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More Things To Do in York and beyond as Plan B doesn’t stop the Christmas buzz. List No. 60, courtesy of The Press, York

CHRISTMAS shows, Christmas concerts, Christmas plays, ‘tis the season for Charles Hutchinson’s diary to be jolly full.  

Jason Manford: “Exercising the old chuckle muscle”

Busy week for comedy: Jason Manford: Like Me, York Barbican, Thursday and Friday, 7.30pm.

SALFORD’S Jason Manford revives his funny-bloke-next-door schtick for Like Me, his follow-up to “the fun we had on my last tour”, Muddle Class, a show about turning from working class to middle class that played York Barbican in February and October 2018.

“In these trying times, it’s always important to be able to get away for a couple of hours and exercise the old chuckle muscle,” reckons Manford, 40, who has tickets available for both nights at yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Meanwhile, Jack Dee’s Off The Telly gig, moved from April 25 2020 to tomorrow night, has sold out. So too have Alan Carr’s Regional Trinket shows on December 18 and 19.

Filey Brigg, seascape, by Rosie Dean at Village Gallery, York

Exhibition of the week: Rosie Dean, Seascapes, Village Gallery, Castlegate, York, until January 22, open 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday.

SEASCAPE artist Rosie Dean has taken part in York Open Studios for the past ten years. Now she is exhibiting at Simon Main’s Village Gallery through the winter months.

“I feel total peace breathing the ozone, staring out to sea and focusing on the horizon line, sensing all around me and feeling the elements around me, the sights and sounds, the salt in the air. Pure contentment,” says Rosie.

Levellers: Part of York Barbican’s busy week for concerts. Picture: Steve Gullick

Curiosity concert of the week: The Magical Music Of Harry Potter Live In Concert With The Weasleys, York Barbican, Monday 8pm.

POTTY about Potter? Then exit those Shambles shops and head to York Barbican for a night of music from Harry’s films and the West End musical, performed by the London Symphonic & Philharmonic Film Orchestra with the Weasley brothers in tow.

Original actors, magic, star soloists, a choir and the orchestra combine in the debut European tour’s programme of John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicolas Hooper and Alexander Desplat’s soundtrack magical moments, plus selections from the Harry Potter And The Cursed Child score. 

More music in York Barbican’s crammed pre-Christmas diary comes from Levellers, Brighton’s folk-rock stalwarts, tonight and Steve Steinman’s tribute show, Anything For Love: The Meat Loaf Story, on Wednesday, both at 7.30pm. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Steve Mason: Solo gig at Stockton on the Forest Village Hall

If you seek out one gig, make it: Steve Mason, Stockton on the Forest Village Hall, near York, Tuesday, doors, 8pm; start, 8.30pm.

STEVE Mason was the frontman of The Beta Band, cult Scottish exponents of folktronica, a blend of folk, psychedelia, electronica, experimental rock and trip hop.

He first dipped his toe into solo work on Black Gold, his mournful 2006 album under the guise of the short-lived King Biscuit Time and has since released Boys Outside in 2010, Ghosts Outside with Dennis Bovell in 2011, Monkey Minds In The Devil’s Time in 2013, Meet The Humans in 2016 and About The Light in 2019.

Presented by All Off The Beaten Track, Mason will play solo on Tuesday. Box office: seetickets.com/event/steve-mason/stockton-on-the-forest-village-hall.

The poster for The Arts Barge Christmas Party! at The Crescent, York

Christmas jamboree of the week: The Arts Barge Christmas Party!, The Crescent, York, Tuesday, 7.30pm.

THREE York community musical groups, Bargestra, The Stonegate Singers and The Blind Tiger Dance Band, unite for the Arts Barge Christmas bash.

Bargestra, the 20-piece Arts Barge band skippered by Christian Topman, play jazz, swing, Beatles, ska and more. The Stonegate Singers, a community choir open to anyone, is directed by Jon Hughes, who teaches the music by ear, one part at a time, so that anyone can do it.

The Blind Tiger Dance Band, Arts Barge’s 16-piece Lindy Hop swing band with Rinkadon Dukeboy up front, brings together seasoned professionals and rising young instrumentalists. All three groups will join together to make a 50-piece ensemble for the festive finale.

Recommended but alas sold out already at The Crescent are Christmas shows by Mostly Autumn on Sunday and fellow York band The Howl & The Hum on Wednesday, both at 7.30pm.

Chapter House Choir at the double: Carols by Candlelight, York Minster, Wednesday; Festival of Carols, St Michael-le-Belfrey, York, December 18, both at 7.30pm.

THE Chapter House Choir’s Carols by Candlelight at York Minster has sold out, but a second chance to hear the York choir and its bell ringers comes at St Michael-le-Belfrey.

Tickets for a Festival of Carols are available via Eventbrite,  but do hurry because they are limited in number and selling fast.

Danny Mellor and Meg Matthews in Badapple Theatre Company’s The Snow Dancer. Picture: Karl Andre Photography

Global warming alert of the week: Badapple Theatre Company in The Snow Dancer, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Thursday, 7pm; Green Hammerton Village Hall, December 20, 2pm

GREEN Hammerton’s Badapple Theatre Company has revived artistic director Kate Bramley’s magical eco-fable, The Snow Dancer, for its latest rural tour.

Bramley’s original story blends festive family entertainment with an important eco-message and an original score by Jez Lowe, as actors Meg Matthews and Danny Mellor tell the story of the animals of The Great Wood, who are desperate for a long sleep, but find it too warm because something is awry.

The intrepid heroes in this fairy tale with a furry tail must search for the mysterious Snow Dancer to make it snow if they are ever to sleep. Box office: York, 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk; Green Hammerton, 01423 339168.

York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust’s artwork for A Nativity For York…Out Of The Darkness

Christmas plays of the week: York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust in A Nativity For York…Out Of The Darkness, Spurriergate Centre, Spurriergate, York, December 17, 7pm; December 18, 2pm, 4pm, 6.30pm. A Christmas Carol, Mansion House, York, December 17 to 19, 7pm.

TERRY Ram directs the second York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust community production for Christmas, drawn from the York Cycle of Mystery Plays in the old church atmosphere of the Spurriergate Centre. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/york-mystery-plays-supporters-trust.

The Penny Magpie Theatre Company, from York, have sold out all three Mansion House performances of director Samantha Hindman’s adaptation of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, a version seen through the eyes of modern-day schoolboy Jon, who is gradually welcomed into Scrooge’s redemptive tale. Carols, mince pies, mulled wine and a house tour complete the festive experience.

Freedom is…Johannes Radebe’s debut tour show at at the Grand Opera House, York, next spring

Leaping into 2022: Johannes Radebe, Freedom, Grand Opera House, York, April 12, 7.30pm.

MAKING swish waves with baker John Whaite in Strictly Come Dancing’s first all-male coupling, South African dancer Johannes Radebe has announced his debut tour, Freedom.

Radebe will lead a company of dancers in classic Ballroom and Latin arrangements, scorching South African rhythms and huge party anthems, as he takes you on his journey from growing up in Zamdela, to travelling the world, winning competitions and becoming a Strictly professional.

“Leave your inhibitions at the door and get ready for a night of energy, passion and freedom,” he says. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com/York.

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‘Pure contentment,’ says York artist Rosie Dean of her joy in painting seascapes, on show from today at Village Gallery

Filey Brigg, seascape, by Rosie Dean

ROSIE Dean’s Seascapes exhibition opens at Village Gallery, Castlegate, York, today.

Rosie grew up in York, studied art at York School of Art and then headed to Manchester School of Art and subsequently Lancaster School of Art, a move that helped her to develop her skills in landscape art on account of her proximity to the coast and the drama of the Lake District. 

On completing her BA Hons degree, Rosie moved to London and onwards to New York, where she worked in fabric design.

Glisten, by Rosie Dean, at Village Gallery, York

After returning to London, she started hand-painting fine art onto furniture, a business she continued after moving back to York in 1992, when she opened a shop in Grape Lane.

Since 2008, she has returned to creating paintings solely, constantly enjoying the challenges it brings. 

“I feel total peace breathing the ozone, staring out to sea and focusing on the horizon line, sensing all around me and feeling the elements around me, the sights and sounds, the salt in the air. Pure contentment,” says Rosie.

Rosie Dean at work on a seascape

“Then, in contrast, watching the mesmerising strength and energy of crashing waves as they make their race to the shore.

“These remembered scenes I can take back home to the studio and attempt to translate into a painting that reflects that moment in time.”

Rosie, of Adelaide Street, Southbank, has had many solo shows over the years, including exhibiting at York Art Gallery, and has taken part in York Open Studios for the past ten years. 

Momentum, oil painting, by Rosie Dean

She paints in oils on board, canvas or paper, incorporating mediums such as pastels, graphite and inks to achieve the feeling she wants in sizes ranging from 1ft to 8ft.

“I’m forever losing or forgetting things, but the atmosphere and temperament of places I remember so clearly. Scenes that shout out, ‘look at me’. Seascape, landscape and more,” says Rosie.

“I work on several paintings at once, and, for example, if I feel I want to be on a windswept beach, I recall all the elements it consists of and travel there through painting. I feel very lucky and privileged indeed.”

Rosie Dean’s Seascapes will be on show at Village Gallery, Castlegate, York, until January 22 2022. Normal opening hours are 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday.

The Bay: Another of the scenes that shout out at Rosie Dean, “look at me”
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Mask up for the new Susan Bower works going on show at Kentmere House Gallery UPDATED

Christmas Party 2020, by Susan Bower, in the year of the mask

NEW work by Susan Bower, John Thornton and Rosie Dean has arrived at Kentmere House Gallery, Scarcroft Hill, York, in good time for Christmas.

After the Government’s update on York’s Tier 2 status once Lockdown 2.0 ends, Ann Petherick will re-open her gallery on Thursday evening from 6pm to 9pm, followed by the usual first-weekend-of-the-month opening on December 5 and 6 from 11am to 5pm.

Oils, watercolours, pastels and original prints by 70 British artists, ranging in price from £50 to £2,000, are on display and for sale, along with books, greetings cards and Christmas cards exclusive to the gallery.

Ann has decided to open the gallery every weekend in the lead-up to Christmas until December 20, 11am to 5pm. Visits arranged by appointment will be resuming too, either by phone on 01904 656507 or 07801 810825 or by emailing ann@kentmerehouse.co.uk.

Best Friends Forever, by Susan Bower, newly installed at Kentmere House Gallery
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Kentmere House Gallery may be shut but owner Ann Petherick rallies around artists

Man at easel: David Greenwood painting in his garden

KENTMERE House Gallery owner Ann Petherick is determined to champion “great art from troubled times”.

Her gallery doors in Scarcroft Hill, York, may be shut amid the Coronavirus lockdown, but nevertheless Ann has issued a rallying call to support artists still busy being creative.

“Artists are not quitters – and in any case have to eat, pay rent, buy materials, etc. – so it’s likely that all of them are hard at work in their studios in enforced isolation,” she says.

Rosie Dean outside her studio

“Artists need to sell, so for those of you who are indoors and bored with looking at bare walls, or at the same old images, the gallery is open online and you’re very welcome to browse kentmerehouse.co.uk.”  

Ann has original paintings and artists’ prints by more than 70 artists, all unique to the gallery, at prices ranging from £30 to £2,000, as well as illustrated books by artists, priced £10 to £30, again unique to Kentmere House.

Gallery regular Susan Bower lives near Tadcaster, where she works from a spacious studio built by her husband, a former GP-turned-joiner and restorer of old fire engines. “The studio is lined with around 100 paintings: finished work waiting to be sent to galleries all over the country, work in progress, and postcards and cuttings for inspiration,” says Ann. “Dogs and grandchildren are banned but manage to sneak in nevertheless.”

John Thornton in his garden studio

John Thornton has a garden studio, self-built and looking on to a delightful sheltered garden. “Prevented from making his usual regular trips to the coast, he’s contenting himself with re-creating the scenes he loves,” says Ann.

“Likewise, Rosie Dean, always one of the most popular artists from York Open Studios, is working on her impressive seascapes from her terraced house in York.”

Suffolk artist Tessa Newcomb paints at her cottage near Aldeburgh. “Cats are always in evidence, and it’s necessary to pick your way carefully across the floor as paintings are everywhere!” says Ann. “It is perhaps fortunate that most of her work is fairly small.”

Ann Petherick surrounded by art at Kentmere House Gallery

David Greenwood now lives in Keighley, where he is lucky to have a garden to paint in, says Ann. “The ongoing cancellations of race meetings are a disappointment to him but he can still enjoy the canal walks that give him much inspiration,” she enthuses. “Like so many artists, he has plenty of sketches from previous visits to work on, along with the ideas in his head.”

Rosemary Carruthers always enjoyed her visits to York, where on several occasions she was artist-in-residence at the York Early Music Festival. “She’s now based in a new house in Holt in Norfolk, where she has a new garden to occupy her considerable gardening skills but retains time for painting her exquisite oils of musicians too.”

Ann updates her website, kentmerehouse.co.uk, regularly and frequently posts on Twitter @kentmere_h_gall. “One day I may even figure out how to deal with Instagram,” she says.