Out of the woods and into The Basement for Navigators Art’s Making Waves Live!, Sounds Of The Solstice today
BEST Musical multiple award winner Dear Evan Hansen and a Eurovision spoof light Charles Hutchinson’s fire as the June heat rises.
Midsummer festival of the weekend: Navigators Art presents Making Waves Live! Sounds Of The Solstice, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, today, 4pm to 10pm
FAVOURITE Navigators Art poets, comedians, singers and bands from the past two years will be complemented new friends in sessions from 4pm to 6.30pm, then 7.30pm to 10pm.
Taking part will be folk song duo Adderstone, poet Becca Drake, comedian Cooper Robson, storyteller Lara McClure, punk/jazz trio Borgia, psychedelic band Soma Crew; Will Martin; Jessica Van Smith; Cai Moriarty & Mason Chetnik, Mike Amber and more. Box office: bit.ly/nav-events.
The Wild Murphys: Performing One Night In Dublin for one night in York
Irish craic of the week: One Night In Dublin, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
THE Wild Murphys revel in sing-along Irish classics Galway Girl, I’ll Tell Me Ma, The Irish Rover, Dirty Old Town, Whiskey In The Jar, The Wild Rover, Black Velvet Band and many more in two hours of song and humour.
Songs by The Pogues, The Saw Doctors, The Dubliners, The Fureys, Flogging Molly and The Dropkick Murphys receive the fiddle and accordion treatment. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Flowers And Friendship Bracelets: Celebrating Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Miley Cyrus, Chappell Roan and Olivia Rodrigo’s pop power at Grand Opera House
Pop party of the week: Flowers And Friendship Bracelets, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday
FLOWERS And Friendship Bracelets combines music, dance and excitement in “the ultimate pop concert in celebration of the biggest hits from the hottest artistes of the moment”. The songs of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter will climax with a huge pop party finale. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Kamaljeet Ahluwalia and Jas Ahluwalia: Absolute Focus programme on santoor and tabla at the NCEMon Sunday evening
Indian classical concert of the week: Kamaljeet Ahluwalia and Jas Ahluwalia, Absolute Focus, National Centre for Early Music, York, Sunday, 6.30pm
HUSBAND and wife duo Kamaljeet Ahluwalia, on santoor, and Jax Ahluwalia, on tabla, perform their Absolute Focus programme at the NCEM. These former students of the late Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Ustaad Tari work on diverse projects, from Netflix, Apple TV+, Amazon and Disney series to live theatre, while introducing Indian classical music to audiences around the world in concerts of meditative introspection and energy-filled heights. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Looking to fit in: Ryan Kopel’s Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen, on tour at Grand Opera House, York
Last chance to see: Dear Evan Hansen, Grand Opera House, York, June 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Friday and Saturday matinees
THE Grand Opera House will be the last English port of call on the UK tour of Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Steven Levinson’s Olivier, Tony and Grammy Best Musical award winner.
Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of a teenager with a social anxiety disorder that inhibits his ability to connect with his peers. After the death of fellow student Connor Murphy, Evan (played by Ryan Kopel) entangles himself in an unwieldy fib, claiming he was Connor’s secret best friend. Thrust ever deeper into a web of lies, he gains everything he has ever wanted: a chance to belong. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Ione Cummings’ Antonia in York Opera’s The Tales Of Hoffmann. Picture: John Saunders
Opera of the week: York Opera in The Tales Of Hoffmann, York Theatre Royal, June 25 to 28, 7.15pm plus 4pm Saturday matinee
ELIZABETH Watson and John Soper direct York Opera in Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales Of Hoffmann, based on three short stories by German romantic writer E.T.A. Hoffmann.
Tenors Karl Reiff and Hamish Brown perform the title role on alternate nights; Hoffmann’s evil enemies will be played by Ian Thomson- Smith and Mark Simmonds and his love interests will be sung by Stephanie Wong (Olympia), Ione Cummings (Antonia) and Katie Cole (Giulietta). Alexandra Mather takes the role of Hoffmann’s loyal friend, Nicklaus. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
York Light Opera Company cast members in rehearsal for Neil Wood’s production of Eurobeat: Pride Of Europe
Eurovision celebration of the week: York Light Opera Company in Eurobeat – Pride Of Europe, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, 7.30pm, June 25 to 27 and July 1 to 4; 3pm, June 28 and 29 and July 5
AUSTRALIAN composer, writer and lyricist Craig Christie’s high-octane, electrifying musical Eurobeat: The Pride Of Europe celebrates the vibrant energy and spirit of the continent. Expect non-stop, infectious Eurobeat rhythms, dazzling visuals and a show to leave audiences breathless.
Prepare to dance and soak up the fun of an annual European song contest where audience participation decides the winner. Neil Wood directs a cast led by Annabel van Griethuysen as hostess Marlene Cabana and Zander Fick as master of protocols Bjorn Bjornson. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Just like hat: Be Amazing Arts Youth Theatre’s guys rehearsing Guys And Dolls for next week’s Joseph Rowntree Theatre run
Burgeoning talent of the week: Be Amazing Arts Youth Theatre in Guys And Dolls, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, June 26 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
MALTON company Be Amazing Arts Youth Theatre heads to York to present Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows’ musical fable of Broadway, Guys And Dolls.
Set in Damon Runyon’s mythical New York City, this oddball romantic comedy finds gambler Nathan Detroit seeking the cash to set up the biggest craps game in town while the authorities breathe down his neck. Into the story venture his girlfriend, nightclub performer Adelaide, fellow gambler Sky Masterson and straight-laced missionary Sarah Brown. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Snow Patrol: More likely sun than snow on return to Yorkshire coastline on Friday
Coastal gig of the week: Snow Patrol, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, June 27; gates open at 6pm
SNOW Patrol visit Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Friday for the first time since July 2021. The Northern Irish-Scottish indie rock band will be led as ever by Gary Lightbody, accompanied by long-time members Nathan Connolly, lead guitar, and Johnny McDaid, piano. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Danny Lee Grew: Mind-boggling magic at Friargate Theatre, York
Magic show of the week: Danny Lee Grew, 24K Magic, Friargate Theatre, York, June 27, 7.30pm
CLACTON-ON-SEA magician Danny Lee Grew presents his new mind-boggling one-man show of magic, illusion, laughs, gasps and sleight of hand sorcery. 24K Magic showcases the kind of magic usually seen on television, but now live, in the flesh and under the most impossible conditions. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/ridinglights.
Waving the flag: Contestants on parade in the rehearsal room for York Light Opera Company’s Eurobeat: Pride Of Europe
ABBACADABRA! York Light Opera Company will celebrate the magical spirit and vibrant energy and Eurovision in Eurobeat: Pride Of Europe at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from June 25 to July 5.
Expect non-stop, infectious Eurobeat rhythms and dazzling visuals in Australian composer, writer and lyricist Craig Christie’s high-octane, electrifying musical, presented in its York debut under the direction of Neil Wood and musical direction of Martin Lay.
“I didn’t know of the show until the company approached me and said, ‘this is what we want to do for the summer show’, and I thought, ‘absolutely’! It’s such fun,” says Neil.
“It seems to have taken various guises. The first one I found, from 2008, starred Les Dennis and Mel Giedroyc and was called Eurobeat…Almost European. Then, in 2016, it was revamped by the same writer as Eurobeat Moldova, starring Rula Lenska and Lee Latchford-Evans. Then MTI [Music Theatre International] released this one, Eurobeat: Pride Of Europe.
“It’s very much a re-write but with some of the same songs. Craig Christie updates it each time, freshening it up with more Eastern bloc countries, like Lithuania, this time.
York Light Opera Company in rehearsal for Eurobeat: Pride Of Europe
“The challenge for us is to present it as an event to take part in. For anyone who loves Eurovision, if it’s on your bucket list, then this is your opportunity to get involved.”
What happens? “The audience can not only dance and revel in the fun of the European song contest, but also they will decide the winner, with the chance to vote on an app or good old pen and paper,” says Neil.
“The cast won’t know who’s won until it’s announced, but there’ll be a nod to it ten minutes out from the end because of the costume changes needed.”
The Eurobeat show will be hosted in Lichtenstein – winner of the right to do so by default, apparently – by Annabel van Griethuysen’s Marlene Cabana and overseen by Zander Fick’s master of protocols, Bjorn Bjornson, while Fanny Feuberger, Joy Warner, Kevin Kupferblum and Simon Kelly will take on the roles of Cultural Ambassadors.
Representing Sweden will be Astrid Lungstomberg (played by Emma Swainston); for Poland, Obwody Wirujące (Kit Stroud, Sophie Cunningham and Chloe Branton); Romania, Earnestasia (Emily Rockliff); United Kingdom, Nigel and Nadine (Stephen Wilson and Pascha Turnbull) and Lithuania, Idomus (Pierre-Alain van Griethuysen and Megan Taaffe).
York Light Opera Company cast members working on a routine in rehearsal for Eurobeat: Pride Of Europe
On song for Greece will be Persephone (Chloë Chapman); Portugal , Mateus Villela (Cain Branton); Vatican City, Mother Morag and the Sisters of Perpetual Harmony (Evie Latham and Lizzie Kearton); France, Estelle LaCroix (Amy Greene) and Norway, Hammer Of Thor (Daniel Wood and Matt Tapp).
“Each of the ten songs has an individual character in keeping with the familiar style of each country, but not too many ballads. So the French entry is very sultry; the Swedish entry has Loreen-esque vibes; the Norwegians have entered a heavy metal song – again!,” says Neil.
“The British act, Nigel and Nadine, are on the comeback trail. They were actors in what might have been 1970s’ sitcom and now they’re back, representing the UK.”
Eurobeat takes the form of the song contest in Act One, followed by the voting and extra songs in Act Two, climaxing with the result and the reprise of the winning number. “But rather than five hours on TV, it takes two hours on stage,” says Neil, who also provides the choreography in tandem with Sarah Craggs.
“Our job has been not just to create the songs as Eurovision moments but to find the humour, and if you know my style, if I can see a joke, I’ll use it. Having directed I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and Nunsense for this company, this one goes in a completely different direction.
“It ends up as more of an event, thought it’s still a theatre show,” says Eurobeat: Pride Of Europe director Neil Wood
“It ends up as more of an event, though it’s still a theatre show, and from the audience point of view, it’s a blast! If you want to come in costume, you’re more than welcome to do so. We’ll have slash curtains, glitter and haze, everything you’d expect from Eurovision, but without the big budget.”
Praising Christie’s writing, Neil says: “It’s very cleverly written because the contestants and other characters have to talk directly to the audience or to speak in their second language, so the jokes deliberately don’t always land.”
He admits to being a Eurovision devotee. “I love it!” says Neil. “I grew up in the era where the UK still used to win. My earliest memories were Abba, Brotherhood Of Man and Milk And Honey, from Israel.
“It was the thing to watch it as a family, as I have with my kids as they’ve grown up, watching with the packets of Haribo in front of us. It’s so huge now; really in vogue.”
York Light Opera Company in Eurobeat: Pride Of Europe, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, June 25 to July 5.Performances: 7.30pm, June 25 to 27 and July 1 to 4, plus 3pm, June 28 and 29 and July 5. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Hannah Davies and Jack Woods: Performing The Ballad Of Blea Wyke at Shakespeare Gallery, Scarborough, on Friday and Saturday. Picture: Matt Jopling
ELECTRONIC music by the sea, best musical award winner Dear Evan Hansen and a Eurovision spoof light Charles Hutchinson’s fire.
Scarborough Fringe show of the week: Next Door But One and Say Owt present The Ballad Of Blea Wyke, Shakespeare Gallery, St Helen’s Square, Scarborough, Friday and Saturday, 7.30pm
STORYTELLING, poetry and music show The Ballad Of Blea Wyke re-tells the traditional Selkie myth, re-imagined for a not-far-into-the-future dystopian Yorkshire coast by North Yorkshire theatre-maker Hannah Davies and Pascallion musician Jack Woods.
Micro-commissioned by York Theatre Royal as part of the Green Shoots project in May 2022, the show has grown into a 60-minute performance by writer, performer, director and Say Owt associate artist Davies and guitar, mandolin and violin player Woods. Box office: scarboroughfair.uk/events/the-ballad-of-blea-wyke/
Pendulum: Electronic rock at Scarborough Open Air Theatre
Coastal gigs of the week: Pendulum, supported by Normandie, Friday; Basement Jaxx, Saturday, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, gates open at 6pm
FORMED in Perth, Western Australia, in 2002, electronic rock act Pendulum have returned from a self-imposed hiatus with the EPs Elemental and Anima, festival headline shows and now Scarborough. Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen and Paul Harding’s drum & bass group released such albums as 2005’s Hold Your Colour, 2008’s In Silico and 2010’s UK chart topper, Immersion, before shifting their focus to their Knife Party project in 2012.
Fellow electronic combo Basement Jaxx play Scarborough this weekend as part of their resumption of live shows after ten years of “DJing around the globe”. “It’ll be great to return to the live stage: to connect to people with life-affirming energy and give people a great time,” says Felix Buxton. Cue house and garage with a punk attitude. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Raul Kohli: Exploring what it means to be British at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
York comedy gig of the week: Raul Kohli: Raul Britannia, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Saturday, 8pm
COMEDIAN and proud Brit Raul Kohli is the son of a Hindu Indian and Sikh Singaporean, raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, where his best friend was a Pakistani Muslim.
Kohli has lived in every corner of this glorious nation and is fascinated by the diversity of these small isles. Imagine his surprise to hear from politicians and the media that “multiculturalism has failed”: the spark that lit the flame for his exploration of what it means to be British. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Qween UK: They will rock you at Helmsley Arts Centre
Tribute show of the week: Qween UK, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
QWEEN UK celebrate the works of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor in a tribute show that encompasses all the “classic” Queen songs, complemented by subtle acoustic arrangements. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Ryan Kopel’s Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen: Thrust ever deeper into a web of lies at Grand Opera House, York
Last chance to see: Dear Evan Hansen, Grand Opera House, York, June 24 to 28, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Wednesday, Friday and Saturday matinees
THE Grand Opera House will be the last English port of call on the UK tour of Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Steven Levinson’s Olivier, Tony and Grammy Best Musical award winner.
Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of a teenager with a social anxiety disorder that inhibits his ability to connect with his peers. After the death of fellow student Connor Murphy, Evan (played by Ryan Kopel) entangles himself in an unwieldy fib, claiming he was Connor’s secret best friend. Thrust ever deeper into a web of lies, he gains everything he has ever wanted: a chance to belong. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Alexandra Mather’s Nicklaus in York Opera’s The Tales Of Hoffmann. Picture: John Saunders
Opera of the week: York Opera in The Tales Of Hoffmann, York Theatre Royal, June 25 to 28, 7.15pm plus 4pm Saturday matinee
ELIZABETH Watson and John Soper direct York Opera in Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales Of Hoffmann, based on three short stories by German romantic writer E.T.A Hoffmann.
Tenors Karl Reiff and Hamish Brown perform the title role on alternate nights; Hoffmann’s evil enemies will be played by Ian Thomson- Smith and Mark Simmonds and his love interests will be sung by Stephanie Wong (Olympia), Ione Cummings (Antonia) and Katie Cole (Giulietta). Hoffmann’s loyal friend, Nicklaus, will be performed by Alexandra Mather. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
York Light Opera Company in rehearsal for Neil Wood’s production of Eurobeat – Pride Of Europe
Eurovision celebration of the week: York Light Opera Company in Eurobeat – Pride Of Europe, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, 7.30pm, June 25 to 27 and July 1 to 4; 3pm, June 28 and 29 and July 5
COMPOSER, writer and lyricist Craig Christie’s high-octane, electrifying musical Eurobeat: The Pride Of Europe celebrates the vibrant energy and spirit of the continent.
Expect non-stop, infectious Eurobeat rhythms, dazzling visuals and a show to leave audiences breathless. Prepare to dance and revel in the fun of an annual European song contest where audience participation decides the winner. Neil Wood directs a cast led by Annabel van Griethuysen as hostess Marlene Cabana and Zander Fick as master of protocols Bjorn Bjornson. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Guitarist James Oliver: Playing Ryedale Blues Club gig on June 26
Blues gig of the week: Ryedale Blues Club, The James Oliver Band, Milton Rooms, Malton, June 26, 8pm
THE ever busy James Oliver Band play upwards of 300 gigs a year all over Great Britain, Europe and the USA, chalking up 3,000 so far.
Guitarist Oliver, UK Blues Awards Emerging Artist of the Year winner in 2020, has released two studio and three live albums and is working on a new record with legendary producer John Leckie. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com
Aaron Simmonds: Headlining the Hilarity Bites Comedy Club bill on June 27
Ryedale comedy gig of the week: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club presents Aaron Simmonds, Alex Mitchell and Chris Lumb, Milton Rooms, Malton, June 27, 8pm
AARON Simmonds has been failing to stand up for 32 years. Luckily he is far better at comedy than standing up, offering sharp observations grounded in his disability, but by no means limited by it.
2024 Britain’s Got Talent finalist Alex Mitchell is an autistic comic with functional neurological disorder (FND), In his Tics Towards Puffection show, he laughs at himself, his neurodivergence, disability and sexuality to reflect on difficult subjects within his own life and wider society. Host Chris Lumb manages and performs in The Discount Comedy Checkout improv group. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Emma Swainston’s Elle Woods with her Chihuahua Bruiser (Lily-Rose) in York Light Opera Company’s Legally Blonde The Musical. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
MARTIN Knight is directing the 2011 Olivier Awards Best New Musical winner for the third time.
In other words, he knows this sugar-coated, bubblegum-pink American show well and duly delivers on his promise to “celebrate Legally Blonde’s joy and energy while highlighting its important message of self-discovery and female empowerment”.
Laurence O’Keefe, Nell Benjamin and Heather Hach’s musical spin on the 2001 Reese Witherspoon film charts the path of jilted Malibu fashion merchandising student Elle Woods (Emma Swainston) as she follows ex-lover Warner (Kit Stroud) to Harvard law school with her cute Chihuahua Bruiser (Lily-Rose).
Staying true to herself, her Californian sunshine rubs up against New York cynicism and Ivy League snobbery as she defeats all preconceptions to cut the legal mustard.
Emma Swainston, a regular on the York am-dram stage, was picked by Knight for her “star quality”, and she is utterly swell in her “dream role” as Elle: perky in pink, fun and funny, full of vulnerability yet vitality, singing splendidly, whether solo, in duets or with the ensemble, and capturing how Elle’s burgeoning legal nous is founded in instinct over conventional intellect.
Not a case of being a law unto herself so much as Elle thinking outside the box, allied to an indefatigable spirit that overcomes obstacles and stereotypical “blonde” pigeonholing with a steely resolve to bring about female empowerment. Even sourpuss love rival Vivienne Kensington (Emily Rockliff) comes round to her side eventually.
Swainston’s Elle bonds especially well with Emily Hardy’s Boston trailer-trash hairdresser Paulette Bonafonte, Hardy being in outstanding voice in her big number, Ireland.
The musical’s primary innovation, a Greek chorus to represent Elle’s inner thoughts in the style of American sports’ cheerleaders, works a treat, boosted further by Knight’s hot choreography with its snazzy and snappy mix of fabulous glamour, high energy and camp swagger.
Pippa Elmes’s exercise-video guru Brooke Wyndham, standing trial for murder, gives Act Two a cracking start in the skipping song, Whipped Into Shape, in a performance packed with hard-ball panache.
Stroud has something of a thankless task as rotten egg Warner but he is as good as ever, while Zander Fick continues his run of impressive performances as Elle’s thoroughly principled, quietly driven, corduroy-clad fellow Harvard interloper Emmett Forrest.
Neil Wood is in stage-commanding form as Professor Callahan, the cynical, predatory Harvard lawyer, his rendition of Blood In The Water full of dark power.
Amid the serious undercurrents of Legally Blonde is a double blast of delightfully daft, tongue-in-cheek but sassy comedy rooted in contrasting men’s tropes in the far superior Act Two’s burst of fresh characters: the UPS delivery stud muffin Kyle (Jonny Holbek in strutting scene-stealing mode), contrasted with the flamboyant camping of Stephen Wright’s Nikos and Martin Lay’s Carlos in the courtroom number Gay Or European?
That comedic high point is preceded by another much-loved routine, the irresistible Bend And Snap, played with just the right combination of earnest expression yet a playful relish.
Throughout, Paul Laidlaw leads his orchestra meticulously, another pleasure in a fast-moving, fabulous show that has a reputation for being a girls’ night out, but seriously, men, you may be outnumbered, but how can you resist the power of pink?
York Light Opera Company presents Legally Blonde The Musical, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday,7.30pm nightly plus 2.30pm matinees on February 20 and 22. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Stag burning at the Jorvik Viking Festival. More fun and games next week. Picture: Charlotte Graham
THE boat-burning Vikings are back as Charles Hutchinson looks forward to an action-packed February half-term.
Festival of the week: 40th anniversary Jorvik Viking Festival, York, February 17 to 23
A NEW Viking longship, a sword that never misses its target and recreations of the world’s largest fossilised poo take centre stage at Europe’s largest Viking Festival over half-term. Five days of Norse fun, living history, hands-on combat and lectures culminate in a parade of more than 200 Vikings through the historic streets on February 22 and two dramatic evening son-et-lumière shows.
A free living history encampment takes over Parliament Street with an array of tents featuring craftsmen and traders, with the opportunity to handle replica armour and weapons. For the full programme and to book tickets, go to jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk.
Emma Swainston’s Elle Woods, seated, with Bruiser, the Chihuahua (played by Lily), in York Light Opera Company’s Legally Blonde The Musical. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
The power of pink musical of the week: York Light Opera Company in Legally Blonde The Musical, York Theatre Royal, until February 22, 7.30pm nightly (except February 16) plus 2.30pm matinees today, February 20 and 22
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 blonde and brilliant”.
Emma Swainston’s Elle Woods leads Martyn Knight’s 35-strong cast in this feel-good, sassy and stylish show with its powerful message of staying true to yourself, booted with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
David O’Doherty: Irish humour and song at Grand Opera House, York
Comedy show of the week: David O’Doherty, Tiny Piano Man, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 8pm
THE dishevelled prince of €10 eBay keyboards tries to make you feel alive with a pageant of Irish humour, song and occasionally getting up from a chair. “It’s gonna be a big one,” says Dublin comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright David O’Doherty, star of The Great Celebrity Bake Off 2024 and Along For The Ride With David O’Doherty. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Chloe Petts: Getting personal in How You See Me, How You Don’t at Theatre@41, Monkgate
Alternative comedy gig of the week: Chloe Petts, How You See Me, How You Don’t, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 8pm
CHLOE Petts returns with a new show and this time she’s getting personal. Between her newly found trolls, ‘oldly’ found school bullies and an excellent relationship with her food tech teacher, she brings her trademark ‘laddishness’ to tell you who she really is, all while her Head Girl badge glistens on her chest. Box office for returns only: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Gareth Gates: Turning romantic crooner in a Valentine mood at York Barbican
Romantic concert of the week: Gareth Gates Sings Love Songs From The Movies – A Valentine Special, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm
EXTENDING the St Valentine’s Day vibes to the weekend, Bradford singer Gareth Gates combines beloved ballads from classic films with the electrifying energy of up-tempo hits, from Unchained Melody to Dirty Dancing, in a celebration of love stories that have graced the silver screen.
Joining the 2002 Pop Idol alumnus and musical star will be Wicked actress Maggie Lynne, Dutch singer Britt Lenting, Performers College graduate Dan Herrington and a four-piece band. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Abbie Budden’s Annette Hargrove in Bill Kenwright Ltd’s production of Cruel Intentions: The’90s Musical, on tour at Grand Opera House, York, from Tuesday. Picture: Pamela Raith
Dangerous liaison of the week: Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical, Grand Opera House, York, February 18 to 22, Tuesday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Wednesday, 2.30pm; Friday, 5pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
CREATED by Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin and Roger Kumble from Kumble’s 1999 film spin on Les Liaisons Dangereuses, this American musical is powered by the 1990s’ pop gold dust of Britney Spears, Boyz II Men, Christina Aguilera, TLC, R.E.M., Ace Of Base, Natalie Imbruglia and The Verve.
Step siblings Sebastian Valmont (Will Callan) and Kathryn Merteuil (Nic Myers) engage in a cruel bet, where Kathryn goads Sebastian into attempting to seduce Annette Hargrove (Abbie Budden), the headmaster’s virtuous daughter. Weaving a web of secrets and temptation, their crusade wreaks havoc on the students at their exclusive Manhattan high school. Soon the dastardly plotters become entangled in their own web of deception and unexpected romance, with explosive results. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Stuart Green’s police inspector, Truscott, left, and Miles John’s thief, Dennis, in rehearsal for York Settlement Community Players’ production of Loot
Scandalous play of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Loot, York Theatre Royal Studio, February 18 to 27, 7.45pm except February 23; 2pm, February 22
KATIE Leckey directs the Settlement Players in agent provocateur Joe Orton’s scabrous 1965 farce, the one with two thieves, dodgy police officers, adult themes, offensive language, sexism and xenophobia, references to sexual assault, including rape and necrophilia, a live actor playing a dead body in a coffin and digs at the Roman Catholic Church.
Don’t let that put you off! Yes, it still carries a content warning and age recommendation of 16 upwards, but it remains outrageously funny. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Wharfemede Productions director Helen Spencer, centre, rehearsing her role as Marmee in Little Women with Connie Howcroft’s Jo, left, Catherine Foster’s Meg, Rachel Higgs’s Beth and Tess Ellis’s Amy. Picture: Matthew Warry
Marching on together: Wharfemede Productions: Little Women – The Broadway Musical, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 18 to 22, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
HELEN Spencer directs York company Wharfemede Productions in their first solo show, playing Marmee too in Allan Knee, Jason Howland and Mindi Dickstein’s musical account of Louisa May Alcott’s story of the March sister – traditional Meg, wild, aspiring writer Jo, timid Beth and romantic Amy – growing up in Concord, Massachusetts, while their chaplain father is away serving during the American Civil War. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Ugg’n’Ogg tell the story of The World’s First Dogg at Milton Rooms, Malton
Children’s play of the week: Rural Arts presents Fideri Fidera in Ugg’n’Ogg & The World’s First Dogg, Milton Rooms, Malton, February 20, 2pm
IN the fresh sparkling world just after the last Ice Age, there were no dogs. How, then, did we attain our best friend and the world’s number one pet? Luckily for us, along came young hunter gatherers Ugg‘n’Ogg to pal up with the wolves, Tooth’n’Claw, to defy flying meat bones, raging forest infernos and even a time-travelling stick to invent the dog.
This original play for pooch lovers aged three upwards highlights the evolutionary transition from lupine to canine in a show full of physical comedy, puppets, music and song. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
In Focus:Exhibition refresh: Secrets Of Dress, Yorkshire Castle Museum, Fashion Gallery, Eye of York, York, from February 15
Fashion exhibits in the Secrets Of Dress exhibition at York Castle Museum. Picture: Duncan Lomax, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust
YORK Castle Museum’s Fashion Gallery has been refreshed, remodelled and enhanced for 2025 with new items and fresh interpretations to show Secrets Of Dress from the Middle Ages to the opening decades of the 21st century.
Not merely a fashion exhibition, this re-boot is an opportunity to look at dress and textiles from the perspective of social history, exploring what clothes and accessories can reveal about our lives and experiences.
Every object has a secret to tell, hence Secrets Of Dress provides insights into ways of life that are very different to today and yet relatable. From 400-year-old sequins to Second World War utility shoes, from the cottage industry of old Yorkshire to the factory-produced fashions of the industrial age, this is social history brought alive by the story of dress.
Dr Faye M Prior, Curator of Social History, with a 1970s’ outfit designed by Angela Holmes for her York-based fashion brand Droopy & Browns. The outfit was kindly donated by Angela’s sister, Leone Cockburn, and her niece, Clare Cockburn. Picture: Duncan Lomax, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust
This bespoke exhibition has been updated for the 21st century with a new section focusing on the City of York: York Makers. Thanks to the diligent research of York Castle Museum volunteers, York Makers presents York-made clothing, textiles and textile-working tools from the Middle Ages to the present day, alongside the stories of the people who made and used them.
York Makers celebrates creative people who lived and worked in York, some of whom contributed nationally as well as regionally to fashion.
On display are outfits by York-based designers Angela Holmes, founder of Droopy & Browns, and Vivien Smith, founder of Vivien Smith Simply Clothes. These two entrepreneurs created iconic fashion brands that offered distinctive styles on the high street from the 1960s to the early 2000s.
Gloves made of straw from the Secrets Of Dress exhibition at York Castle Museum. Picture: Duncan Lomax, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust
Other York Makers include Victorian shirtmaker Herbert Morris Crouch, who ran his own shop on Coney Street, and Mrs Maria Cook, the dressmaker whose ‘Made In York’ label sparked the volunteer research project.
Secrets Of Dress showcases 500 years of clothing, accessories and textiles, including items never displayed until now. Every object has something to tell, and many show repairs and adaptations, revealing how practices thought to be modern, such as ‘upcycling’ and ‘remaking’, have a long tradition.
Displayed in an accessible and fun way, iconic items and textiles from the 1960s and 1970s will be recognisable immediately. Visitors can touch, feel and try on costumes re-created by costume designer Naomi Pugh – aka ‘Nomes’ – of Textiles by Gnomes, and enjoy family trails with Little Spotters Trails, including a colouring page for creative little ones.
York Castle Museum is open Monday, 11am to 5pm; Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Tickets: adult £17; child £10.20; concessions available. Tickets are valid for 12 months. Children of York residents enter for free.
Visitors taking a close look at clothing and shoes in the Secrets Of Dress exhibition at York Castle Museum. Picture: Duncan Lomax, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust
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.”
Mark Reynolds’ tour poster illustration for Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, playing York Theatre Royal until Saturday
Comedy gigs of the week: Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 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 Stevie 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, until Saturday, 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.
Hayden Thorpe: Performing Ness with Propellor Ensemble members at the NCEM, York, tonight
Arthouse gig of the week: Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble, National Centre for Early Music, York, tonight, doors 7pm for 7.30pm start
PLEASE Please You and Brudenell Presents bring Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble to the NCEM to perform Ness, with the promise of a “sonically spectacular and transformational live show”.
Thorpe, former frontman and chief songwriter of Kendal band Wild Beasts, promotes his September 2024 album. Using a process of redaction, Thorpe brought songs to life from nature writer Robert Macfarlane’s book Ness, inspired by Suffolk’s Orford Ness, the former Ministry of Defence weapons development site during both World Wars and the Cold War. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
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, tonight to Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2pm matinee
BLUE Light Theatre Company stage 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.
“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 setting 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, tomorrow, 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. Friday’s 8pm show by upstanding York pianist Karl Mullen has sold out. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Adderstone’s Cath Heinemeyer and Gemma McDermott
Devilish delight of the week: Tim Ralphs and Adderstone, Infernal Delights, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, Friday, 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.
Saxophonist Snake Davis, right, double bassist Don Richardson, left, and concertina player Alistair Anderson: Playing together at Helmsley Arts Centre on Sunday
Trio of the week: Snake Davis, saxophones, Don Richardson, double bass, and Alistair Anderson, concertina and Northumbrian pipes, Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 7.30pm
ADD an old mucker to a new pal, whereupon saxophonist to the stars Snake Davis sounds excited. Snake and Don Richardson go back decades, too many gigs and shows to remember. Lulu and Paul Carrack were particularly memorable. Snake and Alistair Anderson met at a wonderfully quirky Northumberland venue in late 2023 and decided to make music together. Here comes folk, jazz, world, pop and more. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Craig David: Combining his singing, master of ceremonies and DJ skills at Scarborough Open Air Theatre this summer
Gig announcement of the week: Craig David Presents TS5, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, July 19
SOUTHAMPTON rhythm & blues musician Craig David parades his triple threat as singer, MC and DJ at his TS5 party night – patented at his Miami penthouse – on the East Coast this summer. Expect a set combining old skool anthems from R&B to Swing Beat, Garage to Bashment, while merging chart-topping House hits too.
“I cannot wait to bring my TS5 show to Scarborough and the beautiful Yorkshire coast in July,” enthuses David, 43. “2025 is a massive year for me as it’s the 25th anniversary of my debut album [Born To Do It] and my debut number one single (Fill Me In]. What better way to celebrate than bringing the party to Scarborough this summer.” Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List. No 5, from Gazette & Herald
Colour & Light framing the South Transept of York Minster
FROM wildlife illuminations to characterful faces, dog origin tales to dark sky wonders, Charles Hutchinson finds February fulfilment.
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 Minster’s peregrine falcons and the foxes that roam the streets after dark, to the Romans’ horses for their ride into Eboracum and the legendary dragons carved into the city’s history.
Colour & Light runs nightly from 6pm to 9pm with projections on a ten-minute loop. The final hour each evening is a designated quiet hour with reduced noise and crowd levels. No tickets are required.
Holly Capstick: Capturing expressions and snapshots of moments in everyday life
Exhibition of the week: Holly Capstick, We Are Layers, Pocklington Arts Centre, until February 28
HOLLY Capstick explores the layers of our beauty and character in her textile and mixed-media portraits that capture expressions and snapshots of moments in everyday life. “Faces have always amazed me,” she says. “The subtleties of the changes within a face can show so much of how we feel and how we connect to others.”
Thread and Press CIC tutor Holly will run portrait-themed workshops this month for children aged 7 to 16 (Learn To Draw A Face, February 19) and for adults (Textile Portraits, Free-motion Machine Embroidery, February 28). Find out more at hollycapstickart.co.uk.
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 February 22, 7.30pm nightly (except February 16) plus 2.30pm matinees on February 15, 20 and 22
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 its powerful message of staying true to yourself, booted with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The Tannahill Weavers: Humorous tales of life north of the border
Folk gig of the week: The Tannahill Weavers 2025, Helmsley Arts Centre, February 14, 7.30pm
THE Tannahill Weavers, from Paisley, Scotland, play a diverse repertoire that spans the centuries, taking in fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs, ballads and humorous tales of life north of the border.
Roy Gullane, on guitar and lead vocals, Phil Smillie, on flute, whistles, bodhrán and harmony vocals, Scotland’s youngest clan leader, Iain MacGillivray, on Highland bagpipes, fiddle and whistles, and Malcolm Bushby, on fiddle, bouzouki and harmony vocals, demonstrate the rich Celtic musical heritage in their exuberant concert combination of traditional melodies, rhythmic accompaniment, and evocative vocals. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Fideri Fidera in Ugg’n’Ogg & The World’s First Dogg
Children’s play of the week: Rural Arts presents Fideri Fidera in Ugg’n’Ogg & The World’s First Dogg, Milton Rooms, Malton, February 20, 2pm
IN the fresh sparkling world just after the last Ice Age, there were no dogs. How, then, did we attain our best friend and the world’s number one pet? Luckily for us, along came young hunter gatherers Ugg‘n’Ogg to pal up with the wolves, Tooth’n’Claw, to defy flying meat bones, raging forest infernos and even a time-travelling stick to invent the dog.
This original play for families and pooch lovers aged three upwards highlights the evolutionary transition from lupine to canine in a show full of physical comedy, puppets, music and song. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
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 global locations 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 plenty more. For full details, visit: darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/north-york-moors-events.
David O’Doherty, the Tiny Piano Man
Comedy show of the week: David O’Doherty, Tiny Piano Man, Grand Opera House, York, February 15, 8pm
THE dishevelled prince of €10 eBay keyboards tries to make you feel alive with a pageant of Irish humour, song and occasionally getting up from a chair. “It’s gonna be a big one,” says Dublin comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright David O’Doherty, star of The Great Celebrity Bake Off 2024 and Along For The Ride With David O’Doherty. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Gareth Gates: In a Valentine mood at York Barbican
Romantic concert of the week: Gareth Gates Sings Love Songs From The Movies – A Valentine Special, York Barbican, February 16, 7.30pm
EXTENDING the St Valentine ‘s Day vibes to the weekend, Bradford singer Gareth Gates combines beloved ballads from classic films with the electrifying energy of up-tempo hits, from Unchained Melody to Dirty Dancing, in a celebration of love stories that have graced the silver screen.
Joining the 2002 Pop Idol alumnus and musical star will be Wicked actress Maggie Lynne, Dutch singer Britt Lenting, Performers College graduate Dan Herrington and a four-piece band. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Smashing Pumpkins: Playing Scarborough on Aghori Tour
Gig announcement of the week: The Smashing Pumpkins, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 13
AMERICAN alternative rockers The Smashing Pumpkins will play Scarborough on their Aghori Tour. Billy Corgan, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin’s multi-platinum-selling band will be supported on the Yorkshire coast by London post-punk revival band White Lies.
Since emerging from Chicago, Illinois, in 1988 with their iconoclastic sound, Smashing Pumpkins have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and collected two Grammy Awards, seven MTV VMAs and an American Music Award. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday at ticketmaster.co.uk
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 Trustin 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.
“I’m thrilled to be playing Elle Woods,” says Emma Swainston. “It’s a dream role!” Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
OMIGOD You Guys! Legally Blonde The Musical is coming to York Theatre Royal in York Light Opera Company’s fabulously pink production from February 13 to 22.
The sassy and stylish award-winning musical comedy with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach is directed by Martyn Knight.
Emma Swainston will take the role of Elle Woods, a seemingly ditzy sorority girl with a heart of gold, who tackles the strictures and preconceptions of 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”.
York Light Opera Company’s full cast for Martyn Knight’s February production of Legally Blonde The Musical. Picture: York Light Opera Company
Based on Amanda Brown’s novel and Australian director Robert Luketic’s 2001 film for MGM, Legally Blonde The Musicalis billed as a fun, feel-good show with a powerful message about staying true to yourself.
Martyn Knight says: “We are so excited to bring this empowering and hilarious show to York. Our production will celebrate Legally Blonde’s joy and energy while highlighting its important message of self-discovery and female empowerment.”
Emma Swainston will be following up her appearances on the York stage in Doctor Doolittle, The Railway Children, Fiddler On The Roof and as Sister Mary Leo in York Light’s Nunsense: The Mega Musical! at Theatre@41, Monkgate, last summer.
“Elle is a really inspiring character and I can’t wait to share her journey with the audience,” says York Light lead actress Emma Swainston
She will be part of a cast of 35, also featuring Zander Fick as Emmett Forrest, Emily Hardy as Paulette Bonafonte, Neil Wood as Professor Callahan, Emily Rockliff as Vivienne Kensington, Helen Miller as Enid Hoopes and Pippa Elmes as Brooke Wyndham.
Emma says: “I’m thrilled to be playing Elle Woods; it’s a dream role! Growing up I watched Reese Witherspoon play Elle in the original in the film on video, on repeat… and she’s such an icon. Elle is a really inspiring character and I can’t wait to share her journey with the audience.”
York Light Opera Company presents Legally Blonde The Musical, York Theatre Royal,February 13 to 22, 7.30pm nightly except February 16; 2.30pm, February 15, 20 and 22. February 17’s performance will be British Sign Language Interpreted. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
York Light Opera Company’s poster for Legally Blonde The Musical at York Theatre Royal
Let us pray…for laughs: The Little Sisters of Hoboken and Ben Wood’s Brother Timothy in York Light Opera Company’s Nunsense: The Mega-Musical! Picture: Matthew Kitchen
BLACK box theatre. Thick walls. No air conditioning, beyond a smattering of cooling fans. Then add nuns’ habits and wimples and the hottest night of the year.
No wonder, in the last breaths of her climactic big number, Clare Meadley’s Sister Mary Hubert suddenly exclaimed: “God it’s hot in here.”
The stultifying heat made the opening joke of Act 2 even more apt. “How do you make holy water?” “Boil the hell out of it!”. Theatre@41 boiled the hell out of us all, actors, Martin Lay’s band up high on the mezzanine level, and audience members alike, some improvising impromptu fans from programmes.
Good news – if not for sun worshippers – lies in the weather forecast. Lower temperatures for the rest of this week, even lower next week. Hallelujah, as the Little Sisters of Hoboken might well sing.
Or at least the last 12 still standing – and dancing, singing, acting, and telling jokes, too – after Sister Julia, Child of God’s dodgy Vichyssoise put paid to 52 of the sisters in a culinary catastrophe. Forty-eight have been buried but, heaven forbid, Reverend Mother Mary Regina (Joy Warner) has chucked money at buying a plasma TV, leaving the final four in limbo in the convent freezer.
Now the Little Sisters must stage a revue and talent show to raise the necessary funds, taking over the set for the 8th grade’s production of Grease at the neighbouring Mount St Helen’s School, James Dean & Marilyn Monroe posters, Fifties’ jukebox et al.
Cue the out-of-touch Reverend Mother mistakenly thinking the high-school musical was called Vaseline, but otherwise Grease references are not milked in Dan Goggin’s 1985 off-Broadway musical comedy.
Inspired by attending a school run by the Marywood Dominican Sisters that first spawned his line of greetings cards of a nun’s funny quips, Nunsense grew from a cabaret show into a full-scale production and later the Mega-Musical version with an expanded cast, more characters and more comic mayhem that Neil Wood is directing for York Light. In a nutshell, more fun per nun.
See Emily play: Emily Rockliff’s scene-stealing Sister Robert Anne in Nunsense: The Mega-Musical!. Picture: Matthew Kitchen
No nun pun is knowingly resisted by Goggin, from the song title Nunsense Is Habit Forming to the sisters’ vow that “on our way to heaven, we’re here to make some hell”, all in the cause of proving that “nuns can be fun”.
Five principal nuns each have a story to tell in both song and tale, enabling nuns and York Light alike to parade “triple threat” skills, whether Emma Craggs-Swainston’s Sister Mary Leo’s ballet dancing on point, or Emily Rockliff’s restless Sister Robert Anne, desperate to outgrow her “understudy” role, the convent equivalent of rising from chorus line to lead, as she parades her gift for mimicry with her wimple.
Kathryn Addison has fun with Sister Julia’s life-endangering cooking, Warner’s Reverend Mother maximises the comedy pratfalls in inhaling a mind-altering substance, and best of all is Annabel van Griethuysen’s forgetful but unforgettable Sister Mary Amnesia, parading her operatic voice, comic timing in eye contact and vocal delivery, even hammy ventriloquism with grouchy nun puppet “Maryonette”, all topped off by a country cowgirl song.
The humour is broad in range and style, occasionally smutty, sometimes slapstick, never subtle, and Goggin’s songs are similarly varied, from gospel to Andrews Sisters’ close harmonies, familiar musical theatre tropes to an ensemble tap-dancing dazzler, choreographed joyously by Rachel Whitehead.
Wood’s cast adheres wholly – and holy – to Goggin’s advice to “play nuns trying to be showgirls and not the other way round”, to the betterment of the show’s hearty comedy.
For added entertainment, the role of Father Virgil will be played in The Play What I Wrote guest turn tradition by a different actor at each performance. First up was Richard Bayton, setting the bar high in his good-natured cameo.
After The Sound Of Music and Sister Act The Musical, once more nuns are making a habit of entertaining in song and dance and unguarded humour in Nunsense. And that habit is catching: even stage manager Sarah Craggs is in nun’s clothes.
York Light Opera Company in Nunsense: The Mega-Musical!, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, running until July 6, 7.30pm (except June 30, July 1 and July 6); 3pm, June 29 and 30 and July 6. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Habit forming: Sarah Foster’s Sister Mary Brendan, back row, left, with, front row, from the left, Clare Meadley’s Sister Mary Hubert, Emily Rockliff’s Sister Robert Anne, Joy Warner’s Reverend Mother and Emma Craggs-Swainston’s Sister Mary Leo in a scene from Nunsense: The Mega-Musical!
NUNS, nuns and more nuns. Musicals love them, from The Sound Of Music to Sister Act and now Nunsense: The Mega-Musical!, York Light Opera Company’s summer show at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York.
Running from June 26 to July 6, the divine delights of Dan Goggin’s 1985 off-Broadway musical are being directed by Neil Wood with musical direction by Martin Lay.
“Get ready for a heavenly dose of laughter as we present a side-splitting extravaganza brimming with witty humour, toe-tapping tunes and heavenly hilarity, as well as in tap dancing, tightrope walking and ventriloquism” says Neil.
“Anyone expecting The Sound Of Music will be disappointed; anyone not expecting it will be overjoyed.”
In the wake of the unfortunate passing of four beloved sisters – now “chilling out in the freezer” after a “culinary catastrophe” involving Sister Julia’s dodgy Vichyssoise – the remaining Little Sisters of Hoboken find themselves in a sticky situation.
To raise funds for a proper burial – and perhaps a new cook! – the nuns must take centre stage for a riotous revue and talent show like no other, performed on the set of a school production of Grease that is being staged next door.
Building on the success of last June’s “riotous, rude and relevant” I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, York Light will stage a “mega-sized version” of Goggin’s show with an expanded cast, new characters and even more musical mayhem.
Neil Wood’s full cast for Nunsense : The Mega-Musical!, including late replacement Kathryn Addision, bottom row, second from left, and the ten Father Virgils
“It’s an absolute pleasure to return to York Light Opera Company to direct their summer show for the second year running,” says Neil. “Nunsense: The Mega-Musical is an exciting, hysterical and entertaining show and I’ve been lucky enough to cast 12 exceptionally talented actresses who encapsulate their various characters to perfection. It’s a wonderful show, which I’m sure audiences will adore.”
Among them will be Kathryn Addison, taking over from the indisposed Pascha Turnbull as Sister Julia, Child of God, at only five rehearsals’ notice.
One further cast hitch has required a novel solution, Neil reveals: “As with producing any show, you come across little hiccups, and our original Father Virgil [Matt Tapp] being sent to the Highlands a month before opening night was possibly the most extreme hiccup I’ve had to deal with as a director.
“So, what’s the solution? Do you find one actor who can cover all ten shows at late notice? No! Instead, we’ve found ten actors who can do one night each with limited rehearsal!”
Inspiration came from comedy national treasures Eric and Ernie. “I got the idea having seen the guest actors in The Play What I Wrote, the show based on the life of Morecambe and Wise, and it’s worked exceptionally well!” says Neil.
“We had such a good response from the gentlemen of York Light Opera Company and within days I’d managed to cast all ten performances. It was difficult to get one replacement actor to do all the rehearsals and performances at short notice, and a lot easier to get ten to do one show each, saying ‘tell me when you can’t do it’ and then getting my Father Virgil spreadsheet sorted out by the end of the weekend!”
Among them will be York musical actor, York Theatre Royal box-office manager and 2016 Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist Richard Bayton, soon to appear in Bright Light Musical Productions’ York premiere of Green Day’s American Idiot at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre.
Sing something wimple: Emily Rockliff’s Sister Robert Anne to the fore in a rehearsal for York Light’s Nunsense: The Mega-Musical!
“It’s not a huge part, but it’s vital,” says Neil. One that requires only one rehearsal, as Richard explains. “We’ve all been sent the ten pages that Father Virgil features in to learn the lines. Then, on the night I’ll turn up at 6pm to prepare for the 7.30pm start, getting into the inner, deep characterisation of what it means to be Father Virgil, sorting out the blocking on stage and finding out who I’m supposed to be flirting with!”
Neil is enjoying his first experience of Nunsense. “I remember that it came to the West End in my nipper days and thought, ‘well, that sounds an interesting show’,” he recalls. “But I’d never thought about it again until I was approached by the York Light committee to direct their summer show for the second time in a row after I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.
“It’s an ideal contrast, a chance to have a totally different cast, with those 12 female roles. It started as a five-hander that’s now a much bigger ensemble show after Dan Goggin wrote more characters and more numbers, and he’s even done a version where you could add children, though we won’t be. “
Neil has even received advice via Goggin’s Facebook posts. “He signs all his posts as ‘Danny’, rather than ‘Dan’,” he says. “He’s advised the cast that they’re playing nuns trying to be showgirls and not the other way round, with ‘choreographed imperfections’ that go with that.”
He loves Goggin’s music too. “Sometimes, you come across a show and you think, ‘um, not sure’, but this one has a fantastic score: there’s country music, Andrews Sisters’ close harmonies, gospel, traditional musical theatre songs, even a ballet routine and tap-dancing nuns!
“Rachel Whitehead has choreographed the ballet and the tap number, and the rest of it has come out of that twisted mind of mine! The lovely thing about doing it at Theatre@41 is that because it’s a smaller space, it’s intimate. There’s no ‘fourth wall’ in the show but there is interaction with the audience because it’s that sort of show.”
Working alongside Neil is assistant director Sarah Foster, from Missouri, USA, who is in the third year of her PhD studies at the University of York.
Annabel van Griethuysen’s Sister Mary Amnesia, left, Emma Craggs-Swainston and Emily Rockliff’s Sister Robert Anne in the rehearsal room
“I saw the show at the theatre where I was directing with a company in Springfields, in the middle of nowhere! One of the 12 to 15 Springfields that The Simpsons never reveal exactly where they’re from,” says Sarah, who has helped the York Light cast to work on their American accents, just as she did for York Musical Theatre Company’s The Wizard Of Oz in May.
“I first saw the five-hander and I remember I was struck by just how genuine the show was; how funny it was; the variety of the nuns’ different stories and the variety of the songs. I wasn’t expecting the tap number in the middle!”
Sarah was involved with Springfield Little Theatre for eight years, mostly performing in musical theatre, before taking up her PhD studies in How the Arts Influenced Climate Change and Sustainability Education.
She finds time to maintain her theatrical involvement, whether as production assistant on York Light’s February production of The Little Mermaid at York Theatre Royal or now playing Sister Mary Brendan.
“She’s one of the teachers at the school connected to the convent,” she says of her role. “She’s the drama teacher who’s putting on the production of Grease.”
Summing up the show, Neil says: “The humour is bonkers with elements of farce, but not a Brian Rix or Feydeau farce. The humour comes from the five principal nuns’ stories unravelling as the Mother Superior tries to hold it all together, not always with successfully!”
“Their personalities keep bursting through, making it more difficult for the Mother Superior to control them,” adds Sarah.
Clare Meadley’s Sister Mary Hubert, front, and Sarah Foster’s Sister Mary Brendan, left, in rehehearsal for the Little Sisters of Hoboken’s fund-raising revue
Nunsense suits the “triple threat” talents of York Light, says Neil. “It needs good operatic singing, country & western belts too, good dancers and good actors, and that’s the joy of working with York Light. There are so many talents you can go to.
“The show is great family entertainment, with a couple of jokes that might go over young heads. Goggin knew what he wanted, and it’s not often you get a script that is so detailed and so full of possibilities to make it funny.”
“The comedic timing is really well thought out,” says Sarah. “And I’m also going to enjoy this show so much because it’s interactive, with conversations with the audience.”
Neil rejoins: “The fourth string to the director’s bow is being able to choreograph those laughs. I love to look for those moments.”
He highlights the comedic impact of a nun’s attire: the habit and wimple. “For the actors, the wimple absolutely focuses the importance of facial expression, but not to go over the top because expressions are magnified by the wimple’s shape,” he says.
“The habit limits the possibilities of the choreography because it restricts movement, but in a good way for comedy, as we have nuns trying to be showgirls, and not the other way round. We even have nuns on point in one number.”
The band members, perched on the mezzanine level, add to the visual impact too. “They’ll all be dressed as monks and vicars, and our musical director, Martin Lay, is playing the role of Father Patrick, leading the heavenly chorus,” says Neil. “Even the stage manager, Sarah Craggs, will be a nun!”
York Light Opera Company in Nunsense: The Mega-Musical!; Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, June 26 to July 6, 7.30pm (except June 30, July 1 and July 6); 3pm, June 29 and 30, July 6. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
