Tag: York Barbican

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 37, from Gazette & Herald

You, Me And Who We’ll Be: Josie Brookes and Tom Madge’s enchanting exhibition at Nunnington Hall

CHILDREN’S outdoor adventures and diverse exhibitions, improvised Austen and American folk blues are among Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations as August makes way for September. 

Children’s exhibition of the week: Josie Brookes and Tom Madge, You, Me And Who We’ll Be, Nunnington Hall, near York, until September 7

ENTER the colourful worlds of children’s illustrators Josie Brookes and Tom Madge. Through bold, eye-catching artwork, the Newcastle-upon-Tyne duo creates stories that explore the many ways we can help and understand each other, make friends and build relationships.  

Discover your own helpful superpower in the Big Small Nature Club or join best friends Nader and Solomiya on a journey to find home. A dress-up station lets you share in the adventures of Molly the Flower. Before you go, help the story grow by adding your own artwork to the interactive gallery. Collages, prints and animation add up to plenty to inspire children. Tickets: Normal admission charges to Nunnington Hall apply at nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/nunnington-hall/exhibitions.

Kate Stables of This Is The Kit: Playing The Crescent in York tomorrow

York gig of the week: This Is The Kit, The Crescent, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm

THIS Is The Kit is the pseudonym of Winchester-born, Paris-dwelling songwriter, banjo strummer and pinhole camera aficionado Kate Stables, who makes albums of  “cataclysmic honesty and welcoming tonal embraces” that place companionship at a premium.

Stables will be accompanied in her experimental folk quartet by bass player Rozi Plain, drummer Jamie Whitby-Coles and guitarist Neil Smith, as she was at The Citadel, the former Salvation Army HQ in Gillygate, York, in November 2021. Box office for returns only: thecrescentyork.com/events.

Mandi Grant: Launching There Are Places To Remember exhibition at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, tomorrow

York art preview of the week: Mandi Grant, There Are Places To Remember, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, tomorrow, 6pm to 9pm

BE among the first to see South Bank Studios artist Mandi Grant’s new collection There Are Places I Remember on the bakery walls in Acomb. On show will be lyrical paintings of shapes, colour and textures in a combination of oil, acrylic and wax techniques.

Wine, soft drinks and nibbles will be served. Tickets are free but please register to attend at eventbrite.com/e/mandi-grant-art-preview-evening-tickets-1515431479349?aff=oddtdtcreator. Mandi’s exhibition will run until October 23.

Nunnington Hall: Playing host to Dawn Of The Dinos

Children’s adventures of the week: Dawn Of The Dinos, Nunnington Hall, near York, until August 31, 10.30am to 5pm

ENTER the Nunnington that time forgot with outdoor dinosaur-themed games around the gardens and main lawn for the family as you don your explorer’s hat and stomp around with your favourite dinosaurs.

In addition, around the gardens you can find a quiet creative hub with art supplies  and children can enjoy the Lion’s Den play area, where little explorers can climb up, over and wobble along a natural obstacle course, including tree-stump steps, a rope bridge and a wooden climbing frame to conquer. Inside the house, family-friendly art events and activities are running too. Normal admission applies, with free entry for National Trust members and under fives at nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/nunnington-hall/events.

Jake Xerxes Fussell: North Carolina singer, guitar picker and composer making York debut on September 3

American folk music for anxious times: Jake Xerxes Fussell, National Centre for Early Music, York, September 3, 7.30pm

PLEASE  Please You & Brudenell Presents promote the York debut of North Carolina singer, guitar picker and composer Jake Xerxes Fussell, whose intuitive creative process draws from traditional music and archival field recordings, incorporating elements of Southern folk song and blues into new works for the anxious modern world.

Folklorist Fussell released his fifth album, When I’m Called, last summer as his first on Fat Possum Records. He teamed up again with producer James Elkington to write and record music for Max Walker-Silverman’s feature film Rebuilding, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Austentatious: Improvising new Jane Austen story from audience suggestions at Grand Opera House, York

Improv show of the week: Show And Tell present Austentatious, An Improvised Jane Austen Novel, Grand Opera House, York, September 5 and 6, 7.30pm

THE all-star Austentatious cast will improvise a new Jane Austen novel, inspired entirely by a title from the audience. Performed in period costume with live musical accompaniment, this riotous, quick-moving West End hit comedy guarantees swooning.

The revolving Austentatious cast includes numerous award-winning television and radio performers, such as Cariad Lloyd (QI, Inside No.9, Griefcast, The Witchfinder),Joseph Morpurgo (Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee), Rachel Parris (The Mash Report), Graham Dickson (After Life, The Witchfinder) and more. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Pottery workshop at Fangfest Festival of Practical Arts

Silver anniversary of the week: Fangfest Festival of Practical Arts, Fangfoss, East Riding, September 6 and 7, 10am to 4pm each day

FANGFOSS is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Fangfest with the All Things Silver flower festival; veteran cars; archery; the Stamford Bridge Heritage Society; music on the village green; children’s games; the Teddy Bear Trail and artists aplenty exhibiting and demonstrating their work. 

Opportunities will be provided to try out the potter’s wheel, spoon carving and chocolate making. Some drop-in activities are free, while others are more intensive workshops that require booking in advance. Details of these can be found at facebook/fangfest or Instagram:@fangfestfestival. Look out too for the circus skills of children’s entertainer John Cossham, alias Professor Fiddlesticks, and the Pocklington and District Heritage Trust mobile museum. Admission is free.

Anton Du Beke: Making a song and dance out of Christmas at York Barbican

Show announcement of the week: Anton Du Beke in Christmas With Anton & Friends, York Barbican, December 21, 5pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing judge and dashing dancer Anton Du Beke will return to York Barbican with his festive show, Christmas with Anton & Friends, whose debut tour visited York on December 10 last year. Anton, 59, will be joined as ever by elegant crooner Lance Ellington, a live band and a company of dancers to create an evening of song and dance with added Christmas dazzle, concluding with a big medley.

“I loved doing the shows so much last year – they were simply magical – so I genuinely can’t wait to get on the road and do it all again,” says the King of the Ballroom. Box office:  yorkbarbican.co.uk.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond as summertime blues stretch into September. Hutch’s List No.37, from The York Press

Comedian Tommy Cannon’s poster for his Keeping The Magic Alive night of reminiscences at Kirk Theatre, Pickering

BLUE skies and outdoor activities, veteran comedy and American folk blues stir Charles Hutchinson into action. 

Comedy night of the week: An Audience With Tommy Cannon, Keeping The Magic Alive, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, tonight, 7.30pm

BEST known as one half of comedy duo Cannon & Ball, national treasure Tommy Cannon presents a night of entertainment and nostalgia with the billing of “Legend, Laughter & Legacy – Live On Stage” as he shares stories from his 50-plus career in showbusiness, many in tandem with Bobby Ball. 

Expect behind-the-scenes secrets, career highlights and heartfelt reflections on his life on and off screen, delivered with charm, warmth and wit. Recollections from the golden days of British television to his stage work and appearances on hit shows will be topped off with special surprises (maybe a song), archive clips and a Q&A, when you can ask Tommy anything. Box office:  01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

Kirkgate decorated for summertime at York Castle Museum. Picture: Anthony Chappel-Ross

Museum activities of the week: Summer At York Castle Museum, Eye of York, York, until August 31, Mondays, 11am to 5pm; Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm

INSPIRED by the vibrant and colourful Victorian galas of bygone years, enjoy live music, street performances, seasonal crafts and interactive trails in York Castle Museum’s bustling summer programme.

Victorian street Kirkgate is transformed into a traditional summer scene from 19th century York. On Sundays, live musical entertainment can be heard in the yard; on Tuesdays, The Silly History Boys perform circus skills; History Riot perform regularly as Phinneas Fickletickle returns with his Totally Tremendous Time-Travel Tincture. Tickets: yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk.

The Blue Room, original painting, by Horace Panter, from Blue Sky Paintings show at RedHouse Gallery, Harrogate

Exhibition of the week: Horace Panter, Blue Sky Paintings, Journeys Across America, RedHouse Gallery, Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate, until September 18

BLUE Sky Paintings is the new travelogue exhibition by The Specials bassist and Pop Art painter Horace Panter, combining paintings from his ongoing Americana series with new oversized prints. “The myth still beckons. America and its dream,” he says. “As a musician, touring America means basically playing where the water is. The ‘Flyover States’ (that enormous bit in the middle) are the bits that fascinate me these days.

“In recent years, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time in both Texas and South Dakota. Photos from these visits constitute the subject of many of the pieces in this exhibition. Of course, the commonality across the collection is the blue sky. I’m drawn to the intensity of the colour, the light and shade, and always aim to represent its fullness.” Opening hours are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

Camp manoeuvres: Living History Weekend at Eden Camp Modern History Museum

Family fun days of the week: Living History Weekend, Eden Camp Modern History Museum, Old Malton, today and tomorrow, 10am to 5pm

STEP back in time at Eden Camp, where the past comes alive with re-enactors around every corner in the Living History Weekend programme of displays, talks and activities.

Meet with medics; try out authentic ration recipes; explore a Sherman Tank and its escape hatch, and enjoy live music in the engine shed, with space aplenty to show off dance moves. Why not dress up in Forties fashion to become part of the weekend? Box office: edencamp.digitickets.co.uk.

Kate Stables of This Is The Kit: Playing The Crescent next Thursday

York gig of the week: This Is The Kit, The Crescent, York, August 28, 7.30pm

THIS Is The Kit is the pseudonym of Winchester-born, Paris-dwelling songwriter, banjo strummer and pinhole camera aficionado Kate Stables, who makes albums of  “cataclysmic honesty and welcoming tonal embraces” that place companionship at a premium.

Stables will be accompanied in her experimental folk quartet by bass player Rozi Plain, drummer Jamie Whitby-Coles and guitarist Neil Smith, as she was at The Citadel, the former Salvation Army HQ in Gillygate, York, in November 2021. Box office for returns only: thecrescentyork.com/events.

Mandi Grant: Launching There Are Places To Remember exhibition at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb

Art preview of the week: Mandi Grant, There Are Places To Remember, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, August 28, 6pm to 9pm

BE among the first to see South Bank Studios artist Mandi Grant’s new collection There Are Places I Remember on the bakery walls in Acomb. On show will be lyrical paintings of shapes, colour and textures in a combination of oil, acrylic and wax techniques.

Wine, soft drinks and nibbles will be served. Tickets are free but please register to attend at eventbrite.com/e/mandi-grant-art-preview-evening-tickets-1515431479349?aff=oddtdtcreator. Mandi’s exhibition will run until October 23.

Jake Xerxes Fussell: American folklorist singer, guitarist and songwriter at the NCEM

American folk music for anxious times: Jake Xerxes Fussell, National Centre for Early Music, York, September 3, 7.30pm

PLEASE  Please You & Brudenell Presents promote the York debut of North Carolina singer, guitar picker and composer Jake Xerxes Fussell, whose intuitive creative process draws from traditional music and archival field recordings, incorporating elements of Southern folk song and blues into new works for the anxious modern world.

Folklorist Fussell released his fifth album, When I’m Called, last summer as his first on Fat Possum Records. He teamed up again with producer James Elkington to write and record music for Max Walker-Silverman’s feature film Rebuilding, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Christmas cheer: Anton Du Beke to return to York Barbican with festive friends

Show announcement of the week: Anton Du Beke in Christmas With Anton & Friends, York Barbican, December 21, 5pm. Also Royal Hall, Harrogate, December 1, 7.30pm, and St George’s Hall, Bradford, December 17, 7.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing judge and dashing dancer Anton Du Beke will return to York Barbican with his festive show, Christmas with Anton & Friends, whose debut tour visited York on December 10 last year. Anton, 59, will be joined as ever by elegant crooner Lance Ellington, a live band and a company of dancers to create an evening of song and dance with added Christmas dazzle, concluding with a big medley.

“I loved doing the shows so much last year – they were simply magical – so I genuinely can’t wait to get on the road and do it all again,” says the King of the Ballroom. Box office: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; Bradford, bradford-theatres.co.uk.

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York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir reunites with York RI Golden Rail Band for Sounding Brass and Voices concert

York RI Golden Rail Band. Picture: Keith Meadley

TWO well-loved York ensembles will reunite for Sounding Brass and Voices at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, on September 6 to celebrate 100 years of music.

York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir and York RI Golden Rail Band will perform a joint concert for the fourth time in a pairing of brass and voices that is both tender and thrilling.

The first pairing in 2020 came three weeks before the first Covid-19 lockdown in the UK, followed by concerts in 2023 and 2024 to enthusiastic York audiences.

York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir – or “The Phil” as it is known affectionately – was founded in 1925 and is marking its centenary year with a season of high-profile concerts with partner choirs from Europe and closer to home, as well as with the Golden Rail Band.

From humble beginnings, The Phil has become one of the country’s best choirs, achieving television fame in the 1970s, performing internationally and still winning awards in 2025. The latest was won in April at the National Choir Day at Eskdale Festival of the Arts in Whitby.

Berenice Lewis, the choir’s musical director for 25 years, says: “It’s a tremendous privilege and pleasure to be collaborating again with the York RI Golden Rail Band, one of our region’s leading concert brass bands.

“Our two groups are exceptionally compatible, and we love working together – and it’s particularly special in this centenary year for the choir. We’re excited to share an evening of music in the gorgeous setting of the Joseph Rowntree Theatre. Don’t miss it!”

York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir: 100th anniversary

Golden Rail Band, based next to York Station, celebrated its own milestone last year, marking 40 years of music-making, although the band’s parentage stretches back to 1883.

For its ruby anniversary, the band recorded a special radio programme and performed concerts at the National Centre for Early Music, Selby Abbey and York Barbican.

This year will see the band making its television debut in November, details of which are being kept closely under wraps.

Band conductor Nick Eastwood said: “We’re thrilled to be performing with The Phil again, even more so as they celebrate their 100th anniversary. To mark such a huge occasion, we’ve taken the opportunity to reflect on 100 years within our brass band world, which offers a rich and inspiring musical heritage to draw on.

“From romantic film music to toe-tapping hits, there will be something for everyone. And prepare yourselves for the finale, when the choir and the band will take the stage together for a couple of glorious and rousing numbers that will gladden your heart and send you home singing.”

A fifth collaboration between the Golden Rail Band and The Phil will ensue at the York Barbican on September 21 when the band will be among the ‘Friends’ at the choir’s Music of The Phil and Friends concert. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir and York RI Golden Rail in Sounding Brass and Voices, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, September 6, 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/concert/sounding-brass-and-voices/2810.

York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir and York RI Golden Rail Band in concert together. Picture: Keith Meadley

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More Things To Do in York and beyond as the dandy Georgians take up residence. Hutch’s List No. 34 from The York Press

Lucy Hook Designs’ poster for York River Art Market’s tenth anniversary on Dame Judi Dench Walk

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

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

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

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

York Stage summer school participants in rehearsal for Disney’s Dare To Dream Jr

Musical revue of the week: York Stage in Disney’s Dare To Dream Jr, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, today, 2pm and 4pm

HONOURING 100 years of Disney music, this60-minute revue follows eager trainees on their first day at a fictional Walt Disney Imagineering Studio. As they set out to help each other discover their dreams, they work together to explore the power of those aspirations to unite, inspire and make anything possible.

The show includes songs that appear for the first time in a Disney stage musical, notably fan favourites from The Princess And The Frog, Coco, Enchanto and Frozen II in a showcase of contemporary songs, timeless classics and new medleys. York Stage director Nik Briggs has put this production together in a week with 50 Summer School performers and technical skills trainees. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

James Dowdeswell: Headlining tonight’s Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club bill at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse

Comedy gig of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 8pm

JAMES Dowdeswell, from the BBC’s Russell Howard’s Good News and Ricky Gervais’s Extras, combines deft stand-up with daft stories in his erudite, off-the-cuff headline set this weekend. A comedic authority on beer, wine and pubs, he is the author of The Pub Manifesto: A Comedian Stands Up For Pubs. 

On the bill too are northern humorist Anth Young, Scotland-based Singaporean comic Laura Quinn Goh and regular host Damion Larkin. Box office: lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.

Faithless: Bringing Mass Destruction to Scarborough Open Air Theatre tonight

Coastal gig of the week: Faithless and Orbital, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, today. Gates open at 6pm

RETURNING to the concert platform last year after an eight-year hiatus, Faithless remain one of the most influential, boundary-pushing electronic acts of the 21st century with 17 Top 40 singles and six Top Ten albums to their name. Here come Salva Mea, One Step Too Far, Mass Destruction, Insomnia, God Is A DJ et al.

First up will be Phil and Paul Hartnoll’s electronic duo Orbital, whose music draws on ambient, electro, punk and film scores, spread across ten albums. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Sasha Elizabeth Parker in Femme Fatale Faerytales, Once Upon A Time, at Brancusi restaurant

Fringe preview of the week: Femme Fatale Faerytales, Once Upon A Time, Fairy Tales For Adults, Brancusi (upstairs), Micklegate, York, August 4, 8pm

FEMME Fatale Faerytales’ Once Upon A Time will be 50 minutes of adult storytelling with a feminist agenda, featuring a “real-life faery” who promises to tell truths that will “make your hair curl and your eyes sparkle”.

“It was the faeries who taught the witches, the wise women, all that they know,” says performer Sasha Elizabeth Parker, who is en route to Scotland for her Edinburgh Fringe debut. “Women spun faerytales on their tongue to spread the word among adult ears. Wise words made infantile by men. Let the faery  whisper her words into your ears. Hear her tale of truth. Faeries cannot lie. This, I promise you. She’ll change you, transport you, introduce you to a whole new world and show you a view brand new.” Box office for returns: wegottickets.com/location/29645.

The poster artwork for Cirque, The Greatest Show Reimagined

Circus show of the week: Cirque, The Greatest Show Reimagined, York Barbican, August 4, 3pm and 7pm

CIRQUE’S new show is “bolder, braver and more breathtaking than ever before” as The Greatest Show Reimagined takes the original Circus meets Musical Theatre spectacle to new heights. Experience West End showstoppers paired with circus acts showcasing breathtaking feats of agility to “transport you on a vibrant, kaleidoscopic journey bursting with colour, energy, and excitement”. Britain’s Got Talent Golden Buzzer winner Max Fox leads the cast of vocalists and circus performers. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Ryosuke Kiyasu: Drum pyrotechnics on the Arts Barge

Beat that: No Instrument and Arts Barge present Ryosuke Kiyasu, The Arts Barge, Foss Basin Moorings, York, August 6, 7.30pm

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

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

Iago Banet: Finger-style Spanish guitar dexterity at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse

Guitarist of the week: Iago Banet, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, August 6, 7.30pm

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

He has performed on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and Cerys Matthews’ The Blues Show on BBC Radio 2, appeared at Brecon Jazz, Hellys International Guitar Festival and Aberjazz and played with Josh Smith, Mark Flanagan, Jack Broadbent and Clive Carroll. Box office: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/iago-banet/iago-banet-the-galician-king-of-acoustic-guitar/e-dykrpy. 

Joe Standerline in The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t, Joseph Peterson’s 18th century romp, revived for the York Georgian Festival. Picture: Gareth Buddo

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

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

Among the highlights will be Terry Deary Presents Revolting; the Life and Loves of Anne Lister; a Georgian dance lesson at the Guildhall; Men’s Hats through the Georgian period; Mad Alice’s history talk and gin tasting; the York Georgian Ball; Sounds of Regency by Candlelight; The World of Georgian Fashion; Portraits in Jane Austen; The Radical Georgian Women and a revival of 18th century York actor-playwright Joseph Peterson’s comic romp The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t. For the full programme and tickets, go to: mansionhouseyork.com/york-georgian-festival.

York Minster: Heritage Fair today

In Focus: Heritage Fair of the week: York Minster Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills and Estate Management, Deangate, York, today, from 10am

EXPLORE two new buildings – the Heritage Quad and the Works & Technology Hub – that have established York Minster Precinct’s status as a world-class campus facility for research, education and training in traditional craft skills.

Visitors can see the extensive sustainable initiatives delivered through the construction of these two new buildings, including the latest photovoltaic technology and rainwater harvesting techniques.

There will be three areas to explore:

The Heritage Quad: 10am to 4pm

Visitors can speak to York Minster stonemasons and see live carving, whilst touring brand new facilities and meeting other heritage craftspeople such as joiners and guilders. There will be an opportunity to try out some of the applied craft skills needed to care for an ancient estate like York Minster’s. Free, pre-booked tickets required. 

The Works & Technology Hub: 10am to 4pm

Visitors can engage with the cutting-edge technology now operational in the Works & Technology Hub. They will see live demonstrations of saws and digital modelling, as well as speaking to York Minster staff and partners to understand how technology links with heritage crafts. Free, pre-booked tickets required. 

Heritage Pavilion: 10am to 4pm

A heritage pavilion, located in Minster Gardens in front of the York Minster Refectory, will provide an opportunity for people to talk to our heritage partners. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone considering a career in the heritage industry to speak to the many experts in their respective fields. No tickets are required to attend the careers pavilion.

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/heritage-fair-tickets-1258143694659?aff=oddtdtcreator

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Life’s a rollercoaster ride out at York Racecourse for Ronan Keating at Music Showcase Weekend on July 26

Ronan Keating: On track for York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend

RONAN Keating returns to the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend on July 26, back on the Knavesmire track where he performed with Boyzone in July 2018.

“I’ve been to York numerous times,” says the 48-year-old Dubliner. “My manager lives in York. He knows the good places to go, like the Star Inn The City.”

Ronan also played solo shows at York Barbican on his Time Of My Life Tour in September 2016 and on his thrice-rearranged Twenty Twenty Tour in July 2022 (first booked for June 2020, then January 2021, then January 2022, in Covid-enforced changes).

“York audiences are always up for a good time,” he says as he looks forward to performing after a Saturday race card featuring the prestigious Group 2 Sky Bet York Stakes.

When playing in the open air, “the only thing is the sound issue for the artists and you get that at all outdoor gigs, whereas somewhere like the [York] Barbican is acoustically fantastic and is always going to sound better. You learn a lot from it,” says Ronan who will draw on his experience of playing to large al-fresco crowds at next weekend’s concert.

That applies to choosing his set list too, eschewing album tracks. “If you’re going to a festival or a racecourse, you have to give the people what they want, what they’re expecting, and because of the Boyzone documentary [Sky Original’s Boyzone: No Matter What] that’s on Sky and NOW TV, I’ll be doing more Boyzone hits than normal this time.

“It’s been Sky Documentaries’ most successful documentary. It’s been word of mouth. No-one knew what was coming. We were in the thick of making our own film – we had to say ‘No’ to Louis Theroux – when there was the Backstreet Boys one  [Larger Than Life on Paramount+], so we could fallen through the cracks.

“It’s surprised everybody. Our story is unbelievable, not normal, and it was hard to hear each of us talk about each other. It was tough, it was hard-hitting.”

“I never saw it as ambition,” says Ronan Keating. “My dad was a football coach and I had a belief in graft that came from him”

Each band member, Keating, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham, filmed 15 hours of footage individually over “three long days”. “We produced the film, but Curious Films made it, and they interviewed some people from the Nineties’ tabloid press and ex-manager Louis [Walsh].”

Therapy before the documentary had helped Ronan to “learn about myself”. Had he been ambitious, he reflected? “I never saw it as ambition. My dad was a football coach and I had a belief in graft that came from him. I just worked my a**e off, and it was rewarding because we kept getting accolades, and then I get offered the chance to make a song on my own for the film Notting Hill [his chart-topping debut single in 2000, When You Say Nothing At All] – and that’s seen as ambitious but anyone else would do that.”

From boy band to men in adulthood, “some members in the band are not as close as they used to be, but I’m talking to all of them,” says Ronan. Given the documentary’s success, could Boyzone re-form for the first time since  their “Thank You & Goodnight” farewell tour in 2019? “I’m saying nothing!” he says.

Ronan’s career has taken him into presenting duties. “I was asked to host Eurovision in 1997 [in Dublin] and the MTV Award in Europe, so I started doing that ‘on the side’. I knew I could do it, but I didn’t think it was really me, but then Magic Radio came to me offer me the Breakfast show with  Harriet [Scott], and though I didn’t enjoy the early hours, I loved doing radio. It was everything. People felt we were in their house with them.”

Ronan has been a fixture on the BBC’s The One Show too, co-presenting with Alex Jones. “The One Show is a powerful show, and I love working with Alex. She’s a superstar,” he says. “I’ve been lucky and have chosen shows pretty well,” now adding The Voice Australia 2025 to that list.

If life has indeed been a rollercoaster, then Ronan’s abiding popularity has prompted York Racecourse head of marketing and sponsorship James Brennan to say ahead of next weekend’s performance: “Ronan has felt like part of the family for the best part of 30 years, whether it is entertaining with his friends in the band or as a solo artist, charity campaigner or breakfast show host. I’m looking forward to an event that music and racing fans will treasure as a memory.” Spot on , sir.

Looking ahead, Ronan is working on new music. “I’m making a duet that will be out in late July or early August,” he says. Who with? “He’s a very good friend of mine in the industry. It’s quite a big deal for us.” Watch this space.

Ronan Keating, York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, July 26: gates open at 11.15am; first race, 1.25pm; last race, 5pm. Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Natasha Bedingfield perform post-racing on July 25: gates, 4pm, first race; 5.30pm; last race, 8.23pm.

Please note, these race days are integrated racing and music events and admission is not available on a “concert only” basis. At each meeting, the gates will be closed at the time of the last race. For race day tickets, go to: www.yorkracecourse.co.uk.

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

Dr Adam Parker, curator of archaeology at York Museums Trust, holding the Thor’s Hammer Pendant at the Viking North exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum, York

VIKING treasures, street art indoors, Fringe comedy previews and Ryedale Festival’s Austen celebration bring out the summer smiles in Charles Hutchinson.

Museum launch of the week: Viking North, Yorkshire Museum, York

VIKING North is filled with magnificent objects, many unseen for generations and others that have never been on public display, adding up to “the best collection of Viking finds to be shown outside London” as these Viking treasures reveal the North’s power base, wealth and skills.

Telling the story of the Viking Age in the North of England from AD866 to 1066, the exhibition is underpinned by new archaeological research and cutting-edge technology and features objects from Yorkshire Museum’s own collection, the Vale of York hoard, co-owned with the British Museum, and specially loaned national and regional items, including from the Viking Army Camp at Aldwark, North Yorkshire.

Sea, Swell, Scribe: Jo Walton, Ruth King and Nicky Kippax combine in Pyramid Gallery’s exhibition of paintings, pottery and poetry

Exhibition of the week: Sea, Swell, Scribe, Jo Walton, Ruth King and Nicky Kippax, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, until August 31, open 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday

WHAT happens when you let a poet loose in an art gallery with a piece of charcoal? If the juxtaposition of sumptuous curvy and pointy pots against a backdrop of textured metallic atmospheric paintings is inspiring her, then she will scribble words and phrases all over the plinths

York artist Jo Walton, from Rogues Atelier, potter Ruth King, from the Craft Potters Association, and poet Nicky Kippax, from Bluebird Bakery, combine in a show planned and organised by Pyramid  gallery manager Fiona Macfarlane and curated by Walton. Kippax has written Eksphratic verse in response to the paintings and pots.

Street artist Al Murphy in his Naughty Corner at VandalFest at 2, Low Ousegate, York

Street art takeover of the summer: Vandals At Work present VandalFest, 2, Low Ousegate, York, Friday to Sunday, then July 25 to 27, 11am to 6pm

VANDALS At Work reunite with youth homelessness charity Safe and Sound Homes (SASH) for VandalFest, the immersive street art takeover of a disused office block at 2 Low Ousegate, York, with a 2025 theme of the playful, cheeky, witty and mischievous.

The stripped-out interior provides four floors of blank canvas for bold, site-specific “intervention” that cover walls, floors and ceilings, complemented by live DJ sets.  Among more than 30 artists from the UK and beyond are Bristol graffiti pioneer Inkie, subversive stencilist Dotmasters, inflatable prankster Filthy Luker, master of optical illusions Chu, rooftop renegade Rowdy and York’s own Sharon McDonagh, Lincoln Lightfoot and Boxxhead. Entry is free, with a suggested £3 donation to SASH. 

Dame Harriet Walter: Pride And Prejudice celebration at Wesley Centre, Malton

Ryedale Festival theatre event of the week: Pride And Prejudice, Dame Harriet Walter, Melvyn Tan and Madeleine Easton, Wesley Centre, Malton, Sunday, 7pm

THIS theatrical retelling of Pride And Prejudice by novelist and Austen biographer Gill Hornby marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. Star of stage and screen Dame Harriet Walter brings the romance of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy to life in an intimate drawing-room setting, in much the same way that Jane herself first read the story aloud to family and friends.

Carl David’s score for the 1995 BBC television adaptation will be performed by pianist Melvyn Tan and violinist Madeleine Easton. The festival runs until July 27; full details and tickets at ryedalefestival.com. Box office: 01751 475777.

Rob Auton: Barmby Moor comedian previews his Edinburgh Fringe show, CAN: The Story Of A Man Called CAN, at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York

Comedy event of the week: Halfway To Edinburgh, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday

IN a week of Edinburgh Fringe previews and comedy nights, Nina Gilligan discusses memory loss, health anxiety and goldfish-related trauma in Goldfish tonight (8pm) and Hayley Ellis navigates middle age in Silly Mare (Work in Progress) tomorrow (8pm).

Susan Riddell and Kate Dolan, on Friday (7.30pm), and Barmby Moor surrealist Rob Auton and Chloe Petts, on Saturday (7.30pm), round off the festival tasters. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Georgi Mottram: Classical BRIT Award nominee performing at Voices United concert in aid of St Leonard’s Hospice

Charity event of the week: Ian Stroughair presents Voices United: Rubies For Our Angel, Grand Opera House, York, Friday, 7.30pm

YORK cabaret artiste and West End musical actor Ian Stroughair co-hosts this fundraiser to mark St Leonard’s Hospice’s 40th anniversary with radio presenters Joanita Musisi and Laura Castle, introducing a night of musical theatre and rock and pop classics.

On the bill will be Stroughair in Velma Celli drag diva regalia; York singer Jessica Steel and guitarist Stuart Allan; York musical theatre actress Joanne Theaker; retro party band Jonny And The Dunebugs; The Voice UK 2024 semi-finalist Lois Morgan Gay and West End classical singer Georgi Mottram. Box office: https://shorturl.at/G3qhV or atgtickets.com/york.

Strictly between us: Anton du Beke and Giovanni Pernice team up for Together Again at York Barbican

Dance show of the week: Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice in Together Again, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing alumni Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice promise “more fun, more dance, more song and even more entertainment than ever before” in the terpsichorean double act’s new show Together Again, full of breathtaking routines, stunning choreography and a seamless blend of Ballroom, Latin and musical theatre. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Craig David: In party mood at Scarborough Open Air Theatre this weekend

Coastal gig of the week: Craig David TS5 Show, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Saturday; gates open at 6pm

SOUTHAMPTON rhythm & blues musician Craig David parades his triple threat as singer, MC and DJ at his TS5 party night, patented at his Miami penthouse. On the 25th anniversary of debut album Born To Do It, expect a set combining old-skool anthems from R&B to Swing Beat, Garage to Bashment, while merging chart-topping House hits too. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Amelia Donkor and Antony Jardine: Playing Gulie Harlock and Seebohm Rowntree respectively alongside 100-strong community ensemble in His Last Report at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Millie Stephens

Community play of the week: His Last Report, York Theatre Royal, Saturday to August 3  

FOCUSING on pioneering York social reformer Seebohm Rowntree and his groundbreaking investigation into the harsh realities of poverty, Misha Duncan-Barry and Bridget Foreman’s play will be told through the voices of York’s residents, past and present.

Seebohm’s findings illuminate the struggles of the working class, laying the foundation for the welfare state and sparking a movement that will redefine life as we know it. However, when fast forwarding to present-day York, what is Seebohm’s real legacy as the Ministry begins to dismantle the very structures he championed in His Last Report’s York story with a national impact? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

In Focus: Clap Trap Theatre in Pennyroyal, Helmsley Arts Centre, July 19 & 20, 7.30pm

Florrie Stockbridge’s Daphne, left, and Natasha Jones’s Christine in Clap Trap Theatre’s Pennyroyal

HELMSLEY Arts Centre artistic director Natasha Jones and musical partner Florrie Stockbridge take to the stage this weekend in Clap Trap Theatre’s production of Lucy Roslyn’s Pennyroyal.

Premiered in 2022 at the Finborough Theatre, London, this heartrending play about sisterhood and motherhood, enduring love and regrets many years in the making explores the things expected of women and what happens if life does not go to plan.

When Daphne (played by Stockbridge) is diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency at 19, her sister Christine (Jones) steps in to help in the only way she knows how: by donating her eggs. For a while, the world seems corrected. However, as the years go by – and Daphne sets out on the long road of IVF – the sisters’ relationship begins to twist.

“I think of my body sometimes like it’s stubborn,” says Daphne. “We’re not good friends. Like it’s a spooky hotel, and I’m just a ghost haunting it. ’Cause you don’t live in a hotel, you just pass through.”

Pennyroyal is inspired by Edith Wharton’s 1922 novella The Old Maid, a 1922 novella adapted ten years later into a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Zoe Akins. One hundred years on, the story is re-imagined by Roslyn, an award-winning Camden Town performer and writer.

Her most recent work includes Orlando, a previous collaboration with director Josh Roche and Jessie Anand Productions that won the Origins Award at VAULT Festival before transferring to the Pleasance, Edinburgh.

Other work includes Showmanship (Theatre503) and Goody (Pleasance, Edinburgh and Greenwich Theatre – Les Enfants Terribles’ Greenwich Partnership Award 2017). Her debut, The State vs. John Hayes, started life at the Edinburgh Fringe, before touring to Theatre Royal Bath, The Lowry, Salford, the King’s Head Theatre, London,  and OSH Brooklyn, New York.

Jones and Stockbridge have received directing and production support from Libby Pearson. Roslyn’s 80-minute play contains strong language and discussion of infertility and domestic violence. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

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More Things To Do in York beyond as the Vikings reveal power-base life skills. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 31, from The York Press

Dr Adam Parker, curator of archaeology at York Museums Trust, holding the Thor’s Hammer Pendant at the Viking North exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum, York

VIKING treasures, street art moved indoors, Fringe comedy previews and Ryedale Festival’s classical lustre bring out the summer smiles in Charles Hutchinson.

Museum launch of the week: Viking North, Yorkshire Museum, York

VIKING North is filled with magnificent objects, many unseen for generations and others that have never been on public display, adding up to “the best collection of Viking finds to be shown outside London” as these Viking treasures reveal the North’s power base, wealth and skills.

Telling the story of the Viking Age in the North of England from AD866 to 1066, the exhibition is underpinned by new archaeological research and cutting-edge technology and features objects from Yorkshire Museum’s own collection, the Vale of York hoard, co-owned with the British Museum, and specially loaned national and regional items, including from the Viking Army Camp at Aldwark, North Yorkshire.

Sea, Swell, Scribe: Jo Walton, Ruth King and Nicky Kippax combine in Pyramid Gallery’s exhibition of paintings, pottery and poetry

Exhibition launch of the week: Sea, Swell, Scribe, Jo Walton, Ruth King and Nicky Kippax, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, from today, 11am, to August 31, open 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday

WHAT happens when you let a poet loose in an art gallery with a piece of charcoal? If the juxtaposition of sumptuous curvy and pointy pots against a backdrop of textured metallic atmospheric paintings is inspiring her, then she will scribble words and phrases all over the plinths

York artist Jo Walton, from Rogues Atelier, potter Ruth King, from the Craft Potters Association, and poet Nicky Kippax, from Bluebird Bakery, combine in a show planned and organised by Pyramid  gallery manager Fiona Macfarlane and curated by Walton. Kippax has written Eksphratic verse in response to the paintings and pots.

Street artist Al Murphy in his Naughty Corner at VandalFest at 2, Low Ousegate, York

Street art takeover of the summer: Vandals At Work present VandalFest, today and tomorrow, July 18 to 20 and July 25 to 27, 11am to 6pm

VANDALS At Work reunite with youth homelessness charity Safe and Sound Homes (SASH) for VandalFest, the immersive street art takeover of a disused office block at 2 Low Ousegate, York, with a 2025 theme of the playful, cheeky, witty and mischievous.

The stripped-out interior provides four floors of blank canvas for bold, site-specific “intervention” that cover walls, floors and ceilings, complemented by live DJ sets.  Among more than 30 artists from the UK and beyond are Bristol graffiti pioneer Inkie, subversive stencilist Dotmasters, inflatable prankster Filthy Luker, master of optical illusions Chu, rooftop renegade Rowdy and York’s own Sharon McDonagh, Lincoln Lightfoot and Boxxhead. Entry is free, with a suggested £3 donation to SASH. Visitors can support the cause by buying limited-edition artworks and merchandise.

Ryedale Festival artist in residence and soprano Claire Booth

Festival of the week; Ryedale Festival 2025, until July 27

THIS North Yorkshire festival of delights will be led off by 2025’s artists in residence, saxophonist Jess Gillam, soprano Claire Booth and viola player Timothy Ridout, along with Quatuor Mosaiques, VOCES8 and composer Eric Whitacre.

Pianists Sir Stephen Hough and Dame Imogen Cooper, organist Thomas Trotter, Arcangelo, York countertenor Iestyn Davies and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s festival debut are further highlights. Jazz, folk and literature weave into the programme too: reeds player Pete Long and vocalist Sara Oschlag salute Duke Ellington; Barnsley’s Kate Rusby showcases her new album, When They All Looked Up, and Dame Harriet Walter channels Jane Austen’s wit in Pride And Prejudice. Full details and tickets at: ryedalefestival.com. Box office: 01751 475777.

McFly: Heading to the Scarborough seaside today

Coastal gig of the week: McFly, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, today; gates open at 6pm

MCFLY’S Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd head to the Yorkshire coast to perform 5 Colours In Her Hair, Obviously, All About You, You’ve Got A Friend, I’ll Be OK, Star Girl, Don’t Stop Me Now, Obviously et al. Twin Atlantic and Devon complete the bill. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Josie Long: Opening Theatre@41’s week of Edinburgh Fringe previews and comedy nights. Picture: Matt Crockett

Comedy event of the week: Halfway To Edinburgh, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, July 13 to 19

A WEEK of Edinburgh Fringe previews and comedy nights takes over Theatre@41, Monkgate, kicking off with comedian, writer, podcaster and filmmaker Josie Long’s Work In Progress on July 13 at 2pm, followed by two Mark Watson selections, Sam Nicoresti and Lulu Popplewell’s Fresh For The Fringe double bill at 7.30pm.

Molly McGuinness and Phil Ellis are in preview mode on July 14 (8pm); Nina Gilligan discusses memory loss, health anxiety and goldfish-related trauma in Goldfish on July 16 (8pm), and Hayley Ellis navigates middle age in Silly Mare (Work in Progress) on July 17 (8pm). Susan Riddell and Kate Dolan, on July 18 (7.30pm), and Barmby Moor surrealist Rob Auton and Chloe Petts, on July 19 (7.30pm), round off the festival previews. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Phil Grainger, left, and Alexander Flanagan Wright. Picture; Charlotte Graham


News just in: Wright & Grainger in The Gods The Gods The Gods, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, July 15, 7.30pm

IN a very late addition to Theatre@41’s packed programme for next week, Easingwold duo Wright & Grainger return their Edinburgh Fringe gig theatre hit The Gods The Gods The Gods to North Yorkshire soil for one night only.

Combining 12 tracks, four stories, three performers and one exhilarating experience, Alexander Flanagan Wright and Phil Grainger mix big beats, heavy basslines, soaring melodies and heart-stopping spoken word into a show that has headlined festivals and sold out venues from Wānaka Festival of Colour in New Zealand to the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai, India, to Stillington Mill. Please note: this event is standing room only; chairs will be available for those unable to stand. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Georgi Mottram: Classical BRIT Award nominee performing at Voices United concert in aid of St Leonard’s Hospice

Charity event of the week: Ian Stroughair presents Voices United: Rubies For Our Angel, Grand Opera House, York, July 18, 7.30pm

YORK cabaret artiste and West End musical actor Ian Stroughair co-hosts this fundraiser to mark St Leonard’s Hospice’s 40th anniversary with radio presenters Joanita Musisi and Laura Castle, introducing a night of musical theatre and rock and pop classics.

On the bill will be Stroughair in Velma Celli drag diva regalia; York singer Jessica Steel and guitarist Stuart Allan; York musical theatre actress Joanne Theaker; retro party band Jonny And The Dunebugs; The Voice UK 2024 semi-finalist Lois Morgan Gay and West End classical singer Georgi Mottram. Box office: https://shorturl.at/G3qhV or atgtickets.com/york.

Dance is SO embracing: Dancefloor double act Anton & Giovanni reunite for Together Again at York Barbican

Dance show of the week: Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice in Together Again, York Barbican, July 18, 7.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing alumni Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice promise “more fun, more dance, more song and even more entertainment than ever before” in the terpsichorean double act’s new show Together Again, full of breathtaking routines, stunning choreography and a seamless blend of Ballroom, Latin and musical theatre. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Ancient Hostility: Harmony singing and drones at YO Underground 4 in The Basement

Navigators Art presents YO Underground 4, The Basement, City Screen, York, July 18, 7.30pm to 10.30pm

YORK arts collective Navigators Art plays host to a night of live, local and left-field folk song, electronica and film at The Basement. On the adventurous bill of York and regional acts will be: Andrew Metheven’s lo-fi folk music from the hills and the concrete; Ancient Hostility’s harmony singing and drones from members of Dawn Ray’d and All In Vain, and transdisciplinary artist Hannah-May Batley’s traveller ballads, storytelling, writing, performance and pigments.

Participating too will be: Mark Hanslip, who has a “PhD in shoving saxophones through computers” (possibly not literally); Namke Communications’ electronics and echoes, and multidisciplinary artist Things Found And Made, rummaging in zines, films, music, storytelling, pop-culture, esoterica and folklore. Box office: bit.ly/nav-events

The Wedding Present’s David Gedge, right, walking in Leeds with Reception writer-director Matt Aston

Gig announcement of the week: An Evening of Conversation and Music with David Gedge from The Wedding Present, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, July 20, 8pm, doors 7pm

DAVID Gedge, long-time leader of The Wedding Present, discusses his “semi-legendary” Leeds indie band’s 40-year-career and his life in the music industry, in conversation with Amanda Cook. York writer/director Matt Aston join him too on the eve of rehearsals for Reception – The Wedding Present Musical, ahead of its premiere at Slung Low, The Warehouse, Holbeck, Leeds, from August 22 to September 6.  

Next Sunday’s event concludes with Gedge’s 20-minute acoustic set drawn from The Wedding Present’s cornucopia of arch, romantic yet perennially disappointed songs of love, life’s high hopes and woes, chance and no chance. Box office: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-david-gedge-from-the-wedding-present-tickets-1472506409309?aff=oddtdtcreator.

Listen to David Gedge discuss 40 years Of The Wedding Present, the Reception musical and his Rise@Bluebird Bakery show with Two Big Egos In A Small Car podcasters Charles Hutchinson and Graham Chalmers at:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1187561/episodes/17507606-episode-233-interview-special-with-david-gedge-from-the-wedding-present

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More Things To Do in York and beyond when it’s never too late for Early Music. Hutch’s List No. 30, from The York Press

Richard Hawley: Revisiting Coles Corner with strings attached at Live At York Museum Gardens today. Picture: Dean Chalkley

WHAT happens when York Museum Gardens turns into Coles Corner and the same play opens in two places at once? Find out in Charles Hutchinson’s leisure list.

Open-air concert of the week: Futuresound Group  presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Richard Hawley, today; gates open at 5pm

SHEFFIELD guitarist, songwriter and crooner Richard Hawley revisits his 1995 album Coles Corner with a string section on its 20th anniversary this evening, complemented by Hawley highlights from his 2001 to 2024 albums (9pm to 10.30pm).

He will be preceded by Mercury Prize-winning Leeds band English Teacher (7.45pm to 8.30pm); Manchester-based American songwriter BC Camplight, introducing his new album, A Sober Conversation (6.30pm to 7.15pm), and Scottish musician Hamish Hawk, whose latest album, A Firmer Hand, emerged last August (5.40pm to 6.10pm). Box office: seetickets.com.

The Tallis Scholars: Performing Glorious Creatures, directed by Peter Philips, at York Minster at 7.30pm tonight at York Early Music Festival. Picture: Hugo Glendinning

Festival of the week:  York Early Music Festival, Heaven & Hell, until July 11

EIGHT days of classical music are under way featuring international artists such as The Sixteen, The Tallis Scholars, Academy of Ancient Music, Helen Charlston & Toby Carr and the York debut of Le Consort, performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons “but not quite as you know it” on Sunday.

Directed by Delma Tomlin, the festival weaves together three main strands: the 400th anniversary of Renaissance composer Orlando Gibbons, the Baroque music of Vivaldi and Bach and reflections on Man’s fall from grace, from Heaven to Hell. Full programme and tickets at ncem.co.uk/whats-on/yemf/. Box office: 01904 658338.

Bridget Christie: Late replacement for Maisie Adam at Futuresound Group’s inaugural York Comedy Festival. Picture: Natasha Pszenicki

Comedy event of the week: Futuresound Group presents Live At York Museum Gardens, York Comedy Festival, Sunday, 2.30pm to 7.30pm

HARROGATE comedian Maisie Adam will not be playing the inaugural York Comedy Festival this weekend after all. The reason: “Unforeseen circumstances”. Into her slot steps trailblazing Bridget Christie, Gloucester-born subversive stand-up, Taskmaster participant and writer and star of Channel 4 comedy-drama The Change.

The Sunday fun-day bill will be topped by Dara Ó Briain and Katherine Ryan. Angelos Epithemiou, Joel Dommett, Vittorio Angelone, Clinton Baptiste and Scott Bennett perform too, hosted by “the fabulous” Stephen Bailey. Tickets update: last few still available at york-comedy-festival.com.

Justin Panks: Headlining Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse

The other comedy bill in York this weekend: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club presents Justin, Panks, Tony Vino, Liam Bolton and MC Damion Larkin, The Basement, City Screen, York, tonight, 8pm

COMEDIAN and podcaster Justin Panks tops tonight’s Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club with his skewed observational eye and ability to approach seemingly ordinary subjects from extraordinary angles in his raw, honest  tales of relationships, parenthood and life in general.  

Tony Vino bills himself as “the only half-Spanish, half-Scottish hybrid working comic in the world”; experimental Liam Bolton favours a bewildering, train-of-thought approach to unpredictable stand-up comedy; Damion Larkin hosts in improvisational style. Box office: lolcomedyclubs.co.uk or on the door.

The Script: Returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre this weekend

Coastal gig of the week: The Script and Tom Walker, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, today; gates open at 6pm

THE Script head to the Yorkshire coast this weekend as part of the Irish rock-pop act’s Satellites UK tour, completing their hat-trick of Scarborough Open Air Theatre visits after appearances in 2018 and 2022.  Special guest Tom Walker, the Scottish singer-songwriter, performs songs from 2019 chart topper What A Time To Be Alive and 2024’s I Am. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Dianne Buswell and Vito Coppola: Red Hot and Ready to dance at York Barbican

Dance show of the week: Burn The Floor presents Dianne & Vito, Red Hot & Ready!, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing’s stellar professional dancers, 2024 winner Dianne Buswell and 2024 runner-up Vito Coppola are Red Hot and Ready to perform a dance show with a difference, choreographed by BAFTA award winner Jason Gilkison. The dream team will be joined by a cast of multi-disciplined Burn The Floor dancers from around the world. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Florence Poskitt’s Margaret Watson, left, Jennifer Jones’s Elizabeth Watson and Livy Potter’s Emma Watson in Black Treacle Theatre’s The Watsons at the JoRo

Play of the week times two: The Watsons, Black Treacle Theatre, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, July 9 to 12, 7.30pm and .30pm Saturday matinee; The Watsons, 1812 Theatre Company, Helmsley Arts Centre, July 9 to 12, 7.30pm

TWO productions of Laura Wade’s The Watsons open on the same night in York and Helmsley.  What happens when the writer loses the plot? Emma Watson is 19 and new in town. She has been cut off by her rich aunt and dumped back in the family home. Emma and her sisters must marry, fast.

One problem: Jane Austen did not finish this story. Who will write Emma’s happy ending now? Step forward Wade, who takes her incomplete novel to fashion a sparklingly witty play that looks under Austen’s bonnet to ask: what can characters do when their author abandons them? Bridgerton meets Austentatious, Regency flair meets modern twists, as Jim Paterson directs in York; Pauline Noakes in Helmsley. Box office: York, 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk; Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk. 

York debut of the week: Kemah Bob in Miss Fortunate, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, July 9, 8pm

“LIFE is gunna life and brains are gunna brain,” says Kemah Bob as the American host of the Foc It Up Comedy Club and podcast brings their debut stand-up tour to York in a show directed by Desiree Burch and Sarah Chew.

Born in Houston, Texas, and now living in London, Bob has been seen on QI, Richard Osman’s House Of Games, Jonathan Ross’s Comedy Club, Don’t Hate The Playaz and Guessable and heard on the Off Menu podcast, The Guilty Feminist, James Acaster’s Perfect Sounds, Springleaf and Brett Goldstein’s Films To Be Buried With. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

An old story told in a new way: Russell Lucas’s Titanic tale of Edward Dorking in Third Class at Theatre@41, Monkgate. Picture: Steve Ullathorne

Titanic struggle of the week: Russell Lucas in Third Class at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, July 12, 3pm

EDWARD Dorking was openly gay. On Wednesday, April 10 1912, he set sail for New York on a ticket bought for him by his mother in the hope his American family could put him “right”.

Writer-performer Russell Lucas’s Third Class charts Dorking’s journey from boarding the Titanic to swimming for 30 minutes towards an already full collapsible lifeboat,  and how, on arrival in New York, he toured the vaudeville circuit as an angry campaigner against the injustices of the shipping disaster. Using music, movement, projection and text, Lucas gives a “thrilling new perspective on what feels a familiar tale”, topped off with a Q&A. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

In Focus: Contentment Productions in Second Summer Of Love, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, July 10, 7.30pm

Second Summer Of Love: Emmy Happisburgh’s coming-of-age and midlife-recovery tale at Theatre@41, Monkgate

ORIGINAL raver Louise wonders how she went from Ecstasy-taking idealist to respectable, disillusioned, suburban Surrey mum. Triggered  by her daughter’s anti-drugs homework and at peak mid-life crisis, Louise flashes back to the week’s emotional happenings and the early Nineties’ rave scene.

Writer-performer Emmy Happisburgh’s play addresses the universal themes of coming of age and fulfilling potential while offering a new perspective for conversations on recreational drug use, raising palms to the skies in fields, recovery from addiction and embracing mid-life.

Originally Second Summer Of Love was developed with producers Pants On Fire as a 15-minute and showcased by Emmy at the SHORTS Festival 2020.

“The play premiered as a one-woman performance at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe,” she says. “Then it was refreshed in 2023; some scenes were re-written, taking into consideration reviewers’ practical criticisms and audience responses.

“We enlisted two more actors and Scott Le Crass to direct and tested out this new version for Contentment Productions on a three-night run in Worthing and Guildford where it sold out.” 

In this 60-minute performance, Emmy’s Louise is joined by Molly, played by Emmy’s daughter, Rosa Strudwick, and Christopher Freestone’s Brian, prompted by Louise’s flashbacks,

“Now our cast of three is playing 15 dates this summer and autumn, from York to Penzance, to connect with our target audiences, build partnerships, give us feedback and raise awareness of of our play to help us develop and upscale it into a fully cast production for larger auditoriums.”

Memories around Sterns nightclub in Worthing – a venue that Carl Cox once called “100 per cent equivalent to the Hacienda in Manchester” – wove themselves into Emmy’s play. “Second Summer Of Love isn’t a ‘true story’ but it’s inspired by real-life events and real people from when I was luckily, and very accidentally, right in the middle of the rave zeitgeist,” she says.

“It’s not a tale I’ve seen authentically told in theatres; especially not by a mid-life woman. I’m grateful to bring the ‘one love’ message of the original rave movement to the stage. I’m excited to play several different characters, using the physical skills of Le Coq again and genuinely overjoyed to be in scenes opposite Rosa and Christopher.”

Director Scott Le Crass adds: “I’m excited to direct Second Summer Of Love as it’s a fresh voice. It’s a perspective which I’ve never seen on stage. Older female voices are something we need to champion more and in a way which is strong, dynamic and playful. This play embodies that.”

Happisburgh trained at the Poor School and Guildford School of Acting; Le Crass trained as an actor at Arts Ed and was a director on Birmingham Rep’s first Foundry Programme; Freestone trained with Actor in Session, and Strudwick was trained through the LAMDA examination syllabus by Happisburgh.

For tickets, go to: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.