Tag: York Barbican

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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.

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.

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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. 

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.

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A Night To Remember will return to York Barbican on November 12. Who will play at Big Ian Donaghy’s big charity show?

Jessica Steel: Soul and blues at A Night To Remember at York Barbican

TEN decades will sing together in an unforgettable night at York Barbican on November 12.

This year, Big Ian Donaghy’s big charity concert, A Night To Remember, will celebrate its 12th anniversary after selling out Leeds City Varieties Music Hall in 2013, York Theatre Royal in 2014 and Grand Opera House in 2015, en route to finding its home at York Barbican nine years ago.

“Over the years, these nights have taken community charity concerts to another level as every detail is focused on giving the York audience a night they truly deserve where no corner is cut for this unique event,” says Big Ian.

“The level of production surpasses most touring shows, from outstanding sound from Craig Rothery to thought-provoking films on vast video walls and a 30-piece band’s level of musicianship.”

Big Ian Donaghy working the crowd at A Night To Remember. Picture: Karen Boyes

Host Big Ian will seek to make the audience laugh, cry, sing, dance and part with money as he shows why he is so in demand as an event speaker and host, filling venues such as London Excel and Birmingham NEC regularly.

“No other show has musicians from ten decades on stage,” he says. “The format is unlike other shows too as everyone guests on everyone else’s songs with a wall of rich, lush harmonies.”

As ever, George Hall will lead the 30-piece house band, containing members of York party band Huge, to accompany contributions by Jessica Steel, Heather Findlay, Simon Snaize, Graham Hodge, The Y Street Band, Las Vegas Ken, Annie Donaghy, fiddle dynamo Kieran O’Malley and soprano Samantha Holden.

“After eight years of shows together, this unlikely bunch has now become more like family,” says Big Ian.

Heather Findlay performing at A Night To Remember. Picture: David Kessel

York Music Forum Big Band will be performing under conductor Ian Chalk, celebrating a year of success when these young York musicians were crowned Big Band of the Year at the Northern Jazz Awards, as well as winning numerous individual plaudits for solo musicianship.

Look out too for a bespoke choir created for the Barbican show by Easingwold singer and choir workshop leader Jessa Liversidge. “Featuring singers from ten decades, it will show the magic that happens when generations come together,” says Big Ian.

As always, A Night To Remember is priced affordably with all ticket money going to good causes in York as the community sings with one voice.

“The concert raises much-needed funds for St Leonard’s Hospice, Bereaved Children Support York and Accessible Arts and Media to get people with learning difficulties into performing,” says Big Ian.

Beth McCarthy on stage at A Night To Remember. Picture: Duncan Lomax, Ravage Productions

Beth McCarthy, the York singer now based in London with 481,000 Instagram followers, will be joining the show  before her European tour takes her to theatres in Amsterdam, Paris, Rome and Barcelona.

“We are so lucky to still have Beth as part of the team,” says Big Ian, her former school teacher at The Mount. “She’s come a long way since she played our first school concert when she was 12 and I was brought in as Jack Black for their summer School Of Rock-style festival Mountstock.

Beth, who competed on BBC One’s The Voice  at the age of 16, has played the main stage at BBC Big Weekend and recorded live sets for BBC Radio 1 at Maida Vale Studio. 

“Beth owned the stage the last time we did A Night To Remember,” says Big Ian. “Her level of performance has reached a whole new level. She’s a fully formed performer with so much talent and energy.” 

Kieran O’Malley: On the fiddle at A Night To Remember at York Barbican. Picture: David Kessel

Looking forward to November 12’s set list of favourite anthems, Jo Cole, of Bereaved Children Support York, says: “A Night To Remember was our biggest contributor when we started out and has been invaluable in allowing us to provide one-to-one counselling for families. They have helped us for nine years.

“But it’s not just the money that’s raised at these nights, it’s how it raises the profile of the charities and brings everyone together.”

A Night To Remember has become the UK’s biggest concert to raise dementia awareness, drawing people  from all over the country.

“The night also funds some bespoke dementia projects in the city, including art classes with Sue Clayton, singing, gardening groups and Xmas Presence to combat loneliness in our older community,” says Big Ian.

Graham Hodge: Regular participant in A Night To Remember. Picture: David Kessel

“This is a unique evening of York helping York. Already I’ve filmed some surprise films from very well-known names from TV to surprise the crowd.”

Fewer than 100 tickets are still available for the stalls.  “Be quick,” advises Big Ian. “We also ask everyone to bring a raffle prize and some money for raffle tickets for York’s biggest raffle on the night.

“Who knows how much we can add to the £200,000 raised since we started A Night To Remember?”

Tickets cost £20 from yorkbarbican.co.uk. “Don’t just save the date. Get a group of friends out and book your tickets for Wednesday, November 12 2025 to avoid disappointment,” says Big Ian.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York & beyond. Hutch’s List No. 28, from Gazette & Herald

Richard Hawley: Playing Coles Corner with strings attached at Futuresound Group’s Live At York Museum Gardens concert on Saturday. Picture: Dean Chalkley

AS the outdoor concert season awakens, a festival goes to heaven and hell and Jane Austen has unfinished business in Charles Hutchinson’s list for the upcoming week.

Open-air concerts of the week: Futuresound Group  presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Elbow, tomorrow; Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Friday; Richard Hawley, Saturday; gates open at 5pm

LEEDS promoters Futuresound Group’s second summer of outdoor concerts in York begins with Bury band Elbow’s sold-out show tomorrow, when Ripon singer-songwriter Billie Marten and Robin Hood’s Bay folk luminary Eliza Carthy & The Restitution support.

New York guitarist, songwriter and producer Nile Rodgers and CHIC revel in Good Times, Le Freak, Everybody Dance and I Want Your Love on Friday, supported by Maryland soul singer Jalen Ngonda and Durand Bernarr. Sheffield guitarist and crooner Richard Hawley revisits his 1995 album Coles Corner with a string section on its 20th anniversary on Saturday, preceded by Leeds band English Teacher and Manchester-based American songwriter BC Camplight, introducing his new album, A Sober Conversation. Box office: seetickets.com.

Bridget Christie: Late replacement for Maisie Adam at York Comedy Festival on Sunday. Picture: Natasha Pszenicki

Comedy bill 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.

More than 90 per cent of tickets have sold for the Sunday fun-day bill topped by Dara Ó Briain and Katherine Ryan. Angelos Epithemiou, Joel Dommett, Vittorio Angelone, Clinton Baptiste and Scott Bennett feature too, hosted by “the fabulous” Stephen Bailey. Tickets are on sale at york-comedy-festival.com.

The Sixteen: Performing Angel Of Peace programme at York Minster on July 7 at York Early Music Festival

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

EIGHT days of classical music add up to 19 concerts featuring international artists such as The Sixteen, The Tallis Scholars, Academy of Ancient Music, viol consort Fretwork & Helen Charlston and the York debut of Le Consort, performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons “but not quite as you know it”.

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.

Belle Voix Trio: Nostalgic night of Motown and Northern Soul at Kirk Theatre, Pickering, on Friday

Tribute show of the week: Belle Voix Trio, A Night Of Motown & Northern Soul, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Friday, 7.30pm

BELLE Voix Trio bring 30 Motown and Northern Soul hits to the Pickering dancefloor, from Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) to Tainted Love, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough to The Night. Sandy Smith, Sophie Mairi and Briony Gunn’s singing credits include London’s West End, cruise liners and luxury hotels. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

The Script: Making third appearance at Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Saturday

Coastal gig of the week: The Script and Tom Walker, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Saturday; 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.

Danny O’Donoghue (vocals), Glen Power (drums), Ben Sargeant (bass) and Ben Weaver (guitar) have six number one albums to their name. 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 with the Burn The Floor dancers

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.

Ione Harrison: Mounting Season Songs exhibition at Helmsley Arts Centre

Exhibition launch of the week: Ione Harrison, Season Songs, Helmsley Arts Centre, July 8 to September 5; private view, July 6, 2pm to 4pm

WELBURN landscape painter and watercolour workshop leader Ione Harrison’s Season Songs exhibition depicts the rhythm of the year in serene, dynamic and joyful paintings that explore seasonal changes in mood, colour and light in the natural world.

Ione, whose teaching career has taken her to France, the Middle East, Turkey and Nepal, creates vibrant, atmospheric paintings, working primarily in watercolour and ink.  She is influenced in particular by the heat-soaked colours of Asia and the Middle East.

Vicki Mason’s Margaret Watson, Beaj Johnson’s Tom Musgrave and Becca Magson’s Emma Watson in 1812 Theatre Company’s production of The Watsons

Play of the week: 1812 Theatre Company in The Watsons, Helmsley Arts Centre, July 9 to 12, 7.30pm

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.

If not, they face poverty, spinsterhood, or worse: an eternity with their boorish brother and his awful wife. Luckily there are plenty of potential suitors, from flirtatious Tom Musgrave to castle-owning, awkward Lord Osborne.

One problem: Jane Austen did not finish the story. Who will write Emma’s happy ending now? Step forward Laura Wade, who takes her incomplete novel to fashion a sparklingly witty play that looks under the bonnet of Jane Austen to ask: what can characters do when their author abandons them? Pauline Noakes directs resident company 1812 Theatre Company’s production. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.  

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 25, from Gazette & Herald

Making her point: Martha Godber’s Sally, left, in a contretemps with Chloe McDonald’s Nat as Emilio Encinoso-Gil’s Kyle seeks to intervene in John Godber’s Do I Love You?

CELEBRATIONS of Northern Soul and British comedy greats are right up Charles Hutchinson’s street for the week ahead.  

Weekender of the week: John Godber Company in Do I Love You?, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees; post-show discussion on June 13

THE John Godber Company is on its third tour of John Godber’s hymn to keeping the faith in Northern Soul, with the same cast of Martha Godber, Chloe McDonald and Emilio Encinoso-Gil.

Inspired by Godber’s devotion to Northern Soul, Do I Love You? follows three twentysomethings, slumped in the drudgery of drive-through counter jobs, who find excitement, purpose and their tribe as they head to weekenders all over, from Bridlington Spa to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, Chesterfield to Stoke. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

The fez, the spectacles and the bow tie: Damian Williams’s Tommy Cooper, Bob Golding’s Eric Morecambe and Simon Cartwright’s Bob Monkhouse in The Last Laugh, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York

Comedy legends of the week: The Last Laugh, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm matinees today, tomorrow and Saturday

WHO will have The Last Laugh at the Grand Opera House when British comedy triumvirate Eric Morecambe, Tommy Cooper and Bob Monkhouse reconvene in a dressing room in Paul Hendy’s play?

Find out in the Edinburgh Fringe, West End and New York hit’s first tour stop as Bob Golding, Damian Williams and Simon Cartwright take on the iconic roles in this new work by the Evolutions Productions director, who just happens to write York Theatre Royal’s pantomimes too. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

One of the Famous Faces on show in the Artistic Spectrum exhibition at Pocklington Arts Centre

Exhibition of the week: Artistic Spectrum: Famous Faces, Pocklington Arts Centre, on show until June 27

BOLD artworks feature in Famous Faces, a powerful, large-scale portrait project from Artistic Spectrum, co-created with more than 100 neuro-divergent and Special Educational Needs children and adults across East and South Yorkshire to challenge perceptions, champion inclusivity and put the power of representation into the hands of those too often left out of the frame.

Developed in group workshops over several weeks, participants created striking portraits of people who inspired them, from musicians and sports stars to activists and screen icons, using collage, found materials and personal objects to make works rich with texture, colour and personal meaning.

Comedian Scott Bennett and his daughter in the promotional picture for Blood Sugar Baby, on tour in York and Pocklington

Storyteller of the week: Scott Bennett, Blood Sugar Baby, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 8pm; Pocklington Arts Centre, August 6, 8pm

ONE family, one condition, one hell of a hairy baby: Scott Bennett, from The News Quiz, relates how his daughter fell ill with a rare genetic condition, congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI).

Never heard of it?  Neither have new parents Scott and Jemma as they fight to achieve  the right diagnosis for their daughter and are plunged into months of bewildering treatment, sleepless nights, celebrity encounters and bizarre side effects, but a happy ending ensues. Box office: York, tickets.41monkgate.co.uk; Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Shed Seven: Off to the Yorkshire coast on Saturday to play Scarborough Open Air Theatre

Coastal gigs of the week: The Corrs and Natalie Imbruglia, tonight; Gary Barlow and Beverley Knight, Friday; Shed Seven, Jake Bugg and Cast, Saturday, all at Scarborough Open Air Theatre; gates open at 6pm

THE 2025 season of Cuffe & Taylor concerts in the bracing sea air of Scarborough opens tonight with the Irish band The Corrs and Australian singer  and Neighbours actress Natalie Imbruglia, followed by Take That and solo songwriter and The X Factor and Let It Shine judge Gary Barlow on his Songbook Tour 2025 on Friday, when Beverley Knight supports. Expect hits from both his band and Barlow back catalogues.

After two chart-topping 2024 albums in their 30th anniversary year, York band Shed Seven make their belated Scarborough Open Air Theatre debut on Saturday, supported by Jake Bugg and Cast. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Henry Blofeld: Wickets and wit in cricket chat at Helmsley Arts Centre

The sound of reporting on leather on willow: An Audience With Henry Blofeld, Sharing My Love Of Cricket, Helmsley Arts Centre, tomorrow, 7.30pm, rearranged from March 21

LEGENDARY BBC broadcaster and journalist, Henry Blofeld, former stalwart of the BBC’s Test Match Special commentary box, takes a journey through modern cricket, while looking back at the great games of yesteryear.

Blowers reflects on how cricket used to be and where it is headed: the theme of his September 2024 book Sharing My Love Of Cricket: Playing The Game And Spreading The Word, wherein he explores the big shifts, innovations and challenges facing the game. Box office: helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Saul Henry: On the Funny Fridays bill at Patch at the Bonding Warehouse, York

York comedy bill of the week: Funny Fridays at Patch, Bonding Warehouse, Terry Avenue, York, Friday, 7.30pm

THE second Funny Fridays comedy night at Patch features Saul Henry, Gemma Day, Ethan Formstone, Lucy Buckley and headliner Jack Wilson, hosted by founder and comedian Katie Lingo.

Formstone’s profile reveals he is a bricklayer from York, who grew bored and now, “using his natural stage presence and wild imagination, lays surreal stories that will delight you and leave you slightly confused”. Tickets: eventbrite.co.uk/e/funny-fridays-at-patch-tickets-1353208666549?aff=oddtdtcreator.

The poster for the SatchVai Band’s Surfing With The Hydra Tour, visiting York Barbican on Friday

Rock gig of the week: SatchVai Band, Surfing With The Hydra Tour 2025, York Barbican, Friday, doors 7pm

FOR the first time in nigh on 50 years of playing rock, guitarists and friends Joe Satriani and Steve Vai have united to tour as the SatchVai Band, opening their European travels in York before heading to London, Paris, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Istanbul and Athens.

Powerhouse drummer Kenny Aronoff, bassist Marco Mendoza and virtuoso guitarist Pete Thorn complete the stellar quintet. Box office: for returns only, yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Alex telling her story in EGO Arts’ You Know My Mum at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, on Friday

Cheeky comedy of life, loss and love for all the family: EGO Arts in You Know My Mum, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 7.30pm.

LEADING EGO Midlands Creative Academy’s disabled and neuro-divergent cast, Alex is a 25-year-old woman with Down’s syndrome struggling with the death of her mum. One day, she discovers Bluey, a baby Blue Tit, in her garden.

While Bluey learns about fried chicken factories and joins a boot camp for birds, Alex battles Harry Potter monsters and dreams about life after death. As her wild imagination comes to life, she learns that the love she thought she lost is all around her. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

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More Things To Do in York & beyond when Pride comes before a full week of delights. Hutch’s List No. 25, from The York Press

Angels Of The North: Headlining the main stage on Knavesmire at York Pride 2025

YORK Pride and celebrations of Northern Soul and British comedy greats are right up Charles Hutchinson’s street for the week ahead.  

Festival of the week: York Pride, Parliament Street to Knavesmire, York, 12 noon to 6pm

NORTH Yorkshire’s largest LGBT+ celebration and York’s biggest free one-day festival, York Pride 2025, takes to the streets for its biggest, boldest and most fabulous event yet today, led off by the Pride Parade that will follow a new path through the streets from Parliament Street at midday.

On Knavesmire, the festival’s main stage will be headlined by Angels Of The North (6pm) and on the bill too will be Ryan Petitjean (1.10pm), tribute act Pet Shop Boys, Actually (1.35pm), Marcus Collins (2pm), Eva Iglesias (2.30pm), York drag superstar Janice D (3.35pm), La Voix (4pm), West End queen Kerry Ellis (5.15pm), The Cheeky Girls (5.35pm) and plenty more. Find the full line-up at yorkpride.org.uk/line-up.

Duncan Honeybourne: Performing the last concert of York Late Music’s 2024-2025 series this afternoon

Season’s finale: York Late Music presents Duncan Honeybourne, piano, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, today, 1pm

PIANIST Duncan Honeybourne performs new commissions commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of the influential French composer Erik Satie, written especially for this afternoon’s programme by Philip Grange, Fred Viner, Sarah Dacey, Andrew Hugill, Steve Plews, Sarah Thomas, Simon Hopkins, Jenny Jackson and others, some of whom will be heard at Late Music for the first time.

Each composer has been asked to provide a new miniature piano solo influenced or inspired in some way by Satie and their works will be interspersed with a selection of Satie’s own pieces, such as Gnossiennes and Gympnopédies. Box office: latemusic.org/duncan-honeybourne-piano/ or on the door.

Film event of the week: John Barry From York With Love, Everyman York, York, today at 2.30pm and 4pm

JOHN Barry From York With Love, Sean Parkin’s unauthorised documentary of the early career of the York-born film composer, will have two private screenings at Everyman York this afternoon.

Private, yes, but tickets are available, although for copyright reasons, those tickets are for the after-viewing party at The Crescent community venue. The film viewing is free but there will be no entry without an after-show ticket. Doors open at Everyman at 2pm; the after-view party is at 3.45pm. All profits go to the Future Talent charity. A further screening follows at 4pm. Tickets: fienta.com.

Lady Nade: Paying tribute to Nina Simone at Helmsley Arts Centre

Celebration of a legacy: Lady Nade Sings Nina Simone, Helmsley Arts Centre, tonight, 7.30pm,

KNOWN for paying homage to those who have influenced her journey  profoundly, Lady Nade holds Nina Simone in high regard  for leaving behind a legacy of liberation, empowerment, passion and love through her extraordinary body of work.

As a black woman, Lady Nade acknowledges Simone’s trailblazing role in paving the way for artists of her generation. Her high-energy performance is a heartfelt dedication to recreating the transformative sound that blended popular tunes of the era into a distinctive fusion of jazz, blues, gospel, and folk music. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

The fez, the spectacles and the bow tie: Damian Williams’s Tommy Cooper, Bob Golding’s Eric Morecambe and Simon Cartwright’s Bob Monkhouse in The Last Laugh. Picture: Pamela Raith

Comedy legends of the week: The Last Laugh, Grand Opera House, York, June 10 to 14, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

WHO will have The Last Laugh at the Grand Opera House, York, when British comedy triumvirate Eric Morecambe, Tommy Cooper and Bob Monkhouse reconvene in a dressing room in Paul Hendy’s play?

Find out in the Edinburgh Fringe, West End and New York hit’s first tour stop as Bob Golding, Damian Williams and Simon Cartwright take on the iconic roles in this new work by the Evolutions Productions director, who just happens to write York Theatre Royal’s pantomimes too. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Keeping the faith in Northern Soul: Chloe McDonald, left, and Martha Godber in John Godber’s Do I Love You?, on the dancefloor at York Theatre Royal from June 10

Weekender of the week: John Godber Company in Do I Love You?, York Theatre Royal, June 10 to 14, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees; post-show discussion on June 13

THE John Godber Company is on its third tour of John Godber’s hymn to keeping the faith in Northern Soul, with the same cast of Martha Godber, Chloe McDonald and Emilio Encinoso-Gil.

Inspired by Godber’s devotion to Northern Soul, Do I Love You? follows three twentysomethings, slumped in the drudgery of drive-through counter jobs, who find excitement, purpose and their tribe as they head to weekenders all over, from Bridlington Spa to the Tower Ballroom, Chesterfield to Stoke. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Making a last stand: Pickering Musical Society bids farewell to musicals in Hello, Dolly! Picture: Robert David Photography

Goodbye to musicals: Pickering Musical Society in Hello, Dolly!, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 10 to 14, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

PICKERING Musical Society is preparing to raise the curtain on its final full-scale musical production, after more than a century, citing rising production costs and falling membership.

Set in the energetic bustle of 1890s’ New York, Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly! follows the irrepressible Dolly Gallagher Levi (society favourite Rachel Anderson) – a witty matchmaker, meddler and “arranger of things” – as she decides to find a match for herself. Box office:  01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk or in person from the box office on Tuesdays, 11am to 1pm.

Podcaster Blindboy Boatclub

Podcaster of the week: The Blindboy Podcast Live, York Barbican, June 10, 7.30pm

POLYMATH, author, screenwriter, songwriter, musician, producer and academic Blindboy Boatclub is on the biggest tour yet of his storytelling podcast, wherein he follows the Irish tradition of the Seanchaí, intertwining history, fiction, cultural critique and politics.

Drawing on his knowledge and chronic curiosity to democratise topics such as art, psychology, politics, science and music, Blindboy gives his insight into complex issues. Look out for a surprise special guest too. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

The invitation to Mark Hearld’s book signing on Thursday at Janette Ray Booksellers

Book signing of the week: Mark Hearld at Janette Ray Booksellers, 8, Bootham, York, June 12, from 4.30pm

YORK artist, ceramicist and York Open Studios stalwart Mark Heard will be signing copies of his book, Raucous Invention, The Joy Of Making, published in a beautiful new edition by Thames & Hudson. Mark will be on hand from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.

Released on June 5, the newly expanded edition of Hearld’s monograph bursts with more than 400 colour illustrations and fresh insights in a vivid journey into the heart of his creativity and love of the animal world.

Christopher Simon Sykes’s photograph of Mick Jagger in concert on the Rolling Stones’ Tour of the Americas in 1975, on show at Sledmere House from June 13

Exhibition launch of the week:  On Tour With The Rolling Stones 1975, A 50th Anniversary Exhibition of Photographs by Christopher Simon Sykes, Sledmere House, Sledmere, near Driffield, June 13 to July 6, except Mondays and Tuesdays, 10am to 5pm

IN June 1975, Christopher Sykes, of Sledmere House, joined the Rolling Stones Tour of the Americas, known as T.O.T.A ’75: his first rock’n’roll itinerary as a snapper after specialising in photographing stately home interiors.

“You know going on tour is not like country life, Chrissie,” advised Mick Jagger on his first day of accompanying the Stones on their three-month tour of North America and Canada, playing 40 shows in 27 cities. The photos were used in a tour diary published the following year, and this exhibition showcases a selection of the best of the behind-the-scenes and stage pictures in the Courtyard Room. Tickets: sledmerehouse.com.

In Focus: Chalky The Yorkie at No 84 Sandwich Bar, Micklegate Arts Trail, York

Artist Chalky The Yorkie stands behind his Tiki bar at No 84 Sandwich Bar, created for the Micklegate Arts Trail

ROVING, rock’n’roll-loving York artist Chalky The Yorkie has always had a canny eye for spotting locations for his installation pieces.

Raise a glass to his latest artwork, the outdoor, Polynesian-style Tiki bar at No 84 Sandwich Bar, Julian Smith’s deli and cafe in Micklegate, created for the 2025 Micklegate Arts Trail but destined to remain in place after the festival ends on June 15.

“Last year Julian had a conversation with me about how it would be great to have a bar out here, at the back, which was full of bins at the time,” recalls Chalky. “So the bar was the first idea, but then, when we were thinking about the Arts Trail, two friends had suggested I should  incorporate bikes, and another said it would be great to do something for the environment, repurposing things out of skips and the old bicycles.

Chalky The Yorkie’s Tiki bar installation poem on the plight of cyclists

“So what I’ve come up with is a bar built with scrap wood and salvaged wood  after I was donated some leftovers by a builder to create the Re-Cycle Tiki Bar, to give something back to the planet. David Burton gave me one bike, along with one from his childhood and another was provided by Recycle York, in Walmgate.

“I thought I should create a memorial, taking the term ‘Re-cycle’ to highlight the plight of cyclists who lose their lives in accidents or come off their bikes and get injured in cycle lanes.”

Artist Chalky The Yorkie with No 84 owner Julian Smith at the Tiki bar

Originally Chalky considered designing a 1950s’ bar but then settled on a colourful Tiki bar. “The primary  colours are there to match traffic lights, with red, amber, though it’s more yellow than amber, and green. I went for yellow, because it’s a more definitive colour,” he says. “The blues I use signify the pain of loss in a cycling accident.”

Incorporated in the installation too are Beaumont ceramics of exotic birds and figures, acquired from York Catering Supplies, in Walmgate, butterfly motifs, floral decorations and tinkling bells. “I like the Buddhist convention of chiming bells in remembrance of people as part of their memorial ceremonies,” says Chalky.

Welcoming Chalky’s installation, Julian says. “Chalky is part of the fixtures and fittings here. He even came around for our Christmas dinner!

It Can Happen To You – Take Care: Chalky The Yorkie’s Re-cycle memorial to cyclists

“We’re taking part in the Micklegate Arts Trail because it’s all about traders promoting local artists whose work they like, with Navigators Art giving us a platform to do that. Jasmine Foo has never exhibited  before, and  we picked her crochet work because my wife is a knitter. We’re delighted to be showing Sinead Corkery and Jude Redpath too – and Chalky’s cheeky Tiki bar is the icing on the cake.”

Inside the deli, look out too for Chalky’s day and night paintings of No 84, both featuring the family pet, Sid the dog, in the upstairs window.

Chalky The Yorkie’s painting of No 84 Sandwich Bar, Walmgate, York, at night

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More Things To Do in York and beyond as ideas burst out of festival to make waves. Hutch’s List No. 24 from The Press, York

York Festival of Ideas: More than 200 events

FESTIVALS full of ideas and comedy lead off Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations for cultural sustenance and enlightening entertainment.

Festival of the week: York Festival of Ideas, today to June 13

YORK Festival of Ideas 2025 explores the theme of Making Waves in more than 200 mostly free in-person and online events designed to educate, entertain and inspire. 

Led by the University of York, the festival features world-class speakers, performances, exhibitions, tours, family-friendly activities and much more. Topics range from archaeology to art, history to health and politics to psychology. Browse the programme at yorkfestivalofideas.com.

Pocklington Comedy Festival: The headline show will be hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean, centre, tonight

Comedy event of the week:  Pocklington Comedy Festival, Pocklington Arts Centre, today, from 12 noon

KIRI Pritchard-McLean hosts tonight’s 8pm bill of Chris Cantrill, Joe Kent-Walters as alter ego Frankie Monroe, eccentric owner of The Misty Moon working men’s club in Rotherham, Seeta Wrightson, from Bradford,  and Lee Kyle.

Earlier today, in the studio, look out for work-in-progress Edinburgh Fringe previews of Seeta Wrightson’s It’ll Be Allrightson On The Night (12 noon); Chris Cantrill’s On Your Marks (1.30pm); Frankie Monroe’s Dead Good (3pm) and Newcastle’s Louise Young (4.30pm).

This afternoon’s Family Comedy Show, introduced by Lee Kyle, features the comically chaotic antics of York magician Just Josh (aka Josh Benson) and mischievous Hull duo Jeddy Bear & Gary. Box office: pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Kaiser Chiefs: Chief attraction at Temple Newsam, Leeds, today. Picture: Cal McIntyre

Yorkshire gig of the week: Kaiser Chiefs, Temple Newsam, Leeds, today, gates open at 1pm

LEEDS indie rock titans Kaiser Chiefs mark the 20th anniversary of March 2005 debut album Employment with a homecoming celebration. Employed on the bill too are: Ellur, 1.50pm; Hotwax, 2.45pm; We Are Scientists, 3.40pm; The Coral, 4.50pm; The Cribs, 6.05pm, and Razorlight, 7.20pm.

Kaiser Chiefs will be on stage from 8.50pm to 10.30pm with a special guest appearance by the Championship trophy won by Leeds United on May 4. Tickets update: still available at gigandtours.com; ticketmaster.co.uk or livenation.co.uk.

Rachel Croft: Heading back to York to play The Crescent. Picture: Michelle Fredericks

Welcome back: Rachel Croft, The Crescent, York, tonight, doors 7.30pm

AFTER re-locating from York to London, singer-songwriter Rachel Croft returns north to promote her vinyl EP A Mind Made Of Sky as part of a summer series of tempestuous shows across the UK. Expect drama, energy and thunderous alt-rock songs from Rachel “as you’ve never seen her before”. Stereo Cupid and Flat Number Two support. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Strictly between us: Dance couple Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara promise A Night To Remember at York Barbican

Strictly show of the week: Aljaž And Janette: A Night To Remember, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm  

STRICTLY Come Dancing husband-and-wife duo Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara team up in their new show with their live big band, fronted by boogie-woogie maestro Tom Seals and an ensemble cast of dancers and singers.

Strictly regular Aljaž and It Takes Two and Morning Live host Janette take to the York Barbican dancefloor to perform routines to music from the Great American songbook to modern-day classics. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Stephen Smith in One Man Poe. Picture: Cat Humphries

Edinburgh Fringe 2024 Best Horror Solo Show winner: One Man Poe, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Sunday, 6pm

USING Edgar Allan Poe’s original text from the 1840s, actor-director Stephen Smith brings to life the most terrifying examples of the gothic genre from the pioneering Godfather of Gothic Horror.

In Act One, The Tell-Tale Heart, a madman strives to convince you of his sanity, while explaining the meticulous details of a murder he committed. Then, in The Pit And The Pendulum, a prisoner seeks to escape the various torture devices of the Spanish Inquisition.

In Act Two, arguably Poe’s darkest tale and definitely not one for the faint hearted, The Black Cat, documents an alcoholic’s last confession on the eve of his death. Last comes the poem that made Poe famous: The Raven. In the midnight hour, as an elderly man laments the loss of his love, an ominous visitor is heard tapping on his chamber door. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

New Adventures in the 2025 tour of Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell, on tour at York Theatre Royal next week. Picture: Johan Persson

Dance return of the week: New Adventures in Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell, York Theatre Royal, June 4 to 7, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

IN 1930s’ London, ordinary people emerge from cheap boarding houses nightly to pour out their passions, hopes and dreams in the pubs and fog-bound streets of Soho and Fitzrovia. Step inside The Midnight Bell, a tavern where one particular lonely-hearts club gather to play out their lovelorn affairs of the heart; bitter comedies of longing, frustration, betrayal and redemption. 

Inspired by the work of English novelist Patrick Hamilton, Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell returns to York Theatre Royal, where it first played in October 2021, with a 14-strong cast of New Adventures’ actor-dancers, music by Terry Davies and set and costume design by Lez Brotherston. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Steve Tearle: Directing NE Theatre York in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel

Musical of the week: NE Theatre York in Carousel, Tempest Anderson Hall, Museum Gardens, York, June 5 to 7, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

STEVE Tearle directs NE Theatre York in fully staged concert performances of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel with an 18-piece orchestra conducted by Joe Allen. The cast for this tale of hope, redemption and the power of love will be led by Kit Stroud as Billy Bigelow; Rebecca Jackson as Julie Jordan; Maia Beatrice as Carrie Pepperidge; Finlay Butler as Mr Snow and Perri Ann Barley as Aunt Netty. 

Cue such R&H classics as June Is Burstin’ Out All Over, If I Loved You, When I Marry Mister Snow, Blow High, Blow Low and the iconic Liverpool and Celtic terrace anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/netheatre-york.

King Creosote’s Kenny Anderson: Serving up a Storm In A Teacup at The Crescent, York

Scottish visitor of the week: Please Please You and Brudenell Presents host King Creosote, The Crescent, York, June 5, 7.30pm

KING Creosote follows up 2024’s springtime tour Any Port In A Storm with his Any Storm In A Teacup travels from April to June this year, again with a mix of modular synths, his back catalogue from 50 studio albums and his November 2023 album I Des, the first King Creosote recording in seven years.

As ever, Scotsman Kenny Anderson’s performance will be marked by his singular voice, allied to roguish, roving, ever-evolving, gorgeous songs in the key of Fife. Box office, for returns only: thecrescentyork.com.

In Focus: International collaboration of the week: Say Owt presents chamæleon,  So Many Ways To Move, Fulford Arms, Fulford Road, York, Sunday, 5.30pm

chamæleon: Collaboration of Palestinian poet Farah Chamma and Brazilian electronic musician Liev at the Fulford Arms on Sunday

SAY Owt, York’s champions of raucous performance poetry and sizzling spoken word, play host for the first time to an Arabic artist and South American musician, Palestinian poet  Farah Chamma and Brazilian electronic soundscape producer Liev, on Sunday.

In their poetic and political collaboration as chamæleon, Chamma and Liev explore the intersection between spoken word and musical texture, diving into the unknown to search for belonging and identity in So Many Wayes To Move.

Since 2014, Say Owt has hosted poets from Sweden, Nigeria, the United States and Canada, now adding Brazil and Palestine to that list. chamæleon have performed in Portugal, Holland, Spain and the United Arab Emirates and this weekend they make their York debut in their only performance in the UK outside London on their 2025 travels.

So Many Ways To Move encapsulates their belief in the power of art not only to reflect the times but also to move with them. “We see art as a force of transformation, a channel for resistance and renewal,” say chamaeleon. “By weaving together sound, text and imagery, we illuminate our shared experiences and struggles.”

Farah Chamma: “Speaking truth to power from festivals to demonstrations”

Farah Chamma’s performances are described as “vital and urgent, speaking truth to power from festivals to demonstrations”. “If ever words could tear down the gates of power, it would be those spoken by Farah. Besides her native Arabic, she also writes and performs in English and French and speaks German, Spanish and Portuguese,” Say Owt states

Chamma holds a master’s degree in Performance and Culture from Goldsmiths, University of London and a BA in Philosophy and Sociology from the Sorbonne in Paris.

Based in Brazil, multi-instrumentalist and electro-organic music producer Liev uses his research to “dive into the intersectionality between machine and human-made sounds”.

Within his body of work, everyday noises and the human voice – mostly in spoken word pieces – are the raw material that ends up mixed with more complex machine and AI-generated sounds, birthing soundscapes and music that delves into the contemporary human experience.

Sunday’s support acts will be Nadira Alom and electro riot grrl act Doberwoman. Box office: https://www.fatsoma.com/e/5b1ew8fs/la/jt04.

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on York Guildhall Orchestra, York Barbican, May 18

Martin Roscoe: Stepped in as late replacement. “The orchestra was fortunate to secure him”

YORK Guildhall Orchestra observed two anniversaries at this entertaining Sunday matinee conducted by Simon Wright.

Shostakovich died a century after Ravel was born, in 1975 (he had visited York three years earlier). So 2025 conveniently marks both the sesquicentenary of the former’s birth and 50 years since the latter’s death. Before we heard from them, there were bonbons from Kabalevsky and Khachaturian. It was good family fare, with a sizeable audience to match.

The centrepiece was Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto, Op 102 in F, which dates from 1957. The composer was beginning his operetta Moscow, Cheryomushki at the same time and the concerto is in similarly light-hearted vein. That was certainly the line taken by Martin Roscoe, the doughty soloist; he had stepped in as replacement: the orchestra was fortunate to secure him.

Gone from the first movement are the grandiose gestures that other Russians, say Tchaikovsky or Rakhmaninov, might have given us. Roscoe penetrated its sense of humour immediately. He took its light, capricious textures in his stride, sustaining a sparkling staccato.

There was a lovely restraint just before the piano’s thunderous quadruple octaves, after which the orchestra briefly drowned him. But his accelerating cadenza made ample amends.

The introspective slow movement, almost a single line melody in the piano, was profoundly elegiac here and all the more effective for its simplicity. Almost as telling as the piano’s aggressive dance in the finale was the way Wright kept the pizzicato strings in such close attendance. It added brio to the excitement and seemed to inspire Roscoe through his virtuoso passages.

The overture to the first of Kabalevsky’s five operas, Colas Breugnon – he also wrote an operetta –was notable for the slickness in the orchestra’s handling of its syncopation. Listeners of an older generation will recall the Adagio from Khachaturian’s ballet Spartacus as the signature tune of that rollicking sea series, The Onedin Line.

 More aptly, perhaps, it was heard here the day before the ballet’s great choreographer Yuri Gregorovich died, at the age of 98. Wright built up the sweeping theme to a juicy climax.

After the interval it was all Ravel. The reduced orchestra gave a tender account of the Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte. His colourful orchestration in the second Daphnis et Chloé suite – where we had one player, David Hammond, unusually doubling on double bass and celesta – was fully demonstrated by the huge percussion section.

The opening heat-haze was delicately drawn and the closing Bacchanale properly rumbustious. Ravel threw the kitchen sink at it – all we lacked here was the (optional) wordless chorus.

Bolero conjured Torvill & Dean – and much more. It calls for three saxophones, but Rachel Green played all those roles single-handed. Such is the versatility of this orchestra. These afternoon sessions are proving ever more successful, judging by the growing audiences, and the players are clearly revelling in it.

Review by Martin Dreyer

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What’s on in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 21, from Gazette & Herald

Simon Withyman’s photograph of an urban fox from the British Wildlife Photography Awards exhibition at Nunnington Hall. Picture copyright: British Wildlife Photography Awards/Simon Withyman

GO wild in the country, have  fun at the fete or make a date with dramatic dancing, recommends Charles Hutchinson.  

Exhibition of the week: British Wildlife Photography Awards, Nunnington Hall, Nunnington, on show until July 13

THE British Wildlife Photography Awards exhibition celebrates the diversity of British wildlife and wild spaces through a collection of inspirational photographs and films, while raising awareness of British biodiversity, species and habitats. Normal admission prices apply, with free entry to National Trust members and under fives. Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/nunnington-hall.

Mick Liversidge, left, and Chris Pomfrett in a scene from York Actors Collective’s York premiere of Tiger Country

Hospital drama of the week: York Actors Collective in Tiger Country, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, 7.30pm, tonight to Friday; 2.30pm and 6pm, Saturday

NINA Raine’s doctors-and-nurses drama, last performed at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2014, is revived by Angie Millard’s company York Actors Collective.

This fast-paced play considers doctors’ dilemmas as a range of clinical and ethical issues come under the spotlight in a busy hospital. Professionalism and prejudice, turbulent staff romances, ambition and failure collide as Raine depicts an overburdened health service and the dedicated individuals that keep it going. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

May half-term event of the week: Fun At The Fete, Nunnington Hall, Nunnington, until Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm daily; last admission 4pm

BE transported to the fun of a village fete with themed games throughout the gardens. Families can compete against each other in hoopla, tin can alley, stilt walking and more besides.

For children who prefer a more relaxed day out, a creative hub is set up in the cutting garden for drawing and painting, while inside the house they can  create their own mini-maypole wand to take home. Normal admission applies, with free entry for National Trust members and under fives. Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/nunnington-hall.

Nick Mohammed’s alter-ego, Mr Swallow, in Show Pony, cantering into the Grand Opera House next week and in the autumn. Picture: Matt Crockett

Comedy gig of the week: Nick Mohammed Is Mr Swallow in Show Pony, Grand Opera House, York, tonight and October 23, 7.30pm

COMEDIAN, writer, Ted Lasso regular and Taskmaster loser Nick Mohammed transforms into his alter-ego, Mr Swallow, in Show Pony, a new show that will “cover everything from not having his own sitcom to not having his own sitcom… and everything in between (critical race theory). As per – expect magic, music and a whole load of brand-new mistakes”.  Box office:  atgtickets.com/york.

Jenny Don’t And The Spurs: Country meets garage at Pocklington Arts Centre. Picture: Chris Hogge

Country cowpunk gig of the week: Jenny Don’t And The Spurs, Pocklington Arts Centre, tonight, 8pm

AFTER playing Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, the Portland, Oregon garage, country, honky-tonk and rock’n’roll band Jenny Don’t And The Spurs bring their European tour to Pocklington for one of only four English shows, kitted out as ever with rhinestones on their custom outfits, handcrafted by Jenny herself.

As heard on June 2024 album Broken Hearted Blue, her songwriting is influenced by the contrasting landscapes of the Pacific Northwest and Southwestern desert, with her band of drummer Buddy Weeks bass player Kelly Halliburton and lead guitarist Christopher March merging their garage-rock origins with country driving tempos, gritty fuzz tones and outlaw attitude. London-based Californian country singer Savannah Gardner supports. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Sir Tim Rice: Mulling over a life in musicals at the Grand Opera House, York

Musical knight of the week: Sir Tim Rice, My Life In Musicals – I Know Him So Well, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm

LYRICIST supreme Sir Tim Rice reflects on his illustrious career at the heart of musical theatre, sharing anecdotes behind the songs, both the hits and the misses, complemented by stories of his life and live performances by leading West End singers and musicians, led by musical director Duncan Waugh. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Freida Nipples: Baps And Buns Burlesque at Bluebird Bakery in Acomb

Cabaret night of the week: Freida Nipples presents Baps And Buns Burlesque, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, Friday, 7pm to 11pm

YORK’S queen of burlesque, Freida Nipples, returns to Rise with her latest selection of sensational cabaret artists, from drag queens to acrobats. Prompt booking is advised as her Baps And Burlesque shows have a habit of selling out, in keeping with her burlesque nights at York Theatre Royal Studio, The Basement at City Screen and Impossible York.

“Prepare yourselves for an evening of debauchery and glamour in Acomb,” says Freida. “The big question is: are you ready for it?!” Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.

New Adventures in the 2021 production of Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell, returning to York Theatre Royal next week. Picture: Johan Persson

Dance return of the week: New Adventures in Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell, York Theatre Royal, June 4 to 7, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

IN 1930s’ London, ordinary people emerge from cheap boarding houses nightly to pour out their passions, hopes and dreams in the pubs and fog-bound streets of Soho and Fitzrovia. Step inside The Midnight Bell, a tavern where one particular lonely-hearts club gather to play out their lovelorn affairs of the heart; bitter comedies of longing, frustration, betrayal and redemption. 

Inspired by the work of English novelist Patrick Hamilton, Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell returns to York Theatre Royal, where it first played in October 2021, with a 14-strong cast of New Adventures’ actor-dancers, alongside the Olivier and Tony award-winning team of Terry Davies (music), Lez Brotherston (set and costume design), Paule Constable (lighting design) and Paul Groothuis (sound design). Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Strictly between us: Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara look forward to A Night To Remember at York Barbican

Strictly show of the week: Aljaž And Janette: A Night To Remember, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm  

STRICTLY Come Dancing husband-and-wife duo Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara team up in their new show with their live big band, fronted by boogie-woogie maestro Tom Seals and an ensemble cast of dancers and singers.

Strictly regular Aljaž and It Takes Two and Morning Live host Janette take to the York Barbican dancefloor to perform routines to music from the Great American songbook right up to modern-day classics. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

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