Catherine, left, and Lizzy Ward Thomas: Returning to York Barbican for the first time since 2019. Picture: Marek Puc
HAMPSHIRE country twins Lizzy and Catherine Ward Thomas play York Barbican on April 4 as the only Yorkshire show of their 13-date spring tour.
“We love York,” says Lizzy. “I think it’s one of the most beautiful places in the country. It’s like finding a hidden treasure. We love the audiences there. We always get such a lovely response at the Barbican.”
Ward Thomas made their York debut at Fibbers in March 2015 and have since performed at York Barbican in May 2017 and February 2019, as well as stopping off in the city on their Busking For Our Planet travels in 2021, ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, to raise money for the TreeSisters, Ocean Clean Up, Arctic Ice Project, Jane Goodall Institute and Client Earth charities.
Next week’s return follows the March 10 release of the sisters’ fifth studio album, Music In The Madness, billed as “a harmony-soaked balm for shattered souls and an uplifting reminder of what really matters”.
Love, family, unity and the healing power of music are recurrent themes of songs that emerged from song-writing sessions that began as war broke out in Ukraine and the world went into a post-Covid tailspin.
“The ‘madness’ is the world around us that we make our music in and we put that experience into our music,” says Lizzy.
“The reason we wanted to use that title is we were writing this album in Nashville when Ukraine had been invaded and Australia had suffered those terrible bush fires, but there’s also much beauty in a world that can be such a dangerous place and human beings really connect to each other in these situations. We see the gestures of people bringing vulnerable people into their homes.
“These incredible stories of hope and love shine so brightly, and that’s why wanted to write an album of songs bringing hope as our next album. Music really is a powerful tool, that’s so important, whether it’s coming together at concerts or bringing back memories at home.”
Ward Thomas topped the charts with their sophomore album, Cartwheels, in September 2016 but after leaving major label Warner following 2020’s Invitation, the sisters find themselves back on their own independent label, WTW Music, originally launched in 2014.
“We kept that label going while we had major label deals, and now we’ve released this latest album independently, which has been an interesting, insightful and incredible experience for us,” says Lizzy. “We’re lucky with the team we’ve got around us, with amazing marketing, radio and TV support.”
Country twins: Lizzy, left, and Catherine Ward Thomas
Music In The Madness entered the Official UK Album Chart at number 31 and has topped the UK country charts, as Ward Thomas seek to retain both their creative and commercial momentum.
“It’s important to continually learn from different people and at the same time appreciate the people who have supported us from the get-go, when we made our first album in Nashville as doe-eyed young girls of 17-18, working with these incredible musicians we were in awe of, having just done our A-levels, writing those songs at school,” says artist’s daughter Lizzy, who was brought up on a Petersfield farm and educated with Catherine at Alton Convent, a Roman Catholic day school.
“The biggest thing we’ve learned since 2014 is just how much things change so quickly in the music industry, how you need to change but work with the right people. If it feels authentic, then go that way; if it doesn’t, have the confidence to say ‘No’.
“It’s important to keep your head screwed on. You’re never in control as things change all the time and you just have to be open to that.”
Through the steady stream of five albums in nine years, the sisters’ love of song-writing has been the key. “We like to see ourselves as album artists, and when the music industry is so difficult these days, we’re lucky we have a fanbase that loves the album format,” says Lizzy. “We’re always wanting to think ahead when we’re working on the current project, to keep the momentum going.”
The gestation of Music In The Madness combined writing sessions in Texas in February 2022 with further writing and recording in the UK. “We had a guy in Nashville who set up sessions for us with Aaran Eshuis, and we wrote a couple of songs with him, and we worked again with Rebecca Powell, who we formed a great personal and creative relationship with when she wrote lots of the Cartwheels album with us.”
Back home, the sisters arranged a song-writing day at singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt’s home studio in Oxford, resulting in the song Joan Of Arc. “Our management and his management were in discussion about Ed producing the album, and after that song we felt on the same page,” says Lizzy.
“What I enjoyed about working with Ed was he was so collaborative and suggested we should bring in our live band for the recordings, when so often producers want to use their own musicians. We have that chemistry with our band, and it was really good fun having them work on the album with us.
“Ed also quietly introduced random instruments, like making a beat by tapping on his desk, and he’s old-school in his approach. You can still hear the creaking of his piano pedal when he played on Loved By You!”
The twins, who turned 29 on Tuesday, already are working on their sixth album with plans for a release to mark hitting 30. “There’ll be lots of stuff about that,” says Lizzy. “Catherine is starting a family; her first baby is due in May. I might be thinking about getting married…”
Ward Thomas play York Barbican on April 4; auditorium doors open at 7pm. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The cover artwork for Ward Thomas’s fifth studio album, Music In The Madness
Having a Bad Day in York: The Bad Day Blues Band play York Blues Festival tonight
FROM a dose of the blues to tragic poetry and song, an heroic fireman to a flying car, clashing couples to country-singing twins, Charles Hutchinson is ready for a week of up-and-down moods.
Festival of the week: York Blues Festival, The Crescent, York, today, 12.30pm to 11pm
YORK’S DC Blues present the cream of the crop from the British blues scene in an all-dayer. Taking part will be Mojo Catfish: Electric Blues; The Bad Day Blues Band; Bad Bob Bates; DC Blues; Alex Fawcett Band; The Terraplanes Blues Band; Mark Pontin Group and The The Lonely Hands Band.
Hand-picked by Jorvik Radio’s Blues From The Ouse hosts Paul Winn & Ben Darwin, the fourth York Blues Festival features bands from all over Britain performing from 1pm. Now the bad news to give you the blues: the event has sold out.
Twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas make their third visit to York Barbican on Tuesday
Country gig of the week: Ward Thomas, York Barbican, Tuesday, auditorium doors 7.30pm
HAMPSHIRE country twins Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas look for light in troubled times on newly released fifth album Music In The Madness: songs of harmony-soaked balm for shattered souls and an uplifting reminder of what really matters.
Love, family, unity and the healing power of music are recurrent themes on an album begun as war broke out in Ukraine and the world went into a post-Covid tailspin. Tuesday’s York return will be the sisters’ only Yorkshire concert on a 13-date tour. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Fireman Sam on circus-saving duty at York Theatre Royal on Tuesday
Children’s show of the week: Fireman Sam Saves The Circus, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday, 3.30pm
WHEN all his friends go away, Norman Price decides to become the star of a visiting circus in Pontypandy. However, with a tiger on the loose and faulty lights, his adventure soon turns to danger. Can Fireman Sam come to the rescue and save the circus? Spoiler alert, the show title suggests yes!
Join Sam, Penny, Elvis, Station Officer Steele and Norman in UK Family’s all-singing singing, all-dancing, action-packed show, where you can become a fire-fighter cadet. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Alan Park’s playwright Henry in rehearsal for York Settlement Community Players’ production of Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing. Picture: Ben Lindley
Play of the week: York Settlement Community Players in The Real Thing, York Theatre Royal Studio, Wednesday and Thursday, 7.30pm, then April 11 to 15, 7.30pm, plus April 15, 2.30pm
HENRY is married to Charlotte. Max is married to Annie. Henry – possibly the sharpest playwright of his generation – has written a play about a couple whose marriage is on the brink of collapse. Charlotte and Max, his leading couple, are soon to find out that sometimes life imitates art.
Directed by Jacob Ward, Pocklington School alumnus Tom Stoppard’s deliberately confusing 1982 exploration of love and infidelity sets the question “What is the real thing?” … without answering it! Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Sam Green, left, Dan Crawfurd-Porter and Mikhail Lim in rehearsal for Black Sheep Theatre’s Elegies For Angels, Punks And Raging Queens
Time to discover: Black Sheep Theatre in Elegies For Angels, Punks And Raging Queens, Quad South, York St John University, Thursday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
BLACK Sheep Theatre bring Janet Hood and Bill Russell’s rarely performed 1989 musical to the York stage with a cast including Mikhail Lim (last seen as Seymour in York Stage’s Little Shop Of Horrors last July) and Helen Spencer (Dolly Levi in Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s Hello Dolly! in February).
Elegies For Angels, Punks And Raging Queens is composed of free verse poems and songs, each poem representing a character who has died from AIDS, the songs reflecting the feelings of the living, those who have lost friends and loved ones. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/black-sheep-theatre-productions
Alex Papachristou: Returning to York to play Baron Bomburst in York Stage’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Spectacular show of the week: York Stage in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Grand Opera House, York, Thursday to April 15, 7.30pm nightly except April 9; 2.30pm, April 7, 8, 12 and 15
YORK Stage present the magic, mayhem and madness of Richard and Robert Sherman’s most Fantasmagorical musical, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, under the direction of Nik Briggs with choreography by Damien Poole and musical direction by Adam Tomlinson.
Can whacky inventor Caractacus Potts (Ned Sproston), his two children and the gorgeous Truly Scrumptious (Carly Morton) outwit bombastic Baron Bomburst (welcome back Alex Papachristou), who has decreed that all children be banished from his kingdom? Watch out, here come the evil Childcatcher (Richard Barker) and, yes, that flying car too. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Liza Pulman & Joe Stilgoe: Songs and stories, favourite standards and classic duets, at Selby Town Hall
Musical match made in theatrical heaven: Liza Pulman & Joe Stilgoe: A Couple Of Swells, Selby Town Hall, April 15, 8pm. Also Otley Couthouse, April 14, 7.30pm; otleycourthouse.org. uk
LIZA Pulman and Joe Stilgoe, both headline names in their own right, have chosen Selby for one of their first ever duo shows in a night of songs and stories, favourite standards and classic duets, sprinkled with panache and dazzle.
The Great American Song Book meets 1950s’ French Riviera chic in the company of Pulman, one third of satirical cabaret group Fascinating Aïda, and jazz pianist and singer Stilgoe, a five-time UK Jazz Chart topper. Box office: 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk.
May days: The poster for Babybird’s five-date tour, visiting Leeds Brudenell Social Club
Back together: Babybird, The F-Word Tour, supported by Terrorvision’s Tony Wright, Leeds Brudenell Social Club, May 5, doors 7.30pm
PLAYING Leeds feels like a rite of passage to return there for Babybird’s Stephen Jones, as he recalls the memorable between-song banter enthusiasm of his band’s first tours of 1996 and 1997.
Formed in 1995 and best known for misconstrued 1996 anthem You’re Gorgeous, Babybird made 11 albums before splitting in 2013, since when Manchester-based Jones has written fiction, released solo works on Bandcamp and created the film score for Blessed. Reunited, Babybird’s monstrous lullabies for an unstable world are taking wing anew. Box office: brudenellsocialclub.co.uk.
In Focus: Ryedale Youth Theatre in The Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy, Milton Rooms, Malton, April 5 to 8
Meet the Addams Family in Ryedale Youth Theatre’s The Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy. All pictures: Tim Youster
CHLOE Shipley directs a cast of 50, aged eight to 18, in The Addams Family – A New Musical Comedy, featuring music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice.
Although numerous film and television adaptations of Charles Addams’s single-panel gag cartoons exist, this musical is the first stage show to be based on the ghoulish American family with an affinity for all things macabre.
Billed as a comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family, the show features an original story built around every father’s nightmare. Daughter Wednesday, the ultimate princess of darkness – with a name derived from the Fair Of Face poem’s line that “Wednesday’s child is full of woe“ – has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family – a man her parents have never met.
If that were not upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father, begging him not to tell her mother. Now Gomez Addams must do something he has never done before: keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia.
Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents.
As the lyrics for the Main Theme for The Addams Family, written by Vic Mizzy in 1964, assert: “They’re creepy and they’re kooky, Mysterious and spooky, They’re all together ooky, The Addams family”.
Under Chloe’s direction and Rachel Clarke’s musical direction, the multi-talented Ryedale cast has thoroughly enjoyed proving that rhyme’s sentiment in rehearsals. Now comethe 7.15pm evening shows and 2pm Thursday and Saturday matinees, with tickets on sale at £12, concessions £10, at yourboxoffice.co.uk.
Daliso Chaponda: Playing Laugh Out Comedy Club night at The Basement on Saturday
THE long wait is over. Damion Larkin’s Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club is making a post-lockdown return to The Basement at City Screen Picturehouse, York, on April Fool’s Day.
The sold-out line-up of Daliso Chaponda, Fran Garrity, Steve Harris and master of ceremonies Danny Deegan on April 1 leads off a series of 8pm gigs on the first Saturday of the month, with acts confirmed for May 6 and June 3. Doors open at 7.30pm for each show.
“The first three months of shows will feature TV comedians galore,” says Damion. “These include an international Britain’s Got Talent favourite, a BAFTA award-winning Hollywood superstar, still keeping it real with brilliant comedy sets for us, and a BBC3 sitcom star who’s a multi award-winning act and prolific writer for top names such as Steve Coogan, Johnny Vegas and John Bishop.
“You can check out the line-ups at https://lolcomedyclubs.co.uk/ but as always we’ll be bringing you comedians off the telly from such shows as BBC2’S Mock The Week, Shooting Stars, Channel 4’S 8 Out Of 10 Cats, BBC1’S Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Have I Got News For You, QI and Paramount’s Live At The Comedy Store.”
Each show features three professional comics and a host. “Laugh Out Loud Comedy Clubs have a successful track record of bringing the very best comedy acts on the club scene and breaking new talent on the cusp of stardom,” says Damion, who runs nights at York Barbican’s Fishergate Bar too.
Dave Johns: On the May 6 bill at The Basement
“We’re the people who previously booked Chris Ramsey, Jason Manford, John Bishop, Sarah Millican and Russell Howard before they were household names. So come and see more brilliant comedians.”
Mike Newall, Karl Porter, I, Daniel Blake lead actor Dave Johns and Jed Salisbury are confirmed for The Basement on May 6, followed by Tony Burgess, Eddy Midgley, Russell Arathoon and Damion Larkin for June 3.
Meanwhile, Jonny Awsum, Russell Arathoon and Damion Larkin are booked in for York Barbican on April 15; Alan Hudson, Joshua Robertson, Eric Rushton and Damion Larkin for May 13; Raymond Mearns, Ben Silver, The Young’Uns David Eagle and Damion Larkin for June 10, then Daliso Chaponda, Mad Ron and Damion Larkin for July 8.
Laugh Out Loud Comedy nights are held at Hull City Hall, Bournemouth Pavilion, Stoke Regent Theatre, Portsmouth Guildhall and Hastings LOL Comedy Club too.
The return of RSJ: York metalcore band reconvene for one -off reunion at The Crescent
HEAVYWEIGHT comedy, hardcore rock, reshaped Shakespeare and a ‘roarsome’ children’s show fire up Charles Hutchinson’s enthusiasm for the week ahead.
Resurrection of the week: Mr H presents RSJ, The Crescent, York, tonight, doors 7pm
YORK’S mightiest metalcore groovers reunite for a special one-off show, fronted once more by Dan Cook, now of Raging Speedhorn. “RSJ were/are one of the most intense groove and hardcore noise monsters, not just in York but across the UK. It’s no wonder they stormed stages at Bloodstock, Knebworth and Hellfire,” says promoter Tim Hornsby.
RSJ’s spine-rattling polyrhythms and huge guitars will be preceded by the return of much-missed melodic hardcore band Beyond All Reason and Disinfo. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Justin Moorhouse: Plenty on his plate to get off his chest at Burning Duck Comedy Club night
Lancastrian in York of the week: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Justin Moorhouse, Stretch And Think, The Crescent, York, Sunday, 7.30pm
MANCHESTER stand-up, radio presenter and actor Justin Moorhouse is back, “still funny, yet middle aged” (he’s 52), in a new suit for a new show that may contain thoughts on yoga, growing older, Madonna, shoplifters, Labradoodles, cyclists, the menopause, running, hating football fans but loving football…
…not drinking, funerals, tapas, Captain Tom, Droylsden, the environment, self-improvement, horses, the odd advantages of fundamental religions, the gym and shop-door etiquette. “Come, it’ll be fun,” he says. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Royal Shakespeare Company: Linking up with York Theatre Royal for York Associate Schools Playmaking Festival
School project of the week: York Theatre Royal and Royal Shakespeare Company presentYork Associate Schools Playmaking Festival of The Merchant Of Venice, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday and Wednesday, 6.30pm
SHAKESPEARE’S playis told in six sections by six schools each night, using choral and ensemble approaches to relate Shylock’s story through multiple bodies and voices in a celebration of the joy of performance that explores themes of prejudice, friendship and self-interest.
Participating schools on March 28: Acomb Primary, Applefields School, Millthorpe School, Vale of York Academy, St Barnabas CE Primary; March 29, Clifton Green Primary, Poppleton Road Primary, Brayton Academy, Scarcroft Primary, Fulford School and Joseph Rowntree School. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Big in the Eighties: Andy Cryer in The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less) at the SJT, Scarborough. Picture: Patch Dolan
Shake-up of the week: The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less), Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Thursday to April 15
ORIGINALLY by Shakespeare, now messed around with by Elizabeth Godber and Nick Lane, SJT director Paul Robinson’s vibrant new staging of the Bard’s most bonkers farce arrives in a co-production with Prescot’s Shakespeare North Playhouse.
The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less) is brought to life in neon-lit 1980s’ Scarborough. Cue mistaken identities, theatrical chaos and belting musical numbers from the era of big phones and even bigger shoulder pads. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.SEE REVIEW BELOW.
The poster artwork for Pick Me Up Theatre Company’s Oh! What A Lovely War
Revival of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Oh! What A Lovely War, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, March 31 to April 8, 7.30pm, except April 2 and 3; 2.30pm, April 1, 2 and 8
PICK Me Up Theatre present a 60th anniversary production of Oh! What A Lovely War, a satirical chronicle of the First World War, told through songs and documents in the form of a seaside Pierrot entertainment.
Devised and presented by Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East in 1963 before being turned into a film by Richard Attenborough in 1969, now it is in the hands of Robert Readman’s York cast. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Feeling hot, hot, hot: Zog is on fire in Freckle Productions’ show at York Theatre Royal
Children’s show of the week: Freckle Productions in Zog, York Theatre Royal, March 31, 4.30pm; April 1, 10.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm
JULIA Donaldson and Alex Scheffler’s Zog takes to the stage in a magical Freckle Productions show most suitable for age three upwards, although all ages are welcome. Zog is trying very hard to win a golden star at Madam Dragon’s school, perhaps too hard, as he bumps, burns and roars his way through Years 1, 2 and 3.
Luckily plucky Princess Pearl patches him up, ready to face his biggest challenge yet: a duel with knight Sir Gadabout the Great. Emma Kilbey directs; Joe Stilgoe provides the songs. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Roy “Chubby” Brown: Bluer than Stilton at York Barbican
Still in rude health: Roy “Chubby” Brown, York Barbican, March 31, 7.30pm
ROY “Chubby” Brown – real name Royston Vasey, from Grangetown, Middlesbrough – is on the road again at 78, 50 years into a blue comedy career that carries the warning: “If easily offended, please stay away”.
Chubby may not be everyone’s cup of tea but a lot of people like tea, he says. Thirty DVDs in 30 years, thousands of shows worldwide and four books testify to the abiding popularity of a profane joker full of frank social commentary, forthright songs and contempt for political correctness. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
In the doghouse: Ferocious Dog attack songs with bite at York Barbican
Where there is despair, may they bring Hope: Ferocious Dog, supported by Mark Chadwick, York Barbican, April 1, 7pm
FEROCIOUS Dog, a Left-leaning six-piece from Warsop, Nottinghamshire, slot somewhere between Levellers and early Billy Bragg in their vibrant vein of Celtic folk-infused punk rock.
Fifth album Hope came out in 2021, charting at number 31 in the Official UK Charts. Special guest will be Levellers’ leader Mark Chadwick, joined by Ferocious Dog violinist Dan Booth for part of his 7pm set. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Artwork by Cuban painter Leo Morey, one of the new artists taking part in York Open Studios 2023
Early sighter of the week:York Open Studios 2023 Taster Exhibition, The Hospitium, Museum Gardens, York, April 1 and 2, 10am to 4pm
FOR the first time since 2019, York Open Studios will be launched with a taster exhibition next weekend featuring examples of work by most of the 150 artists and makers set to open their studio doors on April 15, 16, 22 and 23.
This free preview gives a flavour of what will be coming up at more than 100 venues next month. Full details of this year’s artists and locations can be found at yorkopenstudios.co.uk. Look out for booklets around York.
In Focus: Luke Wright, The Remains Of Logan Dankworth, Selby Town Hall, March 30, 8pm
In the Wright place: Luke Wright making his political point in The Remains Of Logan Dankworth
PERFORMANCE poet Luke Wright returns to Selby Town Hall on Thursday to peform his 2022 Edinburgh Fringe political verse play The Remains Of Logan Dankworth.
Columnist and Twitter warrior Logan Dankworth grew up romanticising the political turmoil of the 1980s. Now, as the EU Referendum looms, he is determined to be in the fray of the biggest political battle for years.
Meanwhile, Logan’s wife Megan wants to leave London to better raise their daughter. As tensions rise at home and across the nation, something is set to be lost forever.
The third in Wright’s trilogy of lyrically rich plays looks at trust, fatherhood and family in the age of Brexit. Winner of The Saboteur Award for Best Show, it picked up four and five-star from the Telegraph, the Scotsman, the Stage and British Theatre Guide.
Wright was a founder member of poetry collective Aisle16, who shook up the spoken-word scene in the 2000s, helping to kick-start a British renaissance of the form. He is the regular tour support for John Cooper Clarke and often hosts shows for The Libertines.
He is a frequent guest on BBC Radio 4, a Fringe First winner for writing and a Stage Award winner for performance.
“Luke Wright is an astonishing performer and one of the best political writers around today, whose wonderful, lyrical writing translates really well to full-length plays,” says Selby Town Council arts officer Chris Jones.
“I was lucky enough to see The Remains Of Logan Dankworth in Edinburgh last summer and made sure I booked it for Selby Town Hall straight away. It’s a brilliantly told story by a powerhouse poet.”
For tickets: ring 01757 708449 or book online at selbytownhall.co.uk.
REVIEW: The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less), Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough *****
David Kirkbride’s Antipholus of Scarborough in a headlock with Claire Eden’s Big Sandra in The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less). All pictures: Patch Dolan
Stephen Joseph Theatre and Shakespeare North Playhouse in The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less), Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until April 15, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com
THIS Comedy Of Errors gets everything right. Not more or less. Just right. Full stop.
Shakespeare’s “most bonkers farce” has been entrusted to Nick Lane, madly inventive writer of the SJT’s equally bonkers pantomime, and Elizabeth Godber, a blossoming writing talent from the East Yorkshire theatrical family.
How does this new partnership work? In a nutshell, Lane has penned the men’s lines, Godber, the female ones, before the duo moulded the finale in tandem.
SJT artistic director Paul Robinson, meanwhile, selected a criminally good play list of Eighties’ guilty pleasures, from Whitesnake’s Here I Go Again to Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl, Nik Kershaw’s Wouldn’t It Be Good to Toni Basil’s Mickey, Cher’s Just Like Jesse James to Kenny Loggins’ Footloose, to be sung in character or as an ensemble with Northern Chorus oomph.
Oh, Dromio, Dromio, wherefore art thy other Dromio? Oliver Mawdsley’s Dromio of Prescot in the SJT’s The Comedy Of Errors(More Or Less)
Aptly, the opening number is an ensemble rendition of Dream Academy’s one-hit wonder, Life In A Northern Town, that town being 1980s’ Scarborough, just as Lane always roots his pantomimes in the Yorkshire resort.
From an original idea by Robinson, Lane and Godber’s reinvention of Shakespeare’s comedy is not too far-fetched but far enough removed to take on its own personality and, frankly, be much, much funnier as a result. To the point where one woman in the front row was in the grip of a fit of giggles. Yes, that joyous.
For Ephesus, a city on the Ionian coast with a busy port, read Scarborough, a town on the Yorkshire coast with a fishing harbour, although all the fish and chip cafés were shut without explanation on the evening of the press night. Was something fishy going on?
Ephesus was governed by Duke Solinus; Scarborough is run by Andy Cryer’s oleaginous Solinus. Still the merry-go-round action is spun around outdoor public spaces on Jessica Curtis’s set, where protagonists bump into each other like dodgem cars. Just as Syracusans were subject to strict rules in the original play, now Lancastrians are given the Yorkshire cold shoulder in a new war of the roses, besmirched Eccles Cakes et al.
In with a shout: Claire Eden, right, meets a Scarborough greeting from Alyce Liburd, left, Valerie Antwi and Ida Regan in The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less)
So begins a tale of two rival states and two sets of mismatched twins (Antipholus and Dromio times two) on one nutty day at the seaside. Cue a mishmash of mistaken identities, mayhem agogo, and merriment to the manic max, conducted at an ever more frenetic lick.
It worked wonders for Richard Bean in One Man, Two Guvnors, his Swinging Sixties’ revamp of Goldoni’s 1743 Italian Commedia dell’arte farce, The Servant Of Two Masters, setting his gloriously chaotic caper, as chance would have it, in another English resort: Brighton. Now The Comedy Of Errors evens up the mathematical equation for two plus two to equal comedy nirvana from so much division.
One ‘guvnor’, Lancastrian comic actor Antipholus of Prescot (Peter Kirkbride) crosses the Pennine divide to perform his one-man show. Trouble is, everyone has booked tickets for the talent show across the bay, starring t’other ‘guvnor’, the twin brother he has never met, Antipholus of Scarborough (David Kirkbride, different first name, but same actor, giving licence for amusing parallel biographies in the programme).
The two ‘servants’ of the piece, Dromio of Prescot and Scarborough respectively (Oliver/Zach Mawdsley), are equally unaware of the other’s presence, compounding a trail of confusion rooted in Scarborough’s Antipholus owing money everywhere but still promising his wife a gold chain. He needs to win the contest to appease Scarborough’s more unsavoury sorts.
Comedy gold: Andy Cryer in The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less)
Kirkbride takes the acting honours in his hyperactive double act with himself, Mawdsley a deux is a picture of perplexity; Cryer, in his 40th year of SJT productions, is comedy gold as ever in chameleon roles; likewise, Claire Eden fills the stage with diverse riotous, no-nonsense character, whether from Lancashire or Yorkshire.
Valerie Antwi, Alyce Liburd and Ida Regan, each required to put up with the maelstrom of male malarkey, add so much to the comedic commotion, on song throughout too.
Under Robinson’s zesty, witty direction, everything in Scarborough must be all at sea and yet somehow emerge as comic plain sailing, breaking down theatre’s fourth wall to forewarn with a knowing wink of the need to suspend disbelief when seeing how the company will play the two sets of twins once, spoiler alert, they finally meet.
Who knew shaken-and-stirred Shakespeare could be this much fun, enjoying life in the fast Lane with Godber gumption galore too. Add the Yorkshire-Lancashire spat and those Eighties’ pop bangers, Wayne Parsons’ choreography and the fabulous costumes, and this is the best Bard comedy bar none since Joyce Branagh’s Jazz Age Twelfth Night for Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre in York in 2019.
When The Comedy Of Errors meets the 1980s, the laughs are even bigger than the shoulder pads. A case of more, not less.
Rave on: Hannah Price, left, Harry Boyd, Christopher Weeks, Rhiannon Hopkins, Joshua Barton and Ben Pryer in a scene from Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story
THE return of Buddy, Stewart Lee and English Touring Opera, a dream of an exhibition and a vintage DJ night of song top Charles Hutchinson’s diary highlights for the week ahead.
Musical of the week: Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story, Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
HOLLYLUJAH! Rock’n’roll musical Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story returns to York for the first time since 2017 with “The day the music died” tale of the bespectacled young man from Lubbock, Texas, whose meteoric rise from Southern rockabilly beginnings to international stardom ended in his death in a plane crash at only 22.
Christopher Weeks’s Buddy leads the cast of actor-musicians through two hours of music and drama, romance and tragedy, driven by all those hits, from That’ll Be The Day, Peggy Sue and Rave On to Big Bopper’s Chantilly Lace and Ritchie Valens’ La Bamba.Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle: Playing The Crescent on Sunday night
Folk gig of the week: Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker & John Doyle, The Crescent, York, Sunday, 8pm
THE Black Swan Folk Club and Please Please You present the powerhouse triumvirate of musical magpies McGoldrick, McCusker and Doyle in a Sunday session of traditional, contemporary and original jigs, reels and ballads, as heard on their two albums, 2018’s The Wishing Tree and 2020’s The Reed That Bends In The Storm.
Their paths first crossing as teenagers before they joined separate bands (Lunasa, The Battlefield Band and Solas respectively), they line up with Mancunian McGoldrick on flute, whistles, Uileann pipes, bodhran, clarinet and congas; Glaswegian McCusker on fiddle, whistles and harmonium; Dubliner Doyle on vocals, guitar, bouzouki and mandola.
“The whole thing’s great fun,” says McCusker. “We have no agenda other than having a nice time and playing music. That’s the way we tour as well – we throw ourselves in a little car, instruments on our laps, and off we go. And the records? Well, I hope it’s the sound of three old friends, having a great time, making music together.” Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Stewart Lee goes back to basic Lee at York Theatre Royal, but sold out, basically
Comedy at the treble: Stewart Lee: Basic Lee, York Theatre Royal, Monday to Wednesday, 7.30pm
AFTER recording last May’s brace of Snowflake and Tornado gigs at York Theatre Royal for broadcast on the BBC, Stewart Lee returns for three nights of his Basic Lee show.
Following a decade of high-concept shows involving overarched, interlinked narratives, Lee enters the post-pandemic era in streamlined stand-up mode. One man, one microphone, and one microphone in the wings in case the one on stage breaks. Pure. Simple. Classic. Basic Lee – but sold out, alas.
Navigators Art collective explores the subconscious mind in Dream Time at City Screen Picturehouse
Exhibition launch of the week: Navigators Art, Dream Time, City Screen Picturehouse, York, on show until April 21
YORK collective Navigators Art’s Dream Time exhibition takes inspiration from dreams, visions, surrealism and the mysteries and fantasies of the subconscious mind. The official launch event will be held tomorrow (19/3/2023) in the café bar from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
This mixed-media show features painting by Steve Beadle and Peter Roman; collage, prints and drawing by Richard Kitchen; photography and painting by Nick Walters and textiles by Katie Lewis.
The tour poster for Sounds Of The 60s with Tony Blackburn as host
Nostalgic show of the week: Tony Blackburn: Sound Of The 60s Live, York Barbican, Wednesday, 7.30pm
BBC Radio 2 disc jockey Tony Blackburn hosts an evening of 1960s’ classics, performed live by the Sound Of The 60s All Star Band and Singers.
Listen out for the hits of The Everly Brothers, Dusty Springfield, The Kinks, Elvis Presley, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Otis Redding, The Beatles, The Who and many more. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Paul Smith: Playing the Joker at York Barbican
Liverpool lip of the week: Paul Smith: Joker, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm
JOKER is Paul Smith’s biggest and funniest tour show to date, wherein the Scouse humorist mixes his trademark audience interaction with true stories from his everyday life.
Resident compere at Liverpool’s Hot Water Club, Smith has made his mark online as well as on the gig circuit with his affable nature and savvy wit. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Roddy Woomble: Songs old and new at Selby Town Hall
Indie gig of the week: Roddy Woomble, Selby Town Hall, Thursday, 8pm
RODDY Woomble, Scottish indie band Idlewild’s lead singer, is now a leading voice in the British contemporary indie folk scene. In Selby, he is joined by Idlewild band mate Andrew Wasylyk for a duo show of Idlewild favourites and solo works.
“This is a tour in between records, so a tour for exploring all the songs,” says Woomble. “Lo! Soul is going on two years old now, and although the songs still sound fresh to me when I play them, it’s time for something new – which there is. We’ll definitely be including some new material in the set.” Box office: selbytownhall.co.uk.
Paula Sides’s Lucrezia in English Touring Opera’s Lucrezia Borgia, on tour at York Theatre Royal
Two nights at the opera: English Touring Opera, York Theatre Royal, in Lucrezia Borgia, March 24, and Il Viaggio a Reims, March 25, both 7.30pm
LUCREZIA Borgia, Donizetti’s tragedy of a complex woman in a dangerous situation, is making its debut in the English Touring Opera repertoire in Eloise Lally’s ETO directorial debut production of this thrilling and moving meditation on power and motherhood.
Valentina Ceschi directs a cast of 27 in Il Viaggio a Reims, Rossini’s last Italian opera, in which intrigue, politics, romance and lost luggage all play their part as a group of entitled guests from all over Europe is stranded in a provincial hotel on the way to a great coronation. Period-instrument specialists The Old Street Band play for both operas. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Gig announcement of the week: Steve Earle, The Alone Again Tour, Grand Opera House, York, June 9
Steve Earle: Heading from New York to York in June for solo show
AS his tour title suggests, legendary Americana singer, songwriter, producer, actor, playwright, novelist, short story writer and radio presenter Steve Earle will be performing solo and acoustic in York: the only Yorkshire gig of a ten-date itinerary without his band The Dukes that will take in the other Barbican, in London, and Glastonbury.
Born in Fort Monroae National Monument, Hampton, Virginia, Earle grew up in Texas and began his songwriting career in Nashville, releasing his first EP in 1982 and debut album Guitar Town in 1986, since when he has branched out from country music into rock, bluegrass, folk music and blues.
His colourful life prompted Lauren St John’s 2003 biography Hardcore Troubadour: The Life And Near Death Of Steve Earle, written with the rebel rocker’s exclusive and unfettered cooperation. “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself,” he once said.
Earle, 68, has been married seven times (including twice to the same woman) and been through drug addiction and run-ins with the law, serving a month in prison in 1994 for heroin possession. “Going to jail is what saved my life,” he said, after he was sent to rehab.
A protege of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, Earle is a masterful storytelling songwriter in his own right, with his songs being recorded by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, The Proclaimers and The Pretenders, among others.
Since the Millennium, he has released such albums as the Grammy-awarded The Revolution Starts…Now (2004), Washington Square Serenade (2007) and Townes (2009).
Restlessly creative across artistic disciplines, Earle has published a collection of short stories, Doghouse Roses (2002) ; a novel, I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (2011), and a memoir, I Can’t Remember If We said Goodbye (2015).
He has produced albums for Joan Baez and Lucinda Williams, acted in films and on television, notably in David Simon’s The Wire, and hosts a radio show for Sirius XM.
In 2009, Earle made his off-Broadway theatre debut in the play Samara, contributing the score too. In 2010, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Music and Lyrics in the drama series Treme.
In 2020, he wrote music for and appeared in Coal Country, a docu-play by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen that shines a light on the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion, the most deadly mining disaster in United States history. A nomination for a Drama Desk Award came his way.
In 2020 too, Earle released the album Ghosts Of West Virginia and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. His 21st studio album, J.T. in January 2021, was an homage to his late son, singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle, who had died from an accidental drug overdose in August 2020. In May 2022 came Jerry Jeff, Earle’s tribute to cowboy troubadour Jerry Jeff Walker.
Tickets go on sale on Thursday morning (23/3/2023) at atgtickets.com/york.
The artwork for J.T., Steve Earle’s 2021 album of covers of songs by his late son, Justin Townes Earle
“Turn off your brains and yell,” advised a Suede T-shirt at their first York Barbican gig in more than 25 years. Picture: Dean Chalkley
TO last in the music business, you need more than talent and looks. What differentiates those still touring into their third, fourth or even sixth decade is hunger. Based on Wednesday’s as-near-as-damn-it sold-out show at the Barbican, Suede still look lean and hungry, 34 years in.
After an excellent short opening spot from Aircooled, the stage was set for a great night. From the moment Brett Anderson strode on stage, the intent was obvious.
Posting on Twitter today (March 16), bassist Mat Osman sheds light on Suede’s state of mind before the final show of their late-winter tour; “on a wet Wednesday. All-seated venue. I had the lowest of expectations but the crowd at the Barbican made it a stormer.”
The crowd had little choice! From the off, Anderson was onto them, terrier-like to “get up, get up!” It felt like he grabbed everyone by the neck and gave us a good shake. Anderson was relentless in creating the atmosphere the band needed and he succeeded, as the lower tiers left their warm seats and entered the hot house at the front.
They couldn’t have had a better view – from the start to the end of the 20th song 85 minutes later, Anderson never stopped. At 55, his skills as a frontman were second to none, and while the voice isn’t what it once was (and it was never all that!), all eyes were on him.
“That man on the stage” was in the crowd, on his back, all over and most often up on the monitors at the front, a talisman whipping up the atmosphere in another huge chorus.
One of the London band’s T-shirt slogans summed it up: “Turn off your brains and yell,” it read. Sing or yell we did, pretty much throughout. Anderson made his point emphatically: rock gigs are about coming together and getting into it.
Suede are enjoying a lengthy second spell of success. Their latest album, 2022’s Autofiction, is a direct and no-nonsense punk rock record; perfect for playing live. That album got a nod or two, but this was essentially a greatest hits set, played as if it were the first or last time they would get the chance.
What of the music? With the original rhythm section of Osman and Brett Gilbert firmly in control, guitarist Richard Oakes has matured from the stripling 17-year-old asked to fill Bernard Butler’s big shoes into this riff powerhouse, his low-slung guitar providing the crunch to most of the songs.
Suede’s music is all about riffs, rhythm and playing as a unit. There’s barely a solo and nothing that isn’t absolutely vital for the song (except perhaps for Neil Codling on guitar and keyboards, who mostly alternated between looking glamorous and bored).
It was ten songs in before the intensity abated, and then only slightly and not for long. Of the two acoustic numbers, The Wild Ones was by far the best – a reminder that even louche rock bands have feelings.
The encore of Beautiful Ones, still their finest 3 minutes 50 seconds, put the cap on the night, almost tearing the roof off. Newcomers take note, if you want to own the stage, you have to mean it – so watch and learn from these masters.
The future, here they come: Amy Revelle, Dave Hearn, centre, and Michael Dylan in Original Theatre’s The Time Machine. Picture: Manuel Harlan
THE week ahead is so crammed with clashing cultural highlights, Charles Hutchinson wishes you could climb aboard a time machine.
Find time for: Original Theatre in The Time Machine, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
DAVE Hearn, a fixture in Mischief Theatre’s calamitous comedies for a decade, takes time out to go time travelling in John Nicholson and Steven Canny’s re-visit of H G Wells’s epic sci-fi story for Original Theatre.
“It’s a play about three actors who run a theatre company and are trying to put on a production of The Time Machine, with fairly limited success,” says Hearn. “But then a big event happens that causes the play to spiral out of control and my character [Dave] discovers actual time travel.” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Curtains At Village Gallery, by Suzanne McQuade, marks the final exhibition at Simon and Helen Main’s art space in Colliergate, York
Farewell of the week: The Curtain Descends, Village Gallery, Colliergate, York, until April 15
AS the title indicates, The Curtain Descends will be the last exhibition at Village Gallery after 40 exhibitions showcasing 100-plus Yorkshire artists in five and a half years. “The end of the shop lease and old age creeping up has sadly forced the decision,” says gallery co-owner Simon Main.
Ten artists have returned for the farewell with work reduced specially to sale prices. On show are watercolours by Lynda Heaton, Jean Luce and Suzanne McQuade; oils and acrylics by Paul Blackwell, Julie Lightburn, Malcolm Ludvigsen, Anne Thornhill and Hilary Thorpe; pastels by Allen Humphries and lino and woodcut prints by Michael Atkin. Opening hours are 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday.
Singer PP Arnold: From The First Cut Is The Deepest to Soul Survivor, her autobiography is under discussion at York Literature Festival
Festival of the week: York Literature Festival, various venues, today until March 27
HIGHLIGHTS aplenty permeate this annual festival, featuring 27 events, bolstered by new sponsorship from York St John University. Among the authors will be broadcasters David Dimbleby and Steve Richards; political journalist and think tank director Sebastian Payne (on The Fall of Boris Johnson); The League Of Gentlemen’s Jeremy Dyson; Juno Dawson, thriller writer Saima Mir and York poet Hannah Davies.
On Music Memoir Day at The Crescent, on March 18, at 1.30pm American singer PP Arnold delves into her autobiography, Soul Survivor, at 1.30pm. At 4pm, writer/broadcaster Lucy O’Brien discusses her new book, Lead Sister: The Story Of Karen Carpenter, and the challenges of writing a biography. Go to yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk for the full programme.
Too hot to handle: Strictly’s Gorka Marquez and Karen Hauer in Firedance at the Grand Opera House, York
Hot moves amid the weekend chill: Gorka Marquez and Karen Hauer in Firedance, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 5pm
STRICTLY Come Dancing stars Gorka Marquez and Karen Hauer reignite their chemistry in Firedance, a show full of supercharged choreography, sizzling dancers and mesmerising fire specialists.
Inspired by movie blockbusters Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet, Moulin Rouge, Carmen and West Side Story, Marquez and Hauer turn up the heat as they dance to Latin, rock and pop songs by Camilla Cabello, Jason Derulo, Gregory Porter, Gipsy Kings and Jennifer Lopez. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Suede: First appearance at York Barbican in a quarter of a century
Gig of the week: Suede, York Barbican, Wednesday, 7.45pm
ELEGANT London rock band Suede play York Barbican for the first time in more than 25 years on the closing night of their 2023 tour. Pretty much sold out, alas, but do check yorkbarbican.co.uk for late availability.
Last appearing there on April 23 1997, Brett Anderson and co return with a set list of Suede classics and selections from last September’s Autofiction, their ninth studio album and first since 2018. “Our punk record,” as Anderson called it. “No whistles and bells. The band exposed in all their primal mess.”
Sloane danger: Ben Weir’s psychopathic Sloane, left, playing siblings Kath (Victoria Delaney) and Ed (Chris Pomfrett) off each other in rehearsal for York Actors Collective’s Entertaining Mr Sloane
Debut of the week: York Actors Collective in Entertaining Mr Sloane, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Wednesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
DIRECTOR Angie Millard launches her new company, York Actors Collective, with Joe Orton’s controversial, ribald comedy Entertaining Mr Sloane, the one that shook up English farce with its savage humour in 1964.
Living with her father, Dada Kemp (Mick Liversidge), Kath (Victoria Delaney) brings home a lodger: the amoral and psychopathic Sloane (Ben Weir). When her brother Ed (Chris Monfrett) arrives, the siblings become involved in a sexual struggle for Sloane, who plays one off against the other as their father is caught in the crossfire. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Classrooom comedy: Sara Howlett, left, Laura Castle and Sophie Bullivant in rehearsal for Rowntree Players’ production of John Godber’s Teechers Leavers ’22
Education, education, education play of the week: Rowntree Players in Teechers, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Thursday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
FAMILIAR to York’s streets at night as ghost-walk guide and spookologist Dr Dorian Deathly, actor Jamie McKellar is directing a play for the first time since 2008, at the helm of Rowntree Players’ production of former teacher John Godber’s state-of-the nation, state-of state-education comedy Teechers.
Updated for Hull Truck’s 50th anniversary celebrations as Teechers Leavers ’22, Godber’s class warfare play within a play features a multi role-playing, all-female cast of Laura Castle, Sophie Bullivant and Sarah Howlett as Year 11 school leavers Salty, Hobby and Gail put on a valedictory performance, inspired by their new drama teacher. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
David Ford: Songs and stories at The Crescent
The robots are coming: David Ford, Songs 2023, The Crescent, York, Thursday, 7.30pm
EASTBOURNE singer-songwriter David Ford might play solo stomps with loop machines and effects pedals or backed by a swish jazz trio or with a string quartet attached. Not this time.
For 2023, Ford has taken the rare decision to keep it simple, leave most of the crazy machines at home, play some of his favourite songs and share stories about where they came from. Oh, and he’ll be bringing his new DIY toy, a drum robot. Beat that. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Tuesday’s seated Crescent gig by The Go-Betweens’ Robert Forster, promoting his new album The Candle And The Flame, has sold out by the way.
Because he cared: Comedian Bilal Fafar reflects on working in a care home for the very wealthy in Care at Theatre@41, Monkgate
Caring comedian of the week: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Bilal Zafar in Care, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, March 19, 8pm
WANSTEAD comedian Bilal Zafar, 31, is on his travels with a new show about how he spent a year working in a care home for very wealthy people while being on the minimum wage.
Fresh out of university with a media degree, Bilal was dropped into the real world, where he was given far too much responsibility for a 21-year-old lad who had just spent three years watching films. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk; age limit,18 and over.
In Focus: Anders Lustgarten’sThe City And The Town, at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, March 15 to 17
Gareth Watkins as Magnus in Anders Lustgarten’s The City And The Town. Picture: Karl Andre
LONDON playwright and political activist Anders Lustgarten’s new play, The City And The Town, heads to the Yorkshire coast next week.
This funny, eclectic drama brings a fresh perspective to the political divides and problems facing Great Britain and Europe today.
By way of contrast to those schisms, the tour involves a hands-across-the-water partnership: a co-production by Riksteatern, the national touring theatre of Sweden, and Matthew Linley Creative Projects in association with Hull Truck Theatre.
Lustgarten’s play tells the story of brothers Ben and Magnus. Ben, a successful London lawyer, returns home for his father’s funeral after 13 years away, only to be confronted not only by family and old friends, but also by uncomfortable truths about the past, present and future of the provincial community and family he grew up in and left behind for the metroplis.
Lustgarten, by the way, is the son of progressive American academics and read Chinese Studies at Oxford: in other words, he is an internationalist (and an Arsenal supporter to boot).
Directed by Riksteatern artistic director Dritero Kasapi, The City And The Town features Gareth Watkins as Magnus, Amelia Donkor as Lyndsay and Sam Collings as Ben, with set design by Hannah Sibai and lighting design by Matt Haskins.
Amelia Donkor’s Lyndsay in The City And The Town. Picture: Karl Andre
Kasapi is at the helm of his first UK production since Nina – A Story About Me And Nina Simone. “Even from the very first draft Anders sent us, I knew that this was a play I wanted to direct,” he says. “In fact, I’d go as far as saying it’s the play I’ve wanted to direct for a very long time.
“By exploring the rise of the right, Anders is looking at something that is happening all over Europe. But this is not just a political play, it’s also a humane one. It explores the question of if and how we belong to society, what can happen when we lose that connection and how we perceive our common history as a society.”
Kasapi was educated as a stage director at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Skopje, Macedonia, but since the early years of his professional life he has been engaged as a cultural organiser.
From 2015 to 2018, he was the deputy artistic director at Kulturhuset Stadstetern in Stockholm. He took up his present post in November 2018.
The City And The Town follows such Lustgarten plays as Lampedusa (Hightide/Soho Theatre), The Seven Acts Of Mercy (Royal Shakespeare Company), The Secret Theatre(Shakespeare’s Globe) and The Damned United (Red Ladder/West Yorkshire Playhouse, 2016, turning Brian Clough’s 44 days as Leeds United manager in 1974 into a Greek tragedy).
The City And The Town began its UK tour at Hull Truck on February 10 and 11 and has since played Northern Stage, Newcastle, Wilton’s Music Hall, London, Mercury Theatre, Colchester, and Norwich Playhouse before its Scarborough finale. It will then transfer to Sweden for an autumn tour.
The City And The Town, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, March 15 to 17, 7.45pm plus 1.45pm Thursday matinee.Box office: 01723 370541 or www.sjt.uk.com
For those about to rock at York Barbican: Here comes The Classic Rock Show
THE Classic Rock Show’s 2023 tour is“easily the most challenging live set we’ve performed to date,” reckonsvocalist, guitarist and musical director James Cole.
Hear why at York Barbican on Tuesday (14/3/2023) as the 39-date itinerary heads for its last week after taking in many British cities and towns for the first time. Tickets for “the ultimate live jukebox” are on sale at yorkbarbican.co.uk and ticketmaster.co.uk.
Paying tribute to its favourite rock heroes, The Classic Rock Show thunders through a set list of Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits, The Who, Eric Clapton, AC/DC, Queen, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Boston, Pink Floyd, Meat Loaf, Aerosmith, Toto and Rainbow.
Expect note-for-note precision as Cole and co “bring the original and era-defining recordings back to life on stage, with an amazing sound and light show to match”. After anthem after anthem, riff after riff, solo after solo, the climax will be a show-stopping guitar duel.
Jesse Smith: Lead vocalist for The Classic Rock Show
Cole says: “We’re very excited to get back on the road in 2023 with easily the most challenging Classic Rock Show live set we’ve performed to date. To have 39 dates scheduled for the 2023 tour feels fantastic. The band and I really appreciate the ever-growing popularity of the show.”
Opening on January 17, the tour has visited Yorkshire already, playing Hull Bonus Arena on January 29 and Harrogate Royal Hall the next night. St George’s Hall, Bradford, awaits tomorrow (11/3/2023) with tickets on sale at https://theclassicrockshow.com/tour-dates
Performing alongside Cole will be: Wayne Banks, bass/vocals; Pete Thorn, guitar/vocals; Jesse Smith, lead vocals/guitar; Henry Burnett, keyboards/vocals; Jess Harwood, vocals/keyboards; Rudy Cardenas, lead vocals, and Tim Brown, drums.
On the run: Pilot Theatre in Manjeet Mann’s teenage drama Run, Rebel. Picture: Pamela Raith
A TEENAGE rebel, a vintage murder mystery, panel games, circus and singing feats and a diverse women’s festival command Charles Hutchinson’s attention.
Play premiere of the week: Pilot Theatre in Run, Rebel, York Theatre Royal, 7pm, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 1pm, Wednesday to Friday; 2pm, Saturday
SCHOOLGIRL Amber Rai is trapped by her family’s rules, their expectations, her own fears, but on the running track she is completely free. As her body speeds up, the world slows down, the tangled lines in her head becoming straighter.
York company Pilot Theatre combine physical theatre and mesmerising visuals in Manjeet Mann’s stage adaptation of her verse novel, suitable for age 11 upwards, as she addresses domestic violence, alcoholism, bullying and discrimination. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Blue diamond ceramic by Ilona Sulikova at Pyramid Gallery, York
Exhibition of the week: Abstract, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, until March 28, open 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday; 10am to 5.30pm, Saturdays
CZECH-BORN York ceramacist Ilona Sulikova will be at Pyramid Gallery today from 12 noon to 2pm to meet gallery visitors and give an insight to her large, full-bodied raku-fired vessels , decorated with intricate geometric patterns that repeat, expand and contract as they progress. “The intention is to create sequences of rhythm and movement,” she says.
Abstract complements ceramics by Sulikova and Carolyn Genders with oil paintings by Kimbal Bumstead and glass sculptures by Crispian Heath, Yuki Kokai and Jon Lewis.
Elysian Singers: Psalms, sonnets and songs at the Unitarian Chapel
Concerts at the double: Late Music presents Ruth Lee, Harp Recital, March 4, 1pm to 2pm; Elysian Singers, Psalms, Sonnets And Songs, March 4, 7.30pm; both at St Saviourgate Unitarian Chapel, York
IN an afternoon concert of folk-inspired new music for harp, Ruth Lee premieres a David Lancaster work, visits Eleanor Turner’s Alice In Escher’s Wonderland and gives a rare performance of Hindemith’s Sonata for Harp (First Movement).
At night, the Elysian Singers present a tripartite modern take on the milestone publication of William Byrd’s Psalmes, Sonnets and Songs Of Sadness and Piety in 1588. Composer Nick Williams gives a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm ahead of the premiere of his new work. Tickets: latemusic.org or on the door.
Rachael Maskell MP: Taking part in York International Women’s Week
Festival of the week: York International Women’s Week, March 4 until March 12
UNDER the theme of Solidarity, York International Women’s Week embraces live and online events. A full programme is available at yorkinternationalwomensweek.wordpress.com or in print from community venues, libraries, cafés and independent shops.
Among the highlights will be End Period Poverty: A Community Conversation in the Priory Street Centre on March 10 from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Confirmed for the panel are chair Justine Hughes, activist and period queen Anna Johnston, York Central MP Rachael Maskell, Freedom4Girls’ Tina Leslie and YorKits’ Janice Lawson.
I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue: Host Jack Dee and his panellists Tony Hawks, Pippa Evans, Marcus Brigstocke and Milton Jones at York Barbican
Spoilt for choice at York Barbican: Cirque, The Greatest Show, March 5, 1pm and 5pm; I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, March 6, 8pm; Giovanni Pernice: Made In Italy, March 9, 7.30pm
MUSICAL theatre meets circus spectacle in Cirque, where West End and Broadway hits combine with aerialists, contortionists, and feats of agility and flair.
Droll Jack Dee hosts BBC Radio 4’s antidote to panel games, setting the challenges to Tony Hawks, Pippa Evans, Milton Jones and Marcus Brigstocke. Cue inspired nonsense, Mornington Crescent and musical accompaniment from Colin Sell.
Strictly Come Dancing 2021 professional champ Giovanni Pernice journeys to his homeland in Made In Italy, promising hot, hot, hot action with his ensemble of ballroom dancers and singers. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Giovanni Pernice: Made in Italy, performing in York
Murder mystery in York: The Mousetrap, Grand Opera House, York, March 6 to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
AGATHA Christie’s mystery The Mousetrap, “the longest running play in the world”, takes in a return to York’s Grand Opera House on its 70th anniversary tour.
Ian Talbot directs this twisting, turning tale of intrigue and suspense set at Monkswell Manor, a stately countryside guesthouse where seven strangers find themselves snowed in as news spreads of a murder in London. When a police sergeant arrives, the guests discover – to their horror – that a killer is in their midst, but whodunnit? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Conducting enquiries: Joseph Reed as Detective Sergeant Trotter in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Matt Crockett
Soulful musical journey of the week: Arsen Petrosyan, National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, March 10, 7.30pm
ARMENIAN duduk specialist Arsen Petrosyan returns to the NCEM after his Making Tracks showcase there. This time he leads his quartet, featuring Astghik Snetsunts (on qanun), Avetis Keoseyan (dhol/percussion) and Vladimir Papikyan (santur), through Armenian traditional, early, classical and sacred music.
Hokin Janapar: My Soul’s Journeyis his nostalgic exploration of the music that has stirred his soul in turbulent times, reflecting the continued odyssey of his nation on the border between Europe and Asia. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Arsen Petrosyan: Playing Armenian duduk music at NCEM, York
The great gig in the café: 50 Years of Dark Side Of The Moon: Vinyl Listening Party, FortyFive Vinyl Café, Micklegate, York, March 23, 6pm to 7pm
CELEBRATING 50 years of one of the greatest albums of all time, FortyFive Vinyl Cafe is marking this momentous occasion by inviting you to bask in an early second issue of the original 1973 pressing of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon.
“These copies were produced for a short time only, between first pressing and first repress,” explains Dom White, from FortyFive. A short break for drinks will bridge the gap between Sides 1 and 2, the other side of the ‘Moon’. Reissued vinyl copies of the album will be for sale, along with a new book detailing the vinyl pressing history. Entry is free.
Dark Side Of The Moon: Welcome to the Pink Floyd Listening Party at FortyFive Vinyl Café, York
The Stylistics : In harmony at York Barbican and Nidd Hall Hotel this autumn
PHILADELPHIA soul stalwarts The Stylistics will bookend this autumn’s 25-date UK Greatest Hits Tour with North Yorkshire concerts: York Barbican on October 29 and Nidd Hall Hotel, Nidd, near Harrogate, on December 2.
Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday at ticketline.co.uk, yorkbarbican.co.uk and warnerleisurehotels.co.uk (for Nidd Hall).
At present playing a sold-out American tour, The Stylistics line up with original members Airrion Love and Herb Murrell alongside Barrington ‘Bo’ Henderson and Jason Sharp.
Competing to be on the set list will be such harmonious highs as 1975 UK number one Can’t Give You Anything (But My Love), I’m Stone In Love With You, You Make Me Feel Brand New, Let’s Put It All Together, You Are Everything, Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart), Betcha By Golly, Wow, Sing Baby Sing, Break Up To Make Up and You’ll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart).
Formed in Philadelphia in 1968 from two groups, The Percussions and The Monarchs, under the guidance of their English teacher Beverly Hamilton, The Stylistics recorded their first song, You’re A Big Girl Now, at Virtue Recording Studio, Philadelphia, written by guitarist Robert “Doc” Douglas and road manager Marty Bryant.
The Stylistics: The very definition of Philly soul
Veteran producer Tom Bell produced the group’s self-titled debut album, featuring Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart), You Are Everything and Betcha By Golly, Wow, among no fewer than six singles. Their second album, the aptly named Round Two, arrived in October 1972, as Russell Thompkins Jr, James Smith, James Dunn, Murrell and Love became the Philly group.
Murrell and Love, friends since junior high school, keep The Stylistics’ Seventies’ institution alive after a career of seven gold albums, five gold singles, two double gold singles, eight platinum albums, one double platinum album, four Platinum singles and a 1974 Grammy nomination for You Make Me Feel Brand New.
In 1994, The Stylistics were given a plaque on the Walk Of Fame in Center City, Philadelphia. Ten years later, they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame.
Their autumn itinerary includes further Yorkshire shows at The Dome, Doncaster, on November 25 and St George’s Hall, Bradford, on November 28. Box office: Doncaster, dclt.co.uk/the-dome; Bradford, 01274 432000 or bradford-theatres.co.uk.
The Stylistics last played York Barbican on November 27 2022 on a 27-date autumn visit.
