Ukrainian Opera and Ballet Theatre Kyiv in Ellen Kent’s production of La Boheme for Opera International
OPERA International director Ellen Kent returns to the Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow and on Saturday to present the Ukrainian Opera & Ballet Theatre Kyiv in Puccini’s La Boheme and Madama Butterfly.
As ever, the insurgence of President Putin’s Russian forces into Ukraine – now past its third anniversary – has presented Ellen with logistical challenges to bring the Kyiv singers and musicians from Eastern Europe to British shores, but emotional challenges too.
“Last year, the wife of Vasily, the orchestra director, was killed in their flat by one of Putin’s bombs” she says. “Vasily had gone shopping with his daughter and they came back to find her dead. He only recognised her in the rubble by her hair.
“He said: ‘I promise I will come on tour, but please let me bury my wife first’. Can you imagine what these people are having to go through? And yet he still came on tour.
“They are such proud people, and I almost feel Ukrainian myself, having worked with them since 2001, when I started with Odessa Opera. How can Trump and Putin meet without Volodymyr Zelensky? It’s completely undemocratic. Why are we so frightened of America? Because they are so powerful? If they leave Zelensky out of discussions, how outrageous is that?” [Editor’s note: Ellen was speaking on February 20.]
Every performance on tour climaxes with a show of support for Ukraine. “We bring out the Ukrainian flag and a great big banner at the end, when we sing the Ukrainian national anthem accompanied by the whole orchestra,” says Ellen.
A scene from Ellen Kent’s Opera International production of La Boheme, featuring the Ukrainian Opera and Ballet Theatre Kyiv, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York
“All the audience rise to their feet without being prompted. It’s very emotional and a wonderful end to the opera. It’s a very, very moving experience and the audience love it, as it adds an extra level to the performance – and I’ve never had so many nice letters.
“We are the only company touring over here from Ukraine, which is significant, just as it was in 2001, but it’s even more so now. I’ve even received medals in Ukraine as the first person to bring Ukrainian performers into the UK.”
Aside from 2020-2021, when Covid intervened, Ellen has continued to tour Ukrainian productions for more than two decades. “But this tour is probably the most difficult of my life – it’s been a bl**dy nightmare,” says the veteran director, who will turn 76 in April.
“We bring them, through the war, out of Ukraine into Moldova on buses, to stay in Air B&Bs and hotels for a month of rehearsals in November and December, and then they return to Ukraine till the end of January, when they come across the border to Krakow, from where we fly them over here.”
Ellen continues: “We’ve faced challenges every single day. Serious problems. We get the necessary permission to bring the men on tour, but any man aged over 25 has to fight in the war; any man under 25 doesn’t, but there are exceptions, like if they are working for the big opera houses, they are exempt over 25 too.
“It’s a right palava as it has to go through the Minister of Culture to get permission, but the thing that makes me nervous is that we heard there were gangs going round in vans, kidnapping men to round them up to fight, and I was terrified that would happen to our men.
Opera director Ellen Kent
“It’s been very stressful, with changes of rules all the time, with a change of Minister of Culture, and we’ve had to deal with the Minister of Defence too.”
Ellen and Opera International have faced these difficulties for three years. “We know the process, but it’s beset with problems, and the new Minister of Culture is from the military. It’s got more and more military, which is inevitable.”
There has been a resulting impact on the Opera International tours. “Sometimes my orchestra could be bigger and I have to use a lot of young men because of the situation,” says Ellen. We’re getting younger and younger musicians now, perhaps a little younger than we would normally have.”
Nevertheless, Opera International resolutely keeps on touring, with three productions this time, Verdi’s La Traviata completing the line-up, with international soloists aplenty: Korean soprano Elena Dee, Ukrainian soprano Viktoria Melnyk, Ukrainian mezzo-soprano Yelyzaveta Bielous, Georgian tenor Davit Sumbadze and Armenian tenor Hovhannes Andreasyan.
“I’ll be coming up for the York performances, to remind me of my days when I was a young actor, performing at York Theatre Royal in the days of Richard Digby Day [artistic director from 1971 to 1976],” says Ellen. “Happy days!”
Senbla and Opera International present Ukrainian Opera and Ballet Theatre Kyiv in La Boheme, tomorrow, 7.30pm, and Madama Butterfly, Saturday, 7.30pm; both sung in Italian with English surtitles (CORRECT). Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Director Joanne Lister in rehearsal for Art with 1812 Theatre Company cast members Ivan Limon and Mike Martin. Picture: Paddy Chambers
WHEN art meets theatre, a hit play leads off Charles Hutchinson’s picks for a week where prompt booking is advised for a host of here today, gone tomorrow events.
Ryedale theatre show of the week: 1812 Theatre Company in Art, Helmsley Arts Centre, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm
JOANNE Lister is not only making her 1812 Theatre Company directorial debut but also, in the late absence of her husband John Lister, she will take over the role of Marc with script in hand in Yasmina Reza’s 1994 French comedy, Art.
Translated by Christopher Hampton, the play asks: can a friendship between three close friends – Marc, Serge (Ivan Limon) and Yvan (Mike Martin) – survive when one of them does something completely unexpected? Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Leeds poet Antony Dunn
Poetry event of the week: Rise Up!, A Celebration of Poetry and the Spoken Word, Rise @Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York tonight, doors 7.30pm; performance 8.30pm to 10pm
LEEDS writer and People Powered Press poet-in-residence Antony Dunn, Yorkshire-born poet, mezzo-soprano and theatre-maker Lisa J Coates and York St John University Fine Art coarse leader and poet Nathan Walker take part in Rise Up!.
Hosted by Bluebird Bakery boss and poet Nicky Kippax and Elizabeth Chadwick Pywell, the evening has three open-mic slots too. The next Rise Up! bill on April 30 will feature poets Rachel Long, Ioney Smallhorne and Minal Sukumar. Tickets update: last few left at eventbrite.co.uk.
Something wicked but educative this way comes: Dickens Theatre Company in Macbeth at Grand Opera House, York
GCSE study aid of the week: Dickens Theatre Company, Revision On Tour: Macbeth, Grand Opera House, York, today, 1pm with post-show Q&A
THE infamous Porter acts as narrator for an ensemble of six actors to create a cauldron of characters as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth make their perilous descent towards Hell in Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy, adapted and directed by Ryan Philpott, with music by Paul Higgs.
Set against a back-drop of wars, witchery and treasonous plotting, Dickens Theatre Company aim to “entertain and educate to the bitter end” while highlighting how “the Scottish play” remains ominously relevant in the 21st century. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Dickens Theatre Company in Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, playing the Grand Opera House, York
The other GCSE study aid of the week: Dickens Theatre Company, Revision On Tour: Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7pm
WITHIN the thick Fitzrovia fog and dimly lamp-lit streets lurks an evil predator. When Gabriel Utterson learns of the mysterious Mr Hyde, he commits his lawyer’s logic to the proceedings. Believing Hyde to be blackmailing Jekyll, he vows to bring Hyde to task to solve the mystery.
As with Macbeth, Dickens Theatre Company’s cast of six takes on an exciting, educational new stage adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Victorian gothic masterpiece, adapted and directed by Ryan Philpott. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Unpacking Nina Simone: Florence Odumosu in Black Is The Color Of My Voice at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Steve Ullathorne
Biographical drama of the week: Black Is The Color Of My Voice, York Theatre Royal, tonight, 7.30pm
WRITTEN and directed by Apphia Campbell, Black Is The Color Of My Voice is inspired by the life of Nina Simone in an evening of storytelling and performances of her most iconic songs by Florence Odumosu.
Campbell’s 70-minute play follows the North Carolina singer and activist as she seeks redemption after the untimely death of her father. She reflects on her journey from piano prodigy destined for a life in the church to jazz vocalist at the forefront of the civil rights movement. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Big Wolf Band: Ryedale Blues Club’s blues rock act in Malton tomorrow
Blues rock gig of the week: Ryedale Blues Club presents Big Wolf Band, Milton Rooms, Malton, tomorrow, 8pm
BIG Wolf Band, a formidable blues rock powerhouse formed in Birmingham in 2014 by guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Jonathan Earp and bassist Mick Jeynes, now perform with Tim Jones on drums, Justin Johnson on guitar, and Robin Fox on keys. They made the Top Five Best Blues Bands in the UK list at the UK Blues Awards in 2023 and 2024. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
English Touring Opera in rehearsal for The Vanishing Forest, bound for Acomb Explore Library. Picture: Julian Guidera
Climate change drama of the week: English Touring Opera in The Vanishing Forest, Acomb Explore Library, Front Street, Acomb, York, Sunday, 11am
ENGLISH Touring Opera present an enchanting adventure for seven to 11-year-olds that blends Shakespeare, music and an environmental message.
Jonathan Ainscough and Michael Betteridge’s new opera picks up the threads of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Cassie and Mylas, Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta’s children, team up with Puck to save the forest before it is too late. Expect songs, puppetry, spells, mystical flowers and a story to entertain and inspire while tackling the pressing issue of deforestation. Tickets update: last few available at tickettailor.com.
Diversity: Pouring Soul into their dancing at York Barbican in April 2026
Show announcement of the week: Diversity present Soul, York Barbican, April 20 and 21 2026
BRITAIN’S Got Talent’s 2009 winners, Ashley Banjo’s Southend dance ensemble Diversity, will base next year’s tour around the technological advancements of artificial intelligence, asking what the future holds and what it means to be human within the digital age.
“The future is now,” says Banjo. “Humans have become plugged in and completely connected to a world full of artificial intelligence – a world in which it is hard to distinguish reality from fiction. AI has become so advanced it’s considered a life form of its very own. Is this the next stage in our evolution? What exactly have we created? What makes us human?” His answer: “Soul.” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Everything turns green: Flying Ducks Youth Theatre in Shrek The Musical at Joseph Rowntree Theatre
BLINK and you might miss it! Charles Hutchinson urges prompt booking for a host of here today, gone tomorrow events.
Ogre party of the week: Flying Ducks Youth Theatre in Shrek The Musical, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, today, 2pm and 7pm
JENNA Howlett directs York company Flying Ducks’ two casts in today’s performances as they dive into a world where love knows no boundaries, friendships are forged in the most unexpected places and laughter is guaranteed.
Join Shrek, Fiona and Donkey on their journey to find true happiness in this David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori show, replete with catchy songs, quirky characters and a story that turns fairytales upside down. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Hammonds Band: Top brass at tomorrow afternoon’s concert in aid of York Against Cancer
Fundraiser of the week: York Brass Against Cancer, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 2.30pm
THE fourth York Brass Against Cancer concert to raise funds for York Against Cancer features the Hammonds Band, founded in 1855 by Sir Titus Salt, and the Shepherd Group Brass Band, from York, introduced by BBC presenter David Hoyle. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The hand of fate: The Witches in Dickens Theatre Company’s Macbeth at Grand Opera House, York
GCSE study aid of the week: Dickens Theatre Company, Revision On Tour: Macbeth, Grand Opera House, York, February 24 and 25, 7pm; February 26, 1pm with post-show Q&A
THE infamous Porter acts as narrator for an ensemble of six actors to create a cauldron of characters as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth make their perilous descent towards Hell in Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy, adapted and directed by Ryan Philpott, with music by Paul Higgs.
Set against a back-drop of wars, witchery and treasonous plotting, Dickens Theatre Company aim to “entertain and educate to the bitter end” while highlighting how “the Scottish play” remains ominously relevant in the 21st century. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Yemisi Oyinloye’s Carmen, left, and Hannah Genesius’s Elsa, right, in Tiny Fragments Of Beautiful Light, on tour at Theatre@41, Monkgate. Picture: Victoria Wai
Investigative play of the week: Tiny Fragments Of Beautiful Light, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 25
INSPIRED by writer Allison Davies’s diagnosis of autism, Tiny Fragments Of Beautiful Light is a journey of self-discovery wrapped in a celebration of the joy that comes when we live as we truly are.
Hannah Genesius takes the role of Elsa, who does not know why she has never fitted in. Could it be the way she is made? Quirky, kind, clever and funny, but school was always a nightmare, and romance was a mystery – until now. When Elsa meets Carmen (Yemisi Oyinloye), the real journey begins: to find out who she is and why an octopus is living inside her head? Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Dickens Theatre Company in Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, lurking around the Grand Opera House, York, for two days
The other GCSE study aid of the week: Dickens Theatre Company, Revision On Tour: Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, Grand Opera House, York, February 25, 1pm, with post-show Q&A; February 26, 7pm
WITHIN the thick Fitzrovia fog and dimly lamp-lit streets lurks an evil predator. When Gabriel Utterson learns of the mysterious Mr Hyde, he commits his lawyer’s logic to the proceedings. Believing Hyde to be blackmailing Jekyll, he vows to bring Hyde to task to solve the mystery.
As with Macbeth, Dickens Theatre Company’s cast of six takes on an exciting, educational new stage adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Victorian gothic masterpiece, adapted and directed by Ryan Philpott. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Unpacking Nina Simone: Florence Odumosu in Black Is The Color Of My Voice at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Steve Ullathorne
Biographical drama of the week: Black Is The Color Of My Voice, York Theatre Royal, February 26, 7.30pm
WRITTEN and directed by Apphia Campbell, Black Is The Color Of My Voice is inspired by the life of Nina Simone in an evening of storytelling and performances of her most iconic songs by Florence Odumosu.
Campbell’s 70-minute play follows the North Carolina singer and activist as she seeks redemption after the untimely death of her father. She reflects on her journey from piano prodigy destined for a life in the church to jazz vocalist at the forefront of the civil rights movement. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Gordon Buchanan: Wild about wildlife at the Grand Opera House, York
Talk on the wild side: Gordon Buchanan, Lions And Tigers And Bears, Grand Opera House, York, February 27, 7.30pm
FILMMAKER and photographer Gordon Buchanan recounts thrilling encounters with pandas, grizzlies, tigers, jaguars and more as he charts the heart-stopping moments, the mud, sweat, and tears and the tender interactions that have shaped his career. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Elvana: When Nirvana meets Elvis Presley at York Barbican
Tribute gig of the week: Elvana: Elvis Fronted Nirvana, March 1, 7pm doors
FROM the bowels of Disgraceland, rock icons of the afterlife are raised from the dead when rock’n’roll meets grunge as Elvis fronts Nirvana to give the band the front man it has been missing since 1994. Elvana tear through Nirvana’s catalogue while splicing in grunge- up sections of the King’s finest moments, culminating in a whopper mash-up of overdrive and old-school rockabilly. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
English Touring Opera in rehearsal for The Vanishing Forest, bound for Acomb Explore Library. Picture: Julian Guidera
Climate change drama: English Touring Opera in The Vanishing Forest, Acomb Explore Library, Front Street, Acomb, York, March 2, 11am
ENGLISH Touring Opera present an enchanting adventure for seven to 11-year-olds that blends Shakespeare, music and an environmental message.
Jonathan Ainscough and Michael Betteridge’s new opera picks up the threads of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Cassie and Mylas, Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta’s children, team up with Puck to save the forest before it is too late. Expect songs, puppetry, spells, mystical flowers and a story to entertain and inspire while tackling the pressing issue of deforestation. Tickets update: last few available at tickettailor.com.
Soul searching: Diversity to play York, Hull and Sheffield on 60-show tour of 31 cities and towns in 2026
Show announcement of the week: Diversity present Soul, York Barbican, April 20 and 21 2026
BRITAIN’S Got Talent’s 2009 winners, Ashley Banjo’s Southend dance ensemble Diversity, will base next year’s tour around the technological advancements of artificial intelligence, asking what the future holds and what it means to be human within the digital age.
“The future is now,” says Banjo. “Humans have become plugged in and completely connected to a world full of artificial intelligence – a world in which it is hard to distinguish reality from fiction. AI has become so advanced it’s considered a life form of its very own. Is this the next stage in our evolution? What exactly have we created? What makes us human?” His answer: “Soul.” Also playing: Hull Connexin Hall, March 11; Sheffield City Hall, March 13 and 14 (matinee). Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk; connexinlivehull.com; sheffieldcityhall.co.uk.
Poet, mezzo-soprano, theatre-maker and photographer Lisa J Coates: Picture: lisajcoates.co.uk
In Focus:Rise Up!: A Celebration of Poetry and the Spoken Word, Rise @Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, Feb 26
LEEDS poet Antony Dunn, Yorkshire-born Lisa J Coates and York St John University Fine Art course leader Nathan Walker take part in Rise Up! on Wednesday when doors open at 7.30pm for the trio of poetry performances from 8.30pm to 10pm.
Hosted by Bluebird Bakery boss and poet Nicky Kippax and Elizabeth Chadwick Pywell, the evening has three open-mic slots up for grabs. Email rise@bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise to apply.
The next Rise Up! on April 30 will feature poets Rachel Long, Ioney Smallhorne and Minal Sukumar.
Antony Dunn: Poet in Residence at People Powered Press. Picture: Sara Teresa
Antony Dunn
PUBLISHED four collections of poems: Pilots And Navigators, Flying Fish, Bugs and Take This One to Bed (Valley Press). Winner of Newdigate Prize and Eric Gregory Award. Regular tutor for The Poetry School and Arvon Foundation. Worked on translation projects with poets from Holland, Hungary, China and Israel.
Has served as Poet in Residence at University of York, Ilkley Literature Festival and People Powered Press. Artistic director of Bridlington Poetry Festival from 2012 until 2018. For more details, go to: www.antonydunn.org.
Lisa J Coates
YORKSHIRE-BORN multi-disciplinary artist, working as musician, writer and opera director. Poetry published in Southbank Poetry Magazine, Northern Gravy, York Literary Review, Bad Lilies, and Anthropocene. Undertaken commissions for Risky Cities, and Hull Maritime. Mentored by Helen Mort. Awarded DYCP (Developing Your Creative Practice) funding by Arts Council England in 2023 to develop her writing for the stage.
Classically trained mezzo-soprano, with distinction in PG Artist Diploma from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and MA in Vocal Performance from University of York. Performed internationally on stage and in concert, recorded for Naxos, Delphian, Boreas and Touch labels and appeared on television and radio.
Nathan Walker
ARTIST and writer from West Cumbria. Works across and between performance art and poetry, exploring the body and the page as sites for vocal exploration and manipulation of sound and speech. Their scores and poetry have been published in books, magazines and journals, including 100 Queer Poems anthology, edited by Mary Jean Chan & Andrew McMillan (Vintage, 2022), Prototype Anthology 5 (UK), Tripwire (USA) and Pamenar Magazine Online (UK).
First collection of poetry, Skirting, was published by Broken Sleep Books in 2024. Published two books of language-based artworks: Condensations (uniform Books) & Action Score Generator (If P Then Q). Course lead for Fine Art at York St John University, lecturing in .
Tickets update: last few left at eventbrite.co.uk. More details at bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.
Nathan Walker: First poetry collection, Skirting, was published last year
Top of the plots: Nic Myers’ Kathryn Merteuil in Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
AFTER New York and London runs, Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin and Roger Kumble’s jukebox musical spin on Kumble’s too-cool-for-school 1999 movie Cruel Intentions arrives in York in only the second week of its debut UK tour.
Tickets are selling well, albeit with surprising availability for Saturday night, with audience members spread across age groups, from the film’s devotees to lovers of Nineties pop and outré musicals.
Bill Kenwright Ltd is mounting the tour, a rubber stamp that guarantees a high-quality production with hi-tech lighting by Nick Richings, pin-sharp sound design by Chris Whybrow and, above all, a luxuriant set and especially costume design by Polly Sullivan to evoke the wealth of New York’s Upper East Side in the 1990s.
Jonathan O’Boyle’s cast for the 2025 tour of Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, heading to York, Leeds and Hull. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Cruel Intentions was the romance/thriller one with the budding Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair, re-setting Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses in the summer recess before the new term at the exclusive Manchester High School in Manhattan, 1999.
‘Tis the mischief-making season where high society does what it always does in thumb-twiddling lulls: match-making, love-making, plotting and counter-plotting, amid the loss of innocence and the need for inner sense.
Oh, and just like in Sex Education, what all the young seem to have on their mind is sex rather more than education. And like in Sex Education too, a soundtrack to die for. We’ll get to that.
The plotting thickens: Will Callan’s Sebastian Valmont and Nik Myers’ Kathryn Merteuil lay their wager in Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
The show opens with a voiceover from Nic Myers’ Kathryn Merteuil, waspish and haughtily dismissive, potty-mouthed too, as New York calls on old York to turn off its mobile devices.
Sharp of dress, dark of glass and countenance, Myers’ Kathryn and her step brother Sebastian Valmont (Will Callan) are the “trust fund casualties of absentee parents”, toying with their prey as they place their “cruel” wager. She wins his 1950s’ roadster if he fails to seduce Annette Hargrove (Abbie Budden), virtuous daughter of the incoming new headmaster; he wins next-level sex with Kathryn if he does.
In a new opening song, Livin’ La Vida Loca, director Jonathan O’Boyle introduces all the principals, while Gary Lloyd establishes his choreography will be every bit as snappy, snazzy, fiery, fun and sexy as it was in Heathers.
Abbie Budden’s Annette Hargrove , the new headmaster’s virtuous daughter. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
In her interview with CharlesHutchPress, Abbie Budden, the only returnee from the London cast, said Cruel Intentions differed from other jukebox musicals in not taking itself too seriously. There was still the darkness of Kumble’s film, she added, but now a playful energy too.
In that way, it might remind you of how The Rocky Horror Show, down the years, has turned camper than the original Rocky Horror Picture Show. Especially here in the entanglements of Luke Conner Hall’s bleach-blond, mullet haired Blaine Tuttle and Joe Simmons’ sports jock Greg McConnell, expressing what they want, what they really, really want in The Spice Girls’ Wannabe.
You want it darker, as Leonard Cohen enquired in his last masterpiece? Well, Kumble and his co-conspirators don’t kill the flame but the darkness comes tongue in cheek, with knowing winks in the dialogue.
Head over heels: Luke Conner Hall’s Blaine Tuttle and Joe Simmons’ Greg McConnell performing Wannabe in Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
The callous cruelty brought on by privilege stripping perpetrators of moral responsibility should not be this much fun, but as we know, the devil’s disciples always have the best lines. Witness Callan’s Sebastian, irresistible devourer of “insipid Manhattan dilettantes”.
They don’t always have the best tunes: these are splendidly spread out, from Budden’s Just A Girl and Foolish Games to Gabriella Williams’s No Scrubs in the guise of bigoted snob Mrs Bunny Caldwell (the Lady Bracknell of Upper East Side).
Lucy Carter is a scream as daughter Cecile Caldwell, blossoming in her sexual awakening and funnier scene by scene, whether with scandalous Sebastian, Kathryn or cello tutor Ronald Clifford (Kevin Yates), while Myers is spectacularly, seductively splenetic as the viperous Kathryn, her singing of Bitch being the show’s high point.
Kiss Me: Nic Myers’ Kathryn Merteuil, left, initiates Lucy Carter’s Cecile Caldwell in the art of kissing in Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
You will love Lloyd’s choreography in raincoats for the railway station scene; cheer the inner strength of Budden’s Annette, and enjoy how the show uses Nineties’ pop gems Lovefool, Kiss Me and Breakfast At Tiffany’s, alongside the rock stealth of Counting Crows’ Colorblind and R.E.M.’s Losing My Religion.
What better way to finish than with Bitter Sweet Symphony, as impactful as it was in the movie, in summing up the overriding theme, whether “Tryna make ends meet, you’re a slave to money then you die” or “Tryna find somebody then you die”.
Will Joy’s musical direction and Zach Spound’s orchestrations peak in this ensemble finale, the band fading away in climax of a cappella singing and orchestrated clapping. Earlier, familiar Nineties nuggets break out in new directions, new interpretations, whether in solos, duets, triplets of duets in a song, even bravura mash-ups as top of the plots meets top of the pops.
Bill Kenwright Ltd presents Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, Grand Opera House, York, today, 2.30pm and 7.30pm; tomorrow, 7.30pm; Friday, 5pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Age guidance: 15 plus. Box office: atgtickets.com/york. Also playing: Leeds Grand Theatre, May 6 to 10, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com; Hull New Theatre, May 13 to 17, 01482 300306 or hulltheatres.co.uk.
Dismissive: Mrs Bunny Caldwell (Gabriella Williams) serves notice on cello tutor Ronald Clifford (Kevin Yates) in Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Abbie Budden as Annette Hargrove in Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith
ABBIE Budden is surrounded by an entirely new cast as she reprises her role of Annette Hargrove in the 2025 tour of Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, playing the Grand Opera House, York, from tonight to Saturday.
Last year, Abbie made her professional bow aged 20 in the London premiere of Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin and Roger Kumble’s New York musical, based on Kumble’s too-cool-for-school 1999 film.
“I’m the only returning cast member from that show at The Other Palace Theatre in Victoria, and it’s been really lovely to revisit it, bringing new elements to it,” says Abbie, who is working again with director Jonathan O’Boyle and choreographer Gary Lloyd.
“The London run flew by and I just didn’t feel I’d finished with it after those five months, so it’s been liberating to come back for three weeks of rehearsals before we opened at Windsor Theatre Royal last Thursday. “
Why was it ‘unfinished business’, Abbie? “It’s always on reflection that you think ‘there is so much more I could have done’, and I’m now finding so many new moments for Annette, bouncing off new members of the cast.
“But I had an amazing time in London, and as last year was my professional debut, it felt so special to me, and I now come back to the show having had more experiences since then. I did Title Of Show, at Phoenix Arts Theatre and Southwark Playhouse, which was a very different show: a musical about two people writing a musical.
“It was a very meta piece of theatre with a cast of four, the writers and two friends, based on a real story. That was a lot of fun to do, as was playing Jill in my first pantomime in Jack And The Beanstalk at Ipswich Regent Theatre, and now Cruel Intentions feels like a new challenge again.”
Inspired by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Cruel Intentions is rooted in a cruel bet where Kathryn Merteuil (Nic Myers) goads step-brother Sebastian Valmont (Will Callan) into attempting to seduce Annette Hargrove, the headmaster’s virtuous daughter at their exclusive Manhattan high school.
Weaving a web of secrets and temptation, their crusade wreaks havoc but soon the co-conspirators become entangled in their own web of deception and unexpected romance with explosive results.
Abbie Budden in her debut professional role as Annette Hargrove in last year’s London production of Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith
What a debut role and debut show for Abbie. “I didn’t train at drama college,” she reveals. “I jumped straight into the industry last year at the age of 20. Now I’m 21, and I feel they have really nurtured me. It was exciting but terrifying last year, but now I can be playful with the role with full confidence.
“Last year I learnt so much about myself, just how capable I am – and eight shows a week is tough for anyone.”
After landing such a role on the London stage when so young, Abbie found imposter syndrome kicking in. “But I think that is something that never goes away in this industry: that constant need to prove yourself,” she says. “It’s a feeling that you really have to try to switch off. Be confident that you’re meant to be here. You just have to remind yourself that you were chosen for a reason.”
Although Abbie has not studied for a drama degree, “as soon as I could, I was wearing dancing shows, from the age of three, growing up in Horsham in West Sussex” she says. “I loved the drama department at my school, Tanbridge House School, and did sessions twice a week and lots of productions at Showdown Theatre Arts, where I found my passion for the arts.
“I did an exchange programme to Baltimore, going to New York too, and that felt like a step into performing that couldn’t have come at a better time before jumping into professional theatre last year.”
Abbie confesses that she had not seen the film until the audition. “The moment I watched it, I loved it. I remember gasping and squealing at how outrageous it was – and chaotic too! The plot really keeps you guessing and Roger Kumble’s script is so cutting. I instantly connected with Annette, knowing it was so right for me as a role,” she says
“Though it’s strongly a 1990s’ film – and placing it in Upper East Side, New York, makes it even more iconic – its themes are still almost painfully relevant.
“Our version plays it slightly different to the film, still taking inspiration from those iconic characters, but I’ve really found my own Annette, where she matches Sebastian at his game. There’s no time where she’s weak or is a victim of Sebastian.
“The Gwen Stefani song that Annette sings, Just A Girl, is telling the world that she yearns to be more than innocent, to be rebellious. She definitely does have a lot of control throughout, and doesn’t lose that; it’s her self-control that she struggles with, showing vulnerability with that.”
The show poster for Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, playing Grand Opera House, York, Leeds Grand Theatre and Hull New Theatre
As the show title indicates, Cruel Intentions is packed with 1990s’ pop gold dust, from Stefani, Britney Spears, Boyz II Men and Christina Aguilera to TLC, R.E.M., Ace Of Base, Natalie Imbruglia and The Verve.
“I almost wish all the songs were in the film because they suit the story so well, and what separates this show from other jukebox musicals is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously,” says Abbie.
What is her favourite number? “Torn. The Natalie Imbruglia song. It’s an absolute banger. If I ever went out to a karaoke night, that would be my number one choice – and it’s a real turning point in the show, where she doesn’t know where she will go from there,” she says.
Abbie also sings Lovefool, the one from the swimming pool scene; Counting Crows’ Colorblind – “a gorgeous moment in the film that’s so honest and sincere on stage that you really feel the audience go quiet” – and Foolish Games.
“That’s my big ‘belty’ solo in the show, where I do songs that give me lots of contrast, from ‘thrashy’ to beautiful, so Annette really gets to go on an emotional rollercoaster.”
What is the ultimate moral of Cruel Intentions, Abbie? “It’s weird because the characters are pretty devious and do some devious things, but because they’re teenagers and playing games, audiences fall in love with them,” she says.
“But the moral behind it is that there’s a dark side behind privilege, where they’re able to brush everything off with their wealth, which doesn’t just apply to the 1990s. A lot of people will connect with that thing of making questionable decisions as a teenager, but there’s a playful energy to the show as well darkness.”
On the road until the end of June, Abbie is visiting York for the first time this week. “I’ve never been there, so it’ll be lovely to see places on this tour that I’ve never been before,” she says. The further Yorkshire delights of Leeds and Hull await in May.
Bill Kenwright Ltd presents Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm; tomorrow, 2.30pm and 7.30pm; Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Age guidance: 15 plus. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Also playing:Leeds Grand Theatre, May 6 to 10, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com; Hull New Theatre, May 13 to 17, 01482 300306 or hulltheatres.co.uk.
Ric Liptrot: Exhibiting in The Other Collective exhibition at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb
FROM dollops of Dolly Parton advice to Stewart Lee’s werewolf encounter, devilish storytelling to a Cinderella prequel, Charles Hutchinson, cherry picks highlights for the days ahead.
Exhibition of the week: The Other Collective, Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, until March 13
CURATED by Bluebird Bakery, The Other Collective brings together the work of Lu Mason, Ric Liptrot, Rob Burton, Liz Foster and Jill Tattersall.
“These wonderful artists were all missed off the billing for York Open Studios 2025 and we felt that was a real shame,” says Bluebird boss Nicky Kippax. “So The Other Collective was born and we hope the work will get a lot of interest from our customers.”
Mark Reynolds’ tour poster illustration for Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, playing York Theatre Royal until Saturday
Comedy gigs of the week: Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm
IN Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, Lee shares the stage with a tough-talking werewolf comedian from the dark forests of the subconscious who hates humanity. The Man-Wulf lays down a ferocious comedy challenge to the “culturally irrelevant and physically enfeebled Lee”: can the beast inside us all be silenced by the silver bullet of Lee’s deadpan stand-up? Tickets advice: Hurry, hurry as all shows are closing in on selling out; 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Tricia Paoluccio’s Dolly Parton and Stevie Webb’s Kevin in Here You Come Again at Grand Opera House, York
Musical of the week: Here You Come Again, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
SIMON Friend Entertainment and Leeds Playhouse team up for the tour of Here You Come Again, starring and co-written by Broadway actress Tricia Paoluccio, who visits York for the first time in the guise of a fantasy vision of country icon Dolly Parton.
Gimme Gimme Gimme writer Jonathan Harvey has put a British spin on Bruce Vilanch, director Gabriel Barre and Paoluccio’s story of diehard Dolly devotee Kevin (Steven Webb) needing dollops of Dolly advice on life and love in trying times. Parton hits galore help too! Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Hayden Thorpe: Performing Ness with Propellor Ensemble members at the NCEM, York, tonight
Arthouse gig of the week: Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble, National Centre for Early Music, York, tonight, doors 7pm for 7.30pm start
PLEASE Please You and Brudenell Presents bring Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble to the NCEM to perform Ness, with the promise of a “sonically spectacular and transformational live show”.
Thorpe, former frontman and chief songwriter of Kendal band Wild Beasts, promotes his September 2024 album. Using a process of redaction, Thorpe brought songs to life from nature writer Robert Macfarlane’s book Ness, inspired by Suffolk’s Orford Ness, the former Ministry of Defence weapons development site during both World Wars and the Cold War. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Sylvie (Aileen Hall), centre, demonstrates her skills to friends Amelie (Perri Ann Barley), left, and Helene (Devon Wells), right, in rehearsal for Blue Light Theatre Company’s Where The Magic Begins!
Premiere of the week: Blue Light Theatre Company in Where The Magic Begins!, Acomb Working Men’s Club, York, tonight to Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2pm matinee
BLUE Light Theatre Company stage York playwright and actress Perri Ann Barley’s new play Where The Magic Begins!, a prequel to Cinderella based on characters from the original Charles Perrault version.
“We meet many beloved characters in their younger days, such as a young Fairy Godmother, who is about to discover her ‘gift’. We follow her journey as she struggles with a secret that could put her life, and that of her family, in grave danger,” says director Craig Barley. Box office: 07933 329654, at bluelight-theatre.co.uk or on the door.
Hannah Rowe: Performing in the cabaret setting of The Old Paint Shop at York Theatre Royal Studio
Cabaret night of the week: CPWM Presents An Evening With Hannah Rowe, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, tomorrow, 8pm
YORK promoters Come Play With Me (CPWM) welcome Hannah Rowe to The Old Paint Shop’s winter season. This young singer writes of experiences and shifts in life, offering a sense of reflection within her rich, authentic, jazz-infused sound. Friday’s 8pm show by upstanding York pianist Karl Mullen has sold out. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Adderstone’s Cath Heinemeyer and Gemma McDermott
Devilish delight of the week: Tim Ralphs and Adderstone, Infernal Delights, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, Friday, doors 7.30pm
TIM Ralphs and York alt-folk storytellers Adderstone serve up a winter night’s double bill of dark delights. Let Adderstone’s Cath Heinemeyer and Gemma McDermott lead you down the steps to the underworld with story-songs from wild places in their Songs To Meet The Darkness set.
In Beelzebub Rebranded, Tim Ralphs’s stand-up storytelling exhumes the bones of ancient Devil stories and stitches them into new skins for fresh consumption in his wild reimagining of folktale, fairytale and urban legend. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/adderstone/infernal-delights/e-xjjber.
Saxophonist Snake Davis, right, double bassist Don Richardson, left, and concertina player Alistair Anderson: Playing together at Helmsley Arts Centre on Sunday
Trio of the week: Snake Davis, saxophones, Don Richardson, double bass, and Alistair Anderson, concertina and Northumbrian pipes, Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 7.30pm
ADD an old mucker to a new pal, whereupon saxophonist to the stars Snake Davis sounds excited. Snake and Don Richardson go back decades, too many gigs and shows to remember. Lulu and Paul Carrack were particularly memorable. Snake and Alistair Anderson met at a wonderfully quirky Northumberland venue in late 2023 and decided to make music together. Here comes folk, jazz, world, pop and more. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Craig David: Combining his singing, master of ceremonies and DJ skills at Scarborough Open Air Theatre this summer
Gig announcement of the week: Craig David Presents TS5, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, July 19
SOUTHAMPTON rhythm & blues musician Craig David parades his triple threat as singer, MC and DJ at his TS5 party night – patented at his Miami penthouse – on the East Coast this summer. Expect a set combining old skool anthems from R&B to Swing Beat, Garage to Bashment, while merging chart-topping House hits too.
“I cannot wait to bring my TS5 show to Scarborough and the beautiful Yorkshire coast in July,” enthuses David, 43. “2025 is a massive year for me as it’s the 25th anniversary of my debut album [Born To Do It] and my debut number one single (Fill Me In]. What better way to celebrate than bringing the party to Scarborough this summer.” Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List. No 5, from Gazette & Herald
Colour & Light framing the South Transept of York Minster
FROM wildlife illuminations to characterful faces, dog origin tales to dark sky wonders, Charles Hutchinson finds February fulfilment.
Illumination of the week: Colour & Light, York Minster South Transept, February 12 to March 2
THIS free outdoor event promises a “mesmerising projection” of famous and lesser-known stories of York’s animal world, from the Minster’s peregrine falcons and the foxes that roam the streets after dark, to the Romans’ horses for their ride into Eboracum and the legendary dragons carved into the city’s history.
Colour & Light runs nightly from 6pm to 9pm with projections on a ten-minute loop. The final hour each evening is a designated quiet hour with reduced noise and crowd levels. No tickets are required.
Holly Capstick: Capturing expressions and snapshots of moments in everyday life
Exhibition of the week: Holly Capstick, We Are Layers, Pocklington Arts Centre, until February 28
HOLLY Capstick explores the layers of our beauty and character in her textile and mixed-media portraits that capture expressions and snapshots of moments in everyday life. “Faces have always amazed me,” she says. “The subtleties of the changes within a face can show so much of how we feel and how we connect to others.”
Thread and Press CIC tutor Holly will run portrait-themed workshops this month for children aged 7 to 16 (Learn To Draw A Face, February 19) and for adults (Textile Portraits, Free-motion Machine Embroidery, February 28). Find out more at hollycapstickart.co.uk.
Emma Swainston’s Elle Woods in York Light Opera Company’s Legally Blonde The Musical
Musical of the week: York Light Opera Company in Legally Blonde The Musical, York Theatre Royal, February 13 to February 22, 7.30pm nightly (except February 16) plus 2.30pm matinees on February 15, 20 and 22
JOIN Elle Woods, a seemingly ditzy sorority girl with a heart of gold, as she tackles Harvard Law School to win back her man. Along the way, Elle discovers her own strength and intelligence, “proving that you can be both a beautiful blonde and brilliant”.
Emma Swainston’s Elle Woods leads Martyn Knight’s 35-strong cast in this feel-good, sassy and stylish show with its powerful message of staying true to yourself, booted with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The Tannahill Weavers: Humorous tales of life north of the border
Folk gig of the week: The Tannahill Weavers 2025, Helmsley Arts Centre, February 14, 7.30pm
THE Tannahill Weavers, from Paisley, Scotland, play a diverse repertoire that spans the centuries, taking in fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs, ballads and humorous tales of life north of the border.
Roy Gullane, on guitar and lead vocals, Phil Smillie, on flute, whistles, bodhrán and harmony vocals, Scotland’s youngest clan leader, Iain MacGillivray, on Highland bagpipes, fiddle and whistles, and Malcolm Bushby, on fiddle, bouzouki and harmony vocals, demonstrate the rich Celtic musical heritage in their exuberant concert combination of traditional melodies, rhythmic accompaniment, and evocative vocals. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Fideri Fidera in Ugg’n’Ogg & The World’s First Dogg
Children’s play of the week: Rural Arts presents Fideri Fidera in Ugg’n’Ogg & The World’s First Dogg, Milton Rooms, Malton, February 20, 2pm
IN the fresh sparkling world just after the last Ice Age, there were no dogs. How, then, did we attain our best friend and the world’s number one pet? Luckily for us, along came young hunter gatherers Ugg‘n’Ogg to pal up with the wolves, Tooth’n’Claw, to defy flying meat bones, raging forest infernos and even a time-travelling stick to invent the dog.
This original play for families and pooch lovers aged three upwards highlights the evolutionary transition from lupine to canine in a show full of physical comedy, puppets, music and song. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Festival of the week: National Parks Dark Skies Festival, North York Moors, February 14 to March 2
THIS year is the tenth anniversary of the Dark Skies Festival and where better to celebrate than on the North York Moors, one of only 21 global locations to be recognised for pristine dark skies as an International Dark Sky Reserve.
Look out for Stargazing Experiences in Dalby Forest; Stargazing at Ampleforth Abbey; the Robin Hood’s Bay Dark Skies Ghost Walks; Evening Adventure Walks with River Mountain Rescue; a Night Navigation Experience with Large Outdoors; Dancing with The Long Dead Stars and plenty more. For full details, visit: darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/north-york-moors-events.
David O’Doherty, the Tiny Piano Man
Comedy show of the week: David O’Doherty, Tiny Piano Man, Grand Opera House, York, February 15, 8pm
THE dishevelled prince of €10 eBay keyboards tries to make you feel alive with a pageant of Irish humour, song and occasionally getting up from a chair. “It’s gonna be a big one,” says Dublin comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright David O’Doherty, star of The Great Celebrity Bake Off 2024 and Along For The Ride With David O’Doherty. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Gareth Gates: In a Valentine mood at York Barbican
Romantic concert of the week: Gareth Gates Sings Love Songs From The Movies – A Valentine Special, York Barbican, February 16, 7.30pm
EXTENDING the St Valentine ‘s Day vibes to the weekend, Bradford singer Gareth Gates combines beloved ballads from classic films with the electrifying energy of up-tempo hits, from Unchained Melody to Dirty Dancing, in a celebration of love stories that have graced the silver screen.
Joining the 2002 Pop Idol alumnus and musical star will be Wicked actress Maggie Lynne, Dutch singer Britt Lenting, Performers College graduate Dan Herrington and a four-piece band. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Smashing Pumpkins: Playing Scarborough on Aghori Tour
Gig announcement of the week: The Smashing Pumpkins, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 13
AMERICAN alternative rockers The Smashing Pumpkins will play Scarborough on their Aghori Tour. Billy Corgan, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin’s multi-platinum-selling band will be supported on the Yorkshire coast by London post-punk revival band White Lies.
Since emerging from Chicago, Illinois, in 1988 with their iconoclastic sound, Smashing Pumpkins have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and collected two Grammy Awards, seven MTV VMAs and an American Music Award. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday at ticketmaster.co.uk
Ric Liptrot: Exhibiting in The Other Collective exhibition at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb
FROM dollops of Dolly Parton advice to Stewart Lee’s werewolf encounter, devilish storytelling to a Cinderella prequel, Charles Hutchinson, cherry picks highlights for the days ahead.
Exhibition of the week: The Other Collective, Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, until March 13
CURATED by Bluebird Bakery, The Other Collective brings together the work of Lu Mason, Ric Liptrot, Rob Burton, Liz Foster and Jill Tattersall.
“These wonderful artists were all missed off the billing for York Open Studios 2025 and we felt that was a real shame,” says Bluebird boss Nicky Kippax. “So The Other Collective was born and we hope the work will get a lot of interest from our customers.”
The poster for South Bank Singers’ Of All The Birds concert
Nature concert of the week: South Bank Singers, Of All The Birds, A Winter Chorus, St Clement’s Church, Scarcroft Road, York, today, 3pm
SOUTH Bank Singers present Of All The Birds, A Winter Chrous, a Saturday afternoon concert of choral music inspired by the enchanting beauty and song of birds. Directed by Carlos Zamora, the choral programme spans six centuries, taking in Mendelssohn, Stanford, Ravel, Gibbons, Janequin, Vautor, Guastavino and Bartlet. Admission is free with a retiring collection for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
The poster for A Million Dreams, presented by Steve Coates Productions, at the Grand Opera House, York
Fundraiser of the week: A Million Dreams, A Charity Broadway Spectacular, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm
STEVE Coates Productions present an evening of musical magic, song, dance and laughter by York talent in aid of The Snappy Trust, a charity “dedicated to maximising the personal development of children and young people with wide- ranging disabilities”.
Bev Jones Music Company, Flying Ducks Youth Theatre and a ten-piece band perform songs from Broadway and West End shows such as Wicked, Hamilton, Frozen, The Phantom Of The Opera, Les Miserables and The Greatest Showman. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Mark Reynolds’ tour poster illustration for Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, playing York Theatre Royal from January 28 to February 1
Comedy gigs of the week: Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, York Theatre Royal, January 28 to February 1, 7.30pm
IN Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, Lee shares the stage with a tough-talking werewolf comedian from the dark forests of the subconscious who hates humanity. The Man-Wulf lays down a ferocious comedy challenge to the “culturally irrelevant and physically enfeebled Lee”: can the beast inside us all be silenced by the silver bullet of Lee’s deadpan stand-up? Tickets advice: Hurry, hurry as all shows are closing in on selling out; 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Tricia Paoluccio’s Dolly Parton and Steven Webb’s Kevin in Here You Come Again at Grand Opera House, York
Musical of the week: Here You Come Again, Grand Opera House, York, January 28 to February 1, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
SIMON Friend Entertainment and Leeds Playhouse team up for the tour of Here You Come Again, starring and co-written by Broadway actress Tricia Paoluccio, who visits York for the first time in the guise of a fantasy vision of country icon Dolly Parton.
Gimme Gimme Gimme writer Jonathan Harvey has put a British spin on Bruce Vilanch, director Gabriel Barre and Paoluccio’s story of diehard Dolly devotee Kevin (Steven Webb) needing dollops of Dolly advice on life and love in trying times. Parton hits galore help too! Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Sylvie (Aileen Hall), centre, demonstrates her skills to friends Amelie (Perri Ann Barley), left, and Helene (Devon Wells), right, in rehearsal for Blue Light Theatre Company’s Where The Magic Begins!
Premiere of the week: Blue Light Theatre Company in Where The Magic Begins!, Acomb Working Men’s Club, York, January 29, 30 and 31, 7.30pm; February 1, 2pm matinee
BLUE Light Theatre Company will forego their annual panto in favour of staging York playwright and actress Perri Ann Barley’s new play Where The Magic Begins!, a prequel to Cinderella based on characters from the original Charles Perrault version of “everyone’s favourite fairytale”.
“We meet many beloved characters in their younger days, such as a young Fairy Godmother, who is about to discover her ‘gift’. We follow her journey as she struggles with a secret that could put her life, and that of her family, in grave danger,” says director Craig Barley. Box office: 07933 329654, at bluelight-theatre.co.uk or on the door.
Hannah Rowe: Performing in the cabaret set-up of The Old Paint Shop at York Theatre Royal Studio
Cabaret night of the week: CPWM Presents An Evening With Hannah Rowe, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, January 30, 8pm
YORK promoters Come Play With Me (CPWM) welcome Hannah Rowe to The Old Paint Shop’s winter season. This young singer writes of experiences and shifts in life, offering a sense of reflection within her rich, authentic, jazz-infused sound.
The Old Paint Shop shows by irreverent York covers combo Hyde Family Jam (today, 2pm and 8pm) and Karl Mullen, upstanding York pianist Karl Mullen (January 31, 8pm) have sold out. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Tim Ralphs: Wild reimagining of folktale, fairytale and urban legend at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb
Devilish delight of the week: Tim Ralphs and Adderstone, Infernal Delights, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, January 31, doors 7.30pm
TIM Ralphs and York alt-folk storytellers Adderstone serve up a winter night’s double bill of dark delights. Let Adderstone’s Cath Heinemeyer and Gemma McDermott lead you down the steps to the underworld with story-songs from wild places in their Songs To Meet The Darkness set.
In Beelzebub Rebranded, Tim Ralphs’s stand-up storytelling exhumes the bones of ancient Devil stories and stitches them into new skins for fresh consumption in his wild reimagining of folktale, fairytale and urban legend. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/adderstone/infernal-delights/e-xjjber.
York Ice Trail: Taking the theme of Origins next weekend
Whatever the weather, here comes the new ice age: York Ice Trail 2025, February 1 and 2
YORK’S “free weekend of frosty fun” returns with a 2025 theme of Origins as York’s streets are turned into an icy wonderland of frozen tableau in this annual event run by Make It York. Among the 30 ice sculptures showcasing 2,000 years of city history will be a Roman shield, a Viking helmet, a chocolate bar, a drifting ghost, a majestic train and a Yorkshire rose, all captured in the language of ice by Icebox. Full details can be found at visityork.org/york-ice-trail.
Before all that ice, windswept York has another free event on the city streets and beyond this weekend: York Residents’ Festival today and tomorrow. For the full list of offers, head to: visityork.org/offers/category/york-residents-festival.
Snow Patrol: Returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre this summer
Gig announcement of the week: Snow Patrol, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, June 27
THE Northern Irish-Scottish indie rock band Snow Patrol are to return to the Scarborough coast for the first time since July 2021, led as ever by Gary Lightbody, accompanied by long-time lead guitarist Nathan Connolly and pianist Johnny McDaid.
Emotionally charged anthems such as Chasing Cars, Run and Open Your Eyes will be complemented by selections from 2024’s The Forest Is The Path, their first chart topper in 18 years. Box office: ticketmaster.co.uk and scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
In Focus: Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble, National Centre for Early Music, York, January 29, doors 7pm, start 7.30pm
Hayden Thorpe: Performing Ness with Propellor Ensemble at the NCEM
PLEASE Please You and Brudenell Presents bring Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble to the NCEM to perform Ness on Wednesday, with the promise of a “sonically spectacular and transformational live show”.
Thorpe, 39-year-old former frontman and chief songwriter of Kendal and Leeds band Wild Beasts, promotes his September 2024 album, Ness, released on Domino Records.
Using a process of redaction, Cumbrian musician Thorpe brought songs to life from nature writer Robert Macfarlane’s book Ness, inspired by Orford Ness, a ten-mile long shingle spit on the coast of Suffolk that housed the former Ministry of Defence weapons development site during both World Wars and the Cold War.
Acquired by the National Trustin 1993 and left to re-wild, to this day it remains a place of paradox, mystery and constant evolution.
Thorpe’s ode to Orford Ness, the physical place and the book, features Macfarlane’s words and illustrations by Stanley Donwood. He premiered Ness with Propellor Ensemble at Orford Ness on September 28 and 29 last year.
Here Hayden discusses working with Robert Macfarlane and Propellor Ensemble, the Cold War, nature and past York experiences with CharlesHutchPress.
Do you have any past experiences of York, whether on a school visit or whatever, Hayden?
“My parents used to take us to the Jorvik Viking Museum when me and my siblings were young. I was always amazed by the fake open sewer smell they would pump into the space.”
When did you last play in York, either solo or with Wild Beasts?
“I believe it was in 2006 or 2007. A rather long time ago. In any case, it’s been too long. It was somewhere quite familiar to me when Wild Beasts were coming up in Leeds. We’d make a regular dash across.”
How did the Ness project come about with Robert Macfarlane?
“In a really old fashioned manner. I fan-mailed Rob and he wrote back with all the generosity and open heartedness of his books. He’s as good as his word in the truest sense.
“Rob and I decided to perform some improvised music to his reading of Ness. It was a Eureka moment. The atmosphere and drama of the sound we made demanded that we commit to expanding it.”
Did you visit Orford Ness, now the Orford Ness National Nature Reserve, for research purposes?
“Yes. Orford Ness is an astonishing place. It’s a monument to rejuvenation and a monument to destruction. The very best and the very worst of us.”
By the way, Hayden, York has a Cold War Bunker Museum, in Monument Close, Holgate: a two-storey, semi-subterranean bunker built in 1961 to monitor nuclear explosions and fallout in Yorkshire, in the event of nuclear war.
“I had no idea that a Cold War museum existed in York. That’s fabulous. Bizarrely, I’ve developed a Cold War romance. I guess the conflicts and hostilities we face today have brought these conversations back into our everyday consciousness.”
The album cover artwork for Hayden Thorpe’s Ness
How have you turned the album into a concert performance?
“The album is very much made of sounds we’ve made with our hands and lungs, so with enough pairs of those it actually translates in a very true way. The unusual instrumentation, with orchestral percussion and clarinet foregrounded alongside me, creates a very distinct ‘Ness’ sound. The shows have been really emotional as a result.”
Were you tempted to feature strings in the Ness project for their emotional heft?
“We deliberately did not use strings. We opted to use the elemental forces at my play at Orford Ness: wind and resistant materials like metal and wood. It creates a haunted, volatile soundscape.”
Which Propellor Ensemble members will play in York?
“Jack McNeill plays clarinet and Delia Stevens plays orchestral percussion. Molly Gromadzki performs the spoken-word parts and sings in the choir. Brigitte Hart and Helen Ganya make up the choral section. It’s been a joy to work with such expressive and capable performers.”
What does a “sonically spectacular and transformational live show” entail?
“Something which is sonically ambitious and immersive. Once we start the show we don’t stop, it’s the album in full back to front. We want to take the audience to Ness, have them come face to face with the monster.”
Why was the National Centre for Early Music, in the former St Margaret’s Church in Walmgate, chosen for the York gig rather than The Crescent community venue, a classic working men’s club design?
“We’ve heard such great things about NCEM. Much of the story of Ness takes place ‘In The Green Chapel’, so the work lends itself to a space of worship.”
What is your own relationship with nature? Wild Beasts hailed originally from Kendal, with all that Lake District beauty around you…
“Nature has become increasingly important to my life and work. As artists we’re forced to ask what side of the conversation we sit on, one which acknowledges the existential crisis facing us or one which excuses it. Music can carry non-human voices really effectively. Ness is very much a meditation on that.”
What will be the next project you work on?“
Good question. Ness has certainly expanded my palette. I’ve come to feel maybe my strength is in making strange and ambitious works which would otherwise not get made. It’s crucial to keep the flame burning on works of exploration and oddity in an industry which increasingly incentivises conformity.”
Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 5, from The York Press
The cheek of it: Freida Nipples hosting The Exhibitionists at The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio
FROM exhibitionist burlesque to imaginative dance moments, wildlife illuminations to bend-and-snap musical empowerment, Charles Hutchinson finds February fulfilment.
Cabaret night of the week: Freida Nipples Presents…The Exhibitionists, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, February 8, 8pm
YORK’S very own internationally award-winning burlesque artiste Freida Nipples welcomes some of her favourite and most fabulous performance artists from across Great Britain and beyond to The Old Paint Shop cabaret night.
“Get ready to be dazzled, shocked and in awe,” says Freida. “Only a few things are guaranteed: glamour, gags and giggles.” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk, for returned tickets only.
Chris Newman and Maire Ni Chathasaigh
Folk gig of the week: Maire Ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman, Helmsley Arts Centre, February 8, 7.30pm
MULTIPLE award-winning, internationally renowned virtuoso harp and guitar duo Maire Ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman return to Helmsley after playing to a full house there in December 2023.
County Cork harpist Chathasaigh and flat-picking guitarist, improviser, composer and record producer Newman have toured to 24 countries on five continents, playing venues ranging from village halls and town halls to palaces in Kyoto and Istanbul, from London’s Barbican to Cologne’s Philharmonia. Expect a fusion of traditional Irish music, hot jazz, bluegrass and baroque, spiced with new compositions and Newman’s subversive wit. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Stop! Evie Hart, left, Sean Moss, Hobie Schouppe, Juliette Tellier, Donny Beau Ferris, Risa Maki and Oliver Rumaizen in Jasmin Vardimon Company’s Now. Picture: Tristram Kenton
Dance show of the week: Jasmin Vardimon Company, York Theatre Royal, February 8, 2.30pm with post-show discussion and 7.30pm
NOW, a new creation by choreographer Jasmin Vardimon MBE, celebrates her company’s 25th anniversary in a work that reflects the current moment, the present, and the continuous movement of time in a terpsichorean toast to the beauty of imagination and art.
Rooted in her interest in contemporary lives, the structures of society and the ever-changing socio-political dynamics, Vardimon uses her distinctive dance theatre style to tell a story of our time with an international cast of performers and relevant, iconic moments from the Ashford, Kent company’s repertoire. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Jamie Walton: Cello soloist at York Guildhall Orchestra’s concert at York Barbican
Classical concerts of the week: Yorkshire Bach Choir, Bach To The Future, St Lawrence Parish Church, York, February 8, 7.30pm; York Guildhall Orchestra: Sibelius, Bloch, Tchaikovsky & Shostakovich, York Barbican, February 9, 3pm
PETER Seymour conducts Yorkshire Bach Choir on a choral journey through German polyphony, including music by Schutz, Johann Bach, JS Bach, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Rheinberger. Professor Thomas Schmidt gives a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Jamie Walton, cellist and North York Moors Chamber Music Festival artistic director, will be the soloist for Ernst Bloch’s “rarely played, but utterly beautiful” Shelomo in February 9’s concert by the York Guildhall Orchestra. Sibelius’s Karelia Suite, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo And Juliet and Shostakovic’s Symphony No. 9 in Eb feature too in conductor Simon Wright’s programme. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Dominic Halpin & The Hurricanes in A Country Night In Nashville
Country gig of the week: A Country Night In Nashville, Grand Opera House, York, February 9, 7.30pm
DOMINIC Halpin & The Hurricanes re-create a buzzing honky-tonk in downtown Nashville, capturing the energy and atmosphere of an evening in the home of country music, featuring songs from its biggest stars both past and present: Johnny Cash to Alan Jackson, Dolly Parton to The Chicks, Willie Nelson to Kacey Musgraves. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Colour & Light framing the South Transept of York Minster
Illumination of the week: Colour & Light, York Minster South Transept, February 12 to March 2
THIS free outdoor event promises a “mesmerising projection” of famous and lesser-known stories of York’s animal world, from the peregrine falcons that call the Minster home and the foxes that roam the city after dark, to the horses on which the Romans rode into Eboracum and the legendary dragons carved into York’s history.
Colour & Light will run nightly from 6pm to 9pm with projections on a ten-minute loop. The final hour each evening will feature a designated quiet hour with reduced noise and crowd levels, ensuring everyone can enjoy the event. No tickets are required.
Pop Princesses World Tour: Popping into the Grand Opera House, York
Children’s pop concert of the week: Pop Princesses World Tour, Grand Opera House, York, February 13, 6pm
IN a magical show where four fabulous fairytale princesses become pop stars on an epic adventure, they just love to sing the hits of Taylor Swift, Meghan Trainor, Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa and Lizzo, complemented by a few of the best songs from all your favourite films and musicals. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Emma Swainston’s Elle Woods in York Light Opera Company’s Legally Blonde The Musical
Musical of the week: York Light Opera Company in Legally Blonde The Musical, York Theatre Royal, February 13 to 22, 7.30pm nightly (except February 16) plus 2.30pm matinees on February 15, 20
JOIN Elle Woods, a seemingly ditzy sorority girl with a heart of gold, as she tackles Harvard Law School to win back her man. Along the way Elle discovers her own strength and intelligence, proving that you can be both a beautiful blonde and brilliant.
Emma Swainston’s Elle Woods leads Martyn Knight’s 35-strong cast in this feel-good, sassy and stylish show with a powerful message about staying true to yourself, music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Festival of the week: National Parks Dark Skies Festival, North York Moors, February 14 to March 2
THIS year is the tenth anniversary of the Dark Skies Festival and where better to celebrate than on the North York Moors, one of only 21 locations in the world to be recognised for pristine, dark skies as an International Dark Sky Reserve.
Look out for Stargazing Experiences in Dalby Forest; Stargazing at Ampleforth Abbey; the Robin Hood’s Bay Dark Skies Ghost Walks; Evening Adventure Walks with River Mountain Rescue; a Night Navigation Experience with Large Outdoors; Dancing with The Long Dead Stars (and a walk to Boggle Hole) and plenty more. For full details, visit: darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/north-york-moors-events.
Tricia Paoluccio as Dolly Parton in the musical Here You Come Again, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, next week
BROADWAY actress Tricia Paoluccio has never met Dolly Parton but inhabits the Tennessee country music icon to the max in the musical Here You Come Again.
Headed for York’s Grand Opera House next week after a London season at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, she says: “I met her sister Rachel, who saw our show in Tennessee, but unfortunately Dolly was away shooting music videos for her rock album [November 2023’s Rockstar], so she wasn’t able to come along herself.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I ever met her. I’d die! I would ask her first, ‘Can I borrow some of your wigs for our show?’ But if I was having a real heart-to-heart with Dolly, I’d want to know, ‘How have you been able to navigate your life and career the way that you have?’ She really has never had a misstep.”
Navigating a path through life in Covid-troubled times with dollops of home-spun advice from an imagined version of Dolly is the story of Here You Come Again, wherein diehard Dolly devotee Kevin (played by West End actor Steven Webb) is taught “a whole lot about life, love and how to pull yourself up by your bootstraps…even if your bootstraps don’t have rhinestones”.
“I’ve always loved Dolly and been able to sing like her,” says Tricia. “It was my dream to someday be able to use this ability in a theatrical way and thought the best way to do it was to have it be another person’s journey.
“I wanted to sing my favourite Dolly songs but put her in a situation where we could see her in action in a real-life way, in a fantasy friendship where everything is done with lots of humour and tough love too, instead of it being a bio musical about her life.”
Fully authorised by Dolly herself, a plethora of Parton hits feature in the show: Jolene, 9 To 5, Islands In The Stream, I Will Always Love You, Here You Come Again et al. “But if people are expecting a tribute show, it’s not. It’s a proper theatre show; a play with music, with the side benefit of sometimes feeling like a Dolly Parton concert,”says Tricia.
“I think every audience member will find the show to be really funny, with lots of laughs, but they’ll also be surprised by how deep and emotional it is. It’s not about Covid, but the pandemic provides a universal backdrop experience as a time when we needed to let go of our plans, our job routines, our sense of identity. If you were defined by your career, you had a crisis over your identity – and Covid was even more of a worldwide experience than World War Two.”
Tricia co-created the original American script in collaboration with director Gabriel Barre and Emmy Award-winning comedy and song writer Bruce Vilanch in “one of the most harmonious, joyous experiences” of her creative career.
“We each brought something unique to the journey,” she says. “Gabriel is an expert in creating the theatrical framework and keeping us on track. He’s such a diplomat and truly a great director.
“I helped conceive of the basic story and I’d share how I think Dolly would say something or how I think she would behave in a situation.”
Vilanch is a “comedy genius,” she says. “He fleshed out the dialogue based on all of our brainstorming sessions with personal insights to Dolly as he wrote for her and the world of stand-up comics since he’s also from that world.”.
Tricia then worked with Gimme Gimme Gimme writer Jonathan Harvey to give the story a British revamp for the UK tour that began last April in her first ever visit to these isles. “Our producer, Simon Friend, thought Jonathan would be perfect, and he’s been a lovely collaborator, so easy to work with, understanding how things will hit a British audience,” she says.
“What’s wonderful about our show is that you could adapt it to any culture of a person in trouble, who needs Dolly’s help. It could be anywhere, but for this tour we needed the humour to be specific to the UK, changing all of the cultural references to fit.
“We’ve done 32 cities already and they’ve absolutely loved it. They are so on board with it not being a concert but a comedy with a deep heart.”
Summing up Dolly Parton’s appeal, Tricia says: “When it comes to her songwriting, she is a true artist. Like any great songwriter, she knows how to tell a story and connect with the heart, and she’s just blessed with that gift to write so many songs that do that.
“She can tap into human experience, and when you hear one of her sad songs about someone else’s experience, it can make you feel better about yourself, making you think ‘I have so much to be grateful for’.”
Like Dolly, Tricia comes from farming stock. “Even though there are many things where Dolly and I are so different – I’m a plain Jane, who doesn’t care about jewels and clothes; Dolly would be very disappointed at how I look off stage – but I do connect with her in many ways.
“I grew up on a small farm in Modesta, California, a 40-acre almond farm, where my parents taught me that happiness came from small things, growing up surrounded by nature. I do align with Dolly in seeing beauty all around, and like Dolly, I have many interests and I’m an entrepreneur with two businesses as a teacher and an artist with a pressed flower brand.”
Looking forward to visiting York for the first time, Tricia says: “One of my best friends will be flying in from Virginia because we’d heard York is one of the best places in England. We’re planning walking tours and spending Monday sight-seeing.”
Tricia will be on the road in Here You Come Again until February 22. “I cannot believe what an honour this has been, having the chance as an American to learn about British culture and hear all these different accents,” she says.
“I’m just crazy about it, and our audiences have been so warm and responsive. It’s been a real pleasure.”
Simon Friend Entertainment and Leeds Playhouse present Here You Come Again, Grand Opera House, York, January 28 to February 1, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
More questions for Tricia Paoluccio from her official tour Q&A
Tricia Paoluccio: Grew up on a farm, like Dolly Parton
What does Jonathan Harvey, who has worked with you on the UK version of the show, bring to the table?
“He is so funny. He’s a great writer, with fine-tuned taste, and the main thing he’s contributed is helping us set it in England because we had to change all of our cultural references. He’s also helped us to understand how things will hit a British audience because British audiences are different than American audiences and your experience during 2020 was a little different than ours.”
How did you set about becoming Dolly for the show?
“I like to say that I began rehearsing for this role when I was five years old, when I first heard Here You Come Again on the radio. I remember that moment vividly. I begged for the record and I memorised every song on it.
“I’ve always been able to tune my vocal cords to hit her vibrato and to find that cry in her voice and the musicality of her styling. When it came time to doing our show, though, I did not have her speaking voice down.
“I worked with a very celebrated dialect coach named Erik Singer, who helped Austin Butler prepare to play Elvis. We worked together on cracking her speaking voice and that took a bit more effort.
“I’ve watched tons of Dolly videos and early interviews to absorb how she does and says things, her mannerisms and everything. I just love to study her.”
How important to you is it not to simply do a Parton impersonation?
“Very important. There are wonderful tribute artists out there doing great things to spread the love of Dolly. But in terms of a play or a musical, I don’t think that would be a very satisfying evening in the theatre.
“I do not think about impersonating her. I’m only thinking about what my objective is in the story and I trust that Dolly’s presence is strong enough in me to let it go.”
What was important to get right about her as a person as well as a singer?
“Dolly is a very practical person. She’s no-nonsense and wise. I wanted to make sure that she stayed grounded and real. While we have very performative moments to the audience, I wanted to show her in a very truthful and down-to-earth way.
“I also wanted to show Dolly doing very humble things. I envisioned her as the kind of friend who if you’re going through a hard time would help clean up your kitchen and eat a meal with you. She’s not so rich and famous that she’s above doing those little things.
How did you and the team decide which Dolly songs to include?
“I love the late-70s/early 80s Dolly, so I came up with a kind of hit list. But I have to give credit to our lawyer, Thomas Distler, who’s responsible for making this all happen because he knew Dolly
Parton’s lawyer and got the material to her. That’s how we got permission to be able to do the show and the rights to all her music. Tom also said, ‘You’ve got to find a way to put Jolene in there’. At first we didn’t have it in the show because it didn’t really fit our storyline, but we found a wonderful way to put it in and I’m really glad that we did.”
Steven Webb’s Kevin and Tricia Paoluccio’s Dolly Parton in a scene in Here You Come Again
Do you have a favourite song to perform in the show?
“It’s like picking a favourite child and I love them all for different reasons. But I think my favourite one to perform is Me And Little Andy. It’s just so sad and strange, where Dolly does a little girl voice and it takes this painfully tragic turn. I love performing it and I love the reaction it gets from the audience.
“If you don’t know the song already, don’t listen to it before you come to see the show! Let yourself be surprised because I want you to have the same reaction that Kevin does.”
Like Dolly, you grew up on a farm, albeit an almond farm. Do you have other things in common with her?
“Like her, I’m very lucky to have had a happy childhood. I’m from a loving family and now, as an adult, I recognise how rare that is. My parents gave my brother and I a very wholesome childhood and I think this greatly shaped my outlook on life and helped me to be a positive, optimistic person.
“I’m also grateful for an understanding of God that brings me a lot of comfort and joy. I credit God with all good things, just as Dolly’s faith is the backbone of her creativity and art. So many of her songs reflect that in a way that’s very universal and easy for people to accept – even people who might not have a belief in God themselves. She’s able to share her faith in a very simple way that people can understand.”
How would you describe your relationship with Dolly’s music?
“As a child I spent hours and hours walking around our almond orchard in Modesto, California, singing her songs, imagining how life might be as a grown-up. Singing along to her made me want to become an actress, because I loved how she told stories and how emotional her songs could be.
“I can’t express enough how deeply her artistry has influenced my entire life: a love of beauty and a love of storytelling, culminating in what I consider the greatest achievement of my career – creating and being in this show. It’s the honour of a lifetime.”
Why do you think Dolly Parton is so beloved?
“She grew up very poor, made it big and has handled herself with dignity and grace her whole career. Watching interviews with her from the ’70s, they’re just crazy. She gets asked the most insulting and sexist questions and she never takes offence. But she never backs down either. She sticks up for herself with great humility and humour.
“What I also admire is how she uses her wealth and influence to donate to and bring attention to worthy causes, and she has managed to stay true to herself and her beliefs without ever taking sides.
“She fights for the little guy, uses her power for good and basically is one of the kindest, sweetest human beings ever to walk the earth. I’m just in awe of the life she’s created for herself and all she has given to the world.”
As well as a performer, you are an artist and designer. How do you juggle that with your theatre work?
“When you love to do something, you always find the energy and time for it. I’m really passionate about flower pressing and I’ve been doing it my whole life.
“A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to be discovered by some luminaries in the fashion and music industries. I started doing these collaborations that became very successful, such as the Óscar de la Renta collaboration, which led to Taylor Swift wearing that pressed flower dress at the Grammys.
“Then Anna Wintour [editor-in-chief of Vogue] wore one of ODLR’s designs, which used my art as the pattern, at the Met Gala. It gave me the confidence to create a whole brand using pressed flower imagery in high design and now I’ve created a business.
“I really hope to make connections in the UK because I have a little following here of passionate flower pressers, which I hope to nurture. I also hope to pick and press flowers in the UK and make a body of work inspired by the flowers of this beautiful part of the world.”
Gareth Gates: Bringing Valentine romance to York Barbican
GARETH Gates was visiting York Barbican for the first time on Wednesday – or so he thought – to promote his upcoming visit on February 16 with a concert of love songs from the movies.
A perusal through The Press files revealed the Bradford pop singer, musical theatre actor and pantomime regular, now 40, had performed there in Mad About The Musicals, singing the songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Kander & Ebb, Boublil & Schönberg and Lloyd Webber & Rice, in November 2015.
Forgive him for not recalling that York performance. After all, much water has passed under the bridge since former Bradford Cathedral head chorister Gareth was piloted to pop success at 17 by his 2002 Pop Idol clash of the stammering northern working-class lad versus the unstoppable southern posh boy, Will Young.
In York, he also had appeared as bad-boy Warner in Legally Blonde The Musical in September 2012 and in his first comedy role as cowboy Willard in Footloose in May 2017, both at the Grand Opera House. “I did two tours of that show and they asked me to do it a third time, but I thought, ‘I’ve ticked that box,” he says.
Tanned, teeth pearly white, hair and beard matinee-idol dark, full and thick, he looked the very picture of gym-toned good health in the Barbican bar, his vocal coach a calming presence by his side as the stammer that never affects his singing or stage performances only rarely punctuated his affable conversation.
“I used to come to York as a child,” he says. “I’m from Bradford and we’d always have a day out here over the summer, bringing me over for a cruise on the River Ouse. I’ve always loved this place, going to the Minster, and being able to perform here over the years has been a thrill.”
His latest return, in the week of St Valentine’s Day, will see producer and performer Gareth leading a company of singers and a four-piece band in Gareth Gates Sings Love Songs From The Movies, a show rooted in his 2002 cover of The Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody.
“That was my biggest hit and first ever number one, made famous by that scene in the movie Ghost, and I got thinking about how the world’s greatest love songs come from the movies and how I should do a show built on all those incredible movie songs,” says Gareth.
“The more I’ve looked into it and put together the set list, I realised that the synergy between music and movies is huge, and I hope that tapping into that will be a great move.
“If the show is a roaring success, we could look at doing an album, either as a live concert recording or going into the studio.”
Expect songs from Armageddon, Dirty Dancing, Titanic, A Star Is Born, My Girl, Top Gun and Footloose, among others, in a concert show divided into two sets of “beloved classic ballads, heart-warming melodies, electrifying up-tempo modern hits”. “And of course I’ll be doing Unchained Melody too,” says Gareth.
“I’m working again with Carrie Courtney, who booked the tour for Mad About The Musicals, and I’ve put together an incredible cast featuring West End talent. We have Maggie Lynne, who’s done Wicked and worked with me on a show many, many years ago, and Britt Lenting, a Dutch singer, who’s just finished doing panto with me in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, where I was Prince Gareth of Greenwich and she was the Evil Queen.
The tour poster for Gareth Gates Sings Love Songs From The Movies
“We started rehearsals when I was looking to cast the show. I heard her sing and thought, ‘I need you to be in the cast’. She’s done The Phantom Of The Opera, Love Never Dies and Little Mermaid, and she can be very operatic when she sings. She has such a powerhouse voice.
“She made a big name for herself in Holland but in 2016 she decided to take a leap across the water to see if she could make it in the West End and she’s absolutely smashing it.”
Completing Gareth’s vocal line-up will be Dan Herrington. “He’s fresh out of college after studying at Performers College in Essex,” says Gareth. “I like to put together an experienced bunch of performers but I also like to give aspiring, budding talent a chance to shine.
“I went to a showcase at Performers College, heard him sing and booked him straightaway for my autumn tour, where he was one of the Four Seasons in my Gareth Gates Sings Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons show.”
The band from that tour – all of them session musicians from big shows in the West End – will be joining Gareth for the 25-date movie music tour of England, Scotland and Wales. “We also had this crazy idea of taking the Frankie Valli show out again at the same time, doing one show in some cities, the other show in other cities. It seemed like a good idea – I’ll tell you how it goes!”
Gareth has worked with lighting designer Matt Boyles on the movie show’s design. “It’s essentially a concert show, but because of my roots in theatre, there will be a narrative to it too, with an old-school TV screen that we’ll start the show on and then we launch into all these amazing songs, which I’m really excited about singing all in the same show.
“Putting the set list together is based on instinct and experience over the years of doing these shows, which counts for a lot. If, after the first show or two, we feel something doesn’t work where we’ve placed it, we will change things up, based on the reaction of the crowd. I’m a great believer in that: you have to read the room.”
Gareth has lived in London since his Pop Idol discovery at 17, “but any opportunity I get to come back to Yorkshire, I do,” he says. “The first house I ever bought was up here in Yorkshire, on the edge of the Dales, which I bought for my family and I still have a house up here. I come up as often as I can and Yorkshire will always be my home.”
Hence his Love Songs tour will open in Yorkshire in Valentine’s week with shows at Wakefield Theatre Royal on February 10 and Hull Connexin Live on February 13, as well as York Barbican on February 16, and later dates at Bradford St George’s Hall on March 14 and Sheffield City Hall on March 28, while Gareth Gates Sings Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons will play the Victoria Theatre, Halifax, on March 1.
He has filmed a piece for ITV’s Calendar show on Bradford City of Culture 2025, visiting “some of the places where I grew up, like my old school Dixons City Academy and Bradford Cathedral, where I joined the choir when I was nine and was head boy chorister at 11,” recalls Gareth.
“I sang for The Queen at the Maundy Thursday Service in 1997 when I was 12 and was given Maundy money as I was the head boy soprano soloist, so essentially I was working for The Queen!
“For that sort of pressure to land on your shoulders at that age was a challenge, but all great training for what was to come.”
“The more I’ve looked into it and put together the set list, I realised that the synergy between music and movies is huge, and I hope that tapping into that will be a great move,” says Gareth Gates
Gareth had the honour of meeting HM The Queen again on his 18th birthday. “I was invited to Buckingham Palace for a Young Achievers ceremony after I’d helped many people with stammering and speech impediments. She didn’t remember me singing at the Maundy service!.”
Gareth hopes to take part in Bradford’s year as City of Culture, on top of his home-city performance of Gareth Gates Sings Love Songs From The Movies. “We’re in talks about doing a show at Bradford Live, the brand new venue at the old Bradford Odeon, hopefully towards the end of the year,” he reveals. Watch this space.
Gareth’s diary is ever busy. “I’m constantly working, and the biggest thing I’ve learned of late is not to overdo it,” he says. “I’m very fortunate to be as much in demand as I’ve ever been. There’s never been a dry spell – I find it hard to say ‘No’ – though I do have to at times.
“In 2023 I worked the most I’d ever worked with only ten nights off. It was a mixture of work, like performing every night when I was on board on cruise ships, with my own lounge, and also doing pantomime and The SpongeBob Musical, which was a fun show to do.
“I did lots of festivals, lots of Nineties and Noughties shows, and do you know what, I did burn out. I did way too much, so last year I eased off when I could, and this year I’ll be trying to do a little less – and that’s through the fear of my voice becoming slightly smashed. I do have to be careful with it and look after it.”
Staying fit is important to Gareth. “I’m massively into the gym,” he says. “I’m a health freak! I get all that right but I am very guilty of over-working.”
Twenty-three years on from Pop Idol, he and Will Young maintain their friendship. “I’ve only stayed in touch with Will and with Zoe Birkett too from that time. We’re really good friends; we hook up whenever we can – I spoke to him last week.”
Looking back to 2002, he says: “We went into it completely blind, not knowing what to expect, and we had each other to rely on throughout. Then we had a number one hit together with The Long And Winding Road and went on tour together. We were the guinea pigs of it all but we could fall back on each other.”
Pop careers rooted in the hothouse of talent shows can crash and burn, but not so with Gareth. “I’m fortunate that people have not turned on me, but a big part of that is I’ve not changed from the person I was, whereas you open yourself up to criticism if you do. I’ve stuck with the same people, always being grounded, rather than overstepping the mark,” he says.
“The danger of pop stars losing their way is if they surround themselves with ‘yes’ people, and then the moment someone goes against them and says ‘No’, that’s their downfall. I’ve kept the friends I’ve always had around me and they’ve kept me the person I’ve always been.”
He may live in London, but you cannot take the Yorkshireman out of Gareth. “It’s massively important to me,” he says. “I take a lot of pride in keeping my roots. My accent is still quite broad and I actually enjoy that. I get a lot out of coming from Bradford and Yorkshire. It’s made me the person I am. I love being from Yorkshire – and I love playing to a home crowd as they love to see a Yorkshireman doing well.”
Gareth Gates Sings Love Songs from The Movies – A Valentine Special, York Barbican, February 16, 7.30pm. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk. Also Hull Connexin Live, February 13, 7.30pm. Box office: connexinlivehull.com.
Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson: Writers of The Psychic, premiering at York Theatre Royal in 2026
YORK Theatre Royal will stage the world premiere of Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s twisted thriller The Psychic at York Theatre Royal next year. Tickets go on general sale from 1pm on January 15.
In the wake of the success of Ghost Stories, which spooked the Grand Opera House, York, in March 2020, Dyson and Nyman are to reunite for this electrifying new production. Show dates will be April 29 to May 23 2026, with the first week being previews.
Leeds-born Dyson and Nyman say: “We are so thrilled to have the world premiere of our new play at York Theatre Royal and to be part of their exciting next chapter. We cannot wait to unleash The Psychic at this remarkable venue.”
Theatre Royal chief executive Paul Crewes says: “We are very proud to be producing the world premiere of The Psychic here at York Theatre Royal. Andy and Jeremy have created this wonderful edge-of-your-seat script that we can’t wait to bring to life on our stage in 2026.”
The poster for The Psychic at York Theatre Royal
In The Psychic, popular TV psychic Sheila Gold loses a high-profile court case that brands her a charlatan. It costs her not only her reputation, but also a fortune in legal fees.
When wealthy parents ask Sheila to conduct a séance to attempt to make contact with their late child, Sheila senses an opportunity to bleed them for money. What follows makes her question everything she has ever believed, leading her on a journey into the darkest corners of her life. Cue thrills, shocks…and laughs.
The Psychic adds to York Theatre Royal’s bill of produced and co-produced work in 2025 and 2026. In the diary for this year are the co-production of North By Northwest with Emma Rice’s Wise Children, HOME Manchester and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse from March 18 to April 5 and erstwhile pantomime cat Gary Oldman’s return to the Theatre Royal in Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape from April 14 to May 17.
To book tickets, ring 01904 623568 or head to yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The night-watchman on his guard in Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s Ghost Stories (pictured in the 2019 London production)
Jeremy Dyson: the back story
Award-winning Leeds-born writer and director.
Writing credits for theatre include Ghost Stories (Lyric Hammersmith, nominated for Olivier Award for Best Entertainment); The League Of Gentlemen Are Behind You (UK tour); The League Of Gentlemen: A Local Show For Local People (UK tour, Theatre Royal Drury Lane – nominated for Olivier Award for Best Entertainment) and The League Of Gentlemen.
Co-writing credits for television include Psychobitches (winner of Rose d’Or for Best TV Comedy and nominated for two British Comedy Awards); The Armstrong & Miller Show (winner of BAFTA Award for Best Comedy); Billy Goat; Funland (nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Drama Serial) and The League Of Gentlemen (winner of BAFTA Award for Best Comedy, Golden Rose of Montreux and RTS Award for Best Entertainment).
Co-writing credits for film include Ghost Stories and The League Of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse.
Andy Nyman: the back story
Award-winning actor, director and writer.
As an actor, his theatre work includes The Producers; Assassins (Menier Chocolate Factory); Fiddler On The Roof (Menier Chocolate Factory and Playhouse Theatre – Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical); Abigail’s Party (Menier Chocolate Factory and Wyndham’s Theatre); Hello, Dolly! (London Palladium); Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen (Wyndham’s Theatre/Broadway), and the original production of Ghost Stories (Duke of York’s Theatre/Arts Theatre), which he starred in, co-wrote and co-directed with Jeremy Dyson. Later adapted into a film, in which he also starred.
Television credits include Lockerbie; Wanderlust; The Eichmann Show; Campus and Dead Set, as well as playing Winston Churchill in Peaky Blinders.
Film credits include Jungle Cruise; Judy; The Commuter; Death At A Funeral; Kick-Ass2; Black Death; The Brother’s Bloom; Severance and Shut Up & Shoot Me, for which he won Best Actor award at Cherbourg Film Festival in 2006.
Collaborated with Derren Brown for almost 20 years, co-writing and co-creating much of Brown’s early TV work. Co-written and directed Brown’s stage shows, winning Olivier Award for Best Entertainment for Derren Brown – Something Wicked This Way Comes and New York Drama Desk Award for Best Unique Theatrical Event 2017 for Derren Brown – Secret.
