Tag: Halfway To Edinburgh Season

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More Things To Do in and around York. Hutch’s List No. 30, from The York Press

Tom Grennan: Performing after this afternoon’s race card on Knavesmire

VETERANS James Taylor and Tom Jones on the coast, Knavesmire’s music showcase, York Proms and Johnny and June’s country musical stand out in Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations for the week ahead.

Race day concert of the week: York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Knavesmire, Tom Grennan, today

BEDFORD singer-songwriter Tom Grennan is today’s post-racing performer, drawing on such hits as Little Bit Of Love, Let’s Go Home Together, Remind Me, Here and How Does It Feel, plus songs from his number one albums Evering Road, What Ifs & Maybes and Everywhere I Went Led Me To Where I Didn’t Want To Be and top-five debut Lighting Matches. Tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk; no booking fees; free parking on race day.

Tom Jones: Returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre tomorrow

Coastal concerts of the week: Scarborough Open Air Theatre, An Evening with James Taylor and His All-Star Band, today; Tom Jones, with Stone Foundation, tomorrow; gates open at 6pm

MASSACHUSETTS singer, songwriter and guitarist, Laurel Canyon folk luminary, six-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll and Songwriters Halls of Fame inductee James Taylor, 78, draws on six decades of songs, from his self-titled 1968 debut to 2021’s 19th studio album, American Standard, tonight.

Tom Jones, or Sir Tom Jones since 2006, to be more formal, returns to Scarborough this weekend aged 85 to perform such favourites as It’s Not Unusual, What’s New Pussycat?, Delilah, Green, Green Grass Of Home, A Boy From Nowhere, Kiss, Mama Told Me Not To Come and Sex Bomb. Joining Sir Tom will be the eight-piece soul collective Stone Foundation. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Hannah Maxwell: Fiercely hopeful exploration of human connection in the Information Age at Theatre@41, Monkgate. Picture: Christa Holka

Fringe shows of the week: Halfway To Edinburgh at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, presents Hannah Maxwell: Turn Your ****ing Phones Off (Work in Progress), today,6.30pm; Kate McCabe and Adam Perrott, The Name Of The Dame, tomorrow, 7.30pm

PERFORMED in traverse with an immersive technical design by Benji Huntrods, theatre-maker Hannah Maxwell’s Edinburgh Fringe-bound new performance artwork is a dark, absurd and fiercely hopeful exploration of human connection in the Information Age, expounding playfully on the rise of Big Tech, attention-hacking innovations and surveillance capitalism, while recounting Maxwell’s personal struggles with phone addiction and her bid for a life in analogue.

Dames, detectives, stylish hats and ‘car chases’ combine in comedians Kate McCabe and Adam Perrott’s hour-long film-noir parody. “If you like Airplane and Police Squad, the oeuvre of Mel Brooks, dicey puns and sight gags, this show is probably for you,” they say. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Totally Visible Theatre Company in a scene from Invisible, to be spotted at Friargate Theatre tonight

Bonds of friendship of the week: The Totally Visible Theatre Company in Invisible, Friargate Theatre, York, tonight, 7.30pm

FIVE women meet up on a Saturday morning, as they have done every week for years, but this time they have a plan. Fast forward one year and their lives have changed irrevocably.

Celebrating the bonds of friendship and the fascinations and pitfalls of contemporary life, Invisible is a frank, fast-paced, all-female comedy-drama that ruminates on how older women are perceived in society, the relationships they forge and, most importantly, their “invisibility” in writer-director Jane Barrie’s exploration of sisterhood, motherhood and the effects of upbringing. Box office: 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.

Ashley Stillburn: York-born tenor making his York Proms debut tomorrow

Picnic concert of the week: York Proms, York Museum Gardens, tomorrow, 5.30pm

RUN by classical chart-topping York soprano Rebecca Newman and now in its ninth year, York Proms features music from the world of classical and opera, film soundtracks and show songs. Increasing the orchestra size this summer enables the inclusion of John Williams cinema compositions.

The soloists are York-born tenor and West End musical actor Ashley Stillburn in his York Proms debut and British/Irish soprano Jennifer Coleman, making her third appearance. Tickets update: Available today but NOT tomorrow at yorkproms.com/collections/tickets-2026.

Christopher Ryan Grant’s Johnny Cash and Christina Bianco’s June Carter Cash in The Ballad Of Johnny & June, on tour at Grand Opera House, York, next week. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography

Musical of the week:The Ballad Of Johnny & June, The Johnny Cash Musical, Grand Opera House, York, July 28 to August 1, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday matinees

THIS thrilling musical from Jersey Boys director Des McAnuff celebrates the love, music and mayhem of country music couple Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Electrifying chemistry marks the performances of Christopher Ryan Grant’s Johnny and Christina Bianco’s June in a story observed through the eyes of Ryan O’Donnell’s John Carter Cash, their son. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

In addition, the trio gives a special pop-up performance of songs from the show at Forty Five Vinyl Cafe, the Nashville-inspired concert venue, record store and coffee house in Micklegate, on July 29 at 1pm.

“Tribute” show of the week: Songs Of presents The Songs of Joni Mitchell, with Jesca Hoop & Lail Arad, The Citadel, York, July 31, doors 7pm, show 7.45pm

JESCA Hoop & Lail Arad, acclaimed singer-songwriters in their own right, perform intimate interpretations of their favourite Joni Mitchell songs, accompanied by Richard Sears on piano and special guest Naima Bock. Hoop presented Legend: The Joni Mitchell Story, the award-winning six-part BBC radio documentary and podcast on the Canadian singer-songwriter. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Jesca Hoop: Intimate interpretations of Joni Mitchell songs at The Citadel

Political drama of the week: Handbagged, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, July 31 to August 29

MOIRA Buffini’s 2014 Olivier Award-winning play imagines what happened behind closed palace doors when two of the 20th century’s most powerful women, Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, locked handbags. Meeting once a week for 11 years, one believed there was no such thing as society; the other committed her life to serving it.

Spanning 1979 to 1990, Handbagged asks if The Queen and the Iron Lady ever found common ground or did their stiff upper lips reign supreme? Hannah Tyrrell-Pinder directs the SJT cast of Pandora Clifford, Liz Garland, Alexandra Mathie, Deven Modha, Simon Darwen and Meriel Scholfield. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Alexandra Mathie, left, and Pandora Clifford in rehearsal for Handbagged at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Shakespeare show of the week: Four Forty Theatre in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, July 31, 7.30pm

FOUR Forty Theatre (or 440 Theatre, as their website uses both names) tackle Shakespeare’s romantic romp of a chaotic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with their trademark irreverence, wit and theatrical ingenuity, directed by Dominic Gee-Burch, formerly of fellow high-speed Shakespeare humorists Oddsocks Productions.

Lovers are enchanted, fairies feud and a troupe of hapless players rehearse their way into disaster, all in a single moonlit night. Inventive staging, breakneck character changes and playful dismantling of tradition mark out Four Forty’s mischief-making take on Shakespeare’s best-loved comedy: part affectionate homage, part riotous reinvention. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Four Forty Theatre: Mischief-making in the woods in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Joseph Rowntree Theatre

Art event of the week: Carolyn Coles & Mike Marshall, Beyond The Nab, St Mary’s Church, Sandsend, near Whitby, today, tomorrow & Monday, 10am to 5pm

ARTISTS and fossil collectors Carolyn Coles and Mike Marshall are sharing their love of the north east coastline in Beyond The Nab at St Mary’s Church, Sandsend, near Whitby.

Held at this beautiful church located at the end of the Sandsend Valley at the bottom of Lythe Bank, the special four-day event takes place in one of Yorkshire’s prettiest valleys, noted for its picturesque, high-end stone cottages, rich local history, tied to the Mulgrave Estate, and ancient woodlands leading to the ruins of Mulgrave Castle.

On show and sale are contemporary paintings with a traditional twist, sculptured fossils, evocative photography, jet jewellery, cards and prints, with both York seascape artist Carolyn Coles and East Coast fossil legend Mike Marshall on hand to guide you through the works.

South Bank Studios artist Carolyn will be demonstrating painting techniques while Mike, who runs Yorkshire Coast Fossils, will be glad to identify any fossil you bring along. A pop-up cafe will serve light refreshment in aid of the church, championed by volunteer Helen Lloyd.

Mike Marshall looking out to sea

Carolyn explains the idea behind the event as a “brilliant medley of art and heritage, combining contemporary art and sculpture with traditional techniques”. “We talked about coming together professionally as our work is a perfect compliment and we have such a shared love of the area,” she says.

Carolyn has had a busy 2026, joining wildlife sculptor Karen Fawcett and PICA Studios ceramicist Emily Stubbs in The Sky’s The Limit exhibition at Pyramid Gallery, York, from late-January to mid-March and taking part in York Open Studios in April.

“My dream is to open a studio and gallery and live by the coast, so this event is a huge pleasure to hold,” she says.

York artist Carolyn Coles enjoying painting in plein air at Sandsend

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 30, from Gazette & Herald

Stephen Webb’s Dr Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, doing the Time Warp again at the Grand Opera House, York

TOM Jones on the coast, Knavesmire’s music showcase weekend, a not-so-sweet Transylvanian transvestite and a French farce promise variety aplenty in Charles Hutchinson’s week ahead.

Musical of the week: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, tonight and tomorrow, 8pm; Friday & Saturday, 5pm and 8.30pm

STEPHEN Webb leads the cast as Dr Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show’s latest return to the Grand Opera House, joined by comedian Jackie Clune as the Narrator. Directed by Christopher Luscombe, Richard O’Brien’s outré musical tells the story of squeaky-clean American college sweethearts Brad and his fiancée Janet’s very frank encounters at the freaky doctor’s Transylvanian castle after their car breaks down.

Cue an adventure full of fun, frolics, frocks and frivolity, bursting with timeless songs and outrageous outfits as O’Brien combines science-fiction, horror, comedy and music while encouraging audience participation. Those audiences are sure to dress up in the most outrageous fancy dress. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Lou Bass’s artworks for Bring Me Sunshine at Helmsley Arts Centre

Exhibition of the week: Bring Me Sunshine, Paintings by Lou Bass and Adam King, Helmsley Arts Centre, until September 4

SCARBOROUGH artists Lou Bass and Adam King have teamed up for a joint exhibition, Bring Me Sunshine. A regular North Yorkshire Open Studios participant at Beeforth’s Hive, Lou’s vibrant paintings are brought to life with help from playful and poignant characters, such as Donkey, Crow, Angry Man, Bandit Cat, Dog and Fox, as she explores emotions and situations through simple narratives.

Painter and printmaker Adam has been painting for more than 35 years, holding exhibitions and doing residencies throughout Yorkshire. Educated at Leeds Met, York St John and Huddersfield, he led the Foundation Art and Fine Art degree courses when lecturing at Harrogate College before painting full time. His work is marked by a fresh approach to image making, combining simplicity with sophistication and a sureness of composition.

Andrew O’Neill: Looking to Escape at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, on Friday. Picture: Andrew O’Neill

Fringe shows of the week: Halfway To Edinburgh at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, presents Dylan Howells in Forget About Me (Work In Progress), tonight, 7.30pm; Joe Sellman-Leava in Copycat (Work In Progress), tomorrow, 7.30pm; Andrew O’Neill: Escape, Friday, 8pm

IN a remote, northeast village, something lurks in the bathroom: something Dylan struggles to remember, which even his dad’s deadly DIY skills can’t fix, as designer-performer Dylan Howells weaves psychological illusions and fragmented memories into a magical, chilling tale of a home that won’t stay still.

Part magic show, part ghost story, tonight’s show Forget About Me isn’t your typical conjuring act: mind-bending mentalism and spine-tingling effects blur the line between reality and fiction in a twisted tale designed to get under your skin.

DOES AI spell the end of humanity, or the dawn of a new utopia, ponders Fringe First winner Joe Sellman-Leava tomorrow. He might be a technophobe, but he is determined to find out by using innovative design and a whirlwind of uncanny impressions to tell the story of a teacher, a student and a copycat dictator to examine the links between art, fascism and rapid technological change. 

HOW do we get out of this mess, asks cult comedian Andrew O’Neill on Friday in his surreal, political show, Escape, about the ways in which we disagree with each other, while suggesting some ways we can find our way out. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Jorja Cartwright’s German flight attendant Gretchen in rehearsal for Rowntree Players’ Boeing Boeing

Farce of the week: Rowntree Players in Boeing Boeing, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow to Saturday, 7.30pm

MARC Camoletti’s high-flying 1960s’ French farce Boeing Boeing is cleared for take-off in Hannah Shaw’s English-language production for Rowntree Players. Meet self-styled Parisian lothario Bernard, who has Italian, German and American fiancées, each one a beautiful airline hostess with frequent “layovers.”

He keeps “one up, one down, and one pending” until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris, and to Bernard’s apartment, at the same time. Shaw’s cast features Max Palmer as Bernard, Lizzie Lawton as Robert, Rebecca Thomson as Berthe, Jorja Cartwright as Gretchen, Bethan Olliver as Gloria and Val Debenedetti as Gabriella. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Welsh pop legend Tom Jones: Returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Sunday

Coastal concerts of the week: Scarborough Open Air Theatre, An Evening with James Taylor and His All-Star Band, Saturday; Tom Jones, with Stone Foundation, Sunday; gates open at 6pm

MASSACHUSETTS singer, songwriter and guitarist, Laurel Canyon folk luminary, six-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll and Songwriters Halls of Fame inductee James Taylor, 78, draws on six decades of songs, from his self-titled 1968 debut to 2021’s 19th studio album, American Standard, on Saturday night.

Tom Jones, or Sir Tom Jones since 2006, to be more formal, returns to Scarborough this weekend at 85 to perform such favourites as It’s Not Unusual, What’s New Pussycat?, Delilah, Green, Green Grass Of Home, A Boy From Nowhere, Kiss, Mama Told Me Not To Come and Sex Bomb. Joining Sir Tom will be the eight-piece soul collective Stone Foundation. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Holly Taymar: Performing Eva Cassidy’s songbook at Helmsley Arts Centre

Tribute show of the week: Holly Taymar Sings Eva Cassidy, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

YORK singer-songwriter Holly Taymar delivers a warm, authentic performance that blends Eva Cassidy’s folk, jazz and blues material in renditions of Fields Of Gold, Songbird, Over The Rainbow and Autumn Leaves.

In a show of appreciation for Eva’s life and career, rather than imitation, Taymar combines intimate guitar accompaniment, mesmerising stage presence, melody and emotional truth. Singer-songwriter David Swann supports. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Craig David: TS5 DJ set after Friday evening’s race card at York Racecourse

Race day concerts of the week: York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Knavesmire, York, Craig David presents TS5, Friday, and Tom Grennan, Saturday

SOUTHAMPTON singer-songwriter and DJ Craig David presents his TS5 DJ set on Music Showcase Friday’s double bill of racing and old-skool anthems, from R&B to Swing Beat, Garage to Bashment, plus current House hits, when he combines his song and MC skills.

Tom Grennan: Saturday live set at York Racecourse

BEDFORD singer-songwriter Tom Grennan is Saturday’s post-racing performer, drawing on such hits as Little Bit Of Love, Let’s Go Home Together, Remind Me, Here and How Does It Feel, plus songs from his number one albums Evering Road, What Ifs & Maybes and Everywhere I Went Led Me To Where I Didn’t Want To Be and top-five debut Lighting Matches. Tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk; no booking fees; free parking on race day.

York tenor Ashley Stillburn: Making his York Proms debut on Sunday

Picnic concert of the week: York Proms, York Museum Gardens, Sunday 5.30pm

RUN by classical chart-topping York soprano Rebecca Newman and now in its ninth year, York Proms features music from the world of classical and opera, film soundtracks and show songs. Increasing the orchestra size this summer will enable the inclusion of iconic John Williams cinema compositions.

The soloists are York-born tenor and West End musical actor Ashley Stillburn in his York Proms debut and British/Irish soprano Jennifer Coleman, making her third appearance. Tickets update: Still available at yorkproms.com/collections/tickets-2026.

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REVIEW: Wright & Grainger in SELENE, Halfway To Edinburgh Season, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York****

Megan Drury in SELENE

IN a new creative partnership with Theatre@41, Monkgate, Easingwold duo Wright & Grainger workshopped and rehearsed SELENE at the York theatre before actor Megan Drury headed off to Australia and New Zealand for a Bob Dylanesque never-ending tour that stretched eventually to more than 70 performances.

SELENE is a solo show for Drury, such an electric force on stage, who was so vital to the spoken-word gig theatre chemistry of Edinburgh and Australian Fringe hit THE GODS THE GODS THE GODS, but the imprint of partner Alexander Flanagan Wright’s rhythmic wordplay, cultural nous and philosophical insights and Phil Grainger’s lambent compositions is as deep as ever.

Wright & Grainger specialise in breathing new life into ancient myths, refracting the tales of Orpheus, Euridyce and Helios through the prism of the troubled modern world, often a rural Yorkshire one to boot yet universal too.

SELENE is the latest such venture, billed as a “radical explosion” of the ancient Greek tale of the goddess of the Moon and its dark side that once fixated Pink Floyd.

Dressed all in black with glittering trainers and ear rings, Drury immediately establishes that SELENE – pronounced Sel-ee-nay, not Celine, as in Dion, she clarifies – will not be the fulcrum of the story.

Instead, the focus falls on Selene’s already assertive 12-year-old daughter, Pandia (or ‘Panda’ as everyone calls her), whose fascination with the Moon will be followed at four-yearly intervals.

Drury’s Panda/Pandia will introduce each scene with an update of her/their list of All The Things I Am Not, always kick-started by her frustration at not being weightless, ever since she started watching Apollo 11’s landing on repeat.

She is fearless, frank, bloody-minded even, likes the F word and considers the chalk horse at Kilburn, not far from her home, to be “stupid”. She finds pretty much everything and everyone irritating, especially that horse and Benzo, who is always trying to outdo her with his knowledge of the Moon and its cycles.

In Wright & Grainger house style, the performance is conversational, knocking down theatre’s fourth wall from the off, and immersive too, all the more so for being staged in the round to match the shape of a full moon. Assorted moons will decorate Theatre@41’s black box theatre in differing forms and sizes, each switched on and off by Drury, depending on a scene’s requirement and focus.

Pages from the script, again placed in a circle at the audience’s feet, are a familiar W&G sign of imminent involvement for all those who volunteer to take on roles, in this case playing wild card Panda’s friends/classroom colleagues from schooldays onwards, through various party initiations, lunar experiences, first drinks, skinny dips, first encounters with Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide and morning-after breakfasts with mum Selene.

Another mythical world will stir too, the one where dogs become werewolves at twilight, and again two volunteers take on howling duty, later joined by the entire audience.

As Panda turns into a young adult, discovering who and why they are, Wright & Grainger’s SELENE becomes an ever more humorous, intellectually smart and typically unconventional study of “the light sides of us, the dark sides of us, the things orbiting around us as we grow up and especially the wild stuff inside us”.

Not only is SELENE a joyously wild ride through a rites of passage, but it also rivals Sir Patrick Moore for interesting observations and facts on the Moon, gives belated attention to Michael Collins’s lonely role on that 1969 lunar trip and points out Apollo was a misnomer for a space ship to the Moon, given that Apollo was the sun god.

By now, Drury’s relentless, questing Panda/Pandia/whatever they want to call themself next finally lists All The Things I Am. “The truth,” she says. Oh for such certainty in our world of half truths, alternative truths and Truth Social.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 29, from Gazette & Herald

Eliza Carthy: Performing with The Restitution at Ryedale Festival

A MYTHICAL tale of a goddess, a near-future re-spinning of the selkie myth, an Arthurian quest of a lifetime, a bothersome briefcase in a love story and  a nostalgia trip to variety’s golden days keep Charles Hutchinson  entertained.

Folk gig of the week: Eliza Carthy and The Restitution, Ryedale Festival, Selby Abbey, tonight, 7pm

FLAMBOYANT Robin Hood’s Bay fiddler and singer Eliza Carthy continues to re-imagine traditional music with fiery imagination and fearless individuality. The daughter of Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson, she grew up immersed in the folk world, and here she performs with her powerhouse touring band in one of Yorkshire’s most atmospheric and beautiful settings. For the full festival programme and tickets, go to: ryedalefestival.com.

Megan Drury in Wright & Grainger’s SELENE at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York

Radical myth revamp of the week: Wright & Grainger and Theatre@41 present Megan Drury in SELENE, Halfway To Edinburgh Season, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 7pm, and tomorrow, 8.30pm

AUSTRALIAN actor Megan Drury stars in Easingwold duo Phil Grainger and Alexander Flanagan Wright’s tale of the goddess and the dark side of the moon in a radical explosion of an ancient myth.

A young girl watches the moon landings on repeat. A teenager makes a list of all the things they are not. A young adult starts to discover who they are. Expect a story addressing the light sides of us, the dark sides of us, the things orbiting around us as we grow up and not least the wild stuff inside us. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

The Three Inch Fools: Epic tale of Arthurian adventure and medieval mayhem at Helmsley Walled Garden

Outdoor theatre show of the week: The Three Inch Fools in King Arthur And The Holy Fail, Helmsley Walled Garden, tomorrow, 7pm

FOUNDED by Cumbrian brothers James and Stephen Hyde, The Three Inch Fools present an epic tale of Arthurian adventure and medieval mayhem, set in a land of daring quests, dashing knights and endless jousting.

Waiting in the wings is a would-be hero, by the name of Arthur, but when Camelot is rocked to its core by a tragic – and frankly improbable – incident involving a large table of an undisclosed shape, Arthur is thrust into the quest of a lifetime, Destiny awaits, chivalry calls and the quest to end all quests begins. Bring chairs, blankets and cushions. Picnics welcome. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s introverted Thomas and Lennie Longworth’s equally shy Daisy in A Brief Case Of Crazy

Silent love story of the week: Skedaddle Theatre & Shoddy Theatre present A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, tomorrow to Saturday, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee

INSPIRED by the timeless genius of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mr Bean,Rowan Armitt-Brewster, Samuel Cunningham and Lennie Longworth’s physical comedy A Brief Case Of Crazy is a silent love story with a very loud heart, told through slick choreography, mime, clowning and puppetry.

Meet Thomas, an awkward, introverted office worker with a quiet crush on his equally shy colleague, Daisy. His quest for love must contend with a boisterous boss named Simon and a rather bothersome briefcase that drags an awkward introvert into extraordinary events. Will his quest for love fail? Or will he discover that what’s on the inside counts most? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Five upwards.

Hannah Davies & Jack Woods: Re-imagining selkie myth in a not-too-distant future

Dystopian vision of the week: Hannah Davies & Jack Woods in The Ballad of Blea Wyke, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

IN North Yorkshire writer and storyteller Hannah Davies and musician Jack Woods’ dystopian re-imagining of the selkie myth in a not-too-distant future, a young woman wants to see the sea. A stranger stands on a cliff. The last grey seal swims towards the shore. 

On her 18th birthday, tough care-leaver Cerys breaks the city’s lockdown and travels to the coastal cliffs that birthed her, the crumbling landscape drawing her back to her mythic past. Cue a haunting interweaving of story, music, poetry and song. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Elf Lyons, the woman on the edge at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York

Comedy gig of the week: Halfway To Edinburgh Season presents Elf Lyons Is The Woman On The Edge (Work In Progress), Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 7.30pm

LET London comedian, classically trained clown and Sky Arts Award winner Elf Lyons introduce this Work In Progress preview of her Edinburgh Fringe-bound show Elf Lyons Is The Woman On The Edge: “I’m sorry, I’ve said too much…”

She does, however, go on to say it will be “a completely normal, autobiographical (and in no way complex) observational stand-up show about love. A perfect show to take yourself to. Inspired by Vertigo, Apollo 13 the opera Pagliacci.  Directed by Ingmar Bergman.” Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Dominic Goodwin in a triptych of his myriad roles in Twice Nightly

Recalling variety’s golden days: Pyramus and Thisbe Productions present Dominic Goodwin in Twice Nightly, Friargate Theatre, York, Friday and Saturday, 7.30pm

RYEDALE writer, performer and pantomime dame Dominic Goodwin is touring his first one-man comedy show, directed by York director and actor Thomas Frere.

Twice Nightly follows the story of struggling comedian Freddie Francis in 1956 as the final curtain hovers over variety. Many acts of the time are highlighted, including Norman “Over The Garden Wall” Evans (said to be an influence on Les Dawson) Stockton comic Jimmy James, wartime star Robb Wilton and the iconic Max Miller. Box office: York, 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.

Tommy Banks; Turning up the heat at York Theatre Royal

Culinary event of the week:  An Evening with Tommy Banks: Spinning Plates: Live, York Theatre Royal, Friday, 7.30pm

MICHELIN-STARRED chef and entrepreneur Tommy Banks makes the trip from his Oldstead family farm to York Theatre Royal to bring his extraordinary story to the stage for the first and only time. Told across three intersecting timelines – the past 25 years, the defining 12 months and the opening night for his latest pub —each moment teeters on a knife-edge.

Banks runs the Black Swan at Oldstead, Roots York, in Marygate, York, and the Abbey Inn at Byland, as well as co-founding Jeopardy Hospitality, whose first venture is the General Tarleton at Ferrensby, Knaresborough. For one night only, he combines storytelling and immersive cinema to lift the lid on hospitality service at its most intense. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

CMAT: Songs of identity, grief and beauty standards at Scarborough Open Air Theatre

Coastal gig of the week: CMAT, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Saturday, gates 6pm

CMAT, alias Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, burst on to the music scene six years ago with her debut single Another Day (KFC). The Dublin-born, County Meath-raised singer and songwriter has since released three bitingly humorous, emotionally honest albums, 2022’s If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, 2023’s Crazymad, For Me and 2025’s  Mercury Prize-nominated Euro-Country, her exploration of identity, grief and beauty standards, exemplified by Take A Sexy Picture Of Me. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.co.uk.

Danger on T-Rex Mountain in Dinosaur Adventure Live at York Theatre Royal

Children’s show of the week: Dinosaur Adventure Live, Danger On T-Rex Mountain, York Theatre Royal, Saturday,  2.30pm

SIXTY-FIVE million years in the making, Dinosaur Adventure Live brings a fusion of family-friendly storytelling, puppetry, and roarsome science to the stage as the ancient world of dinosaurs crashes back to life for gasps, giggles and occasional jump-scares.

From a shadowy raptor on the loose to baby dinosaurs that you can feed (carefully!), Mike Newman’s show blends humour, thrills and hands-on learning into an interactive stage experience. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Matt Ford: In full swing at Milton Rooms, Malton

In the swing of things: Ryedale Festival presents Matt Ford and The Swing Legends Band, Milton Rooms, Malton, Sunday, 7pm

BRITISH singer and BBC Proms regular Matt Ford is joined by a full band to celebrate the songs of Frank Sinatra and fellow crooning legends Dean Martin, Tony Bennett and Michael Bublé. From late-night ballads to high-octane numbers shaped by elegance and irresistible wit, this is music that still knows exactly how to swing. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond as music & comedy festival season blooms. Hutch’s List No. 28, from The York Press

Super Furry Animals: Flower power in the botanical gardens at Live At York Museum Gardens. Picture: Ryan Eddleston

NINE comedians on one day in a garden, a mythical tale of a goddess and the dark side of the moon, a near-future re-spinning of the selkie myth and a bothersome briefcase in a love story keep Charles Hutchinson’s head spinning with artistic possibilities.  

Rock gig of the week: Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Super Furry Animals, today, gates 4pm

FUTURESOUND’S third season of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts climaxes today with Welsh psychedelic rock band Super Furry Animals’ headline set. On the bill too are  singer-songwriter Baxter Dury, indie-pop septet Los Campesinos!, Nottingham alt-country band Divorce and North Wales psychedelic act Pys Melyn.  Box office: futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events.

The Gesualdo Six: Performing Wishing Tree: A Choral Journey 1 at St Lawrence’s Church, York, on July 14 at 3pm at Ryedale Festival. Picture: Ash Mills

Festival of the week: Ryedale Festival, until July 26

RYEDALE Festival presents 60 events this month in 40 different venues, including Tenebrae, The Gesualdo Six, John Wilson & Sinfonia of London’s An English Summer, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Opera North.

Taking part too are tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Christopher Glynn, Sheku & Isata Kanneh-Mason, pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, Eliza Carthy and The Restitution, soprano Erika Baikoff, cellist Laura van der Heijden, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists and Kirkbymoorside Town Brass Band. For the full festival programme and tickets, go to: ryedalefestival.com.

Cutting a dash: Russell Kane’s 7.10pm set will last 25 minutes at York Comedy Festival tomorrow

Comedy event of the week: Futuresound presents York Comedy Festival, Live At York Museum Gardens, York, tomorrow, gates 3pm

TOPICAL comedian Russell Howard (9.30pm) and Geordie surrealist Ross Noble (8.35pm) take top billing at the second open-air York Comedy Festival, promoted by Futuresound.

In tomorrow’s line-up too will be Irish stand-up and podcast sensation Joanne McNally (7.40pm); stand-up and presenter Russell Kane (7.10pm); Big Kick Energy podcaster and comedian Suzi Ruffell (6.15pm); Alex Lowe’s 82-year-old comic creation Barry From Watford (5.45pm); cult stand-up hero and viral sensation Jeff Innocent (4.50pm)  and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Nabil Abdulrashid (4.20pm), all hosted by Jarred Christmas. Box office: yorkcomedyfestival.com.

Megan Drury in Wright & Grainger’s SELENE, part of Theatre@41’s Halfway To Edinburgh Season

Radical myth revamp of the week: Wright & Grainger and Theatre@41 present Megan Drury in SELENE, Halfway To Edinburgh Season, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, July 15, now 7pm; July 16, 8.30pm

AUSTRALIAN actor Megan Drury stars in Easingwold duo Phil Grainger and Alexander Flanagan Wright’s tale of the goddess and the dark side of the moon in a radical explosion of an ancient myth.

A young girl watches the moon landings on repeat. A teenager makes a list of all the things they are not. A young adult starts to discover who they are. Expect a story addressing the light sides of us, the dark sides of us, the things orbiting around us as we grow up and not least the wild stuff inside us. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

UPDATE: 13/7/2026

STATEMENT from Team 41: “As you may have noticed the show now partially clashes with England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina.

“To allow people to catch as much of the match as possible, we’ve moved the start time for Wright & Grainger’s SELENE to 19:00. 

“The show is 70 minutes long, so you’ll hopefully be able to enjoy Wright & Grainger’s SELENE and then see the match from the first Hydration Break.

“There is another performance of SELENE on Thursday at 8.30pm, so if you would prefer to move to that show, send an email to boxoffice@41monkgate.co.uk.” 

Silence is golden: Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s Thomas in A Brief Case Of Crazy at York Theatre Royal Studio

Silent love story of the week: Skedaddle Theatre & Shoddy Theatre present A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, July 16 to 18, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee

INSPIRED by the timeless genius of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mr Bean,Rowan Armitt-Brewster, Samuel Cunningham and Lennie Longworth’s physical comedy A Brief Case Of Crazy is a silent love story with a very loud heart, told through slick choreography, mime, clowning and puppetry.

Meet Thomas, an awkward, introverted office worker with a quiet crush on his equally shy colleague, Daisy. His quest for love must contend with a boisterous boss named Simon and a rather bothersome briefcase that drags an awkward introvert into extraordinary events. Will his quest for love fail? Or will he discover that what’s on the inside counts most? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Five upwards.

Hannah Davies & Jack Woods: Performing The Ballad Of Blea Wyke at Helmsley Arts Centre on July 17. Picture: Matt Jopling

Dystopian vision of the week: Hannah Davies & Jack Woods in The Ballad of Blea Wyke, Helmsley Arts Centre, July 17, 7.30pm

IN North Yorkshire writer and storyteller Hannah Davies and musician Jack Woods’ dystopian re-imagining of the selkie myth in a not-too-distant future, a young woman wants to see the sea. A stranger stands on a cliff. The last grey seal swims towards the shore. 

On her 18th birthday, tough care-leaver Cerys breaks the city’s lockdown and travels to the coastal cliffs that birthed her, the crumbling landscape drawing her back to her mythic past. Cue a haunting interweaving of story, music, poetry and song. Box office: Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Dominic Goodwin in a triptych of three of his multiple roles in Twice Nightly at Friargate Theatre

Recalling variety’s golden days: Pyramus and Thisbe Productions present Dominic Goodwin in Twice Nightly, Friargate Theatre, York, July 17 & 18, 7.30pm

RYEDALE writer, performer and pantomime dame Dominic Goodwin is touring his first one-man comedy show, directed by York director and actor Thomas Frere.

Twice Nightly follows the story of struggling comedian Freddie Francis in 1956 as the final curtain hovers over variety. Many acts of the time are highlighted, including Norman “Over The Garden Wall” Evans (said to be an influence on Les Dawson) Stockton comic Jimmy James, wartime star Robb Wilton and the iconic Max Miller. Box office: York, 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.

Turning up the heat: North Yorkshire chef Tommy Banks

Culinary event of the week:  An Evening with Tommy Banks: Spinning Plates: Live, York Theatre Royal, July 17, 7.30pm

MICHELIN-STARRED chef, restaurateur and hospitality leader Tommy Banks makes the trip from his Oldstead family farm to York Theatre Royal to bring his extraordinary story to the stage for the first and only time. Told across three intersecting timelines – the past 25 years, the defining 12 months and the opening night for his latest pub —each moment teeters on a knife-edge.

Banks runs the Black Swan at Oldstead (head chef since June 2013), Roots York, in Marygate, York (since 2018) , and the Abbey Inn at Byland (since 2023), as well as co-founding Jeopardy Hospitality, whose first venture is the General Tarleton at Ferrensby, Knaresborough, in 2025.

His debut cookbook, Roots, was published by Orion in April 2018. He set up the food box business Made In Oldstead in 2020, Banks Brothers canned wine company in 2021, Tommy’s Pie Shop in 2024 and Tommy Banks Hospitality, for large-scale events, stadia catering and corporate hospitality nationwide, in 2025.

In 2019, Banks became resident chef at Lord’s Cricket Ground; in 2022, chef partner of Twickenham Stadium; in 2025, chef partner of Sunderland AFC. A lifelong Sunderland supporter, he now leads the culinary offering at Banks on the Wear and oversees corporate hospitality at the football ground.

Exemplified by the three-acre kitchen garden by the Black Swan, sustainability sits at the heart of everything Banks does. His field-to-fork commitment to responsible growing, foraging and low-impact cooking has been recognised with a Michelin Green Star, while his dedication to nurturing future talent continues through apprenticeship programmes and industry partnerships.

For one night only, he combines storytelling and immersive cinema to lift the lid on hospitality service at its most intense, reflecting on a lifetime of ambition, vulnerability, risk and pressure (cookers). 

Set against a turbulent backdrop, where soaring business rates and crushing VAT force three pubs to close every week, Banks exposes the brutal reality of keeping the doors open while revealing the plate-spinning demands of leadership and what it takes to pursue excellence.

Along the way, discover the community of talent he has built in the once-sleepy village of Oldstead, firmly rooted in camaraderie, resilience and Yorkshire grit. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

This Is Torture for Sean Walsh: Anxiety levels rising at Harrogate Theatre, York Theatre Royal and the SJT, Scarborough. Picture: Jiksaw

Gig announcement of the week: Sean Walsh, This Is Torture, Harrogate Theatre, October 6, and York Theatre Royal, November 6, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, April 14 2027

I’M A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! 2022 series survivor Sean Walsh has decided to name his latest stand-up tour show after the phrase he says the most: “This Is Torture”.  The dishevelled Camden comedian will be bringing his signature blend of chaos and charm to Harrogate, York and the newly added Scarborough to put himself through an anxiety filled-hour, as he indeed will on no fewer than 71 occasions on a tour now extended by 37 dates.

The ever-observant Walsh’s podcasting portfolio takes in co-hosting Oh My Dog! with Jack Dee, where guests discuss their special canine bonds, and What’s Upset You Now?, putting the world to rights in cathartic trips to the pub with Paul McCaffrey. In addition, on Class Clown, he sits down with the boldest rule-breakers in entertainment to explore the personal battles that shaped them.

In 2024, he made his Shakespearean debut as Malvolio in Twelfth Night at Stafford Gatehouse, then played Yvan in a tour of Yasmina Reza’s Art. Tickets: www.seannwalsh.com; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Scarborough,01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

In Focus: Navigators Art presents Moss Glow And Shadow Bloom, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight 7.45pm

York singer Gabriella Hunzinger

YORK arts collective Navigators Art’s final gig before a summer break brings together four Yorkshire performers whose work conjures unique worlds up in a magical programme of electronic, acoustic and vocal sounds, influenced by folk traditions and environmental awareness.

Combining ancient and modern iconography, art, poetry and music, the bill features York singer Gabriella Hunzinger, No Spinoza, previewing forthcoming album Jupiter’s Great Hurricane, Sheffield experimental songwriter Pefkin and Things Found And Made’s lost cinematic folk-tales.

No Spinoza’s Thomas Pearson

GABRIELLA HUNZINGER: Her songs take wisdom from nature’s seasonal cycles and explore connections between ourselves, the earth and what lies beyond our conscious experience. Accompanied by cellist Filipe Massumi and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Webster.


NO SPINOZA: Welcome to the thematic universe of forthcoming album Jupiter’s Great Hurricane, where Thomas Pearson’s songs bridge history and legend, ancient and modern. Featured in session on BBC Introducing.

Pefkin

PEFKIN: Sheffield performing and recording artist. Multi-instrumentalist and experimental songwriter of slowly unfolding psychedelic hymnals, inspired by nature.

THINGS FOUND AND MADE: Lost cinematic folk-tales: imagined histories, half remembered rituals of sound and nature, from York.

Tickets:  https://www.ticketsource.com/navigators-art-performance or on the door.

Things Found And Made