Tag: Pocklington Arts Centre

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John Bramwell takes solo route through songs new & Kloot at Pocklington gig

John Bramwell: Playing solo at Pocklington Arts Centre tomorrow night

HYDE singer, song-spinner and sage John Bramwell has been on a never-ending rolling adventure since working away from his cherished Mancunian band I Am Kloot. Next stop, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow.

Leading light of those Mercury Prize nominees from 1999 to 2014 and screen goddess Cate Blachett’s “favourite songwriter of all time”, Bramwell will be spotlighting songs old and new, as well as his sophomore solo album, February 2024’s The Light Fantastic, in his Pock one-man show.

“I’ve been touring with my full band, then touring as a trio, and now some solo dates,” says John. “A different set of songs, of course. With this set there’s more Kloot in there and more from the new album, not The Light Fantastic , but the next one, out next March, on Townsend Music again. Three songs from that…

“…and stories from my past. Just funny stuff that happened with John Peel. Getting to tour with John Cooper Clarke and how he’d try out his gags on me on his way to gigs. Remembering my late friend Bryan Glancy [who played with Bramwell in The Mouth before he formed I Am Kloot].

“I’ve written a song about him, When The Light  Goes Out. I literally just had this dream about him and it was almost like the song was there.”

What happened with John Peel [the legendary late-night BBC Radio One presenter]? “I made this single, Black And White, as Johnny Dangerously, a name I got when I walked on stage, tripped up, went over the edge. The place went crazy. I got a massive cheer,” he recalls.

Pooling redundancy money from being relieved of his position in the Tesco wine and spirits department with a sum from his dad, John printed up vinyl copies of Black And Blue. “It was at the point when Peel said he couldn’t receive cassettes any more, so I went down to London on the train and waited for Peel to come out of his studio. ‘You’re John Peel,’ I said. He looked at his stomach and said, ‘it would appear I am’!”

Vinyl handed over, it turned out the trip was worthwhile. “Peel played it the following night. Among a lot of German industrial rock, and lots of bands with dyed black hair, of course, in the middle of all that, I’d released a ballad – but he played it!”

When playing Kloot songs, John will tell stories of what happened when making recordings. “Like not wanting to have the opening to Northern Skies, which to me is like Suspicious Minds, but Garvey [producer Guy Garvey, of Elbow], said no-one would notice – and he was right.”

Provisionally, he is toying with calling next year’s album Still Got The Magic. “I played a new song at one gig and it got an amazing reaction. I don’t write as much as I did: the quantity isn’t there but there’s still the quality,” says John.

“This new album will be purely a solo record. Just me, because my finger-style playing is really coming on, so I’m actually recording at home, a place near Monmouth, rather than on the boat that I rent by the River Wye at Symonds Yat.”

Pressing John on I Am Kloot’s legacy, he says: “As I find now, what people say to me, is that there’s a spirituality to it, the lyrics and the form, that I didn’t realise, being at the centre of it. It’s very emotional without being sentimental.

John Bramwell, centre, in I Am Kloot days with Andy Humphries and Peter Jobson

“So The Light Fantastic  really is the breakaway, but I think this new album, with me and the guitar, is more of a culmination of Kloot.

“Looking back, Moulin Rouge [released in April 2008] is my favourite Kloot album – and the least successful. I love the feel of it. It reminds me of how, when playing with Andy  [drummer Andy Humphries] and Peter [bassist Peter Jobson], we were really mashed together on those songs.”

Looking ahead, John’s next album after “Still Got The Magic” (TBC) will be a band record.  “That’s the key for me: rather than being purely solo, I look forward to working with the band  again, and after that, it’s great to bounce off new ideas.

“I’ve sprung this idea of doing an album every 18 months, and as the label has pointed out, that would mean I’d be touring all the time. If the health holds, I’ll be doing 90 gigs a year. I’ve got my stories, I’ve got my two guitars It’s what I’m meant to be doing. “

At this point, I praised on John for changing the word “trip” to “skip” in his opening lyric to The Light Fantastic: “As I skip the light fantastic/And I live my life of ease/I’ve put my heart out on elastic/And my soul upon the breeze”.  “I thought it was ‘skip’! I always thought that! Maybe in different parts of the country it’s different,” he says. “My girlfriend is Scottish and they have different meanings for some words.

“If I’d known it was ‘trip the light fantastic’, I wouldn’t have used it, as I don’t like the psychedelic stuff like LSD!”

It was time to mention John’s prodigiously long hair in the latest publicity photograph. “I’ve had it cut, though it’s still long. I went to get it cut to shoulder length, but the barber refused to cut it that far, saying it was magnificent and he’d cut it for free. So, it’s still long, not crazy, crazy long.”

John Bramwell, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, October 17, 8pm. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

“Cate Blanchett’s favourite songwriter of all time”? She chose the John Bramwell-penned Proof, from I Am Kloot’s Sky At Night, as her Desert Island Disc on BBC Radio 4 in December 2022.

John Bramwell’s promo, featuring Cate again: https://youtu.be/zmaLfoETfKc?si=lTHKO1o-jETZswaI

John Bramwell on writing songs for 2024’s The Light Fantastic

“AFTER both my mum and dad died, I started writing these songs to cheer myself up. “The themes are taken from my dreams at the time. Wake up and take whatever impression I had from what I could remember of my dream and write that.”

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No.45, from Gazette & Herald

Courtney Brown: Directing Pickering Musical Society for the first time in My Favourite Things – The Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein. Picture: Robert David Photography

FROM Rodgers & Hammerstein favourites to Caliban’s dancing revenge, Francis Rossi’s songs and stories to German beer festivities, Charles Hutchinson delights in October’s diversity.

Musical revue of the week: Pickering Musical Society presents My Favourite Things – The Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, tonight  to Sunday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

LONG-TIME member Courtney Brown directs Pickering Musical Society for the first time in My Favourite Things – The Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein, a showcase of the very best of Broadway’s most iconic songwriting partnership.

As well as the cheeky charm of Honey Bun, the playful fun of The Lonely Goatherd and the rousing barn-dance energy of The Farmer And The Cowman, the show feature songs from The Sound Of Music, Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific and The King And I. Dancers from the Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance take part too. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

Eddi Reader: Playing York for the first time in seven years at The Citadel

Seven-year itch of the week: Hurricane Promotions presents Eddi Reader, The Citadel, York City Church, Gillygate, York, tonight, 7.30pm

EDDI Reader, the Glasgow-born singer who fronted Fairground Attraction, topping the charts with Perfect, also has ten solo albums, three BRIT awards and an MBE for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts to her name.

Straddling differing musical styles and making them her own, from the traditional to the contemporary, and interpreting the songs of Robert Burns to boot, she brings romanticism to her joyful performances, this time with her full band in her first show in York for seven years. Eilidh Patterson supports. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk.

Banjo at the double: Damien O’Kane and Ron Block team up at the NCEM, York

Banjo at the double: Damien O’Kane and Ron Block Band, The Banjovial Tour, National Centre for Early Music, York, tonight, 7.30pm

GROUNDBREAKING  banjo players Damien O’Kane and Ron Block follow up their Banjophony and Banjophonics albums with this month’s Banjovial and an accompanying tour.

O’Kane, renowned for his work with Barnsley songstress Kate Rusby, is a maestro of Irish traditional music, here expressed on his Irish tenor banjo; Block, a key component of Alison Krauss & Union Station, infuses his signature five-string bluegrass banjo with soulful depth and rhythmic innovation. Together, their styles intertwine in an exhilarating dance of technical mastery. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Francis Rossi: Shaking up the Status Quo with songs and stories at York Barbican. Picture: Jodiphotography

Hits and titbits aplenty: An Evening of Francis Rossi’s Songs from the Status Quo Songbook and More, York Barbican, tomorrow, 7.30pm

IN his one-man show, Status Quo frontman Francis Rossi performs signature Quo hits, plus personal favourites and deeper cuts, while telling first-hand backstage tales of appearing more than 100 times on Top Of The Pops, why Quo went on first at Live Aid, life with Rick Parfitt, notching 57 hits, fellow stars and misadventures across the world. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Natnael Dawit in Shobana Jeyasingh Dance’s We Caliban at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Foteini Christofilopoulou

Dance show of the week: Shobana Jeyasingh Dance in We Caliban, York Theatre Royal, Friday, 7.30pm (with post-show discussion) and Saturday, 2pm and 7.30pm

SHOBANA Jeyasingh turns her sharp creative eye to Shakespeare’s final play The Tempest in a new co-production with Sadler’s Wells. A tale of power lost and regained, the play is the starting point for Jeyasingh’s dramatic and contemporary reckoning, We Caliban.

Written as Europe was taking its first step towards colonialism, The Tempest is Prospero’s story. We Caliban is Caliban’s untold story that started and continued long after Prospero’s brief stay. Performed by eight dancers, complemented by Will Duke’s projections and Thierry Pécou’s music, this impressionistic work draws on present-day parallels and the international and intercultural discourse around colonialism, as well as Jeyasingh’s personal experiences. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. 

John Bramwell: Playing solo in Pocklington

As recommended by Cate Blanchett: John Bramwell, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 8pm

HYDE singer, song-spinner and sage John Bramwell, leading light of Mercury Prize nominees I Am Kloot from 1999 to 2014 and screen goddess Cate Blachett’s “favourite songwriter of all time”, has been on a never-ending rolling adventure since his workings away from his cherished Mancunian band.

His sophomore solo album, February 2024’s The Light Fantastic, will be at the heart of his Pocklington one-man show. “After both my mum and dad died, I started writing these songs to cheer myself up,” Bramwell admits with trademark candour. “The themes are taken from my dreams at the time. Wake up and take whatever impression I had from what I could remember of my dream and write that.” He promises new material and Kloot songs too. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Sam Moss: Heading out on to the moors at The Band Room. Picture: Jake Xerxes Fussell

Moorland gig of the week: Sam Moss, The Band Room, Low Mill, Farndale, North York Moors, Saturday, 7.30pm

FINGERPICKING folk virtuoso guitarist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sam Moss heads to the North York Moors this weekend from Staunton, Virginia, USA, to showcase his February 2025 album Swimming, championed by the scribes of Uncut, No Depression and Paste and Los Angeles online magazine Aquarium Drunkward, no less. “For the record, he is a renowned woodworker too, particularly celebrated for his incredible spoons,” says Band Room promoter Nigel Burnham. Sofa Sofa support (as sofas always do!). Box office: 01751 432900 or thebandroom.co.uk.

Drag diva Velma Celli lights up Yorktoberfest at York Racecourse. Picture: Sophie Eleanor

Festival of the week: Yorktoberfest, Clocktower Enclosure, York Racecourse, Knavesmire, York, Saturday, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm; October 24, 7pm to 11pm; October 25, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm

MAKING its debut in 2021, Yorktoberfest returns for its fifth anniversary with beer, bratwurst and all things Bavarian. Step inside the giant marquee, fill your stein at the Bavarian bar with beer from Brew York and grab a bite from the German-inspired Dog Haus food stall.

The Bavarian Strollers oompah band will perform thigh-slapping music and drinking songs; York drag diva Velma Celli will add to the party atmosphere with powerhouse songs and saucy patter. Doors open at 6.30pm and 12.30pm. Tickets: ticketsource.co.uk/yorktoberfest.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond monsters, ghosts, banjos and bratwurst. Hutch’s List No. 45, from The York Press

Anna Soden: No bum deal, bum steer or bum’s rush, for that would be a bummer at tonight’s hour of comedy, It Comes Out You Bum, at The Old Paint Shop

FROM royal history re-told to Dickens’ ghost stories, magical monsters to banjo brilliance, Charles Hutchinson delights in October’s diversity.

Homecoming of the week: Anna Soden, It Comes Out Your Bum, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 8pm

NOW based in Brighton but very much shaped in York, comedian, actor, writer, TikTok sensation and award-nominated Theatre Royal pantomime cow in Jack And The Beanstalk, Anna Soden delivers her debut hour of madcap comedy, full of brainwaves, songs, revenge and talking out your ass. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Robin Simpson: Monster storyteller and York Theatre Royal pantomime dame, performing at Rise@Bluebird Bakery

Spooky entertainment of the week: Robin Simpson’s Magic, Monsters And Mayhem!, Rise at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, Sunday, doors 4pm

YORK Theatre Royal pantomime dame Robin Simpson – soon to give his Nurse Nellie in Sleeping Beauty this winter – celebrates witches, wizards, ghosts and goblins in his storytelling show.

“The audience is in charge in this interactive performance, ideal for fans of spooky stories and silly songs,” says Robin. “The show is perfect for Years 5 and upwards, but smaller siblings and their grown-ups are very welcome too.” Tickets: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.

Out for revenge: Henry VIII’s wives turn the tables in SIX The Musical, returning to the Grand Opera House, York, from Tuesday. Picture: Pamela Raith

Recommended but sold-out already: SIX The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, October 14 to 18; Tuesday & Thursday, 8pm; Wednesday & Friday, 6pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 4pm and 8pm

FROM Tudor queens to pop princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing 500 years of historical heartbreak into an 80-minute celebration of 21st century girl power. Think you know the rhyme? Think again. Divorced. Beheaded. LIVE!

Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow’s hit show is making its third visit to York, but it’s third time unlucky if you haven’t booked yet. Like Anne Boleyn’s head, every seat has gone.

Eddi Reader: Performing with her full band at The Citadel

Seven-year itch of the week: Hurricane Promotions presents Eddi Reader, The Citadel, York City Church, Gillygate, York, October 15, 7.30pm

EDDI Reader, the Glasgow-born singer who fronted Fairground Attraction, topping the charts with Perfect, also has ten solo albums, three BRIT awards and an MBE for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts to her name.

Straddling differing musical styles and making them her own, from the traditional to the contemporary, and interpreting the songs of Robert Burns to boot, she brings romanticism to her joyful performances, this time with her full band in her first show in York for seven years. Eilidh Patterson supports. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk.

Damien O’Kane and Ron Block: Banjovial partnership at the NCEM

Banjo at the double: Damien O’Kane and Ron Block Band, The Banjovial Tour, National Centre for Early Music, York, October 15, 7.30pm

GROUNDBREAKING  banjo  players Damien O’Kane and Ron Block follow up their Banjophony and Banjophonics albums with this month’s Banjovial and an accompanying tour.

O’Kane, renowned for his work with Barnsley songstress Kate Rusby, is a maestro of Irish traditional music, here expressed on his Irish tenor banjo; Block, a key component of Alison Krauss & Union Station, infuses his signature five-string bluegrass banjo with soulful depth and rhythmic innovation. Together, their styles intertwine in an exhilarating dance of technical mastery. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Francis Rossi: Solo show of song and chat at York Barbican. Picture: Jodiphotography

Hits and titbits aplenty: An Evening of Francis Rossi’s Songs from the Status Quo Songbook and More, York Barbican, October 16, 7.30pm

IN his one-man show, Status Quo frontman Francis Rossi performs signature Quo hits, plus personal favourites and deeper cuts, while telling first-hand backstage tales of appearing more than 100 times on Top Of The Pops, why they went on first at Live Aid, life with Rick Parfitt, notching 57 hits, fellow stars and misadventures across the world. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

James Swanton: Halloween beckons, so here comes his double bill of Dickens’ ghost stories at York Medical Society. Picture: Jtu Photography

Ghost stories of the week: James Swanton presents The Signal-Man, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, October 16, 17, 20 to 23, 7pm; October 27 and 28, 5.30pm and 7.30pm

A RED light. A black tunnel. A waving figure. A warning beyond understanding. Here comes the fear that  someone, that something, is drawing closer. Gothic York storyteller James Swanton returns to York Medical Society with The Signal-Man, “one of the most powerful ghost stories of all time and certainly the most frightening ever written by Charles Dickens”.

Swanton pairs it with The Trial For Murder, wherein Dickens treats the supernatural with just as much terrifying gravity. Tickets update: all ten performances bar October 21 have sold out. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Natnael Dawitin in Shobana Jeyasingh Dance’s We Caliban, on tour at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Foteini Christofilopoulou

Dance show of the week: Shobana Jeyasingh Dance in We Caliban, York Theatre Royal, October 17, 7.30pm (with post-show discussion) and October 18, 2pm and 7.30pm

SHOBANA Jeyasingh turns her sharp creative eye to Shakespeare’s final play The Tempest in a new co-production with Sadler’s Wells. A tale of power lost and regained, the play is the starting point for Jeyasingh’s dramatic and contemporary reckoning, We Caliban.

Written as Europe was taking its first step towards colonialism, The Tempest is Prospero’s story. We Caliban is Caliban’s untold story that started and continued long after Prospero’s brief stay. Performed by eight dancers, complemented by Will Duke’s projections and Thierry Pécou’s music, this impressionistic work draws on present-day parallels and the international and intercultural discourse around colonialism, as well as Jeyasingh’s personal experiences. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

John Bramwell: Playing solo in Pocklington

As recommended by Cate Blanchett: John Bramwell, Pocklington Arts Centre, October 17, 8pm

HYDE singer, song-spinner and sage John Bramwell, leading light of Mercury Prize nominees I Am Kloot from 1999 to 2014 and screen goddess Cate Blachett’s “favourite songwriter of all time”, has been on a never-ending rolling adventure since his workings away from his cherished Mancunian band.

His sophomore solo album, February 2024’s The Light Fantastic, will be at the heart of his Pocklington one-man show. . “After both my mum and dad died, I started writing these songs to cheer myself up,” Bramwell admits with trademark candour. “The themes are taken from my dreams at the time. Wake up and take whatever impression I had from what I could remember of my dream and write that.” He promises new material and Kloot songs too. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Velma Celli: York drag diva lighting up Yorktoberfest at York Racecourse. Picture: Sophie Eleanor

Festival of the week: Yorktoberfest, Clocktower Enclosure, York Racecourse, Knavesmire, York, October 18, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm; October 24, 7pm to 11pm; October 25, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm

MAKING its debut in 2021, Yorktoberfest returns for its fifth anniversary with beer, bratwurst and all things Bavarian. Step inside the giant marquee, fill your stein at the Bavarian Bar with beer from Brew York and grab a bite from the German-inspired Dog Haus food stall.

The Bavarian Strollers oompah band will perform thigh-slapping music and drinking songs; York drag diva Velma Celli will add to the party atmosphere with powerhouse songs and saucy patter. Doors open at 6.30pm and 12.30pm. Tickets: ticketsource.co.uk/yorktoberfest.

In Focus: Charlie Higson and Jim Moir: A Very Short But Epic History Of The Monarchy, York Theatre Royal, Oct 13, 7.30pm

In the frame: Author Charlie Higson and artist Jim Moir discuss royalty and comedy at York Theatre Royal on Monday

36 kings. Five queens. Two comedy legends. Join Charlie Higson and Jim Moir (alias Vic Reeves) for the rip-roaring story of every English ruler since Harold was shot in the eye at the Battle of Hastings.

Higson has always been interested in the story of the fabled English monarchy: from the b*stardly to the benevolent,the brilliant to the brutal. “Far from being a nice, colourful pageant of men and women in funny hats waving to adoring crowds, it’s a story of regicide, fratricide, patricide, uxoricide and mariticide (you might have to look those last two up),” he says.

Launched for the coronation of his namesake King Charles III, Charlie’s podcast Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee takes a deep dive into the murky lives of our monarchs. Now, his new book of the show features illustrations by artist Jim Moir, his compadre in comedy.

On Monday, Charlie and Jim will first share stories from their comic collaborations over 30 years, including Shooting Stars, Randell And Hopkirk Deceased and The Smell Of Reeves and Mortimer. Then they will take the plunge into the storied history of this most treasured of institutions. Bloody treachery? Check. Unruly incest? Check. Short parliaments? Check. A couple of Cromwells? Check.

Their rip-roaring journey takes in the Normans, Tudors and Stuarts, not to mention the infamous Blois (how can we forget them?), tin an “utterly engrossing and grossly entertaining primer on who ruled when and why – with never-before-seen illustrations”!

A signed copy of Higson & Moir’s book Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee: An Epically Short History Of Our Kings and Queens (RRP £22) is included when purchasing Band 1 (£55) tickets, available for collection on the night. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 43, from Gazette & Herald

Ghosts In The Garden: York’s haunted history told in 58 wire-mesh sculptures

FROM garden ghosts to a lonely whale, Toussaint’s saxophone to Kurdish comedy, Charles Hutchinson finds joy both outdoors and indoors.

Spectral trail of the season: Ghosts In The Garden, across York, until November 2

ORGANISED by York BID (Business Improvement District), the Ghosts In The Gardens sculpture trail has returned to York’s public gardens, ruins, hidden corners and green spaces in a free family event featuring 58 3D wire-mesh figures inspired by York’s haunted history.

Crafted in partnership with York creative team Unconventional Design, the translucent figures range from soldiers to monks, with ten new spectral sculptures to “ensure fresh surprises for returning visitors”.

Saxophonist Jean Toussaint: Opening autumn season at National Centre for Early Music tonight

Jazz gig of the week: Jean Toussaint, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, tonight, 7.20pm

THE Jean Toussaint Quintet – saxophonist, composer and bandleader Toussaint, pianist Emile Hinton, bassist Conor Murray, drummer Ben Brown and trumpet player Joti (CORRECT) – showcases his JT5 project’s latest album, recorded at London’s Vortex jazz club in 2024.

York Music Forum students will be working with Toussaint earlier in the day to share their work on stage from 7.20pm to 7.40pm. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Gemma Curry in Hoglets Theatre’s The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale at York Theatre Royal Studio

Children’s show of the week: Hoglets Theatre in The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale, York Theatre Royal Studio, Friday, 4.30pm; Saturday, 11am and 2pm

FRESH from an award-winning Edinburgh Fringe run, York company Hoglets Theatre invite primary-age children and families to an exciting adventure packed with beautiful handmade puppets, sea creatures, original songs and audience interaction aplenty.

Performed, crafted and directed by Gemma Curry, The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale celebrates friendship, difference and the beauty of being yourself in Andy Curry’s tale of Whale singing his heart out into the deep blue sea, but nobody singing back until…a mysterious voice echoes through the waves, whereupon Whale embarks on an unforgettable adventure. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Cooper Robson: Say Owt Slam special guest at The Crescent, York

Sizzling spoken words of the week: Say Owt Slam with special guest Cooper Robson, The Crescent, York, Friday, 7.30pm

HEATON slam champion and left-wing, left-field loudmouth Cooper Robson returns to York for a special-guest full set of hard-hitting poetry, raucous comedy and outlandish at The Crescent. Robson sports “more meter than Mo Farrah, more nonsense than a sapling touching Tolkien-tree”, while spouting more trash than a government coastal policy. Box office: thecrescentyork.com or on the door.

Helen Lederer: For bitter, for farce at Pocklington Arts Centre

Comedy conversation of the week: Helen Lederer, Not That I’m Bitter, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

FROM Absolutely Fabulous to French & Saunders, Helen Lederer has been a familiar face in British comedy since her 1980s’ alt. comedy beginnings, being “in the spotlight but not always centre stage”. Now, she brings her signature wit and warmth to page and stage as she shares stories of fame, failure, family and finding your voice when the odds are stacked against you in a man’s world.

Expect sharp observations, outrageous anecdotes and a refreshingly candid take on everything from mental health to midlife reinvention, in conversation with presenter and podcaster Johnny Ianson, as Lederer discusses her memoir Not That I’m Bitter as part of East Riding Libraries Festival of Words. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

The Creepy Boys: Teenage birthday party. Picture: Nick Robertson Photography

“Bizarre comedy with just a splash of the occult”:  The Creepy Boys, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 8pm

THE Creepy Boys, Canadian creators of cult-smash Slugs and 2025 Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees, present their existential self-titled show – and you’re invited as they throw their 13th birthday party. Expect games. Gifts. Possibly Satan. Probably Cake.

Combining 2000s’ sexy songs and dances, satanic rituals and Willem Dafoe, horny little boys Sam Kruger and S.E. Grummett will do whatever it takes to make their birthday dreams come true, even re-enacting their own birth, while interrogating the trappings of millennial nostalgia, before driving the show off a wild horror-comedy cliff. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Kae Kurd in What’s O’Kurd: That’s what’s occurring at Pocklington Arts Centre on Saturday

Comedy gig of the week: Kae Kurd: What’s O’Kurd, Pocklington Arts Centre, Saturday, 8pm

KAE Kurd, British-Kurdish stand-up comedian, Ain’t Got A Clue podcaster and lead writer and voice of ITV’s dating show Loaded In Paradise, brings his new tour, What’s O’Kurd, to Pocklington.

Born Korang Abdulla in Saqqez, Iran, and now based in South London, Kae performed his debut show Kurd Your Enthusiasm at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, since when he has toured Spoken Kurd Tour in 2021 and Kurd Immunity in 2023. He has written for Cunk & Other Humans (BBC), Have I Got News For You (BBC) and A League of Their Own (Sky One), as well as for the i newspaper and Total Politics, and has appeared on Mock The Week and Celebrity Masterchef. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Our Biggest Ever Open Mic: Saturday’s evening of anything-goes entertainment at Milton Rooms, Malton

Open opportunity of the week: Our Biggest Ever Open Mic, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 7pm

THE stage is all yours on Saturday at the Milton Rooms’ “Biggest Ever Open Mic evening” for all manner of performers.  Admission is free and doors and the bar will be open at 6.30pm. Tech support will be provided. Go for it! For more information, email info@themiltonrooms.com.

Martin Ledger of Alchemy Live: Finding himself in Dire Straits in a good way at Helmsley Arts Centre

Tribute show of the week: Alchemy Live, The Music Of Dire Straits, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

FORMED by life-long Dire Straits fans and full-time musicians Martin Ledger and Neil Scott, Alchemy Live announced their first show for Friday the 13th in 2022 in York, duly selling out there and around Yorkshire and moving on to theatre shows from January 2023.

Fast forward to 2025 and the launch of an expanded line-up, featuring pedal steel and saxophone, enabling them to tackle the huge production of Dire Straits’ final album On Every Street and the resultant live record On The Night. Every song choice is taken from a specific live performance in Dire Straits’ history, for example the show-opening Money For Nothing from Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in 1985, “with every nuance of Mark Knopfler’s playing technique followed faithfully” throughout. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Pixies: Playing York for first time in 40-year career next May

Gig announcement of the week: Pixies, York Barbican, May 20 2026

CELEBRATING 40 years since their 1986 formation in Boston, Massachusetts, Pixies will head out on their Pixies 40 worldwide tour next year. The British and European leg will open with their long-overdue York debut on May 20 at York Barbican.

Founding members Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering will be touring with bassist Emma Richardson as they head to the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Tickets for their only Yorkshire concert are on sale at bnds.us/ziwfqx or yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/pixies.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No 41, from Gazette & Herald

Joanne Shaw Taylor: Promoting new album Black & Gold at York Barbican

FROM blues guitar to saxophone solos, culinary festivities to Friends on song, Charles Hutchinson finds the ones to entertain you.

Blues guitarist of the week: Joanne Shaw Taylor, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm

DISCOVERED by Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart at 16, and now 39, West Midlands blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Joanne Shaw Taylor showcases her tenth studio album, Black & Gold, on her return to York Barbican.

Known for her blazing guitar work and soulful voice, Shaw Taylor fuses blues, rock, soul and pop into her live set of new songs such as Hell Of A Good Time, fan favourites from past albums and nods to blues greats. Support comes from Ferris & Sylvester. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Skosh chef-proprietor Neil Bentinck: Cookery demonstration at St Crux Hall on September 27 at 1pm at York Food & Drink Festival

Festival of the week: York Food & Drink Festival, cooking until September 28

HIGHLIGHTS of this autumn’s York Food & Drink Festival include 70 street food and produce stands in Parliament Street; the Entertainment Marquee on Parliament Street, serving a bill of Live for St Leonard’s Hospice music acts; more live music in St Sampson’s Square, and demonstrations, events, tastings, and sampling at St Crux Hall.

Further events will be two taste trails; Bedern Hall Pork Pie Competition; the Food Factory in St Crux Hall and Museum Gardens; Chocolate Bar Challenge; Jorvik Viking Centre’s activities with an historic twist and the Meet The Makers drinks fair. For the full festival programme, head to: yorkfoodfestival.com.

Katie Spencer: Introducing new album What Love Is at Kirk Theatre, Pickering. Picture: Tom Arran

Folk gig of the week: Friday Folk Night presents Katie Spencer, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, September 26, 7.30pm

RAISED in the East Yorkshire flatlands on the fringes of Hull, Katie Spencer’s music is influenced by the landscapes that shaped her. Her songwriting and guitar playing reflect a sense of space and movement, drawing inspiration from Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Michael Chapman.

New album What Love Is will be released on October 3. Produced by Matt Ingram, known for his work with Laura Marling, its ten compositions explore themes of love, introspection and personal growth. Her live performances are peppered with humour and storytelling. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

Tom Little: Headlining Hilarity Bites Comedy Club bill at Milton Rooms, Malton. Picture: Alexis Dubus

Comedy gig of the week: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club presents Tom Little, Seeta Wrightson and Kieran Lawless, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm

TOM Little, 2015 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year winner and BBC Radio New Comedy Award finalist, plays the well-read fool, taking on diverse facts but refusing to deal with them conventionally.

Bradford-born Seeta Wrightson, 2025 Female Pilot Club winner, spins engaging stories with wit, drawing on her dual Asian and British heritage. From humble beginnings, she has wandered through life wondering exactly where she fits, having adventures aplenty figuring it out.  Nothin’ Butt Funny Comedy award winner Kieran Lawless is an Irish comedian based in Manchester. Doors and bar open at 7pm.Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Snake Davis: Sax to the max at Helmsley Arts Centre

Saxophonist of the week: Snake Davis Band, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

STILL highly in demand as a session player, cheering up records by Olly Murs and Shania Twain lately, and playing to  crowds of up to 70,000 with Japanese rock god Eikichi Yazawa, saxophonist Snake Davis gains most joy from performing warm, friendly venues such as Helmsley Arts Centre.

Leading his four-piece band, featuring guitar, bass guitar and drums, Davis plays “the floaty to the danceable”, from soul to jazz, Northern Soul to pop and world, original material to classic sax pieces such as Baker Street and Night Train. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Sir Alan Ayckbourn. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Actors, Audiences And Ayckbourn, It’s All Relative, The McCarthy, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Friday, 7pm

AN evening of Sir Alan Ayckbourn in two halves opens with Ayckbourn archivist Simon Murgatroyd exploring the creation of Relatively Speaking on its 60th anniversary. The second half is a chance to hear stories from a group of actors with years of experience of working with the former SJT artistic director and prolific playwright. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Dame Imogen Cooper: Piano concert at Helmsley Arts Centre on Saturday. Picture: Sussie Ahlburg

Classical concert of the week: Dame Imogen Cooper, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

AFTER playing St Peter’s Church, Norton, at July’s Ryedale Festival, pianist Dame Imogen Cooper returns to Ryedale this weekend to play Bach’s Nun Freut Euch, Lieben Christen G’mein, arranged by Kempff;  Bach’s chorale-prelude Nun Komm’ der Heiden Heiland, arranged by Busoni and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 899 (Op. 90). Post-interval, her programme continues with Beethoven’s Seven Bagatelles (OP. 33) and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 935 (Op. posth. 142). Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Apollo Theatre Company’s merry crew in Round The Horne

Nostalgia of the week: Apollo Theatre Company in Round The Horne, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, September 29, 7.45pm; September 30, 1.30pm and 7.45pm

FROM 1965 to 1968, no show on British radio was bigger than the ground-breaking Round The Horne. Classic comedy fans will be in their element as Apollo Theatre Company transports the audience back to the anarchic, boisterous atmosphere of the BBC’s Paris Theatre during the recordings, complete with a live band and sound effects.

Combining infamous movie spoofs with regular characters such as Julian & Sandy, Rambling Syd Rumpo and J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock, Round The Horne’s merry crew drew up to 15 million listeners per week and made stars of Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick and Betty Marsden. Now take a step back in time to experience this vintage comedy live. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Alicia Belgarde (Monica), left, Daniel Parkinson (Chandler), Enzo Benvenuti (Ross), Eva Hope (Rachel), Amelia Atherton (Phoebe) and Ronnie Burden (Joey) in Friends! The Musical Parody, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith

The one where they sing: Friends! The Musical Parody, Grand Opera House, York, September 30 to October 4, Tuesday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5.30pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

NEW York and Las Vegas hit Friends The Musical Parody is a musical comedy packed with iconic moments from all ten seasons of the beloved television series, complemented by an original musical score. Join Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe, the world’s most famous group of twenty-somethings, as they navigate love, friendship and life’s ups and downs in 1990s’ New York City.

“Whether you’re in a love triangle, trying to make it as an actor, or just can’t quit your day job, you’ll be laughing, crying, and quoting your favourite lines all night long,” the show promises. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Sue Ryding, left, recalling her 40-year comedy partnership with the late Maggie Fox (inset) in LipService in Funny Stuff at Pocklington Arts Centre

Reflections on grief: LipService in Funny Stuff, Pocklington Arts Centre, October 2, 7.30pm

SUE Ryding is one half of legendary satirical duo LipService. In March 2022, her comedy partner, York actress and writer Maggie Fox, died and Sue was left with a shipping container full of 40 years of stage props, costumes, wigs, hats, shoes, sheep, you name it.

This show looks at all the “stuff” we accumulate, hoard and hate to let go in her humorous and creative response to grief, wherein Sue struggles to part with a life-sized stuffed sheep, a badger onesie, some ruby slippers, a sinking bog, Charlotte Bronte’s knickers and a host of soft toys. Touring anecdotes are combined with archive footage from LipService shows. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

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Tuxedos return as John Godber visits upstairs downstairs hotel hell in sequinned satire Black Tie Ball on tour from Sept 10

Black Tie Ball playwright John Godber

ACTORS took to the stage in tuxedos in John Godber’s debut play Bouncers in 1977. Now, more than 70 plays and 48 years later, he swaps the sticky-floored nightclub for the sophisticated pomp and ceremony of Black Tie Ball’s stuck-up party world.

Premiering at Harrogate Theatre from September 10, writer-director Godber’s sequinned satire for our rotten times is set on the glitziest night of the year as he explores relationships, secrets and the drunken dramas when all the great and the good want to be there.

“The Bentleys are parked; the jazz band has arrived, and the magician is magic, so pick up your invite for this fundraising frenzy,” says John, introducing the night when the hotel staff – short staffed alas – will recount an entire evening at breakneck speed from arrival at seven to carriages at midnight, recalling the fast-moving physical theatre of Bouncers being told through the eyes of the four doormen of the apocalypse.

“The raffle is ready, the coffee is cold, the service is awful, the guest speaker is drunk, and the hard-pressed caterers just want to go home. Behind the bow ties and fake tans, there are jealousies and avarice, divorces and affairs. This is upstairs meets downstairs through a drunken gaze.”

In trademark Godber visceral style, the staff will “re-create events in front of your very eyes, so there will be tuxedos in the mix,” says John, who writes from experience of such formal and formulaic occasions.

“I’ve been to a lot of these black-tie events. It’s interesting to write about as the play takes a cock-eyed look at the event from the point of view of staff, who are depleted and inexperienced and they’ve had to call back in a guy who’s just finished his shift,” he says.

“Three of them have never worked at the hotel before; they’ve been drafted in as agency staff, and the manager is a Spanish guy, Emilio Sanchez, who ‘can’t be seen in public’! The owner, Sir Graham, an extremely wealthy hotel businessman, who lives in Madeira, has turned up at the ball, which heightens everyone’s pulse.

“The Black Tie Ball is one of multiple events taking place at the same time in the hotel: there’s also a literary event; a boxing event in the spa; a prom in another room. The hotel is full, so there’s major pressure on the staff.”

Godber recalls his mother working in service at Carlton Towers. “Why she would want to go into service, I don’t know,” he sighs.

The cast will play 20 characters, from the staff to the jazz band, the manager and owner to assorted guests. “We’ve got the whole gamut,” says John. “When I was developing the play, I realised that all the world’s a stage at a hotel, so we do have a murder, with the police arriving, and we do have affairs and Mr and Mrs Smiths signing in. I’ve corralled most of the tropes of the hotel world.”

Upstairs meets downstairs at under-staffed, overworked hotel in John Godber’s sequinned satire Black Tie Ball, on tour from September 10

First inspired by reading the naturalistic works of  Henrik Ibsen, Godber favours this form of storytelling that gives his plays authenticity. “As I career towards 70 [next birthday, May 18 2026], I think I can say it’s a style that I’ve made my own,” he says.

“Funnily enough I’ve been looking at writing about women’s rugby for telly but I’ve been hitting a brick wall, whereas writing with naturalism I kind of find so easy, like when I did all that time writing for Grange Hill and Brookside, the Up’n’Under film  and BAFTA short films, but I really enjoy the elasticity of writing for theatre because it’s theatrical and the audience is right there – and it’s live.

“Is that because of where I’m from and always being active as a kid? Theatre is equivalent to a sporting experience. As Alan [Ayckbourn] used to say: the greatest thing to hear is ‘you should have been here last night’…when you know it worked but you haven’t any idea how tonight will go.”

At events such as black tie balls, as elsewhere, John has his radar switched on. “All the time my radar is scanning everything. That’s the gift to the playwright, if there is one,” he says. “You are ‘quintessentialising’ an experience.”

His best writing is marked by a need to respond to what’s going on around him, fuelled by anger. “To be honest, as you get older, it’s very hard not to get angry because there’s so much hogwash about. Let’s not bring up Trump, Ukraine, Gaza and UK immigration. Just look locally at what’s going in,” he says.

“There’s enough to be angry about, but if there’s a sleight of hand to writing a play, you don’t lead with the anger first. You think, with Ibsen, Chekhov, Ayckbourn and I’ve got to say Pinter too, ‘that was funny, but not just funny ha-ha’. Any good comedy in theatre is laced with sanguine and sour reality.”

Comedy versus tragedy, John: which is the greater of theatre’s two faces? “I think comedy makes a wider point than tragedy. For me, the catharsis of a great tragedy is over quicker; sometimes comedies last longer in the brain.”

John Godber Company in John Godber’s Black Tie Ball, Harrogate Theatre, September 10 to 13; CAST, Doncaster, September 17 to 20; Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield, September 30 to October 1; Hull Truck Theatre, October 14 to 18; Bridlington Spa, November 3 and 4; Pocklington Arts Centre, November 6 to 8; Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, November 12 to 15.

Box office: Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; Doncaster, 01302 303959 or castindoncaster.com; Huddersfield, 01484 430528 or thelbt.org; Hull, 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk; Bridlington, 01262 678 258 or bridspa.com; Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; Scarborough, 01723 370541or sjt.uk.com.  Alternatively, visit thejohngodbercompany.co.uk.

Who’s in the Black Tie Ball cast?

LONG-TIME John Godber collaborator William Ilkley (War Horse, Trigger Point) will be joined  Dylan Allcock, from Godber’s 2024 play The Highwayman, and Yorkshire actors Levi Payne and Jade Farnill.

Jade is a member of the Godber Theatre Foundation, an initiative run by the John Godber Company since 2020 to support emerging actors from East Yorkshire into professional roles and opportunities. Each year, members are supported into roles in new touring productions by the Yorkshire company. 

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No.34, from Gazette & Herald

Lucy Hook Designs’ poster for York River Art Market’s tenth anniversary

AUGUST’S arrival heralds the return of riverside art, Georgian festival frolics and moorland classical music in Charles Hutchinson’s guide to a cornucopia of culture.

Art event of the month: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, by Lendal Bridge, York, August 9 and 10, August 16 and 17, 10am to 5.30pm

YORK River Art Market returns for its tenth anniversary season by the Ouse riverside railings, where 30 artists and designers will be setting up stalls each day.

Organised by York artist and tutor Charlotte Dawson, the market offers the chance to buy directly from the makers of ceramics, jewellery, paintings, prints, photographs, clothing, candles, soaps, cards and more besides. Admission is free.

Scott Bennett: Presenting Blood Sugar Baby at Pocklington Arts Centre

Storyteller of the week: Scott Bennett, Blood Sugar Baby, Pocklington Arts Centre, tonight, 8pm

ONE family, one condition, one hell of a hairy baby: Scott Bennett, from The News Quiz and the Parenting Hell podcast, relates how his daughter fell ill with a rare genetic condition, congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI).

Never heard of it?  Neither have new parents Scott and Jemma as they fight to achieve  the right diagnosis for their daughter and are plunged into months of bewildering treatment, sleepless nights, celebrity encounters and bizarre side effects, but a happy ending ensues. Box office: Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Ryosuke Kiyasu: Drumming prowess on The Arts Barge

Beat that: No Instrument and Arts Barge present Ryosuke Kiyasu, The Arts Barge, Foss Basin Moorings, York, tonight, 7.30pm

PIONEERING snare-drum soloist Ryosuke Kiyasu has redefined percussion since 2003, releasing more than 200 albums, both solo and with his band, drawing 23 million views for his 2018 Berlin live set and featuring on BBC News.

He drums for noise-grind duo Sete Star Sept, the Kiyasu Orchestra and Keiji Haino’s Fushitsusha and co-founded Canada’s cult hardcore unit The Endless Blockade. Box office: artsbarge.com/events.

Iago Banet: Finger-style Spanish guitar playing at The Basement

Guitarist of the week: Iago Banet, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 7.30pm

VIRTUOSO finger-style Spanish guitarist Iago Banet, who moved to London from Galicia in 2014, combines gypsy jazz, blues, country, Dixieland, swing, pop, folk and Americana in his acoustic repertoire, as heard on his third album, 2023’s Tres.

He has performed on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and Cerys Matthews’ The Blues Show on BBC Radio 2, appeared at Brecon Jazz, Hellys International Guitar Festival and Aberjazz and played with Josh Smith, Mark Flanagan, Jack Broadbent and Clive Carroll. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk.

Four actors, two plays, forty minutes each: 440 Theatre in Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth at Joseph Rowntree Theatre

Shaking up Shakespeare: 440 Theatre in Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm

FOUR actors perform 40-minute versions of Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth, transforming the Scottish play  from tragedy into comedy in this raucous, breakneck double bill. “Experience the hilarity of not only one of the Bard’s best comedies but also a side-splitting (literally!) Macbeth,” say director Dom Gee-Burch and producer-composer Laura Sillett. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Terry Deary presents Revolting at York Mansion House tomorrow at 5.30pm at York Georgian Festival

York festival of the week: York Georgian Festival 2025, August 7 to 11

ORGANISED by York Mansion House, in tandem with York businesses, the York Georgian Festival will be a whirl of  dashing dandy fashions, extravagant feasting and romantic country dancing in a celebration of a golden social scene hidden within the brickwork of York’s abundant 18th century architecture.

Among the highlights will be Terry Deary Presents Revolting; the Life and Loves of Anne Lister; a Georgian dance lesson at the Guildhall; Men’s Hats; Mad Alice’s history talk and gin tasting; the York Georgian Ball; Sounds of Regency by Candlelight; The World of Georgian Fashion; Portraits in Jane Austen and a revival of York actor-playwright Joseph Peterson’s comic romp The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t. For the full programme and tickets, go to: mansionhouseyork.com/york-georgian-festival.

Alex Phelps, left, Christopher Godwin, Olivia Woolhouse, Valerie Antwi, Susan Twist, Charlie Ryan and Andy Cryer in rehearsal for Michael Frayn’s Noises Off at the SJT, Scarborough. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Play of the week: Noises Off, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, August 9 to September 6, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm  Saturday matinees

SJT artistic director Paul Robinson directs the first ever in-the-round production of Michael Frayn’s legendary 1982 farce with its play-within-a- play structure. “Good luck!” said the playwright on hearing the Scarborough theatre was taking on what has always been considered an impossible task. 

Noises Off follows the on and off-stage antics of a touring theatre company stumbling its way through the fictional farce Nothing On. Across three acts, Frayn charts the shambolic final rehearsals, a disastrous matinee seen entirely from backstage and the brilliantly catastrophic final performance. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Jamie Walton: North York Moors Chamber Music Festival director and cellist. Picture: Matthew Johnson

Ryedale festival of the week: North York Moors Chamber Music Festival, August 10 to 23

IN its 17th year, cellist Jamie Walton’s festival presents 14 concerts designed to mirror the 14-line structure of a sonnet, guiding audiences through a pagan year with its unfolding seasons, solstices and equinoxes. 

The four elements – Fire, Air, Water and Earth – will be explored through the lens of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets and staged in four historic moorland churches: St Hilda’s, Danby; St Hedda’s, Egton Bridge; St Michael’s, Coxwold, and St Mary’s, Lastingham. Ten concerts will be held in an acoustically treated venue in the grounds of Welburn Manor, near Kirkbymoorside. For the full programme, go to northyorkmoorsfestival.com. Box office: 07722 038990 or email bookings@northyorkmoorsfestival.com.

The Smashing Pumpkins: Heading to Scarborough on Aghori Tour next Wednesday

Coastal gig of the week: Smashing Pumpkins and White Lies, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 13, gates 6pm

AMERICAN alternative rockers The Smashing Pumpkins play Scarborough on their Aghori Tour. Billy Corgan, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin’s multi-platinum-selling band will be supported on the Yorkshire coast by London post-punk revival band White Lies.

Since emerging from Chicago, Illinois, in 1988 with their iconoclastic sound, Smashing Pumpkins have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and collected two Grammy Awards, seven MTV VMAs and an American Music Award. Box office: ticketmaster.co.uk.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 32, from Gazette & Herald

Harvey Stephens’ Jamie New, front left, with his Sheffield schoolmates in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Picture: Matthew Kitchen

FROM dazzling dancing to doodling, disco favourites to an orchestral festival debut, Charles Hutchinson highlights summer delights that lie ahead.

Musical of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee

AT 16, Sheffield schoolboy Jamie New has no interest in pursuing a traditional career. He wants to be a drag queen. Supported by his loving mum and encouraged by friends, can Jamie overcome prejudice, beat the bullies and step out of the darkness into the spotlight?

Written by Tom MacRae and The Feeling’s Dan Gillespie Sells, this joyous underdog story is staged by York company Pick Me Up Theatre with Harvey Stevens, 15, and Gemma McDonald leading the cast. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Helmsley Arts Centre’s poster for Doodle Fest’s creative workshops

Summer holiday activity of the week: Doodle Fest, The Art of Doodling Art Festival Creative Workshops, Helmsley Arts Centre, today, 10am to 3pm, ages eight to 11; tomorrow, 9.30am to 11am, ages five to seven; tomorrow, 1pm to 4pm, ages 12 to 16

ARTIST Nicola Hutchinson guides participants through taking doodling skills to the next level, from experimenting with different forms and techniques to discovering new ways to express yourself through art. Turn your sketches into articulated characters; design giant doodled picture frames to showcase your masterpieces; let your imagination run wild as your doodles come to life in beautiful works of art.

All materials will be provided, but bring a sketchbook if you have one at home. All levels and abilities are welcome; snacks and drinks are provided; dress to get messy. Tickets: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Sharleen Spiteri: Fronting Texas at Scarborough Open Air Theatre

Coastal gigs of the week: TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Judas Priest, tonight; Texas, Saturday. Gates open at 6pm

JUDAS  Priest, formed in Birmingham in 1969, are still receiving a Grammy nomination in 2025 for Best Metal Performance, on top of being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, appointed by shock rocker Alice Cooper, in 2022. Their 19th studio album, Invincible Shield, was released in March 2024. Tonight’s support act will be Phil Campbell & The B**stard Sons.

This weekend, Sharleen Spiteri leads Glasgow band Texas through five decades of hits, from I Don’t Want To Be A Lover, Say What You Want and Summer Sun to Inner Smile, Mr Haze and Keep On Talking. Rianne Downey supports. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Steve Steinman’s Love Hurts: Feel the power of ballads and anthems at Grand Opera House, York

Jukebox show of the week: Steve Steinman’s Love Hurts, Power Ballads & Anthems!, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm

FROM  the producers of Anything For Love and Vampires Rock comes the latest Steve Steinman venture, this one built around power ballads and anthems performed by a powerhouse cast of singers and a seven-piece band.

Love Hurts embraces Fleetwood Mac, Heart, Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Aerosmith, Tina Turner, Cutting Crew, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Rainbow, Van Halen, Europe, Air Supply and more. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor: On course for the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend

Dancefloor double bill of the week: Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Natasha Bedingfield, York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Friday. Gates, 4pm; first race, 5.30pm; last race, 8.23pm

AT the only evening meeting of the Knavesmire racing calendar, kitchen disco queen  Sophie Ellis-Bextor and fellow Londoner Natasha Bedingfield each play a set after the seven-race sporting action.

Ellis-Bextor, 46, draws on her five top ten albums and eight top ten singles, such as Murder On The Dancefloor and Take Me Home. Bedingfield , 43, has the hits Unwritten, Single, These Words, I Wanna Have Your Babies and Soulmate to her name. For race-day tickets, go to: yorkracecourse.co.uk.

Fifties and Sixties’ tribute gig of the week: Music Masters, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Friday, 7.30pm

MUSIC Masters’ time machine of a five-piece band transport Friday’s audience back to 1950s and 1960s’ pop with their dedication to vintage vocal harmonies, instrumental prowess and revival of the spirit of a golden age when music was the heartbeat of a generation. As the old saying goes, “be there or be square”. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

Ronan Keating: Returning to York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend on Saturday

Irish craic of the week: Ronan Keating, York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Saturday. Gates open at 11.15am; first race, 1.25pm; last race, 5pm

IRISH singer, presenter and talent-show judge Ronan Keating returns to the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, back on the Knavesmire track where he performed with Boyzone in July 2018.

Expect both solo and boy band favourites. “If you’re going to a festival or a racecourse, you have to give the people what they want, what they’re expecting, and because of the Boyzone documentary that’s on Sky and NOW TV, I’ll be doing more Boyzone hits than normal this time,” he says. For race-day tickets, go to: yorkracecourse.co.uk.

Helena Mackie: Soloist for Mozart’s Oboe Concerto at Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s Ryedale Festival debut

Ryedale Festival finale: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Final Gala Concert, Hovingham Hall, Sunday, 6.30pm

THE ‘Liverpool Phil’ make their Ryedale Festival debut this weekend, exploring the Italian vistas of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No 4, complemented by Mozart’s Oboe Concerto(featuring soloist Helena Mackie), Faure’s serene Pavane and Poulenc’s mischievous, charming Sinfonietta. For the full festival programme and tickets, go to: ryedalefestival.com. Box office: 01751 475777.

Alan Fletcher: Heading to Pocklington with his band in September

Show announcement of the week: Alan Fletcher, Pocklington Arts Centre, September 19, 8pm

NEIGHBOURS soap star Alan Fletcher will swap Ramsay Street for Pocklington Arts Centre for an evening of song. Known to millions as Dr Karl Kennedy in the long-running Australian series, he has carved out a career as a musician too, first fronting rock band Waiting Room, then as an Americana and alt-country singer-songwriter.

In 2024, singer and guitarist Fletcher’s five-piece band sold out 22 British dates promoting his album The Point. Now they return to showcase latest album Back To School. His compositions blend humour (For The Love Of Lager, How Good Is Bed) and poignant reflections on love, life and everything in between (Hey You, The Point, Back To School). Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Kate Rusby: Performing with the Singy Songy Session Band at Ryedale Festival. Picture: David Angel  

In Focus: Ryedale Festival, Kate Rusby, When They All Looked Up, Milton Rooms, Malton, July 25, 7pm, sold out

BARNSLEY folk nightingale Kate Rusby makes her Ryedale Festival debut on Friday, performing songs from her new album with her Singy Songy Session Band.

Released on Pure Records on April 25, When They All Looked Up is Kate’s first studio set of new material since 2019’s Philosphers, Poets & Kings. In that time, she has delivered the Christmas albums Holly Head in 2019 and Light Years in 2023 and the covers collection Hand Me Down in 2020.

Combining original compositions with re-imagined traditional songs, When They All Looked Up spans a dynamic sonic landscape, from intimate acoustic arrangements to rich, immersive soundscapes, on intimate, uplifting, joyous and profoundly moving songs that explore human stories, themes of resilience, self-discovery and connection.

First single Let Your Light Shine is a heartfelt message to Kate’s teenage daughters, Daisy and Phoebe, and to all in need of encouragement, elevated by the addition of Barnsley Youth Choir’s Senior Choir. 

The album cover artwork for Kate Rusby’s When They All Looked Up

“This song is my advice to my daughters, but also to anyone who might need to hear it,” says Kate. “It’s about embracing who you are, having faith in your unique gifts, and letting the world see your light. Be strong, be positive and be kind.”

The full track listing is: How The World Goes; Today Again; Ettrick; Let Your Light Shine; The Moon Man; Judges And Juries; The Barnsley Youth And Temperance Society; The Girl With The Curse; Master Kilby; The Yorkshire Couple and Coal Not Dole.

On December 20, Kate will bring her Christmas Is Merry tour – her 20th anniversary celebration of festive folk joy – to York Barbican. As ever, she will perform traditional South Yorkshire carols, Christmas chestnuts and her own winter songs, drawn from her six Christmas albums, in the company of her regular band and the “Brass Boys” at 7pm. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.