Tag: madness

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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.

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REVIEW: The Direct Approach, York Settlement Community Players, One Step Beyond, Black Swan Inn, York ****

Going One Step Beyond: left to right, Liz Quinlan, Chris Meadley, Stuart Green, director Jon Mills, Jess Murray and Pamela Gourlay

THE Direct Approach is York Settlement Community Players’ scheme to support first-time or emerging directors, but in this case it is giving a boost to the writer too.

Jon Mills steps into the director’s chair after making his mark already as a filmmaker, script writer, theatrical prop and set designer and producer of promo videos for YSCP shows.

Likewise, fellow polymath Miles Salter adds play writing to his skills as a poet, songwriter, band frontman, journalist, podcaster and festival director.

One Step Beyond has its roots in Salter’s application for a York Theatre Royal commission for its Love Bites showcase of York creative talent when lockdown was lifted. His monologue, It Must Be Love, was rejected but central character Steve re-emerges in a 45-minute play – it just had to be 45 or 33 – that again takes its title from a Madness hit.

Steve (Stuart Green) goes nuts for the Nutty Boys, still the nuttiest sound around, collecting rarities obsessively, but this could be the vinyl countdown for his marriage to Kerry (Pamela Gourlay), who is doing her nut. Welcome to the house of no fun. The Madness and the maddening.

Married in 1999, the couple is in a rut of routine, now that the children have flown the nest. Steve does pretty much what he likes: she doesn’t like what he does. He feels the same, because each day she packs him off to work with the same sandwiches; every night, she lines up two crackers, little chunks of cheese and a dab of pickle for his final nibble before bed. Steve sees this metronomic behaviour as being controlling. Kerry carries on regardless.

Steve likes to go to record fairs and meet up at the pub with his steady Eddie of a friend, Boring Ryan (Chris Meadley), so named because he is, well, boring.

Taking his next step: One Step Beyond writer Miles Salter

Except that maybe he isn’t because he is full of facts that he is wont to drop into the conversation in the quiet moments. Such as?  Did you know that the elephant is the mammal that requires the least sleep? You’ll sleep better for knowing that one.

Salter’s play has a stock of such minutiae, coupled with an observant eye that he brings to his poetry too with a humorous flourish that had him worrying that maybe One Step Beyond is too much of a nod to John Godber’s combative northern plays and Nick Hornby’s culturally savvy southern  books. Yes, he shares their ear for fractious dialogue and eye for telling detail, but Salter’s humour is his own.

Boring Ryan, for example, is a collector of trouser presses, forever advocating their value and recommending their purchase to all and sundry. Cue a Baggy Trousers gag that is beautifully timed.

Steve is essentially contented; Kerry, discontented, because he is contented. She is sharper of mind, unfulfilled, bored, and, truth be told, Steve would annoy any partner.

This can go only one way: off to the marriage guidance counsellor they trudge, Steve more reluctantly, but at least he turns up.  Counsellor Marcia (Liz Quinlan) emerges as the one-woman Greek chorus of the piece, stepping out of scenes to break down the fourth wall in candid direct address. She’s a realist, but one drawn to the bright side of the road like Van Morrison.

Some of Salter’s best writing comes from this ostensibly dispassionate observer, whose role is to steer discussion, to keep order, to ensure equal say, but not to judge (but passes her thoughts on to the audience instead). He wrote the part initially for a Marcus, not a Marcia, but it wholly suits being played by Quinlan – a boon for smart casting by Mills.

Faced by such negativity, like batteries connected the wrong way, Marcia seeks to find a way for Steve and Kerry to re-energise the lost spark, only for them to explode. Comedy on a tightrope, always better that way, when something is at stake.

The poster artwork for York Settlement Community Players’ One Step Beyond

Time for a time out, a re-set. Kerry takes up pottery, the cue for a lovely, calming cameo in stripes, polka dots and headband by Jess Murray’s ceramics tutor Jen, “exuding warmth – like a Zen hot water bottle,” as Salter put it in his character profile. Steve, meanwhile, writes a poem: the cue for another dip into Madness.

Salter manages that trick of making the dislikeable and unreasonable – selfish nerd Steve, overbearing Kerry – very watchable in Green and Quinlan’s  performances, and as can be the case with writers, there is something of him in each of the characters, even the Zen Jen.

Ultimately, the Marcia/Marcus and Zen Jen in him win out, encouraging us to do exactly what the title says: go that One Step Beyond, as he applies the writer’s principles of “Make’em laugh (plentifully); make’em cry (not so much here); make’em wait (for that closing pay-off line).

Mills’s direction is suitably playful, not least in his use of cartoon imagery on a screen that depicts a row of houses for domestic scenes and the football scores on rotation on the pub telly.

I could say it would be madness to miss One Step Beyond, but given that all three performances have sold out, let’s say you will be mad at yourself for not booking earlier if you have missed out on a ticket.

York Settlement Community Players present One Step Beyond, The Wolfe Room, Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York, tonight, 7.30pm, SOLD OUT.

The next Direct Approach plays will be in September at the Black Swan Inn. More details to follow.

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How Miles Salter turned Love Bites rejection into debut play One Step Beyond, a story of marriage, midlife and Madness

Ready to go One Step Beyond: left to right, Liz Quinlan, Chris Meadley, Stuart Green, director Jon Mills, Jess Murray and Pamela Gourlay

YORK poet, songwriter, journalist, podcaster and festival director Miles Salter is adding playwriting to his cultural tool bag.

His debut short play, One Step Beyond, will be staged by York Settlement Community Players in a sold-out run at the Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York, from tonight (26/05/2025) to Wednesday.

“It started life as a short monologue several years ago. It’s a bit Nick Hornby meets John Godber. I like the humour in it. All men are a bit nerdy about something. I enjoyed writing it. I think it’s good fun,” says Miles in a aptly short summation. 

One Step Beyond is being directed by Harrogate filmmaker, scriptwriter, prop and set designer and promo video producer Jon Mills in his directorial debut under YSCP’s nurturing project The Direct Approach.

Meet Steve and Kerry: married for a long time, but Steve’s vinyl collection, Madness to the max,  may tear them apart. Luckily they have a counsellor…and Steve’s friend Boring Ryan on hand to help them out. It must be love, love, love.

Steve (played by Stuart Green) is “a man in his 40s or 50s, depending on how many pints he’s had. Content and uncomplicated,” says Miles. “Kerry (Pamela Gourlay) is a woman in her 40s or 50s, depending on how much sleep she’s had. Pin-sharp and unfulfilled.

“Boring Ryan (Chris Meadley), Steve’s friend, is that mate we all have but we’re not sure why. Counsellor Marcia(Liz Quinlan) is a professional listener who can still – just – see the bright side.

“Our fifth character, Jen (Jess Murray), runs a ceramics class. She exudes warmth and calm, like a Zen hot-water bottle.”

Seeds were seen for One Step Beyond in 2021 when invited Miles was among more than 200 York artists who applied for £1,000 love letter commissions to be staged at York Theatre Royal in Love Bites on May 17 – the first day theatres could reopen after lockdown restrictions were first lifted  – and May 18 in a celebration of the creative talent across the city.

“I wrote a ten-minute piece, originally called It Must Be Love, about a bloke talking about his midlife crisis, his wife and his love of Madness, ” he recalls. “Juliet [Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster] said ‘close, but no cigar’.”

Hey you! Don’t watch that, watch this! It’s the heavy-heavy-monster sound of a brand new play, Miles Salter’s One Step Beyond

Rejection did not deter him. “Last year I went to one of Settlement’s summer sessions, where I saw a play about two people watching their child in the park and it turns out one is a ghost. Anyway, after that, I started writing It Must Be Love about Steve and Kerry.

“He’s obsessed with Madness; she’s a control freak. Their marriage has lost its spark and energy, and so they go to see a therapist, Marcia, who’s rational and almost like a Greek chorus, connecting the action and saying ‘when are you two going to wake up?’.

“It’s fun, not particularly profound, and it’s very influenced by John Godber’s plays and Nick   Hornby’s writing.

“At first I wondered if I was being a bit unoriginal, but I decided I wasn’t! Everything is influenced by something else, isn’t it. The play has as many laughs as possible in there, and it abides to that thing of not taking yourself too seriously.”

Miles quoutes a  “very good piece of advice” he received. In a nutshell, “Make’em laugh. Make’em cry. Make’em wait.” “Every good writer understands that. When I write, I don’t want it to be too dark or too light. That’s what life is: funny and ridiculous, but also sad and melancholy and beautiful – and that’s what you’ll find in my poetry too.

“Life is a crazy, strange mixture. One moment you’re sad, and then you’ll hear a funny story and you’re laughing your head off. My play reflects that.”

One Step Beyond takes its title from Madness’s 1979 debut album and second hit single, but it also nods to another meaning of that phrase. “One of the things about therapy is that it’s quite a brace thing to do. A lot of people avoid it. Only a relatively small number of men will go to counselling or therapy.

“It occurred to me, that thing of going one step beyond what you think you’re capable of. Be brave, go for it, whereas if we don’t try things, we can get terribly stuck in our little worlds, which is kind of sad. As the therapist says. ‘it’s sad people when people give up, it’s too easy to do that’.”

You could say that writing One Step Beyond was a case of doing exactly that by taking the step beyond after Miles missed out on selection for Love Bites. Once bitten, but not twice shy.

York Settlement Community Players in Miles Salter’s One Step Beyond, Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York, May 26  to 28, 7.30pm. Tickets update: SOLD OUT.

Writer Miles Salter

Miles Salter: the back story

WRITER of poetry, journalism, fiction and songs since 1990, when he first came to York as a student of English Literature and Drama.

His CV includes stints as presenter of The Arts Show on Jorvik Radio and director of York Literature Festival and York Alive festival. Host of York Calling podcast.

Fronts York rock and Americana band  Miles And The Chain Gang.  

Jon Mills: the back story

ORIGINALLYfrom Birmingham. Studied English at University of Leeds before settling in Harrogate.

Background in film-making and scriptwriting. Now rekindled his interest in theatre, creating props and sets for York Settlement Community Players’ productions of Separate Tables and Picasso At The Lapin Agile, along with York Mystery Plays’ A Creation for York and A Nativity for York.

Produced promo videos for YSCP productions. One Step Beyond marks his directorial debut under YSCP’s Direct Approach scheme.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond as classical festival opens. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 24, from Gazette & Herald

Mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron: Residency at Ryedale Festival. Picture: Victoria Cadisch

RYEDALE Festival tops the bill for Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations. A tribute to tribute acts, Grimm tales, Roman emperors, Brazilian sambas and theatrical Fools look promising too.

Festival of the week: Ryedale Festival, July 12 to 28

THIS summer’s Ryedale Festival features 58 performances in 35 beautiful and historic locations, with performers ranging from Felix Klieser, a horn player born without arms, to trail-blazing Chinese guitarist Xuefei Yang, mezz-soprano Fleur Barron to violinist Stella Chen, the Van Baerle Piano Trio to Troubadour Trail host Rachel Podger.

Taking part too will be Royal Wedding cellistSheku Kanneh-Mason, Georgian pianist Giorgi Gigashvili, Brazilian guitar pioneer Plinio Fernandes, choral groups The Marian Consort and Tenebrae, actress and classical music enthusiast Dame Sheila Hancock, jazz singer Claire Martin and Northumbrian folk group The Unthanks. For the full programme and ticket details, head to: ryedalefestival.com. 

Re-Bjorn each show: Sarah-Louise Young in I Am Your Tribute at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York

Fringe show of the week: Sarah-Louise Young, I Am Your Tribute, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm

AFTER An Evening Without Kate Bush, the Julie Andrews-focused Julie Madly Deeply and The Silent Treatment, Sarah-Louise Young returns to Theatre@41 with her Edinburgh Fringe-bound new show, I Am Your Tribute.

In her “most ambitiously interactive performance yet”, she invites you to help her create the ultimate tribute to an act of your choosing. Along the way she will teach you the tricks of the trade, share her greatest hits and uncover the occasionally darker side of living in someone’s else’s shadow. Expect music, wigs and wonderment. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Happily ever after: Rowntree Players cast members in Grimm Tales

Fairy tales of the week: Rowntree Players in Grimm Tales, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow to Saturday, 7.30pm

AMI Carter directs Rowntree Players in Carol Ann Duffy’s adaptation of Grimm Tales, dramatised by Tim Supple, with Chris Meadley in the role of the Narrator.

The cast of 15 takes a journey through a selection of delightfully bizarre stories from the Brothers Grimm collection to reveal their true origins and to discover that the path to a happy ending can, indeed, be a little grim. Box office: 01904 501395 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Mary Beard: Roman emperors, the truth and the lies, at Grand Opera House, York

History lesson of the week: Mary Beard: Emperor Of Rome, Grand Opera House, York, Saturday, 7.30pm

CLASSICIST scholar, debunking historian and television presenter Mary Beard shines the spotlight on Roman emperors, from the well-known Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to the almost-unknown Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE).

Venturing beyond the hype of politics, power and succession and into the heart of the palace corridors, she will uncover the facts and fiction of these rulers, asking what they did and why, and how we came to have such a lurid view of them. Themes of autocracy, corruption and conspiracy will be explored and audience questions will be taken. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Andrew Methven: Playing a Lazy Sunday Session at Milton Rooms, Malton

Afternoon entertainment: Lazy Sunday Sessions, Andrew Methven & Joseph Wing, Milton Rooms, Malton, Sunday, 3pm

HEADLINER Andrew Metheven, from Bradford, pens lo-fi folk songs about births, hills, decay and daydreams and too many about birds, as heard on his June 2024 debut album, Sister Winter, available via Bandcamp. Singer and guitarist Joseph Wing, from Malton band Penny Fleck, will be the support act. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Madness: Welcome to the House Of Fun at Scarborough Open Air Theatre

Coastal gig of the week: Madness, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Friday, gates 6pm

MADNESS, the Nutty Boys of Camden Town, return to the North Yorkshire great outdoors for Suggs and co to roll out such ska-flavoured music-hall hits as Our House, One Step Beyond, Baggy Trousers, It Must Be Love, House Of Fun, Michael Caine, Wings Of A Dove, Night Boat To Cairo, My Girl, Driving In My Car, Tomorrow’s Just Another Day and Embarrassment. Standing tickets are still available at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com/madness.

Fernando Maynart: Showcasing new album at Helmsley Arts Centre

Brazilian sambas of the week: Fernando Maynart, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

BRAZILIAN singer, composer, guitarist and percussionist Fernando Maynart introduces his new album, TranSambas, showcasing the different rhythmic nuances of samba rooted in Africa via the West African slave trade and the Afro-Brazilian religion. 

Maynart, whose set also features songs by Brazilian maestro Dorival Caymmi, will be accompanied by Brazilian flautist Daniel Allain and drummer/percussionist Denilson Oliveira, plus Ryedale multi-instrumentalist David Key. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Four go into three: James Aldred, Peter Long, Lucy Chamberlain and Charlotte Horner of The Three Inch Fools

Open-air theatre at the double: The Three Inch Fools in The Secret Diary Of Henry VIII, Scampston Hall, Scampston, near Malton, July 20; Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York, July 23 and Helmsley Walled Garden, August 6; The Comedy Of Errors, Helmsley Walled Garden, July 19, all at 7pm

THE Three Inch Fools, brothers James and Stephen Hyde’s specialists in fast-paced storytelling and uproarious music-making, head to Scampston, York and Helmsley with their rowdy reimagining of the story of the troublesome Tudor king in The Secret Diary Of Henry VIII as he strives to navigate his way through courtly life, while fighting the French again, re-writing religious law and clocking up six wives.

The Play That Goes Wrong’s Sean Turner directs the Fools’ innovative take on Shakespeare’s shortest, wildest farce The Comedy Of Errors, with its tale of long-lost twins, misunderstandings and messy mishaps. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.

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‘Genuine icons’ Sugababes to play York Museum Gardens on July 21. Tickets on sale

Sugababes in 2024: Mutya Buena, left, Siobhan Donaghy and Keisha Buchanan

SUGABABES will complete Futuresounds’ debut line-up for Live At York Museum Gardens in their second outdoor appearance in the city.

The London girl band’s original line-up of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy will perform on Sunday, July 21, following up their July 23 performance at the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend two summers ago.

They join London singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti on July 18 and chart-topping York titans Shed Seven on July 19 and 20 (both sold out) in the four-night run.

Futuresound Group’s Rachel Hill says: “We are thrilled to finally announce the completed line-up for our first year in the beautiful Museum Gardens with the incredible Sugababes.

Shed Seven: Playing sold-out shows at York Museum Gardens, supported by Peter Doherty, on July 19 and 20. Friday gig will feature Lottery Winners and York band Serotones, fronted by Rick Witter’s son Duke. Picture: Barnaby Fairley

“It’s so exciting to have some genuine icons join us while being able to showcase some of York’s brilliant local artists. With such an eclectic line-up, this will really offer the residents of York a weekend of live music to remember.”

A full supporting line-up of special guests for July 21 will be announced soon. Tickets will be available first via a postcode presale event from 10am today, open to YO1, YO24, YO30, YO31 and YO32 residents at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/sugababes/york-museum-gardens/2953107?pre=pc.

General sales will open at 10am on Friday at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/sugababes/york-museum-gardens/2953107.

Formed in 1998, Sugababes have topped the singles charts with Freak Like Me (2001), Round Round (2022), Hole In The Head (2003), Push The Button (2005), Walk This Way (with Girls Aloud, 2006) and About You Now (2007), while 2005’s Taller In More Ways and 2007’s Change hit the album chart peak too.

Jack Savoretti: Playing York Museum Gardens on July 18, supported by Foy Vance and York singer-songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich

Top ten hits came their way with Overload (2000), Angels With Dirty Faces (2002), Too Lost In You (2003), In The Middle (2004), Caught In A Moment (2004), Ugly (2005), Red Dress (2005), Easy (2006), Girls (2008), Get Sexy (2009), About A Girl (2009) and Wear My Kiss (2010).

The Sugababes line-up changed three times – Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen joining at various points – before Buena, Buchanan and Donaghy reunited in 2011.

Live At York Museum Gardens is Yorkshire promoters Futuresound’s latest addition to a portfolio that has embraced Live At Leeds, Slum Dunk Festival and Ed Sheeran’s August 16 and 17 2019 performances at Roundhay Park, Leeds.

Futuresounds will present Madness on their C’est La Vie itinerary at Kirkstall Abbey, Kirkstall, Leeds, on July 26, supported by The Zutons. What a Yorkshire panoply of outdoor concerts is in prospect that night when Kaiser Chiefs will play York Racecourse and James will return to Scarborough Open Air Theatre.

Tickets: Madness, https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/madness/kirkstall-abbey/2835070; Kaiser Chiefs, yorkracecourse.co.uk; James, scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

The poster announcing the postcode presale for Sugababes’ show at York Museum Gardens
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More Things To Do in York and beyond on not only Bob Dylan’s rough and rowdy days. List No. 91, courtesy of The Press, York

NE Musicals York cast members climb aboard a City Sightseeing bus to publicise their upcoming production of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert

AS Madness and Sugababes canter up to York Racecourse, Charles Hutchinson picks his favourites from the upcoming entertainment runners and riders  

Musical of the week: NE Musicals York in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, July 20 to 24, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday matinees

CREATIVE director Steve Tearle’s cast of 30 features Finley Butler, Tom Henshaw and Tearle himself as three drag queens who take an epic journey from Sydney to Alice Springs across the Australian outback in their bus Priscilla.

“The journey is full of drama and dance routines but also so many laugh-out-loud moments,” says Tearle. “There’ll be costumes – 300 in total – that have never been seen before in York and the star of the show, the bus, will take your breath away.”  Box office: 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

John Cale: Rearranging his gig date at York Barbican

Underground movement of the week: John Cale, York Barbican, from July 19 to October 24, 8pm

VELVET Underground icon John Cale, now 80, is moving his first British itinerary in a decade to the autumn. Tickets for Tuesday – the only Yorkshire gig of his seven-date tour – remain valid for the new date in October.

The Welsh multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer will be performing songs from a pioneering six-decade career that began in classical and avant-garde music before he formed The Velvet Underground with Lou Reed in New York in 1965. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Bob Dylan’s poster for his Rough And Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour, visiting Hull Bonus Arena

Gig announcement of the week: Bob Dylan, Hull Bonus Arena, October 27

BOB Dylan will play Hull Bonus Arena as the only Yorkshire gig of his Rough And Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour 2021-2024 this autumn.

The Nobel Prize-winning American singer, songwriter and cultural icon last visited Britain in 2017 on his Never Ending Tour. This time the focus will be on his 39th studio album, June 2020’s chart-topping Rough And Rowdy Ways, his first set of original songs since 2012’s Tempest. Box office: hurry, hurry, to ticketmaster.co.uk.

Resting up: Tears For Fears’ Scarborough concert is cancelled due to Curt Smith’s rib injury

One on, one off, tonight: cheers for Richard Ashcroft, Sounds Of The City, Leeds Millennium Square; tears for Tears For Fears, Scarborough Open Air Theatre

IN the Leeds outdoors tonight, Richard Ashcroft, frontman of Wigan’s Nineties’ rock gods The Verve, performs songs from his chart-topping band days and solo career in the wake of re-recording his prime work for 2021’s Acoustic Hymns Vol 1. Gates open at 6pm; support slots go to DJ Wayne and Cast. Last few tickets: millsqleeds.com .

Shout, shout, let it all out, these are the things they could do without: Curt Smith’s rib injury has forced Tears For Fears to call off tonight’s gig in Scarborough.

Jane McDonald: Letting the light in at York Barbican

Yorkshire favourite of the week: Jane McDonald: Let The Light In, York Barbican, July 22, 7.30pm

WAKEFIELD singer and television star Jane McDonald plays her long-awaited Let The Light In Show in York, rearranged from the lockdown gloom of 2020.

The BAFTA award-winner, Cruising With presenter and Loose Women panellist  will be joined by her band and backing singers for a night of cabaret song, laughter and fabulous dresses. Box office for last few tickets: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Madness this way lies: The Nutty Boys are returning to York Racecourse next Friday

On course for race days: York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Madness, July 22; Sugababes, July 23

CAMDEN’S Nutty Boys, Madness, return to the Knavesmire track next Friday, having first gone One Step Beyond there in July 2010. Once more Suggs and co will roll out such ska-flavoured music-hall hits as Our House, Baggy Trousers, House Of Fun, Wings Of A Dove, My Girl and Driving In My Car after the evening race card.

The re-formed original Sugababes line-up of Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy are next Saturday afternoon’s act. The London girl group last appeared in York as long ago as 2003 with a line-up of Buchanan, Buena and Heidi Range at the Barbican Centre, as was.

Here come Freak Like Me, Round Round, Hole In The Head, Push The Button, Walk This Way and About You Now et al. Tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk.

Low-key festival of the week: Crawfest, Partings Lane, Ebberston, YO13 9PA, off A170, July 22 and 23, noon to midnight

THE line-up is in place for Crawfest, the family-friendly music festival held on farmland near Pickering, in memory of Alan Crawford, a friend of the organisers, who lost his life to Covid in 2020.

Next Friday will be headlined by The House We Built (9.40pm), preceded by Edwina Hayes (2pm); Paint Me In Colour (3.20pm); Nalgo Bay (4.20pm); Sean Taylor (5.30pm); Breeze (6.50pm) and Friday Street (8.10pm).

Next Saturday’s bill toppers will be Big Me (9.40pm), preceded by Kelsey Bovey (12 noon); Bongoman & The Bongomaniacs (1pm); Danny MacMahon (2pm); Beetlebug (3.15pm); Rocketsmith (4.10pm); Nalgo Bay (5.30pm); Red Box (6.50pm) and The Feens (8.10pm). Box office: tickettailor.com/events/crawfest/641880.

Anne-Marie Piazza and Pete Ashmore in rehearsal for Brief Encounter at the SJT. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Romance of the summer: Emma Rice’s Brief Encounter, in The Round, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, July 22 to August 27

SJT artistic director Paul Robinson directs this new co-production of Emma Rice’s playful adaptation of Noel Coward’s Brief Encounter, presented in tandem with Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, and Octagon Theatre, Bolton.

Rice turns Coward’s film inside out, adding joyous musical numbers and physical comedy while still maintaining the classic love story of the 1945 black-and-white original, where Laura and Alec are married – but not to each other – when a chance meeting at a railway station hurls them headlong into a whirlwind romance that threatens to blow their worlds apart. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

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Madness and Sugababes confirmed for York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend gigs on July 22 and 23

Madness this way lies: The Nutty Boys return to York Racecourse this summer

MADNESS are on course for the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend for the second time post-racing at the July 22 evening meeting.

Camden’s Nutty Boys last played the Knavesmire track in July 2010, and once more Suggs and co will roll out such ska-flavoured music-hall hits as Our House, One Step Beyond, Baggy Trousers, It Must Be Love, House Of Fun, Michael Caine, Wings Of A Dove, Night Boat To Cairo, My Girl, Driving In My Car, Tomorrow’s Just Another Day and Embarrassment.

The veteran London band – they formed in 1979 – have performed outdoors over the years at Glastonbury, Camp Bestival and their own Madstock Festivals and they took part in Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.

The second Music Showcase Weekend, immediately after the afternoon race card on July 23, will feature the original Sugababes line-up of Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy. The London girl group last played York as long ago as 2003 with a line-up of Buchanan, Buena and Heidi Range at the Barbican Centre, as was.

Sugababes, who revived the trio of Buchanan, Buena and Donaghy in 2019, have six number ones to their name, placing them second only to the Spice Girls among British girl groups. Racegoers can expect chart-toppers Freak Like Me, Round Round, Hole In The Head, Push The Button, Walk This Way and About You Now, alongside cherry-picks from 20 more Top 40 hits such as Overload, Ugly, Red Dress, Girls and Get Sexy.

Those booking now can take advantage of the early-bird and group rate deals on general admission tickets. To book, visit yorkracecourse.co.uk; admission to the main grandstand and paddock enclosure starts at £32 per person for a group of six and racegoers aged five to 17 enjoy a special rate of £10 (subject to limited availability). As well as free car parking, no booking fees apply.

On the course itself, the sporting action features seven races on both days, headlined by the Listed European Breeder’s Fund Lyric Stakes on the Friday and the Sky Bet York Stakes as Saturday’s six-figure centrepiece.

The race dates in late-July fall when the prevailing weather should further contribute to the positive steps made by the Covid-19 vaccination programme. Nevertheless, racegoers are offered a guaranteed refund in the event of Covid-related alterations, as well as the reassurance that all Covid-19 protocols applicable at the time will be followed.

James Brennan, head of marketing and sponsorship, says: “Everyone at the course is really excited that these magical racing and music events are scheduled to return. Bands that bring a smile to many faces, add in the spectacle of the racing itself, and we hope it will prove a summer weekend to savour.”

Please note, admission is not available on a concert-only basis; the gates will be closed at the time of the seventh and last race at both meetings.

There will not be a third race-day concert at York Racecourse this summer after the British Horseracing Authority removed that meeting from the 2022 calendar.

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Back in that small car, big egos running rampant, podcasters Chalmers and Hutch set off to the Edinburgh Film Festival

Sign of the festival times in Edinburgh

GOOD to be back, good to be back. After a summer break, Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson resume their arts chat with reflections on their return to the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Did Graham’s day out among the 90,000 throng at Leeds Festival pass the test after all that Covid testing?

Verdicts too on Harrogate Theatre’s immersive play, Our Gate, and on British Sea Power’s name change in woke times can be heard in Episode 55 at: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1187561/9127399 .

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OFF: York Festival cancelled. OFF TOO: Scarborough Open Air Theatre season shut

Goodbye, not Hello: Lionel Richie’s York Festival and Scarborough Open Air Theatre concerts have been cancelled

THE inaugural York Festival with Lionel Richie, Madness and Westlife in June is off.  The entire Scarborough Open Air Theatre summer season has been cancelled too.

The “unavoidable” double blow for promoters Cuffe and Taylor was confirmed in a brief statement at high noon, enforced by the grip of the Coronavirus pandemic.

“We are sad to announce both York Festival and the 2020 programme at Scarborough Open Air Theatre will not go ahead,” they said. “We did not want to take this step, but it was unavoidable. The health and safety of concertgoers, artists, staff and community will always be our top priority.

Grey Day for Madness: no House Of Fun after all at York Festival on June 19

“We are working with our ticketing partners and they will contact customers very soon to process refunds. Peace, love, kindness and thanks.”

So, alas, this means goodbye to Hello and Lionel Richie at York Sports Club, Clifton Park, Shipton Road, on June 21, when the American soul legend, now 70, would have been supported by Grammy Award winner Macy Gray and Newcastle soul-pop duo Lighthouse Family.

Camden Town nutty boys Madness were to have headlined the opening night, June 19, joined by Ian Broudie’s Lightning Seeds, Craig Charles, for a Funk and Soul Club DJ set, Leeds indie rockers Apollo Junction and York band Violet Contours.

Westlife: York and Scarborough shows grounded without wings

Irish matured boy band Westlife were booked to top the June 21 bill, backed up All Saints, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Scouting For Girls and Take That’s Howard Donald for a DJ set.

Over on the East Coast, Cuffe and Taylor had lined up big hitters galore for Scarborough Open Air Theatre’s 2020 season, opening with Lionel Richie on June 9, followed by Westlife on June 17.

Further bookings were: Supergrass, June 20; Alfie Boe, June 27; Snow Patrol, July 4; Mixtape, with Marc Almond, Heaven 17 and Living In A Box featuring Kenny Thomas, July 10; Keane, July 17; Little Mix, July 21; McFly, August 14; Louis Tomlinson, August 15, and Nile Rodgers & Chic, August 21. What’s more, further shows were to have been added. Not any more.

Leopard king: Rod Stewart at York Racecourse last June, promoted by Cuffe and Taylor

Last year, Cuffe and Taylor promoted Rod Stewart’s first ever York concert, erecting a pop-up amphitheatre in the centre of York Racecourse and duly drawing 35,000 people to Knavesmire on June 1. Ah, those were the days.

Earlier this spring, Cuffe and Taylor were given the City of York Council thumbs-up for a licence for their first York Festival, albeit with the proviso that the volume must be turned down. Now, there will only be silence.