Nicki Clay’s Shelley, left, and Gemma McDonald’s Linda in MARMiTE Theatre’s Ladies Day
AMANDA Whittington’s frisky-as-a-colt northern comedy-drama is on to a winner once more, this time trained by Martyn Hunter in the colours of MARMiTE Theatre.
Premiered by Hull Truck Theatre in 2005 to take advantage of Royal Ascot’s migration north to York Racecourse that summer, Ladies’ Day was last saddled up at Theatre@41, Monkgate, by Robert Readman’s Pick Me Up Theatre in 2019 with a cast led by the formidable female frontline of Rosy Rowley, Florence Poskett, Bromwyn Jennison and May Tether.
Lucy Beaumont, later to flourish as a none-more-Hull comedian, had made her professional debut as shy Linda in the Hull Truck show by the way.
Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl, left, Nicki Clay’s Shelley and Jackie Cox’s sozzled Jan in MARMiTE Theatre’s Ladies Day. Picture: Lucy Baines
Martyn Hunter had no hesitation in picking his principal quartet without auditions for MARMiTE Theatre’s second production, following up last autumn’s sold-out debut account of The Vicar Of Dibley.
Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl is on the cusp of leaving the Hessle fish-filleting factory where she works with food-obsessed Jan (Jackie Cox), diffident Tony Christie fan Linda (Rowntree Players pantomime goofball Gemma McDonald) and brassy, brittle wannabe celebrity Shelley (Nicki Clay, so splendid as vicar Geraldine in The Vicar Of Dibley).
Readman had favoured two burgeoning talents in Poskitt and the now professional Tether, alongside Rowley and Jemmison, whereas Hunter banks on years and years of experience in his quartet, as Pearl heads off with the girls to Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot on the Knavesmire track for her “non-retirement” party.
Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl, left, Nicki Clay’s Shelley, Jackie Cox’s Jan and Gemma McDonald’s Linda hoping for victory for Broken Dream in the sixth race in Ladies’ Day. Picture: Lucy Baines
Matched by Hunter’s design switching from white tiles and work surfaces to the pageantry of the racecourse, depicted in scenery artist Lucy Baines’s Knavesmire mural, they transform from peaked caps and white wellies to their Ascot glad rags and fascinators. Like Cinderella, all they need now is a ticket to have a ball, whereupon Linda chances across a mislaid handbag with four tickets inside.
“It’s stealing,” she says. “It’s fate,” says last-chance saloon dreamer Shelley, and in they go, placing a jackpot accumulator across the race card with each selection picked for its Tony Christie connection.
What ensues is a comedy whose breeding bears hallmarks of both Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and John Godber’s stable of fast and furious, physical, happy-sad plays, where characters look to improve their circumstances as the ordinary briefly encounters the extraordinary.
Trevor Britain’s world-weary Irish jockey Patrick and Gemma McDonald’s Linda, Tony Christie’s number one fan, in Ladies’ Day. Picture: Lucy Baines
At work, the girls gossip, tease, spark and spar to counter the monotony, singing Tony Christie’s (Is This The Way To) Amarillo and Michael Jackson’s Ben, and dreaming beyond the Hessle hustle and bustle. On the course, they still gossip, tease, spark and spar, but Whittington’s broad, brash comedy is underscored by darkness, in part influenced by the prodigious intake of alcohol by all but Linda.
Each makes a startling revelation as the day at the races progresses and the accumulator wins pile up towards the climactic sixth race. If Broken Dream wins, they will take home £500,000. If not, their dreams are broken.
In Hull, York pantomime regular Martin Barrass had brought chameleon character acting skills and comic craft to playing all of Whittington’s roster of men, who each crave an injection of happiness in their daily routines.
Jackie Cox’s Jan listens to Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl as she reveals her secret in Ladies’ Day. Picture: Lucy Baines
Hunter makes the decision to spread the roles, being rewarded by colourful turns by Chris Gibson’s Joe, the Australia-bound factory foreman; Robbie Howe’s leery, jaundiced TV racing pundit Jim McCormack; Stuart Rae’s cynical ticket tout Fred and drunken betting addict Kevin and Trevor Britain’s exotically coiffured Tony Christie and wistful veteran Irish jockey Patrick.
Martyn Hunter makes a late cameo appearance as bookie Barry in the play’s most heart-rending scene with wife Jeanette’s Pearl, to the accompaniment of Westverse’s cover of Unchained Melody. Pearl, who has hidden a secret for seven years, brings out the full range of Jeanette’s acting, adding grit to the familiar sparkle.
Cox handles the tricky challenge of Jan’s drunk-as-a-skunk behaviour with aplomb; McDonald’s Linda, the quiet one with the troublesome mother, suddenly blossoms with new radiance; Clay’s Shelley is the tour-de-force standout, even more vulnerable than the rest behind the boldest of fronts.
Robbie Howe’s TV racing pundit Jim spins his yarn to Nicki Clay’s Shelley in Ladies’ Day. Picture: Lucy Baines
Hunter’s design uses York Races and Royal Ascot insignia, a railing and foliage to set the scene, while a television screen announces each scene change and the betting odds for each race. Look out for the MARMiTE name on the fish factory sign.
There is so much to love about MARMiTE Theatre’s version of a play long established as worthy of the winner’s enclosure. Should you see it? You bet!
MARMiTE Theatre presents Ladies’ Day, Theatre@41, Monkgate, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Towering performances: Matthew Rutherford’s giant, Smog, and Jared More’s giant, Miff, in Riding Lights Theatre Company’s The Selfish Giant
A GIANT in a garden, Wendy turning piratical in a re-imagined Peter Pan, Alan Ayckbourn’s 92nd play and Wilko Johnson’s miraculous renaissance spark Charles Hutchinson’s attention in the week ahead.
Inspirational tale of love and generosity of the week: Riding Lights Theatre Company in The Selfish Giant, Friargate Theatre, Lower Friargate, York, today, 1.30pm and 4.30pm
STEP into the magical world of the Giant’s garden, a place full of music, beauty, bird song and stories in Jon Boustead’s stage adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant. The Giant, however, is cross when he returns to find children – children! – playing happily in his beautiful orchard, whereupon he erects a big wall to terminate the fun.
Once winter seizes the garden in its icy fingers, will summer ever return? Through storytelling, interactive games, live music and puppetry, York company Riding Lights presents a 50-minute play for family audiences. Box office: 01904 613000 or friargatetheatre.co.uk. Age recommendation: Three upwards.
Neverland revamped: York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre in Wendy & Peter Pan, York Theatre Royal, today, 2pm and 7pm
YORK Theatre Royal Youth Theatre returns to the Main House stage for the first time since 2019 for 46 performers, aged eight to 19, to present Ella Hickson’s feminist take on J M Barrie’s Peter Pan in Lydia Crosland and Sophie-Jade Howell’s large-scale production.
A quiet sadness permeates the Darling household, until the unexpected arrival of a mischievous young boy called Peter and a rather sassy fairy, Tink, whereupon Wendy leads the rebellious lost boys, takes on the terrifying Captain Hook, finds the key to her parents’ lost happiness and discovers the power of being brave and strong. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
York actress Frances Marshall in rehearsal for Alan Ayckbourn’s first courtroom drama, The Trial Of Romeo Oscar. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Premiere of the week: Alan Ayckbourn’s The Trial Of Romeo Oscar, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until October 4
ALAN Ayckbourn’s 92nd play is his first courtroom drama, one set in the future, as he explores the question that artists have been asking for centuries: what makes us human?
In 2194, humanity is scattered around the solar system and day-to-day life on Earth looks very different. Preparations are underway for a landmark legal case. Romeo Oscar, a military issue android, is on trial for murder: the first non-human to be tried in a court of law. The evidence is polarising and selecting an impartial jury is proving a challenge. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Silky: Hooking up at York Barbican tonight
Comedy bill of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, featuring Silky and Dave Johns, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 8pm
SILKY, Liverpudlian-in-exile and international act, is joined by Dave Johns, North Eastern stand-up, scriptwriter and stage and screen actor, and Jimmy Shirley, whose material addresses growing up in Liverpool in the 1990s, the absurdity of being a Scouser in Greece and the everyday things that annoy him every day.
Completing the line-up will be Gary Jennison, a surrealist force of nature who brings unscripted, unbridled chaos to dance-offs, game shows and observations with a twist while inviting the audience to steer his performance with suggestions and participation. Box office: https://lolcomedyclubs.co.ukor on the door from 7.30pm subject to availability.
See the world more curiously in: Be Like Blippi, York Barbican, today, 1pm and 4pm
JOIN Blippi and Meekah for a one-of-a-kind interactive adventure that inspires children to move, play and explore like Blippi in a new show packed with high-energy music and surprises, featuring fan favourites The Excavator Song, Monster Truck, Dino Dance and Curious Like Me.
Equipped with Blippi’s signature mix of play, learning, and exploration, Be Like Blippi invites you to break out your orange Blippi glasses and ignite your spark of curiosity. Please note, Blippi and Meekah will be played by professional stage performers. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Andrew O’Neill: Charting the history of punk through the comedy lens. Picture: Andrew O’Neill
When punk rock meets comedy: Andrew O’Neill, History Of Punk, Theatre@41, Monkgate, tonight, 8pm
FRESH from asking “How do we get out of this mess” in his Halfway To Edinburgh preview of his surreal, political show Escape at Theatre@41 on July 24, cult comedian Andrew O’Neill returns to York, switching from suggesting ways we can find our way out of disagreements to refracting punk rock through stand-up comedy.
In the wake of A History Of Heavy Metal, he delivers a full-volume love letter to punk, from The Stooges to Pussy Riot, Amebix to X-Ray Spex. “Punk’s not dead,” says O’Neill, who has appeared on Good Omens, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Steve Coogan’s Saxondale. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
The Illegal Eagles: Checking in at the Hotel California
Tribute gig of the week: The Illegal Eagles, Hotel California Tour, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm
THE Illegal Eagles mark 30 years on the road in 2026 with their new Hotel California Tour. Renowned for their vocal and guitar prowess and ability to re-create the legendary sound of the Eagles, the tribute act’s milestone itinerary features a full performance of the iconic Hotel California album, featuring Life In The Fast Lane, New Kid in Town and the unforgettable title track. Expect all the timeless Eagles greatest hits too. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl, Jackie Cox’s Jan, Nicky Clay’s Shelley and Gemma McDonald’s Linda in MARMiTE Theatre’s Ladies Day. Picture: Lucy Baines
Racing romp of the week: MARMiTE Theatre in Ladies Day, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 8 to 12, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
LIFE is one long slog for four fish factory packers from Hull, Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda, but their fortunes could change when they head to Knavesmire on the day Royal Ascot came to York in 2005.
Factory hairnets make way for fascinators as the friends hit the racecourse for an unforgettable day out. Secrets are spilled, along with copious amounts of champagne, as friendships are tested to the limits in Martyn Hunter’s s production of Amanda Whittington’s comedy gem. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Georgina Fairbanks and Johnson Willis in Jonathan Maitland’s Wilko:Love and Death and Rock’n’Roll. Picture: Nick Haeffner
Punk godfather of the week: Wilko:Love and Death and Rock’n’Roll , York Theatre Royal, September 10 to 12, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee
WHEN Dr Feelgood co-founder and iconic guitarist Wilko Johnson faced a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2012, he was given only one year left to live. Declining medical intervention, Wilko chose to dedicate his remaining time to a meaningful farewell tour of the people and places that defined his life…only for an unexpected miracle to change the narrative entirely.
Jonathan Maitland’s Wilko: Love and Death and Rock’n’Roll examines the life of this punk-movement godfather, tracing a career that spanned Dr Feelgood, the Solid Senders, Ian Dury and The Blockheads and a late-career turn to acting in Game Of Thrones. Integrating live music and storytelling with Wilko’s own words, this show serves as a practical masterclass in living life to the fullest. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Movies In The Moonlight in Picturehouse Outdoor Cinema’s season at York Museum Gardens
Cinema event of the week: Picturehouse Outdoor Cinema, Movies In The Moonlight, York Museum Gardens, September 11 to 13, 6.30pm
CITY Screen Picturehouse moves outdoors for three evenings of open-air screenings, comprising Grease (PG) on September 11, The Shining (15) and Evolution Of Horror podcast introduction on September 12 and Jurassic Park (12A) on September 13. Screenings start at dusk or as soon as darkness falls.
Blankets, cushions and small picnic chairs are allowed. A limited number of deck chairs will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis; rain ponchos can bought at the event, should the need arise Guests are encouraged to take away waste for recycling where possible. Box office: picturehouses.com/outdoor-cinema/venue/york-museum-gardens.
Uh Oh, here comes Phil Wang’s moustache, “bristling with wisdom”at York Barbican
New moustache of the week: Phil Wang: Uh Oh, York Barbican, September 11, 7.30pm
PHILIP Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi is a Malaysian-British stand-up comedian, comedy writer and member of the sketch comedy group Daphne, who co-created the BBC Radio 4 series Daphne Sounds Expensive.
Now comes his new stand-up show, Uh Oh. In the words of Phil, “he’s older than ever before. He’s got a moustache now. It bristles with wisdom. His eyes shine with good humour. His shoulders groan under the weight of being the only cool millennial left. Everyone’s an idiot but him. Nice is out. Right is in. The vibe shift is real. Old Wang’s riding it.” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl, left, Jackie Cox’s Jan, Nicki Clay’s Shelley and Gemma McDonald’s Linda in MARMiTE Theatre’s Ladies Day. Picture: Lucy Baines
YORK company MARMiTE Theatre’s second production, Amanda Whittington’s racecourse comedy-drama Ladies Day, comes under starter’s orders next Tuesday.
Rehearsals are in the final furlong for artistic director and company founder Martyn Hunter’s production at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from September 8 to 12.
Premiered at Hull Truck Theatre in June 2005, Ladies Day’s tale of friendship, sisterly support and, above all, love follows Hull fish-filleting factory packers Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda as they embark on Pearl’s “I’m not retiring” leaving-do.
Out go the hairnets, wellies and overalls, in come the outrageous hats, high heels and posh frocks, as the four friends set off for Ladies Day at Royal Ascot in the one-off summer when the racing festival relocated to York’s Knavesmire course in 2005.
Jackie Cox’s Jan in rehearsal for MARMiTE Theatre’s Ladies Day. Picture: Lucy Baines
“As the racing begins and the champagne flows, we find out there is more to the mundane fish-packing lives of our four friends than we first thought,” says Martyn. “As the day unfolds and the races go by, we see their loves, losses and insecurities laid bare, but if their luck holds they could still hit the jackpot and a lot more besides.”
Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl will be joined in MARMiTE Theatre’s cast by Jackie Cox’s Jan, Nicki Clay’s Shelley, Gemma McDonald’s Linda, Chris Gibson’s Joe, Stuart Rae’s Fred and Kevin, Robbie Howe’s Jim, Martyn Hunter’s Barry and Trevor Britain’s Patrick and Tony Christie (yes, the South Yorkshire crooner).
Ladies Day has since spawned Whittington’s plays Ladies Down Under and Ladies Unleashed, but MARMiTE Theatre picked her original play as the racing cert for a winning production. “It was on our radar for quite some time, and then our hand was forced by not being able to do our second Vicar Of Dibley production, The Second Coming, as the follow-up to our sold-out November 2025 debut,” says Martyn.
“Or, rather, we decided not to do it, because the story of Hugo and Alice setting out on married life and parenthood was heavily written around the Christmas Nativity and the birth of their fist child.
MARMiTE Theatre artistic director Martyn Hunter
“We had permission from Ian Gower to adapt the script, but we didn’t think a September run quite gelled with a Christmas setting. Ladies Day was always in my mind to do and we knew we wouldn’t have any problems staging it.”
Last performed at Theatre@41, Monkgate, by Robert Readman’s company Pick Me Up Theatre in 2019, Ladies Day appealed to Martyn on several grounds. “Firstly, Amanda Whittington is one of the attractions because people know of the quality of the plays she’s written. Then there are the local connections: the four women coming from Hull, and York Racecourse – everyone of a certain age remembers Royal Ascot coming to York and all the chaos and opportunities that went with it!
“The play also fits MARMiTE Theatre’s ethos of presenting light comedies, not deep-thinking plays. Audiences can buy a ticket, have a great time, go home.”
Martyn suggests audiences and actors alike are drawn to Whittington’s characters being ‘real people’. “Just to read it, it’s such a funny play that people can identify with, but then when you start rehearsing it, you realise they’re not superficial characters. They’re deeper than that, which is true to life. Everyone has a story to tell,” he says.
Off to the races: Jackie Cox’s Jan, left, Nicki Clay’s Shelley, Gemma McDonald’s Linda and Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl, front, in MARMiTE Theatre’s Ladies Day. Picture: Lucy Baines
York pantomime luminary Martin Barrass memorably played all the male characters in the Hull Truck premiere, but Martyn made the decision to divide the parts this time. “I’m glad we’ve spread them across five actors, who bring different qualities to the characters,” he says.
“I’ve looked at clips of amateur companies doing the show with one actor doing all the male roles, and often the actor looks ludicrous when playing the jockey. We have a guy called Trevor Britain in that role, who looks the part. He’s been in his local panto for years and has done a couple of shows with Escrick Monday Players. He’s the right stature, and even before opening his mouth, you think, ‘yeah, he could be a jockey’.”
Martyn handpicked Jeanette Hunter for Pearl, Jackie Cox for Jan, Nicki Clay for Shelley and Rowntree Players pantomime regular Gemma McDonald for Linda from “being in shows with them or seeing them on stage”. “I knew they were highly competent to take on their roles, and they all have that fun, easy-going character about them, which makes them great to work with,” he says.
“Rehearsing through July and August has been enlightening and enjoyable, but at the same a nightmare,” he jokes. “Can you imagine spending every Sunday with four loud, giggly ladies?! But at the end of the day, you will see the sacrifice has been worthwhile!
Jackie Cox’s Jan and Jeanette Hunter in fish-filleting garb in rehearsal for MARMiTE Theatre’s Ladies Day. Picture: Lucy Baines
“They’re all good for a laugh and nobody takes themselves too seriously, which is a big part of making rehearsals work. They’re good company to be with and it’s just a bonus that they’re all such talented actresses.”
Martyn has turned his hand to the set design too, one that will feature a racecourse mural, painted specially for the production by Lucy Baines. “It will all come together on Monday afternoon in time for Tuesday,” he says.
Looking ahead, a second coming for The Vicar Of Dibley: The Second Coming could yet be on the cards for MARMITE Theatre. “I’m still very hopeful that we can do it in November 2027 at Theatre@41,” says Martyn. Watch this space.
MARMiTE Theatre in Ladies Day, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 8 to 12, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Did you know?
MARTYN and Jeanette Hunter are no strangers to enjoying Ladies Day, having attended Ladies Day at Ripon Racecourse for the past decade.
MARMiTE Theatre’s poster for Ladies Day at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
Jared More, left, and Matthew Rutherford in Riding Lights Theatre Company’s The Selfish Giant
A GIANT in a garden, Wendy turning piratical in a re-imagined Peter Pan, a slapstick take on The Three Musketeers and an enlightening Helmsley exhibition are among Charles Hutchinson’s highlights in the week ahead.
Inspirational tale of love and generosity of the week: Riding Lights Theatre Company in The Selfish Giant, Friargate Theatre, Lower Friargate, York, until Saturday, 1.30pm and 4.30pm
STEP into the magical world of the Giant’s garden, a place full of music, beauty, bird song and stories in Jon Boustead’s stage adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant. The Giant, however, is cross when he returns to find children – children! – playing happily in his beautiful orchard, whereupon he erects a big wall to put a stop to all the fun.
Once winter seizes the garden in its icy fingers, will summer ever return? Through storytelling, interactive games, live music and puppetry, York company Riding Lights presents a 50-minute play for family audiences. Box office: 01904 613000 or friargatetheatre.co.uk. Age recommendation: Three upwards.
York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s cast in Wendy & Peter Pan. Picture: James Drury
Neverland revamped: York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre in Wendy & Peter Pan, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow to Saturday, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee
YORK Theatre Royal Youth Theatre returns to the Main House stage for the first time since 2019 for 46 performers, aged eight to 19, to present Ella Hickson’s feminist take on J M Barrie’s Peter Pan in Lydia Crosland and Sophie-Jade Howell’s large-scale production.
A quiet sadness permeates the Darling household, until the unexpected arrival of a mischievous young boy called Peter and a rather sassy fairy, Tink, whereupon Wendy leads the rebellious lost boys, takes on the terrifying Captain Hook, finds the key to her parents’ lost happiness and discovers the power of being brave and strong. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The poster for Romantics, Mystics and Revolutionaries
Spoken-word gig of the week: Say Owt presents Romantics, Mystics and Revolutionaries by Pete the Temp, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
POET, author and comic Pete the Temp’s Romantics, Mystics and Revolutionaries is a spoken-word show about rebellion, resistance and wild imagination. The 1800s’ Romantic movement began as a rebellion: against empire, industry and the mechanisation of the soul. Yorkshire became the epicentre of its rebellion.
Tomorrow’s storytelling stage show fuses scholarship with music, comedy and poetry in a spellbinding history of riot, repression and psychedelic experimentation. As we face this age of despair, find out what we can learn from past dreams of freedom and renewal. Bangladeshi-Geordie spoken-word poet and creative practitioner Tahmina Ali supports with her explorations of identity, belonging, motherhood, mental health and cultural inheritance, viewed through a distinctly northern lens. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Our Star Theatre Company: Whirlwind of confusion, mayhem and comical mishaps in The Three Musketeers
Slapstick silliness of the week: Our Star Theatre Company in The Three Musketeers, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Friday, 7.30pm
OUR Star Theatre Company’s re-telling of The Three Musketeers is packed with humour, audience participation and energetically silly turns as a small troupe of performers gears up for its debut performance of Alexandre Dumas’s story.
However, what starts as a simple theatrical endeavour soon unravels into a whirlwind of confusion, mayhem and comical mishaps. From forgotten lines to chaotic set changes, the actors become entangled in a series of blunders. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
York actress Frances Marshall in rehearsal for Alan Ayckbourn’s The Trial Of Romeo Oscar. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Premiere of the week: Alan Ayckbourn’s The Trial Of Romeo Oscar, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Friday to October 4
ALAN Ayckbourn’s 92nd play is his first courtroom drama, one set in the future, as he explores the question that artists have been asking for centuries: what makes us human?
In 2194, humanity is scattered around the solar system and day-to-day life on Earth looks very different. Preparations are underway for a landmark legal case. Romeo Oscar, a military issue android, is on trial for murder: the first non-human to be tried in a court of law. The evidence is polarising and selecting an impartial jury is proving a challenge. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
See the world more curiously in: Be Like Blippi, York Barbican, Saturday, 1pm and 4pm
JOIN Blippi and Meekah for a one-of-a-kind interactive adventure that inspires children to move, play and explore like Blippi in a new show packed with high-energy music and surprises, featuring fan favourites The Excavator Song, Monster Truck, Dino Dance and Curious Like Me.
Equipped with Blippi’s signature mix of play, learning, and exploration, Be Like Blippi invites you to break out your orange Blippi glasses and ignite your spark of curiosity. Please note, Blippi and Meekah will be played by professional stage performers. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The Illegal Eagles: Checking into the Hotel California at York Barbican
Tribute gig of the week: The Illegal Eagles, Hotel California Tour, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm
THE Illegal Eagles mark 30 years on the road in 2026 with their new Hotel California Tour. Renowned for their vocal and guitar prowess and ability to re-create the legendary sound of the Eagles, the tribute act’s milestone itinerary features a full performance of the iconic Hotel California album, featuring Life In The Fast Lane, New Kid in Town and the unforgettable title track. Expect all the timeless Eagles greatest hits too. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Robert Dutton & Andrew Moodie: Launching Into The Light exhibition at Helmsley Arts Centre
Exhibition of the week: Robert Dutton & Andrew Moodie, Into The Light, Helmsley Arts Centre, September 8 to 30
THIS exhibition presents landscapes that evoke a strong affinity for different reasons. Dramatic mountainous terrain, breathtaking moorland landscapes and coastal sea sand and communities all have their place.
“We hope that Into the Light may extend beyond the artwork to suggest a sense of optimism, moving from darkness to light, in a sometimes troubled world,” say artists Robert Dutton and Andrew Moodie. “The paintings are presented both to inspire you and also to bring you that same sense of awe and wonder with nature that we felt as we painted them, enjoying the unique quality of the light that led us to each location.”
Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl, left, Jackie Cox’s Jan, Nicki Clay’s Shelley and Gemma McDonald’s Linda in MARMiTE Theatre’s Ladies Day. Picture: Lucy Baines
Racing romp of the week: MARMiTE Theatre in Ladies Day, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 8 to 12, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
LIFE is one long slog for four fish factory packers from Hull, Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda, but their fortunes could change when they head to Knavesmire on the day Royal Ascot came to York in 2005.
Factory hairnets make way for fascinators as the friends hit the racecourse for an unforgettable day out. Secrets are spilled, along with copious amounts of champagne, as their friendships are tested to the limits in Martyn Hunter’s s production of Amanda Whittington’s comedy gem. Box office:https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/
Louisa Ashdown in the rehearsal room for Hephaestus Theatre’s Richard iii Redux
Introducing: Hephaestus Theatre in Richard iii Redux, The Basement, City Screen Playhouse, York, September 10, 7.30pm
UNIVERSITY of York theatre graduates Eleanor Doig (producer) and Louisa Ashdown (director and performer) introduce new York company Hephaestus Theatre in Kaite O’Reilly and Phillip Zarrilli’s dark comedy Richard iii Redux.
The company’s mission is to tell disabled stories and put disabled and neuro-diverse actors on stage and behind the scenes, this time with Ashdown playing The Actor opposite Georgina Way’s Presenter (on film) in a journey to find who the real Richard iii was while exploring the challenges of being a disabled actor. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.
MARMiTE Theatre’s show announcement poster for Ladies Day at Theatre@41, Monkgate
YORK company MARMiTE Theatre will begin rehearsals on June 21 for Ladies Day, Amanda Whittington’s “racecourse comedy-drama to warm the cockles of your heart”.
Directed again by company founder Martyn Hunter, the company’s second production will run at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from September 8 to 12.
Premiered at Hull Truck Theatre in June 2005, Ladies Day’s tale of friendship, sisterly support and, above all, love follows Hull fish-filleting factory packers Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda as they embark on Pearl’s “I’m not retiring” leaving-do.
Nicki Clay’s Geraldine Granger in MARMiTE Theatre’s debut production, The Vicar Of Dibley, last November
Out go the hairnets, wellies and overalls, in come the outrageous hats, high heels and posh frocks, as the four friends set off for Ladies Day at Royal Ascot in the one-off summer when the racing festival relocated to York’s Knavesmire course in 2005.
“As the racing begins and the champagne flows, we find out there is more to the mundane fish-packing lives of our four friends than we first thought,” says Martyn. “As the day unfolds and the races go by, we see their loves, losses and insecurities laid bare, but if their luck holds they could still hit the jackpot and a lot more besides.”
Ladies Day playwright Amanda Whittington
Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl will be joined in MARMiTE Theatre’s cast by Jackie Cox’s Jan, Nicki Clay’s Shelley, Gemma McDonald’s Linda, Chris Gibson’s Joe, Stuart Rae’s Fred and Kevin, Robbie Howe’s Jim, Martyn Hunter’s Barry and Trevor Britain’s Patrick and Tony Christie.
“MARMiTE Theatre had hoped to follow up November 2025’s sell-out debut production of The Vicar Of Dibley with a return to the village of Dibley this year to continue the story of Hugo and Alice as they set out on married life & parenthood,” says Martyn.
“However, due to unforeseen difficulties, we’ve had to postpone a second visit but are keen to return to Dibley in 2027.” Watch this space.
Tickets for Ladies Day cost £15 at tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Danny Horn’s Ray Davies leading The Kinks in Sunny Afternoon, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Manuel Harlan
SUNNY Afternoon’s Kinks songs for dark nights, Dibley comedic delights and drag diva Velma Celli’s frock rock catch Charles Hutchinson’s eye.
Musical of the week: Sonia Freidman Productions and ATG Productions present Sunny Afternoon, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Friday and Saturday matinees
RETURNING to York for the first time since February 2017, four-time Olivier Award winner Sunny Afternoon charts the raw energy, euphoric highs, troubling lows, mendacious mismanagement and brotherly spats of Muswell Hill firebrands The Kinks, equipped with an original story (and nearly 30 songs) by frontman Ray Davies.
The script is by Joe Penhall, who says: “As a band The Kinks were the perennial outsider – punk before punk.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Nicki Clay’s Reverend Geraldine Granger in MARMiTE Theatre’s The Vicar Of Dibley at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York. Picture: Paul Miles
Village drama of the week: MARMiTE Theatre in The Vicar Of Dibley, Theatre:41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday,7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
NICKI Clay is going doubly Dibley for MARMiTE Theatre in the new York company’s debut production of The Vicar Of Dibley, having played Geraldine Grainger for The Monday Players in Escrick in May.
Martyn Hunter directs Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter’s cherry-picking of the best of Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer’s first two TV series, bringing together all the favourite eccentric residents of Dibley as the new vicar’s arrival shakes up the parish council of this sleepy English village. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
N’Faly Kouyaté: Dancing shoes recommended
African rhythms of the week: N’Faly Kouyaté, National Centre for Early Music, York, tonight, 7.30pm
AFTER gracing stages across the world with Afro Celt Sound System — where Celtic voices and instrumentation met the vibrant heartbeat of African rhythms — avant-garde griot N’Faly Kouyaté embarks on a profoundly personal journey.
This masterful Guinean multi-instrumentalist, inspired vocalist and living bridge between ancestral heritage and future sounds returns with his album Finishing, whose songs stir the soul, provoke reflection, elicit smiles and set bodies moving. Bring your dancing shoes! Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Velma Celli: Rock Queen with a nod to David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane slash. Picture: Sophie Eleanor Photography
Drag night of the week: Velma Celli: Rock Queen, York Theatre Royal, tonight, 7.30pm
YORK’S international drag diva deluxe Velma Celli follows up her iconic October 1 appearance in Coronation Street soapland withan “overindulgent evening celebrating and re-imagining the best of rock classics” with her band.
The alter ego of West End musical star Ian Stroughair, who has shone in Cats, Fame, Rent and Chicago, cabaret queen Velma’s live vocal drag act has been charming audiences for 14 years, whether at Yorktoberfest at York Racecourse, her Impossible Brunches at Impossible York, or in such shows as A Brief History Of Drag, My Divas, God Save The Queens and Divalussion (with Christina Bianco). Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Beth McCarthy: Heading back home to play Big Ian’s A Night To Remember charity concert. Picture: Duncan Lomax., Ravage Productions
Charity event of the week: Big Ian’s A Night To Remember, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
BIG Ian Donaghy hosts a “night of York helping York” featuring a 30-strong band led by George Hall with a line-up of York party band HUGE, Jess Steel, Beth McCarthy, Heather Findlay, Graham Hodge, The Y Street Band, Simon Snaize, Annie-Rae Donaghy, fiddler Kieran O’Malley, Samantha Holden, Las Vegas Ken and musicians from York Music Forum, plus a guest choir.
Proceeds from this three-hour fundraiser go to St Leonard’s Hospice, Bereaved Children Support York, Accessible Arts & Media and York dementia projects. Tickets update: Balcony seats still available at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Staff woes: William Ilkley, left, Levi Payne and Dylan Allcock in John Godber’s Black Tie Ball, on tour at the SJT, Scarborough
One helluva party of the week: John Godber’s Black Tie Ball, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, November 12 to 15, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
ON the glitziest East Yorkshire fundraising night of the year, everyone wants to be there. The Bentleys are parked, the jazz band has arrived, the magician will be magic, but behind the bow ties, fake tans and equally fake booming laughter lie jealousies and avarice, divorces and affairs, as overdressed upstairs meets understaffed downstairs through a drunken gaze.
The raffle is ridiculously competitive, the coffee, cold, the service, awful, the guest speaker, drunk, and the hard -pressed caterers just want to go home. Welcome to the Brechtian hotel hell of John Godber’s satirical, visceral comedy drama, as told by the exasperated hotel staff, recounting the night’s mishaps at breakneck speed in the manner of Godber’s fellow wearers of tuxedos, Bouncers. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Ensemble 360: Performing works by Shostakovich and Dvořák at Helmsley Arts Centre. Picture: Matthew Johnson and Music in the Round
Classical matinee concert of the week: Ensemble 360, Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 2.30pm
ENSEMBLE 360’s chamber musicians Benjamin Nabarro and Claudia Ajmone-Marsan, violins, Rachel Roberts, viola, Gemma Rosefield, cello, and Tim Horton, piano, perform the dramatic intensity and soaring lyricism of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57 and the radiant warmth and Czech folk-inspired melodies of Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81, a piece cherished for its lush harmonies, spirited dances and seamless instrumental interplay. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Rock’n’roll show of the week: Two Pianos, Pocklington Arts Centre, Thursday, 7.30pm
IN the words of Jerry Lew Lewis, “Two Pianos are awesome rockers”. Tomorrow night, David Barton and Al Kilvo bring their rock’n’roll piano show to Pocklington for a journey through the golden age of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Ray Charles, Wanda Jackson, Brenda Lee and, yes, the “The Killer” himself. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Lydia Hough and Joseph Taylor in London City Ballet’s Pictures At An Exhibition, on tour at York Theatre Royal
Dance show of the week: London City Ballet: Momentum, York Theatre Royal, Friday, 7.30pm (with post-show discussion); Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
LONDON City Ballet, former resident company of Sadler’s Wells, returns to York Theatre Royal with Momentum, a new repertoire that showcases artists rarely seen in the UK. Haieff Divertimento, an early George Balanchine work, was thought to be lost for 40 years after its premiere and remained unseen outside the USA until now. Emerging choreographer Florent Melac, premier danseur at Paris Opera Ballet, combines inventive transitions with intimate partnering in his fluid new work.
Alexei Ratmansky, New York City Ballet’s artist in residence, presents Pictures At An Exhibition, performed to Modest Mussorgsky’s eponymous score, set against a backdrop depicting Wassily Kandinsky’s paintings. Unseen in the UK since its 2009 premiere, Liam Scarlett’s Consolations & Liebestraum is a response to Franz Liszt’s piano score, depicting the life cycle of a relationship, its blossoming and later fracturing love. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Always time for chocolate: Nicki Clay’s Geraldine Granger in MARMiTE Theatre’s The Vicar Of Dibley. Picture: Paul Miles
MARMiTE Theatre’s entire run of The Vicar Of Dibley sold out before opening night. What an achievement for this new York company – and how enviously any number of village churches must look at the full congregation.
New company, yes, but one steeped in names familiar to followers of the York theatre scene, from director Martyn Hunter to Nicki Clay, a third generation York performer with more than 50 shows in 26 years to her name.
Here she is on doubly Dibley duty, having played the Reverend Geraldine Granger in May for the Monday Players in Escrick.
Joining her in Hunter’s company are Florence Poskitt, Neil Foster, Mike Hickman, Adam Sowter, Jeanette Hunter and Helen “Bells” Spencer, all regulars on York’s boards, and Glynn Mills, whose absence of a cast profile in the programme made him a man of mystery to your reviewer.
Who will fill that empty seat? Dibley Parish Council awaits the arrival of the new incumbent in The Vicar Of Dibley. Present are Mark Simmonds’s Owen Newitt, left, Neil Foster’s Hugo Horton, Glynn Mills’s David Horton, Mike Hickman’s Frank Pickle, Jeanette Hunter’s Letitia Cropley and Adam Sowter’s Jim Trott. Picture: Paul Miles
Research enquiries revealed he had been connected with theatre for 62 years, attending Central School of Speech & Drama, working in repertory theatre, the West End and on UK tours, and doing voiceovers and cabaret too. All that experience shows in a performance full of fire and ire, putdowns and intolerance as council chairman David Horton.
Rich Musk and Martyn Hunter’s set design accommodatesGeraldine’s cosy sitting room cum office with desk and typewriter alongside the tables and chairs of Dibley Parish Hall, permanently laid out for the next meeting.
Above is a screen, on which Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter’s cherry-picking of the best of Richard Curtis and Paul Carpenter’s first two television series opens with the familiar Dibley faces walking through the churchyard. Scene titles, Later, Later Still, Later That Evening, and such like, denote time of day and the change from one day to the next.
To either side of the screen on the mezzanine level is a neon-lit cross; on one occasion up there, Clay’s Geraldine tells one of her shaggy dog tales to Poskitt’s Alice Tinker, the ditzy church verger, but the lighting puts a distracting shadow slash across the vicar’s face from the barrier railing. Hopefully that can be eradicated.
In perfect harmony: Rachel Higgs, Helen “Bells” Spencer, Henrietta Linnemann and Cat Foster on choral duty in MARMiTE Theatre’s The Vicar Of Dibley. Picture: Paul Miles
On more than one occasion, the York vocal harmony group The Hollywood Sisters (“Bells” Spencer, Cat Foster, Henrietta Linnemann and Rachel Higgs) transform themselves into The Holy Sisters to sing hymns in beatific Songs Of Praise manner. Wholly in harmony with the play’s multitude of formal meetings and informal chats, their inclusion is typical of Hunter’s good directorial judgements that see the sitcom flow of short scenes sustain momentum with a twinkle in the eye throughout.
The play opens with Mills’s grouchy parish council chairman David Horton hosting the meeting where the new vicar will make a first appearance. In attendance are his awfully nice son Hugo (Neil Foster); the stickler-for-accuracy minute-noting parish clerk Frank Pickle (Mike Hickman); knitting-on-her-knee Letitia Cropley (Jeanette Hunter) , creator of endless inedible cakes and sandwiches, and no-no-no-no-yes man Jim Trott (a gurning Adam Sowter, left arm in a sling, presumably not for extra comic effect?!).
Dashing in and out with bodily ablution problems that he loves to describe is blunt dairy farmer Owen Newitt (Mark Simmonds, York’s busiest actor of the moment as he follows his Macheath in York Opera’s The Beggar’s Opera with Dibley, only a month to go to Pick Me Up Theatre’s Anything Goes).
Enter the new vicar, very definitely not a man as irascible chairman Horton expects, but Clay’s Geraldine Granger, drawing attention to her ample bust (matched by her even more ample supplies of chocolate). Whereupon Clay performs in the French style, mirroring the speech rhythms, facial expressions and mannerisms of Dawn’s sitcom vicar but with her own panache.
Nicki Clay’s Geraldine Granger looks on as Neil Foster’s Hugo Horton and Florence Poskitt’s Alice Tinker kiss at last in MARMiTE Theatre’s The Vicar Of Dibley. Picture: Paul Miles
Clay’s Geraldine is a delight throughout, at once reverent yet irreverent, and her scenes with Poskitt’s ever-slow-off-the-mark, exasperating Alice are a particular joy.
Poskitt, a supremely expressive physical comedian, wins hearts too in her love-struck, tongue-tied bonding with Foster’s equally awkward, inhibited Hugo. Their kissing clench that stretches from Act One finale into Act Two opener is one of the comic highpoints, not least from the nimble-footed input of Clay’s Geraldine, breaking down the fourth wall to play to the audience in providing a running commentary on what’s going on.
Hickman’s Pickle, Jeanette Hunter’s Letitia, Sowter’s Trott and especially Simmonds’s brusque Owen all have their moments too in MARMiTE Theatre’s debut that you will surely love, not hate. Don’t swear if you are too late for a ticket; Hunter and co have plans to do further Dibley village capers.
MARMiTE Theatre in The Vicar Of Dibley, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, November 11 to 15, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk. All profits will be donated to Comic Relief.
Danny Horn’s Ray Davies leading The Kinks in Sunny Afternoon, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, from next Tuesday. Picture: Manuel Harlan
SUNNY Afternoon’s Kinks songs for dark nights, Dibley comedic delights and drag diva Velma Celli’s frock rock catch Charles Hutchinson’s eye.
Musical of the week: Sonia Freidman Productions and ATG Productions present Sunny Afternoon, Grand Opera House, York, November 11 to 15, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Friday and Saturday matinees
RETURNING to York for the first time since February 2017, four-time Olivier Award winner Sunny Afternoon charts the raw energy, euphoric highs, troubling lows, mendacious mismanagement and brotherly spats of Muswell Hill firebrands The Kinks, with an original story (and nearly 30 songs) by frontman Ray Davies.
The script is by Joe Penhall, who says: “As a band The Kinks were the perennial outsider – punk before punk.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
MarcoLooks: Exhibiting at Inspired – York Artists & Designer Makers Winter Fair at York Cemetery Chapel
Christmas presence of the week: Inspired – York Artists & Designer Makers Winter Fair, York Cemetery Chapel, Cemetery Road, York, today and tomorrow, 10am to 5pm
NINE York artists and designers will be selling their work for the Christmas season in the divine setting of York Cemetery Chapel. Among them will be collagraphy printmaker Sally Clarke, jewellery designer Jo Bagshaw, artist Adrienne French, printmaker Petra Bradley and illustrator MarcoLooks . Enjoy a winter walk in the beautiful grounds too. Free entry, free parking.
Clive Marshall RIP: York Railway Institute Band and York Opera perform in his memory at The Citadeltonight
Marshalling forces: York Railway Institute Band and York Opera, Clive Marshall Memorial Concert, The Citadel, Gillygate, York, tonight, 7.30pm
YORK Railway Institute Band and York Opera members come together tonight for a charity musical tribute to much-loved colleague Clive Marshall (1936-2025). Expect soaring choruses, heartfelt arias and the very best of operatic overtures in tonight’s programme of popular classics, in aid of St Leonard’s Hospice, where Clive spent the final days of his life in March this year.
He was chairman of the RI band, leading the trombone section for many years, and first performed for York Opera in 1968, going on to play multiple character roles and stage direct myriad productions too. Box office: https://tickets.yorkopera.co.uk/events/yorkopera/1793750 or on the door.
At your service, in the French style: Nicki Clay’s Reverend Geraldine Granger in MARMiTE Theatre’s The Vicar Of Dibley
Village drama of the week: MARMiTE Theatre in The Vicar Of Dibley, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, November 11 to 15,7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
NICKI Clay is going doubly Dibley for MARMiTE Theatre in the new York company’s debut production of The Vicar Of Dibley, having played Geraldine Granger for The Monday Players in Escrick in May.
Martyn Hunter directs Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter’s cherry-picking of the best of Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer’s first two TV series, bringing together all the favourite eccentric residents of Dibley as the new vicar’s arrival shakes up the parish council of this sleepy English village. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Velma Celli: Rock Queen, with a nod to David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane slash make-up, at York Theatre Royal
Drag night of the week: Velma Celli: Rock Queen, York Theatre Royal, November 12, 7.30pm
YORK’S international drag diva deluxe Velma Celli follows up her iconic October 1 appearance in Coronation Street soapland with an “overindulgent evening celebrating and re-imagining the best of rock classics” with her band.
The alter ego of West End musical star Ian Stroughair, who has shone in Cats, Fame, Rent and Chicago, cabaret queen Velma’s live vocal drag act has been charming audiences for 14 years, whether at Yorktoberfest at York Racecourse, her Impossible Brunches at Impossible York, or in such shows as A Brief History Of Drag, My Divas, God Save The Queens, Equinox, Velma Celli Goes Gaga, Show Queen and Divalussion (with Christina Bianco). Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The poster for Toby Lee’s 2025 tour show, An Evening of Blues & Soul, at The Crescent
Blues gig of the week: Toby Lee & James Emmanuel plus Isabella Coulstock, An Evening of Blues & Soul, The Crescent, York, November 12, 7.30pm
BLUES prodigy Toby Lee’s musical journey started at only four years old when his grandmother bought him a yellow and green ukulele. This little instrument went everywhere with him, and he played it constantly, mainly tunes by Elvis and Buddy Holly. At eight, he received his first electric guitar for Christmas while staying at a Cornish. By chance, staying there too was Uriah Heep’s Mick Box, who duly gave him tips and picks. From that moment, Lee knew precisely what he wanted to do when he grew up.
Now 20, he has shared stages with Buddy Guy, Billy Gibbons, Peter Frampton, Slash, Lukas Nelson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his hero, Joe Bonamassa, at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as touring as Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra’s special guest. On Tuesday, he is joined by James Emmanuel and Isabella Coulstock. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Beth McCarthy: Heading back home to York to play Big Ian’s A Night To Remember at York Barbican. Picture: Duncan Lomax, Ravage Productions
Charity event of the week: Big Ian’s A Night To Remember, York Barbican, November 12, 7.30pm
BIG Ian Donaghy hosts a “night of York helping York” featuring a 30-strong band led by George Hall with a line-up of York party band HUGE, Jess Steel, Beth McCarthy, Heather Findlay, Graham Hodge, The Y Street Band, Simon Snaize, Annie-Rae Donaghy, fiddler Kieran O’Malley, Samantha Holden, Las Vegas Ken and musicians from York Music Forum, plus a guest choir.
Proceeds from this three-hour fundraiser go to St Leonard’s Hospice, Bereaved Children Support York, Accessible Arts & Media and York dementia projects. Tickets update: Balcony seats still available at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Staff woes: William Ilkley, left, Levi Payne and Dylan Allcock in John Godber’s Black Tie Ball, on tour at the SJT, Scarborough
One helluva party of the week: John Godber’s Black Tie Ball, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, November 12 to 15, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
ON the glitziest East Yorkshire fundraising night of the year, everyone wants to be there. The Bentleys are parked, the jazz band has arrived, the magician will be magic, but behind the bow ties, fake tans and equally fake booming laughter lie jealousies and avarice, divorces and affairs, as overdressed upstairs meets understaffed downstairs through a drunken gaze.
The raffle is ridiculously competitive, the coffee, cold, the service, awful, the guest speaker, drunk, and the hard -pressed caterers just want to go home. Welcome to the Brechtian hotel hell of John Godber’s satirical, visceral comedy drama, as told by the exasperated hotel staff, recounting the night’s mishaps at breakneck speed in the manner of Godber’s fellow wearers of tuxedos, Bouncers. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Amit Mistry: Topping the Funny Fridays bill
Comedy gig of the week: Funny Fridays, Patch@Bonding Warehouse, Terry Avenue, York, November 14, 7.30pm to 9.30pm
African rhythms of the week: N’Faly Kouyaté, National Centre for Early Music, York, November 12 , 7.30pm
Guinean multi-instrumentalist N’Faly Kouyaté: Starting his Finishing tour at the NCEM
AFTER gracing stages across the world with Afro Celt Sound System, avant-garde griot N’Faly Kouyaté has embarked on a profoundly personal journey that finds him opening his autumn UK tour in York, playing the National Centre for Early Music for the first time.
This masterful Guinean multi-instrumentalist, multi-linguist, inspired vocalist and living bridge between ancestral heritage and future sounds returns with his September 12 album Finishing, whose songs stir the soul, provoke reflection, elicit smiles and set bodies moving.
Finishingis billed as a “a spiritual call to action – an artistic manifesto shaped by the soul of a griot and the conscience of a world citizen”
Conceived during nine reflective months along the banks of the Bafing River in Guinea, then recorded in Brussels, this album is both a deeply personal reflection and a universal cry for justice, compassion and balance.
“Finishing is my musical answer to a world searching for meaning,” says N’Faly. “It is the echo of my ancestors carried by today’s rhythms, a call to reflection and action. I wanted every note to be a question, every chorus a step towards a fairer, more conscious future.”
Hailing from the illustrious Konkoba Kabinet Kouyaté lineage – he is a member of the Mandingue ethnic group of West Africa; his father was the griot Konkoba Kabinet Kouyaté, who lived in Siguiri, Guinea – N’Faly is a master of the kora and balafon, a genre-defying composer and a cultural custodian with a mission.
His journey has taken him from Guinea to the Royal Conservatory of Belgium in 1994, where he formed the ensemble Dunyakan, onwards to global stages with the Grammy-nominated Afro Celt Sound System and now his solo projects, all speaking to his ability to weave past and future into the sound of now.
Should you be asking “what is a griot?”, let N’Faly explain.”The griot is an advisor to the people and the king in West Africa,” he says. “The griot is from the Mandingue kingdom; Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso.
“The king of this kingdom was the ancestor of Salif Keita, the Malian singer-songwriter. The griot is like the Bard in Celtic culture because we advise the king, the people, and if there’s a war somewhere, the griot comes to make peace.
“I continue the griot social class. I am griot, my father and my ancestors were griots. You can’t become griot; but you are born griot.”
How does this influence Finishing, N’Faly? “We griot, we advise all society. With this album you imagine the artist finishing his dream to end all these horrible things in the world,” he says. “My dream was that if all these troubles could be finished, we could be happy. What a finishing that would be. For the people, we’re asking for the finishing of all this horror in our world.”
Finishing is an album rooted in a wish for healing. “We can use music to say to the political world ‘what we need is peace and love’,” says N’Faly, who spreads that message by singing songs in Mandinka (the language of Mandingue), Soussou, Pular, French and English as he dares to imagine a world where war, lies, theft and violence suddenly stopped.
The cover artwork for N’Faly Kouyaté’s Finishing album
Each track on Finishing pulses with urgency and purpose. Free Water, a collaboration with reggae luminary Tiken Jah Fakoly, is a passionate plea for water protection, while Khili Kanè condemns the corrosive effects of slander.
Mandela stands as a reverent salute to the late South African statesman and peacemaker, and Kolabana, featuring Senegalese hip-hop icon Didier Awadi, takes aim at global indifference in the face of crisis.
Elsewhere, songs such as Mökhöya, Halala and Kawa reflect on the quiet erosion of human value – mutual aid, dignity and humility – reminding us that these virtues are not nostalgic relics, but essential foundations for a liveable future.
“In my concerts I explain the words of all the songs and I use the job of my ancestors to play traditional music as well as modern,” says N’Faly, whose trademark “Afrotronix” sound is a fusion of AfroBeat, AfroTrap, AfroPop, RnB, Jazz and traditional Mandingue instrumentation as electronica meets djembe and kora.
“I am the protector of culture and tradition, and for me, we can use technology to serve tradition. If you want to interest young people, you have to sing in the language they want to hear and use the instruments and style of who they like – and statistically, much of my audience is aged 18 to 44 and upwards to 66-70.”
N’Faly will be joined on the NCEM stage by his wife, Muriel Kouyaté and Jay Chitul after rehearsing together in Brussels. Bring your dancing shoes,” he advises. Finishing will be on sale at the concert, along with T-shirts. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Did you know?
N’FALY Kouyaté’s collaborators range from Peter Gabriel and Sinead O’Connor to Tayc and Robert Plant, affirming how he is as comfortable in ancient traditions as he is on the modern sonic frontier.
“When I finished my studies in Belgium, I started to work with Afro Celt Sound System, whose albums were produced by Peter Gabriel, and we worked with him many times, recording at Real World studios in Bath and performing on stage with him.” says N’Faly.
He undertook an acting role in William Kentridge’s musical The Head And The Load, performing in Miami, Amsterdam, London and New York.
More theatre, vicar? Nicki Clay playing Geraldine Granger in The Vicar Of Dibley for the second time in 2025. Picture: Matt Pattison
NICKI Clay is going doubly Dibley for MARMiTE Theatre in the new York company’s debut production of The Vicar Of Dibley at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from November 11 to 15.
“I’ve just played the role of Geraldine Granger for the Escrick Monday Players in May,” she says. “I’ve been in well over 50 plays but I’ve never done the same part twice – until now!
“I was very laissez-faire when Martyn [Hunter, the director] contacted me because I’d ended on a high note. So I was kind of not anxious over the audition because I felt I had nothing to lose. A week later I got a call from Martyn, and that’s when there was a flip in my tummy, and I thought ‘, ‘yup, I’ve got to do this again’ – and it’s been brilliant.
“It’s a different experience, and I’m loving it just as much because I don’t have the extra responsibility as I do with chairing the Monday Players. I can focus entirely on doing the role and I’m enjoying being around different people as well. It’s been hilarious in rehearsals
“We did it with the same script in Escrick, when Martyn’s wife, Jeanette, and assistant director Chris Higgins came to see it and were pretty blown away by the show. It’s the mix of the script and the characters that make it work.”
The poster for The Monday Players’ production of The Vicar Of Dibley, starring Nicki Clay’s Geraldine Granger, in Escrick, near York, in May 2025
Adapted by Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter from Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer’s beloved television series, The Vicar Of Dibley brings together all the favourite characters, the eccentric residents of Dibley, as the arrival of the new vicar shakes up the parish council of the sleepy English village.
Re-meet Jim “No, No, No” Trott, Letitia Cropley, the not-so-gifted Bake Off queen, Owen Newitt, with his infamous ailments, Frank Pickle, the minute-taking bore, Hugo Horton and his cantankerous father David and the delightfully dim Alice Tinker, but is Dibley and its inhabitants ready for the wind of change that is Geraldine Grainger?
“It’s just wonderful to get another chance to play Geraldine,” says Nicki. “I love the play. I love the role, and I’m loving playing opposite new people’s different interpretations of such iconic roles, so it doesn’t feel like going through motions – and I’m doing new things and not just doing the same things I did before.
“Geraldine is enthusiastic, she’s energetic and she’s extremely empathetic, which you have to mix into your performance, and I think you have to be a Dawn French fan as well. I saw her doing her Dear Fatty show [Dawn French In 30 Million Minutes] at York Barbican [in July 2014), and she was wonderful. Dawn has even ‘liked’ one of her Instagram posts for this show.”
How has she approached following in Dawn French’s shoes as Geraldine. “Usually, when you play a role, either you’ve seen the film or the show before, and you then interpret it yourself, but with Geraldine you have to be very faithful to Dawn’s character,” says Vicki. “She definitely has a rhythm how she says things.
Mark Simmonds’s Owen Newitt, left, Vicki Clay’s Geraldine Granger, Neil Foster’s Hugo Horton, and Glynn Mills’s David Horton in rehearsal at St Nicholas Church Hall, Back Lane, Wigginton. Picture: Matt Pattison
“The first time, I studied the sitcoms, as it’s good to have something to work with, but now, because I’ve done it before, I’ve not revisited the TV shows as you don’t want to overdo it or you start second guessing yourself.”
After he directed the Rowntree Players in Glorious! at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre in March, The Vicar Of Dibley marks the birth of MARMiTE Theatre under the direction of York amateur stage stalwart Martyn Hunter.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to play many diverse roles over the years and to work with so many talented directors, who have taught me everything I know about amateur theatre. Now feels like the right time to put that experience into practice.
“With The Vicar Of Dibley, we’re setting the tone for MARMiTE Theatre: easy-going, feel-good comedy that lets audiences relax, laugh and leave their worries at the door. We want you to love us or… LOVE US!”
Ah yes, that MARMiTE company title. “I thought it was because of ‘Mar’ in Martyn’s name,” says Nicki. “I don’t think I’ll be able to get away with it forever,” says Martyn. “It came about because, with everything that you want to do, you have to have a company name to apply for the performance rights for a play. I thought about various names and then thought MARMiTE might work by changing it to a lower case ‘i’!”
Love it or hate it, like it or lump it, this is MARMiTE Theatre’s logo!
What if the makers of Marmite hate it, rather than love it, Martyn? “Worse case scenario, we can say ‘marmite’ is a French casserole dish,” he says.
Two years ago, Martyn was asked to audition for 1812 Theatre Company’s production of The Vicar of Dibley in Helmsley. “But I read the script and was a little disappointed that I didn’t think it was as good as I was expecting, but it piqued my interest and then I discovered there were various different versions of a play script,” he recalls.
“So I contacted Tiger Aspect, who said that was the case and I could do one of those or I could adapt my own version. There’s no licence fee to do it, just the set donation you are obliged to make to Comic Relief.
“Ian Gower, who lives in the beautiful fishing village of Mousehole in Cornwall, sent me the script, and I laid on the bed on a Sunday reading it and constantly laughing out loud. ‘What are you laughing at?’ said Jeanette [Martyn’s wife}. She read it and started laughing as well!”
And so MARMiTE Theatre’s debut production was born, delayed by changes from the original cast but now ready for the November run after Martyn spread his net wider, retaining the original nucleus, now supplemented by two additions.
Martyn Hunter: Director of MARMiTE Theatre’s debut production, The Vicar Of Dibley
What guidance has Martyn given his cast on playing such familiar characters? “From day one, I told them that everyone had to bring their best impersonation of their character to the auditions,” he says.
“This does bring its own problems, as you don’t have to look for the character when everyone knows the character. That can be difficult to put your own stamp on it, but it has to become the stage version, rather than having a camera in your face.”
Martyn continues: “I’ve no illusions of being some great director. I know that all theatre is subjective, so what I think is good, someone next to me might think is terrible. I’ve purposely stayed away from the TV series, other than having memories of the characters, staying away from everything else, to put my own slant on it.
“We’ve also kept the 1990s’ setting, being as faithful as possible to the characters. Ironically, The Vicar Of Dibley is a bit like Marmite: there are those who say ‘they can’t stand Dawn French’, but the majority of the country are fans!”
Last question, Vicki and Martyn. Marmite. Do you love it or hate it? “Hate it,” says Vicki. “I tried it only once. It’s good for disguising the dog’s medicine in, but that’s about it – but we do love this MARMiTE!.” Martyn? “I think somewhere in the dark and distant past I tried it. I do know I tried tripe once and that was that.”
MARMiTE Theatre in The Vicar Of Dibley, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, November 11 to 15, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk. Supporting Comic Relief.
Mark Simmonds’s Owen Newitt, left, Jeanette Hunter’s Letitia Cropley and Adam Sowter’s Jim Trott in MARMiTE Theatre’s The Vicar Of Dibley. Picture: Matt Pattison
Who’s in MARMiTE Theatre’s cast for The Vicar Of Dibley?
Nicki Clay as Geraldine Granger
Florence Poskitt as Alice Tinker
Glynn Mills as David Horton
Neil Foster as Hugo Horton
Adam Sowter as Jim Trott
Mike Hickman as Frank Pickle
Mark Simmonds as Owen Newitt
Jeanette Hunter as Letitia Cropley
Helen “Bells” Spencer as Woman
Did you know?
NICKI Clay will be stage-managing the Escrick Monday Players’ production of Tim Firth’s Neville’s Island at Escrick & Deighton Village Hall from October 30 to November 1.
Did you know too?
WHEN Martyn Hunter operated the giant plant Audrey II in the late Clive Hailstone’s production of The Little Shop Of Horrors, who should be the off-stage voice of Audrey II but Nicki Clay’s father, Adrian Clay.
FOOTNOTE: Looking ahead, MARMiTE Theatre has its sights set on further productions in a similar vein, including additional The Vicar Of Dibley scripts, ’Allo ’Allo!, The Good Life, Ladies’ Day and Last Tango In Whitby.
Nicki Clay’s Geraldine Granger, Neil Foster’s Hugo Horton, centre, and Glynn Mills’s David Horton rehearsing for MARMiTE Theatre’s The Vicar Of Dibley. Picture: Matt Pattison
