The Streets – charleshutchpress

August 1, 2026

More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 31, from The York Press

The poster for York River Art Market’s 11th summer season. Illustration: Elliot Harrison (@York360)

YORK River Art Market’s return, Shakespeare sonnets on the tennis court, party bands at the double and a very happy comedian catch Charles Hutchinson’s eye as August arrives.

Open-air art event of the month: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, York, August 1 & 2, August 8 & 9 and August 15 & 16, 10am to 5.30pm

YORK River Art Market returns for its 11th year from today, bringing more than 30 artists from multiple disciplines each day to the Ouse riverside over three August weekends of free art and design market stalls.

Described as York’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris, the event is now run by Caroline Turner, a professional potter and ceramics teacher at Clay Space York, in Walmgate, after founder and director Charlotte Dawson stepped down to focus on her teaching role as award leader for York College’s BA (Hons) 3D creative practice course.

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

MOIRA Buffini’s 2014 Olivier Award-winning play imagines what happened behind closed palace doors when two of the 20th century’s most powerful women, Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, locked handbags. Meeting once a week for 11 years, one believed there was no such thing as society; the other committed her life to serving it.

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

Coastal gigs of the week: Scarborough Open Air Theatre presents The Streets, A Grand Don’t Come For Free, today; Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Sunday, gates 6pm

FOR the first time, The Streets’ Mike Skinner is performing his landmark 2004 album A Grand Don’t Come For Free in full on tour. One of the most influential British records of the 21st century, the multi-platinum-selling chart topper delivered era-defining singles Dry Your Eyes, Fit But You Know It and Blinded By The Lights while taking a cinematic journey through the love, loss, chaos, heartbreak, hope and raw emotion of everyday life with poetic wit and honesty.

Original Sex Pistols members Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock are joined by vocalist Frank Turner on Sunday to mark “50 years of chaos and celebration” since the punk iconoclasts’ brace of Summer 1976 gigs at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall. The Stranglers and The Undertones are special guests. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Candlelit concert of the week: Ignite Concerts presents The Music of ABBA, York Minster, tonight, 7.30pm

VOCALIST Maggie Wakeling, from Channel 4’s Your Song and last summer’s Greatest Shows at York Minster, unites with a band and The Ebor Quartet string ensemble to perform the Seventies and Eighties’ hits of ABBA.

Host Alistair Griffin will be inviting the audience to sing along to Dancing Queen, Waterloo, Mamma Mia, The Winner Takes It All et al at this concert by candlelight. Box office: 07966 959427 or https://igniteconcertsyork.com/events/the-music-of-abba-at-york-minster/.

Paul Smith: Radiating comic warmth twice in a week at York Barbican

York comedy gigs of the week: Hot Water Comedy Club presents Paul Smith, Happy, York Barbican, today and August 5, 7.30pm

PAUL Smith, resident MC and compere of Liverpool’s Hot Water Comedy Club, is heading to York for two nights in his biggest, boldest tour show, Happy: fearless stand-up at full throttle, brimful of observations, true stories and audience interaction. Pulling tales from real life, Smith finds joy in the chaos, laughter in the everyday and comedy in absolutely everything. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Oscar Langford, left, and James Robert Ball in rehearsal for York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? at Holy Trinity Churchyard. Picture: John Saunders

New balls please: York Shakespeare Project presents 2026 Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Goodramgate, York, August 7 to 15, except August 11, 6pm & 7.30pm, plus 4.30pm Saturday shows

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

Expect further tennis puns aplenty as Rosy Rowley directs Stuart Green’s script that asks a new collection of ten characters to play out this new sporting and unsporting situation where each finds a way to share a Shakespeare sonnet. Taking part will be James Robert Ball, Oscar Langford, Helen Clarke, Sarah McKeagney, Stuart Lindsay, Alexa Williams, Jamie McKeller, Alan Sharp, Christine Bramwell and Effie Warboys. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

New York Brass Band’s James Lancaster: Knees-up with Hyde Family Jam at York Barbican

Mash-up of the week: The Crescent presents New York Brass Band & Hyde Family Jam, York Barbican, August 7, 8pm

TWO of York’s biggest, bounciest musical party troupes collide at York Barbican for a co-headline show with a difference. Promoter Joe Coates has decided the four-piece Hyde Family Jam will be on stage first, followed by an eight-piece line up of New York Brass Band, each playing a 40-minute set before rampant folk-rock meets New Orleans brass head on in a collaborative finale of these street urchins’ biggest hits. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

A wedding dress on display at St Helen’s Church

Wonderful wedding dress exhibition of the week: St Helen’s Church, Sheriff Hutton, near York, August 8 and 9, 11am to 3pm

STEP back in time for a spectacular display of wedding dresses from every decade since the 1920s at St Helen’s Church. Stroll through a century of wedding style with elegant “going away” outfits,mother-of-the-bride ensembles and men’s morning suits, as well as shoes, hats, bouquets and treasured keepsakes.

“Last year’s exhibition was atremendous success,” says Jill Donaldson Hodges. “Visitors were captivated by the changing styles, the intricate design and the delicate fabrics that have shaped wedding fashion for over a century. So why not come along and take a trip down memory lane, or get some ideas for an upcoming event?” Admission is free. The Bluebell Cafe will be open on both days, serving homemade cakes and refreshments.

York Stage’s poster for Raise Your Voice: MTI Broadway Junior Revue at the JoRo

Musical theatre celebration of the week: York Stage presents brings Raise Your Voice: MTI Broadway Junior Revue, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, August 7, 7.30pm, and August 8, 2pm and 4pm

THIS uplifting showcase by the next generation of performers features iconic songs from Broadway Junior favourites, showcased by a talented young York Stage cast ready to sing out and shine as they take centre stage with confidence, courage and nascent star quality. Cue big numbers, heartfelt moments and personality aplenty. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

July 31, 2026August 1, 2026

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 31, from Gazette & Herald, from July 29 onwards

Christina Bianco’s June Carter Cash and Christopher Ryan Grant’s Johnny Cash in The Ballad Of Johnny & June. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography

JOHNNY and June’s country musical, The Queen and Margaret Thatcher’s handbag clashes, a rare Blueflies gig and The Streets’ masterpiece in full perk up Charles Hutchinson for the week ahead.

Musical of the week: The Ballad Of Johnny & June, The Johnny Cash Musical, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm matinees on July 29 & 30 and August 1

THIS thrilling musical from Jersey Boys director Des McAnuff celebrates the love, music and mayhem of country music couple Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Electrifying chemistry marks the performances of Christopher Ryan Grant’s Johnny and Christina Bianco’s June in a story observed through the eyes of Ryan O’Donnell’s John Carter Cash, their son. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Blues gig of the week: Ryedale Blues Club presents The Blueflies, Milton Rooms, Malton, July 30, 8pm

ENDURING and beloved York blues and funk band The Blueflies – Miles Gilderdale, guitar and vocals, Gavin Ewing, bass and co-songwriter, and Paul Stipetic , drums – perform only rarely these days. Expect a night packed with outstanding musicianship, ace songs and the kind of atmosphere that only a combo with 40 years of musical muscle memory can create. Booking in advance is recommended on 01653 696240 or at themiltonrooms.com.

Neil Delamere: If it ain’t broke it, should he fix it at Pocklington Arts Centre? Not the seat, presumably

Tall tales of the week: Neil Delamere, Reinventing The Neil, Pocklington Arts Centre, July 30, 7.30pm

COMEDIC adventurer Neil Delamere returns with a new stand-up show, packed with tall tales and humorous stories. Join The Blame Game panellist and Celebrity Chase contestant as he ponders the eternal question: if it ain’t broke, should he fix it? Box office: 01759 or 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Stanley Chow’s poster illustration for The Songs of Joni Mitchell at The Citadel, York

Interpreters of the week: The Songs of Joni Mitchell, with Jesca Hoop & Lail Arad, The Citadel, York, Friday, doors 7pm, show 7.45pm

JESCA Hoop & Lail Arad, acclaimed singer-songwriters in their own right, perform intimate interpretations of their favourite Joni Mitchell songs, accompanied by Richard Sears on piano and special guest Naima Bock. Hoop presented Legend: The Joni Mitchell Story, the award-winning six-part BBC radio documentary and podcast on the Canadian singer-songwriter. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Liz Garland, left, and Meriel Scholfield in rehearsal for the Stephen Joseph Theatre production of Handbagged. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

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

Four Forty Theatre: Breakneck character changes and mischief-making in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Shakespeare show of the week: Four Forty Theatre in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Friday, 7.30pm

FOUR Forty Theatre (or 440 Theatre, as their website uses both names) tackle Shakespeare’s romantic romp of a chaotic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with their trademark irreverence, wit and theatrical ingenuity, directed by Dominic Gee-Burch, formerly of fellow high-speed Shakespeare humorists Oddsocks Productions.

Lovers are enchanted, fairies feud and a troupe of hapless players rehearse their way into disaster, all in a single moonlit night. Inventive staging, breakneck character changes and playful dismantling of tradition mark out Four Forty Theatre’s mischief-making take on Shakespeare’s best-loved comedy: part affectionate homage, part riotous reinvention. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Saxophonist Snake Davis and guitarist Gareth Moulton: Best buddies’ bonding session at Helmsley Arts Centre

Duo of the week: Snake Davis with Gareth Moulton, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

THE Snake Davis and Gareth Moulton duo is back on the road, featuring saxophonist-to-the-stars Davis and Manchester-born, Macclesfield-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Moulton, his best buddy, with the promise of new material and a new album.

Davis has performed with Paul McCartney, James Brown, Tina Turner, The Eurythmics and Amy Winehouse and has featured on more than 400 recordings by 60 artists, including Lisa Stansfield’s Change, M-People’s Search For A Hero and Take That’s Million Love Songs. Moulton is lead guitarist with Cutting Crew and “moonlighting” singer and guitarist with Wang Chung and has recorded and toured with Heather Small, Jim Diamond, Paul Young and Go West. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Mike Skinner of The Streets: Playing A Grand Don’t Come For Free in full at Scarborough Open Air Theatre

Coastal gigs of the week: Scarborough Open Air Theatre presents The Streets, A Grand Don’t Come For Free, Saturday; Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Sunday, gates 6pm

Paul Smith: Radiating comic warmth twice in a week at York Barbican

York comedy gigs of the week: Hot Water Comedy Club presents Paul Smith, Happy, York Barbican, Saturday and August 5, 7.30pm

September 16, 2023September 21, 2023

More Things To Do in York and beyond when truth will out for tips for trips on days ahead. Hutch’s List No. 38, from The Press

*Dawn French: Frank confessions of a comedian at York Barbican*

FRENCH comedy, a very English murder thriller, state-of-the-nation politics and police procedures stir Charles Hutchinson into action for the week ahead.

Comedy gigs of the week: Dawn French Is A Huge Twat, York Barbican, tonight and tomorrow, 7.30pm

HER show is so named because, unfortunately, it is horribly accurate, says self-mocking comedian and actress Dawn French. “There have been far too many times I have made stupid mistakes or misunderstood something vital or jumped the gun in a spectacular display of twattery,” she explains.

“I thought I might tell some of these buttock-clenching embarrassing stories to give the audience a peek behind the scenes of my work life.” Tickets update: Limited availability at yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Tonight, meanwhile, Sarah Millican plays a Work In Progress gig at Pocklington Arts Centre at 8pm. Sold out already alas.

*A scene from Original Theatre Company’s touring production of Torben Betts’s new play, Murder In The Dark, starring Tom Chambers and Susie Blake. Picture: Pamela Raith*

Thriller of the week: Original Theatre Company in Murder In The Dark, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

TOM Chambers and Susie Blake star in Torben Betts’s new ghost story chiller cum psychological thriller, set on New Year’s Eve, when a crash on a deserted road brings washed-up singer Danny Sierra and his dysfunctional family to an isolated holiday cottage in rural England.

From the moment they arrive, inexplicable events begin to occur…and then the lights go out, whereupon deeply buried secrets come to light. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

*Robin Simpson: Pantomime dame and storyteller, bringing Magic, Monsters and Mayhem to York tomorrow afternoon. Picture: Joel Rowbottom*

Children’s show of the week: Magic, Monsters and Mayhem with Robin Simpson, Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, tomorrow, 4.30pm

YORK Theatre Royal pantomime dame Robin Simpson – he will be playing Dame Trott in Jack And The Beanstalk this winter – switches to storyteller mode to journey back to magic school on Sunday afternoon.

He will be telling stories of wonderful creatures, exciting adventures and “more magic than you can wave a wand” as he places the audience in charge of an interactive show ideal for Harry Potter fans. Suitable for Key Stage 2, but smaller siblings are welcome too, along with Potter-potty grown-ups. Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk.

*Hannah Baker, left, Harvey Badger, Eddie Ahrens and Rachel Hammond in Mikron Theatre’s A Force To Be Reckoned With. Picture: Anthony Robling*

Police spotted operating in the vicinity: Mikron Theatre in A Force To Be Reckoned With, Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Road, York, tomorrow, 4pm

IN Amanda Whittington’s new play for Marsden travelling players Mikron Theatre, fresh from police training school, WPC Iris Armstrong is ready for whatever the mean streets of a 1950s’ northern market town can throw at her.

Joining forces with fellow WPC Ruby Weston, they make an unlikely partnership, a two-woman department, called to any case involving women and children, from troublesome teens to fraudulent fortune tellers. Box office: 07974 867301 or 01904 466086, or in person from Pextons, Bishopthorpe Road, York.

*Kathryn Williams and Polly Paulusma: Songwriters at the double at Pocklington Arts Centre*

Songwriting bond of the week: Kathryn Williams & Polly Paulusma: The Big Sky Tour, Pocklington Arts Centre, Tuesday, 8pm

AS label buddies on One Little Independent Records, Kathryn Williams and Polly Paulusma met on a song-writing retreat. They wrote songs together and tutored courses at Arvon Foundation and as their friendship developed and strengthened, they supported each other over lockdown.

It seemed a foregone conclusion that they would tour together at some point. Finally, those Thelma and Louise dreams – hopefully without the killing or the cliff finale – come true on a month-long itinerary, playing solo sets and uniting for a few songs. Box office: pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

*Mike Skinner: The Streets’ composer-turned-filmmaker discusses his debut film in Q&A appearances at Everyman Leeds and Everyman York*

Streets ahead: Mike Skinner’s film The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light and Q&A, Everyman Leeds, September 21, 8pm; Everyman York, September 25, 7pm

THE Streets’ Mike Skinner presents his debut feature film, the “neo-noir” clubland thriller The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light, in an exclusive Q&A tour to Everyman cinemas.

Birmingham multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Skinner funded, wrote, directed, filmed, edited and scored his cinematic account of the seemingly mundane life of a DJ whose journey through London’s nightclubs turns into a tripped-out modern-day murder mystery. Each screening will be followed by a live question-and-answer session with Skinner, giving an insight into the music and story behind the film. Box office: thestreets.co.uk.

*Mark Thomas: Comedian stars in Ed Edwards’s one-man play England And Son at York Theatre Royal Studio*

Political drama of the week: Mark Thomas in England And Son, York Theatre Royal Studio, September 22, 7.45pm; September 23, 2pm and 7.45pm

POLITICAL comedian Mark Thomas stars in this one-man play, set when The Great Devouring comes home: the first he has performed not written by the polemicist himself but by playwright Ed Edwards.

Edinburgh Fringe award winner England And Son has emerged from characters Thomas knew in his childhood and from Edwards’s lived experience in jail. Promising deep, dark laughs and deep, dark love, Thomas undertakes a kaleidoscopic odyssey where disaster capitalism, Thatcherite politics and stolen wealth merge into the simple tale of a working-class boy who just wants his dad to smile at him. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

*Rowntree Park, by Jo Rodwell, one of 26 printmakers taking part in the York Printmakers Autumn Fair*

Print deadline: York Printmakers Autumn Fair, York Cemetery Chapel and Harriet Room, September 23 and 24, 10am to 5pm

IN its sixth year, the York Printmakers Autumn Fair features work by 26 members, exhibiting and selling hand-printed original prints, including Russell Hughes, Rachel Holborow, Michelle Hughes, Harriette Rymer and Jo Rodwell.

On display will be a variety of printmaking techniques, such as linocut, collagraphs, woodcut, screen printing, stencilling and etching. Artists will be on hand to discuss their working methods and to show the blocks, plates and tools they use.

*Sir Alan Ayckbourn: The truth will out when he takes to the SJT stage tomorrow afternoon. Picture: Tony Bartholomew*

In Focus: Theatre event of the week: Alan Ayckbourn’s Truth Will Out, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, tomorrow, 2.30pm

IN a rare stage appearance, Sir Alan Ayckbourn plays Jim in a rehearsed reading of his Covic-crocked 2020 SJT premiere Truth Will Out, joined by John Branwell, Frances Marshall and the cast of his 89th play, Constant Companions.

Truth Will Out is an up-to-the-minute satire on family, relationships, politics and the state of the nation, wherein everyone has secrets. Certainly former shop steward George, his right-wing MP daughter Janet, investigative journalist Peggy and senior civil servant Sefton do.

Enter a tech-savvy, chippy teenager with a mind of his own and time on his hands to bring their worlds tumbling down, and maybe everyone else’s along with them, in Ayckbourn’s own “virus” storyline, written before Coronavirus stopped play.

“It’s ‘the one that got away’, with most of the cast in place, and we even did a season launch,” says Sir Alan. “The play was one of my ‘What ifs’: what if a teenager invented a virus that brought the whole thing down. A ‘virus’ play, like Covid, with the virus escaping and the play ending in the dark, waiting till dawn.”

Racism, trade unionism and infidelity all play their part in Truth Will Out too. “It’s a melting pot of wrongdoings,” says Sir Alan. Tickets update: limited availability on 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

August 31, 2023August 31, 2023

The Streets’ Mike Skinner to hold Q&As at exclusive Everyman screenings of debut film The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light in Leeds and York on Sept 21 & 25

*Mike Skinner: Debut film and The Streets’ new album in tandem*

THE Streets’ Mike Skinner will present his visionary debut feature film, The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light, in an exclusive Q&A tour to Everyman cinemas this autumn.

The “neo-noir” clubland thriller will be shown at Everyman Leeds on September 21 (Screen 2, capacity 230, 8pm) and Everyman York on September 25 (Screen 1, capacity 200, 7pm).

Birmingham multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Skinner, 44, funded, wrote, directed, filmed, edited and scored his cinematic account of the seemingly mundane life of a DJ whose journey through London’s nightclubs turns into a tripped-out modern-day murder mystery. He designed the special effects too.

Each screening at 13 Everyman cinemas nationwide will be followed by a live question-and-answer session with Skinner, who will provide an insight into the music and story behind the film.

Noted for turning the mundane into the extraordinary in examining life’s nuances, Skinner’s musical project, The Streets, will release an accompanying 15-track album – his first under that moniker since 2011’s Computers And Blues – that bears the same name as the film and is intrinsic to its development by providing the soundtrack to the story. While neither the album nor the film could exist without each other, both can be enjoyed separately, advises Skinner.

*“Ultimately, it’s all the fruits of a decade on the DJ circuit,” says The Streets’ Mike Skinner of his film and album project. Picture: Ben Cannon*

“It has been seven long years working on this film and album,” he says. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and after dipping my toe in with some shorts and music videos, I felt I was ready.

“I tried to go the traditional route for a bit, but it’s always served me better to follow my instincts and just get on with it myself, so I’ve directed it, acted in it, edited, sound mixed, funded, produced it all, as well as written it. The album doesn’t exist without it.

“Ultimately, it’s all the fruits of a decade on the DJ circuit, watching people in clubs and back rooms, testing out beats and basslines to see what connected – and putting it all together into The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light.”

Tickets for the film tour are available via The Streets’ website, thestreets.co.uk, where The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light can be pre-ordered ahead of its October 20 release on 679 Records/Warner Music UK.

The track listing will be: Too Much Yayo; Money Isn’t Everything; Walk Of Shame; Something To Hide; Shake Hands With Shadows;
Not A Good Idea; Bright Sunny Day; The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light; Funny Dream; Gonna Hurt When This Is Over; Kick The Can; Each Day Gives; Someone Else’s Tune; Troubled Waters and Good Old Daze.

The Streets’ 11-date autumn tour will take in two Yorkshire gigs: Shefield O2 Academy on October 28 and Leeds O2 Academy on November 4. Box office: ticketmaster.co.uk/the-streets-ticket/.