Putting it in black and white: from top, Finlay Butler, Kristian Barley, Kit Stroud, Rebecca Butler and Maia Beatrice in NETheatre York’s West Side Story
FROM a musical in black and white to circus skills, outdoor comedy to racecourse music showcases, Charles Hutchinson picks his high-summer highlights.
Musical of the week: NE Theatre York in West Side Story, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee
EXPERIENCE the explosive love and rivalry in 1950s’ New York City in Bernstein & Sondheim’s musical re-telling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. As romance blossoms between teens from opposing gangs The Sharks and The Jets, the relationship is – spoiler alert – fated to end in tragedy. Steve Tearle’s production for NE Theatre York features a black-and-white design and cultural references from the 1950s to the present day. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Barn Owl, by Bryn Parry CBE, in the Sculpture In The Landscape exhibition at the Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, The Hutts, Grewelthorpe. Picture: Celestine Dubruel
Exhibition of the week: Sculpture In The Landscape, Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, The Hutts, Grewelthorpe, near Ripon, until November 3
THE 2024 Sculpture In The Landscape exhibition showcases 60 works for sale by artists across the United Kingdom, complementing the permanent sculptures on show at the Himalayan Garden.
Visitors are invited to explore the intricate sculptures set against verdant landscapes. From monumental installations to delicate works of art, each piece offers a perspective on the intersection of creativity and nature. Normal garden entry applies. Tickets: 01765 658009 or himalayangarden.com
Brainfools in Cabaret Cirque Enchanté at Pocklington Arts Centre
Magical and mind-boggling circus feats of the week: BrainFools present Cabaret Cirque Enchanté, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 6pm, and Saturday, 10.30am
BRAINFOOLS’ collective of National Centre for Circus Arts graduates and their friends bring a collaborative imagination to their versatile, immersive and visually enriching performance of enchanted circus, dance and humour.
The ensemble sets an evocative scene, evoking the cabaret flair of the 1920s with a jazz-flavoured musical score and a compere introducing family-friendly acts. In addition, in conjunction with Burnby Hall Gardens, Brainfools will host circus skills workshops for young people tomorrow and Friday. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Kaiser Chiefs: A night at the races in York. Picture: Cal McIntyre
Under starter’s orders: York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Knavesmire, York, Kaiser Chiefs, Friday, 8.45pm to 10.30pm, and S Club, Saturday, 5.45pm to 7.30pm
LEEDS indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs, who mounted the exhibition When All Is Quiet at York Art Gallery in 2018-2019, return to York on Friday when the emphasis will be on I Predict A Riot, not Quiet. Expect Oh My God, Everyday I Love You Less And Less, Ruby et al, plus songs from this year’s Easy Eighth Album, after the evening race card.
Saturday afternoon’s racing will be followed by British pop favourites S Club, these days featuring Tina Barrett, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O’Meara and Rachel Stevens. Here come S Club Party, Never Had A Dream Come True, Bring It All Back, Reach, Don’t Stop Movin’, Have You Ever, Two In A Million, Say Goodbye, You’re My Number One, Love Ain’t Gonna Wait For You and more besides. Raceday tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk.
Martin Carthy: Folk trailblazer. Picture: The Press, York
Moorland gig of the week: Martin Carthy, The Band Room, Low Mill, Farndale, Saturday, 7.30pm
“WHAT we like most about Martin Carthy is that to us he’s a local hero who will once again take the high road from Robin Hood’s Bay to Farndale, jewel in the crown of the North York Moors National Park, to renew his acquaintance with The Band Room,” says gig promoter Nigel Burnham.
Carthy, 82, who has enjoyed trailblazing folk partnerships with Steeleye Span, Dave Swarbrick, wife Norma Waterson and daughter Eliza Carthy, brings to the stage more than half a century of experiences and stories as a ballad singer, groundbreaking acoustic and electric guitarist and insatiably curious interpreter and arranger of other artists’ material and trad songs. Box office: thebandroom.co.uk.
John Watterton: Celebrating the works of Jake Thackray and Les Barker at Milton Rooms, Malton
Unsung legends celebration of the week: John Watterton: An Evening Without Jake Thackray Or Les Barker!, Milton Rooms, Malton, Sunday 7.30pm
YORK guitarist and vocalist John Watterson keeps alive the spirit of Leeds singer-songwriter, poet, humourist and journalist Jake Thackray through his catalogue of songs that he describes as simultaneously “painfully funny, sad, tragic, rude, irreverent, incisive and happy”.
In this new show, Watterton also features the work of another “unsung legend”: Mancunian former accountant Les Barker, who discovered a talent for writing silly poems that he performed at folk clubs. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
The View: Returning to the concert platform after a five-year hiatus
Return of the week: The View, The Crescent, York, August 2, 7.30pm
RESCHEDULED from June 15, Under The Influence presents Dundee indie-rock returnees The View in a night of Hats Off To Buskers classics, from Same Jeans to Wasted Little DJs and Superstar Tradesma, plus material from their first album in eight years.
Recorded with Grammy Award-winning producer Youth at Space Mountain, Granada, Exorcism Of Youth was released last August on Cooking Vinyl. Five years on from their departing gig at Dundee’s Caird Hall, original members Kyle Falconer (vocals/guitar), Kieran Webster (bass/vocals) and Pete Reilly (guitar) are back on the road. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Bill Bailey: Comedy on the coast on August 2
Coastal gig of the week: Bill Bailey, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 2; gates open at 6pm
COMEDIAN, actor, musician, presenter, Never Mind The Buzzcocks team captain, Black Books sitcom star and 2020 Strictly Come Dancing champion Bill Bailey heads to the East Coast with his surrealist fusion of stories, poetry and wordplay that takes aim at the modern world’s absurdities, as aired in his Thoughtifier arena tour.
A veteran of the UK festival circuit, with appearances at Latitude, Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Sonisphere and the Eden Project, Bailey will have his array of weird and wonderful instruments on tap too for playful pastiches of Tom Waits, Kraftwerk et al. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Chrissie Hynde: The great Pretender will lead her band at York Barbican in October. Picture: Vi Price
Gig announcement of the week: The Pretenders, York Barbican, October 31
THE Pretenders are extending their sold-out British tour, adding a new date in York, in the wake of releasing Relentless, their 14th UK Top 40 entry and highest-charting record in 23 years, last September.
Fronted as ever by Chrissie Hynde, 72, the band is joining Foo Fighters on their American tour in July and August. Tickets for York Barbican go on sale on Friday at 10am at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/the-pretenders/.
Putting it in black and white: Back row, Rebecca Jackson’s Maria, Finlay Butler’s Tony and Kit Stroud’s Riff; front, Kristian Barley’s Bernardo and Maia Beatrice’s Anita. Picture: NETheatre York
DIRECTOR Steve Tearle follows up his best NETheatre York show so far, Fiddler On The Roof, with a bravura take on West Side Story at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, from tomorrow (24/7/2024) to Saturday.
Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s musical, inspired by Shakespeare’s tragic tale of forbidden love, Romeo And Juliet, is set in 1950s’ New York City, where the Sharks and the Jets, two working-class gangs, clash in a violent turf war, but Steve is taking a fresh approach.
“NETheatre is known for creating innovative musical theatre and this production is no different,” he says. “We wanted to create this classic as a timeless piece of theatre as we feel the story itself is as relevant today as it was when the musical was written in the Fifties. We won’t have mobile phones but it will resonate with our modern age.
“Our show will be set at ‘anytime’, not a specific time, so we’re using costume references from the 1950s to the present day to emphasise that timelessness. Our design will be mainly black and white, using colour only to highlight crucial moments in the story. The first time you see colour is when the action moves into the gym, and whenever something tragic happens we’ll use colour.”
That story revolves around the boundary-breaking love of Tony (played by Finlay Butler), from the Jets, and Maria (Rebecca Jackson), whose hot-headed brother Bernardo (Kristian Barley) belongs to the rival Sharks gang. Events take a dramatic twist for leader Riff (Kit Stroud) after a rumble between the Jets and Sharks goes drastically wrong, leading Tony to take matters into his own hands.
Steve Tearle’s Doc and Finlay Butler’s Tony in NETheatre York’s West Side Story. “Doc has always thought of Tony as his family,” says Steve. “When Tony got out of prison, Doc took Tony in to live with him and look after him”. Picture: NETheatre York
“In our version, the story runs from 5.34pm on Friday evening and ends at 2.31am on Sunday morning to make it even more of a tragic rush,” says Steve. “The time line will be projected throughout the show.”
He is revelling in directing this landmark musical. “My love of West Side Story started when I was nine when my mum and dad first took me to the pictures in Sunderland to see it, and it’s been a favourite ever since with so many fantastic songs – Maria, America, Cool, I Feel Pretty, Somewhere, Jet Song, Gee, Officer Krupke – probably more than have featured in any other musical,” says Steve.
“The film set off my love of musical theatre that kicked off my career, giving me the confidence to appear in The Sound Of Music at the Sunderland Empire, aged 11, playing Kurt. My inspiration for singing, everything, is that film.
“But I never thought I’d be able to stage West Side Story because I was always comparing what I could achieve with the impact of that amazing film.”
What changed? “I went to see the show on Broadway in 2019 and that gave me the springboard to do a different take on it, not as ‘dancey’, not as polished, but very raw, very emotional, and that inspired me to come up with this concept, focusing on the acting,” says Steve. “Our show will be raw, full of dancing, climbing and fighting.
Melissa Boyd’s Roselia Sanchez, left, and Maia Beatrice’s Anita in NETheatre York’s West Side Story. “Anita and Roselia are best friends but Roselia isn’t as keen as Anita about living in America,” says Steve
“I think of this musical as a play with music, rather than as a musical, where we’re concentrating on the characterisation and the stories, and on stories that are not usually explored in depth, such as Doc and Tony, who lives with him after prision, looking at what their relationship is, and the story between Bernardo and Maria too.
“We’ve not changed a word but what I have done is strip it back, so it uses the least props I’ve ever used, making it as raw as the emotions, showing the struggles they all go through to be in a gang. The stage will be pretty much bare, with no wings, two scaffolding towers (for the balcony scenes), eight chairs and one bed, and we’ll use white lights and strobe lighting.”
Steve is directing a cast of 35 aged 11 to 60-plus. “Look out for Snowboy, who’s played by Zachary Pickersgill. He has hardest lines in the show and he’s only 11,” he says. “We’ve reconstructed the gangs as gangland and gang warfare is like today, with generals, runners and look-outs.
“Everyone will be in black and white, and to tell the gangs apart, it will come down to movement: the Puerto Rican Sharks’ dancing will be more fluent; the Jets will be more jive based.
“Our first rehearsals were all about getting into character before we started rehearsing lines, initially keeping Jets and Sharks apart in the reherarsal room.”
NE Theatre York in West Side Story, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, July 24 to 27, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
The Jets in NETheatre York’s West Side Story. Picture: NETheatre York
Cast:
Rebecca Jackson, as Maria; Finlay Butler, Tony; Kit Stroud, Riff; Maia Beatrice, Anita; Kristian Barley, Bernardo; Stephen Tearle, Doc; Erik Jensen, Lt Schrank; Rich Musk, Office Krupke; Scott Barnes, Mr Gladhand.
The Jets
Sam Brothy, Action; Callum Richardson, Baby John; Erin Greenley, Anybody’s; Missy Barnes, A-Rab; Toby Jensen, Big Deal; Zachary Pickersgill, Snowboy; Courtney Batey, Graziella; Amy Legerton, Velma; Neve Greenley, Thelma; Ellie Roberts, Cynthia; Greg Roberts, Diesel; James Robert, Miguel; Alice Atang, Natalia.
John Atkin conductiing the York Beethoven Project musicians at Millthorpe School
THE second event in the York Beethoven Project to perform all nine of his symphonies was a “huge success”, says director and conductor John Atkin.
On February 10, 56 musicians spent the day hosted by York Music Education CIC at Millthorpe School rehearsing Symphony No2, climaxing with an informal performance to an audience.
“York Music Education CIC were fabulous hosts; a number of senior students joined the orchestra for the day, and most groups popped in to listen at some point, including the I Can Play! session, bringing music to deaf children,” says John.
“As with Symphony No. 1, the day was very well organised and ran like clockwork, with five sessions of rehearsals, the second being a sectional one where the wind instruments were directed by Jonathan Sage.
“There were ample breaks between each session with a couple of hundred cups of tea and coffee as well as cake provided by parents and Friends of York Music Education CIC.”
The aim of the project is inclusivity and opportunity. “That’s why it was really great to include some new faces, especially the students who joined us or came into the open rehearsal and maybe experienced a large orchestra for the first time,” says John. “Huge thanks to Dan Hield and all his team.”
The day was particularly poignant for John, who attended York Music Centre as a pupil in the 1970s and 1980s, when it was held at what was Queen Anne’s Grammar School.
York Beethoven Project’s second day drew 56 musicians
“I first played there in a recorder ensemble as an eight-year-old, then returned as a trombonist in the late-1970s to play in YASSO and the Concert Band, which was a great experience and a good grounding in orchestral playing,” he says.
“I even gave up Saturday morning rugby to play, so it must have been pretty special! Either way, it was my first step along a career path that’s now gone on 40-plus years.”
What’s next? The project is making plans to perform Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”, with a 40-piece orchestra at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, on September 14 and the Wesley Centre, Malton, on September 28 in the company of the White Rose Singers.
Billed as An Evening Of Revolutionary Music, these 7.30pm concerts will feature revolutionary music from musicals including Les Misérables, West Side Story, Carousel and Stephen Sondheim works too.
“We’re asking musicians who play instruments that Beethoven wrote for to sign up to the next event, but we really only have vacancies for strings and French horns,” forewarns John.
Dr Hannah Thomas, special collections manager at the Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, with Father Edward Oldcorne’s crucifix from the Hide & Seek: The Aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot exhibition, opening today. Picture: Frank Dwyer
AN historic crucifix, a Wolds art trail, 40th anniversaries at the quadruple and a York-made horror double bill promise a heap of interesting encounters for Charles Hutchinson and you alike.
Exhibition launch of the week:Hide & Seek: The Aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot, Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, Blossom Street, York, today until November 16
THE only surviving item from thousands seized in raids on Catholic houses after the 1605 Gunpowder Plot goes on show in York. The late 16th/early 17th century crucifix belonged to Father Edward Oldcorne (1561-1606), who was hanged, drawn and quartered despite being innocent of involvement. His crime: he attended school in York with infamous plotter Guy Fawkes and committed the treasonous act of becoming a Catholic priest.
On display will be new research into the crucifix, more information on Oldcorne and the men he was caught alongside, and an exploration of how priest hiding holes were constructed within the fabric of buildings. Tickets: barconvent.co.uk.
Andy And The Oddsocks: Songs, slapstick and silliness from Andy Day, centre, and co at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Alex Lake
Children’s gig of the week: Andy And The Odd Socks, York Theatre Royal, today, 1pm
STRAIGHT off the telly and onto the live stage, Andy And The Odd Socks bring their madcap mix of songs, slapstick and silliness to life with a 70-minute show to entertain families of all ages.
Fronted by Andy Day, CBeebies regular and 2021 York Theatre Royal panto star as Dandini in Cinderella, their sock’n’roll makes for the ideal first concert for children. Andy And The Odd Socks are patrons for the Anti-Bullying Alliance, by the way. Tickets update: filling up fast; 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Michael Mears and Riko Nakazono in Essential Theatre’s The Mistake
Studio show of the week: Essential Theatre in The Mistake, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 7.45pm
DIRECTED by Rosamunde Hutt, Michael Mears’s Spirit of the Fringe award-winning play explores the events surrounding the catastrophic ‘mistake’ that launched the nuclear age, followed by a post-show discussion.
1942. On a squash court in Chicago, a dazzling scientific experiment takes place, one that three years later will destroy a city and change the world forever. Two actors, one British (Mears), one Japanese (Riko Nakazono), enact the stories of a brilliant Hungarian scientist, a daring American pilot and a devoted Japanese daughter, in a fast-moving drama about the dangers that arise when humans dare to unlock the awesome power of nature. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Delta Saxophone Quartet: Playing Steve Martland and The Soft Machine works at York Late Music’s concert tonight
Season start of the week: York Late Music, Franko Bozak, 1pm; Delta Saxophone Quartet, 7.30pm, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, today
FRANKO Bozac showcases the reasons why the accordion should not be underestimated in his afternoon programme, featuring a collaboration between composer James Williamson and visual artist Romey T Brough.
Celebrating their own ruby anniversary, the Delta Saxophone Quartet mark York Late Music’s 40th year by performing Steve Martland, The Soft Machine and new works. Box office: latemusic.org or on the door.
Elijah Dsenis-Constantine, as Tony, and Rebecca Ulliott, as Maria, in Be Amazing Arts’ West Side Story at the JoRo
Musical of the week: Be Amazing Arts in West Side Story, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, today and tomorrow, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
MALTON company Be Amazing Arts present Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s musical transition of Shakesespeare’s Romeo And Juliet to modern-day New York City, where two young idealistic lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs, the “American” Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks.
Arthur Laurents’s book remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever, charting the lovers’ struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence and prejudice in this innovative, heart-wrenching landmark Broadway musical. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Ceramicist Gerry Grant: Taking part in Pocklington Area Open Studios 2023 at Venue 4, Fangfoss Pottery, with illustrator Sarah Relf
Art event of the weekend: Pocklington Area Open Studios 2023, today and tomorrow, 10am to 5pm
TAKING in Pocklington, villages with ten miles of the East Yorkshire market town, the Yorkshire Wolds and North Derwent Valley, Pocklington Area Open Studios 2023 features 28 artists in 14 venues.
This compact art trail features paintings, ceramics, textiles, jewellery and photography, with the chance to meet diverse painters and makers, many in their own studios, who will preview their latest works for sale, discuss their creative processes, potential commissions and upcoming workshops and courses.
Venue 1: Park Lane End Studio, Park Lane, Bishop Wilton: Colin Pollock, oils, acrylics and watercolour; Judith Pollock, printmaking and mixed media.
Venue 2: The Studio, The Old School, Skirpenbeck: Lesley Peatfield, fine art and abstract photography; Richard Gibson, sculptures.
Venue 3: Rocking Horse Studio, Rocking Horse Yard, Fangfoss: Shirley Davis Dew, painting; Sue Giles, textile art exploring Japanese Shibori techniques of dyeing; Richard Moore, handmade ceramic tiles.
Venue 4: Fangfoss Pottery, The Old School, Fangfoss,: Gerry Grant, ceramics; Sarah Relf, drawing and illustration.
Venue 5: I Woldview Road, Wilberfoss: Mo Burrows, jewellery; Bernadette Oliver, acrylic, ink and collage; Tori Foster, jewellery.
Venue 6: 4 Archibald Close, Pocklington: Peter Schoenecker, 2D and 3D art works.
Venue 7: 35 St Helens Road, Pocklington: Mary Burton, acrylics and pastels; Lee Steele, ceramics; Ingrid Barton, mixed media.
Venue 8: Newfold House Granary Studio, Newton upon Derwent: Chris Cullum, textile arts.
Venue 9: Tullyframe, Main Street, Barmby Moor: Penny De Corte, ceramic art; Avril Cheetham, jewellery.
Venue 11: Church Farm, Town Street, Hayton: Noreen Thorp, pastel, watercolour and mixed media, Lynda Heaton, watercolour and mixed media.
Venue 12: Hayton Studio, Manor Farm, Town Street, Hayton: Peter Edwards, mixed media; Harry Hodgson, mixed media.
Venue 13: Plum Tree Studio & House, Pocklington Lane, Huggate: Belinda Hazlerigg, paintings, printmaking, silk scarves and ceramics.
Venue 14: 3 Stable Court, Londesborough: Tony Wells, ceramics.
For the brochure, map and artist details, head to: pocklingtonareaopenstudios.co.uk/info.html.Free entry.
Hannah Sinclair Robinson’s Grete and a suspended Felipe Pacheco’s Gregor Samsa in Frantic Assembly’s Metamorphosis, on tour at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Tristram Kenton
Touring play of the week: Frantic Assembly in Metamorphosis at York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinee
POET, author, broadcaster and speaker Lemn Sissay has adapted Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis for Frantic Assembly, visceral purveyors of theatre full of physicality, movement and emotional truths, who last toured Othello to York.
Gregor Samsa finds himself transformed from breadwinner into burden in this absurd and tragic story, wherein humans struggle within a system that crushes them under its heel in Kafka’s existential depiction of the limitations of the body and mind, imagination and aspiration. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Howard Jones: Songs old and new at York Barbican on Wednesday
Sing something synth-full: Howard Jones: Celebrating 40 Years 1983-2023, York Barbican, Wednesday, doors, 7pm
SINGER, songwriter and synth player Howard Jones, 68, is marking the 40th anniversary of his revolutionary debut single, New Song, performing in a five-piece with Kajagoogoo’s Nick Beggs on bass and Robert Boult on guitar. Expect a “sonic visual feast” of hits and fan favourites and a support spot from Blancmange.
“I think my ’80s’ work still resonates through the generations because of the positive message in the lyrics,” says Jones. “I’ve always believed that music can give the listener a boost, especially when things in life prove challenging. Things can only get better when we realise the power of our own actions and engagement.” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Mike Scott: Leading The Waterboys for the seventh time since 2012 at York Barbican
More 40th anniversary celebrations: The Waterboys, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm
MIKE Scott has made a habit of playing York Barbican, laying on his Scottish-founded folk, rock, soul and blues band’s “Big Music” in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 and October 2021.
Since then, The Waterboys have released 15th studio album All Souls Hill in 2022; re-released 2000’s Rock In A Weary Land, 2003’s Universal Hall and 2007’s Book Of Lightning on vinyl; appeared on Sky Arts’ The Great Songwriters and announced a six-CD box set of This Is The Sea for early 2024. Joining Scott will be Memphis keyboard player “Brother” Paul Brown, British drummer Ralph Salmins and Irish bassman Aongus Ralston.
Level 42’s Living It Up tour date on Friday the 13th is unlucky for some – it has sold out – but tickets are still available for fellow Eighties’ combo The Waterboys at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The horror, the horror: Book Of Monsters and Zomblogalypse, made in York, screened in York on Friday the 13th
Spooky screening of the week: Book Of Monsters and Zomblogalypse, Spark: York, Piccadilly, York, Friday, 6pm to 11pm
YORK’S horror filmmaking community gathers this Friday The 13th for a special double screening of Dark Rift Horror’sBook Of Monsters and MilesTone Films’Zomblogalypse.
Both York-made indie films have enjoyed award-scooping film festival tours, with Dark Rift’s follow-up feature, How To Kill Monsters,now screening internationally.
Meet the filmmakers, cast and crew of each movie, including directors Stewart Sparke, Hannah Bungard, Miles Watts and Tony Hipwell and star Lyndsey Craine. Add in signings, photo opportunities with cast and props, and merchandise to buy, including both films on Blu-ray, official posters, art cards and other fun stuff. Box office: ticketpass.org/event/EGUKTC/dark-rift-double-bill. 18-plus only.
In Focus: How York composer James Williamson, artist Romey T Brough and Croatian accordionist Franko Bozac collaborated for Late Music premiere and Blossom Street Gallery exhibition
Croatian accordionist Franko Bozac: Premiering James Williamson’s Romey Collages at York Late Music today
YORK composer James Williamson’s composition, Romey Collages, will be premiered by accordionist Franko Bozac as part of the 2023 York Late Festival season today.
The work is a collaboration between James and artist Romey T Brough that emerged from him seeing her work at Blossom Street Gallery, Blossom Street, York.
Romey, who lived and worked in York for many years, now resides at her studio in the Hertfordshire countryside. Her latest collages will be on show at Kim Oldfield’s gallery until October 29 under the exhibition title of A Collaboration in Music and Colour
“It’s a really interesting exploration of the relationship between the audible and visual,” says Kim.
Croatian accordion virtuoso Franko Bozac will be making his Late Music debut at St Saviourgate Unitarian Chapel this afternoon, when Romey Collages will be showcased.
York composer James Williamson delivering Romey T Brough’s collaborative collages to Blossom Street Gallery
Composer James Williamson says: “This set of five pieces is a direct response to a set of monoprint collages by Romey. I first came across her work in 2016 in Blossom Street Gallery, where one of Romey’s collages was displayed on the wall and it immediately caught my eye.
“The collage was a vibrant display of repeated strips of colours, each strip with its own character, yet similar to the one before and after; a kind of self-similarity.”
At the time, James was working towards his PhD in composition, which drew on minimalist visual art and a fascination with the Deleuzian idea of difference and repetition and how might this apply to composing.
“To cut a long story short, I contacted Romey through the gallery to learn more about her work. We immediately connected over a coffee and thought it would be a great idea to collaborate on a project,” says James.
“Romey then created a series of five collages that drew inspiration from music, with each work having a musical title: Chaconne, Aubade, Nocturne, Pastorale and Berceuse. I then responded to these works and created a set of five pieces, each one being a musical interpretation of the works and their titles.
Chaconne Midday, mono’collage, by Romey T Brough
“Like most of my recent work, I use one or two ideas in each piece. I flesh these ideas out using repetition of singular fragments or phrases, juxtaposed by other contrasting fragments, similarly to Romey’s collages.”
Around the same time, James was contacted by Franko Bozac to commission a new piece. “I thought it would be great to tie the two projects together. I have always loved the accordion for its sound and versatility, and rather fittingly, when the bellows open up, it reminds me of collages themselves.”
In turn, Romey recalls: “I had a phone call from Kim, when I was exhibiting my monoprint collages in Blossom Street Gallery, saying that a young composer was interested in meeting me as he composed music the way I created my collages.
“I was very intrigued, and we met up for coffee outside York Theatre Royal. I hadn’t heard any of James’s compositions but was amazed by how we both could understand each other’s creative processes, and when he suggested a collaboration I was delighted to agree.”
Artist Romey T Brough at work on her mono’collages
On the bus back to her York studio, she thought of moods of the day from dawn to night. “Early the next day I travelled to Monks Cross on a very misty morning and Aubade/Dawn came to me,” she says. “The rest followed on, culminating in Nocturne/Night, inspired by the view from my studio through an established beech hedge of car headlights flashing past.
“I have since then indulged in listening to James’s compositions and created more collages inspired by his work. It’s been an exciting collaboration for me, and I hope to continue creating music-inspired images.”
Describing her modus operandi, Romey says: “My monoprints are created by painting with acrylic paint onto glass; the image is then transferred to paper. The glass is wiped clean each time a print is taken, therefore each one is unique.
“The collages are a development following on from the photographic ones I occasionally create. I am fascinated by how reorganising strips of my monoprints can bring more intensity to the colours and evoke memories and emotions.”
Berceuse Twilght, mono’collage, by Romey T Brough
DrJames Williamson: the back story
STUDIED at University of Huddersfield and Royal Academy of Music, completing PhD in Composition at University of York.
His works have been performed by: Psappha; Aurora Orchestra; Hebrides Ensemble; London Sinfonietta; CoMA London; Croatian Philharmonic Orchestra; Lunar Saxophone Quartet; Delta Saxophone Quartet; Quatuor Diotima; Ligeti String Quartet; University of York Symphony Orchestra; RAM Symphony Orchestra; Kate Ledger (piano); Anna Snow (voice); Ian Pace (piano), Franko Bozac (accordion) and Stephen Altoft (19-division trumpet).
Broadcasts include BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction and Hear And Now, Beethoven FM (Chile) and Radio 3 Beograd.
Nocturne Night, mono’collage, by Romey T Brough
Romey T. Brough: the back story
STUDIED initially at Harrow Art School in Middlesex, north of London. Awarded various certificates including national Diploma in Design.
Studied overseas in Italy in Positano, winning a scholarship. Studied with Professor Spadini at Rome Academy.
Work exhibited regularly at Royal Academy, London, and is in archives of Tate Gallery, London, and galleries and collections throughout UK, Japan, Australia and United States of America.
York Light Opera Company’s performers and production team for A Night With The Light
FROM open-air films to the Proms, Early Music festival connections to Nordic sunshine, Charles Hutchinson’s summer season is in full bloom.
York Light Opera Company in A Night With The Light, Friargate Theatre, Friargate, York, today at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
UNDER the direction of Jonny Holbek and musical direction of Martin Lay, York Light presents a feel-good programme of powerful, funny, emotive and irreverent numbers from favourite musicals and new ones too.
Look forward to songs from Hamilton, Waitress, Wicked, Chicago, Chess, Avenue Q, The Phantom Of The Opera, Les Misérables, The Sound Of Music and plenty more. “Come join us as we have Magic To Do!” say Jonny and Martin. Box office: 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/a-night-with-the-light/.
West Side Story: One of the films to be shown at Picturehouse Outdoor Cinema in York Museum Gardens
Films under the stars: Picturehouse Outdoor Cinema, York Museum Gardens, York, tonight and tomorrow; August 5 to 7, 7.30pm
PICTUREHOUSE, owners of City Screen, York, present two weekends of open-air cinema with a summer vibe.
Tonight’s Grease (Sing-A-Long) (PG) will be followed by tomorrow’s 70th anniversary celebration of Singin’ In The Rain (U).
Next month’s trio of films opens with a 40th anniversary screening of Blade Runner (15) on August 5; next comes Steven Spielberg’s 2021 re-make of West Side Story (12A) on August 6; last up, Disney’s Encanto (Sing-A-Long) (U) on August 7. Box office: picturehouses.com/outdoor-cinema/venue/york-museum-gardens.
Off to the coast: a-ha head for Scarborough Open Air Theatre tomorrow
The sun always shines on…a-ha, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, tomorrow, gates, 6pm
NORWEGIAN synth-pop trio a-ha head to the Yorkshire coast on their 2022 World Tour of Europe, the United States and South America, 40 years since forming in Oslo.
Vocalist Morten Harket, guitarist Pal Waaktaar-Savoy and keyboardist Magne Furuholmen will be releasing a new album in October, True North, their first collection of new songs since 2015’s I, recorded in two days 25km inside the Arctic Circle.
Will they preview new songs alongside the familiar Take On Me, The Sun Always Shines On TV, Hunting High And Low and Stay On These Roads? Find out on Sunday. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Christina Bianco’s LV and Ian Kelsey’s Ray Say in The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice at York Theatre Royal
Play of the week: Glass Half Full Productions in The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice, Monday to Saturday, 7.30pm; 2pm, Thursday; 2.30pm, Saturday
YORK actor Ian Kelsey returns to his home city to play viperous talent-spotting agent Ray Say in his Theatre Royal debut in a new tour of Jim Cartwright’s bittersweet comedy-drama, directed by Bronagh Lagan.
Coronation Street star Shobna Gulati plays louche, greedy, loud mother Mari Hoff and American actress and YouTube sensation Christina Bianco, her daughter LV, the recluse with the hidden singing talent for impersonating Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey et al. Can Ray draw her out of her shell and with what consequences? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The Sixteen: Returning to York Minster for York Early Music Festival2022
Festival of the week: York Early Music Festival 2022, July 8 to 16
YORK Early Music Festival returns to a full-scale live programme for the first time since 2019 under the theme of connections.
“Concerts are linked together through a maze of interconnecting composers,” says festival administrative director Delma Tomlin. “We’re delighted to be able to shine a light on the many connections that hold us together in the past and into the future.”
At the heart of the 2022 festival will be three 7.30pm concerts in York Minster by The Sixteen (July 9, the Nave); The Tallis Scholars (July 11, Chapter House) and the Gabrieli Consort & Players (July 13, the Nave). For the full programme and tickets, head to: ncem.co.uk.
Skylights: Playing their biggest gig yet at Leeds O2 Academy
York gig of the week in Leeds: Skylights, Leeds O2 Academy, July 9, doors, 7pm
YORK indie-rockers Skylights play “the biggest gig of our lives” next weekend up the road in Leeds, where previously they have sold out Leeds University and The Wardrobe and performed at Leeds United’s centenary celebrations in Millennium Square in October 2019.
Four Acomb lads in the 30s, singer Rob Scarisbrick, guitarist Turnbull Smith, drummer Myles Soley and bassist Jonny Scarisbrick, will perform to 2,300 fans in celebration of their debut album, What You Are, reaching number 34 in the charts in May. Box office: academymusicgroup.com.
Natasha Agarwal: Soprano soloist at York Proms
Picnic party of the week: York Proms, York Museum Gardens, York, July 10, gates, 4pm
MUSICAL director Ben Crick conducts the 22-piece Yorkshire Festival Orchestra in next weekend’s performance of classical and film pieces, a special Platinum Jubilee section in the second half and a rousing Proms finale.
Soloists will be soprano and dancer Natasha Agarwal, who performed in Opera North’s Carmen, and bass-baritone John Anthony Cunningham, who has chalked up principal roles with English National Opera, Opera North and the Royal Opera House.
York Proms founder Rebecca Newman’s special appearance includes a tribute to her husband and co-founder, Jonathan Fewtrell, who died suddenly in 2020. The Fireworkers provide a firework finishing flourish. Box office: 01904 555670 or yorkproms.com/tickets.
Calling Planet Earth: Elegy to the Eighties at York Barbican
New Romantic nostalgia in the air: Calling Planet Earth, York Barbican, January 21 2023, 8pm
THIS New Romantic Symphony takes a journey through the electrifying Eighties’ songs of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, The Human League, Ultravox, Tears For Fears, Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Japan, ABC and Soft Cell.
Calling Planet Earth combines a live band with symphonic arrangements and vocals in a show designed to “simply define a decade”. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk or ticketmaster.co.uk.
City Screen Picturehouse York: £3 ticket offer on Saturday
CITY Screen Picturehouse York’s inaugural £3 Ticket Day will take place on Saturday.
In a celebration of cinema spanning all 26 Picturehouse cinemas in the UK, all visitors can watch any film at any time for only £3 a ticket.
Cinemagoers will have the chance to sample the diversity of films on offer at Picturehouse, including this Friday’s new releases The Duke and Cyrano, alongside opportunities to catch some of the biggest releases of the past year, such as Belfast and West Side Story, and Picturehouse Entertainment’s The Souvenir Part II.
Picturehouse’s reDiscover season will be celebrating the work of Studio Ghibli, and no film is more eagerly awaited than the 50th anniversary release of Francis Ford Coppola’s mafia epic The Godfather, all guns blazing on Friday.
Clare Binns, Picturehouse’s joint managing director, says: “Saturday is a chance to celebrate great cinema. At Picturehouse we believe in the power, the fun, the joy of sharing great films together.
“After such a tough two years, this is an opportunity to invite you to sample a range of brilliant films on the big screen for only £3 a ticket.
“We curate our film programme with love and passion and want people to come in and celebrate with us on this exciting day for cinema lovers everywhere. Cinema on the big screen is well and truly back in all its diverse glory.”
Films playing at City Screen York Picturehouse on Saturday:
The Duke; Belfast; Death On The Nile; The Souvenir II; The Beatles: Get Back – The Rooftop Concert; Cyrano; Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind and My Neighbour Totoro.
WHY re-tell West Side Story? Culture podcasters Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson mull over Spielberg’s musical in Episode 69 of Two Big Egos In A Small Car.
Plus Christmas singles competing for the top spot; Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and the American Dream; and cult band I Like Trains’ live comeback in Leeds.
That gig promptied this question: Is swaggering Manchester’s music scene really that much better than self-deprecating Leeds?
Sandra Piques Eddy: “Brings a nimble soprano to Dinah in Trouble In Tahiti”. Picture: Richard H Smith
LEONARD Bernstein’s music is always dance-infused and largely dance-inspired, as we are powerfully reminded by this double bill of Trouble In Tahiti coupled with the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.
Bridging the two is ten minutes of poetry with percussion, in Halfway And Beyond, written and recited by Khadijah Ibrahiim. All of which offered the perfect opportunity for Opera North to rekindle its relationship with fellow Leeds company Phoenix Dance Theatre.
Matthew Eberhardt’s production of Tahiti, revived from 2017, keeps everything neatly in period – 1950s’ American suburbia – with Charles Edwards’s revolving sets replete with billboard life-style ads, complemented by the period outfits by Hannah Clark.
The relentless jocularity of the smooth ‘Greek chorus’ Trio of Laura Kelly-McInroy, Joseph Shovelton and Nicholas Butterfield, with their close-harmony advertising-style jingles, contrasts pungently with Sam and Dinah’s humourless marriage and failure to identify with son Junior.
Their American dream – all the latest household gadgets topped off with chlorophyll toothpaste – is turning sour. Sam may even be tempted to stray at work, with Kelly-McInroy quite the frisky secretary.
Quirijn de Lang’s clean, macho baritone neatly fits the slick all-American guy whose life is bound up with muscle-building and making deals. Sandra Piques Eddy brings a nimble soprano to Dinah, wondering why her perfect lifestyle is letting her down even as she yearns for the Technicolor escapism of the title film.
Quirijn de Lang as Sam and Sandra Piques Eddy as Dinah in Trouble In Tahiti. Picture: Richard H Smith
While Island Magic has all the fizz you would expect, it is her wistful There Is A Garden that really touches the heart. Anthony Hermus conducts with boundless energy but finds touches of nostalgia when needed.
Ibrahiim’s poem deals with belonging and alienation and gains a cutting edge from the accompanying percussion, which is spare but telling. Its topic makes an ideal transition between the opera and the dance; it also offers Phoenix Dance a good opportunity to warm up.
Bernstein’s nine Symphonic Dances are keenly reinterpreted in the choreography of Dane Hurst, who brings his own South African experience of apartheid to bear on the original Jerome Robbins dance style, all wide stances and swaying torsos.
The athleticism is breath-taking, but the passion and poignancy of conflict, Jets against Sharks in West Side Story, has fiery depth. The 11 dancers of Phoenix deliver stunning ensemble, which must owe a good deal to the orchestra’s innate feel for the music’s tortuous rhythms: Hermus’s enthusiasm shines through.
Now that the two companies are back together, let us hope to see something of these dancers in a full-length opera. That would really be something.
Now on tour to Newcastle, Salford and Nottingham until November 20.
Kissing by the dock: Laura Elsworthy’s Juliet and Jordan Metcalfe’s Romeo in Hull Truck Theatre’s Romeo & Juliet at Stage@The Dock, Hull
Hull Truck Theatre in Romeo & Juliet, Stage@The Dock, Hull, until August 7. Box office: hulltruck.co.uk.
CHATTING with an actor the other day, the question arose: how did you decide to play your Romeo?
“I’ve seen so many bad productions of Romeo & Juliet where I can’t wait for them to die, because they’re not very likeable!” he said. “I still truly believe that!
“I knew the approach I had to take was, I didn’t need the audience to fall in love with me, I just needed Juliet to fall in love with me. As soon as you worry about what the audience thinks of you, then Romeo is guaranteed to be unlikeable.”
Interesting, then, that Hull Truck Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet really do love each other. So much so, Hull-born duo Jordan Metcalfe and Laura Elsworthy are real-life husband and wife, marrying in the summer of 2018 after bonding when working on The Hypocrite in Hull’s year as UK City of Culture in 2017.
Thankfully, they have survived rather longer than Shakespeare’s tragic star-cross’d young lovers to tell the tale. Thankfully too, this is not an R&J where you “can’t wait for them to die, because they’re not very likeable”.
Strangely, however, the coupling does not have the same chemistry on stage as off. Chemistry should lead to biology, but Metcalfe’s wet-behind-the-ears Romeo comes over more as the fifth member of a boy band, one for the shadows, not a natural lead. Crucially, kissing by the dock, the sparks do not fly with Elsworthy’s Juliet and nor do the sudden flare-ups of fury that lead to murder carry conviction.
Elsworthy is better by far: more assured in her restless performance, spoilt, temperamental, teenage to the max, not averse to blunt northern humour, and she makes Shakespeare’s language catch fire with her Hull vowels. Pre-notoriety Amy Winehouse to his Summer Holiday Cliff Richard, at a stretch.
Sitting on the dock: The audience watching Mark Babych’s cast members in Hull Truck Theatre’s Romeo & Juliet
Hull Truck artistic director Mark Babych’s two hours’ traffic on the R&J stage is not unlikeable but nor is it is loveable, either.
In the rudimentary amphitheatre of Hull’s converted former dry dock, he sets up a traverse stage to emphasise the antipathy between the warring Capulets and Montagues, with a tent at either end for props and instruments.
Those costume designs, by Sian Thomas, are a star turn on the otherwise bare wooden stage: a catwalk for 1950s’ Italian and American college fashion that inevitably echo West Side Story, Bernstein and Sondheim’s American spin on R&J.
One American voice pops over the Atlantic in the dapper form of Reno-born, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama-trained Richard McIver’s hat-tilting Mercutio, every inch the scene stealer he should be. (Back in 1977, in an English Literature class, your reviewer was told Shakespeare killed off Mercutio prematurely because he was pinching the play from an under-par Romeo!).
McIver’s Guys And Dolls panache is typical of the knowing, bite-your-thumb irreverence that permeates Babych’s interpretation, where all manner of accents and acting styles prevail.
Multi-instrumentalist Nicholas Goode’s Prince Escalus and Friar John could have popped out of a Kneehigh Theatre show; Laurie Jamieson’s double bill of fiery Tybalt and fixer Friar Lawrence would suit a Shane Meadows film or Shameless; EM Williams’s bleached Benvolio is part Puck, part punk.
Lady and Lord Capulet fuse into Carolyn Backhouse’s Capulet, a Cruella de Vil figure, while Amanda Gordon’s Nurse is suitably irritating, irrational, contradictory yet kind all at once.
Babych has fun with a colourful, impassioned Romeo And Juliet, rather than finding the aching poetry and doomed love at this time of a plague on all our houses. Playing broader strokes is a gamble, one that leads to less rather than “more woe”, but the get-up-and-go suits the setting, distracting from regrets over not bringing cushions to soften the seating.
