Tag: Navigators Art

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Micklegate Arts Trail combines art with music, spoken word and film from today to June 15 as part of York Festival of Ideas

Micklegate Arts Trail: 35 artists, 20 free events, one festival of art, music film and poetry

YORK creative collective Navigators Art launches the 2025 Micklegate Arts Trail today featuring works by 35 York artists on display in 14 shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants until June 15.

The launch day, running from 12 noon to 5pm, will present street buskers Joel Wilson (The Typing Poet), Borgia Trio, Jasmine Lowe and Nathan Kirby, along with music improvisations by Joe Allen, Desmond Clarke, Fin O’Hare, Tom Maynard (The Sounen Project) and Nick Walters at Holy Trinity Church, where Walters has coordinated the display of 3D sculptures and events.

Keep an eye out for the Extreme Knitting demonstration with giant needles by Hippystitch, alias Sally Stone in the church grounds. All these events are free.

Coordinated by Steve Beadle and George Willmore, Micklegate Arts Trail has expanded from last June’s inaugural Micklegate Art Trail – note the change from ‘Art’ to ‘Arts’ – to embrace music, film and poetry as well as art in a festival run in tandem with York Festival of Ideas that opens on the same day.

On show for the next fortnight will be works by:

Sinead Corkery: Work on show at No 84 Deli & Cafe

Raginie Duara at Lucius Books; Mark Kesteven at Old School Barber Shop; Barry Lewis, Desmond Clarke, Lu Mason, Nick Walters, Peter Baker, Richard Mackness, Sally Stone and Tom Maynard at Holy Trinity Church and Bill Oakey and Julia Leonard at Cads of Micklegate.

Look out for Nick Kobyluch, Sharon McDonagh and Sola at Skosh; Jane Dignum, Jo Rodwell and Lois Folkard at The Falcon; Chalky the Yorkie, Jasmine Foo, Jude Redpath and Sinead Corkery at No 84 Deli & Cafe; Susan Bradley at Divine Coffee Roasters; Fiona Kemp and Ali Hunter at Hudson Moody and Skulldog at Mack & Lawler Builders.

Isabel Bullon Benito and Marc Godfrey-Murphy (Marco Looks) can be found at Oxfam Bookshop; Chrissy Buse at Cafe Fleur; Elizabeth Smallman and Linda Combi at the Amnesty Bookshop and Melisaa Hill, Michael Campbell, Richard Thompson and Sarah Schiewe at The Hooting Owl in Rougier Street. Opening times may vary between venue.

“Micklegate Arts Trail is a rare community event of its kind in York,” says Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen. “It’s been hard work to put it together, probably harder work than last year, because it’s not just an art trail now but we also have spoken-word and music events, taking place in three pubs, The Artful Dodger, The Falcon and The Hooting Owl.

“The great thing about the art trail is that all the work on show is chosen is chosen by the traders and shops themselves, and not by a panel. So the work is what they like and what suits their premises. That means there are no preconceptions about who will be chosen, and some quite big York names are missing out this year – the selection process is what makes it a true community event.”

Collage drop-in session at The Artful Dodger on June 8

Richard continues: “Our starting point for the festival is that Navigators Art likes Micklegate as a street, an historic street, but some people just see it as a cut-through, and some shops and traders are struggling, especially after the parking price increases, so we want to draw attention to what Micklegate has to offer.

“Hopefully the arts trail will attract pedestrians to visit the street. We’re very much doing this festival to support both Micklegate traders and the York artists they chose to display. That’s why it exists and we hope this second trail is a step to making it an annual event.”

Arts Trail events will include free live music sessions at The Falcon and The Hooting Owl on June 1, 8 and 15 at 2pm and 7pm featuring Andy Bowen and Liv Quigley, One Iota, Jasmine Lowe, Mike Amber and Will Martin.

Martin will return to The Falcon on June 4 and 11 at 7pm and further sessions will follow at The Hooting Owl on June 5 and 12 at 7pm.

The Falcon will play host to board game (in house or bring your own) on June 3 and 10. A spoken word, music and open-mic session will be held upstairs at The Artful Dodger on June 5 at 7.30pm when invited guests will include poets Janet Dean and Jessica Van Smith and singer Mike Amber. Bring your poem, an original song, guitar, or whatever, for the open-mic in a safe, supportive, non-discriminatory environment.

The poster for tonight’s YO Underground 3 bill of live & left-field music words & performance at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse

Experimental short films by Timothy Marvell, Nick Walters and Tom Walters will be shown in the Nativity hut at Holy Trinity Church on June 7 from 9pm to 10pm.

To coincide with the arts trail launch, Navigators Art presents YO Underground 3, a night of live new music and words at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, tonight from 7.30pm to 10pm.  

Step forward Desmond Clarke, improvisers Joe Allen & Friends, Spartacus T ruth, University of York students Katie Laing and Dan Fishwick and The Jammingtons Experience  (Tom Nightingale and Mark Stokes), purveyors of idiosyncratic songs that take an ironic look at life. Tickets are on sale at bit.ly/nav-events or on the door.

In the first art demonstration, George Willmore will hold collage sessions on June 8 at 1.30pm and 3.30pm upstairs at The Artful Dodger. Two days later, upstairs at The Hooting Owl at 7.30pm, artist Melissa Hill and poet-researcher Becca Drake will team up for Creative Arrangements, where Melissa will discuss her three vases on display for the arts trail that inspired Becca to write and perform her new work.

You are invited to draw or write verses in response to the vases, poetry and talk. Free materials will be provided at both demonstrations but you can bring your own too.

Further details will follow on two more Navigators Art contributions to the Festival of Ideas: the Making Waves art exhibition at City Screen Picturehouse from June 8 to July 4 and About Time Too!, a concert of music and words to complement a day of free talks celebrating ‘Time’ at St Olave’s Church, Marygate, on June 14 at 7pm.

Navigators Art’s music programme for the Micklegate Arts Trail

Navigators Art’s inclusivity policy

NAVIGATORS Art rejects racism, misogyny and other forms of bigotry. “We strive to achieve gender balance and across-the-board inclusivity at all times,” says co-founder Richard Kitchen.

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Navigators Art are going underground for experimental Basement show of left-field music, words & performance on Sunday

Wire Worms: Performing their “Doom Folk” music at YO Underground on Sunday at The Basement

YORK arts collective Navigators Art will play host to its second YO Underground experimental night on Sunday at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York.

This weekend’s performance showcase will feature Wire Worms, the Leeds Doom Folk five-piece, whose dark, folk-rooted but boundary-stretching debut album, The First To Come In, explores weird, supernatural and experimental notions, inspired by the traditions of Mumming and Guising found throughout the British Isles.

On the 6pm to 9pm bill too will be Fin O’Hare, who improvises with DIY mechanical devices and repurposed and recycled objects; Some Crew musician Si Micklethwaite; storyteller Lara McClure; Bobby Olley, Muttley and NDE Poetry. For tickets, go to: bit.ly/nav-YOU2.

“The YO Underground title is apt, not only because our venue is The Basement at City Screen Picturehouse,” says Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen. “The format will be familiar from the group’s popular Basement Sessions but features original music, spoken word and comedy with a more experimental edge than usual.

Navigators Art’s poster artwork for YO Underground’s second night of live and left-field music, words and performance

“It’s a platform for local and regional performers whose work may wander off the beaten track but definitely deserves an audience. New and emerging artists will have equal billing with more established names.”

The first YO Underground bill on March 15 presented Say Owt Slam winner and Newcastle stand-up poet Cooper Robson; Leeds Conservatoire performance artist and writer Carrieanne Vivianette; inspiring young poet Oliver Lewis; University of York champion beatboxer Cast; genre-crossing psych-folk musical duo Gorgo, from York St John University,  and internationally renowned singer Loré Lixenberg.

“I first met Cooper at a Howlers open-mic night at the Blue Boar in York and he’s become extremely popular with his in-your-face style of performing,” says Richard. “It was a real coup to get Loré Lixenberg to do something so informal. That was major news for us.

“People were knocked out by the show, seeing performers trying out something different. What I liked was that it was very much a  platform for performers to experiment with something they might not have done elsewhere.

Bobby Olley: York poet and songwriter taking part in YO Underground on Sunday

“It’s a bit of a departure from the Basement Sessions, our music, comedy and spoken-word venture, which is doing fine and we’ll continue with that series, but it becomes more difficult to find new acts that haven’t been booked in elsewhere already, so we thought we should do something more left field as well and see how that goes.”

Buoyed by the success of the first night, Richard has pencilled in an October date, with the possibility of another night before then too. “We’re lining up York electronic musician John Tuffen and talking to Leeds musician Pefkin about taking part,” he says.

He does not want to pigeonhole the kind of acts that might play a YO Underground showcase. “I think definitive labels are a mistake, as there’ll be crossovers, but we have been trying to seek out acts who are obviously attempting something different in what they do, doing something that’s a little ‘wayward’,” he says.   

 “Maybe performers who are challenging to audiences in York, whereas Leeds and Sheffield already have an alternative scene for cutting-edge acts. We’ve been given good links to artists from Sheffield and Leeds, comedians from Newcastle, for example, who are edgy in terms of content or style of presentation.

Lara McClure: Spinning stories on the YO Underground bill

“Those links allow us to fill the next couple of events, and once word gets out about YO Underground, maybe it will also be a case of performers being courageous and saying, ‘well, I do this, how about me?’.”

Richard is delighted that Navigators Art has built up such a fruitful relationship with City Screen Picturehouse for events and exhibitions. “We’re thankful particularly thankful to [City Screen general manager] Cath Sharp and to all the staff, who are always very welcoming,” he says.

“We started using The Basement after Covid, when no-one else was using it, and we did our first event for the York Festival of Ideas there a couple of years ago. That going things rolling again in there, so it’s been mutually beneficial.”

On May 9, Navigators Art will present Opened Ground, A Creative Tribute To Seamus Heaney, devised and curated by Oliver Lewis at The Basement from 7pm to 10pm.

“We’re very big on spoken-word, and last October we held a creative exploration of York-born poet  W H Auden in our Co-Audenation night of spoken word, live music and performance art at The Basement,” says Richard.

Oliver Lewis: University of York poet curating Navigators Art’s Seamus Heaney night, Opened Ground, on May 9

“On the spur of the moment , we were talking about poets and reflecting on the Auden night, and we thought, ‘that went really well, let’s do another one’. This one is being curated by Oliver Lewis, an extremely promising writer, aged 20, who’s studying at York St John and has a couple of books out already.

“I came across him at Howlers, where we just got talking and I realised we had something in common, so he took part in the first YO Underground.”

Lewis has lined up a bill of Mexborough love poet Ian Parks; folk duo Where The Deer Go; York-based Irish poet and teacher Aimée Donnell, whose first collection, We Are All Creatures Of Struggle, was published by Olympia, on March 13; White Sail’s Jane Stockdale, setting Heaney poems to music, and York mythical/mystical duo Adderstone, performing a condensed version of Sweeney, their interpretation of Heaney’s work in music and song. Lewis himself will perform with musician Christian Bell in a collaboration premiering new works. 

“The idea of the evening is that it’s a creative response to Heaney’s writing, so there’ll be a combination of readings, interpretations of his poems and material inspired by his poetry,” says Richard. Box office: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/navigators-art-performance/opened-ground/.

Looking ahead, he adds: “Navigators Art encourages innovation, improvisation and collaboration, as well as excellence, and would like to hear from performers in any medium who might suit future events.” Email navigatorsart@gmail.com or follow @navigatorsart on Facebook and Instagram.

Navigators Art’s poster for Opened Ground at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse on May 9

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More Things To Do in York and beyond, especially for you, when Jason shines. Hutch’s List No. 10 from The York Press

Jason Donovan: Doin’ fine in 2025 at York Barbican

PAY attention to Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations and, like Jason Donovan, you will be doin’ fine.

Good Neighbour of the week: Jason Donovan: Doin’ Fine 25, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm

LAST seen in York in fishnets and face paint as Dr Frank N Further in The Rocky Horror Show at the Grand Opera House last October, Australian singer and actor Jason Donovan now  takes an “incredible ride” through 35 years in music, theatre, film and television.

His long-awaited sequel to Doin’ Fine 90 features Donovan’s most beloved songs from his stage shows, Joseph, Priscilla, Rocky Horror and Grease, alongside nods to his TV times in Neighbours and Strictly Come Dancing and his biggest pop hits, Especially For You, Too Many Broken Hearts, Any Dream Will Do and Sealed With A Kiss. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Gary Stewart: Rise and shine at Bluebird Bakery in Acomb

Singer-songwriter gig of the week: Gary Stewart, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, tonight, doors, 7.30pm for 8pm start

PERTHSHIRE-BORN singer-songwriter Gary Stewart, now living in Easingwold after 15 years on the Leeds music scene, writes songs in the folk/pop vein, influenced by the Sixties and Seventies’ songbooks of Paul Simon, James Taylor, The Eagles, Joni Mitchell and Carole King. 

The left-handed multi-instrumentalist has released four albums, the latest being June 2021’s self-recorded Lost, Now Found, penned in lockdown. Stewart also plays drums for Leeds band Hope & Social, bass for Fleetwood Mac tribute band Weetwood Mac and fronts his seven-piece re-working Paul Simon’s 1986 album Graceland. Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.

Levellers: Performing in Collective acoustic mode at York Barbican

Acoustic re-boot of the week: Levellers Collective, York Barbican, tomorrow, doors, 6.30pm

LEVELLERS firstdecided to “do something a bit different with their extensive back catalogue” in 2018, teaming up with fellow Brighton group The Moulettes to record two albums that radically reworked their folk rock and anarcho-punk songs, first with producer John Leckie on We The Collective, then with Sean Lakeman on 2023’s Together All The Way.

Now, their 17-date 2025 spring tour coincides with this week’s release of their Levellers Collective/Live CD and DVD, recorded in 2023 at London’s Hackney Empire. Tomorrow’s support act at Levellers’ only Yorkshire date will be Amelia Coburn. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Jon Culshaw: Out to impress at Grand Opera House

Making a good impression: Jon Culshaw: Imposter Syndrome, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm

AFTER more than 30 years on the circuit, impressionist Jon Culshaw, the chameleon  voice of  BBC Radio 4’s Dead Ringers, BBC One’s The Impressions Show and Channel 4’s Partygate, debuted his one-man show, Imposter Syndrome, at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe, (when he also appeared as Hughie Green in Lena, the year after his solo performance in Les Dawson: Flying High).

Now Culshaw is on a 28-date tour, combining comedy and music as he conjures an array of personalities from the worlds of entertainment, politics and beyond, from Liam Gallagher to a gangster-rapping Gordon Brown. Meanwhile, Candace Bushnell’s True Tales Of Sex, Success And Sex In The City tour date in York on March 11 has been cancelled. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

John Shuttleworth: 40 years of bonhomie, bon mots and persistently, perkily mundane yet quirkily profound songs at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall. Picture: Tony Briggs

Comedy positivity of the week: John Shuttleworth, Raise The Oof, Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, March 12 and 13, 7.30pm

JOHN Shuttleworth, the good-natured Sheffield sage and perky Yamaha organ purveyor of charmingly mundane songs fashioned by actor Graham Fellows, celebrates his 40th anniversary on his Raise The Oof tour, full of nostalgia and new stories.

Here come tales of his early days with neighbour and clarinettist Ken Worthington, the humorous realities of married life with miserable wife Mary, and John’s relentless determination to mail off his cassette demos to today’s cutting-edge  acts – Chris Rea and the Lighthouse Family, he says – hoping  for a late-career breakthrough. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.

Becca Drake: Guest poet at York Literature Festival’s Howl Owt night at The Blue Boar

York Literature Festival gig of the week: Howl Owt, The Blue Boar, Castlegate, York, March 13, 7.30pm

FOR the second year running, two forces of the York poetry scene team up for the ultimate spoken-word showcase. Join Chloe Hanks and Stephanie Roberts from Howlers Open Mic and Henry Raby from Say Owt for an evening of performances by York poets and writers, bolstered by a special guest.

This time, their roles will be reversed with the Say Owt crew taking over the open mic and the Howlers welcoming the guest, Becca Drake, York poet, Little Hirundine printmaker and researcher with a PhD in late-medieval English. Performers can sign up for three-minute open-mic spots on arrival. Admission is free.  

Neil Foster’s Cosme McMoon, left, Jackie Cox’s Florence Foster Jenkins and Mike Hickman’s St Clair in Rowntree Players’ Glorious!

Play of the week: Rowntree Players in Glorious!, The True Story Of Florence Foster Jenkins, The Worst Singer In The World, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, March 13 to 15, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

COVER your ears! Here comes Glorious! The True Story Of Florence Foster Jenkins, The Worst Singer In The World, as told by Peter Quilter in his joyous and heart-warming comedy with music, based on the life of an eccentric 1940s’ New York socialite with a passion for singing but a voice for disaster.

Enthusiastic but tonally erratic soprano Florence (played by Jackie Cox) gave private recitals for charity, sang at extravagant balls, made bizarre recordings and revelled in a triumphant sold-out final performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall at 76. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Mike + The Mechanics: Re-living 40 years at York Barbican on March 14

40th anniversary celebration of the week: Mike + The Mechanics, Looking Back – The Living Years, York Barbican, March 14, 7.30pm

AFTER opening their Refueled! tour at York Barbican in April 2023, Mike + The Mechanics return next Friday on their Looking Back – Living The Years 40th anniversary travels. Expect the set list to combine Over My Shoulder, The Living Years and All I Need Is A Miracle with selections from their nine albums and a“drift into some of Genesis’s much loved classic tracks”.

Guitarist and founder Mike Rutherford will be joined in the band line-up by lead vocalist Andrew Roachford and Canadian-born vocalist Tim Howar. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

In Focus: Navigators Art, YO Underground, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, March 15, 7.30pm

Performance artist Carrieanne Vivianette

YORK arts collective Navigators Art hosts a “slightly different forthcoming event”, YO Underground, in The Basement next weekend.

The first in a new series of performance showcases will present Say Owt Slam winner Cooper Robson, performance artist and writer Carrieanne Vivianette, inspiring young poet Oliver Lewis, champion beatboxer Cast, genre-crossing musical duo Gorgo and internationally renowned singer Loré Lixenberg.

Say Owt Slam winner Cooper Robson

“The YO Underground title is apt, not only because our venue is The Basement at City Screen Picturehouse,” says Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen. “The format will be familiar from the group’s popular Basement Sessions but will feature original music, spoken word and comedy with a more experimental edge than usual.

“It will be a platform for local and regional performers whose work may wander off the beaten track but definitely deserves an audience. New and emerging artists will have equal billing with more established names.”

Advance tickets cost £8. For full details and booking, visit TicketSource via https://bit.ly/nav-events.

Mezzo-soprano and physical theatre, comedy and free improv performer Loré Lixenberg

The second in the series is planned for Sunday, April 27 and will showcase Wire Worms, the Leeds Doom Folk five-piece, whose folk-rooted but boundary-stretching debut album, The First To Come In, explores weird, supernatural and experimental notions, inspired by the traditions of Mumming and Guising found throughout the British Isles.

“Navigators Art encourages innovation, improvisation and collaboration, as well as excellence, and would like to hear from performers in any medium who might suit future events,” says Richard. Email navigatorsart@gmail.com or follow @navigatorsart on Facebook and Instagram.

Navigators Art’s poster for the inaugural YO Underground event at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse

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More Things To Do in York and beyond in 2025, whether new or Oldman. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 1, from The Press, York

Laura Fraser’s DI Bea Metcalf on the York waterfront in Channel 4’s crime drama Patience. Picture: Channel 4

FROM a neurodiverse TV crime drama to an Oscar winner’s stage return, Charles Hutchinson picks highlights of the year ahead.

Seeing York through a different lens: Patience, Channel 4 from January 8, 9pm

CHANNEL 4’s six-part police procedural drama Patience, set in York, opens with the two-part Paper Mountain Girl, on January 8 and 9, wherein autistic Police Records Office civilian worker Patience Evans (Ella Maisy Purvis) brings her unique investigative insight to helping DI Bea Metcalf (Laura Fraser) and her team.

Written for Eagle Eye Drama by Matt Baker, from Pocklington, Patience is as much a celebration of neurodiversity as a crime puzzle-solver. “The centre of York itself is a little bit like a puzzle,” he says.   

Lara McClure: Atmospheric storytelling at A Feast Of Fools II at the Black Swan Inn

Out with the old, in with the new: Navigators Art presents A Feast Of Fools II, Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York, Sunday, 7pm to 10.30pm; doors, 6pm

YORK collective Navigators Art presents a last gasp of mischief in an alternative end-of-season celebration of Twelfth Night and Old Christmas, packed with live folk music, spoken word and a nod to the pagan and the impish.

Dr Lara McClure sets the scene with atmospheric storytelling, joined by York musicians Oli Collier, singer, guitarist and rising star Henry Parker, York alt-folk legends White Sail and poet and experimental musician Thomas Pearson. Book tickets at  bit.ly/nav-feast2.

Seeing eye to eye: Rob Auton in his new touring comedy vehicle The Eyes Open And Shut Show

The eyes have it:  Rob Auton: The Eyes Open And Shut Show, Burning Duck Comedy Club at The Crescent, York, March 5, 7.30pm; Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, May 3, 7.30pm

“THE Eyes Open And Shut Show is a show about eyes when they are open and eyes when they are shut,” says surrealist York/Barmby Moor comedian, writer, artist, podcaster and actor Rob Auton. “With this show I wanted to explore what I could do to myself and others with language when eyes are open and shut…thinking about what makes me open my eyes and what makes me shut them.”

On the back of last summer’s Edinburgh Fringe trial run, Auton goes on the road from January 27 to May 4 with his eyes very much open. Box office: York, thecrescentyork.com; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.

York-raised artist Harland Miller with his title work for the XXX exhibition at York Art Gallery. Picture: courtesy of White Cube (Ollie Hammick), 2019

No stopping him this time, please: Harland Miller: XXX, York Art Gallery, March 14 to August 31, Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm

AFTER the first Covid lockdown curtailed his York, So Good They Named It Once show only a month into its 2020 run, international artist and writer Harland Miller returns to the city where he was raised to present XXX, a new exhibition that showcases paintings and works on paper from his Letter Paintings series.

Stirred by his upbringing in 1970s’ Yorkshire and an itinerant lifestyle in New York, New Orleans, Berlin and Paris during the 1980s and 1990s, Miller creates colourful and graphically vernacular works that convey his love of popular language and attest to his enduring engagement with its narrative, aural and typographical possibilities.

Harland Miller, XXX, oil on canvas, 2019. Copyright: Harland Miller. Photo copyright: White Cube, Theo Christelis

Coinciding with the release of a book of the same title by Phaidon, XXX features several new Miller works, including one that celebrates his home city, in a hard-edged series that melds the sacred seamlessly with the everyday, drawing inspiration from medieval manuscripts, where monks often laboured to produce intricate illuminated letters to mark the beginning of chapters.

In these works, the Yorkshire Pop artist – who is represented by White Cube – uses bold colours and typefaces to accentuate the expressive versatility of monosyllabic words and acronyms such as ESP, IF and Star.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a Q&A with the artist plus community activities to “inspire, inform and involve all”. Tickets: yorkartgallery.org.uk/tickets.

Gary Oldman in the dressing room when visiting York Theatre Royal last March to plan this spring’s production of Krapp’s Last Tape

Theatre event of the year: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, April 14 to May 17

ONCE the pantomime Cat that fainted thrice in Dick Whittington in his 1979 cub days on the professional circuit, Oscar winner Gary Oldman returns to the Theatre Royal to perform Samuel Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd Krapp’s Last Tape in his first stage appearance since the late-1980s.

“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says the Slow Horses leading man. “It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Suzy Cooper and Mark Holgate: Teaming up as Titania and Oberon – and Hippolyta and Theseus too – in York Stage’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Look who’s back too: Suzy Cooper in York Stage’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Grand Opera House, York, May 6 to 11

GARY Oldman will not be the only former Berwick Kaler co-star returning to a York stage in 2025. Suzy Cooper, for more than 20 years the ditzy, posh-voiced, jolly super principal gal in the grand dame’s pantomimes, will lead Nik Briggs’s cast alongside York actor Mark Holgate as the quarrelling Queen and King of the Fairies, Titania and Oberon.

Briggs relocates his debut Shakespeare production from the court of Athens to Athens Court, a northern council estate, where magic is fuelled with mayhem and true love’s path still does not run smooth. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Beach hut five, Shed Seven: York band to make Scarborough Open Air Theatre debut in June

“Biggest ever headline show in their home county”: Shed Seven, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, June 14

IN the aftermath of their 30th anniversary celebrations and two number one albums in 2024, refulgent York band Shed Seven will focus on the great outdoors in the summer ahead, fulfilling a dream by making a long-overdue Scarborough OAT debut, when Jake Bugg and Cast will be their special guests. “It’s a stunning and historic venue…Yorkshire’s very own Hollywood Bowl!” enthuses lead singer Rick Witter.

The Sheds also return to Leeds Millennium Square on July 11, supported by Lightning Seeds and The Sherlocks. Box office: Scarborough, scarboroughopenairtheatre.co.uk or ticketmaster.co.uk; Leeds,  gigsandtours.com and ticketmaster.co.uk.

Bridget Foreman: Co-writer of York Theatre Royal and Riding Lights’ community play His Last Report

Community play of the year: York Theatre Royal and Riding Lights Theatre Company in His Last Report, York Theatre Royal, July 22 to August 3

YORK Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster and York company Riding Lights artistic director Paul Birch will co-direct a large-scale community project that focuses on pioneering York social reformer Seebohm Rowntree and his groundbreaking 1900s’ investigation into the harsh realities of poverty.

Told through the voices of York’s residents, both past and present, Misha Duncan-Barry and Bridget Foreman’s play will ask “What is Seebohm’s real legacy as the Ministry begins to dismantle the very structures he championed?” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.


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Navigators Art to mark Twelfth Night with feast of music and stories at Black Swan Inn

Lara McClure: Atmospheric storytelling at A Feast Of Fools II

YORK collective Navigators Art presents A Feast Of Fools II, a last gasp of mischief to mark the curtain closing on the festive holiday on January 5 at the Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York.

“Welcome to our second alternative end-of-season celebration of Twelfth Night and Old Christmas, packed with live folk music, spoken word and a nod to the pagan and the impish,” says artist and co-founder Richard Kitchen.

Henry Parker: York singer and guitarist

“Flushed with Edinburgh Fringe success, Dr Lara McClure will set the scene with some atmospheric storytelling. We’re also delighted to welcome two acclaimed York musicians: Oli Collier, with a walk on the dark side, and singer, guitarist and rising star Henry Parker.”

On the 7pm to 10.30pm bill too will be York alt-folk legends White Sail, who return from last year’s event with new material, and doing likewise will be poet and experimental musician Thomas Pearson.

“Last year’s show sold out, so be sure to grab your tickets before they’re gone,” advises Richard. Booking in advance is recommended at bit.ly/nav-feast2. Doors open at 6.30pm.

Navigators Art’s poster for A Feast Of Fools II
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Navigators Art to participate in 2023 York Festival of Ideas with triple venture of art, music & words and film projects. UPDATED with Richard Kitchen interview 26/5/2023

Mapped Head 1, by Nick Walters, from Navigators Art’s Hidden Treasures exhibition for the 2023 York Festival of Ideas

YORK creative collective Navigators Art & Performance are contributing a three-part project to the 2023 York Festival of Ideas, inspired by the festival theme of Rediscover, Reimagine, Rebuild.

The trio of shows and events celebrates rarely seen works in York Art Gallery, books in the city library and intriguing aspects of York life and culture that people might not notice from day to day or even be aware of.

For Hidden Treasures, five artists have sought out unfamiliar but inspiring aspects of York, reinterpreting them in their own way for an exhibition to be hosted by York Explore Library and Archive, in Museum Street, from May 27 to July 6.

Katie Lewis uses textiles and other media to reflect the story behind Thomas Baker’s Crazy Kate in the Treasures from the Stores collection at York Art Gallery.

Nick Walters animates and illuminates on screen the textures of John Davies’s Mapped Head 1, as observed by fellow characters from other works in the collection.

Peter Roman explores the library’s treasures, using collage, paint and typography to delve into the world of books and finding lyrical inspiration from York wordsmiths along the way.

Richard Kitchen switches from his trademark collage format to the camera, pairing it with manual and digital tools to reveal jewel-like qualities in city streets, walls and other surfaces.

Timothy Morrison summons the spirits of Vladimir Tatlin and Greg Curnoe to reveal an artist’s perspective on everyday objects through a variety of materials.

Entry will be free during normal library opening hours. More information can be found at: https://yorkfestivalofideas.com/2023/throughout/hidden-treasures/

Navigators Art’s poster for the Living Treasures performance at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York

On June 10, Navigators Art writers, musicians and performers present Living Treasures, an evening of original music and words at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, Coney Street.

For this 7.30pm celebration of secrets of York life and culture, from folk, punk and poetry to fine art via the city streets, they have sought out “hidden treasures” to reinterpret in song and spoken word.

Musical performers include members of the White Sail alt. folk band, Navigators’ composer Dylan Thompson, singer-songwriters Miri Green and Cai Moriarty and up-and-coming York band The Corsairs.

For more information and bookings, head to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/living-treasures-tickets-621690722687

The poster for Navigators Art’s screening of Martin Nichols’ film There’s Another Country at City Screen Picturehouse, York

In Navigators Art’s third festival event, Brighton director Martin Nichols’ film There’s Another Country will be shown at City Screen Picturehouse on Sunday, June 11 at 11am.

Nichols’ kaleidoscope of post-Brexit Britain unearths parallel traumas in public and private lives while simultaneously anticipating a rediscovery of the radical transforming spirit of 1945 in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.

For more information and bookings, visit: https://www.picturehouses.com/movie-details/018/HO00012927/there-s-another-country

Here CharlesHutchPress discusses all things Rediscover, Reimagine, Rebuild with Navigators Art co-founder and artist Richard Kitchen

How did you hit on the tripartite format for this event, Richard?

“Originally, we envisaged an exhibition based on York Art Gallery’s Treasures From The Store collection of rarely seen art works, hence our title Hidden Treasures. Our artists would reinterpret some of those works in their own way to suit the festival theme of Rediscover, Reimagine, Rebuild. We also planned a performance art, music and movement event to take place in the gallery itself.

“We were very pleased that York Explore offered to host the exhibition as we’d been wanting to show something there for some time. As it happened, the gallery said they’d be in mid-changeover so we had to change tack. We expanded the brief beyond York Art Gallery to include works of literature and physical aspects of York itself.

“This will also be the basis for the performance event, which will now be on stage in The Basement at City Screen. Again, the performers have created new work based on a rediscovery of something unfamiliar about York that inspired them.

“The film came along a little later and although it isn’t based on York it is very much about rediscovering aspects of the past and how they inform the present both personally and politically.”

How did the partnership with York Festival of Ideas come to fruition?

“I’ve always enjoyed the festival and its range of events. I wanted Navigators to be involved to round off our first 15 months of activity. This year’s theme appealed, so I drafted a proposal for our involvement, which they accepted. We’re very proud to be part of it and they’ve been very accommodating of changes we’ve had to make as our plans developed.”

How does the festival theme of Rediscover, Reimagine, Rebuild resonate with the aims of Navigators Art & Performance?

“In all sorts of ways! Variously, our artists have rebuilt careers, reinvented themselves and how they work, and pursued new directions in life as well as art.

“As a group we’ve achieved extraordinary things from very little. Having no physical studio to work in and no funding, we’ve had to seek out places in which to show our work.

“The StreetLife project, in Coney Street, was a milestone for us and helped put us in the centre of artistic activity in York. I think we’ve shown people how much can be done with imagination and enterprise.

“It’s been about giving ourselves permission to do something when no-one else will. I’d say that has positive implications for society and how it might change for the better.”

York band The Corsairs: Playing the Living Treasures bill at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse on June 10

York is full of hidden treasures! Is that an inevitable problem for a city so rich in history or a joy when such a treasure is put on show and prompts an artistic response?

“Not a problem at all, unless the focus (and public funding) is always on the same high-profile things. Art and culture in this city are alive and well and there’s a lot going on, but it’s not all about tourist attractions and the well-heeled establishment.

“Anything that communicates beyond the heritage trail, makes an impact on the average resident and encourages all levels of society to engage with creative activity is a blessing. Our group seeks out and celebrates the less obvious and tries to make such things more accessible and better appreciated.”

Who put together the June 10 event. How were the Living Treasures acts chosen?

“Some of them appeared last November at our Coney St Live Jam event for StreetLife and impressed us enough to ask them back. We knew they’d be able to come up with new work based on the themes and we’ve given them more space this time to show what they can do.

“One of them actually chose themselves: The Corsairs cheekily advertised in our visitors’ book last December and I liked their attitude. They turned out to be a very exciting discovery. Then we reached out to a few writing and other creative groups to encourage under-represented performers to get involved.”

How did you discover the film There’s Another Country?

“It’s directed by one of my oldest friends, Martin Nichols. After many years exploring familial and social issues in writing and film, he’s found the perfect vehicle for his concerns. It’s highly original in style and while moving and beautiful, it’s also highly critical, irreverent and angry.”

What would a York version of that film look like?

“It’s not ‘about’ any particular place. Its range of reference encompasses a 1913 Welsh mining village, the Second World War, a suburban town in the 1970s and recent anti-government demonstrations in London. It’s pretty universal. A York version would just have the Minster in the background!”

What’s next for Navigators Art?

“We’ll be compiling our next collection of pictures and words for the York Zine Fest in July. We’ll have a spot at the York River Art Market in August and then a short and well-deserved rest before our next show at Micklegate and Fossgate Socials. Nothing concrete for next year as yet but we’re already getting involved in some major plans.”

Navigators Art & Performance: the back story

ESTABLISHED in 2019, this group of York creatives has expanded to a collective of 12 artists, writers, performers, musicians and a composer.

Their mission is to work with community groups and projects, to enhance and creatively interpret their activities for as wide an audience as possible.

In January 2023 they completed a three-month residency at the StreetLife hub in Coney Street, York, presenting a large-scale exhibition and a charity fundraising performance.

They encourage enquiries from potential collaborators, particularly those who are less established or underrepresented, via navigatorsart@gmail.com; likewise head that way for sales and commissions.

Keep an eye on Navigators Art on Instagram and Facebook at: @navigatorsart.

Detail of interior window, Huntington, by Richard Kitchen, from the Navigators Art exhibition at York Explore Library and Archive

UPDATE: 12/6/2023: What was the reaction to Living Treasures and There’s Another Country?

“WE have had the most extraordinary weekend,” says Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen. “Mark Nichols’ film, a kaleidoscope of post-Brexit Britain, generated a passionate discussion with the audience at City Screen Picturehouse.

“Saturday’s Living Treasures in The Basement at City Screen sold out. The performers were tremendous and the more experimental improvised pieces involving musicians from very different backgrounds, ages and experiences worked superbly well.

“The audience loved it and we’ve been offered a regular spot at The Basement. We actually have plans for a fluid Navigators ‘big band’ to work up some pieces for performance, such as ambient pieces, songs, spoken-word interactions and experimental collaborations.

“It felt very special and inspiring and perhaps the beginning of a unique venture in York.”

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More Things To Do in York & beyond as everyday Buddy’s a gettin’ closer, goin’ faster than a roller coaster. Hutch’s list No. 12 for 2023, courtesy of The Press, York

Rave on: Hannah Price, left, Harry Boyd, Christopher Weeks, Rhiannon Hopkins, Joshua Barton and Ben Pryer in a scene from Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story

THE return of Buddy, Stewart Lee and English Touring Opera, a dream of an exhibition and a vintage DJ night of song top Charles Hutchinson’s diary highlights for the week ahead.

Musical of the week: Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story, Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

HOLLYLUJAH! Rock’n’roll musical Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story returns to York for the first time since 2017 with “The day the music died” tale of the bespectacled young man from Lubbock, Texas, whose meteoric rise from Southern rockabilly beginnings to international stardom ended in his death in a plane crash at only 22.

Christopher Weeks’s Buddy leads the cast of actor-musicians through two hours of music and drama, romance and tragedy, driven by all those hits, from That’ll Be The Day, Peggy Sue and Rave On to Big Bopper’s Chantilly Lace and Ritchie Valens’ La Bamba. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle: Playing The Crescent on Sunday night

Folk gig of the week: Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker & John Doyle, The Crescent, York, Sunday, 8pm

THE Black Swan Folk Club and Please Please You present the powerhouse triumvirate of musical magpies McGoldrick, McCusker and Doyle in a Sunday session of traditional, contemporary and original jigs, reels and ballads, as heard on their two albums, 2018’s The Wishing Tree and 2020’s The Reed That Bends In The Storm.

Their paths first crossing as teenagers before they joined separate bands (Lunasa, The Battlefield Band and Solas respectively), they line up with Mancunian McGoldrick on flute, whistles, Uileann pipes, bodhran, clarinet and congas; Glaswegian McCusker on fiddle, whistles and harmonium; Dubliner Doyle on vocals, guitar, bouzouki and mandola.

“The whole thing’s great fun,” says McCusker. “We have no agenda other than having a nice time and playing music. That’s the way we tour as well – we throw ourselves in a little car, instruments on our laps, and off we go. And the records? Well, I hope it’s the sound of three old friends, having a great time, making music together.” Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Stewart Lee goes back to basic Lee at York Theatre Royal, but sold out, basically

Comedy at the treble: Stewart Lee: Basic Lee, York Theatre Royal, Monday to Wednesday, 7.30pm

AFTER recording last May’s brace of Snowflake and Tornado gigs at York Theatre Royal for broadcast on the BBC, Stewart Lee returns for three nights of his Basic Lee show.

Following a decade of high-concept shows involving overarched, interlinked narratives, Lee enters the post-pandemic era in streamlined stand-up mode. One man, one microphone, and one microphone in the wings in case the one on stage breaks. Pure. Simple. Classic. Basic Lee – but sold out, alas.  

Navigators Art collective explores the subconscious mind in Dream Time at City Screen Picturehouse

Exhibition launch of the week: Navigators Art, Dream Time, City Screen Picturehouse, York, on show until April 21

YORK collective Navigators Art’s Dream Time exhibition takes inspiration from dreams, visions, surrealism and the mysteries and fantasies of the subconscious mind. The official launch event will be held tomorrow (19/3/2023) in the café bar from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

This mixed-media show features painting by Steve Beadle and Peter Roman; collage, prints and drawing by Richard Kitchen; photography and painting by Nick Walters and textiles by Katie Lewis.

The tour poster for Sounds Of The 60s with Tony Blackburn as host

Nostalgic show of the week: Tony Blackburn: Sound Of The 60s Live, York Barbican, Wednesday, 7.30pm

BBC Radio 2 disc jockey Tony Blackburn hosts an evening of 1960s’ classics, performed live by the Sound Of The 60s All Star Band and Singers. 

Listen out for the hits of The Everly Brothers, Dusty Springfield, The Kinks, Elvis Presley, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Otis Redding, The Beatles, The Who and many more. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Paul Smith: Playing the Joker at York Barbican

Liverpool lip of the week: Paul Smith: Joker, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm

JOKER is Paul Smith’s biggest and funniest tour show to date, wherein the Scouse humorist mixes his trademark audience interaction with true stories from his everyday life.

Resident compere at Liverpool’s Hot Water Club, Smith has made his mark online as well as on the gig circuit with his affable nature and savvy wit. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Roddy Woomble: Songs old and new at Selby Town Hall

Indie gig of the week: Roddy Woomble, Selby Town Hall, Thursday, 8pm

RODDY Woomble, Scottish indie band Idlewild’s lead singer, is now a leading voice in the British contemporary indie folk scene. In Selby, he is joined by Idlewild band mate Andrew Wasylyk for a duo show of Idlewild favourites and solo works.

“This is a tour in between records, so a tour for exploring all the songs,” says Woomble. “Lo! Soul is going on two years old now, and although the songs still sound fresh to me when I play them, it’s time for something new – which there is. We’ll definitely be including some new material in the set.” Box office: selbytownhall.co.uk.

Paula Sides’s Lucrezia in English Touring Opera’s Lucrezia Borgia, on tour at York Theatre Royal

Two nights at the opera: English Touring Opera, York Theatre Royal, in Lucrezia Borgia, March 24, and Il Viaggio a Reims, March 25, both 7.30pm

LUCREZIA Borgia, Donizetti’s tragedy of a complex woman in a dangerous situation, is making its debut in the English Touring Opera repertoire in Eloise Lally’s ETO directorial debut production of this thrilling and moving meditation on power and motherhood.

Valentina Ceschi directs a cast of 27 in Il Viaggio a Reims, Rossini’s last Italian opera, in which intrigue, politics, romance and lost luggage all play their part as a group of entitled guests from all over Europe is stranded in a provincial hotel on the way to a great coronation. Period-instrument specialists The Old Street Band play for both operas. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Gig announcement of the week: Steve Earle, The Alone Again Tour, Grand Opera House, York, June 9

Steve Earle: Heading from New York to York in June for solo show

AS his tour title suggests, legendary Americana singer, songwriter, producer, actor, playwright, novelist, short story writer and radio presenter Steve Earle will be performing solo and acoustic in York: the only Yorkshire gig of a ten-date itinerary without his band The Dukes that will take in the other Barbican, in London, and Glastonbury.

Born in Fort Monroae National Monument, Hampton, Virginia, Earle grew up in Texas and began his songwriting career in Nashville, releasing his first EP in 1982 and debut album Guitar Town in 1986, since when he has branched out from country music into rock, bluegrass, folk music and blues. 

His colourful life prompted Lauren St John’s 2003 biography Hardcore Troubadour: The Life And Near Death Of Steve Earle, written with the rebel rocker’s exclusive and unfettered cooperation. “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself,” he once said.

Earle, 68, has been married seven times (including twice to the same woman) and been through drug addiction and run-ins with the law, serving a month in prison in 1994 for heroin possession. “Going to jail is what saved my life,” he said, after he was sent to rehab.

A protege of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, Earle is a masterful storytelling songwriter in his own right, with his songs being recorded by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, The Proclaimers and The Pretenders, among others.

Since the Millennium, he has released such albums as the Grammy-awarded The Revolution Starts…Now (2004), Washington Square Serenade (2007) and Townes (2009).

Restlessly creative across artistic disciplines, Earle has published a collection of short stories, Doghouse Roses (2002) ; a novel, I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (2011), and a memoir, I Can’t Remember If We said Goodbye (2015).

He has produced albums for Joan Baez and Lucinda Williams, acted in films and on television, notably in David Simon’s The Wire, and hosts a radio show for Sirius XM.

In 2009, Earle made his off-Broadway theatre debut in the play Samara, contributing the score too. In 2010, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Music and Lyrics in the drama series Treme.

In 2020, he wrote music for and appeared in Coal Country, a docu-play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen that shines a light on the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion, the most deadly mining disaster in United States history. A nomination for a Drama Desk Award came his way.

In 2020 too, Earle released the album Ghosts Of West Virginia and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. His 21st studio album, J.T. in January 2021, was an homage to his late son, singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle, who had died from an accidental drug overdose in August 2020. In May 2022 came Jerry Jeff, Earle’s tribute to cowboy troubadour Jerry Jeff Walker.

Tickets go on sale on Thursday morning (23/3/2023) at atgtickets.com/york.

The artwork for J.T., Steve Earle’s 2021 album of covers of songs by his late son, Justin Townes Earle
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Navigators Art collective explores visions, surrealism and the subconscious mind in Dream Time exhibition at City Screen

Detail of textile art by Katie Lewis, from Navigators Art’s Dream Time exhibition at City Screen Picturehouse

YORK collective Navigators Art’s Dream Time exhibition at City Screen Picturehouse, York, takes inspiration from dreams, visions, surrealism and the mysteries and fantasies of the subconscious mind.

Part One is on show in the upstairs gallery from this week, joined by Part Two from March 19 in the café bar, where the official opening event with drinks will be held from 7.30pm to 9.30pm that night.

Dream Time’s mixed-media show features painting by Steve Beadle and Peter Roman; collage, prints and drawing by Richard Kitchen; photography and painting by Nick Walters and textiles by Katie Lewis.

Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen says: “We’re pleased to return to City Screen after our Moving Pictures show there this time last year.

“Since then, the group has quadrupled in number to cover our three-month residency at the StreetLife Hub, in Coney Street, and now includes musicians and other performers.”

Richard adds: “Not all of us are involved in this show as we have several other events to look forward to this year. A couple of us have individual exhibitions coming up too. There’s a limit to how much work anyone can make!

“All the artists taking part have interpreted the Dream Time theme in different ways and through different media.”

A selection of Navigators Art artworks on display at City Screen, York

Navigators Art & Performance is a 16-piece collective of York artists, writers, musicians and performers with a wide range of age, experience and practice. Founded in 2019, the collective’s mission is to work with community groups and projects, to enhance and creatively interpret their activities for as wide an audience as possible.

In 2022, Navigators Art curated the art for York Theatre Royal’s Takeover Festival, then took over the basement of the government-funded StreetLife Hub project for the Coney Street Jam exhibition from October 2022 to January 2023.

“We’ve just finished exhibiting our Moving Pictures 2 show at Helmsley Arts Centre, and we’ll be part of York Festival of Ideas in June, presenting art and performance events at York Explore Library and other venues,” says Richard.

“We’re always seeking interesting venues in which to show and sell work by our members to the public. Our shows feature drawing, painting, collage, projection, sculpture, 3D constructions, photography, prints, textiles and sound installations, as well as words by our writers and music by our resident composer, Dylan Thompson.

“Our artists have had work featured in exhibitions and publications both online and actual, and several have been selected for York Open Studios.”

Navigators Art has mentored several emerging young artists too. “We encourage enquiries from potential collaborators, particularly those who are less established or underrepresented, and who have no regular platform for displaying work,” says Richard, who can be contacted via richkitch99@hotmail.com.

Navigators Art presents Dream Time at City Screen Picturehouse, St Martin’s Courtyard, Coney Street, York, until April 21. The exhibition is open daily from approximately 11am until the end of the day’s last film screening.

The poster for Navigators Art’s Dream Time show and launch night event
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More Things To Do in York and beyond as 2023’s shoots start to poke through. Hutch’s List No. 3, courtesy of The Press

Linus Karp: Invitation to join Diana in heaven as she shares the untold and untrue tale of her extraordinary life at Theatre@41. Picture: Dave Bird

FROM a drag Diana to a DIY staging of Harry Potter, synth pop turned symphonic to a long-running Agatha Christie mystery, Charles Hutchinson goes in search of entertainment new and old.

Royal verité show? Probably not! Linus Karp in Diana: The Untold And Untrue Story, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 3 and 4, 7.30pm

DO you know the story of Diana? Probably. But do you know writer-performer Linus Karp’s  story of Diana? “We very much doubt it,” say Awkward Productions, the harbingers of theatrical chaos responsible for this humorous, if tasteless, celebration of the people’s princess.

Join Diana in heaven as she shares the untold and untrue tale of her extraordinary life through a combination of drag, multimedia, audience interaction, puppetry and “a lot of queer joy”. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Sketch of Lendal and street in progress by Steve Beadle, one of the Navigators Art artists exhibiting at Helmsley Arts Centre

Exhibition of the week: Navigators Art, Moving Pictures II, at Helmsley Arts Centre, until March 3; Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10am to 3pm; Thursdays, 11am to 3pm, and during event opening times

YORK collective Navigators Art are represented by seven artists at Helmsley: Kai Amafé, prints and 3D work; Steve Beadle, paintings and drawings; Michael Dawson, paintings; Richard Kitchen, prints and collages; Katie Lewis, textiles and paintings; Timothy Morrison, constructions, and Peter Roman, paintings.

“The title Moving Pictures is deliberately open to interpretation by the audience as well as the artists,” says co-founder Richard Kitchen, who will be stewarding an 11am to 3pm open day tomorrow (15/1/2023). Exhibition entry is free.

Textile art by Katie Lewis, another of the Navigators Art artists on show in Moving Pictures II at Helmsley Arts Centre

Fundraiser of the week: White Rose Theatre in A Gala Night (and day) Of Musical Theatre, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, today, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

THE Katie Ventress School of Dance, York Musical Theatre Company and guest soloists will be accompanied by a band under the musical direction of John Atkin in these uplifting gala concerts to blow away the post-Christmas blues.

Favourites from Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar and Anything Goes are promised. All proceeds will go to the JoRo’s Raise The Roof campaign. Box office for the last few tickets: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Electrifying Eighties: Calling Planet Earth gives a symphonic coating to Duran Duran and co

Nostalgia of the week: Calling Planet Earth, A New Romantic Symphony, York Barbican, January 21, 8pm

A NEW Romantic Symphony heads out on a journey through the electrifying Eighties to revisit the songs of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, The Human League, Ultravox, Tears For Fears, Depeche Mode, Japan, ABC, Soft Cell and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark.

Symphonic arrangements combine with “stunning vocals” in a parade of hits that defined a decade. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Pottervision: Lukas Kirkby and Tom Lawrinson re-create first film Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone with DIY props, wigs and charity-shop costumes

Magic with mayhem? Pottervision, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, February 10, 7.45pm

LUKAS Kirkby and Tom Lawrinson gather up DIY props, charity-shop costumes and wizarding wigs for their “ridiculous re-creation” of Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, staged with multiple role-playing and limited resources after two fellow performers drop out.

What could possibly go wrong?! Find out in Pottervision, a fantastical spectacular for casual fan and avid squib alike. Please note: suitable for age 16 upwards on account of adult language and dark humour. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Miles & The Chain Gang: New single to promote at Alne Village Hall

Back on the Chain Gang: Alne Music Club presents Miles & The Chain Gang, Alne Village Hall, Main  Street, Alne, February 11, 7.30pm

YORK band Miles & The Chain Gang head to their first gig of the year with an imminent new single in their locker, Charlie. Recorded last September at Young Thugs Studio in York, it features Miles Salter, guitar and vocals, Tim Bruce, bass, Daniel Bowater, keyboards, Steve Purton, drums, and Mat Watt, guitar.

“We’re filming the video in the next few days with our video guru Dave Thorp,” says Salter. Tickets: from  d.lepper27@btinternet.com or on 01347 838114. 

Dimitra Ananiadou: Violinist to peform recital with pianist Richard Whalley at NCEM

Take a bow: Dimitra Ananiadou & Richard Whalley, A Travel Through Time, National Centre for Early Music, York, February 25, 7pm

DIMITRA Ananiadou returns to York to travel back in time for a violin recital that explores the creation of Baroque, classical and 20th century music with the aid of her special bows.

Composer and pianist Richard Whalley will be accompanying her on the journey through JS Bach’s Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor (Ciaccona), Niccolò Paganini’s Caprice for Solo Violin No. 24 Op. 1, Beethoven’s Violin Sonata Op. 30 No. 2 and Fritz Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro in the style of Gaetano Pugnani. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Todd Carty: Playing Major Metcalf in 70th anniversary tour of The Mousetrap

Mystery play in York:The Mousetrap, Grand Opera House, March 6 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

AGATHA Christie’s mystery The Mousetrap, “the longest running play in the world”, takes in more than 70 venues on its 70th anniversary tour, including a return to York’s Grand Opera House.

EastEnders’ duo Todd Carty, as Major Metcalf, and Gwyneth Strong, as Mrs Boyle, feature in Ian Talbot’s cast for this tale of intrigue and suspense set at Monkswell Manor, a stately countryside guesthouse where seven strangers find themselves snowed in as news spreads of a murder in London. When a police sergeant arrives, the guests discover – to their horror – that a killer is in their midst. Whodunnit? Box office: atgtickets.com/York.

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More Things To Do in York as Guy Fawkes heads home. Remember, remember, Hutch’s List No. 103, from The Press

Greg Haiste, left, and York-born writer and actor David Reed cross swords in rehearsal for York Theatre Royal’s premiere of Guy Fawkes. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick

POLITICAL fireworks, street art indoors, beer and bratwurst, a Velvet Underground pioneer and the history of ghosts spark up Charles Hutchinson’s interest.

Premiere of the week: Guy Fawkes, York Theatre Royal, Friday to November 12

WAR-WEARY, treasonous son of York Guy Fawkes vows to restore a Catholic monarch to the English throne, whatever the cost. In the private room of an upmarket tavern, a clandestine of meeting of misfits takes place between this dark dissident, a Poundshop Machiavelli, a portly boob, a clumsy princess, a preposterous toff and a shoddy ham as they plot the most audacious crime ever attempted on British soil.

David Reed, from comedy trio The Penny Dreadfuls, plays York’s traitorous trigger man in his long-awaited combustible comedy-drama with its devilishly dangerous mix of Blackadder and Upstart Crow. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Torrents (Willow Herald Speak), by Michael Dawson, from Navigators Art’s Coney St Jam art intervention at the StreetLife project hub

Exhibition of the week: Navigators Art, Coney St Jam: An Art Intervention, StreetLife project hub, Coney Street, York, until November 19

YORK collective Navigators Art draw inspiration from the city’s rich heritage and vibrant creative communities to explore ways to revitalise and diversify Coney Street. On show is painting, drawing, collage, textile and 3D work, complemented by photography, projections, music and poetry.

Taking part are: Steve Beadle; Michael Dawson; Alfie Fox; Alan Gillott; Oz Hardwick; Richard Kitchen; Katie Lewis; Tim Morrison; Peter Roman; Amy Elena Thompson; Dylan Thompson and Nick Walters.

Woman To Woman: Julia Fordham, left, Rumer, Judie Tzuke and Beverley Craven will be in harmony at York Barbican

Collaboration of the week: Woman To Woman (Beverley Craven, Judie Tzuke, Julia Fordham & Rumer), York Barbican, tonight, 6.30pm

NOT a rumour, definitely true, Beverley Craven, Judie Tzuke and Julia Fordham have invited Rumer to join them for the latest Woman To Woman tour.

In this collaboration between the four female singer-songwriters, they present hit singles and album tracks, such as Promise Me, Happy Ever After, Welcome To The Cruise, Slow, Holding On, (Love Moves In) Mysterious Ways, Aretha and Stay With Me Till Dawn.

“We cannot wait to share a stage together, create beautiful vocal harmonies with each other and collaborate on some possible new material,” they say. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Self aware: Comedian Helen Bauer discusses herself at Theatre@41. Picture: James Deacon

Comedy gig of the week: Helen Bauer, Madam Good Tit, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 8pm

SELF-AWARE stand-up Helen Bauer is on the road with her Edinburgh Fringe show about self-confidence, self-esteem and self-care. “It’s the year of ‘the self’ and I’m trying to be the change I want you to see,” says Helen, who grew up in Hampshire blandness and honed her comedic craft in Berlin. 

Expect adult themes and language, including natural disasters and eating disorders, forewarns Theatre@41, as York awaits the co-host of two podcasts, Trusty Hogs with Catherine Bohart and Daddy Look At Me with Rosie Jones. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Velma Celli: York drag diva supreme adds sauce to all the bratwurst and beer at Yorktoberfest

Festival of the week: Yorktoberfest Beer Festival, Clocktower Enclosure, York Racecourse, today and next Saturday, 1pm to 5pm, 7pm to 11pm; Friday, 7pm to 11pm. Doors open: evenings, 6.30pm; daytime, 12.30pm.

FOLLOWING up last year’s debut, Yorktoberfest returns in party mood for beer, bratwurst, bumper cars and all things Bavarian. This beer festival mirrors the first Oktoberfest staged in 1810 in Munich, where the citizens were encouraged to eat, drink and be merry at the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and his princess bride.

Step inside a giant marquee to discover the rustic Bavarian Bar and Dog Haus, full of bratwurst, currywurst, schnitzel, apple strudel and pretzels; live music by the Bavarian Strollers oompah band and vocal drag queen entertainment by York’s own Velma Celli. Dodgems and a twister add funfair thrills. Box office: yorktoberfest.co.uk.

Underground overground: Velvets legend John Cale to be spotted at York Barbican on Monday

THE gig of the week, John Cale, York Barbican, Monday, 8pm

VELVET Underground icon John Cale’s only Yorkshire gig of his rearranged 2022 tour has moved from July 19 to Monday on his first British itinerary in a decade.

The Welsh multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer, who turned 80 in March, will be performing songs from a career that began in classical and avant-garde music before he formed The Velvet Underground with Lou Reed in New York in 1965.

Over six pioneering decades, Cale has released 16 solo studio albums, while also collaborating with Brian Eno, Patti Smith, The Stooges, Squeeze, Happy Mondays, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Super Furry Animals and Manic Street Preachers. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Doctor Dorian Deathly: Will his face melt in his horror show at Theatre@41?

From ghost walk to ghost talk: Doctor Dorian Deathly: A Night Of Face Melting Horror (or The Complete History Of Ghosts), Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Wednesday to October 31, 8.30pm

VISIT York Tourism Awards winner Doctor Dorian Deathly, spookologist and ghost botherer, celebrates Halloween season with six nights of ghost stories, paranormal sciences, theatrical trickery, horror, original music and perhaps the odd unexpected guest (with the emphasis on ‘odd’?).

“Together we will huddle around the stage and explore spine-chilling tales of hauntings, both local and further afield, dissemble horrors captured on film and follow the ghost story through from the origins to the Victorian classics and modern- day frights,” says Deathly, whose face-melting macabre amusements are suitable for age 13 upwards. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Black History Month concert at Grand Opera House, York

Harmonies of the week: Ladysmith Black Mambazo, supported by Muntu Valdo, Grand Opera House, York, October 29, 7.30pm

SOUTH African singing group Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s York concert marks Black History Month on their first British tour for many years.

When Paul Simon incorporated their harmonies into his ground-breaking 1986 album Graceland, that landmark recording was seminal in introducing world music to mainstream audiences.

Founded by the late Joseph Shabalala, the Grammy Award winners have since recorded with Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Barnsley folk singer Kate Rusby. Box office: 0844 871  7615 or atgtickets.com/york.