Gray O’Brien as Inspector John Rebus in Rebus: A Game Called Malice, on tour at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Nobby Clark
GRAY O’Brien makes his second stage appearance in York in 2024 next week, following up his Juror 10 in Twelve Angry Men at the Grand Opera House in May with Inspector John Rebus in Rebus: A Game Called Malice at York Theatre Royal.
Ian Rankin’s Scottish detective has been portrayed on stage, radio, television and online by such actors as Ken Scott, Brian Cox, Charles Lawson, John Hannah and, in six BBC One episodes in May and June this year, by Richard Rankin (no relation).
They have done so with varying degrees of success. John Hannah considered himself “miscast”, handing over to a more downbeat Ken Scott in the ITV series. Richard Rankin, the latest TV incarnation and younger than some of his predecessors, has met with approval.
O’Brien has not read the Rebus books, considering the thriller series to be “one of those things you get into or which just pass you by”, whereas devotees will be rushing out to acquire Rankin’s 25th detective novel, Midnight And Blue, published by Orion today (10/10/2024).
O’Brien has, however, spoken at length with the author, who says different actors bring out different aspects of Rebus, helping him to learn more about the character for the next book.
Gray O’Brien’s Juror 10, left, with Michael Greco’s Juror 7 in Twelve Angry Men at the Grand Opera House, York, in May. Picture: Jack Merriman
As he prepared to play Rebus, O’Brien asked the writer which books he should read to gain an insight into the character. Rankin’s reply came as a surprise. “He said, ‘don’t read them, you don’t need to, because this man is completely on his own. He’s now at a certain age where he’s retired. What’s been in the past is the past’,” O’Brien recalls.
In the new play, the retired detective finds himself at a posh Edinburgh dinner party where the guests play a murder mystery game. “He’s sitting there, a fish out of water thinking, ‘what the heck have I got myself into?’,” says O’Brien. “Then we discover why he’s really there, something happens, and the real Rebus bounces back.”
O’Brien likes how the whodunnit aspect was handled by Rankin, who co-wrote the play with Simon Reade after penning the first draft. The genre demands a denouement where the suspects are gathered together and the guilty party is exposed. “But we do it differently in this play,” he says, without giving too much away.
Given that his books are read worldwide, Rankin was keen to write a play that could be staged around the globe – another reason he wanted no constraints on the portrayal of the stage Rebus.
“It’s not Ken Stott’s Rebus or John Hannah’s Rebus. Your reading of the book is different to my reading of the book,” O’Brien says. “You read something like Lord Of The Rings or Game Of Thrones and you have the characters very much set in your head. Then you see it televised and go, ‘that’s the character I’m seeing in my head’.
Writer Ian Rankin, in the rehearsal room, reading the script for Rebus: A Game Called Malice. Picture: Jonathan Phang
“I can’t mimic or can’t try to copy someone else’s Rebus because we’re all made up completely differently. I can’t hold myself the way Ken Stott holds himself. We’re all different shapes, different sizes, we’re educated differently, we’re from different regions.”
Rebus’s accent was important to O’Brien, who grew up in Ayreshire, Rebus hails from Fife. Both men have Scottish accents but not necessarily the same-sounding accent. The Glasgow-born actor was keen to pay homage to the Edinburgh accent when the production played the Festival Theatre there last month and not resort to a generic Scottish accent.
“To English listeners it probably won’t matter as much,” he says. “Some people thought I was crazy doing an Edinburgh accent because I’m Scottish and I have a Scottish accent. I found the rhythms difficult because it’s a bit like getting someone from Milwaukee to do a Minnesota accent. They’re quite different. The Edinburgh vowel sounds and the line endings are completely different from the West Coast of Scotland.”
O’Brien has played major TV roles as Tony Gordon in Coronation Street, Richard McCaid in Casualty and Dr Tom Deneley in Peak Practice, but theatre remains an essential part of his work, whether touring in the 1954 courtroom drama Twelve Angry Men or starring alongside Dallas star Patrick Duffy in the American caper Catch Me If You Can.
“Theatre is a necessity because TV work stops and sometimes it doesn’t stop forever but there are certainly long hiatuses,” he says. “New people come into TV. Casting directors who championed you leave, the new ones don’t know you, and young people come in and don’t know my work. So you can get overlooked. Many careers crash and burn.
“I can’t mimic or can’t try to copy someone else’s Rebus because we’re all made up completely differently,” says Gray O’Brien
“I’ve been very, very lucky with the loyalty of [the late] producer Bill Kenwright. He’s always wanted me on stage if I’m available. Pretty much every year I get asked to do one of these stage tours. I jump at the challenge each time.”
O’Brien takes the responsibility of touring theatre seriously. “People are paying their hard- earned cash to come and have an experience in theatre. I would always encourage people to come and see a live play,” he says. “You don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s always a jeopardy moment on stage.
“It could be performance 100 or performance 24 where things don’t go fully as expected. Maybe an actor tries something slightly different and says a line with a different inflection. It can change the dynamic of the piece and it’s very exciting.”
What is the worst thing to have befallen him on stage? “Drying is terrible, just literally dropping the ball for half a second,” he says, referring to forgetting lines. “People don’t realise the concentration that’s involved in a play. You’ve got to be completely on the moment and be listening to everything.
“You cannot for a second think, ‘I wonder if I should have fish fingers tonight’. As soon as that happens you’releft with a cue but don’t know what you’re saying. That happens all the time and it’s just how quickly you can pick it up.”
Rebus: A Game Called Malice, York Theatre Royal, October 15 to 19, 7.30pm; 2pm, Wednesday and Thursday; 2.30pm, Saturday. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Ed Gamble: No mention of hot dogs at the Grand Opera House, York, despite the show title and tour publicity photo. Picture: Matt Crockett
IT would not be a Gamble to the see the comedian of that surname, Peter Hook’s Joy Division and New Order excavations, a Miss Marple mystery or a new Rebus play, advises Charles Hutchinson.
Comedy gig of the week: Ed Gamble, Hot Diggity Dog, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm
ED Gamble is promising “all your classicGamble ranting, raving and spluttering, but he’s doing fine mentally. Promise”. After all, he co-hosts the award-winning podcast Off Menuwith James Acaster, is a judge on Great British Menu and Taskmaster champion, hosts Taskmaster The Podcast and The Traitors: Uncloaked and has his own special, Blood Sugar, available on Amazon Prime. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Not Gonna Lie: Fool(ish) Improv conjure comedy from audience stories at The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal
Improv gig of the week: Fool(ish) Improv present Not Gonna Lie, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, tomorrow, 8pm
THIS show by Paul Birch and co will take the truth to task by using real stories from the audience to improvise “unbelievable comedy”. Not so much Who’s Line Is It Anyway but more Who’s Lie Is It Anyway, Fool(ish) welcome you to a playful night of joy, nonsense and completely making things up.
“Come confess and unburden yourselves of some silly secrets, tales of the office and childhood memories and we will shape them into surreal sketches and sensational scenes,” say the Yorkshire improvisers trained by the best in Chicago Long-Form improv. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Peter Hook: Revisiting Joy Division and New Order with The Light at York Barbican. Picture: Mark McNulty
York rock gig of the week: Peter Hook & The Light, Substance World Tour, York Barbican, tomorrow, doors 7pm; start 8pm; curfew 11pm
PETER Hook & The Light compare and contrast his bands Joy Division and New Order’s Substance compilation albums, playing both Manchester groups’ vinyl versions in full, complemented by 12 tracks featured on CD editions.
Hook will be joined by David Potts, his regular companion from Monaco and Revenge, on guitar and vocals, new addition Martin Rebelski, from Doves, on keyboards, Paul Kehoe on drums, and Paul Duffy, from The Coral, deputising for Hooky’s son, Jack Bates, on bass. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Martin Stephenson: Back with The Daintees in Malton
Ryedale gig of the week: Martin Stephenson & The Daintees, Milton Rooms, Malton, October 13, 8pm
MARTIN Stephenson’s focus will be on You Belong To Blue, the February 2023 album that saw original Daintees’ members Gary Dunn, Anthony Dunn and Charlie Smith, plus a selection of special guests, joining up with the Durham-born singer-songwriter once again.
His Malton set will feature Daintees and Stephenson solo favourites stretching back to his 1986 debut Boat To Bolivia as he dips into country, folk, jazz, blues, skiffle and reggae. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox: In tandem at the Milton Rooms
Duo of the week: Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox, Milton Rooms, Malton, October 15, 7.30pm
THIS is a rare opportunity to see North Eastern masters of vocal harmony and musicians Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox perform once again as a duo after several years of individual work. Actor, singer and songwriter Mitchell founded Jack The Lad in the 1970s and was Lindisfarne’s the front man for eight years until their retirement in 2003.
He has undertaken two tours of The Lindisfarne Story and performs in The Pitmen Poets with Fox, Jez Lowe and Benny Graham, presenting songs and stories of Durham and Northumberland’s coal mining communities. Fox interprets traditional and modern songs, played the Songman in the National Theatre’s Warhorse and first toured with Mitchell in 2006, leading to their studio album of Tyne and Wear songs Back On City Road. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Gray O’Brien as Inspector John Rebus in Rebus: A Game Called Malice, on tour at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Nobby Clark
York play of the week: Rebus: A Game Called Malice, York Theatre Royal, October 15 to 19, 7.30pm; 2pm, Wednesday, Thursday; 2.30pm, Saturday
SCOTTISH crime writer Ian Rankin’s much-loved detective, John Rebus, takes to the stage in a new storyco-written with Simon Reade. Gray O’Brien, from Coronation Street, Casualty and Peak Practice, plays Rebus in a cast also featuring Abigail Thaw and Billy Hartman.
When a splendid Edinburgh mansion dinner party concludes with a murder mystery game created by the hostess, suddenly a murder needs to be solved. However, guests have secrets of their own. Among them is Inspector John Rebus, but is he Is playing an alternative game, one to which only he knows the rules? Rankin will attend the October 18 post-show discussion with the cast. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
1812 Theatre Company’s poster for The Mirror Crack’d, a Miss Marple mystery, at Helmsley Arts Centre
Ryedale play of the week: 1812 Theatre Company in Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d, Helmsley Arts Centre, October 16 to 19, 7.30pm
1812 Theatre Company presents Rachel Wagstaff’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1962 thriller, wherein Hollywood star Marina Gregg has moved into Gossington Hall and has been persuaded to host the village fête.
When the harmless Heather Badcock, a St John’s Ambulance volunteer with not one enemy in the world, is poisoned by a drink meant for Marina, Chief Inspector Craddock quickly realises the wrong person has died. Fortunately, his aunt, Miss Marple, lives in the village, ever ready to unravel the truth behind the killing as seven suspects face investigation. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Strictly between us: Husband and wife Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara announce A Night To Remember tour for 2025
Show announcement of the week: Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara: A Night To Remember, York Barbican, June 1 2025
STRICTLY Come Dancing favourites Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara – married since 2017 – will be touring next year with A Night To Remember, featuring an ensemble of “some of the UK’s very best dancers and singers”.
Aljaž, partnering Tasha Ghouri in the 2024 series, and It takes Two presenter Janette will “perform stunning routines to an eclectic array of music”, spanning the Great American songbook through to modern-day classics, backed by their own big band, fronted by boogie- woogie star Tom Seal. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am at yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/aljaz-and-janette-a-night-to-remember.
In Focus: Pickering Musical Society in Wonders Of The West End, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, October 10 to 13
Paula Paylor, left, and Danille Long in Pickering Musical Society’s Wonders Of The West End. Picture: Robert David Photography
CURTAIN up tomorrow, Pickering Musical Society is in full swing, putting the final touches to its highly anticipated autumn concert Wonders Of The West End.
This year’s production promises to be a spectacular event, featuring not only the society’s talented performers but also more than 40 dancers from the Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance.
In a dazzling programme of classic and contemporary show tunes, selections include iconic hits from Gigi, Half A Sixpence, Oliver! and Waitress, to name but a few.
Colin Wragg in Wonders Of The West End. Picture: Robert David Photography
The cast and dancers have been working hard under the expert guidance of resident musical director Clive Wass, who will be conducting the orchestra each night.
“The combination of live music, powerful vocals, and stunning choreography promises an unforgettable night of theatre,” says director Luke Arnold. “The carefully curated programme offers something for everyone, whether you’re a fan of the golden age of musicals or the latest West End sensations.
“It would be remiss to reflect on the music without a special mention to the society’s rehearsal pianist, Carl Schofield, who has worked tirelessly with the cast over the past three months to help deliver a stunning performance.”
Under the parasol: Alice Rose in Wonders Of The West End.Picture: Robert David Photography
This year’s concert marks the debut of regular principal actress Courtney Brown as assistant director under Luke’s stewardship.
“It has been a privilege working with Courtney,” he says. “I could not have wished for a better assistant. We have got on fantastically well from day one and our interest and taste in musical theatre is very similar, which has helped us create a unified production. I look forward to working with Courtney again and seeing her develop as a director.”
Pickering Musical Society presents Wonders Of The West End, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, October 10 to 13, 7.30pm nightly. Box office: 01751 474833 or online at Wonders of the West End (littleboxoffice.com).
Pickering Musical Society’s full company for Wonders Of The West End. Picture: Robert David Photography
Ed Gamble in his promotional picture for the Hot Diggity Dog tour. Picture: Matt Crockett
CHART-TOPPING Off Menu podcaster, Great British Menu judge, Taskmaster champion and The Traitors: Uncloaked and Taskmaster podcast host Ed Gamble is back on the road in his extended UK and Irish stand-up comedy tour, Hot Diggity Dog.
Next stop on a second leg running from September 26 to January 20 2025 will be the Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow night (9/10/2024), having played there in February 2022 on his Electric travels.
The Hit Diggity Dog tour now adds up to the south-west Londoner’s longest-ever itinerary at 38. Not without irony for a comedy turn who confesses: “A lot of the show is about – and I don’t know how the audience feels about this – how I would rather be at home with my wife [producer Charlie Jamison], after all those years spent becoming a comedian who travels the road.
“I got married in 2021, and there’s a lot of stuff about my honeymoon in 2022 in the show, after all the Covid restrictions got lifted [having forced three postponements of his wedding].
“Look, when I’m on the road, I complain I’m not at home, but then when I’m at home, I complain I’m not on the road. It’s addictive to get a response on stage night after night, when you don’t know how things will go down, or whether it will be different from one part of the country to another, though it’s rare that a joke that goes down well one night is met with silence the next, but it’s always a highwire act.
“On a tour, the main story beats and the big punchlines stay the same, but I can never resist chatting to ther audience, reacting to the vibe each night.”
In a nod to the title of Hot Diggity Dog, the tour publicity proclaims “Ed Gamble has minced a load of meat (thoughts), piped it into a casing (show) and it’s coming to a bun (venue) near you. There will be all your classic Gamble ranting, raving and spluttering but he’s doing fine mentally. Promise.”
“Gamble is my real name,” says Ed Gamble. “I was told by someone that a good comedian’s name has a one-syllable first name and a two-syllable second name.” Picture: Matt Crockett
So much so, he says: “I’m absolutely delighted to do so many dates and that so many people want to see it. I just do as many shows as I can because when you start out, you write a show for the Edinburgh Fringe, then just do Edinburgh and maybe ten more shows after that. But with Hot Diggity Dog, I’m now hoping to do international dates next year.”
Hot Diggity Dog, Ed? Explain yourself. “I’m told it’s a Mickey Mouse thing [The Hot Dog Song, with its lyric “Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggety Dog”], but it’s pretty difficult because you always have to come up with a tour title well before you do the tour, and by the time you do the shows, the title probably should have changed!” he admits.
“I only said ‘Hot Diggity Dog’ once in the show and now I don’t even mention it – but it was good for the promotional picture!” Except in London, where Ed found himself caught up in “Cucumbergate”.
His show poster of a hot dog fell foul of Transport for London’s ban on junk food advertising on the London Underground, whereupon the Off Menu co-presenter replaced the off-menu item with a similarly shaped but healthier cucumber.
Ed has been busier than ever, having brought his Off Menu podcast with co-host James Acaster to the stage, written his first book, the memoir Glutton: The Multi-Course Life Of A Very Greedy Boy (published by Penguin Books last October]; hosted BBC Two’s The Traitors: Uncloaked podcast and been crowned series nine champion of Taskmaster (Dave/Channel 4).
Add to that list featuring on the second Champions of Champions episode of Taskmaster in 2022; hosting the Taskmaster podcast; competing in The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer and earlier appearing in more than 30 episodes of the satirical panel show Mock The Week between 2015 to 2021.
The show poster image that fell foul of Transport for London’s ban on junk food advertising on the London Underground
On top of all that, he has been a judge on BBC Two’s Great British Menu, co-hosts a Sunday morning show on Radio X with Matthew Crosby and has served as one of six rotating guest-hosts for Pointless on BBC One.
“It’s good that comedians get picked up to do other stuff, being trusted to do it, because I love to keep a variety of things going on that feed into the live shows,” says Ed.
What’s next? “The Traitors will be back and I’ll be back doing The Traitors: Uncloaked podcast on BBC Two; Off Menu rumbles on and I’ll be recording a Taskmaster podcast every week for the current series that started last month,” he says. “Then there’s filming for Great British Menu series 20, for broadcast next year.”
Any last words on tomorrow’s show in York, Ed? “Just come and see it. We’ve been having a lot of fun on tour. We have a laugh, and the shows have been going great,” he says. “We’d love to have as many people there as possible.”
Ed Gamble: Hot Diggity Dog, Grand Opera House, York, October 9, 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.Also playing:St George’s Hall, Bradford, October 19, 7.30pm. Box office: bradford-theatres.co.uk. Age guidance: 14 upwards.
Did you know?
ED Gamble began his comedy career performing with the Durham Revue while studying Philosophy at Durham University, where he met fellow comedians Nish Kumar, Nick Mohammed and Tom Neenan. He came to prominence playing Georgie Carlton in two series of Almost Royal (BBC America/E4/Netflix) and co-wrote series three and four of Greg Davies’s sitcom Man Down (Channel 4), as well as appearing in two episodes.
YORK unlocks for the weekend. Charles Hutchinson unlocks the door to multiple other delights too.
Festival of the week: York Unlocked 2024, today and tomorrow from 10am
IN its third year, York Unlocked welcomes residents and visitors to experience York’s architecture and open spaces with the chance to discover, explore and enjoy around 50 sites.
This year’s new addition is a children’s trail book; families can pick up a free copy from York Explore Library, All Saints’ Church, North Street, or The Guildhall. Full details of the participating locations, from Spark: York to City Screen Picturehouse, Terry’s Factory Clock Tower to Bishopthorpe Palace, Holgate Windmill to York Railway Station, can be found at york-unlocked.org.uk. Entry is free, including those requiring booking.
Rachel Croft: Heading back to York to play The Crescent
Return of the week: Black Deer Live in association with TalentBanq presents Rachel Croft Live, supported by Tom Sheldon Trio, The Crescent, York, tonight, doors 7.30pm
AFTER relocating to London almost three years ago, thunderous alt-rock singer-songwriter Rachel Croft returns to York for an explosive hometown show, backed by a full band.
Caffe Nero Artist of the Month in February 2024, she has performed at The O2 Arena Blue Room, Bush Hall and Camden Assembly in London, the Bitter End in New York and Bluebird Cafe in Nashville and such festivals as Cambridge Folk Festival, Secret Garden Party and Black Deer. Her cinematic songs have featured on Netflix, the BBC and in rotation in Tesco, Waterstones and Centre Parcs stores. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Much more than stripping assets: York’s queen of burlesque, Freida Nipples, hosts The Exhibionists in The Old Paint Shop
Cabaret night of the week: Freida Nipples presents…The Exhibitionists, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 8pm; Halloween Edition, October 26, 6pm and 9pm
YORK’S award-winning burlesque artiste Freida Nipples launches the Theatre Royal’s new Old Paint Shop cabaret season with some of her favourite fabulous performance artists from across Great Britain.
“From burlesque to drag and beyond, be sure to expect the unexpected,” she says. “Get ready to be dazzled, shocked and in awe. Only a few things are guaranteed: glamour, gags and giggles.” Tickets update: all three shows have sold out. For returns only, call 01904 623568.
Frankenstein (On A Budget): One man, one monster, one glorious dream at Friargate Theatre, York
“Comedy musical Hammer Horror homage you didn’t know you needed”: Frankenstein (On a Budget), Friargate Theatre, York, tonight, 7.30pm
ONE man, one monster, one glorious dream to singlehandedly tell the most famous cult horror story of all time on absolutely no budget whatsoever. What could possibly go wrong? Inspired by Mary Shelley and Boris Karloff, Frankenstein (On a Budget) features one actor, some decidedly dodgy backdrops, new music, weather-based based puns, cardboard props, gore and flashing lights.
Can the ill-fated doctor build his monstrous creation, play 25 characters, sing songs aplenty, attempt accents from across the world, perform a dance routine, and ultimately save the day in only 60 minutes? Find out tonight. Age guidance: 14 upwards. Box office: ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.
The Shires: Playing York on intimate acoustic tour
Country gig of the week: The Shires: The Two Of Us Tour, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
GREAT Britain’s biggest country music export, The Shires, return to York on their intimate acoustic tour, where Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes play songs from 2015 debut, 2016’s My Universe, 2018’s Accidentally On Purpose, 2020’s Good Years and 2022’s 10 Year Plan.
The Shires have achieved three consecutive UK Top Three albums, four UK Country album chart toppers, more than 100 million streams, two gold-certified records and two CMA Awards, headlining the Royal Albert Hall too. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Aein Nasseri (Alland) and the CAPA College Chorus (Vox) in Red Ladder Theatre Company’s Sanctuary. Picture: Robling Photography
Play of the week: Red Ladder Theatre Company in Sanctuary, Selby Abbey, October 7, 7.30pm; Hull Truck Theatre, Hull, October 8, 7.30pm; Wesley Centre, Harrogate, October 12,7.30pm
DIRECTED by new Red Ladder artistic director Cheryl Martin, this timely premiere by Sarah Woods and musician Boff Whalley tells the vital story of Alland, a young Iranian man who begs to be given sanctuary at St Mary’s Church in a northern town, sparking a community to react in all the ways each member believes to be right.
Featuring a chorus of Wakefield’s CAPA College students, Sanctuary mixes hard-hitting ideas with melodic tunes and harmonies, asking the question: do we want safety and freedom for only ourselves, or for us all? Box office: Selby, 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk; Hull, 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk.
Carrie Hope Fletcher: Love Letters in song form at York Barbican
Musical theatre revue of the week: Carrie Hope Fletcher, Love Letters, York Barbican, October 8, doors 7pm
WEST End musical theatre actress, author and vlogger Carrie Hope Fletcher explores all forms of love, from romantic to maternal, unrequited to obsessive, all told through a concert of musical theatre favourites, accompanied by specially written letters about each song by Carrie.
She is best known for playing Éponine and Fantine in Les Misérables, Veronica in Heathers, Wednesday in The Addams Family, Cinderella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella on the London stage. Her special guest will be Bradley Jaden, her West End co-star in Les Miserables. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Ed Gamble: Not discussing hot dogs in Hot Diggity Dog at the Grand Opera House. Picture: Matt Crockett
Comedy gig of the week: Ed Gamble, Hot Diggity Dog, Grand Opera House, York, October 9, 7.30pm
ED Gamble is promising “all your classicGamble ranting, raving and spluttering, but he’s doing fine mentally. Promise”. After all, he co-hosts the award-winning podcast Off Menuwith James Acaster, is a judge on Great British Menu and Taskmaster champion, hosts Taskmaster The Podcast and The Traitors: Uncloaked and has his own special, Blood Sugar, available on Amazon Prime. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Not Gonna Lie: Fool(ish) Improv use audience true stories to improvise “unbelievable comedy”
Improv gig of the week: Fool(ish) Improv present Not Gonna Lie, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, October 10, 8pm
PAUL Birch and co will take the truth to task by using real stories from the audience to improvise “unbelievable comedy”. Not so much Who’s Line Is It Anyway but more Who’s Lie Is It Anyway, Fool(ish) welcome you to a playful night of joy, nonsense and completely making things up.
“Come confess and unburden yourselves of some silly secrets, tales of the office and childhood memories and we will shape them into surreal sketches and sensational scenes,” say the Yorkshire improvisers trained by the best in Chicago Long-Form improv. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Sharleen Spiteri: Leading Texas at Scarborough Open Air Theatre next summer
Gig announcement of the week: Texas, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, July 26 2025
SCOTTISH band Texas, fronted as ever by Sharleen Spiteri, will return to Scarborough Open Air Theatre for the first time since July 2018 to showcase five decades of songs, from I Don’t Want A Lover, Say What You Want and Summer Son to Inner Smile, Mr Haze and Keep On Talking next summer. Irish rock band The Script are confirmed already for July 5. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.co.uk and ticketmaster.co.uk.
Carrie Hope Fletcher on stage in Love Letters, on tour at York Barbican
WEST End musical theatre star, author and vlogger Carrie Hope Fletcher will explore all forms of love, from romantic to maternal, unrequited to obsessive, in Love Letters at York Barbican on Tuesday.
Joining her for this concert of musical theatre favourites will be West End leading man Bradley Jaden, her Les Miserables co-star, one of three special guests on her 14-date autumn tour.
Best known for playing Éponine and Fantine in Les Misérables, Veronica in Heathers, Wednesday in The Addams Family, Cinderella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella and Beth in the arena tour of The War Of The Worlds alongside Jason Donovan, Carrie’s tour marks her return to the stage after time away since giving birth to daughter Mabel, now seven months old.
“My last job finished on New Year’s Eve: panto in Crawley. I was Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty, the villain. It’s the best role – Sleeping Beauty is asleep for half the show!” says Carrie, 31.
“That was my second panto, and again I did it with Evolution Productions [co-producers of the York Theatre Royal pantomime] after Canterbury in the first year, both written and directed by Paul Hendy, who’s so much fun and just knows the essence of what makes a good panto.
“Last year I also did my first tour, called An Open Book, where I told stories from throughout my career that I hadn’t told before and paired them with songs, and we had such a great time, I wanted to do another show like that.”
Here comes Love Letters. “The fun thing is that it will be a different set list every night,” says South Harrow-born Carrie. “There are six songs that will be sung every night, at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of each act, with ten in between that will be completely different at each show.
“A list of songs will go live on social media before each concert, where fans can pick out their venue and make their choices from 25/26 songs per show.”
At first Carrie said that the six songs sure to feature each night were a secret but then she revealed: “There are three I can confirm: Journey To The Past, from Anastasia; Home, from Beetlejuice The Musical and Someone’s Waiting For You from The Rescuers.”
Carrie Hope Fletcher in her dressing room
Explaining the theme behind Love Letters, Carrie says: “I just felt that because the world is so fast paced, especially with social media, that I miss the slow-paced art of writing a letter, when you know that the writer has taken time to prepare before writing the words. It’s not just about people we love, but things we love as well: musical theatre, books, Disney.
“I’ve written a love letter to go with every song, dedicated to a person or a thing. Audience members for each show can send in a love letter and I’ll choose one and read it out. We’ve been going through the letters that have come in over the past few weeks and a lot of them are dedicated to someone who’s coming to the show with them.”
Assessing why love is the subject of so many songs, Carrie says: “It’s the thing that unites us all. We all feel love for someone or something one way or another, and we feel it deep down, whether it’s for a person, a pet or a favourite film.”
Carrie’s career has required her to sing some of the greatest songs in musical theatre. “There’s a responsibility singing those songs, especially when playing roles that people hold great affection for. Like singing I Dreamed A Dream in Les Miserables, where it’s become bigger than the musical.
“People attach it to their own lives, so I do feel that sense of responsibility when the opening chords are played and you know you have to deliver.
“It put things in perspective when people say, ‘you’re not a doctor, or a lawyer defending someone, you’re just putting on a wig and singing’, but for people who come to the theatre, it’s a chance to escape and that one night could have a life-changing effect on someone. You have to remind yourself that what you’re doing is important to people.”
Carrie finds joy in singing, joy that transfers to the audience too. “It’s a joy I feel just to sing and that’s what people latch on to. Maybe the joy I get from it separates me from others. That’s what people connect to,” she says.
“ I do think that musical theatre is based in expressing emotion, and if you’re not feeling it one night, then it won’t transmit to the audience.”
Carrie Hope Fletcher with special guest Bradley Jaden, Love Letters, York Barbican, October 8, doors, 7pm. Box office: yorkbarbian.co.uk. Carrie will play the lead role in Nikolai Foster’s production of Calamity Jane, on tour at Grand Opera House, York, from April 29 to May 3 2025. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The poster for the 2025 tour of Calamity Jane starring Carrie Hope Fletcher
CARRIE Hope Fletcher will lead the cast in the 2025 tour of Jamie Wilson Productions’ revival of the Watermill Theatre’s whip-crackin’ production of Calamity Jane prior to a West End run. The Grand Opera House, York, awaits from April 29 to May 3.
“Calamity Jane is one of those roles that doesn’t come around all too often,” says Carrie. “She’s action, romance and comedy all packed into one character, and I can’t wait to take on the challenge of filling her shoes.”
Marking the tenth anniversary since the Watermill show hit the road, next year’s production reunites the creative team with direction by Curve artistic director Nikolai Foster, co-direction and choreography by Nick Winston, orchestration and music supervision by Catherine Jayes and set and costume design by Matthew Wright. Lighting design will be by Tim Mitchell and sound design by Ben Harrison.
Producer Jamie Wilson says: “With this new version of Calamity Jane first opening at The Watermill Theatre in 2014, I am delighted to be collaborating with them again to finally bring this wonderful production back to theatres all over the country after a ten-year absence.
“We have been waiting for the right moment and artist to step into Calamity’s boots and bring this hilarious and joyful musical back to the nation, and we are thrilled that Carrie Hope Fletcher will be leading the company as the iconic Calamity Jane. Carrie is one of the UK’s most talented artists whose broad fan base will introduce this much beloved musical to audiences across the country.”
Based on the cherished 1954 Doris Day movie, this foot-stomping new production features such songs as The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away), The Black Hills Of Dakota, Just Blew In From the Windy City and the Oscar-winning Secret Love.
The tour publicity invites you to “meet the fearless, gun-slinging Calamity Jane, the biggest mouth in Dakota territory and always up for a fight. She’ll charm you hog-eyed, however, especially when trying to win the heart of the dashing Lieutenant Gilmartin, or shooting insults at the notorious Wild Bill Hickok.
“But when the men of Deadwood fall hard for Chicago stage star Adelaid Adams, Calamity struggles to keep her jealousy holstered. Her heart’s a thumpin’… but who for? What are you waiting for, you wild coyotes? Whip -crack-away!”
Tickets for the 7.30pm evening performances and 2.30pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday matinees are on sale at atgtickets.com/york.
Carrie Hope Fletcher: More than one million views every month on her YouTube channel
Carrie Hope Fletcher: back story
Born: October 22 1992, South Harrow, Harrow
Occupation: Actress, author and vlogger.
Theatre includes: Elizabeth in The Crown Jewels (West End/UK tour), Grusha in The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Rose Theatre), Cinderella in Cinderella (Gillian Lynne Theatre), Fantine in Les Misérables: The Concert (Gielgud Theatre), Veronica in Heathers (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty (Marlowe Theatre), Brenda in The Christmasaurus Live (Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith), Wednesday in The Addams Family (Music and Lyrics), Eponine in Les Misérables (Dubai – Cameron Mackintosh), Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Music and Lyrics), Eponine in Les Misérables (Queen’s), Beth in Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds (arena tour), Wind In The Willows (Regent’s Park Open Air), Jane Banks in Mary Poppins (Disney Theatrical/Cameron Mackintosh), Jemima in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Young Eponine in Les Misérables.
Television: In Two Minds, Break Kids, Princess Beatrix in Wilhelmina and Dog & Duck.
Concerts: Once – In Concert (London Palladium), Treason – The Musical in Concert (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), When The Curtain Falls (Cadogan Hall), Jason Robert Brown in Concert (Haymarket Theatre), West End Does Love (FortyFour Productions), West End Does Christmas (FortyFour Productions), West End Does Animation (FortyFour Productions), Edges (Prince of Wales), Andrew Lippa in Concert, Sheytoons in Concert (St James) and Ramin Karimloo’s 2012 tour Road To Find Out.
Carrie’s first solo tour in 2023, An Open Book, toured UK and played London Palladium (sold out) in a celebration of her career so far.
Music: Debut solo album When the Curtain Falls was released in March 2018, produced by 2300 Records. Reached Top 20 in UK album charts and number two in iTunes Soundtrack Charts. 2022 Grammy nominee for Best Musical Theatre Album for Cinderella (Original Concept Album) and Les Misérables: The Staged Concert (Live Album).
Presenting: Host of 2016 Olivier Awards in the Piazza; backstage host of 2018 Olivier Awards at Royal Albert Hall.
Books: First book All I Know Now: Wonderings and Reflections on Growing Up Gracefully, was released in 2015; On The Other Side, July 2016; All That She Can See, 2017; When The Curtain Falls, July 2018; In The Time We Lost, 2019; first children’s book, Into The Spotlight, a reimagining of Noel Streatfield’s Ballet Shoes, September 2020; With This Kiss, 2022; The Double Trouble Society, 2023.
Awards: Three-time winner of Best Actress in a Musical at WhatsOnStage Awards for roles of Cinderella in Cinderella, Veronica Sawyer in Heathers and Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family. Also won WhatsOnStage Award for Best Takeover in a Role for Eponine in Les Misérables
Social media: Established online presence with more than 472,000 followers on X, 600,000 on Instagram and 630,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel with more than one million views every month. Named in The Sunday Times Influencer List as one of UK’s top 100 influencers.
Davide Ortu’s illustration for the book cover for Carrie Hope Fletcher’s 2023 children’s novel, The Double Trouble Society And The Worst Curse
Carrie Hope Fletcher: the writer
“I HAVE written eight novels and one non-fiction book, my first book [All I Know Now: Wonderings and Reflections on Growing Up Gracefully, published in April 2015], written off the back of the lifestyle blog I wrote from 2011 onwards.
“I was 22 when I wrote it with all the knowledge of what I thought I knew as a teenager. I could easily write another now at 31,” she says.
“I wrote for Little, Brown Books for the first five books and then switched to Harper Collins. I have this incredible editor, who transferred to Harper Collins, and I followed her.
“My recent books were my first children’s books, the Double Trouble Society series. Last year Puffin published The Double Trouble Society And The Worst Curse, where the Double Trouble Society know how to handle witches but can they manage vampires, werewolves and ghosts as well?
“I have ideas for my next books, both for children and the adult market, but I’ve been preoccupied with being a new mum!”
Carrie Hope Fletcher: the vlogger
“YOU can find them on YouTube @Carrie. It’s mainly behind the scenes of musical theatre. I’ve been doing it for 11-12 years now and it’s been a delight to keep doing it,” says Carrie, who has made 893 videos and has 628,000 subscribers.
The cover artwork for Michael Palin’s new book, in focus at the Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow
FROM a talkative traveller to a Californian Kate Bush tribute act, York’s weekend of open doors to a best-of-British musical revue, Charles Hutchinson seeks diverse cultural opportunities.
Globe-trotter of the week: Michael Palin, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
IN the words of Monty Python alumnus, actor, presenter and Yorkshireman Michael Palin: “In There And Back – The Diary Tour 2024, I’ll bring to life the fourth collection of my diaries and the first to be released for ten years.
“Lots of fun as I go through the Noughties, and some dark times too. I constantly surprise myself with the sheer amount I took on.” Tickets update: still available at atgtickets.com/york.
Baby Bushka: Delighting in the theatricality of Kate Bush’s songs at Pocklington Arts Centre
Tribute show of the week: Baby Bushka, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow, 8pm
THE music and magic of Kate Bush has reached across the seas and skies to San Diego, California, where the eight women of the bewitching Baby Bushka have honed their wide-eyed, other-worldly versions of Kate’s baroque, ethereal pop.
Performed in jump-suits by Natasha Kozaily, Lexi Pulido, Nancy Ross, Leah Bowden, Batya Mac Adam-Somerm, Marie Haddad, Heather Nation and Melanie Medina, their kooky rock show is filled with four-part harmonies, avant-garde choreographed dancing, theatrical props, costumes and glitter masks. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
The Korgis: This is the time for everybody to learn about their favourite songs at Selby Town Hall
Sing something synth-full: The Korgis Time Machine, Selby Town Hall, tomorrow, 7.30pm
WHIRL back in time with The Korgis as they undertake a musical and audio/visual journey though the songs and bands that influenced them. Best known for their 1980 hit Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime, the Bristol synth-pop band will put their spin on songs by The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, 10cc, The Buggles, Peter Gabriel and their own songs of peace and hope with The Korgis and, earlier, with Stackridge.
If I Had You, Bringing Back The Spirit Of Love, If It’s Alright With You Baby and Something About The Beatles will feature, along with new compositions from this year’s two-album set, UN – United Nations. Questions will be taken too. Box office: 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk.
Lucy Porter: No regrets about her regrets at Selby Town Hall
Comedy gig of the week: Lucy Porter, No Regrets!, Selby Town Hall, Friday, 8pm
REGRETS? Frank Sinatra had too few to mention, but Lucy Porter has hundreds, and she is raring to go into graphic detail about all of them. From disastrous dates and professional calamities to ruined friendships and parenting failures, she charts all the mistakes she has made, works out why they happened, and ponders how her life would have turned out if she had acted differently.
Porter posits that if you regret something, you can use it to change your ways. “See the thing you regret as your rock bottom, and let it spur you on to become a better person,” says Porter, who names guilt as one of her top five hobbies as a middle-aged, middle-class, left-leaning ex-Catholic. Box office: 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk.
Barbara Dickson: Reflecting on her career in music and musical theatre at All Saints Church, Pocklington, and Leeds City Varieties
Folk gigs of the week: Hurricane Promotions present Barbara Dickson & Nick Holland, All Saints Church, Pocklington, Friday (sold out) and October 16, 7.30pm. Also Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, October 20, 7.30pm
SCOTTISH folk singer Barbara Dickson and her pianist Nick Holland explore her catalogue of songs in these acoustic concerts in intimate settings, where the pair will let the words and melodies take centre stage as they draw on Dickson’s folk roots, contemporary greats and her classic hits, from Another Suitcase In Another Hall to I Know Him So Well. Box office: barbaradickson.net; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Festival of the week: York Unlocked 2024, Saturday and Sunday
IN its third year, York Unlocked welcomes residents and visitors to experience York’s architecture and open spaces with the chance to discover, explore and enjoy around 50 sites.
This year’s new addition is a children’s trail book; families can pick up a free copy from York Explore Library, All Saints’ Church, North Street, or The Guildhall. Full details of the participating locations, from Spark: York to City Screen Picturehouse, Terry’s Factory Clock Tower to Bishopthorpe Palace, Holgate Windmill to York Railway Station, can be found at york-unlocked.org.uk. Entry is free, including for those requiring booking.
Stevie Williams & The Most Wanted Band: Heading to Helmsley
“Wild journey” of the week: Stevie Williams & The Most Wanted Band, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
LED by powerhouse vocalist Stevie Williams, The Most Wanted Band take their audiences on a wild musical journey with tight grooves, searing guitar solos and a rhythm section that hits with precision in an accomplished, high-energy, explosive show. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Courtney Brown: From playing Ado Annie in Oklahoma! to assistant-directing Pickering Musical Society’s Wonders Of The West End
Ryedale musical show of the week: Pickering Musical Society, Wonders Of The West End, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, October 10 to 13, 7.30pm
PICKERING Musical Society performs the best of British musicals, from the early 20th century to current hits next week, when the full company will be joined once again by Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance students. Lesser-known gems will complement show-stopping favourites.
Regular performer Courtney Brown, seen latterly as the Princess in Aladdin and Ado Annie in Oklahoma!, steps up to the role of assistant director alongside regular director Luke Arnold after expressing an interest in directing. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Sharleen Spiteri: Fronting Texas at Scarborough Open Air Theatre next summer
Gig announcement of the week: Texas, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, July 26 2025
SCOTTISH band Texas, fronted as ever by Sharleen Spiteri, will return to Scarborough Open Air Theatre for the first time since July 2018 to showcase five decades of songs, from I Don’t Want A Lover, Say What You Want and Summer Son to Inner Smile, Mr Haze and Keep On Talking next summer. Tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday at scarboroughopenairtheatre.co.uk and ticketmaster.co.uk. Irish rock band The Script are confirmed already for July 5.
A bit tied up at the moment: Annie Cordoni’s Stella Saxby with Neal Foster’s Aunt Alberta in Awful Auntie. Picture: Mark Douet
AFTER directing Gangsta Granny, Billionaire Boy and Demon Dentist, Birmingham Stage Company actor-manager Neal Foster is at the helm of his fourth David Walliams stage adaptation – and playing the lead too for the first time in Awful Auntie.
Except that he wasn’t at Friday’s 10.30am matinee, attended by CharlesHutchPress and a block booking of York school children, when BMS made a triple substitution.
On came Zain Abrahams, stepping into Foster’s shoes and Argyle-patterned socks as Aunt Alberta and fellow understudies Emily Prosser-Davies and Frankie Oldham, playing orphaned Stella Saxby and batty butler Gibbon respectively. And a mighty fine job they made of it.
“I think he has always appreciated how we capture the tone of his work and how we understand how comedy works on stage,” says Foster of his company’s fruitful partnership with fellow Roald Dahl devotee Walliams.
Foster “gets” Walliams’s humour, never more so than in Awful Auntie, where avaricious Aunt Alberta is “menacing but very funny” as Foster emphasises how the spiteful spinster is “dangerous, but not terrifying”. Having a man play the role, echoing the casting of Miss Trunchbull in Dahl’s Matilda, puts the ‘men’ into menace but adds to the comical absurdity too.
Birmingham Stage Company productions are full of hallmark quality: in this case the surging score of composer Jak Poore; the atmospheric sound design Nick Sagar; the playful lighting detail of Jason Taylor; the fabulous puppetry design and direction of Yvonne Stone and above all, the set and costume design of Jacqueline Trousdale, a key player in creating BSC’s theatrical magic for 30 years.
After Simon Wainwright’s sepia-tinted film clip – delivered with one of those Pathé News voices as stiff as a starched collar – introduces the historic house of Saxby Hall with footage of Stella’s parents, Trousdale’s highly inventive rotating set sets the children’s adventure in motion.
It becomes a constantly changing extra character with its myriad stairways, fireplace, book shelves, doll’s house, bed, turrets, cage, cellar and much more besides. “You really get the feeling of being inside this magnificent mansion,” said Foster in his CharlesHutchPress interview and he is absolutely right.
What’s the story in all its Friday morning glory? Tweed-suited, clown-haired Aunt Alberta (Abrahams/Foster) has packed Stella and her parents off to London. Only Stella (Prosser-Davies/Cordoni) will survive a car crash, and she awakes three months later “from a coma”, wrapped head to foot in bandages, “every bone in her body broken”, her awful Auntie says.
Not everything, indeed not anything, Alberta says turns out to be true. The truth is, she wants the deeds to the house, and Lady Stella Saxby, nearly 13, stands in her way.
Stella must fight for her life against the combined forces of – in Foster’s words – “absolute nutter” Aunt Alberta and her scary-eyed Great Bavarian Mountain Owl, Wagner (handled by puppeteer Emily Essert). On her side is a ghost, Soot (the Tommy Steele-style cheeky chappy Matthew Allen) with his Cockney rhyming slang and arsenal of spooks.
In a world of his own is Gibbon, the scatter-brained butler (Oldham/Abrahams), a scene-stealing one-man show with his regular erratic interjections. His prop malapropisms become a running joke, a form of hapless physical clowning, never bettered than when he says he must clean the carpet, only to promptly push a lawn mower across the marbled hall. Walliams and Foster in theatrical tandem, being so playful here.
Awful Auntie rattles along, with room for a car and motorbike chase, a cameo by the dubious Detective Strauss, revenge pranks, a “Here’s Auntie” riff on Jack Nicholson in The Shining, and a cliffhanger of a final showdown: puppetry in motion.
At the close, the tone turns wistful, lamenting how grown-ups lose the power to see ghosts and asserting how being a child is special, when “you can see all the magic in the world”. What’s more, Lady Stella vows to turn the hall over to housing orphaned children: a social conscience putting the world to rights.
The verdict? As Dick Emery used to say, “Ooh, you are awful, but I like you”. Love it, let alone like it, when Aunt Alberta goes nuts, You would be bonkers to miss it.
Birmingham Stage Company in David Walliams’s Awful Auntie, Grand Opera House, York, today, 2.30pm and 6.30pm; Sunday, 11am. Age guidance: Five upwards. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Rievaulx Abbey, mixed media, by Robert Dutton, on show in A Yorkshire Year at Nunnington Hall
YORKSHIRE landscapes, campsite class division, horror movies to the max and a talkative traveller herald the arrival of the arts autumn for Charles Hutchinson.
Exhibition of the week: A Yorkshire Year, Nunnington Hall, near Helmsley, until December 5
THE changing landscape of the Yorkshire countryside and coastline is captured by Yorkshire artists Robert Dutton, from Nunnington, and Andrew Moodie, from Harrogate, in seasonal images.
Dutton presents a dramatic interpretation of the untamed expanses of Yorkshire, from meandering freshwater rivers and hidden woodlands to the stark beauty of the moors. Moodie directs his attention to the undulating valleys of the Yorkshire Dales, as well as coastal villages. Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm, last entry at 4.15pm. Normal admission prices apply at nationaltrust.org.uk/nunnington-hall.
The artwork for the Dead Northern 2024 Horror Film Festival at City Screen Picturehouse, York
Film event of the week: Dead Northern 2024 Horror Film Festival, City Screen, Picturehouse, York, today and tomorrow
IN “the world’s most haunted city”, Dead Northern presents a festival of movies, music and social gatherings. Today opens with Demonic Shorts at 11am, followed by the regional premiere of Scopophobia, 12.30pm; Slasher, Thriller and Creature Shorts, 2.30pm; UK premiere of The Healing, 4.30pm; Dead Talk film-making panel, 7.30pm; regional premiere of Kill Your Lover, 9pm, and VIP Awards Party at Revolution, York,11pm.
Tomorrow features the Mad Props documentary, 11am; mini-feature Strike,12.45pm; feature film The Monster Beneath Us, 1.15pm; music mini-feature The Black Quarry, 3.45pm; Music Videos, 4.30pm; UK premiere of Kill Victoria, 6.30pm, and world premiere of Lake Jesup, 8.30pm. Guests must be aged over 18 to access screenings and live events. Box office: deadnorthern.co.uk/dead-northern-2024-film-festival.
Tom Gallagher, Annie Kirkman and Laura Jennifer Banks in a scene from John Godber’s revival of Perfect Pitch
Touring play of the week: John Godber Company in Perfect Pitch, Harrogate Theatre, today, 2pm and 7.30pm; Pocklington Arts Centre, October 9 and 10, 7.30pm; Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, November 13 to 16, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
WHEN teacher Matt (Frazer Hammill) borrows his parents’ caravan for a week on the Yorkshire coast with partner Rose (Annie Kirkman), they are expecting four days of hill running and total de-stressing. However, with a Tribfest taking place nearby, Grant (Tom Gallagher) and Steph’s (Laura Jennifer Banks) pop-up tent is an unwelcome addition to their perfect pitch.
The class divide and loo cassettes become an issue as writer-director John Godber reignites his unsettling1998 state-of-the-nation comedy, set on an eroding coastline, as Matt and Rose are inducted into the world of caravanning and karaoke. Box office: Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
The bird man of RedHouse Originals Gallery: artist Jim Moir at his Birdland exhibition in Harrogate
Last chance to see: Jim Moir, Birdland, RedHouse Originals Gallery, Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate, today, 10am, 10am to 5pm
“PEOPLE think that I am a comedian, but art comes first,” says Jim Moir, aka Vic Reeves, as he mounts his second RedHouse show. “This one is Birdland because of my love of birds. I spend most of my days bird watching and painting,” he says.
On show – and for sale – is an exclusive collection of 50 new paintings celebrating his favourite subject ahead of the October 24 release of his second bird book, More Birds, Paintings Of British Birds, published by Unbound. Free entry.
Clare Ferguson-Walker and Robin Ince: Plenty to discuss at Pocklington Arts Centre
Double act of the week: Clare Ferguson-Walker & Robin Ince, Pocklington Arts Centre, tonight, 8pm
TAKE a tour around two marvellous minds via the vehicles of poetry, storytelling, jokes, and general silliness when Clare Ferguson-Walker and Robin Ince link up in Pock. Poet, comedienne, sculptor and singer Clare’s explosive second collection, Chrysalis, lays bare the poet’s soul on a journey laced with humour and humane observation.
Humorist, presenter, poet and author Ince co-hosts the BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox. His books include Bibliomaniac, The Importance Of Being Interested, I’m A Joke And So Are You and his next work, Normally Weird And Weirdly Normal: My Adventures In Neurodiversity, will be published next May. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
The cover design for Michael Palin’s new diary collection
Globe-trotter of the week: Michael Palin, Grand Opera House, York, October 3, 7.30pm
IN the words of Monty Python alumnus, actor, presenter and Yorkshireman Michael Palin: “In There And Back – The Diary Tour 2024, I’ll bring to life the fourth collection of my diaries and the first to be released for ten years.
“Lots of fun as I go through the Noughties, and some dark times too. I constantly surprise myself with the sheer amount I took on.” Tickets update: still available at atgtickets.com/york.
Barbara Dickson: Acoustic October concerts in Pocklington and Leeds
Folk gigs of the week: Hurricane Promotions present Barbara Dickson & Nick Holland, All Saints Church, Pocklington, October 4 (sold out) and October 16, 7.30pm. Also Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, October 20, 7.30pm
SCOTTISH folk singer Barbara Dickson and her pianist Nick Holland explore her catalogue of songs in these acoustic concerts in intimate settings, where the pair will let the words and melodies take centre stage as they draw on Dickson’s folk roots, contemporary greats and her classic hits, from Another Suitcase In Another Hall to I Know Him So Well. Box office: barbaradickson.net; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Mundane matters: Josh Widdicombe mulls over really niche observations about silly little thingsin 2025 and 2026
Gig announcement of the week: Josh Widdicombe, Not My Cup Of Tea Tour, Hull City Hall, October 2 2025, and York Barbican, February 28 2026
PARENTING Hell podcaster and comedian Josh Widdicombe, droll observer of the absurd side of the mundane, will take stock of the little things that niggle him, from motorway hotels to children’s parties, and explain why he has finally decided to embrace middle age, hot drinks and doing the school run in his 58-date tour show, Not My Cup Of Tea.
“That’s my favourite type of stand-up: really niche observations about silly little things that you wouldn’t think about. I’ve got no interest in the big topics.” Box office: joshwiddicombe.com; yorkbarbican.co.uk; hulltheatres.co.uk.
In Focus: Mark Thomas: Gaffa Tapes…Old Title, New Show, The Crescent, York, tomorrow. More Yorkshire shows to follow
This is the modern world:Mark Thomas returns to stand-up venting at The Crescent, York. Picture: Tony Pletts
LAST appearing in York in Ed Edwards’s one-man play England & Son in the Theatre Royal Studio last September, South London’s grouchy “godfather of political comedy”, Mark Thomas, returns to polemical stand-up in Gaffa Tapes…Old Title, New Show at The Crescent tomorrow night.
One of the longest-surviving alternative comics after close to 40 years of stand-up, theatre, journalism, human rights campaigning and the odd bout of performance art, his latest tour’s fusillade of jokes, rants, politics, play and the occasional sing-song adds up to “generally mucking about trying to have fun and upset (shall we say) the right people”.
Gaffa Tapes…Old Title, New Show? Explain the extended tag, Mark. “What happened is I liked the idea of ‘Gaffa Tapes’ as a title and had it last year for my Edinburgh Fringe show, but halfway through the Fringe run I got Covid and had to stop.
“Last year I toured England & Son, written by Ed Edwards, which I was really pleased with. It picked up more awards than I’d ever done before – six awards – and one of them was to perform the play in Australia, taking it out to Adelaide for five weeks – and we might be going to New York …
“But we made no money out of it. I thought, ‘right, how do we make some money?’, so it’s great to be getting back to stand-up. What I love about stand-up is… and this is simple…if you stop doing it, they say you’ll feel rusty, so if you have a hiatus, what you have to learn to do is put your hand on the neck of the beast.
“I thought, ‘I’m going to do all the clubs at the bottom of the eco-system, doing ten minutes here, ten minutes there, doing shows in different places, and the thing about it is, I died on my arse a couple of times, which feels horrible each and every time…
“But if you take a break, you need to get your muscle memory back working again. That’s why I loved doing Edinburgh this summer. I did 26 gigs. It’s just bang, bang, bang, every night. You can muck around, try things out.
Mark Thomas in England & Son, toured to York Theatre Royal Studio in 2023. Picture: Alex Brenner
“The riots were happening around that time, so I wrote about them – and it’s important to be able to talk about that. It’s a living, breathing affecting thing. I love being a warrior in the culture wars, and it’s good to be back on the battlefield.”
The tectonic plates of the political landscape keep shifting: fresh meat to a polemicist comedian’s grist. “Things are always changing,” says Mark. “What I love is that when I started work on the show, there was loads going on, because the Tories were no longer in power, and it’s good to be able to react to that and to suggest what should be happening.
“I was at the Diggers Festival, celebrating Gerrard Winstanley [English Protestant religious reformer, political philosopher, activist and leader and co-founder of the ‘True Levellers’ or ‘Diggers’], doing a talk in a church, where someone said, ‘if you get rid of the oath to the King, that would be the most radical thing you could do’.
“I said, ‘well, actually, I don’ think it is. If you want democracy to work, you should have voting at 16, proportional representation, and you need to abolish the House of Lords’…whereas they’re just tidying up what [Tony] Blair started all those years ago. The most radical thing would be to ban donations to political parties. Make it state-funded, giving money to run parties and campaigns, making it a level playing field.
“Do you know who is the only other country in Europe to have a ‘first past the post’ electoral system? Belarus. So if anyone is out of step, it’s us. I think eventually PR [proportional representation] will come in; it’s just a question of what form it takes.”
How does the change of ruling party in Westminster from the Conservatives to Labour after 14 years have an impact on Thomas’s venting? “It changes the goalposts because it’s a new set of people to attack for a new set of reasons,” says Mark. “It’s the new austerity that they’re proposing that’s not great.
“The fact is that Starmer got some of the things right over the riots. I find it fascinating that there is this a disconnect; the idea that everyone who rioted was a racist, but not everyone was, because riots have a movement of their own, but certainly the organisers were far right.
“I didn’t vote Labour. I’m a Socilaist, why on Earth would I vote Labour?” says Mark Thomas. Picture: Art by Tracey Moberly
“You can be a Zen Buddhist but if you set fire to an asylum seekers’ hotel, then you’re a racist.”
Long associated with spouting anti-Tory sentiment aplenty, Thomas will hold the incoming Labour Party to account too. “I think it’s healthier that way in politics. The honeymoon period is over already,” he says.
“I didn’t vote Labour. I’m a Socialist, why on Earth would I vote Labour? There shouldn’t be a honeymoon period anyway, but I expect the right-wing press to go at Labour with gusto because they want to shape not only this government, but the next Tory one too.”
Any suggestions for policy change, Mark? “Local government can run the bus companies, but it’s really important that it’s not about making the maximum profit. That’s what used to happen until Thatcher changed it,” he says.
“I’m lucky now – because I’m 61, I get the 60+ London Oyster card for £20 [administration fee] that allows me to travel everywhere in London for free and I use buses a lot. That’s one of the great things about London: wherever you are, there will be a night bus coming along in a moment.”
He is looking forward eagerly to tomorrow’s return to The Crescent. “I love The Crescent,” he enthuses. “What they may lack in technical facilities, it’s a proper community venue. I always say, when talking about what community venues could be, take a look at this place.”
Mark Thomas: Gaffa Tapes, Burning Duck Comedy, The Crescent, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm; Marsdsen Mechanics, November 8, 8pm; Social, Hull, November 16, 8pm; Sheffield Memorial Hall November 10, 8pm; Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, February 5 2025; Wakefield Theatre Royal, February 6 2025, 7.30pm.
Box office:York, thecrescentyork.com; Marsden, 01484 844587 or marsdenmechanics.co.uk; Sheffield, sheffieldcityhall.co.uk; Hull, socialhumberstreet.co.uk; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com; Wakefield Theatre Royal, 01924 211311 or theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk (on sale soon) Age guidance: 16 plus.
Mark Thomas: the back story
The next step for Mark Thomas: Touring Gaffa Tapes
“IF you don’t know what Mark does, ask your parents. In his time, he has won eight awards for performing, three for human rights work… and one he invented for himself. He has made six series of the Mark Thomas Comedy Product and three Dispatches for Channel 4, made five series of The Manifesto for BBC Radio 4, written five books and four play scripts, curated and authored two art exhibitions with artist Tracey Moberly and was commissioned to write a show for the Royal Opera House.
“He has forced a politician to resign, changed laws on tax and protest, become the Guinness Book of Records world-record holder for the number of protests in 24 hours, taken the police to court three times and won (the fourth is in the pipeline), walked the length of the Israeli Wall in the West Bank (that’s 724km), and generally mucked about trying to have fun and upset (shall we say) the right people.”
Ghosts In The Garden: Returning for fourth season with more locations and more wire-mesh ghosts
GARDEN ghosts, Yorkshire landscapes, campsite class division, awful auntie antics and ridiculous improv comedy herald the arrival of the arts autumn for Charles Hutchinson.
Installation of the week: Ghosts In The Gardens, haunting York until November 5
GHOSTS In The Gardens returns with 45 ghosts, inspired by York’s past, for visitors to discover in the city’s public gardens and green spaces, with the Bar walls, St Olave’s Church and York Railway Station among the new locations.
Organiser York BID has partnered with design agency Unconventional Design for the fourth year to create the semi-translucent 3D sculptures out of narrow-gauge wire mesh, six of them new for 2024. Pick up the map for this free event from the Visitor Information Centre on Parliament Street and head to https://www.theyorkbid.com/ghosts-in-the-gardens/ for full details.
Rievaulx Abbey, mixed media, by Robert Dutton in A Yorkshire Year at Nunnington Hall
Exhibition of the week: A Yorkshire Year, Nunnington Hall, near Helmsley, until December 5
THE changing landscape of the Yorkshire countryside and coastline is captured by Yorkshire artists Robert Dutton, from Nunnington, and Andrew Moodie, from Harrogate, in a diverse collection of seasonal images at the National Trust house.
Dutton presents a dramatic interpretation of the untamed expanses of Yorkshire, from meandering freshwater rivers and hidden woodlands to the stark beauty of the moors. Moodie directs his attention to the undulating valleys of the Yorkshire Dales, as well as coastal villages. Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm, last entry at 4.15pm. Normal admission prices apply at nationaltrust.org.uk/nunnington-hall
Tom Gallagher, Annie Kirkman and Laura Jennifer Banks in a scene from John Godber’s revival of Perfect Pitch
Touring play of the week: John Godber Company in Perfect Pitch, Harrogate Theatre, until Saturday; Pocklington Arts Centre, October 9 and 10; Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, November 13 to 16
WHEN teacher Matt (Frazer Hammill) borrows his parents’ caravan for a week on the Yorkshire coast with partner Rose (Annie Kirkman), they were expecting four days of hill running and total de-stress. However, with a Tribfest taking place nearby, Grant (Tom Gallagher) and Steph’s (Laura Jennifer Banks) pop-up tent is an unwelcome addition to their perfect pitch.
The class divide and loo cassettes become an issue as writer-director John Godber reignites his unsettling1998 state-of-the-nation comedy, set on an eroding coastline, as Matt and Rose are inducted into the world of caravanning and karaoke. Box office: Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Neal Foster’s Aunt Alberta and Annie Cordoni’s Stella in Birmingham Stage Company’s Awful Auntie at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Mark Douet
Children’s show of the week: Birmingham Stage Company in Awful Auntie, Grand Opera House, York, today to Sunday
CHILDREN’S author David Walliams and Birmingham Stage Company team up for the fourth time. After adaptations of Gangsta Granny, Billionaire Boy and Demon Dentist, here comes actor-manager Neal Foster’s stage account of Awful Auntie.
As Stella (Annie Cordoni ) sets off to visit London with her parents, she has no idea her life is in danger. When she wakes up three months later, not everything Aunt Alberta (Foster) tells her turns out to be true. She quickly discovers she is in for the fight of her life against her very own awful Auntie! Suitable for age five upwards. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The Halls Of Ridiculous: Spinning their improv comedy at Milton Rooms, Malton. Picture: Scott Akoz
Comedy gig of the week: Hilarity Bites Club presents The Halls Of Ridiculous, Cal Halbert and Tony Cowards, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm
NORTHERN comedy The Halls Of Ridiculous, namely Chris Lumb (from BBC Three’s Russell Howard’s Good News) and Phil Allan-Smith (from BBC One’s This Is My House), push the boundaries of improv, sketch and character creativity with their quick-thinking scenes, zany special guests and quirky approach to performance.
Cal Halbert is one half of The Mimic Men, the UK’s only impressionist double act; host Tony Cowards is a rapid-fire gag merchant with an arsenal of one-liners, delivered by a likeable everyman character. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Just Us And A Piano: 1812 Theatre Company singers stage two fundraisers for Helmsley Arts Centre
Fundraising musical theatre concert of the week: 1812 Theatre Company, Just Us And A Piano, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday and Saturday, 7.30pm
SINGER Julie Lomas and pianist Neil Bell bring together a grand piano and an ensemble 1812 Theatre Company singers to celebrate the world of musical theatre, from the Broadway classics of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and Richard Rodgers, through to Cabaret, Wicked, My Fair Lady, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Hamilton and the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Singers Amy Gregory, Esme Schofield, Florrie Stockbridge, Joe Gregory, Julie Lomas, Kristian Gregory, Natasha Jones, Oliver Clive and Phye Bell will be raising funds for Helmsley Arts Centre. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Honey & The Bear: Tales of Suffolk folklore, courageous people and a passion for nature at Milton Rooms, Malton
Ten Year Anniversary Tour: Honey & The Bear, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm
BRITISH folk and roots duo Jon Hart (guitar, bass and bouzouki) and Lucy Hart (guitar, ukulele, bass, banjo, mandolin and percussion) are joined by guests Evan Carson (percussion) and Archie Churchill-Moss (melodeon).
Conjuring stories in song, Honey & The Bear tell tales of Suffolk folklore, courageous people they admire and their passion for nature, as heard on third album Away Beyond The Fret, released last November. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Josh Widdicombe: Taking stock of the little things that niggle him in Not My Cup Of Tea
Gig announcement of the week: Josh Widdicombe, Not My Cup Of Tea Tour, Hull City Hall, October 2 2025, and York Barbican, February 28 2026
PARENTING Hell podcaster and comedian Josh Widdicombe, droll observer of the absurd side of the mundane, will take stock of the little things that niggle him, from motorway hotels to children’s parties, and explain why he has finally decided to embrace middle age, hot drinks and doing the school run in his 58-date tour show, Not My Cup Of Tea.
“That’s my favourite type of stand-up: really niche observations about silly little things that you wouldn’t think about. I’ve got no interest in the big topics.” Box office: joshwiddicombe.com; yorkbarbican.co.uk; hulltheatres.co.uk.
Kate Hampson in the matriarchal role of Marmee in York Theatre Royal’s production of Little Women. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
GARDEN ghosts, a coming-of-age classic, a political groundbreaker, astronaut insights and an awful aunt stir Charles Hutchinson into action as autumn makes its entry.
Play opening of the week: Little Women, York Theatre Royal, September 21 to October 12
CREATIVE director Juliet Forster directs York Theatre Royal’s repertory cast in Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age story of headstrong Jo March and her sisters Meg, Beth and Amy as they grow up in New England during the American Civil War.
Adapted by Anne-Marie Casey, the production features Freya Parks, from BBC1’s This Town, as Jo, Ainy Medina as Meg, Helen Chong as Amy and York actress Laura Soper as Beth. Kate Hampson returns to the Theatre Royal to play Marmee after leading the community cast in The Coppergate Woman. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Steve Wynn: A night of stories and songs at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb. Picture: Guy Kokken
York gig of the week: Steve Wynn, I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True: A Night Of Songs And Stories, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, September 21, 7.30pm
STEVE Wynn, founder and leader of Californian alt. rock band The Dream Syndicate, promotes his first solo album since 2010, Make It Right (Fire Records), and his new memoir, I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True (Jawbone Press), both released on August 30.
Touring the UK solo for the first time in more than ten years, his one-man show blends songs from and inspired by the book with a narrative structure of readings and storytelling. Expect evergreens and rarities from The Dream Syndicate’s catalogue, coupled with illuminating covers and reflective numbers from the new record. Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.
Ghosts In The Garden: Returning for fourth season with more locations and more wire-mesh ghosts. Picture: Gareth Buddo/Andy Little
Installation of the week: Ghosts In The Gardens, haunting York until November 5
GHOSTS In The Gardens returns with 45 ghosts, inspired by York’s past, for visitors to discover in the city’s public gardens and green spaces, with the Bar walls, St Olave’s Church and York Railway Station among the new locations.
Organiser York BID has partnered with design agency Unconventional Design for the fourth year to create the semi-translucent 3D sculptures out of narrow-gauge wire mesh, six of them new for 2024. Pick up the map for this free event from the Visitor Information Centre on Parliament Street and head to https://www.theyorkbid.com/ghosts-in-the-gardens/ for full details
Points Of View, stainless steel, by Tony Cragg, at Castle Howard. Picture: Nick Howard
Last chance to see: Tony Cragg’s Sculptures, Castle Howard, near York, ends September 22
TONY Cragg’s sculptures, the first major exhibition by a leading contemporary artist to be held in the grounds and house at Castle Howard, closes on Sunday after a successful run since May 3 that has seen a 12 per cent rise in visitor numbers since the equivalent period last year.
On show are large-scale bronze sculptures in the gardens plus works in wood, glass sculptures and works on paper, some being displayed for the first time in Great Britain. Opening hours: grounds, 10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm; house, 10am to 3pm. Tickets: 01653 648333 or castlehoward.co.uk.
Making her point: Lauren Robinson as politician Jennie Lee in Mikron Theatre’s premiere of Jennie Lee. Picture: Robling Photography
Political drama of the week: Mikron Theatre Company in Jennie Lee, Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Road, York, September 22, 4pm to 6pm
IN Marsden company Mikron Theatre’s premiere of Jennie Lee, Lindsay Rodden charts the extraordinary life of the radical Scottish politician, Westminster’s youngest MP, so young that, as a woman in 1929, she could not even vote for herself.
Tenacious, bold and rebellious, Lee left her coal-mining family in Scotland and fought with her every breath for the betterment of all lives, for wages, health and housing, and for art and education too, as the first Minister for the Arts and founder of the Open University. She was the wife of NHS founder Nye Bevan, but Jennie is no footnote in someone else’s past. Box office: mikron.org.uk/show/jennie-lee-clements-hall.
Crime novelists Ajay Chowdhury, left, and Luca Veste team up for The Big Read in York and Harrogate on Monday
Book event of the week: Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival presents The Big Read, Acomb Explore Library, York, September 23, 12.30pm to 1.30pm; The Harrogate Inn, Harrogate, September 23, 2.30pm to 3.30pm
THE North’s biggest book club, The Big Read, returns next week with visits to York and Harrogate on the first day, when visitors can meet the festival’s reader-in-residence, Luca Veste, and fellow novelist Ajay Chowdhury, who will discuss Chowdhury’s Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year, The Detective.
More than 1,000 free copies of tech entrepreneur, writer and theatre director Ajay Chowdhury’s 2023 novel from his Detective Kamil Rahman series will be distributed across the participating libraries. Entry is free.
Astronaut Tim Peake: Exploring the evolution of space travel at York Barbican
Travel show of the week: Tim Peake, Astronauts: The Quest To Explore Space, York Barbican, September 25, 7.30pm
BRITISH astronaut Tim Peake is among only 610 people to have travelled beyond Earth’s orbit. After multiple My Journey To Space tours of his own story, he makes a return voyage to share stories of fellow astronauts as he explores the evolution of space travel.
From the first forays into the vast potential of space in the 1950s and beyond, to the first human missions to Mars, Peake will traverse the final frontier with tales of the experience of space flight, living in weightlessness, the dangers and unexpected moments of humour and the years of training and psychological and physical pressures that an astronaut faces. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Neal Foster’s Aunt Alberta and Annie Cordoni’s Stella in Birmingham Stage Company’s Awful Auntie at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Mark Douet
Children’s show of the week: Birmingham Stage Company in Awful Auntie, Grand Opera House, York, September 26 to 29
CHILDREN’S author David Walliams and Birmingham Stage Company team up for the fourth time. Ater adaptations of Gangsta Granny, Billionaire Boy and Demon Dentist, here comes actor-manager Neal Foster’s stage account of Awful Auntie.
As Stella (Annie Cordoni ) sets off to visit London with her parents, she has no idea her life is in danger. When she wakes up three months later, not everything Aunt Alberta (Foster) tells her turns out to be true. She quickly discovers she is in for the fight of her life against her very own awful Auntie! Suitable for age five upwards. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
