Tag: York Barbican

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 17, from Gazette & Herald

Gary Oldman in reflective mood in the dressing room as he returns to York Theatre Royal to perform Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, now into its week of press shows. Picture: Gisele Schmidt

YORK International Shakespeare Festival’s tenth anniversary programme is among Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations as April blossoms.

York theatre event of the year: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, until May 17

OSCAR winner Gary Oldman returns to York Theatre Royal, where he made his professional debut in 1979,  to perform Samuel Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd Krapp’s Last Tape in his first stage appearance since 1987.

“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says the Slow Horses leading man. “It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.” Tickets update: check availability of returns and additional seats on 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Katy Stephens’ White Witch and Aslan the lion in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Ellie Kurttz

Touring show of the week: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7pm plus 2pm Thursday and Saturday matinees

STEP through the wardrobe into the kingdom of Narnia for the most mystical of adventures in a faraway land. Join Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter as they wave goodbye to wartime Britain and say hello to Mr Tumnus, the talking Faun (Alfie Richards), Aslan, the Lion (Stanton Wright), and the coldest, cruellest White Witch (Katy Stephens). 

Directed by Michael Fentiman, this breathtaking stage adaptation brings magical storytelling, bewitching stagecraft and stellar puppets to CS Lewis’s allegorical novel. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Philipp Sommer: Delivering his riposte to Shakespeare’s hatchet job on Richard III in Re-Lording Richard 3.0

Festival of the week: York International Shakespeare Festival, until May 4

YORK International Shakespeare Festival is marking its tenth anniversary with a programme incorporating artists from the Netherlands for the first time; Croatia for Marin Drzic Day; Ukrainian artists from Ivano Frankisk and Bulgaria.

Among the highlights will be Berlin actor Philipp Sommer’s riposte to Shakespeare’s hatchet job on York’s own Richard III, Re-Lording Richard 3.0 (tomorrow); Olga Annenko’s Codename Othello (Friday); York company Hoglets Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Mischief with Team Titania and Team Oberon (Saturday); Stillington writer/actor/director Alexander Wright’s immersive, existential Hamlet Show (April 28 to 30); Ridiculusmus’s Alas! Poor Yorick (April 29) and the Shakespeare’s Speakeasy play in a day (May 2). For the full programme and tickets, head to: yorkshakes.co.uk.

George Young’s Henry VI in York Shakespeare Project’s Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3. Picture: John Saunders

Condensed play of the week: York Shakespeare Project in Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3, “I Am Myself Alone”, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee

UNIVERSITY of California Santa Barbara theatre professor Irwin Appel, artistic director of Naked Shakes, directs York Shakespeare Project in his condensed, physical theatre version of Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy.

A bare space, a crown and a throne meet an ensemble cast in a powerful show of “actor-generated theatricality and transformation”, wherein they tell a cautionary tale of power and greed that charts how a tyrant can rise in a torn and broken society. Box office: yorkshakes.co.uk or tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Pip Cook, left, Josie Morley and Keeley Lane in Badapple Theatre Company’s revival of Kate Bramley’s The Thankful Village, playing York Theatre Royal Studio from today

Wartime memorial of the week: Badapple Theatre Company in The Thankful Village, York Theatre Royal Studio, today to Saturday, 7pm plus 2.30pm matinees, today and Saturday

IN a new departure for Green Hammerton touring company Badapple Theatre, writer and artistic director Kate Bramley will be playing a live score for the first time to accompany her poignant First World War comedy-drama The Thankful Village.

A story of hope, humour and humanity is seen through the eyes of three Yorkshire women from the same rural household, below and above stairs. Left behind to cope after their men-folk march off to Flanders, Pip Cook’s Edie, Keeley Lane’s Victoria and Josie Morley’s Nellie each face up to the challenges in their own way as they wait anxiously for news of their loved ones far away. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Matt Goss: Tipping his hat to The Hits & More at York Barbican on Friday. Picture: Paul Harris

Pop concert of the week: Matt Goss, The Hits & More, York Barbican, Friday, 8pm

MATT Goss, the Bros pop pin-up-turned-Las Vegas showman, says: “Trust me, what I’ve learnt over the years being on countless stages around the world, this will be your best night of the year.”

Now living in central London after many years of blue skies in America, Goss, 56, will be celebrating all he has achieved in his music career and beyond in a rock’n’roll show, but still with a horn section (featured previously in the Matt Goss Experience show with the MG Big Band and the Royal Philharmonic at York Barbican in April 2023). Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk. 

Comedy gig of the week: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club, Clayton Jones, Dawn Bailey and Chris Brooker, Milton, Rooms, Malton, Friday. 8pm

HEADLINER Clayton Jones,  the 2017 Last Minute Comedy Comedian of the Year winner, covers everyday topics of marriage, children, being mixed race, school life and growing up in London in his observational comedy.

Newly turned 50, affable Dawn Bailey views life as a mum through happy specs and giddy knickers (in her own words). Host Chris Brooker combines infectious energy with original material and inspired improvisation. Box office:  01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Josienne Clarke: Performing the songs of Sandy Denny with full folk-rock band at Pocklington Arts Centre

Folk gig of the week: Across The Evening Sky: Josienne Clarke Sings The Songs Of Sandy Denny, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 8pm

MELANCHOLIC  singer, songwriter and interpreter of traditional song Josienne Clarke leads a full folk-rock band – guitar, piano, bass and drums – in a new show dedicated to Sandy Denny, whose songs are her “north star – a constant guiding light”.

“If I can take one young fan of mine and introduce them to Sandy, in a context that they can grab hold of,” she says. “If they like my music, they will love Sandy. And that would be the whole concept sorted. To pass it on, so that these songs can go on forever.” Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

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More Things To Do in York, looking in great Shakes over the Easter holidays. Here’s Hutch’s List No.17, from The York Press

Gary Oldman in rehearsal for his return to York Theatre Royal in Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, now heading into a week of press shows. Picture: Gisele Schmidt

YORK International Shakespeare Festival’s tenth anniversary programme is among Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations as April blossoms.

York theatre event of the year: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, until May 17

OSCAR winner Gary Oldman returns to York Theatre Royal, where he made his professional debut in 1979,  to perform Samuel Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd Krapp’s Last Tape in his first stage appearance since 1987.

“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says the Slow Horses leading man. “It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.” Tickets update: check availability of returns and additional seats on 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

The Counterfeit Sixties: Swinging into Sixties’ recollections at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre tonight

Tribute show of the week: The Counterfeit Sixties Show, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tonight, 7.30pm

THE Counterfeit Sixties pay tribute to 25 acts of the Swinging Sixties in a show encompassing everything from that golden pop age, from the clothes to flashbacks of television programmes, adverts and clips from the original bands.

The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks and The Monkees all feature in a hit parade performed by musicians who have worked with The Searchers, The Ivy League, The Fortunes and The Tremeloes. Tickets update: Limited availability on 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Some Enchanted Evening: Celebrating Rodgers and Hammerstein with the English Musical Theatre Orchestra at the Grand Opera House, York

Show tunes of the week: English Musical Theatre Orchestra presents Some Enchanted Evening, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

 EXPERIENCE the grandeur of Broadway as the English Musical Theatre Orchestra serenades you with show tunes from I Could Have Danced All Night ,People Will Say We’re In Love and You’ll Never Walk Alone to Getting To Know You and My Favourite Things.

Two star vocalists join the orchestra of 26 musicians, placing the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein centre-stage in renditions of songs from Oklahoma, The Sound Of Music, South Pacific and The King And I. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Full steam ahead: next stop Grand Opera House, York, for The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe on 2025 tour

Touring show of the week: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Grand Opera House, York, April 22 to 26, 7pm plus 2pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

STEP through the wardrobe into the kingdom of Narnia for the most mystical of adventures in a faraway land. Join Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter as they wave goodbye to wartime Britain and say hello to Mr Tumnus, the talking Faun (Alfie Richards), Aslan, the Lion (Stanton Wright), and the coldest, cruellest White Witch (Katy Stephens). 

Directed by Michael Fentiman, this breathtaking stage adaptation brings magical storytelling, bewitching stagecraft and stellar puppets to CS Lewis’s allegorical novel. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Philipp Sommer: Performing Re-Lording Richard 3.0 at York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium on April 24 at 7.30pm as part of York International Shakespeare Festival

Festival of the week: York International Shakespeare Festival, April 22 to May 4

YORK International Shakespeare Festival is marking its tenth anniversary with a programme incorporating artists from the Netherlands for the first time; Croatia for Marin Drzic Day; Ukrainian artists from Ivano Frankisk and Bulgaria.

Among the highlights will be Berlin actor Philipp Sommer’s riposte to Shakespeare’s hatchet job on York’s own Richard III, Re-Lording Richard 3.0 (April 24); Olga Annenko’s Codename Othello (April 25); York company Hoglets Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Mischief with Team Titania and Team Oberon (April 26); Stillington writer/actor/director Alexander Wright’s immersive, existential Hamlet Show (April 28 to 30); Ridiculusmus’s Alas! Poor Yorick (April 29) and the Shakespeare’s Speakeasy play in a day (May 2). For the full programme and tickets, head to: yorkshakes.co.uk.

York Shakespeare Project in rehearsal for Irwin Appel’s production of Henry VI, Parts 1, 2 and 3 for York International Shakespeare Festival. Picture: John Saunders

Condensed play of the week: York Shakespeare Project in Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3, “I Am Myself Alone”, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 22 to 26, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee

UNIVERSITY of California Santa Barbara theatre professor Irwin Appel, artistic director of Naked Shakes, directs York Shakespeare Project in his condensed, physical theatre version of Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy.

A bare space, a crown and a throne meet an ensemble cast in a powerful show of “actor-generated theatricality and transformation”, wherein they tell a cautionary tale of power and greed that charts how a tyrant can rise in a torn and broken society. Box office: yorkshakes.co.uk or tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Matt Goss: Tipping his hat to The Hits & More at York Barbican next Friday. Picture: Paul Harris

Pop concert of the week: Matt Goss, The Hits & More, York Barbican, April 25, 8pm

MATT Goss, the Bros pop pin-up-turned- Las Vegas showman, says: “Trust me, what I’ve learnt over the years being on countless stages around the world, this will be your best night of the year.”

Now living in central London after many years of blue skies in America, Goss, 56, will be celebrating all he has achieved in his music career and beyond in a rock’n’roll show, but still with a horn section (featured previously in the Matt Goss Experience show with the MG Big Band and the Royal Philharmonic at York Barbican in April 2023). Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk. 

In Focus: Badapple Theatre Company in The Thankful Village, York Theatre Royal Studio, April 24 to 26, 7pm and 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees

Pip Cook, left, Josie Morley and Keeley Lane in Badapple Theatre Company’s revival of Kate Bramley’s The Thankful Village, playing York Theatre Royal Studio next week

IN a new departure for Green Hammerton touring company Badapple Theatre, writer and artistic director Kate Bramley will be playing a live score for the first time to accompany her poignant First World War comedy-drama The Thankful Village.

Bramley is an international touring musician, who started her professional music career aged 17, with tours of the USA and UK, but this will be the first time that she has made a musical contribution to a show by her Green Hammerton company, specialists for 27 years in touring “theatre on your doorstep”.

Kate Bramley: Playing a live score in a Badapple Theatre Company production for the first time at York Theatre Royal Studio

“It has been our ambition since the play was created back in 2014 to have a live score accompanying the story,” says Kate. “Thanks to our collaboration with York Theatre Royal, I will appear with the stellar 2025 cast of Pip Cook, Keeley Lane and Josie Morley.

“I’m delighted to be performing at York Theatre Royal this spring. One performance is already sold out, so we’re looking forward to an exciting time at my favourite local theatre.”

Boasting original songs and music by Sony Radio Academy Award winner Jez Lowe, Bramley’s story of hope, humour and humanity is seen through the eyes of three Yorkshire women from the same rural household, below and above stairs.

Badapple Theatre Company in the rehearsal room for The Thankful Village

Left behind to cope after their men-folk march off to Flanders, Pip Cook’s Edie, Keeley Lane’s Victoria and Josie Morley’s Nellie each face up to the challenges in their own way as they wait anxiously for news of their loved ones far away. Box office:  01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Did you know?

“THE Thankful Villages” were those rare places that lost no men in the Great War because all those who left to serve came home again.

Badapple Theatre Company’s poster for The Thankful Village at York Theatre Royal Studio

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 14, from Gazette & Herald

Mr Willy Wonka, played by Jonathan, in Ryedale Youth Theatre’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory at the Milton Rooms, Malton

MISSING out on Gary Oldman’s sold-out Krapp’s Last Tape on his York Theatre Royal return? Charles Hutchinson digs up plenty of consolation prizes.

Ryedale musical of the week: Ryedale Youth Theatre in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Milton Rooms, Malton, tonight to Saturday, 7.15pm plus 2pm Thursday and Saturday matinees

RYEDALE Youth Theatre brings Roald Dahl’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory to the Malton stage in a magical adventure that journeys into Willy Wonka’s fantastical world.

Expect stunning performances and enchanting music in a family-friendly production perfect for all ages. Only 100 tickets are still available after sales of 1,200. Box office: yourboxoffice.co.uk/ryedale-youth-theatre.

Inspired By Theatre’s principal cast members in Rent, playing the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, from tomorrow

York musical of the week: Inspired By Theatre in Rent, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

YORK company Inspired By Theatre follow up Green Day’s American Idiot with another groundbreaking rock musical, Jonathan Larson’s Tony Award-winning story of love, resilience and artistic defiance. 

Set in New York City’s East Village at the height of the AIDS epidemic, Rent follows a group of young artists struggling to survive, create and hold on to hope in the face of uncertainty. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Welcome back: Gary Oldman in the York Theatre Royal dressing rooms

York theatre event of the year: Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape, York Theatre Royal, April 14 to May 17

ONCE the pantomime Cat that fainted thrice in Dick Whittington in his 1979 cub days on the professional circuit, Oscar winner Gary Oldman returns to the Theatre Royal to perform Samuel Beckett’s melancholic, tragicomic slice of theatre of the absurd Krapp’s Last Tape in his first stage appearance since the late-1980s.

“York, for me, is the completion of a cycle,” says the Slow Horses leading man. “It is the place ‘where it all began’. York, in a very real sense, for me, is coming home. The combination of York and Krapp’s Last Tape is all the more poignant because it is ‘a play about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier’.” Tickets update: New availability of returns and additional seats on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Abigoliah Schamaun: In pursuit of the “Holy Visa” in Legally Cheeky, on tour at Pocklington Arts Centre

Comedy gig of the week: Abigoliah Schamaun, Legally Cheeky, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow, 8pm

ABIGOLIAH Schamaun thought she had it all; the flat, the career, the life partner. This US transplant was living the American Dream…in London. Then one day, the Wicked Witch of Westminster, told Abigoliah to click her sparkly heels and go “home”. In that moment, everything changed. To lose would mean losing everything. 

Abigoliah’s quest for the Holy Visa began, and the fight was very much on. Legally Cheeky charts her journey in a heart-warming tale of highs, lows, twists and turns as she recounts the year that shook her and partner Tom to the core. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Snake Davis, right, will be teaming up with Stu Collingworth at Helmsley Arts Centre on Friday night

Jazz gig of the week: Snake Davis with Stu Collingworth, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

SAXOPHONIST to the stars Snake Davis will be joined by Hammond organist, composer and vocalist Stu Collingwood for an evening of soul pop and jazz. Davis performs regularly with famous artists at huge venues but is “far happier being himself at Helmsley Arts Centre”.

Collingworth has toured with Tony Christie, Alan Barnes and Elaine Delmar and has a residency at Charts in Newcastle. He and Davis have enjoyed a creative partnership for a decade, fired by a love of melody and groove. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Aleysha Jade in Curious Investigators at Pocklington Arts Centre on Saturday. Picture: Grant Archer

Family show of the week: One Tenth Human in Curious Investigators, Pocklington Arts Centre, Saturday, 1.30pm

SCRIBBLE and Clipboard have a job to do, sorting out the recycling, but Scribble keeps finding new things to investigate. When she discovers a mysterious egg hidden in the rubbish, the pair needs the audience’s help to rescue an unborn chick. Can you save a mysterious egg from a smashing and what will you discover along the way?

Curious Investigators is a cracking adventure, created in collaboration with engineering experts from Lancaster University, in a delightfully surprising, highly visual show for three to seven-year-olds and their grown-ups, hatched by One Tenth Human. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Wrongsemble in Three Little Vikings, a story of cooperation, bravery and making your voice heard at Helmsley Arts Centre

Children’s show of the week: Wrongsemble in Three Little Vikings, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 2.30pm

A TRIO of brave little Viking girls saves the day in Leeds company Wrongsemble’s bold and funny adventure story for little rebels by Bethan Woollvin, creator of Little Red and I Can Catch A Monster.  

Once upon a time in a Viking village, everything seems to be going wrong. Chickens are disappearing, trees are falling down. When the silly Chieftain will not listen to the three littlest Vikings, can they work together to figure out how to save the day in a 50-minute tale of cooperation, bravery and making your voice heard. Suitable for age three upwards. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Mark Druery: Taking part in York Open Studios this weekend

Art event of the month: York Open Studios, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 5pm

YORK Open Studios showcases 160 artists and makers at 117 locations in its largest configuration yet in its 24 years. Artists and makers, including 38 new participants, span ceramics, collage, digital art, illustration, jewellery, mixed media, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, textiles and wood, Full details and an interactive map can be found at yorkopenstudios.co.uk; brochures in shops, galleries, cafes and tourist hubs. Admission is free.

The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon: New album and York Barbican autumn date. Picture: Kevin Westenberg

Gig announcement of the week: The Divine Comedy, York Barbican, October 21

NEIL Hannon will promote The Divine Comedy’s 13th studio album, September 19’s Rainy Sunday Afternoon, on a 16-date autumn tour. Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, April 17 at 10am at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/the-divine-comedy-2025/.

Written, arranged and produced by Hannon and recorded at Abbey Road Studios, the album spans his usual range of emotions – sad, funny, angry and everything in between – as he “works through some stuff”: mortality, memories, relationships and political and social upheaval. 

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The Divine Comedy to play York Barbican & Sheffield City Hall on October tour for orchestral album Rainy Sunday Afternoon

Neil Hannon: New album and autumn tour. Picture: Kevin Westerberg

NEIL Hannon will promote The Divine Comedy’s 13th studio album, Rainy Sunday Afternoon, on a 16-date autumn tour that visits York Barbican on October 21, preceded by Sheffield City Hall on October 16.

Tickets will go on sale at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/the-divine-comedy-2025/ on Thursday, April 17 at 10am for Hannon’s return to the Barbican for the first time since April 30 2022.

Much has happened to Northern Irishman Hannon, 54, in the wake of his last studio set, 2019’sTop Five-charting Office Politics. The Divine Comedy’s entire back catalogue was lovingly remastered and rereleased in 2020, followed by the Top Five success of February 2022 compilation Charmed Life – The Best Of The Divine Comedy, marking the completion of the Derry-born singer, songwriter, musical score composer and cricket enthusiast’s third decade as a recording artist.

Hannon then wrote all the original songs for Paul King’s 2023 musical fantasy film Wonka, pronounced by the Official Charts Co as “the UK’s most popular film of 2024”.

Rainy Sunday Afternoon will be released on September 19.  Written, arranged and produced by Hannon and recorded at Abbey Road Studios, the album spans his usual range of emotions:  sad, funny, angry and everything in between.

“My musical output is, for better or worse, a representation of my personality,” says Hannon. “A good chunk of that personality revels in the rumbumptious; celebrates the silly. And I made ample use of that for the Wonka songs.

The sleeve artwork for The Divine Comedy’s September 19 album, Rainy Sunday Afternoon, one that “works through some stuff: mortality; memories; relationships; political and social upheaval”

“I have, though, like everyone, a darker, more melancholy side. And for one reason or another it has been much in evidence of late. I needed to use this album as an outlet for those feelings.

“To work through some stuff. Mortality; memories; relationships; political and social upheaval. Everyone should get to make an orchestral pop album once in a while. It should be available on the NHS.”

Rainy Sunday Afternoon is available to pre-order now via www.thedivinecomedy.com. Album formats include standard black and limited-edition colour LPs, standard CD and a limited-edition deluxe CD with a bonus disc, Live In Paris & London.

The Divine Comedy’s autumn tour will take in: October 6, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool; October 7, Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham; October 8, Forum, Bath; October 10, The Glasshouse, Gateshead;  October 11 and 12, Barbican, London; October 13, Dome, Brighton; October 15, Corn Exchange, Cambridge; October 16, Sheffield City Hall (box office, sheffieldcityhall.co.uk).

The itinerary will continue with: October 17, Civic Hall, Wolverhampton University;  October 18, Swansea Arena; October 20, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow; October 21, York Barbican; October 23, New Theatre, Oxford; October 24, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, and  October 25, Beacon, Bristol. European and Irish dates will follow next year.

Hannon’s visit to York Barbican on his Spring 2022 tour was his first York concert since May 2011.  That bygone night, the Irish chamber-pop leprechaun performed at York Minster, but the “divine” in The Divine Comedy was not the reason he could be found in northern Europe’s largest Gothic cathedral.

The Dean and Chapter had agreed to allow Tribeca Arts impresario Ben Pugh to run a series of rock/world concerts in the Minster, and if Hannon let slip a couple of X-rated words – one to describe Minster arsonist Jonathan Martin, the other in a lyric – the wrath from above did not befall him. He looked up heavenwards only when sipping red wine from a glass, mouthing “sorry” playfully.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond as a blaze of colour hits the streets. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 14, from The York Press

Sinead Corkery: Making her York Open Studios debut in Monkton Road, York

PERFECT weather greets the opening of studio doors as artists parade their skills while politics comes under the spotlight in Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations.

Art event of the month: York Open Studios, today and tomorrow; also April 12 and 13, 10am to 5pm

YORK Open Studios showcases 160 artists and makers at 117 locations in its largest configuration yet in its 24 years. Artists and makers, including 38 new participants, span ceramics, collage, digital art, illustration, jewellery, mixed media, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, textiles and wood, Full details and an interactive map can be found at yorkopenstudios.co.uk; brochures in shops, galleries, cafes and tourist hubs. Admission is free.

Rob Rouse: Headlining Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club’s bill at The Basement tonight

Comedy bill of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, Rob Rouse, David Eagle, Ben Silver and Damion Larkin, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 8pm

ROB Rouse, from The Friday Night Project, Spoons, BBC3’s Comedy Shuffle, Mad Mad World, Upstart Crow and Rob And Helen’s Date Night self-help podcast, headlines tonight’s bill, hosted by Laugh Out Loud promoter Damion Larkin.

Support act David Eagle, a member of north eastern folk band The Young’uns, mines comedy from exploring how his blindness turns the most ordinary, commonplace events into surreal, convoluted dramas. Box office: 01904 612940 or lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.

Ged Graham: Leading the Seven Drunken Nights celebration of The Dubliners, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Prestige Productions

Irish craic of the week: Seven Drunken Nights: The Story of the Dubliners, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

SEVEN Drunken Nights takes a trip down memory lane in celebration of The Dubliners’ 50-year performing career on a 2025 global tour of 300 shows across 42 weeks. The Irish Rover, The Town I Love So Well and Dirty Old Town will be joined by new additions Paddy On The Railway and The Lark In The Morning in a new production for this year’s travels.

The show’s 2017 founder, frontman and narrator, Dublin-born writer and director Ged Graham, says: “The connection we’ve built with the audience over the years is incredible; they know we’re keeping the iconic music of The Dubliners alive with the same passion that they have for it.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Telling the whole story: Writer-performer Andrew Margerison in Dyad Productions’ That Knave, Raleigh

Historical play of the week: Dyad Productions in That Knave, Raleigh, Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 7.30pm; Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 9, 7.30pm

DYAD Productions follow up I, Elizabeth with a return to the Elizabethan era in That Knave, Raleigh, writer-performer Andrew Margerison’s story of Elizabethan explorer, sailor, dandy and warrior Sir Walter Raleigh, Elizabeth I’s favourite and James I’s knave. 

The Huguenots, America, the Armada and execution: is that the whole story? “There is so much you don’t know,” says Margerison of Raleigh, father, husband, writer, poet, adventurer, philosopher, soldier, tyrant, egotist, lover, traitor, alchemist, visionary and victim.

“The final chapter of Raleigh’s life is perhaps the most daring, strange and utterly heart-breaking. See the fall from grace taken directly from historical record; marvel at the magnetism of a man who seized every opportunity.”Box office: Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk; York, tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

The Manfreds: Playing Joseph Rowntree Theatre for the first time this weekend

Sixties’ nostalgia of the week: The Manfreds, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

TICKETS are down to the last few for the chance to see The Manfreds in their Joseph Rowntree Theatre debut, featuring original Manfred Mann members Paul Jones and Tom McGuinness, both 83.

The set list takes in such Sixties R&B hits as 5-4-3-2-1, Pretty Flamingo, The Mighty Quinn and Do Wah Diddy Diddy, intermixed with jazz and blues covers from their solo albums. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Al Murray: Rolling out his barrel of laughs at York Barbican as the Guvnor puts you right on Sunday night

Political insights of the week: Al Murray, Guv Island, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm

THE people have spoken. The Pub Landlord is back for another round of Guv Island with “New Extra Brew Material”in 2025, having pulled pints and punters at the Grand Opera House in March 2024.

Standing up so you don’t have to take it lying it down anymore, the Guvnor will “make sense of the questions you probably already had the answers to”. “Country, the UK, lost its way, seeks life partner/mentor/inspiration. Good sense of humour essential. No timewasters, tedious show-offs or offend-o-trons need apply. HR free zone,” says Murray. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Inspired By Theatre’s principal cast for Jonathan Larson’s musical Rent at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York. Picture: Dan Crawfurd-Porter

Musical of the week: Inspired By Theatre in Rent, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, April 10 to 12, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

YORK company Inspired By Theatre – the new name for Bright Light Musical Productions – follow up Green Day’s American Idiot with another groundbreaking rock musical, Jonathan Larson’s Tony Award-winning story of love, resilience and artistic defiance. 

Set in New York City’s East Village at the height of the AIDS epidemic, Rent follows a group of young artists struggling to survive, create and hold on to hope in the face of uncertainty. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Jan Noble in his verse drama Body 115. Picture: jannoble.co.uk/body115

Odyssey of the week: Jan Noble in Body 115, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 11, 7.30pm

EVER wished you were somewhere else? Ever wished you were someone else? Escaping the rain, a journey on the London Underground becomes a descent into the underworld in Body 115, 2023 winner of the London Pub Theatre Award for Best Innovative Play.

Written and performed by Jan Noble, directed by Justin Butcher, this tale of broken hearts, old flames and open roads follows Noble’s down-and-out poet-hero through the sewers and tubes of King’s Cross Station to the heart of Italy. Part invocation, part rain dance, this poetic odyssey is delivered with a contemporary kick. From the terraces at Millwall to fashionable Milan, expect shadowy encounters, dodgy connections and chance meetings with a host of poet ghosts.

“Body 115 is an epic poem, a tale of inner and outer journeys in explicit homage to Dante’s Divine Comedy,” says Noble. “From the rain-washed, subterranean underworld of King’s Cross, ‘Body 115’ – the long-unidentified victim of the 1987 fire – becomes Virgil to my Dante in a rhapsodic paean to the trammelling ecstasy of loss: a trans-European odyssey turned safari of the soul.” Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Dianne Buswell & Vito Coppola: Strictly Come Dancing professionals team up for Red Hot And Ready

Show announcement of the week: Burn The Floor presents Dianne Buswell & Vito Coppola in Red Hot And Ready, York Barbican, July 6, 7.30pm; Leeds Grand Theatre, July 18, 7.30pm, and July 19, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing’s stellar professional dancers, 2024 winner Dianne Buswell and 2023 victor Vito Coppola, will star in the new show from the Burn The Floor stable, created by Strictly creative director Jason Gilkison.

Billed as “a dynamic new dance show with a difference”, Red Hot And Ready brings together Buswell, Coppola and a cast of multi-disciplined Burn The Floor dancers from around the world, accompanied by vocalists and a band. Expect “jaw-dropping choreography, heart-pounding music and breathtaking moves, from seriously sexy to irresistibly charming”. Box office: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.

John Simpson: BBC News world affairs editor puts leaders and lunatics in the dock at the Grand Opera House, York, on Monday

In Focus: More political insights of the week: John Simpson: The Leaders & Lunatics Tour, Grand Opera House, York, April 7, 7.30pm

IN his bold, unflinching look at leadership, veteran BBC journalist and broadcaster John Simpson CBE ponders why some inspire while others descend into tyranny. “And…are all tyrants ‘lunatics’,” he asks.

After six decades of unparalleled access to world leaders – and lunatics – Simpson explores the personalities that have shaped history. From notorious figures such as Assad, Saddam, Mugabe and Gaddafi to admired leaders Gorbachev, Mandela, Havel and Zelensky, he reveals their common threads, unique quirks and lasting impact.

Drawing on his first-hand encounters and personal dealings, Simpson will unravel the enigmatic personas of Putin, Xi Jinping, bin-Laden and Thatcher, while pondering what links Mandela and Princess Diana or Zelensky and Mugabe.

In an increasingly volatile world, BBC News world affairs editor Simpson will navigate the intricate web of international relations, delving into the complexities of the most pressing global challenges of our time – conflicts, war, famine, economic crises and climate change – to reveal how the actions and decisions of leaders, from despots to visionaries, have shaped these crises and continue to influence our world today.

Simpson, now 80, has spent all his working life with the BBC, reporting from more than 120 countries, including 30 war zones, and interviewing myriad world leaders on his foreign correspondent beat.

As a household name who has covered almost every major event in the world from the 1960s to present day in his fearless journalism, he will turn from interviewer to interviewee to take questions from the audience in the second-half Q&A.

What on earth is going on, John? Hear his answers at this talk “truly for our troubled times”, when Simpson promises to entertain, enlighten, and inspire as he provides “insights into past and present events, with no doubt some focus on Trump and the shifting global order”. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

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world affairs editor of BBC News. He has spent all his working life with the BBC, and has reported from more than 120 countries, including thirty war zones, and interviewed many world leaders.

In an increasingly volatile world, John will also examine the most pressing challenges of our time – war, famine, economic crises, and climate change – to reveal how the actions and decisions of leaders, from despots to visionaries, have shaped these crises and continue to influence our world today.

In the second half, the floor is yours. Ask your questions as John offers sharp insights into past and present events, with no doubt some focus on Trump and the shifting global order.


John Simpson: Leaders and Lunatics Tour

After a sell-out tour in 2024, legendary journalist and broadcaster John Simpson CBE is returning to the stage for an exclusive evening packed with unparalleled insights from one of the most distinguished foreign correspondents of our time.

With decades of first-hand encounters and personal dealings, John will explore the enigmatic personas of global figures such as Putin, Xi Jinping, bin-Laden and Thatcher.

John will navigate the intricate web of international relations, delving into the complexities of our global issues – from conflicts, war and famines, to world economies and climate change.

What links Mandela and Princess Diana? Or Zelenskiy and Mugabe? John will reveal the common threads linking these figures, and offer a unique perspective on the impact they’ve had on world affairs.

As a household name who has covered almost every major event in the world from the 1960’s to present day, you will have an opportunity to ask John your questions – what were these leaders and lunatics really like, and what on earth is going on? Don’t miss John for an evening that promises to entertain, enlighten, and inspire with his fearless journalism and captivating storytelling.

What on earth is going on? An event truly for our troubled times – don’t miss this enlightening and compelling evening.

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Dianne & Vito to star in Burn The Floor’s new show Red Hot And Ready at York Barbican and Leeds Grand Theatre in July

The poster for Dianne Buswell & Vito Coppola’s Red Hot And Ready, presented by Burn The Floor at York Barbican and Leeds Grand Theatre in July

STRICTLY Come Dancing’s stellar professional dancers, 2024 winner Dianne Buswell and 2024 runner-up Vito Coppola, will head to York Barbican on July 6 on their Red Hot And Ready tour.

Created by Jason Gilkison, the new show will dance its way round the UK in June and July, visiting 30 venues including Leeds Grand Theatre on July 18 and 19.


The tour will be presented by Burn The Floor in the international company’s return to the UK as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations. 


Billed as “a dynamic new dance show with a difference”, Red Hot And Ready brings together Buswell, Coppola and a cast of multi-disciplined Burn The Floor dancers from around the world, accompanied by vocalists and a band.


Red Hot And Ready will be “the ultimate high-voltage dance extravaganza, exploding with jaw-dropping choreography, heart-pounding music and breathtaking moves, from seriously sexy to irresistibly charming, and celebrating the pure joy of dance”. 

Buswell has been a two-time finalist during her seven Strictly years, winning the 2024 Glitter Ball trophy with comedian Chris McCausland and is noted for her fun, quirky personality, dynamic dance style and flaming red locks.

Coppola, the 2023 winner with actress Ellie Leach and 2024 runner-up with actress Sarah Hadland, has become a favourite with audiences in his two Strictly years, marked by both his terpsichorean flair and cheeky humour. 

Buswell says: “I am truly excited to be going on tour with our magnificent new show with the most phenomenal partner, Vito, and to sharing the love and the energy as we dance for you.” 

Coppola says: “I can’t wait to be on tour with the amazing, beautiful, vibrant Dianne Buswell. It’s going to be Red, it’s going to be Hot, and we are going to be super Ready to bring to you so much joy and smiles and happiness.” 

Show creator and choreographer Jason Gilkison says: “I am feeling blessed to be coming home to Burn The Floor and creating a new show for the first time in ten years. To have Dianne and Vito leading this dynamic cast really guarantees an unforgettable experience for our audience.”

Burn The Floor is credited widely with kick-starting the modern ballroom dance revolution following its 1999 world premiere in Bournemouth. The explosive show was ahead of its time in combining the art and tradition of ballroom with rock’n’roll technology. 


Heading into its in 26th year, Burn The Floor has revolutionised ballroom style on stages around the world with its mesmerising choreography, ground-breaking moves, dazzling costumes and sets and infectious, rebellious energy.

 
Italian-born Coppola began dancing at seven and is a three-time World Championship finalist and a European Cup winner. Buswell, former Australian Open champion and four-time Amateur Australian Open finalist,  joined Burn The Floor in 2007.


Choreographer and BAFTA award recipient Gilkison’s involvement with Burn The Floor began as lead dancer in 1999. He took up the role of choreographer and artistic director in 2001, leading the show on several world tours and visiting more than 40 countries, including a box office-smashing season on Broadway in 2009/2010, followed by a West End season in London.

He became creative director for Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One) and is a judge and choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance in Australia and the USA.

Over the years, Gilkison has choreographed for Cher, Celine Dion, Robbie Williams, Andrea Bocelli, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett and many more.

Dianne Buswell & Vito Coppola in Red Hot And Ready, York Barbican, July 6, 7.30pm; Leeds Grand Theatre, July 18, 7.30pm, and July 19, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond when night-time incidents spark curiosity. Hutch’s List No. 13, from The York Press

Kiki Dee & Carmelo Ruggeri: Heading to All Saints Church, Pocklington on The Long Ride Home tour

FOUR nights of Greg Davies and tenth visit of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers are the headline acts in Charles Hutchinson’s bill for cultural satisfaction.

Acoustic duo of the week: Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri, All Saints Church, Pocklington, tonight, 7.30pm

JOIN Bradford-born singer Kiki Dee and guitarist Carmelo Luggeri for an acoustic journey through their songs and stories, taking in songs from 2022 album The Long Ride Home, Kate Bush and Frank Sinatra covers and hits from Kiki’s 55 years and more in the music business, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, Star, I Got The Music In Me, Loving & Free and Amoureuse. Box office: kikiandcarmelo.com.

Brighouse & Rastrick Band: A blast of brass on Sunday afternoon at Pocklington Arts Centre

Brass concert of the week: Brighouse & Rastrick Band, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow, 2pm

FOREVER associated with 1977 number two hit and “unofficial encore” The Floral Dance, West Yorkshire’s Brighouse & Rastrick Band presents a concert suitable for casual listener and connoisseur alike.

The majority of premier band championships have been held by ‘Briggus’, most recently becoming the 2022 British Open and Brass in Concert champions. ‘Briggus’ are noted too for collaborations outside the brass band tradition, from the late Terry Wogan to Kate Rusby, classical actor Simon Callow to The Unthanks at York Minster in 2012. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Tom Holland: Hailing Caesars at Grand Opera House, York

History lesson of the week: Tom Holland, The Lives Of The Caesars, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

THE Rest Is History podcaster and storyteller Tom Holland journeys back to the Roman empire to “get up close and personal” with Caesar, Augustus, Caligula and Nero as he spotlights the lives of the first 12 Roman emperors in conversation with Martha Kearney.

In this supreme arena, emperors had no choice but to fight, to thrill, to dazzle, as highlighted in Holland’s new Penguin Classics translation of Suetonius’s Lives Of The Twelve Caesars. Expect revelations of the emperors’ shortfalls, sex scandals, tastes, foibles and eccentricities. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Vivienne Carlyle’s Mrs Johnstone and Sean Jones’s Mickey in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Jack Merriman

Musical of the week: Blood Brothers, Grand Opera House, York, April 1 to 5, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

WILLY Russell’s Liverpool musical makes its tenth visit to the Grand Opera House, and despite Sean Jones’s appearance in the 2022 tour being billed as his “last ever” after 23 years on and off as Mrs Johnstone’s son Mickey, here he is once more, still  “running around as a seven-year-old in a baggy green jumper and short trousers” at 54.

Scottish actress Vivienne Carlyle, who played Mrs Lyons on her previous Blood Brothers visit to York, takes the role of Mrs J in Russell’s moving tale of twins separated at birth, who grow up on the opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with tragic consequences. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Curiouser and curiouser: Pick Me Up Theatre in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York

Play of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 1 to 5,7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday

ANDREW Isherwood directs York company Pick Me Up Theatre in Simon Stephens’s stage adaptation of Mark Haddon’s story of Christopher Boone (Jonathan Wells), a 15-year-old boy with an extraordinary brain Exceptionally gifted at Maths, he finds everyday life and interaction with other people very confusing.

Christopher has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, hates being touched and deeply distrusts strangers, but everything changes when he falls under suspicion for killing his neighbour’s dog, propelling him on a journey of self-discovery that upturns his world. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Greg Davies: Milking it in his Full Fat Legend stand-up show

Comedy gigs of the week: Greg Davies: Full Fat Legend, York Barbican, April 2 to 5,

TOWERING comedian Greg Davies plays York Barbican for a full-fat four nights on his Full Fat Legend Tour, his first on British soil for seven years.

The 6ft 8 inch star of Taskmaster, The Inbetweeners, The Cleaner, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Man Down and Cuckoo is undertaking his biggest stand-up tour to date. He last played York Barbican on November 1 and 2 2017 on his You Magnificent Beast tour, his first travels for four years. Tickets update: Sold out; for returns only, go to yorkbarbican.co.uk. Davies’s Hull Connexin Live shows on June 3 and 4 and at Leeds First Direct Arena on June 20 are sold out too.

Daniel Wilmot’s Count Dracula in Baron Productions’ Dracula at St Mary’s Church, Bishophill Junior, York

High stakes of the week: Baron Productions in Dracula, St Mary’s Church, Bishophill Junior, York, April 3 to 5, 7.30pm

FOUNDER and director Daniel Wilmot makes it Count when starring as the mysterious Dracula in York company Baron Productions’ account of Bram Stoker’s Gothic masterpiece in one of York’s most atmospheric churches.

When Jonathan Harker (Jack McAdam) embarks on a business trip to Count Dracula’s Transylvanian castle, little does he know the terror that awaits him. Guided by the wise Professor Van Helsing (Lee Gemmell), a courageous group must gamble their lives, even their very souls, to stop Dracula’s evil plans to enslave the world. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/baron-productions. 

Pianist Ian Pace

Classical concert of the week: York Late Music presents The Beethoven Project: Ian Pace, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, April 5, 7.30pm

IN the second of The Beethoven Project concerts for York Late Music, pianist Ian Pace continues his exploration of Beethoven’s nine symphonies (transcribed by Franz Liszt) with his iconic Pastoral Symphony No. 6.

The programme also includes Michael Finnissy’s English Country Tunes (1-3), Beethoven’s Six Goethe-Lieder (transcribed by Liszt) and a new work of three musical tributes by Steve Crowther, Rock With Stock, A Study In Glass and Louis’ Angry Blues. Box office: latemusic.org/product/ian-pace-concert-tickets/ or on the door.

The poster for the new additions to Lightning Seeds’ Tomorrow’s Here Today 35 Years Greatest Hits Tour

Gig announcement of the week: Lightning Seeds, Tomorrow’s Here Today 35 Years Greatest Hits Tour, York Barbican, October 9, doors 7pm

LIVERPOOL singer, songwriter and producer Ian Broudie is extending Lightning Seeds’ 35th anniversary tour with 11 more dates this autumn. Here come Pure, The Life Of Riley, Change, Lucky You, Sense, All I Want, Sugar Coated Iceberg, You Showed Me, Emily Smiles, Three Lions and many more from his 20-track Tomorrow’s Here Today: 35 Years Of Lightning Seeds compilation album. This summer, Lightning Seeds will support York band Shed Seven at Millennium Square, Leeds, on July 11. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Our Star Theatre Company’s tour poster for Hannay Stands Fast

In Focus: Our Star Theatre Company in Hannay Stands Fast, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York

OUR Star Theatre Company cut a dash at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, on Thursday and Friday in Hannay Stands Fast, the sequel to The 39 Steps.

Adapted by David Edgar from John Buchan’s novel, this rip-roaring comedy finds dashing hero Richard Hannay back in the fray on a mission to thwart a new and deadly threat to his beloved England.

Engaged on this top-secret case by MI5, Hannay makes his way down to Cornwall to infiltrate a secretive organisation and learn their dastardly plans. Can he save the day to keep the nation safe for another day? Cue derring-do, utter chaos and laughs aplenty in a show replete with a train, motorbike, ambulance, car, police vehicle, even a horse.

“Like for our production of The 39 Steps, Hannay Stands Fast is taken on by four actors playing dozens of characters – 53 to be precise! – set in various locations created through quick and innovative uses of trunks, crates, suitcases, ladders, you name it!” says director Ben Mowbray, who founded the Ledbury, Herefordshire company in 2016.

Our Star Theatre Company are visiting York on the debut UK tour of the British professional premiere of Hannay Stands Fast with a cast of George Cooper as Hannay and Angharad Mortimer in her company debut as Mary Lambington (and others), joined by the multi-role-playing Daniel Davies and Mowbray as First and Second Clown.

Our Star Theatre Company in Hannay Stands Fast, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, April 3 and 4, 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

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Public Service Broadcasting take The Last Flight to York Barbican on Thursday

Public Service Broadcasting: Raiding the archives at York Barbican

PUBLIC Service Broadcasting make their York Barbican debut on Thursday on their ten-date March itinerary.

The spring tour follows last October’s release of the ever-evolving Londoners’ Top Three-charting fifth studio album, The Last Flight, with its exploration of the final voyage of American female aviator Amelia Earhart on July 2 1937 in a study of adventure, speed, freedom and the psychological depths of this pioneering life-force.

Recorded in the band’s southeast London studio, with strings added by the London Contemporary Orchestra at The Church in north London, the album was prompted by band leader J Wildgoose Esq’s desire to do a woman-focused story, “because most of the archive we have access to is overwhelmingly male”.

“I was initially drawn in by Earhart’s final fight, rather than the successes that she had, but the more I read, the more I became fascinated by her,” he says. “Her bravery and her aeronautical achievements were extraordinary, but her philosophy and the dignity that she had… she was an outstanding person. 

“The final flight is the spine of the journey: the story jumps off at different points and examines different facets of her personality, her relationship with her husband, her attitude to flying, her attitude to existing.”

The artwork for Public Service Broadcasting’s October 2024 album The Last Flight

Wildgoose continues:  She gave herself, I think, less than a 50 per cent chance of survival when she flew the Atlantic alone. To put yourself, willingly, in those situations…I think it says something about that drive at the heart of humanity.

“However The Last Flight isn’t doom-laden or covered in grief. There’s adventure, freedom, the joy of being alive. The reason why she wanted to fly was to find the beauty in living:  ‘to know the reason why I’m alive, and to feel that every minute’. The flight did fail, but she was right. Of all the people we’ve written about, I have the deepest respect and admiration for her.”

Thursday’s set list will draw on all five themed Public Service Broadcasting albums:  2013’s Inform – Educate – Entertain, 2015’s The Race For Space, 2017’s Every Valley, 2021’s Bright Magic and 2024’s The Last Flight. “Naturally, the most focus is on the new one with six or seven from that one and plenty of space for songs we couldn’t leave out, like Go!, Spitfire and Everest,” says Wildgoose.

“But we change it every night, maybe changing three or four songs a night or maybe the order. I don’t know how some bands play the same set every night on a tour. The bands who I’ve loved over the ages, like Radiohead  at the Roundhouse [London] on three May nights in 2016, they changed the set every night. One of my favourite bands, My Morning Jacket, they always change the set.

“The only thing it does require is a lot more work to make sure the musicians can play the songs to the right standard; and Mr B, who does our visuals and set design, has to be sure the visuals are right for every show.

“It’s the fullest, richest and most varied sound we’ve had,” says J Wildgoose Esq of Public Service Broadcasting’s 2025 configuration

“The musicians are equipped to play 37 songs with 12 that we can’t leave out. We normally have a bit of a chat at the soundcheck, and if there’s anything we’re not comfortable to run with, we’ll try it out.”

Since the conceptual art exploits of Bright Magic, Public Service Broadcasting have four core members: Wildgoose on guitar, banjo, other stringed instruments, samples and electronic musical instruments; Wrigglesworth on drums, piano and electronic instruments; J F Abraham on flugelhorn, bass guitar, drums and vibraslap and the aforementioned Mr B.

“Back in the early days, it was just me, and actually it was really lonely, just me packing things into the car and thinking, ‘this is too lonely’. You need someone else to be there with you to share it,” says Wildgoose.

On this month’s tour, the staple quartet are joined by Norwegian singer EERA and three brass musicians. “It’s the fullest, richest and most varied sound we’ve had. We always try to enrich every album with more upbeat numbers, slower numbers. In the early days, we could only play the same songs each show, but now we have so many more options.”

“We will always wear corduroy: it’s the thread that’s woven through our career,” says Public Service Broadcasting’s J Wildgoose Esq

Each album takes considerable preparation. “Each time it has to be something that intrigues me as it’s a big undertaking to write a record. The world is not short of stories, but  it’s also that thing of how do we tell that story; whether we use archive material or material that’s not recorded, or forsaking any narrative, as we did for Bright Magic [the history, myth and nightlife of Berlin album], and then returning to a really narrative album for The Last Flight,” says Wildgoose.

“I think I have something in mind for the next one, which is exciting, but daunting, especially the time frame involved. I’ll start in July this summer and bring it out in 2027. Why so long? Other bands don’t need such a long build –up that I do for the research.”

As ever, Public Service Broadcasting will be wearing corduroys at York Barbican on Thursday. “Absolutely! That will never change. We even wore white corduroys that we had specially made for Bright Magic,” says Wildgoose. “We will always wear corduroy: it’s the thread that’s woven through our career.”

Should you be wondering whether  Public Service Broadcasting have played York previously, the answer is yes. “Fibbers, twice, maybe three times,” says Wildgoose. “Once was for DV8, a Goth trance festival. I did wonder if they knew who we were!”

Public Service Broadcasting, supported by She Drew The Gun, York Barbican, Thursday, doors 7pm. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk. Also playing Sheffield Octagon Wednesday, doors 7pm. Box office: ticketmaster.co.uk.

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More Things To Do in York & beyond when not only Poirot exercises the little grey cells. Hutch’s List No. 12, from The York Press

Freya Horlsey: Among the 163 artists and makers taking part in York Open Studios

SPRING has sprung, the cue for the arts world to have an extra spring in its step, much to Charles Hutchinson’s joy.

Art event of the weekend: York Open Studios Taster Exhibition, The Hospitium, York Museum Gardens, today and tomorrow, 10am to 4pm

YORK Open Studios will showcase 163 artists and makers at 116 locations on April 5, 6, 12 and 13 in its largest configuration yet in its 24 years. To whet the appetite, this weekend’s Taster Exhibition showcases works by participating artists to “help you choose which studios you would like to visit”. Full details of the April event can be found at yorkopenstudios.co.uk. Admission is free.

Stevie Hook: Spinning The Wheel Of Nouns

Queer cabaret night of the week: York Literature Festival presents Stevie Hook in The Wheel Of Nouns, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 7.30pm

REJOICE…or beware! The Gender Fairy is loose and has found their way to York. What is gender anyway and why should you care? Discover why it may be easier than you think in Hook’s new cabaret comedy: an evening of spinning game show wheels, jokes, bribes, and voluntary audience participation.

Audience interaction and cabaret-style games create a light-hearted, accepting environment to explore key issues around queerness and gender identity in 70 minutes of thought-provoking, mischievous queer cabaret.

The Wheel Of Nouns is presented by York trans, non-binary, neurodivergent mythical creature, writer and cabaret artist Stevie Hook. They are an associate artist with Roots Theatre and uses the pronouns they/them and hehe/hym.

At the heart of everything they create is a passion for subverting expectations, using games and audience interaction mechanics to invite audiences into silly, unapologetically trans worlds. They believe empowering audiences to participate and play in these silly worlds with them can open doors for meaningful change. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Printmaker Pamela Knight: Exhibiting at Bluebird Bakery in Acomb

Exhibition of the week: Three Printmakers, Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, until May 7

YORK Printmakers members Pamela Knight, Vanessa Oo and Sandra Storey are taking part in the Three Printmakers: Energy, Atmosphere & Light exhibition. York artist and former theatre set and costume designer Knight specialises in collagraphy, enjoying the textures and effects she creates using this process, often enriched with monoprint and chine colle.

Oo, from York, is displaying monotypes for the first time. “My work is about capturing the magic of the moment; an unseen energy and rhythm,” she says. Harrogate artist Sandra Storey’s work evokes the “talisman-like quality” of plants, birds and natural objects found within the North York Moors landscape. Admission is free.

Close up for Kim Wilde: Songs from Close and Closer at York Barbican

Pop gig of the week: Kim Wilde: Closer Tour, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.45pm

EIGHTIES’ pop star Kim Wilde performs songs from her sixth album, 1988’s Close, complemented by new numbers from Closer, her 15th studio set, released on January 25. Expect the familiar hits too: Kids In America, You Came, You Keep Me Hangin’ On, Never Trust A Stranger, Four Letter Word et al. Cutting Crew support. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Fiery Angel head to the Grand Opera House from Tuesday with Lucy Bailey’s production of Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express

Thriller of the week: Fiery Angel in Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express, Grand Opera House, York, March 25 to 29, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

FIERY Angel follow up November 2023’s visit of And Then There Were None with another Agatha Christie murder mystery directed by Lucy Bailey, this time with Michael Maloney on board for a “deliciously thrilling ride” as Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot.

In Winter 1934, an avalanche stops The Orient Express dead in its tracks. Cue a murder. A train full of suspects. An impossible case. Trapped in the snow with a killer still on-board, can the world’s most famous detective crack the case before the train reaches its final destination?

Meanwhile, Wise Children’s world premiere of Emma Rice’s theatrical take on Alfred Hitchcock’s North By North West continues at York Theatre Royal until April 5. Box office: GOH, atgtickets.com/york; YTR, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Mark Simmonds in rehearsal for his role as Prospero in Black Sheep Theatre’s The Tempest at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York

Shakespeare debut of the week: Black Sheep Theatre in The Tempest, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, March 26 to 29, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

AFTER making their mark with musical theatre productions, York company Black Sheep Productions branch out into Shakespeare territory under Matthew Peter Clare’s direction. “Prepare for The Tempest like you’ve never seen it before,” he says, promising magic, music and mayhem in a dark re-telling of the one with “a storm, a shipwreck and the torment of it all”, featuring Mark Simmonds as Prospero, Freya McIntosh as Miranda, Mikhail Lim as Gonzalo, Deathly Dark Tours guide, Kisskisskill singer Gemma-Louise Keane as Ariel, Meg Conway as Antonia and Josh Woodgate as Caliban.

“With a phenomenal cast, a live six-piece band, our production re-imagines Shakespeare’s tale of power, revenge, and redemption in a truly immersive and unforgettable way.” Box office:  tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Public Service Broadcasting: York Barbican debut on March 27

Past meets future in the present: Public Service Broadcasting, York Barbican, March 27, doors 7pm

PUBLIC Service Broadcasting make their York Barbican debut with  J. Willgoose, Esq on guitar, banjo, other stringed instruments, samples and electronic musical instruments; Wrigglesworth on drums, piano and electronic instruments; J F Abraham on flugelhorn, bass guitar, drums and vibraslap and Mr B on visuals and set design.

“Teaching the lessons of the past through the music of the future” for more than a decade, the corduroy-wearing Londoners will select material from their five themed albums, 2013’s Inform – Educate – Entertain, 2015’s The Race For Space, 2017’s Every Valley, 2021’s Bright Magic and 2024’s The Last Flight. She Drew The Gun support. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Laura Veirs: Art meets science via geology in her songs at The Crescent, York, on March 27

Folk gig of the week: Please Please You and Brudenell Presents (CORRECT)present Laura Veirs, supported by Lucca Mae, The Crescent, York, March 27, doors 7pm

PORTLAND, Oregon, folk singer, songwriter, children’s author, artist, Midnight Lightning podcaster, Stanford University songwriting teacher and mother Laura Veirs draws on her 14 albums in her Crescent set. Growing up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, she spent summers camping with her family, inspiring her songwriting as much as her fascination with the intersection of art and science from days of studying geology (and Mandarin Chinese) at Carleton College in rural Minnesota.

Her 25-year career has taken in collaborations with Neko Case and kd lang in case/lang/veirs, Sufjan Stevens, Jim James of My Morning Jacket and The Decemberists. Now she is working on new paintings, an instrumental guitar album and a book about creativity. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Freida Nipples: Baps & Buns is back at Bluebird Bakery

Burlesque show of the week: Freida Nipples presents Baps & Buns Burlesque, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, Bakery, March 28, doors 7pm for 8pm start

YORK’S award-winning queen of burlesque, Freida Nipples, returns to Rise with the first Baps & Buns cabaret bill of 2025. On the menu at York’s regular burlesque night in a bakery will be a collection of sensational cabaret artists, fronted by Freida, of course.

Further Baps & Buns will be on the Rise on May 30, June 27, September 19 and December 13. Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk.

Will Smith: Off to the seaside to perform at Scarborough Open Air Theatre in August

Gig announcement of the week: Will Smith, Based On A True Story Tour, TK Maxx Presents  Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 24

WILL Smith, the Grammy Award-winning American screen actor, entertainer and recording artist, will promote his first full-length album in 20 years, Based On A True Story, on his debut UK headline travels that will open on the Yorkshire coast.

Songs from his March 28 release will be complemented by such hits as Jiggy Wit It, Miami, and Summertime. “Yo UK, my first ever tour. You got to go get it. I’m on my way,” says Smith, 56. “That’s my airplane. Scarborough, Cardiff, Manchester, London, it’s going to be hot! I’m about to go to the airport. I’m leaving now!” Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 11, from Gazette & Herald

York Pop artist Harland Miller with his new work York from his XXX exhibition at York Art Gallery. Picture: Olivia Hemingway

FROM Harland Miller’s Pop Art to Emma Rice’s theatrical world premiere of Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest, these are exciting times for artistic expression, Charles Hutchinson reports.

XXXhibition of the week: Harland Miller: XXX, York Art Gallery, until August 31, open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm

YORK-RAISED artist and writer Harland Miller has returned to York Art Gallery to launch XXX, showcasing paintings and works on paper from his Letter Paintings series, including the unveiling of several new paintings, not least ‘York’, a floral nod to Yorkshire’s white rose and York’s daffodils.   

Inspired by his upbringing in 1970s’ Yorkshire and an itinerant lifestyle in New York, New Orleans, Berlin and Paris during the 1980s and 1990s, Miller creates colourful and graphically vernacular works that convey his love of popular language and attest to his enduring engagement with its narrative, aural and typographical possibilities. Tickets: yorkartgallery.org.uk.

Simon Oskarsson’s Valerian, left, Ewan Wardrop’s Roger Thornhill, Katy Owen’s Professor and Mirabelle Gremaud’s Anna rehearsing a scene for Emma Rice’s production of Alfred Hitchcock’s North By North West. Picture: Steve Tanner

World premiere of the week in York: Wise Children in Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest, York Theatre Royal, until April 5, 7.30pm plus 2pm, March 26 and April 3; 2.30pm, March 29 and April 5

IT would be strange if, in a city of seven million people, one man were never mistaken for another…and that is exactly what happens to Roger Thornhill, reluctant hero of North By Northwest, when a mistimed phone call to his mother lands him smack bang in the middle of a Cold War conspiracy. Now he is on the run, dodging spies, airplanes and a femme fatale who might not be all she seems.

Wise Children writer-director Emma Rice turns film legend Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller on its head in her riotously humorous reworking. Replete with six shape-shifting performers, a fabulous 1950s’ soundtrack and a heap of hats, this dazzling co-production with York Theatre Royal, HOME Manchester and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse plays with heart, mind and soul in a topsy-turvy drama full of glamour, romance, jeopardy and a liberal sprinkling of tender truths. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Nina Wadia’s Gemma and Sam Bailey’s April in NOW That’s What I Call A Musical, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith

Musical of the week: NOW That’s What I Call A Musical, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm matinees, today and Saturday

DIRECTED by Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood, comedian Pippa Evans’s hit-laden musical is set in Birmingham in 1989 and 2009. Back in the day, school friends Gemma Warner and April Devonshire are planning their lives based on Number One magazine quizzes and dreaming of snogging Rick Astley. Twenty years later, Gemma (Nina Wadia) and April (The X Factor winner Sam Bailey) face the most dreaded event of their adult lives: the school reunion.

Drama, old flames and receding hairlines come together as friends reunite and everything from the past starts to slot into place. Sinitta, Eighties’s pop star of So Macho and Toy Boy fame, will be the guest star all week in a show featuring Gold, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Tainted Love, Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves et al. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Nearly here: Nearly here: Paddy McGuinness brings his Nearly There tour to York Barbican tomorrow

Comedy gig of the week: Paddy McGuinness, Nearly There, York Barbican, tomorrow, 7.45pm

FARNWORTH comedian, television and radio presenter and game show host Paddy McGuinness plays York on his first stand-up itinerary since 2016. Launching the 40 dates last year, he said: “It’s been eight years since my last tour and there’s lots of things to laugh about! I’m looking forward to getting back in front of a live audience, along with running the gauntlet of cancel culture, click bait and fake news.” Tickets update: only a handful of single seats still available at yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Contemporary jazz gig of the week: Jamie Taylor & Jamil Sheriff, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, tomorrow, doors 7.30pm

THE musical association and friendship between guitarist Jamie Taylor, principal lecturer in jazz guitar at Leeds Conservatoire, and Leeds jazz pianist, composer and educator Jamil Sheriff goes back over 20 years of performing together in settings ranging from intimate small groups to large ensembles, such as Sheriff’s own big band.

Playing as a duo at Rise, they will channel this shared history and musical empathy, taking inspiration from jazz piano and guitar collaborations such as Bill Evans with Jim Hall and Fred Hersch with Bill Frisell. Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.

Dr Rangan Chatterjee: Health and happiness hacks at York Barbican

Meet “the architect of health and happiness”: Dr Rangan Chatterjee, The Thrive Tour 2025, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm

JOIN Dr Rangan Chatterjee, inspirational host of Europe’s biggest health podcast, Feel Better, Live More, author and star of BBC One’s Doctor In The House, for two transformative hours of learning the skill of happiness, discovering the secrets to optimal health, breaking free from habits that hold you back and discovering how to make changes that last. “Be empowered, be inspired and learn how to thrive,” he says. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

James Jay Lewis: Raw garage blues at Milton Rooms, Malton

Ryedale blues gig of the week: James Jay Lewis, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm

SELFT-TAUGHT multi-instrumentalist James Jay Lewis has performed with The La’s and played bass for fellow Liverpool band Cast and now lead guitar in The Zutons, having earlier formed the band Cractilla.

He has written, recorded and produced two solo albums, the acoustic odyssey Back To The Fountain and the lo-fi, rough and ready garage blues of Waiting For The World, on which he plays all the instruments. He has worked with Nile Rodgers at Abbey Road Studios, is involved in the new Zutons album and is venturing into recording, producing and composing for television and film. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Alligator Gumbo: Re-creating New Orleans 1920s’ jazz in 2025 Helmsley on Saturday

New Orleans jazz jive of the week: Alligator Gumbo 2025, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm

LEEDS seven-piece band Alligator Gumbo evoke the Roaring Twenties’ heyday of the New Orleans swing/jazz era, when music was raw, fast paced and largely improvised with melodies and solos happening simultaneously over foot-stomping rhythms. Their repertoire is built around songs made famous by Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Jelly Roll Morton, and Billie Holiday, played in the traditional style. Box office:  01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.