Martha Godber’s Jesse North in her solo play Jesse North Is Broken. Picture: Ian Hodgson
“I COULDN’T write like that at 25,” said John Godber, writer of more than 70 plays since the age of 21, after watching daughter Martha Godber on the first night of the York Theatre Royal Studio premiere of her solo show, Jesse North Is Broken.
In the back row of the Studio full house too were her mother, Jane Thornton, writer and director; sister Elizabeth, burgeoning playwright with credits at East Riding Theatre and Pocklington Arts Centre, and Nick Lane, Doncaster playwright and director, who has a long creative association with John Godber.
On the evidence of her hour-long play, Martha already has found her own forthright voice and theatrical rhythm to go with her formidable acting skills, last seen on the Theatre Royal stage in Godber senior’s hymn to Northern Soul, Do I Love You? in June 2025.
Directed with economy by Millie Gaston to match Martha’s intensity, Jesse North Is Broken is a spoken-word drama, performed against the backdrop of a white canvas, daubed with a skyline, and two neon lights of changing colours to either side. Martha utilises only one stool and no props or costume changes – even sparser than Godber senior’s Bouncers – as everything is conveyed through voice, physicality, facial expression and movement, drawing on the dance-floor shapes she paraded in Do I Love You?
Addressing the theme of working-class survival in Britain, Martha’s play takes place over one torrid day’s journey into the long, long Friday night and back to work at dawn without sleep. She is playing Hull care worker Jesse, 25, who is introduced to the audience in direct address on her latest £13.50-an-hour shift as she looks after her 94-year-old patient.
Martha’s Jesse will remain in her carer’s uniform throughout, in a constant reminder of her chaotic working conditions, but she will describe her dance-floor dress and later undress on her night out on gay best friend Jimmy’s birthday that ends in a one-night stand with a 6ft 2 stud, told in full detail from greasy kebab and bus journey, to the state of his bedroom and bathroom, and how he no longer looks so hunky afterwards.
The surging lust is interrupted both by Jimmy’s messages, wondering where she is, and by a carer colleague’s early-morning call, asking her to cover a shift for her. All is conducted with frank humour and confessional candour in Martha’s script, full of social observation and frustration at “the system”, while wryly capturing the ups and downs of a night out in Hull and the way the city moulds how she lives.
Like the kebab, the cheap thrills don’t last, the problems of being underpaid won’t go away, Jesse’s ADHD makes her all the more anxious, and yet she loves those in her care and wishes that carers and patients alike had a better deal.
As the title suggests, Jesse is broken on the wheel of an uncaring state that uses and exploits her, and more young women like her, but you sense she will be on the pull again next weekend.
“Is that all there is?”, Godber senior’s volcanic character Lucky Eric asked in his existential monologues in Bouncers. Almost 50 years later, Martha’s Jesse is asking that question again, and alas the answer is still the same, come Hull or high water.
John Godber Company presents Martha Godber in Jesse North Is Broken, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 7.45pm, with post show-discussion; tomorrow, 2.30pm and 7.45pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Cone, by Alison Jagger, on show at WET Bar & Plates, York
FROM street photography to Jack The Ripper investigations, German comedy about the English weather to Canadian naughtiness, Charles Hutchinson highlights all manner of cultural delights ahead.
Photographic show of the week: Alison Jagger, After The Crowds, WET Bar & Plates, Micklegate, York, until June 3
AS a lone traveller and self-confessed free spirit, York street photographer Alison Jagger draws inspiration from the urban landscape, whose vitality she loves to capture with her mobile phone camera.
“There is nothing better than waking up in an unfamiliar city and recording its character, colour and vibrancy through my curious lens,” says Jagger. After The Crowds is the second in RARE Collective’s programme of solo exhibition at James Wall and Ella Williams’ indie wine bar and restaurant in aid of SASH (Safe and Sound Homes), the York youth homelessness charity.
Pink Moors, oil on canvas, by Louise Davies
Exhibition of the week: Louise Davies and Glassmakers, Journey In Colour, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, until July 4
PAINTINGS and etchings by South East London artist and printmaker Louise Davies are complemented by glass by Allister Malcolm, Madeleine Hughes, Margaret Burke, Charlie Burke and Amelia Burke.
Davies, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, combines fluid lines and rich colour in vibrant landscape prints and oil paintings. Gallery owner Terry Brett drove to Stourbridge to pick up glass works by Malcolm and his workshop assistant, Hughes. Margaret Burke, son Charlie and his wife, hot glass specialist Amelia, run the hand-blown glass studio E&M Glass at The Old Bakery, Sarn Bridge, Malpas, Cheshire.
Martha Godber’s Jesse North in her new play Jesse North Is Broken. Picture: Ian Hodgson
Solo show of the week:John Godber Company presents Martha Godber in Jesse North Is Broken, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight,7.45pm; tomorrow, 2.30pm & 7.45pm
JESSE North, 25, from Hull, is a carer on minimum wage, keeping the elderly alive while trying to live her own messy, chaotic life. Told over one night, writer-performer Martha Godber’s play follows Jesse from care shift to the dance floor, from the late-night kebab to an early-morning call-out as she battles the system that undervalues her and the city that shapes her, all while her ADHD-fuelled thoughts and anxious mind crave order in the chaos.
“Both political and personal, the show shines a light on working-class survival in Britain today – where carers are underpaid, the care system is crumbling and young women are left to piece themselves together in a society that keeps breaking them,” says Martha, whose solo play is directed by Millie Gaston. A post-show discussion follows tonight’s performance. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The poster for James Morrison’s 20 Years Of Undiscovered Tour, bound for York Barbican
Anniversary of the week: James Morrison, 20 Years Of Undiscovered, York Barbican, tonight, doors 7pm
UNDISCOVERED was the number one debut album that changed everything for Rugby soul singer-songwriter and guitarist James Morrison (or James Morrison Catchpole to give him his full name). Back then, he was fitting carpets by day, playing open mics by night and driving up and down to London at any spare moment, taking meeting after meeting with multiple record companies.
On his 18-date May and June tour, 2007 British Male Solo Artist BRIT award winner Morrison is playing Undiscovered in its entirety in a set taking in big hits such as You Give Me Something and Wonderful World, fan favourites The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore and This Boy, rarely performed gems One Last Chance and How Come and highlights from his six-album songbook, topped off by 2025’s Top Five success Fight Another Day. Cordelia supports. Tickets update: limited availability at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Wehn and where: Henning squeezing every German joke out of the British weather at Grand Opera House, York
York comedy gig of the week: Henning Wehn, Acid Wehn, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
GERMAN Comedy Ambassador Henning Wehn takes an unbiased look at climate change. “It’s a topic sure to delight audiences and no surprise,” he says. “After all, everyone loves talking about the weather. Rain or shine, all will be fine. Or maybe it won’t. Who knows?! Come along. Or else.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The poster for Stephen Morgan’s show An Evening With Jack The Ripper
Reopening the greatest unsolved case in criminal history: Steve Morgan in An Evening With Jack The Ripper, Milton Rooms, Malton, tomorrow, 7.30pm
PRODUCER and broadcaster Steve Morgan conducts Ripper walks through London’s East End, where he retraces the steps of the notorious killer through the Whitechapel streets he stalked in 1888, when a series of women were murdered brutally between August and November.
The identity of the killer remains a mystery. Was he a doctor, a sailor, a soldier or some kind of religious zealot intent on ridding the streets of vice? Now Morgan has adapted his walk talk for the stage to explore the Ripper’s motives and investigate how he escaped detection. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
York Chamber Music Festival director and cellist Tim Lowe
Festival launch of the week: Tim Lowe (cello) & Stephen Gutman (piano), Gems Of The Romantic Cello, National Centre for Early Music, York, Friday, 7.30pm
DIRECTOR and cellist Tim Lowe previews the 2026 York Chamber Music Festival (September 11 to 13) in concert with pianist Stephen Gutman in a passionate exploration of expressive and beautiful works from the cello and piano repertoire.
Their programme will be the same as they played at St Mary le Strand, London, last Wednesday: Beethoven’s 12 Variations on See The Conquering Hero Comes from Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus; Saint-Saëns’ Cello Sonata No 1 in C Minor; Richard Strauss’s Cello Sonata in F Major and Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.
Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman: Hand in hand for folk night at Helmsley Arts Centre
Folk gig of the week: Kathryn Roberts and Seth Lakeman, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
KATHRYN Roberts and Sean Lakeman’s creative bond spans 30 years, from being young trailblazers in 1990s’ folk supergroup Equation to twice being named Best Duo at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Their live shows are brimful of charm, wit and musical mastery of songs of emotional depth, as captured on 2025’s Another Day At The Circus, their first live concert album. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Tom Stade: Naughty By Nature mischief-making
Ryedale comedy gig of the week: Tom Stade, Naughty By Nature, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 8pm
CANADIAN stand-up Tom Stade is back on the road with his 2025 Edinburgh Fringe hit, wherein he playfully dishes out more of his insightful observations in a night of mischievous and uncompromising comedy. His credits include the Have A Word Pod podcast, Channel 4’s Comedy Gala, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, The John Bishop Show and Live At The Apollo. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
The poster for Scarborough Theatre Company’s first visit to Kirk Theatre, Pickering, with Joseph & The Technicolor Dreamcoat
Musical of the week: Scarborough Theatre Company in Joseph & The Technicolor Dreamcoat, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, May 22, 7.30pm; May 23, 2.30pm and 7.30pm; May 24, 2.30pm
DIRECTED by Alex Weatherhill, Scarborough Theatre Company will be performing in Pickering for the first time, presenting Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s debut musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with a combination of unforgettable songs, dazzling costumes and electrifying energy.
Having staged The Addams Family, Kinky Boots, White Christmas and The Wizard Of Oz on the East Coast, now Weatherhill oversees a tale of betrayal, hope and triumph in a story that continues to inspire audiences of all ages, driven by pastiches of many musical styles. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Cone, by Alison Jagger, on show at WET Bar & Plates
FROM street photography to an introduction to ballet, sparring spiritualists to acidic German comedy about the English weather, Charles Hutchinson highlights all manner of cultural delights ahead.
Photographic show of the week: Alison Jagger, After The Crowds, WET Bar & Plates, Micklegate, York, until June 3
AS a lone traveller and self-confessed free spirit, York street photographer Alison Jagger draws inspiration from the urban landscape, whose vitality she loves to capture with her mobile phone camera.
“There is nothing better than waking up in an unfamiliar city and recording its character, colour and vibrancy through my curious lens,” says Jagger. After The Crowds is the second in RARE Collective’s programme of solo exhibition at James Wall and Ella Williams’ indie wine bar and restaurant in aid of SASH (Safe and Sound Homes), the York youth homelessness charity.
English National Ballet School students in My First Ballet: Cinderella, on tour at Grand Opera House, York
Children’s show of the week: English National Ballet & English National Ballet School, My First Ballet: Cinderella, Grand Opera House, York, today, 10.30am and 2pm; tomorrow, 1pm and 3pm
MEET the nature-loving Cinderella, who lives on the edge of an enchanted forest where she once gardened and sang with her mother. After loss and silence settle over her home, she is left with a sharp-tongued stepmother, two noisy stepsisters and a house full of chores and shadows.
However, when a letter arrives, inviting all to a garden ball, Cinderella’s journey to find her true self begins, guided by the spirit of her mother and the magic of the forest. Using a narrator to help the young audience follow the story, and a shortened, recorded version of Prokofiev’s score, this introduction to ballet is choreographed byGeorge Williamson and performed by English National Ballet School Graduate Artists Programme students. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Sparring spiritualists Sheila Gold (Eileen Walsh) and prickly mum Rosa (Frances Barber) in Rosa’s mobile home in York Theatre Royal’s world premiere of The Psychic. Picture: Manuel Harlan
World premiere of the month: The Psychic, York Theatre Royal, until May 23
“IS any of it real,” ask Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman in The Psychic, the latest spook-fest from the writer-director duo behind Ghost Stories. In their twisted new thriller, popular TV psychic Sheila Gold (Eileen Walsh) loses a high-profile court case that brands her a charlatan, costing her not only her reputation but also a fortune in legal fees.
When a wealthy couple ask Sheila to conduct a séance to attempt to make contact with their late child, she senses an opportunity to bleed them for money. What follows makes her question everything she has ever believed, leading her on a journey into the darkest corners of her life. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Tenor Christopher O’Gorman
Lunchtime concert of the week: York Late Music presents Christopher Gorman (tenor) & Mark Hutchinson (piano), Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, today, 1pm
THE first complete performance of York composer Steve Crowther’s song settings of poems by late York writer Helen Cadbury will be given by tenor Christopher O’Gorman and pianist Mark Hutchinson this afternoon. The concert also features Richard Allain’s Three Shakespeare Sonnetsplus music by Emily Hall and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Songs Of Travel. Box office: latemusic.org or on the door.
Louise Davies in her Woolwich studio
Exhibition opening of the week: Louise Davies and Glassmakers, Journey In Colour, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, today, 11am to 2.30pm, until July 4
PAINTINGS and etchings by South East London artist and printmaker Louise Davies will be complemented by glass by Allister Malcolm, Madeleine Hughes, Margaret Burke, Charlie Burke and Amelia Burke.
Pink Moors, oil on canvas, by Louise Davies
Davies, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, combines fluid lines and rich colour in vibrant landscape prints and oil paintings. Gallery owner Terry Brett drove to Stourbridge to pick up glass works by Malcolm and his workshop assistant, Hughes. Margaret Burke, son Charlie and his wife, hot glass specialist Amelia, run the hand-blown glass studio E&M Glass at The Old Bakery, Sarn Bridge, Malpas, Cheshire.
Bradley Creswick: Violin soloist at York Guildhall Orchestra’s concert tomorrow
Classical concert of the week: York Guildhall Orchestra Spring Concert, York Barbican, Sunday, 3pm
YORK Guildhall Orchestra continues its celebration of the works of German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist and critic Carl Maria von Weber, this time recognising his considerable input into the world of opera with the overture to Der Freischütz.
Tomorrow afternoon’s soloist will be Bradley Creswick, leader emeritus of the Royal Northern Sinfonia, playing the Bruch Violin Concerto No 1. The second half features Verdi’s overture to his opera The Force Of Destiny, Britten’s Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes and Ravel’s orchestral showpiece La Valse. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Martha Godber’s Jesse North in her play Jesse North Is Broken. Picture: Ian Hodgson
Solo show of the week:John Godber Company presents Martha Godber in Jesse North Is Broken, York Theatre Royal Studio, May 11 to 14, 7.45pm plus 2.30pm Thursday matinee
JESSE North, 25, from Hull, is a carer on minimum wage, keeping the elderly alive while trying to live her own messy, chaotic life. Told over one night, writer-performer Martha Godber’s play follows Jesse from care shift to the dance floor, from the late-night kebab to an early-morning call-out as she battles the system that undervalues her and the city that shapes her, all while her ADHD-fuelled thoughts and anxious mind crave order in the chaos.
“Both political and personal, the show shines a light on working-class survival in Britain today – where carers are underpaid, the care system is crumbling and young women are left to piece themselves together in a society that keeps breaking them,” says Martha, whose solo play is directed by Millie Gaston. A post-show discussion follows Wednesday’s performance. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The poster for James Morrison’s 20 Years Of Undiscovered tour
Anniversary of the week: James Morrison, 20 Years Of Undiscovered, York Barbican, May 13, doors 7pm; Sheffield City Hall, May 23, doors 6.30pm
UNDISCOVERED was the number one debut album that changed everything for Rugby soul singer-songwriter and guitarist James Morrison (or James Morrison Catchpole to give him his full name). Back then, he was fitting carpets by day, playing open mics by night and driving up and down to London at any spare moment, taking meeting after meeting with multiple record companies.
On his 18-date May and June tour, 2007 British Male Solo Artist BRIT award winner Morrison is playing Undiscovered in its entirety in a set taking in big hits such as You Give Me Something and Wonderful World, fan favourites The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore and This Boy, rarely performed gems One Last Chance and How Come and highlights from his six-album songbook, topped off by 2025’s Top Five success Fight Another Day. Cordelia supports. Tickets update: York, limited availability at yorkbarbican.co.uk; Sheffield, https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/james-morrison-sheffield-23-05-2026/event/35006367D9B1B6C6.
Wehn and where? Henning squeezing every German joke out of the British weather at Grand Opera House, York
Comedy gig of the week: Henning Wehn, Acid Wehn, Grand Opera House, York, May 14, 7.30pm
GERMAN Comedy Ambassador Henning Wehn takes an unbiased look at climate change. “It’s a topic sure to delight audiences and no surprise,” he says. “After all, everyone loves talking about the weather. Rain or shine, all will be fine. Or maybe it won’t. Who knows?! Come along. Or else.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Tim Lowe: Launching 2026 York Chamber Music Festival with NCEM recital with Stephen Gutman
Festival launch of the week: Tim Lowe (cello) & Stephen Gutman (piano), Gems Of The Romantic Cello, National Centre for Early Music, York, May 15, 7.30pm
DIRECTOR and cellist Tim Lowe previews the 2026 York Chamber Music Festival (September 11 to 13) in concert with pianist Stephen Gutman in a passionate exploration of expressive and beautiful works from the cello and piano repertoire.
Their programme will be the same as they played at St Mary le Strand, London, on Wednesday: Beethoven’s 12 Variations on See The Conquering Hero Comes from Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus; Saint-Saëns’ Cello Sonata No 1 in C Minor; Richard Strauss’s Cello Sonata in F Major and Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.
Cowboy Junkies: 40 years and counting
In Focus: Cowboy Junkies, Celebrating 40 Years And Beyond Tour, Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, tonight; doors 7pm for 7.45pm start
Cowboy Junkies: 40 years and counting
TORONTO’S Cowboy Junkies are playing British venues for the first time since 2022 on April and May’s Celebrating 40 Years and Beyond tour, promoted by Hurricane Promotions. Next stop, Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, tonight.
Coinciding with the 11-date itinerary, the Canadians have released a triple LP/ double CD/digital collection of songs from their 21st century releases, Open To Beauty.
Released on May 1 on Cooking Vinyl, this ‘Best Of’ set revisits selected tracks from the albums Open, One Soul Now, Early 21st Century Blues, At The End Of Paths Taken, Renmin Park, Demons, Sing In My Meadow, The Wilderness, All That Reckoning, Songs Of The Recollection and 2023’s Such Ferocious Beauty.
Speaking of the new compilation, Cowboy Junkies’ Michael Timmins says: “We are now 25 years into this century, the beginning of which saw us leave the world of major labels and return to making music as an independent band.
“We figured this was as good a time as any to look back, reassess and reflect on the music that we have recorded over these past two and a half decades and, hence, Open To Beauty – The Best of the 21st Century.”
Tour tickets are on sale at: https://cowboyjunkies.com/tour/. Tonight’s show has sold out: for returns only, https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/cowboy-junkies/.
Did you know?
COWBOY Junkies’ signature performance of Lou Reed’s Velvet Underground composition Sweet Jane was featured in the final episode of Netflix TV series Stranger Things.
Cowboy Junkies’ Peter Timmins, Margo Timmins, Michael Timmins and Alan Anton
Cowboy Junkies: back story
SOMETIMES revolutions begin quietly. In 1988, Canadian alt. country band Cowboy Junkies proved there was an audience waiting for something quiet, beautiful and reflective. The Trinity Session was like a whisper that cut through the noise – and it was compelling, standing out amid the flash and bombast that defined the late 1980s.
The now classic recording – made live at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto in November 1987 – combined folk, blues and rock in a way that had never been heard before and went on to sell more than a million copies.
Cowboy Junkies’ ability to communicate volumes before the lyrics kick in defines an enduring career. Where most bands chase trends, the Junkies have stayed their course, maintaining a low-impact excavation of melody and evocative language delivered sotto voce in singer Margo Timmins’s feathery alto.
Forming in Toronto in 1985, Margo was joined by siblings Michael Timmins on guitar and Peter Timmins on drums, plus Michael’s life-long friend Alan Anton on bass, to begin a journey that has evolved over 29 albums.
“I’ve known Alan longer than I’ve known Pete,” says Michael. “We were friends before Pete was born.”
Unlike most long-lasting groups, Cowboy Junkies have never had a break-up or taken a sanity-saving hiatus. There’s an appreciation of each other that keeps them constantly working. “It’s that intimacy and understanding of what each one of us brings to the table,” says Michael.
The oldest, Michael is the chief architect; songwriter, and guitarist, who works with Margo on sculpting the emotional planes and vocal performances before bringing in Peter and Alan to create the soundscapes that have made Cowboy Junkies a band that defies categories.
“The expectations and responsibilities of our roles are a big part of the band’s ethos,” says Michael. “We’re still amazed that we’re doing things our way and continuing to grow the band, but the longer we are at it, the more fun it’s become. We don’t take it for granted.”
Margo adds: “We do what we do and it feels right for all of us. After 30-plus years of playing together, the band and its music are more important to us than ever. The music we make brings each of us a great sense of contentment, a knowledge of place, and a sense of doing what we were meant to do.”
Nursing a hangover: Martha Godber’s Jesse North in her new play Jesse North Is Broken
MARTHA Godber will perform the world premiere of Jesse North Is Broken, her solo theatre piece on the theme of working-class survival in Britain, at York Theatre Royal Studio from May 11 to 14.
Actress-writer Martha, Hull-born daughter of playwright John Godber and fellow writer-director Jane Thornton, will be directed by Millie Gaston in the John Godber Company production.
Jesse, 25, from Hull, is a carer on minimum wage, keeping the elderly alive while trying to live her own messy, chaotic life. Told over one night, Jesse North Is Broken follows her from care shift to the dance floor, from the late-night kebab to an early-morning call-out as she battles the system that undervalues her and the city that shapes her, all while her ADHD-fuelled thoughts and anxious mind crave order in the chaos.
“Both political and personal, the show shines a light on working-class survival in Britain today – where carers are underpaid, the care system is crumbling, and young women are left to piece themselves together in a society that keeps breaking them,” says Martha.
LIPA-trained Martha last appeared on the York Theatre Royal stage in June 2025 in the John Godber Company’s tour of John Godber’s hymn to the abiding power of Northern Soul, Do I Love You?.
Martha Godber: Hull-born actress and writer
“I’m thrilled to be bringing Jesse North Is Broken to York Theatre Royal; it feels like the perfect venue to premiere the show,” she says. “As someone from Hull, I’ve always been drawn to telling northern stories, and this piece does exactly that.
“I’m passionate about creating female characters who are unapologetic, bold and command the stage, celebrating the northern female voice in all its complexity.
“At its heart, the show explores connection, pain, love and loss, set against the realities of government policy, the care system and the social pressures of a working-class town. It’s a fearless piece of new writing and I hope it resonates deeply with contemporary audiences.”
Jesse North Is Broken emerged from Martha “always thinking about different ideas for writing about”. “I was also a bit fed up of the type of roles I was going for as a female and especially as a northern female,” she says. “I wanted to do something that was visceral, female, brash, on stage.
Martha Godber, right, and Chloe McDonald in John Godber’s hymn to Northern Soul, Do I Love You?
“I originally wrote it on the train from London to Hull, when I was feeling, ‘I need to get something written down’, as I was interested in doing a spoken-word piece – and it just fell out of me, the first draft.”
She was drawn to the subject of care work from her family experiences at the time. “My grandparents were having carers coming in, and I thought maybe I could draw these two things together as originally it was about a young Hull woman’s night out,” says Martha.
“Then I interwove the care worker and the subject of people at work into the story: that thing of working in a pressured environment, where there’s a lot of end-of-life care. That experience of going out at night as a young vibrant woman and yet dealing with people in need of that care.
“I was also interested in the theme of connection: how she goes from having a one-night stand to going back to the woman she’s caring for, who’s 93.”
Martha has written four drafts of her play. “Especially when it’s a new show, you are always adding new elements, particularly once we started rehearsals, but also to reflect how things have changed since meeting up with one of the care workers I spoke with,” she says.
John Godber Company’s poster artwork for Jesse North Is Broken, premiering at York Theatre Royal Studio
“I really want the play to be relevant and current, putting that on stage to make sure the subject resonates with the people watching it.”
Martha draws on her own experiences, not least in Jesse’s “ADHD-fuelled” thoughts and anxiety. “The way it comes out of my head, it makes sense to lace it into her character as it leads to spontaneous decisions within the complexity of a female character, making these decisions through the night that maybe she should not have made,” she says. “I wrote from my own experiences, as I can’t not do that, because it creates relatability.
“That’s also why I wanted to create a solo space to perform in because often there isn’t that space for women to take up, one that’s visceral and overt.”
As for the impact of her father, John Godber, on her work, Martha says: “He’s my biggest inspiration.”
John Godber Company presents Martha Godber’s Jesse North Is Broken, York Theatre Royal Studio, May 11 to 14, 7.45pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Age guidance: 15 plus. Content guidance: Strong language and sexual references. Post-show discussion: May 13. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Martha Godber in the role of Jesse, a carer on minimum wage, in her play Jesse North Is Broken, produced by the John Godber Company
MARTHA Godber will perform the world premiere of Jesse North Is Broken, her solo theatre piece on the theme of working-class survival in Britain, at York Theatre Royal Studio from May 11 to 14.
Actress-writer Martha, Hull-born daughter of playwright John Godber and fellow writer-director Jane Thornton, will be directed by Millie Gaston in the John Godber Company production.
Jesse, 25, from Hull, is a carer on minimum wage, keeping the elderly alive while trying to live her own messy, chaotic life. Told over one night, Jesse North Is Broken follows her from care shift to the dance floor, from the late-night kebab to an early-morning call-out as she battles the system that undervalues her and the city that shapes her, all while her ADHD-fuelled thoughts and anxious mind crave order in the chaos.
Martha Godber: Hull-born actress, writer and director
“Both political and personal, the show shines a light on working-class survival in Britain today – where carers are underpaid, the care system is crumbling, and young women are left to piece themselves together in a society that keeps breaking them,” says Martha.
LIPA-trained Martha last appeared on the York Theatre Royal stage in June 2025 in the John Godber Company’s tour of John Godber’s hymn to the abiding power of Northern Soul, Do I Love You?.
“I’m thrilled to be bringing Jesse North Is Broken to York Theatre Royal; it feels like the perfect venue to premiere the show,” she says. “As someone from Hull, I’ve always been drawn to telling northern stories, and this piece does exactly that.
Martha Godber, right, playing Northern Soul purist Sally in John Godber’s Do I Love You?, on tour at York Theatre Royal in June 2025
“I’m passionate about creating female characters who are unapologetic, bold and command the stage, celebrating the northern female voice in all its complexity.
“At its heart, the show explores connection, pain, love and loss, set against the realities of government policy, the care system and the social pressures of a working-class town. It’s a fearless piece of new writing and I hope it resonates deeply with contemporary audiences.”
John Godber Company presents Martha Godber’s Jesse North Is Broken, York Theatre Royal Studio, May 11 to 14, 7.45pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Age guidance: 15 plus. Content guidance: Strong language and sexual references. Post-show discussion: May 13. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The poster for the John Godber Company’s production of Martha Godber’s Jesse North Is Broken
Jingle All The Way cast members Emilio Encinoso-Gil and Hannah Christina in rehearsal for Pocklington Arts Centre’s Christmas show with musical director Dylan Allcock
TODAY is Angela Stone’s last day as artistic director at Pocklington Arts Centre before moving to Ullapool in the Scottish Highlands.
Her last task in post is to oversee this evening’s opening of PAC’s Christmas show in her capacity as producer of Jingle All The Way.
Scottish-born Angela, who took over as artistic director in October 2022, says of this winter’s festive production: “We’re so proud to be staging our third Christmas adventure for all the family at Pocklington Arts Centre this December! We can’t wait to introduce audiences to our fabulous cast and deliver our trademark festive cheer.
“We take great pride in producing inclusive and engaging stories, bringing magical Christmas spirit to our stage and welcoming returning and new audiences to PAC.”
Suffused with humour, Christmas tunes, original songs, local references and festive fun, Jingle All The Way is written and co-directed by Elizabeth Godber, with Jane Thornton, from the John Godber Company stable, working alongside producer Angela in the same creative team behind PAC’s previous in-house Christmas productions, The Elves And The Shoemaker Save Christmas and Jack Frost’s Christmas Wish.
Dylan Allcock provides the musical direction for this new festive family adventure, wherein reindeer siblings Rex (Emilio Encinoso-Gil) and Rosie(Hannah Christina) are reluctant to start at a new school just before Christmas, especially when that school is the East Riding Reindeer Academy, home of supreme athletes.
The poster for Pocklington Arts Centre’s Christmas show Jingle All The Way
Although Rosie fits in quickly, Rex struggles to find where he belongs, but a school-wide competition might change all that. Santa has a position free on his sleigh squad; could this be Rex’s big chance?
“It’s our third year at Pocklington Arts Centre, and I absolutely love working at Pocklington at Christmas,” says Elizabeth. “The audiences are fabulous, and we’ve really started to establish creating new work for younger-year children: we’re solidly for ten year olds and younger. Some have even come in pyjamas!
“Also, one of the things we were really keen on was to make the shows really accessible by doing half an hour each act. It’s very theatrical with masks and multi-role playing, and we’re very much into wholesome theatre. We make something that’s a little bit different to panto.”
She talks of the responsibility to “make sure that a child’s first experience of theatre is a positive one”. “The first time I went to the cinema I got really scared, because it was dark and scary, so I didn’t go back for a long time,” says Elizabeth, now 30. “But I did go to the theatre with my parents [John and Jane Godber]: there’s a photo of me in my mum’s arms in the auditorium when I was three weeks old!”
Summing up Jingle All The Way’s story, Elizabeth says: “Although reindeer Rex is a bit of a nerd and not very sporty, he decides to train for the competition to join Santa’s sleigh squad, so it’s an underdog story with a sibling rivalry, as twin brother and sister Rex and Rosie don’t always get on!”
Jingle All The Way runs at Pocklington Arts Centre from December 11 to 23. Performances: December 11, 7pm; December 13, 1.30pm; December 14, 1.30pm (Relaxed Performance) and 4.30pm; December 19, 7pm; December 20 and 21, 1.30pm, December 22, 1.30pm; December 23, 10.30am and 4.30pm. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Meet The Cast
Emilio Encinoso-Gil
Part-Spanish actor from Hull who trained at Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA North).
Theatre credits include Do I Love You? (John Godber Company), On Your Marks (Dramatic Theatre CIC), and Peter Pan (Tony Peers Ltd). Screen work: Right Here In Hull, The Memory Project (Smashing Mirrors Theatre) and Scones & Skates (Hull Truck Theatre).
Contributed voiceover work for Storyboard Media, Stage Door Theatre and Middle Child.
Hannah Christina
2025 graduate from first Acting cohort at Performers College Birmingham, where she appeared in graduate production of Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls, portraying Angie and Dull Gret.
Member of the Godber Theatre Foundation, making her professional debut in Jingle All The Way.
Nell Baker’s Eddy, left, Jo Patmore’s Alice and Tom Gallagher’s Connor in the John Godber Company’s premiere of Elizabeth Godber’s Wolf Country at East Riding Theatre
FOR Halloween, the John Godber Company unleashes Elizabeth Godber’s country music-dusted werewolf comedy-drama Wolf Country at the East Riding Theatre, Beverley.
Country music mega-fan Alice (played by Jo Patmore) and no-nonsense nurse Eddy (Nell Baker) are best friends who would be happy for things to stay exactly as they are. Unfortunately, a potential werewolf is running rampant around Beverley, and so nothing looks like it will stay the same for long.
Eddy cares not a jot for all the rumours and conspiracies, but Alice is straight down the rabbit hole, especially after meeting self-proclaimed werewolf expert Connor (Tom Gallagher).
As the hot breath of Halloween looms ever closer, the full moon is out and matters are starting to spiral. Surely they know East Yorkshire is Wolf Country – and don’t you?
From the co-writer of the UK Theatre Award-nominated Stephen Joseph Theatre hit The Comedy of Errors (More Or Less) and writer of the ERT premiere of The Remarkable Tale Of Dorothy Mackaill comes a lupine comedy of friendship, ambition andwhat drives our fears amid the wildness that lurks beneath the surface of modern life in East Yorkshire – all underscored by a Country Western soundtrack.
Nell Baker, left, Jo Patmore and Tom Gallagher in an uplifting scene in Elizabeth Godber’s play about anxiety, East Yorkshire and werewolf folklore
“I first came across the legend of ‘Old Stinker’, Beverley’s very own werewolf, while looking into local folklore and history when studying at the University of Hull,” says Elizabeth.
“I’ve always loved anything a bit whimsical and magical, and the idea really stuck with me. Werewolf legends are very rare in the UK; most come out of Germany, Eastern Europe or the USA, so the concept of a werewolf on Beverley Lock was just too good an idea to put to one side.
“Especially as East Yorkshire was the last place in the UK to have wild wolves, who were said to have died out in the 18th century, so it’s all just a brilliant story that almost wrote itself.”
When Elizabeth looked further into the legend, she was excited to learn there had been a flurry of sightings of the beast in 2015 and 2016. “Even the rock musician Alice Cooper had got involved, posting on social media about it,” she says. “This is where I really started to link the wolf to music and Americana, and I’ve always been a massive country music fan, so including that all made sense to me.”
A real hunt for the beast was conducted by the werewolf hunters of East Yorkshire in 2016. “In researching for this play, I was excited to be able to talk to some of the people who went on it, although they didn’t find anything,” says Elizabeth.
Cue her tale of werewolves, anxiety and growing up in Beverley, accompanied by a country music sound track, whose flavour can be savoured on the East Riding Theatre website with a link to Spotify. Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Shania Twain et al, y’all.
Wolf Country playwright Elizabeth Godber
“From all those East Riding folklores came the idea of this play – though it’s not really about werewolves,” says Elizabeth. “It’s about three friends in their late 20s, living in Beverley, finding themselves at that time in life when they’re discussing adulthood and the move away from being a teenager to that person with a job.
“There’s also romance going on, but all this is happening when there’s a werewolf on the loose in Beverley, creating fear and paranoia, which is reflected in their own lives.
“Learning about the werewolf hunts in 2015 and 2015, I liked the idea of writing about our paranoia that there is something out there in the dark playing on our phobias.”
At 30, “for sure I felt I was ready to write something of my own experience of being a young person growing up in a more rural place,” says Elizabeth. “I live in Beverley, and I see a lot of plays set in London and Manchester, but there are a lot of people like me who grew up and live in the countryside, and I want to tell that story.
“It was really important to me too to have a local cast. Jo Patmore, from The Highwayman last year, and Nell Baker are both from Beverley and Tom Gallagher is from Hull. I wanted to have that authenticity of growing up in East Yorkshire. That’s important when you’re premiering plays to an East Yorkshire audience, who will tell you exactly what they think!”
Mental wellbeing plays its part in Elizabeth’s play. “The lead character that Jo plays, Alice, is overtaken by anxiety about the werewolf legend, to the extent that the hunt takes her over, so it’s also a play about mental health,” she says.
Wolf/Alice: Jo Patmore’s Alice experiences anxiety over the East Yorkshire werewolf stories in Elizabeth Godber’s Wolf Country
“There’s a balance between ‘oh my god, what’s going on?’ and all the laughter, which is reflective of life, so it’s uplifting and positive overall, but there will be highs and lows on the way.
“I hope that the story is both interesting and funny as well – being my father, John Godber’s daughter, I write plays that are comedic too.”
As for the inclusion of country music, “Alice has an obsession with country music. That’s how she deals with her anxiety,” says Elizabeth. “I’ve always been drawn to folklore element of country music, with all that ‘ruralness’ to it, which I wanted to bring from America to East Yorkshire, but also because it has an ‘otherness’ to it that I wanted to bring to the story.”
One final thought from Elizabeth: “Be careful on your travels on your way home as you never know what might be out there!” she says, in the finale to her programme note.
Elizabeth Godber’s Wolf Country, East Riding Theatre, Beverley, until November 1, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees. Age recommendation: 16 plus for strong language and sexual references. Box office: eastridingtheatre.co.uk/wolf-country/
The John Godber Company’s poster for the Halloween premiere of Wolf Country
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.
Blackpool Tower Ballroom here they come: Chloe McDonald’s Nat, left, Martha Godber’s Sally and Emilio Encinoso-Gil’s Kyle keep the faith in John Godber’s hymn to Northern Soul, Do I Love You?
JOHN Godber has a new play on its way this autumn: Black Tie Ball, a tale of hotel upstairs and downstairs, bow ties and fake tans, jealousies and avarice, divorces and affairs, told by staff at breakneck speed from arrival at seven to carriages at midnight. Harrogate Theatre, from September 10 to 13, and Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, from November 12 to 15, await.
There is a Godber house style, billed as his “signature visceral style”, one that applies as much to his hymn to Northern Soul, Do I Love You?, as it will to Black Tie Ball. Ever since Bouncers and Teechers, less has been more in Godber plays: compact casts, concise scenes, minimal props and space aplenty for combative or compatible movement.
No-nonsense Yorkshireman Godber has been writing plays since 1977, the year of punk at its scratchy apex, and likewise he tore up the rule book to write working-class dramas, economical but full of home truths, albeit with a nod to Bertolt Brecht in breaking down theatre’s fourth wall to favour direct address.
Do I Love You? is up there with his best works, visiting York Theatre Royal in the concluding week of its third tour since its 2023 debut, still with the same fresh-faced cast of Martha Godber, Chloe McDonald and Emilio Encinoso-Gil, who are in the groove not only of the sublime underground Sixties and Seventies music, but also of working together regularly, like the comic interplay of a well-oiled TV comedy series.
Frank exchange: Martha Godber’s Sally makes her point to Chloe McDonald’s Nat as Emilio Encinoso-Gil’s Kyle seeks to intervene in Do I Love You?
Godber is always at his best when his fractious comedies are fired by both love and anger, ideally backed by a pulsating soundtrack too. The love here is for Northern Soul from his own days of going to all-nighters and weekenders across the north, and he writes with passion, Record Collector levels of knowledge, not so much nostalgia, but more a lament for what we have lost.
Qualities of authenticity, truth, pride: all values he attributes to Northern Soul, music of pain and sorrow and ecstatic release; music of and for the working classes.
He places his drama in the hands of what he calls the lost generation, the twenty-something post-Covid generation stuck in the sludge of working at drive-through fried chicken counters.
Meet Martha Godber’s Sally, who looks after her ailing Irish-born grandma (played with a scarf, a fag and a hacking cough by McDonald), neglected by her drunkard mother. Meet Encinoso-Gil’s Kyle, her best mate, from Spanish stock, but the timing has never been right for it to be anything more than that. Meet McDonald’s Nat (or ‘Natalie’, she insists), their friend since schooldays, who has a crush on Kyle too and likes a spliff or two.
The anger lies in Godber surveying how little has changed between Britain in 1973 and 2023, the year in which the play is still set with Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, “looking 11 years old” as he puts it.
Do I Love You? writer-director John Godber: Keeping the faith in Northern Soul when losing the faith in everything else
Godber writes of rising costs and prices, unemployment and small-town blues; of pubs closing, hospitality venues going; strikes on-going. Plus ca change.
He writes too of the everyday difficulties of young lives, as they fall out with each other, while facing mounting problems at home. What is left but to find a love, something to believe in, to keep the faith?
Godber interweaves the trio’s trials and tribulations with their initiation into Northern Soul, brilliantly described in Sally’s account of their first visit to a Cleethorpes all-nighter: £3 for eight hours. Soul devotees on the dancefloor, sliding, gliding, kicking, making her cry, although she doesn’t know why, but the way Godber writes, we do.
He takes us there with a sense of poetic wonder, just as he captures the tedium of taking fried chicken orders by reducing the experience to the fewest words possible for the maximum comical impact.
Emilio Encinoso-Gil’s Kyle tentatively shows off his dancefloor moves in Do I Love You?, to the scornful amusement of Chloe McDonald’s Nat and Martha Godber’s Sally
The songs can be played only in snippets that have to stop all too quickly, but Godber evokes Northern Soul by mentioning all the landmark songs and locations and by the power of his pen.
Best of all is the fulminating speech by Encinoso-Gil’s hunched-up Keith, a soul veteran with a criminal past and fingers in every pie, who is Do I Love You’s version of Lucky Eric in Bouncers, except that he squeezes all he has to say into one impassioned yet beautiful rant-cum-lament, whereas Eric has four bites at the sour cherry.
All three performances are terrific, Martha Godber especially so, and if no moment that follows Keith’s speech quite matches it, Do I Love You? packs an emotional punch, full of northern wit, grit and soul power hits.
John Godber Company in Do I Love You?, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm matinee tomorrow (12/6/2025) and 2.30pm, Saturday. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Making her point: Martha Godber’s Sally, left, in a contretemps with Chloe McDonald’s Nat as Emilio Encinoso-Gil’s Kyle seeks to intervene in John Godber’s Do I Love You?
CELEBRATIONS of Northern Soul and British comedy greats are right up Charles Hutchinson’s street for the week ahead.
Weekender of the week: John Godber Company in Do I Love You?, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees; post-show discussion on June 13
THE John Godber Company is on its third tour of John Godber’s hymn to keeping the faith in Northern Soul, with the same cast of Martha Godber, Chloe McDonald and Emilio Encinoso-Gil.
Inspired by Godber’s devotion to Northern Soul, Do I Love You? follows three twentysomethings, slumped in the drudgery of drive-through counter jobs, who find excitement, purpose and their tribe as they head to weekenders all over, from Bridlington Spa to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, Chesterfield to Stoke. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The fez, the spectacles and the bow tie: Damian Williams’s Tommy Cooper, Bob Golding’s Eric Morecambe and Simon Cartwright’s Bob Monkhouse in The Last Laugh, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York
Comedy legends of the week: The Last Laugh, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm matinees today, tomorrow and Saturday
WHO will have The Last Laugh at the Grand Opera House when British comedy triumvirate Eric Morecambe, Tommy Cooper and Bob Monkhouse reconvene in a dressing room in Paul Hendy’s play?
Find out in the Edinburgh Fringe, West End and New York hit’s first tour stop as Bob Golding, Damian Williams and Simon Cartwright take on the iconic roles in this new work by the Evolutions Productions director, who just happens to write York Theatre Royal’s pantomimes too. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
One of the Famous Faces on show in the Artistic Spectrum exhibition at Pocklington Arts Centre
Exhibition of the week: Artistic Spectrum: Famous Faces, Pocklington Arts Centre, on show until June 27
BOLD artworks feature in Famous Faces, a powerful, large-scale portrait project from Artistic Spectrum, co-created with more than 100 neuro-divergent and Special Educational Needs children and adults across East and South Yorkshire to challenge perceptions, champion inclusivity and put the power of representation into the hands of those too often left out of the frame.
Developed in group workshops over several weeks, participants created striking portraits of people who inspired them, from musicians and sports stars to activists and screen icons, using collage, found materials and personal objects to make works rich with texture, colour and personal meaning.
Comedian Scott Bennett and his daughter in the promotional picture for Blood Sugar Baby, on tour in York and Pocklington
Storyteller of the week: Scott Bennett, Blood Sugar Baby, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 8pm; Pocklington Arts Centre, August 6, 8pm
ONE family, one condition, one hell of a hairy baby: Scott Bennett, from The News Quiz, relates how his daughter fell ill with a rare genetic condition, congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI).
Never heard of it? Neither have new parents Scott and Jemma as they fight to achieve the right diagnosis for their daughter and are plunged into months of bewildering treatment, sleepless nights, celebrity encounters and bizarre side effects, but a happy ending ensues. Box office: York, tickets.41monkgate.co.uk; Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Shed Seven: Off to the Yorkshire coast on Saturday to play Scarborough Open Air Theatre
Coastal gigs of the week: The Corrs and Natalie Imbruglia, tonight; Gary Barlow and Beverley Knight, Friday; Shed Seven, Jake Bugg and Cast, Saturday, all at Scarborough Open Air Theatre; gates open at 6pm
THE 2025 season of Cuffe & Taylor concerts in the bracing sea air of Scarborough opens tonight with the Irish band The Corrs and Australian singer and Neighbours actress Natalie Imbruglia, followed by Take That and solo songwriter and The X Factor and Let It Shine judge Gary Barlow on his Songbook Tour 2025 on Friday, when Beverley Knight supports. Expect hits from both his band and Barlow back catalogues.
After two chart-topping 2024 albums in their 30th anniversary year, York band Shed Seven make their belated Scarborough Open Air Theatre debut on Saturday, supported by Jake Bugg and Cast. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Henry Blofeld: Wickets and wit in cricket chat at Helmsley Arts Centre
The sound of reporting on leather on willow: An Audience With Henry Blofeld, Sharing My Love Of Cricket, Helmsley Arts Centre, tomorrow, 7.30pm, rearranged from March 21
LEGENDARY BBC broadcaster and journalist, Henry Blofeld, former stalwart of the BBC’s Test Match Special commentary box, takes a journey through modern cricket, while looking back at the great games of yesteryear.
Blowers reflects on how cricket used to be and where it is headed: the theme of his September 2024 book Sharing My Love Of Cricket: Playing The Game And Spreading The Word, wherein he explores the big shifts, innovations and challenges facing the game. Box office: helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Saul Henry: On the Funny Fridays bill at Patch at the Bonding Warehouse, York
York comedy bill of the week: Funny Fridays at Patch, Bonding Warehouse, Terry Avenue, York, Friday, 7.30pm
THE second Funny Fridays comedy night at Patch features Saul Henry, Gemma Day, Ethan Formstone, Lucy Buckley and headliner Jack Wilson, hosted by founder and comedian Katie Lingo.
Formstone’s profile reveals he is a bricklayer from York, who grew bored and now, “using his natural stage presence and wild imagination, lays surreal stories that will delight you and leave you slightly confused”. Tickets: eventbrite.co.uk/e/funny-fridays-at-patch-tickets-1353208666549?aff=oddtdtcreator.
The poster for the SatchVai Band’s Surfing With The Hydra Tour, visiting York Barbican on Friday
Rock gig of the week: SatchVai Band, Surfing With The Hydra Tour 2025, York Barbican, Friday, doors 7pm
FOR the first time in nigh on 50 years of playing rock, guitarists and friends Joe Satriani and Steve Vai have united to tour as the SatchVai Band, opening their European travels in York before heading to London, Paris, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Istanbul and Athens.
Powerhouse drummer Kenny Aronoff, bassist Marco Mendoza and virtuoso guitarist Pete Thorn complete the stellar quintet. Box office: for returns only, yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Alex telling her story in EGO Arts’ You Know My Mum at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, on Friday
Cheeky comedy of life, loss and love for all the family:EGO Arts in You Know My Mum, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 7.30pm.
LEADING EGO Midlands Creative Academy’s disabled and neuro-divergent cast, Alex is a 25-year-old woman with Down’s syndrome struggling with the death of her mum. One day, she discovers Bluey, a baby Blue Tit, in her garden.
While Bluey learns about fried chicken factories and joins a boot camp for birds, Alex battles Harry Potter monsters and dreams about life after death. As her wild imagination comes to life, she learns that the love she thought she lost is all around her. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
