Super Furry Animals – charleshutchpress

July 11, 2026July 11, 2026

More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 28, from The York Press

Super Furry Animals: Flower power in the botanical gardens at Live At York Museum Gardens. Picture: Ryan Eddleston

NINE comedians on one day in a garden, a mythical tale of a goddess and the dark side of the moon, a near-future re-spinning of the selkie myth and a bothersome briefcase in a love story keep Charles Hutchinson’s head spinning with artistic possibilities.

Rock gig of the week: Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Super Furry Animals, today, gates 4pm

FUTURESOUND’S third season of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts climaxes today with Welsh psychedelic rock band Super Furry Animals’ headline set. On the bill too are singer-songwriter Baxter Dury, indie-pop septet Los Campesinos!, Nottingham alt-country band Divorce and North Wales psychedelic act Pys Melyn. Box office: futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events.

The Gesualdo Six: Performing Wishing Tree: A Choral Journey 1 at St Lawrence’s Church, York, on July 14 at 3pm at Ryedale Festival. Picture: Ash Mills

Festival of the week: Ryedale Festival, until July 26

RYEDALE Festival presents 60 events this month in 40 different venues, including Tenebrae, The Gesualdo Six, John Wilson & Sinfonia of London’s An English Summer, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Opera North.

Taking part too are tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Christopher Glynn, Sheku & Isata Kanneh-Mason, pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, Eliza Carthy and The Restitution, soprano Erika Baikoff, cellist Laura van der Heijden, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists and Kirkbymoorside Town Brass Band. For the full festival programme and tickets, go to: ryedalefestival.com.

Cutting a dash: Russell Kane’s 7.10pm set will last 25 minutes at York Comedy Festival tomorrow

Comedy event of the week: Futuresound presents York Comedy Festival, Live At York Museum Gardens, York, tomorrow, gates 3pm

TOPICAL comedian Russell Howard (9.30pm) and Geordie surrealist Ross Noble (8.35pm) take top billing at the second open-air York Comedy Festival, promoted by Futuresound.

In tomorrow’s line-up too will be Irish stand-up and podcast sensation Joanne McNally (7.40pm); stand-up and presenter Russell Kane (7.10pm); Big Kick Energy podcaster and comedian Suzi Ruffell (6.15pm); Alex Lowe’s 82-year-old comic creation Barry From Watford (5.45pm); cult stand-up hero and viral sensation Jeff Innocent (4.50pm) and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Nabil Abdulrashid (4.20pm), all hosted by Jarred Christmas. Box office: yorkcomedyfestival.com.

Megan Drury in Wright & Grainger’s SELENE, part of Theatre@41’s Halfway To Edinburgh Season

Radical myth revamp of the week: Wright & Grainger and Theatre@41 present Megan Drury in SELENE, Halfway To Edinburgh Season, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, July 15, 7.30pm; July 16, 8.30pm

AUSTRALIAN actor Megan Drury stars in Easingwold duo Phil Grainger and Alexander Flanagan Wright’s tale of the goddess and the dark side of the moon in a radical explosion of an ancient myth.

A young girl watches the moon landings on repeat. A teenager makes a list of all the things they are not. A young adult starts to discover who they are. Expect a story addressing the light sides of us, the dark sides of us, the things orbiting around us as we grow up and not least the wild stuff inside us. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Silence is golden: Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s Thomas in A Brief Case Of Crazy at York Theatre Royal Studio

Silent love story of the week: Skedaddle Theatre & Shoddy Theatre present A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, July 16 to 18, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee

INSPIRED by the timeless genius of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mr Bean,Rowan Armitt-Brewster, Samuel Cunningham and Lennie Longworth’s physical comedy A Brief Case Of Crazy is a silent love story with a very loud heart, told through slick choreography, mime, clowning and puppetry.

Meet Thomas, an awkward, introverted office worker with a quiet crush on his equally shy colleague, Daisy. His quest for love must contend with a boisterous boss named Simon and a rather bothersome briefcase that drags an awkward introvert into extraordinary events. Will his quest for love fail? Or will he discover that what’s on the inside counts most? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Five upwards.

Hannah Davies & Jack Woods: Performing The Ballad Of Blea Wyke at Helmsley Arts Centre on July 17. Picture: Matt Jopling

Dystopian vision of the week: Hannah Davies & Jack Woods in The Ballad of Blea Wyke, Helmsley Arts Centre, July 17, 7.30pm

IN North Yorkshire writer and storyteller Hannah Davies and musician Jack Woods’ dystopian re-imagining of the selkie myth in a not-too-distant future, a young woman wants to see the sea. A stranger stands on a cliff. The last grey seal swims towards the shore.

On her 18th birthday, tough care-leaver Cerys breaks the city’s lockdown and travels to the coastal cliffs that birthed her, the crumbling landscape drawing her back to her mythic past. Cue a haunting interweaving of story, music, poetry and song. Box office: Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Dominic Goodwin in a triptych of three of his multiple roles in Twice Nightly at Friargate Theatre

Recalling variety’s golden days: Pyramus and Thisbe Productions present Dominic Goodwin in Twice Nightly, Friargate Theatre, York, July 17 & 18, 7.30pm

RYEDALE writer, performer and pantomime dame Dominic Goodwin is touring his first one-man comedy show, directed by York director and actor Thomas Frere.

Twice Nightly follows the story of struggling comedian Freddie Francis in 1956 as the final curtain hovers over variety. Many acts of the time are highlighted, including Norman “Over The Garden Wall” Evans (said to be an influence on Les Dawson) Stockton comic Jimmy James, wartime star Robb Wilton and the iconic Max Miller. Box office: York, 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.

Turning up the heat: North Yorkshire chef Tommy Banks

Culinary event of the week: An Evening with Tommy Banks: Spinning Plates: Live, York Theatre Royal, July 17, 7.30pm

MICHELIN-STARRED chef, restaurateur and hospitality leader Tommy Banks makes the trip from his Oldstead family farm to York Theatre Royal to bring his extraordinary story to the stage for the first and only time. Told across three intersecting timelines – the past 25 years, the defining 12 months and the opening night for his latest pub —each moment teeters on a knife-edge.

Banks runs the Black Swan at Oldstead (head chef since June 2013), Roots York, in Marygate, York (since 2018) , and the Abbey Inn at Byland (since 2023), as well as co-founding Jeopardy Hospitality, whose first venture is the General Tarleton at Ferrensby, Knaresborough, in 2025.

His debut cookbook, Roots, was published by Orion in April 2018. He set up the food box business Made In Oldstead in 2020, Banks Brothers canned wine company in 2021, Tommy’s Pie Shop in 2024 and Tommy Banks Hospitality, for large-scale events, stadia catering and corporate hospitality nationwide, in 2025.

In 2019, Banks became resident chef at Lord’s Cricket Ground; in 2022, chef partner of Twickenham Stadium; in 2025, chef partner of Sunderland AFC. A lifelong Sunderland supporter, he now leads the culinary offering at Banks on the Wear and oversees corporate hospitality at the football ground.

Exemplified by the three-acre kitchen garden by the Black Swan, sustainability sits at the heart of everything Banks does. His field-to-fork commitment to responsible growing, foraging and low-impact cooking has been recognised with a Michelin Green Star, while his dedication to nurturing future talent continues through apprenticeship programmes and industry partnerships.

For one night only, he combines storytelling and immersive cinema to lift the lid on hospitality service at its most intense, reflecting on a lifetime of ambition, vulnerability, risk and pressure (cookers).

Set against a turbulent backdrop, where soaring business rates and crushing VAT force three pubs to close every week, Banks exposes the brutal reality of keeping the doors open while revealing the plate-spinning demands of leadership and what it takes to pursue excellence.

Along the way, discover the community of talent he has built in the once-sleepy village of Oldstead, firmly rooted in camaraderie, resilience and Yorkshire grit. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

This Is Torture for Sean Walsh: Anxiety levels rising at Harrogate Theatre, York Theatre Royal and the SJT, Scarborough. Picture: Jiksaw

Gig announcement of the week: Sean Walsh, This Is Torture, Harrogate Theatre, October 6, and York Theatre Royal, November 6, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, April 14 2027

I’M A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! 2022 series survivor Sean Walsh has decided to name his latest stand-up tour show after the phrase he says the most: “This Is Torture”. The dishevelled Camden comedian will be bringing his signature blend of chaos and charm to Harrogate, York and the newly added Scarborough to put himself through an anxiety filled-hour, as he indeed will on no fewer than 71 occasions on a tour now extended by 37 dates.

The ever-observant Walsh’s podcasting portfolio takes in co-hosting Oh My Dog! with Jack Dee, where guests discuss their special canine bonds, and What’s Upset You Now?, putting the world to rights in cathartic trips to the pub with Paul McCaffrey. In addition, on Class Clown, he sits down with the boldest rule-breakers in entertainment to explore the personal battles that shaped them.

In 2024, he made his Shakespearean debut as Malvolio in Twelfth Night at Stafford Gatehouse, then played Yvan in a tour of Yasmina Reza’s Art. Tickets: www.seannwalsh.com; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Scarborough,01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

In Focus: Navigators Art presents Moss Glow And Shadow Bloom, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight 7.45pm

York singer Gabriella Hunzinger

YORK arts collective Navigators Art’s final gig before a summer break brings together four Yorkshire performers whose work conjures unique worlds up in a magical programme of electronic, acoustic and vocal sounds, influenced by folk traditions and environmental awareness.

Combining ancient and modern iconography, art, poetry and music, the bill features York singer Gabriella Hunzinger, No Spinoza, previewing forthcoming album Jupiter’s Great Hurricane, Sheffield experimental songwriter Pefkin and Things Found And Made’s lost cinematic folk-tales.

No Spinoza’s Thomas Pearson

GABRIELLA HUNZINGER: Her songs take wisdom from nature’s seasonal cycles and explore connections between ourselves, the earth and what lies beyond our conscious experience. Accompanied by cellist Filipe Massumi and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Webster.

NO SPINOZA: Welcome to the thematic universe of forthcoming album Jupiter’s Great Hurricane, where Thomas Pearson’s songs bridge history and legend, ancient and modern. Featured in session on BBC Introducing.

Pefkin

PEFKIN: Sheffield performing and recording artist. Multi-instrumentalist and experimental songwriter of slowly unfolding psychedelic hymnals, inspired by nature.

THINGS FOUND AND MADE: Lost cinematic folk-tales: imagined histories, half remembered rituals of sound and nature, from York.

Tickets: https://www.ticketsource.com/navigators-art-performance or on the door.

Things Found And Made

July 10, 2026July 10, 2026

REVIEW: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Summer Of Hits, Live At York Museum Gardens, July 9 ****

Andy McCluskey leading Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark on the first night of Live At York Museum Gardens. All pictures: Devon Chambers

ORCHESTRAL Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Summer Of Hits opened this Summer of Hot’s trio of concerts in Futuresound’s third Live At York Museum Gardens season.

Oh yes, it was hot, absurdly hot, hot enough to bake a pizza on the Yorkshire Museum walls, if you could cook a pizza sideways, as if in a Salvador Dali painting.

There will be no respite for Self Esteem’s Friday bill or today for Super Furry Animals (not a state of fur coverage any would want right now), so come prepared. Spray on Factor 50 sun cream, advises Futuresound project manager Rachel Hill. Look out for the water stations too to top up bottles.

The site lay-out changed from the first festival to the second, when the stage switched architectural backdrop from the Yorkshire Museum to the St Mary’s Abbey ruins, and further changes have come into play for 2026: a sure sign that Futuresound and York Museums Trust respond positively to suggestions.

Andrew Cushin, in retro football shirt, kicking off day one of Live At York Museum Gardens

Large screens have been placed to either side to enhance the viewing experience (last year, standing at the back, your reviewer struggled to see a head let alone Elbow, before being accommodated most kindly in the Ambulant seated area for Richard Hawley).

The Premium ticket experience has improved vastly too: separate entry via Exhibition Square; commodious bar (well stocked but no gin, presumably deemed too depressive for a festival) ; Indian and bao bun food vendors; seats and bean bags dotted around the gardens, away from the stage but within hearing range.

The Premium viewing area has expanded too, still by the Yorkshire Museum, still with reserved Ambulant seating, but now with a steeped bank of terracing, like the most spacious football Kop ever. Out-standing improvement, indeed.

Futuresound make good decisions: first in setting up Live At York Museum Gardens, then adding a Sunday comedy festival, then bettering the festivalgoer’s experience. The Leeds event promoters also pick the headline acts really well, whether home-crowd favourites Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary celebrations and Jack Savoretti in 2024 or Elbow, Hawley and Nile Rodgers & Chic last summer.

China Crisis frontman Gary Daly, dressed for the beach, at Live At York Museum Gardens

In 2026, headliners OMD, Self Esteem and Super Furry Animals each will appeal to a different pop/ rock demographic – Eighties, Gen Z and Nineties respectively – and the supporting bills offer enticement aplenty to arrive well before the 8.30pm last entry.

Andrew Cushin, Newcastle’s latest singer-songwriter protégé, came and went before your reviewer settled in by the museum wall to see China Crisis lead singer Gary Daly dressed appropriately for the weather: white T-shirt and green shorts (the de rigueur dress code for the men in the crowd too).

The Kirkby synth-poppers would be playing for only 30 minutes, so he would cut “the chat”, said the normally notoriously loquacious Daly after only two songs in the opening ten. Christian, “Jeremy Vine favourite” Arizona Sky, Black Man Ray, Wishful Thinking and King In A Catholic Sky were all reminders of how the Liverpool School of Melody DNA passed through them so delightfully.

We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thang T-shirts (without the brackets of the song title) heralded the presence of Heaven 17 devotees in the sold-out crowd. One, called Sumo, had been to 217 gigs (one more than lead singer Glenn Gregory, Glenn revealed, after Sumo turned up for a show in Canada but illness had put paid to the Sheffield electronic pioneers’ appearance).

Heaven 17 fans wearing We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thang T-shirts at the front of Friday’s sold-out crowd

Like Daly, Gregory likes to talk, to tell stories, as sharp of tongue as his tailoring in white suit, blue shirt and shades. Keyboardist Martyn Ware favoured sparkling hat and jacket, joined on stage by a drummer and Carrie, Rachel and Florence (keyboards and backing vocals).

We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thang, the first song Heaven 17 wrote after Ware and Ian Craig Marsh split from Heaven 17 in 1981, was given a 2026 re-boot, with ‘Trump’ replacing ‘Reagan’ in the lyrics. “We don’t need this Farage groove thang,” Gregory said afterwards, urging support for Count Binface in the Clacton by-election.

Introduced as “Kim Wilde walked down the aisle to this one”, Come Love With Me Come was a particular joy, while the “Giorgio Moroder tribute”, I’m Your Money, was segued with Donna Summer’s I Feel Love. Gregory and co then went the full cover-version hog on David Bowie’s Let Dance, rivalled only by the climactic Temptation for impact.

“Enjoy Orchestral Manoeuvres, I know I will,” enthused Gregory, later to be spotted in the crowd doing exactly that. It still wasn’t dark when OMD emerged on stage after a futuristic film projection, and nor would there be any “orchestral manoeuvres”, but all dressed in black (ah, there’s the dark), frontman Andy McCluskey and keyboardist Paul Humphreys (in specs) were joined by Martin Cooper on keys and saxophone and Stuart Kershaw on drums.

Martyn Ware and Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17: Still playing to win after 45 years together at Live At York Museum Gardens

In this digital age, OMD can replicate their recorded electronic sound to perfection, says McCluskey, although there was still room for him to forget the same words twice in one song, met with an invitation to the audience to jump.

Imagery ran throughout their set on a screen that spanned the whole of the stage, changing for each song, switching between colour and black and white, much in the manner of Public Service Broadcasting’s concerts.

True to their billing, the Summer Of Hits meant playing all, not some of their hits, with the oh-so-familiar standouts of the brace of Joan Of Arcs, Souvenir, Forever Live And Die and Sailing On The Seven Seas, plenty of peaks, the occasional trough, and a magnificent version of Enola Gay, to the haunting accompaniment of atomic bomb footage.

Walking On The Milky Way was ruefully reflective, if defiant, of the passage of time and what else but Electricity could crackle through the night sky to meet the 10.30pm curfew bang on.

The crowd watching the climax to Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s set as darkness descends on Live At York Museum Gardens

July 9, 2026July 11, 2026

Festival of the week: Futuresound’s Live At York Museum Gardens, July 9 to 12

SATURDAY UPDATE: EARLIER START

SUPER Furry Animals may be Dai-hard Welshman, but in an act of supreme consideration to England versus Norway kicking off at 10pm in the World Cup quarter final, everything today at Live At York Museum Gardens will kick off earlier to boot. Gates open at 3.30pm; last entry is at 8pm.

Saturday’s bill: Pys Melyn (3.55pm to 4.25pm); Divorce (4.45pm to 5.25pm); Los Campesinos! (5.55pm to 6.40pm); Baxter Dury (7.10pm to 7.55pm); headliners Super Furry Animals (8.25pm to 9.55pm.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys: Summer of Hits concert at Live At York Museum Gardens tonight

LIVE At York Museum Gardens returns for its third festival of outdoor concerts from today to Saturday and second York Comedy Festival on Sunday, organised by Leeds event promoters Futuresound Group.

“We’re so proud of how Live at York Museum Gardens has grown, and we’re looking forward to seeing the changes we’ve made to the site this year, ensuring that everyone enjoys their time in such a beautiful space,” says Rachel Hill, Futuresound’s project manager, who lives in York, by the way.

The map of the Live At York Museum Gardens site for July 9 to 11

“None of this would have been possible without the continued collaboration, trust and support of the team at York Museums Trust; the opportunity to put together such an incredible bill for the summer makes us excited for the future of our partnership.”

Today’s bill: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Summer of Hits (9pm), with Heaven 17 (7.30pm), China Crisis (6.30pm) and Newcastle singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin (5.30pm) in support. Gates open at 5pm; last admission 8.30pm. SOLD OUT.

Friday’s bill: Self Esteem (Rotherham’s Rebecca Lucy Taylor), supported by The Big Moon, Moonchild Sanelly and Joshua Idehen. Gates, 5pm; last entry, 8.30pm.

Super Furry Animals: Flower power in the botanical gardens at Live At York Museum Gardens on Saturday. Picture: Ryan Eddleston

Saturday’s bill: PLEASE NOTE: NOW STARTING and ENDING EARLIER. Super Furry Animals (8.25pm to 9.55pm), plus Baxter Dury (7.10pm to 7.55pm). Los Campesinos! (5.55pm to 6.40pm), Divorce (4.45pm to 5.25pm) and Pys Melyn (3.55pm to 4.25pm). Gates, 3.30pm; last entry, 8pm.

Event curfew for each concert: 10.30pm.

Check Live At York Museum Gardens social media channels on the day, where set times will be published ahead of time. NO readmittance to Live At York Museum Gardens; once you leave the site, you will not be allowed to re-enter.

Sunday’s comedy bill: Nabil Abdulrashid, 4:20pm to 4:45pm; Jeff Innocent, 4.50pm to 5.15pm; Barry from Watford, 5.45pm to 6.10pm; Suzi Ruffell, 6.15pm to 6.40pm; Russell Kane, 7.10pm to 7.35pm; Joanne McNally, 7.40pm to 8.05pm; Ross Noble, 8.35pm to 9.05pm and Russell Howard, 9.30pm to 10pm, hosted by Jarred Christmas. Gates, 3pm; last entry, 8.15pm. .

The map for the Live At York Museum Gardens site for Sunday’s York Comedy Festival

Map: Futuresound, the team behind Live at York Museum Gardens, have come to know the site well and, in tandem with York Museums Trust, have “refined how the event fits and feels within the garden walls”. Downloadable site maps can be found at the Live at York Museum Gardens FAQ page with other relevant information.

Box office: Located adjacent to General Admission entrance via Museum Street while the newly situated Premium Ticket entrance is via Exhibition Square.

New features: The Live at York Museum Gardens Premium Area has been moved to a new location closer to the action with a Hang Out Area featuring seating, premium facilities and exclusive food vendors, along with access to a new first-come, first-served, free-flowing Premium Standing Platform with an unparalleled view of the stage.

Significantly, this year’s event will feature large-format, high-definition screens either side of the main stage for the first time, “significantly improving audiences ability to see and appreciate the performances”.

Cutting a dash: Russell Kane will play a 25-minute set at Sunday’s York Comedy Festival at 7.10pm

Gardens facts: Founded in the 1830s, York Museum Gardens span more than ten acres of botanical gardens, set against the backdrop of the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey and also house the Yorkshire Museum and Hospitium. The gardens welcome 1.3 million visitors a year as a space to relax and enjoy.

Weather forecast: Phew, what a scorcher, all weekend.

Rachel Hill’s advice: Make sure to apply Factor 50 sun cream.

For more information, visit: https://www.futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events

Interview with Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Andy McCluskey:

Orchestral Manoeuvres look forward to playing not-so-dark in Museum Gardens

Interview with Super Furry Animals’ Huw Bunford:

Super Furry Animals make York debut after 33 years at Museum Gardens on Saturday

Alas, Self Esteem’s Rebecca Lucy Taylor was not available for an interview.

Self Esteem’s Rebecca Lucy Taylor

Who is Self Esteem? Fact file

Born: Rotherham, South Yorkshire, October 15 1986.

Name: Rebecca Lucy Taylor.

Age: 39.

Parents’ occupations: Father, health & safety advisor and amateur musician; mother, secretary.

Education: Wales High School in Rotherham, where she was a “choir nerd”.

Occupation: Singer, songwriter, musician and actress.

Style: Experimental pop, R&B and electronica, delivered with theatrical stage presence.

Content: Known for bold, emotionally honest, witty, genre-defying pop music with feminist themes, addressing gender politics, women’s rights, female autonomy, mental health, liberation, modern identity and self-empowerment, challenging societal norms.

First band: The Lonely Hearts, featuring Taylor on drums.

Second band: On vocals, drums, guitar and percussion, she was one half of folk-indie/country soul duo Slow Club, formed in Sheffield in 2006 with fellow former Lonely Heart Charles Watson (vocals, guitar, piano)

Albums: Yeah So, 2009; Paradise, 2011; Complete Surrender, 2014; All Of This Won’t Matter Anymore, 2016.

Played here: The Basement (City Screen Picturehouse), The Duchess and The Crescent in York; Pocklington Arts Centre.

The first poster for Self Esteem at Live At York Museum Gardens

Documentary: Our Most Brilliant Friends, directed by Piers Dennis, released in 2018, charting Slow Club’s final tour in Winter 2016 and the “unfulfilled” Taylor’s rising dissatisfaction with the band.

Did you know? Guillemots’ Fyfe Dangerfield occasionally joined the duo on stage on tour.

Rebranded as Self Esteem: 2017, preceded by using that name for artistic projects such as a painting and print exhibition.

Albums: Compliments Please, 2019; Prioritise Pleasure, 2021; A Complicated Woman, April 25 2025.

Best-known song: Spoken-word anthem I Do This All the Time, 2021.

Acting roles: On TV, I Hate Suzie Too (Sky) and Smothered (Sky). Film: Layla, playing Emily in writer-director Amrou Al-Kadhi’s 2024 debut British romance.

Theatre: Sally Bowles in Cabaret, at Kit Kat Club, Playhouse Theatre, West End, London, September 2023 to March 2024; Maggie Frisby in 50^th anniversary West End revival of David Hare’s Teeth’n’Smiles, Duke of York’s Theatre, March 13 to June 6 2026 (playing lead role originated by Helen Mirren)

On stage too: Created and starred in A Complicated Woman Live, a specially conceived theatrical live performance at Duke of York’s Theatre, London, in 2025.

Awards: Visionary Award at 2025 Ivor Novello Awards; Album of the Year for Proritise Pleasure in the Guardian and Sunday Times Culture; Attitude magazine’s Music Award, 2021; BBC Introducing Artist of the Year, 2022. Nominated for Mercury Prize, BRIT Awards, Sky Arts Awards and NME Awards.

Did you know too? Self Esteem composed the soundtrack for Suzie Miller’s one-woman play Prima Facie, starring Jodie Comer in the West End, on Broadway and on tour at Grand Opera House, York, in February 2026.

Debut book: A Complicated Woman, published on October 30 2025. Co-curated London Literature Festival at Southbank to mark its release.

When is Self Esteem playing York? Live At York Museum Gardens, July 10. Box office: https://www.futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events

The second poster for Self Esteem at Live At York Museum Gardens

July 8, 2026July 10, 2026

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 28, from Gazette & Herald

Becca Magson’s Rita and Joe Gregory’s Frank in 1812 Theatre Company’s Educating Rita. Picture: Lauren Wyeth

RYEDALE Festival and 1812 Theatre’s Educating Rita, compact Shakespeare and Live At York Museum Gardens are uppermost in Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations amid the July heatwave.

Ryedale play of the week: 1812 Theatre Company in Educating Rita, Helmsley Arts Centre, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm

SAMANTHA Hughes directs Helmsley Arts Centre resident troupe 1812 Theatre Company in Willy Russell’s comedy Educating Rita, wherein Frank (Joe Gregory) is a tutor of English Literature in his 50s whose disillusioned outlook on life drives him to drink and bury himself in his books.

Enter Rita (Becca Magson), a forthright 26-year-old hairdresser who is eager to learn. After weeks of cajoling, she slowly wins over the hesitant Frank with her highly original insights and refusal to accept “No” for an answer. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk. Picture: Lauren Wyeth.

Michael Flatley’s Irish dancers in the 30th anniversary tour of Lord Of The Dance, in action at York Barbican tonight. Picture: Brian Doherty

Dance show of the week: Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance30th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, tonight, 7.45pm

THE 30th anniversary tour of Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance promises a grand celebration of the revolutionary Irish dance production’s legacy, after captivating more than 60 million fans in 60 countries since its 1996 debut.

The 30 Years of Standing Ovations tour features “brand-new choreography, stunning costumes, state-of-the-art special effects and cutting-edge lighting, ensuring that the production continues to push boundaries and deliver an unforgettable experience”. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/lord-of-the-dance-30th-anniversary/.

Clive Francis’s Sir Humphrey Appleby in I’m Sorry, Prime Minister. Picture: Johan Persson

Political drama of the week: I’m Sorry, Prime Minister, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

JIM Hacker is back, older, but perhaps not wiser, and still utterly baffled by the real world. Hoping for a quiet retirement from government as the master of Hacker College, Oxford, Jim (Robert Kitson, replacing the indisposed Simon Rouse) instead finds himself facing the ultimate modern crisis: cancelled by the college committee. Enter Sir Humphrey Appleby (Clive Francis), who has lost none of his love for bureaucracy, Latin phrases and well-timed obstruction.

Can Humphrey and Jim outmanoeuvre the hostile students, the Fellows and reality itself? Or is it finally time to say “I’m Sorry, Prime Minister”? Brimming with wit, nostalgia and more double-speak than a press briefing, the final chapter in the evergreen comedy series is written and directed by Jonathan Lynn,co-directed byMichael Gyngell and presented by The Barn Theatre, Cirencester. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2026 tour cast for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), squeezing into York Theatre Royal this week

Shakespeare shake-up of the week: Reduced Shakespeare Company in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

MARKING 30 years of performances in the UK, the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2026 tour company of Efé Agwele, Woogie Jung, Tom Pavey and Kiran Raywilliams presents Hamlet told backwards, a micro-condensed Othello scored to a ukulele, a carnage-filled Titus Andronicus presented as a YouTube cookery tutorial and the History Plays as a manic football game, passing the crown from king to king.

Californian co-founders Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield have re-booted, re-imagined, reinvented and updated the restless comedy for a new generation to undertake a rollercoaster ride through all 37 of the Bard’s First Folio of plays. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Stephen Smith’s Claude Monet in A Montage Of Monet at York Medical Society. Picture: Amie Barton-Young

Storytelling actor of the week: Threedumb Theatre presents Stephen Smith in A Montage Of Monet, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, tonight, 7.30pm and July 11, 3pm; One Man Poe world premiere, July 11, 7.30pm

THREEDUMB Theatre artistic director and actor Stephen Smith performs Joan Greening’s new play exploring French Impressionist artist Claude Monet’s life and loves: his two marriages, his first wife’s devastating death, his lover’s erratic behaviour, his suicide attempt, his thoughts on fellow Impressionists and the torment of his failing eyesight. The 55-minute Monet montage combines projection design and Joe Furey’s music with Smith’s storytelling in two York performances.

Smith also presents the world premiere of his latest Poe double bill (The Business Man and The Case of M. Valdemar) ahead of his Edinburgh Fringe residency. Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys: Summer of Hits concert at Live At York Museum Gardens

Rock and pop festival of the week: Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, tomorrow, gates 5pm; Self Esteem, Friday, gates 5pm, and Super Furry Animals, Saturday, gates 4pm

WIRRAL synth-pop pioneers Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark open Futuresound’s third season of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts tomorrow with a Summer of Hits bill featuring Heaven 17, China Crisis and rising Newcastle singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin.

Mercury Prize nominee Self Esteem, aka Rotherham singer, songwriter and actress Rebecca Lucy Taylor, tops Friday’s line-up, featuring London indie group The Big Moon, South African ghetto funk musician Moonchild Sanelly and Nigerian-born musician and spoken-word artist Joshia Idehen.

Welsh psychedelic rock band Super Furry Animals are Saturday’s headliners, joined by singer-songwriter Baxter Dury, indie-pop septet Los Campesinos!, Nottingham alt-country band Divorce and North Wales psychedelic act Pys Melyn. Box office for July 10 and 11: futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events.

Ross Noble: Playing York Comedy Festival at Live At York Museum Gardens on Sunday

Comedy event of the week: Futuresound presents York Comedy Festival, Live at York Museum Gardens, York, Sunday, gates 3pm

TOPICAL comedian Russell Howard (9.30pm), from Russell Howard’s Good News, and Geordie surrealist Ross Noble (8.35pm) take top billing at the second open-air York Comedy Festival, promoted by Futuresound.

In Sunday’s line-up too will be Irish stand-up and podcast sensation Joanne McNally (7.40pm); stand-up and presenter Russell Kane (7.10pm); Big Kick Energy podcaster and comedian Suzi Ruffell (6.15pm); Barry From Watford (5.45pm), the 82-year-old comic creation of Alex Lowe; cult stand-up hero and viral sensation Jeff Innocent (4.50pm) and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Nabil Abdulrashid (4.20pm), all hosted by Jared Christmas. Box office: yorkcomedyfestival.com.

The Gesualdo Six: Performing Wishing Tree: A Choral Journey at St Lawrence’s Church, York, on July 14 at 3pm as part of Ryedale Festival. Picture: Ash Mills

Festival of the week: Ryedale Festival, July 10 to 26

RYEDALE Festival presents 60 events this month in 40 different venues, including Tenebrae, pianist Junyan Chen, The Gesualdo Six, Dunedin Consort, John Wilson & Sinfonia of London’s An English Summer, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Opera North.

Hannah Davies and Jack Woods: Re-imagining of the selkie myth in a not-too-distant future in The Ballad Of Blea Wyke. Picture: Matt Jopling

Dystopian vision of the week: Hannah Davies & Jack Woods in The Ballad of Blea Wyke, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, York, July 10, 8.30pm; Helmsley Arts Centre, July 17, 7.30pm

July 4, 2026July 6, 2026

More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 27, from The York Press

SledOne’s mural, What Walks Amongst Us, taking shape at AcombFest. Picture: Art of Protest

MURALS in Acomb, early music beyond borders, Mystery Plays on waggons, a political swansong and compact Shakespeare keep Charles Hutchinson’s thoughts off the July heatwave.

Art event of the week: AcombFest, Acomb, York, today and tomorrow

CURATED by Art of Protest, York’s first international street art festival continues today and tomorrow with its theme of A Return To Nature, featuring 20 art installations, live murals, RARE Collective’s Paint Jam, spray battles and more than 30 bands, DJs and performers, across 22 venues.

Look out too for interactive family-friendly workshops, an art market, history walks and talks, special events and tastings and a community cinema. Muralists taking part include SMUG, from Australia, Sheffield muralist Peachzz, wildlife artist Curtis Hylton and Acomb’s very own SledOne. For full details, go to: https://acombfest.co.uk/.

Baroque collective Solomon’s Knot: Performing Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhns’ St Mark Passion, directed by Jonathan Sells, at The Quire, York Minster, on July 10

50th anniversary event of the summer: 2026 York Early Music Festival, Beyond Borders, until July 11

THE premier British early music festival marks its 50th anniversary with a celebration of “just how far early music has travelled – beyond the borders of the myriad historic venues of our city to a worldwide audience,” says director Delma Tomlin.

The festival welcomes The Sixteen, B’Rock Orchestra & Vocal Consort, Imago Mundi, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, Solomon’s Knot and NCEM Platform Artists Anacronia and Contre le temps, among others. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk/yemf.

Bodhan Pitel’s Herod in DSpace Ukrainian Theatre’s The Massacre of the Innocents in the York Mystery Plays 2026. Picture: John Saunders

Theatrical outdoor event of the week: 2026 York Mystery Plays, streets of York, tomorrow, 10.30am to 4.50pm

THE four-yearly staging on the York Mystery Plays on pageant waggons takes place at four locations across the city: free viewing at the Minster Refectory Gardens, Deansgate, (from 10.30am) King’s Square (from 11.10am), St Sampson’s Square (from 11.50am) and ticketed seats at Dean’s Park (from 12.30pm). Ten core plays will be complemented by further extracts to tell the story from The War In Heaven to Doomsday. For full details, go to yorkmysteryplays.co.uk; tickets, ticketsource.com/york-festival-trust.

Clive Francis as Sir Humphrey Appleby in I’m Sorry, Prime Minister. Picture: Johan Persson

Political drama of the week: I’m Sorry, Prime Minister, Grand Opera House, York, July 7 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

JIM Hacker is back, older, but perhaps not wiser, and still utterly baffled by the real world. Hoping for a quiet retirement from government as the master of Hacker College, Oxford, Jim (Robert Kitson, replacing Simon Rouse) instead finds himself facing the ultimate modern crisis: cancelled by the college committee. Enter Sir Humphrey Appleby (Clive Francis), who has lost none of his love for bureaucracy, Latin phrases and well-timed obstruction.

Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2026 tour cast for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

Shakespeare shake-up of the week: Reduced Shakespeare Company in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), York Theatre Royal, July 7 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

Stephen Smith’s Claude Monet in A Montage Of Monet

Busiest actor of the week: Threedumb Theatre presents Stephen Smith in A Montage Of Monet, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, July 8, 7.30pm and July 11, 3pm; One Man Poe, Ripon Theatre Festival, Ripon Arts Hub, July 10, 8pm; One Man Poe world premiere, York Medical Society, July 11, 7.30pm

Smith also presents four of Edgar Allan Poe’s Gothic horror works (The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and The Pendulum, The Black Cat and The Raven) in Ripon, followed by the world premiere of his latest Poe double bill (The Business Man and The Case of M. Valdemar) in York. All six, amounting to 18,000 Poe words, will be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe. Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Ripon, ripontheatrefestival.org.

Musical of the week: Top Hat and Tails Theatre in Little Shop Of Horrors!, Friargate Theatre, York, July 9 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

MEEK floral assistant Seymour Krelborn stumbles across a new breed of plant he calls Audrey II, a foul-mouthed carnivore that promises him fame and fortune if he keeps feeding it with blood. Over time, however, Seymour discovers Audrey II’s plans for global domination in Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s sci-fi B-movie monster spoof, presented here with a live band and professionally hand-crafted puppets. Box office: ridinglights.org.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys: Summer of Hits show at York Museum Gardens on Thursday

Music festival of the week: Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, July 9, gates 5pm; Self Esteem, July 10, gates 5pm, and Super Furry Animals, July 11, gates 4pm

WIRRAL synth-pop pioneers Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark open Futuresound’s third season of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts on Thursday with a Summer of Hits bill featuring Heaven 17, China Crisis and rising Newcastle singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin.

Welsh psychedelic rock band Super Furry Animals are next Saturday’s headliners, joined by singer-songwriter Baxter Dury, indie-pop septet Los Campesinos!, Nottingham alt-country band Divorce and North Wales psychedelic act Pys Melyn. Box office for July 10 and 11: futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events.

If I Knew The Way, I Would Take You Home, by Matt Sewell

In Focus: Birds of the week: Matt Sewell exhibition for RARE Collective at WET, Micklegate, York, until mid-July

SHROPSHIRE artist, illustrator and author Matt Sewelll is the latest street art luminary to be showcased in RARE Collective’s collaboration with WET wine bar, in Micklegate, York, in aid of SASH (Safe and Sound Homes), the York youth homelessness charity.

“We’re really chuffed to have Matt return to York with his fabulous Riso prints,” says RARE Collective exhibition organiser Sharon McDonagh. “If you came to the Vandalfest charity street art show last year, you would have seen his cracking bird mural on Floor 3 of the big disused office block in Low Ousegate.

Artist Matt Sewell at work

Sewell is an avid ornithologist, contributing regularly to the Caught By The River website and publishing the books Our Garden Birds, Our Songbirds, Our Woodland Birds, Owls, Penguins and A Charm Of Goldfinches And Other Collective Nouns.

He has illustrated for the Guardian, Barbour, V&A Museums, BBC, National Trust, Greenpeace, Big Issue and Levi’s and painted walls for Helly Hansen, Puma and the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). He has exhibited in Great Britain, New York, old York, Tokyo and Paris.

Cuckoo Cuckoo Cuckoo, by Matt Sewell

Under RARE Collective’s partnership with WET, artists and photographers exhibit their work in a six-week solo show. As well as at WET, work can be bought online both during and after the exhibition run at rarecollective.co.uk.

In addition, a selection of Sewell’s prints is featuring in RARE Collective’s exhibition for AcombFest at The Crooked Tap, on show until August 15 in support of SASH.

Matt Sewell’s wall of bird prints for sale at WET

Exhibiting too are: spAm (Sharon McDonagh), Sola, Alison Jagger, Al Murphy, Anthony Appleyard, Boxxhead, HazardOne, Lady Mkei, Lincoln Lightfoot, Liskbot, Michael Dawson, Nicolas Dixon, Slice Of Lino, STATIC and Stephen Bottrill.

“RARE are working in collaboration with the Art of Protest Project, after being invited by AcombFest curator Jeff Clark and the AOP team to curate the live PaintJam at the Carlton Tavern, in Acomb Road, Holgate, today and tomorrow,” says RARE Collective curator Sharon McDonagh.

“This will involve nine artists painting live from 10am to 4pm each day (Boxxhead, HazardOne, Lady Mkei, Lincoln Lightfoot, Liskbot, Nicolas Dixon, Sola, spAm and VYZ); live DJ sets by Alilou, Bob Yenz, Conor Rogan, Free Da Karlos and Sola plus guests, audiovisual artists Fred DWolf, Sonas and JohnManBand on a huge screen, cocktails and mixology by Tulum Spirits Collective and street food by El Chappo, all in support of SASH.”

Did you know?

MATT Sewell is also a musician, performing as Sewell &The Gong with Chris Tate and as the deep-cut compiler of the compilation series A Crushing Glow.

Matt Sewell’s work environment

In Focus too: Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance, 30th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, July 6 to 8, 7.45pm

THE 30^th anniversary tour of Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance promises a grand celebration of the revolutionary Irish dance production’s legacy after captivating more than 60 million fans in 60 countries since its 1996 debut.

The 30 Years of Standing Ovations tour will feature “brand-new choreography, stunning costumes, state-of-the-art special effects and cutting-edge lighting, ensuring that the production continues to push boundaries and deliver an unforgettable experience”.

Creative manager James Keegan says: “Michael Flatley has taught me that there are no boundaries in the creative space. When he burst onto the scene in the mid-90s, he took traditional Irish dancing to a place nobody had ever dreamed of, and that has been the key to the show’s success.

“Michael often says in rehearsals that we need to push the boundaries as much as we can, and if it’s too far or doesn’t work, we can always pull it back. That mindset is what keeps Lord Of The Dance evolving.”

Lord Of The Dance on its 30th anniversary tour. Picture: Brian Doherty

Keegan believes that the core elements of Flatley’s visionary production – choreography, music and storytelling – remain timeless while still evolving. “What made Lord Of The Dance famous 30 years ago is still what makes it work today: 40 of the greatest Irish tap dancers in the world performing in one line in perfect sync. It’s a spectacle that never loses its magic,” he says.

Reflecting on Flatley’s impact, Keegan says: “Professional Irish dancing didn’t really exist until Michael created his shows and added a more entertaining twist to the art form.

“He wasn’t just a dancer; he was a highly tuned athlete who could perform at astonishing levels for a full two-hour show, seven days a week. Today, we see young competitive dancers around the world striving to reach the levels he set.”

But beyond the footwork and the spectacle, Keegan reckons Flatley’s greatest legacy is his ability to inspire. “Michael’s motto has always been, ‘Nothing is impossible.’ He took an already intricate dance form and pushed it even further, breaking records like 38 taps per second and incorporating upper body movements that defied tradition,” he says.

Michael Flatley

“I’ve seen it time and time again: a dancer who never thought they could be a lead receives Michael’s encouragement, and before long, they are fulfilling their dream on stage.”

For Keegan, one moment stands out above the rest. “In 1997, I was a ten-year-old competitive Irish dancer in Manchester, struggling with the name-callers and the challenges of being a young male dancer,” he says.

“Then Lord Of The Dance came to town. Watching Michael and the cast that night at the Apollo Theatre changed everything for me. The masculinity, the precision, the energy, it was like nothing I’d ever seen before.

“I met Michael at the stage door, and suddenly, I knew that being an Irish dancer could mean being a superstar. Nineteen years later, I had the honour of sharing his final show with him at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, in 2016. It was a full-circle moment I will never forget.”

Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance dancers

As Lord Of The Dance embark on its 30th anniversary tour, Flatley reflects on the journey. “The magic of Lord Of The Dance lives on in the hearts of our audience, and I am thrilled to bring this iconic show back to the UK in 2026,” he says.

“30 Years of Standing Ovations celebrates the incredible journey we’ve shared with fans over the years. It’s a tribute to the enduring power of dreams, the joy of dance and the unwavering support of our audience. This tour is our way of saying thank you for three decades of unforgettable memories.”

Although Flatley, now 67, retired from performing during his final tour in 2016, he has remained at the helm of Lord Of The Dance, guiding its evolution while preserving its timeless magic.

Now, as the production prepares for its biggest celebration yet, fans can look forward to a breathtaking spectacle that honours the past, embraces the present, and inspires the future of Irish dance.

The 30^th anniversary tour also visits Hull New Theatre, July 22 to 25, and Sheffield City Hall, August 20 to 23. For full tour dates and ticket information, go to lordofthedance.com. York tickets: https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/lord-of-the-dance-30th-anniversary/.

January 31, 2026February 9, 2026

More Things To Do in and around York as Colour & Light illuminates winter nights. Hutch’s List No. 4, from The York Press

Dame for a laugh anew: Graham Smith returns to the pantomime stage with Shiptonthorpe Community Theatre

A PANTO dame’s return and another’s transformation into a dog top Charles Hutchinson’s cultural picks for early February and beyond.

Pantomime of the week: Shiptonthorpe Community Theatre in Robin Hood And The Babes In The Wood, Shiptonthorpe Village Hall, Shiptonthorpe, near Market Weighton, today, 3pm and 7pm; Sunday, 2pm; February 6 and 7, 7pm

GRAHAM Smith, Rowntree Players’ pantomime dame from 2004 to 2022, pulls on the frocks once more after a three-year hiatus in the York guest house proprietor’s debut for East Riding company Shiptonthorpe Community Theatre.

He plays Nellie Nickerlastic in Richard Waud’s production of Robin Hood And The Babes In The Wood, joined in principal roles by Neil Scott’s King Richard, Toby Jewsen’s Robin Hood, Chris McKenzie’s Little John, Henry Rice’s Will Scarlett, Paul Jefferson’s Friar Tuck, Alison Rosa’s Sheriff of Nottingham and Chloe Jensen’s Maid Marion. Tickets: 07922 443639 or email richardwaud@yahoo.co.uk.

Femme Fatale Faerytales: Dark feminist re-telling of age-old classic

A homecoming, a haunting, a holy rebellion: Femme Fatale Faerytales present Mary, Mary, Fossgate Social, Fossgate, York, February 1 and 2, 8pm (doors 7pm)

MARY, Mary quite contrary, wouldn’t you like to know how her garden grows? Step into the fairytale world of Femme Fatale Faerytales as Sasha Elizabeth Parker unveils a dark, lyrical, feminist re-telling of an age-old classic. Part confession, part ritual, part bedtime story for grown-ups, Mary, Mary invites you to meet the woman behind the nursery rhyme in all her wild, untamed, contrary glory.

In her York debut, expect enchanting storytelling, poetic prophecy and a subversive twist on the tales you thought you knew on two intimate, atmospheric nights in one of York’s cult favourite haunts. Box office: wegottickets.com. Box office: wegottickets.com.

Kym Marsh’s Hedy, left, and Lisa Faulkner’s Allie in Rebecca Reid’s updated version of Single White Female, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York

World premiere tour of the week: Single White Female, Grand Opera House, York, February 3 to 7, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

SCREEN actress, 2010 Celebrity MasterChef winner, TV presenter, chef and cookery book author Lisa Faulkner returns to the stage for the first time in 21 years in Rebecca Reid’s darkly humorous stage adaptation of psychological thriller Single White Female, now updated to the social-media age.

Faulkner’s recently divorced mum Allie is balancing being a single parent with the launch of her tech start-up. When she decides to advertise for a lodger to help make ends meet, Kym Marsh’s Hedy offers her a lifeline, but as their lives intertwine, boundaries blur and a seemingly perfect arrangement begins to unravel with chilling consequences. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Colour & Light: Illuminating Clifford’s Tower and York Castle Museum from February 4

Illumination launch of the week: Colour & Light, York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower, February 4 to 22, 6pm to 9pm

YORK BID is bringing Colour & Light back for 2026 on its biggest ever canvas. For the first time, two of York’s landmark buildings will be illuminated together when York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower become a combined stage for a fully choreographed projection show, transforming the Eye of York.

Presented in partnership with York Museums Trust and English Heritage, the continuous, looped, ten-minute show will bring York’s historic characters to life in a family-friendly projection open to all for free; no ticket required.

Matt Tapp’s ‘Wild’ Bill Hickok and Helen Gallagher’s ‘Calamity’ Jane in Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s Calamity Jane

Musical of the week: Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company in Calamity Jane, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, February 4 to 7, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

HELEN Gallagher’s tough talkin’, gun-totin’ heroine ‘Calamity’ Jane and Matt Tapp’s former peace-officer ‘Wild’ Bill Hickok lead director Sophie Cooke’s cast for Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster’s musical Calamity James.

Deadwood’s citizens are content with their ways of life: supporting their fort of soldiers and socialising at the beloved Golden Garter saloon. However, when a new face blows in from the Windy City to create a stir, friendships will be formed, long-time loyalties tested and perhaps even secret love revealed. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Alexander Flanagan Wright in Wright & Grainger’s Helios at Theatre@41, Monkgate

Ancient & modern drama of the week: Wright & Grainger in Helios, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 5, 7.30pm

EASINGWOLD theatre-makers Alexander Flanagan Wright and Phil Grainger begin their new partnership with Theatre@41 by re-visiting Helios, wherein a lad lives half way up a historic hill, a teenager is on a road trip to the city in a stolen car and a boy is driving a chariot, pulling the sun across the sky.

In Wright’s story of the son of the sun god, Helios transplants the Ancient Greek tale into a modern-day myth wound around the winding roads of rural England and into the everyday living of a towering city. “It’s a story about life, the invisible monuments we build to it, and the little things that leave big marks,” he says. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Robin Simpson in rehearsal for Catherine Dyson’s The Last Picture, premiering at York Theatre Royal Studio

Solo show of the week: The Last Picture, York Theatre Royal Studio, February 5 to 14, except February 8, 7.45pm, plus Wednesday and Saturday 2pm matinees

ROBIN Simpson follows up his sixth season as York Theatre Royal’s pantomime dame by playing a dog in York Theatre Royal, ETT and An Tobar and Mull Theatre’s premiere of Catherine Dyson’s The Last Picture, directed by John R Wilkinson.

Imagine yourself in a theatre in 2026. Now picture yourself as a Year 9 student on a school trip, and then as a citizen of Europe in 1939 as history takes its darkest turn. While you imagine, emotional support dog Sam (Simpson’s character)will be by your side in a play about empathy – its power and limits and what it asks of us – in a story of our shared past, present and the choices we face today. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

The poster for Super Furry Animals’ summer concert at York Museum Gardens

Gig announcement of the week: Live At York Museum Gardens presents Super Furry Animals, York Museum Gardens, July 11

FUTURESOUND completes the line-up for its third Live At York Museum Gardens season with Welsh art-rock icons Super Furry Animals, celebrating more than 30 years together with multicolour hits and off-piste deep cuts, lovingly handpicked from nine albums.

Gruff Rhys, Huw Bunford, Cian Ciarán, Dafydd Ieuan and Guto Pryce are returning to the concert platform in 2026 for the first time in ten years. Joining them in York will be special guests Baxter Dury, Los Campesinos!, Divorce and Pys Melyn. Tickets for SFA, along with Liverpool’s Orchestra Manoeuvres In The Dark on July 9 and South Yorkshire ’s Self Esteem on July 10, are on sale at futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events.

Super Furry Animals: Playing first concerts in ten years in 2026, including Live At York Museum Gardens headline show

In Focus: Norwell Lapley Productions in Tales From Acorn Wood, York Theatre Royal, February 3 to 5

JULIA Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s beloved Tales From Acorn Wood stories are brought to life in an enchanting lift-the-flap experience where poor old Fox has lost his socks. Are they in the kitchen or inside the clock?

Rat-a-tat-tat! Who’s keeping tired Rabbit awake in a children’s show that also invites you to join in with Pig and Hen’s game of hide-and-seek and discover the special surprise that Postman Bear is planning for his friends.

Rabbit’s Nap in Tales From Acorn Wood

Packed full of songs, puppetry and all the friends from Acorn Wood, this show featuring Fox’s Socks, Rabbit’s Nap, Hide-and-Seek Pig and Postman Bear comes from the team behind Dear Zoo Live and Dear Santa.

Writer Julia Donaldson says: “I am really happy that the Tales From Acorn Wood are now moving to the stage. Fans of the books are bound to enjoy seeing the four main characters, Fox, Bear, Pig and Rabbit, brought to life through Norwell Lapley Productions’ clever staging.

“Live performance and songs are both very close to my heart and I am sure this production will delight children and families.” Performances: Tuesday, 1.30pm; Wednesday and Thursday, 10.30am and 1.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: One plus.

January 28, 2026January 31, 2026

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 4, from Gazette & Herald

A scene from Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Tristram Kenton

CUBAN dance luminary Carlos Acosta’s Havana reinvention of The Nutcracker tops Charles Hutchinson’s latest selection of cultural highlights.

Dance show of the week: Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana, Grand Opera House, York, Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

CAST illness has put paid to tonight and tomorrow’s performances, but dance superstar Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker In Havana will still turn up the heat in his modern Cuban twist on the snow-dusted 1892 Russian festive ballet on Friday and Saturday. Built on Cuban composer Pepe Gavilondo’s arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s score, Acosta moves the celebration of joy, life, love and family to modern-day Havana.

More than 20 dancers from Acosta’s Cuban company Acosta Danza perform the familiar story of a young girl transported to a magic world, but one newly incorporating the culture, history and music of his home country. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Tim Delap’s John Middleton and Kara Tointon’s Constance Middleton in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Constant Wife. Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic; set and co-costume designer Anna Fleischle; co-costume designer Cat Fuller

Play of the week: Royal Shakespeare Company in The Constant Wife, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday , 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

SET in 1927, The Constant Wife finds Constance as a very unhappy woman. “Nonsense,” says her mother, who insists “she eats well, sleeps well, dresses well and she’s losing weight. No woman can be unhappy in those circumstances”.

Played by Kara Tointon, she is the perfect wife and mother, but her husband is equally devoted to his mistress, who just happens to be her best friend. Tamara Harvey directs the new adaptation by Home, I’m Darling playwright and Rivals television series writer Laura Wade. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Mishmash’s Ruby’s Worry: Easing worries at NCEM, York

Family show of the week: Mishmash: Ruby’s Worry, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, Saturday, 11.30am and 2.30pm

RUBY had always been happy, perfectly happy, until one day she discovered a worry. The more she tries to rid herself of that worry, the more it grows and grows. Eventually she meets a boy who has a worry too. Together they discover that everyone has worries, and that if you talk about them, they never hang around for long! Mishmash’s Ruby’s Worry is told through live music, song, puppetry and physical theatre, taking the audience on a delightful musical adventure. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Talent showcase of the week: HAC Studio Bar Open Mic Jan 2026, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

THIS social evening in Helmsley Arts Centre’s Studio Bar offers the opportunity to hear Ryedale musicians and artists perform. The bar will be open serving beer from Helmsley Brewery and Brass Castle Brewery, an assortment of gins, wines from Helmsley Wines and more. There is no need to book to listen or participate, just turn up.

Mountaineer Simon Yates, of Touching The Void fame, has sold out his My Mountain Life talk on Friday at 7.30pm. Box office for returns only: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Femme Fatale Faerytales: Telling Mary, Mary’s contrary tale

A homecoming, a haunting, a holy rebellion: Femme Fatale Faerytales present Mary, Mary, Fossgate Social, Fossgate, York, February 1 and 2, 8pm (doors 7pm)

Packing in the acts for PAC Comedy Club line-up at Pocklington Arts Centre

Comedy gig of the week: PAC Comedy Club, Pocklington Arts Centre, February 5, 8pm

RICH Wilson, winner of the New Zealand Comedy Festival Best International Act award, tops the PAC Comedy Club bill next Thursday. He has performed at all the major UK comedy clubs, as well in New York and Las Vegas and at the Perth Fringe, Melbourne International Festival and Edinburgh Fringe.

Supporting Wilson will be Jonny Awsum, who shot to fame on Britain’s Got Talent with his high-energy musical comedy, and Yorkshireman Pete Selwood, who specialises in observational material with killer punchlines, introduced by surrealist compere and BBC New Comedian of the Year regional finalist Elaine Robertson. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

The Yorkshire Gypsy Swing Collective: In full swing at Milton Rooms, Malton

Jazz gig of the week: The Yorkshire Gypsy Swing Collective, Milton Rooms, Malton, February 7, doors, 7.30pm

THIS gypsy jazz supergroup with musicians from all around Yorkshire plays music inspired by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli of the Quintette du Hot Club de France.

The collective of Lewis Kilvington and Martin Chung, guitars, James Munroe, double bass, Derek Magee, violin, and Christine Pickard, clarinet, remains true to Django and Stephane’s spirit while pushing the genre of gypsy jazz forward into a modern sphere. Expect fast licks, burning ballads and even some Latin-inspired pieces. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Liz Foster: Exhibiting at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, from February 12

Exhibition launch: Liz Foster, Deep Among The Grasses, Rise:@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, February 12 to April 10

YORK artist Liz Foster’s new series of abstract paintings, Deep Among The Grasses, invites you into rich, expansive imagined spaces where she explores memory, landscape and the childhood feeling of being immersed in wild places.

Full of colour, feeling and atmosphere, this body of work is being shown together for the first time. Everyone is welcome at the 6pm to 9pm preview on February 12 when Leeds-born painter, teacher and mentor Liz will be in attendance.

Super Furry Animals: Playing first shows in ten years in 2026, including Live At York Museum Gardens

Gig announcement of the week: Live At York Museum Gardens present Super Furry Animals, York Museum Gardens, July 11

Gruff Rhys, Huw Bunford, Cian Ciarán, Dafydd Ieuan and Guto Pryce are returning to the concert platform in 2026 for the first time in ten years. Joining them in York will be a quartet of special guests, unconventional kindred spirit Baxter Dury, compatriot indie-pop septet Los Campesinos!, fast-rising Nottingham alt-country group Divorce and the Welsh Music Prize-nominated woozy, Sixties-inspired psychedelia Pys Melyn.

Futuresound Group project manager Rachel Hill says: “We’re thrilled to announce Super Furry Animals as the final headliner for our third Live at York Museum Gardens series. None of it would be possible without the collaboration, trust and support of the team at York Museums Trust and being able to put together such an incredible line up for the summer makes us excited for the future of our partnership.”

York exclusive postcode presale (YO1, YO10, YO19, YO23, YO24, YO26, YO30, YO31 and YO32) go on sale at 10am today at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/super-furry-animals/york-museum-gardens/3567101?pre=postcode.

General sales open at 10am on Friday at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/super-furry-animals/york-museum-gardens/3567101.

Tickets are on sale already for Liverpool’s Orchestra Manoeuvres In The Dark on July 9 and South Yorkshire ’s Self Esteem on July 10 at futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events.

The poster for Super Furry Animals’ concert in York Museum Gardens