Cone, by Alison Jagger, on show at WET Bar & Plates, York
FROM street photography to Jack The Ripper investigations, German comedy about the English weather to Canadian naughtiness, Charles Hutchinson highlights all manner of cultural delights ahead.
Photographic show of the week: Alison Jagger, After The Crowds, WET Bar & Plates, Micklegate, York, until June 3
AS a lone traveller and self-confessed free spirit, York street photographer Alison Jagger draws inspiration from the urban landscape, whose vitality she loves to capture with her mobile phone camera.
“There is nothing better than waking up in an unfamiliar city and recording its character, colour and vibrancy through my curious lens,” says Jagger. After The Crowds is the second in RARE Collective’s programme of solo exhibition at James Wall and Ella Williams’ indie wine bar and restaurant in aid of SASH (Safe and Sound Homes), the York youth homelessness charity.
Exhibition of the week: Louise Davies and Glassmakers, Journey In Colour, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, until July 4
PAINTINGS and etchings by South East London artist and printmaker Louise Davies are complemented by glass by Allister Malcolm, Madeleine Hughes, Margaret Burke, Charlie Burke and Amelia Burke.
Davies, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, combines fluid lines and rich colour in vibrant landscape prints and oil paintings. Gallery owner Terry Brett drove to Stourbridge to pick up glass works by Malcolm and his workshop assistant, Hughes. Margaret Burke, son Charlie and his wife, hot glass specialist Amelia, run the hand-blown glass studio E&M Glass at The Old Bakery, Sarn Bridge, Malpas, Cheshire.
The poster for James Morrison’s 20 Years Of Undiscovered Tour, bound for York Barbican
Anniversary of the week: James Morrison, 20 Years Of Undiscovered, York Barbican, tonight, doors 7pm
UNDISCOVERED was the number one debut album that changed everything for Rugby soul singer-songwriter and guitarist James Morrison (or James Morrison Catchpole to give him his full name). Back then, he was fitting carpets by day, playing open mics by night and driving up and down to London at any spare moment, taking meeting after meeting with multiple record companies.
On his 18-date May and June tour, 2007 British Male Solo Artist BRIT award winner Morrison is playing Undiscovered in its entirety in a set taking in big hits such as You Give Me Something and Wonderful World, fan favourites The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore and This Boy, rarely performed gems One Last Chance and How Come and highlights from his six-album songbook, topped off by 2025’s Top Five success Fight Another Day. Cordelia supports. Tickets update: limited availability at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Wehn and where: Henning squeezing every German joke out of the British weather at Grand Opera House, York
York comedy gig of the week: Henning Wehn, Acid Wehn, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
GERMAN Comedy Ambassador Henning Wehn takes an unbiased look at climate change. “It’s a topic sure to delight audiences and no surprise,” he says. “After all, everyone loves talking about the weather. Rain or shine, all will be fine. Or maybe it won’t. Who knows?! Come along. Or else.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The poster for Stephen Morgan’s show An Evening With Jack The Ripper
Reopening the greatest unsolved case in criminal history: Steve Morgan in An Evening With Jack The Ripper, Milton Rooms, Malton, tomorrow, 7.30pm
PRODUCER and broadcaster Steve Morgan conducts Ripper walks through London’s East End, where he retraces the steps of the notorious killer through the Whitechapel streets he stalked in 1888, when a series of women were murdered brutally between August and November.
The identity of the killer remains a mystery. Was he a doctor, a sailor, a soldier or some kind of religious zealot intent on ridding the streets of vice? Now Morgan has adapted his walk talk for the stage to explore the Ripper’s motives and investigate how he escaped detection. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
York Chamber Music Festival director and cellist Tim Lowe
Festival launch of the week: Tim Lowe (cello) & Stephen Gutman (piano), Gems Of The Romantic Cello, National Centre for Early Music, York, Friday, 7.30pm
DIRECTOR and cellist Tim Lowe previews the 2026 York Chamber Music Festival (September 11 to 13) in concert with pianist Stephen Gutman in a passionate exploration of expressive and beautiful works from the cello and piano repertoire.
Their programme will be the same as they played at St Mary le Strand, London, last Wednesday: Beethoven’s 12 Variations on See The Conquering Hero Comes from Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus; Saint-Saëns’ Cello Sonata No 1 in C Minor; Richard Strauss’s Cello Sonata in F Major and Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.
Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman: Hand in hand for folk night at Helmsley Arts Centre
Folk gig of the week: Kathryn Roberts and Seth Lakeman, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
KATHRYN Roberts and Sean Lakeman’s creative bond spans 30 years, from being young trailblazers in 1990s’ folk supergroup Equation to twice being named Best Duo at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Their live shows are brimful of charm, wit and musical mastery of songs of emotional depth, as captured on 2025’s Another Day At The Circus, their first live concert album. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Tom Stade: Naughty By Nature mischief-making
Ryedale comedy gig of the week: Tom Stade, Naughty By Nature, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 8pm
CANADIAN stand-up Tom Stade is back on the road with his 2025 Edinburgh Fringe hit, wherein he playfully dishes out more of his insightful observations in a night of mischievous and uncompromising comedy. His credits include the Have A Word Pod podcast, Channel 4’s Comedy Gala, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, The John Bishop Show and Live At The Apollo. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
The poster for Scarborough Theatre Company’s first visit to Kirk Theatre, Pickering, with Joseph & The Technicolor Dreamcoat
Musical of the week: Scarborough Theatre Company in Joseph & The Technicolor Dreamcoat, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, May 22, 7.30pm; May 23, 2.30pm and 7.30pm; May 24, 2.30pm
DIRECTED by Alex Weatherhill, Scarborough Theatre Company will be performing in Pickering for the first time, presenting Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s debut musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with a combination of unforgettable songs, dazzling costumes and electrifying energy.
Having staged The Addams Family, Kinky Boots, White Christmas and The Wizard Of Oz on the East Coast, now Weatherhill oversees a tale of betrayal, hope and triumph in a story that continues to inspire audiences of all ages, driven by pastiches of many musical styles. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.