Tag: Sue Slack

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 33, from Gazette & Herald

Doubles troubles: Husband-and-wife strife for Helen Clarke’s Margo and Jamie McKeller’s ageing club champ, Lionel, in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets: What the Deuce? Picture: John Saunders

MINISTRY of Sound turning classical, The Magpies’ folk festival, Sue Slack’s landscape paintings and The Basement’s new comedy club should outshine this evening’s solar eclipse, reckons Charles Hutchinson.

New balls please: York Shakespeare Project presents 2026 Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Goodramgate, York, until Saturday,  6pm & 7.30pm, plus 4.30pm Saturday show

SUMMER at the Goodramgate Lawn Tennis Club finds four doubles teams competing for the chance to play in a Wimbledon amateur tournament, whereupon partnerships and rivalries lead to sabotage and break point. Who has the advantage? Who is at fault? Will the score be love?

Expect further tennis puns aplenty as Rosy Rowley directs Stuart Green’s script that asks a new collection of ten characters to play out this new sporting and unsporting situation where each finds a way to share a Shakespeare sonnet. Taking part are James Robert Ball, Oscar Langford, Helen Clarke, Sarah McKeagney, Stuart Lindsay, Alexa Williams, Jamie McKeller, Alan Sharp, Christine Bramwell and Effie Warboys. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Holly Johnson: Frankie says Relax on the Scarborough coast

Coastal gig of the week: Scarborough Open Air Theatre presents Holly Johnson, ABC and Heaven 17, Friday, gates 6pm

FLAMBOYANT, unapologetically bold Frankie Goes To Hollywood lead vocalist and lyricist Holly Johnson tops the 1980s’ triple bill on Friday, when he performs the chart-topping trio of  Relax, Two Tribes and The Power Of Love, further Frankie smashes Welcome To The Pleasure Dome and Rage Hard and solo hits Love Train, Americanos and Atomic City. Sheffield bands ABC and Heaven 17 support. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Grim reading: Pandora Clifford’s Mags (a younger Margaret Thatcher) flicking through the headlines in Handbagged at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Political drama of the week: Handbagged, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until August 29

MOIRA Buffini’s 2013 Olivier Award-winning play imagines what happened behind closed palace doors when two of the 20th century’s most powerful women, Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, locked handbags. Meeting once a week for 11 years, one believed there was no such thing as society; the other committed her life to serving it.

Spanning 1979 to 1990, Handbagged asks if The Queen and the Iron Lady ever found common ground or did their stiff upper lips reign supreme? Hannah Tyrrell-Pinder directs the SJT cast of Pandora Clifford, Liz Garland, Alexandra Mathie, Deven Modha, Simon Darwen and Meriel Scholfield. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

The Magpies: Hosting their annual folk festival at Sutton Park, Sutton-on-the-Forest

Folk festival of the month: The Magpies Festival, Sutton Park, Sutton-on-the-Forest, near York, Friday and Saturday. SOLD OUT

RUN by the folk trio of Bella Gaffney, Holly Brandon and Ellie Gowers, The Magpies Festival presents Friday’s Main Stage bill of Daraa Tribes (6pm), The Magpies (8pm) and headliners Manran (10pm) and Brass Castle Stage bill of True Foxes (5pm), Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe & Daniel Quayle (7pm), SupaLung (9pm) and New York Brass Band (11pm).

Saturday’s line-up on the Main Stage comprises Steady Habits (12 noon), Alex Hart (2pm), Blair Dunlop (4pm), Katherine Priddy (6pm), Gnoss (8pm) and headliners Cut Capers (10pm). The Brass Castle Stage plays host to Songs In The Round, with Katherine Priddy, Blair Dunlop and Chloe Foy (1pm), Tarren (3pm), Ophelia’s Beard (5pm), Around About Dusk (7pm) and Suntou Susso & The Gambian Superstars (9pm). Box office for returns only: themagpiesfestival.co.uk/tickets.

York River Art Market organiser Caroline Turner with artist Lincoln Lightfoot on the Dame Judi Dench Walk pathway

Open-air art event of the week: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, York, Saturday & Sunday, 10am to 5.30pm

YORK River Art Market returns for its 11th year, bringing more than 30 artists from multiple disciplines to the Ouse riverside each day, this year presenting art and design market stalls on both sides of the pathway.

Described as York’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris, the event is being run for the first time this summer by Caroline Turner, a professional potter and ceramics teacher at Clay Space York. Admission is free.

Ministry of Sound Classical: Taking over the Castle Howard grounds on Saturday

Club classics/House/Orchestral party gathering of the week: Ministry of Sound Classical, Grounds of Castle Howard, near Malton, Saturday, 2pm to 10.30pm

ENJOY sweeping views of the Castle Howard Estate while listening to a live orchestra reimagining the greatest dance anthems from the iconic Ministry of Sound catalogue as timeless tracks are brought to life, blending classical musicianship with contemporary dance music for an unforgettable open-air experience. 

As well as headline act Ministry Of Sound Classical, artists performing at this festival will be Judge Jules, Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Ellie Sax, Smudged Soul and Alex Malam. Box office for last few tickets: skiddle.com/festivals/ministry-of-sound-classical-at-castle-howard/#tickets.

Nice touch: Chloe Petts feeling lippy about playing Basement Comedy Club’s debut gig

Comedy gig of the week: Basement Comedy Club launch gig, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, Sunday, 6pm

CITY Screen Picturehouse launches its new monthly comedy event in the redecorated Basement this weekend. Compered by Sara Barron, the debut Basement Comedy Club bill comprises headline act Chloe Petts, addressing lad culture and identity politics, Manchester comic Shah, shedding light on growing up in an immigrant household and mental health challenges, and Lovdev Barpaga, who specialises in crafting one liners and puns. Box office: picturehouses.com.

Hiker and landscape artist Sue Slack painting above Rosedale

Exhibition of the week: Sue Slack, Finding The Dramatic, Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole, until August 31

NORTH York Moors landscape painter Sue Slack’s work is inspired by a deep connection with the surrounding landscape. A keen runner and hiker, she draws creative energy from exploring the area close to home.

Working outdoors, Sue embraces the immediacy of being in the landscape and its direct influence on her painting and drawing. In Finding The Dramatic, she presents mixed-media works inspired by the hills, dales and coastline of the North York Moors. Open Saturdays to Thursdays, closed on Fridays; free to visit.

Linda Smith: Bedroom pop at The Crescent

American pop underground act of the week: Please Please You presents Linda Smith, The Crescent, York, Sunday, 6.30pm

HOME recording pioneer Linda Smith has self-released her music since 1987, originally on cassette. In the early 1990s, indie labels Slumberland and Harriet Records expanded her reach with two seven-inch EPs.

Brooklyn, New York label Captured Tracks has reissued two complete albums on vinyl and Smith has begun to tour in the United States and internationally for the first time, now visiting York with her bedroom pop. Support act Troutflies play loose, woozy punk and experimental lo-fi pop, occasionally with duelling melodicas. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

More Things To Do in York and beyond. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 33, from The York Press, from August 15 onwards

Squash on the tennis court: Effie Warboys’ insufferably spoilt Chessie, front left, pushing around her doubles partner, Alexa Williams’s Belle, in Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? In the background are Oscar Langford’s Harry, left, and James Robert Ball’s Tony. Picture: John Saunders

MINISTRY of Sound turning classical, The Basement’s comedy launch night and Johnny Depp’s Scarborough return spark Charles Hutchinson’s curiosity.

New balls please: York Shakespeare Project presents 2026 Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Goodramgate, York, August 15,  4.30pm, 6pm & 7.30pm

SUMMER at the Goodramgate Lawn Tennis Club finds four doubles teams competing for the chance to play in a Wimbledon amateur tournament, whereupon partnerships and rivalries lead to sabotage and break point. Who has the advantage? Who is at fault? Will the score be love?

Expect further tennis puns aplenty as Rosy Rowley directs Stuart Green’s script that asks a new collection of ten characters to play out this new sporting and unsporting situation where each finds a way to share a Shakespeare sonnet. Taking part are James Robert Ball, Oscar Langford, Helen Clarke, Sarah McKeagney, Stuart Lindsay, Alexa Williams, Jamie McKeller, Alan Sharp, Christine Bramwell and Effie Warboys. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

York River Art Market organiser Caroline Turner with artist Lincoln Lightfoot on the Dame Judi Dench Walk pathway

Open-air art event of the week: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, York, August 15 and 16, 10am to 5.30pm

YORK River Art Market has returned for its 11th year, bringing more than 30 artists from multiple disciplines to the Ouse riverside each day on the third of three weekends, this year presenting art and design market stalls on both sides of the pathway.

Described as York’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris, the event is being run for the first time this summer by Caroline Turner, a professional potter and ceramics teacher at Clay Space York. Admission is free.

Cut Capers: Headlining Main Stage at The Magpies Festival on August 15

Folk festival fully booked: The Magpies Festival, Sutton Park, Sutton-on-the-Forest, near York, August 15

RUN by the folk trio of Bella Gaffney, Holly Brandon and Ellie Gowers, The Magpies Festival presents today’s line-up on the Main Stage of Steady Habits (12 noon), Alex Hart (2pm), Blair Dunlop (4pm), Katherine Priddy (6pm), Gnoss (8pm) and headliners Cut Capers (10pm).

The Brass Castle Stage plays host to Songs In The Round, with Katherine Priddy, Blair Dunlop and Chloe Foy (1pm), Tarren (3pm), Ophelia’s Beard (5pm), Around About Dusk (7pm) and Suntou Susso & The Gambian Superstars (9pm). Box office for returns only: themagpiesfestival.co.uk/tickets.

Ministry of Sound Classical: Taking over the Castle Howard grounds on August 15

Club classics/House/Orchestral party gathering of the week: Ministry of Sound Classical, Grounds of Castle Howard, near Malton, August 15, 2pm to 10.30pm

ENJOY sweeping views of the Castle Howard Estate while listening to a live orchestra reimagining the greatest dance anthems from the iconic Ministry of Sound catalogue as timeless tracks are brought to life, blending classical musicianship with contemporary dance music for an unforgettable open-air experience. 

As well as headline act Ministry Of Sound Classical, artists performing at this festival will be Judge Jules, Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Ellie Sax, Smudged Soul and Alex Malam. Box office for last few tickets: skiddle.com/festivals/ministry-of-sound-classical-at-castle-howard/#tickets.

Hollywood Vampires: Joe Perry, left, Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper and Tommy Henriksen

Coastal gig of the week: Hollywood Vampires, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 15, gates 6pm

NAMED after Alice Cooper’s 1970s’ drinking club, American rock supergroup Hollywood Vampires return to Scarborough after their sold-out 2023 gig with the regular line-up of Cooper, film star and guitarist Johnny Depp, Aerosmith co-founder Joe Perry and Crossbone Skully and Warlock musician Tommy Henriksen. Punk icons The Damned support. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.

Sara Barron: Compere for Basement Comedy Club debut gig

Comedy gig of the week: Basement Comedy Club launch show, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, August 16, 6pm

CITY Screen Picturehouse launches its new monthly comedy event in the redecorated Basement this weekend. Compered by Sara Barron, the debut Basement Comedy Club bill comprises headline act Chloe Petts, addressing lad culture and identity politics, Manchester comic Shah, shedding light on growing up in an immigrant household and mental health challenges, and Lovdev Barpaga, who specialises in crafting one liners and puns. Box office: picturehouses.com.

Hiker and landscape artist Sue Slack painting above Rosedale

Exhibition of the week: Sue Slack, Finding The Dramatic, Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-e-Hole, until August 31

NORTH York Moors landscape painter Sue Slack’s work is inspired by a deep connection with the surrounding landscape. A keen runner and hiker, she draws creative energy from exploring the area close to home.

Working outdoors, Sue embraces the immediacy of being in the landscape and its direct influence on her painting and drawing. In Finding The Dramatic, she presents mixed-media works inspired by the hills, dales and coastline of the North York Moors. Open Saturdays to Thursdays, closed on Fridays; free to visit.

Linda Smith: Bedroom pop at The Crescent

American pop underground act of the week: Please Please You presents Linda Smith, The Crescent, York, August 16, 6.30pm

HOME recording pioneer Linda Smith has self-released her music since 1987, originally on cassette. In the early 1990s, indie labels Slumberland and Harriet Records expanded her reach with two seven-inch EPs.

Brooklyn, New York label Captured Tracks has reissued two complete albums on vinyl and Smith has begun to tour in the United States and internationally for the first time, now visiting York with her bedroom pop. Support act Troutflies play loose, woozy punk and experimental lo-fi pop, occasionally with duelling melodicas. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Silent Disco falls even more silent

CANCELLED: Glasswerk presents Day Fever Silent Disco, York Museum Gardens, August 21, 6.30pm

YORK Museum Gardens will no longer be transformed into “the ultimate outdoor dance floor” for Day Fever’s first ever Silent Disco under the stars that would have followed the organisers’ series of York Barbican indoor events.

“It’s really simple,” said Day Fever’s co-organiser, actress Vicky McClure, before the late cancellation. “Everyone gets a pair of headphones. You’ll be connected to a Day Fever DJ, who will be playing non-stop Day Fever anthems from 6.30pm until 10m. Sing as loud as you like – no-one can hear.” Ticket refunds: https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/York/Museum-Gardens/Day-Fever-Silent-Disco/42485814/.

Michelle Yim in The Ballad Of Mulan, on tour at York Theatre Royal.

Show announcement of the week: Red Dragonfly Productions & Grist To The Mill Productions present The Ballad Of Mulan, York Theatre Royal Studio, September 12, 7.45pm; September 12, 2pm & 7.45pm

COMMISSIONED and performed by West Yorkshire-born British-Chinese actress Michelle Yim, The Ballad Of Mulan tells the story of the real woman behind the legendary Chinese female warrior who disguised as a man to join the Empire’s army – and inspired Disney’s animation and live-feature Mulan.

Woman, warrior, legend, for ten years Mulan has fought for the Chinese Empire. Now, after one last battle, she will be going home, but can she return to her old life, becoming a woman again. Yim’s hour-long The Ballad Of Mulan presents a search for identity in a violent world. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

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Lockton Artists to hold first group show at Inspired By…Gallery from September 17

The Lockton Artists group members who will be exhibiting at Inspired By…Gallery from next month

ARTISTS from the North York Moors National Park village of Lockton will unite for the first time for an exhibition at the Inspired By… gallery in Danby next month.

Under the theme of Threads and Pathways, the Lockton Artists will be exploring how their individual work shares a common thread of demonstrating the power a special place wields over their inspiration.

As part of the National Park’s 70th anniversary celebrations, the exhibition will run alongside displays of work by Gail Hurst, from Port Mulgrave, and Pauline Brown, from Farndale.

Ceramicist Hester Salt in her studio

The Lockton Artists’ exhibition will underline the wealth of talent that lies within a village of fewer than 300 permanent residents.

Nine artists from the group will be taking part, among them Hester Salt, whose ceramic forms take inspiration from fungi on trees in the woods near Lockton; metalsmith Marcus Steel, who creates patinated and gilded treasure houses, and photographer Mike Nowill, with his intentional camera movement images of Dalby Forest.

Marcus Steel at his work bench

The Threads and Pathways theme has prompted some group members to try new techniques and take their work in a new direction. For instance, textile designer Sarah Peart has extended her embroidery techniques, introducing a new colour palette inspired by the surrounding forests and woodland.

Participating too will be: blacksmith David Stephenson, metal sculptures; Joan Broadbent, watercolours; Stephen Broadbent, watercolours; Sue Slack, acrylic and mixed-media paintings, and Michael Hester, Jesmonite pottery.

Meanwhile, as summer makes way for autumn, Connections To Landscape will showcase Pauline Brown’s drawings and paintings, influenced by the different seasons, colours and moods in and around Farndale.

Michael Hester’s Jesmonite pottery

In Gail Hurst’s Our Land, Our Sea exhibition, she reflects on the natural world and having a sense of place, drawing inspiration from her coastal surroundings and her own bee-and-butterfly garden at home.

All three exhibitions will open on September 17 at the Inspired By… gallery, Danby Lodge National Park Centre, Lodge Lane, Danby, Whitby, and will run until November 7.

The Threads and Pathways exhibition will have Meet The Artists sessions every Friday at 11am and 1.30pm until November 4.

Textile designer Sarah Peart
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More Things To Do in and around York, as Levelling up, peas and wickedness this way come. List No. 54, courtesy of The Press

Ben Moor and Joanna Neary: Mini-season of stand-up theatre and comedy at Theatre@41

MOOR, Moor, Moor and much more, more, more besides are on Charles Hutchinson’s list for the week ahead.

Surrealist stand-up theatre of the week, Ben Moor and Joanna Neary mini-season, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, today until Saturday

BEN Moor and Joanna Neary combine to deliver five offbeat comedy shows in three days in their Theatre@41 debut.

Moor contemplates performance, friendship and regret in his lecture about lectures, Pronoun Trouble, tonight at 8pm. Tomorrow, at 7.30pm, Neary’s multi-character sketch show with songs and impersonations, Wife On Earth, is followed by Moor’s Who Here’s Lost?, his dream-like tale of a road trip of the soul taken by two outsiders.

Saturday opens at 3pm with Joanna’s debut children’s puppet show, Stinky McFish And The World’s Worst Wish, and concludes at 7pm with the two-hander BookTalkBookTalkBook, a “silly author event parody show”. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Gunpowder Guy in Horrible Histories’ Barmy Britain. Picture: Frazer Ashford

Alternative history lesson of the week: Horrible Histories’ Barmy Britain, Grand Opera House, York, today at 1.30pm, 7pm; tomorrow, 10.30am and 7pm; Saturday, 3pm, 7pm; Sunday, 11am, 3pm

WHAT if a Viking moved in next door? Would you lose your heart or head to horrible Henry VIII? Can evil Elizabeth entertain England? Will Parliament survive Gunpowder Guy? Dare you stand and deliver to dastardly Dick Turpin?

Questions, questions, so many questions to answer, and here to answer them are the Horrible Histories team in Barmy Britain, a humorously horrible and eye-popping show trip to the past with Bogglevision 3D effects. Box office: atgtickets.com/york

Hannah Victoria in Tutti Frutti’s The Princess And The Pea at York Theatre Royal Studio

Reopening of the week: York Theatre Royal Studio for Tutti Frutti’s The Princess And The Pea, today to Tuesday; no show on Sunday

YORK Theatre Royal Studio reopens today with a capacity reduced from 100 to 71 and no longer any seating to the sides.

First up, Leeds children’s theatre company Tutti Frutti revive York playwright Mike Kenny’s adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s story, set in a place where what you see is not what it seems: the Museum of Forgotten Things.

Three musical curators delve into the mystery of how a little green pea ended up there in an hour of humour, songs and a romp through every type of princess you could imagine. Box office and show times: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Artist Anita Bowerman and Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen at Dove Tree Art Gallery and Studio

Open Studios of the week: Anita Bowerman, Dove Tree Art Gallery and Studio, Back Granville Road, Harrogate, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 5pm

HARROGATE paper-cut, watercolour and stainless steel artist Anita Bowerman opens her doors for refreshments and a browse around her new paintings of Yorkshire and Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen, prints and mugs. 

“It’s a perfect chance for inspiration before the Christmas present-buying rush starts,” says Anita, who has been busy illustrating a new charity Christmas card for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance featuring the Yorkshire Shepherdess.

Rachel Croft: York singer-songwriter performing at Drawsome! day of activities at Spark:York as part of York Design Week on Saturday

York Design Week gig of the week: Drawsome!, Mollie Coddled Talk More Pavilion, Spark:York, Saturday, from 3pm

AS part of Drawsome’s day of workshops and an Indy Makers Market to complement MarkoLooks’ print swap exhibition of illustrators and printmakers, York’s Young Thugs Records are curating a free line-up of live music.

Taking part will be The Hazy Janes, Kell Chambers and Rachel Croft, singer, songwriter and illustrator to boot.

Breabach: First touring band to play Selby Town Hall in “far too long”. Picture: Paul Jennings

Welcome back of the week: Breabach, Selby Town Hall, Saturday, 8pm

GLASGOW folk luminaries Breabach will be the first touring band to play Selby Town Hall for almost 20 months this weekend.

“Leading lights of the Scottish roots music scene and five-time Scots Trad Music Award winners, they’re a really phenomenally talented band,” says Chris Jones, Selby Town Council’s arts officer. “It’s an absolute thrill to have professional music back in the venue. It’s been far too long!” Box office: 01757 708449, at selbytownhall.co.uk or on the door from 7.30pm.

Levelling up in York: Jazz funksters Level 42 in the groove at York Barbican on Sunday night

Eighties’ celebration of the week: Level 42, York Barbican, Sunday, doors 7pm

ISLE of Wight jazz funksters Level 42 revive those rubbery bass favourites Lessons In Love, The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up), Something About You, Running In The Family et al at York Barbican.

Here are the facts: Mark King’s band released 14 studio, seven live and six compilation albums, sold out Wembley Arena for 21 nights and chalked up 30 million album sales worldwide. 

This From Eternity To Here tour gig has been rearranged from October 2020; original tickets remain valid. Box office for “limited availability”: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Writes of passage: Musician and now author Richard Thompson

Guitarist of the week:  Richard Thompson, York Barbican, Monday, doors 7pm

RICHARD Thompson plays York Barbican on the back of releasing Beeswing, his April autobiography subtitled Losing My Way And Finding My Voice 1967-1975.

An intimate memoir of musical exploration, personal history and social revelation, it charts his co-founding of folk-rock pioneers Fairport Convention, survival of a car crash, formation of a duo with wife Linda and discovery of Sufism.

Move on from the back pages, here comes Richard Thompson OBE, aged 72, songwriter, singer and one of Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 20 Guitarists of All Time. Katherine Priddy supports. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

That clinches it: Emma Scott’s Macbeth leaps into the arms of Nell Frampton’s The Lady in rehearsals for York Shakespeare Project’s Macbeth. Picture: John Saunders

Something wicked this way comes…at last: York Shakespeare Project in Macbeth, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 26 to 30, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee

THE curse of Macbeth combined with Lockdown 1’s imposition to put a stop to York Shakespeare Project’s Scottish Play one week before its March 2020 opening.

Rising like the ghost of Banquo, but sure to be better received, Leo Doulton’s resurrected production will run as the 37th play in the York charity’s mission to perform all Shakespeare’s known plays over 20 years.

Doulton casts Emma Scott’s Macbeth into a dystopian future, using a cyberpunk staging to bring to life this dark tale of ambition, murder and supernatural forces. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Ballet Black dancers Marie Astrid Mence, left, Isabela Coracy, Cira Robinson, Sayaka Ichikawa, Jose Alves, Ebony Thomas and Alexander Fadyiro in Mthuthuzeli’s The Waiting Game

Dance show of the week: Cassa Pancho’s Ballet Black, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday, 7.30pm

ARTISTIC director Cassa Pancho’s Ballet Black return to York with a double bill full of lyrical contrasts and beautiful movement.

Will Tuckett blends classical ballet, poetry and music to explore ideas of home and belonging in Then Or Now; fellow Olivier Award-winning choreographer Mthuthuzeli November contemplates the purpose of life in The Waiting Game. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

From Limpsey Gate Lane, August, by Sue Slack

Exhibition of the week: Fylingdales Group of Artists, Blossom Street Gallery, Blossom Street, York, until November 30

TWELVE Fylingdales Group members are contributing 31 works to this exhibition of Yorkshire works, mainly of paintings in oils, acrylics, gouache and limonite.

Two pieces by Paul Blackwell are in pastel; Angie McCall has incorporated collage in her mixed-media work and printmaker Michael Atkin features too.

Also participating are David Allen, fellow Royal Society of Marine Artist member and past president David Howell, Kane Cunningham, John Freeman, Linda Lupton, Don Micklethwaite, Bruce Mulcahy, Sue Slack and Ann Thornhill.

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Fylingdales Group of Artists celebrates Yorkshire in Blossom Street Gallery show

From Limpsey Gate Lane, August, by Sue Slack

THE Fylingdales Group of Artists is exhibiting at Blossom Street Gallery, Blossom Street, York, until November 30.

Formed in 1925 in Denton Hawley’s studio in Robin Hood’s Bay with eight members and a mission to exhibit Yorkshire pictures: a modus operandi that prevails to this day. 

Through the decades, members included Algernon Newton, Roland Hill, Florence Hess, Albert Pile, Fred Williams, Will Taylor, William Dealtry and many more.

Whitby Abbey, Standing Proud, by Ann Thornhill

Twelve members are contributing 31 works to the Blossom Street Gallery exhibition, consisting mainly of paintings in oils, acrylics, gouache and limonite.

Two pieces by Paul Blackwell are in pastel; Angie McCall has incorporated collage in her mixed-media work and linocut, wood engraving, etching and aquatint printmaker Michael Atkin features too.

On show alongside them are works by David Allen, fellow Royal Society of Marine Artists member and past president David Howell, Kane Cunningham, John Freeman, Linda Lupton, Don Micklethwaite, Bruce Mulcahy, Sue Slack and Ann Thornhill.

Gallery opening hours are 10am to 4pm, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Rocky Shore In Sun, by Bruce Mulcahy, at Blossom Street Gallery, York
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Thirty three artists and makers to take part in Ryedale Open Studios, starting tomorrow

Round To Low Horcum, by Sue, Slack, taking part in Ryedale Open Studios at Barn Studio, Swiveynun, Lockton

RYEDALE Open Studios will run over two weekends, tomorrow and Sunday, then August 14 and 15, when 33 artists will take part from 10am to 5pm each day.

The newly formed Vault Arts Centre Community Interest Company, at The Old Bank, Piercy End, Kirkbymoorside, is coordinating the inaugural event, celebrating the creativity and artistic talent of the Ryedale district.

Artists, makers and creators will welcome visitors, offering both an exclusive glimpse into their workplaces and the opportunity to buy art works directly. 

Layla Khoo, co-founder of the Vault Arts Centre with Kirsty Kirk and Petra Young, says: “We’re very excited to start our first Ryedale Open Studios this year. After more than a year of seriously hampered activities for many, including artists, we now have the opportunity to show our own community, as well as visitors, the wealth of creativity Ryedale has to offer.’ 

Participating artist Sue Slack says:“Having taken part in an Open Studios every year for the past 15, it was a great disappointment not to be able to open my studio doors to the public in 2020. The great thing with open studios is the chance to meet with people who are interested in your art; in the processes as well as the finished picture.

“I’m really looking forward to Ryedale Open Studios and am thankful for the opportunity to be able to show my work again in the place it was created.”

Phillip Spurr, Ryedale District Council’s programme director for economic development, business and partnerships, says: “It’s great to see the inaugural Ryedale Open Studios taking place this summer, a testament to the hard work of all those involved.  Ryedale is known for its artistic community, and it’s fantastic that so many are participating in what we hope will become a regular event showcasing Ryedale’s creative talent.”

A downloadable map of the artists’ locations can be found at: ryedaleopenstudios.com/map. For full details of all the artists, go to: ryedaleopenstudios.com/

Who are the Ryedale Open Studios artists?

Philip Barraclough, art pencil, watercolours, spanning human forms and landscapes, at Netherby House, Huttons Ambo, near York.

Kate Bentley, oil painting and charcoal drawing, focusing on animals and human subjects, at 22 Dale End, Kirkbymoorside.

Harriet Braithwaite, acrylic painting, at 23, Castlegate, Kirkbymoorside. Graduated in set design for television and film from University of South Wales.

Robert Broughton, photography, at The Courtyard, Dalby Forest Drive, Low Dalby, near Pickering.

Cathartic fine art photography informed by Buddhist philosophy, psychoanalysis and contemplative practices.

Pauline Brown, drawings and paintings around Farndale during lockdown, at The Courtyard, Dalby Forest Drive, Low Dalby, near Pickering

Susan Brunskill, artist, illustrator and animator, at Rutland Grange, Chapel Lane, Harome, by appointment only on 01439 741039 or 07973 331586.

Exhibiting watercolour and oil portraits of  people, dogs and horses. Also makes Susel & Co stationery (artisan notecards, greetings cards and original art).

Sarah Cawthray, ceramics for garden, reflecting love of the coast, at West Garth, 23, Castlegate, Kirkbymoorside.

Soon to graduate from York College University Centre with degree in contemporary craft; will then set up ceramic studio at home.

Angela Cole, modern basket designer-maker in woven willow, deeply rooted in heritage skills, at Westow Grange Cottage, Westow, near York.

Makes functional baskets, sculptural woodland baskets and garden plant supports inspired by woodland coppicing style, willow harvest and found wild materials.

Aeva Denham, painting and mixed media, at The Courtyard, Dalby Forest Drive, Low Dalby, near Pickering.

Her work “conveys a message and emotion about social injustices or more personal topics, such as mental health”. Newly graduated from Fine Art BA degree course at York St John University.

Suzie Devey, printmaker, at Vault Studio Space, 5 Piercy End, Kirkbymoorside, studio closed on August 8.

“Don’t miss my Two Tin Cans installation as it’s easy to mistake it for an ordinary red telephone box!” she says. “Inside you will discover a miniature, fully working printmaking studio with everything you need to make your own tiny linocut print.”

Ione Harrison, landscapes and seascapes in watercolour, now incorporating imprints from plants, such as fern or grass, at Vault Studio Space, 5 Piercy End, Kirkbymoorside.

Inspired by sweeping vistas of Yorkshire’s moors and wild hills, her paintings seek to “move beyond the merely physical towards a more metaphysical or spiritual truth”.

Art photographer Peter Heaton

Peter Heaton, art photography, and Peter Maris, sculpture, at Courtyard, Low Dalby, Thornton le Dale.

This exhibition is an artist residency collaboration with photographer Heaton and sculptor Maris, commissioned by Forestry England and Arts Council England. Works are inspired by very particular forest environment and how it flourishes and changes through natural processes and human activity.

Christine Hughes, textile designer and home interior designer, at The Gallery, 7 Market Place, Malton.

Specialises in handmade, hand-painted fabric lampshades and soft furnishings. Her collections include tableware, homewares, contemporary pattern design and framed
illustrations and prints.

​Alex Jones, oil paintings of British wildlife, at The Little Red House Studio, Abbey Farm, Low Moor, Rillington.

Fascinated by animals’ behaviour, character and form, from the smallest bird to the mightiest stag. “I’m lucky on the farm to see many of the animals I paint on a daily basis: deers, hares, foxes, badgers, barn owls and pheasants,” she says.

Layla Khoo, multi-media 3D artist, specialising in ceramics and site-specific installations, Vault Arts Centre, The Old Bank, Piercy End, Kirkbymoorside.

Often chooses to create her ceramic work for its broad range of historical connotations, from everyday tableware to satire and sculpture. 

Yasmin Lari, woven textile designer for Yasmin’s Warp and Weft, at Westgarth, 23 Castlegate, Kirkbymoorside.

Her work combines old and new, inspired by Islamic art, research into her Persian roots and colours in an ever-changing world.

Anna Matyus, printmaker,  at Welburn Hall Farmhouse, Flatts Lane, Welburn, Kirkbymoorside.

Inspired by patterns and textures from the natural world and architecture at North Yorkshire historical heritage sites. Specialises in collagraph printmaking, a method that creates layers of texture and a richness of surface. 

Carol Messham, watercolour painter and polymer clay artist, at 41 Feversham Drive, Kirkbymoorside.

Draws inspiration from plants, flowers, birds and bees. Trained in landscape architecture; ran garden design business for 20 years.

Heather Niven, painting and ceramic sculpture, at Wayward Studio Gallery, Station House, Kirkham Abbey, Whitwell on the Hill.

After 30 years as a painter and 2D artist, now exploring 3D world of hand-thrown pottery and ceramic sculpture too. Loves colour, dark corners and rhythms of nature.

Alice O’Neill, papercut and collage, at Barmoors, Hutton-le-Hole.

Uses many different types of paper, mostly handmade and hand dyed, from India, China, Japan, Italy and made from grasses, bark and other vegetation. Hand colourist by profession, working for picture framers and book binders.

Amanda Pickles, acrylic and mixed-media paintings, at Allotment Studio, 19 Maundon Avenue, Pickering.

Likes to get the feeling of a place or a moor with the weather, sounds, smells and changing seasons in her work, leading to Deep Earth series.

Jen Ricketts, silversmith and jeweller, at North Croft, Boonhill Road, Fadmoor, York.

Latest work concentrates on making bespoke functional silverware of intricate city skylines, intriguing silhouettes of British countryside and capturing childhood memories of park scenes and fairground carousels.

Meg Ricketts, painter and printmaker, North Croft, Boonhill Rd, Fadmoor, York.

Interested in concept of slowing down and seeing small details in nature – colour, pattern and constant change – as seasons unfold. Favours acrylics and oils; experimenting with painting onto wood.

Rachel Rimell, photography, at Beechwood, 68 Middlecave Road, Malton.

Examines the individual through the prism of transitions and liminal spaces, connections and shared experiences and the human condition. Two self-published books have explored themes of motherhood and identity. 

Charlotte Salt, tactile and intuitively made ceramics, at The Gallery, 7 Market Place, Malton.

Enjoys the meditative, grounding processes of handling the clay, a rhythmic physical act involving the senses. Draws on ancient ephemera and passion for collecting found fragments and objects.

Sue Slack, acrylic landscape painter in layered colours, at Barn Studio, Swiveynun, Lockton, Pickering.

Enthusiasm for fell running has taken her to new places, both mentally and physically, influencing work that attracts walkers and cyclists. Upcoming is a four-month sabbatical to embark on new painting journey in Ullapool.

Susan Slann, oil painter and linocut and woodcut printmaker, at 1 Langton Road, Norton-on-Derwent.

Work explores powerful connection between nature, landscape and human emotion.

Patrick Smith, painter and printmaker of landscapes and seascapes, at Nesslyn, West End, Sheriff Hutton, York.

Paints “landscapes of the mind” where poetry and an unfolding process is allowed full reign and “you, the viewer, are co-opted into the image’s final resolution”.

Iona Stock, ceramics, at Hollymead, Snape Hill, Nawton.

Set up her own studio after graduating from University of Sunderland in 2020 with first-class degree in glass and ceramics. Hopes her everyday pieces “bring a little piece of my paradise into your home”.

Ros Walker, ceramics and painting, at Wayward Studio Gallery, Station House, Kirkham Abbey, York.

Creates brightly coloured functional stoneware bowls, mugs and plates; sculptural art ceramic pieces, non-functional vessels and jewellery, plus mixed-media acrylic landscapes.

Susan Walsh, eco-printed textiles and paper, employing botanical mark-making, at Pasture House, Cawton, York.

Uses leaves, flowers and seeds to create wraps, scarves, wall hangings, framed pieces, journals, cards, cushions and bags.

Justine Warner, textile and mixed-media artist, at Laburnum Cottage, West End, Sheriff Hutton, York.

“The canvas of my work is predominantly made from neck ties,” she says. “The beautiful textures and patterns of the fabric are sewn together to make backgrounds for North Yorkshire and Howardian Hills landscapes that can be mistaken for paintings”. Fabrics, wools and thread are used to layer, blend and paint recycled materials.

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More Things To Do in and around York as deathly silence is broken at libraries. List No. 43, courtesy of The Press, York

James Lewis Knight, left, as Jimmy and Matt Stradling as James in Next Door But One’s library tour of Operation Hummingbird in York

GO forth and multiply the chance to see the summer spurt of theatre, musicals and outdoor shows, urges Charles Hutchinson, who also highlights big gig news for autumn and March 2022.

Breaking the library hush: Next Door But One in Operation Hummingbird, in York, today and August 12

YORK community arts collective Next Door But One are teaming up with Explore York for a library tour of Matt Harper-Harcastle’s 45-minute play Operation Hummingbird.

James Lewis Knight plays Jimmy and Matt Stradling, James, in a one-act two-hander that takes the form of a conversation across the decades about a sudden family death, realising an opportunity that we all wish we could do at some point in our life: to go back and talk to our younger self.

Today’s Covid-safe performances are at 3.30pm at New Earswick Folk Hall and 7pm, Dringhouses Library; August 12, York Explore, 2pm, and Hungate Reading Café, 7pm. Box office: nextdoorbutone.co.uk.

Exit-kitchen-sink drama: Ashley Hope Allan as bored Liverpool housewife Shirley, planning a holiday to Greece in Esk Valley Theatre’s production of Shirley Valentine. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Play launch of the week outside York: Esk Valley Theatre in Shirley Valentine, Robinson Institute, Glaisdale, near Whitby, tonight until August 28

ESK Valley Theatre complete a hattrick of Willy Russell plays with Shirley Valentine from tonight, under the direction of artistic director Mark Stratton as usual.

In Russell’s one-woman show, Coronation Street star Ashley Hope Allan plays middle-aged, bored Liverpool housewife Shirley in a story of self-discovery as she takes a holiday to Greece with a friend, who promptly abandons her for a holiday romance. Left alone, Shirley meets charming taverna owner Costas. Box office: 01947 897587 or at eskvalleytheatre.co.uk.

It’s here at last! Heathers The Musical opens its delayed tour at Leeds Grand Theatre tonight. Picture: Pamela Raith

Musical of the week outside Leeds, Heathers The Musical, Leeds Grand Theatre, tonight until August 14

HEATHERS The Musical launches its touring production in Leeds from tonight with choreography by Gary Lloyd, who choreographed the debut York Stage pantomime last Christmas.

Produced by Bill Kenwright and Paul Taylor-Mills and directed by American screen and stage director Andy Fickman, this high-octane, dark-humoured rock musical is based on the Winona Ryder and Christian Slater cult teen movie.

The premise: Westerberg High pupil Veronica Sawyer (Rebecca Wickes) is just another nobody dreaming of a better day, until she joins the impossibly cruel Heathers, whereupon mysterious teen rebel JD (Simon Gordon) teaches her that it might kill to be a nobody, but it is murder being a somebody. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or at leedsheritagetheatres.co.uk.

Round To Low Horcum, by Sue Slack, one of the 33 artists and makers taking part in Ryedale Open Studios

Art event of the week: Ryedale Open Studios, Saturday and Sunday and next weekend, 10am to 5pm each day

THE newly formed Vault Arts Centre community interest company, in Kirkbymoorside, is coordinating this inaugural Ryedale Open Studios event, celebrating the creativity and artistic talent of Ryedale and the North York Moors.

Artists, makers and creators will be offering both an exclusive glimpse into their workplaces and the opportunity to buy art works directly. Full details of all 33 artists can be found at ryedaleopenstudios.com; a downloadable map at ryedaleopenstudios.com/map.

Serena Manteghi: Performing in Eurydice at Theatre At The Mill this weekend

Hit and myth show of the week: Eurydice, Theatre At The Mill, Stillington Mill, near York, Saturday and Sunday, 7.30pm

THIS weekend, Serena Manteghi returns to the play she helped to create with writer Alexander Wright, composer Phil Grainger and fellow performer Casey Jane Andrews with Fringe award-winning success in Australia in 2019.

Manteghi, a tour de force in the Stephen Joseph Theatre’s Build A Rocket, will be joined by Grainger for the tale about being a daily superhero and not giving in to the stories we tell ourselves.

Woven from spoken word and soaring live music, Eurydice is the stand-alone sister show to Orpheus; her untold story imagined and reimagined for the modern-day and told from her perspective. Box office: tickettailor.com/events/atthemill/.

Kaiser Chiefs: Yorkshire anthems galore at Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Sunday

Yorkshire gig of the week outside York: Kaiser Chiefs, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Sunday, gates open at 6pm

LEEDS lads Kaiser Chiefs promise a “no-holds-barred rock’n’roll celebration” on their much-requested return to Scarborough OAT after their May 27 2017 debut.

“We cannot wait to get back to playing live shows again and it will be great to return to this stunning Yorkshire venue,” says frontman Ricky Wilson. “We had a cracking night there in 2017, so roll on August 8!”

Expect a Sunday night of such Yorkshire anthems as Oh My God, I Predict A Riot, Everyday I Love You Less And Less, Ruby, Never Miss A Beat and Hole In My Soul. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Simon Amstell’s hippy-chic poster for his autumn tour show, Spirit Hole, visiting York, Sheffield and Leeds in the autumn

Comedy gig announcement of the week: Simon Amstell, Spirit Hole, Grand Opera House, York, September 25, 8pm

INTROSPECTIVE, abjectly honest comedian Simon Amstell will play the Grand Opera House, York, for the first time since 2012 on his 38-date Spirit Hole autumn tour.

Agent provocateur Amstell, 41, will deliver a “blissful, spiritual, sensational exploration of love, sex, shame mushrooms and more” on a tour with further Yorkshire gigs at The Leadmill, Sheffield, on September 12 and Leeds Town Hall on October 1.

York tickets are on sale at atgtickets.com/venues/grand-opera-house-york/; York, Sheffield and Leeds at ticketmaster.com.

Look sharp! Tickets are on sale for Joe Jackson’s second-ever York concert…next March

York gig announcement of the week: Joe Jackson, York Barbican, March 17 2022

JOE Jackson will play York for only the second time in his 43-year career on his Sing, You Sinners! tour next year.

Jackson, who turns 67 on August 11, will perform both solo and with a band at York Barbican in the only Yorkshire show of his 29-date British and European tour, promising hits and new material.

“We’ve been dealing with two viruses over the past two years, and the worst – the one we really need to put behind us – is Fear,” he says. “Love is the opposite of fear, so if you love live music, come out and support it!” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.