mr Ripley.

As it turns out, the obsessive, evasive, elusive chameleon Ripley is being watched by everyone: not only the audience and the Italian police, but also by Leipacher’s interpretation of novelist Patricia Highsmith’s Eumenides (the Furies of Greek mythology): imaginary figures in pursuit of the haunted Ripley in the book’s closing pages that here become the physical manifestation of his fears, paranoia, guilt and conscience.

Leipacher, however, does not leave their entry to the latter stages of Highsmith’s psycho-drama on the Amalfi Coast in 1950s’ Italy. Instead, from the off, they become a crew filming, editing and interjecting into Ripley’s writing, re-writing and telling of his story as a film, as truth, alternative truth and lies elide.  Amid the restless flow, they transform into Italian denizens and the paparazzi too, flashing their cameras in trilby and raincoat tradition.

What’s more, they don’t make conventional stage entries, but appear as if by sleight of hand as Leipacher maximises the deceptive impact of Holly Pigott’s raised set, behind which Leipacher’s players can “hide” and suddenly pop up.

In its centre is a hole, from which myriad characters appear and disappear, as well as evoking a swimming pool or a boat on the sea. Such is the minimalist theatrical flair of a postmodern production that places faith in imagination – always one of theatre’s prime assets – while still using such utilitarian props as a typewriter and reading light, cocktail glasses and shaker, a huge fridge, suitcases and Ripley’s improvised weaponry of an oar and an ashtray.

The raised stage’s white frame can be transformed by Zeynep Kepekli’s superb tubular neon  light design into differing shades to mirror a scene’s mood, or indeed Ripley’s state of mind, while the shiny black flooring suggests both wealth and Italian elegance, but sinister murkiness too.

Leipacher’s sleek stage version emerges in the wake of Highsmith’s 1955 novel being transferred to the silver screen by University of Hull drama graduate, tutor and playwright Anthony Minghella in 1999 and to Netflix streaming in Steven Zaillian’s eight-part monochrome series starring Andrew Scott  in 2024.

Both left an indelible impression, built on glamour, close-ups, exotic locations, erotic charge. Far from intimidated, Leipacher brings brio and bravura confidence to a meta-theatrical telling that echoes Greek tragedy, serves up both eloquence and elegance, pumps up the homo-erotica, nods to the rival world of cinema and revels in the mind games, even turning the fridge into a surprising mode of entry for Maisie Smith’s Marge Sherwood.

Maisie Smith’s Marge Sherwood: “More of a watercolour than an oil painting” in Mark Leipacher’s adaptation of The Talented Mr Ripley. Picture: Mark Senior

Aided by Pigott’s exquisite costume design, an air of dandy decadence yet desolation and destruction pervades Leipacher’s West End-bound account that is as seductive as McVey’s Ripley finds the freewheeling world of trust-fund wastrel charmer Dickie Greenleaf (Bruce Herbelin-Earle), a stylish but empty vessel idling his days away with a paintbrush and casual friendship with Smith’s writer-photographer Marge (a smaller role in every sense here).

Sent by New York shipbuilding magnate Herbert Greenleaf (Christopher Bianchi) to bring home his wayward son, instead McVey’s Ripley inveigles his way into the supremely assured social circuit of Dickie, Marge and writer Freddie Miles (Cary Crankson).

In Andrew Scott’s performance, you found yourself  wanting him to get away with his games of identity theft and murder amid the surfeit of insufferable smugness; McVey, by comparison, is more pitiful than pitiable in this liar’s psychopathic pursuits. Yet there is amusement too in his unguarded asides, a form of disdainful running commentary that recalls Shakespeare’s Richard III in its bravado and is a particular delight of Leipacher’s arch script, heard by the audience but not those around him, adding to his facility for deceit.

Like Banquo or Hamlet’s father, the departed do not exit stage left in Leipacher’s play, and so we see rather more of Herbelin-Earle’s handsome, lithe Dickie than might be expected, appearing on occasion as the deeper-voiced double to Ripley in adopted Dickie guise to haunt him all the more directly. The shadow of death, as it were, in an echo of Act Two opening with Ripley replicating the prone position and clothing of the dead Dickie at Act One’s close: a witty touch typical of Leipacher’s smart direction.

Best known for his Prince William in The Crown, McVey delivers a more complex characterisation here in an outstanding lead performance, ever present yet ever distant, while Herbelin-Earle, entitled yet still charming, is Dickie to the privileged New York manner born.

In her first American stage role, Strictly Come Dancing finalist and EastEnders’ soap star Smith’s smart, intuitive, independent Marge is not so well served by Leipacher’s balance of focus, more of a watercolour than an oil painting, when the role warrants a weightier significance.

Overall, however, after book, film and TV series, The Talented Mr Ripley finds its voice and style anew on stage in Leipacher’s sly, visually alluring, mentally agitated, verbally adroit coup de theatre.

The Talented Mr Ripley, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond when the river flows into artworks. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 3, from The York Press

Audience members of all ages enjoying Opera North: Little Listeners. Picture: Tom Arber 

IN his third highlights package of the New Year, Charles Hutchinson picks out a riparian exhibition, murderous deeds in 1590 and 1950s’ Italy, Davina’s wellbeing tips and a tribute on Shaky ground.

Family event of the week: Opera North: Little Listeners, National Centre for Early Music, York, today, 2pm and 3.15pm

OPERA North: Little Listeners is a treasure hunt with a tuneful twist, where the Orchestra of Opera North needs your help to find hidden musical gems. Discover different “Tuneful Treasures” as you go, collecting them all in time for the grand finale in this relaxed, interactive concert.

“Singing and movement is not just encouraged – it’s expected!” says the Leeds company. “Join us to experience the magic of orchestral music up close, whatever your age. We can’t wait to sing and dance with you.” Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Death Of Gesualdo: Tableaux Vivants team up with The Gesualdo Six and a puppet at the NCEM on Sunday and Monday

World premiere of the month: Death Of Gesualdo, The Gesualdo Six with Tableaux Vivants, National Centre for Early Music, York, Sunday and Monday, 6.30pm to 7.40pm

THE Gesualdo Six reunite with director Bill Barclay for the world premiere of a daring new successor to international hit Secret Byrd. Featuring six singers, six actors and a puppet, Death Of Gesualdo creates living tableaux that illuminate the life and psyche of madrigalist Carlo Gesualdo, a tortured genius most famous for murdering his wife and her lover in an explosive fit of jealousy, but revered among composers for anticipating chromaticism by 200 years.

This is the boldest look yet at how the life and sometimes chilling music of this enigmatic prodigy must function together for the true Gesualdo to emerge from the shadows. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

York Printmakers artist Jane Dignum at work in her studio

Exhibition of the week: York Printmakers, Rivers of York, City Screen Picturehouse, York, until February 7

CELEBRATING York Printmakers’ tenth anniversary, Rivers of York presents original hand-made prints inspired by the River Foss and River Ouse. On show are a variety of printmaking techniques, including etching, linocut, collagraph, monotype, screen print, solar plate, Japanese woodblock, lithography and stencilling, in works that explore the rivers’ place in the history, ecology and culture of York from Roman times to the present. 

Taking part are printmakers Pamela Knight; John Haste; Roger Goldthorpe; Lyn Bailey; Safron Sunley; Sandra Storey; Robin Linklater; Bridget Hunt; Sally Clarke; Yvonne Hogarth; Jen Dring; Michelle Hughes; Madelaine Lockwood; Vanessa Oo; Jane Dignum; Jane Duke; Phill Jenkins; Becky Long-Smith; Rachel Holbrow and Sally Parkin.

Ed McVey as Tom Ripley and Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr Ripley, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Mark Senior

Game of deception of the week: The Talented Mr Ripley, Grand Opera House, York, January 19 to 24, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

BEFORE its West End run, The Talented Mr Ripley plays the Grand Opera House with a cast led by Ed McVey as Tom Ripley, Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf and 2020 Strictly Come Dancing finalist MaisieSmith as Marge. Tom is a nobody, scraping by in New York, forging signatures, telling little white lies, until a chance encounter changes everything. When a wealthy stranger offers him an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy to bring home his wayward son, Dickie, Tom leaps at the opportunity. 

In the sun-drenched glamour of 1950s’ Italy, surrounded by shimmering waters and whispered secrets, Tom is seduced by Dickie’s freedom, wealth and effortless charm. Fascination turns to obsession in Patricia Highsmith’s story, whereupon an innocent chance turns into a chilling game of lies, identity theft and murder. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Davina McCall: Uplifting conversation and personal stories at York Barbican

Talk show of the week: An Evening With Davina, York Barbican, January 22, 7.30pm

REARRANGED from October 22 2025, television presenter and wellness advocate Davina McCall presents an evening of uplifting conversation and personal stories. From her groundbreaking career on screen to her tireless campaigning for women’s health, Davina opens up about the moments that shaped her with honesty, humour and heart, followed by an audience Q&A. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Mr Wilson’s Second Liners: On the front line for New Orleans brass and 1990s’ club culture at The Crescent

When New Orleans converges with Hacienda: Mr Wilson’s Second Liners, The Crescent, York, January 22, 7.30pm

MARDI Gras brass band meets 1990s’ club classics for a rave funeral without a body as a rabble of mischievous northerners, Mr Wilson’s Second Liners form a traditional New Orleans Second Line at The Crescent.

However, this is no sombre occasion: Mr Wilson’s expend their collective musical talent paying homage to the diehard days of the Hacienda, Nineties’ club culture and its greatest hero, Manchester mover and shaker Mr Tony Wilson. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Recommended but sold out already:York indie rock band Skylights’gig at The Crescent on January 23, 7.30pm.

Jeffrey Martin: Blending folk, Americana and literary short stories at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb

Folk gig of the week: Please Please You and Brudenell Presents present Jeffrey Martin and special guest Tenderness, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, January 24, 8.15pm (doors 7.30pm)

PORTLAND musician Jeffrey Martin’s narrative-driven songwriting  is a blend of folk, Americana and literary short stories with echoes of Raymond Carver. Before turning to music full time in 2016, he spent several years as a high-school English teacher, a profession he left to “chase his dreams at all cost.”

His lyrics are marked by his insight into the human condition, often focusing on the struggles and quiet dignity of people on the margins of society. Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.

Shakin’ all over: Rebel Dean rolls out the Eighties’ rock’n’roll hits of Shakin’ Stevens at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre

Tribute show of the week: Whole Lotta Shakin’ – The Shakin’ Stevens Story, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, January 25, 7.30pm

ENDORSED by members of Shakin’ Stevens own family, West End star Rebel Dean’s award-winning tribute to Great Britain’s biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s tell the story of the rockin’ Welsh boy and his rise to chart-topping superstardom.

Whole Lotta Shakin’ combines a live band with rare footage and images in a nostalgic night of Shaky hits, Green Door, Oh Julie, You Drive Me Crazy and This Ole House et al, complemented by Eddie Cochran, Chuck Berry, Ritchie Valens and Elvis Presley numbers that he covered. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

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Maisie Smith takes on first American role as Marge Sherwood in The Talented Mr Ripley, on tour at Grand Opera House, York

“Marge was ahead of her time,” says Maisie Smith, who plays the American writer and photographer in The Talented Mr Ripley. Picture: Mark Senior

THE press release for The Talented Mr Ripley’s visit to the Grand Opera House, York, ends with this question: how far would you go to become someone else?

In the case of the acting world, the answer is the whole way for every change of role. For Maisie Smith that means transforming into Marge Sherwood – the character portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow in  Anthony Minghella’s 2000 film and Dakota Fanning in the 2024 Netflix series – in Mark Leipacher’s touring production. Next stop, Grand Opera House, York, from January 19 to 24.

“I was so, so intrigued when the role came through and it’s very different to any character I’ve played,” says Maisie, who last appeared on a Yorkshire stage as Fran in her musical theatre debut in Strictly Ballroom The Musical at Leeds Grand Theatre in July 2023.

“This time it was a very quick process, at very short notice. I was asked, ‘could you read a scene from the script – and you can pick the scene’. I did it on tape, filming myself when I was on holiday at the time, on a fishing trip with my boyfriend in a little lake cabin.”

Not the ideal audition scenario, especially when Maisie had to evoke living in “the sun-drenched glamour of 1950s’ Italy”. “I was in this wooden cabin, in Shropshire, and I had to drive into the nearest high street to get an internet connection! It’s such a glamorous lifestyle, as they say!”

Nevertheless, the self-tape worked and the role of Marge was hers. “That was in maybe June/July last year, and we started rehearsals in August. The tour began last September [at Cheltenham Everyman Theatre, marking the 70th anniversary of Patricia Highsmith’s novel], and we’ve just had a few weeks off [since November 22] for a Christmas break,” says Maisie. “Our first week back is in York.”

Director Mark Leipacher has adapted Highsmith’s psychological thriller for its first major UK tour, casting The Crown star Ed McVey as dangerously charismatic antihero Tom Ripley, who is scraping by in New York, forging signatures, telling little white lies, until a chance encounter changes everything.

When a wealthy stranger offers him an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy to bring home his wayward son, Dickie Greenleaf (Bruce Herbelin-Earle), Tom leaps at the opportunity. However, surrounded by shimmering waters and whispered secrets on the Amalfi Coast, he is seduced by the freedom, wealth and effortless charm of Dickie’s life.

As fascination turns to obsession and his grip tightens on Dickie’s world, the lines between truth and deception begin to blur in Highsmith’s tale of deception, desire and deadly ambition. What starts as an innocent opportunity spirals into a chilling game of lies, identity theft, and murder. 

Maisie has seen the film and the monochrome TV series, but not read the read the book. “I feel a bad actress for not reading it, but I have seen the director’s notes that he wrote years ago as this play has been in the making for six years,” she says. “I couldn’t believe it when Mark said he’d been working on it for so long.”

Maisie Smith’s Marge Sherwood and Bruce Herbelin-Earle’s Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr Ripley. Picture: Mark Senior

Assessing the role of Marge, she says: “I see her as a really interesting character in this play. What I love about her and what I try to drill into is that she is one of the only people who is suspicious and recognises Tom Ripley for what he is, so she’s very valuable person in the story.

“It’s a story that’s ahead of its time because she was ahead of her time: she’s very independent; she’s a writer and photographer and has her own house in Italy. She has a boyfriend but is not in a committed relationship, which was really futuristic for a woman at that time.

“That’s why this story has been told again and again over 70 years because it’s never dated and will never go out of style.”

Marge is new territory for 24-year-old Maisie. “I haven’t played an American before, and the oldest era I’d played before this was Strictly Ballroom, set in the 1980s. Lots of characters I play are of a more juvenile age. Like Tiffany [Butcher], my character in EastEnders, was  only a couple of years younger than me,” she says.

“Tiffany was quite cocky, cheeky, whereas Marge is very intelligent – and I’ve really had to rein in my Southend accent! Once I got the part, they brought in someone to work on the accent with me as Marge has this old-school American accent.”

Maisie, you may recall, finished as a finalist in the 2020 series of Strictly Come Dancing, recorded under Covid conditions. “It was so crazy but I was 19, so I think, looking back on it, it was the first time I’d ever done live TV, and the first time I’d ever been Maisie, rather than playing a character, and I did find the whole experience nerve-wracking,” she says.

“I wish I hadn’t stressed about everything – did people like me; did I do that dance right? – but then I thought, ‘no, just be yourself, who cares what people think!”

She continued to play Tiffany for another year, “but I was itching to do theatre”, a change of tack that has been rewarded with significant roles in Strictly Ballroom and now The Talented Mr Ripley. “This new character, Marge, is the most different from me. Everything about her is different from me. It’s always  a challenge but that’s what you want.”

Hence Maisie will keep asking herself that question: how far would you go to become someone else?

The Talented Mr Ripley, Grand Opera House, York, January 19 to 24, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

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REVIEW: The Woman In Black, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday *****

Daniel Burke, left, and John Mackay in the funeral scene in The Woman In Black. Picture: Mark Douet

IN the Dress Circle at Tuesday’s press night were assembled rows of Year 9 pupils, all studying The Woman In Black. They talked with bravado of not screaming, albeit some with more conviction than others.

Your reviewer, a veteran with many years’ service to watching Stephen Mallatratt’s meta-theatrical adaptation of Scarborough novelist Susan Hill’s ghost story, struck up conversation with the excited students, predicting that boisterous ghost bluster would make way for shrieks by the fright night’s denouement.

Sure enough, their reactions would alter once the early humour faded away, consumed by the gravest, ghostly, ghastly deeds in the fog and murk of Eel Marsh House, the remote mansion haunted by the hollow-faced spectral figure of the title.

No matter how often The Woman In Black plays its cards, it can still surprise, startle, jolt and, yes, scare beyond shredded nerves, such is the adroit sleight of hand of Robin Herford, still directing the show, as he first did in a pub setting at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, in December 1987.

Train of thought: Daniel Burke and John Mackay in a travelling scene in The Woman In Black. Picture: Mark Douet

Returning once more to the Grand Opera House – home to its own story of a resident ghost who greets new members of staff by name on first acquaintance in the auditorium – The Woman In Black is a celebration of the unrivalled power of theatrical storytelling, invention and the imagination, as much as the British love of chills, thrills and spills.

Like buses on a good day, another one will be coming around the corner soon in the form of Danny Robins’s 2:22 A Ghost Story from March 30 to April 4, a smart invader from modern-day London wrapped inside a state-of-the-nation character study that first played York in May 2024.

The Woman In Black is of an earlier vintage, a place of hats and overcoats, a pony and trap, worn briefcases, piles of faded papers and a rocking chair, where, as ever, “the action takes place in this theatre in the early 1950s”.

The Grand Opera House’s plush velvet design is ideal for Mallatratt’s theatrical conceit of a play within a play staged in a  disused theatre within a theatre, in which Michael Holt’s gauze set enables the stealthy revelation of a shadowy, creaking stairwell, deathly cold dark passages, a large locked door and, most disturbingly, a child’s bedroom with toys and clothes untouched from 50 years ago.

The Woman In Black director Robin Herford. Picture: Mark Douet

Rod Mead’s sound design, orchestrated on tour again by Sebastian Frost, wraps itself around all corners of the auditorium to keep the audience on alert, aided by the ironically named Kevin Sleep’s light design that cranks up the tension, changing suddenly to leave  you wondering restlessly where the Woman In Black might next appear, with no escape from her cape.

As ever, the casting for what is essentially a two-hander (save for the ghostly Jennet Humphrey’s interventions) is as key to the time-honoured production’s success as all the theatrical effects.

John Mackay, as stultified, haunted lawyer Arthur Kipps, and Daniel Burke, as The Actor he hires to tell his story, are a double act in theatre’s best traditions, as adept at storytelling as light humour and then darkening horror as Kipps seeks to exorcise the fear that has burdened his soul for so long, to end the curse on his family.

“For my health, for reason”, his story must be told, he says, and with the help of Burke’s boundlessly enthusiastic Actor, on the wings of imagination, his rambling book of notes will become a play so powerful that it no longer feels like a play, but an all-consuming reality destined to play out forever.

In the gloom of Eel Marsh House, John Mackay, left, and Daniel Burke play out a scene on a pony and trap. Picture: Mark Douet

The Actor becomes Kipps, the young solicitor sent to attend to the isolated, wretched English marshland estate of the newly dead Alice Drablow, while Mackay’s Scottish-toned Kipps, once he sheds his stage novice reserve, takes on all manner of roles, from narrator, hotel host and taciturn pony-and-trap driver, to an even more haunted old solicitor and wary landowner.

All the while, Kipps is ever more traumatised by his fears rising anew, and likewise Mallatratt applies the cunning skills of of a magician as the drama within takes over from the act of making it, while simultaneously glorying in theatre, dapper acting skills and the abiding appeal of a ghost story (especially in York, with its multitude of ghost walks) .

No need for high-tech special effects, this is old-fashioned theatre-making, where the terrifying theatrical re-enactment is applied with only two chairs, a stool, a trunk of papers, a hanging rail of costume props, dust sheets over the stage apron and a theatre curtain as frayed as everyone’s nerves by the end, an ending full of eternal foreboding. Welcome back, The Woman In Black.

PW Productions in The Woman In Black, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 3, from Gazette & Herald

York Printmakers: Tenth anniversary exhibition…with cake on Saturday

IN his third highlights package of the New Year, Charles Hutchinson picks out a riparian exhibition, a brace of pantos, murderous deeds in 1950s’ Italy and a transatlantic folk talent.

Exhibition of the week: York Printmakers, Rivers of York, City Screen Picturehouse, York, until February 7

CELEBRATING York Printmakers’ tenth anniversary, Rivers of York presents original hand-made prints inspired by the River Foss and River Ouse. Head to City Screen’s upstairs lounge today from 2pm and 4pm for Prints and Cake, a chance to share cake, find out more about the prints and meet the artists who created them.

On show are a variety of printmaking techniques, including etching, linocut, collagraph, monotype, screen print, solar plate, Japanese woodblock, lithography and stencilling, in works that explore the rivers’ place in the history, ecology and culture of York from Roman times to the present. 

Paula Cook’s villainous Queen Lucrecia and John Brooks’s scheming Chamberlain in Pickering Musical Society’s Snow White

Panto time: Pickering Musical Society in Snow White, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, until January 25, 7.15pm, except January 19; 2.15pm, January 17, 18, 24 and 25  

DIRECTED for the tenth year by resident director Luke Arnold and scripted by Ron Hall, Pickering Musical Society’s 2026 pantomime blends familiar faces with new turns, led by Alice Rose as Snow White in her first appearance since Goldilocks in 2018.

Local legend Marcus Burnside plays Dame Dumpling alongside mischievous sidekick Jack Dobson as court jester Fritz, his first comedic role. Company regular Courtney Brown switches to comedy too as Helga; Paula Cook turns to the dark side in her villainous debut as Queen Lucrecia; Danielle Long is the heroic Prince Valentine, John Brooks, the scheming Chamberlain and Sue Smithson, Fairy Dewdrop. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.littleboxoffice.com.

Jack Robinson’s PC World and Evie-Mae Dale’s Sergeant Pong in Malton and Norton Musical Theatre’s Aladdin – The Pantomime 

Panto time too: Malton and Norton Musical Theatre in Aladdin – The Pantomime, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 1.30pm, 5.15pm; Sunday, 2pm; January 20 to 23, 7.15pm; January 24, 1pm, 5.15pm

BETWIXT York roles in York Shakespeare Project’s The Spanish Tragedy and Black Treacle Theatre’s Anne Boleyn, Harry Summers continues to corner the market in dark roles as wicked magician Abanazar in Malton and Norton Musical Theatre’s Aladdin.

Fresh from his villainous scene-stealing in The Spanish Tragedy, Thomas Jennings plays the Emperor. Further principal players in the mystical land of Shangri-La include Harriet White’s Aladdin, Isabel Davis’s Princess Jasmine; Rory Queen’s dame, Widow Twankey, Tom Gleave’s Wishee Washee, Mark Summers’ Genie of the Lamp and Annabelle Free’s Spirit of the Ring. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

The Steelers: Paying tribute to Steely Dan at Helmsley Arts Centre

Tribute show of the week: The Steelers, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday 7.30pm

THE Steelers, a nine-piece band of musicians drawn from around Great Britain, perform songs from iconic Steely Dan Steel albums Pretzel Logic, The Royal Scam, AJA and Goucho, crafted by Walter Becker and Donald Fagan since 1972. 

Once described as “the American Beatles”, Becker and Fagan’s songs are noted for their clever lyrics and sophisticated arrangements. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf, left, and Ed McVey as Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr Ripley. Picture: Mark Senior

Game of lies of the week: The Talented Mr Ripley, Grand Opera House, York, January 19 to 24, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

BEFORE its West End run, The Talented Mr Ripley plays the Grand Opera House with a cast led by Ed McVey as Tom Ripley, Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf and 2020 Strictly Come Dancing finalist Maisie Smith as Marge. Tom is a nobody, scraping by in New York, forging signatures, telling little white lies, until a chance encounter changes everything. When a wealthy stranger offers him an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy to bring home his wayward son, Dickie, Tom leaps at the opportunity. 

In the sun-drenched glamour of 1950s’ Italy, surrounded by shimmering waters and whispered secrets, Tom is seduced by Dickie’s freedom, wealth and effortless charm. Fascination turns to obsession in Patricia Highsmith’s story, whereupon an innocent chance turns into a chilling game of lies, identity theft and murder. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Elanor Moss: Songs of the nuances of life lived in relation to others at Pocklington Arts Centre

Folk gig of the month: Elanor Moss, Pocklington Arts Centre, January 29, 8pm

ELANOR Moss, an “emotionally transatlantic” talent with family roots in Lincolnshire and Baltimore, Maryland, draws on influence from homes familiar and felt in songs that turn over the nuances of life lived in relation to others, taking inspiration from the British and American folk canons alike.

In keeping with such heroes as Judee Sill, Joni Mitchell, Sibylle Baier and Vashti Bunyan, her subject is “always people in all their lovely flawed-ness”. Ned Swarbrick supports. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

John Doyle: Returning to York Theatre Royal to direct The Secret Garden The Musical this spring

Welcome back to nature: The Secret Garden The Musical, York Theatre Royal, March 17 to April 4

TONY Award-winning John Doyle, artistic director of York Theatre Royal from 1993 to 1997, returns to his old patch to stage his trademark actor-musician interpretation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden in a new revival of the Broadway musical with a score by Lucy Simon and book and lyrics by Marsha Norman.

In 1906 North Yorkshire (North Riding, as was), newly orphaned Mary Lennox is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her widowed uncle in a moorland house of memories and spirits. Determined to breathe new life into her aunt’s mysterious neglected garden, she makes new friends while learning of the power of connection and the restorative magic of nature.  Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Amber Davies in the poster for Legally Blonde The Musical, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, in April

Casting announced for: Made At Curve presenting Legally Blonde The Musical at Grand Opera House, York, April 21 to 25, 7.30pm plus Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing 2025 finalist Amber Davies will play Elle Woods in the 2026 tour of Legally Blonde The Musical, joined by York Theatre Royal pantomime villain Jocasta Almgill as Brooke Wyndham, fresh from playing wicked fairy Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty.

Davies had been set to appear as Hollywood hooker Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman The Musical at the Grand Opera House in February 2024, but Sydnie Hocknell understudied that week. Hannah Lowther, otherwise playing Margot, will step in for Davies at the April 23 matinee. North Yorkshireman  Nikolai Foster directs the uplifting, totally pink tale of Elle’s transformation from ‘It Girl’ fashionista to legal ace at Harvard Law School, all in the name of love. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

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Cast confirmed for first tour of The Choir Of Man, raising voices and glasses at Grand Opera House from June 30 to July 4

A scene from a previous production of The Choir Of Man, whose first tour is bound for Grand Opera House, York. Picture: The Other Richard

FULL casting is in place for The Choir Of Man, whose first UK & Ireland tour will play the Grand Opera House, York, from June 30 to July 4.

Direct from the West End, the Olivier Award-nominated worldwide hit will take to the road from March 14, when it opens at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

The producers have confirmed the participation of the Jungle Choir Community Project, a new nationwide initiative that invites choirs to take part in the production on opening night in every touring city.

Set in The Jungle pub on stage, The Choir Of Man is billed as “the best trip to your local you’ll ever have”, where the cast of nine (extra)ordinary guys combine beautiful harmonies and foot-stomping singalongs with world-class tap dance and soulful storytelling.

The tour cast will feature Gustav Melbardis as Maestro (The Choir Of Man NCL, Rent); Oluwalonimi (Nimi) Owoyemi as Poet (The Second Woman, Young Vic, The Wind In The Willows, Shakespeare North Playhouse); Levi Tyrell Johnson as Hard Man (The Choir Of Man, West End, Hamilton, UK & Ireland tour); Ben Mabberley as Joker (Calamity Jane, UK tour, Blood Brothers, UK tour) and Rob Godfrey as Beast (The Choir Of Leicester, Aladdin, Wolverhampton Grand).

In the cast too will be Joshua Lloyd as Barman (Chicago, The Lion King, UK & Ireland tours), Sam Walter as Romantic (The Choir Of Man, West End, Kinky Boots, NCL) and Aaron Pottenger as Bore (The Choir Of Man, NCL, Ragtime).

On swing duty will be Sam Ebenezer (The Choir Of Man, West End, The Mousetrap, West End), Jared Leathwood (The Choir Of Man, West End, Billionaire Boy, UK tour), Niall Woodson (The Choir of Man, West End, Frankie’s Guys, UK tour) and Lewis Dragisic (The Choir Of Man, West End, Twelfth Night, UK tour).

Featuring hits from Queen, Luther Vandross, Sia, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns N’ Roses, Avicii and Katy Perry, to name but a few, this uplifting celebration of community and friendship offers “something for everyone – including free beer”!

The Jungle Choir Community Project will involve a search for choirs in each touring city, who will be invited to attend the opening night performance and take part in the show’s final moments.

Participating choirs will be offered discounted tickets and rehearsal materials in advance and will be invited to experience the opening-night performance as part of a wider celebration of music and community. Interested choirs should email officeassistant@kennywax.com.  

Nic Doodson, creator and director, says:  “The Choir Of Man has always been about individuality, generosity, humour and the joy of making music together, and this company embodies all of that.

“As we take the show around the UK and Ireland for the very first time, it felt vital to open the doors even wider and invite local choirs to raise their voices with us. Every city has its own musical heartbeat, and welcoming those voices into the show on press night is a powerful reminder of why this piece exists: to celebrate community, connection and the extraordinary feeling of singing together.”

The Choir Of Man has played three sold-out seasons at the Sydney Opera House, Australia, and multiple sold-out American and European tours. The show is on its fourth North American tour, playing in 45 cities until March 2026, with the 68 shows including two residencies in West Palm Beach.

The Choir Of Man’s West End journey began in 2021 at the Arts Theatre, where it has enjoyed more than 1,000 performances with many sold-out shows and an Olivier Award nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play, before concluding its run on January 4 2026.

The Choir Of Man is created by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay and directed by Doodson, with musical supervision, vocal arrangements and orchestrations by Jack Blume; movement direction and choreography by Freddie Huddleston; monologues written by Ben Norris; scenic design by Oli Townsend; lighting design by Richard Dinnen; costume design and co-scenic design by Verity Sadler; sound design by Sten Severson and casting by Debbie O’Brien.

The UK Tour is produced by HH Productions, Nic Doodson, Andrew Kay, Global Creative and Kenny Wax,  whose collective credits include award-winning shows Six The Musical, Bluey, The Play That Goes Wrong, 42 Balloons, Maddie Moate’s Very Curious Christmas and many more. 

The Choir Of Man, Grand Opera House, York, June 30 to July 2, 7.30pm; July 3, 4pm, 8pm; July 4, 2.30pm, 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.