Alex Keen and Rachel E Thorn: Improving tonight’s performance of Lying Together at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
TUCK into a black comedy of sex and deception, improvised completely by award-winning comedians Alex Keen and Rachel E Thorn at Theatre@41 on St Valentine’s night.
“Each performance is inspired by a lie told or a secret kept in a real romantic relationship, submitted by members of the public like you,” say Alex and Rachel, who then explore an anonymous confession chosen by the audience.
“You can submit a secret you’ve kept, a lie someone has told you or something you’ve heard about from a friend, but weren’t personally involved in. All we ask is that you only submit genuine secrets and lies between a couple.”
Previous inspirations include:
Rachel sat in a shepherd’s pie and pretended the dog ate it;
Alex told Rachel he’d been in a car accident;
Rachel hid the fact that the wedding she went to was her ex’s;
Alex told Rachel his mum was dead when she wasn’t.
“Let’s find out why we lie to the people we love,” say Alex and Rachel, who invite submissions via lyingtogether.co.uk. Hurry, hurry!
They first worked together when they co-created Scriptless In Seattle, nominated for Best Improv Show at Leicester Comedy Festival.
They then formed the two-hander improv Between Us, winner of Act of the Year in the Phoenix Remix awards, next made Sex, Lies & Improvisation and now perform Lying Together.
They also co-created and tour the award-winning show MATES: The Improvised ’90s Sitcom with Hugh Clark.
Alex and Rachel have taught improvisation at home and abroad for: Equity UK; Chicago Dramatic Improv Festival; British Improv Project; The Cambridge Impronauts; Nottingham Student Improv Festival; Liverpool Comedy Improv; Sheffield Improv Jam; Making Room at Sheffield Theatres; The Same Faces; The Shrimps and Wayward Souls.
The tour poster image for Lying Together
Alex Keen: the back story
CO-CREATED, coaches and performs with Sturike Comedy, who have made the shows Teen High: An Improvised High School Movie, Story Time and Fan Friction.
Alex co-founded and co-runs the Sheffield Improv Jam, a bi-monthly improv event in Sheffield. He is a welfare officer and teacher at the British Improv Project, a biannual residential retreat in the Midlands. He has performed with The Shrimps, Cambridge Impronauts, The Same Faces, Stealing the Show and Tiny Stories. More information at www.alexrkeen.com.
Rachel E Thorn: the back story
CO-CREATED CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation and performed with Cambridge Impronauts, Upstairs Downton and The Shrimps.
Rachel’s scripted work has been long-listed by the Kenneth Branagh Award, the Female Pilot Club, the Painkiller Prize and Pentabus. She has written for Dead Ringers, The Now Show, DMs Are Open, Newsjack andBreaking The News.
Her sketch comedy has been aired on BBC Radio and she has collaborated with impressionists Alistair McGowan, Charlie Hopkinson and Darren Altman. She trained at Drama Studio London. More information at www.rachelethorn.com.
For tickets for tonight’s improv performance, make a Valentine’s Day date at tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Connie Howcroft rehearsing her role as Jo March in Little Women – The Broadway Musical. Picture: Matthew Warry
BURGEONING York company Wharfemede Productions will stage their first solo production, Little Women – The Broadway Musical, at Theatre@41, Monkgate, from February 18 to 22.
Based on Louisa May Alcott’s 1868-1869 semi-autobiographical novel, the American musical focuses on the four March sisters – traditional Meg, wild, aspiring writer Jo, timid Beth and romantic Amy – and their beloved Marmee, at home in Concord, Massachusetts, while their father is away serving as a Union Army chaplain during the American Civil War.
Vignettes wherein their lives unfold are intercut with several re-creations of the melodramatic short stories that Jo writes in her attic studio in a musical featuring a book by Allan Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and music by Jason Howland.
“Rarely produced in the UK since its Broadway debut in 2005, this is a unique opportunity for musical and literary lovers to see this fabulous adaptation,” says director Helen “Bells” Spencer, Wharfemede Productions’ chief artistic director and co-founder.
“Little Women is a character-driven musical with family and friendship at the heart of this beloved story. I fell in love with the musical the first time I listened to it and having never seen it on stage. The score is beautiful, rousing and reflects the traditional setting of the piece, with spectacular group numbers and heartfelt solos.”
Helen continues: “As Wharfemede’s first independent production, it was the perfect size company and we are incredibly lucky to have some of the best performers in York in our ten-strong cast.
Wharfemede Productions director Helen “Bells” Spencer, centre, rehearsing her role as Marmee in Little Women with Connie Howcroft’s Jo, left, Catherine Foster’s Meg, Rachel Higgs’s Beth and Tess Ellis’s Amy. Picture: Matthew Warry
“Leading our cast as the passionate and fiery Jo March will be the incredible Connie Howcroft. I knew that Connie had sung Astonishing, the most famous song from the show, in her graduation ceremony several years ago so, ‘some things are meant to be’.
“Having performed with Connie several times, there was no doubt in my mind that she was perfect for this challenging role, with her incredible vocals and strength as an actor.”
Connie was familiar with the musical from her student days. “I knew quite a lot about it because I explored it when I was studying for my musical theatre degree at Hull College of Arts [from 2014 to 2017],” she says.
“A friend used one of the songs in her singing assessment, and I thought, ‘ooh, that sounds really nice”! I already knew the book, researched the show and then sang Astonishing, in my degree final ceremony performance – which ‘Bells’ saw on YouTube!”
When “Bells” asked Connie if she would be interested in performing in Little Women, “I said ‘yeah, sure, it’s a great musical’, and so me and Jo March were brought together,” she says.
Did she always have her eyes on that particular role? “Absolutely, 100 per cent, because she’s just a great character! I have many similarities with her, which is helpful in playing a character,” she says.
“She’s so self-aware until she’s not; she knows what she wants until she doesn’t. When something in her life throws her off balance, she always strives to do more. She loves her family, but she wants more than that from her life, so she’s always pulled between her family and what she believes her dreams should lead to. Her passions are always being challenged.”
Rachel Higgs’s Beth March, left, and Connie Howcroft’s Jo March rehearsing a scene for Wharfemede Productions’ Little Women. Picture: Matthew Warry
Connie has to accommodate her acting passions while working full-time as an events lead for an education company, teaching leadership skills to teachers in Westminster and Central Hall, London. “I do the preparatory work from York, sometimes working with people remotely on Zoom, then travel to London to do the events,” she says. “For this show, I did have to miss one rehearsal in late-January for a two-day event.”
She needs the balance of work and play. “Without having some form of performance outlet in my life, I don’t feel happy,” says Connie. “I grew up singing in the Q church in York from the age of 16, putting on Christmas productions too.
“I feel I always need to have singing in my life, but I’m careful about how I spread my time, as I’m a mum as well, to Riley, who’s 13 – and he does lead the life of Riley!
“But when I commit to a performance, I’m 1,000 per cent into it to do everyone proud and to make sure the production is the best it can be.”
Like Connie, “Bells” Spencer has found the balance between her love of performance – once her professional career, running a theatre company – and her work as a doctor in York. “I’m very passionate about the work I do for the NHS but I also get to do the thing I love as a hobby, putting in 100 per cent to make a performance of a standard I would want and expect to see,” she says.
Formed by “Bells” and chief operating officer Nick Sephton, Wharefemede Productions made their debut last October, staging Jason Browne’s The Last Five Years in tandem with fellow York company Black Sheep Theatre Productions.
“The aim of Wharfemede Productions is to have a good time with a good work ethic, where it’s all about being supportive of each other and being a team,” she says.
Joining Connie in Little Women will be Catherine Foster as Meg; Rachel Higgs as Beth; Tess Ellis as Amy; Spencer herself as Marmee; Rosy Rowley as Aunt March; Steven Jobson as Laurie; Nick Sephton as Professor Bhaer; Andrew Roberts as Mr Brooke and Chris Gibson as Mr Lawrence.
“We’ve spent a lot of time working on the rich characters and building a bond in the cast that shines through on stage. I’m so excited for our audiences to see this moving and funny show,” says “Bells”.
Wharfemede Productions present Little Women – The Broadway Musical, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 18 to 22, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ poster for The Tempest at Theatre@41, Monkgate
YORK company Black Sheep Theatre Productions are to present The Tempest with live music at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from March 26 to 29.
William Shakespeare’s timeless tale of power, love and redemption will be directed by company founder and composer Matthew Peter Clare in an innovative adaptation that blends traditional Shakespearean drama with a dynamic theatrical approach.
Known for bold and impactful storytelling, Black Sheep will seek to bring an exciting new vision to Shakespeare’s melting pot of mistaken identity, magic, intrigue, murderous schemes, comedy and romance.
“The Tempest is famously Shakespeare’s last play, focusing on family and love, subjugation and bloody plots, reconciliation and forgiveness, euphoria and despair,” says Matthew.
“It is a play that has been performed numerous times in as many ways. With Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ version at Theatre@41, we aim to marry a more Brechtian theatre style for some of our more absurd characters with a grounded, naturalistic approach for the more plot-driven characters.”
Director and composer Matthew Peter Clare
Matthew continues: “We have also utilised my musical background, alongside the incredible talent of Gregory Harper, to create a musical score for a live six-piece band, featuring strings, guitar, and harp, that will accompany the show and highlight the characters and their choices throughout.
“This will perfectly complement the singing of the island spirits, as well as our featured leading singers, such as Gemma-Louise Keane as Ariel and Josh Woodgate as Caliban.”
Both are well-known figures in York’s theatre and music scene, with Gemma-Louise being the lead singer of KissKissKill and Josh regularly performing with Inspired By Theatre, starring in Green Day’s American Idiot last year and now rehearsing for Rent.
“The strength of this production lies in the juxtaposition of absurd comedy and serious drama,” Matthew says. “The comedic energy of Charlie Clarke as Trincula, Molly Whitehouse as Stephana, Dan Poppitt as Alonso and Rocks Smith as Francisca is sharply contrasted against the more sinister and thought-provoking portrayal of Mark Simmonds’s Prospero.”
Mikhail Lim: Collaborating with Matthew Peter Clare in the Black Sheep Theatre production team for a second show in succession
The cast comprises: Mark Simmonds as Propsero; Freya McIntosh, Miranda; Gemma-Louise Keane, Ariel; Dan Poppitt, Alonso, Spirit; Megan Conway, Antonia; Chloe Pearson, Ferdinanda; Isaac McAndrews, Gonzalo; Rosie Stirling, Sebastian: Josh Woodgate, Caliban; Charlie Clarke, Trinculo; Molly Whitehouse, Stephano: Mickey Moran, Adrian, Spirit; Ellie Carrier, Francisco, Juno, Spirit; Rocks Smith, Boatswain, Ceres, Spirit, and Justine Hughes, Master of Ship, Iris and Spirit.
Matthew will be joined in the production team by Mikhail Lim, as he was for Black Sheep’s production of Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World at the National Centre for Early Music, York, last October.
“Our adaptation of The Tempest is set to be an unmissable experience, blending Shakespeare’s genius, innovative staging and an evocative live musical score to bring the story to life in a bold, fresh, and deeply engaging way,” concludes Matthew.
Black Sheep Theatre Productions in The Tempest, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, March 26 to 29, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Al Greaves: Burning Duck Comedy Club promoter and keen horticulturist
AL Greaves, promoter of the Burning Duck Comedy Club for 11 years in York and Leeds, has died at the age of 47.
The tragic news broke on The Crescent community venue website on Tuesday, when promoter Joe Coates posted: “Last week we learned of the passing of our friend and colleague Alistair Greaves, who left us suddenly on Wednesday 8th January.
“Many will know Al as the brains behind York-based independent comedy producers Burning Duck Comedy. With a genuine love for an oddball sense of humour, Al brought a widely eclectic programme of artists to York and Leeds over an 11-year period, from its initial home in the upstairs room of The Black Swan Inn, to The Basement in the City Screen Picturehouse before finding more permanent regular homes here at The Crescent and Theatre@41 on Monkgate.”
Paying tribute, Joe wrote: “Al was a brilliant promoter, open-minded and art focused. Working on his events would often involve long conversations about a new sound on his synthesizer, the layout of his allotment, a fab new vegan restaurant in town, or highly enthusiastic (and often very silly!) new ideas for hosting live comedy.
“Al was also keenly engaged in politics. He was a member of the Labour Party and more recently the Green Party with whom Al helped with fundraising and canvassing. He was considered and principled, but above all loved to engage in conversation with others, a beautiful humanist. We will all miss him very much. Our thoughts are with his friends and family.”
Never afraid to employ ukulele, looping pedals, props or whimsy, Middlesbrough-born Al first performed in London, where he established and compered Comedy Lake, the capital city’s number one underwater-themed comedy night in Archway, complete with resident shark, presenting the likes of Josh Widdecome and Sara Pascoe.
After returning north for family reasons, he set up the Burning Duck Comedy Club as “York’s most thought-provoking alternative comedy night: a handcrafted artisanal smorgasbang of the weirdest, wisest and most wonderful experimental musical, character, sketch, spoken-word and stand-up comedy performers”.
Sir Dickie Benson and comedy promoter Al Greaves, right, outside the Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York, ahead of the first Burning Duck Comedy Club gig in October 2014
He staged his first gig at the Black Swan in October 2014 with a bill of Seymour Mace, Tom Taylor, Nicola Mantalios-Lovett, York’s Peet Sutton as Sir Dickie Benson and compere Jack Gardner.
Already Al had won Beat The Gong at ARC, Stockton on Tees, performed in several shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, including Alistair Greaves Mixed Grill in 2011, and taken up the post of resident master of ceremonies at Verve Comedy Cellar in Leeds.
He went on to establish the Woodsduck Comedy Festival in 2015, participate regularly in the Great Yorkshire Fringe in York, move Burning Duck to The Basement, The Crescent and most recently, Theatre@41, since August 2022, and promote Burning Duck at the Hyde Park Book Club, Headingley, Leeds too.
“I don’t think it’s overstating it to say Al transformed our comedy offering at Theatre@41,” said chair Alan Park. “Starting back after Covid, we’d been approached by comedy agents directly and done a couple of comedy shows a season but they hadn’t done well and we thought, ‘is comedy for us?’.
“But then Maggie Smales, one of our trustees, reached out to Al,” said Alan. “We said, ‘we don’t want to tread on your toes, but we’d love to work with you’.” Al put six shows in place for the autumn season and comedy has become a mainstay of the programming.
“Al had this encyclopaedic knowledge of comedians with the ability of a dark art to identify comedians that would suit a 100-seat venue. He understood us as a venue and had a great sense of what would play well here.
“I think Al is irreplaceable,” said Alan Park, chair of Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
“He also understood the life of a comedian, how they go from show to show with a suitcase and maybe arrive after a bus replaces a cancelled train. He would always arrive early, make them feel welcome and would chat with them when they probably hadn’t had an adult conversation all day – and he was always very supportive of support acts too.
“He will go down as the man who revolutionised our comedy offering. People would come up and say they didn’t know this place existed until they came to a Burning Duck show and so we shall forever be in debt to him. I can confirm that we’ll be going ahead with all the shows he had put in place for us this year. Al had built up Burning Duck here and we don’t want to see it crumble.”
Alan added: “Al wasn’t doing it for anything but his love of comedy. It wasn’t for commercial gain. He just loved presenting comedy. There was no ego and he was just a joy to work with him. It was always a collaboration with him.
“He’d sit on a step or in the corner at Theatre@41, and you’d hear him laughing at a gag that no-one else got. He had this very alternative sense of humour and was such a great student of comedy. Every comedy agent we’ve spoken to has been devastated by his death because he really knew his comedy. I think he’s irreplaceable.”
Al’s humour might be best described as oddball. For example, he created the character comedy act Peter Bread, a York tour guide and baker, pioneer of York’s first ever Toast Walk, a tour that “bypassed York’s boring supernatural history, instead concentrating on telling the history of the city through baking” in another way to raise a laugh.
And should you be wondering why Burning Duck is so named, here is Al’s explanation. “It’s inspired by a joke I heard which I thought was amusing,” he said. “Why do elephants have flat feet? For stamping out Burning Ducks! I liked the randomness of the punchline and thought that anybody with a similar sense of humour might enjoy my nights.
“Al cared about the acts and the people who came to the shows,” said comedian Rob Auton
“Although about a year later I discovered that there was an earlier bit to the joke which was, ‘Why do ducks have flat feet? For stamping out fires’, which adds the context I missed when I heard the joke for the first time.”
Barmby Moor comedian Rob Auton typifies the comedy circuit’s affection for Al, first appearing on a Burning Duck bill in 2015. “I am gutted about the passing of Al. As a promoter he was a constant positive in every show I’ve ever done in York and Leeds.
“He cared about the acts and the people who came to the shows. I took home many an apple and chocolate bar from the supermarket spread he could be bothered to buy and put on a table. I think he really wanted to make things feel proper.”
Fellow York and Leeds comedy promoter Toby Clouston Jones, of the Hyena Lounge Comedy Club, said: “In an industry infested with sharks, narcissists and psychopaths, Al Greaves was that incredibly rare breed – a really nice bloke.
“He loved both comedy and comedians; the stranger the better was his cup of tea. Yet he seemed his most happiest when discussing his allotment and the pleasure it brought to him. The world needs more Al Greaves, not less.”
Martin Witts, who ran the Great Yorkshire Fringe in York from 2015 to 2019, spoke of Al’s involvement with the festival. “He started with us in 2016, initially as an intern, then worked at the middle tent, and he always delivered. Over the last two Fringes, we did more with Burning Duck and it was lovely to be able to pass acts on to him.
“I was very fond of him. As I got to know him, I realised what he was about was concentrating on getting his comedy nights right. We were choosy about who we worked with, but Al was a great addition as he knew there were different shades to comedy.
“Al was just at the point where I would have loved to have seen him open his own comedy club in York,” said Great Yorkshire Fringe director Martin Witts. Picture: Steve Ullathorne
“What makes a good comedy promoter is being in the game a certain amount of time because acts then trust you and return to you, and Al’s promotions were always good. He was just at the point where I would have loved to have seen him open his own comedy club in York.”
Al was more than a comedy promoter. His Alistair David Greaves Instagram site profiled him as #live music/comedy productions and vegan salads; #RHSLevel3 Horticulture and #secretbedroomfolktronica, with a link to alsallotment.wordpress.com, where could be found a profusion of images from his allotment and myriad vegan platters.
What made Al laugh? “It’s difficult to define, but there’s something satisfying about watching comedy that feels ‘truthful’, even when it’s also palpably absurd,” he said in a 2015 interview.
What did not make him laugh? “I try to be open minded and not too prescriptive about the type of comedy I enjoy, though personally I get turned off by comedy which feels ‘contrived’ or is overly predicated on perpetuating lazy and inaccurate stereotypes. Or when comedians pretend to get angry about things that aren’t actually that bad and overcompensate for lazy writing by shouting.
“Comedians will always elaborate on the truth to try and make a story funnier, or shoehorn in a clever pun, but I think the comedy still has to be somehow ‘believable’.” How astute he was.
Al had set out in 2014 to “create an environment in which performers feel they have more freedom to take risks and adopt a more experimental approach in their act, while also trying to foster a local audience who want to watch that sort of thing”.
He achieved those goals, savouring how “one of the highlights of live comedy is that it’s one of the few mediums where magical things can take place that seem relevant and funny only in that moment”. Thank you, Al, for conjuring such a profusion of magical things.
A memorial wake for Al Greaves will be held at The Crescent, York, on February 18. “Forfriends of Al’s we’ll be gathering to celebrate the life of a real good egg,” says promoter Joe Coates.
The Burning Duck Comedy Club programme for 2025 in York put together by Al Greaves
Rachel Higgs, left, Connie Howcroft, Tess Ellis and Catherine Foster in rehearsal for Wharfemede Productions’ Little Women – The Broadway Musical. Picture: Helen Spencer
WHARFEMEDE Productions will stage their first solo production, Little Women – The Broadway Musical, at Theatre@41, Monkgate, from February 18 to 22.
Based on Louisa May Alcott’s 1868–1869 semi-autobiographical two-volume novel, Allan Knee, Mindi Dickstein and Jason Howland’s show focuses on the four March sisters – traditional Meg, wild, aspiring writer Jo, timid Beth and romantic Amy – and their beloved Marmee, at home in Concord, Massachusetts, while their father is away serving as a Union Army chaplain during the American Civil War.
Vignettes wherein their lives unfold are intercut with several recreations of the melodramatic short stories that Jo writes in her attic studio in a musical featuring a book by Knee, lyrics by Dickstein and music by Howland.
“Rarely produced in the UK since its Broadway debut in 2005, this is a unique opportunity for musical and literary lovers to see this fabulous adaptation,” says director Helen “Bells” Spencer, Wharfemede Productions’ chief artistic director and co-founder.
Connie Howcroft (Jo March) and Steve Jobson (Laurie) in the rehearsal room. Picture: Matthew Warry
“Little Women is a character-driven musical with family and friendship at the heart of this beloved story. I fell in love with this musical the first time I listened to it and having never seen it on stage. The score is beautiful, rousing and reflects the traditional setting of the piece, with spectacular group numbers and heartfelt solos.”
Helen continues: “As Wharfemede’s first independent production, it was the perfect size company and we are incredibly lucky to have some of the best performers in York in our ten-strong cast.
“Leading our cast as the passionate and fiery Jo March will be the incredible Connie Howcroft. I knew that Connie had sung Astonishing, the most famous song from the show, in her graduation ceremony several years ago so, ‘some things are meant to be’.
“Having performed with Connie several times, there was no doubt in my mind that she was perfect for this challenging role, with her incredible vocals and strength as an actor.”
Andrew Roberts (Mr Brooke) rehearsing a scene from Little Women. Picture:Matthew Warry
The rest of the cast was “honestly, just as easy to fall into place”, reveals Helen. “I was extremely lucky that they all said Yes!”
Joining Connie in the company will be Catherine Foster as Meg; Rachel Higgs as Beth; Tess Ellis as Amy; Spencer herself as Marmee; Rosy Rowley as Aunt March; Steven Jobson as Laurie; Nick Sephton as Professor Bhaer; Andrew Roberts as Mr Brooke and Chris Gibson as Mr Lawrence.
“We have spent a lot of time working on the rich characters and building a bond in the cast that shines through on stage. I am so excited for our audiences to see this moving and funny show,” says Helen, who is working alongside musical director Matthew Clare, assistant directors Rosy Rowley and Henrietta Linnemann and choreographer Rachel Higgs in the production team.
Formed by Helen and chief operating officer Nick Sephton, Wharefemede Productions made their debut last October, staging Jason Browne’s The Last Five Years in tandem with fellow York company Black Sheep Theatre Productions at the National Centre for Early Music, York.
Wharfemede Productions present Little Women – The Broadway Musical, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 18 to 22, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Who are Wharfemede Productions?
Wharfemede Productions chief operating officer Nick Sephton and chief artistic director Helen Spencer at last September’s company launch in the Wharfemede garden
CO-FOUNDED by chief artistic director, musical actress and psychiatrist Helen “Bells” Spencer and chief operating officer, musical actor and former Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company chair Nick Sephton last September, the innovative company takes its name from their home in Thorp Arch and is dedicated to bringing high-quality musical productions and events to Yorkshire, with respect and openness at the heart of its work.
Having gained a drama degree from Manchester University and then co-founded and company managed Envision Theatre Company, this new company marks a return to her roots for Helen.
Calling on decades of logistics, managerial and computing experience, Nick is excited to be founding a company that uses these skills, combined with his love for music and theatre.
Winter gruel charges: The Pick Me Up Theatre ensemble in Oliver Twist
BILLED as “a new version of Oliver with a festive twist”, Deborah McAndrew’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s turbulent tale of courage in adversity was first staged in Yorkshire as Hull Truck Theatre’s Christmas show in 2018.
Yes, ‘Christmas show’, as it comes booted with snippets of Victorian carols, folk tunes and John Biddle compositions. It is not a musical, and definitely not to be confused with Lionel Bart’s Oliver!, instead being a storytelling piece of theatre with music as an Greek chorus-style ensemble commentary and complement to the unfolding drama.
Producer Robert Readman’s set is dominated by a huge bridge, on a diagonal across the stage that divides the audience into a traverse configuration, used traditionally to heighten a sense of combat or conflict.
Helen Spencer’s Fagin in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Oliver Twist
There would be no taking sides here, however, as everyone will be rooting for young Oliver Twist (Logan Willstrop, sharing performances with Frankie Whitford).
Born in a workhouse to a mother who loses her life, Oliver takes a 70-mile journey to London and is sold into an apprenticeship before being recruited by Fagin’s band of pickpockets and thieves as he sinks into London’s grimy underworld in his search for a home, a family and love.
Readman encloses Theatre@41’s black box Studio in wooden frames with a series of cloth “windows”, making the Victorian milieu all the more claustrophobic and imposing – and be warmed, look out for what will emerge through the cloth, even a Punch & Judy show.
The man in black: James Willstrop’s Bill Sikes casts his shadow over Oliver Twist
As ever with McAndrew, she combines well-sketched characterisation with detailed, evocative, fast-moving storytelling.
Hull Truck’s Fagin, my dears, was a woman, played by Flo Wilson. In Pick Me Up’s version, the thief chief is still performed by a woman, the show’s director Helen Spencer, but her Fagin is still referred to as “he”.
Spencer, who has had another splendid year astride the York stage, deepens her mezzo-soprano a tad, takes on a heavier physicality within a rags-and-riches coat and has something of the night about her. Having had to miss the first two performances with a “lost voice” she has certainly found it a terrific lead performance.
Playwright Deborah McAndrew
Jennie Wogan-Wells’s abused Nancy is striving against the odds to make her way in a male-dominated world, her light snuffed out by the brutal darkness around her.
Logan Willstrop’s Oliver is full of expression, resilience and enquiry, while the ever-reliable Tracey Rea and Nick Sephton are amusing company as the besotted Widow Corney and Mr Bumble, albeit that Sephton’s towering Bumble has his darker side too, as he slams his cane against the floor with a thunderous thud.
Neil Foster is on contrasting double duty, as the exploitative Mr Sowerberry and the kindly Mr Brownlow, and likewise Rhian Wells makes her mark as Mrs Sowerberry and Mrs Bedwin.
Matthew Warry, one of York’s best developing young talents, is in typically fine form as the cocky Noah Claypole, while Rich Musk’s cuts the mustard as Dr Grimwig.
Neil Foster’s Mr Brownlow in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Oliver Twist
As with Hull Truck’s production, the Artful Dodger is still called “Jack” but is played here by both a lass, Libby Greenhill, and a lad, Reuben Baines, splitting performances. Your reviewer saw Greenhill: a Chaplinesque figure with comic timing and plenty of pluck.
Young Logan is not the only Willstrop in Pick Me Up’s cast. His father James is a tall, gaunt, black of heart, black of coat, pock-marked Bill Sikes: darker still than his Frederick Frankenstein in Readman’s production of Young Frankenstein in September last year.
Matthew Peter Clare leads the musical forces with typical dash and Spencer directs with drive and focus with excellent use of ensemble as well as individual expression in her principals. All in all, a Dickens of a good show.
Pick Me Up Theatre in Oliver Twist, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York. Performances at 7.30pm, December 27, 28 and 30, plus Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2.30pm. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Tracey Rea’s Widow Corney and Nick Sephton’s Mr Bumble in Oliver Twist
Casting a shadow: James Willstrop’s bullying bruiser Bill Sikes in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Oliver Twist at Theatre@41, Monkgate
THE myriad delights of Christmas entertainment shine through Charles Hutchinson’s tips to vacate the festive fireside.
Dickens at Christmas, but not A Christmas Carol: Pick Me Up Theatre in Oliver Twist, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until December 30. 7.30pm performances on December 21, 27, 28 and 30, plus 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday matinees. No performances on December 23 to 26
HELEN Spencer takes the director’s reins and plays Fagin in York company Pick Me Up Theatre’s staging of Deborah McAndrew’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s 1838 novel, described as a “a new version of Oliver with a festive twist”.
Not to be confused with Lionel Bart’s musical Oliver!, it does feature musical arrangements by John Biddle to to complement Dickens’s tale of Oliver Twist being brought up in a workhouse, sold into an apprenticeship and recruited by Fagin’s band of pickpockets and thieves as he sinks into London’s grimy underworld in his search for a home, a family and love. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Harris Beattie andJonathan Hanks in Northern Ballet’s revival of A Christmas Carol at Leeds Grand Theatre. Picture: Tristram Kenton
Christmas ballet of the week: Northern Ballet in A Christmas Carol, Leeds Grand Theatre, until January 4 2025
FIRST choreographed by Massimo Morricone and directed by Christopher Gable in 1992, Northern Ballet’s retired landmark production of A Christmas Carol is being revisited by director Federico Bonelli to the glee of longtime supporters and new audiences alike.
“Charles Dickens’s classic Victorian tale of redemption, with its message of human kindness and compassion, is something that resonates with us all, especially at this time of year,” says Bonelli. “Its iconic characters lend themselves so well to ballet”, complemented by Lez Brotherston’s colourful sets and costumes and Carl Davis’s festive score. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Holly Cassidy and Grace Hussey-Burd in a scene from Riding Lights Theatre Company’s winter show A Christmas Cracker. Picture: Tom Jackson
Alternative Nativity play of the week: Riding Lights Theatre Company in A Christmas Cracker, Friargate Theatre, York, today to Christmas Eve, 11am and 1.30pm each day; 6pm, first three days; 4pm, last day
IN Paul Birch’s first play as artistic director of Riding Lights, world-famous storyteller Ebenezer Sneezer is lost, with snow in her wellies and faithful canine companion Cracker full of strange ideas about Christmas.
When caught taking shelter in Mrs McGinty’s barn, she allows them to stay on the condition that Ebenezer brings her glad tidings with her stories. If so, a hot supper awaits. If not, exit pronto. Ebenezer must triumph over not only Mrs McGinty’s frozen heart but also Deadly, a dastardly donkey ready to kick comfort and joy out of his stable. Box office: 01904 613000 or ticketsource.co.uk/ridinglights.
The poster for The Snowman screenings with live orchestra at York Barbican
Christmas film & music event of the week: The Snowman with Live Orchestra, York Barbican, Sunday, 1pm and 4pm
CARROT Productions presents two screenings of Dianne Jackson and Jimmy T Murakami’s animated 1982 film with the accompaniment of a live orchestra of professional musicians.
Raymond Briggs’s story of a young boy’s Christmas snowman magically coming to life for a journey to meet Santa Claus will be shown with The Snowman And The Snowdog at 1pm and The Bear, The Piano, The Dog And The Fiddle at 4pm. Each show includes a fun introduction to the orchestra and a visit from the Snowman himself. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Shed Seven’s Paul Banks and Rick Witter: Performing as an acoustic duo at Huntington Working Men’s Club in the last gigs of their 30th anniversary celebrations this weekend. Picture: David Harrison
Recommended but sold out already: Shed Seven’s Rick Witter and Paul Banks, Huntington Working Men’s Club, York, tonight and Sunday, doors 7pm
AFTER two number one albums in a year, summer shows in York Museum Gardens and their biggest ever tour, Shed Seven end their 30th anniversary celebrations back home in York, where lead singer Rick Witter and guitarist Paul Banks play a weekend of acoustic sets in the intimate setting of a working men’s club.
“We’re finishing the year in the village where Rick and I first met back in 1984, and where all of this began,” says Banks. “What a journey we’ve been on.” Sheds’ bassist Tom Gladwin serves up a DJ set too. Box office for returns only: store.shedseven.com.
Nun better: Freida Nipples hosts her Baps & Buns burlesque Christmas cabaret at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb
Feast your eyes on: Freida Nipples’ Baps & Buns Burlesque Christmas Cabaret, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, tonight, 8pm; doors open at 7pm
YORK’S queen of burlesque, Freida Nipples, presents drag, comedy and showgirls in her Baps & Buns Christmas Cabaret with festive good cheer after a joyous year of shows at Rise, Acomb’s answer to Paris’s Folies Bergère.
“Prepare yourself for an evening of debauchery and glamour in Acomb,” says Freida. “The big question is: are you ready for it?!” Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.
Central Methodist Church: Hosting City Screen Picturehouse’s pop-up Christmas Cinema at Saint Saviourgate, York
Pop-up film event of the festive season: City Screen Picturehouse presents Christmas Cinema at Saint Saviourgate, The Great Hall, Central Methodist Church, St Saviourgate, York, until December 23
CITY Screen Picturehouse, York, has set up a pop-up screen at Central Methodist Church for the Christmas season. Dougal Wilson’s Paddington In Peru (PG) will be shown at 4pm on Sunday, followed by Jon Favreau’s Elf (PG) at 7pm and Monday screenings of Robert Zemeckis’s The Polar Express (U) at 4pm and Frank Capra’s season-closing 1946 chestnut It’s A Wonderful Life (U) at 7pm. Box office: picturehouses.com/YorkXmas.
Ronan Keating: Playing at York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend next summer. Picture: Supplied by York Racecourse
Outdoor gig announcement of the week: Ronan Keating, York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, July 26
IRISH singer, charity campaigner and breakfast show host Ronan Keating will perform after the Saturday race card as the first act to be confirmed for next summer’s Music Showcase Weekend on Knavesmire. A further act will be announced for the evening meeting on July 25.
Keating, 47, has three decades of hits to call on, from Boyzone boy band days to his solo career, from Love Me For A Reason and When You Say Nothing At All to Life Is A Rollercoaster and If Tomorrow Never Comes. Olly Murs is confirmed already for the new 2025 race day of June 28. For race day tickets, go to: yorkracecourse.co.uk.
Helen Spencer’s Fagin in Pick Me Up Theatre’s production of Deborah McAndrew’s Oliver Twist at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
THE myriad delights of Christmas entertainment shine through Charles Hutchinson’s tips to vacate the festive fireside.
Dickens at Christmas, but not A Christmas Carol: Pick Me Up Theatre in Oliver Twist, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until December 30. 7.30pm performances on December 18 to 21, 27, 28 and 30, plus 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday matinees. No performances on December 23 to 26
HELEN Spencer takes the director’s reins and plays Fagin in York company Pick Me Up Theatre’s staging of Deborah McAndrew’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s 1838 novel, described as a “a new version of Oliver with a festive twist”.
Not to be confused with Lionel Bart’s musical Oliver!, it does feature musical arrangements by John Biddle to to complement Dickens’s tale of Oliver Twist being brought up in a workhouse, sold into an apprenticeship and recruited by Fagin’s band of pickpockets and thieves as he sinks into London’s grimy underworld in his search for a home, a family and love. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Northern Ballet in A Christmas Carol: Festive favourite makes its return to Leeds Grand Theatre
Christmas ballet of the week: Northern Ballet in A Christmas Carol, Leeds Grand Theatre, until January 4 2025
FIRST choreographed by Massimo Morricone and directed by Christopher Gable in 1992, Northern Ballet’s retired landmark production of A Christmas Carol is being revisited by director Federico Bonelli to the glee of longtime supporters and new audiences alike.
“Charles Dickens’s classic Victorian tale of redemption, with its message of human kindness and compassion, is something that resonates with us all, especially at this time of year,” says Bonelli. “Its iconic characters lend themselves so well to ballet”, complemented by Lez Brotherston’s colourful sets and costumes and Carl Davis’s festive score. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
The poster for HAC Around The Tree, the last show of 2024 at Helmsley Arts Centre
Festive celebration of the week: HAC Around The Tree, Helmsley Arts Centre, tomorrow, 7.30pm
JOIN the Helmsley Arts Centre Singers, 1812 Theatre Company, 1812 Youth Theatre, Ryedale Writers and invited guests for an evening of theatre, music, poetry and prose around the Christmas tree. The bar will be serving mulled wine and mince pies to spark up the festive spirit in Helmsley Arts Centre’s last event of 2024. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Step Into Christmas: Festive hit after festive hit at York Barbican
Christmas songs galore: Step Into Christmas, York Barbican, tomorrow, 7.30pm
THIS feel-good Christmas show brings all the magic of the season to musical life with favourite festive songs, from All I Want For Christmas Is You, Last Christmas, Jingle Bell Rock, Stay Another Day and Let It Snow to White Christmas, Do They Know It’s Christmas, A Winter’s Tale and Merry Xmas Everybody. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Chapter House Choir: Choral music old and new in the Nave of York Minster
Carol concert of the week: Chapter House Choir, Carols By Candlelight, York Minster Nave, Friday, 7.30pm, doors 6.45pm
THE Chapter House Choir, directed by musical director Benjamin Morris, combine with the Chapter House Youth Choir, directed by Charlie Gower-Smith, for this ever-popular candle-lit concert, first performed in 1965 and now held in the Nave. In addition to traditional choral music old and new, festive music will be played by the chamber choir’s Handbell Ringers. For returned tickets only, check yorkminster.org/whats-on/event/carols-by-candlelight/or contact 01904 557256.
Gary Stewart: Presenting tributes to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Paul Simon’s Graceland at York Barbican
Tribute gig of the week: Gary Stewart presents Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Paul Simon’s Graceland, York Barbican, Friday, 8pm
SCOTTISH-BORN Easingwold musician Gary Stewart presents Weetwood Mac and his Graceland band in a celebration of two career-defining works, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, from 1977, and Paul Simon’s Graceland, from 1986. “With combined sales of more than 50 million worldwide, both albums have stood the test of time and are cherished to this day,” says Stewart.
“Littered with gossip and controversy, Rumours and Graceland elevated their artists to new heights of popularity, inspiring the popular music canon for decades to come. This evening celebrates a time of artistic discovery and re-creates the excitement of the era, with these seminal albums lovingly interpreted by some of today’s finest touring musicians.” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Mike Newall: Laidback storytelling at York Barbican
Comedy gig of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club Christmas Special, York Barbican, featuring Mike Newall, Friday, 8pm
MANCUNIAN Mike Newall, who appeared on Britain’s Got Talent, takes top billing on with his laidback storytelling, Swiss clock timing and tack-sharp turn of phrase. “He’s like your best, most humorous friend – only funnier,” says promoter and master of ceremonies Damion Larkin. Two support acts feature too. Box office: lolcomedyclubs.co.uk or yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Holly Cassidy with the puppet of Cracker in A Christmas Cracker at Friargate Theatre, York. Picture: Tom Jackson
Alternative Nativity play of the week: Riding Lights Theatre Company in A Christmas Cracker, Friargate Theatre, York, December 21 to 24, 11am and 1.30pm each day; 6pm, first three days; 4pm, last day
IN Paul Birch’s first play as artistic director of Riding Lights, world-famous storyteller Ebenezer Sneezer is lost, with snow in her wellies and faithful canine companion Cracker full of strange ideas about Christmas.
When caught taking shelter in Mrs McGinty’s barn, she allows them to stay on the condition that Ebenezer brings her glad tidings with her stories. If so, a hot supper awaits. If not, exit pronto. Ebenezer must triumph over not only Mrs McGinty’s frozen heart but also Deadly, a dastardly donkey ready to kick comfort and joy out of his stable. Box office: 01904 613000 or ticketsource.co.uk/ridinglights.
The Snowman: Two screenings with a live orchestra at York Barbican
Christmas film event of the week: The Snowman with Live Orchestra, York Barbican, Sunday, 1pm and 4pm
CARROT Productions presents two screenings of Dianne Jackson and Jimmy T Murakami’s animated 1982 film with the accompaniment of a live orchestra of professional musicians.
Raymond Briggs’s story of a young boy’s Christmas snowman magically coming to life for a journey to meet Santa Claus will be shown with The Snowman And The Snowdog at 1pm and The Bear, The Piano, The Dog And The Fiddle at 4pm. Each show includes a fun introduction to the orchestra and a visit from the Snowman himself. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Helen Spencer’s Fagin in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Oliver Twist at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
IN a new twist, the opening of Pick Me Up Theatre’s Oliver Twist at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, is being delayed by a day through cast illness.
All being well, the curtain will now rise on the York company’s winter production on Wednesday night.
At the show’s helm both on stage and off is Helen “Bells” Spencer, who is not only playing Fagin in Deborah McAndrew’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s 1838 novel, but also has taken over the director’s seat from producer and designer Robert Readman five weeks ago.
“Robert started rehearsals while I was still rehearsing Last Five Years [Black Sheep Theatre Productions and Wharfemede Productions’ November musical at the NCEM], so I wasn’t available until that was over, and then, after a while, he asked me to step in, taking over his vision.
“I’ve worked with Robert a lot over the last couple of years, so I know how his mind works. When Pick Me Up had to pull the original dates for Young Frankenstein, I took over the reins with Andrew Isherwood to re-mount the production, but this is a slightly different situation from that one, as we’re still working to Robert’s ideas.
Playwright Deborah McAndrew
“We have a lot of mutual respect, so I can crack on, but it’s certainly a challenge that so many young people are in it. We have two ‘teams’: two Olivers, two Dodgers, two Roses, two Bets and ‘Children’s’ roles too; there are about 12 young people in all, ranging from eight to 17, so I’m working with a big age differences in the young cast.”
Not to be confused with Lionel Bart’s musical Oliver!, McAndrew’s stage adaptation “on the surface looks like an easy show, but it’s definitely not,” says Helen. “It’s incredibly complex, and one of the things that makes it harder is that no-one knows the songs in the way they do with Oliver! – and there are no recordings, bar for one song.”
Devised at the Bolton Octagon and staged at Hull Truck Theatre in December 2018 as “a new version of Oliver with a festive twist!”, McAndrew’s adaptation is an ensemble piece. “There’s a Greek-style chorus commenting on what’s happening and actors taking on different roles, so it’s quite a different way of working to what most people are used to in musical theatre,” says Helen.
“It’s not like coming on, singing a solo and going off, so the logistics have been more complex, especially when you have no familiarity with the score. I feel like what we got was the script and the basic score and we’ve tried to create our version with the actors we have and the musicians we have.
“I’m really glad I haven’t seen it before as we just want to do a version that makes sense to us, with the core adult cast pulling together to create the ensemble, and some of the adversity we’ve experienced has worked to our advantage.”
Into the dark: James Willstrop’s Bill Sikes
Readman has designed the set with a bridge across the stage. “We’ve been lucky to get into the theatre early enough to work on the show with the set in place. It will look fantastic, very atmospheric, and not what people might expect at all,” says Helen.
“The show will have Christmassy moments but it will have a darkness to it too to allow characters like James Willstrop’s Bill Sikes to be really horrible, which has been a real joy in rehearsals.
“When you think of actors like James, Jennie Wogan-Wells [who plays Nancy] and me, we’re very happy to do musical theatre, with James as the classic leading man, Jennie as the bright-eyed leading lady, and me doing comic parts, so I think people will be surprised to see us in these darker roles – though I used to do straight acting roles before musical theatre and I always enjoyed playing serious parts.”
Helen will play Fagin, who runs a band of pickpockets and thieves in London’s grimy Victorian underworld, where Oliver is the new recruit in his search for a home, family and love. “I suppose the most obvious thing to say is that I’m a female and the original was not,” she says.
“We had a discussion about whether I should play it as a woman, or a women playing a man, and we decided to lean into being a female taking on a male part, so all the references are still to ‘he’ and ‘him’. I’m playing him as an old man.
Tracey Rea’s Widow Corney and Nick Sephton’s Mr Bumble in a scene from Pick Me Up Theatre’s Oliver Twist
“We decided to see how it would feel, and it does feel right. The way the script has been written, it is right to do it this way, rather than make it wholly appropriate to a woman. It’s so exciting to play a male character, which I would never do normally.
“To have the chance to do that, having a face-off and a bit of fisticuffs with Sikes, it’s so liberating, even though he’s an older, frailer man, because if you were an older woman you wouldn’t deliver it that way.”
Describing the music, Helen says: “What strikes me is that they’re not conventional songs; they are more conversational songs, no big numbers, but there are a couple of fun chorus bits. It’s very much about creating the atmosphere in the scenes, rather than through big numbers and big choreography.
“What we need is the actors’ expertise because the songs are difficult and the text is difficult, and that’s been a challenge for even our most experienced cast members, but everyone has risen to it.”
Pick Me Up Theatre in Oliver Twist, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, December 18 to 30, 7.30pm, except December 23 to 26 and 29; Saturday and Sunday matinees, 2.30pm. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Who’s in Pick Me Up Theatre’s cast for Oliver Twist?
Frankie Whitford: Playing Oliver Twist in Oliver Twist at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
Oliver Twist – Frankie Whitford/Logan Willstrop; Fagin – Helen Spencer; Mr Bumble – Nick Sephton; Widow Corney – Tracey Rea; Mr Sowerberry and Mr Brownlow – Neil Foster; Mrs Sowerberry and Mrs Bedwin – Rhian Wells; Noah Claypole – Matthew Warry; Charlotte Sowerberry – Ruby Salter; Artful Dodger – Libby Greenhill/Reuben Baines; Nancy – Jennie Wogan-Wells; Bill Sikes – James Willstrop; Bet – Rosie Musk/Tempi Singhateh; Rose – Isla Whitford/Rosie Musk; Dr Grimwig – Rich Musk; Children – Lao Singhateh, Matilda Foster, Tempi Singhateh and Bea Wells.
Ensemble Augelletti: BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Baroque Ensemble present their new Christmas programme, The Morning Star, at the NCEM on December 13at 7pm
CHRISTMAS festivities gather pace with a community pantomime, Early music festival, cabaret, Strictly dance king and a Muppet movie, as Charles Hutchinson reports.
Festival of the week: York Early Music Christmas Festival, National Centre for Early Music, Bedern Hall and Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, until December 15
YORK Early Music Christmas Festival 2024 is under way, presenting 12 concerts and one (sold-out) choral workshop led by I Fagiolini founder Robert Hollingworth in a celebration of the winter season, its festivities, traditions, darkness and light, mulled wine and mince pies.
Concerts by Solomon’s Knot (Sunday), Stile Antico (December 12), Intesa (December 15) and Awake Arise (December 15) have sold out but tickets are available for Love And Melancholy with soprano Emilia Bertolini (today, 12 noon); Siglo de Oro (today, 6.30pm); Sean Shibe & Aidan O’Rourke (December 9, 7.30pm); Green Matthews (December 11, 7.30pm); Ensemble Augelletti (December 13, 7pm); Contre le Temps (December 14, 12noon) and Yorkshire Bach Choir (December 14, 7.30pm). Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Micklegate Singers: A White Christmas lunchtime concert for York Late Music at Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York
Christmas concert of the week: York Late Music presents Micklegate Singers, A White Christmas, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, today, 1pm
MICKLEGATE Singers chart a journey from Joanna Marsh’s In Winter’s House through wintry landscapes to arrive at a Christmas prelude courtesy of Poulenc, Tallis, Vaughan Williams and more, including the world premiere of York composer James Else’s A Little Snow.
Among further works will be Holst’s Bring Us In Good Ale; Oliver Tarney’s The Waiting Sky and John Harle: Mrs Beeton’s Christmas Plum Pudding (Average Cost 3 Shillings And 6d). Box office: latemusic.org.
Rowntree Players’ principal panto players in Mother Goose, opening today at the JoRo
Let the egg puns get cracking: Rowntree Players in Mother Goose, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Saturday, 2pm and 7.30pm, Sunday, 2pm and 6pm; December 10 to 13, 7.30pm; December 14, 2pm and 7.30pm
MEET Jack (Gemma McDonald), head of hens at Chucklepatch Farm, with its newest addition to the coop, Priscilla the goose (American Abbey Follansbee). Joined by mum Gertrude Gander (alias Mother Goose, Michael Cornell) and his sister Jill (Laura Castle), they head out on their panto adventure.
Desperate for showbiz, Gertrude gives up the Wolds for the bright lights of Doncaster. However, ever-nasty landlord Demon Darkheart (Jamie McKeller) and his assistant Bob (Laura McKeller) will stop at nothing to collect rent, but dishy farmer Kev, the King of Kale (Sarah Howlett) and Fairy Frittata (Holly Smith) will not let the dark side rule in a rollicking romp directed by co-writer Howard Ella. Tickets update: Down to last few tickets or limited availability for most performances on 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Velma Celli: Xmas Roast cabaret songs, comedy and festive fruitiness at Impossible York
Christmas cabaret of the week: Velma Celli’s Xmas Roast, Impossible York, St Helen’s Square, York, Sunday 6pm, doors 5pm
YORK’S international drag diva deluxe, Velma Celli, hosts a fabulous evening of music, comedy and festive frolics. “Come and have yourself a merry Christmas,” says Velma, the Best Cabaret at Perth Fringeworld 2024 award-winning alter ego of West End musical actor and Atlantis Gay Cruises headline act Ian Stroughair, who promises “cabaret meets a partaaaaaay”. Box office: ticketweb.uk/event/velmas-xmas-roast-impossible-york-tickets/13855143.
The Hollywood Sisters: Cat Foster, left, Rachel Higgs, Henrietta Linnemann and Helen “Bells” Spencer
Fundraising festive concert of the week: The Hollywood Sisters & Friends, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Sunday, 7pm
THE Hollywood Sisters, the York vocal harmony group with vintage Hollywood vibes, have added extra tickets after selling out Sunday’s show. Expect a cabaret evening of music, song and a sprinkle of festive cheer featuring the luscious close harmonies of Helen “Bells” Spencer, Cat Foster, Rachel Higgs and Henrietta Linnemann and guest appearances by The Rusty Pegs, Mark Lovell, Phoebe Breeze and Anthony Sargeant.
All profits will go to the fundraising campaign for a new sensory room for dementia patients at Foss Park Hospital, in Haxby Road, York. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Anton du Beke: Christmas song and dance with the Strictly Come Dancing judge and Friends at York Barbican
Dance show of the week: Anton du Beke in Christmas With Anton & Friends, York Barbican, December 10, 7.30pm
STRICTLY Come Dancing judge and dashing dancer Anton Du Beke glides into York in his new festive tour show, joined as ever by elegant crooner Lance Ellington, a live band and a company of dancers for an evening of song and dance with added Christmas dazzle.
“I’ve always dreamed of doing a big Christmas show as it’s the best time of the year, so this is a real treat for me,” says the ballroom king. “It’s the show I’ve always wanted to do with some old faces and some new!” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Jools Holland: Playing to a full house at York Barbican
No year would be complete without…Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, York Barbican, December 11, 7.30pm
BOOGIE woogie pianist supreme Jools Holland makes his obligatory winter outing to York in the company of his top-notch rhythm & blues players and vocalists Ruby Turner, Louise Marshall and Sumudu Jayatilaka.
His special guests will be Soft Cell singer Marc Almond, who previously toured with Holland in 2018, and blues guitar prodigy Toby Lee, his guest on last year’s tour too. Holland will be performing songs from the former Squeeze keyboardist and television presenter’s long-running solo career. Box office for returns only: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Marc Almond: Jools Holland’s special guest at York Barbican. Picture: Mike Owen
Christmas film double bill: Friargate Theatre, York, presents The Muppet Christmas Carol (U), today, 2.30pm, and Die Hard (15), today, 8pm
FRIARGATE Theatre serves up a double dose of holiday cheer and action-packed excitement, opening with Kermit, Miss Piggy and the Muppet gang being joined by Michael Caine’s Ebenezer Scrooge as they re-tell the Dickens tale with a whimsical and heart-warming twist.
Let’s leave the debate over whether John McTiernan’s Die Hard is or is not a Christmas film to another day. Instead, revel in Bruce Willis’s John McClane battling with terrorists in a high-rise building on Christmas Eve. Box office: 01904 613000 or friargatetheatre.co.uk.
Christmas Cinema at St Saviourgate
Pop-up film event of the month: City Screen Picturehouse presents Christmas Cinema at Saint Saviourgate, The Great Hall, Central Methodist Church, St Saviourgate, York, December 12 to 23
CITY Screen Picturehouse, York, is setting up a pop-up screen at Central Methodist Church for the Christmas season, kicking off on December 12 with The Muppet Christmas Carol (U) at 4pm and Bridget Jones’s Diary (15) at 7PM.
Next come Home Alone (PG) at 4pm and Love Actually (15) at 7pm on December 13; Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone (PG) at 4pm and Elf (PG) at 7.20pm on December 14, then Ali Plumb’s Untitled Christmas Film Quiz Project at 5pm and The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG) at 8.30pm on December 15.
Paddington In Peru (PG) will be shown at 4pm on December 16; Die Hard (15) at 7pm that night; The Polar Express (U) at 4pm and It’s A Wonderful Life (U) at 7pm on December 17; The Muppet Christmas Carol (U) at 4pm and Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone (PG) at 6.45pm on December 18, then Home Alone (PG) at 4pm and Wonka (PG) at 7pm on December 20.
Paddington In Peru (PG) returns at 4pm on December 22, followed by Elf (PG) at 7pm, before the season concludes with The Polar Express (U) at 4pm and It’s A Wonderful Life (U) at 7pm on December 23. Box office: picturehouses.com/YorkXmas.
Mat Jones in A Christmas Carol for two nights at Friargate Theatre. Picture: Vintage Verse
Solo show of the week: Mat Jones in A Christmas Carol, Friargate Theatre, York, December 13 and 14, 7.30pm
RING in the Christmas season with Mat Jones’s spellbinding rendition of Charles Dickens’s Victorian festive classic, brought to life in vivid detail from Dickens’s original performance text as Scrooge encounters the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet To Come en route to the redemption of London’s most miserable miser.
“A Christmas Carol is not just a story; it’s a celebration of the human spirit and the power of kindness,” says Jones. Box office: 01904 613000 or friargatetheatre.co.uk.
York artist Jo Walton setting up her exhibition at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb
Exhibition of the week: Jo Walton, Steel, Copper, Rust, Gold, Verdigris, Wax, Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, until January 23 2025
WHEN Rogues Atelier artist, interior designer, upholsterer and Bluebird Bakery curator of exhibitions Jo Walton asked poet Nicky Kippax to put words to images she had sent her, she responded with “The heft of a cliff and a gathering of sea fret”. Spot on, Nicky.
Into the eighth month of recovery from breaking her right leg, Jo is exhibiting predominantly large works that utilise steel, copper, rust, gold, verdigris and wax in the bakery, cafe and community centre, whose interior she designed in 2021.
