Window of opportunity: Alice Pryor’s Nella Racksole, Thomas Cotran’s Prince Aribert of Posen, centre, and Bill Champion’s Theodore Racksole. Picture: Andrew Billington
CONRAD Nelson. Deborah McAndrew. Bill Champion. All are names familiar to Yorkshire theatre audiences past and present, but what of Arnold Bennett?
He is as much a part of the Potteries as Nelson and McAndrew’s Stoke-on-Trent company Claybody Theatre, but for all his 34 novels, 13 plays, seven volumes of short stories, several self-help books, screenplays and stories for more than 100 newspapers and periodicals, he may be best known for the Omelette Arnold Bennett, the creamy one with gruyere cheese, smoked fish and béchamel sauce, invented in his name by chef Jean Baptiste Virlogeux while he was staying at The Savoy in 1929 to write his 1930 book Imperial Palace.
Bennett loved The Savoy – his second home – and hotel culture at large, a love expressed in his 1902 “rollicking comedy thriller” The Grand Babylon Hotel (based on The Savoy, apparently).
Alice Pryor’s Nella Racksole and Thomas Cotran’s Prince Aribert of Posen take to the water in The Grand Babylon Hotel. Picture: Andrew Billington
Thrice turned into a film, in 1914, 1916 and1920 (in Germany), now it is transformed into a theatrical whirl of a murder mystery drama in the spruce yet madcap style of Patrick Barlow’s reinvention of The 39 Steps, replete with fabulously attired, flamboyant characters, dextrous movement and dance-step interludes, sleight-of-hand role shifts and equally fast costume, accent and location changes on a rising tide of physical comedy and mentally adroit twists and turns.
Co-artistic director Nelson’s touring cast for McAndrew’s wizard, whizzing Jazz Age stage adaptation adds Stephen Joseph Theatre favourite Bill Champion to four players from last autumn’s premiere at the New Vic.
Champion, cigar seemingly forever betwixt his lips, is playing American railroad billionaire Theodore Racksole, whose demanding daughter, Nella (Alice Pryor), wants filleted steak and Bass beer for her birthday treat.
Michael Hugo’s Ticket Collector in The Grand Babylon Hotel. Picture: Andrew Billington
However, as supercilious maitre d’hotel Jules (Michael Hugo) explains, they are not on Italian chef Rocco’s menu at London’s exclusive Grand Babylon Hotel.
Whereupon Theodore buys the chef, the kitchen, the hotel, lock, stock and barrel of unexpected problems. Big mistake? When Reginald Dimmock (Thomas Cotran) keels over, murder is followed by the kidnapping of Nella.
McAndrew stirs myriad characters into the melting pot, even inventing one, German Nanny Heidi (one of four roles for Shelley Atkinson, including fierce hotel worker Miss Spencer, who may really be Baroness Zerlinski).
Shelley Atkinson’s Nanny Heidi in The Grand Babylon Hotel. Picture: Andrew Billington
Thomas Cotran, who you have seen in Mikron Theatre shows, flits between three roles, the unfortunate Dimmock, the heel-clicking German Prince Aribert of Posen and knife-wielding, moustachioed Italian head chef Rocco, having particular fun with the latter.
They are joined in McAndrew’s trio of “clowns” by Michael Hugo, once a fixture in Northern Broadsides productions, and still as elastic and electric in his comic tomfoolery, stealing scene after scene like acts of daylight “rubbery”.
He plays a sextet of roles, each with a different accent, rhythm of speech, manner of movement, whether the alarming Jules, the dastardly Tom Jackson, the Cockney detective Marshall, the Porter or the hypochondriac Prince Eugen of Posen.
Most amusing of all is his growling French ticket collector, fag in mouth, playing tricks on the audience members when asking them to hold a boarding rope. In Tom Jackson mode, aboard a boat, he even asks “beefy John” from the front row to take over the wheel. You won’t see a comic tour de force to rival Hugo on a Yorkshire stage this year, whether leaping into a basket or being thrown around like a rag doll when Prince Eugen is assumed to be dead.
Lis Evans’s costumes are a playful delight, while her open-plan set design can be adapted for differing venues, letting the cast do the heavy lifting in conveying locations, such as when Champion’s Theodore mimes his journey of discovery through the hotel’s unseen interior, banging his head three times on thin air!
Champion and Pryor play it straight while still playing off the crazed comic energy of Atkinson, Cotran and especially Hugo as Nelson’s direction judges the pacing perfectly, each scene surpassing the last.
James Atherton’s compositions, Daniella Beattie’s lighting and floor projections, Damian Coldwell’s sound design and Beverley Norris-Edmunds’ movement direction and choreography all play their part in making The Grand Babylon Hotel so swish and stylish, topped off by Nick Haverson’s physical comedy direction.
Nelson’s cast uses the assets of the SJT’s in-the-round structure to the max, from Champion delivering monologues from the stairways to the three entry points being in constant use. No doubt, the show will adapt to Harrogate Theatre’s classical proscenium arch next month with equal elan.
Wherever you choose to go to see Champion, Atkinson, Cotran, Pryor and Hugo in particular, book now.
Claybody Theatre in The Grand Babylon Hotel, Stephen Joseph Theatre, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee; Harrogate Theatre, April 1 to 4, 7.30pm and 2pm Saturday matinee. Box office: Scarborough,01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk.
Claybody Theatre’s poster for The Grand Babylon Hotel
Leeds abstract surrealist Nicolas Dixon, front, spotted at the launch of the debut RARE v WET exhibition with WET proprietors James Wall and Ella Williams and RARE Collective organiser Sharon McDonagh
A SURREALIST wine bar exhibition, a comedy thriller in an hotel and Australian children’s games stir Charles Hutchinson’s interest.
Exhibition of the week: Nicolas Dixon, RARE v WET, at WET, Micklegate, York, until April 22
YORK artist and event organiser Sharon McDonagh and DJ/artist Sola launch their RARE v WET series of solo exhibitions in aid of York charity SASH (Safe and Sound Homes) at WET, James Wall and Ella Williams’ indie wine bar and restaurant, with Nicolas Dixon first up.
Leeds abstract surrealist Dixon’s murals and artworks have become landmarks in Leeds, including at Kirkgate Market, Trinity Shopping Centre and the University of Leeds, as well as Leeds United tributes to the 1972 FA Cup Winners at Elland Road and the iconic Bielsa the Redeemer in Wortley. On show is a mixture of new and older work, both prints and originals.
In the shadows: Michael Hugo in Claybody Theatre’s The Grand Babylon Hotel. Picture: Andrew Billington
Thriller of the week: Claybody Theatre in The Grand Babylon Hotel, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees; Harrogate Theatre, April 1 to 4, 7.30pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee
CONRAD Nelson directs an ensemble cast of multiple flamboyant characters in a rollicking comedy thriller of rapid-fire character changes, sharp humour and theatrical fun, presented in association with the New Vic Theatre.
In Deborah McAndrew’s adaptation of Arnold Bennett’s novel, Nella Racksole discovers steak and beer are not on the menu for her birthday treat at the exclusive Grand Babylon Hotel, prompting her American millionaire father to buy the chef, the kitchen, the entire hotel. Cue kidnapping and murder. Have Theodore and Nella bitten off more than they can chew? Box office: Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk.
Bluey’s Big Play: Australian bean bags, games and cleverness at Grand Opera House, York
Children’s show of the week: Windmill Theatre Co in Bluey’s Big Play, Grand Opera House, York, 10am, tomorrow and Friday; 10am, 1pm and 4pm, Saturday and Sunday
COMBINING puppets and original voices from Ludo Studios’ Emmy Award-winning Australian children’s television series, including Dave McCormack and Melanie Zanetti as Dad and Mum, this theatrical adaptation is based on an original story by Bluey creator Joe Brumm, featuring music by series composer Joff Bush. When Dad wants a bean bag time-out, Bluey and Bingo have other plans as they pull out all the games and cleverness at their disposal. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The Brand New Heavies: Acid Jazz joy, funk, love and fancy clothes at York Barbican
York gig of the week: The Brand New Heavies, York Barbican, tomorrow, doors 7pm
EALING Acid Jazz pioneers The Brand New Heavies – Simon Bartholomew, vocals and guitar, Andrew Levy, bass and keyboards, and Angela Ricci, vocals – mark their 35th anniversary with a 12-date tour that takes in York Barbican as their only Yorkshire destination. Expect joy, funk, love and fancy clothes. Galliano support. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Lizzie Lawton’s Jack Worthing, front, and Jorja Cartwright’s Algernon Moncrieff in Rowntree Players’ The Importance Of Being Earnest
Comedy classic of the week: Rowntree Players in The Importance Of Being Earnest, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee
ROWNTREE Players bring Oscar Wilde’s 1895 farcical comedy of manners to the York stage in the original four-act version reconstructed by Vyvyan Holland, under the direction of Hannah Shaw.
Lizzie Lawton’s Jack Worthing and Jorja Cartwright’s Algernon Moncrieff lead double lives under the false name of “Ernest” to escape social obligations, leading to romantic entanglements and comedic misunderstandings, played out by a cast featuring Jeanette Hambridge’s Lady Bracknell, Bethan Olliver’s Gwendolen Fairfax, Katie Shaw’s Cecily Cardew, Wayne Osguthorpe’s Reverend Canon Chasuble, Rebecca Thomson’s Miss Prism and Max Palmer’s Lane/Merriman. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Jessica Fostekew: “The silliest of comedy for the scariest of days”in Iconic Breath at Pocklington Arts Centre
Comedy gig of the week: Jessica Fostekew: Iconic Breath, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 8pm
ICONIC Breath, Jessica Fostekew’s most rousing and uplifting show yet, provides the silliest of comedy for the scariest of days as The Guilty Feminist, Hoovering and Contender Ready podcaster discusses tolerance and temperance.
“I can feel myself becoming an emotional wildebeest right when my world (and the whole world, thanks) demands cool, collected, ultra detached, saint-like kindness and understanding,” says Fostekew, who has hosted two series of Sturdy Girl Club on BBC Radio 4. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
This won’t hurt: Andrew Margerison, Rebecca Vaughan and Gavin Robertson in General Medical Emergency Ward 10
Hospital drama homage of the week: Dyad Productions and Company Gavin Robertson in General Medical Emergency Ward 10, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 7.30pm
UNITING for the first time, Dyad Productions and Company Gavin Robertson’s Rebecca Vaughan, Andrew Margerison and the aforementioned Gavin Robertson knit every cliché-ridden doctors-and-nurses TV and film drama into a pacy comedy mash-up spoof that promises to leave you in stitches.
On Dr Ann Fleming’s first day at St David’s, her unfortunately-named mentor, Dr Death, is determined to show her who’s boss. As medical emergencies overload the hapless staff, Dr Fleming must juggle a complicated budding love affair with a kidney and a nosey hospital boss. Not literally, of course. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
The Budapest Café Orchestra: Fronted by Christian Garrick at Helmsley Arts Centre
Snappiest attire of the week: Christian Garrick & The Budapest Café Orchestra, National Centre for Early Music, York, Friday, 7.30pm, sold out; Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
CHRISTIAN Garrick (violin, darbuka), Murray Grainger (accordion), Kelly Cantlon (double bass) and Adrian Zolotuhin (guitar, saz, balalaika, domra) team up in this refreshingly unconventional and snappily attired boutique orchestra. Playing gypsy and folk-flavoured music in a unique and surprising way, The Budapest Café Orchestra combine Balkan and Russian traditional music with artful distillations of Romantic masterworks and soaring Gaelic folk anthems.
Established by British composer Garrick in 2009, BCO have 16 albums to their name, marked by an “astonishing soundscape and aural alchemy” characteristic of larger ensembles, evoking Tzigane fiddle maestros, Budapest café life and gypsy campfires. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Hope & Social: Unforgettable spectacle, energetic songs and chaotic moments at Milton Rooms, Malton
Ryedale gig of the week: Hope & Social, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm
LEEDS band Hope & Social’s eight musicians pour their heart and soul into creating exuberant, high-energy tunes in gigs full of pure joy, infectious enthusiasm, unforgettable spectacle and chaotic moments.
Each performance by “Yorkshire’s own E-Street Band” is spiced up with Northern wit and self-deprecating humour as a powerhouse three-piece horn section and intricate five-part harmonies contribute to a massive sound that spans genres, drawing influence from soul, indie, folk, disco and art rock. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Crosscut Saw’s Alex Eden : Leading his blues band at Milton Rooms, Malton
Blues gig of the week: Ryedale Blues Club presents Crosscut Saw, Milton Rooms, Malton, March 26, 8pm
YORKSHIRE blues trio Crosscut Saw’s Alex Eden (lead singer, guitarist and harmonica player), Richard Ferdinando (drums) and Richard Green (bass) draw inspiration from Magic Sam, RL Burnside, Taj Mahal and Dr John in performances marked by raw energy and unpredictability.
They hold a monthly residency at the Duck & Drake in Leeds, have played the Great British Blues Festival and Tenby Blues Festival, collaborated with TJ Norton, Paddy Wells and The Haggis Horns and worked as a backing band for Jake Walker and King Rollo. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Alice Pryor, back row, left, Bill Champion, Shelley Atkinson, Thomas Cotran, front row, left, and Michael Hugo in Claybody Theatre’s The Grand Babylon Hotel. Picture: Andrew Billington
CLAYBODY Theatre are heading to Scarborough and Harrogate with Deborah McAndrew’s stage adaptation of Arnold Bennett’s 1902 rollicking comedy thriller The Grand Babylon Hotel.
The Stoke-on-Trent company’s co-artistic director Conrad Nelson directs Shelley Atkinson, Thomas Cotran, Michael Hugo, Alice Pryor and Bill Champion in Bennett’s tale of Nella Racksole discovering steak and beer are not on the Grand Babylon Hotel menu for her birthday treat, whereupon her American Railroad millionaire father obligingly buys the chef, the kitchen, the hotel.
However, Theodore Racksole soon finds more on his plate than a juicy steak, with kidnapping and murder for starters. Have Theodore and Nella bitten off more than they can chew?
Conrad left the artistic director’s role at Northern Broadsides in 2018, the same year that Deborah wrote her last play for the Halifax company. The couple headed off to the Potteries, establishing Claybody Theatre and forging links with the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme, their partners for The Grand Babylon Hotel, whose tour arrives at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, tomorrow. Harrogate Theatre awaits from April 1 to 4.
Here director Conrad and writer Deborah discuss comedy styles, touring, Bennett’s stories and the need for silliness in 2026.
What inspired you to take your work on the road?
Conrad: “It’s a first for Claybody, but not for us as artists. It’s been an ambition for the company for some time, and of course we have a history of touring with previous companies.But also, we were heavily encouraged by fellow artists, artistic directors, theatres and other supporters who will often travel to Stoke-on-Trent to see us.”
Deborah: “When you’re adapting a piece, the material often invites a certain type of treatment. I always knew that this novel would respond best to a small cast, multi-rolling, narrative storytelling, hat swapping, comic playing…in the style of [Patrick Barlow’s] The 39 Steps. Therefore, it’s portable. One of the first things I said was: ‘I think this could tour’.”
Playwright Deborah McAndrew
How did this tour take shape, Deborah?
“We approached the New Vic and said, ‘Do you fancy making this show with us?’ and they said ‘yes’. So we did the show there in the autumn, and we acquired funding from Arts Council England for a short tour, with the plan being to run it at The Dipping House in Stoke and then take it on the road to Hull, Scarborough, Colchester and Harrogate.”
Why tour this 1902 Arnold Bennett story in Deborah’s adaption now?
Conrad: “It’s a great introduction for people who haven’t been to the theatre before or haven’t been for a while; it’s a popular piece of well-crafted, high-quality theatre, which will speak to pretty much anyone, and that’s what theatres are wanting and needing right now to fill their auditorium.”
Deborah: “It’s something that can be absolutely billed as a comedy. People want to be entertained, they want light relief, and it’s the job of those of us who work in the arts to bring relief, distraction and enjoyment. As well as to enlighten, expose and discuss.
“The scales too often weigh heavily on the worthy side of the work, and actually, we must remember the value of the arts in lifting people’s hearts, bringing them together with other human beings to have an experience which makes them more fortified to go out and tackle their lives and the world outside – which at the moment is full of uncertainty, anxiety, violence and concern.
“Going out there with a comedy is right for the times, right for the audience and absolutely right for what we need to do with Claybody right now.”
Stephen Joseph Theatre favourite Bill Champion in the role of Theodore Racksole. Picture: Andrew Billington
To those new to Claybody Theatre’s work, how would you describe the style of this show?
Conrad: “It’s billed as a ‘rollicking comedy thriller’, and we’d invite audiences to come with an open heart, an open mind, and just be ready to be entertained. Within the rollicking comedy, there is real quality; it’s accessible and it’s fun.
“It’s driven by the thing that audiences love most; creativity with actors. We’re making this work with a lot of love, and it’s for the audience, not for ourselves. That’s critical in the way that we make work; how is it going to be received? How is it going to charm, affect, cheer? Without the audience, we are nowhere.”
Deborah: “The characters are warm and likeable, even the dastardly villain is somebody you want to be in the room with. There’s a lovely warmth and charm about these actors that we’re working with as well. They’re people who you want to spend an evening with and have a laugh with.”
Which character did you enjoy writing most and why, Deborah?
“Well, I like funny voices! That’s probably the actor in me. Nanny Heidi is not in the book – I would say, her, because she’s brilliantly performed by Shelley Atkinson, who knows how to do that size of characterisation. And the very ridiculous Frenchman who’s on the boats, which was written by me, and Conrad and Mike Hugo just run with it.”
How would you describe Claybody Theatre’s connection with the audience, Conrad?
“The audience are the whole reason to exist, from the start of the writing into rehearsals, it is a participatory event, and it’s grounded in that. We keep that connection at the forefront of everything we do.
“Deborah had the idea that this show should be an actor–driven piece that would be ideal to tour. All the cast have a fantastic synergy with the audience, establishing that wonderful connection that makes people want to see them again. They are magical performers; it’s not every actor’s gift to be a communicator, but our cast are just really good at delivering the text. It’s a bit of a romp but done with such high quality.”
Thomas Cotran and Alice Pryor in The Grand Babylon Hotel. Picture: Andrew Billington
What draws you to Arnold Bennett’s writing, Deborah, having done Anna Of The Five Towns for the New Vic before the pandemic and The Card in 2022?
“He has brilliant female characters, I really love his women, they feel very real. He writes about characters that I want to spend time with.
“They’re a bit more caricatured in The Grand Babylon Hotel, because it’s a pot-boiler; he wrote it for pure entertainment in serial form. But when you get into his more literary works, like Anna Of The Five Towns, or The Old Wives Tale, you get these complex and interesting characters, particularly female characters.
“His stories respond very well to being transferred to the stage with all these great characters, and when we’re looking for stories to do with Claybody that are related to the Potteries, his work stands out.
“But also when we’ve been asked by our friends at Hull [Truck Theatre], Harrogate and Scarborough, ‘did we have anything we could take there’, it’s expensive to tour, but I thought Bennett’s storytelling would respond to a small cast.”
On tour, how does each theatre space shape the way you tell the story, Conrad?
“Well, the space does really tell the story. You come in, and you play the space that you’ve got. You look at the merits of the space and then play it.
“In the conversion to thrust, in-the-round in Scarborough, and then a traditional proscenium arch space like Harrogate, it doesn’t matter where you see it from, the stage has to feel deep, otherwise you get very flat performances.
Michael Hugo’s Ticket Collector in The Grand Babylon Hotel. Picture: Andrew Billington
“So you respond to the size and intimacy of space, and that’s also to do with the actors’ experience. When the actors come in on the morning, they have to convert their performance extremely quickly. It’s exciting, it gives it a bit of frisson!
“If you come and see it on the first night, you’ll get that lovely energy of actors figuring out what it sounds like. Because you can open your mouth in a different space and it sounds completely different; that’s part of the director’s job to make sure that you’re telling the actor truthfully how it plays.”
Why is it important to create shows that celebrate silliness these days?
Conrad: “I think that’s partly to do with what audiences respond to. You can do a really well crafted, difficult piece of theatre, and then somebody puts on a hat and does a f*rt gag and it gets the biggest response of the evening.
“So we like a bit of bonkers, a bit of eccentricity, you just have to look around on any high street and you will see it in spades. People are anything but dull and characterless. And given the right motivation, we all love a bit of nuts.”
Deborah: “Comedy has always been used as a tool of anarchy. We use comedy to undermine some of the power that people have; it’s being used as a weapon across the world right now, isn’t it? Comedy helps us get through dark times.
“The Grand Babylon Hotel is silly and easy to go with, and hopefully people who might be feeling a bit down, or don’t feel like coming out the theatre, will actually be glad they did. They might get their tank topped up a bit in terms of resilience because I think that’s what comedy can do for us.”
Shelley Atkinson’s Nanny Heidi: the character that Deborah McAndrew most enjoyed writing in her script for The Grand Babylon Hotel. Picture: Andrew Billington
How does the cast share out the parts in The Grand Babylon Hotel, Deborah?
“We have the two American central characters, Theodore and Nella, then three multi-rolling clowns playing everybody else, including the gang of villains. It feels very modern. Bennett was writing at the turn of the [20th] century, so it’s late-Victorian, but feels Edwardian, and we’ve lifted it to ten years later than that.
“Only two characters are American. They’re staying at the Grand Babylon Hotel in London, modelled on The Savoy – Bennett loved that hotel , and of course The Savoy has its famous Arnold Bennett Omelette [created for the novelist in 1929 with its combination of smoked haddock, Gruyère cheese and béchamel sauce].
“The characters are mostly English but there’s also a fake Russian, a Belgian too. I’ve had lots of fun with French, German and Italian characters where I’ve added the actual language, but done in a way that the audience will be able to understand.”
How would you sum up the reaction to the show so far?
Deborah: “What really tells you how they feel is the comments on our Facebook pages, where the response has been chock-full of people saying they’ve been laughing all the way through. Ninety-nine per cent have said they’ve really loved it, and felt they really needed a play like this time when the world is so full of anxieties. This show affirms our humanity, our connectedness, as we laugh together.
“We’re very proud of this show, taking great pleasure in listening to the audience, feeling the warmth in the room.”
Conrad: “That’s the key. As much as attention to detail is important in our work, we are making the show for our audience, not for ourselves. That’s why we still make theatre: that connection between the artist and the audience.”
Claybody Theatre, The Grand Babylon Hotel, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, March 18 to 21,7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees; Harrogate Theatre, April 1 to 4, 7.30pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee. Box office: Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk.
In the shadows: Michael Hugo in The Grand Babylon Hotel. Picture: Andrew Billington
ACTORS took to the stage in tuxedos in John Godber’s debut play Bouncers in 1977. Now, more than 70 plays and 48 years later, he swaps the sticky-floored nightclub for the sophisticated pomp and ceremony of Black Tie Ball’s stuck-up party world.
Premiering at Harrogate Theatre from September 10, writer-director Godber’s sequinned satire for our rotten times is set on the glitziest night of the year as he explores relationships, secrets and the drunken dramas when all the great and the good want to be there.
“The Bentleys are parked; the jazz band has arrived, and the magician is magic, so pick up your invite for this fundraising frenzy,” says John, introducing the night when the hotel staff – short staffed alas – will recount an entire evening at breakneck speed from arrival at seven to carriages at midnight, recalling the fast-moving physical theatre of Bouncers being told through the eyes of the four doormen of the apocalypse.
“The raffle is ready, the coffee is cold, the service is awful, the guest speaker is drunk, and the hard-pressed caterers just want to go home. Behind the bow ties and fake tans, there are jealousies and avarice, divorces and affairs. This is upstairs meets downstairs through a drunken gaze.”
In trademark Godber visceral style, the staff will “re-create events in front of your very eyes, so there will be tuxedos in the mix,” says John, who writes from experience of such formal and formulaic occasions.
“I’ve been to a lot of these black-tie events. It’s interesting to write about as the play takes a cock-eyed look at the event from the point of view of staff, who are depleted and inexperienced and they’ve had to call back in a guy who’s just finished his shift,” he says.
“Three of them have never worked at the hotel before; they’ve been drafted in as agency staff, and the manager is a Spanish guy, Emilio Sanchez, who ‘can’t be seen in public’! The owner, Sir Graham, an extremely wealthy hotel businessman, who lives in Madeira, has turned up at the ball, which heightens everyone’s pulse.
“The Black Tie Ball is one of multiple events taking place at the same time in the hotel: there’s also a literary event; a boxing event in the spa; a prom in another room. The hotel is full, so there’s major pressure on the staff.”
Godber recalls his mother working in service at Carlton Towers. “Why she would want to go into service, I don’t know,” he sighs.
The cast will play 20 characters, from the staff to the jazz band, the manager and owner to assorted guests. “We’ve got the whole gamut,” says John. “When I was developing the play, I realised that all the world’s a stage at a hotel, so we do have a murder, with the police arriving, and we do have affairs and Mr and Mrs Smiths signing in. I’ve corralled most of the tropes of the hotel world.”
Upstairs meets downstairs at under-staffed, overworked hotel in John Godber’s sequinned satire Black Tie Ball, on tour from September 10
First inspired by reading the naturalistic works of Henrik Ibsen, Godber favours this form of storytelling that gives his plays authenticity. “As I career towards 70 [next birthday, May 18 2026], I think I can say it’s a style that I’ve made my own,” he says.
“Funnily enough I’ve been looking at writing about women’s rugby for telly but I’ve been hitting a brick wall, whereas writing with naturalism I kind of find so easy, like when I did all that time writing for Grange Hill and Brookside, the Up’n’Under film and BAFTA short films, but I really enjoy the elasticity of writing for theatre because it’s theatrical and the audience is right there – and it’s live.
“Is that because of where I’m from and always being active as a kid? Theatre is equivalent to a sporting experience. As Alan [Ayckbourn] used to say: the greatest thing to hear is ‘you should have been here last night’…when you know it worked but you haven’t any idea how tonight will go.”
At events such as black tie balls, as elsewhere, John has his radar switched on. “All the time my radar is scanning everything. That’s the gift to the playwright, if there is one,” he says. “You are ‘quintessentialising’ an experience.”
His best writing is marked by a need to respond to what’s going on around him, fuelled by anger. “To be honest, as you get older, it’s very hard not to get angry because there’s so much hogwash about. Let’s not bring up Trump, Ukraine, Gaza and UK immigration. Just look locally at what’s going in,” he says.
“There’s enough to be angry about, but if there’s a sleight of hand to writing a play, you don’t lead with the anger first. You think, with Ibsen, Chekhov, Ayckbourn and I’ve got to say Pinter too, ‘that was funny, but not just funny ha-ha’. Any good comedy in theatre is laced with sanguine and sour reality.”
Comedy versus tragedy, John: which is the greater of theatre’s two faces? “I think comedy makes a wider point than tragedy. For me, the catharsis of a great tragedy is over quicker; sometimes comedies last longer in the brain.”
John Godber Company in John Godber’s Black Tie Ball, Harrogate Theatre, September 10 to 13; CAST, Doncaster, September 17 to 20; Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield, September 30 to October 1; Hull Truck Theatre, October 14 to 18; Bridlington Spa, November 3 and 4; Pocklington Arts Centre, November 6 to 8; Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, November 12 to 15.
Box office: Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; Doncaster, 01302 303959or castindoncaster.com; Huddersfield, 01484 430528or thelbt.org;Hull, 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk; Bridlington, 01262 678 258 or bridspa.com; Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; Scarborough, 01723 370541or sjt.uk.com. Alternatively, visit thejohngodbercompany.co.uk.
Who’s in the Black Tie Ball cast?
LONG-TIME John Godber collaborator William Ilkley (War Horse, Trigger Point) will be joined Dylan Allcock, from Godber’s 2024 play The Highwayman, and Yorkshire actors Levi Payne and Jade Farnill.
Jade is a member of the Godber Theatre Foundation, an initiative run by the John Godber Company since 2020 to support emerging actors from East Yorkshire into professional roles and opportunities. Each year, members are supported into roles in new touring productions by the Yorkshire company.
Christopher Finnegan, Peter Pearson, Tommy Carmichael and Jonny Wakeford in The Growth House’s interactive cabaret Big Strong Man
BIG Strong Man will invite tomorrow’s audience at Bilton Working Men’s Club, Skipton Road, Harrogate, to become part of the action, challenging societal norms and shining a light on the systemic barriers that shape how men’s mental health is addressed.
“This is radical theatre at its most alive: unfiltered, unafraid and unmistakably northern,” says The Growth House, as this surrealist comedy theatre company mounts its boldest tour yet, “setting a new standard for socially driven, interactive performance”.
Mentored by Emma Rice’s Wise Children company, The Growth House is on a 12-venue tour with its groundbreaking flagship production. As associate artists at CAST in Doncaster, the company continues to seek to push boundaries with its unapologetically working-class, socially conscious theatre.
Part party, part protest, Big Strong Man is a riotous, high-energy cabaret where four northern lads blend fast-paced improv, physical comedy and the aforementioned audience participation to tackle men’s mental health.
The lads are given the impossible task of deconstructing and rebuilding manhood in one night. Bonj reckons we should get rid of this outdated concept forever; Winston thinks we should listen to King Charlie; Gaz knows all we need is work, women, food and the gym; Timternet thinks they’re all idiots and would rather play Pokemon Go
“Only one of them can become the Big Strong Man to save us all. Which one?!” Find out as The Growth House probes men’s mental health
They have some big decisions to make, but every time they do, something happens: a game, a song, a scene or a mysterious feeling they cannot quite describe. They need help to get the job done…and that’s where you, the audience, comes in, because only one of them can become the Big Strong Man to save us all. Which one?!
“Big Strong Man puts the power in your hands by letting you choose what parts of the show you want to see,” says The Growth House. “What elements of masculinity do you love? Let’s celebrate it. What aspects do you hate? Let’s talk about it. And what is it missing? Let’s find out!
“This show is a celebration of northern culture and community spirit. A unique experience with all the remarkable features of a cabaret or gig.”
Created in response to the disproportionately high rates of suicide and depression among working-class men in the North, this urgent, electrifying, interactive cabaret show will be performed by Christopher Finnegan (Winston), Peter Pearson (Bonj), Tommy Carmichael (Timternet) and Jonny Wakeford (Gaz).
Cue alternative comedy, storytelling, song, dance, improvisation, ladders, competition, boy band parodies, lip syncs, placards, blocks, charity-shop suits, a bear and “Poundland-level extravagance”, plus the content warning of “strong language and references to suicide, mental health conditions, infant death, domestic violence and karaoke”.
Big Strong Man: “A celebration of northern culture and community spirit with all the remarkable features of a cabaret or gig”
“Male identity is no longer as rigid and homogenous as it once was,” says The Growth House. “Industry, politics and society are moving away from a single culture. Big Strong Man looks at the current state of masculinity to attempt to understand the soaring depression and suicide rates facing men across the north of England.
“What are the rules to being a male? What are the expectations of men in the 21st century? What can we do to develop male culture in order to make the world a better place to live in?”
The Growth House was founded by directors Finnegan, Pearson and Sam Dunstan, who have been collaborating for five years on works that combine movement, voice, song, contemporary creative writing and sweat aplenty from the performers.
Co-writer, choreographer and performer Finnegan is an actor, director, writer, lecturer, physical theatre practitioner and tutor; Pearson is a Geordie actor and performer who specialises in devised and improvised theatre, working with social theatre companies that combine activism with art; director and co-writer Dunstan is a creative director, producer and educator, born and bred in Yorkshire.
The Growth House, in association with Harrogate Theatre, presents Big Strong Man at Bilton Working Men’s Club, Skipton Road, Harrogate, tomorrow (13/6/2025), 7.30pm. Further tour dates include Slung Low, The Warehouse, Crosby Street, Holbeck, Leeds, on July 12, 7.30pm. Box office: Harrogate, harrogatetheatre.co.uk/events/big-strong-man/; Leeds, ticketsource.co.uk/booking/select/emyxmqvaznlp.
The Growth House’s poster artwork for Big Strong Man, heading for Harrogate tomorow and Holbeck, Leeds, on July 12. The 12-date tour already has played The Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds, on May 23 and 24 and Hull Truck Theatre on May 29
Harry Wyatt’s Madame Bellie Fillop, Michael Lambourne’s Baron Bon Bon, Tim Stedman’s Philippe Fillop and Anna Campkin’s Belle in Harrogate Theatre’s Beauty And The Beast. Picture: Karl Andre
HARROGATE Theatre – or the Grand Opera House as it was first called – opened on January 13 1900, squeezing a capacity of 1,300 into Frank Tugwell’s design.
On Wednesday night, Harrogate Theatre marked its 125th anniversary with the launch of a fundraising campaign for the symmetrical sum of £125,000 – although £1.25 million would surely be more welcome – at the 7pm pantomime performance of Beauty And The Beast, played to a capacity of 500.
“Everything is smaller now,” noted chief executive David Bown. Smaller-scale shows prevail; Victorian melodramas a thing of the past, like the theatre’s ghost, Alice. The days of 40 repertory shows a year are long gone too. Casts are down-sized. Even the theatre name is shorter!
Most significantly, Bown mentioned the post-Covid cut in funding, necessitating the year of “fab and fun” fundraising events, introduced in the new season’s brochure distributed to mayoral party and panto punters alike in the 125th anniversary party bags.
Nothing surely will be more “fab and fun” than Beauty And The Beast, a riotous French fancy of a pantomime enjoyed for a second time this season by CharlesHutchPress, who was left wondering why other theatres have closed their winter big earners already, one as early as December 28.
Written by David Bown, from an original idea by his late writing partner Phil Lowe, with additional material by Michael Lambourne, Marcus Romer and Tim Stedman, Beauty And The Beast is directed by Romer (who has programmed the 125th anniversary season too).
Once the pioneering force behind Pilot Theatre at York Theatre Royal and beyond, Romer brings a playful energy, zest for spectacle, awareness of the power of a knockout pop song old or new, a passion for storytelling and relish for high-tech panache to an outstanding show that still has five performances to go, as full of Parisian chic as Yorkshire humour.
He has a cracking production team too: from Morgan Brind’s vibrant set and costume designs, especially for Harry Wyatt’s flamboyant dame, Madame Bellie Fillop, to Charlie Brown’s superb sound; from Nick Lacey’s arrangements, all snap, crackle and pop, in his 21st year as musical director, to Alexandra Stafford’s lighting design, at its best in Stedman and Lambourne’s ultraviolet-lit Highway To Hell scream of a motorcycle ride. To top it all, David Kar-Hing Lee’s choreography hits the groove throughout.
From Stedman’s filmed opening in airman’s goggles to Romer’s trademark closing film credits, Beauty And The Beast combines Romer tropes with his canny appreciation of the long-established cornerstones of a Harrogate Theatre pantomime.
Stedman is in his 24th season as the helium-voiced, strawberry-cheeked, idiot-savant buffoon, as vital to the show’s flow and comic spark as Billy Pearce at Bradford Alhambra, and here the subject of an affectionate pre-show dig by Bown about his seemingly ageless programme headshot. He is as delightfully daft as ever as Philippe Fillop, and even the rest of the cast stands in admiration to applaud his piece de resistance: a Catherine wheel blur of sound and vision as he reprises what’s happened in the show so far.
Glory be, however, Stedman is not alone in warranting such applause. Romer has all his cast in superb form. Assistant director Lambourne, he of the booming voice and Edwardian beard, has switched from last year’s dark side to be the grandest of grand actors, even sending up himself for “understatement” as the thoroughly thespian cafe owner Baron Bon Bon. Make that tres bon. Harrogate is growing to love him as much as York Theatre Royal audiences did down the years.
After more than ten years as Sheringham Little Theatre’s dame, Harry Wyatt headed north to play Sarah the Cook in Dick Whittingham last winter and he is even more of a Wyatt riot here as another cook, Madame Bellie Fillop, so at ease in costume and comedy alike, and packing a vocal punch in his songs. He is indeed an eyeful in his Eiffel Tower attire.
Colin Kiyani’s Beast/Prince and Anna Campkin’s Belle are proper romantic leads; no song has more impact than Kiss From A Rose, sung so beautifully that it would surely have received a Seal of approval, justifying Romer’s long-held wish to use the vertiginous ballad in a stage show.
The Beast’s 360-degree rotating transformation scene – flying effects courtesy of Flying By Foy – is a spectacular denouement too; the scene truly moving as Romer gives due weight to the drama at the heart of this torrid fairytale.
Romer’s six-pack of stellar performances – backed up by an ensemble of dancers – is completed by another actress with “previous” with him: Joanne Sandi, whose Mona Lisa, the Sorceress and Parisian fashion designer, gives off vibes of Wicked and Beyonce too, albeit with a Texan swagger, outwardly incongruous and yet it works! Her rendition of Freedom, off Beyonce’s Lemonade, makes you go Wow.
Alongside Leeds Playhouse’s fabulous The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, this monster hit is the five-star show of CharlesHutchPress’s winter tour of the north. Make a note in your diary: Bown and Romer will be defying size confines once more next winter in Jack And The Beanstalk, wherein big, magical things grow from small. How apt!
Beauty And The Beast, Harrogate Theatre, 7pm tonight; 12 noon and 5pm, Saturday and Sunday. Box office: 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk.
Ghosts In The Garden: Returning for fourth season with more locations and more wire-mesh ghosts
GARDEN ghosts, Yorkshire landscapes, campsite class division, awful auntie antics and ridiculous improv comedy herald the arrival of the arts autumn for Charles Hutchinson.
Installation of the week: Ghosts In The Gardens, haunting York until November 5
GHOSTS In The Gardens returns with 45 ghosts, inspired by York’s past, for visitors to discover in the city’s public gardens and green spaces, with the Bar walls, St Olave’s Church and York Railway Station among the new locations.
Organiser York BID has partnered with design agency Unconventional Design for the fourth year to create the semi-translucent 3D sculptures out of narrow-gauge wire mesh, six of them new for 2024. Pick up the map for this free event from the Visitor Information Centre on Parliament Street and head to https://www.theyorkbid.com/ghosts-in-the-gardens/ for full details.
Rievaulx Abbey, mixed media, by Robert Dutton in A Yorkshire Year at Nunnington Hall
Exhibition of the week: A Yorkshire Year, Nunnington Hall, near Helmsley, until December 5
THE changing landscape of the Yorkshire countryside and coastline is captured by Yorkshire artists Robert Dutton, from Nunnington, and Andrew Moodie, from Harrogate, in a diverse collection of seasonal images at the National Trust house.
Dutton presents a dramatic interpretation of the untamed expanses of Yorkshire, from meandering freshwater rivers and hidden woodlands to the stark beauty of the moors. Moodie directs his attention to the undulating valleys of the Yorkshire Dales, as well as coastal villages. Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm, last entry at 4.15pm. Normal admission prices apply at nationaltrust.org.uk/nunnington-hall
Tom Gallagher, Annie Kirkman and Laura Jennifer Banks in a scene from John Godber’s revival of Perfect Pitch
Touring play of the week: John Godber Company in Perfect Pitch, Harrogate Theatre, until Saturday; Pocklington Arts Centre, October 9 and 10; Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, November 13 to 16
WHEN teacher Matt (Frazer Hammill) borrows his parents’ caravan for a week on the Yorkshire coast with partner Rose (Annie Kirkman), they were expecting four days of hill running and total de-stress. However, with a Tribfest taking place nearby, Grant (Tom Gallagher) and Steph’s (Laura Jennifer Banks) pop-up tent is an unwelcome addition to their perfect pitch.
The class divide and loo cassettes become an issue as writer-director John Godber reignites his unsettling1998 state-of-the-nation comedy, set on an eroding coastline, as Matt and Rose are inducted into the world of caravanning and karaoke. Box office: Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Neal Foster’s Aunt Alberta and Annie Cordoni’s Stella in Birmingham Stage Company’s Awful Auntie at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Mark Douet
Children’s show of the week: Birmingham Stage Company in Awful Auntie, Grand Opera House, York, today to Sunday
CHILDREN’S author David Walliams and Birmingham Stage Company team up for the fourth time. After adaptations of Gangsta Granny, Billionaire Boy and Demon Dentist, here comes actor-manager Neal Foster’s stage account of Awful Auntie.
As Stella (Annie Cordoni ) sets off to visit London with her parents, she has no idea her life is in danger. When she wakes up three months later, not everything Aunt Alberta (Foster) tells her turns out to be true. She quickly discovers she is in for the fight of her life against her very own awful Auntie! Suitable for age five upwards. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The Halls Of Ridiculous: Spinning their improv comedy at Milton Rooms, Malton. Picture: Scott Akoz
Comedy gig of the week: Hilarity Bites Club presents The Halls Of Ridiculous, Cal Halbert and Tony Cowards, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm
NORTHERN comedy The Halls Of Ridiculous, namely Chris Lumb (from BBC Three’s Russell Howard’s Good News) and Phil Allan-Smith (from BBC One’s This Is My House), push the boundaries of improv, sketch and character creativity with their quick-thinking scenes, zany special guests and quirky approach to performance.
Cal Halbert is one half of The Mimic Men, the UK’s only impressionist double act; host Tony Cowards is a rapid-fire gag merchant with an arsenal of one-liners, delivered by a likeable everyman character. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Just Us And A Piano: 1812 Theatre Company singers stage two fundraisers for Helmsley Arts Centre
Fundraising musical theatre concert of the week: 1812 Theatre Company, Just Us And A Piano, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday and Saturday, 7.30pm
SINGER Julie Lomas and pianist Neil Bell bring together a grand piano and an ensemble 1812 Theatre Company singers to celebrate the world of musical theatre, from the Broadway classics of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and Richard Rodgers, through to Cabaret, Wicked, My Fair Lady, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Hamilton and the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Singers Amy Gregory, Esme Schofield, Florrie Stockbridge, Joe Gregory, Julie Lomas, Kristian Gregory, Natasha Jones, Oliver Clive and Phye Bell will be raising funds for Helmsley Arts Centre. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Honey & The Bear: Tales of Suffolk folklore, courageous people and a passion for nature at Milton Rooms, Malton
Ten Year Anniversary Tour: Honey & The Bear, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm
BRITISH folk and roots duo Jon Hart (guitar, bass and bouzouki) and Lucy Hart (guitar, ukulele, bass, banjo, mandolin and percussion) are joined by guests Evan Carson (percussion) and Archie Churchill-Moss (melodeon).
Conjuring stories in song, Honey & The Bear tell tales of Suffolk folklore, courageous people they admire and their passion for nature, as heard on third album Away Beyond The Fret, released last November. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Josh Widdicombe: Taking stock of the little things that niggle him in Not My Cup Of Tea
Gig announcement of the week: Josh Widdicombe, Not My Cup Of Tea Tour, Hull City Hall, October 2 2025, and York Barbican, February 28 2026
PARENTING Hell podcaster and comedian Josh Widdicombe, droll observer of the absurd side of the mundane, will take stock of the little things that niggle him, from motorway hotels to children’s parties, and explain why he has finally decided to embrace middle age, hot drinks and doing the school run in his 58-date tour show, Not My Cup Of Tea.
“That’s my favourite type of stand-up: really niche observations about silly little things that you wouldn’t think about. I’ve got no interest in the big topics.” Box office: joshwiddicombe.com; yorkbarbican.co.uk; hulltheatres.co.uk.
York Beethoven Project: Reassembling today to workshop and play Symphony No. 3, Eroica
A BIG orchestra, a psychedelic inflatable crab, veteran singers, a blues troubadour and a Spanish guitarist rub shoulders in Charles Hutchinson’s cultural diary.
Groundbreaking concert of the week: York Beethoven Project, An Evening of Revolutionary Music, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, today, 7.30pm
TODAY’S York Beethoven Project Come and Play workshop day climaxes with tonight’s performance of Beethoven’s No. 3 in Eb Major Op 55: Eroica in the project’s first pubic concert. The 40-piece orchestra will be the biggest ever to play the JoRo.
In addition, The White Rose Singers will be performing revolutionary musical theatre songs from Les Miserables, West Side Story, Carousel, James Robert Brown and more. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Artist Jason Wilsher-Mills at work in Peashom Park for his Jason Beside The Sea exhibition at Woodend Gallery, Scarborough. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Exhibition launch of the week: Jason Wilsher-Mills: Jason Beside The Sea, Woodend Gallery, The Crescent, Scarborough, today until January 4 2025, Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm; Saturdays, 10am to 4pm.
LOOK out for a giant inflatable sculpture of a psychedelic crab and colourful digital wallpaper featuring a pair of lovers inspired by Scarborough’s Peasholm Park in Jason Wilsher-Mills’s larger-than-life exhibition, a colourful explosion of artwork characters that reveals the stories of his memories of childhood seaside holidays, 1970s’ working-class experience and disability.
Scarborough Triptych, a three-panel wallpaper of argonaut characters, includes the Manchester Argonaut, inspired by Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. Wilsher-Mills, a Yorkshire-based disabled artist, will give a gallery talk on October 12. Gallery entry is free.
How long ago? Paul Carrack celebrates the 50th anniversary of his first hit at York Barbican. Picture: Nico Wills Cornbury
Ace memoir of the week: Paul Carrack, How Long: 50th Anniversary Tour 2024, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
IN 1974, Sheffield musician Paul Carrack was in “fun London band” Ace when he wrote How Long, a song that would reach number three in the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart. Phil Collins named it among his top ten favourites in a 1981 issue of Smash Hits.
“‘How Long is probably the first song I wrote,” recalls Carrack, now 73. I wrote the song about a real situation, a situation that many people could relate to. Little did I know that it would become a classic and touch the hearts of so many.” His 50th anniversary tour takes a journey through his career, from his days with Ace, Squeeze and Mike + The Mechanics to his solo years. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
David Essex: Career-spanning concert at York Barbican
Rocking on: David Essex, York Barbican, September 17, doors 7pm
PLAISTOW singer, composer and actor David Essex, 77, plays York on his 20-date British tour, his first since 2022. His set list will span his entire repertoire, drawing on his 23 Top 30 hits and a career that has taken in playing Jesus in Godspell, Che in Evita, That’ll Be The Day, Silver Dream Machine and his own musicals Mutiny! And All The Fun Of The Fair.
The likes of Rock On, Lamplight, Hold Me Close, Gonna Make You A Star, A Winter’s Tale and Oh, What A Circus will surely feature. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Charlie Parr: Showcasing blues and folk songs of community and communing with nature at Pocklington Arts Centre
Troubadour of the week: Charlie Parr, Pocklington Arts Centre, September 19, 8pm
RAISED in Austin, Texas, and now living in the Lake Superior port town of Duluth, folk troubadour and bluesman poet Charlie Parr has recorded 19 albums since 2002, this year releasing Little Sun, full of stories celebrating music, community, and communing with nature.
Taking to the road between shows, this American guitarist, songwriter, and interpreter of traditional music writes and rewrites songs as he plays, drawing on the sights and sounds around him, his lyrical craftsmanship echoing the songs of his working-class upbringing, notably Folkways legends Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Iago Banet: Fingerstyle acoustic guitarist plays solo in Helmsley. Picture: Sue Rainbow
Guitarist of the week: Iago Banet, Helmsley Arts Centre, September 20, 8pm
IAGO Banet, “the Galician King of Acoustic Guitar” from northern Spain, visits Helmsley on the back of releasing his third album, the self-explanatory Tres, in 2023.
Featured on BCC Radio 2’s The Blues Show With Cerys Matthews, this solo fingerstyle acoustic guitarist has played such festivals as Brecon Jazz, Hellys International Guitar Festival and Aberjazz, displaying skill, complexity and versatility in his fusion of gypsy jazz, blues, Americana, country, Dixieland, swing, pop and folk. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Ryans Adams: Heading back to York Barbican
Return of the week: Ryan Adams, Solo 2024, York Barbican, September 20, doors 7pm
NORTH Carolina singer-songwriter Ryan Adams returns to York Barbican next week after playing a very long, career-spanning set there with no stage lighting – only his own side lamps – in April last year. This time he will be marking the 20th anniversary of 2004’s Love Is Hell and tenth anniversary of 2014’s self-titled album, complemented by Adams classics and favourites. Adams, who visited the Grand Opera House in 2007 and 2011, will be performing on acoustic guitar and piano. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Setting up camp: Julian Clary extends his western-themed tour into 2025. Harrogate and York await
Show announcement of the week: Julian Clary, A Fistful Of Clary, Harrogate Theatre, May 2 2025, 7.30pm; Grand Opera House, York, May 25 2025, 7.30pm
JULIAN Clary is extending his A Fistful Of Clary stand-up tour to next spring. “Oh no, do I have to do this?” he asks. “Rylan and I were going to go back-packing in Wales. Sigh.”
Yee-haw, The Man With No Shame is adding 28 dates, Harrogate and York among them. “Yes, it has a Western theme,” Clary confirms, setting up camp for his comedy. “It was only a matter of time before I eased myself into some chaps.” Box office: Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; York, atgtickets.com/york.
In Focus: Rehearsed reading of Alan Ayckbourn’s Father Of Invention, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Sunday, 3pm
The Stephen Joseph Theatre artwork for Alan Ayckbourn’s Father Of Invention
THE first ever public performance of the AI-futuristic Father Of Invention, written by Alan Ayckbourn in lockdown, will be given in a fundraising rehearsed reading at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough on Sunday (15/9/2024) at 3pm.
Ayckbourn directs a cast of Bill Champion, Paul Kemp and Frances Marshall from his 90th play, Show & Tell, joined by Ayckbourn alumni Liza Goddard, Elizabeth Boag, Laurence Pears and Naomi Petersen. This will be the first time the Scarborough writer-director, 85, has heard the work read aloud.
“Take a look at their rollcall of Ayckbourn-written-and-directed shows – we reckon they’ve racked up an impressive 39 between them,” says SJT press officer Jeannie Swales. “We haven’t counted last year’s reading of Truth Will Out, only shows that had a full production either here at the SJT or at The Old Laundry Theatre, Bowness-on-Windermere, including Show & Tell. Mind you, that’s still not quite half of the Ayckbourn canon of 90!”
One of a handful of dramas penned by Ayckbourn in the creative cocoon of his Scarborough home during the pandemic, Father Of Invention takes its title from its central character of technology magnate Lord Onsett, who has passed away.
“Lord Onsett was an entrepreneur who made billions from the rapid acceleration of Artificial Intelligence,” says Sir Alan. “His company introduced the now ubiquitous Artificial Sentient Lifeforms, which carry out vast swathes of jobs for humanity from cleaning to security.
“His family are gathered to discuss how his enormous estate will be divided but as ever with Lord Onsett, there are a few surprises in store…”
Leading the gaggle of familiar faces will be “our old friend” Liza Goddard, who has appeared in Ayckbourn premieres of If I Were You, Snake In The Grass, Life & Beth, Communicating Doors, Life Of Riley and The Divide.
The omnipresent Bill Champion has roles in Comic Potential, Haunting Julia, GamePlan, FlatSpin, RolePlay, A Chorus Of Disapproval, Intimate Exchanges, Woman In Mind, Absurd Person Singular, Surprises, Arrivals & Departures, Farcicals, Henceforward…, No Knowing, By Jeeves, Season’s Greetings, The Girl Next Door, Welcome To The Family and now Show & Tell to his name.
Paul Kemp has made his mark in This Is Where We Came In, Drowning on Dry Land, Private Fears In Public Places, The Champion Of Paribanou, Woman In Mind, My Wonderful Day and The Divide, this summer adding Show & Tell to that list.
York actress Frances Marshall has appeared in premieres of A Brief History Of Women, Joking Apart, Season’s Greetings, Family Album and Truth Will Out; Elizabeth Boag in Arrivals & Departures, Farcicals, Roundelay, Confusions, Hero’s Welcome, The Divide, Family Album and Truth Will Out; Naomi Petersen in By Jeeves, Joking Apart, Better Off Dead, Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present, Haunting Julia, The Girl Next Door, Constant Companions and Truth Will Out.
All money raised from the rehearsed reading will go towards the SJT’s New Work Fund, helping the theatre to present new work on its two stages and to nurture new talent.
Ticket availability is “limited”. Hurry, hurry, to book on 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Works by Alison Diamond, centre, Ade Adesina RSA, right, and Ian Burke, left, on show at Helmsley Arts Centre
FROM African storytelling to Milton Jones’s puns, Will Young’s joyous pop to Jason Wilsher-Mills’s inflatable psychedelic crabs, Charles Hutchinson finds reasons to smile.
Triple bill of the week: Three Approaches To Relief Painting by Alison Diamond, Ade Adesina RSA & Ian Burke, Helmsley Arts Centre, until November 1
THIS exhibition brings together three separate approaches to relief printing but a shared love of hand-made printing, lino cutting and woodcut.
Ade Adesina RSA, a Nigerian artist living in Aberdeen, has won the 2023 Academies des Beaux-Arts annual prize. Ian Burke, from Staithes, and Alison Diamond, from County Durham, produce work in regional galleries and print fairs. The connection between all three is the use of relief print to achieve something personal and produce multiple images.
Anna Hibiscus’ Song: Theatrical story of self-discovery from Nigeria at York Theatre Royal
Children’s show of the week: Utopia Theatre and Sheffield Theatres present Anna Hibiscus’ Song, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow and Friday, 10am and 1pm; Saturday, 11am and 2pm
THIS is the story of a young African girl named Anna Hibiscus, who lives in Ibadan, Nigeria, where she is so filled with happiness that she feels like she might float away. The more she talks to her family about it, the more her happiness grows. The only thing to do is…sing!
Told through music, dance, puppetry and traditional African storytelling, this theatrical story of self-discovery is adapted for the stage by director Mojisola Kareem from the book by Atinuke and Lauren Tobia. Suitable for children aged three upwards and their grown-ups. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Snake Davis: Making the saxophone talk at Helmsley and Pocklington
Snake at the double: Snake Davis, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm; Pocklington Arts Centre, Saturday, 8pm
THE choice is yours: Snake Davis solo, with his multitude of saxophones, in Helmsley on Friday, or Snake’s four-piece band – sax, guitar, bass and drums – in Pocklington on Saturday.
The first gig will be an informal acoustic evening of music and chat in two parts, showcasing his musical dexterity and the stories behind his work as a sax hired gun to the stars. The second night promises “something for everybody, from floaty to dance-able, from soul through pop to jazz and world, original material and classic sax pieces such as Baker Street and Night Train”. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk; Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Milton Jones: Not short of shirts for his Ha!Milton tour
Comedy gig of the week: Milton Jones, Ha!Milton, Grand Opera House, York, Saturday, 7.30pm
THIS is not a musical. Milton Jones is tone deaf and has no sense of rhythm, he admits, but at least he doesn’t make a song and dance about it. Instead, he has more important things to discuss. Things like giraffes…and there’s a bit about tomatoes.
The shock-haired, loud-shirted master of the one-liner promises a whole new show of daftness. “You know it makes sense,” he says. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Will Young: Showcasing Light It Up’s joyous pop at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Jamie Noise
Pop gig of the week: Will Young, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm
MARKING the August 9 release of his Light It Up album, Will Young is embarking on his most intimate tour yet, an up-close-and-personal evening of acoustic performances, stories and conversation across 50 dates.
The ten tracks are a return to embracing joyous unashamed pop music for Young, who has teamed up with new collaborators pHD, the Scandinavian pop production/writing duo with Kylie and Little Mix credits, as well as reuniting with Groove Armada’s Andy Cato and long-term writing partners Jim and Mima Elliot, for “the go-to pop album for a dance, for a cry and for a celebration”. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The Beauty Of Being Herd: Ruth Berkoff’s debut show is “for anyone who’s ever found it hard to fit in”
Sheep and cheerful: Ruth Berkoff: The Beauty Of Being Herd, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 12, and Terrington Village Hall, near Malton, September 28, both 7.30pm
HAVE you ever felt like an outsider? Hannah has. Her solution? She has decided to live as a sheep. “But don’t worry, she’s thought it all through. She’s even got a raincoat. And she’d love to tell you all about it at her Big Goodbye Party. Everyone is invited,” says Leeds writer-performer Ruth Berkoff, introducing her hour of comedy, original songs, heartfelt sharing and even a rave.
“Whether you’re shy, neurodivergent, have accidentally put your foot in it or simply had to spend time with people that weren’t ‘your people’, this is a show for anyone who’s ever found it hard to fit in.” Box office: York, tickets.41monkgate.co.uk; Terrington, terringtonvillagehall.co.uk.
Scarborough Crab: Jason Wilsher-Mills’s inflatable psychedlic crab installation at Woodend Gallery, Scarborough. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Exhibition launch of the week: Jason Wilsher-Mills: Jason Beside The Sea, Woodend Gallery, The Crescent, Scarborough, September 14 to January 4 2025, Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm; Saturdays, 10am to 4pm
LOOK out for a giant inflatable installation of a psychedelic crab and colourful digital wallpaper featuring a pair of lovers inspired by Scarborough’s Peasholm Park in Jason Wilsher-Mills’s larger-than-life exhibition, a colourful explosion of artwork characters that reveals the stories of his memories of childhood seaside holidays, 1970s’ working-class experience and disability.
Scarborough Triptych, a three-panel wallpaper of argonaut characters, includes the Manchester Argonaut, inspired by Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. Wilsher-Mills, a Yorkshire-based disabled artist, will give a gallery talk on October 12. Gallery entry is free.
Setting up camp: Julian Clary is bringing his western-themed stand-up show A Fistful Of Clary to Harrogate and York
Gig announcement of the week: Julian Clary, A Fistful Of Clary, Harrogate Theatre, May 2 2025, 7.30pm; Grand Opera House, York, May 25 2025, 7.30pm
JULIAN Clary is extending his A Fistful Of Clary stand-up tour to next spring. “Oh no, do I have to do this?” he asks. “Rylan and I were going to go back-packing in Wales. Sigh.”
Yee-haw, The Man With No Shame is adding 28 dates, Harrogate and York among them. “Yes, it has a Western theme,” Clary confirms, setting up camp for his comedy. “It was only a matter of time before I eased myself into some chaps.” Box office: Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; York, atgtickets.com/york.
HOW does Wikipedia describe ABC’s iconic, chart-topping 1982 debut album The Lexicon Of Love?
New pop. Pop. Sophisti-pop. New Wave. Disco. Dance-pop. Blue-eyed soul. Synth pop.
On Saturday at York Barbican, one word will suffice: orchestral. That night, as part of the Sheffield band’s now extended tour, Martin Fry and co will be joined by the Southbank Sinfonia, conducted by longtime collaborator Anne Dudley, who played such a key role along with producer Trevor Horn on the original recording sessions.
They will perform the million-selling album in its entirely, complemented by further ABC hits such as the two-hour set-opening When Smokey Sings, Be Near Me and The Night You Murdered Love.
Fry, now 65, first dusted off his trademark lamé suit for a one-off orchestral performance of The Lexicon Of Love at the Royal Albert Hall, but such was the reaction that a 2009 tour ensued, and 15 years later, the Fry-Dudley partnership is off on the road again.
“When we first did it in 2009, it was a novel idea, and we spent a lot of time getting the arrangements right, not a band with an orchestra in the background but a full show,” he recalls.
Anne beavered away on the orchestral charts, filling two suitcases for the 36 members of the Southbank Sinfonia. “It’s cast of thousands on stage, more than 40 people, for these shows,” says Fry.
What a contrast with the peace and quiet of his location for this Zoom interview (on January 11). “I’m in Barbados. It’s 8.30 in the morning over here,” he says. “In the Tropics, I get up every day at about five or six. It’s really nice! Running on the beach each day.”
The cover artwork for ABC’s 1982 debut album The Lexicon Of Love
Soon he would be heading to London for the tour rehearsals with Dudley and the orchestra, but Fry spends “quite a lot of time” in Barbados, as well as going to Miami and “being in Yorkshire quite often”.
Yorkshire was where it all started for Stockport-born Martin Fry and ABC, the band that grew out of his original group, Vice Versa, in Sheffield in 1980. “I think a lot of it came from the double dejection of knowing there were no outlets unless you were a footballer or a hairdresser. It was a very depressed area,” he says.
The result was a debut that was both velvet and steel, fuelled by the romantic longing of Motown soul and a post-punk attitude that chimed with the South Yorkshire industrial decline and strife of the time.
“We were from an experimental background, rehearsing in an old steelworks building, where I cleaned out the building for [Sheffield band] Clock DVA, but we wanted to make a record where we’d compete on an international level.”
Fry and ABC were driven by a “combination of ambition and experimentation”. The look, the suits, came from “jumble sales where widows took their husbands’ clothes”, evoking B-movie films stars, while the sound was driven by the dancefloor and the possibilities brought on by technology changing all the time.
“I loved Pere Ubu and Joy Division, but we wanted to make music that was more polished, like Gamble & Huff and Motown, mirroring what was happening in the car plants, producing something every day.”
Living in Sheffield’s Hyde Park flats [later demolished in 1992-93], Fry did not want to patronise anyone by writing “Coronation Street dramas” in song, but instead he would showcase the counterpoint: the nightlife.
“Going to Pennys; the people that would go into Sheffield city centre in zoot suits. Very aspirational. Looking incredible,” he says. “It was that romance we were capturing – and the idea that we might one day play Las Vegas.” A dream that would indeed come true.
Martin Fry with Anne Dudley and the Southbank Sinfonia
Released on June 2 1982 and topping the charts a week later, The Lexicon Of Love and its quartet of single, Tears Are Not Enough, Poison Arrow, The Look Of Love and All Of My Heart, felt like pop perfection from the city of Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA and The Human League.
How could ABC and the king of the clever couplet follow it up? “We didn’t want to Xerox it but go off in a different direction with Beauty Stab and How To Be A Zillionaire,” says Fry. “But The Lexicon Of Love has never felt like a burden…no, it’s a blessing.”
He continues to write songs. “It was great to do The Lexicon Of Love II; all new songs. That came out of playing on the road with the orchestra,” he says. “It’s just therapeutic when you stumble across something good in a song.”
The thrill of “creating a new moment” still delights him as Younger Now, Older Then joins the list. “I’m too stubborn for writing songs to become a grind,” he says.
On Saturday, York can enjoy The Lexicon Of Love once more, not only the sharp suits and sharper words of Fry, but also the orchestral arrangements of Anne Dudley.
That skill was first exhibited when producer Trevor Horn wanted to do more than merely replicate strings on synthesisers on the recording sessions. Dudley was ostensibly there to embellish the keyboards, but such was her precocious talent, she said, ‘let me come up with some string arrangements’.”
“I think they were the first ever ones she did,” says an admiring Fry. Strings reattached, those songs bloom anew this weekend.
ABC: The Lexicon Of Love Orchestral Tour, York Barbican, Saturday, doors, 7pm. Box office: ticketmaster.co.uk.
A Way With Media’s promotional picture for the launch of Martin Fry’s memoir A Lexicon Of Life
MARTIN Fry will perform ABC hits and share personal stories from more than four decades in the music industry in his ABC – An Intimate Evening With Martin FryTour.
Yorkshire dates will be at King’s Hall, Ilkley, on November 21 2024 (box office: bradford-theatres.co.uk); Dewsbury Town Hall, May 8 2025 (creativekirklees.com); Scarborough Spa on Saturday, May 10 2025 (scarboroughspa.co.uk); Northallerton Forum, May 11 2025 (forumnorthallerton.org.uk); Harrogate Theatre, May 21 2025 (harrogatetheatre.co.uk) and Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, May 23 2025 (leedsheritagetheatres.com).
“I have been very lucky in my career to have played venues around the world from massive arenas in the States to Sheffield Town Hall in my hometown, where we marked 40 years of The Lexicon of Love,” says Fry. “However, this tour really is something a bit different; an opportunity for stripped-back music and conversation with my fans. It will be really special, I can’t wait.”
Fry will be promoting his upcoming autobiography, A Lexicon Of Life, now available for pre-order in two formats ahead of its summer publication. The first is a signed, numbered edition of 2,500 with an exclusive CD featuring newly recorded acoustic versions of ABC hits and two new tracks .
The second, a deluxe edition, is limited to 350 signed and numbered copies, including the autobiography, hand-bound in the gold Savile Row fabric used for Fry’s iconic jackets, an exclusive gold vinyl record featuring Fry’s new acoustic versions and a rare bonus CD of ABC’s Traffic album.
The featured songs will be Tears Are Not Enough; Ten Below Zero; Poison Arrow; The Look Of Love; When Smokey Sings; How To Be A Millionaire; Never Get To Be The King; All Of My Heart; Be Near Me and The Luckiest Man Alive.
