Tag: The Arts Barge

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 21, from Gazette & Herald

John Robb: Discussing his new memoir, Punk Rock Ruined My Life: And Other Stories, at Pocklington Arts Centre

WILDLIFE photography and nature-inspired poetry and music turn Charles Hutchinson’s thoughts to the sunnier days ahead. 

Talk of the week: John Robb, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow, 8pm

JOHN Robb is a multi-faceted creature: author, musician, journalist, Louder Than War music website boss, Louder Than Words and Louder Than War Live festivals boss, Eco champion, vegan behemoth and punk rock warlord, as well as TV and radio talking head, frontman of post-punk mainstays The Membranes and ambassador for home-town Blackpool. 

To mark the May 12 publication of his memoir, Punk Rock Ruined My Life: And Other Stories, he is undertaking a spoken-word and book tour, where each show comprises a one-hour talk by Robb, followed by a conversation and Q&A with a special guest. Tomorrow, he welcomes Pauline Murray, Penetration singer and author of Life’s A Gamble, her 2023 autobiography. Box office:  01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Nobody puts Baby’s poster in the corner for Dirty Dancing In Concert at York Barbican

Film event of the week: Dirty Dancing In Concert, tomorrow, 7.30pm

RELIVE the film that stole the hearts of generations with this live-to-screen concert event featuring Emile Ardolino’s 1987 American romantic drama projected in full, accompanied by a live band and singers performing every song from the soundtrack. 

Feel the romance, rhythm and emotion as the love story of Baby and Johnny (Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze) comes to life on a full-size cinema screen. A dance-along encore party follows the final scene. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk

Now you see him, now you don’t: Daniel Davis and Georgina Sockett in Our Star Theatre Company’s The Invisible Man, to be spotted at Kirk Theatre, Pickering

Vanishing act of the week: Our Star Theatre Company in The Invisible Man, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Friday, 7.30pm

THE thought of invisibility, and the advantages it could bring, has captured the imagination since HG Wells’s science-fiction novella was published in 1897. The Invisible Man has been adapted many times for film, but rarely for the stage. 

Here comes Derek Webb’s original, fast-paced and riotous adaptation boasting 15 characters, split between  three energetic actors, Daniel Davis, Georgina Sockett and Rhys Harris-Clarke, aided by quick and daft costume changes, prop manipulation, whacky imagination and tons of tongue-and-cheek fun in Herefordshire company Our Star’s touring production, directed by founder Ben Mowbray. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

The poster for The Future Is Vintage, the latest Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox concert at York Barbican

Retro gig of the week: Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, The Future Is Vintage Tour 2026, York Barbican, Friday, doors 7pm

SCOTT Bradlee’s troupe of singers, dancers and instrumentalists perform a new show in signature time-twisting style, putting a retro spin on everything from Seventies’ rock classics and Britpop hits to the latest chart toppers and movie and video game soundtracks. 

“We’re humbly presenting our own unique vision of a spectacular future; one that is built upon the timeless musical genres of the past and the authentically human spirit of creativity that inspired them,” says founder and arranger Bradlee, who invites you to dress in your vintage best for the full time-travel experience. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

The Ocelots’ Ashley and Brandon Watson

Literature-inspired musings of the week: The Ocelots, The Arts Barge, Foss Basin Moorings, Tower Street, York, Friday,7.30pm

BLOOD harmonies are at the centre of The Ocelots’ sound with its Americana echoes of Neil Young and Sufjan Stevens. Twin brothers Ashley and Brandon Watson, from Wexford, Ireland, blend absurdity and sincerity in an array of literature-inspired musings.

Open tunings and clawhammer banjo merge country-folk contemplation with urban imagery, as heard on 2020’s Started To Wonder and 2025’s Everything, When Said Slowly albums and 2023’s Addlepated and March 2026’s Revisions EPs. Fionnuala Mary Bradbury supports. Box office: artsbarge.com.

Ian Smith: Stories of stress, love and buying a magic spell off Amazon in Foot Spa Half Empty at Helmsley Arts Centre

Comedy gig of the week: Ian Smith, Foot Spa Half Empty, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday 8pm

EDINBURGH Comedy Award nominee and Northern News podcast co-host Ian Smith heads out on tour with Foot Spa Half Empty, his new show about stress, love and buying a magic spell off Amazon, in his follow-up to 2023’s Crushing.

Smith, 37, from Goole, has appeared on Live At The Apollo, Have I Got News For You, The Stand Up Sketch Show, BBC Radio 4’sThe News Quiz, The Unbelievable Truth and Just A Minute and hosted his own Radio 4 series, Ian Smith Is Stressed. Box office:  01439 771700  or  helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Mike Amber: Taking on Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock songs with Lola-Mae at Navigators Art’s Back To The Garden night of poetry and music

Nature lovers of the week: Navigators Art presents Back To The Garden, York Festival of Ideas, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, Saturday, 7.30pm, doors 7pm

NAVIGATORS Art has invited York performers to celebrate and explore the York Festival of Ideas theme of Place and Space with a focus on the peaceful, wild, mythical, inspirational green worlds of gardens.

Original words and music feature alongside well-loved works by familiar names in the company of storyteller Lara McClure; Mike Amber & Lola-Mae, taking on Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock; poet and novelist Janet Dean; performance poet Carrieanne Vivianette and alt folk band Sofa Sofa, whose songs are rooted in nature and people, woods, weather, long walks, short thoughts, longing and love. Box office: ticketsource.com/navigators-art-performance or on the door.

Country Bound: Performing upbeat country songs, complemented by floor fillers re-imagined in a country music style, at Milton Rooms, Malton

Country gig of the week: Country Bound, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm

COUNTRY Bound put the ‘fun’ into country function band, performing upbeat modern and classic country songs, complemented by classic floor fillers re-imagined in a country music style.

Fronted by Micki Consiglio, they cover hits by Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, Zach Brown Band, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Dolly Parton, Lady A, Blake Shelton, Faith Hill, Morgan Wallen, Billy Cyrus, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Kacey Musgraves, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Kelsea Ballerini, Kenny Rogers, Patsy Cline and more. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Rick Wakeman: The Wizard of Prog reunites with the English Rock Ensemble at York Barbican next March

Gig announcement of the week: Rick Wakeman, The Wizard of Prog, Ultimate Highlights Concert Tour with English Rock Ensemble, York Barbican, March 11 2027

KEYBOARD player extraordinaire Rick Wakeman, who turned 77 on May 18, will be reuniting with the English Rock Ensemble to focus on a broad sweep across his classic back catalogue, including extracts from epic concept albums Journey To The Centre Of The Earth and The Myths & Legends Of King Arthur & The Knights Of The Round Table, Yes material and surprises.

The band line-up reassembles from 2025’s Return Of The Caped Crusader Part 2 tour: Wakeman, Jesse Smith (lead vocals), Adam Wakeman (keyboard, guitars and vocals), Dave Colquhoun (guitars and vocals), Lee Pomeroy (bass and vocals), Adam Falkner (drums) and backing vocalists Sara Davey, Jo Goldsmith-Eteson and Jo Marshall. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am at yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/rick-27.

Paul Hobson’s A Toad Swims Across Its Woodland Pond: Grand Prize winner in British Wildlife Photography Awards 2026, on show at Nunnington Hall

In Focus: British Wildlife Photography Awards 2026, Nunnington Hall, Nunnington, near Helmsley, until July 5, open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm

THE winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2026 have been unveiled at the National Trust’s Nunnington Hall, where 75 photographs are on show.

Paul Hobson’s A Toad Swims Across Its Woodland Pond, photographed from a pond-floor perspective in Sheffield, has taken the top prize from more than 12,000 images submitted by professional and amateur photographers. 

“I am lucky to have a pond close to my house that has relatively clear water,” says Hobson. “Toads use this pond to breed in, and I decided I wanted to try to capture an image looking up from the bottom of the pond.”

To accomplish this, he housed the camera inside a home-built glass box, complete with old tripod legs and ballast to prevent sinking, and triggered the camera using an adapted long cable release.

“I had to wait quite a long time until a toad swam across the surface,” says Hobson. “Most of them would usually swim below it and rest on the glass. He was eventually successful, however, and the outcome provides a rare view of a toad in its woodland home.

Ben Lucas’s Feathery Pillow: Winner of the Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award 2026

Ben Lucas won the Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 award with Feathery Pillow, his charming image of a mute swan cygnet taking a nap on its sibling’s back. “Nature can often be so cruel, but tender moments like this warm my heart,” he says.

The annual showcase of nature photography is a crucial reminder of what value British woodlands, wetlands and other ecosystems still hold.

“This year’s winners celebrate the wonder, diversity and character of British wildlife in truly exceptional ways,” say British Wildlife Photography Awards director Will Nicholls. “From familiar species to rarely seen moments, the portfolio showcases the skill and passion of the photographers behind the lens.

“Together, they offer a joyful celebration of Britain’s natural world, while also reminding us why these places and species are so deserving of our care and protection.”

Photographers competed in 11 categories in the adult competition: Animal Behaviour, Animal Portraits, Botanical Britain, Black & White, Coast & Marine, Habitat, Hidden Britain, Urban Wildlife and Wild Woods, plus British Seasons and Documentary Series making up the special awards.

Three photographs from the British Wildlife Photography Award 2026 exhibition

Further awards were given for Wildlife in HD Video and three age groups in the youth competition: age 11 and under, 12 to 14 and 15 to 17.

All awarded images are published by Graffeg Books in a hardback coffee-table book, available online at bwpawards.org, with a foreword by actor, writer and director Mackenzie Crook.

The 2027 competition is open for entries at bwpawards.org, inviting photographers of all levels of experience to submit their photos of Britain’s nature at its best.

Nunnington Hall invites visitors take time in the organic gardens overlooking the River Rye to spot many birds and insects and maybe the occasional otter or kingfisher that calls the garden home.

Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/nunnington-hall. Entry is free for National Trust members and under-fives.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No.34, from Gazette & Herald

Lucy Hook Designs’ poster for York River Art Market’s tenth anniversary

AUGUST’S arrival heralds the return of riverside art, Georgian festival frolics and moorland classical music in Charles Hutchinson’s guide to a cornucopia of culture.

Art event of the month: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, by Lendal Bridge, York, August 9 and 10, August 16 and 17, 10am to 5.30pm

YORK River Art Market returns for its tenth anniversary season by the Ouse riverside railings, where 30 artists and designers will be setting up stalls each day.

Organised by York artist and tutor Charlotte Dawson, the market offers the chance to buy directly from the makers of ceramics, jewellery, paintings, prints, photographs, clothing, candles, soaps, cards and more besides. Admission is free.

Scott Bennett: Presenting Blood Sugar Baby at Pocklington Arts Centre

Storyteller of the week: Scott Bennett, Blood Sugar Baby, Pocklington Arts Centre, tonight, 8pm

ONE family, one condition, one hell of a hairy baby: Scott Bennett, from The News Quiz and the Parenting Hell podcast, relates how his daughter fell ill with a rare genetic condition, congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI).

Never heard of it?  Neither have new parents Scott and Jemma as they fight to achieve  the right diagnosis for their daughter and are plunged into months of bewildering treatment, sleepless nights, celebrity encounters and bizarre side effects, but a happy ending ensues. Box office: Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Ryosuke Kiyasu: Drumming prowess on The Arts Barge

Beat that: No Instrument and Arts Barge present Ryosuke Kiyasu, The Arts Barge, Foss Basin Moorings, York, tonight, 7.30pm

PIONEERING snare-drum soloist Ryosuke Kiyasu has redefined percussion since 2003, releasing more than 200 albums, both solo and with his band, drawing 23 million views for his 2018 Berlin live set and featuring on BBC News.

He drums for noise-grind duo Sete Star Sept, the Kiyasu Orchestra and Keiji Haino’s Fushitsusha and co-founded Canada’s cult hardcore unit The Endless Blockade. Box office: artsbarge.com/events.

Iago Banet: Finger-style Spanish guitar playing at The Basement

Guitarist of the week: Iago Banet, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 7.30pm

VIRTUOSO finger-style Spanish guitarist Iago Banet, who moved to London from Galicia in 2014, combines gypsy jazz, blues, country, Dixieland, swing, pop, folk and Americana in his acoustic repertoire, as heard on his third album, 2023’s Tres.

He has performed on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and Cerys Matthews’ The Blues Show on BBC Radio 2, appeared at Brecon Jazz, Hellys International Guitar Festival and Aberjazz and played with Josh Smith, Mark Flanagan, Jack Broadbent and Clive Carroll. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk.

Four actors, two plays, forty minutes each: 440 Theatre in Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth at Joseph Rowntree Theatre

Shaking up Shakespeare: 440 Theatre in Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm

FOUR actors perform 40-minute versions of Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth, transforming the Scottish play  from tragedy into comedy in this raucous, breakneck double bill. “Experience the hilarity of not only one of the Bard’s best comedies but also a side-splitting (literally!) Macbeth,” say director Dom Gee-Burch and producer-composer Laura Sillett. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Terry Deary presents Revolting at York Mansion House tomorrow at 5.30pm at York Georgian Festival

York festival of the week: York Georgian Festival 2025, August 7 to 11

ORGANISED by York Mansion House, in tandem with York businesses, the York Georgian Festival will be a whirl of  dashing dandy fashions, extravagant feasting and romantic country dancing in a celebration of a golden social scene hidden within the brickwork of York’s abundant 18th century architecture.

Among the highlights will be Terry Deary Presents Revolting; the Life and Loves of Anne Lister; a Georgian dance lesson at the Guildhall; Men’s Hats; Mad Alice’s history talk and gin tasting; the York Georgian Ball; Sounds of Regency by Candlelight; The World of Georgian Fashion; Portraits in Jane Austen and a revival of York actor-playwright Joseph Peterson’s comic romp The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t. For the full programme and tickets, go to: mansionhouseyork.com/york-georgian-festival.

Alex Phelps, left, Christopher Godwin, Olivia Woolhouse, Valerie Antwi, Susan Twist, Charlie Ryan and Andy Cryer in rehearsal for Michael Frayn’s Noises Off at the SJT, Scarborough. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Play of the week: Noises Off, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, August 9 to September 6, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm  Saturday matinees

SJT artistic director Paul Robinson directs the first ever in-the-round production of Michael Frayn’s legendary 1982 farce with its play-within-a- play structure. “Good luck!” said the playwright on hearing the Scarborough theatre was taking on what has always been considered an impossible task. 

Noises Off follows the on and off-stage antics of a touring theatre company stumbling its way through the fictional farce Nothing On. Across three acts, Frayn charts the shambolic final rehearsals, a disastrous matinee seen entirely from backstage and the brilliantly catastrophic final performance. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Jamie Walton: North York Moors Chamber Music Festival director and cellist. Picture: Matthew Johnson

Ryedale festival of the week: North York Moors Chamber Music Festival, August 10 to 23

IN its 17th year, cellist Jamie Walton’s festival presents 14 concerts designed to mirror the 14-line structure of a sonnet, guiding audiences through a pagan year with its unfolding seasons, solstices and equinoxes. 

The four elements – Fire, Air, Water and Earth – will be explored through the lens of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets and staged in four historic moorland churches: St Hilda’s, Danby; St Hedda’s, Egton Bridge; St Michael’s, Coxwold, and St Mary’s, Lastingham. Ten concerts will be held in an acoustically treated venue in the grounds of Welburn Manor, near Kirkbymoorside. For the full programme, go to northyorkmoorsfestival.com. Box office: 07722 038990 or email bookings@northyorkmoorsfestival.com.

The Smashing Pumpkins: Heading to Scarborough on Aghori Tour next Wednesday

Coastal gig of the week: Smashing Pumpkins and White Lies, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 13, gates 6pm

AMERICAN alternative rockers The Smashing Pumpkins play Scarborough on their Aghori Tour. Billy Corgan, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin’s multi-platinum-selling band will be supported on the Yorkshire coast by London post-punk revival band White Lies.

Since emerging from Chicago, Illinois, in 1988 with their iconoclastic sound, Smashing Pumpkins have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and collected two Grammy Awards, seven MTV VMAs and an American Music Award. Box office: ticketmaster.co.uk.

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Open Swim promises lush music, wild stories and wise words but no swimming, please, on The Arts Barge on Friday

Adderstone’s Cath Heinemeyer and Gemma McDermott: Wild swimmers, alt-folk duo and organisers of Open Swim on The Arts Barge

YORK’S floating venue, The Arts Barge, will be flowing with music and words at a special river-theme themed gig on Friday night at Foss Basin.

“The barge, alias Selby Tony, has woken up from its winter sleep and is ready for action,” says Arts Barge coordinator Hannah West. “It’s all aboard for Open Swim – but with no swimming allowed!”

In a joyous “aquatic feast of lush music, wild stories, wise words and all-round exquisite vibes”, the 7pm to 11pm bill comprises alt-folk duo Adderstone; multi-instrumentalists White Sail; storyteller and hypnotherapist Lara McClure’s strange tale of aquatic beasts, York slam champ Hannah Davies’s riverside poems; Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen’s poem invoking York’s rivers and Amy-Jane Beer’s stories of paddling along Britain’s rivers.

Poet Hannah Davies by the riverside in York

Ticket sale proceeds from Open Swim will go to Right to Roam, a charity that campaigns for better access to wild spaces. On the night, there will be the chance to buy a signed copy of Right to Roam’s hot-off-the-press new book, Wild Service, featuring a contribution by nature writer Beer.

“Rivers should be safe and accessible for swimmers, paddlers and other water users, both human and wild,” says the Right to Roam campaigner. “But only three per cent of the UK’s rivers have an uncontested right of access, and as we know, sewage and agricultural pollution mean that most of those are in poor health.

“Our own wellbeing is dependent on theirs. We need to reconnect with our rivers, to be able to care for them and fight for them. That’s why the book is called Wild Service, and this gig is an act of wild service.”

Kai West’s poster artwork for Friday’s Open Swim on The Arts Barge

Sewage…agricultural pollution…rivers in poor health: no wonder Open Swim is not a swimming invitation! Catherine Heinemeyer, one half of gig organisers Adderstone, comments:  “It’s wonderful to imagine a time when water companies have cleaned up their act and York’s rivers are beautiful clean places to swim – but alas, that’s not the case right now!

“As wild swimmers ourselves, we wanted to host an event to highlight the wild watery spaces we all love. And what better place to host a water-themed gig than the river itself?

“The Arts Barge is a wonderful local project that York is very proud of and we’re so excited to see it move closer to its full potential. Please come along and be enchanted by the wonderful line-up of musicians and artists we have put together, but please don’t bring your cossie!”

Richard Kitchen: Poet, artist and Navigators Art & Performance’s co-founder

All artists have agreed not to take a fee, thereby maximising the gig proceeds, with donations and bar takings going to The Arts Barge. “We’re totally reliant on volunteers and donations, and this summer we’re aiming to build the long-awaited deckhouse to create a covered area on the deck to finally stop the rain getting in,” says Hannah

“This will be a big step forwards towards becoming the fully accessible community arts space York has imagined and come to love. See the story and look out for future events this summer at www.artsbarge.com.”

Running /swimming order

Part 1: 7.30pm, Amy-Jane Beer and Adderstone , intertwined . 8.15pm, short break.

Part 2, Spoken word. 8.35pm, Richard Kitchen; 8.45pm, Lara McClure; 9.05pm, Hannah Davies. 9.25pm, short break.

Part 3: 9.45pm, White Sail; 10.25pm, The Parting Glass (all performers). 11pm, goodnight.

Tickets cost £8.50 from Eventbrite, via www.artsbarge.com/events, or £10 on the door.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York & beyond when a football play is more fun than England. Hutch’s List No. 22, from Gazette & Herald

Lynda Burrell, left, and Catherine Ross, curators of Museumand’s exhibition of Caribbean culture, 70 Objeks & Tings, at York Castle Museum. Picture: Gareth Buddo

CARIBBEAN culture and football cup history, sublime saxophone and peerless guitars, riverside poetry and balletic heroes stand out in Charles Hutchinson’s cultural week ahead.

Exhibition of the week: 70 Objeks & Tings, York Castle Museum, until November 4; Mondays, 11am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm

70 OBJEKS & Tings, a celebration of 75 years of Caribbean culture, showcases 70 items that connect us to the Windrush Generation in an “extraordinary exhibition of the ordinary”.

Curated by mother and daughter Catherine Ross and Lynda Barrett, founders of Museumand, the National Caribbean Heritage Museum, it features objects that combine familiarity and practicality and have been passed down the generations. On show are cooking and household goods, food packaging and beauty supplies, funeral items, music, games, books and newspapers. Tickets: yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk. 

Johnny Marr: Playing songs from his 2023 compilation album, Spirit Power, and his back catalogue of The Smiths and Electronic gems at Scarborough Open Air Theatre

Coastal gig of the week: Johnny Marr and The Charlatans, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Saturday, gates 6pm

JOHNNY Marr, The Smiths and Electronic guitarist, superstar collaborator and solo artist, cherry-picks from all eras of his career, right up to his November 2023 compilation Spirit Power in his headline set.

First up on this north-western double bill on the East Coast will be Tim Burgess’s band, The Charlatans, as full of indie rock swagger as ever after 22 Top 40 hits, from The Only One I Know to North Country Boy. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats: Heading for York Barbican

Rhythm & blues gig of the week: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, York Barbican, tomorrow (27/6/2025), doors 7pm

NATHANIEL Rateliff & The Night Sweats play York Barbican as the only Yorkshire venue on their six-date South Of Here summer tour.

Noted for supplying the zeal of a whisky-chugging Pentecostal preacher to songs of shared woes, old-fashioned rhythm & blues singer and songwriter Rateliff will be showcasing his Missouri band’s fourth studio album on the eve of its Friday release. William The Conqueror support. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Crowning glory: Ballet Black in If At First, part of the Heroes double bill at York Theatre Royal

Dance show of the week: Ballet Black: Heroes, York Theatre Royal, Friday, 7.30pm

CASSA Pancho’s dance company returns to York with the double bill Ballet Black: Heroes. Choreographer Mthuthuzeli November contemplates the meaning of life in The Waiting Game, a 2020 work infused with a dynamic soundtrack featuring the voices of Ballet Black artists.

Franco-British artist Sophie Laplane, choreographer-in-residence at Scottish Ballet, follows up her 2019 Ballet Black debut, Click!, with If At First, her exploration of “a more subtle heroism, a quieter triumph over adversity, in a struggle that unites us all”. Humanity, heroism and self-acceptance combine in this celebratory piece. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Adderstone’s Cath Heinemeyer and Gemma McDermott: Organisers of Open Swim on The Arts Barge

All aboard but no swimming allowed: Open Swim, The Arts Barge, Foss Basin, York, Friday, 7pm to 11pm

YORK’S floating venue, The Arts Barge, will be flowing with music and words in a river-themed gig on Friday with proceeds going to Right to Roam, a charity that campaigns for better access to wild spaces.

On the bill will be alt-folk duo Adderstone; multi-instrumentalists White Sail Band; storyteller Lara McClure’s strange tale of aquatic beasts, York slam champ Hannah Davies’s riverside poems; Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen’s poem invoking York’s rivers and Amy-Jane Beer’s stories of paddling along Britain’s rivers. Tickets: artsbargecom/events or on the door.

Eliza Carthy: Solo concerts at the NCEM, York, and Fylingdales Village Hall

Folk gigs of the week: Eliza Carthy, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, Friday, 7.30pm; Fylingdales Village Hall, Station Road, Robin Hood’s Bay, Sunday, 7.30pm

ELIZA Carthy, innovative fiddler and vocalist from the First Family of Folk, heads from Robin Hood’s Bay to York for a solo gig at the NCEM. At once a folk traditionalist and iconoclast, she revels in centuries-old ballads and Carthy compositions alike.

In her 32-year career, Carthy has performed with The Imagined Village, The Wayward Band and The Restitution, collaborated with Paul Weller, Jarvis Cocker, Pere Ubu, Rufus & Martha Wainwright, Jools Holland, Patrick Wolf and Kae (CORRECT) Tempest, served as president of the English Folk Dance & Song Society and artist in residence in Antarctica and been described by comedian Stewart Lee as “not the Messiah, but a very naughty girl”. Broadside balladeer Jennifer Reid supports at the York gig. Box office: York, for returns only, 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk; Robin Hood’s Bay, trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/57434.

Saxophonist Snake Davis: Leading his band at Helmsley Arts Centre

Ryedale gig of the week: Snake Davis Band: Summer 24, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

SAXOPHONIST to the stars Snake Davis brings his four-piece band to Helmsley, promising “something for everybody, from floaty to danceable, from soul to pop, jazz to world music” in an uplifting set of original material and sax classics, such as Baker Street and Night Train. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Football alternative to plod-along England at the Euros: Long Lane Theatre Club in The Giant Killers

Ryedale play of the week: Long Lane Theatre Club in The Giant Killers, Milton Rooms, Malton, July 4, kick-off at 7.30pm; East Riding Theatre, Beverley, July 16 and 17, 7.30pm

THE Giant Killers tells the story of how Darwen FC came to the public’s attention in 1870s’ Lancashire to proclaim Association Football as the people’s game and not only the preserve of the upper classes.

Andrew Pearson-Wright & Eve Pearson-Wright’s play recounts how a ragtag bunch of mill workers in Darwen took on the amateur gentlemen’s club of the Old Etonians in the FA Cup quarter-final in 1879, rising up against prevailing social prejudice and the might of the Football Association to earn a place in history as the first real ‘‘giant killers’’ in English football. Box office: Malton, 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com, Beverley, eastridingtheatre.co.uk

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More Things To Do in York and beyond with summer in full bloom. Hutch’s List No. 26 for 2023, courtesy of The Press, York

Vote Nature: York artist Jade Blood with her Community Notice Board installation for Bloom in the Artists Gallery behind York Art Gallery. Picture: Charlotte Graham

FLOWER power indoors and out, musicals with a twist, trees and romantic entanglements hark the arrival of Charles Hutchinson’s new summer of love.

Garden of delights: Bloom at York Art Gallery, on display until October 8

FLOWERS, plant life and gardens have fascinated and inspired generations of artists. Cultivated by York Art Gallery curator of fine art Becky Gee, the Bloom display brings together more than 100 botanical artworks from York Art Gallery’s collection, alongside key loans, to explore the importance of nature and green spaces for enjoyment, creativity and wellbeing and highlight the gallery’s relationship with the neighbouring Museum Gardens, set up by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society in 1828. Look out for York artist Jade Blood’s installations too.

Banjo player Curt Eller: Bringing his band to the Arts Barge on July 1

Down by the river: The Arts Barge presents Dylan Earl, on Selby Tony, Foss Basin, York, tonight, 7pm; Curtis Eller’s American Circus, July 1, 7pm

ARKANSAS singer Dylan Earl returns to the Arts Barge for a headline gig after his Arts Barge Hoodang appearance last year. Likewise, Curtis Eller’s American Circus show heads back to the barge, this time with full band in tow for a night of banjo-driven rock’n’roll. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.

SIX of the best: The Queens giving Harry the hurry up. Picture: Pamela Raith

Quick return of the week: SIX The Musical at Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday to Sunday; also Leeds Grand Theatre, August 1 to 6

WAS it only last October that Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s Spouse Girls musical/pop concert first wowed York? Its return has all but sold out again as the dancing queens with attitude tell their story in song in chronological order to decide who suffered most at Henry VIII’s hands once he put a ring on that wedding finger.

Of York interest, Knaresborough-raised Lou Henry returns to the stage where she made her professional debut in the 2019-2020 pantomime as Snow White. This time she plays the apparently not-so-squeaky-clean Catherine Howard, short-lived wife number five. Box office (probably for frustration only): atgtickets.com/york; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.

Mark Simmonds, Monica Frost, Emma Dickinson and Richard Bayton (at the wheel) in rehearsal for York Light Opera Company’s I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change

In pursuit of love: York Light Opera Company in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

RIOTOUS, rude and relevant, Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts’ off-Broadway musical revue is directed by York Light’s Neil Wood in its 2018 updated revamp in a witty look at how we love, date and handle relationships.

Guiding love’s path through a series of comedic and poignant vignettes will be Richard Bayton, Emma Dickinson, Monica Frost, Emily Hardy, James Horsman, Sanna Jeppsson and Mark Simmonds. Shocks and surprises incoming, as love lives are reflected in art, up close and personal. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company cast members rehearsing Musicals In The Multiverse

Expect the unexpected: Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company in Musicals In The Multiverse, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Thursday and Friday, 7.30pm

IN a fundraiser for the JoRo, the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company transports you into a multiverse full of musical theatre favourites with a twist. Guided by director Helen Spencer, enter a parallel universe where familiar songs have their traditional renditions turned on their heads in swaps of gender, major to minor keys, musical styles and eras. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Acoustic gig of the week: An Evening With Ocean Colour Scene’s Simon & Oscar, Harrogate Theatre, Thursday, 7.30pm

OCEAN Colour Scene vocalist Simon Fowler and drummer Oscar Harrison present an intimate acoustic performance of their big hits and anthems, from The Riverboat Song, The Circle and Traveller’s Tune to Hundred Mile High City and The Day We Caught The Train.

“Our acoustic shows are a real tonic: a great chance to look the audience in the eye and interact with them on a more personal basis than ever before,” says Fowler. Dexys Midnight Runners founder member Pete Williams supports. Box office: 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk.

Murray Watts: His play Mr Darwin’s Tree will be performed at Stillington Mill

Science meets art: Mr Darwin’s Tree, At The Mill, Stillington, near York, July 1, 7.30pm

COMMISSIONED for Charles Darwin’s bicentenary and premiered at Westminster Abbey, Riding Lights luminary Murray Watts’s 75-minute play has since been staged in China, South Korea, and throughout the United States. Now Stillington Mill beckons.

Watts directs film, television and theatre actor Andrew Harrison – last seen at Stilllington in Fire From Heaven last summer – in a study of the relationship between the agnostic Darwin and his Christian wife Emma that explores science, faith, family, love and destiny. Box office: tickettailor.com/events/atthemill.

Saxophonist Snake Davis: Having a blast at Cop’ Carnival’s Jazz Night

Community event of the week: Cop’ Carnival Day, Copmanthorpe Recreation Centre, Barons Crescent, Copmanthorpe, York, July 1, 11.30am to 7pm

COP’ Carnival Day returns in its 53rd year for a day of dance troops, bands (including Miles And The Chain Gang), traditional games and attractions. Tickets are on sale at copmanthorpecarnival.org.uk and on the day.

The carnival week runs from June 27 to July 1, featuring a jazz night with saxophonist Snake Davis on Tuesday (7.45pm); a wine-tasting quiz on Wednesday (7.30pm, sold out) and a comedy night with Justin Moorhouse, Tal Davies, Roger Monkhouse and host Alex Boardman on Thursday (8pm). Copmanthorpe Methodist Church houses the carnival exhibition by 30 artists from today to July 1.

Jack Whitehall; Chance to Settle Down at York Barbican

Not many tickets left: Jack Whitehall: Settle Down, York Barbican, July 12, 6.30pm

SETTLE Down is comedian, actor, writer and presenter Jack Whitehall’s “most personal show to date”, driven by material aplenty focused on the big changes in his life.  

“It’s about my struggle to settle down gracefully,” says Londoner Whitehall, 34. “I’ve got a long-term partner, a ridiculous dog and am now hurtling towards middle aged without a clue. It’s about a foppish man-child’s cack-handed attempt at adulting!” Note the early start time; no late night for this all-work-and-no-play Jack! Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.