Tag: Kirk Theatre Pickering

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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.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 40, from Gazette & Herald

Bread & Circuses, by Sarah Hall Baqai, from her exhibition at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York

FROM the terrors of Paranormal Activity to circus art, York’s four-day jazz festival to Brian Bilston’s egg-laying poetry, Charles Hutchinson looks ahead to October cultural opportunities.

Exhibition opening of the week: Sarah Hall Baqai, Bread & Circuses, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, until November 19

YORK artist Sarah Hall Baqai’s new collection of artworks has the theme of Bread & Circuses, a phrase taken from Roman poet Juvenal’s work Satire X, written in 100AD. In a nutshell, “give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt”, on account of being distracted.

Distraction does not come brighter and more entertaining visually than Sarah’s paintings inspired by life behind the scenes at the circus (from her work with Gifford’s Circus and Fools Delight Circus at Ham Court, Bampton), complemented by lettering and graphic work celebrating York Minster and willow lanterns in the shape of jugglers’ sticks.

James Bye’s James arms himself with a baseball bat in Paranormal Activity. Picture: Credit: Johan Persson

Psychological thriller of the week: Paranormal Activity, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

IN a new story inspired by the worldwide horror phenomenon, Paranormal Activity is directed by immersive theatre pioneer and Punchdrunk artistic director Felix Barrett and written by Levi Holloway, the playwright behind Broadway hit Grey House.

When James (James Bye) and Lou (Hannah Sinclair Robinson) move from Chicago to London to escape their past, soon they discover that places are not haunted, but people are. Can you hold your nerve in the face of this chilling production on its first British and Irish tour? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Roham Bayat’s poster for the inaugural YorkJazzFest

Festival of the week: YorkJazzFest, tomorrow to Sunday

BEPPE Lombardo, soprano saxophone player in his Italian teenage days and supremo of Trinicria Sicilian Ristorante in Bishopthorpe Road for 15 years, is running the inaugural YorkJazzFest with funding from York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Mayor David Skaith.

Angel On The Green, York Arts Barge, Young Thugs Studio, the Phoenix Inn and The Winning Post play host to concerts on the first three days, culminating in the Bishopthorpe Road Car Park Finale on Sunday, topped off by sets by Dennis Rollins’ Funky-Funk and Ian Chalk. For full listings and tickets, go to: yorkjazzfestival.com.

Masked up: Pop Yer Clogs Theatre in Doctor Faustus. Picture supplied

Devil in the detail of the week: Pop Yer Clogs Theatre in Doctor Faustus, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York , tomorrow to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

YORK company Pop Yer Clogs Theatre delivers a devilishly clever new twist on Doctor Faustus, placing a woman, Doctor Joan Faustus, at the epicentre of Christopher Marlowe’s late-16th century cautionary tale of ambition, temptation and damnation.

Director Lydia McCudden plays Faustus, who strikes a terrible deal by selling her soul to Lucifer in exchange for knowledge, power and worldly pleasures, only to encounter the Seven Deadly Sins.  Cue masks, commedia dell’arte, dark comedy and gothic tragedy as Hell awaits. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Ben Portsmouth: Performing Presley’s pearls with his Taking Care Of Elvis Band at York Barbican

King of The King tribute shows: Ben Portsmouth: This Is Elvis, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm

REGARDED as the “closest living performer to the legendary Elvis Presley”, Ben Portsmouth has enjoyed success in more than 20 countries and became the first European to be crowned by Elvis Presley Enterprises as the Worldwide Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist in Memphis in 2012.

This Is Elvis takes an immersive journey through Presley’s greatest hits from his rockabilly roots to the dazzling Las Vegas years in the company of Portsmouth and the Taking Care Of Elvis Band.  Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

The Bar-Steward Sons Of Val Doonican: Satirical comedy lyrics on folk instruments from Barnsley

“Sexy knitwear” gig of the week: The Bar-Steward Sons Of Val Doonican, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 7.30pm

FOUNDED in Barnsley Rock City in 2006 by their outspoken and energetic ringleader Scott Doonican, The Bar-Steward Sons Of Val Doonican are on a mission.

Anything but a typical folk ensemble, this collective of like-minded knitwear enthusiasts – Scott, Mo-Jo Doonican, Dave Doonican and the Reight Reverend Jeremiah Rickenbacker III – are determined to follow in their spiritual father’s immortal footsteps, keeping his legacy alive while Bar-Stewardising other famous people’s songs with satirical comedy lyrics on folk instruments, from Jump Ararnd to Goat Yoga. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Mark Harrison Band: Songs and stories at Helmsley Arts Centre

Where folk meets the blues: Mark Harrison Band, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

MARK Harrison writes original songs for today in the spirit of the great troubadours, coupled with stories to make you smile, move and think in a world where blues, roots and folk collide.

Finger-picking and slide guitarist Harrison is joined by Charles Benfield on double bass and Ben Welburn on drums and percussion to create a rhythm section that defies convention, as heard on eight albums to date. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Alchemy Live: Performing the songs of Dire Straits at Kirk Theatre, Pickering

In Dire Straits: Alchemy Live, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Saturday, 7.30pm

ALCHEMY Live were formed in 2020 by life-long Mark Knopfler fans and full-time musicians Martin Ledger and Neil Scott, who used the Covid pandemic and resultant lockdowns to put their Dire Straits tribute project in motion. Rehearsals started in 2021 after the worst of the pandemic was over, their first show being scheduled in York for Friday the 13th of May 2022 (what could possibly go wrong)?

They have never looked back, progressing to playing theatres since 2023. “It’s always been our ethos to concentrate on getting the music and sound right, rather than just putting on headbands and shiny jackets,” says frontman Ledger. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

Brian Bilston: Showcasing his latest poetry collection at Milton Rooms, Malton

Poet of the week: Brian Bilston, How To Lay An Egg With A Horse Inside, Milton Rooms, Malton, Sunday, 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 in collaboration with The Catenary Wires. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Olly Murs: Enjoying a Knees Up at Live At York Museum Gardens next July

Gig announcement of the week: Futuresound presents Olly Murs, Live At York Museum Gardens, July 9 2027

ESSEX singer-songwriter and The Voice UK coach Olly Murs is the first headline act to be confirmed for next summer’s Live At York Museum Gardens 2027 season, when the event will be expanded to two weekends for the first time. Special guests for that day’s bill are still to be announced.

Murs, 42, returns to the York outdoors after his hat trick of appearances at York Racecourse in 2010, 2017 and 2024. He rose to fame on The X Factor in 2009, since when he has released eight studio albums of pop, indie, ska and disco, the latest being last November’s Knees Up. Box office: York postcode pre-sale from today at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/olly-murs/york-museum-gardens/3730256?pre=postcode; general sale from Friday, 10am, at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/olly-murs/york-museum-gardens/3730256.

In Focus: Carlos Acosta’s Acosta Danza in Cuban Baroque, York Theatre Royal, October 1, 7.30pm, October 2, 2pm, and October 3, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

Acosta Danza in Cuban Baroque. Picture: Johan Persson

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 17th and 18th 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.”

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.”

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!”

A Q&A with the company will follow tomorrow’s performance. In addition, Acosta Danza will hold an Open Class on Saturday 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.

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!”

A post-show discussion with the company will follow Thursday’s 7.30pm show. In addition, Acosta Danza will hold an Open Class on Saturday (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.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond when circuses at the double pitch up. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 39 from The York Press

Bread & Circuses, by Sarah Hall Baqai, from her exhibition at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb

FROM the terrors of Paranormal Activity to circus art and entertainment, Tony Blackburn’s Sixties’ celebration to the debut York Jazz Fest, Charles Hutchinson heads into a fruitful autumn.

Exhibition opening of the week: Sarah Hall Baqai, Bread & Circuses, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, until November 19

YORK artist Sarah Hall Baqai’s new collection of artworks has the theme of Bread & Circuses, a phrase taken from Roman poet Juvenal’s work Satire X, written in 100AD. In a nutshell, “give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt”, on account of being distracted.

Distraction does not come brighter and more entertaining visually than Sarah’s paintings inspired by life behind the scenes at the circus (from her work with Gifford’s Circus and Fools Delight Circus at Ham Court, Bampton), complemented by lettering and graphic work celebrating York Minster and willow lanterns in the shape of jugglers’ sticks.

Russells International Circus: Intent on delivering in-tent entertainment on Knavesmire this weekend

While on the subject of circuses: Russells International Circus, Knavesmire, York, today, 3pm and 6pm, and tomorrow, 12 noon

ROLL up, roll up, as Russells International Circus, voted Britain’s best circus six years running, brings its new show for 2026 to York. Each two-hour performance is jam-packed with mesmerising aerial displays, jaw-dropping stunts, comedy and more besides. Box office: russellscircus.co.uk.

The Jake Leg Jug Band: Songs of murder, betrayal, gambling, liquor and redemption at Kirk Theatre, Pickering 

Ragtime gig of the week: The Jake Leg Jug Band, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, tonight, 7.30pm 

THE Jake Leg Jug Band delivers the authentic sounds of 1920s and 1930s’ America – jazz, blues, ragtime and gospel – in songs of murder, betrayal, gambling, liquor and redemption.

Since self-releasing debut album Cotton Mouth, Duncan Wilcox, vocals and double bass, and Warren James,  vocals, guitar and banjo, have released a further eight albums in 12 years, among them Next Stop!, Everythin’s Jake, Break A Leg, Fifth Avenue, Goodbye Booze, Hello Central and 2024’s spirituals collection Some Glad Morning. Box office: kirktheatre.co.uk.

Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey: Heading to York Barbican tonight

Eighties’ double bill of the week: Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey and Blancmange, York Barbican, tonight, doors 6.30pm

REMEMBER the Thompson Twins, makers of such 1980s’ hits as Hold Me Now, Doctor Doctor, In the Name Of Love, Love On Your Side, If You Were Here, Lies, Lay Your Hands On Me and King For A Day? Tom Bailey, the Sheffield-founded group’s lead vocalist and instrumentalist, now performs under the name Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey, revisiting his past and showcasing debut solo album Science Fiction.

Tonight he closes his autumn tour at York Barbican, the only Yorkshire location on his 14-date itinerary, when fellow 1980s’ chart act Blancmange support. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Hannah Sinclair Robinson’s Lou and James Bye’s James on terror alert on the stairs in Paranormal Activity, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Johan Persson Credit: Johan Persson

Psychological thriller of the week: Paranormal Activity, Grand Opera House, York, September 29 to October 3, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

IN a new story inspired by the worldwide horror phenomenon, Paranormal Activity is directed by immersive theatre pioneer and Punchdrunk artistic director Felix Barrett and written by Levi Holloway, the playwright behind Broadway hit Grey House.

When James (James Bye) and Lou (Hannah Sinclair Robinson) move from Chicago to London to escape their past, soon they discover that places are not haunted, but people are. Can you hold your nerve in the face of this chilling production on its first British and Irish tour? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Sounds Of The 60’s Live: Sensational Sixties show at York Barbican

Sixties’ celebration of the week: Sounds Of The 60’s Live, hosted by Tony Blackburn, York Barbican, September 29, 7.30pm

BBC Radio 2 presenter Tony Blackburn hosts an evening of stories and songs from “perhaps the most iconic ten years in music, fashion and popular culture” on the Sounds Of The 60’s tour, 62 years since his first broadcast on pirate radio station Radio Caroline South in 1964.

The Sounds Of The 60’s All Star Band and Singers perform hits by The Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, The Drifters, Marvin Gaye, a Rolling Stones medley, The Walker Brothers, Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder and more besides. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Roham Bayat’s poster design for the four-day York Jazz Fest

Festival of the week: York Jazz Fest, October 1 to 4

BEPPE Lombardo, soprano saxophone player in his Italian teenage days and supremo of Trinicria Sicilian Ristorante in Bishopthorpe Road for 15 years, is running the inaugural York Jazz Fest with funding from York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Mayor David Skaith.

Angel On The Green, York Arts Barge, Young Thugs Studio, the Phoenix Inn and The Winning Post play host to concerts on the first three days, culminating in the Bishopthorpe Road Car Park Finale next Sunday, topped off by sets by Dennis Rollins’ Funky-Funk and Ian Chalk. For full listings and tickets, go to: yorkjazzfestival.com.

Katy Cawkwell in the poster for Lilith at Rise@Bluebird Bakery

“Shocking, seductive and entertaining” show of the week: Katy Cawkwell in Lilith, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, October 1, 8.30pm

BEFORE Eve, there was Lilith, as revealed in Katy Cawkwell’s uplifting one-woman storytelling showin an exploration and celebration of female power through the mythological figure of Adam’s first wife.

Lilith was not prepared to lie down and accept what was given to her. Thrown out of Eden, she slithered back in to take her revenge and wake up Eve to what her body could do.

“Viewed as a demon, worshipped as a goddess, adored as the Queen of Sheba, Lilith slips out of the Bible, reclaims the narrative and is dancing with us still, forever free,” says Cawkwell, who mixes myth from Arabia, Ethiopia, Mesopotamia and Jewish tradition with a dash of feminist flavouring and a large dollop of her own wild dreaming. Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.

Ben Portsmouth: Presenting This Is Elvis with the Taking Care Of Elvis Band at York Barbican

Tribute gig of the week: Ben Portsmouth: This Is Elvis, York Barbican,  October 2, 7.30pm

REGARDED as the “closest living performer to the legendary Elvis Presley”, Ben Portsmouth has enjoyed success in more than 20 countries and became the first European to be crowned by Elvis Presley Enterprises as the Worldwide Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist in Memphis in 2012.

This Is Elvis takes an immersive journey through Presley’s greatest hits from his rockabilly roots to the dazzling Las Vegas years in the company of Portsmouth and the Taking Care Of Elvis Band.  Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

In Focus: Say Owt Slam, featuring Kirsty Taylor and KG, The Crescent, York, tonight, 7.30pm to 10pm

Bradford writer and educator Kirsty Taylor. Picture: Carolyn Mendelsohn

SAY Owt, York’s loveable gang of loveable gang of performance poets, brings the best working-class poets and rappers from Bradford tonight to complement the Say Owt Slam clash of the verbals.

“Since 2014, we’ve hosted high-energy nights of words and verse, bringing together poets, musicians, spoken-word artists, rappers and anyone with a story to tell,” says artistic director Henry Raby.

“We’re always proud of our line-ups, but this could be our most exciting parade of poets yet. It wouldn’t be possible without buzzy audiences showing up and being loud and demanding more and more shows! And it wouldn’t be a Say Owt season without a poetry slam!”

Henry continues: “Say Owt Slam is an energetic battle of words where judges in the audience score the poets and the top-scoring poet is crowned Say Owt Slam champion at the end of the night. Tonight, as well as a top crop of York poets, we have slammers from Glasgow, Manchester and Halifax hoping to win the competition.”

Kemmi Gill: Rapper, poet and youth worker

Tonight’s bill also features  two guests from guests from  Bradford, Kirsty Taylor and KG (Kemmi Gill). “Kirsty is a writer and educator inspired by her beloved home city of Bradford,” says Henry. “She is passionate about storytelling through poetry and has performed all over the country telling tales about people, class and the realities of Broken Britain.”

Taylor was a BBC Verb New Voice in 2017 and was awarded the Apples and Snakes & Jerwood Arts Poetry in Performance award in 2020. She is the creator of Front Room Poetry, which takes nanna-style living rooms and world-class poets to unusual settings such as car parks and housing estates.

Kirsty opened Bradford’s year as UK City of Culture 2025 in January last year when she performed her words to 20,000 people over the first weekend.

KG (Kemmi Gill) is a Bradford-born rapper, poet and youth worker, hailed by Wordplay Magazine as “one of the sharpest lyricists” in the UK rap scene. “Kemmi combines lyrical storytelling and wordplay to explore themes of struggle and hope and has contributed writing and performance work to major civic projects, such as  the open-air spectacular Rise and Common/Wealth’s sell-out show Public Interest,” says Henry.

To book tickets, go to: sayowt.co.uk

In Focus Too: Carlos Acosta’s Acosta Danza in Cuban Baroque, York Theatre Royal, October 1, 7.30pm, October 2, 2pm, and October 3, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

Acosta Danza in Cuban Baroque. Picture: Johan Persson

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 17th and 18th 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.”

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.”

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!”

A post-show discussion with the company will follow Thursday’s 7.30pm show. In addition, Acosta Danza will hold an Open Class next Saturday (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.

Acosta Danza in Cuban Baroque: the intersection of Baroque lush artistry with the energy, creativity and vibrancy of Cuban dance. Picture: Johan Persson
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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No 35, from Gazette & Herald

Dave: Headlining The Grid stage at Leeds Festival on Sunday. Picture: Leeds Festival

NOEL Coward at the double, Snake’s sax solos, Aardman model making and Leeds Festival’s summer serenade offer contrasts aplenty in Charles Hutchinson’s choices for the days ahead.

Festival of the week: Leeds Festival, Bramham Park, near Wetherby, tomorrow to Sunday 

KASABIAN headline day one of Leeds Festival on The Grid stage, where The Lathums and Arkayla play tomorrow too. Friday’s line-up on The Grid includes Blossoms, Role Model, Florence + The Machine and headliners Chase & Status Live, while headline-grabbing Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap play The Gallery that night. Look out too for Westside Cowboy and Paris Paloma in The Ballroom.

Saturday serves up York singer-songwriter Beth McCarthy (12.30pm to 1pm), James Marriott, Declan McKenna, Skepta, Charlie XCX and bill-topping Fontaines D.C. on The Grid. Catch Geese in The Gallery too. Sunday’s Grid finale features Absolutely, Slayyyter, Maisie Peters, Sombr, Raye and the festival-closing Dave. Box office: leedsfestival.com/tickets.

Justin Fletcher: Director of CBeebies House Party Live! featuring Mr Tumble at York Barbican

Children’s show of the week: CBeebies House Party Live!, York Barbican, today, 11am and 2pm

DIRECTED by CBeebies superstar Justin Fletcher, CBeebies House Party Live! is a fun-packed family stage show full of sensational songs, stupendous surprises and mega moments.

Throwing an epic party just for you will be Mr Tumble, Mister Maker, York Theatre Royal pantomime alumni Andy Day and Evie Pickerill, Duggee, Nigel Clarke and George Webster, who promise dancing, singing, streamers, giant jellies, bubbles galore and a CBeebies bedtime story. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Seascape artist Carolyn Coles: Hosting workshop for beginners at South Bank Studios, York

Workshop of the week: A Day At The Seaside with Carolyn Coles, South Bank Studios, Southlands Methodist Church, York, Friday, 10am to 5pm

SOUTH Bank Studios seascape painter Carolyn Coles hosts A Day At The Seaside, a workshop for beginners, in the Garden Room at South Bank Studios. “Start the day with the ‘Loosen Up and Feel The Flow’ workshop,” says Carolyn. “Then, in the afternoon, paint a panel and frame it.” Everything is included for £75. For more information and to book a place, email [email protected].

Looking ahead, Carolyn will take part in Staithes Festival of Arts & Heritage 2026 from September 11 to 13, when 113 artists will exhibit at 67 pop-up venues, alongside live music, heritage talks and outdoor screenings. General entry and the Artist Trail are free.

Lee Gemmell’s Egyptology student Edward Bellingham in Baron Productions’ The Mummy Lot No. 249

Thriller of the week: Baron Productions presents Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Mummy Lot No. 249, St Mary’s Church, Bishophill Junior, York, Friday and Saturday, 7.30pm

FOUNDED by Daniel Wilmot in 2015, York company Baron Productions presents Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1892 one-act play The Mummy Lot No. 249 as its 2026 summer show, in which Oxford student Abercrombie Smith discovers his neighbour, Egyptology student Edward Bellingham, has used ancient magic to reanimate a malevolent mummy to terrorise and attack his rivals.

Wilmot’s cast features Jack McAdam as Smith, Lee Gemmell as Bellingham, M. Alder as Peterson, Lauren Hegarty as Hastie and Ellie Guffick as Monkhouse Lee. Box office: https://www.ticketsource.com/baron-productions.

Matt Price: Outrageous stories at York Barbican

Comedy gig of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, York Barbican, Friday,doors 7.30pm for 8pm start

CORNISH comedian Matt Price tops Friday’s bill with his  extraordinary and outrageous stories drawn from the wilder side of life, bringing warmth and heart to the stage while finding audacious humour in unexpected places.

Irish storytelling comedian Jack Hester supports, along with force-of-nature surreal humorist Gary Jennison, who promises dance-offs, game shows and magic in his 100 per cent unscripted, unsupervised set, where the audience can try to steer the unbridled chaos with suggestions and participation. Box office: lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.

The poster for Queen Of The Night: Whitney in focus at York Barbican

Tribute gig of the week: Queen Of The Night, A Tribute To Whitney Houston, York Barbican, Friday,7.30pm

THIS touring production honours the music and legacy of Whitney Houston in an electrifying show that combines sensational vocalists with a full live band. Prepare to be captivated by a journey through three decades of hits such as I Wanna Dance With Somebody, One Moment In Time, I Will Always Love You, My Love Is Your Love, So Emotional,  Saving All My Love, How Will I Know, Million Dollar Bill and The Greatest Love Of All. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.  

Noël Coward double bill of the week: UK Foundation For Dance and Pickering Musical Society in Noël & Gertie and Red Peppers, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

TRAVEL back to the 1930s of Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence in this first co-production between Scarborough’s UK Foundation For Dance and Pickering Musical Society in a double-bill of Coward’s comedy, wit and music.

The first-half revue, Noël & Gertie, introduces the legendary stage partnership and lifelong friendship of Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence, with songs by Coward, Gershwin, Cole Porter, Kurt Weill and Rodgers & Hammerstein. Bill Scott on piano accompanies Tim Tubbs and Rachel Anderson, co-stars of Pickering’s 2025 hit Hello, Dolly!

Then comes Red Peppers, a short play from Coward & Lawrence’s 1936 production Tonight At 8.30. This comic interlude with music, set in a northern town’s palace of varieties, features a feuding husband and wife in a corny song and dance double act, in the dying days of music hall. Pickering actor Paula Cook join five Scarborough actors in this amusing backstage bickering match, bookended by two corny song and dance routines. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

Aardman Animation: Model-making workshops at York Barbican

Activity of the week: Aardman In Concert: Model Making Workshops, York Barbican, Saturday, 11.45am, 2.15pm and 4.45pm

MAKE your very own Aardman character at one of three self-led model-making workshops, where you keep your creation to take home. Aardman Animations, creators of Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run and Morph, have created special instruction guides to enable you to create clay versions of their much-loved characters.

Choose between Gromit (11.45am), Shaun the Sheep (2.15pm) and Feathers McGraw (4.45pm). All materials will be supplied. The workshops are suitable for all ages from five upwards; children must be accompanied by a participating adult. Tickets: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

The Dead South: Progressive bluegrass and alternative Americana at York Barbican

Recommended but sold out already: The Dead South, Europe 2026 The Return, York Barbican, August 31, doors 7pm

WHATEVER you call The Dead South’s music – progressive bluegrass, alternative Americana, country, folk or Western, people from different backgrounds, beliefs, experiences, languages and ages love it, clubbing together as the cosplaying “Good Company” at gigs. 

Formed in 2012 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, the line-up comprises Nate Hilts, Scott Pringle, Danny Kenyon and Colton Crawford, always attired in bolo ties and custom brims. Carter Family meets Addams Family in songs that address themes of murder, disloyalty and ghosts while going from weepy to weird, wistful to wicked. Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra support. Box office for returns only: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Heather Leech in Gleowit Productions’ Anne Boleyn’s Mother

Play of the week: Gleowit Productions in Anne Boleyn’s Mother, Milton Rooms, Malton, September 3, 7.30pm

WEDNESDAY, October 13, 1537: another ordinary day, except that a new queen, Jane, has given birth to a son, an achievement beyond compare in Henry VIII’s court. Elizabeth, Countess of Wiltshire, feeling the loss of her son George and her daughter Anne, previous queen of England, struggles to find cause for celebration, wholly aware of the treachery within the English court.

On the path to greatness, her losses have been heavy. Were they worth it? She is Anne Boleyn’s mother and grandmother to the motherless future Queen Elizabeth I, her story now told by actor, writer and director Heather Leech. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Snake Davis: Celebrating the art of the sax solo at Pocklington Arts Centre

Saxophonist of the week:  Snake Davis Band, Classic Sax Solos, Pocklington Arts Centre, September 3, 8pm

AN instrumental solo can break hearts, lift spirits, even change lives. Saxophone is the favourite instrument of many folk, and for good reason; so emotional, so passionate; it sings, screams, whispers. Step forward saxophonist to the stars Snake Davis, leading his five-piece band through more than  20 classics, from Baker Street, Careless Whisper, Respect and Yakety Yak  to his own solos from Take That’s Million Love Songs, M People’s Moving On Up and Lisa Stansfield’s Change.

Davis reveals their background and history as well as playing them in context. What is their individual magic ingredient; what makes these solos classic? How did they emerge; how did the players produce that magic? Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk. 

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 27, from Gazette & Herald

Christina Meehan, left, Karen Holmes and Pippa Duffy in rehearsal for Calendar Girls The Musical at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

THE York Mystery Plays on waggon wheels, Calendar Girls in the round, early music beyond borders and Jim Hacker’s lust hurrah promise high summer times for Charles Hutchinson.

Make a date with: Calendar Girls The Musical, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until July 25

AS director Paul Robinson reveals: “Our new in-the-round staging of Tim Firth and Gary Barlow’s Calendar Girls brings the audience into the heart of the Rylstone Women’s Institute, making this true story of friendship and determination feel more personal and immediate.

“This intimate production will create a unique, shared experience, reminiscent of gathering around a community hall or a close friend’s living room, allowing for a deeper connection to the characters and creating a collective, communal atmosphere that fully immerses everyone in the moving story of these ‘ordinary women’ doing something quite extraordinary.” Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Cathy Sara’s Villeyn and Thomas Frere’s Jongleur in Riding Lights Theatre Company’s Mistero Buffo at Friargate Theatre, York. Picture: John Shepherdson

2026 York Mystery Plays Fringe play of the week: Riding Lights Theatre Company in Mistero Buffo, Friargate Theatre, York, today to Saturday, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm matinees on Friday and  Saturday

TWO wild strangers roll into York for the 2026 York Mystery Plays Fringe to tell tales destined to turn the city upside down. Combining ferocious wit and fearless physical storytelling, Paul Birch’s two-hander production for York’s Riding Lights Theatre Company tears into faith, power, profit and hypocrisy by turning ancient Bible stories into urgent, humorous modern theatre with a clear spiritual heart.

Written by Nobel prize-winning Italian playwright Dario Fo, translated by Ed Emery and performed by Yorkshire actors Thomas Frere and Cathy Sara, this 1969 take on the Mystery Plays will appeal to Fringe theatregoers with a taste for subversive and unapologetic comedy with bite. Box office: www.ridinglights.org.

Kirkgate in floral splendour for summer at York Castle Museum. Picture: Gareth Buddo

Flower power of the week: Summer at York Castle Museum, in bloom until September 6, open Mondays, 11am to 5pm; Tuesdays to Sundays, 10am to 5pm

YORK Castle Museum is capturing the essence of ‘grand days out’ and celebrating iconic summers across two contrasting centuries this summer season.  Drawing on the breadth of the museum’s social history collection, Victorian York Galas and the Swinging ’60s are the programme’s key focus with games, crafts and seasonal decorations providing nostalgia and summer fun for visitors.

Further highlights include Last Stop Before Kirkgate, Novo Theatre’s immersive experience replicating a 19th century coaching inn and arrival into York, and Yorkshire artist Pippa Dyrlaga’s paper-cut hot air balloons, telling the story of balloon rides during the galas. Tickets: yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk.  

The Choir Of Man: “The best trip to your local you’ll ever have”…at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: The Other Richard

Foot-stomping musical celebration of the week: The Choir Of Man, Grand Opera House, York, today and tomorrow, 7.30pm; Friday, 4pm and 8pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

SET in the The Jungle pub on stage, The Choir Of Man is billed as “the best trip to your local you’ll ever have” as a cast of nine (extra)ordinary guys combine beautiful harmonies and foot-stomping singalongs with tap dance and soulful storytelling in an uplifting celebration of community and friendship.

The debut UK & Ireland tour cast features Gustav Melbardis as Maestro; Oluwalonimi (Nimi) Owoyemi as Poet; Levi Tyrell Johnson as Hard Man; Ben Mabberley as Joker; Rob Godfrey as Beast; Jack Skelton as Handyman; Joshua Lloyd as Barman; Sam Walter as Romantic and Aaron Pottenger as Bore performing Queen, Luther Vandross, Sia, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns N’ Roses, Avicii and Katy Perry hits. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston: Presenting A Gentle Air with tenor Paul Agnew and lutenist Sergio Bucheli on July 9 at 2026 York Early Music Festival

50th anniversary event of the summer: 2026 York Early Music Festival, Beyond Borders, Friday to July 11

THE premier British early music festival marks its 50th anniversary with a celebration of “just how far early music has travelled – beyond the borders of the myriad historic venues of our city to a worldwide audience,” says director Delma Tomlin.

Opening with Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers, presented by I Fagiolini, and closing with Solomon’s Knot’s rendition of Bruhns’s St Mark Passion, the festival welcomes The Sixteen, B’Rock Orchestra & Vocal Consort, Imago Mundi, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston and NCEM Platform Artists Anacronia and Contre le temps, among others. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk/yemf.

Tribute show of the week: The Rat Pack, Las Vegas Live!, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Saturday, 7.30pm

DIRECT from London’s Leicester Square Theatre, The 02 and a Royal Command Performance, David Alacey stars as Frank Sinatra alongside West End favourite Tim Harwood as Dean Martin and former Coronation Street and Hollyoaks star Ashley Campbell as Sammy Davis Jr in the original Rat Pack tribute show, now celebrating its 25th record-breaking year of re-creating their Las Vegas heyday at The Sands. BBC musical director Mac Shone will be at the piano alongside the Buddy Greco All-Stars. Box office:  01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk. 

Bodhan Pitel’s Herod in DSpace Ukrainian Theatre and the Guild of Scriveners’ The Massacre of The Innocents in the 2026 York Mystery Plays. Picture: John Saunders

Theatrical event of the week: 2026 York Mystery Plays, streets of York, Sunday, 10.30am to 4.50pm; Sunset in the Shambles Market, tonight, 7.45pm  

THE four-yearly staging on the York Mystery Plays on pageant waggons takes place at four locations across the city: free viewing at the Minster Refectory Gardens, Deansgate, (from 10.30am) King’s Square (from 11.10am), St Sampson’s Square (from 11.50am) and ticketed seats at Dean’s Park (from 12.30pm). Ten core plays will be complemented by further extracts to tell the story from The War In Heaven to Doomsday. For full details, go to: yorkmysteryplays.co.uk.

A special midsummer performances of five plays will be held in Shambles Market tonight, introduced by the York Waits musicians before Pageant Master Dr Alan Heaven guides the audience through each play, from the Creation sequence to the interactive show Doomsday. Tickets: ticketsource.com/york-festival-trust.

Clive Francis and Simon Rouse in I’m Sorry, Prime Minister, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Michael Wharley

Political drama of the week: I’m Sorry, Prime Minister, Grand Opera House, York, July 7 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

JIM Hacker is back, older, but perhaps not wiser, and still utterly baffled by the real world. Hoping for a quiet retirement from government as the master of Hacker College, Oxford, Jim (Simon Rouse) instead finds himself facing the ultimate modern crisis: cancelled by the college committee. Enter Sir Humphrey Appleby (Clive Francis), who has lost none of his love for bureaucracy, Latin phrases and well-timed obstruction.

Can Humphrey and Jim outmanoeuvre the hostile students, the Fellows and reality itself? Or is it finally time to say “I’m Sorry, Prime Minister”? Brimming with wit, nostalgia and more double-speak than a press briefing, the final chapter in the evergreen comedy series is written and directed by Jonathan Lynn,co-directed by Michael Gyngell and presented by The Barn Theatre, Cirencester. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 22, from The York Press

Holly Taymar: Playing City of York Roland Walls Folk Weekend

A FEAST of folk music and Shed Seven’s anniversary celebration, a le Carré  thriller and a Willy Russell classic send Charles Hutchinson out and about.

Festival of the week: City of York Roland Walls Folk Weekend 2026, Black Swan Folk Club, Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green York, today and tomorrow

CITY of York Roland Walls Folk Weekend’s three-day programme of 50 acts continues today and tomorrow with bands, soloists and sessions throughout the pub and in the car park from 1pm each day after last night’s Irish-themed bill in the club room.

Among the performers will be King Courgette, in the return of the original line-up, Leather’O, White Sail, Janglebuddies, Graham Hodge, Monkey’s Fist, Chechelele, Caramba, Holly Taymar, Duncan McFarlane Band, Mary Molloy, Susie Coyle, Soundsphere and Jon Palmer Band. Admission is free, with collections for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Stuart O’Hara: York Late Music concert this afternoon

Lunchtime concert of the week: York Late Music, Stuart O’Hara (bass) and Rob Hao piano), Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, today, 1pm

MARRYING words and music, bass Stuart O’Hara and pianist Rob Hao’s performance is based around new settings of Yorkshire poets by local composers: James Else &Alan Gillott, Retratos (world premiere, complete song cycle); Tim Brooks & Lizzi Linklater, New Student In The University Cafe (world premiere); Jenny Jackson & Richard Kitchen, Vessels (world premiere) and Nick Carter & Hugh Bernays: The Water Will Not Remember from Requiem for the Arctic (world premiere)

This afternoon’s recital also includes David Power’s Six Songs, based on the poetry of E.H. Visiak, and two new settings by York St John University student composers Robyn Hughes-Maclean and Matthew Jarvis. Tickets: latemusic.org or on the door.

The Elysian Singers: Musical settings of poetry at Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York. Picture: Linda Dawson

Poetry and music in motion: The Elysian Singers, York Late Music, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, tonight, 7.30pm

DIRECTED by Sam Laughton, The Elysian Singers’ insightful programme celebrates the musical settings of the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. Benjamin Britten’s A.M.D.G. will be complemented by works by Samuel Barber (Heaven-Haven), Alan Bullard (The Windhover and Spring Morning), Bob Chilcott (The Bethlehem Star) and Ian Stephens (Pied Beauty).

The première of David Lancaster’s new work, Henry Purcell, featuring Hopkins’ tribute to his own favourite composer, provides an opportunity to revisit Purcell’s Remember Not, Lord, Our Offences and O Lord God Of Hosts. David Power’s quirky and imaginative settings of four E.H. Visiak poems completes the line-up, preceded by Lancaster and Power’s 6.45pm pre-concert talk. Tickets: latemusic.org or on the door.

Shed Seven: Marking 30th anniversary of A Maximum High with one-off concert at The Piece Hall, Halifax, tonight

Recommended but sold out already: Shed Seven, A Maximum High 30th Anniversary Show, The Piece Hall, Halifax, today, 6.30pm

YORK band Shed Seven are marking the 30th anniversary of their hit-laden second album, April 1996’s A Maximum High, with a one-off concert at The Piece Hall, featuring the magnum opus in full plus further Sheds’ hits and fan favourites. Expect a few surprises too. The Guest List (6.30pm) and Seb Lowe (7.20pm) support.

Utter Madness: The Nutty Boys stride out at Scarborough Open Air Theatre for the fourth time tonight

Seaside trip of the week: Madness, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, tonight, doors 6pm

IN their 50th year since forming in Camden, Nutty Boys Madness make their fourth appearance at Scarborough Open Air Theatre after previous seaside visits in 2017, 2019 and 2024.

Drawing on 31 Top 40 hits and 11 Top Ten albums, their timeless blend of ska, pop, punk and music hall will be on show as ever in Our House, It Must be Love, Baggy Trousers, House Of Fun et al. The Beat featuring Ranking Jnr and reggae vocalist Hollie Cook support. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Ralf Little’s disillusioned British intelligence officer Alec Leamas in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Johan Persson

Thriller of the week: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Grand Opera House, York, June 9 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees 

FOR the first time, a John le Carré novel is being brought to life on stage by Chichester Festival Theatre in David Eldridge’s adaptation of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, a tale that journeys through the fog-shrouded terrain of Cold War espionage, deception and moral compromise.

Death In Paradise star Ralf Little’s disillusioned British intelligence officer, Alec Leamas, is ready to come in from the cold, until veteran agent George Smiley persuades him to take one final mission against the East German Secret Service. Deep undercover, Leamas finds his convictions tested and his defences breached by Liz Gold, a quietly defiant librarian, whose compassion threatens to thaw his frostbitten heart. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

An open book or something more complex than that? Florence Poskitt’s Rita and Jamie McKeller’s Frank in Black Treacle Theatre’s Educating Rita

Literature lessons of the week: Black Treacle Theatre in Educating Rita, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, June 9 to 13, 7.30pm

YORK actors Florence Poskitt and Jamie McKeller team up for the first time under Jim Paterson’s direction in Willy Russell’s warm, witty and moving double-hander about the power of education to change lives. When Rita, a working-class hairdresser hungry for something more, signs up for an Open University literature course, she meets disillusioned academic Frank, whose passion for teaching has long faded. 

Their weekly tutorials become a battle of ideas, humour and honesty as Rita’s confidence blossoms and Frank reckons with his own choices and the possibility of a second chance. Change comes with difficult choices for both student and tutor, who must reconsider who they are and who they want to be. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Director Courtney Brown in Pickering Musical Society’s Let’s Do It!, The Cole Porter Songbook

Musical kicks of the week: Pickering Musical Society in Let’s Do It!r, The Cole Porter Songbook, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 9 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

IN a sparkling showcase of wit, romance, sophisticated melodies and clever lyrics, Pickering Musical Society celebrates the joyous Cole Porter Songbook, performing beloved songs from Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate and High Society and such hits as You’re The Top and I Get A Kick Out Of You under the direction of Courtney Brown.

The Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance’s vibrant tap, jazz and contemporary routines combine stylish choreography, glamorous costumes and a tribute to the Great American Songbook. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

The Bluffs: Short-form improv games infused with storytelling flair at Rise@Bluebird Bakery

Unscripted silliness of the week: Unwritten: The Literary Improv Show, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, June 11, 8.30pm, doors 7.30pm

YORK troupe The Bluffs take classic short-form improv games and infuse them with storytelling flair in an evening of laughter, silliness and plot twists. Each fast-paced show is shaped by audience suggestions and spontaneous creativity. Expect scenes inspired by classic literature, unexpected character mash-ups and even a fanfiction-inspired musical number.

The Bluffs are drawn from a melange of theatrical, comedy and musical backgrounds, from festival stages to pantomime and competitive Theatresports. Box office: eventbrite.com/e/unwritten-the-literary-improv-show-tickets-1984763723726.

Wright & Grainger: Say It & Play: “Gorgeous weave of our home-grown stuff” at The Old Paint Shop on Thursday. Picture: Afternoon Film

The Old Paint Shop presents: Wright & Grainger Say It & Play it, York Theatre Royal Studio, June 11, 8pm

FRIENDS and working partners since Easingwold schooldays, Wright & Grainger serve a carefully curated evening of stories, poems, songs and gentle chaos. Known for their internationally acclaimed adaptations of Ancient Greek myths, sometimes they do something a tad different.

Say It & Play It will be a set full of Alexander Flanagan Wright & Phil Grainger’s shorter collaborative works, the poems that stand on their own, the beautiful tracks they have been writing. “It’s a gorgeous weave of our home-grown stuff, grown and told on home turf,” they say. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Lincoln Lightfoot: Participating in North Yorkshire Open Studios

In Focus: North Yorkshire Open Studios, Summer edition, June 6 & 7 and June 13 & 14, 10am to 5pm

MORE than 200 artists and makers are taking part in the summer edition of North Yorkshire Open Studios 2026.

Covering three areas of God’s Own Country, from the remote Upper Dales to the Central locations of Harrogate and York and the Moors & Coast, this annual event enables creative talents to open their studios to promote and sell their work directly to the public.

Taking part in and around York will be jewellery designer Helen Drye  (Fountains Close, Riccall); oil painter Pennie Lordan (Moor Lane, Copmanthorpe); artist Emma James (Copmanthorpe Lane, Bishopthorpe); oil painter Lucie Wake (Slingsby Grove); abstract seascape painter Alex Ash (Heslington Lane, Fulford); B-movie poster art pastiche surrealist Lincoln Lighfoot (Brunswick Street) and northern landscape linocut printmaker Jon Haste (South Bank Social Club, Ovington Terrace).

So too are eco jewellery designer Rebecca Mihill (Nunthorpe Grove); mixed-media artist Ali Hunter (Alma Terrace); environment and plant-inspired printmaker Rachel Jones (Richardson Street); stained glass artist, ceramicist and printmaker Veronica Ongaro (Richardson Street); oil painter Di Gomery (Southlands Methodist Church, Bishopthorpe Road) and experimental artist Jill Tattersall (Mount Parade).

Further York artists will be geometric jewellery designer Evie Leach (PICA Studios, Unit 4, Enterprise Complex, Walmgate); animal artist Katrina Mansfield (PICA Studios); figurative artist Lesley Shaw (PICA Studios); Irish landscape artist Lisa Power (PICA Studios); rag rug maker Lu Mason (PICA Studios) and cityscape and architecture artist Ric Liptrot (PICA Studios).

In the line-up too will be abstract rust and gold metal-leaf artist Jo Walton (Rogues Atelier, Franklin’s Yard, Fossgate); illustrator and screen-print gig poster artist Kai West (Rogues Atelier); mixed-media figurative artist Mo Nisbet (Acomb Road); nature and animal acrylic artist Nicola Glover (Beech Grove); stoneware potter Hannah Arnup (Arnup Studios, Panman Lane, Holtby); natural world artist Kate Pettitt (Arnup Studios); fine art photographer Lesley Peatfield and enigmatic, ethereal artist Michelle Galloway (Arnup Studios).

Look out too for pattern-led tropical botanical artist Emily Littler (Sugar Hill Farm Stockton Lane); stone and wood sculptor Janie Stevens (Greenthwaite, Chantry Green, Upper Poppleton); Japanese-inspired British plant, flower and animal artist Toby Staunton (The Cottage, Main Street, Shipton by Benuingbrough); landscape artist Gonzalo Blanco (Rose Dene, Moor Lane, Strensall) and multi-media figurative and abstract artist Andrew Bloodworth (Stonelands Close, Sheriff Hutton).

The names keep coming: mixed-media landscape artist Justine Warner (Laburnum Cottage, West End, Sheriff Hutton); “happy accidents” land, sky and water artist Graham Jones (Harland House, Main Street, Huby); nature artist Nora Gaston (Moat House, Boroughbridge Road, Green Hammerton); experimental landscape artist Freya Horsley (Corner Cottage, The Green, Tollerton) and Bee-spoke Quilts’ hand-made quilt, jackets and waistcoats (Apple Croft, Gale Road, Alne),

Completing the list for York & beyond will be milliner Jane de Carteret’s woodland-type creatures (Apple Croft, Alne); Gina Bean’s semi-abstract North Yorkshire landscapes (The Bentleys, Lower Dunsforth); beach, dale and vale artist Richard Gray (Burnside, Spring Street, Easingwold); landscape artist Jeff Parker (Roedeer House, Raskelf Road, Raskelf) and Anya Manfield’s abstract textile wall hangings, mixed media artworks and layered collage pieces (Amber Cottage, Kilburn).

The full list of artists and makers can be found at nyos.org.uk. The Winter North Yorkshire Open Studios 2026, featuring the same names, is in the diary for November 7 and 8, 11am to 4pm.

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What’s on in Ryedale &York from 3/6/2026. Hutch’s List No. 22, from Gazette & Herald

Writer Alexander McCall Smith: Taking part in York Festival of Ideas 2026. Picture: Alexander McCall Smith Portraits

NOT only a festival, held on university soil, is full of ideas. So too is Charles Hutchinson in his list of fruitful artistic pursuits as June blooms.

Festival of the fortnight: York Festival of Ideas, Place & Space, until June 12

YORK Festival of Ideas 2026 explores Place and Space in more than 200 mostly free in-person and online events designed to educate, entertain and inspire. 

Led by the University of York, the event features world-class speakers, such as Nicola Sturgeon, Dame Kelly Holmes, Alexander McCall Smith and Stuart Rose, performances, exhibitions, tours, family-friendly activities, a Michael Morpurgo celebration day and much more, with topics ranging from archaeology to art, history to health, politics to psychology, football to Manchester’s Music Soul. For the full programme, go to: yorkfestivalofideas.com.

Holly Sumpton’s Ewen Montagu in SplitLip’s Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Matt Crockett

Musical of the week: SplitLip in Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

THE year is 1943 and we are losing the war but, luckily, we can gamble all our futures on a stolen corpse. Singin’ In The Rain meets Strangers On A Train in SplitLip’s Operation Mincemeat, the Olivier and Tony award-winning musical take on the unbelievable true story of the twisted secret mission that won us the Second World War.

Bursting at the seams with chaos beyond invention, the question is: how did a dead body, a fake love letter and MI5 operative Ian Fleming come together to wrong-foot Hitler? Let Christian Andrews, Holly Sumpton, Seán Carey, Charlotte Hanna-Williams and latest recruit Jamie-Rose Monk tell the tale. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Rosalinda at the double: Alexandra Mather, left, and Olivia Turner sharing the principal role -two performances each – in York Opera’s Die Fledermaus. Picture: David Kessel

Opera of the week: York Opera in Die Fledermaus, York Theatre Royal, Wednesday to Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 4pm

YORK Opera is marking two milestones with John Soper and  Elizabeth Watson’s production of Johann Strauss II’s party opera Die Fledermaus: the company’s 60th anniversary and its 40th year of performances at York Theatre Royal.

When lavish host Prince Orlofsky seeks fresh amusement at his New Year’s Eve party, what better place for disguises, deception and revenge served with chilled champagne? Alexandra Mather and Olivia Turner share the role of Rosalinda; likewise, Stephanie Wong and LaLa Marais both play Adele, alongside Molly Raine’s Orlofsky and Ian Thomson-Smith’s  Falke. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

The book cover artwork for Fiona Mozley’s Awake Awake

Book event of the week: An Evening with Fiona Mozley, Awake, Awake, Waterstones, Coney Street, York, June 4, 7pm

“WHAT if you can no longer trust your memories,” asks York author Fiona Mozley in her third novel, Awake Awake, published on June 4 by John Murray.

Booker-Shortlisted for her debut Elmet, and now resident in Edinburgh, Fiona returns to her home roots to discuss her new meditation on memory, loss and moral courage in a York-located story that revolves around a woman haunted by vivid memories of things she suspects never could have happened.  

Her hour-long talk will be followed by a Q&A between Fiona and the audience and a book-signing session will be held afterwards. Tickets: £6, Waterstones Plus Card members £5, at https://www.waterstones.com/events/an-evening-with-fiona-mozley-at-waterstones-york/york.

Writer-performers Molly Whitehouse and Dan Poppitt in rehearsal for Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ premiere of Love At First Bite

Premiere of the week: Black Sheep Theatre Productions in Love At First Bite, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, June 4 to 6, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

JOSH Woodgate directs Dan Poppitt and Molly Whitehouse’s seductive new work Love At First Bite, wherein dating can be hell, but what if one of them were a creature of the night? What happens when Alan and Minnie meet at a speed-dating night? A spark flickers. Dates follow. Laughter lingers.

“Yet beneath the rhythms of a familiar rom-com, something waits in the dark,” say Poppitt and Whitehouse, who play the lovers in York company Black Sheep’s premiere. “One of them is a vampire – but the secret shifts. Each night, the actors trade fangs and the audience is left to wonder who is hunter, who is prey.” Blending sharp-fanged wit with a brush of gothic shadow, their play toys with romance, rewrites folklore and invites audiences to consider what it means to love…and to hunger! Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Sofia Romano in Silver Stage’s murder mystery Club Mistero at Helmsley Arts Centre. Picture: Freya Chaston

Immersive murder mystery of the week: Silver Stage & Solent University present Club Mistero, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

LOSE yourself inside the dazzling but dangerous Club Mistero in 1920s’ New York City, where a flighty barman, outspoken diva, secretive showgirl, neglected wife and an owner with eyes on every corner all become suspects when someone is, seemingly, nowhere to be found. Clutch your pearls, ol’ sport, murder is afoot.

In the heart of a speakeasy, surrounded by deception and secrets, a web of betrayal, revenge and power is spun, whereupon tensions rise as the line between friend and foe is blurred, but who will survive the night? Silver Stage’s Evelyn Foy, George Mclean, Niamh Boyle, Sofia Romano and Borna Vitlov will keep you guessing to the very end. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Alchemy Live! pay tribute to Dire Straits at Malton’s Milton Rooms on Friday

Tribute gig of the week: Alchemy Live!, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm

FORMED in 2020 by lifelong Dire Straits fans Martin Ledger and Neil Scott, Alchemy Live’s debut in York was delayed until May 13 2022 by the pandemic lockdowns. By January 2023, they were progressing to theatre shows. 

Frontman Ledger says: “It has always been the ethos to concentrate on getting the music and sound right, rather than just putting on headbands and shiny jackets. Dire Straits themselves were always about the music first and we are fully committed to upholding that. Mark Knopfler has these little percussive flourishes in his playing, which are really difficult to re-create but without them it’s just not Knopfler.”  Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Rick Astley: Opening the summer season at Scarborough Open Air Theatre

Let the seaside season begin: Rick Astley, TK Maxx presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Friday, gates open at 6pm

IN the wake of 2025’s number two album, Are We There Yet?, last November’s paperback edition of his autobiography, Never, and April’s Reflection arena tour, Newton-le-Willows crooner Rick Astley opens the 2026 season at Scarborough Open Air Theatre.

Now 60, Astley has enjoyed two chapters of success, kicking off with Never Gonna Give You Up topping the charts in 1987, leading to BRIT award success and further hits with Together Forever and Whenever You Need Somebody. After stepping away from the limelight, he marked his half-century by returning to the top spot with his comeback album, 50, and has never looked back, playing Glastonbury and the Royal Albert Hall and performing The Smiths’ songs with Blossoms  and Frank Sinatra and swing classics at Henley Festival. Box office:  scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Director Courtney Brown in Pickering Musical Society’s Let’s Do It!, The Cole Porter Songbook

Musical kicks of the week: Pickering Musical Society in Let’s Do It!r, The Cole Porter Songbook, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 9 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

IN a sparkling showcase of wit, romance, sophisticated melodies and clever lyrics, Pickering Musical Society celebrates the joyous Cole Porter Songbook, performing beloved songs from Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate and High Society and such hits as You’re The Top and I Get A Kick Out Of You under the direction of Courtney Brown.

The Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance’s vibrant tap, jazz and contemporary routines combine stylish choreography, glamorous costumes and a tribute to the Great American Songbook. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

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PREVIEW REVIEW: Graham Spink’s verdict on Pickering Musical Society, Let’s Do It!, The Cole Porter Songbook, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 9 to 13

Rachel Anderson in Pickering Musical Society’s Let’s Do It!, The Cole Porter Songbook

GRAHAM Spink was invited to attend Monday’s dress rehearsal of Pickering Musical Society’s upcoming concert Let’s Do It!, The Cole Porter Songbook.

HAVING been involved in amateur theatre for most of my life, I was amazed at just how polished and professional the production already looked with more than a week still to go before opening night.

The first thing that catches the eye is the magnificent full-size grand piano taking pride of place centre stage. Director Courtney Brown and Luke Arnold have certainly pushed the boat out with this production, and it is refreshing to see a different style of staging, with a compact jazz band positioned on stage alongside the performers, rather than hidden away in the orchestra pit.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from an evening dedicated to one of the legends of the Great American Songbook, but the programme has been cleverly structured.

The first half focuses on music from Cole Porter’s hit musicals, including Kiss Me, Kate and Anything Goes, while the second half takes on a more intimate cabaret atmosphere.

Here, the on-stage musicians and grand piano really come into their own, acting as both backdrop and accompaniment for a selection of Porter’s best-known songs, ranging from upbeat jazz numbers to moody, sensual ballads.

The production features a relatively small principal cast, wonderfully supported by the talented students of the Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance. Even at this stage, the standard of performance was exceptional.

Personal highlights for me included Anything Goes from the musical of the same name, Too Darn Hot from Kiss Me, Kate and the charming Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? from High Society.

To conclude, I would like to thank Luke and Courtney for inviting me to enjoy this early preview of what promises to be a thoroughly entertaining and stylish production.

I would highly recommend the show and encourage everyone to book tickets before they sell out — I have already been online this morning and booked ours!

Pickering Musical Society presents Let’s Do It!, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 9 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01751 474833 or www.kirktheatre.co.uk.

Preview review by Graham Spink

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 21, from Gazette & Herald

John Robb: Discussing his new memoir, Punk Rock Ruined My Life: And Other Stories, at Pocklington Arts Centre

WILDLIFE photography and nature-inspired poetry and music turn Charles Hutchinson’s thoughts to the sunnier days ahead. 

Talk of the week: John Robb, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow, 8pm

JOHN Robb is a multi-faceted creature: author, musician, journalist, Louder Than War music website boss, Louder Than Words and Louder Than War Live festivals boss, Eco champion, vegan behemoth and punk rock warlord, as well as TV and radio talking head, frontman of post-punk mainstays The Membranes and ambassador for home-town Blackpool. 

To mark the May 12 publication of his memoir, Punk Rock Ruined My Life: And Other Stories, he is undertaking a spoken-word and book tour, where each show comprises a one-hour talk by Robb, followed by a conversation and Q&A with a special guest. Tomorrow, he welcomes Pauline Murray, Penetration singer and author of Life’s A Gamble, her 2023 autobiography. Box office:  01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Nobody puts Baby’s poster in the corner for Dirty Dancing In Concert at York Barbican

Film event of the week: Dirty Dancing In Concert, tomorrow, 7.30pm

RELIVE the film that stole the hearts of generations with this live-to-screen concert event featuring Emile Ardolino’s 1987 American romantic drama projected in full, accompanied by a live band and singers performing every song from the soundtrack. 

Feel the romance, rhythm and emotion as the love story of Baby and Johnny (Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze) comes to life on a full-size cinema screen. A dance-along encore party follows the final scene. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk

Now you see him, now you don’t: Daniel Davis and Georgina Sockett in Our Star Theatre Company’s The Invisible Man, to be spotted at Kirk Theatre, Pickering

Vanishing act of the week: Our Star Theatre Company in The Invisible Man, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Friday, 7.30pm

THE thought of invisibility, and the advantages it could bring, has captured the imagination since HG Wells’s science-fiction novella was published in 1897. The Invisible Man has been adapted many times for film, but rarely for the stage. 

Here comes Derek Webb’s original, fast-paced and riotous adaptation boasting 15 characters, split between  three energetic actors, Daniel Davis, Georgina Sockett and Rhys Harris-Clarke, aided by quick and daft costume changes, prop manipulation, whacky imagination and tons of tongue-and-cheek fun in Herefordshire company Our Star’s touring production, directed by founder Ben Mowbray. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

The poster for The Future Is Vintage, the latest Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox concert at York Barbican

Retro gig of the week: Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, The Future Is Vintage Tour 2026, York Barbican, Friday, doors 7pm

SCOTT Bradlee’s troupe of singers, dancers and instrumentalists perform a new show in signature time-twisting style, putting a retro spin on everything from Seventies’ rock classics and Britpop hits to the latest chart toppers and movie and video game soundtracks. 

“We’re humbly presenting our own unique vision of a spectacular future; one that is built upon the timeless musical genres of the past and the authentically human spirit of creativity that inspired them,” says founder and arranger Bradlee, who invites you to dress in your vintage best for the full time-travel experience. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

The Ocelots’ Ashley and Brandon Watson

Literature-inspired musings of the week: The Ocelots, The Arts Barge, Foss Basin Moorings, Tower Street, York, Friday,7.30pm

BLOOD harmonies are at the centre of The Ocelots’ sound with its Americana echoes of Neil Young and Sufjan Stevens. Twin brothers Ashley and Brandon Watson, from Wexford, Ireland, blend absurdity and sincerity in an array of literature-inspired musings.

Open tunings and clawhammer banjo merge country-folk contemplation with urban imagery, as heard on 2020’s Started To Wonder and 2025’s Everything, When Said Slowly albums and 2023’s Addlepated and March 2026’s Revisions EPs. Fionnuala Mary Bradbury supports. Box office: artsbarge.com.

Ian Smith: Stories of stress, love and buying a magic spell off Amazon in Foot Spa Half Empty at Helmsley Arts Centre

Comedy gig of the week: Ian Smith, Foot Spa Half Empty, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday 8pm

EDINBURGH Comedy Award nominee and Northern News podcast co-host Ian Smith heads out on tour with Foot Spa Half Empty, his new show about stress, love and buying a magic spell off Amazon, in his follow-up to 2023’s Crushing.

Smith, 37, from Goole, has appeared on Live At The Apollo, Have I Got News For You, The Stand Up Sketch Show, BBC Radio 4’sThe News Quiz, The Unbelievable Truth and Just A Minute and hosted his own Radio 4 series, Ian Smith Is Stressed. Box office:  01439 771700  or  helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Mike Amber: Taking on Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock songs with Lola-Mae at Navigators Art’s Back To The Garden night of poetry and music

Nature lovers of the week: Navigators Art presents Back To The Garden, York Festival of Ideas, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, Saturday, 7.30pm, doors 7pm

NAVIGATORS Art has invited York performers to celebrate and explore the York Festival of Ideas theme of Place and Space with a focus on the peaceful, wild, mythical, inspirational green worlds of gardens.

Original words and music feature alongside well-loved works by familiar names in the company of storyteller Lara McClure; Mike Amber & Lola-Mae, taking on Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock; poet and novelist Janet Dean; performance poet Carrieanne Vivianette and alt folk band Sofa Sofa, whose songs are rooted in nature and people, woods, weather, long walks, short thoughts, longing and love. Box office: ticketsource.com/navigators-art-performance or on the door.

Country Bound: Performing upbeat country songs, complemented by floor fillers re-imagined in a country music style, at Milton Rooms, Malton

Country gig of the week: Country Bound, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm

COUNTRY Bound put the ‘fun’ into country function band, performing upbeat modern and classic country songs, complemented by classic floor fillers re-imagined in a country music style.

Fronted by Micki Consiglio, they cover hits by Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, Zach Brown Band, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Dolly Parton, Lady A, Blake Shelton, Faith Hill, Morgan Wallen, Billy Cyrus, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Kacey Musgraves, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Kelsea Ballerini, Kenny Rogers, Patsy Cline and more. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Rick Wakeman: The Wizard of Prog reunites with the English Rock Ensemble at York Barbican next March

Gig announcement of the week: Rick Wakeman, The Wizard of Prog, Ultimate Highlights Concert Tour with English Rock Ensemble, York Barbican, March 11 2027

KEYBOARD player extraordinaire Rick Wakeman, who turned 77 on May 18, will be reuniting with the English Rock Ensemble to focus on a broad sweep across his classic back catalogue, including extracts from epic concept albums Journey To The Centre Of The Earth and The Myths & Legends Of King Arthur & The Knights Of The Round Table, Yes material and surprises.

The band line-up reassembles from 2025’s Return Of The Caped Crusader Part 2 tour: Wakeman, Jesse Smith (lead vocals), Adam Wakeman (keyboard, guitars and vocals), Dave Colquhoun (guitars and vocals), Lee Pomeroy (bass and vocals), Adam Falkner (drums) and backing vocalists Sara Davey, Jo Goldsmith-Eteson and Jo Marshall. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am at yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/rick-27.

Paul Hobson’s A Toad Swims Across Its Woodland Pond: Grand Prize winner in British Wildlife Photography Awards 2026, on show at Nunnington Hall

In Focus: British Wildlife Photography Awards 2026, Nunnington Hall, Nunnington, near Helmsley, until July 5, open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm

THE winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2026 have been unveiled at the National Trust’s Nunnington Hall, where 75 photographs are on show.

Paul Hobson’s A Toad Swims Across Its Woodland Pond, photographed from a pond-floor perspective in Sheffield, has taken the top prize from more than 12,000 images submitted by professional and amateur photographers. 

“I am lucky to have a pond close to my house that has relatively clear water,” says Hobson. “Toads use this pond to breed in, and I decided I wanted to try to capture an image looking up from the bottom of the pond.”

To accomplish this, he housed the camera inside a home-built glass box, complete with old tripod legs and ballast to prevent sinking, and triggered the camera using an adapted long cable release.

“I had to wait quite a long time until a toad swam across the surface,” says Hobson. “Most of them would usually swim below it and rest on the glass. He was eventually successful, however, and the outcome provides a rare view of a toad in its woodland home.

Ben Lucas’s Feathery Pillow: Winner of the Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award 2026

Ben Lucas won the Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 award with Feathery Pillow, his charming image of a mute swan cygnet taking a nap on its sibling’s back. “Nature can often be so cruel, but tender moments like this warm my heart,” he says.

The annual showcase of nature photography is a crucial reminder of what value British woodlands, wetlands and other ecosystems still hold.

“This year’s winners celebrate the wonder, diversity and character of British wildlife in truly exceptional ways,” say British Wildlife Photography Awards director Will Nicholls. “From familiar species to rarely seen moments, the portfolio showcases the skill and passion of the photographers behind the lens.

“Together, they offer a joyful celebration of Britain’s natural world, while also reminding us why these places and species are so deserving of our care and protection.”

Photographers competed in 11 categories in the adult competition: Animal Behaviour, Animal Portraits, Botanical Britain, Black & White, Coast & Marine, Habitat, Hidden Britain, Urban Wildlife and Wild Woods, plus British Seasons and Documentary Series making up the special awards.

Three photographs from the British Wildlife Photography Award 2026 exhibition

Further awards were given for Wildlife in HD Video and three age groups in the youth competition: age 11 and under, 12 to 14 and 15 to 17.

All awarded images are published by Graffeg Books in a hardback coffee-table book, available online at bwpawards.org, with a foreword by actor, writer and director Mackenzie Crook.

The 2027 competition is open for entries at bwpawards.org, inviting photographers of all levels of experience to submit their photos of Britain’s nature at its best.

Nunnington Hall invites visitors take time in the organic gardens overlooking the River Rye to spot many birds and insects and maybe the occasional otter or kingfisher that calls the garden home.

Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/nunnington-hall. Entry is free for National Trust members and under-fives.

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Anything goes as Pickering Musical Society stages Cole Porter summer revue Let’s Do It! at Kirk Theatre from June 9 to 13

Let’s Do It! director and performer Courtney Brown

PICKERING Musical Society is putting the finishing touches to its summer concert, Let’s Do It!, as excitement continues to build at the Kirk Theatre, Pickering.

Running from June 9 to 13, the production promises a joyful celebration of the timeless music of Cole Porter, taking audiences on a journey through a selection of the legendary Indiana songwriter’s most beloved works.

Featuring music from Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate and many more, the show captures the glamour, sophistication and irresistible charm of the golden age of musical theatre.

Pickering Musical Society singer Rachel Anderson in Let’s Do It!

Audiences can look forward to an evening packed with memorable songs, including the show-stopping Blow, Gabriel, Blow, the playful Let’s Misbehave and ever-popular You’re The Top, alongside many other favourites that continue to delight audiences decades after they were first performed.

At the helm is director Courtney Brown, following her successful directorial debut with My Favourite Things last year. Building on that success, she has assembled a production full of energy, movement and fun, with rehearsals now in full swing as cast and creative team members work to bring the music and staging together ahead of opening night.

The set promises to be spectacular, with the cast joined on stage by a grand piano and five talented musicians, creating the rich sound and atmosphere of the golden age of jazz to transport audiences back to an era of elegance, style and unforgettable music.

The Ladies Ensemble in Pickering Musical Society’s Let’s Do It!

The addition of live music on stage will bring an extra dimension to the production, creating an immersive theatrical experience in bringing Porter’s timeless songs thrillingly to life.

Adding even more spectacle to the production, Pickering Musical Society again will be joined on stage by performers from the Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance. Their colourful choreography and dynamic routines will instil extra sparkle and visual excitement.

Pickering Musical Society presents Let’s Do It!, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 9 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01751 474833 or www.kirktheatre.co.uk.

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