CONGRATULATIONS to Sir Gary Oldman, knighted in the King’s Honours List for services to drama.
Services that began in the repertory ranks of York Theatre Royal in 1979-1980 in a season of nine shows that took in She Stoops To Conquer, Thark, Privates On Parade and Romeo And Juliet, topped off by Oldman playing the Cat in furry suit, mittens and nylon whiskers in Berwick Kaler’s third York pantomime, Dick Whittington And His Wonderful Cat, that Christmas.
Announced on June 13, Sir Gary’s knighthood comes less than a month after he completed his banana-munching April 14 to May 17 residency in Samuel Beckett’s melancholic monodrama Krapp’s Last Tape on his return to York Theatre Royal after more than 45 years.
Gary Oldman, third from the left, in hat and glasses, in Privates On Parade at York Theatre Royal in 1979, one of his first professional performances after graduating that year with a BA in Acting from Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, in Sidcup, Kent. Picture: York Theatre Royal
“To be included in the long lineage of extraordinary actors, artists and others who hold this title fills me with indescribable humility and pride,” pronounced Sir Gary in his official statement. “It is emotional, humbling and flattering all at the same time to be recognised amongst them.”
Theatre Royal chief executive Paul Crewes, who oversaw Sir Gary’s York return, says: “Congratulations to Sir Gary on this very well-deserved knighthood. We were so honoured to welcome him back to the York Theatre Royal stage this year and the whole team are delighted by this news.”
Sir Gary, 67, can be seen next in the fifth series of Slow Horses, in the lead role of grouchy Slough House spy Jackson Lamb, on Apple TV+ from September 24.
Gary Oldman in his York Theatre Royal residency in Krapp’s Last Tape from April 14 to May 17 2025. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
Gary Oldman and chief executive Paul Crewes survey the York Theatre Royal auditorium on the Slow Horses star’s visit in February 2014. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
GARY Oldman’s “coming home” to York Theatre Royal after 45 years for “the completion of a cycle” in directing, designing and starring in Krapp’s Last Tape could not have gone any better.
More than 18,000 tickets sold for the April 14 to May 17 residency; every performance sold out; 700 bookers from overseas; 60 per cent of the audience attending a Theatre Royal show for the first time; Policeman Sting, Slow Horses co-star Freddie Fox and clothes designer Paul Smith among the Gary Oldmania throng.
Hundreds of minutes spent signing autographs and posing for photos post-show by the Stage Door after every show bar the matinees; 100 bananas munched on stage, Gary’s chomping progress charted on a banana counter on a dressing-room mirror.
Then add screen star Gary being photographed with Theatre Royal staff in the auditorium on the last Friday; Gary leading a session with York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre members the day before; Gary writing farewell cards to staff; Gary enjoying his visits to Bettys, The Ivy and the Minster Gate Bookshop.
“Gary told me that it was one of the highlights of his career,” says delighted Theatre Royal chief executive Paul Crewes, whose first meeting with Oldman 14 months earlier set in motion Oldman’s first stage appearance since Caryl Churchill’s Serious Money at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1987.
Gary Oldman in Samuel Beckett’s melancholic monodrama Krapp’s Last Tape on his return to the York Theatre Royal stage after 45 years: a case of two men in their 60s and their memories. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
“They [Gary and his wife Gisele Schmidt] had a wonderful time here and were a joy to have in the building. They loved being in the theatre, they loved being in the city, and we knew we weren’t just selling a name but a very high standard piece of theatre. ”
Oldman’s career had begun in 1979 in his debut professional season in the Theatre Royal repertory ranks, culminating in his pantomime appearance as the Cat in Dick Whittington And His Wonderful Cat. He contests dame Berwick Kaler’s recollection that the Cat fainted three times, by the way. “Not true,” he told Crewes.
“It all started with me taking Gary up to the roof when we did a tour of the building in February 2014. That triggered his thought that he should do a show here, and then it took months and months to feed it to fruition, growing from the seed of an idea to what you saw on stage,” says Paul.
Now that the posters, the security team, the Krapp’s Last Tape T-shirts, have gone, Paul reflects: “It was great to work with him over that time – and it was good for the theatre to get people locally, nationally and internationally to come to the Theatre Royal. That can only benefit our profile within the industry, with actors, as we’re not just thinking about projects now, but projects in 2026 and 2027. The more profile we get, the more opportunities will come with that.
The poster artwork for York Theatre Royal’s production of Krapp’s Last Tape starring returnee Gary Oldman
“We also had national coverage of Emma Rice’s company, Wise Children, opening the world premiere of her adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest here earlier this year.
“Both Gary and Emma’s teams left here extremely happy with the organisation and the staff, and that’s one of the things we’re most proud of.”
One key decision was to put the quality of audience experience before maximum commercial gain. “We didn’t sell the gallery seating, because we felt that 570 seats was the right amount artistically,” reveals Paul.
“A commercial producer would have sold all the seats, but Gary and I made the decision to forego the gallery so that people could see him on stage as close as they could.”
Gary Oldman in the stalls on his exploratory visit to the York Theatre Royal in 2024. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
Krapp’s Last Tape attracted 33 reviews at the last count, from The New York Times to Tatler, but Oldman restricted himself to only one newspaper interview. “Part of that was retaining the mystery of it all, through the play saying why he was here, rather than telling people all about why he was here. He wanted to concentrate on the work, and he took it all very seriously,” says Paul.
That included Oldman working his way through the potassium overload of more bananas than a Grand Slam-chasing tennis player. “The way Gary talked about it psychologically is that he would go out for a meal and have no puddings, so the bananas were like his dessert,” says Paul.
Just as Oldman was meticulous in his preparation, so was the Theatre Royal. “We spent a lot of time on the planning. Lots of nuances had to be really thought through, and I don’t think it could have gone any better: looking after Gary, looking after the audiences; working out how to bring a global film star to York Theatre Royal,” says Paul. “He enjoyed it, we enjoyed it, everyone enjoyed it – and we had the boost of selling out before opening the run.”
Gary Oldman, front centre, and York Theatre Royal staff gather in the stalls on the last Friday of his Krapp’s Last Tape residency. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
Even then, you could not be sure that a production would be deemed an artistic success. “That’s the joy and the risk of theatre. The interpretation that Gary brought to the play was really well thought through. Locating it in an attic, it was clear where Krapp was and why he was there.
“Normally Samuel Beckett’s play is not so naturalistic. Often it has just a desk and a few items, but here it was an attic, as full of clutter as memories. Edward Beckett, Beckett’s nephew, came to see it in the first week or two and was very positive – and he’s seen a lot of them!”
As for the future, Paul says: “For me, it’s only ever about ambition, and you’re never going to be successful with all the shows you do, but you have to be ambitious in what you want to present.
“We have to make theatre as exciting as we can. Having Gary here was like winning the lottery, but what we have to do is keep the momentum going. Everything we do has to have the same energy and enthusiasm. We want all the work we are producing to be of a standard that’s recognised nationally and potentially internationally too.”
What happened when Gary Oldman met York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre
Gary Oldman meets members of York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre on May 15. Picture: Millie Stephens
ASPIRING actors from York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre enjoyed a special visit from Gary Oldman in the last week of his Krapp’s Last Tape residency.
The young performers, aged 11 to 18, had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on May 15 to meet the Academy Award-winning actor, hear him discuss his acting experiences and ask him questions about his career.
Oldman started his professional career at York Theatre Royal in 1979 and returned 45 years later to support British regional theatre by performing in Samuel Beckett’s monodrama from April 14 to May 17.
When reflecting on his decision to go back to York Theatre Royal, Oldman said: “Without a local theatre, young people will never get the chance to see theatre. And we need young people if theatre is to thrive.
Gary Oldman at his session with York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre. Picture: Millie Stephens
“I hope this production of Krapp’s Last Tape whets the appetite, giving those new to the theatre a completely revelatory experience. And who knows? It may encourage them to visit the theatre again. And again. They may even invite a friend. And hopefully a devoted theatregoer or two will emerge.”
Sophie Jade Howell, head of York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre, said: “Meeting Gary Oldman was such a wonderful opportunity for the young people in our youth theatre. They were absolutely delighted to have this chance to hear such interesting insights and behind- the-scenes stories from an iconic actor who has so much experience. Everyone had such a brilliant afternoon and left feeling so inspired.”
York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre offers opportunities for young performers aged five to 19 to take part in fun weekly drama sessions. Aiming to improve confidence and develop performance and team-building skills, the sessions are run both at York Theatre Royal and venues around the city.
Pease in our time: John Pease tops bill at Patch’s new Funny Fridays comedy forum at the Bonding Warehouse
A NEW comedy night in a bygone location and Shakespeare on a council estate stand out in Charles Hutchinson’s picks for cultural exploration.
Laughter launch of the week: Funny Fridays, Patch, Bonding Warehouse, Terry Avenue, York, May 9, doors 7pm for 7.30pm start
LIVE comedy returns to the Bonding Warehouse for the first time since the days of the late Mike Bennett presenting the likes of Lee Evans and Ross Noble under the Comedy Shack banner. Stand up for Funny Fridays, hosted by York humorist Katie Lingo (alias copywriter Katie Taylor-Thompson) with an introductory price of £6.50.
On her first bill will be Kenny Watt, Tuiya Tembo, BBC New Comedy Awards semi-finalist Matty Oxley, Saeth Wheeler and Edinburgh Fringe Gilded Balloon semi-finalist John Pease. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk/e/funny-fridays-at-patch-tickets.
Sean Heydon: Magical sleight of hand at the Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club tonight
Magical comedy gig of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club presents Sean Heydon, Big Lou, Oliver Bowler and MC Damion Larkin, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 8pm
LAUGH Out Loud headliner Sean Heydon has performed to A-list celebrities and blue-chip companies, as well as at comedy clubs, with his combination of madcap comedy, sleight-of-hand magic and illusions for more than 15 years.
Big Lou offers a modern twist on old-school joke telling in the Les Dawson style; comedian, actor and writer Oliver Bowler discusses life experiences on the mean streets of Bolton; regular host and promoter Damion Larkin keeps order. Box office: 01904 612940 or lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.
Anastacia: Playing York Barbican on her Not That Kind 25th anniversary tour
Anniversary tour of the week: Anastacia, Not That Kind Tour, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.45pm
CHICAGO singer-songwriter Anastacia , 56, heads to York on her European tour marking the 25th anniversary of her debut album Not That Kind and its breakthrough hit I’m Outta Love.
Further singles Not That Kind, Paid My Dues, One Day In Your Life, Left Outside Alone and Sick And Tired charted too, as did 2001 album Freak Of Nature (reaching number four) and 2004’s chart-topping Anastacia, 2005’s Pieces Of A Dream, 2008’s Heavy Rotation, 2014’s Resurrection and 2015’s Ultimate Collection Her special guest will be Casey McQuillen. Box office: for returns only, yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Newton Faulkner: Unveiling new songs from his upcoming Octopus album at The Crescent, York
“No technological funny business” of the week: Newton Faulkner, Feels Like Home Tour 3, The Crescent, York, Sunday, 7.30pm
LET Reigate singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner describe his York gig: “Folks, I give you the Feels Like Home Tour 3. We’re talking no technological funny business in my set-up. I love switching my focus back to just playing and singing. I also cannot wait to introduce you properly to the new material and my new head.”
Often Faulkner has found himself in his home studio working solo, but not for this next record, nor for this tour. His new phase is full of collaboration, one where “seeing these songs come to life on stage is going to be nothing short of joyous” ahead of the September 19 release of Octopus. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape on his return to York Theatre Royal after 45 years. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
York theatre event of the year: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, until May 17
OSCAR winner Gary Oldman returns to York Theatre Royal, where he made his professional debut in 1979, to perform Samuel Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd Krapp’s Last Tape in his first stage appearance since 1989.
“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says the Slow Horses leading man. “It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.” Tickets update: check availability of returns on 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
York musician Steve Cassidy: Once he worked with John Barry and producer Joe Meek, now he plays with his mates on regular nights at the JoRo
Return of the week: Steve Cassidy Band, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Sunday, 7.30pm
YORK singer, songwriter, guitarist and former head teacher Steve Cassidy will be joined by special guests when he lines up as usual with John Lewis on lead guitar, Mick Hull on bass guitar, ukulele, guitar and vocals, Brian Thomson on percussion and George Hall on keyboards.
Expect rock and country songs, as well as instrumental pieces, selected especially for this evening. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Mark Holgate’s Oberon and Suzy Cooper’s Titania, centre, with Sam Roberts’s Demetrius, left, Amy Domeneghetti’s Helena, Will Parsons’ Lysander and Meg Olssen’s Hermia in York Stage’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Reinvented play of the week: York Stage in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Grand Opera House, York, May 6 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees
YORK pantomime golden gal Suzy Cooper turns Fairy Queen Titania opposite York-born Royal Shakespeare Company actor Mark Holgate’s Fairy King Oberon in Nik Briggs’s debut Shakespeare production for York Stage.
In his first co-production with the Cumberland Street theatre, Briggs relocates the Bard’s most-performed comedy from the court of Athens to Athens Court, a northern council estate, where magic is fuelled with mayhem and true love’s bumpy path is played out to a new score by musical director Stephen Hackshaw and Nineties and Noughties’ dancefloor fillers, sung by May Tether. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Katherine Toy in rehearsals for AKA Theatre’s The Flood, on tour in York, Hull and Leeds. Picture: Cian O’Riain
Premiere of the week: AKA Theatre Company in The Flood: A Musical, Friargate Theatre, York, May 9 and 10, 7.30pm; Godber Studio, Hull Truck Theatre, Hull, May 13, 7pm; Leeds Playhouse Burton Studio, May 14 and 15, 8pm
AKA Theatre Company’s premiere of Lucie Raine and Joe Revell’s musical The Flood blends live music and heartfelt storytelling based on true accounts of facing up to disaster in West Yorkshire in 2015.
“This is a story about what it means to come together when everything falls apart,” says writer-director Raine, who uses a cast of five actor-musicians. “It’s not just a play. It’s a tribute to resilience and creativity, inspired by Hebden Bridge and its people. It’s a celebration for all communities who have faced adversity and emerged stronger.” Box office: York, ticketsource.co.uk; Hull, hulltruck.co.uk; Leeds, leedsplayhouse.org.uk.
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox: Putting the retro into today’s hits at York Barbican
Nostalgia for today: Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox: Magic & Moonlight Tour 2025, York Barbican, May 7, doors 7pm
AFTER chalking off their 1,000th show, retro collective Postmodern Jukebox are on the British leg of their Moonlight & Magic world tour. Enter a parallel universe where modern-day hits are reimagined in 1920s’ jazz, swing, doo-wop and Motown arrangements. Think The Great Gatsby meets Sinatra At The Sands meets Back To The Future. Dress vintage for the full effect. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
In Focus: York Late Music, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, Stuart O’Hara & Marianna Cortesi, today at 1pm; Trio Agile and Northern School of Contemporary Dance, today at 7.30pm
Stuart O’Hara & Marianna Cortesi
YORK Late Music plays host to two concerts today, the first featuring bass Stuart O’Hara and pianist Marianna Cortesi this afternoon as Sounds Lyrical presents settings of poets Hugh Bernays, John Gilham, Richard Kitchen and Alan Gillott by composers Thomas J Crawley, Robert Holden, Jenny Jackson, Katie Lang, Dawn Walters and James Else.
The concert comprises: Elizabeth Lutyens’ Refugee Blues (Auden); David Blake’s Morning Sea (CP Cavafy); Dawn Walters’ Pre-dawn (Richard Kitchen); Jenny Jackson’s Collecting Stones (Richard Kitchen); Robert Holden’s Flaneur (John Gilham) and Katie Laing’s Maker (Richard Kitchen).
Then come Thomas J Crawley’s Leather Heart (Hugh Bernays); James Else’s Retras IV (Alan Gillott); Tim Brooks’s Jeer (Lizzie Linklater); David Blake’s Voices (CP Cavafy) and Stephen Dodgson’s Various Australian Bush Ballads, 2nd Series. The programme also includes music by David Blake and Elizabeth Lutyens.
Northern School of Contemporary Dance dancer Antonio Bukhar Ssebuuma: Performing with Trio Agile tonight
TONIGHT’S concert marks a first collaboration between York Late Music and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Trio Agile and NSCD’s Freedom Dances programme.
Bringing together the freedoms of dance, music and rhythm, Trio Agile combine their experimental flair and improvisatory talent with four dancers from the Leeds school, Antonio Bukhar Ssebuuma, Darcy Bodle, Genevieve Wright and Maya Donne.
The 7.30pm performance blends a range of styles from across the globe in a shared expression of the power and joy of the arts, including new works from Indian composer and performer Supriya Nagarajan, Angela Elizabeth Slater, David Lancaster, Steve Crowther, David Power, Athena Corcoran-Tadd and James Else.
Curated by James Else in partnership with the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, the programme comprises: Susie Hodder-Williams & Chris Caldwell, Prelude; Angela Elizabeth Slater, Weaving Colours; Paul Honey, Une Valse Assez Triste; James Else, Freedom Dances and David Lancaster, The Compendium Of Ingenious Mechanical Devices.
Then follow Susie Hodder-Williams & Chris Caldwell, Pas de Deux; Tom Armstrong, Aunt Maria’s Dancing Master; Paul Honey, Pizzìca; Athena Corcoran-Tadd, To You; Supriya Nagarajan, Mohanam Raga; Steve Crowther, Once Upon A Time Harlequin Met His Columbine; David Power, Something In Our Skies; Susie Hodder-Williams & Chris Caldwell, Light Dances and Athena Corcoran-Tadd , Hope Is A Boat.
The musicians will be: Susie Hodder-Williams, flutes; Chris Caldwell, saxophone and bass clarinet; Richard Horne, vibraphone and percussion; Supriya Nagarajan, voice, and Paul Honey, piano.
Chris Caldwell, Susie Hodder-Williams and composer James Else will give a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm with a complimentary glass of wine or juice.
Tickets are on sale at latemusic.org or on the door.
Climb every mountain: Rebecca Jackson in the role of Maria in Steve Tearle’s production of The Sound Of Music for NE Theatre York
THE spring weather may be perking up, but Charles Hutchinson still finds reasons aplenty to stay in the dark for cultural satisfaction.
York musical of the week: NE Theatre York in The Sound Of Music, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
IN its centenary year, members of Strensall Women’s Institute have accepted NE Theatre York creative director Steve Tearle’s invitation to play the abbey nuns in this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
The show brings back special memories for Tearle, who played Kurt Von Trapp at the age of 11 in a professional tour in his first role in any show. This time he plays his favourite part, Max Detweiler. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Cracking the whip: Carrie Hope Fletcher’s Calamity Jane in Calamity Jane, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Mark Senior
Whip-cracking touring musical of the week: Calamity Jane, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees
WEST End leading lady Carrie Hope Fletcher takes the title role of fearless, gun-slinging Calamity Jane, the biggest mouth in Dakota territory and always up for a fight, in North Yorkshireman Nikolai Foster’s touring production, based on the cherished 1953 Doris Day movie.
When the men of Deadwood fall hard for Chicago stage star Adelaid Adams, Calamity struggles to keep her jealousy holstered. Here come The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away), The Black Hills Of Dakota, Just Blew In From The Windy City and Secret Love in this Watermill Theatre production, choreographed by Nick Winston. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Got it taped: Gary Oldman with the reel-to-reel tape machine in Krapp’s Last Tape at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
York theatre event of the year: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, until May 17
OSCAR winner Gary Oldman returns to York Theatre Royal, where he made his professional debut in 1979, to perform Samuel Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd Krapp’s Last Tape in his first stage appearance since 1989.
“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says the Slow Horses leading man. “It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.” Tickets update: check availability of returns on 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Andy Bell: New songs, solo favourites and Erasure hits at York Barbican tonight
York gig of the week: Andy Bell, Ten Crowns Tour, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
ERASURE singer Andy Bell opens his tour at York Barbican on the eve of Friday’s release of his third solo album, Ten Crowns, ten tracks of dazzling, joyous pop, produced and polished in Nashville, inspired by the dancefloor and gospel, available on vinyl, CD (standard and 2CD versions), gold cassette and digitally via Crown Recordings.
Bell’s set combines new compositions with favourites from his solo catalogue and Erasure hits aplenty. His band features his principal Ten Crowns collaborator and co-writer, Grammy-winning American producer Dave Audé, who opens tomorrow’s show with a DJ set. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Guitar Legends: Terrific riffs galore at Milton Rooms, Malton
Tribute show of the week: Guitar Legends, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm,
GUITAR Legends celebrates the music of iconic guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Prince, Gary Moore, Mark Knopfler and Jimi Hendrix.
Through a blend of live music, visuals and anecdotes, the show takes a journey through rock history, showcasing tenor vocal prowess and guitar virtuosity. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Learlike: Greensleeved tell Shakespeare’s tragedy of King Lear from the distaff side at York International Shakespeare Festival
Festival of the week: York International Shakespeare Festival presents Greensleeved in Learlike, York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium, Saturday, 2pm
GREENSLEEVED, a female-led pan-European ensemble, premiere their show Learlike in York, presenting Shakespeare’s tragedy of King Lear but this time told by his daughters. These tyrant-children are newly in power but old in their ability for manipulation and deceit. Or are they? Even in the most corrupt homes the roots of resistance grow deep.
Greensleeved comprises performers who met at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland: Amber Frances (Belgium), Ariela Nazar-Rosen (Poland/USA), Lucy Doig (Scotland), Julia Vredenberg (Norway) and Cecilia Thoden van Velzen (Netherlands). For the full programme to May 4 and tickets, head to: yorkshakes.co.uk.
Rob Auton: Any eyeful tower of ocular comedy at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall
The eyes have it: Rob Auton: The Eyes Open And Shut Show, Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, Saturday, 7.30pm
“THE Eyes Open And Shut Show is a show about eyes when they are open and eyes when they are shut,” says surrealist Barmby Moor/York comedian, writer, artist, podcaster and actor Rob Auton. “With this show I wanted to explore what I could do to myself and others with language when eyes are open and shut…thinking about what makes me open my eyes and what makes me shut them.” Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Scouting For Girls: Heading for York and Leeds in 2026
Gig announcement of the week: Scouting For Girls, York Barbican, March 17 and Leeds O2 Academy, March 24 2026
LONDON trio Scouting For Girls will accompany the 2026 release of a new studio album with a 22-date tour that takes in York Barbican and Leeds O2 Academy next March. General ticket sales open at 10am on Friday at yorkbarbican.co.uk and academymusicgroup.com.
Roy Stride, vocals, piano and guitar, Greg Churchouse, bass guitar, and James Rowlands, drums, last payed York Barbican in October 2021. Next year’s shows will mark the 15th anniversary of their Everybody Wants To Be On TV album too.
Got it taped: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape on his return to the York Theatre Royal stage after 45 years. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
HE last entered the York Theatre Royal stage on all fours in a hot, furry cat suit, mittens and nylon whiskers in Dick Whittington And His Wonderful Cat, the pantomime apogee to his debut repertory season of nine shows after graduating from Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama.
Forty-five years later, Gary Oldman re-enters with a cough from a stairway into a loft thick with dust, papers, boxes and tapes, woozy head stuffed with memories, locker full of bananas. Happy 69th birthday, Krapp, lothario, writer and recorder of fading memories and failing powers. Time to record that last tape, to consign life to the dustbin, like the discarded banana skins. A life that has turned to, well, krapp.
Oldman, now playing an old man, is full of memories too at 67 as he takes to the stage for the first time since 1989. “York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” he said on announcing his Theatre Royal return in Samuel Beckett’s one-act monodrama of existential despair last October.
“It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.”
His appearance here comes with all the trappings and razzmatazz accorded to an Academy Award, BAFTA, SAG, BIFA and Golden Globe winner. Security on duty; the New York Times among the critics for the week of press shows; Sting and Trudie Styler making a last-minute entry to Tuesday’s audience; Slough House writer Mick Herron present too.
Polite request: “We kindly ask if you can refrain from applauding upon Gary’s entrance”
Oh, and that much publicised request, proclaimed on signs in gold, white and yellow – to match the Krapp’s Last Tape T-shirts for sale and worn by multiple staff – to “refrain from applauding upon Gary’s entrance. Please hold all applause until the end of the performance.”
An entirely reasonable request, observed impeccably by Wednesday’s full house, not drawn to Broadway ways, even in our age of celebrity adulation. Silence is golden here, just as it was as Ralph Fiennes began T S Eliot’s Four Quartets on this very stage in July 2021.
Let the actor choose the moment to break that silence, to cast the spell, to establish the rhythm, the mien. Or in Oldman’s case, to cough and splutter, to exhale exasperated air.
Rather than applause, ironically, it was audience coughs that threatened to disrupt the ambience. The silence, the feeling of waiting, the inaction, is a disconcerting feeling for an audience, coming to terms in the low light with screen icon Oldman being back on stage, staring blankly, downbeat rather than charismatic, as slouchy, unkempt and sour as Slow Horses’ Jackson Lamb.
All the while, we are unsure whether to laugh or be baffled by Krapp working his way through three bananas, or two and a half, to be precise, as the birthday tape from 30 years ago reminds him that is not so much an errant skin on the floor as an excess of the potassium-heavy fruit that puts his health at risk.
Still reeling after all these years: Gary Oldman’s Krapp with his reel-to-reel recorder, used previously by John Hurt and Michael Gambon. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
That moment feels like permission has been granted to laugh with confidence, amid that Beckett thing of playing, even toying, with his audience while making serious points, as he does in Waiting For Godot, as the tone turns ever more depressed.
Krapp’s Last Tape is a canny choice for a stage renaissance: a short solo play, played previously by such luminaries as Patrick Magee, Albert Finney, Harold Pinter, John Hurt, Michael Gambon, Stephen Rea and Kenneth Allan Taylor, the long-running Nottingham Playhouse pantomime dame, writer and director, in the play’s last performance at York Theatre Royal in the Studio in 2009.
It’s on an actor’s To Do list, like Hamlet and Lear, but more compact and certainly more divisive in audience reactions, and there is a sense of a baton being passed on in Oldman using the same reel-to-reel tape recorder that Gambon and Hurt did before him.
He directs himself, having been directed by Stephen Frears, Oliver Stone, Frances Ford Coppola, Luc Besson, Alfonso Curon, Chris Nolan, Tony Scott, Ridley Scott, Steven Soderbergh, David Fincher, Paulo Sorrentino and…dame Berwick Kaler in that 1979 panto. The result is a performance of precise weight and balance, the dimming of Krapp’s light matched by the gradual fading of Douglas Urbanski’s lighting.
We spend time aplenty watching Oldman’s Krapp stopping and starting the tape machine as he listens back to the Krapp of 30 years ago, and one of the joys here is hearing how Oldman contrasts the resonant, confident, even arrogant voice of yore (newly recorded for this production) with Krapp’s weaker strains of today, where his only joy is in how he says the word spool as the bananas make way for sips from a bottle and melancholy suffuses his valedictory audio diary.
Gary Oldman at Krapp’s loft desk, placed at the front of the stage to facilitate seeing his facial expressions. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
Is a 55-minute exercise in brutal navel gazing, self-loathing and self-deception, more than half of it spent watching an exhausted husk of a lonely man listening to the ghost of his former self, worth all the buzz and the fuss?
Judge it as a play, not as event theatre – just as Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter reuniting for Beckett’s Waiting For Godot on Broadway in September will want it to be more than Bill & Ted’s Existential Adventure – and Oldman ekes out all the corners of a study of failed ambitions and foiled hopes that is ultimately far more tragedy than comedy.
There will be those who wish for a Studio staging, for a closer encounter with Krapp, rather than the bigger canvas of the Theatre Royal’s main house, but its expanse enhances Krapp’s loneliness and Oldman maximises facial expression, the grimaces, the physical tics, the pained bemusement, and his design fills the stage with life’s clutter behind the desk thrust to the front.
Krapp’s Last Tape remains a Marmite play; Oldman can’t change that, but more than anything it will provoke debate that goes deeper than whether he peels a banana the right way. Box office for returns: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The poster artwork for Gary Oldman’s return to York Theatre Royal in Krapp’s Last Tape
Celebrity watch: Who has attended Krapp’s Last Tape?
Policeman Sting and Trudie Styler flew in from New York City for April 22 performance.
Clothes designer Paul Smith.
Slow Horses co-star Freddie Fox.
Slow Horses writer Mick Herron.
Did you know?
GARY Oldman’s production of Krapp’s Last Tape is not the only significant one running at present. Stephen Rea is appearing in Beckett’s monodrama at the Barbican, London, until May 3, then Pavilion Theatre, Dublin, from July 22 to 25.
Gary Oldman in reflective mood in the dressing room as he returns to York Theatre Royal to perform Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, now into its week of press shows. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
YORK International Shakespeare Festival’s tenth anniversary programme is among Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations as April blossoms.
York theatre event of the year: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, until May 17
OSCAR winner Gary Oldman returns to York Theatre Royal, where he made his professional debut in 1979, to perform Samuel Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd Krapp’s Last Tape in his first stage appearance since 1987.
“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says the Slow Horses leading man. “It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.” Tickets update: check availability of returns and additional seats on 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Katy Stephens’ White Witch and Aslan the lion in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Ellie Kurttz
Touring show of the week: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7pm plus 2pm Thursday and Saturday matinees
STEP through the wardrobe into the kingdom of Narnia for the most mystical of adventures in a faraway land. Join Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter as they wave goodbye to wartime Britain and say hello to Mr Tumnus, the talking Faun (Alfie Richards), Aslan, the Lion (Stanton Wright), and the coldest, cruellest White Witch (Katy Stephens).
Directed by Michael Fentiman, this breathtaking stage adaptation brings magical storytelling, bewitching stagecraft and stellar puppets to CS Lewis’s allegorical novel. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Philipp Sommer: Delivering his riposte to Shakespeare’s hatchet job on Richard III in Re-Lording Richard 3.0
Festival of the week: York International Shakespeare Festival, until May 4
YORK International Shakespeare Festival is marking its tenth anniversary with a programme incorporating artists from the Netherlands for the first time; Croatia for Marin Drzic Day; Ukrainian artists from Ivano Frankisk and Bulgaria.
Among the highlights will be Berlin actor Philipp Sommer’s riposte to Shakespeare’s hatchet job on York’s own Richard III, Re-Lording Richard 3.0 (tomorrow); Olga Annenko’s Codename Othello (Friday); York company Hoglets Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Mischief with Team Titania and Team Oberon (Saturday); Stillington writer/actor/director Alexander Wright’s immersive, existential Hamlet Show (April 28 to 30); Ridiculusmus’s Alas! Poor Yorick (April 29) and the Shakespeare’s Speakeasy play in a day (May 2). For the full programme and tickets, head to: yorkshakes.co.uk.
George Young’s Henry VI in York Shakespeare Project’s Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3. Picture: John Saunders
Condensed play of the week: York Shakespeare Project in Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3, “I Am Myself Alone”, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee
UNIVERSITY of California Santa Barbara theatre professor Irwin Appel, artistic director of Naked Shakes, directs York Shakespeare Project in his condensed, physical theatre version of Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy.
A bare space, a crown and a throne meet an ensemble cast in a powerful show of “actor-generated theatricality and transformation”, wherein they tell a cautionary tale of power and greed that charts how a tyrant can rise in a torn and broken society. Box office: yorkshakes.co.uk or tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Pip Cook, left, Josie Morley and Keeley Lane in Badapple Theatre Company’s revival of Kate Bramley’s The Thankful Village, playing York Theatre Royal Studio from today
Wartime memorial of the week: Badapple Theatre Company in The Thankful Village, York Theatre Royal Studio, today to Saturday, 7pm plus 2.30pm matinees, today and Saturday
IN a new departure for Green Hammerton touring company Badapple Theatre, writer and artistic director Kate Bramley will be playing a live score for the first time to accompany her poignant First World War comedy-drama The Thankful Village.
A story of hope, humour and humanity is seen through the eyes of three Yorkshire women from the same rural household, below and above stairs. Left behind to cope after their men-folk march off to Flanders, Pip Cook’s Edie, Keeley Lane’s Victoria and Josie Morley’s Nellie each face up to the challenges in their own way as they wait anxiously for news of their loved ones far away. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Matt Goss: Tipping his hat to The Hits & More at York Barbican on Friday. Picture: Paul Harris
Pop concert of the week: Matt Goss, The Hits & More, York Barbican, Friday, 8pm
MATT Goss, the Bros pop pin-up-turned-Las Vegas showman, says: “Trust me, what I’ve learnt over the years being on countless stages around the world, this will be your best night of the year.”
Now living in central London after many years of blue skies in America, Goss, 56, will be celebrating all he has achieved in his music career and beyond in a rock’n’roll show, but still with a horn section (featured previously in the Matt Goss Experience show with the MG Big Band and the Royal Philharmonic at York Barbican in April 2023). Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Comedy gig of the week: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club, Clayton Jones, Dawn Bailey and Chris Brooker, Milton, Rooms, Malton, Friday. 8pm
HEADLINER Clayton Jones, the 2017 Last Minute Comedy Comedian of the Year winner, covers everyday topics of marriage, children, being mixed race, school life and growing up in London in his observational comedy.
Newly turned 50, affable Dawn Bailey views life as a mum through happy specs and giddy knickers (in her own words). Host Chris Brooker combines infectious energy with original material and inspired improvisation. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Josienne Clarke: Performing the songs of Sandy Denny with full folk-rock band at Pocklington Arts Centre
Folk gig of the week: Across The Evening Sky: Josienne Clarke Sings The Songs Of Sandy Denny, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 8pm
MELANCHOLIC singer, songwriter and interpreter of traditional song Josienne Clarke leads a full folk-rock band – guitar, piano, bass and drums – in a new show dedicated to Sandy Denny, whose songs are her “north star – a constant guiding light”.
“If I can take one young fan of mine and introduce them to Sandy, in a context that they can grab hold of,” she says. “If they like my music, they will love Sandy. And that would be the whole concept sorted. To pass it on, so that these songs can go on forever.” Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Gary Oldman in rehearsal for his return to York Theatre Royal in Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, now heading into a week of press shows. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
YORK International Shakespeare Festival’s tenth anniversary programme is among Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations as April blossoms.
York theatre event of the year: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, until May 17
OSCAR winner Gary Oldman returns to York Theatre Royal, where he made his professional debut in 1979, to perform Samuel Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd Krapp’s Last Tape in his first stage appearance since 1987.
“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says the Slow Horses leading man. “It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.” Tickets update: check availability of returns and additional seats on 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The Counterfeit Sixties: Swinging into Sixties’ recollections at the Joseph Rowntree Theatretonight
Tribute show of the week: The Counterfeit Sixties Show, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tonight, 7.30pm
THE Counterfeit Sixties pay tribute to 25 acts of the Swinging Sixties in a show encompassing everything from that golden pop age, from the clothes to flashbacks of television programmes, adverts and clips from the original bands.
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks and The Monkees all feature in a hit parade performed by musicians who have worked with The Searchers, The Ivy League, The Fortunes and The Tremeloes. Tickets update: Limited availability on 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Some Enchanted Evening: Celebrating Rodgers and Hammerstein with the English Musical Theatre Orchestra at the Grand Opera House, York
Show tunes of the week: English Musical Theatre Orchestra presents Some Enchanted Evening, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm
EXPERIENCE the grandeur of Broadway as the English Musical Theatre Orchestra serenades you with show tunes from I Could Have Danced All Night ,People Will Say We’re In Love and You’ll Never Walk Alone to Getting To Know You and My Favourite Things.
Two star vocalists join the orchestra of 26 musicians, placing the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein centre-stage in renditions of songs from Oklahoma, The Sound Of Music, South Pacific and The King And I. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Full steam ahead: next stop Grand Opera House, York, for The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe on 2025 tour
Touring show of the week: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Grand Opera House, York, April 22 to 26, 7pm plus 2pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
STEP through the wardrobe into the kingdom of Narnia for the most mystical of adventures in a faraway land. Join Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter as they wave goodbye to wartime Britain and say hello to Mr Tumnus, the talking Faun (Alfie Richards), Aslan, the Lion (Stanton Wright), and the coldest, cruellest White Witch (Katy Stephens).
Directed by Michael Fentiman, this breathtaking stage adaptation brings magical storytelling, bewitching stagecraft and stellar puppets to CS Lewis’s allegorical novel. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Philipp Sommer: Performing Re-Lording Richard 3.0 at York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium on April 24 at 7.30pm as part of York International Shakespeare Festival
Festival of the week: York International Shakespeare Festival, April 22 to May 4
YORK International Shakespeare Festival is marking its tenth anniversary with a programme incorporating artists from the Netherlands for the first time; Croatia for Marin Drzic Day; Ukrainian artists from Ivano Frankisk and Bulgaria.
Among the highlights will be Berlin actor Philipp Sommer’s riposte to Shakespeare’s hatchet job on York’s own Richard III, Re-Lording Richard 3.0 (April 24); Olga Annenko’s Codename Othello (April 25); York company Hoglets Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Mischief with Team Titania and Team Oberon (April 26); Stillington writer/actor/director Alexander Wright’s immersive, existential Hamlet Show (April 28 to 30); Ridiculusmus’s Alas! Poor Yorick (April 29) and the Shakespeare’s Speakeasy play in a day (May 2). For the full programme and tickets, head to: yorkshakes.co.uk.
York Shakespeare Project in rehearsal for Irwin Appel’s production of Henry VI, Parts 1, 2 and 3for York International Shakespeare Festival.Picture: John Saunders
Condensed play of the week: York Shakespeare Project in Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3, “I Am Myself Alone”, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 22 to 26, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee
UNIVERSITY of California Santa Barbara theatre professor Irwin Appel, artistic director of Naked Shakes, directs York Shakespeare Project in his condensed, physical theatre version of Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy.
A bare space, a crown and a throne meet an ensemble cast in a powerful show of “actor-generated theatricality and transformation”, wherein they tell a cautionary tale of power and greed that charts how a tyrant can rise in a torn and broken society. Box office: yorkshakes.co.uk or tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Matt Goss: Tipping his hat to The Hits & More at York Barbican next Friday. Picture: Paul Harris
Pop concert of the week: Matt Goss, The Hits & More, York Barbican, April 25, 8pm
MATT Goss, the Bros pop pin-up-turned- Las Vegas showman, says: “Trust me, what I’ve learnt over the years being on countless stages around the world, this will be your best night of the year.”
Now living in central London after many years of blue skies in America, Goss, 56, will be celebrating all he has achieved in his music career and beyond in a rock’n’roll show, but still with a horn section (featured previously in the Matt Goss Experience show with the MG Big Band and the Royal Philharmonic at York Barbican in April 2023). Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
In Focus: Badapple Theatre Company in The Thankful Village, York Theatre Royal Studio, April 24 to 26, 7pm and 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees
Pip Cook, left, Josie Morley and Keeley Lane in Badapple Theatre Company’s revival of Kate Bramley’s The Thankful Village, playing York Theatre Royal Studio next week
IN a new departure for Green Hammerton touring company Badapple Theatre, writer and artistic director Kate Bramley will be playing a live score for the first time to accompany her poignant First World War comedy-drama The Thankful Village.
Bramley is an international touring musician, who started her professional music career aged 17, with tours of the USA and UK, but this will be the first time that she has made a musical contribution to a show by her Green Hammerton company, specialists for 27 years in touring “theatre on your doorstep”.
Kate Bramley: Playing a live score in a Badapple Theatre Company production for the first time at York Theatre Royal Studio
“It has been our ambition since the play was created back in 2014 to have a live score accompanying the story,” says Kate. “Thanks to our collaboration with York Theatre Royal, I will appear with the stellar 2025 cast of Pip Cook, Keeley Lane and Josie Morley.
“I’m delighted to be performing at York Theatre Royal this spring. One performance is already sold out, so we’re looking forward to an exciting time at my favourite local theatre.”
Boasting original songs and music by Sony Radio Academy Award winner Jez Lowe, Bramley’s story of hope, humour and humanity is seen through the eyes of three Yorkshire women from the same rural household, below and above stairs.
Badapple Theatre Company in the rehearsal room for The Thankful Village
Left behind to cope after their men-folk march off to Flanders, Pip Cook’s Edie, Keeley Lane’s Victoria and Josie Morley’s Nellie each face up to the challenges in their own way as they wait anxiously for news of their loved ones far away. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Did you know?
“THE Thankful Villages” were those rare places that lost no men in the Great War because all those who left to serve came home again.
Badapple Theatre Company’s poster for The Thankful Village at York Theatre Royal Studio
Gary Oldman in rehearsal for Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, now in its preview week at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
GARY Oldman’s return to York Theatre Royal tops the bill of Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations and chocolate is in the air too.
York theatre event of the year: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, until May 17
ONCE the pantomime Cat that fainted thrice in Dick Whittington in his 1979 cub days on the professional circuit in York, Oscar winner Gary Oldman returns to the Theatre Royal to perform Samuel Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd Krapp’s Last Tape in his first stage appearance since 1987.
“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says the Slow Horses leading man. “It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.” Tickets update: New availability of returns and additional seats on 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Laura Soper’s Noi with the beached Storm Whale in The Storm Whale at York Theatre Royal Studio. Narrator Charlotte Benedict looks on. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick, Kirkpatrick Photography
Children’s show of the week: The Storm Whale, York Theatre Royal Studio, until Saturday, 10.30am and 1.30pm
YORK writer and director Matt Aston revives his 2019 stage adaptation of Benji Davies’s tales of loneliness, love and courage, The Storm Whale, in a show built on puppetry, original songs and dialogue.
Noi lives with his dad and six cats by the sea. One summer, while dad was busy at work, Noi rescued a little whale, washed up on the beach. A friendship began that changed their lives forever. The following winter, his dad takes one last trip in his fishing boat. Alone once more, Noi longs to see his friend again. Will it take another storm to bring them back together? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
York Chocolate Festival: City centre will be chock-a-block with chocs and eggs for Easter
Festival of the week: York Chocolate Festival 2025, today to Saturday, 10am to 5pm
YORK Chocolate Festival showcases everything sweet and chocolate from independent businesses in Parliament Street and around the city.
Highlights include the York Chocolate Festival Market; Chocolate Taste Trail; Ashley McCarthy’s Chocolate Sculpture and Family Easter Egg Hunt. Entry to the festival and market is free; some activities and events require tickets. Full programme at: yorkfoodfestival.com/programme.
Showaddywaddy: Rock’n’roll revivalists standing under the moon of love at The Grand Opera House, York
Rock’n’roll nostalgia of the week: Showaddywaddy, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
SHOWADDYWADDY make the bold claim to be “the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world”, living up to that title for the past five decades, they say.
Formed in 1973 in Leicester, they have sold more than 20 million records. Here come Hey Rock And Roll, Under The Moon Of Love, Three Steps To Heaven, When, Blue Moon, Pretty Little Angel Eyes et al. Box office: atgtickjets.com/york.
Mark Radcliffe and David Boardman: Two voices, two guitars, original songs and carefully chosen covers at Pocklington Arts Centre
Duo of the week: Mark Radcliffe and David Boardman, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow, 8pm
MARK Radcliffe and David Boardman are singing, songwriting, strumming and swigging buddies from Knutsford in the Badlands of the Cheshire Plain. BBC radio presenter and author Radcliffe was a member of folk-rock bands The Family Mahone and Galleon Blast and is now one half of electronic duo UNE and drummer and lyricist for Americana band Fine Lines.
Guitarist, guitar teacher and visual artist Boardman cut his teeth on the rock circuit with Darktown Jubilee. On board with Radcliffe, they deliver two voices, two guitars, original songs, carefully chosen covers and the occasional rambling anecdote. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Patrick Monahan: The Talkinator fights back against AI at Theatre@41, Monkgate
Comedy gig of the week: Patrick Monahan: The Talkinator, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 8pm
IN 2024, amid much talk of about AI taking over humans, only one man can out-talk the chat-bots and robots. Step forward Irish-Iranian comedian Patrick Monahan for one hour of stand-up comedy written by a human, performed by a human. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Alfie Richards’ Mr Tumnus in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York
Touring show of the week: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Grand Opera House, York, April 22 to 26, 7pm plus 2pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
STEP through the wardrobe into the kingdom of Narnia for the most mystical of adventures in a faraway land. Join Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter as they wave goodbye to wartime Britain and say hello to Mr Tumnus, the talking Faun (Alfie Richards), Aslan, the Lion (Stanton Wright), and the coldest, cruellest White Witch (Katy Stephens).
Directed by Michael Fentiman, this breathtaking stage adaptation brings magical storytelling, bewitching stagecraft and stellar puppets to CS Lewis’s allegorical novel. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Alex Hamilton: Playing the blues with his trio at Milton Rooms, Malton
Blues gig of the week: Ryedale Blues Club presents Alex Hamilton Band, Milton Rooms, Malton, April 24, 8pm
ALEX Hamilton (formerly Lewis Hamilton) has been part of the British blues rock scene for more than ten years, touring Great Britain and Europe. First making his mark as a young guitarist with skills beyond his age, he has matured and developed a technique redolent of Robben Ford and Matt Scofield.
Hamilton’s debut album aged 18 won the Scottish New Music Award in 2011 and his subsequent albums have been nominated for the British Blues Awards. He tours in a trio with his father Nick on bass and Ian Beestin on drums. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
In Focus: 1812 Theatre Company in Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d, Helmsley Arts Centre, April 23 to 26, 7.30pm
Jean Sheridan’s Miss Marple, left, and Jeanette Hambidge’s Cherry Baker in rehearsal for Miss Marple in Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d. Picture: Joe Coughlan
HELMSLEY Arts Centre’s resident troupe, the 1812 Theatre Company, present Rachel Wagstaff’s stage adaptation of Miss Marple in Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d, a story of revenge and dark secrets set in late-summer 1962 England, when the wind of change blowing through the land reaches sleepy St Mary Mead.
A new housing estate, The Development, is making villagers fearful of changing times. Stranger still, a glamorous Hollywood movie star has bought the manor house, Gossington Hall, throwing the village into a frenzy.
Meanwhile, Miss Jane Marple (played by Jean Sheridan) has injured her ankle, a temporary impairment that confines her to a chair, making her question if life has passed her by. Enter Scotland Yard’s Chief Inspector Craddock (Richard Bannister), the son of a very dear friend of the spinster sleuth, after the vicious murder of a woman, poisoned at a party held by film star Marina Gregg (Lucy Wilshaw). Now Miss Marple must unravel a web of lies, tragedy and danger.
All the party guests are suspect; as ever, everyone’s version of events is different. Who would have guessed that a famous poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson would provide the key to the mystery?
Wagstaff’s play is an adaptation of Christie’s 1962 novel The Mirror Crack’d From Side To Side, first toured in 2019 with a cast led by Susie Blake as Miss Marple and Simon Shepherd as Chief Inspector Craddock. Blake reprised the role on tour at York Theatre Royal in October 2022.
Lucy Wilshaw rehearsing her role as American film star Marina Gregg. Picture: Joe Coughlan
“The title of the novel, and the shortened version for the play, is taken from the moment when the mirror of ‘The Lady of Shalott’ (from the Tennyson poem) cracks and the curse she’d feared now befalls her,” says director Julie Lomas.
“The novel’s plot was undoubtedly inspired by Agatha Christie’s reflections on a mother’s feelings for a child born with disabilities, and it is thought that she was influenced by happenings in the life of beautiful real-life actress Gene Eliza Tierney.
“There are several themes running through the novel, and the play, covering some of the changes in social history since the Second World War, including the class structure, racism and ageism.”
The novel was made into a film in 1980, with a multitude of star names, includimg Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple, Elizabeth Taylor as Marina Gregg and Edward Fox as Chief Inspector Craddock.
All the Miss Marple’novels were adapted for a BBC TV series shown in the 1990s, starring Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.
For tickets, ring 01439 771700 or book at helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Who’s in the cast?
Becca Magson’s Lola Brewster and Richard Bannister’s Chief Inspector Craddock in the rehearsal room. Picture: Joe Coughlan
THE Mirror Crack’d was scheduled to be staged by 1812 Theatre Company in 2024, but that old enemy Covid intervened. After a few cast changes under new director Julie Lomas, the production is ready for next week’s run.
Miss Jane Marple: Jean Sheridan
Marina Gregg: Lucy Wilshaw
Cherry Baker: Jeanette Hambidge
Chief Inspector Dermot Craddock: Richard Bannister
Heather Leigh: Michele Hopley
Cyril Leigh: Steven Lonsdale
Jason Rudd: Beaj Johnson
Giuseppe Renzo: Barry Whitaker
Dolly Bantry: Lynn Goslin
Ella Zielinski: Linda Tester
Lola Brewster: Becca Magson
Who’s in the production team?
Jean Sheridan’s Miss Marple, left, and Lynn Goslin’s Dolly Bantry on the phone in rehearsal for 1812 Theatre Company’s production. Picture: Joe Coughlan
Director: Julie Lomas
Production assistant: Julie Wilson
Stage manager/properties: Anna Hare; Marcie Hughes
Technical director: James Bentley
Set design: Julie Lomas; Sue Elm
Set construction: Michael Goslin; Peter Ives; Russell Smith
Set painting: Pauline Noakes; Heather Linley; Denise Kitchin; Liz Ives; John Lomas
Sound design: Julie Lomas; John Lomas
Lighting design: Julie Lomas
1812 Theatre Company’s poster for next week’s production of Miss Marple in Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d
Gary Oldman in rehearsal for Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
GARY Oldman’s return to the York Theatre Royal stage after 45 years in Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape from today had sold out, but a combination of returns and additional seats are newly available. Hurry, hurry.
Once the pantomime Cat that fainted thrice in Dick Whittington in his 1979 cub days on the professional circuit in York, Oscar winner Oldman now directs himself – and provides the set design too – in Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd in his first stage appearance since 1987.
“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says Oldman.“It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.”
What happens over the course of 50 minutes in Krapp’s Last Tape? Each year, on his birthday, Krapp records a new tape reflecting on the year gone by. On his 69th birthday, Krapp, now a lonely man, is ready with a bottle of wine, a banana and his tape recorder. Listening back to a recording he made as a young man, Krapp must face the hopes of his past self.
Oldman, who turned 67 on March 21, now takes on a role premiered by Patrick Magee in 1958 and since played by the likes of Albert Finney, Harold Pinter, John Hurt, Stephen Rea and Kenneth Allan Taylor, the long-running Nottingham Playhouse pantomime dame, writer and director, in the play’s last performance at York Theatre Royal in 2009.
Gary Oldman with York Theatre Royal chief executive Paul Crewes surveying the main house auditorium
Oldman has been considering going back to the stage for a long time. “I have never been far from the theatre and, in fact, have been discussing plays and my return to the theatre for nearly 30 years,” he posted on Instagram.
The April 14 to May 17 production of Beckett’s one-act monodrama was set in motion in March 2024, when Slow Horses star Oldman paid a visit to the St Leonard’s Place theatre , where he met chief executive Paul Crewes.
“When Gary visited us, it was fascinating hearing him recount stories of his time as a young man, in his first professional role on the York Theatre Royal stage,” says Crewes. “In that context when we started to explore ideas, we realised Krapp’s Last Tape was the perfect project.”
The youngest of three children in a working-class London family, Oldman left school at 16 and began acting in productions with Greenwich and Lewisham Young People’s Theatre.
He applied for RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) but his rejection came with the advice to do something else for a living. Advice that he ignored, instead winning a scholarship to Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, from where he graduated with a BA in acting in 1979.
Pantomime puss: Gary Oldman’s Cat, with Berwick Kaler’s dame, centre, in Dick Whittington And His Wonderful Cat at York Theatre Royal in 1979-80
Whereupon he headed north to start out in the repertory ranks at York Theatre Royal in 1979 in a repertory season of nine shows, taking in She Stoops To Conquer, Thark, Privates On Parade and Romeo And Juliet, topped off by playing the Cat in furry suit, mittens and nylon whiskers in Berwick Kaler’s third York pantomime, Dick Whittington And His Wonderful Cat, that Christmas.
Dame Berwick later told the Guardian in an interview in 2018: “Gary has gone on to become one of our greatest screen actors but I’m afraid he was a bit of a lightweight when it came to pantomime.
“He kept fainting inside the costume. On at least three occasions I had to turn to the audience and say, ‘Oh dear, boys and girls, I think the poor pussy cat has gone to sleep’!”
Another actor in the rep company, Michael Simkins, has recalled the “bruising schedule of 50 performances in seven weeks, not to mention the drunken and relentless partying in various digs and rented bed-sits after curtain down”.
Oldman moved on to the Colchester rep and Glasgow Citizens Theatre, where he performed with Rupert Everett. He has called his time there “a coming of age – the work was joyful, bold and exhilarating. In the years that followed no other theatre experience could match it,” he said.
While appearing in Edward Bond’s controversial play Saved at the Palace Theatre, in Westcliff, he was “spotted” by Royal Court Theatre director Max Stafford-Clark. Or, rather, he had Oldman drawn to his attention – by Oldman himself.
Gary Oldman in the York Theatre Royal dressing rooms. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
Like many young actors, he had written to the director setting out why he wanted to work at the cutting-edge London theatre. Stafford-Clark recalls that “it was a particularly well-argued letter”, so he went to see Saved.
Many of the audience – only about 30-strong – walked out but the director duly cast him in Bond’s The Pope’s Wedding, at the Royal Court. Saved, meanwhile, won him the British Theatre Association Drama Magazine award for 1985 and the Time Out Fringe award as best actor.
Roles ensued with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the Royal Court in new works by Bond and Caryl Churchill. Harold Pinter was lined up to direct him in his play The Caretaker in the West End.
Oldman’s last stage performance was in 1987 in Churchill’s satirical play Serious Money at the Royal Court. By then, he had appeared in his break-out screen role as damaged punk Sid Vicious in Sid And Nancy, his 1986 alarm call to herald a career in films that have grossed 11 billion dollars. “I never thought I’d get into films in a thousand years,” he once said.
Today, he opens in a theatre show for the first time in 38 years, back in York for his “completion of a cycle”, banana in hand in Krapp’s Last Tape.
Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, April 14 to May 17. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Gary Oldman’s programme note for Krapp’s Last Tape: Returning Home
Gary Oldman: Picture: Gisele Schmidt
“I MADE my professional public acting debut on the stage in front of you. It is on that stage, over four decades ago, I gained confidence and self-discipline; no small thing. More importantly, I learned a work ethic – one that has never left me to this day.
“It’s impossible to think that I have spent nearly the entirety of my professional life since then in front of the camera. But, camera or not, the theatre never leaves you. Shortly after I entered the world of film, I met Douglas [Urbanski], my producing partner, whose roots in the theatre were as deep as it gets.
“In the thousands of conversations we have had, spanning more than 30 years, a theatre reference or an anecdote or experience is almost always present. We both pull from a giant mental museum of theatre references, knowledge and experience. And, he and I, in fact, have been discussing plays and my return to the stage since the day we met.
“Recently my wife, Gisele [Schmidt], and I adapted a television comedy pilot based solely in and around a British theatre. The writing process, as you might imagine, was punctuated with fond remembrances of my days on the boards.
“It was this project, in part, that reignited the conversation. If I were to do a play, where would I do it? We danced around the usual suspects and ultimately landed on York Theatre Royal. After all, it is the where it all began. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. I met with YTR’s chief executive, Paul Crewes, and the play, the how, and the when , were mapped out.
The poster for Gary Oldman’s return to York Theatre Royal after 45 years in Krapp’s Last Tape, performed, directed and designed by the erstwhile pantomime puss
“York Theatre Royal is one of the oldest theatres in England, with a rich and varied history dating back to 1744. This ancient building still holds many charms, but has undergone some massive redevelopment.
“You no doubt entered through the glass and concrete extension on the building’s north face. A 1960s addition by architect Patrick Gwynne. A new cafe, box office, studio theatre, and a renovation to the main auditorium were completed in 2016.
“Yet, despite all the structural upgrades, the same old challenges remain. Finding funding, the upkeep of the building, and, more importantly, getting the people to come. It’s not easy. There are just too many distractions for the eyes, ears, and pulling at one’s purse strings, particularly for the new, younger audience.
“I think it’s important to remember, for those who live outside London, a local theatre is their only access to the arts. Without a local theatre, the younger generation will never get the chance to see theatre. We need these future generations if theatre is to thrive.
“I hope this production of Krapp’s Last Tape whets the appetite, giving those new to the theatre a completely revelatory experience. And who knows? It may encourage them to visit the theatre again. And again. And again. They may even invite a friend. And hopefully a devoted theatregoer, or two, will emerge!”
Gary Oldman in rehearsal for Krapp’s Last Tape, opening at York Theatre Royal on April 14. Picture: Gisele Schmidt
GARY Oldman’s return to York Theatre Royal tops the bill of Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations. Chocolate is in the air too.
York theatre event of the year: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, April 14 to May 17
ONCE the pantomime Cat that fainted thrice in Dick Whittington in his 1979 cub days on the professional circuit in York, Oscar winner Gary Oldman returns to the Theatre Royal to perform Samuel Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd Krapp’s Last Tape in his first stage appearance since the late-1980s.
“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says the Slow Horses leading man. “It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.” Tickets update: New availability of returns and additional seats on 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Margaret Beech: Making “paper magic” for York Open Studios in Oaken Grove, Haxby, York
Art event of the week: York Open Studios, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 5pm
YORK Open Studios showcases 163 artists and makers at 116 locations in its largest configuration yet in its 24 years. Artists and makers, including 38 new participants, span ceramics, collage, digital art, illustration, jewellery, mixed media, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, textiles and wood, Full details and an interactive map can be found at yorkopenstudios.co.uk; brochures in shops, galleries, cafes and tourist hubs. Admission is free.
Wrongsemble: Performing Three Little Vikings, a tale of cooperation, bravery and making your voice heard, at Helmsley Arts Centre
Ryedale children’s show of the week: Wrongsemble in Three Little Vikings, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 2.30pm
LEEDS company Wrongsemble present a bold and funny adventure story for little rebels by Bethan Woollvin, creator of Little Red and I Can Catch A Monster.
Once upon a time in a Viking village, everything seems to be going wrong. Chickens are disappearing, trees are falling down. When the silly Chieftain won’t listen, can the three littlest Vikings figure out how to save the day in a 50-minute tale of cooperation, bravery and making your voice heard. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Mark Stratford in Macready! Dickens Theatrical Friend, on tour at Theatre@41, Monkgate
Dickens of a good show of the week: Mark Stratford in Macready! Dickens’ Theatrical Friend, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 7.30pm
WRITER-PERFORMER Mark Stratford’s solo play tells the story of Macready, the Victorian actor-manager to whom Charles Dickens dedicated his novel Nicholas Nickleby. Capturing the joy, graft and tribulations of a life lived in theatre with passion, humour, emotion and multiple characters, Stratford journeys through the fascinating world of Victorian theatre and the extraordinary, conflicted life of Macready, from his first tentative steps on stage in a tatty country theatre to his final Drury Lane performance. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Daniele Coombe, left, Rebecca Wheatley, Maureen Nolan and Carli Norris in Menopause The Musical 2 – Cruising Through The Menopause at the Grand Opera House
Musical of the week: Menopause The Musical 2 – Cruising Through The Menopause!, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 6pm
CARLI Norris, from Doctors, Hollyoaks and EastEnders, Maureen Nolan, of The Nolans, Rebecca Wheatley, from Casualty, and West End actress Daniele Coombe star in the final UK tour of this menopausal sequel.
Fast forward five years as the same characters set off on the high seas in this heartfelt, reassuring look at the “joys” of the menopause. Cue hot flushes, mood swings, memory lapses and weight gain on a bumpy trip of self-discovery, love and friendship, backed by a soundtrack of parodied hits. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The Storm Whale: Returning to York Theatre Royal next week after its first plunge in 2019. Picture: Northedge Photography
Revival of the week: The Storm Whale, York Theatre Royal Studio, April 15 to 19, 10.30am and 1.30pm
YORK writer and director Matt Aston revives his 2019 stage adaptation of Benji Davies’s tales of loneliness, love and courage, The Storm Whale, in a show built on puppetry, original songs and dialogue.
Noi lives with his dad and six cats by the sea. One summer, while dad was busy at work, Noi rescued a little whale, washed up on the beach. A friendship began that changed their lives forever. The following winter, his dad takes one last trip in his fishing boat. Alone once more, Noi longs to see his friend again. Will it take another storm to bring them back together? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
York Chocolate Festival: City centre will be chock-a-block with chocs’n’eggs for Easter
Festival of the week: York Chocolate Festival 2025, April 16 to 20, 10am to 5pm
YORK Chocolate Festival showcases everything sweet and chocolate from independent businesses in Parliament Street and around the city.
Highlights include the York Chocolate Festival Market; Chocolate Taste Trail; Ashley McCarthy’s Chocolate Sculpture and Family Easter Egg Hunt. Entry to the festival and market is free; some activities and events require tickets. Full programme at: yorkfoodfestival.com/programme.
Showaddywaddy: Rock’n’roll revivalists standing under the moon of love at the Grand Opera House
Rock’n’roll nostalgia of the week: Showaddywaddy, Grand Opera House, York, April 17, 7.30pm
SHOWADDYWADDY make the bold claim to be “the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world”, living up to that title for the past five decades, they say.
Formed in 1973 in Leicester, they have sold more than 20 million records. Here come Hey Rock And Roll, Under The Moon Of Love, Three Steps To Heaven, When, Blue Moon, Pretty Little Angel Eyes et al. Box office: atgtickjets.com/york.
The Talkinator: Written by a human, performed by a human, Patrick Monahan
Comedy gig of the week: Patrick Monahan: The Talkinator, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 18, 8pm
IN 2024, amid much talk of about AI taking over humans, only one man can out-talk the chat-bots and robots. Step forward Irish-Iranian comedian Patrick Monahan for one hour of stand-up comedy written by a human, performed by a human. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
The Divine Comedy: New album and York Barbican tour date. Picture: Kevin Westerberg
Gig announcement of the week: The Divine Comedy, York Barbican, October 21
NEIL Hannon will promote The Divine Comedy’s 13th studio album, September 19’s Rainy Sunday Afternoon, on a 16-date autumn tour. Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, April 17 at 10am at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/the-divine-comedy-2025/.
Written, arranged and produced by Hannon and recorded at Abbey Road Studios, the album spans his usual range of emotions – sad, funny, angry and everything in between – as he “works through some stuff”: mortality, memories, relationships and political and social upheaval.
