CONTRE le Temps’s Le Baiser de la Rose has to be one of the more unusual and immersive concerts I have ever experienced.
The pervading atmosphere was one of intimacy – the storytelling was deeply personal. The quartet of singers wove a magical musical spell.
This was creatively varied through solo, duet, trio and quartet singing, spatial arrangement and, most significantly, the use of subtly dramatic text to bring both context and focus.
The programme is built around two of the great literary works of medieval France: Le Roman de la Rose, the allegorical love story by Guillaume de Lorris, and Le Remède de Fortune, a narrative with songs by Guillaume de Machaut.
So, rather than simply presenting a sequence of songs, Contre le Temps wove together spoken poetry and music, telling the story of the Lover, who falls in love with the Rose – a symbol representing the object of desire – and, in so doing, retells the medieval tradition of courtly love.
The Springtime prose opens with the most poetic of intentions: “…The earth becomes so proud that she wishes to wear a new dress…”
The anonymous Venez ouïr les vrais amoureus took the form of a lively conversational invitation or welcome. It was quite delightful. This was followed by the complex monophonic song Qui n’aroit autre deport by Guillaume de Machaut, with contrasting sections reflecting the changing emotions of the text.
The drama was enhanced by the answering vocal calls, presumably an arrangement by the performers. Whatever the case, it was highly effective.
The anonymous chanson Contre le Temps, from which the ensemble takes its name, was more than simply a programme item, linking the performers’ identity with their exploration of medieval song. The singing was so seductive, so delicious.
Accompanying the section Entry into the Dream, we were treated to a trio singing with such elegance and poise in Guillaume Dufay’s Je me complains. The voices were equal, with finely judged imitative interplay, weaving a continuous musical web of sound.
Responding to the most poetic imagery in The Wonders in the Garden (“…flowers of extraordinary whiteness, yellow blossoms, and crimson ones with exquisite scents”), we were treated to a beautiful, flowing performance of Machaut’s Et pour ce engendrée s’est douce pensée. The long, aching phrases suggested a meditative, inward quality. The singing also possessed a timeless quality – I certainly could not discern a pulse.
Accompanying the text Cupid and the Rose, there was a change in style in the anonymous En remirant vos douce portraiture. Here we had an elegant four-voice ballade, with all four voices contributing to the texture. Each individual line emerged with remarkable clarity.
One of the many highlights was the anonymous Qui n’a le cuer, which followed The Pain of the Lover. The duet had a touching intimacy and lyrical grace.
The programme closed with Dufay’s Ma belle dame souveraine. Here all four singers clearly relished the richness and elegance of Dufay’s four-part texture. The closing cadence was deeply satisfying.
Contre le Temps’s Le Baiser de la Rose was a thoughtfully conceived and rewarding programme. The contrasts between solo chant and polyphony were superbly judged.
The rhythm of the medieval music was so complex that I often felt the melodies were floating freely, making the moments when the voices came together and locked into place all the more satisfying. Above all, it was the transparent purity of sound that lingered long after the final cadence.
Contre le Temps: Cécile Walch, soprano; Karin Weston, soprano; Amy Farnell, mezzo-soprano, and Julia Marty , mezzo-soprano.
SledOne’s mural, What Walks Amongst Us, taking shape at AcombFest. Picture: Art of Protest
MURALS in Acomb, early music beyond borders, Mystery Plays on waggons, a political swansong and compact Shakespeare keep Charles Hutchinson’s thoughts off the July heatwave.
Art event of the week: AcombFest, Acomb, York, today and tomorrow
CURATED by Art of Protest, York’s first international street art festival continues today and tomorrow with its theme of A Return To Nature, featuring 20 art installations, live murals, RARE Collective’s Paint Jam, spray battles and more than 30 bands, DJs and performers, across 22 venues.
Look out too for interactive family-friendly workshops, an art market, history walks and talks, special events and tastings and a community cinema. Muralists taking part include SMUG, from Australia, Sheffield muralist Peachzz, wildlife artist Curtis Hylton and Acomb’s very own SledOne. For full details, go to: https://acombfest.co.uk/.
Baroque collective Solomon’s Knot: Performing Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhns’ St Mark Passion, directed by Jonathan Sells, at The Quire, York Minster, on July 10
50th anniversary event of the summer: 2026 York Early Music Festival, Beyond Borders, until July 11
THE premier British early music festival marks its 50th anniversary with a celebration of “just how far early music has travelled – beyond the borders of the myriad historic venues of our city to a worldwide audience,” says director Delma Tomlin.
The festival welcomes The Sixteen, B’Rock Orchestra & Vocal Consort, Imago Mundi, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, Solomon’s Knot and NCEM Platform Artists Anacronia and Contre le temps, among others. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk/yemf.
Bodhan Pitel’s Herod in DSpace Ukrainian Theatre’s The Massacre of the Innocents in the York Mystery Plays 2026. Picture: John Saunders
Theatrical outdoor event of the week: 2026 York Mystery Plays, streets of York, tomorrow, 10.30am to 4.50pm
THE four-yearly staging on the York Mystery Plays on pageant waggons takes place at four locations across the city: free viewing at the Minster Refectory Gardens, Deansgate, (from 10.30am) King’s Square (from 11.10am), St Sampson’s Square (from 11.50am) and ticketed seats at Dean’s Park (from 12.30pm). Ten core plays will be complemented by further extracts to tell the story from The War In Heaven to Doomsday. For full details, go to yorkmysteryplays.co.uk; tickets, ticketsource.com/york-festival-trust.
Clive Francis as Sir Humphrey Appleby in I’m Sorry, Prime Minister. Picture: Johan Persson
Political drama of the week: I’m Sorry, Prime Minister, Grand Opera House, York, July 7 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
JIM Hacker is back, older, but perhaps not wiser, and still utterly baffled by the real world. Hoping for a quiet retirement from government as the master of Hacker College, Oxford, Jim (Robert Kitson, replacing Simon Rouse) instead finds himself facing the ultimate modern crisis: cancelled by the college committee. Enter Sir Humphrey Appleby (Clive Francis), who has lost none of his love for bureaucracy, Latin phrases and well-timed obstruction.
Can Humphrey and Jim outmanoeuvre the hostile students, the Fellows and reality itself? Or is it finally time to say “I’m Sorry, Prime Minister”? Brimming with wit, nostalgia and more double-speak than a press briefing, the final chapter in the evergreen comedy series is written and directed by Jonathan Lynn,co-directed byMichael Gyngell and presented by The Barn Theatre, Cirencester. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2026 tour cast for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
Shakespeare shake-up of the week: Reduced Shakespeare Company in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), York Theatre Royal, July 7 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
MARKING 30 years of performances in the UK, the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2026 tour company of Efé Agwele, Woogie Jung, Tom Pavey and Kiran Raywilliams presents Hamlet told backwards, a micro-condensed Othello scored to a ukulele, a carnage-filled Titus Andronicus presented as a YouTube cookery tutorial and the History Plays as a manic football game, passing the crown from king to king.
Californian co-founders Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield have re-booted, re-imagined, reinvented and updated the restless comedy for a new generation to undertake a rollercoaster ride through all 37 of the Bard’s First Folio of plays. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Stephen Smith’s Claude Monet in A Montage Of Monet
Busiest actor of the week: Threedumb Theatre presents Stephen Smith in A Montage Of Monet, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, July 8, 7.30pm and July 11, 3pm; One Man Poe, Ripon Theatre Festival, Ripon Arts Hub, July 10, 8pm; One Man Poe world premiere, York Medical Society, July 11, 7.30pm
THREEDUMB Theatre artistic director and actor Stephen Smith performs Joan Greening’s new play exploring French Impressionist artist Claude Monet’s life and loves: his two marriages, his first wife’s devastating death, his lover’s erratic behaviour, his suicide attempt, his thoughts on fellow Impressionists and the torment of his failing eyesight. The 55-minute Monet montage combines projection design and Joe Furey’s music with Smith’s storytelling in two York performances.
Smith also presents four of Edgar Allan Poe’s Gothic horror works (The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and The Pendulum, The Black Cat and The Raven) in Ripon, followed by the world premiere of his latest Poe double bill (The Business Man and The Case of M. Valdemar) in York. All six, amounting to 18,000 Poe words, will be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe. Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Ripon, ripontheatrefestival.org.
Musical of the week: Top Hat and Tails Theatre in Little Shop Of Horrors!, Friargate Theatre, York, July 9 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
MEEK floral assistant Seymour Krelborn stumbles across a new breed of plant he calls Audrey II, a foul-mouthed carnivore that promises him fame and fortune if he keeps feeding it with blood. Over time, however, Seymour discovers Audrey II’s plans for global domination in Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s sci-fi B-movie monster spoof, presented here with a live band and professionally hand-crafted puppets. Box office: ridinglights.org.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys: Summer of Hits show at York Museum Gardens on Thursday
Music festival of the week: Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, July 9, gates 5pm; Self Esteem, July 10, gates 5pm, and Super Furry Animals, July 11, gates 4pm
WIRRAL synth-pop pioneers Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark open Futuresound’s third season of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts on Thursday with a Summer of Hits bill featuring Heaven 17, China Crisis and rising Newcastle singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin.
Mercury Prize nominee Self Esteem, aka Rotherham singer, songwriter and actress Rebecca Lucy Taylor, tops Friday’s line-up, featuring London indie group The Big Moon, South African ghetto funk musician Moonchild Sanelly and Nigerian-born musician and spoken-word artist Joshia Idehen.
Welsh psychedelic rock band Super Furry Animals are next Saturday’s headliners, joined by singer-songwriter Baxter Dury, indie-pop septet Los Campesinos!, Nottingham alt-country band Divorce and North Wales psychedelic act Pys Melyn. Box office for July 10 and 11: futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events.
If I Knew The Way, I Would Take You Home, by Matt Sewell
In Focus: Birds of the week: Matt Sewell exhibition for RARE Collective at WET, Micklegate, York,until mid-July
SHROPSHIRE artist, illustrator and author Matt Sewelll is the latest street art luminary to be showcased in RARE Collective’s collaboration with WET wine bar, in Micklegate, York, in aid of SASH (Safe and Sound Homes), the York youth homelessness charity.
“We’re really chuffed to have Matt return to York with his fabulous Riso prints,” says RARE Collective exhibition organiser Sharon McDonagh. “If you came to the Vandalfest charity street art show last year, you would have seen his cracking bird mural on Floor 3 of the big disused office block in Low Ousegate.
Artist Matt Sewell at work
Sewell is an avid ornithologist, contributing regularly to the Caught By The River website and publishing the books Our Garden Birds, Our Songbirds, Our Woodland Birds, Owls, Penguins and A Charm Of Goldfinches And Other Collective Nouns.
He has illustrated for the Guardian, Barbour, V&A Museums, BBC, National Trust, Greenpeace, Big Issue and Levi’s and painted walls for Helly Hansen, Puma and the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). He has exhibited in Great Britain, New York, old York, Tokyo and Paris.
Cuckoo Cuckoo Cuckoo, by Matt Sewell
Under RARE Collective’s partnership with WET, artists and photographers exhibit their work in a six-week solo show. As well as at WET, work can be bought online both during and after the exhibition run at rarecollective.co.uk.
In addition, a selection of Sewell’s prints is featuring in RARE Collective’s exhibition for AcombFest at The Crooked Tap, on show until August 15 in support of SASH.
Matt Sewell’s wall of bird prints for sale at WET
Exhibiting too are: spAm (Sharon McDonagh), Sola, Alison Jagger, Al Murphy, Anthony Appleyard, Boxxhead, HazardOne, Lady Mkei, Lincoln Lightfoot, Liskbot, Michael Dawson, Nicolas Dixon, Slice Of Lino, STATIC and Stephen Bottrill.
“RARE are working in collaboration with the Art of Protest Project, after being invited by AcombFest curator Jeff Clark and the AOP team to curate the live PaintJam at the Carlton Tavern, in Acomb Road, Holgate, today and tomorrow,” says RARE Collective curator Sharon McDonagh.
“This will involve nine artists painting live from 10am to 4pm each day (Boxxhead, HazardOne, Lady Mkei, Lincoln Lightfoot, Liskbot, Nicolas Dixon, Sola, spAm and VYZ); live DJ sets by Alilou, Bob Yenz, Conor Rogan, Free Da Karlos and Sola plus guests, audiovisual artists Fred DWolf, Sonas and JohnManBand on a huge screen, cocktails and mixology by Tulum Spirits Collective and street food by El Chappo, all in support of SASH.”
Did you know?
MATT Sewell is also a musician, performing as Sewell &The Gong with Chris Tate and as the deep-cut compiler of the compilation series A Crushing Glow.
Matt Sewell’s work environment
In Focus too: Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance, 30th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, July 6 to 8, 7.45pm
THE 30th anniversary tour of Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance promises a grand celebration of the revolutionary Irish dance production’s legacy after captivating more than 60 million fans in 60 countries since its 1996 debut.
The 30 Years of Standing Ovations tour will feature “brand-new choreography, stunning costumes, state-of-the-art special effects and cutting-edge lighting, ensuring that the production continues to push boundaries and deliver an unforgettable experience”.
Creative manager James Keegan says: “Michael Flatley has taught me that there are no boundaries in the creative space. When he burst onto the scene in the mid-90s, he took traditional Irish dancing to a place nobody had ever dreamed of, and that has been the key to the show’s success.
“Michael often says in rehearsals that we need to push the boundaries as much as we can, and if it’s too far or doesn’t work, we can always pull it back. That mindset is what keeps Lord Of The Dance evolving.”
Lord Of The Dance on its 30th anniversary tour. Picture: Brian Doherty
Keegan believes that the core elements of Flatley’s visionary production – choreography, music and storytelling – remain timeless while still evolving. “What made Lord Of The Dance famous 30 years ago is still what makes it work today: 40 of the greatest Irish tap dancers in the world performing in one line in perfect sync. It’s a spectacle that never loses its magic,” he says.
Reflecting on Flatley’s impact, Keegan says: “Professional Irish dancing didn’t really exist until Michael created his shows and added a more entertaining twist to the art form.
“He wasn’t just a dancer; he was a highly tuned athlete who could perform at astonishing levels for a full two-hour show, seven days a week. Today, we see young competitive dancers around the world striving to reach the levels he set.”
But beyond the footwork and the spectacle, Keegan reckons Flatley’s greatest legacy is his ability to inspire. “Michael’s motto has always been, ‘Nothing is impossible.’ He took an already intricate dance form and pushed it even further, breaking records like 38 taps per second and incorporating upper body movements that defied tradition,” he says.
Michael Flatley
“I’ve seen it time and time again: a dancer who never thought they could be a lead receives Michael’s encouragement, and before long, they are fulfilling their dream on stage.”
For Keegan, one moment stands out above the rest. “In 1997, I was a ten-year-old competitive Irish dancer in Manchester, struggling with the name-callers and the challenges of being a young male dancer,” he says.
“Then Lord Of The Dance came to town. Watching Michael and the cast that night at the Apollo Theatre changed everything for me. The masculinity, the precision, the energy, it was like nothing I’d ever seen before.
“I met Michael at the stage door, and suddenly, I knew that being an Irish dancer could mean being a superstar. Nineteen years later, I had the honour of sharing his final show with him at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, in 2016. It was a full-circle moment I will never forget.”
Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance dancers
As Lord Of The Dance embark on its 30th anniversary tour, Flatley reflects on the journey. “The magic of Lord Of The Dance lives on in the hearts of our audience, and I am thrilled to bring this iconic show back to the UK in 2026,” he says.
“30 Years of Standing Ovations celebrates the incredible journey we’ve shared with fans over the years. It’s a tribute to the enduring power of dreams, the joy of dance and the unwavering support of our audience. This tour is our way of saying thank you for three decades of unforgettable memories.”
Although Flatley, now 67, retired from performing during his final tour in 2016, he has remained at the helm of Lord Of The Dance, guiding its evolution while preserving its timeless magic.
Now, as the production prepares for its biggest celebration yet, fans can look forward to a breathtaking spectacle that honours the past, embraces the present, and inspires the future of Irish dance.
YORK Early Music Festival is to mark its 50th year with a spectacular new commission, the majestic York Fanfare, Flourish At 50, to be played several times during the opening weekend.
To create the fanfare, the festival joined forces with West Yorkshireman Sam Meredith and the all-female German ensemble [hanse] Pfeyffery – it translate as [town] pipes – to create this heraldic piece of music.
Born in Leeds and raised in Wakefield, composer and multi-instrumentalist Meredith was a finalist in the 2023 NCEM Young Composers Award.
He was chosen from a strong line up of applicants, all alumni from the composers award, to be Commission Composer for the 2026 festival.
“We put out a call to all 100 of our award alumni, inviting bids from these composers,” says festival director Delma Tomlin. “[hanse] Pfeyffery then had conversations with selected composers and settled on Sam.”
Sam says: “In this piece, I wanted to emulate the rousing and awe-inducing nature of a traditional fanfare, while also creating a sense of playfulness, joy and celebration, more in the spirit of folk and dance music.
“The often syncopated landscape that emerged, first during the compositional process and then through working with [hanse] Pfeyfferey, is hopefully an exciting and an energetic tribute to the National Centre for Early Music.”
Last year, Sam completed his MA in Opera-Making and Writing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama after earlier studying for a BA in composition there. His work has been performed at the Barbican, London, and the annual Bauhaus Festival, London, under the tutelage of John Harle, who has commissioned him to write pieces for big band, large ensemble and most recently a duet for saxophone and piano.
Sam has sung and toured with the Idrisi Ensemble and was proud to appear in the choir for Alan Bennett’s 2025 film The Choral, filmed in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, directed by Nicholas Hytner.
The Yorkshire Fanfare will be performed by 2026 festival artists in residence, [hanse] Pfeyffery, a Renaissance wind band that specialises in improvised and rediscovered music from around 1500.
[hanse] Pfeyfferey: 2026 York Early Music Festival artists in residence
The ensemble of Hannah Geisel, shawm, Lilli Pätzold, cornett, and Alexandra Mikheeva, slide trumpet and trombone, were finalists in the 2024 York International Young Artists Competition when they won the Cambridge Early Music Prize.
The York Fanfare will open this year’s festival on Friday (3/7/2026), played on the grass outside the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, at 6.20pm before the opening concert by I Fagiolini, and then will be performed outside the West Door of York Minster before The Sixteen’s concert on Saturday at 6.45pm, 7pm and 7.15pm.
The last chance to catch [hanse] Pfeyffery playing the fanfare will come on BBC Radio 3’s The Early Music Show, broadcast live from the NCEM, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, on Sunday at 5pm.
Sam has just returned from ten months of working in Japan. “I was teaching at an international school, everyone from Year 7 to A-levels,” he says. “My old music teacher had gone there to work and posted the job on Facebook. It was fascinating to be out there as it gave me the chance to look at the work of Toru Takemitsu, whose music is very modern sounding. Incredible music!”
Writing for early music specialists [hanse] Pfeyffery was a different kind of challenge. “It’s very exciting to be writing for instrumentalists and musicians who have that ethos of being excited by improvisation, which was later lost in classical music,” says Sam. “They have that very open way, often rooted in academic practice and theory, and they’re great at taking that off the page and putting into practice.”
To be selected, Sam had to submit earlier works, provide a pitch for what he would like to write, then conduct a short interview on Zoom with [hanse] Pfeyffery last November. “I ended up writing reams and reams of sketches as I wanted to cover all bases, because you think, what is a fanfare these days? Is it something rooted in history? It’s definitely to mark an occasion.
“The previous piece I’d written was an opera, which I’d been immersed in for a while, so I was trying to change my creative process, to write a short piece to be performed outside that had to be dynamic and would need to attract people’s attention. That really shaped what I kept and left out in those sketches.”
Sam previously wrote two-minute pieces for the Bauhaus Festival in London. “That was for saxophone, drums and guitar – loud music! – so the brief was similar in condensing what I wanted to say in short time that would make its point and not go on too long, in the tradition of pieces written for the beginning and end of festivals, albeit with a very different sound on cornett, shawm and slide trumpet.
“That was one of the joys of composing this piece: working out what each instrument could do, its individual voice within the trio, uncovering each of those voices. The piece is made to be entertaining for [hanse] Pfeyffery to perform, while encouraging people to come into the concerts – and hopefully not put them off!”
For the full festival programme and tickets, visit ncem.co.uk/whats-on/yemf.
Becky Hill: High-energy performance on Knavesmire track
THE York Mystery Plays on waggon wheels, Becky Hill on Knavesmire, Calendar Girls in the round and early music beyond borders promise high summer times for Charles Hutchinson.
Under starter’s orders: Becky Hill, Summer Music Saturday, York Racecourse, today, first race at 1.20pm
BECKY Hill, two-time BRIT Award winner for Best Dance Act, opens the summer of post-racing concerts at York Racecourse, promising a high-energy performance on the “Glastonbury-style stage” after tomorrow’s seven-race card. For her set list, she can pick from such hits as Gecko; Back & Forth; Wish You Well; Lose Control; Better Off Without You; Heaven On My Mind; Remember; My Heart Goes; Run; Crazy What Love Can Do; History and Disconnect. For race-day tickets, go to: yorkracecourse.co.uk.
Kirkgate at York Castle Museum in full summer bloom with floral displays and new projections. Picture: Gareth Buddo Furmoto Photography
Flower power of the week: Summer at York Castle Museum, in bloom until September 6, open Mondays, 11am to 5pm; Tuesdays to Sundays, 10am to 5pm
YORK Castle Museum is capturing the essence of ‘grand days out’ and celebrating iconic summers across two contrasting centuries this summer season. Drawing on the breadth of the museum’s social history collection, Victorian York Galas and the Swinging ’60s are the programme’s key focus with games, crafts and seasonal decorations providing nostalgia and summer fun for visitors.
Further highlights include Last Stop Before Kirkgate, Novo Theatre’s immersive experience replicating a 19th century coaching inn and arrival into York, and Yorkshire artist Pippa Dyrlaga’s paper-cut hot air balloons, telling the story of balloon rides during the galas. Tickets: yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk.
Richard Ashcroft. Picture: Dean Chalkley
Coastal gigs of the week: TK Maxx presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Richard Ashcroft, today; Billy Ocean and Marti Pellow, tomorrow, gates open at 6pm
THE Verve frontman, songwriter and producer Richard Ashcroft, two-time Ivor Novello and triple BRIT Award winner, headlines today’s Scarborough bill, joined by DJ Wayne, original Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan and Yorkshire indie rockers Apollo Junction.
Trinidadian-British soul singer Billy Ocean (real name Leslie Sebastian Charles, by the way) takes top spot tomorrow, airing such hits as Red Light Spells Danger, Love Really Hurts Without You, Caribbean Queen and When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going. His very special guest is former Wet Wet Wet singer and musicals star Marti Pellow; Katie Owen supports too. Box office: scarbroughopenairtheatre.com.
Christina Meehan’s Annie, left, and Karen Holmes’s Chris in Calendar Girls The Musical at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Make a date with: Calendar Girls The Musical, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, today until July 25
AS director Paul Robinson reveals: “Our new in-the-round staging of Tim Firth and Gary Barlow’s Calendar Girls brings the audience into the heart of the Rylstone Women’s Institute, making this true story of friendship and determination feel more personal and immediate.
“This intimate production will create a unique, shared experience, reminiscent of gathering around a community hall or a close friend’s living room, allowing for a deeper connection to the characters and creating a collective, communal atmosphere that fully immerses everyone in the moving story of these ‘ordinary women’ doing something quite extraordinary.” Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Cathy Sara’s Villeyn and Thomas Frere’s Jongleur in Riding Lights Theatre Company’s Mistero Buffo. Picture: John Shepherdson
2026 York Mystery Plays Fringe play of the week: Riding Lights Theatre Company in Mistero Buffo, Friargate Theatre, York, today, tomorrow, then July 1 to 4, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm matinees on July 3 & 4
TWO wild strangers roll into York for the 2026 York Mystery Plays Fringe to tell tales destined to turn the city upside down. Combining ferocious wit and fearless physical storytelling, Paul Birch’s two-hander production for York’s Riding Lights Theatre Company tears into faith, power, profit and hypocrisy by turning ancient Bible stories into urgent, humorous modern theatre with a clear spiritual heart.
Written by Nobel prize-winning Italian playwright Dario Fo, translated by Ed Emery and performed by Yorkshire actors Thomas Frere and Cathy Sara, this 1969 take on the Mystery Plays will appeal to Fringe theatregoers with a taste for subversive and unapologetic comedy with bite. Box office: www.ridinglights.org.
Bodhan Pitel’s Herod in DSpace Ukrainian Theatre’s The Massacre of the Innocents. Picture: John Saunders
Theatrical event of the week: 2026 York Mystery Plays, streets of York, tomorrow and July 5, 10.30am to 4.50pm; Sunset in the Shambles Market, June 30 and July 1, 7.45pm
THE four-yearly staging on the York Mystery Plays on pageant waggons takes place at four locations across the city: free viewing at the Minster Refectory Gardens, Deansgate, (from 10.30am) King’s Square (from 11.10am), St Sampson’s Square (from 11.50am) and ticketed seats at Dean’s Park (from 12.30pm). Ten core plays will be complemented by further extracts to tell the story from The War In Heaven to Doomsday. For full details, go to: yorkmysteryplays.co.uk.
Special midsummer performances of five plays will be held in Shambles Market on June 30 and July 1, introduced by the York Waits musicians before Pageant Master Dr Alan Heaven guides the audience through each play, from the Creation sequence to the End of Days in the interactive show Doomsday. These shows begin at 7.45pm and end as the dusk is deepening before 10pm. Tickets: ticketsource.com/york-festival-trust.
The Choir Of Man: “The best trip to your local you’ll ever have” at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: The Other Richard
Foot-stomping musical celebration of the week: The Choir Of Man, Grand Opera House, York, June 30 to July 2, 7.30pm; July 3, 4pm and 8pm; July 4, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
SET in the The Jungle pub on stage, The Choir Of Man is billed as “the best trip to your local you’ll ever have” as a cast of nine (extra)ordinary guys combine beautiful harmonies and foot-stomping singalongs with tap dance and soulful storytelling in an uplifting celebration of community and friendship.
The debut UK & Ireland tour cast features Gustav Melbardisas Maestro; Oluwalonimi (Nimi) Owoyemi as Poet; Levi Tyrell Johnson as Hard Man; Ben Mabberley as Joker; Rob Godfrey as Beast; Jack Skelton as Handyman; Joshua Lloyd as Barman; Sam Walter as Romantic and Aaron Pottenger as Bore performing Queen, Luther Vandross,Sia, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns N’ Roses, AviciiandKaty Perry hits. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Solomon’s Knot: Performing at York Early Music Festival on July 10
50th anniversary event of the summer: 2026 York Early Music Festival, Beyond Borders, July 3 to 11
THE premier British early music festival marks its 50th anniversary with a celebration of “just how far early music has travelled – beyond the borders of the myriad historic venues of our city to a worldwide audience,” says director Delma Tomlin.
Opening with Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers, presented by I Fagiolini, and closing with Solomon’s Knot’s rendition of Bruhns’s St Mark Passion, the festival welcomes The Sixteen, B’Rock Orchestra & Vocal Consort, Imago Mundi, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston and NCEM Platform Artists Anacronia and Contre le temps, among others. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk/yemf.
In Focus: Ripon Theatre Festival, July 5 to 12
Maybe You Like It in Down To Chance: Playing Ripon Theatre Festival at Ripon Arts Hub on July 11 at 8pm
RIPON Theatre Festival 2026 celebrates five years of culture, colour and community spirit from July 5 to 12 with eight days and nights of performances focused on theatre in all its forms, from storytelling and puppetry to cabaret, Shakespeare and circus.
Top talent from Edinburgh & beyond
THE festival welcomes hit shows from the Edinburgh Fringe at Ripon Arts Hub, including Stephen Smith’s One Man Poe on July 10 at 8pm, fast-paced thriller Down To Chance on July 11 at 8pm The Poetical Life Of Philomena McGuinness on July 12 at 2.30pm.
Quirky & unique
RIPON Theatre Festival makes the most of the city’s venues and open spaces with pop-up events showcasing theatre everywhere. A knitting cabaret from Canada, a one-man show about British pub life, walkabout acts, Pop-up Puppetry and Poetry for Breakfast are among the acts that will appear in friendly cafes, pubs and independent shops. Look out too for a show performed inside a vintage bus.
The Big Weekend for families
SUPPORTED by Arts Council England through the National Lottery for a second year, the Big Weekend of free family entertainment on July 11 and 12 will feature street arts and circus theatre from across the four nations and beyond. Highlights include dance-circus troupe Circo Rumbaba and comedy, cooking and circus with Do What Ya Mamma Told Ya.
Reaching out to all the community
IN the weeks leading up to the festival, activities in care homes, “making and creating” sessions with learning-disabled adults and intergenerational music sessions ensure the event reaches all corners of the community.
This includes a schools’ programme featuring Opera North’s Little Listeners and the madcap Rubbish Shakespeare Company.
Supporting new writing & regional talent
ESTABLISHED regional artists, such as Victoria Firth and Kathryn Hanke, from Huddersfield, in Batty! at Ripon Arts Hub on July 9 at 8pm, feature alongside up-and-coming artists such as Constance Peel, from Boston Spa, performing the new play Service Please at The Water Rat on July 6 at 6.30pm.
Providing a platform for locally-inspired works-in-progress, the festival offers audiences the first chance to experience York’s Out Of Character Theatre Company in Outcast’s exploration of life in medieval Ripon and Imogen Wood’s work-in-progress, Jord, whose starting point is the petrifying powers of Mother Shipton in a union of live music, poetry and storytelling that challenges the fascination and obsession with women staying young and delaying ageing.
Summer season finale
RIPON Theatre Festival stretches beyond July 12 for a post-festival open-air Shakespeare finale at Ripon Raceourse on July 24, when The Duke’s Theatre Company presents Romeo & Juliet at 7pm (preceded by North Yorkshire Council-supported performances at Prince of Wales Terrace, Scarborough, on July 22 and Valley Gardens, Harrogate, on July 23). Box office: thedukestheatrecompany.co.uk.
Festival director Katie Scott says: “Ripon Theatre Festival is celebrating a five-year milestone birthday and we are proud of all that we have achieved so far.
“Community led, but showcasing some of the best professional touring work alongside an inclusive and lively outdoor and family programme, the festival is hugely valued for its variety and originality. We can’t wait to share our 2026 offering and bring the joy of live performance to an even wider audience.”
For the full programme and tickets, go to: ripontheatrefestival.org.
Amber Topaz in Red, Ripon Arts Hub, July 8, 7.30pm
Amber Topaz in Red
YORKSHIRE-BORN international cabaret and burlesque siren Amber Topaz celebrates redheaded musical theatre stars of stage and screen in her classy, sassy, fabulous musical revue Red.
Her delicious cocktail of Old Hollywood glamour and West End and Broadway classics is “full to the brim with iconic show-stopping numbers, honouring these formidable flame-haired trailblazers that have shaped musical theatre herstory”.
From the golden era of Hollywood to the bright lights of Las Vegas, Red embodyies legendary artists such as Rita Hayworth, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, Shirley MacLaine, Gwen Verdon and many more.
As a teenager, Amber left her Yorkshire roots to move to London and enter the world of cabaret and burlesque, since when she has travelled widely with her combination of frivolous and thought-provoking cabaret.
Fladam, Astro Norma, Ripon Library, July 11, 10.30am and 12 noon
Fladam’s Florence Poskitt & Adam Sowter in Astro Norma
YORK duo Fladam, Florence Poskitt and Adam Sowter, present their out-of-this-world musical comedy Astro Norma at Ripon Library, where they invite audiences aged three to ten to blast off on a madcap 45-minute quest to find Grandpa’s lost star, but beware, the sneaky Silencer is hot on her trail , ready to silence the tunes.
Packed with awesome aliens, rib tickling robots and interplanetary puppets, this joyful space odyssey will have young theatregoers reaching for the stars.
I Fagiolini, with director Robert Hollingworth, centre, with sparkler: Performing opening concert of 2026 York Early Music Festival
THE 50th anniversary York Early Music Festival will run from July 3 to 11 with the theme of Beyond Borders.
More than 30 concerts will take place in York’s medieval churches, historic buildings and York Minster over nine days.
The festival was created in 1977 by a small group of Early Music enthusiasts and is long established as the premier British Early Music festival, attracting artists and visitors from far and wide.
Anacronia: Making York Early Music Festival on July 4
The festival will open with Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, presented by I Fagiolini with the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, under Robert Hollingworth’s direction, on July 3 at 7pm at the sold-out Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York. This concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on July 8.
Last in York for the 2025 York Early Music Christmas Festival, Solomon’s Knot will provide a spectacular summer festival finale at The Quire, York Minster, on July 10 at 7.30pm, when Jonathan Sells will direct singers and musicians performing Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhns’ St Mark Passion by heart.
The festival will mark the 400th anniversary of the death of the great English composer and lutenist John Dowland by dedicating a whole day to his works on A Day Of Dowland on July 6.
Organist Ben Horden: To Lubeck and Bach concert at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall on July 7
Katherine Butler, associate professor at Northumbria University, will open the day with her sold-out 10.30am talk at Bedern Hall entitled Dowland’s Dolour: Music, Melancholy and Self-Fashioning in Elizabethan England.
Lutenist Thomas Dunford will present a selection of Dowland’s 90-plus compositions in The Rarest Musician at the sold-out St Olave’s Church, Marygate, at 1pm, and the Rose Consort of Viols, featuring lutenist Jamie Akers, will perform Dowland’s Teares Of Sorrowe And Gladnesse in the Undercroft, Merchant Adventurers’ Hall (again sold out,) at 6pm. Music by Orlande de Lassus and Alfonso Ferrabosco will complement works both sorrowful and joyful by Dowland.
Dowland’s day will end with Tears Into Light: A Contemporary Reimagining of John Dowland’s Lachrimae, performed by Imago Mundi, directed by Sofie Vanden Eynde, at the National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, at 8.30pm.
Top: Lutenist Thomas Dunford. Bottom: Imago Mundi director and lutenist Sofie Vanden Eynde. Both taking part in A Day of Dowland on July 6
Drawing on the insights of scholar-philosophers and the concept of inspired melancholy, Tears Into Light explores how melancholy has been understood through history and how it offers a lens for viewing the present. Dowland’s Lachrimae will be interwoven with American traditional music in a reminder that light can always emerge from darkness.
The opening of the 50th festival will be heralded by the York Fanfare, a specially commissioned piece by Wakefield-born Sam Meredith for the 2026 ensemble-in-residence, the historical wind band [hanse] Pfeyfferey, comprising Lilli Patzold, cornetto, Alexandra Mikheeva, slide trumpet and trombone, and Laura Dumpelmann, shawm.
York Fanfare will herald the festival opening, ahead of July 3’s first concert, on the grass outside the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, and then be performed around the city during the opening weekend, including outside the West Door of York Minster before The Sixteen’s 7.30pm concert there on July 4.
The Sixteen: Presenting Siglo de Oro, Music from the Spanish Renaissance, at York Minster on July 4. Picture: Johnny Millar
Directed as ever by Harry Christophers, The Sixteen will present Siglo de Oro, Music from the Spanish Renaissance, featuring works by Sebastian de Vivanc and Cristobal de Morales, Sir James MacMillan’s Nothing In Vain and the world premiere of NCEM Composers Award alumna Kerensa Briggs’s Lead, Kindly Light. BBC Radio 3 will air this concert on July 9.
The Great Noyze, organised by the International Guild of Town Pipers, has moved from College Green, York Minster, to St Sampson’s Square on July at 4pm.
Further highlights will be Minster Minstrels, From Holborne To Handel, at the NCEM on July 5, 11am; University of York Baroque Ensemble, with Ensemble Hesperi (in-house band at University of York), in The Music Party, NCEM, July 7, 12.30pm; organist Ben Horden, To Lubeck and Bach, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, July 7, 6pm, and Ghent’s B’Rock Orchestra & Vocal Consort, Da Pacem: Sacred Music by Heinrich Schutz and Contemporaries, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, July 7, 7.30pm.
Mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston: Teaming up with tenor Paul Agnew and lutenist Sergio Buchel for A Gentle Air at Merchant Taylors’ Hall on July 9
Clavichord player Steven Devine’s Preludes, Fugues and Fantasies, at All Saints Church, North Street, on July 8 at 12.30pm, has sold out; Yorkshire Baroque Soloists will perform Amphion Anglicus, Chapter House, York Minster, July 8, 7.30pm, and Early Music will meet jazz and modernity in Duo Gambelin’s All’Improviso, Undercroft, Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, July 8, 9.30pm.
On July 9 at 7pm, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, tenor Paul Agnew and lutenist Sergio Buchel will feature French songs by Michel Lambert and Sebastien Le Camus in A Gentle Air at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall. In July 10’s Concert by Candlelight at Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate, soprano Hannah Ely, alto Rebekah Jones and tenor Paul Bentley-Angell will perform songs from the courts of 12th-century France in Love From Afar.
Contre le temps: Le Baiser de la Rose programme at NCEM on July 5
At the heart of the festival is the NCEM’s year-round commitment to supporting emerging talent, this year represented by two young European ensembles, NCEM Platform Artists Anacronía, from Spain, in their festival debut at the NCEM on July 4 at 1.30pm, and the Franco/American medievalists Contre le temps, whose Le Baiser de la Rose programme at the NCEM on July 5 at 8.30pm will be recorded for BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show for broadcast on a date yet to be confirmed.
Held every two years, the prestigious York Early Music International Young Artists Competition will feature 40 musicians in nine ensembles competing for a series of prizes in a day of thrilling concerts at the NCEM on July 11 from 10am to 5pm.
Duo Gambelin: Early Music meets jazz and modernity in All’Improviso concert at Undercroft, Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, on July 8
This year’s finalists are: I Mastricelli; Il Parrasio; La Mandorle; Lagrime; Nari Baroque Ensemble; Ossian’s Dream; Quarterino; Tra Noi and The Lyons Mouth (formed at the University of York).
The full programme can be found at ncem.co.uk/whats-on/yemf. Box office: 01904 658338; email at boxoffice@ncem.co.uk; ncem.co.uk or in person from the NCEM.
Festival director Dr Delma Tomlin says: “We’re very excited to be staging our 50th festival, which is brimming with musical delights. The very first festival took place in 1977 and has gone from strength to strength, inspiring the restoration of St Margaret’s Church and the creation of the National Centre for Early Music in 2000.”
York Early Music Festival director Delma Tomlin
“Our 50th edition features world-class ensembles and emerging artists; celebrates the genius of John Dowland; hosts the prestigious York Early Music International Young Artists Competitionand has commissioned the York Fanfare to open the proceedings, making sure the festival gets off to a flying start.
“Last but not least, our media partners, BBC Radio 3 will be back, broadcasting the hugely popular Early Music Show live from the NCEM, presented by Hannah French on July 5 at 5pm with a line-up of guest artists from the festival. We hope you can join us in York for this very special celebration.”
The full programme can be found at ncem.co.uk/whats-on/yemf. Box office: 01904 658338; email at boxoffice@ncem.co.uk; ncem.co.uk or in person from the NCEM.
Solomon’s Knot: Festival finale at York Minster on July 10
