Velma Celli: Returning to York Theatre Royal to celebrate West End and Broadway musical queens. Picture: Sophie Eleanor
YORK drag diva deluxe Velma Celli will be in regal voice at York Theatre Royal in her new cabaret concoction of music, risqué comedy and generally fabulous entertainment on May 23.
After God The Save The Queens’ celebration of British music icons, from Cilla Black, Shirley Bassey and Kate Bush to Adele, Amy Winehouse and Dua Lipa, here comes Velma Celli’s Show Queen.
“It was going to be called just ‘Show Queen’, but then I discovered there’s a famous drag act in Australia who’s done a show with that title, so ‘Velma Celli’s Show Queen’ it is,” says Velma, the flamboyant creation of West End musical actor and cruise ship star turn Ian Stroughair, 41.
“I’ll be touring it next year when it’ll be called ‘Show Queen’ but with a tag line. It’s a title that’s open to any interpretation.”
Offering an invitation to the new show, Velma says: “Grease up your voice boxes, head to the glorious Theatre Royal, York and come Hear the People Sing the Sound Of Music worthy of royalty or Hamilton himself in this greatest of Cabaret shows.”
Velma Celli: Presenting “the greatest of cabaret shows”
What’s in store? “It’s a brand new show going back to my own musical theatre roots, having appeared in iconic mega shows such as Cats, Chicago, Fame and Rent. I’ll be celebrating the very best of London’s West End and Broadway musical theatre hits in a show that takes us to every corner of the fabulous genre, from Kander & Ebb and Lloyd Webber to Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked and Schönberg’s Les Miserables and many more,” says Velma. “Like, more than Six!
“I first did it at Crazy Coqs [the London cabaret club], but only with piano, so not the full version that it will be in York, where the band will be led by Scott Phillips on keyboards. He’s a professional musical director, who I first met when he was training here in York, and now I take him everywhere to do all my gigs. He’s fixing up the rest of the band but Al Morrison will definitely be on guitar.”
Among the highlights of Velma’s 75-minute show will be a ten-minute Kander & Ebb medley of Cabaret and Chicago, including Cell Block Tango. “I’ll be doing all six of the murderesses at Cook County Jail regaling Roxie Hart with the stories behind the murder of the men in their lives,” says Velma. “I’m doing it in a mash-up with Henry VIII’s wives in Six!”
Velma’s special guests will be burlesque superstar Miss Betsy Rose and an acoustic set with soul-powered York singer Jessica Steel, a regular in Velma’s home-city shows accompanied by guitarist Stuart Allan.
“Betsy has been voted the number one burlesque artist three times and is known for being the best in vintage burlesque,” says Velma. “She’s done shows with me at Impossible York, and I look forward to her giving off Cyd Charisse vibes at the Theatre Royal. And Jess? She’s York’s finest!”
Miss Betsy Rose: Guest burlesque act at Velma Celli’s Show Queen cabaret night at York Theatre Royal
Velma Celli’s Show Queen will be Velma’s fourth gig at York Theatre Royal in recent years, after A Brief History Of Drag in May 2021, Me And My Divas in September 2022 and God Save The Queens last September.
“I did my first musical there, in 1997, when I was 14: Kes! The Musical,” Velma recalls. “Lawrence Till directed it, and we were just school kids working with West End professionals. What an experience.”
After 15 years of shows taking her to Australia, New York, the Edinburgh Fringe and London’s Hippodrome, Velma Celli’s diary is as busy and as diverse as ever.
“Last month I was the MC for a concert for the Demelza House children’s charity at the Granville Theatre in Ramsgate, introducing Anna-Jane Casey, Robin Cousins, Amy Lennox, Mike Nolan & Cheryl Baker and Christina Bianco, who I’ll be performing with at Crazy Coqs in a tenth anniversary of our show Divallusion on August 30,” says Velma.
Velma’s travels have taken her back to Australia this year on tour. “I played Sydney, the Brunswick Picturehouse, Byron Bay, in New South Wales, and Perth, where God Save The Queens won the Perth Fringeworld award for best cabaret, after I was nominated previously for A Brief History Of Drag and won with Me And My Divas,” she says.
The poster artwork for Velma Celli’s God Save The Queens
“I did a cruise too, from Melbourne to Sydney, doing my show on board for four days – and I’ve sung at a private show in the Seychelles. Lovely!”
Coming up in York will be Velma Celli’s Pride Drag Brunch for York Pride on June 1 at Impossible York at 4pm and the Pride Official Afterparty at Ziggy’s Bar & Nightclub, in Micklegate, from 8pm.
Further afield in Yorkshire, Velma will be performing God Save The Queens at Skipton Town Hall on June 15 (8pm, box office: skiptontownhall.co.uk). In the diary too is a return to a starring role at Yorktoberfest, York’s celebration of beer, bratwurst and all things Bavarian in the Clocktower Enclosure, York Racecourse, on October 18, 19, 25 and 26 (tickets: ticketsource.co.uk/yorktoberfest).
Velma Celli’s Show Queen, York Theatre Royal, May 23, 7.30pm. Age guidance: 14 plus. Content warning: Strong language.
Should you be in the south: Velma Celli’s A Brief History Of Drag, King’s Head Theatre, 116 Upper Street, London, N1 1QN, June 17, 9pm; Velma Celli’s God Save The Queens, Fiery Bird, Goldsworth Road, Woking, July 13, 7.30pm. Box office: kingsheadtheatre.com; fierybirdvenue.org.uk.
Velma Celli: Vocal drag entertainment with chutzpah and cheek at Yorktoberfest, York Racecourse
BAVARIAN revelry and riotous Russian politics, Frankenstein in wartime and jazz era Joni, comedy and charity nights entice Charles Hutchinson to do battle with Storm Babet.
Festival of the week: Jamboree Entertainment presents Yorktoberfest, Clocktower Enclosure, York Racecourse, Knavesmire Road, York, today, 1pm to 5pm; Friday, 7pm to 11pm; next Saturday, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm
YORKTOBEFEST returns for a third autumn season of beer, bratwurst, bumper cars and all things Bavarian in a giant marquee. Look out for the Bavarian Strollers, with their thigh-slapping oompah tunes and disco classics, and York’s international drag diva Velma Celli with her stellar singing and saucy humour.
Dancing is encouraged, as is the wearing of Lederhosen, Dirndls or any other fancy dress, with nightly competitions and prizes for the best dressed. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/yorktoberfest.
Steve Cassidy: Playing hits spanning six decades at St Peter’s School tonight
Fundraiser of the week: York Rotary presents A Song For Everyone, Memorial Hall, St Peter’s School, Clifton, York, tonight; doors 7pm, concert 7.30pm to 10.15pm
YORK singer and guitarist Steve Cassidy and his band are joined by guest vocalist Heather Findlay to perform a “huge range of popular hits covering six decades”. Expect rock, ballads and country music. Proceeds from this fundraising concert will go to St Leonard’s Hospice and York Rotary Charity Fund. Box office: yorkrotary.co.uk/a-song-for-everyone or on the door.
Heather Findlay: Guest vocalist at A Song For Everyone. Picture: Adam Kennedy
Spooks at Spark: Halloween Makers’ Market, Spark:York, Piccadilly, York, today, 12 noon to 4pm
THE Halloween edition of Spark:York’s Makers’ Market features “spooktacularly” handcrafted work by independent makers. Taking part will be Wistoragic Designs, Enthralled Yet, Gem Belle, A Forest of Shadows, Kim’s Clay Jewellery and the Mimi Shop by Amelia. Entry is free.
Hejira: Celebrating the jazz days of Joni Mitchell at the NCEM
Jazz gig of the week: Hejira: Celebrating Joni Mitchell, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, tomorrow, 6.30pm
JAZZ seven-piece Hejira honour the works of Canadian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter Joni Mitchell, mostly from the late 1970s, in particular Mingus from her “jazz period” and the live album Shadows And Light, recorded in 1979 with a Jazz All Stars line-up featuring saxophonist Michael Brecker and guitarist Pat Metheny.
Hejira is fronted by Hattie Whitehead, who – in her own way – has assimilated the poise, power and beauty of Joni’s vocals and plays guitar with Joni’s stylistic mannerisms. Joining her will be Pete Oxley, guitar; Ollie Weston, saxophones; Chris Eldred, piano and keyboards; Dave Jones, electric basses; Rick Finlay, drums, and Marc Cecil, percussion. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Go Your Own Way: The Rumours are true, they are playing Fleetwood Mac songs at the Grand Opera House tomorrow
Tribute show of the week: Go Your Own Way – The Fleetwood Mac Legacy, Grand Opera House, tomorrow, 7.30pm
GO Your Own Way celebrates the Fleetwood Mac era of Rumours and that 1977 line-up of Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, John McVie, Christine McVie and Mick Fleetwood in this new tribute show. Dreams, Don’t Stop Rhiannon, Gold Dust Woman, Everywhere, Little Lies and Big Love all feature. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Jonny Best: Piano accompaniment to Monday’s screenings of The Great Train Robbery and The General. Picture: Chris Payne
Film screening of the week: Northern Silents Film Festival presents The Great Train Robbery (1903) and The General (1926), National Centre for Early Music, York, Monday, 7.30pm
NORTHERN Silents artistic director and pianist Jonny Best brings musical commentary to a pair of silent cinema’s most famous railway chase films.
The 12-minute escapade The Great Train Robbery still packs a punch after 120 years, while Buster Keaton’s greatest achievement, the 80-minute The General, is both a brlliantly staged American Civil War epic and a comedy-thriller packed with visual humour, daring stunts and dramatic tension.
Keaton plays railroad engineer Johnny Gray, whose beloved locomotive, The General, is stolen by Yankees, stirring him to strive to get it back against the odds. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Eleanor McLoughlin as Victoria Frankenstein and Cameron Robertson as The Creature in Tilted Wig’s Frankenstein, on tour at York Theatre Royal
One for the Halloween season: Tilted Wig in Frankenstein, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to Saturday; 7.30pm October 24 and 26 to 28; 2pm, October 25 and 26; 2.30pm, October 28
TILTED Wig’s Frankenstein is an electrifying reimagining of Mary Shelley’s Gothic 19th century horror story, now set in 1943. While Europe tears itself apart, two women hide from their past at what feels like the very end of the world. One of them has a terrifying story to tell.
Adapted and directed by Sean Aydon, this new thriller explores the very fabric of what makes us human and the ultimate cost of chasing “perfection” with a cast featuring Eleanor McLoughlin as Doctor Victoria Frankenstein, Basienka Blake as Captain/Richter and Cameron Robertson as The Creature. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Burning Duck Comedy Club welcomes Tom Lawrinson, Erin Tett and Mandy McCarthy to Spark:York
Comedy bill of the week: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Tom Lawrinson & Friends, Spark:York, Piccadilly, York, Tuesday, 7.30pm
AFTER Tom Lawrinson and Eryn Tett starred in Burning Duck’s inaugural Spark Comedy Fringe, promoter Al Greaves has invited them back to spark more laughs.
Absurdist alternative comedian Tett opens the show; Lawrinson, who made his Edinburgh Fringe debut with Hubba Hubba, is the headline act. In between come two shorter spots (wait and see who those “friends” will be), with guest host MC Mandy McCarthy holding everything together. Box office: burningduckcomedy.com.
Comedian Helen Bauer: Girl’s talk at The Crescent and Hyde Park Book Club
A word or two on women: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Helen Bauer: Grand Supreme Darling Princess, The Crescent, York, Thursday, 7.30pm; Hyde Park Book Club, Headingley, Leeds, Friday, 8pm
HELEN Bauer, Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer nominee, Late Night Mash star and Trusty Dogs podcaster, heads to York and Leeds with a show about the women in her life, from her mother to her best friend and that one girl who was mean in 2008. Oh, and Disney princesses, obviously. Box office: York, wegottickets.com/event/581816; Leeds, wegottickets.com/event/581817.
One dalmatian, 100 more are on their way to the Grand Opera House in a new musical in November 2024. Picture: Oliver Rosser, Feast Creative
Spotted in the distance: 101 Dalmatians The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, November 5 to 9 2024, not 2023
A NEW musical tour of Dodie Smith’s canine caper 101 Dalmatians will arrive in York next autumn. Written by Douglas Hodge (music and lyrics) and Johnny McKnight (book), from a stage adaptation by Zinnie Harris, the show is reimagined from the 2022 production at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London. The cast and creative team are yet to be announced.
When fashionista Cruella de Vil plots to swipe all the Dalmatian puppies in town to create her fabulous new fur coat, trouble lies ahead for Pongo and Perdi and their litter of tail-wagging young pups. Smith’s story will be brought to stage life with puppetry, choreography, humorous songs and, yes, puppies. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
In Focus: Political drama of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Government Inspector
Director Alan Park, back row, right, and his Settlement Players cast for Government Inspector at Theatre@41, Monkgate. Picture: John Saunders
IN his first time in the director’s seat for 15 years, Theatre@41 chair and actor Alan Park directs the Settlement Players in David Harrower’s adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s Russian satirical exposé of hypocrisy and corruption in high places, prompted by a simple case of mistaken identity.
Park’s ensemble cast of eccentrics will undertake a fun, chaotic journey through 1980s’ Soviet Russia. “Communism is collapsing, it’s every man, woman and dog for themselves. What could possibly go wrong?” he asks, as the bureaucrats of a small Russian town are sent into a panic by news of the government inspector’s imminent arrival.
Harrower’s version premiered at the Warwick Arts Centre in May 2011 and transferred to the Young Vic, London, later that year. Now it provides “the perfect platform for Settlement Players’ hugely talented ensemble”, led by Mike Hickman as the town’s Major.
Andrew Roberts plays Khlestakov, accompanied by Paul French as his long-suffering servant, Osip. YSCP regulars combine with newcomers in Park’s company of Alison Taylor as the Major’s wife; Pearl Mollison, the Major’s daughter; Katie Leckey, Dobchinsky; Sonia Di Lorenzo, Bobchinksy; Maggie Smales, the Judge; Matt Pattison, Postmaster; Mark Simmonds, Head of Hospitals; Paul Osborne, School Superintendent; Adam Sowter, Police Superintendent; Florence Poskitt, Mishka, and Alexandra Mather, Dr Gibner.
Jim Paterson will lead a live band, made up of cast members, such as Pattison and Sowter, to help transport next week’s audiences to a 1980s’ provincial Soviet town full of eccentric personalities. Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk
Gracing the stage: Grace Lancaster in the role of Carole King in York Stage’s York premiere of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
FROM Carole King’s beautiful songs to Velma Celli’s pop queens, an artistic family to a poet’s biscuits, Charles Hutchinson adds to the September sunshine as cause for heading out and about.
Musical of the week: York Stage in Beautiful, The Carole King Musical, Grand Opera House, York, Friday to September 23
YORK, are you ready to feel the Earth move, asks director Nik Briggs, ahead of the York premiere of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. “This show has taken the world by storm, and for good reason, with its inspiring story of Carole King, a woman who rose to fame in the music industry during a time when female songwriters were few and far between”.
Singer, actress and pianist Grace Lancaster takes the lead role in this celebration of perseverance, passion and the power of music to unite. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Damon Gough: Marking 25 years of Badly Drawn Boy
Treasured songwriter of the week: Badly Drawn Boy, The Crescent, York, Monday, 7.30pm
DAMON Gough is undertaking his Something To Tour About: 25 Years Of Badly Drawn Boy tour, playing a sold-out standing show in York with Liam Frost in support.
Chorlton singer, songwriter, guitarist and piano player Gough, who released Banana Skin Shoes as his first studio album in ten years in May 2020, first made his mark with the Mercury Prize-winning The Hour Of Bewilderbeast in 2000. Eight albums on, he has plenty to tour about.
Rosie Jones: Unadulterated joy in Triple Threat at Leeds City Varieties and York Theatre Royal
Comedy gig of the week: Rosie Jones: Triple Threat, Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, Wednesday, 8pm; York Theatre Royal, Thursday, 8pm
COMEDIAN Rosie Jones’s show is guaranteed to be full of unapologetic cheekiness, nonsensical fun and unadulterated joy from the triple threat herself.
Theatre@41 honorary patron Rosie has hosted Channel 4’s travel series Rosie Jones’ Trip Hazard and Mission: Accessible and made numerous appearances on The Last Leg, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Hypothetical, Mock The Week, The Ranganation and Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back. Box office: Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com; York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Jessica Steel: Powerhouse vocals at A Night To Remember
Fundraiser of the week: Big Ian Presents A Night To Remember, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm
HUGE frontman Big Ian Donaghy hosts his annual charity fundraiser as George Hall leads a 20-piece All Star House Band with a 12-strong brass section in a night of cover versions of Kate Bush, Bill Withers, Take That, Fleetwood Mac, Tina Turner, Queen, Wham!, Elvis and more.
Taking part will be Jessica Steel, Heather Findlay, Beth McCarthy, Graham Hodge, The Y Street Band, Boss Caine, Gary Stewart, Simon Snaize, Annie Donaghy, Kieran O’Malley, Las Vegas Ken, the Huge Brass Boys, Hands & Voices, musicians from York Music Forum and Jessa Liversidge’s fully inclusive group Singing For All. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
John Hegley: Biscuits all round at Stillington Mill
Poet of the week: John Hegley: Biscuit Of Destiny, At The Mill, Stillington, near York, Friday, 7.30pm
POET John Hegley, star of radio, television and school assemblies, heads north with a clutch of new verses, a few older favourites and a cardboard camel with a moving jaw.
The biscuits in the show derive Romantic poet John Keats’s phrase: “a scarcity of buiscuit”. Not the sort of phrase nor spelling you expect from a Romantic poet, notes Hegley, who delves into the more eccentric side of Keats, alongside everyday goings-on in the Hegley homes of now and yesteryear. Expect drawings of elephants, myths, discos, daleks, optional community singing and the search for a sense of self-worth. Box office: tickettailor.com/events/atthemill/939591.
Velma Celli: Reigning over York Theatre Royal on Friday in a celebration of British pop royalty, God Save The Queens. Picture: Sophie Eleanor Photography
Brit icons of the week: Velma Celli’s God Save The Queens, York Theatre Royal, Friday, 7.30pm
YORK cabaret superstar Velma Celli, the vocal drag diva alter ego of musical theatre actor Ian Stroughair, introduces her new celebration of British pop royalty.
Accompanied by Scott Phillips’s band, Velma’s night of rapturous music, risqué comedy and fabulous entertainment features the songs of Adele, Amy Winehouse, Annie Lennox, Florence Welch, Leona Lewis, The Spice Girls, Kate Bush, Shirley Bassey, Cilla Black and Bonnie Tyler, plus a tribute to Sinead O’Connor.
Katya Apekisheva: Russian-born pianist playing at York Chamber Music Festival, sometimes solo, sometimes in the company of string players
Festival of the week: York Chamber Music Festival, September 15 to 17
FESTIVAL artistic director and cellist Tim Lowe is joined by John Mills and Jonathan Stone, violins, Hélene Clément and Simone van der Giessen, violas, Jonathan Aasgaard, cello, Billy Cole, double bass, and British-based Russian pianist Katya Apekisheva for three days of concerts.
Highlights include Mendelssohn’s String Quartet Op. 13, Dvořák’s String Sextet, Elgar’s late Piano Quintet, Strauss’s Metamorphosen, Brahms’s Cello Sonata No. 1 and Schubert’s last Piano Sonata in B flat major. For the full programme and venues, head to: ycmf.co.uk/2023-programme. Box office: 01904 658338 or ycmf.co.uk.
Ewa Salecka: Conducting Prima Vocal Ensemble in Songs From The Heart
Choral concert of the month: Prima Vocal Ensemble, Songs From The Heart, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, September 30, 7.30pm
ARTISTIC director and producer Ewa Salecka leads York choir Prima Vocal Ensemble in an intimate evening of contemporary classical and popular choral music with Greg Birch at the piano.
Works by Randall Thompson, René Clausen, Stephen Paulus and Elizabeth Alexander will be followed by a second half of moving and energetic arrangements of George Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Freddie Mercury songs. Ahead of their 2024 New York City reunion, Prima perform a Christopher Tin number too. Box office: primavocalensemble.com.
Copyright of The Press, York
Hannah Arnup and Ben Arnup with bowls by Mick Arnup and a bronze dog by Sally Arnup at the Arnup Centenary exhibition, opening today at Pyramid Gallery
In Focus: Exhibition launch of the week
Hannah Arnup, Ben Arnup, Tobias Arnup and Vanessa Pooley, Arnup Centenary, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, 11am today to October 30
THE Arnups, two generations of artists with roots in York, work in pottery, painting, wildlife sculpture, figurative sculpture and ceramic sculpture. The late Mick and Sally Arnup set up home and studio in Holtby in the 1960s, and three of their family, Ben, Hannah and Tobias, have followed careers in the arts.
This exhibition by the three second generation artists and Tobias’s wife, Vanessa Pooley, coincides with the centenary of their father’s birth in 1923. In recognition of their parents’ influence on their own artistic journeys, a few pieces by Mick and Sally will complement the new works.
Gallery visitors can expect to see new work by ceramist Ben Arnup, who specialises in slab-made flattened boxes and vessels that play with the viewer’s sense of form and space, alongside Hananh Arnup’s wheel-thrown bowls and plates with sgraffito decoration and Vanessa Pooley’s gently curvy female forms in ceramic and bronze. On the walls, the still life paintings by Tobias Arnup will sit alongside ceramic wall pieces by Ben and Hannah.
Ben’s intriguing Trompe L’Oeil forms are well known to collectors of ceramics and visitors to Pyramid Gallery. Formerly a landscape designer, he creates shapes that explore drawn perspective using coloured clay slab-constructed stoneware, “having fun with the way we see form”.
After studying sculpture at Kingston Art School and specialising in ceramics at Goldsmith College, London, Hannah has lived and worked for much of her adult life in Ireland where she owns and runs Ballymorris Pottery. Latterly, she has set up a new studio in the family home in Holtby near York, re- purposed as a community of artists’ studios.
Vanessa works with bronze and ceramic to create sculpture of mostly female forms with an individual and distinctive style that takes inspiration from the work of Henri Laurens and his studio assistant Balthazar Lobo, as well as Marino Marinni and the sculptures of Picasso and Matisse. Her work is to be found in collections around the world.
Tobias studied at Camberwell School of Art and went on to teach at Blackheath School of Art before a change in career to be an art therapist.
“I was helping run a course at Blackheath School of Art and I found I was more interested in the people that sat in my office at lunchtime complaining about their fellow students or about their parents or about not getting their art right or wondering what they were going to do, or who were just not really coping with life very well,” he says.
After his training, Tobias started an art therapy department at Holloway Prison, which was in existence until the women’s prison closed in 2016.
During his 35-year career, he also worked in secure units in mental health hospitals, finding that art could engage traumatised people when other methods of therapy had not.
In his art, Tobias has evolved an individual style that begins with a black outline of still life objects and flowers, drawn in ink with a goose quill. He then adds colour in gouache, filling the spaces between or on top of the black lines.
Depending on what he feels is necessary, he might add more black ink lines, or redo the original lines, then more colour and maybe finish with more black lines. This layering of lines and colour is done slowly and carefully in a process that he describes as meditative. The result is intriguing, distinctive and joyful, with pastel colours contrasting with the black outlines, that have a bold and purposeful feel mixed with occasional random unevenness.
Gallery owner Terry Brett has worked with Ben and Hannah for many years, as well as with Mick and Sally, and looks forward to his inaugural showing of paintings by Tobias and bronze and ceramic sculpture by Vanessa.
“‘For me, this is one of the most satisfying moments in my time as an exhibition curator,” he says. “Not only for the quality of the work and diversity of styles, but also because I am pleased to be representing Vanessa and Tobias for the first time.
“To be hosting the family with an exhibition that is paying respect to Mick and Sally in a collective show is a very special moment for both myself and the gallery.”
Tobias Arnup with his gouache and ink paintings
Tobias Arnup on his artistic practice
THE play between line and colour has always been central to Tobias’s work as a painter. “Undoubtedly my main influence of this has been that of my father, Mick,” he says. “However, I still remember the impact of being taught by the wonderful art master at Pocklington School, Nigel Billington, who encouraged a proper attention to composition and to drawing, particularly with ink.
“It was hardly a surprise when I chose Camberwell School of Art, in London, as the place to study for my Fine Art degree and where I was lucky enough to teach drawing myself for a while.”
Only relatively recently has Tobias experimented more with different media. “For many years my favourite was egg tempera, which I learnt about at Camberwell and used to mix up myself,” he says.
“Depending on how much it was diluted, tempera has both the ‘gloopy’ quality of gouache and the richness of a watercolour glaze. It was working on paper, though, that has allowed me to work more flexibly.
“Using water-soluble pencil, Indian ink, watercolour and gouache – although not necessarily in that order – I seem to be forever swinging between creating chaos and trying to excerpt some sort of order on the composition.”
He continues: “These days the chaos of my ink marks is being brought under some sort of control by the flat, mat gouache. When things get a bit too tidy, out comes the ink bottle again.
“There cannot have been many options for school teachers at the time. Mr Billington’s huge set-ups suited me perfectly, however. They were there ready for me – a constant resource, I realise now, that is currently replicated in my own studio.
“Although they stray into more abstract concerns, I regard all these works as still-lives. When I am a bit stuck, it’s the ink and the goose-feather quills that I turn to, although I have used up my store of Chinese geese quills that I collected up from the garden when I was young.”
Pyramid Gallery opening hours are: Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm.The displays can be viewed at pyramidgallery.com too.
Velma Celli: Celebrating British pop icons past and present in God Save The Queens at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Sophie Eleanor Photography
YORK vocal drag diva Velma Celli is to return to York Theatre Royal for one night only, introducing her latest cabaret concoction of music, risqué comedy and generally fabulous entertainment on September 15.
God Save The Queens will be a celebration of British music icons, from “the obvious ones”, Adele and Amy Winehouse, to Florence Welch, Leona Lewis and the Spice Girls. Dua Lipa too.
“Since I first announced the show, I’ve added more favourites: Cilla Black, Shirley Bassey, Dusty Springfield, Bonnie Tyler, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, so I now have some older pop royalty to go with my modern regulars,” says Velma, the flamboyant creation of West End musical actor and cruise ship star turn Ian Stroughair. “I’ll be doing a tribute to Sinead O’Connor too. Poor Sinead. Bless her.”
God Save The Queens: that’s a great show title, Ian. “Thank you so much! I came up with it on the latest sea cruise, going around the Caribbean and South America in March, because you have to keep finding new ones, but it’s still just a gig with a theme!” he says.
Velma Celli will be completing a hattrick of Theatre Royal shows after Me And My Divas last September and A Brief History Of Drag in May 2021.
Ian Stroughair: The face behind Velma Celli’s powder, paint and pop bangers
“This time I’ll have a band led by musical director Scott Phillips on keyboards, with bass, drums and two guitars, and my special guests will be York singer Jessica Steel and guitarist extraordinaire Stuart Allan, doing an acoustic set together. It will be lovely to be back at the Theatre Royal, which I love playing,” says Ian.
After 14 years of shows taking her to Australia, New York, the Edinburgh Fringe and London’s Hippodrome, Velma’s diary looks busy, busy, busy for the months ahead.
“I’ll be back at Yorktoberfest [York’s traditional Bavarian beer festival] at York Racecourse on two weekends in October; I’ll be performing on a cruise ship to Singapore, Bangkok and Thailand in November and touring Australia for four to five weeks, starting in January, playing the Karnidale Circus Festival, in Karridale, near Margaret River, in Western Australia, about three hours from Perth,” says Ian.
“Then the Perth Fringe World festival for ten dates, maybe Melbourne and finally Sydney for a couple of dates. There’s loads of ex-pats over there who love drag!”
Every other month too, Velma has been performing at Crazy Coqs, an intimate Art Deco cabaret and jazz space at Brasserie Zedel, Piccadilly, London, staging Me And My Divas and Velma Celli Goes Gaga, her tribute to Lady Gaga and her influences, such as David Bowie, Prince and Whitney Houston. “Next up will be a little preview of God Save The Queens on September 7,” says Ian.
Drag diva Velma Celli serves up song, comedy and sartorial fabulousness in regal style on September 15. Picture: Sophie Eleanor Photography
In York, meanwhile Velma Celli’s Drag Brunch shows are ongoing upstairs at Impossible York, St Helen’s Square, with upcoming dates on the first Saturday in September, October and November at 1pm and 4pm.
“I’ll be hosting Velma’s Christmas Roast there too on December 2, 3, 16 and 17 with sittings at 1pm and 4pm,” says Ian. “It’s ‘Christmas Roast’ with a double meaning of roast, allowing me to be ‘mean’ with what I say!”
Another December show will feature Velma Celli too: Castellana, the Cardiff Castle Christmas Festival, promising “sensuous, smooth and seductive” fun in a spiegeltent in Sophia Gardens from December 6 to 24.
“I’ll be the master of ceremonies for half the shows, and I’m casting and directing it as well, with contortionists, aerialists, jugglers and hula-hoopists – if there’s such a word – on the bill,” says Ian.
Castellana and South Wales can wait. For now, the focus is on York’s drag diva deluxe and her parade of pop royalty at the Theatre Royal.
Velma Celli’s God Save The Queens, York Theatre Royal, September 15, 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: 14 plus.
A fierce-faced warrior at Jorvik Viking Festival, back in York from today
THOSE pesky Vikings are invading again, promising battles and big beards, as Charles Hutchinson wrestles with what to do in half-term week.
Festival of the week: Jorvik Viking Festival 2023, today until February 19
SWORDS and seaxes are being sharpened, shields reinforced, beards groomed and tents prepared as York braces itself for the annual invasion of 9th century raiders, Norse warriors, craftspeople and traders in half-term week.
Welcoming 40,000 visitors each year, Europe’s largest Viking festival takes over the city centre with living history encampments, a combat-and-display arena and a Battle Spectacular on February 18, inspired by Arab writer Ibn Fadlan’s accounts of Viking traders.
Among further highlights will be theBest Beard Competition, today, 11am; Strongest Viking Competition, February 18, 11.15am; March To Coppergate, February 18, 1.30pm, from Dean’s Park; talks and lectures; crafting workshops and a traders’ market. Full details at: jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk
Melanie Watson in Mythos: Ragnarok: Making its York Barbican debut on the Jorvik Viking Festival Fringe
Festival Fringe event of the week: Mythos: Ragnarok, Jorvik Viking Festival, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm
MYTHOS: Ragnarok retells mythical tales of the apocalypse through wrestling, yes, wrestling, in a Fringe event new to the 2023 Viking festival programme, presented by Mythological Theatre and Phil McIntyre Live.
Half-brothers Odin and Loki must overcome primordial giants, rivals gods and goddesses and their own ambitions in their quest to seize power over the Nine Worlds through the grappling sport in Mythos’s York Barbican debut. Warning: Contains strobe lighting, scenes of violence, references to death, indirect sexual references, occasional bad language and actors specialising in professional wrestling skills. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
A chance to dress up as rebel: One of the activities at the Marvellous And Mischievous, Literature’s Young Rebels exhibition at York Art Gallery. Picture: Charlotte Graham
Exhibition of the week: Marvellous And Mischievous, Literature’s Young Rebels, York Art Gallery, until June 4
OPENING just in time for half-term week, York Art Gallery presents the British Library’s touring exhibition of memorable characters from children’s literature.
Favourites such as Pippi Longstocking, Jane Eyre, Matilda, Dirty Bertie, Zog, Tracey Beaker, Peter Pan and Dennis the Menace feature in this exploration of characters who break the rules and defy conventions. Around 40 books, manuscripts and original artwork from 300 years of literary rebels, outsiders and spirited survivors will be complemented by an activity room with a busy programme of workshops and events.
Anastasia Bevan: Soprano soloist at York Guildhall Orchestra’s all-Beethoven concert tonight
Classical concert of the week: York Guildhall Orchestra, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
YORK Guildhall Orchestra will be joined by Leeds Festival Chorus for the Angels’ Hallelujah Chorus, from the oratorio Christ On The Mount Of Olives in a wholly Beethoven night.
The Egmont Overture and Fidelio Overture and the Meeresstille und Glückliche Fahrt setting of two Goethe poems feature too before the climactic, gloriously melodious Symphony No. 9, “The Choral”, billed as “a real work out for orchestra, choir, and soloists” Anastasia Bevan, Sarah Winn, Sam Knock and Matthew Kellett. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Dnipro Opera take to the York Barbican stage in Carmen
Ukrainians in York: Dnipro Opera inCarmen, York Barbican, Sunday, 7pm
DNIPRO Opera, from Ukraine, perform Georges Bizet’s opera of fiery passion, jealousy and violence in 19th century Seville in French with English surtitles (CORRECT), to the accompaniment of a 30-strong orchestra.
Carmen charts the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who falls head over heels in love with Carmen, a seductive, free-spirited femme fatale, abandoning his childhood sweetheart and neglecting his military duties, only to lose the fickle firebrand to the glamorous toreador Escamillo. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The double act that nearly was…and now is: Danielle Reid’s Charlie Chaplin and Jerone Marsh-Reid’s Stan Laurel in Told By An Idiot’s Charlie & Stan
Double act of the week: Told By An Idiot in Charlie & Stan, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm, plus 2pm, Thursday and 2,30pm, Saturday
IN 1910 the unknown Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel set sail for New York on a voyage of discovery as part of Fred Karno’s music hall troupe, sharing a cabin and then spending two years together touring North America, with Stan as Charlie’s understudy.
In a fantastical reimagining that plays fast and loose with the facts, Told By An Idiot tells the story of “the greatest comedy double act that nearly was” in Paul Hunter’s homage to the English comedy legends pre-fame, played out by Danielle (CORRECT) Bird’s Chaplin and Jerone (CORRECT) Marsh-Reid’s Laurel in the style of a silent comedy to a Zoe Rahman piano score. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Katie Melia’s Charity Hope Valentine in York Stage’s Sweet Charity
Musical of the week: York Stage in Sweet Charity, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Tuesday to Sunday, 7.30pm, except Sunday; 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday matinees
THE John Cooper Studio will be transformed into a seedily seductive Fandango Ballroom from St Valentine’s Day for Sweet Charity, the 1966 Broadway musical with a book by Neil Simon, music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields.
Played by Katie Melia, Charity Hope Valentine fantasises about three things in life: romance, luxury and escaping the questionable ballroom clientele. Lovable, gullible and spirited, she longs to find a lover who can sweep her off her feet but Charity keeps handing over her heart and earnings to the wrong man. Hey big spender, box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Velma Celli: On song in a night of drag diva belters at Pocklington Arts Centre
Drag show of the week: Velma Celli, Pocklington Arts Centre, Thursday, 8pm
YORK drag queen supreme Velma Celli, alias West End musical actor Ian Stroughair, promises an overindulgent diva fiesta in celebration of the songs, mannerisms and behaviour of Mariah, Whitney, Aretha, Cher, Britney and many more.
Cue cheeky impressions, belting singing and saucy banter from the international star and creator of A Brief History Of Drag, Me And My Divas, Equinox and Irreplaceable (in praise of David Bowie). Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
The Forest Awakens: The new hole at The Hole In Wand Yorkmagical golf course
In Focus: The Hole In Wand York on course for more magic at wizard visitor attraction
FORE! Watch out, The Hole In Wand York, the “World’s Most Magical Golf Course”, has a new woodland hole at the Potions Cauldron visitor attraction in the Coppergate Shopping Centre, York.
In a magical makeover, wands have been raised and spells cast to create The Forest Awakens hole and several additions for wizards to enjoy, including a new quest.
Opened last May, the award-winning mini golf venue also has upgraded the tavern area to help with the visitor flow and journey.
For The Forest Awakens, a hole based on the North York Moors National Park’s Dalby Forest, near Pickering, a new scent and soundtrack have been added to the room to create an immersive experience.
The hole places wizards among the trees as they aim for a hole in one, looked on by magical creatures of the darkened and mythical forest.
Chief Wizard Oliver Brayshaw says: “‘We’re excited to reveal the new holes; we know that our visitors are really going to enjoy them. Both Hole 6 and 7 are quite eerie but great fun.
“We have designed and built the holes and upgraded the tavern with the visitor journey in mind to ensure that everyone that visits has a fantastic experience.”
At The Hole In Wand York, in Coppergate Walk, wizard players take on nine magical golf holes. Along the “course” are bubbling cauldrons, magical portals and a giant picture frame where they become part of the painting. Visitors can do cast a Light Spell to illuminate the way in the dark hole and awaken the spirits.
At the end of the adventure, players will find out if they have the magical powers of a Serpent, Basilisk, Unicorn or Wizard. Every player will receive a magic potion gift to take home and hopefully find Grobblenook.
Wizard golf with a potion drink costs from £6.99 per person. The minimum age for players is three and the maximum group size is six wizards with wands. To book tickets, go to: theholeinwand.com/york
Greg Haiste, left, and York-born writer and actor David Reed cross swords in rehearsal for York Theatre Royal’s premiere of Guy Fawkes. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
POLITICAL fireworks, street art indoors, beer and bratwurst, a Velvet Underground pioneer and the history of ghosts spark up Charles Hutchinson’s interest.
Premiere of the week: Guy Fawkes, York Theatre Royal, Friday to November 12
WAR-WEARY, treasonous son of York Guy Fawkes vows to restore a Catholic monarch to the English throne, whatever the cost. In the private room of an upmarket tavern, a clandestine of meeting of misfits takes place between this dark dissident, a Poundshop Machiavelli, a portly boob, a clumsy princess, a preposterous toff and a shoddy ham as they plot the most audacious crime ever attempted on British soil.
David Reed, from comedy trio The Penny Dreadfuls, plays York’s traitorous trigger man in his long-awaited combustible comedy-drama with its devilishly dangerous mix of Blackadder and Upstart Crow. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Torrents (Willow Herald Speak), by Michael Dawson, from Navigators Art’s Coney St Jam art intervention at the StreetLife project hub
Exhibition of the week: Navigators Art, Coney St Jam: An Art Intervention, StreetLife project hub, Coney Street, York, until November 19
YORK collective Navigators Art draw inspiration from the city’s rich heritage and vibrant creative communities to explore ways to revitalise and diversify Coney Street. On show is painting, drawing, collage, textile and 3D work, complemented by photography, projections, music and poetry.
Taking part are: Steve Beadle; Michael Dawson; Alfie Fox; Alan Gillott; Oz Hardwick; Richard Kitchen; Katie Lewis; Tim Morrison; Peter Roman; Amy Elena Thompson; Dylan Thompson and Nick Walters.
Woman To Woman: Julia Fordham, left, Rumer, Judie Tzuke and Beverley Craven will be in harmony at York Barbican
Collaboration of the week: Woman To Woman (Beverley Craven, Judie Tzuke, Julia Fordham & Rumer), York Barbican, tonight, 6.30pm
NOT a rumour, definitely true, Beverley Craven, Judie Tzuke and Julia Fordham have invited Rumer to join them for the latest Woman To Woman tour.
In this collaboration between the four female singer-songwriters, they present hit singles and album tracks, such as Promise Me, Happy Ever After, Welcome To The Cruise, Slow, Holding On, (Love Moves In) Mysterious Ways, Aretha and Stay With Me Till Dawn.
“We cannot wait to share a stage together, create beautiful vocal harmonies with each other and collaborate on some possible new material,” they say. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Self aware: Comedian Helen Bauer discusses herself at Theatre@41. Picture: James Deacon
Comedy gig of the week: Helen Bauer, Madam Good Tit, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 8pm
SELF-AWARE stand-up Helen Bauer is on the road with her Edinburgh Fringe show about self-confidence, self-esteem and self-care. “It’s the year of ‘the self’ and I’m trying to be the change I want you to see,” says Helen, who grew up in Hampshire blandness and honed her comedic craft in Berlin.
Expect adult themes and language, including natural disasters and eating disorders, forewarns Theatre@41, as York awaits the co-host of two podcasts, Trusty Hogs with Catherine Bohart and Daddy Look At Me with Rosie Jones. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Velma Celli: York drag diva supreme adds sauce to all the bratwurst and beer at Yorktoberfest
Festival of the week: Yorktoberfest Beer Festival, Clocktower Enclosure, York Racecourse, today and next Saturday, 1pm to 5pm, 7pm to 11pm; Friday, 7pm to 11pm. Doors open: evenings, 6.30pm; daytime, 12.30pm.
FOLLOWING up last year’s debut, Yorktoberfest returns in party mood for beer, bratwurst, bumper cars and all things Bavarian. This beer festival mirrors the first Oktoberfest staged in 1810 in Munich, where the citizens were encouraged to eat, drink and be merry at the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and his princess bride.
Step inside a giant marquee to discover the rustic Bavarian Bar and Dog Haus, full of bratwurst, currywurst, schnitzel, apple strudel and pretzels; live music by the Bavarian Strollers oompah band and vocal drag queen entertainment by York’s own Velma Celli. Dodgems and a twister add funfair thrills. Box office: yorktoberfest.co.uk.
Underground overground: Velvets legend John Cale to be spotted at York Barbican on Monday
THE gig of the week, John Cale, York Barbican, Monday, 8pm
VELVET Underground icon John Cale’s only Yorkshire gig of his rearranged 2022 tour has moved from July 19 to Monday on his first British itinerary in a decade.
The Welsh multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer, who turned 80 in March, will be performing songs from a career that began in classical and avant-garde music before he formed The Velvet Underground with Lou Reed in New York in 1965.
Over six pioneering decades, Cale has released 16 solo studio albums, while also collaborating with Brian Eno, Patti Smith, The Stooges, Squeeze, Happy Mondays, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Super Furry Animals and Manic Street Preachers. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Doctor Dorian Deathly: Will his face melt in his horror show at Theatre@41?
From ghost walk to ghost talk: Doctor Dorian Deathly: A Night Of Face Melting Horror (or The Complete History Of Ghosts), Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Wednesday to October 31, 8.30pm
VISIT York Tourism Awards winner Doctor Dorian Deathly, spookologist and ghost botherer, celebrates Halloween season with six nights of ghost stories, paranormal sciences, theatrical trickery, horror, original music and perhaps the odd unexpected guest (with the emphasis on ‘odd’?).
“Together we will huddle around the stage and explore spine-chilling tales of hauntings, both local and further afield, dissemble horrors captured on film and follow the ghost story through from the origins to the Victorian classics and modern- day frights,” says Deathly, whose face-melting macabre amusements are suitable for age 13 upwards. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Black History Month concert at Grand Opera House, York
Harmonies of the week: Ladysmith Black Mambazo, supported by Muntu Valdo, Grand Opera House, York, October 29, 7.30pm
SOUTH African singing group Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s York concert marks Black History Month on their first British tour for many years.
When Paul Simon incorporated their harmonies into his ground-breaking 1986 album Graceland, that landmark recording was seminal in introducing world music to mainstream audiences.
Founded by the late Joseph Shabalala, the Grammy Award winners have since recorded with Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Barnsley folk singer Kate Rusby. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or atgtickets.com/york.
York musical theatre actor, dancer and vocal drag artisteIan Stroughair sans make-up
IAN Stroughair, creator of flamboyant York vocal drag artiste Velma Celli, will reveal The Man Behind The Make-Up at the Grand Opera House, York, on September 9.
For one night only, international award-winning cabaret and musical theatre star Ian will shed his Velma alter-ego to present his brand of fabulous, revealing entertainment “complete with a live big band and a lot of laughs”.
Returning to his roots, he will serve up a one-off concert as himself, celebrating the music that inspired him to sing. From George Michael to Freddie Mercury, Elton John to David Bowie, York’s West End performer promises an evening of musical theatre and anecdotes from his varied career in show business, from cruise ships to pantomime, Cats, Fame, Rent and Chicago on the London stage to Funny Girls in Blackpool. Oh, and a cameo on EastEnders.
Ian Stroughair in Velma Celli mode at the Impossible Wonderbar
In the guise of Velma Celli, Ian has presented such shows as A Brief History Of Drag; Irreplaceable, his Bowie tribute; Velma Celli’s Equinox, “the one with witches, creeps and freaks”, and Outlaw Live!, his York Gin night at the National Centre for Early Music.
Velma has a residency at the Impossible Wonderbar, in St Helen’s Square, where upcoming shows include Velma Celli’s Equinox on October 31 and Velma Celli’s West End Christmas on December 16, as well as The Velma Celli Show on July 29, September 30 and November 25.
Here in York, Ian also has presented the Ian Stroughair Jazz Band’s jazz and blues gigs at Nola, the 1920s’ Art Deco-themed restaurant and bar in Lendal, and starred in York Stage’s debut pantomime, playing the villainous Flesh Creep in Jack And The Beanstalk at Theatre@41, Monkgate, in December 2020.
Tickets for September 9 cost £22.90 upwards on 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com/York.
Ian Stroughair as Flesh Creep in York Stage’s 2020 pantomime Jack And The Beanstalk. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
Algorithm & blues: Coder and post-classical pianist Larkhall at Micklegate Social. Picture: Samuel White
GLASTONBURY? Out of sight, out of mind, out of pocket, Charles Hutchinson prefers to stay up north for arts and crafts aplenty.
Curioso gigs of the week: Larkhall, Micklegate Social, Micklegate, York, tonight, 8pm; Brudenell Piano Sessions, Howard Assembly Room, Leeds Grand Theatre, tomorrow, 4pm
RECOMMENDED to Nils Frahm and Max Richter neo-classical devotees, Larkhall combines creative coding with beautiful post-classical piano pieces and makes algorithmically created visuals as he plays.
Larkhall is the performance alias of Minnesota mining town-born, Cambridge University-educated, Bath-based composer, coder and new-media artist Charlie Williams, whose intimate York show coincides with this week’s release of his third album, Say You’re With Me, with its theme of men’s mental health.
Can algorithms be art? Charlie reckons so. “My shows are an experience of algorithms creating beauty instead of, like, getting us to buy more stuff,” he says. Box office: larkhall.org.
Frankie Valli: Fronting The Four Seasons in one day at Scarborough Open Air Theatre
Nostalgia of the week: Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, tonight, gates, 6pm
THE Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys, chronicling the life and times of Frankie Valli and his New Jersey group, has brought so many songs to a new generation.
Cue Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Frankie playing Scarborough at 88 with The Four Seasons, performing Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man, Rag Doll, Let’s Hang On, My Eyes Adored You, Who Loves You, December, 1963 (Oh What A Night), Grease et al. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Leg up for comic effect: Thom Tuck and Dennis Herdman’s double act in The Play What I Wrote at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Manuel Harlan
Play of the week: Birmingham Rep in The Play What I Wrote, York Theatre Royal, Monday to Saturday, 7.30pm; Thursday, 2pm; Saturday, 2.30pm
WRITTEN by The Right Size comic coupling of Sean Foley and Hamish McColl in tandem with Eddie Braben, the chap what wrote little Ern’s plays, The Play What I Wrote is both a dissection of double acts and a celebration of Morecambe and Wise.
Thom Wall insists on performing yet another of his hapless plays, an epic set in the French Revolution. Partner Dennis Hayward prefers to continue with their failing comedy duo instead, believing a tribute to Morecambe & Wise will restore Wall’s confidence. First, he needs to persuade a mystery guest to appear in the play what Thom wrote, with a different star for each show. Box office: 01904 623658 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Snake Davis: Saxophonist plays Cop’ Carnival’s debut jazz nighton Tuesday
Community event of the week: Cop’ Carnival Day, Copmanthorpe Recreation Centre, Barons Crescent, York, July 2, 11.30am to 6pm
NOW in its 51st year, Cop’ Carnival Day retains its familiar format of dance troops, bands, traditional games and attractions next weekend. Tickets cost £5 in advance or £8 on the day.
In addition, Cop’ Carnival’s first jazz night, hosted with York Gin, presents An Evening With Snake Davis, saxophonist to the stars, on Tuesday at 7pm. Two nights later, the carnival’s comedy bill features Steve Royle, Tom Wrigglesworth, David Eagle and compere Alex Boardman from 8pm.
Throughout the festival, 30 artists are exhibiting at Copmanthorpe Methodist Church nightly from 7pm, admission free. Box office: copmanthorpecarnival.org.uk.
Strictly between them: Anton du Beke and Giovanni Pernice team up for Him & Me
Dance moves of the week: Anton & Giovanni, Him & Me, Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday, 7.30pm
STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Anton du Beke and 2021 champion professional Giovanni Pernice are joined by dancers and singers for Him & Me, a night when the Ballroom King meets the Jive Master. Expect dance, song, light-hearted fun and banter.
Both Strictly stars will be making their second York appearance of 2022; Anton & Erin’s Showtime played York Barbican in February; Giovanni’s This Is Me followed suit in March. Box office: atgtickets.com/York.
Fran, frankly: Fran Lebowitz’s evening of acerbic New York wit and astute observation at Grand Opera House
Social commentator of the week: An Evening With Fran Lebowitz, Grand Opera House, York, Wednesday, 7.30pm
FRAN Lebowitz, New York purveyor of urban cool, cultural satirist and author, will be typically forthright and unapologetically opinionated in her dry-humoured social commentary on anything and everything, with a Q&A to boot.
After Pretend It’s A City, Lebowitz’s Netflix documentary series directed by filmmaker and friend Martin Scorsese, here comes her acerbic insights on gender, race, gay rights and the media, plus her pet peeves of celebrity culture, tourists, and baby strollers. Box office: atgtickets.com/York.
Who’d be a teacher? Sam Jackson’s Nick struggles with more than the paperwork in Foxglove Theatre’s The Brink
Shock of the new: Foxglove Theatre in The Brink, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Thursday to Saturday, 7.30pm
IN Brad Birch’s darkly comic, explosive psychological thriller, history teacher Nick is a normal person, working a normal job, who lives a normal life, but he suffers a downward spiral fuelled by dreams and whispers of a bomb buried under the school.
“Thrilling, turbulent, unconventional, The Brink is an unwavering dive into dark and prominent subject matter, alien to the established York stage,” says Nathan Butler, director of new York company Foxglove Theatre. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Velma Celli’s poster artwork for A Brief History Of Drag
Spectacle of the week: Velma Celli in A Brief History Of Drag, Pocklington Arts Centre, Thursday, 8pm
YORK drag diva Velma Celli makes her Pocklington debut with A Brief History Of Drag, brandishing a triple threat of heavenly vocals, theatrical swagger and razor-sharp wit.
The creation of West End musical actor Ian Stroughair, Velma “celebrates the most iconic drag moments in film, stage and popular culture in the company of her voluptuous backing singers and breath-taking band”.
This electrifying cabaret embraces the songs and style of Queen, David Bowie, Boy George, Lady Gaga, Tina Turner and many more with panache and flamboyance. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Suzanne Vega: Booked into York Barbican for February 2023 concert
Big signings of the week for 2023: Suzanne Vega, York Barbican, February 22; Mike + The Mechanics, York Barbican, April 12
GLASTONBURY acoustic stage headliner Suzanne Vega will play York Barbican as the only Yorkshire show of the New York folk singer-songwriter’s 14-date tour next year, with Luka, Marlene On The Wall and Tom’s Diner to the fore.
Mike + The Mechanics will return to York Barbican next spring on their Refueled! 2023 Tour, promising “all the hits and a drop of Genesis” – Mike Rutherford’s other band – plus songs from latest album Out Of The Blue. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The poster artwork for Yorkraine, Ian Surgenor’s benefit concert for Ukraine
THE Yorkraine benefit concert for Ukraine brings together York cover bands The Supermodels, The Mothers, The Y Street Band and Sister Madly on May 24.
Acoustic sets from Alex Victoria and fellow York singer-songwriter Mal Fry and contributions from guest speakers complete the “totally York” 7.30pm bill at the Grand Opera House, York.
The evening of pop and rock classics from the past six decades will raise funds for the British Red Cross DEC appeal to aid Ukrainian refugees who find themselves in dire circumstances. All artists, hosts, sound tech and crew have donated their time free of charge.
Concert organiser Ian Surgenor says: “I’m a taxi driver by trade, and when I was working at night, there was a newsflash that Russia had invaded Ukraine. I was mortified, and then, like 99 per cent of the British population, I just felt helpless.
The Supermodels
“The only thing I thought I could do was to arrange a concert for the DEC appeal. I’ve always held York Rocks Against Cancer concerts at the Grand Opera House, so I got in touch.
“The manager, Alice [Long], went out of her way to find us a spot, squeezing us in for May 24, and we’re delighted to be doing the show there as the acoustics are great.”
Explaining the choice of musicians for the night, Ian says: “Cover bands have a broad appeal, and I have a really good relationship with most of them in York, just from doing events and seeing gigs.
“There’s a mutual respect, so I approached Dave Sykes, from The Supermodels, who did the first York Rocks; I knew Rob Wilson, from The Mothers, and I’ve done shows with The Y Street Band.”
Sister Madly happen to be Ian’s own band, also featuring two stalwarts of the York musical theatre scene, Jo Theaker, last seen in York Stage’s Calendar Girls at the Grand Opera House, and Ian’s wife, Marie-Louise Surgenor, from Rowntree Players.
Sister Madly, featuring Ian Surgenor, Jo Theaker and Marie-Louise Surgenor
Ian was keen to include acoustic acts too. “I’d seen other venues putting on acoustic singers on such nights,” he says.
“In fact, I provided the sound for the acoustic lounge when Big Ian Donaghy held a fundraiser for the Ukraine emergency appeal at York Sports Club in March, with Huge playing in the main room, and Dan Webster, Emily Lawler, Rich Hardcastle, To The Blue and a young lady called Alex Victoria in the lounge.
“I was blown away by her. ‘What a voice this girl has,’ I thought, and I wondered if she’d like to do the Yorkraine gig. She said she’d be honoured!”
In attendance too will be a civic party led by Andrew Digwood, Undersheriff of the City of York, while a speaker from the British Red Cross will explain “what will happen to the money and what it’s like on the front”.
The Mothers
“We’ll also be welcoming a Ukrainian gentleman, Dimitri, who works for the Studio Cloud Nine fitness company. He drove to Poland to bring a family here, but couldn’t get them into the country, so they ended up going to Portugal, where the children were placed in a school within two days. Amazing what can be done, isn’t it?”
Look out too for a guest appearance by York vocal drag diva supreme Velma Celli, alias York’s West End musical theatre actor Ian Stroughair. “Ian approached me and said he thought what we were doing was amazing and asked how he could help,” says organiser Ian, who duly slotted Velma into the bill.
Surgenor has secured sponsorship from four sources: Nestlé, Vincent & Brown, Ainsty Ales and Fenton Simpson Financial Services. “They’ve covered the costs totally for hiring the theatre, projection, and so every ticket sold, every penny raised on the night from a collection, all the money will go the DEC appeal.”
The last mention goes to Simon Hudson, who is providing the sound and lighting…for free, of course.
Yorkraine, Ukraine Benefit Concert, Grand Opera House, York, May 24, 7.30pm. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com/York.
Raising a glass to outlaws: Velma Celli evokes the spirit of Guy Fawkes at the National Centre for Early Music tonight
YORK drag diva deluxe Velma Celli invites you to “release your inner outlaw” at his outre Outlaw Live cabaret soiree tonight.
Hosted by York Gin at the National Centre for Early Music, in Walmgate, York, the night promises song, laughter and gin as Velma and friends “unleash a riot of glamorous outrage”.
“York is a city of outlaws: Guy Fawkes was born here. Dick Turpin was hanged here,” says York Gin Company events coordinator Harri Marshall. “It’s even home to the super-strength York Gin Outlaw, which comes with a warning: ‘Drink, with ice, tonic … and care’.
“Now – for one night only – one of the UK’s ‘baddest’ drag queens will be celebrating all that’s naughty, villainous and defiantly outrageous about York and its outlaws.”
Since returning home from a month of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships shows, Velma Celli already has played a “banging show” at York Theatre Royal, presenting Me And My Divas, a celebration of “the songs and behaviour of all your favourite divas” with York singer Jess Steel and West End leading lady Gina Murray, at York Theatre Royal last Saturday.
Velma Celli in the WonderBar at Impossible York
That cabaret night of impressions and banter celebrated Whitney, Aretha, Bassey, Streisand, Garland, Cilla, Dolly, Madonna, Adele, Sia and latest addition Jessie J.
Tomorrow’s new show will raise a glass to the outlaw spirit of Guy Fawkes and Dick Turpin and general naughtiness at large in York with a riot of rebellious songs and a gin cocktail on arrival.
“If you love drag, gin, and being just a little bit naughty, this one’s definitely for you,” says Velma, the vocal drag creation of West End musical actor Ian Stroughair, 39.
“It’ll be my first time at the NCEM., and the gig came about after I popped into York Gin in the week when I’d been doing Funny Girls in Blackpool, and it turned out the woman serving me had seen Funny Girls the night before,” says Ian.
“This led to the idea of doing this Outlaw Live show with me, a small band, Guy Fawkes-inspired songs; songs from Six, the musical about Henry VIII’s wives; songs related to baddies in history, and the opportunity for everyone to drink nice cocktails.
The poster for Velma Celli’s Outlaw Live concert with a dash of York Gin
“I’ll be in kind of Guy Fawkes mode, and the plan is that we’ll see how this one goes and then look at doing a night with a different York Gin theme.”
Meanwhile, Ian is spreading Velma’s wings at the drag diva’s regular haunt of Impossible York, in St Helen’s Square, adding to the repertoire of shows in the WonderBar.
He has resumed performing The Velma Celli Show at 8pm on the last Friday of each month (except this month, when the gig moved to last night (24/3/2022).
Two sittings of Velma’s Drag Brunch are held on the first Saturday of each month, to be joined on the second Saturday by the new Movie Musical Brunch from April 9, when Ian’s special guest will be West End musical star Zoe Curlett, who played Christine in The Phantom Of The Opera and Corsette in Les Miserables.
Velma also launched a new Back To The 80s night in the WonderBar on March 18, when the 8pm set gloried in the songs of David Bowie, George, Michael, Wham! and more Eighties’ favourites besides.
Velma Celli in David Bowie mode for Irreplaceable
At the planning stage is a QNY (Queer Night York) regular night. “The idea behind it is that there isn’t an essentially gay venue in York that’s been successful, and what’s needed is a safe space for LGBTQIA+ people,” says Ian.
“QNY won’t be a Velma Celli night; there won’t be a performance; I’ll be hosting the night and DJing, and again it will be monthly in the WonderBar, with the starting date yet to be confirmed.”
One Velma Celli show fell by the wayside last month: the February 26 performance of Irreplaceable, a celebration of David Bowie, was cancelled at Theatre@41, Monkgate.
We must wait for that gift of sound and vision, but one day, hopefully, Irreplaceable will be added to Velma’s portfolio of York performances. “So far, I’ve done it in a week’s run of four shows in Southampton,” says Ian.
“It came about because my friend Sarah Walker is obsessed with Bowie, and I’ve created the show for her.”
Velma Celli’s A Brief History Of Drag: Playing Pocklington Arts Centre this summer
Ian shares that passion. “There are so many amazing David Bowie songs, and in my case it was the Labyrinth era that I first loved, and also how he’s been so influential. Look at Lady Gaga, for example,” he says.
“In the show, my make-up is inspired by Aladdin Sane and my look is kind of androgynous: I wear a black suit jacket and a long, hooped skirt.
“I do a section about how Bowie was gender-bending before anyone else came out doing that, skipping around Manhattan in a catsuit, and there’s also a bit about RuPaul in there, who was such a big, big fan.”
Irreplaceable is yet to replace its scrapped Theatre@41 show, but one further show in the diary is Velma Celli’s A Brief History Of Drag at Pocklington Arts Centre on June 30.
Velma Celli: Outlaw Live, presented by York Gin, at National Centre for Early Music, York, tonight (25/3/2022); doors, 7pm; show, 8pm to 10.30pm. Box office: tickettailor.com/events/yorkgin/590817/. For Pocklington, 01759 301547 or at pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.For Impossible York shows and brunches, visit impossibleyork.com.
