James Swanton: Back on track with The Signal-Man at York Medical Society
A RED light. A black tunnel. A waving figure. A warning beyond understanding. And the fear that someone – that something – is drawing closer in The Signal-Man, Charles Dickens’ most frightening ghost story, here paired with the supernatural terrors of The Trial For Murder in York storyteller and actor James Swanton’s delightfully macabre double bill.
James promoted his return to York Medical Society when performing Gothic poetry at two sold-out launch events for Isla Coole’s new horror-themed book store, Horrifically Good Books, in Goodramgate, last Monday and Tuesday.
Here he answers a handful of CharlesHutchPress questions on The Signal-Man’s return.
What makes York Medical Society such an ideal setting?
“I enjoy a black-box theatre space, but it’s difficult to beat the immersive feel of antique wood panelling, latticed windows and an open fireplace. The room in which I’m performing puts me in mind of the tavern in Barnaby Rudge. Perfect for relating ghostly tales!”
Without giving away the ending, what happens in The Signal-Man and why does it suit live performance?
“In short form, a wandering gentleman befriends a lonely signal-man on an isolated stretch of railway. He there hears about the signal-man’s uncanny supernatural experiences. I feel this is one story that works far better when spoken out loud than read in private.
“Simon Callow agreed with me after he recorded it as an audio drama. Even so, I’d recommend that people familiarise themselves with the text in advance. The final revelation takes some digesting, not unlike the ending of Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now. But once the core idea sinks in, it’s forever burned into the memory.”
What happens in The Trial For Murder and why does it suit live performance?
A city gentleman does jury service at the Old Bailey and begins to catch sight of an unsettling figure whose face is “the colour of impure wax”. People don’t generally know this story – it also goes by the unhelpful title ‘To Be Taken With A Grain Of Salt’ – so there’s a vital element of surprise. After all, a courtroom is itself a type of theatre, and this narrative’s structure is deliberate verging on procedural, which contrasts well with the shocks.”
What keeps drawing you back to Dickens?
“His invented people are irresistible; Dickens is essentially the character actor’s Shakespeare. That said, his narration interests me more and more with the passage of time. And there’s rather a lot of that in these two pieces! The eye-catching grotesques melt away and the storyteller takes centre stage.”
Performances are at 7pm, tonight, tomorrow, Thursday and Sunday; 5.30pm & 7.30pm, Saturday.Box office for returns only: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Coming next from James Swanton
JAMES will return to York Medical Society to present Charles Dickens’ Ghost Stories from November 23 to 29.
Choose from two of Dickens’ seasonal classics: A Christmas Carol, the famous saga of Ebenezer Scrooge, and The Haunted Man, a neglected Gothic gem.
Their words unlock a world teeming with chain-rattling spectres, dark and shadowy doubles and Ghosts of Christmases Past and Present and Yet To Come. “These tales chill the marrow and tickle the funny bone, but always they enchant, as only the works of a master storyteller can,” says James.
Performances: November 23 and 26, The Haunted Man, 7pm. November 24 and 27, A Christmas Carol, 7pm. November 28, A Christmas Carol, 2pm & 6pm. November 29, A Christmas Carol, 2pm. November 29, The Haunted Man, 6pm.
Fladam Theatre’s Florence Poskitt and Adam Sowter cooking up the York musical comedy duo’s Halloween show in Hallowbean
FROM the 16th Aesthetica Film Festival to a nocturnal ghost sculpture trail, Strictly stars after hours in Vegas to punk poet Dr John Cooper Clarke, Charles Hutchinson says yes to November events.
Children’s Halloween show of the week: Fladam Theatre in Hallowbean, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 2.30pm
FLADAM Theatre, the madcap York musical comedy duo of Florence Poskitt and Adam Sowter, head to Helmsley this afternoon with their spooktastic musical comedy Hallowbean. In the town of Ghooul, Dr Frankenheinz is rustling up his Hallowbean for the annual Halloween cooking competition, hoping his tomatoey terror will dazzle Scary Berry, the most frightful food critic of them all.
Rather than scary, however, Hallowbean is downright lovable. Problem! “Will Halloween have to be cancelled? Or can the Hallowbean find her scare in time?” ask Fladam. Find out in this hour-long, pun and puppet-packed Halloween treat for three to ten years olds. Box office: Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Seann Walsh: Putting himself through an anxiety filled-hour at York Theatre Royal on November 6
Comedy gigs of the week: Russell Howard, Don’t Tell The Algorithm, York Barbican, today, 3.30pm & 7.30pm, and Sunday, 7.30pm; Seann Walsh, This Is Torture, York Theatre Royal, November 6, 8pm
POLITICAL comedian and Five Brilliant Things podcaster Russell Howard returns with a new stand-up show for 2026, where he invites you back into the room: no phones, no distractions, only humans and jokes, but don’t tell the algorithm. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk; best availability on Sunday night.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! 2022 series survivor Seann Walsh has decided to name his latest stand-up tour show after the phrase he says the most: “This Is Torture”. The dishevelled Camden comedian brings his signature blend of chaos and charm to York to put himself through an anxiety filled-hour. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
James Swanton: Back on track with The Signal-Man’s return to York Medical Society
Recommended but sold out already: James Swanton presents The Signal-Man, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, November 2 to 8, 7pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday; 5.30pm & 7.30pm, Saturday
A RED light. A black tunnel. A waving figure. A warning beyond understanding. And the fear that someone – that something – is drawing closer in The Signal-Man, Charles Dickens’s most frightening ghost story, here paired with the supernatural terrors of The Trial For Murder in York storyteller and actor James Swanton’s delightfully macabre double bill. Box office for returns only: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Isabel Azar’s Clare in rehearsal for Black Treacle Theatre’s Poor Clare at Theatre@41, Monkgate
Life-changing story of the week: Black Treacle Theatre in Poor Clare, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, November 3 to 7, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
THE lives of the young St Clare and St Francis of Assisi are the subject of American playwright Chiara Atik’s comedy Poor Clare, presented in York for the first time by Black Treacle Theatre, directed by Jim Paterson.
Noblewoman Clare (Isabel Azar) is set for marriage to a rich aristocrat and a life of wealth and privilege in 13th century Assisi, but then she meets Francis (PJ Gregan), whose strong faith and commitment to rejecting the established order and serving the poor makes her look at her life in a new way. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Ghosts After Dark: Taking over York Museum Gardens for five nights from November 4
Sculpture trail of the week: York BID and York Museums Trust present Ghosts After Dark, York Museum Gardens, November 4 to 8, 5.30pm to 9.30pm; timed entry slots until 8pm
AFTER the Ghosts In The Gardens free public art trail of 70 wire-mesh sculptures – including ten new ones – across 32 city-centre locations concludes on Sunday, Ghosts After Dark takes over for five atmospheric nights of nights of live storytelling, light, smoke and sound next week in the Museum Gardens, plus King’s Manor courtyard and Library Lawn, the Anglian Tower, Edible Wood, Artists’ Garden, St Olave’s churchyard and the area beside York Art Gallery.
Representing a fascinating person, creature or story connected to York’s history, each sculpture was made by York creative agency Unconventional Design. A new interactive experience and the inaugural night market will be further highlights of the 90-minute trail. Bookings: www.theyorkbid.com/ghosts-after-dark/.
All heading to the Aesthetica Film Festival 2026 as York awaits five daysof film and much more
Festival of the week: Aesthetica Film Festival 2026, York, November 4 to 8
IN its 16th year under the artistic directorship of Cherie Federico, Aesthetica Film Festival welcomes filmmakers, games developers and virtual reality experts from around the world. The five-day programme comprises screenings, VR & games labs, a podcasting lounge, industry masterclasses and workshops, networking sessions, live performances, pitching opportunities, the New Music Stage and much more. For the full programme and tickets, go to asff.co.uk.
Strictly Come Dancing stars Pasha Kovalev, Brendan Cole, Vincent Simone, Ian Waite and James Jordan head to York Barbican in Legends in Vegas: After Hours. Picture: Ryan Howard
From Strictly to Sin City dance show of the week: The Legends in Vegas: After Hours, York Barbican, November 4, 7.30pm
THE Legends, alias Strictly alumnae Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite, reunite for a third tour, Vegas: After Hours, where the dance floor never sleeps as they bring the spirit of Sin City to life through breathtaking routines and nonstop entertainment, set to a soundtrack inspired by the greatest Las Vegas performers of all time.
Think neon lights and electric nights, roulette tables spinning, glamorous showgirls, dazzling casinos, desert sunsets, lavish pool parties, whirlwind weddings, iconic hotels and world-class entertainment, captured in dance. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Julie Russell Wilson’s Miss Marple, front, leading the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company cast in Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced
Murder mystery of the week: Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company in Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, November 4 to 7, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
WHEN a mysterious announcement appears in the local newspaper, stating the date and time a murder will take place in a quiet village home, curiosity and disbelief turn quickly to alarm: it is chillingly clear that the threat is all too real.
What follows is a classic Agatha Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities and long-held secrets for the sharp-witted Miss Marple (Julie Russell Wilson) to unravel in Alex Schofield’s fundraising production in aid of the JoRo.
“Christie was a master of surprise who understood that audiences love being challenged,” says Schofield. “Then there’s the incredible premise. Someone reveals that a murder is going to take place, but not who the victim will be.
“From that moment on, anyone could be the victim and anyone could be the killer. There’s also something wonderful about hearing a collective gasp from the audience when their expectations have been turned upside down.”Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Dr John Cooper Clarke: Showcasing new poetry collection Have It at the Grand Opera House, York
Punk poet of the week: Dr John Cooper Clarke, Grand Opera House, York, November 6, doors 7pm
SALFORD sage Dr John Cooper Clarke’s anarchic punk poetry and no-nonsense approach to his work has led to a career spanning cultures, art forms and continents, drawing audiences from clubs to arenas. On his 20-date tour, Cooper Clarke, 77, promotes his new collection, Have It, the follow-up to 2024’s What, as well as performing fan favourites with his trademark machine-gun delivery. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The Shires: Lighting up Bonfire at York Barbican the day after Bonfire Night
Country gig of the week: The Shires, York Barbican, November 6, 7.30pm
BRITISH country duo The Shires – Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes – promote their sixth studio album, July 3’s Bonfire, on their 12-date UK tour, their first with a full band in four years. Expect new songs celebrating togetherness, escapism and positivity, complemented by fan favourites. Kaylee Bell supports. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Karl Bushby: The Man Who Walked The World
In Focus:Norwell Lapley Productions present Karl Busby: The Man Who Walked The World, York Theatre Royal, November 22, 6.30pm
KARL Bushby, the Yorkshireman who walked the world, will set out to York Theatre Royal from his Hull home on November 22 to tell his extraordinary story.
Adventurer Karl, now 57, set off from Punta Arenas, Chile, in 1998 with the almost unimaginable ambition of walking all the way home to East Yorkshire.
He made himself two promises: he would use no transport to advance his journey and he would not return home until he had completed the entire expedition on foot. After 28 years, he will be welcomed home to Hull on November 2.
Along the way, Karl has crossed some of the world’s most hostile landscapes, faced life-threatening dangers and endured immense physical and psychological challenges, pushing himself to limits few could comprehend.
From navigating the perilous Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia, to tackling the frozen expanse of the Bering Strait, between Russian and Alaska, his journey is a remarkable testament to courage, resilience and the indomitable human spirit.
Now, York audiences are invited to step inside an adventure spanning continents, cultures and generations. Through first-hand storytelling, Karl will reveal the experiences behind the headlines: the moments when survival hung in the balance, the obstacles that threatened to derail his mission, the sacrifices demanded by a life on the move and the extraordinary determination that kept him heading towards home. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
York drag diva Velma Celli adding vocal oomph to oompah band The Bavarian Strollers in Yorktoberfest’s big top at York Racecourse
FROM a new female spin on ‘Curious Incident’ to Yorktoberfest in a circus big top, Halloween shows to Leo Sayer’s last tour, Charles Hutchinson finds ways to brighten up darker nights.
Festival of the week: Jamboree Entertainment presents Yorktoberfest, Clocktower Enclosure, York Racecourse, today, 1pm to 5pm & 7pm to 11pm
FOR the first time, James Cundall’s Jamboree Entertainment is staging Yorktoberfest, York’s traditional Bavarian beer festival, inside a Big Top, launched last weekend by aerial artist Zoe Kulyk twisting and tumbling from the rooftop.
Look out today for outrageous York drag diva Velma Celli’s powerhouse singing and quick-fire critique of the costumes on display, complemented by oompah band The Bavarian Strollers’ traditional drinking songs and disco classics. Tickets: www.ticketsource.co.uk/yorktoberfest and at the entrance, subject to availability.
Ghost event of the week: The York Ghost Merchants present Mischief Night Ghost Week Trail, York Mansion House, York, today to November 1, 10.30am to 5pm, last entry 4pm
GROWING up in York, the young Guy Fawkes was a mischief-maker who caused no end of havoc for his school masters, long before he set his sights on a more famous prize. Join ghostly headmaster John Pulleyn, who needs your help to keep the peace, before Guy forks out more misrule than the city can handle!
Follow the trail around York Mansion House, solving puzzles and clues as you go. Everyone who completes the trail puzzle book successfully will be entered into a draw to win a unique ghost designed by the Ghost Merchants and inspired by the Mansion House building. Tickets: Available on the door on the day of visit (no online sales).
Troy Hawke: “Navigating conversational minefields” at York Barbican tonight
Comedy gig of the week: Troy Hawke, Never Stop, Never Change!, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
TROY Hawke is the internet sensation creation of Michael Patrick “Milo” McCabe, the British television presenter, actor and stand-up character comedian. In Never Stop, Never Change!, angry security guards, barked compliments and crossed wires abound as Hawke navigates various conversational minefields, both online and in real life. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Freedom versus control : Sarah Belcher’s Deborah and Phil Corbitt’s Colin in the shifting sands of Alison Carr’s All At Sea at the SJT
Claustrophobiccouple of the week: Stephen Joseph Theatre and Live Theatre, Newcastle, present All At Sea, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until October 31
MARIA Crocker directs Phil Corbitt and Sarah Belcher in All At Sea, Alison Carr’s new play inspired by the escapades of John and Anne Darwin in the early 2000s. Colin and Deborah are a couple with spiralling debt, a sky-high mortgage and seemingly nowhere to turn. Then Colin comes up with the idea of faking his own death in a canoeing accident in the North Sea for an insurance payout. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Alex Keenan’s Chris Boone and her dad, Joe McFadden’s Ed, in Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep’s The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
Reboot of the week: Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep present The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, Grand Opera House, York, October 27 to 31, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
MELTING Pot and Birmingham Rep are touring a gender-swap reboot of Simon Stephens’s inventive adaptation of Mark Haddon’s compassionate novel, in which neurodivergent 15-year-old Chris Boone is now a female role, played by Alex Keenan and matinee alternate Imi Price.
Ned Bennett’s cast features Joe McFadden as dad Ed and Charlie Brooks as absentee mum Judy in the story of Chris becoming both detective and suspect when a neighbour’s dog is discovered killed, drawing her into a mystery that grows darker and more complex with every clue uncovered. Box office: atgtickets.co.uk/york.
Book talk of the week: A Way With Media presents John Lydon: I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right, Harrogate Theatre, October 27, 7.30pm
JOHN Lydon – aka Johnny Rotten – is a legend, an iconoclast, a revolutionary and a punk immortal, who changed the face of music, causing a political earthquake as frontman and lyricist of the Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd (PiL).
To coincide with A Way With Media’s special-edition boxed Flexi Bind Version of his I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right collection of random thoughts, life philosophies and personal anecdotes, Lydon, now 70, is undertaking a pyrotechnic, one-off tour to discuss how he sees life and to reflect on his extraordinary career, taking audience questions too. Sharing his thoughts, he could be wrong, he could be right. Box office: 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk.
Playing by the ghouls: Halloween In Concert at York Barbican
Graveyard smash of the week: Halloween In Concert, York Barbican, October 27, 7.30pm
IN a frighteningly good night of raves from beyond the grave, Halloween In Concert’s cast and band unleash a thrilling crescendo of all things Halloween. Expect big vocals and killer moves as the greatest spooky hits are resurrected, from Monster Mash, Highway To Hell, The Time Warp and Running Up That Hill to Hungry Like The Wolf, Maneater, Bat Out of Hell, She Wolf and Thriller. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The Addams family in Wharfemede Productions’ The Addams Family Musical at Theatre@41, Monkgate. Picture: Simon Trow
Halloween family entertainment of the week: Wharfemede Productions in The Addams Family Musical, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 27 to 31, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
COMPANY co-founder Helen Spencer directs North Yorkshire company Wharfemede Productions in Andrew Lippa, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice’s devilishly funny, deeply kooky comedy The Addams Family Musical.
When Wednesday Addams falls in love with a “normal” young man and invites his respectable parents to dinner, chaos, secrets and macabre mayhem ensue in this spooky celebration of family, love and embracing the wonderfully weird, replete with sharp comedy, dazzling dance numbers, a witty score and a nine-piece band. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Scrum down for former England prop forward Joe Marler’s probing questions at York Barbican on Wednesday
Live podcast tour of the week: Joe Marler Will See You Live, York Barbican, October 28, 8pm
SINCE retiring from Rugby Union in 2024, England prop forward Joe Marler has been pushed into the mainstream by his “Big Dog” theory, people-reading prowess and relentless Traitor hunting in the 2025 debut series of The Celebrity Traitors.
This sparked his show format for Joe Marler Will See You Now, wherein Marler and his co-host and research assistant, comedian Jake Bhardwaj, apply acute observational skills to delve inside the mind of a celebrity guest with probing questions and unusual mind games. Who will be their guest in York? Find out on Wednesday night. Cue “ludicrous set-pieces and immersive audience participation”. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Christopher Leslie in his haunting one-man adaptation of Jekyll & Hyde: Unbound at York Medical Society
Halloween solo show of the week: Christopher Leslie in Jekyll & Hyde: Unbound, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, October 27 to 30, 7.30pm
YORK writer, performer and Pop Yer Clogs Theatre company member Christopher Leslie presents his haunting one-man adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “bogey tale”, here re-titled Jekyll & Hyde: Unbound.
Lawyer Gabriel John Utterson, now living a sheltered, haunted life, invites you into the Soho house once occupied by his former client, Doctor Henry Jekyll. Tonight, Utterson will speak at last, looking into the darkness of the human psyche and asking are we really who we appear to be? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Victoria Delaney’s Kat, left, Beryl Nain’s Ma and Clare Halliday’s Maudie in York Actors Collective’s The Strongbox
York premiere of the week: York Actors Collective in The Strongbox, York Theatre Royal Studio, October 29, 2.30pm & 7.45pm, October 30, 7.45pm, and October 31, 2pm
YORK Actors Collective presents Stephanie Jacob’s study of freedom and control The Strongbox, in which a mother (Beryl Nairn’s Ma) and her daughter (Victoria Delaney’s Kat) keep a homeless woman (Clare Halliday’s Maudie) as a slave in their London home. Power shifts, however, when the daughter becomes distracted by business and the mother falls ill.
“Three women learn how to live and survive by making their own rules, but at what cost?” asks director Angie Millard. “As Ma says, ‘ If you do and do and do and do to someone, can it be undone?’ That’s the question the play explores with honesty and some humour.” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
“I am not retiring, just slowing the number of live shows down a little,” says Leo Sayer
The show must go on…for one last tour: Leo Sayer, Can’t Stop Loving You, York Barbican, October 30, 7.30pm
AFTER almost 60 years on the road, Leo Sayer, now 78, returns to the UK stage for “what could well be his final full UK tour”. “I love performing for my fans and look forward to doing so for many more years, but this will be the last time I play so many dates across the country. I am not retiring, just slowing the number of live shows down a little,” clarifies Sayer, in a year when he is releasing his autobiography and a career-spanning box set.
Cue The Show Must Go On, Thunder In My Heart, Moonlighting, One Man Band, When I Need You, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing et al. Meanwhile, Brighton folk-rockers Levellers have sold out October 29’s York Barbican gig. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Becca Magson’s Rita and Joe Gregory’s Frank in 1812 Theatre Company’s Educating Rita. Picture: Lauren Wyeth
RYEDALE Festival and 1812 Theatre’s Educating Rita, compact Shakespeare and Live At York Museum Gardens are uppermost in Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations amid the July heatwave.
Ryedale play of the week: 1812 Theatre Company in Educating Rita, Helmsley Arts Centre, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm
SAMANTHA Hughes directs Helmsley Arts Centre resident troupe 1812 Theatre Company in Willy Russell’s comedy Educating Rita, wherein Frank (Joe Gregory) is a tutor of English Literature in his 50s whose disillusioned outlook on life drives him to drink and bury himself in his books.
Enter Rita (Becca Magson), a forthright 26-year-old hairdresser who is eager to learn. After weeks of cajoling, she slowly wins over the hesitant Frank with her highly original insights and refusal to accept “No” for an answer. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk. Picture: Lauren Wyeth.
Michael Flatley’s Irish dancers in the 30th anniversary tour of Lord Of The Dance, in action at York Barbican tonight. Picture: Brian Doherty
Dance show of the week: Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance30th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, tonight, 7.45pm
THE 30th anniversary tour of Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance promises a grand celebration of the revolutionary Irish dance production’s legacy, after captivating more than 60 million fans in 60 countries since its 1996 debut.
The 30 Years of Standing Ovations tour features “brand-new choreography, stunning costumes, state-of-the-art special effects and cutting-edge lighting, ensuring that the production continues to push boundaries and deliver an unforgettable experience”. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/lord-of-the-dance-30th-anniversary/.
Clive Francis’s Sir Humphrey Appleby in I’m Sorry, Prime Minister. Picture: Johan Persson
Political drama of the week: I’m Sorry, Prime Minister, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
JIM Hacker is back, older, but perhaps not wiser, and still utterly baffled by the real world. Hoping for a quiet retirement from government as the master of Hacker College, Oxford, Jim (Robert Kitson, replacing the indisposed Simon Rouse) instead finds himself facing the ultimate modern crisis: cancelled by the college committee. Enter Sir Humphrey Appleby (Clive Francis), who has lost none of his love for bureaucracy, Latin phrases and well-timed obstruction.
Can Humphrey and Jim outmanoeuvre the hostile students, the Fellows and reality itself? Or is it finally time to say “I’m Sorry, Prime Minister”? Brimming with wit, nostalgia and more double-speak than a press briefing, the final chapter in the evergreen comedy series is written and directed by Jonathan Lynn,co-directed byMichael Gyngell and presented by The Barn Theatre, Cirencester. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2026 tour cast for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), squeezing into York Theatre Royal this week
Shakespeare shake-up of the week: Reduced Shakespeare Company in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
MARKING 30 years of performances in the UK, the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2026 tour company of Efé Agwele, Woogie Jung, Tom Pavey and Kiran Raywilliams presents Hamlet told backwards, a micro-condensed Othello scored to a ukulele, a carnage-filled Titus Andronicus presented as a YouTube cookery tutorial and the History Plays as a manic football game, passing the crown from king to king.
Californian co-founders Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield have re-booted, re-imagined, reinvented and updated the restless comedy for a new generation to undertake a rollercoaster ride through all 37 of the Bard’s First Folio of plays. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Stephen Smith’s Claude Monet in A Montage Of Monet at York Medical Society. Picture: Amie Barton-Young
Storytelling actor of the week: Threedumb Theatre presents Stephen Smith in A Montage Of Monet, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, tonight, 7.30pm and July 11, 3pm; One Man Poe world premiere, July 11, 7.30pm
THREEDUMB Theatre artistic director and actor Stephen Smith performs Joan Greening’s new play exploring French Impressionist artist Claude Monet’s life and loves: his two marriages, his first wife’s devastating death, his lover’s erratic behaviour, his suicide attempt, his thoughts on fellow Impressionists and the torment of his failing eyesight. The 55-minute Monet montage combines projection design and Joe Furey’s music with Smith’s storytelling in two York performances.
Smith also presents the world premiere of his latest Poe double bill (The Business Man and The Case of M. Valdemar) ahead of his Edinburgh Fringe residency. Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys: Summer of Hits concert at Live At York Museum Gardens
Rock and pop festival of the week: Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, tomorrow, gates 5pm; Self Esteem, Friday, gates 5pm, and Super Furry Animals, Saturday, gates 4pm
WIRRAL synth-pop pioneers Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark open Futuresound’s third season of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts tomorrow with a Summer of Hits bill featuring Heaven 17, China Crisis and rising Newcastle singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin.
Mercury Prize nominee Self Esteem, aka Rotherham singer, songwriter and actress Rebecca Lucy Taylor, tops Friday’s line-up, featuring London indie group The Big Moon, South African ghetto funk musician Moonchild Sanelly and Nigerian-born musician and spoken-word artist Joshia Idehen.
Welsh psychedelic rock band Super Furry Animals are Saturday’s headliners, joined by singer-songwriter Baxter Dury, indie-pop septet Los Campesinos!, Nottingham alt-country band Divorce and North Wales psychedelic act Pys Melyn. Box office for July 10 and 11: futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events.
Ross Noble: Playing York Comedy Festival at Live At York Museum Gardens on Sunday
Comedy event of the week: Futuresound presents York Comedy Festival, Live at York Museum Gardens, York, Sunday, gates 3pm
TOPICAL comedian Russell Howard (9.30pm), from Russell Howard’s Good News, and Geordie surrealist Ross Noble (8.35pm) take top billing at the second open-air York Comedy Festival, promoted by Futuresound.
In Sunday’s line-up too will be Irish stand-up and podcast sensation Joanne McNally (7.40pm); stand-up and presenter Russell Kane (7.10pm); Big Kick Energy podcaster and comedian Suzi Ruffell (6.15pm); Barry From Watford (5.45pm), the 82-year-old comic creation of Alex Lowe; cult stand-up hero and viral sensation Jeff Innocent (4.50pm) and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Nabil Abdulrashid (4.20pm), all hosted by Jared Christmas. Box office: yorkcomedyfestival.com.
The Gesualdo Six: Performing Wishing Tree: A Choral Journey at St Lawrence’s Church, York, on July 14 at 3pm as part of Ryedale Festival. Picture: Ash Mills
Festival of the week: Ryedale Festival, July 10 to 26
RYEDALE Festival presents 60 events this month in 40 different venues, including Tenebrae, pianist Junyan Chen, The Gesualdo Six, Dunedin Consort, John Wilson & Sinfonia of London’s An English Summer, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Opera North.
Taking part too are tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Christopher Glynn, Sheku & Isata Kanneh-Mason, pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, Eliza Carthy and The Restitution, soprano Erika Baikoff, cellist Laura van der Heijden, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists and Kirkbymoorside Town Brass Band. For the full festival programme and tickets, go to: ryedalefestival.com.
Hannah Davies and Jack Woods: Re-imagining of the selkie myth in a not-too-distant future in The Ballad Of Blea Wyke. Picture: Matt Jopling
Dystopian vision of the week: Hannah Davies & Jack Woods in The Ballad of Blea Wyke, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, York, July 10, 8.30pm; Helmsley Arts Centre, July 17, 7.30pm
IN North Yorkshire writer and storyteller Hannah Davies and musician Jack Woods’ dystopian re-imagining of the selkie myth in a not-too-distant future, a young woman wants to see the sea. A stranger stands on a cliff. The last grey seal swims towards the shore.
On her 18th birthday, tough care-leaver Cerys breaks the city’s lockdown and travels to the coastal cliffs that birthed her, the crumbling landscape drawing her back to her mythic past. Cue a haunting interweaving of story, music, poetry and song. Box office: York, https://bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise;Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
SledOne’s mural, What Walks Amongst Us, taking shape at AcombFest. Picture: Art of Protest
MURALS in Acomb, early music beyond borders, Mystery Plays on waggons, a political swansong and compact Shakespeare keep Charles Hutchinson’s thoughts off the July heatwave.
Art event of the week: AcombFest, Acomb, York, today and tomorrow
CURATED by Art of Protest, York’s first international street art festival continues today and tomorrow with its theme of A Return To Nature, featuring 20 art installations, live murals, RARE Collective’s Paint Jam, spray battles and more than 30 bands, DJs and performers, across 22 venues.
Look out too for interactive family-friendly workshops, an art market, history walks and talks, special events and tastings and a community cinema. Muralists taking part include SMUG, from Australia, Sheffield muralist Peachzz, wildlife artist Curtis Hylton and Acomb’s very own SledOne. For full details, go to: https://acombfest.co.uk/.
Baroque collective Solomon’s Knot: Performing Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhns’ St Mark Passion, directed by Jonathan Sells, at The Quire, York Minster, on July 10
50th anniversary event of the summer: 2026 York Early Music Festival, Beyond Borders, until July 11
THE premier British early music festival marks its 50th anniversary with a celebration of “just how far early music has travelled – beyond the borders of the myriad historic venues of our city to a worldwide audience,” says director Delma Tomlin.
The festival welcomes The Sixteen, B’Rock Orchestra & Vocal Consort, Imago Mundi, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, Solomon’s Knot and NCEM Platform Artists Anacronia and Contre le temps, among others. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk/yemf.
Bodhan Pitel’s Herod in DSpace Ukrainian Theatre’s The Massacre of the Innocents in the York Mystery Plays 2026. Picture: John Saunders
Theatrical outdoor event of the week: 2026 York Mystery Plays, streets of York, tomorrow, 10.30am to 4.50pm
THE four-yearly staging on the York Mystery Plays on pageant waggons takes place at four locations across the city: free viewing at the Minster Refectory Gardens, Deansgate, (from 10.30am) King’s Square (from 11.10am), St Sampson’s Square (from 11.50am) and ticketed seats at Dean’s Park (from 12.30pm). Ten core plays will be complemented by further extracts to tell the story from The War In Heaven to Doomsday. For full details, go to yorkmysteryplays.co.uk; tickets, ticketsource.com/york-festival-trust.
Clive Francis as Sir Humphrey Appleby in I’m Sorry, Prime Minister. Picture: Johan Persson
Political drama of the week: I’m Sorry, Prime Minister, Grand Opera House, York, July 7 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
JIM Hacker is back, older, but perhaps not wiser, and still utterly baffled by the real world. Hoping for a quiet retirement from government as the master of Hacker College, Oxford, Jim (Robert Kitson, replacing Simon Rouse) instead finds himself facing the ultimate modern crisis: cancelled by the college committee. Enter Sir Humphrey Appleby (Clive Francis), who has lost none of his love for bureaucracy, Latin phrases and well-timed obstruction.
Can Humphrey and Jim outmanoeuvre the hostile students, the Fellows and reality itself? Or is it finally time to say “I’m Sorry, Prime Minister”? Brimming with wit, nostalgia and more double-speak than a press briefing, the final chapter in the evergreen comedy series is written and directed by Jonathan Lynn,co-directed byMichael Gyngell and presented by The Barn Theatre, Cirencester. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2026 tour cast for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
Shakespeare shake-up of the week: Reduced Shakespeare Company in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), York Theatre Royal, July 7 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
MARKING 30 years of performances in the UK, the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2026 tour company of Efé Agwele, Woogie Jung, Tom Pavey and Kiran Raywilliams presents Hamlet told backwards, a micro-condensed Othello scored to a ukulele, a carnage-filled Titus Andronicus presented as a YouTube cookery tutorial and the History Plays as a manic football game, passing the crown from king to king.
Californian co-founders Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield have re-booted, re-imagined, reinvented and updated the restless comedy for a new generation to undertake a rollercoaster ride through all 37 of the Bard’s First Folio of plays. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Stephen Smith’s Claude Monet in A Montage Of Monet
Busiest actor of the week: Threedumb Theatre presents Stephen Smith in A Montage Of Monet, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, July 8, 7.30pm and July 11, 3pm; One Man Poe, Ripon Theatre Festival, Ripon Arts Hub, July 10, 8pm; One Man Poe world premiere, York Medical Society, July 11, 7.30pm
THREEDUMB Theatre artistic director and actor Stephen Smith performs Joan Greening’s new play exploring French Impressionist artist Claude Monet’s life and loves: his two marriages, his first wife’s devastating death, his lover’s erratic behaviour, his suicide attempt, his thoughts on fellow Impressionists and the torment of his failing eyesight. The 55-minute Monet montage combines projection design and Joe Furey’s music with Smith’s storytelling in two York performances.
Smith also presents four of Edgar Allan Poe’s Gothic horror works (The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and The Pendulum, The Black Cat and The Raven) in Ripon, followed by the world premiere of his latest Poe double bill (The Business Man and The Case of M. Valdemar) in York. All six, amounting to 18,000 Poe words, will be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe. Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Ripon, ripontheatrefestival.org.
Musical of the week: Top Hat and Tails Theatre in Little Shop Of Horrors!, Friargate Theatre, York, July 9 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
MEEK floral assistant Seymour Krelborn stumbles across a new breed of plant he calls Audrey II, a foul-mouthed carnivore that promises him fame and fortune if he keeps feeding it with blood. Over time, however, Seymour discovers Audrey II’s plans for global domination in Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s sci-fi B-movie monster spoof, presented here with a live band and professionally hand-crafted puppets. Box office: ridinglights.org.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys: Summer of Hits show at York Museum Gardens on Thursday
Music festival of the week: Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, July 9, gates 5pm; Self Esteem, July 10, gates 5pm, and Super Furry Animals, July 11, gates 4pm
WIRRAL synth-pop pioneers Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark open Futuresound’s third season of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts on Thursday with a Summer of Hits bill featuring Heaven 17, China Crisis and rising Newcastle singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin.
Mercury Prize nominee Self Esteem, aka Rotherham singer, songwriter and actress Rebecca Lucy Taylor, tops Friday’s line-up, featuring London indie group The Big Moon, South African ghetto funk musician Moonchild Sanelly and Nigerian-born musician and spoken-word artist Joshia Idehen.
Welsh psychedelic rock band Super Furry Animals are next Saturday’s headliners, joined by singer-songwriter Baxter Dury, indie-pop septet Los Campesinos!, Nottingham alt-country band Divorce and North Wales psychedelic act Pys Melyn. Box office for July 10 and 11: futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events.
If I Knew The Way, I Would Take You Home, by Matt Sewell
In Focus: Birds of the week: Matt Sewell exhibition for RARE Collective at WET, Micklegate, York,until mid-July
SHROPSHIRE artist, illustrator and author Matt Sewelll is the latest street art luminary to be showcased in RARE Collective’s collaboration with WET wine bar, in Micklegate, York, in aid of SASH (Safe and Sound Homes), the York youth homelessness charity.
“We’re really chuffed to have Matt return to York with his fabulous Riso prints,” says RARE Collective exhibition organiser Sharon McDonagh. “If you came to the Vandalfest charity street art show last year, you would have seen his cracking bird mural on Floor 3 of the big disused office block in Low Ousegate.
Artist Matt Sewell at work
Sewell is an avid ornithologist, contributing regularly to the Caught By The River website and publishing the books Our Garden Birds, Our Songbirds, Our Woodland Birds, Owls, Penguins and A Charm Of Goldfinches And Other Collective Nouns.
He has illustrated for the Guardian, Barbour, V&A Museums, BBC, National Trust, Greenpeace, Big Issue and Levi’s and painted walls for Helly Hansen, Puma and the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). He has exhibited in Great Britain, New York, old York, Tokyo and Paris.
Cuckoo Cuckoo Cuckoo, by Matt Sewell
Under RARE Collective’s partnership with WET, artists and photographers exhibit their work in a six-week solo show. As well as at WET, work can be bought online both during and after the exhibition run at rarecollective.co.uk.
In addition, a selection of Sewell’s prints is featuring in RARE Collective’s exhibition for AcombFest at The Crooked Tap, on show until August 15 in support of SASH.
Matt Sewell’s wall of bird prints for sale at WET
Exhibiting too are: spAm (Sharon McDonagh), Sola, Alison Jagger, Al Murphy, Anthony Appleyard, Boxxhead, HazardOne, Lady Mkei, Lincoln Lightfoot, Liskbot, Michael Dawson, Nicolas Dixon, Slice Of Lino, STATIC and Stephen Bottrill.
“RARE are working in collaboration with the Art of Protest Project, after being invited by AcombFest curator Jeff Clark and the AOP team to curate the live PaintJam at the Carlton Tavern, in Acomb Road, Holgate, today and tomorrow,” says RARE Collective curator Sharon McDonagh.
“This will involve nine artists painting live from 10am to 4pm each day (Boxxhead, HazardOne, Lady Mkei, Lincoln Lightfoot, Liskbot, Nicolas Dixon, Sola, spAm and VYZ); live DJ sets by Alilou, Bob Yenz, Conor Rogan, Free Da Karlos and Sola plus guests, audiovisual artists Fred DWolf, Sonas and JohnManBand on a huge screen, cocktails and mixology by Tulum Spirits Collective and street food by El Chappo, all in support of SASH.”
Did you know?
MATT Sewell is also a musician, performing as Sewell &The Gong with Chris Tate and as the deep-cut compiler of the compilation series A Crushing Glow.
Matt Sewell’s work environment
In Focus too: Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance, 30th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, July 6 to 8, 7.45pm
THE 30th anniversary tour of Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance promises a grand celebration of the revolutionary Irish dance production’s legacy after captivating more than 60 million fans in 60 countries since its 1996 debut.
The 30 Years of Standing Ovations tour will feature “brand-new choreography, stunning costumes, state-of-the-art special effects and cutting-edge lighting, ensuring that the production continues to push boundaries and deliver an unforgettable experience”.
Creative manager James Keegan says: “Michael Flatley has taught me that there are no boundaries in the creative space. When he burst onto the scene in the mid-90s, he took traditional Irish dancing to a place nobody had ever dreamed of, and that has been the key to the show’s success.
“Michael often says in rehearsals that we need to push the boundaries as much as we can, and if it’s too far or doesn’t work, we can always pull it back. That mindset is what keeps Lord Of The Dance evolving.”
Lord Of The Dance on its 30th anniversary tour. Picture: Brian Doherty
Keegan believes that the core elements of Flatley’s visionary production – choreography, music and storytelling – remain timeless while still evolving. “What made Lord Of The Dance famous 30 years ago is still what makes it work today: 40 of the greatest Irish tap dancers in the world performing in one line in perfect sync. It’s a spectacle that never loses its magic,” he says.
Reflecting on Flatley’s impact, Keegan says: “Professional Irish dancing didn’t really exist until Michael created his shows and added a more entertaining twist to the art form.
“He wasn’t just a dancer; he was a highly tuned athlete who could perform at astonishing levels for a full two-hour show, seven days a week. Today, we see young competitive dancers around the world striving to reach the levels he set.”
But beyond the footwork and the spectacle, Keegan reckons Flatley’s greatest legacy is his ability to inspire. “Michael’s motto has always been, ‘Nothing is impossible.’ He took an already intricate dance form and pushed it even further, breaking records like 38 taps per second and incorporating upper body movements that defied tradition,” he says.
Michael Flatley
“I’ve seen it time and time again: a dancer who never thought they could be a lead receives Michael’s encouragement, and before long, they are fulfilling their dream on stage.”
For Keegan, one moment stands out above the rest. “In 1997, I was a ten-year-old competitive Irish dancer in Manchester, struggling with the name-callers and the challenges of being a young male dancer,” he says.
“Then Lord Of The Dance came to town. Watching Michael and the cast that night at the Apollo Theatre changed everything for me. The masculinity, the precision, the energy, it was like nothing I’d ever seen before.
“I met Michael at the stage door, and suddenly, I knew that being an Irish dancer could mean being a superstar. Nineteen years later, I had the honour of sharing his final show with him at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, in 2016. It was a full-circle moment I will never forget.”
Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance dancers
As Lord Of The Dance embark on its 30th anniversary tour, Flatley reflects on the journey. “The magic of Lord Of The Dance lives on in the hearts of our audience, and I am thrilled to bring this iconic show back to the UK in 2026,” he says.
“30 Years of Standing Ovations celebrates the incredible journey we’ve shared with fans over the years. It’s a tribute to the enduring power of dreams, the joy of dance and the unwavering support of our audience. This tour is our way of saying thank you for three decades of unforgettable memories.”
Although Flatley, now 67, retired from performing during his final tour in 2016, he has remained at the helm of Lord Of The Dance, guiding its evolution while preserving its timeless magic.
Now, as the production prepares for its biggest celebration yet, fans can look forward to a breathtaking spectacle that honours the past, embraces the present, and inspires the future of Irish dance.
Stephen Smith’s Claude Monet in A Montage Of Monet. Picture: Amie Barton-Young
AFTER last summer’s sold-out Edinburgh Fringe run, Stephen Smith’s solo show A Montage Of Monet plays York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, on July 8 at 7.30pm and July 11 at 3pm.
Joan Greening’s 55-minute play invites audiences to step beyond Claude Monet’s Impressionist paintings and meet the complicated, passionate and often deeply flawed man behind them.
A Montage Of Monet explores the extraordinary life of Normandy-born Monet, from his turbulent love affairs and artistic rivalries to personal tragedy, financial hardship and the failing eyesight that threatened to end his career.
“While millions recognise his iconic water lilies, few know the remarkable story behind the artist himself,” says actor and Threedumb Theatre artistic director Stephen Smith, whose production holds a special connection with York.
Actor Stephen Smith stands by Claude Monet’s The Water-Lily Pond on his visit to York Art Gallery in 2024
“While preparing for the original Edinburgh production, I made a pilgrimage to York Art Gallery to see The Water-Lily Pond during the gallery’s hugely successful National Treasures: Monet in York exhibition in 2024.
“Standing in front of one of his most famous paintings while developing the role was an unforgettable experience, and it’s incredibly special to now be bringing the show back to the city.”
Smith’s production combines live performance with carefully curated projections of Monet’s paintings and those of his contemporaries, allowing audiences with little or no prior knowledge of Impressionism to immerse themselves fully in the story.
Writer Joan Greening, whose work has been performed across the UK and internationally, created A Montage of Monet specifically with Stephen Smith in mind after she saw him perform at the Edinburgh Fringe.
In the frame: Stephen Smith in A Montage Of Monet. Picture:Picture: Amie Barton-Young
“I immediately thought this brilliant young actor could play Monet,” she says. “It has been an enormous pleasure working with Stephen, who is a dynamic performer with original and clever ideas.”
Produced by four-time OFFIE Award-winning company Threedumb Theatre, A Montage Of Monet continues the London-based company’s reputation for creating bold, imaginative solo theatre that tours nationally and internationally.
Stephen Smith in A Montage Of Monet, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, July 8, 7.30pm and July 11, 3pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: 12+.
Stephen Smith’s other Fringe shows of the week: One Man Poe at Ripon Theatre Festival, July 10, 8pm, and York Medical Society, July 11, 7.30pm
Stephen Smith in The Tell-Tale Heart in One Man Poe at Ripon Theatre Festival. Picture: Shay Rowan
THREEDUMB Theatre actor and artistic director Stephen Smith brings his gothic horror phenomenon One Man Poe to North Yorkshire for a special Ripon Theatre Festival performance on July 10 and the world premiere of an entirely new Poe double-bill in York the next night.
One Man Poe had sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2024 and 2025, winning both the Derek Award for Best Overall Show and the Spookies Award for Best Horror Solo Show.
London-based Smith now returns north with two distinct One Man Poe productions. Ripon’s audience will have the chance to experience the original One Man Poe, featuring Edgar Allan Poe classics The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and The Pendulum, The Black Cat and The Raven, while July 11’s York audience exclusively will receive the first ever public performance of The Business Man and The Case of M. Valdemar.
Anyone heading for Edinburgh this summer can catch all six stories, presented as three different shows, when Smith returns for another Fringe run.
The Ripon Theatre Festival performance presents the four-story gothic anthology that has toured internationally to Europe, Dubai, Malaysia, New York, Baltimore and beyond, earning acclaim for Smith’s virtuosic solo storytelling and atmospheric theatrical style.
Stephen Smith as The Mesmerist in The Case Of M. Valdemar, from One Man Poe, pictured at St Cuthbert’s Kirkyard graveyard in Edinburgh. Picture: Colin Hattersley Photography
Meanwhile, York becomes the first city in the world to see Smith’s newest Poe adaptations before they transfer to the Edinburgh Fringe later this summer for a 42-show run.
The Business Man concerns a corrupt, bullying American businessman who builds his fortune through ruthless scams and opportunism before deciding the time is right to enter politics.
The Case of M. Valdemar explores one of Poe’s most disturbing concepts: a mesmerist attempting to hypnotise a dying man at the precise moment of death itself.
Smith, who has committed more than 18,000 words of Poe to memory, says: “Every year I deepen the work, and these new stories allow us to explore Poe’s wicked humour and his darkest fascination with mortality. The horror in Poe is never simply monsters – it’s human nature.”
Stephen Smith in One Man Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and The Pendulum, The Black Cat and The Raven, Ripon Theatre Festival, Ripon Arts Hub, Allhallowgate, Ripon, July 10, 8pm. Tickets: https://www.ripontheatrefestival.org/event/one-man-poe/.Age guidance: 12 plus.
Stephen Smith as The Politician / Businessman, pictured on the Royal Mile, Edinburgh. Picture: Colin Hattersley
Both shows contain distressing or potentially triggering themes.
For details of One Man Poe at The Fringe see https://www.edfringe.com
Stephen Smith and One Man Poe: back story
A HUGE fan of the late Roger Corman/Vincent Price’s Edgar Allan Poe-cycle when a child, Stephen Smith reignited his love of classical horror stories during the pandemic by creating online renditions of Poe’s work via Facebook Live.
When the theatres reopened, he combined four of Poe’s most popular pieces in a solo show and named the extravaganza One Man Poe. First performed in 2021 at Watford Palace Theatre, the show has had multiple runs in London and on tour in the UK.
Poe is sometimes referred to as “America’s Shakespeare” and Stephen is thrilled to share the stories to UK theatre audiences. However, the show has toured internationally to Dubai, Malaysia, Off-Broadway in New York and the International Poe Festival in Baltimore, Maryland.
Stephen has had the pleasure of performing the show at the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, Poe’s cottage in the Bronx, New York, and even a special VIP catacomb performance at Poe’s burial site in Baltimore.
James Swanton: Returning to York Medical Society with his Dickensian ghost stories
FROM Dickensian ghost stories and Gothic tales to mischievous mice and a festive talent showcase, ’tis the season to be out and about, reports Charles Hutchinson.
Storyteller of the week: James Swanton presents Charles Dickens’ Ghost Stories, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, until Sunday
YORK storyteller supreme and Gothic actor James Swanton returns to York Medical Society with two of Dickens’ seasonal ghost stories: The Haunted Man, a neglected Gothic classic (November 27, 7pm) and A Christmas Carol, Scrooge’s saga (November 28, 7pm, and November 30, 2pm and 6pm).
“Their words unlock a world teeming with chain-rattling spectres, with dark and shadowy doubles, with Ghosts of Christmases Past and Present and Yet To Come,” he says. “These tales chill the marrow and tickle the funny bone, but always they enchant, as only the works of a master storyteller can.” Box office for returns only: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Steve Tearle: Directing NE Theatre York in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Musical of the week: NE Theatre York in Roald Dahl’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tonight to Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
DIRECTED by Steve Tearle, this musical will take you to a world of pure imagination in Roald Dahl’s devilishly delicious tale of young golden ticket winner Charlie Bucket entering the scrumptious chocolate factory. There, he and his grandpa Joe, along with five more children, will meet the mysterious confectionary wizard Willy Wonka for an adventure like no other.
“The story of chocolate is at the very heart and history of this amazing city and it is only fitting that NE Theatre York brings Charlie And The Chocolate Factory to York,” says Tearle. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Rebecca Vaughan: Telling haunting tales of the festive season at Theatre@41
Frailties of human nature of the week: Dafyd Productions in Christmas Gothic, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Thursday, 7.30pm
REGULAR York frequenters Dafyd Productions return with Christmas Gothic, an invitation to enter into the Christmas spirit as spectral woman (Rebecca Vaughan) tells haunting tales of the festive season, lighting a candle to the frailties of human nature and illuminating the chilling depths of bleak wintry darkness. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Tucking into the cheese at A Christmas Mousequerade at Fairfax House
Mischievous mice takeover of the week: A Christmas Mousequerade at Fairfax House, Castlegate, York, until January 4 2026
FAIRFAX House’s much-loved Christmas display returns for 2025 with a new theme of A Christmas Mousequerade, combining more mice than ever before in the “ultimate 18th century house party”.
A multitude of mice is dressed in hand-crafted and exquisitely miniature Georgian finery, custom made by Fairfax House volunteers, as you step into the glittering world of Georgian York and join the Fairfax family’s preparations for the most spectacular ball of the season. Tickets: https://fairfaxhouse.co.uk/event/christmas-at-fairfax-house/.
Poetry gig of the week: Stairwell Books presents Poetry For All, National Centre for Early Music, York, Friday, 7.30pm
THIS annual event is designed to remove as many barriers as possible from enjoying live poetry events. All poems are projected on a screen, and BSL (British Sign Language) interpreted by Dave Wycherley and Vicci Ackroyd in a venue with fab acoustics and level access throughout.
Headliners Dominic Berry and Pete Kalu will be supported by five York poets, co-hosted by Fay Roberts and Rose Drew. Service dogs are welcome; entry for carers is free. VI tarot card reader Gillian Avart will read your potential future. Look out for special guests too. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Kevin Daniel: Relatable storytelling at Milton Rooms, Malton. Picture: Steve Best
Ryedale comedy gig of the week: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club, Kevin Daniel, Paul Tonkinson and Stephanie Laing, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm
KEVIN Daniel combines a commanding stage presence with relatable storytelling and jokes aplenty. Paul Tonkinson, Yorkshireman, marathon runner and two-time Time Out Comedian of the Year, is noted for his effervescent physicality and skilful impressions, bringing alive exuberant, tender comic reflections of love, family and the day-to-day idiosyncrasies of 21st century living.
“Goofy and peculiar” host Stephanie Laing, an Edinburgh Fringe regular since 2010, fuses silliness, filth and unusual observations, underpinned by a disarming honesty and charming vulnerability. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
The Catenary Wires team up with poet Brian Bilston at Pocklington Arts Centre
Poetry-and-song union of the week: Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 8pm
POET Brian Bilston started out by sharing his brief, direct, and witty poems online and now has more than half a million followers on social media. The Catenary Wires comprise Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey and Ian Button, who also play as Heavenly, whose T-shirt Bilston was spotted wearing at one of his gigs.
Word reached Fletcher and Pursey, introductions were made, friendships were formed, and the Sounds Made By Humans album took shape: a collection of songs, where words and music have become intertwined. Friday’s first half features a solo spoken-word set by Bilston and a music set by The Catenary Wires; in the second, they unite to perform tracks from the album. Box office: 01759 301 5 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Poet Brian Bilston
Talent showcase of the week:HAC Studio Bar Festive Open Mic, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
HELMSLEY Arts Centre plays host to a cosy evening for creatives to share their talents in the relaxed and friendly environment of the Studio Bar. Mulled wine and mince pies are on the menu and festive tunes will be the order of the day.
This Open Mic is a comfortable space for both seasoned performers and those taking the stage for the first time, as well as anyone who wants to enjoy a drink from the bar and be entertained by Ryedale talent. No need to book to listen or perform, just turn up.
Jake Lambert: The Sunshine Kid with bright ideas at Pocklington Arts Centre
Debut tour of the week: Jake Lambert, The Sunshine Kid, Pocklington Arts Centre, Saturday, 8pm
RAPIDLY rising stand-up comic Jake Lambert has chalked up more than 500 million views of his online videos featuring his gag-filled storytelling. Having supported Michael McIntyre on his worldwide tour, he is undertaking his inaugural international tour with his show The Sunshine Kid, selling out across the UK, Europe and Australia. Box office: 01759 301 5 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Thornton Le Dale Ukuleles: Christmas concert at Kirk Theatre
Christmas Singalong of the week: Thornton Le Dale Ukuleles and Scoble and Friends, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, December 4, 7.30pm
THORNTON Le Dale Ukuleles’ Christmas Singalong is divided into two parts, kicking off with Scoble and Friends, a small group of talented singers and musicians.
Thornton Le Dale Ukuleles, the brainchild of leader John Scoble, will fill the stage with 40 players. Scoble provides tuition free of charge, while singer-songwriter David Swann gives lessons too. The group performs all genres of music, but virtually no George Formby, playing the melody as well as strumming and complementing ukuleles with other instruments. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road at Christmas at Castle Howard: The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz
FROM The Wizard Of Oz wonderland at Castle Howard to daytime dancing at York Barbican, Gothic tales to Dickensian ghost stories, ’tis the season to be out and about, reports Charles Hutchinson.
Christmas transformation of the week: The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, Castle Howard, near York, until January 4 2026
CASTLE Howard becomes an immersive Christmas experience, dressed in set pieces, decorations, floristry, projections, lighting and sound for The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, set to delight tens of thousands of visitors over seven weeks.
Created by CLW Event Design, headed up by Charlotte Lloyd Webber and Adrian Lillie, the show-stopping Emerald City High Street in the Long Gallery is the highlight of this winter’s transformation, with life-size fabricated shop fronts inspired by York’s Shambles, while the 28ft Christmas tree sparkles in the Great Hall. Leeds theatre company Imitating The Dog has provided the projections and soundscapes. Tickets: castlehoward.co.uk.
Day Fever co-founders Jonny Owen and Vicky McClure: Bringing the fun of daytime dancing to York Barbican on Saturday
Dance party of the week: Day Fever, York Barbican, Saturday, 3pm to 8pm
LAUNCHED in early 2024 by Trigger Point actress Vicky McClure, filmmaker and broadcaster Jonny Owen, Reverend & The Makers frontman Jon McClure (no relation), brother Chris McClure and Sheffield businessman James O’Hara, Day Fever has fast become a cultural sensation, built on people craving a space to let loose, laugh and dance, all before 8pm.
“It feels like a massive house party at your nan’s,” says Vicky. “No drama, no egos, just people acting daft, getting dressed up and having the best time.” No dress code, no pressure, only wall-to-wall feel-good tunes and an open invitation to dance like nobody’s watching. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The Primitives: Playing The Crescent tonight
Indie gig of the week: The Primitives, The Crescent, York, Saturday, 7.30pm
COVENTRY band The Primitives emerged from the UK independent music scene in 1984 with a sound that distilled the shimmering guitar chime of The Byrds, the buzzsaw style of The Ramones and Sixties’ girl group melodies into quickfire pop gems. After debut album Lovely, breakthrough single Crash and further albums Pure and Galore, they split in 1992, only to re-form in 2009.
This year, Elefant Records released the double vinyl collection Let’s Go Round Again – Second Wave Singles & Rarities 2011-2025, adding new material to A sides, B sides and more besides from the past 14 years. Tonight they head to York with a line-up featuring original members Tracy Tracy, vocals, Paul Court guitar/vocals, and Tig Williams, drums. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Musical of the week: NE Theatre York in Roald Dahl’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Saturday and Sunday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm; November 25 to 28, 7.30pm; November 29, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
DIRECTED by Steve Tearle, this musical will take you to a world of pure imagination in Roald Dahl’s devilishly delicious tale of young golden ticket winner Charlie Bucket entering the scrumptious chocolate factory. There, he and his grandpa Joe, along with five more children, will meet the mysterious confectionary wizard Willy Wonka for an adventure like no other.
“The story of chocolate is at the very heart and history of this amazing city and it is only fitting that NE Theatre York brings Charlie And The Chocolate Factory to York,” says Steve. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Mohammed Moussa: Headlining Say Owt’s bill on Sunday at The Crescent
Poetry gig of the week: Say Owt presents Mohammed Moussa, The Crescent, York, Sunday, midday
YORK spoken-word collective Say Owt welcomes Gaza Poets Society founder, Palestinian poet and podcaster Mohammad Moussa to The Crescent. Now living in Turkey, he writes with urgency, humour and hope, seeking to build connections across borders.
Supporting Mohammed on Sunday’s bill of shared personal stories will be York-based poets Nadira Alom and Minal Sukumar. Nadira writes about mental health and her experiences as a woman and a Muslim; Minal is a writer, performance poet and doctoral researcher at the Centre for Women’s Studies, University of York. Box office: thcrescentyork.com.
James Swanton: Returning to York Medical Society with a brace of Charles Dickens’ ghost stories
Storyteller of the week: James Swanton presents Charles Dickens’ Ghost Stories, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, November 24 to 30,Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 7pm; Sunday, 2pm and 6pm
YORK storyteller supreme and Gothic actor James Swanton returns to York Medical Society with two of Dickens’ seasonal ghost stories: A Christmas Carol, the famous saga of Scrooge (November 25 and 28, 7pm, and November 30, 2pm and 6pm), and The Haunted Man, a neglected Gothic classic (November 24 and 27, 7pm).
“Their words unlock a world teeming with chain-rattling spectres, with dark and shadowy doubles, with Ghosts of Christmases Past and Present and Yet To Come,” he says. “These tales chill the marrow and tickle the funny bone, but always they enchant, as only the works of a master storyteller can.” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Meanwhile, Robert Lloyd Parry’s performance of three M R James ghost stories, Not Truly Dead, at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, on November 23 (7.30pm) has sold out.
O’Hooley & Tidow: Playing NCEM
Folk gig of the week: O’Hooley & Tidow, So Long For Now, National Centre for Early Music, York, November 26, 7.30pm
AFTER 15 years of performing together, eight studio albums, four BBC Folk Award nominations, composing Gentleman Jack as the BBC/HBO drama theme tune and gigs at hundreds of UK and European venues and festivals, Yorkshire folk duo Belinda O’Hooley & Heidi Tidow have made the momentous decision to say farewell for now to explore other adventures.
To help their loving and loyal audiences process this news, they are embarking on one last tour of all their favourite venues from over the years, taking in the NCEM next Wednesday. Tickets update: Sold out. For returns only, ring 01904 658338.
Ross Noble: Geordie surrealist tapping into his Cranium Of Curiosities at the Grand Opera House, York
Comedy gig of the week: Ross Noble, Cranium Of Curiosities, Grand Opera House, York, November 26, 8pm
THE Wizard of Waffle, the Rambler Royale, the Noodlers’ Noodler is touring a tornado of tangents. “What the show will be about is anybody’s guess, but that’s all part of the fun when you look inside my Cranium of Curiosities,” says Newcastle-upon-Tyne stand-up comedian and actor Ross Noble, who cut his comedy teeth in York as the bygone Comedy Shack’s master of ceremonies at The Bonding Warehouse. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Rebecca Vaughan: Telling haunting tales of the festive season in Dafyd Productions’ Christmas Gothic at Theatre@41, Monkgate
Frailties of human nature of the week: Dafyd Productions in Christmas Gothic, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, November 27, 7.30pm
REGULAR York frequenters Dafyd Productions return with Christmas Gothic, an invitation to come in from the cold and enter into the Christmas spirit as a dark and spectral woman (Rebecca Vaughan) tells haunting tales of the festive season, lighting a candle to the frailties of human nature and illuminating the chilling depths of the bleak, wintry dark. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 49, from Gazette & Herald, 19/11/2025 onwards
Adrian Lillie and Charlotte Lloyd Webber, of CWL Design, standing by the 28ftChristmas tree in the Great Hall at Castle Howard, where their Wonderful Wizard Of Oz immersive experience enchants until January 4. Picture: Tom Arber
SNOW storms with clowns, Castle Howard’s immersive Wonderful Wizard Of Oz and Count Arthur Strong and Adam Z Robinson’s solo takes on A Christmas Carol put the ‘yes’ into November for Charles Hutchinson.
Christmas transformation of the week: The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, Castle Howard, near York, until January 4
CASTLE Howard becomes an immersive Christmas experience, dressed in set pieces, decorations, floristry, projections, lighting and sound for The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, set to delight tens of thousands of visitors over a seven-week period.
Created by CLW Event Design, headed up by Charlotte Lloyd Webber and Adrian Lillie, the show-stopping Emerald City High Street in the Long Gallery is a highlight of this winter’s transformation, with life-size fabricated shop fronts inspired by York’s Shambles, while the 28ft Christmas tree sparkles in the Great Hall. Leeds theatre company Imitating The Dog has provided the projections and soundscapes. Tickets: castlehoward.co.uk.
Slava’s SnowShow: Arrival in York coincides with forecasts of snow across the North
Weather forecast of the week: Slava’s SnowShow, Grand Opera House, York, 7.30pm, today to Saturday; 2.30pm, tomorrow and Saturday; Sunday, 2pm and 6pm
ENTER an absurd and surrealistic world of “fools on the loose” in Slava Polunin’s work of clown art, wherein each scene paints a picture: an unlikely shark swimming in a misty sea; clowns and the audience tangled up in a gigantic spider’s web; heart-breaking goodbyes with a coat rack on a railway platform, and audience members being hypnotised by giant balloons. The finale is an “out-of-this-world snowstorm”. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Kerry Godliman: Welcome to the life of a middle-aged woman who has outsourced her memory to her phone in Bandwidth. Picture: Aemen Sukka, of Jiksaw
Straight-talker of the week: Kerry Godliman: Bandwidth, York Theatre Royal, tonight, 7.30pm
WHILE parenting teenagers, bogged down with knicker admin and considering dealing HRT on the black market, Kerry Godliman can’t remember what was in her lost mum bag after outsourcing her memory to her phone. Welcome to the life of a middle-aged woman who lacks the bandwidth for any of this.
Godliman, comedian, actor, writer, podcaster and broadcaster, from Afterlife, Taskmaster and Trigger Point, builds her new stand-up show on straight-talking charm and quick wit. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
York artist Lesley Birch at work in her studio for her Flower Power exhibition at Pyramid Gallery, York. Picture: Esme Mai Photography
Blooms of the week: Lesley Birch: Flower Power and Jacqui Atkin: Ceramics, Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, until mid-January 2026, Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm
LESLEY Birch is showing 22 paintings from her Flower Power series in an exhibition that coincides with the publication of her small artbook of the same title by independent York publisher Overt Books, also featuring Esme Mai’s photographs of Lesley’s home studio and the York artist’s free-verse musings. On show too are Pottery Showdown potter Jacqui Atkin’s ceramics.
Dickens of a good show: Count Arthur Strong Is Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol, York Barbican, tomorrow, 8pm; Whitby Pavilion Theatre, November 23, 7.30pm; Scarborough Spa Theatre, November 27, 8pm
IN response to public pressure, doyen of light entertainment and raconteur Count Arthur Strong is extending his fond farewell with new dates aplenty for his one-man interpretation of A Christmas Carol, performing his own festive adaptation in the guise of literary great and travelling showman performer Charles Dickens. Box office: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Whitby, whitbypavilion.co.uk; Scarborough, scarboroughspa.co.uk.
Gerard Hobson: Cut out for three days of Christmas art
Christmas exhibition of the week: Gerard Hobson, 51, Water Lane, Clifton, York, Friday and Saturday, 10am to 4pm; Sunday, 12 noon to 4pm
YORK printmaker Geard Hobson’s artwork comprises hand-coloured, limited-edition linocut prints and cut-outs focused on nature and wildlife, inspired by the countryside around where he lives in York.
As well as prints and bird, animal, tree and mushroom cut-outs, he creates anything from cards, mugs, cushions and coasters to chopping boards, lampshades, tea towels, notepads and wrapping paper. This week’s festive exhibition focuses on Christmas gifts, cards, prints and cut-outs.
Mexborough poet Ian Parks holding a copy of his new book The Sons Of Darkness And The Sons Of Light. The Basement at City Screen Picturehouse awaits on Friday
Word-and-song gathering of the week: Navigators Art presents An Evening with Ian Parks and Friends, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, Friday, 7.30pm
YORK arts collective Navigators Art plays host to An Evening with Ian Parks and Friends, where Parks reads from his new collection, The Sons Of Darkness And The Sons Of Light, and will be in conversation with Crooked Spire Press publisher Tim Fellows.
Joining Parks will be award-winning York novelist and poet Janet Dean, poet and critic Matthew Paul and singer-songwriter Jane Stockdale, from York alt-folk trio White Sail. Tickets: £5 in advance at bit.ly/nav-events or £8 on the door from 7pm.
Rant: Scottish quartet of fiddle players heads for Helmsley Arts Centre
Fiddlers of the week: Rant, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
SCOTTISH chamber-folk fiddlers Rant return to the road after releasing third album Spin last year, featuring their ambitious, bold and reflective reinterpretation of influential tracks by bands and players from across the globe from their formative years.
In the line-up are Bethany Reid, from Shetland, Anna Massie and Lauren MacColl from the Highland peninsula of the Black Isle, and Gillian Frame, from Arran, whose live set reflects years of honing their sound together and their love for the music of each home region through their writing, repertoire and stories. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Adam Z Robinson: Playing Scrooge and 27 more characters in A Christmas Carol at Helmsley Arts Centre
Ryedale solo show of the week:The Book of Darkness & Light Theatre Company in A Christmas Carol, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
MARLEY was dead.. to begin with. So starts The Book of Darkness & Light Theatre Company’s ghostly staging of Charles Dickens’s festive tale, performed by Adam Z Robinson, whose solo adaptation “teases out the gothic aspects” and requires him to play 28 characters.
Join miserly misery Ebenezer Scrooge on a supernatural journey into the past, present and yet-to-come. The chilly atmosphere of Victorian London is brought to life and the spirits of Christmas return from the dead, all through the spellbinding art of storytelling that combines gripping narration with eerie recorded voices and an immersive soundscape. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Becky, left, and Rachel Unthank: Playing All Saints Church, Pocklington, this weekend
Recommended but sold out already: The Unthanks At 20, All Saints Church, Pocklington, Saturday, 7.30pm
POCKLINGTON’S Hurricane Promotions bring North Eastern folk band The Unthanks to All Saints Church as part of their 20th anniversary scaled-back, intimate series of shows in support of “today’s best small venues”.
The Unthanks play Pocklington fresh from singing sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank and pianist Adrian McNally being part of the cast of eight for the October 22 to November 2 theatre piece for Bradford UK City of Culture 2025, creating and performing the music for Javaad Alipoor’s staging of York author Fiona Mozley’s Booker Prize-shortlisted novel, Elmet.
The show poster for The Sounds Of Simon at the Kirk Theatre, Pickering
Tribute show of the week: The Sounds Of Simon, The Music of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, Old Friends, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Saturday, 7.30pm
THE Sounds Of Simon, the UK’s longest-running tribute to Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, takes a musical journey from their years as Simon and Garfunkel to the successes of their solo careers, as they explore the friendship that led to songs such as Mrs Robinson, The Sound Of Silence and Bridge Over Troubled Water, onwards to You Can Call Me Al, Graceland and Garfunkel’s Bright Eyes.
The show incorporates elements of the duo’s famously fractious relationship, as well as replicating their beautiful harmonies, complemented by video clips, stories and memories from more than 50 years. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Anna Soden: No bum deal, bum steer or bum’s rush, for that would be a bummer at tonight’s hour of comedy, It Comes Out You Bum, at The Old Paint Shop
FROM royal history re-told to Dickens’ ghost stories, magical monsters to banjo brilliance, Charles Hutchinson delights in October’s diversity.
Homecoming of the week: Anna Soden, It Comes Out Your Bum, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 8pm
NOW based in Brighton but very much shaped in York, comedian, actor, writer, TikTok sensation and award-nominated Theatre Royal pantomime cow in Jack And The Beanstalk, Anna Soden delivers her debut hour of madcap comedy, full of brainwaves, songs, revenge and talking out your ass. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Robin Simpson: Monster storyteller and York Theatre Royal pantomime dame, performing at Rise@Bluebird Bakery
Spooky entertainment of the week: Robin Simpson’s Magic, Monsters And Mayhem!, Rise at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, Sunday, doors 4pm
YORK Theatre Royal pantomime dame Robin Simpson – soon to give his Nurse Nellie in Sleeping Beauty this winter – celebrates witches, wizards, ghosts and goblins in his storytelling show.
“The audience is in charge in this interactive performance, ideal for fans of spooky stories and silly songs,” says Robin. “The show is perfect for Years 5 and upwards, but smaller siblings and their grown-ups are very welcome too.” Tickets: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.
Out for revenge: Henry VIII’s wives turn the tables in SIX The Musical, returning to the Grand Opera House, York, from Tuesday. Picture: Pamela Raith
Recommended but sold-out already: SIX The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, October 14 to 18; Tuesday & Thursday, 8pm; Wednesday & Friday, 6pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 4pm and 8pm
FROM Tudor queens to pop princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing 500 years of historical heartbreak into an 80-minute celebration of 21st century girl power. Think you know the rhyme? Think again. Divorced. Beheaded. LIVE!
Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow’s hit show is making its third visit to York, but it’s third time unlucky if you haven’t booked yet. Like Anne Boleyn’s head, every seat has gone.
Eddi Reader: Performing with her full band at The Citadel
Seven-year itch of the week: Hurricane Promotions presents Eddi Reader, The Citadel, York City Church, Gillygate, York, October 15, 7.30pm
EDDI Reader, the Glasgow-born singer who fronted Fairground Attraction, topping the charts with Perfect, also has ten solo albums, three BRIT awards and an MBE for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts to her name.
Straddling differing musical styles and making them her own, from the traditional to the contemporary, and interpreting the songs of Robert Burns to boot, she brings romanticism to her joyful performances, this time with her full band in her first show in York for seven years. Eilidh Patterson supports. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk.
Damien O’Kane and Ron Block: Banjovial partnership at the NCEM
Banjo at the double: Damien O’Kane and Ron Block Band, The Banjovial Tour, National Centre for Early Music, York, October 15, 7.30pm
GROUNDBREAKING banjo players Damien O’Kane and Ron Block follow up their Banjophony and Banjophonics albums with this month’s Banjovial and an accompanying tour.
O’Kane, renowned for his work with Barnsley songstress Kate Rusby, is a maestro of Irish traditional music, here expressed on his Irish tenor banjo; Block, a key component of Alison Krauss & Union Station, infuses his signature five-string bluegrass banjo with soulful depth and rhythmic innovation. Together, their styles intertwine in an exhilarating dance of technical mastery. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Francis Rossi: Solo show of song and chat at York Barbican. Picture: Jodiphotography
Hits and titbits aplenty: An Evening of Francis Rossi’s Songs from the Status Quo Songbook and More, York Barbican, October 16, 7.30pm
IN his one-man show, Status Quo frontman Francis Rossi performs signature Quo hits, plus personal favourites and deeper cuts, while telling first-hand backstage tales of appearing more than 100 times on Top Of The Pops, why they went on first at Live Aid, life with Rick Parfitt, notching 57 hits, fellow stars and misadventures across the world. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
James Swanton: Halloween beckons, so here comes his double bill of Dickens’ ghost stories at York Medical Society. Picture: Jtu Photography
Ghost stories of the week: James Swanton presents The Signal-Man, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, October 16, 17, 20 to 23, 7pm; October 27 and 28, 5.30pm and 7.30pm
A RED light. A black tunnel. A waving figure. A warning beyond understanding. Here comes the fear that someone, that something, is drawing closer. Gothic York storyteller James Swanton returns to York Medical Society with The Signal-Man, “one of the most powerful ghost stories of all time and certainly the most frightening ever written by Charles Dickens”.
Swanton pairs it with The Trial For Murder, wherein Dickens treats the supernatural with just as much terrifying gravity. Tickets update: all ten performances bar October 21 have sold out. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Natnael Dawitin in Shobana Jeyasingh Dance’s We Caliban, on tour at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Foteini Christofilopoulou
Dance show of the week: Shobana Jeyasingh Dance in We Caliban, York Theatre Royal, October 17, 7.30pm (with post-show discussion) and October 18, 2pm and 7.30pm
SHOBANA Jeyasingh turns her sharp creative eye to Shakespeare’s final play The Tempest in a new co-production with Sadler’s Wells. A tale of power lost and regained, the play is the starting point for Jeyasingh’s dramatic and contemporary reckoning, We Caliban.
Written as Europe was taking its first step towards colonialism, The Tempest is Prospero’s story. We Caliban is Caliban’s untold story that started and continued long after Prospero’s brief stay. Performed by eight dancers, complemented by Will Duke’s projections and Thierry Pécou’s music, this impressionistic work draws on present-day parallels and the international and intercultural discourse around colonialism, as well as Jeyasingh’s personal experiences. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
John Bramwell: Playing solo in Pocklington
As recommended by Cate Blanchett: John Bramwell, Pocklington Arts Centre, October 17, 8pm
HYDE singer, song-spinner and sage John Bramwell, leading light of Mercury Prize nominees I Am Kloot from 1999 to 2014 and screen goddess Cate Blachett’s “favourite songwriter of all time”, has been on a never-ending rolling adventure since his workings away from his cherished Mancunian band.
His sophomore solo album, February 2024’s The Light Fantastic, will be at the heart of his Pocklington one-man show. . “After both my mum and dad died, I started writing these songs to cheer myself up,” Bramwell admits with trademark candour. “The themes are taken from my dreams at the time. Wake up and take whatever impression I had from what I could remember of my dream and write that.” He promises new material and Kloot songs too. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Velma Celli: York drag diva lighting up Yorktoberfest at York Racecourse. Picture: Sophie Eleanor
Festival of the week: Yorktoberfest, Clocktower Enclosure, York Racecourse, Knavesmire, York, October 18, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm; October 24, 7pm to 11pm; October 25, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm
MAKING its debut in 2021, Yorktoberfest returns for its fifth anniversary with beer, bratwurst and all things Bavarian. Step inside the giant marquee, fill your stein at the Bavarian Bar with beer from Brew York and grab a bite from the German-inspired Dog Haus food stall.
The Bavarian Strollers oompah band will perform thigh-slapping music and drinking songs; York drag diva Velma Celli will add to the party atmosphere with powerhouse songs and saucy patter. Doors open at 6.30pm and 12.30pm. Tickets: ticketsource.co.uk/yorktoberfest.
In Focus:Charlie Higson and Jim Moir: A Very Short But Epic History Of The Monarchy, York Theatre Royal, Oct 13, 7.30pm
In the frame: Author Charlie Higson and artist Jim Moir discuss royalty and comedy at York Theatre Royal on Monday
36 kings. Five queens. Two comedy legends. Join Charlie Higson and Jim Moir (alias Vic Reeves) for the rip-roaring story of every English ruler since Harold was shot in the eye at the Battle of Hastings.
Higson has always been interested in the story of the fabled English monarchy: from the b*stardly to the benevolent,the brilliant to the brutal. “Far from being a nice, colourful pageant of men and women in funny hats waving to adoring crowds, it’s a story of regicide, fratricide, patricide, uxoricide and mariticide (you might have to look those last two up),” he says.
Launched for the coronation of his namesake King Charles III, Charlie’s podcast Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee takes a deep dive into the murky lives of our monarchs. Now, his new book of the show features illustrations by artist Jim Moir, his compadre in comedy.
On Monday, Charlie and Jim will first share stories from their comic collaborations over 30 years, including Shooting Stars, Randell And Hopkirk Deceased and The Smell Of Reeves and Mortimer. Then they will take the plunge into the storied history of this most treasured of institutions. Bloody treachery? Check. Unruly incest? Check. Short parliaments? Check. A couple of Cromwells? Check.
Their rip-roaring journey takes in the Normans, Tudors and Stuarts, not to mention the infamous Blois (how can we forget them?), tin an “utterly engrossing and grossly entertaining primer on who ruled when and why – with never-before-seen illustrations”!
A signed copy of Higson & Moir’s book Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee: An Epically Short History Of Our Kings and Queens (RRP £22) is included when purchasing Band 1 (£55) tickets, available for collection on the night. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
York ghost storyteller James Swanton: Returning to York Medical Society for a second season of The Signal-Man performances. Picture: Jtu Photography
AFTER a sell-out run last Halloween, gothic York actor James Swanton is reviving his solo production of Charles Dickens’s The Signal-Man from October 16 to 28.
A familiar face from Inside No. 9 and The First Omen, he will give ten performances of his solo show at York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, before transferring to the Charles Dickens Museum in London.
Each performance will incorporate a second Dickens’s ghost story, The Trial For Murder, and the show will run as a partner event with the York Ghost Merchants, in Shambles, whose annual Ghost Week celebrations will take over the city from October 25 to November 2.
“Last year, I was shocked when every performance of The Signal-Man sold out more than a month in advance,” says James. “I think that had a lot to do with the wild popularity of the York Ghost Merchants! I’ve therefore scheduled twice as many performances this Halloween.”
All but one performance – October 21 – has sold out already, matching the popularity of his annual performances of Dickens’s Christmas ghost stories, A Christmas Carol, The Haunted Man and The Chimes since 2018.
“The Signal-Man ranks among the most famous ghost stories of all time – subtle and mysterious, but gradually building to a devastating conclusion,” says James Swanton
Here James discusses Dickens’s storytelling prowess with CharlesHutchPress
If at first you succeed, do The Signal-Man again, but what might differ from last Halloween?
“This year, I’m relieved to have had first-hand experience of the show actually working in performance! That should make everything more collected and confident, though I hope without losing the quiet mesmeric charge. It’s a strikingly different energy to most Dickens, which is where the M. R. James comparisons come in.”
What makes York Medical Society such an ideal setting?
“I enjoy a black-box theatre space, but it’s difficult to beat the immersive feel of antique wood panelling, latticed windows and an open fireplace. The room in which I’m performing puts me in mind of the tavern in Barnaby Rudge. Perfect for relating ghostly tales!”
What form does the partnership with York Ghost Merchants take?
“It’s mainly about connection and community; the Ghost Merchants are always giving back to York. Those who are in the city for Ghost Week may stumble on my storytelling thanks to the Merchants – and in turn, my shows may tip them off to things going on elsewhere.
“I feel this is one story that works far better when spoken out loud than read in private,” says James Swanton of The Signal-Man
“We’ve been collaborating since early 2020 – pre-pandemic! – when I gave a rendition of M. R. James’s Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book at their Shambles premises. Each ticket included a tie-in yellow-eyed ghost, patterned after the demon in the story. Highly collectable now, I’d imagine.”
How does The Signal-Man differ from Dickens‘s Christmas ghost stories?
“It’s a rather darker show, ranking among the most famous ghost stories of all time – subtle and mysterious, but gradually building to a devastating conclusion.
“I’ve now performed it everywhere from Gad’s Hill – the country house at which Dickens died in 1870 – to a Category C prison. Everywhere it holds audiences riveted. I first gave The Signal-Man with the York Ghost Merchants as one of their online streams during the pandemic, so it’s fitting to be collaborating with them again.”
Without giving away the ending, what happens in The Signal-Man and why does it suit live performance?
“In short form, a wandering gentleman befriends a lonely signal-man on an isolated stretch of railway. He there hears about the signal-man’s uncanny supernatural experiences.
“I feel this is one story that works far better when spoken out loud than read in private. Simon Callow agreed with me after he recorded it as an audio drama.
“Dickens is essentially the character actor’s Shakespeare,” says James
“Even so, I’d recommend that people familiarise themselves with the text in advance. The final revelation takes some digesting, not unlike the ending of Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now. But once the core idea sinks in, it’s forever burned into the memory.”
Likewise, what happens in The Trial For Murder and why does it suit live performance?
“A city gentleman does jury service at the Old Bailey and begins to catch sight of an unsettling figure whose face is ‘the colour of impure wax’. People don’t generally know this story – it also goes by the unhelpful title ‘To Be Taken With A Grain Of Salt’ – so there’s a vital element of surprise.
“After all, a courtroom is itself a type of theatre, and this narrative’s structure is deliberate, verging on procedural, which contrasts well with the shocks.
“The Trial For Murder is less well known [than The Signal-Man] – and in my opinion, something of a neglected classic. Like The Signal-Man, it feels imbued with the spirit of M. R. James. So many of Dickens’s ghosts are family-friendly – just think of A Christmas Carol and how well it lends itself to the Muppets! None of that with these tales. Keep your children away.”
The poster for James Swanton’s double bill of ghost stories for Halloween at York Medical Society
How come you performed The Signal-Man at a Category C prison?
“This came about after an approach from A. G. Smith, who’s highly regarded as a ghostly storyteller through his touring work with Weeping Bank. The prison offered that rare thing: an audience who not only wanted but needed to be told a story.
“They were among the best I’ve ever had; certainly the most attentive. I’m sure they understood the signal-man’s feelings of entrapment in ways I can’t begin to imagine.”
What keeps drawing you back to Dickens?
“His invented people are irresistible; Dickens is essentially the character actor’s Shakespeare. That said, his narration interests me more and more with the passage of time. And there’s rather a lot of that in these two pieces! The eye-catching grotesques melt away and the storyteller takes centre stage.”
James Swanton (in the mirror) and Julia Garner in the film poster for Apartment 7A
What else is coming up for you? Any filming commitments?
“There’s the odd project in the offing, though nothing nailed down. I’ve been continuing my association with Hammer Films this month. They put me back into Christopher Lee’s Creature make-up for last week’s premiere of their restored Curse Of Frankenstein, where I was honoured to shake hands with 90-year-old cast member Melvyn Hayes. Young Frankenstein himself!
“I’ll also be guesting at Manchester’s Festival of Fantastic Films closer to Halloween. But most of the year is now blocked out with stage work, including my return to York Medical Society in the last week of November with A Christmas Carol and The Haunted Man. Tickets are now on sale.”
And finally, James, why should audiences see The Signal-Man?
“Come to The Signal-Man if you want to experience old-fashioned theatrical storytelling in the pricelessly atmospheric setting of York Medical Society. Roger Clarke, esteemed author of A Natural History Of Ghosts, has been good enough to call me ‘the best interpreter of Charles Dickens’s ghost stories alive’. I’ll be doing my chilling best to live up to that praise.”
James Swanton presents The Signal-Man, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, October 16 to 28, 7pm, except October 27 and 28 at 5.30pm and 7.30pm.Tickets are on sale too forCharles Dickens’s Ghost Stories, The Haunted Man, November 24 and 27, 7pm; A Christmas Carol, November 25 and 28, 7pm; November 30, 2pm and 6pm.Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
James Swanton in ghost story-telling mode at York Medical Society
James Swanton on York’s history of trains and ghosts and Dickens’s railway links
“YORK is as much a city of trains as ghosts. The National Railway Museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the opening of its refurbished Station Hall.
“It’s also been an interesting year for Dickens’s links with the railways. 2025 marks 160 years since the Staplehurst accident – a horrifying train crash from which Dickens was lucky to escape with his life.
“It’s this trauma that inspired him to write The Signal-Man, which might also be considered the last story that Dickens completed. All that followed were collaborative works and an unfinished novel.
“Incredibly, Dickens died on the fifth anniversary of the Staplehurst crash. Given that The Signal-Man is so much about our inability to escape our fates, that feels eerily significant.
“I was pleased when the Charles Dickens Museum commissioned me to create a show based on the incident in June. We gave it a sensational title: Killing Dickens!”
James Swanton working with Mark Gatiss. Picture: Sonchia Lopez
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JAMES Swanton often appears on film as all manner of demons and monsters. Last year, he was seen in Apartment 7A, Tarot, The First Omen and the final series of Inside No. 9.
He also has a keen interest in the history of screen horror. “Many people first encounter The Signal-Man through the 1976 Ghost Story For Christmas starring Denholm Elliott,” he says.
“In 2023, I became a part of the BBC’s modern Ghost Stories For Christmas tradition – playing the Mummy in Mark Gatiss’s Lot No. 249, chasing poor Kit Harington down those country roads at night – so I’d like to think I’m well placed to present such terrors on stage.
“Recently, I was reunited with Lot No. 249’s make-up man, the Oscar- winning Dave Elsey, to re-create Christopher Lee’s Creature from The Curse Of Frankenstein, in aid of a documentary on the new Blu-ray release. At last, I can say I’ve been employed by Hammer Films!
“I’d stop short of saying I’m now Christopher Lee’s representative on Earth, but it was certainly a singular honour.”
