Tag: York Proms

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More Things To Do in and around York. Hutch’s List No. 30, from The York Press

Tom Grennan: Performing after this afternoon’s race card on Knavesmire

VETERANS James Taylor and Tom Jones on the coast, Knavesmire’s music showcase, York Proms and Johnny and June’s country musical stand out in Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations for the week ahead.

Race day concert of the week: York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Knavesmire, Tom Grennan, today

BEDFORD singer-songwriter Tom Grennan is today’s post-racing performer, drawing on such hits as Little Bit Of Love, Let’s Go Home Together, Remind Me, Here and How Does It Feel, plus songs from his number one albums Evering Road, What Ifs & Maybes and Everywhere I Went Led Me To Where I Didn’t Want To Be and top-five debut Lighting Matches. Tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk; no booking fees; free parking on race day.

Tom Jones: Returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre tomorrow

Coastal concerts of the week: Scarborough Open Air Theatre, An Evening with James Taylor and His All-Star Band, today; Tom Jones, with Stone Foundation, tomorrow; gates open at 6pm

MASSACHUSETTS singer, songwriter and guitarist, Laurel Canyon folk luminary, six-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll and Songwriters Halls of Fame inductee James Taylor, 78, draws on six decades of songs, from his self-titled 1968 debut to 2021’s 19th studio album, American Standard, tonight.

Tom Jones, or Sir Tom Jones since 2006, to be more formal, returns to Scarborough this weekend aged 85 to perform such favourites as It’s Not Unusual, What’s New Pussycat?, Delilah, Green, Green Grass Of Home, A Boy From Nowhere, Kiss, Mama Told Me Not To Come and Sex Bomb. Joining Sir Tom will be the eight-piece soul collective Stone Foundation. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Hannah Maxwell: Fiercely hopeful exploration of human connection in the Information Age at Theatre@41, Monkgate. Picture: Christa Holka

Fringe shows of the week: Halfway To Edinburgh at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, presents Hannah Maxwell: Turn Your ****ing Phones Off (Work in Progress), today,6.30pm; Kate McCabe and Adam Perrott, The Name Of The Dame, tomorrow, 7.30pm

PERFORMED in traverse with an immersive technical design by Benji Huntrods, theatre-maker Hannah Maxwell’s Edinburgh Fringe-bound new performance artwork is a dark, absurd and fiercely hopeful exploration of human connection in the Information Age, expounding playfully on the rise of Big Tech, attention-hacking innovations and surveillance capitalism, while recounting Maxwell’s personal struggles with phone addiction and her bid for a life in analogue.

Dames, detectives, stylish hats and ‘car chases’ combine in comedians Kate McCabe and Adam Perrott’s hour-long film-noir parody. “If you like Airplane and Police Squad, the oeuvre of Mel Brooks, dicey puns and sight gags, this show is probably for you,” they say. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Totally Visible Theatre Company in a scene from Invisible, to be spotted at Friargate Theatre tonight

Bonds of friendship of the week: The Totally Visible Theatre Company in Invisible, Friargate Theatre, York, tonight, 7.30pm

FIVE women meet up on a Saturday morning, as they have done every week for years, but this time they have a plan. Fast forward one year and their lives have changed irrevocably.

Celebrating the bonds of friendship and the fascinations and pitfalls of contemporary life, Invisible is a frank, fast-paced, all-female comedy-drama that ruminates on how older women are perceived in society, the relationships they forge and, most importantly, their “invisibility” in writer-director Jane Barrie’s exploration of sisterhood, motherhood and the effects of upbringing. Box office: 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.

Ashley Stillburn: York-born tenor making his York Proms debut tomorrow

Picnic concert of the week: York Proms, York Museum Gardens, tomorrow, 5.30pm

RUN by classical chart-topping York soprano Rebecca Newman and now in its ninth year, York Proms features music from the world of classical and opera, film soundtracks and show songs. Increasing the orchestra size this summer enables the inclusion of John Williams cinema compositions.

The soloists are York-born tenor and West End musical actor Ashley Stillburn in his York Proms debut and British/Irish soprano Jennifer Coleman, making her third appearance. Tickets update: Available today but NOT tomorrow at yorkproms.com/collections/tickets-2026.

Christopher Ryan Grant’s Johnny Cash and Christina Bianco’s June Carter Cash in The Ballad Of Johnny & June, on tour at Grand Opera House, York, next week. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography

Musical of the week:The Ballad Of Johnny & June, The Johnny Cash Musical, Grand Opera House, York, July 28 to August 1, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday matinees

THIS thrilling musical from Jersey Boys director Des McAnuff celebrates the love, music and mayhem of country music couple Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Electrifying chemistry marks the performances of Christopher Ryan Grant’s Johnny and Christina Bianco’s June in a story observed through the eyes of Ryan O’Donnell’s John Carter Cash, their son. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

In addition, the trio gives a special pop-up performance of songs from the show at Forty Five Vinyl Cafe, the Nashville-inspired concert venue, record store and coffee house in Micklegate, on July 29 at 1pm.

“Tribute” show of the week: Songs Of presents The Songs of Joni Mitchell, with Jesca Hoop & Lail Arad, The Citadel, York, July 31, doors 7pm, show 7.45pm

JESCA Hoop & Lail Arad, acclaimed singer-songwriters in their own right, perform intimate interpretations of their favourite Joni Mitchell songs, accompanied by Richard Sears on piano and special guest Naima Bock. Hoop presented Legend: The Joni Mitchell Story, the award-winning six-part BBC radio documentary and podcast on the Canadian singer-songwriter. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Jesca Hoop: Intimate interpretations of Joni Mitchell songs at The Citadel

Political drama of the week: Handbagged, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, July 31 to August 29

MOIRA Buffini’s 2014 Olivier Award-winning play imagines what happened behind closed palace doors when two of the 20th century’s most powerful women, Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, locked handbags. Meeting once a week for 11 years, one believed there was no such thing as society; the other committed her life to serving it.

Spanning 1979 to 1990, Handbagged asks if The Queen and the Iron Lady ever found common ground or did their stiff upper lips reign supreme? Hannah Tyrrell-Pinder directs the SJT cast of Pandora Clifford, Liz Garland, Alexandra Mathie, Deven Modha, Simon Darwen and Meriel Scholfield. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Alexandra Mathie, left, and Pandora Clifford in rehearsal for Handbagged at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Shakespeare show of the week: Four Forty Theatre in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, July 31, 7.30pm

FOUR Forty Theatre (or 440 Theatre, as their website uses both names) tackle Shakespeare’s romantic romp of a chaotic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with their trademark irreverence, wit and theatrical ingenuity, directed by Dominic Gee-Burch, formerly of fellow high-speed Shakespeare humorists Oddsocks Productions.

Lovers are enchanted, fairies feud and a troupe of hapless players rehearse their way into disaster, all in a single moonlit night. Inventive staging, breakneck character changes and playful dismantling of tradition mark out Four Forty’s mischief-making take on Shakespeare’s best-loved comedy: part affectionate homage, part riotous reinvention. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Four Forty Theatre: Mischief-making in the woods in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Joseph Rowntree Theatre

Art event of the week: Carolyn Coles & Mike Marshall, Beyond The Nab, St Mary’s Church, Sandsend, near Whitby, today, tomorrow & Monday, 10am to 5pm

ARTISTS and fossil collectors Carolyn Coles and Mike Marshall are sharing their love of the north east coastline in Beyond The Nab at St Mary’s Church, Sandsend, near Whitby.

Held at this beautiful church located at the end of the Sandsend Valley at the bottom of Lythe Bank, the special four-day event takes place in one of Yorkshire’s prettiest valleys, noted for its picturesque, high-end stone cottages, rich local history, tied to the Mulgrave Estate, and ancient woodlands leading to the ruins of Mulgrave Castle.

On show and sale are contemporary paintings with a traditional twist, sculptured fossils, evocative photography, jet jewellery, cards and prints, with both York seascape artist Carolyn Coles and East Coast fossil legend Mike Marshall on hand to guide you through the works.

South Bank Studios artist Carolyn will be demonstrating painting techniques while Mike, who runs Yorkshire Coast Fossils, will be glad to identify any fossil you bring along. A pop-up cafe will serve light refreshment in aid of the church, championed by volunteer Helen Lloyd.

Mike Marshall looking out to sea

Carolyn explains the idea behind the event as a “brilliant medley of art and heritage, combining contemporary art and sculpture with traditional techniques”. “We talked about coming together professionally as our work is a perfect compliment and we have such a shared love of the area,” she says.

Carolyn has had a busy 2026, joining wildlife sculptor Karen Fawcett and PICA Studios ceramicist Emily Stubbs in The Sky’s The Limit exhibition at Pyramid Gallery, York, from late-January to mid-March and taking part in York Open Studios in April.

“My dream is to open a studio and gallery and live by the coast, so this event is a huge pleasure to hold,” she says.

York artist Carolyn Coles enjoying painting in plein air at Sandsend

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 30, from Gazette & Herald

Stephen Webb’s Dr Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, doing the Time Warp again at the Grand Opera House, York

TOM Jones on the coast, Knavesmire’s music showcase weekend, a not-so-sweet Transylvanian transvestite and a French farce promise variety aplenty in Charles Hutchinson’s week ahead.

Musical of the week: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, tonight and tomorrow, 8pm; Friday & Saturday, 5pm and 8.30pm

STEPHEN Webb leads the cast as Dr Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show’s latest return to the Grand Opera House, joined by comedian Jackie Clune as the Narrator. Directed by Christopher Luscombe, Richard O’Brien’s outré musical tells the story of squeaky-clean American college sweethearts Brad and his fiancée Janet’s very frank encounters at the freaky doctor’s Transylvanian castle after their car breaks down.

Cue an adventure full of fun, frolics, frocks and frivolity, bursting with timeless songs and outrageous outfits as O’Brien combines science-fiction, horror, comedy and music while encouraging audience participation. Those audiences are sure to dress up in the most outrageous fancy dress. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Lou Bass’s artworks for Bring Me Sunshine at Helmsley Arts Centre

Exhibition of the week: Bring Me Sunshine, Paintings by Lou Bass and Adam King, Helmsley Arts Centre, until September 4

SCARBOROUGH artists Lou Bass and Adam King have teamed up for a joint exhibition, Bring Me Sunshine. A regular North Yorkshire Open Studios participant at Beeforth’s Hive, Lou’s vibrant paintings are brought to life with help from playful and poignant characters, such as Donkey, Crow, Angry Man, Bandit Cat, Dog and Fox, as she explores emotions and situations through simple narratives.

Painter and printmaker Adam has been painting for more than 35 years, holding exhibitions and doing residencies throughout Yorkshire. Educated at Leeds Met, York St John and Huddersfield, he led the Foundation Art and Fine Art degree courses when lecturing at Harrogate College before painting full time. His work is marked by a fresh approach to image making, combining simplicity with sophistication and a sureness of composition.

Andrew O’Neill: Looking to Escape at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, on Friday. Picture: Andrew O’Neill

Fringe shows of the week: Halfway To Edinburgh at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, presents Dylan Howells in Forget About Me (Work In Progress), tonight, 7.30pm; Joe Sellman-Leava in Copycat (Work In Progress), tomorrow, 7.30pm; Andrew O’Neill: Escape, Friday, 8pm

IN a remote, northeast village, something lurks in the bathroom: something Dylan struggles to remember, which even his dad’s deadly DIY skills can’t fix, as designer-performer Dylan Howells weaves psychological illusions and fragmented memories into a magical, chilling tale of a home that won’t stay still.

Part magic show, part ghost story, tonight’s show Forget About Me isn’t your typical conjuring act: mind-bending mentalism and spine-tingling effects blur the line between reality and fiction in a twisted tale designed to get under your skin.

DOES AI spell the end of humanity, or the dawn of a new utopia, ponders Fringe First winner Joe Sellman-Leava tomorrow. He might be a technophobe, but he is determined to find out by using innovative design and a whirlwind of uncanny impressions to tell the story of a teacher, a student and a copycat dictator to examine the links between art, fascism and rapid technological change. 

HOW do we get out of this mess, asks cult comedian Andrew O’Neill on Friday in his surreal, political show, Escape, about the ways in which we disagree with each other, while suggesting some ways we can find our way out. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Jorja Cartwright’s German flight attendant Gretchen in rehearsal for Rowntree Players’ Boeing Boeing

Farce of the week: Rowntree Players in Boeing Boeing, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow to Saturday, 7.30pm

MARC Camoletti’s high-flying 1960s’ French farce Boeing Boeing is cleared for take-off in Hannah Shaw’s English-language production for Rowntree Players. Meet self-styled Parisian lothario Bernard, who has Italian, German and American fiancées, each one a beautiful airline hostess with frequent “layovers.”

He keeps “one up, one down, and one pending” until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris, and to Bernard’s apartment, at the same time. Shaw’s cast features Max Palmer as Bernard, Lizzie Lawton as Robert, Rebecca Thomson as Berthe, Jorja Cartwright as Gretchen, Bethan Olliver as Gloria and Val Debenedetti as Gabriella. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Welsh pop legend Tom Jones: Returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Sunday

Coastal concerts of the week: Scarborough Open Air Theatre, An Evening with James Taylor and His All-Star Band, Saturday; Tom Jones, with Stone Foundation, Sunday; gates open at 6pm

MASSACHUSETTS singer, songwriter and guitarist, Laurel Canyon folk luminary, six-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll and Songwriters Halls of Fame inductee James Taylor, 78, draws on six decades of songs, from his self-titled 1968 debut to 2021’s 19th studio album, American Standard, on Saturday night.

Tom Jones, or Sir Tom Jones since 2006, to be more formal, returns to Scarborough this weekend at 85 to perform such favourites as It’s Not Unusual, What’s New Pussycat?, Delilah, Green, Green Grass Of Home, A Boy From Nowhere, Kiss, Mama Told Me Not To Come and Sex Bomb. Joining Sir Tom will be the eight-piece soul collective Stone Foundation. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Holly Taymar: Performing Eva Cassidy’s songbook at Helmsley Arts Centre

Tribute show of the week: Holly Taymar Sings Eva Cassidy, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

YORK singer-songwriter Holly Taymar delivers a warm, authentic performance that blends Eva Cassidy’s folk, jazz and blues material in renditions of Fields Of Gold, Songbird, Over The Rainbow and Autumn Leaves.

In a show of appreciation for Eva’s life and career, rather than imitation, Taymar combines intimate guitar accompaniment, mesmerising stage presence, melody and emotional truth. Singer-songwriter David Swann supports. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Craig David: TS5 DJ set after Friday evening’s race card at York Racecourse

Race day concerts of the week: York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Knavesmire, York, Craig David presents TS5, Friday, and Tom Grennan, Saturday

SOUTHAMPTON singer-songwriter and DJ Craig David presents his TS5 DJ set on Music Showcase Friday’s double bill of racing and old-skool anthems, from R&B to Swing Beat, Garage to Bashment, plus current House hits, when he combines his song and MC skills.

Tom Grennan: Saturday live set at York Racecourse

BEDFORD singer-songwriter Tom Grennan is Saturday’s post-racing performer, drawing on such hits as Little Bit Of Love, Let’s Go Home Together, Remind Me, Here and How Does It Feel, plus songs from his number one albums Evering Road, What Ifs & Maybes and Everywhere I Went Led Me To Where I Didn’t Want To Be and top-five debut Lighting Matches. Tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk; no booking fees; free parking on race day.

York tenor Ashley Stillburn: Making his York Proms debut on Sunday

Picnic concert of the week: York Proms, York Museum Gardens, Sunday 5.30pm

RUN by classical chart-topping York soprano Rebecca Newman and now in its ninth year, York Proms features music from the world of classical and opera, film soundtracks and show songs. Increasing the orchestra size this summer will enable the inclusion of iconic John Williams cinema compositions.

The soloists are York-born tenor and West End musical actor Ashley Stillburn in his York Proms debut and British/Irish soprano Jennifer Coleman, making her third appearance. Tickets update: Still available at yorkproms.com/collections/tickets-2026.

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Outdoor event of the week: York Proms, York Museum Gardens, July 19; gates 5pm/5.30pm; entertainment from 6.30pm; concert from 7.30pm

Ashley Stillburn: York-born tenor, making York Proms debut on Sunday

THE York Proms picnic concert returns to York Museum Gardens on Sunday for its ninth celebration of pomp and circumstance.

Gracing the open-air stage will be York-born tenor and West End star Ashley Stillburn in his York Proms debut, and British-Irish soprano Jennifer Coleman, completing her hat trick of appearances.

Event co-founder Rebecca Newman says: “We have tried to book Ashley for a couple of years now, and even came very close in the past but diary clashes prevented it. I worked with Ashley in 2010 on a Bev Jones show at the Grand Opera House, when he was only about 17!

“I was so pleased to see how he went on to pursue a career in the arts and I know he will absolutely knock the socks off the audience on the night. Having the connection to York just makes it even more special.”

Ashley says: “It’ll be such a special event for me to return to York to perform and especially as it’s such a well- loved event in one of the most iconic spots in York.”

After leaving his beloved home city of York in 2011, Ashley graduated from Guildford School of Acting (GSA) in 2014 with a 1st Class BA (Hons) degree in Musical Theatre and the award for Best Performance in a Musical. 

Ashley left vocational training early at GSA to join the West End cast of Les Miserables, in which he played the role of Feuilly and understudied and played Enjolras. He went on to appear as Raoul in The Phantom Of The Opera (Her Majesty’s Theatre, London); Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd (Opera de Toulon); Corrado Montelli in Death Takes A Holiday, Armand Dufau in The Braille Legacy and Walter Hartright in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s first revival of The Woman In White, all at the Charing Cross Theatre in the West End.

He appeared as Charles Clarke in the UK and international tour of Titanic – The Musical and returned to the West End production of The Phantom Of The Opera post-COVID, where he covered and played both The Phantom and Raoul at certain performances. He later returned to play The Phantom in April 2023 for a brief period to cover for an unforeseen absence within the cast.

Ashley Stillburn in Les Miserables. Picture provided by York Proms

Ashley has worked extensively in the development of new and developing work and has participated in workshops that include She Loves You, All About My Mother, Coastliners, Dance With A Stranger, Murder At The Gates, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, Strangers, Annie Get Your Gunand Production 54.

Ashley’s concert work includes West End Men: Unplugged Live from Park Theatre; West End Men in Concert (Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, Thailand); Enjolras in Les Miserables in Concert (Beau Sejour, Guernsey); Raoul in The Phantom Of The Opera in Concert (MFCC Arena, Malta) and Carols by Candlelight at St Martin in the Fields, London. He also appeared as one of the ‘3 Phantoms’ singing Music Of The Night at West End Live in Trafalgar Square in 2022.

Throughout the course of his career, he has appeared multiple times on Elaine Paige On Sunday on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio Kent and BBC Radio York.

Ashley has had the good fortune to work with leading creatives and practitioners in the theatre, including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Claude Michel- Schoenberg, Hal Prince, Dame Gillian Lynne, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Dame Maureen Lipman, Maria Friedman, Brian Conley, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Maury Yeston and David Zippel.

He has worked as a guest entertainer on some of the world’s most luxury ocean liners and is a member of a cappella group Shantify, enjoying two runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a brief stint at the Ambassador’s Theatre in the West End. 

Ashley was delighted to appear in To Maury, With Love at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in celebration of Maury Yeston’s 80th birthday in February this year.

Since 2023, Ashley has lived in Buxton in the Peak District with his wife and two young children, building a career in education. He has taught at prestigious northern institutions, including serving as director of music at St Bede’s College, Manchester, and head of performing arts at Beech Hall School, Macclesfield, and he is a guest lecturer at The Hammond School in Chester and KTCo in Castle Donington.

He is also an accredited partner for Derbyshire Music Partnership and has become part of its body of staff, aiming to build opportunities and access to singing and music across Derbyshire. 

Soprano Jennifer Coleman: Making her third York Proms appearance on Sunday

GUEST soprano Jennifer Coleman will be returning to Museum Gardens after earlier York Proms appearances in 2019 and 2023, when she took on the more classic soprano songs and the finale in the Night At The Musicals-themed show.

Royal College of Music graduate Jennifer’s performance career has spanned opera, concerts, television and recitals.

As of August 2025, she is a full-time chorus member of the Royal Ballet and Opera (formerly the Royal Opera House) in Covent Garden, London. In 2026, she is delighted to be covering the role of First Bridesmaid in the Royal Opera’s production of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and she also covered the soprano solo in Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms for the Royal Ballet. 

In the 2025/26 season with RBO, Jennifer will perform in Tosca, Les Vêpres Siciliennes, Die Zauberflöte, Ariodante, Turandot, Traviata, Boris Godunov, Peter Grimes, Samson & Delilah, Le Nozze di Figaro, I Puritani and La Boheme. 

From 2018 to 2025, Jennifer was a full-time soprano chorister with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (OBV) (International Opera Awards: Best Opera Company 2019) in Antwerp and Ghent, Belgium. Productions ranged from Mozart to Philip Glass to Wagner. 

For OBV, she performed as a soloist in Verdi’s Libera Me from Requiem in Choeurs in 2022, Brahms’s Deutsches Requiem, Schreker’s Der Schmied von Gent, La Cugina in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, cover Giovanna in Verdi’s Ernani and a spoken solo in Halevy’s La Juive.

Jennifer completed her undergraduate training at the Royal Northern College, Manchester, then  graduated with distinction from the Masters of Music and Diploma course at the Royal College of Music, London, where she was a Theo Max van der Beugel scholar.

In 2016, she won a Musical Odessey Prize; in 2017, she won the Hatfield Festival Voice Competition and was a Britten-Pears Young Artist.

Her operatic roles have included First Bridesmaid in Le Nozze di Figaro (cover, Royal Opera); Theodora in Handel’s Theodora (RCM Oratorio Society); Pamina, Mozart’s The Magic Flute (St John’s Opera); Taumann/Dew Fairy, Hänsel und Gretel (RCMIOS); Mabel , The Pirates Of Penzance;  Frasquita, Carmen; 2nd Niece, Peter Grimes (Dartington International); Priestess, Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride (Euphonia Opera); Noga, Tom Smail’s Electric Blue (Tête-à-Tête) and Vixen,  Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen (RCM Scenes).

Concert performances include soprano solos in Bach’s St John Passion, Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem, Handel’s The Messiah and Dixit Dominus, Purcell’s Come Ye Sons Of Art, Fili in Handel’s bilingual Acis And Galatea (Snape Maltings) and Elsie Suddaby in Vaughan-Williams’ Serenade To Music. 

Among further highlights, she reached the semi-finals of Belgium’s Got Talent with her opera duo, toured the world for six months as the resident opera singer aboard The Silver Muse and undertook an 11-concert tour of the South of France with the Young Virtuosi Orchestra in 2016.

She performed recitals in Spain as part of the Encuentro de Música y Academia de Santander in 2017, sang on ITV’s The Only Way Is Essex and gave recitals with clarinettist Peter Dec at the Royal Albert Hall, Kings Place, Victoria & Albert Museum and Royal Academy of Art, London.

Naming her dream roles, Jennifer picks:  Musetta (La Boheme); Leila (Bizet’s Pearl Fishers); Cleopatra (Handel’s Giulio Cesare); Cunegonda (Bernstein’s Candide);  Eliza Doolittle (Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady) and, most especially, Mary Poppins (the Sherman Brothers’ Mary Poppins).

When she is not singing, Jennifer generally can be found at Parkrun, drinking tea out of china teacups or tucking into delicious Belgian chocolates.

Rebecca Newman: York Proms co-founder and organiser

Sunday’s York Proms programme

RUN as ever by classical chart-topping York soprano Rebecca Newman, Sunday’s York Proms will feature music from the world of classical and opera, film soundtracks and show songs.

“This year we have invested a bit more into the stage show, with a larger instrumental line-up in the orchestra to support these great singers, and also to allow us to take on some of the bigger film pieces, like works by Star Wars composer John Williams,” says Rebecca.

“We’ve always been restricted by the size of the venue and stage, but this year we’ve pushed the boat out a bit more and we hope our audience enjoys it.”

Tickets are on sale in advance at www.yorkproms.com or at the Visit York Information Centre. Attendees are allowed to bring food and drink, including alcohol, plus picnic chairs (which helps to keep down costs). Food and drink be will be available on site on the day, with a bar, hot and cold food and drinks, treats, and more. No tables or trolleys are permitted on the main lawn.

Please note, NO tickets will be sold on the gate. Previous years’shows have sold out, so prompt booking is advised.

Fast Track tickets have sold out; gates for these ticket holders will open at the Marygate entry at 5pm. Gates for all other ticket holders will open on Museum Street at 5.30pm, after the Fast Track queue has entered.

Wheelchair spaces can be booked after booking a disabled plus carer ticket via the website.

Entertainment will start from around 6pm and the evening show will begin at 7.30pm, climaxing with a low-noise fireworks finale from 10pm to 10.20pm.

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More Things To Do in York & beyond the Proms, whatever the pomp & circumstance. Hutch’s List No. 31, from The Press

Jane Burnell: Buxton Opera soprano performing at tomorrow’s York Proms in York Museum Gardens

IN search of high-summer highlights, Charles Hutchinson finds Proms fireworks, outdoor cinema singalongs, a mad woodland king and comedy on the coast.

Musical picnic of the week: York Proms, York Museum Gardens, York, Sunday, general admission, 5.30pm; main stage concert, 7.45pm to 10.30pm

TICKETS are close to selling out for the York Proms,  tomorrow’s picnic concert under the stars organised as ever by York soprano Rebecca Newman. 

Conducted by Ben Crick, the orchestra will be joined by tenor Joshua Baxter and soprano Jane Burnell, both at present performing with Buxton Opera, for a programme of classical classics, operatic arias and film music, topped off with the flag-waving proms finale, decorated with a fireworks display. Box office: 01904 909487 or yorkproms.com.

Hoglets Theatre’s puppet of Badger for Gemma Curry’s new show, The Badger And The Coins, at York Explore & Archive today

Children’s show of the week: Hoglets Theatre in The Badger And The Coins, York Explore Library and Archive, Library Square, York, today, 11am to 11.45am

GEMMA Curry’s York company Hoglets Theatre presents The Badger And The Coins, an original play about love, courage and the belief that even the most unexpected companions can bring magic into our world, suitable for pre-school and primary school children.

Based on a Japanese folk tale, the story of an old man rescuing a mysterious Badger and triggering an amazing journey is powered by original songs, outrageous characters, beautiful hand-made puppets and Hoglets’ trademark energy and creativity. Box office: tickettailor.com/events/exploreyorklibrariesandarchives/1288717.

Cinema in the open air at Castle Howard this weekend, from Disney to Abba, Spielberg to Cruise. Picture: Castle Howard Estate

Outdoor film event of the week: Adventure Cinema at Castle Howard, near Malton, today and tomorrow

PACK a picnic for Castle Howard’s open-air outdoor cinema experience on a giant screen this weekend, presented in tandem with Adventure Cinema. This afternoon features a Sing-A-Long Edition of Disney’s Frozen (PG) at 1.30pm (gates 12 noon).

An Abba disco precedes Mamma Mia! Outdoor Cinema Extrabbaganza, this evening’s all-singing, all-dancing double bill of Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia Here We Go Again at 6.30pm (gates 5pm). Tomorrow comprises Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler’s The Gruffalo/Stick Man (U) at 11am (gates 10am), Steven Spielberg’s dinosaur blockbuster Jurassic Park (PG) at 3pm (gates 1.30pm) and Tony Scott’s Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise, at 8pm (gate 6.30pm). Box office: adventurecinema.co.uk/venues/castle-howard.

Barn Owl, by Bryn Parry CBE, in the Sculpture In The Landscape exhibition at the Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, The Hutts, Grewelthorpe. Picture: Celestine Dubruel

Exhibition of the week: Sculpture In The Landscape, Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park, The Hutts, Grewelthorpe, near Ripon, until November 3

THE 2024 Sculpture In The Landscape exhibition showcases 60 works for sale by artists across the United Kingdom, complementing the permanent sculptures on show at the Himalayan Garden.

Visitors are invited to explore the intricate sculptures set against verdant landscapes. From monumental installations to delicate works of art, each piece offers a perspective on the intersection of creativity and nature. Normal garden entry applies. Tickets: 01765 658009 or himalayangarden.com

Adderstone in the trees: Music, mystery and magic in the woodland company of Mad Sweeney, the Irish king, at the Forest of Flowers, Huby

Woodland folk event of the week: Sweeney Untethered by Adderstone, Forest of Flowers, Home Farm, Tollerton Road, Huby, York, tomorrow (28/7/2024), 1.30pm to 4pm

ADDERSTONE, the storytelling alt-folk duo of Cath Heinemeyer and Gemma McDermott, present Sweeney Untethered, the tale of a 7th century Irish king who went mad, as told and sung on a caper through the wild woods and meadows of the Forest of Flowers with refreshments after the 1.5-mile walk.

The music, mystery and magic-infused performance will immerse the audience in story and surroundings alike as Heinemeyer and McDermott take in the wildflowers, ponds, woodland and wildlife. Bookings: forestofflowers.co.uk/event-details.

The View: Returning to the concert platform after five-year hiatus

Return of the week: The View, The Crescent, York, August 2, 7.30pm

RESCHEDULED from June 15, Under The Influence presents Dundee indie-rock returnees The View in a night of Hats Off To Buskers classics, from Same Jeans to Wasted Little DJs and Superstar Tradesma, plus material from their first album in eight years.

Recorded with Grammy Award-winning producer Youth at Space Mountain, Granada, Exorcism Of Youth was released last August on Cooking Vinyl. Five years on from their departing gig at Dundee’s Caird Hall, original members Kyle Falconer (vocals/guitar), Kieran Webster (bass/vocals) and Pete Reilly (guitar) are back on the road. Box office: thecrescentyork.com. music, mystery and magic!

Bill Bailey: Comedy in the Scarborough sea air on August 2

Coastal gig of the week: Bill Bailey, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 2; gates open at 6pm

COMEDIAN, actor, musician, presenter, Never Mind The Buzzcocks team captain, Black Books sitcom star and 2020 Strictly Come Dancing champion Bill Bailey heads to the East Coast with his surrealist fusion of stories, poetry and wordplay that takes aim at the modern world’s absurdities, as aired in his Thoughtifier arena tour.

A veteran of the UK festival circuit, with appearances at Latitude, Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Sonisphere and the Eden Project, Bailey will have his array of weird and wonderful instruments on tap too for playful pastiches of Tom Waits, Kraftwerk et al. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Chris Hagyard, pictured in Guys And Dolls mode, will be taking part in One Night Of Broadway Hits at the JoRo

Musical revue of the week: Steve Coates and Bev Jones Music Company present One Night Of Broadway Hits, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, August 3, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

BEV Jones Music Company performs hits from 26 musicals, including Guys And Dolls, in an unashamedly traditional fashion under the musical direction of James Rodgers.

His band is joined in this moving, lively and at times funny show by vocalists Chris Hagyard, Annabel Van Griethuysen, Anthony Pengelly, Ruth McNeil, Sally Lewis, Stephen Wilson, Geoff Walker and producer Lesley Jones, back on stage for this show, wearing a silver cat suit unseen since 2010, when she played Vera in Stepping Out. Box office: 01904 501395 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Chrissie Hynde: The great Pretender, leading her band at York Barbican this autumn. Picture: Vi Price

Gig announcement of the week: The Pretenders, York Barbican, October 31

THE Pretenders are extending their sold-out British tour, adding a new date in York, in the wake of releasing Relentless, their 14th UK Top 40 entry and highest-charting record in 23 years, last September.

Fronted as ever by Chrissie Hynde, 72, the band is joining Foo Fighters on their American tour in July and August. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/the-pretenders/.

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York Proms heads for Sunday sell-out when soprono Jane Burnell and tenor Joshua Baxter perform at Museum Gardens

Soprano Jane Burnell: Performing at York Proms on Sunday

THE 2024 York Proms is close to selling out as the picnic concert with the fireworks finish returns to York Museum Gardens on Sunday.

Against the backdrop of the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey, organiser Rebecca Newman presents the 7.45pm programme of classical classics, operatic arias and film music, topped off by the de rigueur flag-waving proms finale under the stars.

Conducted by Ben Crick, the York Proms Orchestra will be joined by two rising stars of the opera firmament, tenor Joshua Baxter and soprano Jane Burnell.

“Joshua, who is in his early 30s, studied at the Royal Academy of Music and performs in opera and oratorio across the UK and Europe,” says Rebecca. “Jane, who studied at Leeds College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, in Manchester, is only in her mid-20s and has made her professional debut this year. Definitely one to watch.

“Jane has worked with our musical director, Ben Crick, who writes the arrangements for the orchestra and conducts on the day, and she knows Josh because they are working together at Buxton Opera Festival this summer.

Tenor Joshua Baxter: Heading from Buxton Opera Festival to York Proms on Sunday

“In an interview for the York Proms podcast, she told me they don’t actually sing together at Buxton, so this will be a nice treat for them to actually do that.”

Crick directs an orchestra put together expressly for the York Proms. “Many of them often perform with big orchestras all over the country,” says Rebecca.

“I’m really excited about this year’s programme and the line-up of music looks to be one of my favourites so far, with a selection that offers something for everyone. The arias include some really big, challenging and stunningly beautiful pieces that will be a real treat to hear from two really talented and accomplished performers.”

The podcast has been released this month to tap into the community that has built up since the event was established in 2017. “It has already seen close to 1,000 downloads, which is fantastic for a newly launched podcast,” says Rebecca.

“We plan to offer interviews and news via the podcast that complements the event, but also life in York more generally. There is so much to the York Proms that we can celebrate, aside from the music, including the history of the gardens and the people who make it possible.”

The 2024 York Proms box office is remaining open later than in past years. “We usually close it about five to seven days before the event, so we know the numbers we are expecting and can plan, or when it sells out – which last year happened almost two weeks before the day – but this year has been unprecedented with the extremely wet and cold weather,” says Rebecca.

York Proms organiser Rebecca Newman

“That definitely had an impact on ticket sales as we were significantly ahead of last year’s ticket sales by six weeks before the event, but I don’t blame people for not wanting to gamble with the weather.

“However, now that the forecast is looking great and the sales have picked up, we’re leaving the box office open for a little longer to allow the final few tickets to sell. There’s only ten per cent still remaining though, and the discounted ticket price has to end soon too, so if people are keen to come, don’t leave it too long or you might miss out.”

Proms-goers can bring picnics or head to The Sketch Box on site, offering filled flatbreads, cooked freshly to order in their pizza ovens, plus posh hot dogs, hot and cold drinks and sweet treats. The Northern Bistro will be selling drinks and sweet treats too and Acaster Malbus brewery Ainsty Ales is returning with a bar for the third year running.

“I take every opportunity to source suppliers from York and the surrounding area wherever possible and champion the amazing businesses we have in our area,” says Rebecca. 

Gates open at 5pm for fast track and disabled ticket holders, 5.30pm for general admission, with the warm-up stage sparking into life at around 5.45pm. The main evening show starts at around 7.45pm and will be finished before 10.30pm.

Tickets can be bought online via yorkproms.com or in person via the Visit York Information Centre, in Parliament Street, in person or by calling 01904 909 487. For more information,  visit yorkproms.com.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond, in summer pumps and circumstances. Here’s Hutch’s List No.25 for 2023, from The Press

Opera singer Jennifer Coleman: Soprano soloist on song at York Proms

PROMS, outdoor festivals and carnivals, here comes the sun and summer fun as Charles Hutchinson reaches for the cream.

Outdoor event of the weekend: York Proms, Museum Gardens, York, Sunday, gates open at 5pm

BRITISH-IRISH soprano Jennifer Colemen, Opera North tenor Tom Smith and West End musical theatre singer, actress and TV presenter Shona Lindsay will be the soloists for Sunday’s York Proms.

Musical director Ben Crick conducts the 22-piece Yorkshire Festival Orchestra in a musical theatre tribute, from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel and Bernstein and Sondheim’s West Side Story through to Les Miserables and Wicked. The rousing Proms finale will be accompanied by The Fireworkers’ fireworks. Tickets update: sold out; waiting list for returns at yorkproms.com/contact.

Tom Smith: Tenor soloist at Sunday’s York Proms

Shakespeare Shorts: Twelfth Night, Barley Hall Great Hall, Coffee Yard, York, today, on the hour, every hour, from 11am to 3pm

SHAKESPEARE in only 15 minutes presents an immersive re-telling of Twelfth Night, the one with heaps of mistaken identities, cross-dressing and long-lost siblings.

Barley Hall’s costumed storyteller promises to “make simple a story that has even the characters confused, all while exploring themes of gender identity and the history of cross-dressing in theatre”. Barley Hall admission: barleyhall.co.uk.

Shakespeare Shorts: The artwork for the 15-minute Twelfth Night at Barley Hall

Strensall Community Carnival, Strensall Village Hall and Field, Northfields, Strensall, York, today, 12 noon to 5pm

BACK for its 8th year, Strensall Community Carnival has attractions for all the family, with a procession from Hurst Hall, a food court, 30-plus charity and business stalls and entertainment on the outdoor arena.

Look out for Ebor Morris, The Cadet Band, York Karaoke DoJo, Dynamics Band and Generation Groove in the arena; the Robert Wilkinson School Choir and Band and Mark’s Magic Kingdom Puppet Show in the main hall, and the Captivating Creatures animal show, medieval mayhem with the Knights of the Wobbly Table storytellers, Messy Adventures sensory play and Generate Theatre drama games in the outdoor space.

The Grand Old Uke of York: “Almost unplugged” at Stillington

Uke over there: The Grand Old Uke of York, At The Mill, Stillington, near York, tonight, 7.30pm

YORK collective The Grand Old Uke of York grace the At The Mill stage in an unusual twist to their norm: turning their usual set list on its head to bring gorgeous, pared-back vocals, buttery harmonies and ukuleles played with summery vibes – rather than their usual rock mode – to the garden.

Formed more than ten years ago, they love nothing more than to transform expectations of the ukulele’s bounds. Tonight is a rare chance to see the dynamic group stripped back and “almost” unplugged. Box office: tickettailor.com/events/atthemill/925922

 

Party time: Just Josh celebrates a decade of entertaining children’s parties with a JoRo show

Big kid of the weekend: Josh Benson: Just Josh’s 10th Birthday Party!, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Sunday, 4pm

AFTER a decade of doing other kids’ parties, York family entertainer, magician and pantomime silly billy Josh Benson has decided he should have his own bash.

Expect all Just Josh’s usual mix of daft comedy chaos, magic, juggling, balloons, dancing and games, plus extra-special surprises. “It’s the perfect Sunday afternoon treat for the whole family,” he says. “Yes, even Dad. It is Father’s Day after all!” Ticket update: last few on 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

The poster for York Printmakers’ summer showcase at Blossom Street Gallery

Exhibition of the week: York Printmakers: A Showcase, Blossom Street Gallery, Blossom Street, York, until July 31, open Thursdays to Sundays

SIXTEEN York Printmakers members demonstrate techniques and printing processes that date back hundreds of years through to those that push the boundaries of contemporary practice, with laser-cut plates, digital elements and 3D techniques.

Taking part are: Harriette Rymer; Lyn Bailey; Bridget Hunt; Carrie Lyall; Patricia Ann Ruddle; Jane Dignum; Jo Rodwell; Lesley Shaw; Phill Jenkins; Sally Parkin; Emily Harvey; Gill Douglas; Becky Long-Smith; Vanessa Oo; Sandra Storey and Rachel Holborow.

Two women up a hillside with ashes stuck to their trouser leg”: Terrain Theatre in Helen at Theatre@41

New play of the week: Helen, staged by Terrain Theatre/Theatre  503 at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

HELEN is 40 when she loses her husband. Becca is 15 when her dad dies. Now it is only the two of them, what do they do next? From Maureen Lennon, the Hull-born writer of York Theatre Royal’s 2022 community play, The Coppergate Woman, comes Helen, a series of snapshots of their relationship’s joys and traumas, laughs and arguments over the next 40 years.

Presented by new northern company Terrain Theatre and directed by Tom Bellerby, this 85-minute play about love, death, grief, postnatal depression, eating disorders, alcoholism, dementia and cancer, and two women up a hillside with ashes stuck to their trouser leg, explores the thread that binds them together and the different ways they damage and save each other. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

The poster for the return of Mrs. Brown Rides Again: Heading to Hull in October

Comedy booking of the week: Mrs. Brown Ride Again, Hull Bonus Arena, October 27, 7.30pm, and October 28, 2pm and 7.30pm

BRENDAN O’Carroll and Mrs. Brown’s Boys will be back on stage in their “classic play” Mrs. Brown Rides Again from August to November. The only Yorkshire shows of the ten-venue tour with the television cast will be at Hull Bonus Arena in late-October.

Written by and starring O’Carroll as the beloved “Mammy”, the play finds Agnes Brown and her dysfunctional family romping their way through what seems to be her last days at home. After hearing of a plot by her children to have her put into a home, Agnes decides to prove them wrong by displaying a new lease of life. Box office: bonusarenahull.com.

The Prodigy: “Full attack mode, double barrel” at Leeds First Direct Arena this autumn. Picture: Andrea Ripamonti

Gig announcement of the week: The Prodigy, Army Of The Ants Tour, Leeds First Direct Arena, November 18

THE Prodigy’s Liam Howlett and Maxim will play Leeds on night three of their seven-date autumn arena tour after a spring and summer run of international festival headline dates. Support will come from Soft Play, the British punk duo of Laurie Vincent and Isaac Holman, formerly known as Slaves. 

“Army Of The Ants is a calling to The Prodigy peoples,” says Howlett. “We’re comin’ back for u the only way we know, full attack mode, double barrel.” Box office: tix.to/TheProdigy

Soft Cell’s Dave Ball and Marc Almond: Headlining Let’s Rock Leeds

Recommended but general and VIP admission sold out already: Let’s Rock Leeds, Temple Newsam, Leeds, today, gates 11am; 10.30pm finish

HOMECOMING Leeds duo Soft Cell and OMD top the bill at this retro festival. Tony Hadley, Midge Ure, Stray Cats’ Slim Jim Phantom, The Farm, The Real Thing, Roland Gift, Heatwave and Hue & Cry play too. For any form of tickets left, head to: letsrockleeds.com.

In Focus: York Light Opera Company in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, June 27 to July 1

York Light Opera Company cast member Sanna Jeppsson

RIOTOUS, rude and relevant, Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts’s off-Broadway musical comedy I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change looks at how we love, date and handle relationships.

In a revamp of the original 1996 production, York Light Opera Company stage this witty hit show with a cast of seven under the direction of Neil Wood, fresh from his menacing Sweeney in Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. Martin Lay provides the musical direction for the two 7.30pm peformances and 2.30pm Saturday matinee.

Noted for its insights into human nature and catchy-as-a-Venus-flytrap songs,  I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change explores the joys and challenges of love in songs that chart the heart’s path from dating to marriage to divorce.

Guiding audiences through a series of comedic and poignant vignettes will be Richard Bayton, Emma Dickinson, Monica Frost, Emily Hardy, James Horsman, Sanna Jeppsson and Mark Simmonds.

Cue shocks, surprises and songs aplenty as our love lives are reflected in art, up close and personal. Box Office tickets.41monkgate.co.uk

The poster for York Light Opera Company’s I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
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More Things To Do in York and beyond on light nights as summer signals outdoor season. List No. 89, courtesy of The Press

York Light Opera Company’s performers and production team for A Night With The Light

FROM open-air films to the Proms, Early Music festival connections to Nordic sunshine, Charles Hutchinson’s summer season is in full bloom.

York Light Opera Company in A Night With The Light, Friargate Theatre, Friargate, York, today at 2.30pm and 7.30pm

UNDER the direction of Jonny Holbek and musical direction of Martin Lay, York Light presents a feel-good programme of powerful, funny, emotive and irreverent numbers from favourite musicals and new ones too.

Look forward to songs from Hamilton, Waitress, Wicked, Chicago, Chess, Avenue Q, The Phantom Of The Opera, Les Misérables, The Sound Of Music and plenty more. “Come join us as we have Magic To Do!” say Jonny and Martin. Box office: 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/a-night-with-the-light/.

West Side Story: One of the films to be shown at Picturehouse Outdoor Cinema in York Museum Gardens

Films under the stars: Picturehouse Outdoor Cinema, York Museum Gardens, York, tonight and tomorrow; August 5 to 7, 7.30pm

PICTUREHOUSE, owners of City Screen, York, present two weekends of open-air cinema with a summer vibe.

Tonight’s Grease (Sing-A-Long) (PG) will be followed by tomorrow’s 70th anniversary celebration of Singin’ In The Rain (U).

Next month’s trio of films opens with a 40th anniversary screening of Blade Runner (15) on August 5; next comes Steven Spielberg’s 2021 re-make of West Side Story (12A) on August 6;  last up, Disney’s Encanto (Sing-A-Long) (U) on August 7. Box office: picturehouses.com/outdoor-cinema/venue/york-museum-gardens.

Off to the coast: a-ha head for Scarborough Open Air Theatre tomorrow

The sun always shines on…a-ha, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, tomorrow, gates, 6pm

NORWEGIAN synth-pop trio a-ha head to the Yorkshire coast on their 2022 World Tour of Europe, the United States and South America, 40 years since forming in Oslo.

Vocalist Morten Harket, guitarist Pal Waaktaar-Savoy and keyboardist Magne Furuholmen will be releasing a new album in October, True North, their first collection of new songs since 2015’s I, recorded in two days 25km inside the Arctic Circle.

Will they preview new songs alongside the familiar Take On Me, The Sun Always Shines On TV, Hunting High And Low and Stay On These Roads? Find out on Sunday. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Christina Bianco’s LV and Ian Kelsey’s Ray Say in The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice at York Theatre Royal

Play of the week: Glass Half Full Productions in The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice, Monday to Saturday, 7.30pm; 2pm, Thursday; 2.30pm, Saturday

YORK actor Ian Kelsey returns to his home city to play viperous talent-spotting agent Ray Say in his Theatre Royal debut in a new tour of Jim Cartwright’s bittersweet comedy-drama, directed by Bronagh Lagan.

Coronation Street star Shobna Gulati plays louche, greedy, loud mother Mari Hoff and American actress and YouTube sensation Christina Bianco, her daughter LV, the recluse with the hidden singing talent for impersonating Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey et al. Can Ray draw her out of her shell and with what consequences? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

The Sixteen: Returning to York Minster for York Early Music Festival 2022

Festival of the week: York Early Music Festival 2022, July 8 to 16

YORK Early Music Festival returns to a full-scale live programme for the first time since 2019 under the theme of connections.

“Concerts are linked together through a maze of interconnecting composers,” says festival administrative director Delma Tomlin. “We’re delighted to be able to shine a light on the many connections that hold us together in the past and into the future.”

At the heart of the 2022 festival will be three 7.30pm concerts in York Minster by The Sixteen (July 9, the Nave); The Tallis Scholars (July 11, Chapter House) and the Gabrieli Consort & Players (July 13, the Nave). For the full programme and tickets, head to: ncem.co.uk.

Skylights: Playing their biggest gig yet at Leeds O2 Academy

York gig of the week in Leeds: Skylights, Leeds O2 Academy, July 9, doors, 7pm

YORK indie-rockers Skylights play “the biggest gig of our lives” next weekend up the road in Leeds, where previously they have sold out Leeds University and The Wardrobe and performed at Leeds United’s centenary celebrations in Millennium Square in October 2019.

Four Acomb lads in the 30s, singer Rob Scarisbrick, guitarist Turnbull Smith, drummer Myles Soley and bassist Jonny Scarisbrick, will perform to 2,300 fans in celebration of their debut album, What You Are, reaching number 34 in the charts in May. Box office: academymusicgroup.com.

Natasha Agarwal: Soprano soloist at York Proms

Picnic party of the week: York Proms, York Museum Gardens, York, July 10, gates, 4pm

MUSICAL director Ben Crick conducts the 22-piece Yorkshire Festival Orchestra in next weekend’s performance of classical and film pieces, a special Platinum Jubilee section in the second half and a rousing Proms finale.

Soloists will be soprano and dancer Natasha Agarwal, who performed in Opera North’s Carmen, and bass-baritone John Anthony Cunningham, who has chalked up principal roles with English National Opera, Opera North and the Royal Opera House.

York Proms founder Rebecca Newman’s special appearance includes a tribute to her husband and co-founder, Jonathan Fewtrell, who died suddenly in 2020. The Fireworkers provide a firework finishing flourish. Box office: 01904 555670 or yorkproms.com/tickets.

Calling Planet Earth: Elegy to the Eighties at York Barbican

New Romantic nostalgia in the air: Calling Planet Earth, York Barbican, January 21 2023, 8pm

THIS New Romantic Symphony takes a journey through the electrifying Eighties’ songs of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, The Human League, Ultravox, Tears For Fears, Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Japan, ABC and Soft Cell.

Calling Planet Earth combines a live band with symphonic arrangements and vocals in a show designed to “simply define a decade”. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk or ticketmaster.co.uk.