Joseph Rowntree Theatre Archives

November 7, 2026November 7, 2026

More Things To Do in York and beyond when honey infuses artworks. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 45, from The York Press

Nick Walters’ Honey Dipper, on show in The Wisdom Of The Desert at the Red Tower, York

FROM Jane Asher as The Queen to honey artworks at the Red Tower, the Aesthetica Film Festival to Neon Crypt’s ghost story, Charles Hutchinson highlights more November gems.

Pop-up art show of the week: Navigators Art presents No Spinoza & Nick Walters, The Wisdom Of The Desert, The Red Tower, Foss Islands Road, York, today, 6pm to 9pm; tomorrow, 1pm to 4pm

GROUNDBREAKING multi-media York artists No Spinoza (Thomas Pearson) and Nick Walters share an interest in the immersive, provocative, multi-sensory experience of film, sound and sculpture, now on show in York’s historic Red Tower.

No Spinoza presents Jupiter’s Great Hurricane (2026), a cycle of experimental music and film that broadly explores themes of temptation, progress and inheritance with references to desert spirituality. Walters’ Honey Dipper (2026) passes electrical current through honey to create mysterious and ever-changing textures of sound, while Ex-voto (2026) is a series of small sculptures set in niches in the tower walls that alludes to beeswax votive statues placed in shrines as a gesture of gratitude and devotion.

Victorian Penny Farthing Rider lit up at Ghosts After Dark at York Museum Gardens. Picture: Celestine Dubruel

Sculpture trail of the week: York BID and York Museums Trust present Ghosts After Dark, York Museum Gardens, today and tomorrow, 5.30pm to 9.30pm; timed entry slots until 8pm

IN the wake of Ghosts In The Gardens’ free public art trail of 70 wire-mesh sculptures across 32 city-centre locations, Ghosts After Dark brings storytelling, light, smoke and sound to York Museum Gardens, plus King’s Manor courtyard and Library Lawn, the Anglian Tower, Edible Wood, Artists’ Garden, St Olave’s churchyard and the area beside York Art Gallery.

Representing a fascinating person, creature or story connected to York’s history, each sculpture was made by York creative agency Unconventional Design. A new immersive experience (the Witch Encounter) and the inaugural night market are further highlights of the 90-minute trail. Bookings: www.theyorkbid.com/ghosts-after-dark/.

The VR Lab at the National Centre for Early Music, in Walmgate, at the Aesthetica Film Festival

Festival of the week: Aesthetica Film Festival, York, until tomorrow

IN its 16th year under the artistic directorship of Cherie Federico, Aesthetica Film Festival welcomes filmmakers, games developers and virtual reality experts from around the world. The five-day programme comprises screenings, VR & games labs, a podcasting lounge, industry masterclasses and workshops, networking sessions, live performances, pitching opportunities, the New Music Stage and much more. For the full programme and tickets, go to asff.co.uk.

Gareth Malone: Inviting you to Sing-A-Long-A-Gareth’s afternoon of movie songs

Instant choir of the week: Sing-A-Long-A-Gareth At The Movies, Grand Opera House, York, today, 4pm

LIGHTS, camera, sing! Choirmaster supreme Gareth Malone returns with a new tour show in an immersive celebration of the greatest songs from the movies and the joy of singing together. Please note, there is a maximum of ten tickets per household and seats in higher levels or with restricted views may not have full visibility of the on-stage screen. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

The Gipsy Kings by Andre Reyes: Championing flamenco music at the Grand Opera House, York

Flamenco gig of the week: The Gipsy Kings by Andre Reyes present Viva El Arie, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm

THE Gipsy Kings by André Reyes transcend musical borders with their flamenco music and rumba. Led by Gipsy Kings co-founder Andre Reyes, the family project combines the band’s original essence with a renewed energy.

Together with his son and nephews, Reyes still conquers the world’s most prestigious stages after three decades. His dedication celebrates the rich cultural heritage of the gypsy community while ensuring this music continues to resonate with new generations. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Ellie Mackenzie in a montage for Oddsocks Productions’ Motherhood

Maternal matters of the week: Oddsocks Productions in Motherhood, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm

REGULAR visitors to the JoRo, Matlock company Oddsocks Productions present an amusing and moving look at the bizarre and downright unbelievable aspects of raising children while running a family business in Motherhood. Actress and writer Elli Mackenzie explores the highs and lows, the frustrations and joys of being a working parent alongside her husband Andy, an orangutan and a giant woodlouse. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Laura Main as The Dresser and Jane Asher as The Queen in Daisy Goodwin’s play By Royal Appointment, on tour at York Theatre Royal

Regal drama of the week: By Royal Appointment, York Theatre Royal, November 10 to 14, 7.30pm plus 2pm Wednesday & Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

THE late Queen Elizabeth II had one way of expressing what she really thought –through her wardrobe. Daisy Goodwin’s funny, poignant and celebratory By Royal Appointment takes a behind-the-scenes peek into the world of our most popular monarch and the image she presented to the world.

Here, The Queen (played by Jane Asher) is uninterested in fashion. Instead, her look is managed by her Designer (David Robb), her Milliner (Matthew Cottle) and most powerful of all, her Dresser (Laura Main), a working-class girl who goes from advising Her Majesty on the colour of her lipsticks to the real power behind the throne. Like all royal favourites, however, the Dresser is living on borrowed time. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Michael Cornell, left, Laura Castle, Laura McKeller and Jamie McKeller in Neon Crypt’s production of 2:22 A Ghost Story at Theatre@41, Monkgate

Supernatural thriller of the week: Neon Crypt in 2:22 A Ghost Story, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, November 10 to 14, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

AFTER two visits to the Grand Opera House, Uncanny and The Battersea Poltergeist ghost storyteller Danny Robins’s West End smash 2:22 A Ghost Story falls into the welcoming hands of York spook specialists Neon Crypt, who will stage the modern-day horror show in traverse – with seating to either side of the stage – for the first time. “The audience are a part of the story. There is nowhere to escape,” forewarns director Jamie McKeller.

Jenny (Laura McKeller) believes her new home is haunted, but husband Sam (Jamie McKeller) is having none of it. They argue with their first dinner guests, old friend Lauren (Laura Castle) and new partner Ben (Michael Cornell). Can the dead really walk again? Belief and scepticism clash, but something feels strange and frightening, and ever closer, so they vow to stay up until 2:22am…and only then will they know. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/.

Chris Ramsey: Here, Man, in York on November 12 with the last few tickets still available

Comedy gig of the week: Chris Ramsey, Here, Man!, York Barbican, November 12, 7.30pm

IN response to overwhelming demand (mainly from wife Rosie who is desperate to get him out of the house), South Shields comedian and podcaster Chris Ramsey is on the road this month after selling out his March travels.

You may have seen him on TV on The Chris & Rosie Ramsey Show, Strictly Come Dancing and Taskmaster or presenting Children In Need or heard him co-hosting his weekly marital podcast, Shagged. Married. Annoyed, with the long-suffering Rosie. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

November 6, 2026November 6, 2026

REVIEW: Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company in Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, until tomorrow, ***1/2

Kit Stroud’s Edmund Swettenham, left, Katy Barrow’s Mitzi, Victoria Beale’s Mrs Swettenham, Catherine Edge’s Letitia Blacklock, Paul Betts’s Sergeant Mellors, Adam Kadow’s Inspector Craddock, Joy Warner’s Dora ‘Bunny’ Bunner, Oscar Langford’s Patrick Simmons, Jennifer Jones’s Julia Simmons, Em Sinclair’s Phillipa Haymes and, front, Julie Russell Wilson’s Miss Marple in Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced

A MURDER is announced and will take place on Friday, October the Thirteenth, at Little Paddocks at six thirty P.M. Friends, please accept this, the only intimation. So runs the public notice in the local newspaper, The Chipping Cleghorn Gazette.

You will find it on the programme cover for the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s latest fundraising production for the JoRo. A landmark show too, as this is the first Miss Marple mystery to be staged there.

“Not only am I a huge Agatha Christie fan, A Murder Is Announced is my favourite Miss Marple mystery and in my top three of all Agatha Christie’s stories,” enthuses director Alex Schofield in his programme note.

This is not the only first connected with this week’s production. Appearing as Miss Marple, Julie Russell Wilson is performing her first theatre role since returning to Yorkshire last year, while Adam Kadow is making his company debut – and Christie bow too – as “dry-humoured detective” Inspector Craddock.

They give the outstanding performances in Leslie Darbon’s adroit adaptation of a murder mystery with all the classic Christie features, in Schofield’s words: “a closed group of suspects; characters who may not be what they seem and plenty of red herrings.

“But importantly it also ‘plays fair’ and gives us, her audience, the opportunity to solve the mystery, which I invite you all to do.” A group lining the auditorium wall on Thursday was seeking to do just that, somewhat excitedly in the interval, prompting a gentleman nearby to ask them to desist as he did not want his own speculations to be influenced. Such is the abiding appeal of a Christie mystery.

When so much misery about Britain’s decline percolates the airwaves, what a delight to sit back and enjoy something as indestructible as Agatha Christie’s quintessentially British crime capers. This one has a country pad, stocked with a stoical family, a loud clock, two doors into the drawing room (one barred from opening) and a paranoid Hungarian housemaid (Katy Barrow’s delightfully scatty Mitzi).

Christie’s story assembles childhood friends, the haughty Letitia Blacklock (Catherine Edge) and often befuddled Dora “Bunny” Bunner (Joy Warner), the mischievous siblings Patrick (Oscar Langford) and Julia Simmons (Jennifer Jones) and a young widow, Phillipa Haymes (Em Sinclair).

Intrigued by the newspaper announcement, enter nosy neighbour Mrs Swettenham (Victoria Beale) and, clinging to her arm, her son, unpublished writer Edmund (Kit Stroud, magnetically drawn to the wall on each entry, perhaps to hide his incongruous man-bun).

Suddenly. Lights out. Three bullets. Torch light. One dead body (Paul Betts’s Rudi Scherz). One murder for Kadow’s wry, meticulously methodical, flamboyant Craddock or Wilson’s ever astute, under-the-radar amateur sleuth Miss Marple to crack. One case? Soon make that two, spoiler alert.

Schofield’s production is fast-moving fun, led by Kadow and Wilson’s terrific turns and precise diction, with the company nailing both the humour and deadly set-pieces in Darbon’s script. Chocolate cake, a taciturn village bobby and not every costume fitting well, what a vintage British visit to the amateur theatre unfolds.

Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company in Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tonight, 7.30pm (last few tickets); tomorrow, 2.30pm (sold out). Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

November 4, 2026November 6, 2026

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 45, from Gazette & Herald

Isabel Azar’s Clare in rehearsal for Black Treacle Theatre’s Poor Clare at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York. Picture: Jim Paterson

FROM the 16th Aesthetica Film Festival to a nocturnal ghost sculpture trail, Strictly stars after hours in Vegas to punk poet Dr John Cooper Clarke, Charles Hutchinson says yes to November events.

Life-changing story of the week: Black Treacle Theatre in Poor Clare, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

THE lives of the young St Clare and St Francis of Assisi are the subject of American playwright Chiara Atik’s comedy Poor Clare, presented in York for the first time by Black Treacle Theatre, directed by Jim Paterson.

Noblewoman Clare (Isabel Azar) is set for marriage to a rich aristocrat and a life of wealth and privilege in 13th century Assisi, but then she meets Francis (PJ Gregan), whose strong faith and commitment to rejecting the established order and serving the poor makes her look at her life in a new way. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Ghosts After Dark: Taking over York Museum Gardens for five nights from November 4

Sculpture trail of the week: York BID and York Museums Trust present Ghosts After Dark, York Museum Gardens, today to Sunday, 5.30pm to 9.30pm; timed entry slots until 8pm

AFTER the Ghosts In The Gardens free public art trail of 70 wire-mesh sculptures – including ten new ones – across 32 city-centre locations concluded last Sunday, Ghosts After Dark takes over for five atmospheric nights of nights of live storytelling, light, smoke and sound next week in the Museum Gardens, plus King’s Manor courtyard and Library Lawn, the Anglian Tower, Edible Wood, Artists’ Garden, St Olave’s churchyard and the area beside York Art Gallery.

Representing a fascinating person, creature or story connected to York’s history, each sculpture was made by York creative agency Unconventional Design. A new interactive experience and the inaugural night market will be further highlights of the 90-minute trail. Bookings: www.theyorkbid.com/ghosts-after-dark/.

Heading for the Aesthetica Film Festival in York

Festival of the week: Aesthetica Film Festival, York, today to Sunday

Strictly Come Dancing stars Pasha Kovalev, Brendan Cole, Vincent Simone, Ian Waite and James Jordan head to York Barbican in Legends in Vegas: After Hours. Picture: Ryan Howard

From Strictly to Sin City dance show of the week: The Legends in Vegas: After Hours, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm

THE Legends, alias Strictly alumnae Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite, reunite for a third tour, Vegas: After Hours, where the dance floor never sleeps as they bring the spirit of Sin City to life through breathtaking routines and nonstop entertainment, set to a soundtrack inspired by the greatest Las Vegas performers of all time.

Think neon lights and electric nights, roulette tables spinning, glamorous showgirls, dazzling casinos, desert sunsets, lavish pool parties, whirlwind weddings, iconic hotels and world-class entertainment, captured in dance. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Julie Russell Wilson’s Miss Marple, centre, leading the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company cast in Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced

Murder mystery of the week: Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company in Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

WHEN a mysterious announcement appears in the local newspaper, stating the date and time a murder will take place in a quiet village home, curiosity and disbelief turn quickly to alarm: it is chillingly clear that the threat is all too real.

What follows is a classic Agatha Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities and long-held secrets for the sharp-witted Miss Marple (Julie Russell Wilson) to unravel in Alex Schofield’s fundraising production in aid of the JoRo.

“Christie was a master of surprise who understood that audiences love being challenged,” says Schofield. “Then there’s the incredible premise. Someone reveals that a murder is going to take place, but not who the victim will be. From that moment on, anyone could be the victim and anyone could be the killer.

“There’s also something wonderful about hearing a collective gasp from the audience when their expectations have been turned upside down.”Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

An artwork from Kate Brown’s Among exhibition at Helmsley Arts Centre

Exhibition of the week: Kate Brown, Among, Helmsley Arts Centre, until February 26 2027

NORTH Yorkshire artist Kate Brown gathers new and existing works on paper that reflect on her engagement with place through lived experience, observation and making, “inviting a slower way of looking, encouraging reflection on our place within the environments we inhabit and the relationships that shape them”.

Using ink, pigment, copper leaf and natural materials, she creates layered compositions that evolve through an intuitive process of accumulation, erasure and response. Rather than depicting specific landscapes, the works emerge from direct encounters with the natural world and from the ongoing use of mind maps and rhizomatic diagrams as tools for thinking, connecting and understanding. Organic forms, shifting marks and delicate surfaces suggest patterns of growth, movement and relationship, alluding to seasonal change and the transient nature of experience.

Special guest Heather Findlay performing with the John Hackett Band

Ryedale gig of the week: John Hackett Band with special guest Heather Findlay, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

YORK singer-songwriter Heather Findlay will be the special guest of John Hackett Band, the prog-rock band led by Steve Hackett’s brother, whose second album, Red Institution, was released last year.

From Hackett’s pastoral flute textures, through the funky interplay between drummer Duncan Parsons and bassist Jeremy Richardson, to the intricacies of Nick Fletcher’s lead guitar, the group embraces pop, rock, jazz, classical, funk and all stops in-between, from tender ballads to hair-raising instrumental workouts. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Dr John Cooper Clarke: Showcasing new poetry collection Have It at the Grand Opera House, York

Punk poet of the week: Dr John Cooper Clarke, Grand Opera House, York, Friday, doors 7pm

SALFORD sage Dr John Cooper Clarke’s anarchic punk poetry and no-nonsense approach to his work has led to a career spanning cultures, art forms and continents, drawing audiences from clubs to arenas. On his 20-date tour, Cooper Clarke, 77, promotes his new collection, Have It, the follow-up to 2024’s What, as well as performing fan favourites with his trademark machine-gun delivery. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

The Shires’ Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes: Playing songs from Bonfire the night after Bonfire Night at York Barbican

Country gig of the week: The Shires, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm

BRITISH country duo The Shires – Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes – promote their sixth studio album, July 3’s Bonfire, on their 12-date UK tour, their first with a full band in four years. Expect new songs celebrating togetherness, escapism and positivity, complemented by fan favourites. Kaylee Bell supports. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Seann Walsh: Find out why “This Is Torture” at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Jiksaw

York comedy gig of the week: Seann Walsh, This Is Torture, York Theatre Royal, Friday, 8pm

I’M A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! 2022 series survivor Seann Walsh has decided to name his latest stand-up tour show after the phrase he says the most: “This Is Torture”. The dishevelled Camden comedian brings his signature blend of chaos and charm to York to put himself through an anxiety filled-hour. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Karl Bushby: The Man Who Walked The World

In Focus: Norwell Lapley Productions present Karl Busby: The Man Who Walked The World, York Theatre Royal, November 22, 6.30pm

KARL Bushby, the Yorkshireman who walked the world, will set out to York Theatre Royal from his Hull home on November 22 to tell his extraordinary story.

Adventurer Karl, now 57, set off from Punta Arenas, Chile, in 1998 with the almost unimaginable ambition of walking all the way home to East Yorkshire.

He made himself two promises: he would use no transport to advance his journey and he would not return home until he had completed the entire expedition on foot. After 28 years, he was welcomed home to Hull on November 2.

Along the way, Karl has crossed some of the world’s most hostile landscapes, faced life-threatening dangers and endured immense physical and psychological challenges, pushing himself to limits few could comprehend.

From navigating the perilous Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia, to tackling the frozen expanse of the Bering Strait, between Russian and Alaska, his journey is a remarkable testament to courage, resilience and the indomitable human spirit.

Now, York audiences are invited to step inside an adventure spanning continents, cultures and generations. Through first-hand storytelling, Karl will reveal the experiences behind the headlines: the moments when survival hung in the balance, the obstacles that threatened to derail his mission, the sacrifices demanded by a life on the move and the extraordinary determination that kept him heading towards home. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

October 17, 2026November 3, 2026

More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 42, from The York Press

In the spotlight: Frankie Bounds’ Jamie New, front, in York Stage’s Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

FROM added grit in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie to a piratical twist on The Comedy Of Errors, Brandon Flowers in full bloom at York Barbican to drag diva Velma Celli rocking out, Charles Hutchinson spots pearls aplenty.

Bold and unapologetic musical of the week: York Stage in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Grand Opera House, York, until October 24; 7.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday, plus 2.30pm Saturday matinees and 4pm Sunday

TOM MacRae and Dan Gillespie’s Sheffield musical plays the Grand Opera House for the first time in Nik Briggs’s production for York Stage that restores the grit to both complement and counter the glitz in the uplifting underdog story of Jamie New (Frankie Bounds), a 16-year-old schoolboy from a Steel City council estate with big dreams and the courage to stand out when it would be easier to stay quiet.

Equipped with the strength to face the world head on, Jamie fights prejudice, finds his voice and discovers the freedom of stepping into the spotlight on his own terms. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Amelia Bullmore’s Penelope comes face to face with Charlie Russell’s Odysseus in The Penelopiad. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography

Greek tragedy twist of the week: Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, Odyssey: Her Story, York Theatre Royal, until October 31

BOOKER Prize winner Margaret Atwood revisits Homer’s The Odyssey in an exuberantly irreverent and darkly humorous retelling where she gives voice to Odysseus’s silenced wife, Penelope – still awaiting his return 20 years after the Trojan War – and her chorus of maids in a tale of injustice, betrayal and revenge that exposes the truth behind the myth. Creative director Juliet Forster’s cast is led by Happy Valley and Riot Women star Amelia Bullmore. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Kristin Hersh: Queen of the alternative scene

Recommended but sold out already: An Evening With Kristin Hersh, National Centre for Early Music, York, tonight,7.30pm

OVER three decades, Atlanta, Georgia singer, songwriter and guitarist Kristin Hersh, 60, has been heralded queen of the alternative scene with Throwing Muses, 50Foot Wave and on her own, releasing her latest 12th solo album, Sugar On Blackstone, on Fire Records on September 18. Recorded at Stable Sound Studio in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, with Steve Rizzo, it features Rob Ahlers on drums and Pete Harvey on cello.

Since signing to Fire Records in 2018, the prolific Hersh has released tenth studio album Possible Dust Clouds, Throwing Muses’ Sun Racket in 2020, 50Foot Wave’s Black Pearl in 2022, her book Seeing Sideways in 2022 and self-produced 11th solo album, the cinematic road trip and personal vignettes of Clear Pond Road, in September 2023.

Velma Celli: Drag diva delights…including a tribute to Dolly Parton RIP

Drag delights of the week: The Velma Celli Show, with special guest Jessica Steel and guitarists Stuart Allan and Olly Chilton, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Sunday, 6pm

YORK vocal drag act deluxe and international cabaret superstar Velma Cell moves to a new location for her camp, spectacular song and comedy home-city performances. “My last two shows at York Theatre Royal – Snow Queen and Rock Queen – had been among my favourites, so this one will be a mixture of Snow Queen and Rock Queen and musical theatre material,” says Velma’s creator, actor and West End star Ian Stroughair.

“The first set will be musical theatre favourites, songs from my career in West End musicals – Cats, Fame, Chicago and Rent – and an homage to Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. In the second set we’ll rock out with York. There’ll be songs by David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Bryan Adams, Bonnie Tyler, Guns N’ Roses, Roxette, Alanis Morissette, Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game – and I’ll do a Dolly Parton section too. There has to be!” Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Imperial Classical Ballet in Swan Lake

Ballet of the week: Imperial Classical Ballet presents Swan Lake, York Barbican, October 19, 7.30pm

IMPERIAL Classical Ballet performs Swan Lake, the powerful tale of Princess Odette, cursed to live as a swan by day and a woman by night. When Prince Siegfried discovers her under the moonlight, he vows to break the spell, yet the evil sorcerer Rothbart and his daughter Odile plot a deception that threatens them both.

From the haunting beauty of the lakeside scenes to the electrifying Black Swan pas de deux, Swan Lake is a visual delight, performed to Tchaikovsky’s soaring score, played live by an orchestra. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Brandon Flowers: In full bloom at York Barbican. Picture: Chris Phelps

Gig of the week: Brandon Flowers, York Barbican, October 21, 7.30pm

THE Killers’ frontman, Brandon Flowers, plays York Barbican as the only Yorkshire venue on his nine-date UK and Ireland tour, promoting Thrasher, his third solo album and first since 2015, which peaked at number three on release in August.

Fans can look forward to hearing songs from Thrasher, played live for the first time, alongside highlights from his British chart-topping solo albums, 2010’s Flamingo and 2015’s The Desired Effect, as well as beloved tracks from The Killers’ catalogue. No support. Ticket update: Sold out; for returns only, go to https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/brandon-flowers.

Pirate reboot ahoy: York Shakespeare Project in The Comedy Of Errors. Picture: John Stead

Shakespeare shake-up of the week: York Shakespeare Project in The Comedy Of Errors, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 21 to 24, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

KATIE Leckey and Emily Carhart co-direct York Shakespeare Project in “ an exciting take on Shakespeare’s shortest and possibly funniest play”, giving a piratical, gender-swapping twist to The Comedy Of Errors in a convergence of the original text with slapstick, farce and physical comedy and a “celebration of relationships of many kinds, platonic, familial and romantic”.

“The morally questionable, yet still comedic, nature of many (if not all) of the characters put us in mind of some of our favourite piratical anti-heroes,” they say. “We felt like the framing device of piracy gave us the chance to include slapstick violence between ‘masters and servants’ in a way that wouldn’t seem too brutal or alien to a modern audience.” Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

The poster for the Amy Winehouse Band’s Back To Black 20th Anniversary Tour, visiting York Barbican

Going back to Back To Black: The Amy Winehouse Band, York Barbican, October 22, 7.30pm

AMY Winehouse’s original band, who played with her from the very start, are marking the 20th anniversary of her iconic second album, Back To Black, the one that brought her five awards at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Performing with Amy that evening, as these musicians had done since her earliest gigs in London pubs, was her band.

Led by Amy’s long-time musical director and bass player, Dale Davis, The Amy Winehouse Band features members who both toured and recorded with her throughout her career. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

A Fate Worse Than Death: Premiering at Everyman Harrogate on Thursday

In Focus: Film premiere of the week: A Fate Worse Than Death, Everyman Harrogate, Harrogate, October 22, 7.30pm

AFTER three years of production, Abraham Fieldsend will premiere his feature film A Fate Worse Than Death at Everyman Harrogate on Thursday.

Made in North and West Yorkshire for £12,000, this 70-minute psychological horror-drama was produced independently by Wayside Trinity, using primarily local cast, crew and locations.

Written by co-producers Zachary Fieldsend, Steve Jones-Robertson and Abraham Fieldsend, the story explores the effects of grief through a couple struggling to cope with the loss of their child. As the mother’s debilitating headaches intensify, they are forced to confront the possibility that the darkness consuming their home is more than grief alone.

A Fate Worse Than Death’s production team

“A bold title, a tragic story, a horrifying series of events, A Fate Worse Than Death promises to be a horror film of different forms, assaulting your comfort, scarring your emotions, and engaging your mind when the credits roll,” says Fieldsend. “Our first foray into the world of feature film-making will be sure to shock even the most hardened horror fans.”

The cast comprises Susan Fieldsend as Elizabeth; Lyndsey Craine, Doctor Kent; Jake Fireman, Group Therapy Speaker; Kay Gartland, Doctor Armstrong; Martin Turner, Keith; Evan “T-Rex” Singleton, Paramedic 1; Zachary Fieldsend, Paramedic 2; Natalie Fieldsend, Pyschologists’ Receptionist (voice); Neil Fieldsend, Unnamed Doctor; Mike Blackburn, The Figure and Burn Victim, and Matthew Chan, James’s Work Colleague.

Thursday’s running order will be: 7:30pm, complimentary drink on arrival; 8pm, short introduction in Screen 2; 8:15pm, film screening; 9.3pm, screening ends, followed by drinks and a chance to mingle in the bar area.

For more details, go to: https://www.everymancinema.com/venues-list/x0x9k-everyman-harrogate/.

The poster for A Fate Worse Than Death

October 9, 2026November 1, 2026

REVIEW: Pick Me Up Theatre in Noises Off, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, running riot farcically until tomorrow ****

Alexandra Mather’s Brooke Ashton, mezzanine level, left, Mark Simmonds’ Tim Allgood and Andrew Isherwood’s Garry Lejeune; Adrian Cook’s Frederick Fellowes, seated, Jessica Hardcastle’s Belinda Blair, Pearl Mollison’s Poppy Norton-Taylor and Helen Spencer’s Dotty Otley in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Noises Off. Picture: Matthew Warry

COMPANY founder, director and designer Robert Readman will sign off his directorial duties for York company Pick Me Up Theatre with Merrily We Roll Along at Theatre@41, Monkgate, next April.

First, however, this week’s production of Michael Frayn’s 1982 farce Noises Off is his last at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, where his distinctive laugh can be heard booming out at each performance, as if encountering Frayn’s fractious dialogue and comedic mayhem for the first time.

Your reviewer finds himself laughing almost as much as Readman, having last experienced Frayn’s play in its first-ever staging in the round, after 43 years, at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, as recently as August 2025.

Craig Kirby’s sozzled actor Selsdon Mowbray in the guise of The Burglar in Nothing On, the play-within-the-play in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Noises Off. Picture: Matthew Warry

Readman gives the design credit to Rich Musk in the programme, but the rotating stage has his fingerprints all over it, as it transitions from staging the dress rehearsal in Weston-super-Mare to showing a mid-tour Ashton-under-Lyne matinee performance of Nothing On, Frayn’s deliberately clunky, maladroit play-within-a-play from backstage, before spinning 180 degrees again for the even more calamitous last night in Stockton-on-Tees.

Musk/Readman delivers the classic stage for a farce: no fewer than seven malfunctioning and misbehaving doors on two floors of a commodious des-res where everything that could go wrong does go wrong both on and off stage.

Instant calmer: Alexandra Mather’s Brooke Ashton takes a breather in a yogic exercise in Noises Off. Picture: Matthew Warry

Rory Mulvihill’s exasperated, vainglorious director, the ever-thespian Lloyd Dallas, is at the helm of Nothing On, expecting his harassed technical team of Mark Simmonds’s dogsbody Tim Allgood and Pearl Mollison’s overworked stage manger Poppy Norton-Taylor to do his running for him.

Already distracted by his upcoming Richard III in Aberystwyth, Dallas strives against the tide to steer his cast of has-beens (Craig Kirby’s drunkard veteran Selsdon Mowbray and Helen Spencer’s tour-backing grandee Dotty Otley; touring plodders (Adrian Cook’s over-thinking, physically fragile Frederick Fellowes and Jessica Hardcastle’s unflappable Belinda Blair), and aspiring talents (Andrew Isherwood’s Garry Lejeune and Alexandra Mather’s company ingenue Brooke Ashton).

Craving a quick exit? Rory Mulvihill’s acerbic director, Lloyd Dallas, looking as frustrated as ever in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Noises Off. Picture: Matthew Warry

Frayn is in mischievous mood, with no room for pathos, as if throwing his own theatrical frustrations into the maelstrom of a warring company replete with the luvvies and the loveless, the boozer and the philanderer, the sex and drudgery and rollercoaster of fallouts in a claustrophobic world of fragile egos, frazzled minds, over-active bodies and a hopeless desire to somehow ensure the hapless show must go on.

Readman’s cast is crammed with supreme York talent, well drilled in ensemble commotion, topped off by Mulvihill’s veteran relish for a divisive director, Spencer’s persistent battles with plates of sardines, the outstanding Isherwood’s physical comedic prowess and boundlessly quizzical air and Mather’s ditziest of dizzy blondes.

Pick Me Up Theatre in Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, 7.30pm tonight; 2.30pm & 7.30pm tomorrow. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

No British farce would be complete without dropped trousers. Adrian Cook’s forlorn Frederick Fellowes obliges as Andrew Isherwood’s Garry Lejeune looks on in Noises Off. Picture: Matthew Warry

October 7, 2026October 9, 2026

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 41, from Gazette & Herald

Tracy-Ann Oberman’s Geri Essendine and Seb Carrington’s David Stillington in Present Laughter. Picture: Simon Annand

FROM classic Coward in Present Laughter to Frayn’s funniest farce, Noises Off, Alan Carr’s work in progress to Joe Jackson’s hope and fury, Charles Hutchinson piles up the good stuff for the week ahead.

Coward classic of the week: Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Augusta Productions present Present Laughter, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

TRACY-ANN Oberman stars as hugely successful actress Geri Essendine – who has been 39 for the best part of a decade – in Lindsay Posner’s new touring production of Noel Coward’s celebrated portrayal of the temptations and pitfalls of theatrical celebrity.

On the cusp of departing for a tour of Africa, Geri finds herself besieged by a bevy of would-be lovers, her long-suffering secretary, estranged husband and an obsessed young playwright. Will she ever disentangle herself from their tightening clutches and incessant demands? Then again, deep down, does she really want to? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Pick Me Up Theatre cast members Pearl Mollison, left, Craig Kirby, Alexandra Mather, Andrew Isherwood, Helen Spencer, Adrian Cook and Mark Simmonds, under the withering eye of Rory Mulvihill, right, director of the play-within-the-play in Michael Frayn’s Noises Off

Slamming doors, falling trousers and flying sardines of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Noises Off, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

MICHAEL Frayn’s backstage farce Noises Off takes a wicked look at the follies of theatre folk, whose susceptibility to out-of-control egos, memory loss and passionate affairs turns every performance into a high-risk adventure.

This play-within-a-play captures a touring theatre troupe’s production of Nothing On in three stages: dress rehearsal, the opening performance and a performance towards the end of a debilitating run. Robert Readman directs a stellar York cast of Helen Spencer, Andrew Isherwood, Alexandra Mather, Rory Mulvihill, Pearl Mollison, Mark Simmonds, Craig Kirby, Jessica Hardcastle and Adrian Cook. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Joe Jackson: Returning to York Barbican tonight

York gig of the week: Joe Jackson + Band, Hope And Fury Tour 2026, York Barbican, tonight, doors 7pm

JOE Jackson played York for only the second time at York Barbican on July 29 2022 as part of his Sing, You Sinners! Tour, having first shared a bill with Todd Rundgren and improvisational string quartet Ethel at the Grand Opera House in June 2005.

Now, the Portsmouth-raised singer, musician, songwriter, bandleader, producer, author and campaigner, 72, returns with his regular band to perform work from throughout his career and to showcase his 23rd studio album Hope And Fury, released in April. Conner Youngblood supports. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Screening accompanied by live orchestra

Visual journey of the week: Avatar: The Last Airbender In Concert, 20th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, tomorrow, 7.30pm

The 20th Anniversary Tour of Avatar: The Last Airbender In Concert combines a live orchestral performance with a two-hour visual journey through fan-favourite moments from the animated series, shown on a full-size cinema screen.

This special edition features new surprises, inviting fans to experience the story in a new light. Original dialogue and sound effects remain intact, while Emmy Award-winning composer Jeremy Zuckerman’s score is performed live, synchronised with the visuals. From taiko and erhu to strings and clarinets, the orchestra brings every moment to life, immersing you in the elemental world of Aang, Katara, Toph, Zuko and the rest of Team Avatar. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

An artwork by Angela Hall from the York Created exhibition at Pyramid Gallery, York

York exhibition of the week: York Created: Paint-Clay-Print-Collage From The Heart Of The City, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, until November 14

YORK Created: Paint-Clay-Print-Collage From The Heart Of The City features a “collection of talented artists from across our fair city”. “Some have exhibited with us before, others are new to us,” says Pyramid Gallery manager Fiona Macfarlane. “All the works are for sale.”

Taking part are potters Danny Aitkin, Chiu-i Wu, Loretta Braganza, Ben Arnup, Emily Stubbs, Jessica Jenyns and Ruth King, painters Rory Barke, Carolyn Coles, Jill Tattersall, Ric Liptrot, Lesley Birch, Mick Leach, Lesley Shaw and Angela Hall and stained glass artist Helen Bower. Opening hours are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

Tom Carradine & Lili Redman: Wartime music, merriment and memories at Kirk Theatre, Pickering

Festival of the week: Pickering 1940s Weekend, V For Victory, Johnny Victory, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Friday, 7.30pm; Tom Carradine’s Wartime Songbook , Sunday, 7.30pm

JOHNNY Victory opens the Pickering 1940s weekend on Friday by heading back to the good old days to guide singalongs of vintage songs that helped to keep wartime morale high and brought us together. Johnny combines songs from music hall days, 1920s, 1930s and 1940s’ wartime hits and show tunes with a warm, cheeky humour.

On Sunday, moustachioed maestro Tom Carradine leads a joyous, toe-tapping celebration of the songs that kept Great Britain smiling through two World Wars in a nostalgic show packed with rousing classics, history, humour and stories behind the songs, such as the tragic tale of the Powell brothers who wrote Pack Up Your Troubles. Joining Tom will be cabaret songbird Lili Redman, his podcast co-host of The A To Z Of Wartime Song, to perform Gracie Fields, Vera Lynn and deliciously cheeky numbers. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

Victoria Firth in Batty!: Exploration of “the wildness – as opposed to madness – of women” at Helmsley Arts Centre

Alternative coming-of-age story of the week: Victoria Firth in Batty!, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

WRITTEN and performed by Victoria Firth and directed by Natasha Holmes, Batty! is the story of a woman who fears she might be a witch: an ordinary woman stuck with an extraordinary shape-shifting companion, a wild thing. This curious twosome shares a disintegrating cottage in a forest on the cusp of another world that lies beyond responsibilities and social norms and where myths and magic are real.

Featuring an original soundscape and live song, Batty! combines “the intimacy of private conversations, raucous stories, snorting humour, gay abandon and exquisite tenderness” in its exploration of “the wildness – as opposed to madness – of women and how our feral side can reconnect us to ourselves and our environment”. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Celya AB: Saturday Night Live UK writer on stage at Theatre@41

How to break free from shame, as advised by: Celya AB, We Must Stop Meeting Like This, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 8pm

HAVE you ever forensically over-thought your life choices? Are they all somehow connected to a passing comment your Spanish teacher made when you were 15? Has it made an impact on everything from your love life to your career? Stand-up comedian and Saturday Night Live UK writer Celya AB’s new show focuses on breaking free from shame and what ensues when you do. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/.

The Paul Simon Songbook, performed by Alastair James and his seven-piece band at Helmsley Arts Centre

Tribute gig of the week: The Paul Simon Songbook, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

ALASTAIR James and his seven-piece band highlight the carefully crafted arrangements inspired by Paul Simon’s most iconic live and studio performances, featuring renditions of Mrs Robinson, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Scarborough Fair, Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover, Still Crazy After All These Years, Late In The Evening, You Can Call Me Al and Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Brodsky Quartet: Playing chamber concert at Helmsley Arts Centre on Sunday

Classical concert of the week: Brodsky Quartet, Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 2.30pm

SINCE forming in 1972 as the Cleveland Quartet in Middlesbrough, the Brodsky Quartet has performed more than 3,000 chamber music concerts on the major stages of the world and released 70-plus recordings.

The quartet’s name is taken from the Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky, himself a passionate chamber musician, and the 2026 line-up comprises Krysia Osostowicz and Ian Belton, violins, Paul Cassidy, viola, and Jacqueline Thomas, cello. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Alan Carr: Testing out new material in two gigs in one day at Pocklington Arts Centre

Comedy gigs of the week: Alan Carr, Work In Progress, Pocklington Arts Centre, Sunday, 3pm and 7.30pm

THE Celebrity Traitors 2026 winner, comedian, television presenter and quiz host Alan Carr is heading to Pocklington Arts Centre for a brace of “very special work-in-progress shows” ahead of his Have I Said Too Much? tour, when he will play York Barbican on March 13 2027. Box office: Pocklington, pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; York, yorkbarbican.co.uk.

October 6, 2026October 9, 2026

Seasoned actor Rory Mulvihill makes directorial hot seat even hotter as egotistical Lloyd Dallas in Noises Off

Rory Mulvihill’s Lloyd Dallas, right, casts his dyspeptic directorial eye over his cast for Nothing On, the play-within-the-play in Michael Frayn’s farce Noises Off: Pearl Mollison’s Poppy Norton-Taylor, left, Craig Kirby’s Selsdon Mowbray, Alexandra Mather’s Brooke Ashton, Andrew Isherwood’s Garry Lejeune, Helen Spencer’s Dotty Otley, Adrian Cook’s Frederick Fellowes and Mark Simmonds’ Tim Allgood

MICHAEL Frayn first had the notion to write his play-within-a-play Noises Off while observing his play The Two Of Us from the wings.

A one-act version, Exits, entered the stage in 1977, to be followed by the three-act full-fat farce in February 1982 at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London, that has never exited ever since.

Now, this week’s Pick Me Up Theatre production will be company founder Robert Readman’s last as director at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, where he has assembled the peachiest of York casts.

Step forward Helen Spencer, Andrew Isherwood, Alexandra Mather, Rory Mulvihill, Pearl Mollison, Mark Simmonds, Craig Kirby, Jessica Hardcastle and Adrian Cook from tonight (6/10/2026) to Saturday.

“Noises Off takes a wicked look at the follies of theatre folk, whose susceptibility to out-of-control egos, memory loss and passionate affairs turn every performance into a high-risk adventure,” says Robert.

“This play-within-a-play captures a touring theatre troupe’s production of Nothing On in three stages: dress rehearsal, the opening performance and a performance towards the end of a debilitating run.”

Robert continues: “Frayn gives us a window into the inner workings of theatre behind the scenes, progressing from flubbed lines and missed cues in the dress rehearsal to mounting friction between cast members in the final performance.

“Noises Off has a great attraction to the public, but it has even more so to actors, who crave playing Frayn’s roles,” says Rory Mulvihill

“Brimming with slapstick comedy, Noises Off is a delightful backstage farce, complete with slamming doors, falling trousers and –of course – sardines.”

Taking the role of Lloyd Dallas, the sarcastic, condescending, egotistical, exasperated, temperamental director of Nothing On, is veteran York actor and erstwhile Leeds solicitor Rory Mulvihill, who turned 70 in June.

“I actually saw Noises Off in the early 1980s, very soon after it first came out, and I was absolutely blown away by it,” he recalls.

“It spoke to me as someone who performs in shows how particular actors react to things going wrong on stage.

“I particularly remember the dizzy blonde character Brooke Ashton (to be played this week by Alexandra Mather), one of those actors who knows she has certain lines to say in a certain order, and whatever happens, she will get them out in that order.

“Noises Off has a great attraction to the public, but it has even more so to actors, who crave playing Frayn’s roles.”

Relishing his latest role, Rory says: “The great thing about my part is that I’m able to reproduce some of the characteristics of the directors I’ve worked with – and Frayn has done that too of course.

Rory Mulvihill’s director, Lloyd Dallas, seeking urgent lubrication as matters off stage start to overwhelm his already catastrophic production of Nothing On in Michael Frayn’s farce Noises Off. Picture: Matthew Warry

“I don’t normally get involved in ‘back stories’, but Frayn has done a spoof biography of each character, and so you get enough clues from his writing in the play and the biog that Lloyd Dallas is a failed director who clearly thinks he’s better than he is. He has a very high opinion of himself.

“He’s a bully, bullying everyone, particularly the gofer, Tim Allgood, [the overworked, exhausted, and easily flustered stage manager, played by Mark Simmonds from tonight], but they all take it, all under that veneer of ‘camp theatre speak’!

“One hundred per cent you play Lloyd ‘up’. How else could you play it? I don’t think it’s possible to play him ‘down’. You couldn’t do it deadpan.”

Noises Off may be 44 years old, but its home truths of the acting world resonant as deeply as ever. “The only way you know it’s a period piece is some of its references, such as to the Queen Mother, and the lack of modern technology, but otherwise it’s timeless. However, I have grown a moustache and sideburns – my partner loathes them! – to be more in keeping with the period,” says Rory. “Fashion-wise it’s a period piece but the humour feels contemporary.”

Describing Frayn’s comedic style, Rory says: “It’s 100 per cent grounded in things he has observed – like [Alan] Ayckbourn too. Their genius is to take what they see and turn it into dialogue, like comedians do, reproducing it in a way that’s funny to the audience.

“What differs from Ayckbourn is how there’s no pathos in Noises Off. In Ayckbourn’s plays, it’s always there somewhere. It’s the same with Alan Bennett – I was lucky enough to do Chip In The Sugar, which was both hilarious and emotionally draining at the same time.”

Should you be wondering if one particular director has had an impact on Rory’s portrayal of Lloyd Dallas, he says: “I did over 40 shows with [the late] Bev Jones – and Lloyd is like him in saying ‘love’ and ‘honey’ – but unlike Lloyd, it was lovely to work with him!”

Pick Me Up Theatre in Noises Off, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, October 6 to 10, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Pick Me Up Theatre’s poster for this week’s production of Michael Frayn’s theatrical farce Noises Off

October 3, 2026October 7, 2026

More Things To Do in York and beyond unlocked secret spaces & hidden places. Hutch’s List No. 40, from The York Press

Angela Hall’s artwork from York Created at Pyramid Gallery

FROM classic Coward in Present Laughter to Frayn’s finest farce, Noises Off, York’s unlocked buildings to Joe Jackson’s hope and fury, Charles Hutchinson piles up the good stuff for the week ahead.

Exhibition opening of the week: York Created: Paint-Clay-Print-Collage From The Heart Of The City, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, until November 14

Dennis Rollins: Delivering Funky-Funk! to YorkJazzFest’s Bishopthorpe Road Car park Finale tomorrow

Festival of the week: YorkJazzFest, today and tomorrow

TODAY, Beppe Lombardo’s inaugural YorkJazzFest features: 6pm, Flowerden, The Winning Post; 6pm, Mutant DJ Jazz, Angel On The Green; 6.30pm, Emma Foulds Quintet, York Arts Barge; 7pm, SwanNek, Young Thugs Studios; 8.30pm, Al Morrison Quartet, The Winning Post; 8.30pm, Olivia Cuttill, York Arts Barge; 9pm, Borgia, Angel On The Green, and 9pm, Lovedancin’ DJ, Young Thugs Studios. For tickets, go to: yorkjazzfestival.com.

Tomorrow, the Bishopthorpe Road Car Park Finale runs from midday with free entry and no ticket required. On the bill are: 12 noon, YorkJazzFest Orchestra; 1pm, Vipertime; 2.15pm, Big Bamboo; 4.15pm, Fergus Quill Sextet, and 6pm, Dennis Rollins’ Funky-Funk! Ian Chalk concludes the event at The Phoenix Inn at 8pm; free entry.

Federico Pendenza: Two world premieres at this afternoon’s York Late Music concert

Season finale of the week: York Late Music presents Federico Pendenza, Folk Roots To Classical Form, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviouragte, York, today, 1pm

UNIVERSITY of York guitarist Federico Pendenza concludes York Late Music’s concert season with Folk Roots To Classical Form, featuring William Walton’s only piece written for guitar (following a persuasive word from Julian Bream!), two intimate pieces by the “Chopin of the guitar”, Agustín Barrios, and two world premieres, Macey Collins’s Impressions Of Tension and Noor Hingorani’s Pomegranates On My Altar, which draws on the Persian Sofreh wedding ceremony, where pomegranates represent joy, passion and strength. Box office: latemusic.org/federico-pendoza-guitar or on the door.

York Unlocked: Unlocking York’s significant, hidden and secret buildings

Free discoveries of the week: York Unlocked, today and tomorrow

YORK Unlocked opens York’s most interesting, significant, even hidden and secret buildings to the public completely for free, although some buildings require free pre-booked tickets. This weekend’s festival enables residents and visitors alike to see York in a new way and aims to educate and inspire a love of architecture this weekend. To download the full programme, go to: https://www.york-unlocked.org.uk/_files/ugd/972e50_ba8593730b26433e8b060829ff5bd5ac.pdf.

Michael Shafar: Headlining Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club at The Basement

Comedy gigs of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, today, 4pm and 8pm

LAUGH Out Loud promoter Damion Larkin has added an extra show at 4pm in response to ticket demand for tonight’s 8pm bill of Michael Shafar, Ant Dewson, Mike Carter and Gary Jennison.

Former lawyer Shafar left Australia to ply his comedy trade over here. Dewson is a comedian, mediocre piano player and singer of silly songs, many of them rude. Carter covers everything from living with your nan in your 30s to the realities of engaging in “kinky stuff” when you have a coordination disorder. Jennison promises dance-offs, game shows, magic and unbridled chaos. Box office: lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.

Brian Bilston: Poetic words at Milton Rooms, Malton

Poet of the week: Brian Bilston, How To Lay An Egg With A Horse Inside, Milton Rooms, Malton, tomorrow, 7.30pm

BRIAN Bilston, a poet with more than 500,000 followers on social media, returns to the stage this autumn with his latest book, How To Lay An Egg With A Horse Inside, as he takes a journey through the hows, whys and whats of reading, writing and enjoying poetry every day.

Bilston has published such collections as You Took The Last Bus Home, Alexa, What Is There To Know About Love? and Days Like These, along with debut novel Diary Of A Somebody, poetry for younger readers and his 2025 album of poetry set to music, Sounds Made By Humans, recorded with The Catenary Wires. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Tracy-Ann Oberman’s Geri Essendine and Seb Carrington’s David Stillington in Present Laughter. Picture: Simon Annand

Coward classic of the week: Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Augusta Productions present Present Laughter, Grand Opera House, York, October 6 to 10, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

Slamming doors, falling trousers and flying sardines of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Noises Off, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, October 6 to 10, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

Joe Jackson: Returning to York Barbican

Gig of the week: Joe Jackson + Band, Hope And Fury Tour 2026, York Barbican, October 7, doors 7pm

Acosta Danza in Andonis Foniadakis’s new work Pearls. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick

In Focus: Carlos Acosta’s Acosta Danza in Cuban Baroque, York Theatre Royal, October 3, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

IN this new double bill from Acosta Danza, the lush artistry of the Baroque period intersects with the energy, creativity and vibrancy of Cuban dance. Emerging from the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the creative movement was characterised by deep colour, elaborate detail and intricate decoration.

Produced by Valid Productions in collaboration with York Theatre Royal, Cuban Baroque opens with the world premiere of Andonis Foniadakis’s new work Pearls, a journey to the rhythmic heart of Baroque, followed by choreographer and set designer Goyo Montero’s 2011 work Chacona.

Artistic director Carlos Acosta says: “I am very excited about this programme which will encapsulate the essence of Acosta Danza, fusing as it will, classical, Cuban and contemporary vocabularies and styles.

“I am, of course, a big fan of both choreographers and am delighted that Andonis will create a brand-new piece on my dancers. I look forward to seeing how that develops over the coming months.

“The flavour of the evening is summarised neatly by the title Cuban Baroque, but essentially this is a programme that anyone interested in any kind of dance can enjoy. I look forward, as always, to seeing how audiences react to the atmosphere this programme will create at its premiere in our first-ever visit to the wonderful York Theatre Royal.”

Acosta Danza in Goyo Montero’s 2011 work Chacona at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick

Theatre Royal chief executive Paul Crewes says: “It is truly wonderful that York audiences will be the first to experience this phenomenally exciting dance programme on our stage and we are really looking forward to working in collaboration with Carlos Acosta and his company on the show.”

Set to Esteban Sallas’s Salve Regina, the work explores the classic chaconne-looping structure that circles through phases of acceleration, fracture and rebound. As the score shifts from Baroque lyricism toward Cuban drive, Foniadakis showcases the fusion between memory and contemporary.

Andonis Foniadakis says: “The piece is being built as a chaconne in the broadest sense: a looping architecture that keeps circling back to the same theme like a mantra, each return opening a new variation in colour, density and impulse.

Cuban rhythmic principles will seep into the texture (clave, layered pulses, dance-derived momentum) and begin to tilt the baroque theme from within — bringing Sallas’s music fully into the present.

“In this dialogue, contrast becomes fusion: baroque memory meets Cuban propulsion; choral breath meets percussive drive; live sound meets a discreet electronic halo — shaping a single energetic trajectory that stays clear, intense, and emotionally resonant.”

Acosta Danza in Goyo Montero’s Chacona. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick

Closing the 1hr 20 min programme is Goyo Montero’s powerful Chacona, a piece that originally was created for the Staatstheater Nürnberg Ballett during Montero’s 17-year tenure as director. Chacona is the final movement of Bach’s masterwork Partita No.2 in D Minor for violin, accompanied in this performance by guitar and piano. Physically and musically demanding, classical in sound and contemporary in heart, it requires total cohesion from the ensemble of 16 dancers.

Goyo Montero says: “This is going to be my fourth collaboration with Acosta Danza since 2015. To bring this work to them and adapt it to their fearless and exceptional dancers is something I am looking forward to very much. To restage this early work and revisit it for them will develop the work further and keep it alive, relevant and ever changing, a choreographer’s dream!”

In addition, Acosta Danza will hold an Open Class today (3/10/2026) at 10am on the Theatre Royal stage in an exclusive opportunity to watch how the dancers warm up and prepare ahead of a performance. This non-participatory event is open to all ages.

The York Theatre Royal premiere of Cuban Baroque will be followed by performances at Sadler’s Wells in London and Norwich Theatre Royal with further 2027 dates to be added. Box office for shows and Open Class: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Did you know?

ACOSTA Danza performed Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana at the Grand Opera House, York, in January 2026.

Acosta Danza in Pearls at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick

September 25, 2026November 5, 2026

Velma Celli finds two new homes in York for drag diva delights at JoRo and Silver Spur

Velma Celli: Heading to Joseph Rowntree Theatre on October 18

YORK vocal drag act deluxe and international multi-award winning cabaret superstar Velma Cell is on the move to a new location for her camp, spectacular song and comedy home-city shows.

“My first ever show with a dance solo as a kid was at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, so I thought it would be fun to go back there,” says Velma’s creator, actor and West End star Ian Stroughair, who will be presenting The Velma Celli Show at the JoRo on October 18 with special guest Jessica Steel and guitarists Stuart Allan and Olly Chilton.

“My last two shows at York Theatre Royal – Snow Queen and Rock Queen – had been among my favourites, so next month’s show will be a mixture of Snow Queen and Rock Queen and musical theatre material.”

Ian continues: “The first set will be musical theatre favourites, songs from my career in West End musicals – Cats, Fame, Chicago and Rent – and an homage to Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. In the second set we’ll rock out with York. There’ll be songs by David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Bryan Adams, Bonnie Tyler…

Velma Celli and special guest Jessica Steel

“I was supposed to be doing a cruise show with Bonnie, but that couldn’t happen [after her passing in July].”

Velma Celli’s rock repertoire also will take in Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine, rock songs re-imagined as power ballads and a rock revamp of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game. “There’ll be some Roxette, some Alanis Morissette, possibly Ironic, from Jagged Little Pill, which has to be one of the greatest albums ever. I’ll probably do the Alanis number as a duet with Jessica.”

October 18’s audience should expect one more ingredient. “There’ll be a Dolly Parton section too – there has to be,” says Ian.

Velma Celli has another October engagement in the diary, appearing as the master of ceremonies at the Yorktoberfest Beer Festival for the sixth successive year, this time in its new Big Top tent in the Clocktower Enclosure at York Racecourse on October 16, 17, 23 and 24.

In the pink: Velma Celli launching Country Drag Brunch at Silver Spur Saloon Bar tomorrow

“I’ll be doing six appearances,” says Ian. “I’m going to be in butch German lesbian mode as usual, singing my hit song Das Ist Gut, Ja! There’ll be plenty of sausage, lots of audience participation, and of course alcohol – and we’ll be joined by a fabulous oompah band, The Bavarian Strollers, to fill in the gaps between me.”

Velma, the only drag queen to appear in both EastEnders and Coronation Street, has found another new home too, switching the Bottomless Drag Brunch from Impossible York to The Silver Spur, the Nashville-inspired, cowboy-themed saloon bar and restaurant in Bridge Street. “We’re going country, rock, pop and bottomless [drinks], with food and Velma in pink,” says Ian, whose first brunch with a country & western theme will be at 1pm to 3pm tomorrow (26/9/2026).

“I hosted a show at the O2 in London in June last year for Flight Centre, the travel agents, with a Day-Glo Rodeo theme, so I learned a lot of country material for that. Now country music is really in, here in York, with the opening of the Silver Spur, followed by Ruby Rae’s Bar.

“Dolly Parton’s songs will be heavily featured, along with Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, Kelly Clarkson, Beyonce’s country songs and Miley Cyrus.”

The Velma Celli Show, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, October 18, 6pm. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk. Yorktoberfest, yorktoberfest.co.uk/entertainment. Country Drag Brunch with Velma Celli, Silver Spur Saloon Bar, York, tomorrow, 1pm to 3pm; silver-spur.co.uk.

September 2, 2026September 8, 2026

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 36, from Gazette & Herald

Jared More, left, and Matthew Rutherford in Riding Lights Theatre Company’s The Selfish Giant

A GIANT in a garden, Wendy turning piratical in a re-imagined Peter Pan, a slapstick take on The Three Musketeers and an enlightening Helmsley exhibition are among Charles Hutchinson’s highlights in the week ahead.

Inspirational tale of love and generosity of the week: Riding Lights Theatre Company in The Selfish Giant, Friargate Theatre, Lower Friargate, York, until Saturday, 1.30pm and 4.30pm

STEP into the magical world of the Giant’s garden, a place full of music, beauty, bird song and stories in Jon Boustead’s stage adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant. The Giant, however, is cross when he returns to find children – children! – playing happily in his beautiful orchard, whereupon he erects a big wall to put a stop to all the fun.

Once winter seizes the garden in its icy fingers, will summer ever return? Through storytelling, interactive games, live music and puppetry, York company Riding Lights presents a 50-minute play for family audiences. Box office: 01904 613000 or friargatetheatre.co.uk. Age recommendation: Three upwards.

York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s cast in Wendy & Peter Pan. Picture: James Drury

Neverland revamped: York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre in Wendy & Peter Pan, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow to Saturday, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee

YORK Theatre Royal Youth Theatre returns to the Main House stage for the first time since 2019 for 46 performers, aged eight to 19, to present Ella Hickson’s feminist take on J M Barrie’s Peter Pan in Lydia Crosland and Sophie-Jade Howell’s large-scale production.

A quiet sadness permeates the Darling household, until the unexpected arrival of a mischievous young boy called Peter and a rather sassy fairy, Tink, whereupon Wendy leads the rebellious lost boys, takes on the terrifying Captain Hook, finds the key to her parents’ lost happiness and discovers the power of being brave and strong. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

The poster for Romantics, Mystics and Revolutionaries

Spoken-word gig of the week: Say Owt presents Romantics, Mystics and Revolutionaries by Pete the Temp, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm

POET, author and comic Pete the Temp’s Romantics, Mystics and Revolutionaries is a spoken-word show about rebellion, resistance and wild imagination. The 1800s’ Romantic movement began as a rebellion: against empire, industry and the mechanisation of the soul. Yorkshire became the epicentre of its rebellion.

Tomorrow’s storytelling stage show fuses scholarship with music, comedy and poetry in a spellbinding history of riot, repression and psychedelic experimentation. As we face this age of despair, find out what we can learn from past dreams of freedom and renewal. Bangladeshi-Geordie spoken-word poet and creative practitioner Tahmina Ali supports with her explorations of identity, belonging, motherhood, mental health and cultural inheritance, viewed through a distinctly northern lens. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Our Star Theatre Company: Whirlwind of confusion, mayhem and comical mishaps in The Three Musketeers

Slapstick silliness of the week: Our Star Theatre Company in The Three Musketeers, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Friday, 7.30pm

OUR Star Theatre Company’s re-telling of The Three Musketeers is packed with humour, audience participation and energetically silly turns as a small troupe of performers gears up for its debut performance of Alexandre Dumas’s story.

However, what starts as a simple theatrical endeavour soon unravels into a whirlwind of confusion, mayhem and comical mishaps. From forgotten lines to chaotic set changes, the actors become entangled in a series of blunders. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

York actress Frances Marshall in rehearsal for Alan Ayckbourn’s The Trial Of Romeo Oscar. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Premiere of the week: Alan Ayckbourn’s The Trial Of Romeo Oscar, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Friday to October 4

ALAN Ayckbourn’s 92nd play is his first courtroom drama, one set in the future, as he explores the question that artists have been asking for centuries: what makes us human?

In 2194, humanity is scattered around the solar system and day-to-day life on Earth looks very different. Preparations are underway for a landmark legal case. Romeo Oscar, a military issue android, is on trial for murder: the first non-human to be tried in a court of law. The evidence is polarising and selecting an impartial jury is proving a challenge. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

See the world more curiously in: Be Like Blippi, York Barbican, Saturday, 1pm and 4pm

JOIN Blippi and Meekah for a one-of-a-kind interactive adventure that inspires children to move, play and explore like Blippi in a new show packed with high-energy music and surprises, featuring fan favourites The Excavator Song, Monster Truck, Dino Dance and Curious Like Me.

Equipped with Blippi’s signature mix of play, learning, and exploration, Be Like Blippi invites you to break out your orange Blippi glasses and ignite your spark of curiosity. Please note, Blippi and Meekah will be played by professional stage performers. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

The Illegal Eagles: Checking into the Hotel California at York Barbican

Tribute gig of the week: The Illegal Eagles, Hotel California Tour, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm

THE Illegal Eagles mark 30 years on the road in 2026 with their new Hotel California Tour. Renowned for their vocal and guitar prowess and ability to re-create the legendary sound of the Eagles, the tribute act’s milestone itinerary features a full performance of the iconic Hotel California album, featuring Life In The Fast Lane, New Kid in Town and the unforgettable title track. Expect all the timeless Eagles greatest hits too. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Robert Dutton & Andrew Moodie: Launching Into The Light exhibition at Helmsley Arts Centre

Exhibition of the week: Robert Dutton & Andrew Moodie, Into The Light, Helmsley Arts Centre, September 8 to 30

THIS exhibition presents landscapes that evoke a strong affinity for different reasons. Dramatic mountainous terrain, breathtaking moorland landscapes and coastal sea sand and communities all have their place.

“We hope that Into the Light may extend beyond the artwork to suggest a sense of optimism, moving from darkness to light, in a sometimes troubled world,” say artists Robert Dutton and Andrew Moodie. “The paintings are presented both to inspire you and also to bring you that same sense of awe and wonder with nature that we felt as we painted them, enjoying the unique quality of the light that led us to each location.”

Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl, left, Jackie Cox’s Jan, Nicki Clay’s Shelley and Gemma McDonald’s Linda in MARMiTE Theatre’s Ladies Day. Picture: Lucy Baines

Racing romp of the week: MARMiTE Theatre in Ladies Day, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 8 to 12, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

LIFE is one long slog for four fish factory packers from Hull, Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda, but their fortunes could change when they head to Knavesmire on the day Royal Ascot came to York in 2005.

Factory hairnets make way for fascinators as the friends hit the racecourse for an unforgettable day out. Secrets are spilled, along with copious amounts of champagne, as their friendships are tested to the limits in Martyn Hunter’s s production of Amanda Whittington’s comedy gem. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/

Louisa Ashdown in the rehearsal room for Hephaestus Theatre’s Richard iii Redux

Introducing: Hephaestus Theatre in Richard iii Redux, The Basement, City Screen Playhouse, York, September 10, 7.30pm

UNIVERSITY of York theatre graduates Eleanor Doig (producer) and Louisa Ashdown (director and performer) introduce new York company Hephaestus Theatre in Kaite O’Reilly and Phillip Zarrilli’s dark comedy Richard iii Redux.

The company’s mission is to tell disabled stories and put disabled and neuro-diverse actors on stage and behind the scenes, this time with Ashdown playing The Actor opposite Georgina Way’s Presenter (on film) in a journey to find who the real Richard iii was while exploring the challenges of being a disabled actor. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.