Tag: York Ice Trail

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More Things To Do in York and beyond when taking Steps to entertainment. Hutch’s List No. 5, from The York Press

Robin Simpson in The Last Picture at York Theatre Royal Studio, Picture: S R Taylor Photography

MUSICALS aplenty and a posthumous debut exhibition for two York artists are among Charles Hutchinson’s favourites for February fulfilment.

Solo show of the week: The Last Picture, York Theatre Royal Studio, until February 14, 7.45pm except Sunday,  plus Wednesday and Saturday 2pm matinees

ROBIN Simpson follows up his sixth season as York Theatre Royal’s pantomime dame by playing a dog in York Theatre Royal, ETT and An Tobar and Mull Theatre’s premiere of Catherine Dyson’s anti-Fascist monodrama The Last Picture, directed by associate artist John R Wilkinson.

Imagine yourself in a theatre in 2026. Now picture yourself as a Year 9 student on a school museum trip, and then as a citizen of Europe in 1939 as history takes its darkest turn. While you imagine, emotional support dog Sam (Simpson’s character) will be by your side in a play about empathy – its power and limits and what it asks of us – built around a story of our shared past, present and the choices we face today. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Colour & Light turns the spotlight on Viking invader Eric Bloodaxe among York’s rogues, scoundrels and historical figures in Double Take Productions’ light installation at York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower. Picture: David Harrison

Illumination of the week: Colour & Light, York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower, York, until February 22, 6pm to 9pm

YORK BID is bringing Colour & Light back for 2026 on its biggest ever canvas. For the first time, two of York’s landmark buildings are illuminated together when York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower become the combined canvas for Double Take Projections’ fully choreographed projection show, transforming the Eye of York.

Presented in partnership with York Museums Trust and English Heritage, the continuous, looped, ten-minute show bring York’s historic rogues, scoundrels, miscreants, mischief makers and mythical characters to life in a family-friendly projection open to all for free; no ticket required.

    Suede: Showcasing Antidepressants album on York Barbican return

    Recommended but sold out already: Suede, York Barbican, tonight, doors 7pm

    AFTER playing York Barbican for the first time in more than 25 years in March 2023, Suede make a rather hastier return on their 17-date Antidepressants UK Tour when Brett Anderson’s London band promote their tenth studio album.

    “If [2022’s] Autofiction was our punk record, Antidepressants is our post-punk record,” says Anderson. “It’s about the tensions of modern life, the paranoia, the anxiety, the neurosis. We are all striving for connection in a disconnected world. This was the feel I wanted the songs to have. This is broken music for broken people.” Box office for returns only: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

    Sara Pascoe: Contemplating smart and astute nocturnal thoughts in I Am A Strange Gloop

    Comedy gig of the week: Sara Pascoe, I Am A Strange Gloop, York Theatre Royal, tonight, 7.30pm

    HAVE you ever been awake in the middle of the night and thought something so smart and astute that you could not wait for the world to wake up for you to tell them? “This show is that thought, in that it doesn’t make much sense and is a bit weird on reflection,” says Dagenham comedian, actress, presenter and writer Sara Pascoe.

    In I Am A Strange Gloop, Sara & Cariad’s Weirdos Book Club podcaster and former The Great British Sewing Bee host Pascoe reveals how her children don’t sleep, her kitchen won’t clean itself and her husband “doesn’t want to be in it”. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

    Sally Ann Matthews’ supermarket boss Patricia in Here & Now The Steps Musical. Picture: Danny Kaan

    Comedy and Tragedy show of the week: Here & Now, The Steps Musical, Grand Opera House, York, February 10 to 15, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm; Wednesday and Saturday, 2.30pm; Sunday, 3pm

    PRODUCED by Steps, ROYO and Pete Waterman, Here & Now weaves multiple dance-pop hits by the London group into Shaun Kitchener’s story of supermarket worker Caz and her fabulous friends dreaming of the perfect summer of love.

    However, when Caz discovers her “happy ever after” is a lie, and the gang’s attempts at romance are a total tragedy, they wonder whether love will ever get a hold on their hearts? Or should they all just take a chance on a happy ending? Look out for Coronation Street star Sally Ann Matthews as supermarket boss Patricia. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

    Gi Vasey’s Annas and Joseph Hayes’ Caiaphas in Inspired By Theatre’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Picture: Dan Crawfurd-Porter

    Boundary-pushing theatre show of the week: Inspired By Theatre in Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, February 11 to 14, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

    YORK company Inspired By Theatre’s gritty, cinematic and unapologetically powerful staging of Jesus Christ Superstar presents director Dan Crawfurd-Porter’s radical new vision of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1971 musical.

    On Gi Vasey’s shifting building-block set design, part temple, part battleground, the story unfolds through visceral movement, haunting imagery and a pulsating live score, capturing Jesus’s final days as loyalties fracture, followers demand revolution and rulers fear rebellion. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

    Annie at the double: Hope Day, left, and Harriet Wells will be sharing the title role in York Light Opera Company’s musical. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography

    The sun’ll come out, not tomorrow, but from Thursday at: Annie, York Light Opera Company, York Theatre Royal, until February 21, 7.30pm, except February 15 and 16; matinees on February 14, 15 and 21, 2.30pm; February 19, 2pm

    MARTYN Knight directs York Light Opera Company  for the last time in the company’s first staging of Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan’s Annie in 25 years.

    This heart-warming tale of hope, family, and second chances, packed with such knockout songs as Tomorrow, Hard Knock Life and You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile, stars  Annabel van Griethuysen as Miss Hannigan, Neil Wood as Daddy Warbucks and  Hope Day and Harriet Wells, sharing the role of Annie. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

    Liz Foster: Exploring memory, landscape and the childhood feeling of being immersed in wild places in Deep Among The Grasses

    Exhibition launch of the week: Liz Foster, Deep Among The Grasses, Rise:@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, February 12 to April 10

    YORK artist Liz Foster’s new series of abstract paintings, Deep Among The Grasses, invites you into rich, expansive imagined spaces where she explores memory, landscape and the childhood feeling of being immersed in wild places.

    Full of colour, feeling and atmosphere, this body of work is being shown together for the first time. Everyone is welcome at the 6pm to 9pm preview on February 12 when Leeds-born painter, teacher and mentor Liz will be in attendance.

    Craig David: Performing his TS5 DJ set at York Racecourse Music Showcase weekend

    Gig announcement of the week: Craig David presents TS5, York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Knavesmire, York, July 24

    SOUTHAMPTON singer-songwriter and DJ Craig David will complete this summer’s music line-up at York Racecourse after earlier announcements of Becky Hill’s June 27 show and Tom Grennan’s July 25 concert.

    David, 44, will present his TS5 DJ set on Music Showcase Friday’s double bill of racing and old-skool anthems, from R&B to Swing Beat, Garage to Bashment , plus current  House hits, when he combines his singing and MC skills. Tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk; no booking fees; free parking on race day.

    Ice amid the January rain: York Ice Trail 2026

    Festival of the week: Make It York presents York Ice Trail, An Enchanted City, York city centre, today and tomorrow, 10.30am to 4pm

    THE streets of York will be transformed into An Enchanted City, where a spell has been cast, as ice sculptures, alive with enchantment, appear across the city’s cobbled and narrow streets.

    Created by Icebox, 36 sculptures inspired by magic, mystery, the weird and wonderful will make an extraordinary trail, but who cast the spell and why? Follow the trail to uncover the truth. Pick up a trail map from the Visit York Visitor Information Centre to tick off all the sculptures; collect a special sticker on completion. 

    The sculptures will be: Ice Ice Baby (neon photo opportunity), provided by Make It York; Igloo 360 Photobooth, Party Octopus; The Ice Village (curated market); All Aboard for Railway Stories, National Railway Museum; Bertie the Shambles Dragon, Shambles Market Traders; The Wizard of Ouse!, City Cruises York and Mr Chippy; The Enchanted Chocolate Bar, York’s Chocolate Story.

    Drake’s Spellbound Catch, provided by Drake’s Fish and Chips; Sword in the Stone, York BID; The Yorkshire Rose by Kay Bradley, Bradley’s Jewellers; Saint William’s Poisoned Chalice, York Minster; Toadstool House, York BID; York Park & Brrr-ide, First Bus; Wizard Teddy Bear, Stonegate Teddy Bears; Bettys Bern Bears, Bettys; The Magic of Connection, Grand Central Rail.

    Lord of the Lodging, provided by The Judge’s Lodging; The Ice Wall (photo opportunity), Make It York; Spellbound Train Ticket, The Milner York; From Grand Roots, Magic Blooms, The Grand, York; Hobgoblin, York BID; Enchanted, Icebox; Wade The Giant, North York Moors National Park; Let It Sew, Gillies Fabrics; The Hungry Dragon, Ate O’clock; Barghest, York BID.  

    The Prophet Hen, provided by SPARK: York; Jack Frost, York BID; Wings of Ice, Merchant Adventurers’ Hall; Magic Mixie Monster, York Mix; Mjolnir – The Bringer of Lightning, Murton Park; Beaky Blinder the Puffin, RSPB; Food and Drink Area; Ice Masterclass (paid experience); The Snow Block (photo opportunity), Make It York, and Live Ice Carving (from 12 noon each day).

    In Focus: Navigators Art performance & exhibition, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, Sunday, 5pm

    Penesthilia, by Penny Marrows

    TO mark the opening of Penny Marrows and J P Warriner’s posthumous exhibition at City Screen Pictiurehouse, Penny and artist Timothy Morrison’s son, London jazz guitarist Billy Marrows, performs tomorrow with Portuguese Young Musician of the Year 2025 Teresa Macedo Ferreira, supported by lutenist Simon Nesbitt. Admission is free.

    The exhibition launch follows at 6pm, celebrating two late York artists whose paintings were never exhibited in their lifetimes.

    Born in 1951, Penny grew up in Tockwith, west of York, and attended Mill Mount Grammar School for Girls before studying 2D and 3D art at York College, training as a sculptor, then taught art in prisons and adult education in London.

    On returning to Yorkshire, she painted and drew trees, landscapes and portraits for 30 years, including her self-portrait as an heroic winged figure.

    Her exhibition is curated by husband Timothy Morrison, York artist and teacher, who says: “I met her in a printmaking evening class in Brixton, where Penny made linocuts and engravings of alarmingly aggressive-looking mythical beasts.

    “Billy came along…and as a teenager fell in love with the guitar and jazz, and went on to study at Royal Academy of Music.

    “Fast forward to early 2023 when Penny was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Billy started sending little video recordings of his music to cheer her up (and me). New compositions, and duets with Teresa [Macedo Ferreira].

    Penny Marrows in her garden

    “The Beech Tree had its premiere at Penny’s funeral, and some of these pieces became Billy’s first album, Penelope, released soon after in her memory. So far it’s raised almost £7,000 for World Child Cancer.”

    In 2025, Penelope was shortlisted in the category of Best New Album in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. “Penny doesn’t know about all this, nor that thanks to Billy’s music her paintings have had an extraordinary resurrection.

    “The trauma of the illness, combined with major retro-refit work in the house, meant that the paintings were buried in the chaos. We found them at the back of a huge pile. First exhibited at the funeral, they’ve since gone round the world beautifully emblazoned on Billy’s album covers.”

    Penny loved trees, especially walking through woods. “The paintings seemed to burst from nowhere at the time, almost with a secretive devil-may-care diffidence, but are actually distillations of detailed observational sketchbook drawings done in the Howardian Hills while we collected wood for our stove,” says Timothy.

    “Her early notebooks tenderly catch details of family life in Tockwith with an almost Bonnard-like natural draughtsmanship. My garden is a beautiful sculpture garden.

    “If Penny is anywhere, she’s in the trees, both in the paintings and out there. Her work inspires my own drawings; I think of her as Daphne and I often depict her as a bird perched humorously and enquiringly on her very own branch.

    “I would like to thank Richard Kitchen, who greatly encouraged me to curate this show of Penny’s work, and for making it possible.”

    J P Warriner’s work Untitled, featuring in Navigators Art’s exhibition

    BORN in Ireland in 1935, J P (John)Warriner lived most of his life in York, where he died in 2019 aged 84. “He has no surviving family or partner,” says Navigators Art’s Richard Kitchen. “Research indicates he was a brilliant and kind man, and a grandfather figure to troubled local youth.”

    John was a contemporary figurative painter whose style spanned surrealism, post pop, erotic and neo-mythic genres. Married to Effie, the couple had two children, Ronald and Nigel, who both died tragically young.

    “John seemed to have taken to painting to heal from the losses he and Effie endured,” says his exhibition curator, Cath Dickinson, of Notions Vintage. “He remains somewhat of an enigma, with little recorded about his life or artistic endeavours.

    “We know that he was a retired Nestle employee, living in Acomb, suspected to have hailed from Omagh, County Tyrone. With no social media or websites to dissect, no records of known influences or potential drivers, the journey of discovery about JP is just beginning.”

    Local accounts reveal that he was a much loved go-to grandfather figure to all the children in his street in Foxwood, Acomb, never missing a birthday or Christmas, delivering shortbread and fixing many broken bikes.

    In a strange encounter, curator Cath Dickinson, who has been collecting paintings by John for five years, met someone who knew a friend and neighbour of John by chance.

    “I discovered that John had been more than a friendly neighbour but amentor to troubled local adolescents and young people who were struggling with the temptations of life in the hedonistic 1990s and 2000s,” says Cath.

    Artist J P Warriner with “our Amy”

    “John had a particularly close friend, mentee and muse in ‘Our Amy’, a wonderful young mum who was full of life, and had a fantastic sense of humour. John became Amy’s mentor and confidante and tried to not only guide but also record many of the pivotal moments in her tragically shortened life.”

    Exhibition visitors hopefully will be able to discover and share more of the  history of John’s painting and subjects. “The main part is in tribute and memory to Amy and John and their bond which transcended generations and societal norms,” says Cath. “John’s works have been likened to Alasdair Gray and Grayson Perry. They span decades and observe war, tragedy, comedy, temptation, love and loss.

    After the exhibition in memory of John, Effie and Amy ends on March 6, some of John’s works will be available to buy from notionsvintageyork.com at 6 Aldwark Mews, York, YO1 7PJ.

    “This joint exhibition has been both a labour of love and a voyage of discovery for its two curators,” says Richard. “Come and discover the work of two wonderful creative artists and their vibrant contrasting styles and subject matter.”

    Penny Marrows & J P Warriner, City Screen Picturehouse, York, on show until March 6, open daily from 10.30am until closing time.

    Did you know?

    BILLY Marrows also played at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, on February 5 with Di-Cysgodion, a contemporary jazz quartet making waves in the capital and touring the north following their appearance at London’s Vortex Jazz Club. 

    Billy will return to The Basement with the Billy Marrows Band on March 26 in a 7.30pm concert promoted by Jazztones at 7.30pm. Tickets: TicketSource booking at bit.ly/nav-events.

    The quartet brings together exciting London jazz scene improvisers to present York-born Billy’s boundary-pushing compositions, where they explore the relationship between improvisation and composition, incorporating grooves from across the globe and taking inspiration from many genres, including contemporary jazz, funk, progressive jazz and classical.

    Penny Marrows’ artwork for Billy Marrows’ album Penelope, which received a four-star review in Jazzwise

    Joining Billy, electric guitar and compositions, will be Chris Williams,  alto sax (Led Bib, Sarathy Korwar, Grande Familia, Let Spin), Huw V Williams, double bass (Gruff Rhys, Ivo Neame, Chris Batchelor, Di-Cysgodion) and Jay Davis, drums (Mark Lockheart, Eddie Parker, Elliot Galvin, Di-Cysgodion).

    Their debut album, Dancing On Bentwood Chairs, will be released on February 13, and this concert forms part of the accompanying tour,

    Billy, who grew up in Sheriff Hutton, near York, studied jazz guitar at the Royal Academy of Music. He also leads the chamber-jazz project Grande Família, whose appearances have taken in top British venues, Scarborough Jazz Festival and a sold-out residency at Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho.

    In addition, Billy performs with Docklands Sinfonia, Tom Ridout Quintet, Chelsea Carmichael, Patchwork Jazz Orchestra and Di-Cysgodion. For more details, go to:
    billymarrows.com.

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    More Things To Do in York and beyond, any way the wind blows. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 4 for 2025, from The York Press

    Ric Liptrot: Exhibiting in The Other Collective exhibition at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb

    FROM dollops of Dolly Parton advice to Stewart Lee’s werewolf encounter, devilish storytelling to a Cinderella prequel, Charles Hutchinson, cherry picks highlights for the days ahead.

    Exhibition of the week: The Other Collective, Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, until March 13

    CURATED by Bluebird Bakery, The Other Collective brings together the work of Lu Mason, Ric Liptrot, Rob Burton, Liz Foster and Jill Tattersall.

    “These wonderful artists were all missed off the billing for York Open Studios 2025 and we felt that was a real shame,” says Bluebird boss Nicky Kippax. “So The Other Collective was born and we hope the work will get a lot of interest from our customers.” 

    The poster for South Bank Singers’ Of All The Birds concert

    Nature concert of the week: South Bank Singers, Of All The Birds, A Winter Chorus, St Clement’s Church, Scarcroft Road, York, today, 3pm

    SOUTH Bank Singers present Of All The Birds, A Winter Chrous, a Saturday afternoon concert of choral music inspired by the enchanting beauty and song of birds. Directed by Carlos Zamora, the choral programme spans six centuries, taking in Mendelssohn, Stanford, Ravel, Gibbons, Janequin, Vautor, Guastavino and Bartlet. Admission is free with a retiring collection for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

    The poster for A Million Dreams, presented by Steve Coates Productions, at the Grand Opera House, York

    Fundraiser of the week: A Million Dreams, A Charity Broadway Spectacular, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm

    STEVE Coates Productions present an evening of musical magic, song, dance and laughter by York talent in aid of The Snappy Trust, a charity “dedicated to maximising the personal development of children and young people with wide- ranging disabilities”.

    Bev Jones Music Company, Flying Ducks Youth Theatre and a ten-piece band perform songs from Broadway and West End shows such as Wicked, Hamilton, Frozen, The Phantom Of The Opera, Les Miserables and The Greatest Showman. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

    Mark Reynolds’ tour poster illustration for Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, playing York Theatre Royal from January 28 to February 1

    Comedy gigs of the week: Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, York Theatre Royal, January 28 to February 1, 7.30pm

    IN Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, Lee shares the stage with a tough-talking werewolf comedian from the dark forests of the subconscious who hates humanity. The Man-Wulf lays down a ferocious comedy challenge to the “culturally irrelevant and physically enfeebled Lee”: can the beast inside us all be silenced by the silver bullet of Lee’s deadpan stand-up? Tickets advice: Hurry, hurry as all shows are closing in on selling out; 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

    Tricia Paoluccio’s Dolly Parton and Steven Webb’s Kevin in Here You Come Again at Grand Opera House, York

    Musical of the week: Here You Come Again, Grand Opera House, York, January 28 to February 1, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

    SIMON Friend Entertainment and Leeds Playhouse team up for the tour of Here You Come Again, starring and co-written by Broadway actress Tricia Paoluccio, who visits York for the first time in the guise of a fantasy vision of country icon Dolly Parton.

    Gimme Gimme Gimme writer Jonathan Harvey has put a British spin on Bruce Vilanch, director Gabriel Barre and Paoluccio’s story of diehard Dolly devotee Kevin (Steven Webb) needing dollops of Dolly advice on life and love in trying times. Parton hits galore help too! Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

    Sylvie (Aileen Hall), centre, demonstrates her skills to friends Amelie (Perri Ann Barley), left, and Helene (Devon Wells), right, in rehearsal for Blue Light Theatre Company’s Where The Magic Begins!

    Premiere of the week: Blue Light Theatre Company in Where The Magic Begins!, Acomb Working Men’s Club, York, January 29, 30 and 31, 7.30pm; February 1, 2pm matinee

    BLUE Light Theatre Company will forego their annual panto in favour of staging York playwright and actress Perri Ann Barley’s new play Where The Magic Begins!, a prequel to Cinderella based on characters from the original Charles Perrault version of “everyone’s favourite fairytale”.

    “We meet many beloved characters in their younger days, such as a young Fairy Godmother, who is about to discover her ‘gift’. We follow her journey as she struggles with a secret that could put her life, and that of her family, in grave danger,” says director Craig Barley. Box office: 07933 329654, at bluelight-theatre.co.uk or on the door.

    Hannah Rowe: Performing in the cabaret set-up of The Old Paint Shop at York Theatre Royal Studio

    Cabaret night of the week: CPWM Presents An Evening With Hannah Rowe, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, January 30, 8pm

    YORK promoters Come Play With Me (CPWM) welcome Hannah Rowe to The Old Paint Shop’s winter season. This young singer writes of experiences and shifts in life, offering a sense of reflection within her rich, authentic, jazz-infused sound.

    The Old Paint Shop shows by irreverent York covers combo Hyde Family Jam (today, 2pm and 8pm) and Karl Mullen, upstanding York pianist Karl Mullen (January 31, 8pm) have sold out. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

    Tim Ralphs: Wild reimagining of folktale, fairytale and urban legend at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb

    Devilish delight of the week: Tim Ralphs and Adderstone, Infernal Delights, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, January 31, doors 7.30pm

    TIM Ralphs and York alt-folk storytellers Adderstone serve up a winter night’s double bill of dark delights. Let Adderstone’s Cath Heinemeyer and Gemma McDermott lead you down the steps to the underworld with story-songs from wild places in their Songs To Meet The Darkness set.

    In Beelzebub Rebranded, Tim Ralphs’s stand-up storytelling exhumes the bones of ancient Devil stories and stitches them into new skins for fresh consumption in his wild reimagining of folktale, fairytale and urban legend. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/adderstone/infernal-delights/e-xjjber.

    York Ice Trail: Taking the theme of Origins next weekend

    Whatever the weather, here comes the new ice age: York Ice Trail 2025, February 1 and 2

    YORK’S “free weekend of frosty fun” returns with a 2025 theme of Origins as York’s streets are turned into an icy wonderland of frozen tableau in this annual event run by Make It York. Among the 30 ice sculptures showcasing 2,000 years of city history will be a Roman shield, a Viking helmet, a chocolate bar,  a drifting ghost, a majestic train and a Yorkshire rose, all captured in the language of ice by Icebox. Full details can be found at visityork.org/york-ice-trail.

    Before all that ice, windswept York has another free event on the city streets and beyond this weekend: York Residents’ Festival today and tomorrow. For the full list of offers, head to: visityork.org/offers/category/york-residents-festival.

    Snow Patrol: Returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre this summer

    Gig announcement of the week: Snow Patrol, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, June 27

    THE Northern Irish-Scottish indie rock band Snow Patrol are to return to the Scarborough coast for the first time since July 2021, led as ever by Gary Lightbody, accompanied by long-time lead guitarist Nathan Connolly and pianist Johnny McDaid.

    Emotionally charged anthems such as Chasing Cars, Run and Open Your Eyes will be complemented by selections from 2024’s The Forest Is The Path, their first chart topper in 18 years.  Box office: ticketmaster.co.uk and scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

    In Focus: Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble, National Centre for Early Music, York, January 29, doors 7pm, start 7.30pm

    Hayden Thorpe: Performing Ness with Propellor Ensemble at the NCEM

    PLEASE Please You and Brudenell Presents bring Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble to the NCEM to perform Ness on Wednesday, with the promise of a “sonically spectacular and transformational live show”.

    Thorpe, 39-year-old former frontman and chief songwriter of Kendal and Leeds band Wild Beasts, promotes his September 2024 album, Ness, released on Domino Records.

    Using a process of redaction, Cumbrian musician Thorpe brought songs to life from nature writer Robert Macfarlane’s book Ness, inspired by Orford Ness, a ten-mile long shingle spit on the coast of Suffolk that housed the former Ministry of Defence weapons development site during both World Wars and the Cold War.

    Acquired by the National Trust in 1993 and left to re-wild, to this day it remains a place of paradox, mystery and constant evolution.

    Thorpe’s ode to Orford Ness, the physical place and the book, features Macfarlane’s words and illustrations by Stanley Donwood. He premiered Ness with Propellor Ensemble at Orford Ness on September 28 and 29 last year.

    Here Hayden discusses working with Robert Macfarlane and Propellor Ensemble, the Cold War, nature and past York experiences with CharlesHutchPress.

    Do you have any past experiences of York, whether on a school visit or whatever, Hayden?

    “My parents used to take us to the Jorvik Viking Museum when me and my siblings were young. I was always amazed by the fake open sewer smell they would pump into the space.”

    When did you last play in York, either solo or with Wild Beasts?

    “I believe it was in 2006 or 2007. A rather long time ago. In any case, it’s been too long. It was somewhere quite familiar to me when Wild Beasts were coming up in Leeds. We’d make a regular dash across.”

    How did the Ness project come about with Robert Macfarlane?

    “In a really old fashioned manner. I fan-mailed Rob and he wrote back with all the generosity and open heartedness of his books. He’s as good as his word in the truest sense.

    “Rob and I decided to perform some improvised music to his reading of Ness. It was a Eureka moment. The atmosphere and drama of the sound we made demanded that we commit to expanding it.” 

    Did you visit Orford Ness, now the Orford Ness National Nature Reserve, for research purposes?

    “Yes. Orford Ness is an astonishing place. It’s a monument to rejuvenation and a monument to destruction. The very best and the very worst of us.” 

    By the way, Hayden, York has a Cold War Bunker Museum, in Monument Close, Holgate: a two-storey, semi-subterranean bunker built in 1961 to monitor nuclear explosions and fallout in Yorkshire, in the event of nuclear war.

    “I had no idea that a Cold War museum existed in York. That’s fabulous. Bizarrely, I’ve developed a Cold War romance. I guess the conflicts and hostilities we face today have brought these conversations back into our everyday consciousness.” 

    The album cover artwork for Hayden Thorpe’s Ness

    How have you turned the album into a concert performance?

    “The album is very much made of sounds we’ve made with our hands and lungs, so with enough pairs of those it actually translates in a very true way. The unusual instrumentation, with orchestral percussion and clarinet foregrounded alongside me, creates a very distinct ‘Ness’ sound. The shows have been really emotional as a result.”

    Were you tempted to feature strings in the Ness project for their emotional heft?

    “We deliberately did not use strings. We opted to use the elemental forces at my play at Orford Ness: wind and resistant materials like metal and wood. It creates a haunted, volatile soundscape.”  

    Which Propellor Ensemble members will play in York?

    “Jack McNeill plays clarinet and Delia Stevens plays orchestral percussion. Molly Gromadzki performs the spoken-word parts and sings in the choir. Brigitte Hart and Helen Ganya make up the choral section. It’s been a joy to work with such expressive and capable performers.”

    What does a “sonically spectacular and transformational live show” entail?

    “Something which is sonically ambitious and immersive. Once we start the show we don’t stop, it’s the album in full back to front. We want to take the audience to Ness, have them come face to face with the monster.”

    Why was the National Centre for Early Music, in the former St Margaret’s Church in Walmgate, chosen for the York gig rather than The Crescent community venue, a classic working men’s club design?

    “We’ve heard such great things about NCEM. Much of the story of Ness takes place ‘In The Green Chapel’, so the work lends itself to a space of worship.” 

    What is your own relationship with nature? Wild Beasts hailed originally from Kendal, with all that Lake District beauty around you…

    “Nature has become increasingly important to my life and work. As artists we’re forced to ask what side of the conversation we sit on, one which acknowledges the existential crisis facing us or one which excuses it. Music can carry non-human voices really effectively. Ness is very much a meditation on that.” 

    What will be the next project you work on?“

    Good question. Ness has certainly expanded my palette. I’ve come to feel maybe my strength is in making strange and ambitious works which would otherwise not get made. It’s crucial to keep the flame burning on works of exploration and oddity in an industry which increasingly incentivises conformity.” 

    Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

    More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 5, from The York Press

    The cheek of it: Freida Nipples hosting The Exhibitionists at The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio

    FROM exhibitionist burlesque to imaginative dance moments, wildlife illuminations to bend-and-snap musical empowerment, Charles Hutchinson finds February fulfilment.

    Cabaret night of the week: Freida Nipples Presents…The Exhibitionists, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, February 8, 8pm

    YORK’S very own internationally award-winning burlesque artiste Freida Nipples welcomes some of her favourite and most fabulous performance artists from across Great Britain and beyond to The Old Paint Shop cabaret night.

     “Get ready to be dazzled, shocked and in awe,” says Freida. “Only a few things are guaranteed: glamour, gags and giggles.” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk, for returned tickets only.

    Chris Newman and Maire Ni Chathasaigh

    Folk gig of the week: Maire Ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman, Helmsley Arts Centre, February 8, 7.30pm

    MULTIPLE award-winning, internationally renowned virtuoso harp and guitar duo Maire Ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman return to Helmsley after playing to a full house there in December 2023.

    County Cork harpist Chathasaigh and flat-picking guitarist, improviser, composer and record producer Newman have toured to 24 countries on five continents, playing venues ranging from village halls and town halls to palaces in Kyoto and Istanbul, from London’s Barbican to Cologne’s Philharmonia. Expect a fusion of traditional Irish music, hot jazz, bluegrass and baroque, spiced with new compositions and Newman’s subversive wit. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

    Stop! Evie Hart, left, Sean Moss, Hobie Schouppe, Juliette Tellier, Donny Beau Ferris, Risa Maki and Oliver Rumaizen in Jasmin Vardimon Company’s Now. Picture: Tristram Kenton

    Dance show of the week: Jasmin Vardimon Company, York Theatre Royal, February 8, 2.30pm with post-show discussion and 7.30pm

    NOW, a new creation by choreographer Jasmin Vardimon MBE, celebrates her company’s 25th anniversary in a work that reflects the current moment, the present, and the continuous movement of time in a terpsichorean toast to the beauty of imagination and art.

    Rooted in her interest in contemporary lives, the structures of society and the ever-changing socio-political dynamics, Vardimon uses her distinctive dance theatre style to tell a story of our time with an international cast of performers and relevant, iconic moments from the Ashford, Kent company’s repertoire. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

    Jamie Walton: Cello soloist at York Guildhall Orchestra’s concert at York Barbican

    Classical concerts of the week: Yorkshire Bach Choir, Bach To The Future, St Lawrence Parish Church, York, February 8, 7.30pm; York Guildhall Orchestra: Sibelius, Bloch, Tchaikovsky & Shostakovich, York Barbican, February 9, 3pm

    PETER Seymour conducts Yorkshire Bach Choir on a choral journey through German polyphony, including music by Schutz, Johann Bach, JS Bach, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Rheinberger. Professor Thomas Schmidt gives a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

    Jamie Walton, cellist and North York Moors Chamber Music Festival artistic director, will be the soloist for Ernst Bloch’s “rarely played, but utterly beautiful” Shelomo in February 9’s concert by the York Guildhall Orchestra. Sibelius’s Karelia Suite, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo And Juliet and Shostakovic’s Symphony No. 9 in Eb feature too in conductor Simon Wright’s programme. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

    Dominic Halpin & The Hurricanes in A Country Night In Nashville

    Country gig of the week: A Country Night In Nashville, Grand Opera House, York, February 9, 7.30pm

    DOMINIC Halpin & The Hurricanes re-create a buzzing honky-tonk in downtown Nashville, capturing the energy and atmosphere of an evening in the home of country music, featuring songs from its biggest stars both past and present: Johnny Cash to Alan Jackson, Dolly Parton to The Chicks, Willie Nelson to Kacey Musgraves. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

    Colour & Light framing the South Transept of York Minster

    Illumination of the week: Colour & Light, York Minster South Transept, February 12 to March 2

    THIS free outdoor event promises a “mesmerising projection” of famous and lesser-known stories of York’s animal world, from the peregrine falcons that call the Minster home and the foxes that roam the city after dark, to the horses on which the Romans rode into Eboracum and the legendary dragons carved into York’s history.

    Colour & Light will run nightly from 6pm to 9pm with projections on a ten-minute loop. The final hour each evening will feature a designated quiet hour with reduced noise and crowd levels, ensuring everyone can enjoy the event. No tickets are required.

    Pop Princesses World Tour: Popping into the Grand Opera House, York

    Children’s pop concert of the week: Pop Princesses World Tour, Grand Opera House, York, February 13, 6pm

    IN a magical show where four fabulous fairytale princesses become pop stars on an epic adventure, they just love to sing the hits of Taylor Swift, Meghan Trainor, Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa and Lizzo, complemented by a few of the best songs from all your favourite films and musicals. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

    Emma Swainston’s Elle Woods in York Light Opera Company’s Legally Blonde The Musical

    Musical of the week: York Light Opera Company in Legally Blonde The Musical, York Theatre Royal, February 13 to 22, 7.30pm nightly (except February 16) plus 2.30pm matinees on February 15, 20

    JOIN Elle Woods, a seemingly ditzy sorority girl with a heart of gold, as she tackles Harvard Law School to win back her man. Along the way Elle discovers her own strength and intelligence, proving that you can be both a beautiful blonde and brilliant.

    Emma Swainston’s Elle Woods leads Martyn Knight’s 35-strong cast in this feel-good, sassy and stylish show with a powerful message about staying true to yourself, music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

    Festival of the week: National Parks Dark Skies Festival, North York Moors, February 14 to March 2

    THIS year is the tenth anniversary of the Dark Skies Festival and where better to celebrate than on the North York Moors, one of only 21 locations in the world to be recognised for pristine, dark skies as an International Dark Sky Reserve.

    Look out for Stargazing Experiences in Dalby Forest; Stargazing at Ampleforth Abbey; the Robin Hood’s Bay Dark Skies Ghost Walks; Evening Adventure Walks with River Mountain Rescue; a Night Navigation Experience with Large Outdoors; Dancing with The Long Dead Stars (and a walk to Boggle Hole) and plenty more. For full details, visit: darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/north-york-moors-events.

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    More Things To Do in York and beyond in 2025 Part Two when the ice age cometh. Hutch’s List No. 2 from The York Press

    Taboo-shattering comedy: Ed Byrne in Tragedy Plus Time at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Roslyn Grant

    FROM Narnia to ice sculptures, comedy in wolf’s clothing to Ayckbourn’s 91st play, Charles Hutchinson finds plenty to perk up the days and nights ahead.

    Taboo subject of the week: Ed Byrne: Tragedy Plus Time, Grand Opera House, tonight, 7.30pm

    MARK Twain, the 19th century American writer, humorist, and essayist, defined humour as Tragedy Plus Time. Irish comedian Ed Byrne tests that formula by mining the most tragic event in his life – the death of his brother Paul from Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 44 – for laughs.

    Byrne’s show carries the content warning “Discussions of death”.  “But as with any subject I do, there are always digressions into asides,” he says. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

    Mark Reynolds’ illustration for Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, on tour at York Theatre Royal for five nights

    Comedy and not comedy: Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, York Theatre Royal, January 28 to February 1, 7.30pm; The Shed presents Indeterminacy with Tania Caroline Chen, piano, Steve Beresford, piano and objects, and Stewart Lee, voice, National Centre for Early Music, York, February 1, 3.30pm

    IN Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, Lee shares the stage with a tough-talking werewolf comedian from the dark forests of the subconscious who hates humanity. The Man-Wulf lays down a ferocious comedy challenge to the “culturally irrelevant and physically enfeebled Lee”: can the beast inside us all be silenced by  the silver bullet of Lee’s deadpan stand-up? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

    On John Cage and David Tudor’s 1959 double LP Indeterminacy, Cage read 90 of his stories, each one, whether long or short, lasting precisely one minute. Unheard by Cage, Tudor simultaneously played the piano and other things in another room. Now Stewart Lee joins pianists Tania Caroline Chen and Steve Beresford to do their own version of Cage’s work in a 40-minute performance in one room, where the musicians do their best not to hear Lee’s reading. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

    York Ice Trail 2025: Taking the theme of Origins on February 1 and 2

    After this week’s deep freeze, here comes York Ice Trail 2025, February 1 and 2

    YORK’S “free weekend of frosty fun” returns with a 2025 theme of Origins as York’s streets are turned into an icy wonderland of frozen tableau in this annual event run by Make It York. Among the 30 ice sculptures showcasing 2,000 years of city history will be a Roman shield, a Viking helmet, a chocolate bar,  a drifting ghost, a majestic train and a Yorkshire rose, all captured in the language of ice by Icebox. Full details can be found at visityork.org/york-ice-trail.

    The book cover for Elizabeth Sharkey’s Why Britain Rocked: Under discussion with musician and environmental campaigner husband Feargal at Pocklington Arts Centre

    One-off interview comes into view:  Why Britain Rocked: Elizabeth and Feargal Sharkey, Pocklington Arts Centre, February 13, 7.30pm.

    FEARGAL Sharkey, former frontman of The Undertones, will interview his wife, author Elizabeth Sharkey, on one night only of her debut book tour: the final show, which just happens to be in Pocklington.

    Together they will explore the history of British pop music, as charted in Why Britain Rocked: How Rock Became Roll And Took Over The World, wherein Elizabeth re-writes the established history by uncovering the untold stories behind Britain’s musical evolution and challenges the American claim to have invented rock’n’roll. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

    The Corrs: Kicking off the 2025 season at Scarborough Open Air Theatre

    Off to the East Coast this summer: Scarborough Open Air Theatre season

    IRISH siblings The Corrs lead off Cuffe & Taylor’s 2025 season in Scarborough with support from Natalie Imbruglia  on June 11. In the diary too are Gary Barlow, June 13; Shed Seven with special guests Jake Bugg and Cast, June 14; Pendulum, June 15; Basement Jaxx, June 21, and The Human League, plus Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey and Blancmange, June 28.

    July opens with The Script and special guest Tom Walker on July 5; UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, with special guest Bitty McLean, July 6; Blossoms, with Inhaler and Apollo Junction, July 10; Rag’n’Bone Man, with Elles Bailey, July 11; McFly, with Twin Atlantic and Devon, July 12; Judas Priest, with Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons, July 23, and Texas, with Rianne Downey, July 26. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

    Bunmi Osadolor (Edmund), Jesse Dunbar (Peter), Kudzai Mangombe (Lucy) and Joanna Adaran (Susan) in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe at Leeds Playhouse. Picture: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg

    Touring show of the year: 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, Aslan, the Lion, and the coldest, cruellest White Witch. 

    Running at Leeds Playhouse until January 25 in the most spectacular production of the winter season, this breathtaking stage adaptation of CS Lewis’s allegorical novel then heads out on a new tour with its magical storytelling, bewitching stagecraft and stellar puppets. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

    Alan Ayckbourn: Directing his 91st play, Earth Angel, at the SJT, Scarborough, in the autumn. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

    Alan Ayckbourn’s 91st play: Earth Angel, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, September 13 to October 11

     STEPHEN Joseph Theatre director emeritus Alan Ayckbourn directs his 91st play, Earth Angel, wherein Gerald has lost his wife of many years. Amy was the light of his life, almost heaven sent. It is tricky thinking about life without her but he is trying his best to put a brave face on things, accepting help from fussy neighbours and muddling along as best he can.

    Then a mysterious stranger turns up at Amy’s wake. He seems like a nice enough chap, washing the dishes and offering to do a shop for Gerald, but is he all that he appears? Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

    In focus: The Waterboys’ new album and tour dates at York Barbican, May 15; Sheffield City Hall, May 9, and Leeds O2 Academy, June 17

    Mike Scott: Leading The Waterboys at York Barbican for the eighth time on May 15. Picture: Paul MacManus

    THE Waterboys will showcase “the most audacious album yet” of Mike Scott’s 42-year career, Life, Death And Dennis Hopper, on their latest return to York Barbican, having previously played their “Big Music” brand of folk, rock, soul and blues there in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2021 and 2023.

    Released on April 4 on Sun Records, their 16th studio album charts the epic path of the trailblazing American actor and rebel, as told through a song cycle that depicts not only Hopper’s story but also the saga of the last 75 years of western pop culture. 

    “The arc of his life was the story of our times,” says Scott, “He was at the big bang of youth culture in Rebel Without A Cause with James Dean; and the beginnings of Pop Art with the young Andy Warhol. 

    “He was part of the counter-culture, hippie, civil rights and psychedelic scenes of the ’60s. In the ’70s and ’80s he went on a wild ten-year rip, almost died, came back, got straight and became a five-movies-a-year character actor without losing the sparkle in his eye or the sense of danger or unpredictability that always gathered around him.”

    As a first taste of what lies in store, Hopper’s On Top (Genius) was unveiled on streaming and video this week, capturing the electric, heady moment when Hopper’s Easy Rider became a cultural phenomenon and cemented his place in Hollywood history. Buoyed by Scott’s searing vocals, vibrant instrumentation and a psychedelic edge, the song channels the euphoria and hubris of the 1960s’ counterculture that Hopper epitomised.  

    Scott worked for four years on Life, Death And Dennis Hopper. Produced with Waterboys bandmates Famous James and Brother Paul, the album spans 25 tracks that trace the trace the extraordinary ups and downs of Hopper’s life, from his youth in Kansas to his long rise, five wives, tumultuous fall and ultimate redemption.

    The album cover artwork for The Waterboys’ Life, Death And Dennis Hopper, set for release on April 4

    Every song has its own special place and fascinating, deep-rooted story. “It begins in his childhood, ends the morning after his death, and I get to say a whole lot along the way, not just about Dennis, but about the whole strange adventure of being a human soul on planet Earth,” says Scott.

    The album will be The Waterboys’ first for Sun Records. “Hey, we’re label mates with Howlin’ Wolf and young Elvis,”says Scott,  who is joined by a stellar line-up of guests, ranging from Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple and Steve Earle to Nashville-based Alt Americana artist Anana Kaye, English singer Barny Fletcher, Norwegian country-rockers Sugarfoot, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s and punk arch-priestess Patti Palladin.

    The 31-date UK and Ireland tour will run from May 1 to June 19.  Box office: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Sheffield, sheffieldcityhall.co.uk; Leeds, academymusicgroup.com.

    Life, Death And Dennis Hopper track listing:

    1.   Kansas (featuring Steve Earle)
    2.   Hollywood ’55
    3.   Live In The Moment, Baby
    4.   Brooke/1712 North Crescent Heights
    5.   Andy (A Guy Like You)
    6.   The Tourist (featuring Barny Fletcher)
    7.   Freaks On Wheels
    8.   Blues For Terry Southern
    9.   Memories Of Monterey
    10. Riding Down To Mardi Gras
    11. Hopper’s On Top (Genius)
    12. Transcendental Peruvian Blues
    13. Michelle (Always Stay)
    14. Freakout At The Mud Palace
    15. Daria
    16. Ten Years Gone (featuring Bruce Springsteen)
    17. Letter From An Unknown Girlfriend (featuring Fiona Apple)
    18. Rock Bottom
    19. I Don’t Know How I Made It (featuring Taylor Goldsmith)
    20. Frank (Let’s F**k)
    21. Katherine (featuring Anana Kaye)
    22. Everybody Loves Dennis Hopper
    23. Golf, They Say
    24. Venice, California (Victoria)/The Passing Of Hopper
    25. Aftermath

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    More Things To Do in York & beyond, when skies are dark or lights are bright. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 6 for 2024, from The Press

    Neil Vincent, left, Clare Halliday, Chris Pomfrett, Victoria Delaney and Mick Liversidge in rehearsal for York Actors Collective’s Beyond Caring

    A GLUT of York theatre companies, a nocturnal sky festival, a Yorkshire musical and a colourful installation light up the dark nights of February for culture guide Charles Hutchinson.

    Social drama of the week: York Actors Collective in Beyond Caring, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Tuesday to Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 5.30pm

    DEVISED by Alexander Zeldin and the original Yard Theatre cast in London, this 90-minute play highlighting the social damage inflicted by zero-hours contracts forms York Actors Collective’s second production, directed by founder Angie Millard.

    Performed by Victoria Delaney, Clare Halliday, Mick Liversidge, Chris Pomfrett and Neil Vincent, Beyond Caring follows meat-packing factory cleaners Becky, Grace and Sam on the night shift as they confront the reality of low wage employment, never sure whether their ‘job’ will continue. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

    Robert Rice: Recital at Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate tonight


    Late Music at the double: Steve Bingham, violin and electronics, 1pm today; Robert Rice, baritone, and William Vann, piano, 7.30pm tonight, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York

    PET Shop Boys’ It’s A Sin chills with Bach’s Allemande in D minor, while a tango from Piazzolla is thrown in for good measure, as Steve Bingham explores four centuries of solo violin music this afternoon. World premieres of David Power’s Miniatures, Wayne Siegel’s Salamander (violin and electronics) and Rowan Alfred’s Cuckoo Phase will be performed too.

    York composer David Power has curated Robert Rice and William Vann’s evening recital, featuring the first complete performance of Power’s Three Char Songs (1985 and 2016). Works by Gerald Finzi, Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, Herbert Howells, Robert Walker, William Rhys Meek, Charlotte Marlow, Liz Dilnot Johnson, David Lancaster, Hannah Garton, Ruth Lee, Hayley Jenkins and Phillip Cooke. Power gives a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm with a complimentary glass of wine or juice. Tickets: latemusic.org or on the door.

    Jonny Holbek as Sebastian in York Light Opera Company’s production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Picture: Matthew Kitchen

    Nautical adventure of the week: York Light Opera Company in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, York Theatre Royal, February 7 to 17, except February 12

    BASED on the classic 1989 Disney animated film, The Little Mermaid tells the enchanting story of Ariel, a mermaid who dreams of trading her tail for legs and exploring the human world. Aided by her mischievous sidekick, Flounder, and the cunning Ursula, Ariel strikes a bargain that will change her life forever.

    Martyn Knight’s production for York Light features stunning projection, dazzling costumes, unforgettable musical numbers, such as Under The Sea and Kiss The Girl, and choreography by Rachael Whitehead. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

    The poster for Colour & Light, soon to illuminate the facade of York Art Gallery

    Installation launch of the week: Colour & Light, York Art Gallery, February 7 to 25

    YORK BID is linking up with York Museums Trust for the return of Colour & Light: an innovative project that will transform the facade of York Art Gallery to counter the cold winter with a vibrant light installation.

    This “high impact and large-scale visual arts project” uses 3D projection mapping to bring York’s iconic buildings to life, first York Minster last year, now York Art Gallery, where the projection will play every ten minutes from 6pm to 9pm daily in a non-ticketed free event.

    Watching the detective: Steven Jobson’s Lieutenant Frank Cioffi in Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s Curtains. Picture: Jennifer Jones

    It’s Curtains for…Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Wednesday to Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee

    WHEN the leading lady of a new musical mysteriously dies on stage, a plucky local detective must solve this 1959 case at Boston’s Colonial Theatre, where the entire cast and crew are suspects in Kander & Ebb’s musical with a book by Rupert Holmes.

    Cue delightful characters, a witty and charming script and glorious tunes in the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s staging of Curtains. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

    Sunflower power: The Calendar Girls cast on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, from Tuesday to Saturday

    Touring musical of the week: Calendar Girls The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

    YOU know the story, the one where a husband’s death to leukaemia prompts a group of ordinary women in a small Yorkshire Women’s Institute to do an extraordinary thing, whereupon they set about creating a nude calendar to raise money for charity.

    Premiered at Leeds Grand Theatre in 2015, Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s musical is now touring with a cast of music, stage and television stars. Baring all will be Laurie Brett as Annie; Liz Carney as Marie; Helen Pearson as Celia; Samantha Seager as Chris; Maureen Nolan as Ruth; Lyn Paul as Jessie and Honeysuckle Weeks as Cora. Once more the tour supports Blood Cancer UK. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

     Nicola Holliday (as Jean Tanner) and James Lee (as Charles Stratton) in rehearsal for Settlement Players’ Separate Tables. Picture: John Saunders

    English manners of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Separate Tables, York Theatre Royal Studio, February 8 to 17, 7.45pm except Sunday and Monday, plus 2pm Saturday matinees

    AFTER directing four Russian plays by Chekhov, Helen Wilson turns her attention to Separate Tables, two very English Terence Rattigan tales of love and loss, set in a shabby Bournemouth hotel in the 1950s.

    Guests, both permanent and transient, sit on separate tables, a formality that underlines the loneliness of these characters in a play about class, secrets and repressed emotions. Chris Meadley, Paul French, Molly Kay, Jess Murray, Marie-Louise Feeley, Caroline Greenwood and Linda Fletcher are among the Settlement cast. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

    Festival of the month: North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales Dark Skies Festival, February 9 to 25

    TEAMING up for the ninth time since 2016, the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Park authorities celebrate the jewels of God’s Own Country’s night sky this month.

    Discover nocturnal activities to heighten the senses such as the Dark Skies Experience (February 9 to 25) night navigation (February 16); trail run and yoga (February 17, sold out); canoeing; planet trail and constellation trail at Aysgarth Falls (February 9 to 25); astrophotography workshops at Castle Howard (February 22), stargazing safaris, children’s daytime trails, art workshops and mindful experiences. More details: darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk; yorkshiredales.org.uk/things-to-do/whats-on/shows/dark-skies-festival/.

    Richard Ashcroft: Heading to the woods for Forest Live at Dalby Forest in June. Picture: Dean Chalkley

    Outdoor gig announcement of the week: Richard Ashcroft, Forest Live, Dalby Forest, near Pickering, June 23

    FORESTRY England completes its Forest Live return to Dalby Forest for the first time since 2019 with Richard Ashcroft, the two-time Ivor Novello Award-winning Wigan singer, songwriter and frontman of The Verve.

    Canadian rocker Bryan Adams and disco icons Nile Rodgers & CHIC were confirmed already for June 21 and 22 respectively. New addition Ashcroft’s set list will draw on his five solo albums, along with The Verve’s anthems Bittersweet Symphony, The Drugs Don’t Work, Lucky Man and Sonnet. Leeds band Apollo Junction will be supporting. Box office: forestlive.com.

    In Focus: York Ice Trail, City of Dreams, York city centre, today and tomorrow, from 10am

    York Ice Trail: City of Dreams this weekend

    THE theme for York Ice Trail 2024 transforms York into the City of Dreams, inviting visitors to dream big.

    The last York Ice Trail, in February 2023, drew 40,000 visitors to York to view 36 sculptures. Organised by Make It York, the 2024 event again sees the “coolest” sculptures line the streets of York, each conceived and sponsored by businesses and designed and created by ice specialist Icebox.

    Sarah Loftus, Make It York managing director, says: “York Ice Trail is one of the most-loved events in the city for residents and visitors alike, and we’re excited to be bringing it back for another year in 2024. 

    “It’s a huge celebration of our city and businesses, and the concept will inspire everyone’s inner child, encouraging people to let their imagination run wild.” 

    Icebox managing director Greg Pittard says: “Returning to York for the 2024 Ice Trail is a true honour for us. The York Ice Trail holds a special place in our hearts, and we are thrilled to bring this year’s theme to life.

    “Our talented team of ice carvers pour their passion into crafting magnificent ice sculptures that will transport visitors to a world of wonder and delight.”

    The 2024 ice sculptures:

    Our City Of Dreams, provided by Make It York, Parliament Street.

    A Field Of Dreams, Murton Park, Parliament Street.

    A Journey In ice, Grand Central, Parliament Street.

    City Of Trees, Dalby Forest, Parliament Street.

    Chasing Rainbows, in celebration of York band Shed Seven topping the UK official album chart in January, York Mix Radio, Parliament Street.

    I’m Late, I’m Late! For A Very Important Date!, Ate O’Clock, High Ousegate.

    Sewing Like A Dream, Gillies Fabrics, Peter Lane.

    Mythical Beasts: The Yeti, York BID, Walmgate.

    Hop On Your Bike, Spark:York, Piccadilly (Spark:York will be open from 12 noon).

    Belle Of The Ball, York Castle Museum, Eye of York.

    Brolly Walks, The Coppergate Centre.

    Supporting Our Armed Forces, Crombie Wilkinson Solicitors, Clifford Street.

    Mythical Beasts: The Kraken, York BID, Micklegate (moved from King’s Staith on account of high river levels).

    The Slithering Serpent, The Potions Cauldron, Middletons, Skeldergate.

    Oompa Loompas, York’s Chocolate Story, Middletons, Skeldergate.

    Wonkavision, City Cruises, Middletons, Skeldergate.

    The Golden Ticket, filled with Terry’s Chocolate Oranges, Middletons, at Middletons, Skeldergate.

    Mythical Beasts: The Phoenix, York BID, Micklegate.

    Throne Of Dreams, Storage King, Station Road.

    York Principal, The Principal York, Principal Gardens.

    A Hat Full Of Dreams, The Grand, York, Station Rise.

    Judges And Dragons, The Judge’s Lodging, Lendal.

    Your Key To The National Park, North York Moors National Park, Exhibition Square.

    Mythical Beasts: The Unicorn, York BID, Gillygate.

    Mythical Beasts, The Hydra, York BID, Goodramgate.

    The Big Bad Wolf, York Minster, Minster Piazza.

    Train Of Dreams, National Railway Museum, High Petergate.

    Bradley’s Jewellers’ Christmas Robin Egg, Bradley’s Jewellers, Low Petergate.

    Floating Dreams, Lucia Bar, Grape Lane.

    Fly Into York With P&R, York Park & Ride, St Helen’s Square.

    RMS Queen Mary, Betts, Davygate.

    Dreaming Of Cut And Craft, Cut And Craft, St Sampson’s Square.

    Live Carving, Make It York, St Sampson’s Square.

    Posted on

    More Things To Do in York and beyond when the ice men cometh. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 6 for 2023, from The Press, York

    York Ice Trail: Taking the theme of A Journey Through Time in 2023

    AS the new Ice Age dawns in the city centre, Charles Hutchinson has advice on winter warmers to discover.

    Free event of the week: York Ice Trail, York city centre, today and tomorrow, from 10am

    YORK Ice Trail’s theme for 2023 invites city-centre visitors to time-travel to prehistoric ages, walk through history and step into the future for A Journey Through Time.

    Organised by Make It York, the free trail features ice sculptures sponsored and conceived by York businesses and designed and made by ice specialists Icebox for a second year. Look out for the National Railway Museum’s interactive sculpture in High Petergate celebrating Flying Scotsman’s centenary, one of 36 sculptures standing to attention in York’s streets this weekend. Icebox will be doing live ice carving  at St Sampson’s Square.

    Free trail maps will be available from the Visitor Information Centre on Parliament Street or can be downloaded online at visityork.org/ice.

    The poster for Fool(ish)’s improvised comedy show Fooling Around

    Hot date of the week: Fool(ish) in Fooling Around, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Tuesday, 7.30pm

    JOIN Fool(ish) for Fooling Around, an improvised romantic comedy cum early Valentine’s evening of love, laughter and hand-crafted chaos. Taking audience stories and suggestions, the Chicago-trained York improvisers create a spontaneous series of inspired love-scenes.

    From first dates to happy never afters, Fooling Around aims to sweep you off your feet in its off-the-cuff Yorkshire twist on American long-form comedy on the theme of dreams, desires and total disasters. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

    Platform for song: Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s Hello, Dolly! cast members Jamie Benson as Barnaby Tucker, left, Helen Spencer as Dolly Levi and Stuart Sellens as Cornelius Hackl

    Musical of the week: Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company in Hello, Dolly!, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, February 8 to 11, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee

    KATHRYN Lay makes her JRTC directorial debut alongside musical director husband Martin Lay as the Joseph Rowntree Theatre’s in-house fundraising company kicks off the Haxby Road theatre’s spring season with glitz, glamour and a troupe of tap-dancing waiters in the Broadway classic Hello, Dolly!

    Featuring Put On Your Sunday Clothes, It Only Takes A Moment and the title number, Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart’s musical is the JRTC’s most ambitious production to date. NHS psychiatrist Helen Spencer plays Dolly Levi, the strong-willed widow and self-proclaimed match-making meddler, who strives to woo tight-fisted millionaire Horace Vandergelder while spreading joy and confusion among everyone she encounters in 1885 New York. Box office:01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

    Reflective: Harry Baker will be feeling Unashamed at The Crescent, York

    Poet of the week: Say Owt presents Harry Baker: Unashamed, The Crescent, York, Wednesday, doors, 7.30pm

    WORLD poetry slam champion, poet and maths graduate Harry Baker likes to write about the “important stuff”. Hope, dinosaurs, German falafel-spoons and such like. 

    His work has been shared on TED.com and viewed millions of times worldwide, as well as being translated into 21 languages. Post pandemic lockdowns, he is delighted to be back on stage with his “most heartfelt, playful, unashamedly Harry Bakery” show to date. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

    Richard Dawson: The past, present and future is here at Selby Town Hall

    One for the future: Mediale presents: Richard Dawson, Selby Town Hall, February 11, doors, 8pm; on stage, 8.30pm; no support act

    AUDACIOUS Northumbrian psych-folk and exploratory rock singer-songwriter Richard Dawson is welcomed to Selby Town Hall for the opening night of Selby Creates’ winter arts programme.

    Dawson will be showcasing his latest album, last November’s The Ruby Cord, a grim, sinister vision of times ahead that journeys into an immersive, solipsistic metaverse 500 years from now to complete a trilogy focused on the medieval past (on Peasant), the present (on 2020) and the sci-fi future. Box office: selbytownhall.co.uk.

    Steve Knightley: New one-man show in Pocklington

    Solo venture of the week: Steve Knightley, Pocklington Arts Centre, February 11, 8pm

    ONE half of folk/roots duo Show Of Hands since 1992, Steve Knightley will be performing material that surfaced over two years of isolation and inactivity in his new one-man show.

    Insights, anecdotes and a bunch of new songs will attempt to chronicle and draw a line under an “extra episode in all our lives”, alongside Knightley’s headline-refreshed renditions of Bristol Slaver and You’ll Get By and covers of Forever Young and The Boys Of Summer. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

    Resol String Quartet: Stepping in for the Fitzwilliam String Quartet tonight

    Late replacement of the week: Late Music presents Music On The Edge: The Lapins, today, 1pm; Resol String Quartet, tonight, 7.30pm, both at Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York

    AFTER the Fitzwilliam String Quartet unavoidably had to pull out of Late Music’s February evening concert, Fitzwilliam viola player Alan George has found a replacement quartet at very short notice. Step forward the Resol String Quartet, formed at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2018.

    “They came up to St Andrews for a masterclass with us – plus a concert in the town a few weeks later – and everyone was very impressed,” says Alan. “We’ve already recommended them for our university series.”

    Resol String Quartet’s alternative programme of string quartet music for tonight features works by Haydn, Julian Broughton and Beethoven and Alasdair Morton-Teng’s arrangements of traditional tunes.

    Late Music’s February brace of concerts opens with The Lapins ­– Susie  Hodder-Williams, flute, Chris Caldwell, saxophone, and James Boyd, guitar – performing Music On The Edge at lunchtime.

    World premieres of David Lancaster’s Au Lapin Agile, Gwilym Simcock’s Suite for Solo Flute and new works by David Power and Hayley Jenkins will be complemented by the British premiere of Athena Corcoran-Tadd’s Confluence (Hope Is A Boat) and Bach and Tippett pieces. Box office: latemusic.org or on the door.

    The Lapins: Performing Music On The Edge at Late Music’s afternoon concert today

    Relaxing afternoon: Lillian Hetherington, Mille Mazzone and Michael Capecci, Dementia Friendly Tea Concert, St Chad’s Church, Campleshon Road, York, February 16, 2.30pm

    UNIVERSITY of York music students Lillian Hetherington, Mille Mazzone and Michael Capecci play violin and piano works by Wieniawski, Schostakovich and Dvorak.

    As usual, 45 minutes of music will be followed by tea and homemade cakes in the church hall in a relaxed afternoon gathering ideal for those who may not feel comfortable at a formal classical concert. No charge but donations are welcome for hire costs and Alzheimer’s charities.

    Re-enchanted: Josie Long at the double at The Crescent. Picture: Matt Crockett

    Longer time in York: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Josie Long: Re-Enchantment extra matinee, The Crescent, York, February 18, 3pm

    AFTER her 7.30pm gig sold out – as had her last appearance at The Crescent in Lefty Scum – comedian Josie Long has added a matinee performance of Re-Enchantment. Inspired by London feminist writer Lola Olufemi’s sentiment that “after defeat, re-enchantment is necessary”, Josie’s new stand-up set is infused with humanity, compassion and some brief political rants.

    The triple Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee, underdog Fringe hero and delirious new mother returns with a show about the changes wrought by time, passion, moving to Scotland and loving the world under – let’s face it – difficult circumstances.

    “Josie is one of our all-time favourite comedians, so we’re very excited to bring her new show to York and add an extra matinee show as well,” says Burning Duck promoter Al Greaves. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

    In Focus: York Ice Trail’s 36 sculptures this weekend

    1. A Journey Through Time, Parliament Street – Make It York
    2. Growing The Future, Parliament Street – Dalby Forest
    3. Cash-asaurus T-Rex, Parliament Street – YorkMix Radio
    4. York to London Skyline, Parliament Street – Grand Central
    5. Atey Ate Miles Per Hour, High Ousegate – Ate O’Clock
    6. 121 years of making magic, Spurriergate – Grand Opera House, York
    7. Every Moment Matters, North Street – Park Inn by Radisson 
    8. Where ever I lay my hat…. , Station Rise – The Grand, York
    9. 100 years of LNER, Station Road – LNER
    10. York Quest App: The Roman, Micklegate – York BID
    11. The Enchanted Unicorn, Middletons – The Hole In Wand
    12. Ginny the Dragon, Middletons – York Gin
    13. 20,000 Leagues Under the Ouse, Middletons – City Cruises
    14. The Monstrous Chimera, Middletons – Middletons
    15. York Quest App: The Butcher, Kings Staith – York BID
    16. Coppergate Viking, Coppergate Centre – Coppergate Centre
    17. E.T. Comes Home, Piccadilly – Spark: York
    18. York Quest App: Dick Turpin, Walmgate – York BID
    19. Adventure Is Out There, The Stonebow – Hiscox
    20. York’s Chocolate Story Clock, Kings Square – York’s Chocolate Story
    21. Erupted Volcano, Grape Lane – Lucia Bar
    22. The York Rose Diamond by Kay Bradley, Low Petergate – Bradley’s Jewellers
    23. Minus 200 Degrees Coffee, Low Petergate – 200 Degrees Coffee
    24. York Quest App: Anne Lister, Goodramgate – York BID
    25. Gothic Grotesque, Minster Piazza – York Minster
    26. Celebrating 100 years of Flying Scotsman, High Petergate – National Railway Museum
    27. York Quest App: Guy Fawkes, Gillygate – York BID
    28. The Pearly Cow, Clifton – No .1 Guesthouse
    29. Layers of Time, Exhibition Square, St Leonard’s Place – North York Moors National Park
    30. York Quest App: Wally Herbert, Museum Street – York BID
    31. Ryedale Roman Hoard, Museum Gardens – Yorkshire Museums Trust
    32. Greek Minotaur, Lendal – The Judge’s Lodging
    33. Busloads To Love!, St Helen’s Square – York Park & Ride
    34. The Bettys Express Train, Davygate – Bettys
    35. Fire Breathing Dinosaur, St Sampson’s Square – Cut and Craft
    36. Live Carving by Icebox, St Sampson’s Square – York Ice Trail

    Fact File

    THE last York Ice Trail took place in March 2022 after a pandemic-enforced one-year hiatus. More than 40 ice sculptures lined the city streets, with 25,000 people participating in the trail.

    Post-pandemic, York Ice Trail appealed to more residents than pre-pandemic in 2020, increasing from 23 per cent to 39 per cent.

    Highlights

    THE grounds of Middletons Hotel will be transformed into a mystical world of mythology, including four ice sculptures and photo opportunities throughout the day. York Gin, City Cruises and The Potions Cauldron will be on site, with crafts, competitions and surprise creatures.

    Sister proper The Judges Lodgings features an ice sculpture too. Check out the Thwaites Shire Horses in all their finery.

    On the anniversary front, the National Railway Museum celebrates Flying Scotsman’s centenary with an interactive sculpture. The Grand Opera House marks 121 years of making musical magic and LNER highlights its 100-year milestone.

    York’s chocolate heritage will be rendered in ice with York’s Chocolate Story’s working Terry’s Clock Tower with a hot chocolate twist.

    Learn more about York’s history with York BID’s six sculptures, all inspired by York historical figures that can be found on the York Quest app.

    Busloads To Love, by main sponsor York Park & Ride, offers the chance to be the driver and take a selfie. The sculpture, celebrating the importance of the bus in public transport, will be situated on St Helen’s Square.

    Travel from York to London with Grand Central’s Skyline sculpture, or be transported into another space and dimension with Hiscox’s adventure-bound sit-on space shuttle. For those wanting to go back to the future, discover Ate O’Clock’s DeLorean-inspired Atey Ate Miles Per Hour sculpture.

    Live ice carving across the weekend at St Sampson’s Square will show how Icebox’s sculptors bring the ice trail to life.

    Quotes

    Sarah Loftus, Make It York managing director, says: “York Ice Trail 2023 will spark imaginations, transporting visitors across time and dimension from sculpture to sculpture. Our ice partners at Icebox have done a phenomenal job at bringing the ideas to life and we can’t wait to see all 36 sculptures line the streets of York.”

    Councillor Keith Aspden, City of York Council leader, says: “The York Ice Trail brings imaginative, ‘cool’ and unique sculptures to York’s streets and is much loved by residents and visitors, so it’s excellent to see the event return once again. This year’s theme and creations are paying a fitting tribute to York’s rich history and imagination of our local businesses.”

    Greg Pittard, Icebox managing director, says: “It is our privilege to be returning as the sculptors for the second year for York Ice Trail 2023. From mammoths to DeLoreans, the carvers have been working non-stop since late-August to deliver A Journey Through Time. This year’s theme has inspired some incredible designs and we can’t wait to unveil all of this year’s ice creations.”

    John Godfrey, of First Bus in York, says: “We would encourage everyone planning to come and enjoy the Ice Trail to think about sustainable travel to get here and consider leaving the car at home or using the Park and Ride network. This helps avoid congestion, which makes travel around York easier, especially with such an event creating a bustling and lively atmosphere.”

    For more information, visit https://www.visityork.org/york-ice-trail #YorkIceTrail

    Posted on

    More Things To Do in York and beyond as Bloosmbury sets in for spring gallery run. List No. 72, courtesy of The Press, York

    Fan-tasia : Becky Gee, curator of fine art at York Museums Trust, at the Beyond Bloomsbury: Life, Love & Legacy exhibition at York Art Gallery. Picture: Charlotte Graham

    FROM an ice trail to Spring Awakening, a very happy pig in mud to sibling rivalry in a salon, Charles Hutchinson points you in the right direction for days and nights out.

    Exhibition opening of the week: Beyond Bloomsbury: Life, Love & Legacy, York Art Gallery, until June 5

    YORK Art Gallery’s spring exhibition, in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery and Sheffield Museums, explores the lives and work of the extraordinary Bloomsbury writers, artists and thinkers.

    Active in England in the first half of the 20th century, they included the writer and feminist pioneer Virginia Woolf and her sister, the painter Vanessa Bell, as key figures.

    On show are more than 60 major loans of oil paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographs by Bell, Dora Carrington, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, Paul Nash, Gwen Raverat and Ray Strachey, plus four commissions from Sahara Longe, painted in response to the Bloomsbury legacy, and Bloomsbury-inspired murals and fireplaces designed by graphic artist Lydia Caprani. 

    York Ice Trail: Thrills in chills this weekend

    Spectacle of the week: York Ice Trail, today and tomorrow

    MAKE IT York and Visit York invite you to “pack your suitcase, grab your passport and embark on a journey around the world” in the return of the York Ice Trail.

    Sculptures of solid ice await discovery at 43 locations this weekend, inspired by international cultures and a love of travel. Live carving is promised too.

    In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the National Railway Museum has withdrawn its Faberge’s Trans-Siberian Railway Egg in Low Petergate, but a newly added ice sculpture in support of Ukraine will be on display in St Helen’s Square.

    Giovanni Pernice: This is him in This Is Me!, on tour at York Barbican on Wednesday

    Dance show of the week: Giovanni Pernice: This Is Me!, York Barbican,  7.30pm

    AFTER partnering Rose Ayling-Ellis to Glitterball Trophy success in the 2021 series of Strictly Come Dancing, Giovanni Pernice pays homage to the music and dances that inspired his journey from competition dancer to television favourite.

    “I just want to try and do something different, something that you haven’t seen before,” says Sicilian stallion Pernice, 31. “I want to challenge myself and show off my hidden talents.” Cue ballroom and Latin dances and more besides. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

    Peppa Pig in her dressing room, awaiting her call for the Best Day Ever

    Children’s show of the week: Peppa Pig’s Best Day Ever, Grand Opera House, York, Wednesday, 1pm and 4pm; Thursday, 10am and 1pm

    PEPPA Pig is so excited to be heading off on a special day out with George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig in a road trip full of adventures, songs, games and laughter.

    From castles to caves, dragons to dinosaurs, ice creams to the obligatory muddy puddles, there will be something for all the family to enjoy. Look out for Miss Rabbit, Mr Bull and Gerald Giraffe too on “the best day ever for Peppa Pig fans”. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com/York.

    Hair-larious: Buglight Theatre turn the Bronte sisters into salon stylists in Jane Hair

    Salon appointment of the week : Buglight Theatre in Jane Hair: The Brontes Restyled, York Theatre Royal, Studio, Thursday, 7.45pm

    SIBLING rivalry meets literary debate one explosive evening when stylists Anne, Emily and Charlotte Bronte cut, colour and style while sharing their hopes and dreams in Bradford’s most creative beauty salon.

    Buglight Theatre writers Kirsty Smith and Kat Rose-Martin offer this chance to meet the modern-day versions of three determined young women from Yorkshire who set the literary world on fire. For returns only, ring 01904 623568.

    Josh Liew and Amy Hawtin: Playing the leads, Melchior Gabor and Wendla Bergman, in Central Hall Musical Society’s Spring Awakening at Theatre@41

    Musical of the week: Central Hall Musical Society in Spring Awakening, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Thursday and Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm, 7.30pm

    CENTRAL Hall Musical Society (also known as CHMS, York), from the University of York, present Duncan Sheik and Steven Slater’s 2006 rock musical revamp of a once-banned Frank Wedekind play, directed by Abena Abban.

    A group of teenagers in a small German village in 1891 find the oppressive structures upheld by their parents and teachers to be at odds with their own awakening sexuality.

    Spring Awakening explores themes of sex, puberty, coming of age and a yearning for a more progressive future, refracting old-fashioned values through a 21st-century lens. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

    Le Navet Bete’s motley crew of pirates in Treasure Island at York Theatre Royal

    Family show of the week; Le Navet Bete in Treasure Island, York Theatre Royal, Thursday, Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm.

    LAST in York last September to reveal a vampire’ secrets in Dracula: The Bloody Truth, physical comedy company Le Navet Bete now go in search of buried treasure in a swashbuckling family adventure, Treasure Island.

    Peepolykus artistic director and writer John Nicholson directs a cast of four, playing 26 characters in a fresh take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale laced with contemporary comedic twists, tropical islands, an unusual motley crew of pirates, a parrot called Alexa (straight from the Amazon), a white-bearded fish finger tycoon and unforgettable mermaid.  Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

    David Ford: Living in interesting times at Pocklington Arts Centre on Thursday

    Gig of the week outside York: David Ford, Pocklington Arts Centre, Thursday, 8pm

    WHAT happens when you shut a creative force in a room for two years? The answer is a tornado blast of a new album from Eastbourne singer-songwriter David Ford documenting the tumultuous events of 2020 and 2021, as he charts the rise of Covid and fall of Trump, although both are still stubbornly refusing to go away.

    Ford will air songs from the imminent May You Live In Interesting Times, along with compositions written in two days and recorded in one with American support act Annie Dressner. Look out for their six-track EP on sale at the Pock gig. Box office: 01759 301547 or at pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.