Rob Auton (self portrait): Seeking a crowd in Pocklington and Leeds
WHICH shows will draw the crowds? Charles Hutchinson prepares to join the merry throng across the summer beyond the Bank Holiday sunshine.
Crowd pleaser: Rob Auton, The Crowd Show, Pocklington Arts Centre, tonight, 8pm; Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds, June 5, 7.30pm
CHARMINGLY offbeat Pocklington-raised poet, stand-up comedian, actor, author, artist and podcaster Rob Auton heads back north from his London abode on his 2023 leg of The Crowd Show tour to play Pock and Leeds.
After his philosophical observations on the colour yellow, the sky, faces, water, sleep, hair, talking and time, now he discusses crowds, people and connection in a night of comedy and theatre “suitable for anyone who wants to be in the crowd for this show”. Box office: Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; Leeds, hydeparkbookclub.co.uk.
Antler alert: Comedian Tim Vine in his alarming headwear for Breeeep! at the Grand Opera House, York
“Witness the stupidity” comedy gig of the week: Tim Vine: Breeeep!, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm
EXPECT a mountain of nonsense, one-liners, stupid things, crazy songs and wobbly props, plus utter drivel, advises punslinger Tim Vine.
“Tim’s like the manager of a sweet shop where all the sweets are replaced by jokes, and he serves them in a random order,” says the show blurb. “So it’s like a sweet shop where the manager just throws sweets at you. Enjoy the foolishness and laugh your slip-ons off.” Sold out; for returns only, check atgtickets.com/york.
Amy May Ellis: North York Moors singer-songwriter promotes her debut album at The Crescent
Homecoming of the week: Amy May Ellis, The Crescent, York, tomorrow, 8pm
NOW moved to Bristol, singer-songwriter Amy May Ellis was raised on a remote dale on the North York Moors, playing her early gigs at The Band Room, Low Mill, Farndale.
Steeped in the culture, scenery, folklore and wildlife of the countryside that surrounded and shaped her as a child, she wrote her debut album Over Ling And Bell – named after two types of heather – in a secluded moorland farmhouse, mostly alone but sometimes with friends. Released on Lost Map Records on May 12, it is available on digital platforms and limited-edition vinyl. She will be joined by her new band for tomorrow’s gig, when North Yorkshire-London combo Wanderland support. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Ryan Addyman as Jamie New, right, in York Stage’s Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Musical of the week:York Stage inEverybody’s Talking About Jamie, Teen Edition, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Monday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
JAMIE New lives on a council estate in Sheffield with his loving mum. At 16, he doesn’t quite fit in. He may be terrified about the future, but Jamie is going to be a sensation.
The Feeling’s Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae’s coming-of-age musical follows the true-life story of Sheffield schoolboy Jamie Campbell as he overcomes prejudice and bullying to step out of the darkness to become a drag queen. York Stage artistic director Nik Briggs directs. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Sarah Dean: Plucking strings at the City of York Roland Walls Folk Weekend at the Black Swan Inn
City of York Roland Walls Folk Weekend, Black Swan Folk Club, Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York, June 2 to 4
TOM Bliss and The Burning Bridges open the three-day folk fiesta at the Black Swan on Friday night, to be followed by afternoon and evening sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
Among the weekend’s acts will be: Stan Graham; Eddie Affleck; The Barbarellas; Blonde On Bob; Clurachan; Union Jill; White Sail; Edwina Hayes; Minster Stray Morris; Caramba; The Old Humpy Band; Tommy Coyle; Paula Ryan; Judith Haswell; Sarah Dean; Chris Euesden and Ramshackle. Full details at: blackswanfolkclub.org.uk/programme.cfm.
Alexander Ashworth: Baritone soloist for Elgar’s Dream Of Gerontius at York Minster. Picture: Debbie Scanlan
Purgatory awaits: University of York Choir and Symphony Orchestra, Elgar’s Dream Of Gerontius, York Minster, June 14, 7.30pm
THE University of York Choir and Symphony Orchestra perform Edward Elgar’s Dream Of Gerontius with soloists Joshua Ellicott (Gerontius), Kitty Whately and Alexander Ashworth, conducted by John Stringer.
Elgar dramatically sets to music Cardinal Newman’s poem depicting the journey of Gerontius’s soul from his deathbed to judgement before God. On his way, he encounters angels and demons, colourfully portrayed by the chorus, before settling finally in purgatory. Box office: 01904 322439 or yorkconcerts.co.uk.
The poster for City Screen Picturehouse’s outdoor cinema season, Movies In The Moonlight, at York Museum Gardens in July
Outdoor cinema: City Screen Picturehouse presents Movies In The Moonlight, York Museum Gardens, Museum Street, York, July 14 to 16, from 7.30pm
MUSEUM Gardens play host to City Screen Picturehouse for three nights of summertime open-air film action, opening with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, starring Chris Pratt and Anya Taylor-Joy on July 14. Next come Mamma Mia!, featuring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried, on July 15 and Steven Spielberg’s 1975 shark attack classic Jaws on July 16.
All these outdoor cinema events start at 7.30pm. Films will be shown at sundown; drinks and snacks will be on offer but guests can bring picnics. Box office: picturehouses.com/outdoor.
Ruby Wax: Presenting the latest Wax work, I’m Not As Well As I Thought, at the Grand Opera House, York, this autumn
Looking ahead: Ruby Wax: I’m Not As Well As I Thought, Grand Opera House, York, September 28, 7.30pm
AFTER four years, American-British actress, comedian, writer, television personality and mental health campaigner Ruby Wax, 70, follows up her How To Be Human show with a stage adaptation of her May 11 book, I’m Not As Well As I Thought, promising her rawest, darkest, funniest show yet.
In 2022, Wax began a search to find meaning, booking a series of potentially life-changing journeys: swimming with humpback whales in the Dominican Republic; joining a Christian monastery; working in a Greek refugee camp; undertaking a silent 30-day mindfulness retreat in California. Even greater change marked her inner journey. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Tom Allen: Completely and utterly at York Barbican
Recommended but too late for tickets
ACERBIC comedian Tom Allen’s Completely gig at York Barbican on Sunday at 8pm has sold out. Completely.
Under discussion will be Allen’s life updates, his vegetable patch and the protocol for inviting friends with children for dinner.
Next Door But One chief executive officer and artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle directing a rehearsal for Operation Hummingbird
YORK community arts collective Next Door But One are taking part in the 2023 TakeOver Festival at York Theatre Royal next week, performing a revival of Operation Hummingbird.
NDB1 premiered artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle’s one-act two-hander to sold-out audiences in the socially distanced summer of 2021. Now, buoyed by being among 984 arts organisations to be granted National Portfolio (NPO) status by Arts Council England and winning the award for Resilience and Innovation at the 2023 Visit York Tourism Awards, they have launched their new programme.
“It’s quite apt that our first touring production as an NPO is Operation Hummingbird,” says Matt. “‘We’ve spent ten years working hard, dreaming big and forging fruitful partnerships. That’s how we got here. Now we’re looking into the future and are so excited for what the next three years hold. A reflective, hopeful story about looking back and looking ahead feels perfect for now.”
Already this month NDB1 have staged Operation Hummingbird in library performances York Explore, Haxby Explore, Clifton Explore, Tang Hall Explore and Acomb Explore, from May 9 to 12, and now they are heading to the theatre and arts centre circuit.
Midday and 7pm performances on May 23 and 24 on York Theatre Royal’s main stage will be followed by Pocklington Arts Centre on May 25 and Helmsley Arts Centre on June 2, both at 7.30pm.
David Lomond, back, and James Lewis-Knight in Next Door But One’s 2023 tour of Operation Hummingbird
“I realised it could work as a main-house piece when I watched Pilot Theatre’s Run Rebel, when they had sold only the stalls, but there was something nice about playing a performance to the stalls,” says Matt. “We’ll make it intimate by using only the front half of the stage, working with a new lighting designer, Abi Turner, from London, who has designed previously for the Donmar Warehouse.”
Based on his own memoir of living with loss, Matt’s two-hander tells the story of teenager Jimmy, who is dealing with his mum’s terminal diagnosis by diving into computer games. Through this virtual reality, he meets his future self and asks: will everything turn out OK?
“Operation Hummingbird is a humorous and uplifting exploration of grief, loss and noticing just how far you’ve come,” says Matt, whose cast features NDB1 associate artist James Lewis-Knight, returning in the role of Jimmy, and Scarborough actor David Lomond, joining the company for the first time to play James, the future version of Jimmy, 35 more years on the clock.
“For me, the concept is: this play is a really specific look at terminal illness, death and bereavement, but the narrative is universal. If we could fast-forward time and then be able to go back, older and wise, to stop our younger self by passing on advice. We’ve all had those questions that our older selves would like to have been able to give the answer to our younger selves.”
The two-hander format is ideal, suggests Matt. “After Covid, people are wanting shorter shows – this one is only 50 minutes – where you don’t have to travel far to see it and you could even see it at lunchtime if you went to a library performance.
James Lewis-Knight’s Jimmy in a scene from the 2021 premiere of Matt Harper-Hardcastle’s Operation Hummingbird. He returns for the new production
“We’ve brought Operation Hummingbird back after we had brilliant feedback from the first run, when we had only just come out of Covid restrictions and so only small, socially distanced audiences were allowed.
“For the 2023 revival, we decided we’d go to the satellite Explore York libraries we didn’t play before. Now we’ve been able to pick up the project and say, ‘we know it works but what’s the full iteration?’.
“That means also performing it on the Theatre Royal main stage and taking it to Pocklington and Helmsley. It’s actually our first ever show at the Theatre Royal because we’ve never looked into doing one there before, as the heart of our work is taking it to the community, places on people’s doorsteps, such as libraries, community centres and the Camphill Village Trust (with our show The Firework-Maker’s Daughter).”
Matt continues: “It feels like a significant moment of growth for us. We’re known to the communities we engage with, like the Snappy Trust and York Carers Centre, who appreciate our values, and this revival is an introductory chance for us to say, ‘if you don’t know our work, this is what we do’.
“I hope I have turned a story that started from a very personal place into something that we can all relate to,” says writer-director Matt Harper-Hardcastle
“One of the first pieces of feedback we had was someone saying, ‘I can’t believe how much you can tell in a story with so little. We’re the opposite of doing big-scale theatre productions. It’s still a big story, about death and bereavement, and for me, as a director, the main thing has to be the story.
“You could detract from it with a big set and a light show, so we tell a story with three boxes, a few props and two actors and no blackouts of the auditorium. The focus is on the story.”
Matt concludes: “There’s something in this show for everyone. I hope I have turned a story that started from a very personal place – with the sudden death of my mum in 2016 – into something that we can all relate to. I know that audiences in 2021 left entertained and reflective about their own life. I hope we can achieve the same this time, but reach an even bigger audience across the region.”
Tickets for all venues can be booked at www.nextdoorbutone.co.uk.Also: York Theatre Royal, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Pocklington Arts Centre’s new logo, designed by Red Bonsai
POCKLINGTON Arts Centre is introducing a new look to all design, print and soon its website too.
“The development of a contemporary, iconic logo responds to the need to engage new audiences and the demand for clarity and definition in a booming, fast-paced online experience,” says venue director Angela Stone.
After a thorough briefing and selection process, three design agencies were identified to “respond to the nuances of delivering a strong iconic presence that would honour the heritage and reputation of Pocklington Arts Centre (PAC), while appealing to new audiences unfamiliar with the respected and well-beloved East Yorkshire venue”.
Red Bonsai, a creative branding and graphic design studio based in Pocklington, were ultimately selected to develop their proposed concepts. “We were really pleased to be selected to work with the management team to rebrand this unique venue,” says creative director Ashley McGovern.
The poster for this week’s concert by Sabrina Francis with the new Pocklington Arts Centre logo
“I have always enjoyed and admired the arts centre, being a regular audience member. This distinctive venue brings some significant names to the East Riding, and with Pocklington also being our design studio’s hometown, we jumped at the chance.”
Ashley continues: “The new identity illustrates the flexibility and multi-purpose use of Pocklington Arts Centre. Picking up on historical references, we sought to characterise this in a simple gobo (a type of theatrical stage lighting) stencil-style graphic.
“The identity will be used throughout all marketing collateral, on all printed material, on the new website, social media, interiors, and the building fascia signage. We are now working on animated screen idents!
“The new branding is designed to engage with a broader audience. The fresh new look is aimed at ensuring the continued relevance and ambition of the arts centre.”
“We’re excited to welcome our patrons to join us on this exciting new journey,” says Pocklington Arts Centre venue director Angela Stone
PAC has committed to rolling out this new look over the coming months, with the latest What’s On posters and spring brochure out this week with a glimpse of the new design style and logo.
As part of its commitment to the environmental impact of print and paper wastage, distribution will be monitored carefully and reviewed regularly as PAC acknowledges a considerable uplift in online browsing and booking, but there will be a stock of brochures available to pick up during box office opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10am to 4pm, Thursday, 10am to 5pm, and Saturday, 10am to 1pm.
Angela Stone says: “We are grateful to have received funding from ERYC Arts Development Fund to create refreshed brand guidelines that have been devised to deliver maximum impact using a design template, reducing our ongoing design costs and delivering a much more intuitive, user-friendly website experience.
“Watch this space for updates on how we will translate this clear design language throughout the building to improve directional signage and our intentions to create a flow from the outside of the building, through the foyer, into the box office and beyond! We’re excited to welcome our patrons to join us on this exciting new journey.”
For details of PAC’s spring programme, head to: pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Getting mighty crowded: Rob Auton’s artwork for The Crowd Show
CHARMINGLY offbeat, inspiring, poetic writer, comedian, actor and podcaster Rob Auton returns home to York on February 24 on the 2023 leg of The Crowd Show tour.
After his philosophical observations in abstractly themed shows on the colour yellow, the sky, faces, water, sleep, hair, talking and time, now he discusses crowds, people and connection in a night of comedy and theatre “suitable for anyone who wants to be in the crowd for this show”, structured around internet instructions on how to give a speech.
Ironically, he had started writing material for a show about crowds only a few weeks before the Covid lockdowns silenced them.
His 8pm homecoming has sold out already – York’s in-crowd for that night – but further Yorkshire gigs follow at Hebden Bridge Trades Club, April 16 (01422 845265 or thetradesclub.com); Sheffield Leadmill, April 30, 7.30pm (leadmill.co.uk); Pocklington Arts Centre, May 27, 8pm (01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk) and Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds, June 5, 7.30pm (hydeparkbookclub.co.uk).
Tunnel vision: Rob Auton deep in thought at the Innocent Railway during the Edinburgh Fringe
In a crowded calendar, Rob Auton finds time to talk about The Crowd Show with CharlesHutchPress
How do you interpret the proverb “If two’s company, three’s a crowd”?
“I guess it’s different if you’re doing a show and there’s two people watching, I’m there too, so there’s three of us in the room but only two in the crowd and two isn’t a crowd. Maybe I’d sit down with them so there’s definitely a crowd.”
What’s the difference between an audience and a crowd?
“An audience all face in the same direction.”
Do you ever go crowd surfing, James’s Tim Booth or Peter Gabriel style?
“I went crowd surfing once when I was at a festival but that was only because it was the quickest way to get out of the hell that was that moshpit. I’ve never done it in one of my own gigs; I don’t think it works at comedy/spoken word shows.
“People are sitting down so it would put a lot of stress on their arms. I think if I went up to the front row and said ‘I’m going to Crowd surf now’, they would just look at me and remain seated.”
Can being with a crowd (of strangers) ever feel lonely when you are performing?
“I guess it’s a clear illustration of feeling like you don’t really fit in, everybody facing one way and you’re facing the other way. Sometimes I’m on stage and wish I was there in the crowd with my mates watching.
“One of the main objectives for me is making everyone in the room feel like we are all part of something together. I don’t feel lonely when I feel a connection with the crowd, so I really focus on that connection.”
Can being in a crowd ever feel lonely?
“In 2014 I was lucky enough to get the gig as the Glastonbury Festival Poet in Residence. I didn’t get a plus one and none of my mates were going that year so I was there on my own. Being around all those people having the time of their lives with their mates made me feel really lonely. I was pleased for them but also I felt cut off from the human side of the festival somehow.”
Do you prefer being in a football crowd or a concert crowd?
“I’ve had good times at both but I’ve had better times in music crowds.”
What is the smallest ever crowd you have played to?
“It depends on the room. If you have five people in a small room, it can feel like a decent crowd but the crowd that felt smallest was probably when I was on tour in 2015 doing my show about water. I’d been put in a 300-seater room and I think seven people were there, sitting quite far apart from each other. All character building, I guess.”
Owls of laughter: Rob Auton being an absolute hoot in his avian T-shirt
What is the largest ever crowd you have played to?
“The one with the most people in it? Some of the gigs at festivals I have done have had some biggish crowds. I did one at Bestival where people had climbed up trees to watch my set. That was surreal; I think it was because the person on after me was an influencer who was doing a talk on tree climbing. I love it when there’s a big crowd and the laughter kind of crowd surfs around.”
As essentially social creatures, crowd experiences are important to us. Discuss…
“Yes certainly, I think, especially after the last few years we’ve had. Isolation brought the importance of other people into focus for sure. That’s not really me discussing it is it? I certainly feel better when I’ve been around people. Touring can be quite isolating so I have to really make the most of being around people in the show.”
Do you like to stand out in a crowd?
“Absolutely not. I think that’s why I’ve put myself on stage, out of the crowd. When I’m in a crowd, I’m constantly afraid that I’m in people’s way because I’m quite tall [Rob is 6ft 2].
What do you enjoy most about performing to a crowd?
The fact that the energy is different every night. The crowd really keeps me on my toes; I can never get complacent or think ‘oh this will work’. The act of just trying to be honest instead of trying to be clever, the crowd don’t want to see someone show off really, so walking that tightrope is what I love. The unpredictability of it.”
What do you enjoy least about performing to a crowd?
“I wish it could be just slightly more predictable.”
How do you control a crowd when performing? Indeed, do you need to control a crowd?
“There’s certain tools you can develop, eye contact, level and tone of voice, speed at which you talk, etc. It’s spinning plates really, trying to keep everyone engaged, but I often remind myself that the people who have come to see me have got a lot going on in their lives and might drift off and think about something more important for a bit.
“Trying to take control of one person’s brain for an hour is difficult, never mind a crowd of people. There needs to be a certain amount of playful authority or it can descend into chaos.”
When it comes to events, from gigs to football matches, rallies to festivals, most of us only ever experience the feeling of being in the crowd. What does it feel like being the performer playing to that crowd?
“I think ‘playing’ is the right word. It feels like I’ve given myself an opportunity to be in front of people by working hard, so I just have to share what I’ve made and trust my process and work. It feels like, ‘right, let’s give this to these people, they’ve paid me to give them the best side of me, so let’s give it everything I can while I’ve still got the chance.”
The tour poster for Rob Auton’s The Crowd Show
When do you feel you are going against the tide of a crowd?
“Mainly on weekends when I’m going to do shows and other people are making plans to be with their mates. I feel like I’m swimming away from the party a bit then, but I’m very thankful that I get to do what I do so I’m not complaining one bit.”
How do you use the crowd in The Crowd Show?
“I use them by attempting to get them to surrender to the moment and give themselves fully to the space we’re sharing. I might not do that directly in the show but that’s my goal.”
Did the enforced absence of crowds in the pandemic make both you and audiences appreciate the importance of crowds in our lives even more?
“Definitely, that period made me realise how important people are in my life and my work. Without people we are absolutely done.”
What do you prefer: noise/crowds or silence/solitude?
“Both are important, but they can be quite jarring when put right next to each other. When I’m on tour and doing my show about crowds and connection and there’s lots of noise and fun and then I go back to the dressing room and it’s just me, back to the Travelodge and it’s just me, it’s quite a lot for the brain and body to take on.”
E M Forster could not have put it better than in his epigraph for Howards End: “Only connect”. Agree?
“Oh yeah, it’s all about connection, isn’t it. That’s all we have really, connecting with the moment and what’s in it. If I connect with the moment and there’s people in the moment as well and we conjure up a connection, then that’s it.”
So, why is disconnection – and division – on the increase?
“I’m not qualified to answer that.”
After talk, time and now crowds, what will you be looking at in your next show, opening at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe this summer?
“I’m doing a show about me called The Rob Auton Show. A show about me. It will be my tenth show on a specific theme, so I thought I should mark it with a theme I haven’t really explored very much.”
Rob Auton in The Hair Show: He grew his hair from September 2016 to the tour’s closing night in May 2018
Crowd pleaser: Rob Auton Fact File
Born: Fulford Hospital, York; son of a plumber.
Raised: Barmby Moor.
Lives: London.
Education: Woldgate School, Pocklington; York College, art foundation course; Newcastle University, graphic design.“Each term I had to stand in front of the class and give a presentation and I’d try to make mine funny,” he says.
Occupation: Stand-up comedian, writer, poet, illustrator, artist, actor and podcaster. Named the “Brian Cox of comedy” by the Guardian.
First job: In London, writing adverts for the House of Fraser. “But I got really frustrated because I just wanted to make things entertaining and started filling notebooks with ideas I had.”
Bright idea: Rob Auton in his Fringe debut, The Yellow Show
What happened next? “The creative director said he was holding a firework night with poetry, and that’s when I read my poems for the first time.”
And then? Began performing with Bang Said The Gun, stand-up poetry collective founded by Dan Cockrill and Martin Galton, in London in 2007.
First solo comedy performance: 2008. “I started saying things aloud to groups of people without wanting them to respond verbally. Some call this ‘stand-up comedy’, some call it ‘stand-up poetry’,” he says.
Edinburgh Fringe debut: The Yellow Show, 2012.
Subsequent Edinburgh shows: All on specific themes, The Sky Show, 2013; The Face Show, 2014; The Water Show, 2015; The Sleep Show, 2016; The Hair Show, 2017; The Talk Show, 2018; The Time Show, 2019; The Crowd Show, 2022. Subsequently toured shows nationwide.
Award: Won the Dave Funniest Joke of the Edinburgh Fring’ award in 2013 for “I heard a rumour that Cadbury is bringing out an oriental chocolate bar. Could be a Chinese Wispa”.
Post: Poet-in-residence at 2014 Glastonbury Festival.
The cover for Rob Auton’s 2021 book, I Strongly Believe In Incredible Things
Books: Poet and illustrator for Bang Said The Gun’s Mud Wrestling With Words (2013) and solo works In Heaven The Onions Make You Laugh (2013), Petrol Honey (2014) and Take Hair (2017), all published by Burning Eye Books, and I Strongly Believe In Incredible Things: A Creative Journey Through The Everyday Wonders Of Our World (2021), featuring poetic prose, short stories and biro drawings, published by Mudlark/Harper Collins.
Television appearances: BBC1, BBC 2, Channel 4 and Netflix; The Russell Howard Hour and Stand Up Central.
Radio: His work has been played on Jarvis Cocker, Cerys Matthews and Scroobius Pip’s shows.
TV acting roles: Cold Feet, 2018, playing a bad spoken-word poet at a music festival; The End Of The F***ing World, 2019, as chef Tommy; Miracle Workers, 2019, as Hank.
Podcast: In 2020, he started The Rob Auton Daily Podcast, posting a new episode every day, as it says on the tin. Amassed two million listens and won gold award for Best Daily Podcast at the 2020 British Podcast Awards.
Likes: Musician Joe Strummer; artist Francis Bacon; author Richard Brautigan.
Auton on Auton: “I am a man who likes the sky and the ground in equal measures. Sometimes I like the sky more than the ground.”
Performing philosophy: “You have to throw it to the wind, that’s when a show starts to really cook and the audience goes with it. It’s trial and error; that’s what all my shows have been.”
A fierce-faced warrior at Jorvik Viking Festival, back in York from today
THOSE pesky Vikings are invading again, promising battles and big beards, as Charles Hutchinson wrestles with what to do in half-term week.
Festival of the week: Jorvik Viking Festival 2023, today until February 19
SWORDS and seaxes are being sharpened, shields reinforced, beards groomed and tents prepared as York braces itself for the annual invasion of 9th century raiders, Norse warriors, craftspeople and traders in half-term week.
Welcoming 40,000 visitors each year, Europe’s largest Viking festival takes over the city centre with living history encampments, a combat-and-display arena and a Battle Spectacular on February 18, inspired by Arab writer Ibn Fadlan’s accounts of Viking traders.
Among further highlights will be theBest Beard Competition, today, 11am; Strongest Viking Competition, February 18, 11.15am; March To Coppergate, February 18, 1.30pm, from Dean’s Park; talks and lectures; crafting workshops and a traders’ market. Full details at: jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk
Melanie Watson in Mythos: Ragnarok: Making its York Barbican debut on the Jorvik Viking Festival Fringe
Festival Fringe event of the week: Mythos: Ragnarok, Jorvik Viking Festival, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm
MYTHOS: Ragnarok retells mythical tales of the apocalypse through wrestling, yes, wrestling, in a Fringe event new to the 2023 Viking festival programme, presented by Mythological Theatre and Phil McIntyre Live.
Half-brothers Odin and Loki must overcome primordial giants, rivals gods and goddesses and their own ambitions in their quest to seize power over the Nine Worlds through the grappling sport in Mythos’s York Barbican debut. Warning: Contains strobe lighting, scenes of violence, references to death, indirect sexual references, occasional bad language and actors specialising in professional wrestling skills. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
A chance to dress up as rebel: One of the activities at the Marvellous And Mischievous, Literature’s Young Rebels exhibition at York Art Gallery. Picture: Charlotte Graham
Exhibition of the week: Marvellous And Mischievous, Literature’s Young Rebels, York Art Gallery, until June 4
OPENING just in time for half-term week, York Art Gallery presents the British Library’s touring exhibition of memorable characters from children’s literature.
Favourites such as Pippi Longstocking, Jane Eyre, Matilda, Dirty Bertie, Zog, Tracey Beaker, Peter Pan and Dennis the Menace feature in this exploration of characters who break the rules and defy conventions. Around 40 books, manuscripts and original artwork from 300 years of literary rebels, outsiders and spirited survivors will be complemented by an activity room with a busy programme of workshops and events.
Anastasia Bevan: Soprano soloist at York Guildhall Orchestra’s all-Beethoven concert tonight
Classical concert of the week: York Guildhall Orchestra, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
YORK Guildhall Orchestra will be joined by Leeds Festival Chorus for the Angels’ Hallelujah Chorus, from the oratorio Christ On The Mount Of Olives in a wholly Beethoven night.
The Egmont Overture and Fidelio Overture and the Meeresstille und Glückliche Fahrt setting of two Goethe poems feature too before the climactic, gloriously melodious Symphony No. 9, “The Choral”, billed as “a real work out for orchestra, choir, and soloists” Anastasia Bevan, Sarah Winn, Sam Knock and Matthew Kellett. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Dnipro Opera take to the York Barbican stage in Carmen
Ukrainians in York: Dnipro Opera inCarmen, York Barbican, Sunday, 7pm
DNIPRO Opera, from Ukraine, perform Georges Bizet’s opera of fiery passion, jealousy and violence in 19th century Seville in French with English surtitles (CORRECT), to the accompaniment of a 30-strong orchestra.
Carmen charts the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who falls head over heels in love with Carmen, a seductive, free-spirited femme fatale, abandoning his childhood sweetheart and neglecting his military duties, only to lose the fickle firebrand to the glamorous toreador Escamillo. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The double act that nearly was…and now is: Danielle Reid’s Charlie Chaplin and Jerone Marsh-Reid’s Stan Laurel in Told By An Idiot’s Charlie & Stan
Double act of the week: Told By An Idiot in Charlie & Stan, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm, plus 2pm, Thursday and 2,30pm, Saturday
IN 1910 the unknown Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel set sail for New York on a voyage of discovery as part of Fred Karno’s music hall troupe, sharing a cabin and then spending two years together touring North America, with Stan as Charlie’s understudy.
In a fantastical reimagining that plays fast and loose with the facts, Told By An Idiot tells the story of “the greatest comedy double act that nearly was” in Paul Hunter’s homage to the English comedy legends pre-fame, played out by Danielle (CORRECT) Bird’s Chaplin and Jerone (CORRECT) Marsh-Reid’s Laurel in the style of a silent comedy to a Zoe Rahman piano score. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Katie Melia’s Charity Hope Valentine in York Stage’s Sweet Charity
Musical of the week: York Stage in Sweet Charity, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Tuesday to Sunday, 7.30pm, except Sunday; 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday matinees
THE John Cooper Studio will be transformed into a seedily seductive Fandango Ballroom from St Valentine’s Day for Sweet Charity, the 1966 Broadway musical with a book by Neil Simon, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields.
Played by Katie Melia, Charity Hope Valentine fantasises about three things in life: romance, luxury and escaping the questionable ballroom clientele. Lovable, gullible and spirited, she longs to find a lover who can sweep her off her feet but Charity keeps handing over her heart and earnings to the wrong man. Hey big spender, box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Velma Celli: On song in a night of drag diva belters at Pocklington Arts Centre
Drag show of the week: Velma Celli, Pocklington Arts Centre, Thursday, 8pm
YORK drag queen supreme Velma Celli, alias West End musical actor Ian Stroughair, promises an overindulgent diva fiesta in celebration of the songs, mannerisms and behaviour of Mariah, Whitney, Aretha, Cher, Britney and many more.
Cue cheeky impressions, belting singing and saucy banter from the international star and creator of A Brief History Of Drag, Me And My Divas, Equinox and Irreplaceable (in praise of David Bowie). Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
The Forest Awakens: The new hole at The Hole In Wand Yorkmagical golf course
In Focus: The Hole In Wand York on course for more magic at wizard visitor attraction
FORE! Watch out, The Hole In Wand York, the “World’s Most Magical Golf Course”, has a new woodland hole at the Potions Cauldron visitor attraction in the Coppergate Shopping Centre, York.
In a magical makeover, wands have been raised and spells cast to create The Forest Awakens hole and several additions for wizards to enjoy, including a new quest.
Opened last May, the award-winning mini golf venue also has upgraded the tavern area to help with the visitor flow and journey.
For The Forest Awakens, a hole based on the North York Moors National Park’s Dalby Forest, near Pickering, a new scent and soundtrack have been added to the room to create an immersive experience.
The hole places wizards among the trees as they aim for a hole in one, looked on by magical creatures of the darkened and mythical forest.
Chief Wizard Oliver Brayshaw says: “‘We’re excited to reveal the new holes; we know that our visitors are really going to enjoy them. Both Hole 6 and 7 are quite eerie but great fun.
“We have designed and built the holes and upgraded the tavern with the visitor journey in mind to ensure that everyone that visits has a fantastic experience.”
At The Hole In Wand York, in Coppergate Walk, wizard players take on nine magical golf holes. Along the “course” are bubbling cauldrons, magical portals and a giant picture frame where they become part of the painting. Visitors can do cast a Light Spell to illuminate the way in the dark hole and awaken the spirits.
At the end of the adventure, players will find out if they have the magical powers of a Serpent, Basilisk, Unicorn or Wizard. Every player will receive a magic potion gift to take home and hopefully find Grobblenook.
Wizard golf with a potion drink costs from £6.99 per person. The minimum age for players is three and the maximum group size is six wizards with wands. To book tickets, go to: theholeinwand.com/york
York Ice Trail: Taking the theme of A Journey Through Time in 2023
AS the new Ice Age dawns in the city centre, Charles Hutchinson has advice on winter warmers to discover.
Free event of the week: York Ice Trail, York city centre, today and tomorrow, from 10am
YORK Ice Trail’s theme for 2023 invites city-centre visitors to time-travel to prehistoric ages, walk through history and step into the future for A Journey Through Time.
Organised by Make It York, the free trail features ice sculptures sponsored and conceived by York businesses and designed and made by ice specialists Icebox for a second year. Look out for the National Railway Museum’s interactive sculpture in High Petergate celebrating Flying Scotsman’s centenary, one of 36 sculptures standing to attention in York’s streets this weekend. Icebox will be doing live ice carving at St Sampson’s Square.
Free trail maps will be available from the Visitor Information Centre on Parliament Street or can be downloaded online at visityork.org/ice.
The poster for Fool(ish)’s improvised comedy show Fooling Around
Hot date of the week: Fool(ish) in Fooling Around, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Tuesday, 7.30pm
JOIN Fool(ish) for Fooling Around, an improvised romantic comedy cum early Valentine’s evening of love, laughter and hand-crafted chaos. Taking audience stories and suggestions, the Chicago-trained York improvisers create a spontaneous series of inspired love-scenes.
From first dates to happy never afters, Fooling Around aims to sweep you off your feet in its off-the-cuff Yorkshire twist on American long-form comedy on the theme of dreams, desires and total disasters. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Platform for song:Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s Hello, Dolly! cast members Jamie Benson as Barnaby Tucker, left, Helen Spencer as Dolly Levi and Stuart Sellens as Cornelius Hackl
Musical of the week: Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company in Hello, Dolly!, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, February 8 to 11, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee
KATHRYN Lay makes her JRTC directorial debut alongside musical director husband Martin Lay as the Joseph Rowntree Theatre’s in-house fundraising company kicks off the Haxby Road theatre’s spring season with glitz, glamour and a troupe of tap-dancing waiters in the Broadway classic Hello, Dolly!
Featuring Put On Your Sunday Clothes, It Only Takes A Moment and the title number, Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart’s musical is the JRTC’s most ambitious production to date. NHS psychiatrist Helen Spencer plays Dolly Levi, the strong-willed widow and self-proclaimed match-making meddler, who strives to woo tight-fisted millionaire Horace Vandergelder while spreading joy and confusion among everyone she encounters in 1885 New York. Box office:01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Reflective:Harry Baker will be feeling Unashamed at The Crescent, York
Poet of the week: Say Owt presents Harry Baker: Unashamed, The Crescent, York, Wednesday, doors, 7.30pm
WORLD poetry slam champion, poet and maths graduate Harry Baker likes to write about the “important stuff”. Hope, dinosaurs, German falafel-spoons and such like.
His work has been shared on TED.com and viewed millions of times worldwide, as well as being translated into 21 languages. Post pandemic lockdowns, he is delighted to be back on stage with his “most heartfelt, playful, unashamedly Harry Bakery” show to date. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Richard Dawson: The past, present and future is here at Selby Town Hall
One for the future: Mediale presents: Richard Dawson, Selby Town Hall, February 11, doors, 8pm; on stage, 8.30pm; no support act
AUDACIOUS Northumbrian psych-folk and exploratory rock singer-songwriter Richard Dawson is welcomed to Selby Town Hall for the opening night of Selby Creates’ winter arts programme.
Dawson will be showcasing his latest album, last November’s The Ruby Cord, a grim, sinister vision of times ahead that journeys into an immersive, solipsistic metaverse 500 years from now to complete a trilogy focused on the medieval past (on Peasant), the present (on 2020) and the sci-fi future. Box office: selbytownhall.co.uk.
Steve Knightley: New one-man show in Pocklington
Solo venture of the week: Steve Knightley, Pocklington Arts Centre, February 11, 8pm
ONE half of folk/roots duo Show Of Hands since 1992, Steve Knightley will be performing material that surfaced over two years of isolation and inactivity in his new one-man show.
Insights, anecdotes and a bunch of new songs will attempt to chronicle and draw a line under an “extra episode in all our lives”, alongside Knightley’s headline-refreshed renditions of Bristol Slaver and You’ll Get By and covers of Forever Young and The Boys Of Summer. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Resol String Quartet: Stepping in for the Fitzwilliam String Quartet tonight
Late replacement of the week: Late Music presents Music On The Edge: The Lapins, today, 1pm; Resol String Quartet, tonight, 7.30pm, both at Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York
AFTER the Fitzwilliam String Quartet unavoidably had to pull out of Late Music’s February evening concert, Fitzwilliam viola player Alan George has found a replacement quartet at very short notice. Step forward the Resol String Quartet, formed at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2018.
“They came up to St Andrews for a masterclass with us – plus a concert in the town a few weeks later – and everyone was very impressed,” says Alan. “We’ve already recommended them for our university series.”
Resol String Quartet’s alternative programme of string quartet music for tonight features works by Haydn, Julian Broughton and Beethoven and Alasdair Morton-Teng’s arrangements of traditional tunes.
Late Music’s February brace of concerts opens with The Lapins – Susie Hodder-Williams, flute, Chris Caldwell, saxophone, and James Boyd, guitar – performing Music On The Edge at lunchtime.
World premieres of David Lancaster’s Au Lapin Agile, Gwilym Simcock’s Suite for Solo Flute and new works by David Power and Hayley Jenkins will be complemented by the British premiere of Athena Corcoran-Tadd’s Confluence (Hope Is A Boat) and Bach and Tippett pieces. Box office: latemusic.org or on the door.
The Lapins: Performing Music On The Edge at Late Music’s afternoon concert today
Relaxing afternoon: Lillian Hetherington, Mille Mazzone and Michael Capecci,Dementia Friendly Tea Concert, St Chad’s Church, Campleshon Road, York, February 16, 2.30pm
UNIVERSITY of York music students Lillian Hetherington, Mille Mazzone and Michael Capecci play violin and piano works by Wieniawski, Schostakovich and Dvorak.
As usual, 45 minutes of music will be followed by tea and homemade cakes in the church hall in a relaxed afternoon gathering ideal for those who may not feel comfortable at a formal classical concert. No charge but donations are welcome for hire costs and Alzheimer’s charities.
Re-enchanted: Josie Long at the double at The Crescent. Picture: Matt Crockett
Longer time in York: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Josie Long: Re-Enchantment extra matinee, The Crescent, York, February 18, 3pm
AFTER her 7.30pm gig sold out – as had her last appearance at The Crescent in Lefty Scum – comedian Josie Long has added a matinee performance of Re-Enchantment. Inspired by London feminist writer Lola Olufemi’s sentiment that “after defeat, re-enchantment is necessary”, Josie’s new stand-up set is infused with humanity, compassion and some brief political rants.
The triple Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee, underdog Fringe hero and delirious new mother returns with a show about the changes wrought by time, passion, moving to Scotland and loving the world under – let’s face it – difficult circumstances.
“Josie is one of our all-time favourite comedians, so we’re very excited to bring her new show to York and add an extra matinee show as well,” says Burning Duck promoter Al Greaves. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
In Focus: York Ice Trail’s 36 sculptures this weekend
A Journey Through Time, Parliament Street – Make It York
Growing The Future, Parliament Street – Dalby Forest
Cash-asaurus T-Rex, Parliament Street – YorkMix Radio
York to London Skyline, Parliament Street – Grand Central
Atey Ate Miles Per Hour, High Ousegate – Ate O’Clock
121 years of making magic, Spurriergate – Grand Opera House, York
Every Moment Matters, North Street – Park Inn by Radisson
Where ever I lay my hat…. , Station Rise – The Grand, York
100 years of LNER, Station Road – LNER
York Quest App: The Roman, Micklegate – York BID
The Enchanted Unicorn, Middletons – The Hole In Wand
Ginny the Dragon, Middletons – York Gin
20,000 Leagues Under the Ouse, Middletons – City Cruises
The Monstrous Chimera, Middletons – Middletons
York Quest App: The Butcher, Kings Staith – York BID
Coppergate Viking, Coppergate Centre – Coppergate Centre
E.T. Comes Home, Piccadilly – Spark: York
York Quest App: Dick Turpin, Walmgate – York BID
Adventure Is Out There, The Stonebow – Hiscox
York’s Chocolate Story Clock, Kings Square – York’s Chocolate Story
Erupted Volcano, Grape Lane – Lucia Bar
The York Rose Diamond by Kay Bradley, Low Petergate – Bradley’s Jewellers
Minus 200 Degrees Coffee, Low Petergate – 200 Degrees Coffee
York Quest App: Anne Lister, Goodramgate – York BID
Gothic Grotesque, Minster Piazza – York Minster
Celebrating 100 years of Flying Scotsman, High Petergate – National Railway Museum
York Quest App: Guy Fawkes, Gillygate – York BID
The Pearly Cow, Clifton – No .1 Guesthouse
Layers of Time, Exhibition Square, St Leonard’s Place – North York Moors National Park
York Quest App: Wally Herbert, Museum Street – York BID
Ryedale Roman Hoard, Museum Gardens – Yorkshire Museums Trust
Greek Minotaur, Lendal – The Judge’s Lodging
Busloads To Love!, St Helen’s Square – York Park & Ride
The Bettys Express Train, Davygate – Bettys
Fire Breathing Dinosaur, St Sampson’s Square – Cut and Craft
Live Carving by Icebox, St Sampson’s Square – York Ice Trail
Fact File
THE last York Ice Trail took place in March 2022 after a pandemic-enforced one-year hiatus. More than 40 ice sculptures lined the city streets, with 25,000 people participating in the trail.
Post-pandemic, York Ice Trail appealed to more residents than pre-pandemic in 2020, increasing from 23 per cent to 39 per cent.
Highlights
THE grounds of Middletons Hotel will be transformed into a mystical world of mythology, including four ice sculptures and photo opportunities throughout the day. York Gin, City Cruises and The Potions Cauldron will be on site, with crafts, competitions and surprise creatures.
Sister proper The Judges Lodgings features an ice sculpture too. Check out the Thwaites Shire Horses in all their finery.
On the anniversary front, the National Railway Museum celebrates Flying Scotsman’s centenary with an interactive sculpture. The Grand Opera House marks 121 years of making musical magic and LNER highlights its 100-year milestone.
York’s chocolate heritage will be rendered in ice with York’s Chocolate Story’s working Terry’s Clock Tower with a hot chocolate twist.
Learn more about York’s history with York BID’s six sculptures, all inspired by York historical figures that can be found on the York Quest app.
Busloads To Love, by main sponsor York Park & Ride, offers the chance to be the driver and take a selfie. The sculpture, celebrating the importance of the bus in public transport, will be situated on St Helen’s Square.
Travel from York to London with Grand Central’s Skyline sculpture, or be transported into another space and dimension with Hiscox’s adventure-bound sit-on space shuttle. For those wanting to go back to the future, discover Ate O’Clock’s DeLorean-inspired Atey Ate Miles Per Hour sculpture.
Live ice carving across the weekend at St Sampson’s Square will show how Icebox’s sculptors bring the ice trail to life.
Quotes
Sarah Loftus, Make It York managing director, says: “York Ice Trail 2023 will spark imaginations, transporting visitors across time and dimension from sculpture to sculpture. Our ice partners at Icebox have done a phenomenal job at bringing the ideas to life and we can’t wait to see all 36 sculptures line the streets of York.”
Councillor Keith Aspden, City of York Council leader, says: “The York Ice Trail brings imaginative, ‘cool’ and unique sculptures to York’s streets and is much loved by residents and visitors, so it’s excellent to see the event return once again. This year’s theme and creations are paying a fitting tribute to York’s rich history and imagination of our local businesses.”
Greg Pittard, Icebox managing director, says: “It is our privilege to be returning as the sculptors for the second year for York Ice Trail 2023. From mammoths to DeLoreans, the carvers have been working non-stop since late-August to deliver A Journey Through Time. This year’s theme has inspired some incredible designs and we can’t wait to unveil all of this year’s ice creations.”
John Godfrey, of First Bus in York, says: “We would encourage everyone planning to come and enjoy the Ice Trail to think about sustainable travel to get here and consider leaving the car at home or using the Park and Ride network. This helps avoid congestion, which makes travel around York easier, especially with such an event creating a bustling and lively atmosphere.”
Chris Helme: Frontman at the helm of The Seahorsesfrom 1996 to 1999...alongside the guitar pyrotechnics of Stone Roses old boy John Squire
IN this special extended edition, Two Big Egos In A Small Car podcast duo Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson interview York musician Chris Helme, co-founder of The Seahorses with Stone Roses guitarist John Squire.
As he marks 25 years since their debut, Do It Yourself, by revisiting the songs on a DIY solo acoustic tour, Chris spills the beans on his journey from busker to Glastonbury-playing frontman, Hollywood recording sessions with Tony Visconti, a top two album and a parting of the ways brought on by that familiar curse, musical differences.
John Ledger: Back To Normalism artist at Micklegate Social and Fossgate Social
IT’S time for back-to-normal service to resume as Charles Hutchinson wipes the sleep from the eyes of his diary for 2023.
Exhibition launch of the week: Back To Normalism, by John Ledger, Micklegate Social, Micklegate, and Fossgate Social, Fossgate, York, January 13 to March 13
ON the portentous Friday the 13th, the preview of Barnsley artist John Ledger’s solo show Back To Normalism begins at 7pm at Micklegate Social.
Ledger looks at the uncanny reality that has unfolded since the pandemic started, along with the underlying weirdness of trying to patch up the black holes in our collective experience of time, in a show about cultures uprooted and disjointed by a series of disasters and distorted by the consequences of trying to repeatedly return to a “before” moment.
Baaaaaarrrrgggghhhhhhbican frustration! Ricky Gervais’s brace of Armageddon dates at York Barbican sold out in 27 minutes
Apocalypse very soon: Ricky Gervais, Armageddon, York Barbican, Tuesday and Wednesday 7.30pm precisely
ARMAGEDDON is not the end of the world as we know it but the name of grouchy comedian, actor, screenwriter, director, singer, podcaster and awards ceremony host Ricky Gervais’s new tour show.
Gervais, 61, will be torching “woke over-earnestness and the contradictions of modern political correctness while imagining how it all might end for our ‘one species of narcissistic ape’,” according to the Guardian review of his Manchester Apollo gig. Box office? Oh dear, you’re too late for Armageddon; both nights have sold out.
Chris Helme: Revisiting his days in The Seahorses
Love Is The Law unto himself: Chris Helme, solo Do It Yourself 25th Anniversary Tour, Pocklington Arts Centre, January 14, 8pm
YORK singer-songwriter Chris Helme is marking the 25th anniversary of The Seahorses’ only album, Do It Yourself, released on May 26 1997 in guitarist John Squire’s short-lived post-Stone Roses project with Helme and fellow York musician Stuart Fletcher on bass.
Recorded in North Hollywood, California, the album was pipped to the number one spot by Gary Barlow while debut single Love Is The Law reached number three. A further highlight of Helme’s solo acoustic set will be Love Me And Leave Me, Liam Gallagher’s first songwriting credit, no less. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
The Lonesome Ace Stringband: Turning bluegrass bluer and grassier at Selby Town Hall
Better late than never: The Lonesome Ace Stringband, Selby Town Hall, January 18, 8pm
RE-SCHEDULED from January 20 2022, The Lonesome Ace Stringband’s gig features righteous folk and country music, played by an old-time band with bluegrass chops and a feel for deep grooves.
Band members Chris Coole, banjo, John Showman, fiddle, and Max Heineman, bass, are three Canadians lost in the weird and wonderful traditional country music of the American South, having served their time in New Country Rehab, The David Francey Band, The Foggy Hogtown Boys and Fiver. Box office: 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk.
Robert Gammon: Relaxed concert of piano music at St Chad’s
Afternoon entertainment: Robert Gammon, Dementia Friendly Tea Concert, St Chad’s Church, Campleshon Road, York, January 19, 2.30pm
AT the first Dementia Friendly Tea Concert of 2023, pianist Robert Gammon plays J S Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in B flat major from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2, Mozart’s Piano Sonata in B flat major K. 570 and Schubert’s serene Impromptu in A flat major, D. 935 No. 2.
As usual, 45 minutes of music will be followed by tea and homemade cakes in the church hall. Next up will be University of York Students (violin and piano) on February 16. No charge, but donations welcome for church funds and Alzheimer’s charities.
Tales From Acorn Wood: Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s stories take to the York Theatre Royal stage
Children’s show of the month: Tales From Acorn Wood, York Theatre Royal, January 26, 4pm; January 27, 11am and 2pm
NLP’s world premiere staging of Tales From Acorn Wood is based on favourite stories from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s lift-the flap books for pre-school children, featuring the sock-losing old Fox, the tired Rabbit, Postman Bear’s special surprise and Pig and Hen’s game of hide-and-seek.
Suitable for one-year-olds and upwards or anyone who loves books, this 50-minute touring show is full of songs, puppetry, projection and flap-lifting technology. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Rob Auton: Getting mighty Crowded in his new stand-up show
Crowd pleaser: Rob Auton, The Crowd Show, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 24, 8pm; Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds, February 25, 7.30pm
CHARMINGLY eccentric, uplifting and poetic writer, comedian, actor and podcaster Rob Auton returns home to York on the 2023 leg of The Crowd Show tour.
After his philosophical observations on the colour yellow, the sky, faces, water, sleep, hair, talking and time, now he discusses crowds, people and connection in a night of comedy and theatre “suitable for anyone who wants to be in the crowd for this show”. Box office: York, tickets.41monkgate.co.uk; Leeds, hydeparkbookclub.co.uk.
Stewart Lee: Three nights, fully booked already, at York Theatre Royal in March
Too late for tickets already:Stewart Lee, Basic Lee, York Theatre Royal, March 20 to 22, 7.30pm
AFTER filming last May’s three-night run of his Snowflake/Tornado double bill for broadcast on the BBC, spiky comedian Stewart Lee returns to York with his back-to-basics new show.
Following a decade of ground-breaking high-concept gigs involving overarched interlinked narratives, Lee enters the post-pandemic era in streamlined solo stand-up mode: one man, one microphone, and one microphone in the wings in case the one on stage breaks. Tickets update: Sold out, basically.
Hands up who’s starring in Heathers: The black comedy musical to die for is heading to the Grand Opera House
Too cool for school: Heathers The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, May 9 to 13
WELCOME to Westerberg High, where Veronica Sawyer is just another nobody dreaming of a better day. When she joins the beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers, however, her craving for popularity may finally come true, whereupon mysterious teen rebel JD teaches her that it might kill to be a nobody, but it is murder being a somebody.
Winner of the What’sOnStage Award for Best New Musical, Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe’s black comedy rock musical, based on the 1988 cult film, makes its York debut, produced by Bill Kenwright and Paul Taylor-Mills, directed by Andy Fickman and choreographed by Gary Lloyd. Box office: atgtickets.com/York.
What is success, ponders Sara Pascoe, comedian, presenter, actress, writer and mum, at York Barbican
A COMEDIAN’S quest, a musical Nativity, winter storytelling, open studios, folk luminaries and supreme songwriters put a spring in Charles Hutchinson’s step as the season for scarves arrives
Comedy gig of the week: Sara Pascoe: Success Story, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm
EXPECT “name-dropping, personal stories and anecdotes” from comedian Sara Pascoe, who will be mulling over status, celebrities, her new fancy lifestyle versus infertility, her multiple therapists and career failures in Success Story.
“What I want to explore is how do we define success and when do we define it,” she says. “Does it change with age? Do we only want things we can’t have? When we attain our goals, do we move the goal posts and become unsatisfied with what we’ve got and want something else instead?” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Mayhem incoming: Pick Me Up Theatre’s cast for Nativity The Musical
Christmas musical of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Nativity! The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, November 24 to 26, 29 and 30, December 2, 7.30pm; November 26, 2.30pm; November 27, 3pm; December 1, 2pm, 7pm; December 3, 12pm, 4pm
ROBERT Readman directs York company Pick Me Up Theatre in Debbie Isitt and Nicky Ager’s humorous musical, built around St Bernadette’s School’s calamitous attempt to mountain a musical Nativity play.
Unfortunately, teacher Mr Maddens has promised that a Hollywood producer will attend the show to turn it into a film.
Join him, his crazy teaching assistant Mr Poppy and the unruly children as they struggle to make everyone’s Christmas wish come true to the songsheet of Sparkle And Shine, Nazareth, One Night One Moment, She’s The Brightest Star and a heap of new Yuletide songs. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or atgtickts.com/york.
Ye Wretched Strangers Storybook: Tales from North America and Britain at York Mansion House
Promenade theatre event of the week: Ye Wretched Strangers Storybook, York Mansion House, St Helen’s Square, York, tonight, 7.30pm
YE Company of Wretched Strangers, a transatlantic community theatre troupe of performers and storytellers from Yorkshire and Wisconsin, present sometimes comic, sometimes serious, always intimate and often poignant tales from Britain and North America, spanning 1799 to 1942, in the refurbished home to the Lord Mayor of York.
Laughter, smiles and a tear or two will be elicited by A Christmas Eve Ghost Story, the Creation Myth of the Ojibwe Tribe of Native Americans, A York World War Two Tale and other stories of ordinary people often forgotten by history on both sides of the Atlantic. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/ye-wretched-strangers-storybook/
Wizard, photographic collage, by Claire Morris, on show at the Winter Artists Open House
Christmas shopportunity of the week: Winter Artists Open House, South Bank, York, today, 11am to 4pm
FIVE York artists are opening studios today in South Bank with an eye to the Christmas market. At Kay Dower’s Corner Gallery, at 2 Telford Terrace, her acrylic paintings and prints of corners of York, the Yorkshire coast and quirky still-life objects will be complemented by photographic collages by Claire Morris, inspired by vintage books.
Kate Buckley’s “origami meets porcelain” sculptural ceramics and Marie Murphy’s modern, geometric paintings, prints and illustrations of urban landscapes can be found at 31 Wentworth Road. Mixed-media artist Jill Tattersall’s vivid, dreamlike artworks in paints, inks and dyes on handmade paper await at the Wolf At The Door studio, 15 Cygnet Street.
Saxon: Seize a ticket for their Seize The Day date at York Barbican
Heavy metal gig of the week: Saxon, Seize The Day World Tour, Hull City Hall, Tuesday; York Barbican, Wednesday, 7.30pm
BARNSLEY heavy metal veterans Saxon bring their 23rd studio album, February’s Carpe Diem, to stage life, led as ever by Biff Byford. “Can’t wait to get out on a real tour again, it’s gonna be monumental!” he says. “See you all out there. Seize the day!” Special guests will be Diamond Head. Box office: Hull, hulltheatres.co.uk; York, yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Jane Weaver: Purveyor of an eco-friendly hum and pop for post-new-normal times
Songwriters of the week: Mary Gauthier & Jaimee Harris, Wednesday; Jane Weaver & Jake Mehew, Thursday, both at The Crescent, York, 7.30pm
NEW Orleans roots singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier is backing up June’s release of Dark Enough To See The Stars with a rare UK tour this month. The album mourns the loss of dear friends John Prine, Nanci Griffith and David Olney, but the optimistic side to Gauthier bursts through songs of new love and personal contentment.
Her seated show is followed the next night by Jane Weaver’s standing gig. An unshakable leading light of Britain’s experimental pop music landscape, this Manchester musician released her latest album, Flock, last year with its eco-friendly hum and pop for post-new-normal times. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Oysterband: Bound for Pocklington Arts Centre
Rare sighting of the week: Oysterband, Pocklington Arts Centre, Thursday, 8pm
OYSTERBAND play Pocklington as the only northern gig in their 2022 autumn diary. Formed in Canterbury in 1976, the veteran six-piece still perform with the spirit a punk ceilidh band but with depth and sensitivity to their songwriting, coupled with the strength of John Jones’s voice.
Songs from the five-time BBC Folk Award winners’ March album, Read The Sky, are sure to feature. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Bellowhead: Reuniting for first tour in six years
Folk event of the year: Bellowhead’s Broadside Tenth Anniversary Tour, Harrogate Convention Centre, Friday, doors 7pm for 8pm start
FOLK big band Bellowhead are reuniting for a “special one-off” tenth anniversary tour of their fourth album, 2012’s Broadside, their first Top 20 entry in the UK Official Album Charts, fuelled by such favourites as Roll The Woodpile Down and 10,000 Miles Away.
Support comes from Stroud fiddler Sam Sweeney, who served in Bellowhead from 2008 to their last tour in 2016 and is now back on the front line alongside Jon Boden and John Spiers. Tickets update: Sold out; for returns only, contact 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk.
“The hair is fun, the live performance is way funnier,” said the London Evening Standard of Maisie Adam’s haircut, the one to rival David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane for multiple choices across one barnet. Picture: Matt Crockett
MAISIE Adam took her first stage steps in youth theatre sessions in the Harrogate Theatre Studio.
Born in Pannal just outside the spa town, this former head girl at St Aidan’s High School would later return to the top-floor Studio in her fledgling days on the comedy circuit to perform at the Harrogate Comedy Festival.
Now, comedian, actor and writer Maisie is looking forward to tomorrow’s homecoming when she graduates to Harrogate Theatre’s main stage on her first UK tour, Buzzed.
The gig has sold out, as has tonight’s date at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, although tickets remain available for The Leadmill, Sheffield, next Thursday.
“It’s super-exciting,” says a suitably buzzing Maisie, 28. “It’s wonderful any time I go back, but going there with this show, in that specific venue, will be special. Whenever I’ve performed there, it’s always been in the Studio, but this time, being in the big room, feels very touching.
“I’ll be channelling Tim Stedman,” says Maisie Adam, who every winter visits Harrogate Theatre’s pantomime, led by the boundless comic buffoonery of Stedman’s village idiot, pictured here in Snow White
“Me and my family go to the pantomime every year to watch Tim Stedman. He is pantomime! He’s fantastic. That’s the level of comedy you have to bring to the stage, so I’ll be channelling Tim Stedman!”
Post-Harrogate Youth Theatre and the National Youth Theatre, Maisie trained at East 15 Acting School in Southend, graduating with a BA in Acting and Community Theatre. However, after initial plans to act and write, including a Laurence Marks sitcom-writing mentorship in 2015, a return home to Yorkshire and temp jobs led to her comedy road-to-Damascus conversion in 2016.
Wholly inexperienced, Maisie did a full hour’s set in her stand-up debut gig at Ilkley Literature Festival as her first show took shape under the title of Living On The Edge.
Acting involves subsuming yourself to play another character, sometimes using it as a shield for shyness, in a team environment, whereas stand-up comedy is all about being yourself on stage, on your own, maybe even playing an exaggerated version of you, performing your own words.
“I think it’s that whole thing of fear,” starts Maisie. Not in comedy, but in theatre. “When you’re doing comedy, you’re in control. If it goes well, you get all the cheers. If it goes wrong, you can’t blame anyone else.
“If you’re continually doing the same play, you can get bored, but with stand-up, it’s different every night,” says Maisie. Picture: Matt Crockett
“But with acting, you could be a really good actor, but if the script isn’t good, or the other actors aren’t particularly good, or the director isn’t, or the show just isn’t working, you’re not in control.
“With comedy, there’s definitely that thing of being an extension of yourself, and there’s loads you can do with that, because it’s a chance to improvise.
“The more you do comedy, the better you get at it – and it’s fun as well! If you’re continually doing the same play, you can get bored, but with stand-up, it’s different every night, the venue, the audience, the interaction.”
Maisie made rapid advances on the comedy circuit with her anecdotal material and convivial manner. Within months of that Ilkley debut she won the UK’s largest stand-up contest, So You Think You’re Funny?, followed a year later by the Amused Moose National Comic Award for Vague, her 2018 debut Edinburgh Fringe show about being diagnosed with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy at 14.
Television appearances on Have I Got News For You, A League of Their Own, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Mock The Week and The Last Leg have piled up, and a podcast with fellow comedian Tom Lucy, That’s A First, has been running since 2019.
“The worst thing that can happen with comedy is that you feel safe and secure,” says Maisie. “If that happens, you’re not doing it right.” Picture: Matt Crockett
She loves the unpredictability of stand-up, the need to stay on her toes and keep her comedy radar tuned. “The worst thing that can happen with comedy is that you feel safe and secure. If that happens, you’re not doing it right,” says Maisie.
“You should want anything to happen on the night, and as long as you have a loose structure, knowing that ‘x’ and ‘y’ will be happening, then you can move things around and be open to anything.”
Buzzed, her follow-up to her 2019 show Hang Fire, has been extended from the regulatory 60-minute maximum at the Edinburgh Fringe – or 70 minutes as the Guardian review said – for the 2022-2023 tour. “It was 60 minutes,” says Maisie. “It was just that when you have other shows going on before and after you every day, that day the shows were running ten minutes late.”
Buzzed now opens with a 30-minute “very spontaneous, anything-can-happen” first half, then a break, followed by the full Buzzed show. One that the Guardian reviewer said was “bursting with puppyish pleasure”.
“Don’t tell me about reviews,” steps in Maisie. “I don’t read them. You’re being judged by someone who’s never done comedy but just goes and watches. That would be like me ‘reviewing’ Wimbledon. I mean, I enjoy watching tennis but why would I need to review what was good about someone’s tennis performance?!”
Leeds United: One of the two great loves of Maisie Adam’s life
While on the subject of sport, Wikipedia’s Maisie profile sums up her personal life as: Lives in Brighton. Engaged to Mike Dobinson as of December 2021. Also a Leeds United fan.
Mr Dobinson or the maddening LUFC, Maisie, who do you love more? “I think they’re of equal status! They’re the two loves of my life. 100 per cent.” One is much better for her mental health, however, she adds.
Her relationships, whether in love or with houseplants, feature in Buzzed and so does the footballing aplomb of 5ft 11inch Maisie. “I played at a relatively high standard as a kid. I got to county level,” she says. “I still play in a league in Brighton, but more of that in the show.”
Why settle in Brighton, Maisie? “I just needed to be nearer London, but the idea of living in London filled me with dread.”
Maisie Adam: Buzzed, Leeds City Varieties, tonight, 8pm, sold out; Harrogate Theatre, tomorrow, 8pm, sold out; The Leadmill, Sheffield, October 13, doors 7pm; Pocklington Arts Centre, February 17 2023 and The Wardrobe, Leeds, March 3 2023. Box office: Sheffield, 0114 272 7040 or leadmill.co.uk; Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; Leeds, 0113 3838800 or theboxoffice.com.
