Tag: York Shakespeare Project

Posted on

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 33, from Gazette & Herald

Doubles troubles: Husband-and-wife strife for Helen Clarke’s Margo and Jamie McKeller’s ageing club champ, Lionel, in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets: What the Deuce? Picture: John Saunders

MINISTRY of Sound turning classical, The Magpies’ folk festival, Sue Slack’s landscape paintings and The Basement’s new comedy club should outshine this evening’s solar eclipse, reckons Charles Hutchinson.

New balls please: York Shakespeare Project presents 2026 Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Goodramgate, York, until Saturday,  6pm & 7.30pm, plus 4.30pm Saturday show

SUMMER at the Goodramgate Lawn Tennis Club finds four doubles teams competing for the chance to play in a Wimbledon amateur tournament, whereupon partnerships and rivalries lead to sabotage and break point. Who has the advantage? Who is at fault? Will the score be love?

Expect further tennis puns aplenty as Rosy Rowley directs Stuart Green’s script that asks a new collection of ten characters to play out this new sporting and unsporting situation where each finds a way to share a Shakespeare sonnet. Taking part are James Robert Ball, Oscar Langford, Helen Clarke, Sarah McKeagney, Stuart Lindsay, Alexa Williams, Jamie McKeller, Alan Sharp, Christine Bramwell and Effie Warboys. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Holly Johnson: Frankie says Relax on the Scarborough coast

Coastal gig of the week: Scarborough Open Air Theatre presents Holly Johnson, ABC and Heaven 17, Friday, gates 6pm

FLAMBOYANT, unapologetically bold Frankie Goes To Hollywood lead vocalist and lyricist Holly Johnson tops the 1980s’ triple bill on Friday, when he performs the chart-topping trio of  Relax, Two Tribes and The Power Of Love, further Frankie smashes Welcome To The Pleasure Dome and Rage Hard and solo hits Love Train, Americanos and Atomic City. Sheffield bands ABC and Heaven 17 support. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Grim reading: Pandora Clifford’s Mags (a younger Margaret Thatcher) flicking through the headlines in Handbagged at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Political drama of the week: Handbagged, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until August 29

MOIRA Buffini’s 2013 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.

The Magpies: Hosting their annual folk festival at Sutton Park, Sutton-on-the-Forest

Folk festival of the month: The Magpies Festival, Sutton Park, Sutton-on-the-Forest, near York, Friday and Saturday. SOLD OUT

RUN by the folk trio of Bella Gaffney, Holly Brandon and Ellie Gowers, The Magpies Festival presents Friday’s Main Stage bill of Daraa Tribes (6pm), The Magpies (8pm) and headliners Manran (10pm) and Brass Castle Stage bill of True Foxes (5pm), Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe & Daniel Quayle (7pm), SupaLung (9pm) and New York Brass Band (11pm).

Saturday’s line-up on the Main Stage comprises Steady Habits (12 noon), Alex Hart (2pm), Blair Dunlop (4pm), Katherine Priddy (6pm), Gnoss (8pm) and headliners Cut Capers (10pm). The Brass Castle Stage plays host to Songs In The Round, with Katherine Priddy, Blair Dunlop and Chloe Foy (1pm), Tarren (3pm), Ophelia’s Beard (5pm), Around About Dusk (7pm) and Suntou Susso & The Gambian Superstars (9pm). Box office for returns only: themagpiesfestival.co.uk/tickets.

York River Art Market organiser Caroline Turner with artist Lincoln Lightfoot on the Dame Judi Dench Walk pathway

Open-air art event of the week: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, York, Saturday & Sunday, 10am to 5.30pm

YORK River Art Market returns for its 11th year, bringing more than 30 artists from multiple disciplines to the Ouse riverside each day, this year presenting art and design market stalls on both sides of the pathway.

Described as York’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris, the event is being run for the first time this summer by Caroline Turner, a professional potter and ceramics teacher at Clay Space York. Admission is free.

Ministry of Sound Classical: Taking over the Castle Howard grounds on Saturday

Club classics/House/Orchestral party gathering of the week: Ministry of Sound Classical, Grounds of Castle Howard, near Malton, Saturday, 2pm to 10.30pm

ENJOY sweeping views of the Castle Howard Estate while listening to a live orchestra reimagining the greatest dance anthems from the iconic Ministry of Sound catalogue as timeless tracks are brought to life, blending classical musicianship with contemporary dance music for an unforgettable open-air experience. 

As well as headline act Ministry Of Sound Classical, artists performing at this festival will be Judge Jules, Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Ellie Sax, Smudged Soul and Alex Malam. Box office for last few tickets: skiddle.com/festivals/ministry-of-sound-classical-at-castle-howard/#tickets.

Nice touch: Chloe Petts feeling lippy about playing Basement Comedy Club’s debut gig

Comedy gig of the week: Basement Comedy Club launch gig, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, Sunday, 6pm

CITY Screen Picturehouse launches its new monthly comedy event in the redecorated Basement this weekend. Compered by Sara Barron, the debut Basement Comedy Club bill comprises headline act Chloe Petts, addressing lad culture and identity politics, Manchester comic Shah, shedding light on growing up in an immigrant household and mental health challenges, and Lovdev Barpaga, who specialises in crafting one liners and puns. Box office: picturehouses.com.

Hiker and landscape artist Sue Slack painting above Rosedale

Exhibition of the week: Sue Slack, Finding The Dramatic, Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole, until August 31

NORTH York Moors landscape painter Sue Slack’s work is inspired by a deep connection with the surrounding landscape. A keen runner and hiker, she draws creative energy from exploring the area close to home.

Working outdoors, Sue embraces the immediacy of being in the landscape and its direct influence on her painting and drawing. In Finding The Dramatic, she presents mixed-media works inspired by the hills, dales and coastline of the North York Moors. Open Saturdays to Thursdays, closed on Fridays; free to visit.

Linda Smith: Bedroom pop at The Crescent

American pop underground act of the week: Please Please You presents Linda Smith, The Crescent, York, Sunday, 6.30pm

HOME recording pioneer Linda Smith has self-released her music since 1987, originally on cassette. In the early 1990s, indie labels Slumberland and Harriet Records expanded her reach with two seven-inch EPs.

Brooklyn, New York label Captured Tracks has reissued two complete albums on vinyl and Smith has begun to tour in the United States and internationally for the first time, now visiting York with her bedroom pop. Support act Troutflies play loose, woozy punk and experimental lo-fi pop, occasionally with duelling melodicas. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

More Things To Do in York and beyond. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 33, from The York Press, from August 15 onwards

Squash on the tennis court: Effie Warboys’ insufferably spoilt Chessie, front left, pushing around her doubles partner, Alexa Williams’s Belle, in Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? In the background are Oscar Langford’s Harry, left, and James Robert Ball’s Tony. Picture: John Saunders

MINISTRY of Sound turning classical, The Basement’s comedy launch night and Johnny Depp’s Scarborough return spark Charles Hutchinson’s curiosity.

New balls please: York Shakespeare Project presents 2026 Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Goodramgate, York, August 15,  4.30pm, 6pm & 7.30pm

SUMMER at the Goodramgate Lawn Tennis Club finds four doubles teams competing for the chance to play in a Wimbledon amateur tournament, whereupon partnerships and rivalries lead to sabotage and break point. Who has the advantage? Who is at fault? Will the score be love?

Expect further tennis puns aplenty as Rosy Rowley directs Stuart Green’s script that asks a new collection of ten characters to play out this new sporting and unsporting situation where each finds a way to share a Shakespeare sonnet. Taking part are James Robert Ball, Oscar Langford, Helen Clarke, Sarah McKeagney, Stuart Lindsay, Alexa Williams, Jamie McKeller, Alan Sharp, Christine Bramwell and Effie Warboys. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

York River Art Market organiser Caroline Turner with artist Lincoln Lightfoot on the Dame Judi Dench Walk pathway

Open-air art event of the week: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, York, August 15 and 16, 10am to 5.30pm

YORK River Art Market has returned for its 11th year, bringing more than 30 artists from multiple disciplines to the Ouse riverside each day on the third of three weekends, this year presenting art and design market stalls on both sides of the pathway.

Described as York’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris, the event is being run for the first time this summer by Caroline Turner, a professional potter and ceramics teacher at Clay Space York. Admission is free.

Cut Capers: Headlining Main Stage at The Magpies Festival on August 15

Folk festival fully booked: The Magpies Festival, Sutton Park, Sutton-on-the-Forest, near York, August 15

RUN by the folk trio of Bella Gaffney, Holly Brandon and Ellie Gowers, The Magpies Festival presents today’s line-up on the Main Stage of Steady Habits (12 noon), Alex Hart (2pm), Blair Dunlop (4pm), Katherine Priddy (6pm), Gnoss (8pm) and headliners Cut Capers (10pm).

The Brass Castle Stage plays host to Songs In The Round, with Katherine Priddy, Blair Dunlop and Chloe Foy (1pm), Tarren (3pm), Ophelia’s Beard (5pm), Around About Dusk (7pm) and Suntou Susso & The Gambian Superstars (9pm). Box office for returns only: themagpiesfestival.co.uk/tickets.

Ministry of Sound Classical: Taking over the Castle Howard grounds on August 15

Club classics/House/Orchestral party gathering of the week: Ministry of Sound Classical, Grounds of Castle Howard, near Malton, August 15, 2pm to 10.30pm

ENJOY sweeping views of the Castle Howard Estate while listening to a live orchestra reimagining the greatest dance anthems from the iconic Ministry of Sound catalogue as timeless tracks are brought to life, blending classical musicianship with contemporary dance music for an unforgettable open-air experience. 

As well as headline act Ministry Of Sound Classical, artists performing at this festival will be Judge Jules, Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Ellie Sax, Smudged Soul and Alex Malam. Box office for last few tickets: skiddle.com/festivals/ministry-of-sound-classical-at-castle-howard/#tickets.

Hollywood Vampires: Joe Perry, left, Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper and Tommy Henriksen

Coastal gig of the week: Hollywood Vampires, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 15, gates 6pm

NAMED after Alice Cooper’s 1970s’ drinking club, American rock supergroup Hollywood Vampires return to Scarborough after their sold-out 2023 gig with the regular line-up of Cooper, film star and guitarist Johnny Depp, Aerosmith co-founder Joe Perry and Crossbone Skully and Warlock musician Tommy Henriksen. Punk icons The Damned support. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.

Sara Barron: Compere for Basement Comedy Club debut gig

Comedy gig of the week: Basement Comedy Club launch show, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, August 16, 6pm

CITY Screen Picturehouse launches its new monthly comedy event in the redecorated Basement this weekend. Compered by Sara Barron, the debut Basement Comedy Club bill comprises headline act Chloe Petts, addressing lad culture and identity politics, Manchester comic Shah, shedding light on growing up in an immigrant household and mental health challenges, and Lovdev Barpaga, who specialises in crafting one liners and puns. Box office: picturehouses.com.

Hiker and landscape artist Sue Slack painting above Rosedale

Exhibition of the week: Sue Slack, Finding The Dramatic, Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-e-Hole, until August 31

NORTH York Moors landscape painter Sue Slack’s work is inspired by a deep connection with the surrounding landscape. A keen runner and hiker, she draws creative energy from exploring the area close to home.

Working outdoors, Sue embraces the immediacy of being in the landscape and its direct influence on her painting and drawing. In Finding The Dramatic, she presents mixed-media works inspired by the hills, dales and coastline of the North York Moors. Open Saturdays to Thursdays, closed on Fridays; free to visit.

Linda Smith: Bedroom pop at The Crescent

American pop underground act of the week: Please Please You presents Linda Smith, The Crescent, York, August 16, 6.30pm

HOME recording pioneer Linda Smith has self-released her music since 1987, originally on cassette. In the early 1990s, indie labels Slumberland and Harriet Records expanded her reach with two seven-inch EPs.

Brooklyn, New York label Captured Tracks has reissued two complete albums on vinyl and Smith has begun to tour in the United States and internationally for the first time, now visiting York with her bedroom pop. Support act Troutflies play loose, woozy punk and experimental lo-fi pop, occasionally with duelling melodicas. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

Silent Disco falls even more silent

CANCELLED: Glasswerk presents Day Fever Silent Disco, York Museum Gardens, August 21, 6.30pm

YORK Museum Gardens will no longer be transformed into “the ultimate outdoor dance floor” for Day Fever’s first ever Silent Disco under the stars that would have followed the organisers’ series of York Barbican indoor events.

“It’s really simple,” said Day Fever’s co-organiser, actress Vicky McClure, before the late cancellation. “Everyone gets a pair of headphones. You’ll be connected to a Day Fever DJ, who will be playing non-stop Day Fever anthems from 6.30pm until 10m. Sing as loud as you like – no-one can hear.” Ticket refunds: https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/York/Museum-Gardens/Day-Fever-Silent-Disco/42485814/.

Michelle Yim in The Ballad Of Mulan, on tour at York Theatre Royal.

Show announcement of the week: Red Dragonfly Productions & Grist To The Mill Productions present The Ballad Of Mulan, York Theatre Royal Studio, September 11, 7.45pm; September 12, 2pm & 7.45pm

COMMISSIONED and performed by West Yorkshire-born British-Chinese actress Michelle Yim, The Ballad Of Mulan tells the story of the real woman behind the legendary Chinese female warrior who disguised as a man to join the Empire’s army – and inspired Disney’s animation and live-feature Mulan.

Woman, warrior, legend, for ten years Mulan has fought for the Chinese Empire. Now, after one last battle, she will be going home, but can she return to her old life, becoming a woman again. Yim’s hour-long The Ballad Of Mulan presents a search for identity in a violent world. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Posted on

REVIEW: York Shakespeare Project in 2026 Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Goodramgate, York ****

On the stretch: Jamie McKeller’s Lionel and Stuart Lindsay’s Charles limbering up for a doubles match in Summer Sonnets’ What The Deuce? at Holy Trinity Churchyard. Picture: John Saunders

ROSY Rowley and Stuart Green, partners off court, are the new doubles partnership for York Shakespeare Project’s tennis-themed 2026 Summer Sonnets.

Familiar figures on the York stage, they have switched to directing and writing YSP’s regular summer enterprise, wherein ten of the Bard’s sonnets are performed within a framework that changes each year.

Courtly love takes on a new meaning in Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, set in the summertime, when the weather is fine at the Goodramgate Lawn Tennis Club as four doubles teams compete for the chance to play in a Wimbledon amateur tournament.

Ace partnership: What The Deuce? director Rosy Rowley and script writer Stuart Green putting top spin on York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets with novel tennis theme

Sporting endeavour clashes with unsporting behaviour when partnerships and rivalries on court undermine partnerships off court, taking rivalries to break point in a surfeit of subterfuge and sabotage. “Who has the advantage? Who is at fault? Will the score be love?” ask Green and Rowley, who duly reach for a volley of tennis puns, put away with the flourish of a Federer.

Free drink in hand – alas not Robinsons Lemon Barley Water, but then again Robinsons’ partnership with Wimbledon ended after 86 years in 2022 – the audience settled into seating repositioned by 90 degrees in the Holy Trinity Churchyard.

The cast now performs with the sound of the Chinese restaurant kitchen fans on Goodramgate now behind or to the side of them: an excellent decision that ensures vocal clarity. In addition, Rowley has her actors delivering from closer to the audience, again ensuring no line is lost.

Alan Sharp’s groundsman (in a change of rock band T-shirt from the one referenced in this review) receiving the first of multiple instructions from the tennis club chair, Christine Bramwell’s Elizabeth, in Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? Picture: John Saunders

York tour guide Alan Sharp is no stranger to speaking on the move, above street noise, and here he does so as the phlegmatic, weather-beaten, worldly-wise groundsman Graham, whose every line is either delivered in iambic pentameter in Stuart Green’s script or is one of the Bard’s smattering of tennis references (or real tennis as it would have been at that time), from Henry V to Hamlet.

In his System Of A Down Mine Is Bigger Than Yours T-shirt and shorts, Sharp’s Graham will open and close the show and make regular interjections to carry out handyman tasks, reappearing with a plunger, rubber gloves, replacement barley water bottle and finally an old-school groundsman’s line marker (with the obligatory squeak). It is a standard-fit line marker, by the way, rather than bigger than yours.

The churchyard grass is not converted into a tennis court (games are conducted as ‘noises off’), but serves as the club grounds where all the shenanigans take place.

Drinks break: Oscar Langford’s Harry, left, and James Robert Ball’s Tony sip the barley water in a joke that will run and run in Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? as Stuart Lindsay’s Charles looks on. Picture: John Saunders

Each time the drama heightens, invariably in a heated discussion, rather than bursting into song in opera or musical theatre, a protagonist moves seamlessly into sonnet mode, and come the 50-minute mark, all ten will have unburdened themselves in Shakespeare’s silver tongue.

We meet Christine Bramwell’s ever-enthusiastic club chair Elizabeth; her doubles partner, Helen Clarke’s Margo, wife to Jamie McKeller’s ageing club champ, whose doubles partner, Stuart Lindsay’s Charles, is wont to hiding behind trees, desperate to win Margo rather more than his matches.

Of the young things, Oscar Langford’s Harry is a loyal partner to James Robert Ball’s Tony, in more ways than tennis as it becomes increasingly apparent, but Lionel and Margo’s spoilt-brat, posh and pushy daughter Chessie (Effie Warboys, whose birthday falls tomorrow) wants Harry to hurry up in his affections for her. “I’m practically club royalty,” she scoffs, making a racket at every toss and turn.

Squash on the tennis court: Effie Warboys’ insufferably spoilt Chessie, front left, pushing around her doubles partner, Alexa Williams’s Belle. In the background are Oscar Langford’s Harry, left, and James Robert Ball’s Tony. Effie will be celebrating her birthday tomorrow. Picture: John Saunders

Her long-suffering best friend Belle (Alexa Williams) has the hots for Harry too. Meanwhile, club newcomer Vic (Sarah McKeagney), in jeans and Gorillaz T-shirt, is on the lookout for a partner, as we watch everything play out game, set and match, fair game, re-set and mis-match, with delightful mischief in Green’s plot and Rowley’s direction alike.

“Only in tennis does ‘love’ mean you are losing,” laments Lindsay’s Charles in Green’s best line, although Charles’s “I had Brazilian last night,” prompting a misunderstanding Lionel to enquire “Chafing?” is a peach too. Easy mis-steak to make!

All the familiar Shakespeare comedy tropes are present and freshly spun from mistaken identity to a potion in the barley water, cross-dressing to mistaken identity; revenge to lust and unrequited love. You will be rushing home to check whether  Mexican Donkey Laxative  actually exists.

Sarah McKeagney: One of eight York Shakespeare Project debutants in Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, playing tennis club newcomer Vic at Holy Trinity Churchyard. Picture: John Saunders

What The Deuce is YSP’s ninth season of summertime sonnets and third at Holy Trinity, where Rowley and Green have certainly supplied new balls, please, with their rallying call enticing eight of the cast to make both their Sonnets and YSP debut.

Whether Sonnet Walks or Sit-Down Sonnets, Sonnets at the Bar [Convent], Sonnets in Bloom in 2025 or tennis fun and games in 2026, this event remains one of the joys of the York outdoor theatre year for performers, audience and venues alike. You cannot be serious? Very much so.

York Shakespeare Project presents 2026 Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Goodramgate, York, play resumes tomorrow until Saturday, 6pm and 7.30pm plus 4.30pm Saturday show. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Doubles troubles ahead: Helen Clarke’s Margo and her husband, Jamie McKeller’s Lionel, the ageing club champ in Summer Sonnets: What the Deuce? Picture: John Saunders

Posted on

More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 32, from The York Press

Donna Maria Taylor in her South Bank Studios studio

GEORGIAN celebrations, a brace of art fairs, Shakespeare sonnets on the tennis court and The Magpies’ folk festival should outshine Wednesday’s solar eclipse, reckons Charles Hutchinson.

Artists in situ: South Bank Studios’ Summer Artists Open Doors, Southlands Methodist Church, Bishopthorpe Road, York, today, 10am to 4pm

MEET the South Bank artists and makers who work in a broad range of disciplines, from textile art, painting, drawing and photography, to mixed media, letterpress and linocut printmaking.

Visit their studios to see their creative processes in a day of art to buy, art demonstrations and activities, including the loft studios, not usually on view to the public. The cafe will be open for refreshments. Entry is free; all welcome.  

Masquerade Ball at the 2026 York Georgian Festival tonight

York festival of the week: York Georgian Festival, until August 10

HIGHLIGHTING the sights and sounds of 18th century life, York Mansion House and beyond plays host to the fourth York Georgian Festival in a festival programme that ranges from free displays of dancing and military drills in St Helen’s Square to the York Georgian Masquerade Ball at the Grand Assembly Rooms tonight. Talk, tours, performances and workshops feature too. For full listings and booking details, go to: yorkgeorgianfestival.co.uk.

Carlton Main Colliery Band: Brass At The Proms at Selby Abbey

Rousing concert of the week: Brass At The Proms, Carlton Main Colliery Band, Selby Abbey, tonight, 7pm

JOIN Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band on its return to the former coalfield town of Selby for a Last Night of the Proms brass concert featuring a vibrant mix of rousing favourites. Seating in the Main Nave will be allocated, with seat and row numbers; Rear Nave seating will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Box office: selbytownhall.co.uk.

Futureproof’s logo for a night of poetry, drag, monologues and comedy

Art and science bonding exercise of the week: Futureproof presents Opposites Attract Scratch Night, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 7.30pm

EIGHT acts perform a mixture of poetry, drag, monologues and comedy. Expect biochemistry, molecular biology, sewing, chalk stream-inspired dance and more tonight.

The theme, Opposites Attract, derives from the idea that many things will give people joy, purpose, belonging and entertainment — such as maths and science — that seem to be mutually exclusive to theatre. Futureproof invites creatives to consider these ostensible contrasts, alongside the concept that theatre is meant to reflect our world and/or be a tool to create new ones. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Comedy event of the week: Kevin Bridges: Warm Up, Grand Opera House, York, today and tomorrow, 8pm

CLYDEBANK comedian Kevin Bridges performs two warm-up shows in York ahead of his UK stand-up tour Here If You Need Me. Tonight’s gig has sold out but tickets are still available for tomorrow, as well as for his Leeds First Direct Bank Arena tour show on November 19. Box office: York, atgtickets.com/york; Leeds, axs.com/uk/events/1240964/kevin-bridges-tickets?skin=leeds.

On the stretch: Jamie McKeller’s Lionel, left, and Stuart Lindsay’s Charles limbering up for the doubles in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets: What the Deuce? Picture: John Saunders

New balls please: York Shakespeare Project presents 2026 Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Goodramgate, York, until August 15, except August 11, 6pm & 7.30pm, plus 4.30pm Saturday shows

SUMMER at the Goodramgate Lawn Tennis Club finds four doubles teams competing for the chance to play in a Wimbledon amateur tournament, whereupon partnerships and rivalries lead to sabotage and break point. Who has the advantage? Who is at fault? Will the score be love?

Expect further tennis puns aplenty as Rosy Rowley directs Stuart Green’s script that asks a new collection of ten characters to play out this new sporting and unsporting situation where each finds a way to share a Shakespeare sonnet. Taking part will be James Robert Ball, Oscar Langford, Helen Clarke, Sarah McKeagney, Stuart Lindsay, Alexa Williams, Jamie McKeller, Alan Sharp, Christine Bramwell and Effie Warboys. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

The poster fort York River Art Market 2026. Illustration by Elliot Harrison (@York360)

Open-air art event of the month: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, York, today and tomorrow, then August 15 & 16, 10am to 5.30pm

YORK River Art Market returns for its 11th year, bringing more than 30 artists from multiple disciplines to the Ouse riverside each day, this year presenting art and design market stalls on both sides of the pathway.

Described as York’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris, the event is being run for the first time this summer by Caroline Turner, a professional potter and ceramics teacher at Clay Space York. Admission is free.

York River Art Market 2026 organiser Caroline Turner with artist Lincoln Lightfoot on the Dame Judi Dench Walk pathway

Tribute gig of the week: SWT presents Pulp’d vs Blur 2, Milton Rooms, Malton, today, 8pm

PULP’D and Blur2 team up for a double-header of Britpop royalty tonight. Born and raised in Sheffield, passionate Pulp fans Pulp’d came together to re-create the hits, passion and Jarvis Cocker moves.

Blur2 bring the very best of Blur to every show: the energy, the fun, the sound, the looks and the musicianship of Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and co. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Scissor Sisters: Heading to the Scarborough coast tonight

Coastal gigs of the week: Scarborough Open Air Theatre presents Scissor Sisters, today; Holly Johnson, ABC and Heaven 17, August 14,  gates 6pm

AFTER their 2025 UK arena reunion tour and that summer’s Saturday night Glastonbury set, Scissor Sisters bring their trademark blend of glam, grit and glorious to Scarborough Open Air Theatre this weekend. Jake Shears, Babydaddy, Del Marquis and co will be rolling out such favourites as Take Your Mama, Laura, I Don’t Feel Like Dancin, Let’s Have A Kiki, Only The Horses and Filthy/Gorgeous.

Holly Johnson: Frankie says Relax in Scarborough

Flamboyant, unapologetically bold Frankie Goes To Hollywood lead vocalist and lyricist Holly Johnson tops the 1980s’ triple bill next Friday, when he performs the chart-topping trio of  Relax, Two Tribes and The Power Of Love, further Frankie smashes Welcome To The Pleasure Dome and Rage Hard and solo hits Love Train, Americanos and Atomic City. Sheffield bands ABC and Heaven 17 support. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

The Magpies: Hosting their folk festival at Sutton Park

Folk festival of the month: The Magpies Festival, Sutton Park, near York, August 14 and 15

RUN by the folk trio of Bella Gaffney, Holly Brandon and Ellie Gowers, The Magpies Festival presents next Friday’s Main Stage bill of Daraa Tribes (6pm), The Magpies (8pm) and headliners Manran (10pm) and Brass Castle Stage bill of True Foxes (5pm), Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe & Daniel Quayle (7pm), SupaLung (9pm) and New York Brass Band (11pm).

Next Saturday’s line-up on the Main Stage comprises Steady Habits (12 noon), Alex Hart (2pm), Blair Dunlop (4pm), Katherine Priddy (6pm), Gnoss (8pm) and headliners Cut Capers (10pm). The Brass Castle Stage plays host to Songs In The Round, with Katherine Priddy, Blair Dunlop and Chloe Foy (1pm), Tarren (3pm), Ophelia’s Beard (5pm), Around About Dusk (7pm) and Suntou Susso & The Gambian Superstars (9pm). Box office: themagpiesfestival.co.uk/tickets.

Composer Thomas Adès: Presenting new composition at Creation-themed North York Moors Chamber Music Festival. Picture: Marco Borggreve

In Focus: North York Moors Chamber Music Festival, August 8 to 22

THE North York Moors Chamber Music Festival celebrates its 18th consecutive year with the premieres of six works by contemporary British composers.

Aptly named Creation, the 2026 festival will run from August 8 to 22, featuring new compositions by Thomas Adès, Huw Watkins (both of whom will perform at the festival), Charlotte Bray, Tom Coult, Isabella Gellis and Helen Grime.

“Our 2026 festival celebrates the wonder of beginnings and features six newly commissioned premieres that evoke the six days of the universe’s creation, woven through the festival theme, by six of our country’s very finest composers,” says festival director and cellist Jamie Walton.

Charlotte Bray: Premiering That Which You Wove Of Lightest Thread, I Wear To Honour Stone at North York Moors Chamber Music Festival. Picture: David Beecroft

“As part of this narrative, the Sabbath (Sunday) remains a day of rest – and each concert includes works that were themselves groundbreaking or innovative in their time, reflecting music’s timeless power to create, to renew, and to tell a universal story through sound.”

Jamie continues: “Thomas Adès is widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest living composers, so it’s a real coup to have him both write for us and come to premiere the piece, Flower Variations [in the Landspeak concert on August 14 at 7pm at Welburn Manor].

“We’re really proud of the fact that, alongside these six outstanding composers, we have such a stellar line-up of international artists.

Helen Grime: Premiering Time Be Brief. Picture: Benjamin Ealovega

“We’re also continuing to champion visual artists from the moors in the brochure, pairing their work with concert titles. We’ve done this for the past two years and it’s a wonderful way to cross-pollinate and collaborate with more artists.”

Charlotte Bray’s piece for horn and string quartet, That Which You Wove Of Lightest Thread, I Wear To Honour Stone,  will be accompanied by a collaborative artwork by Caroline Burraway, exhibited on stage at St Hedda’s, Egton Bridge during The Dividing Line performance on August 13 at 2pm.

Isabella Gellis’s Creation will be premiered in August 11’s Dialogue concert at St Hilda’s, Danby, at 2pm; Helen Grime’s Time Be Brief, at Metamorphoses concert, Welburn Abbey, August 15, 7pm; Huw Watkins’s Oboe Quartet, The Architect’s Hand concert, St Mary’s, Lastingham, August  18, 2pm, and Tom Coult’s Two Nocturnes and A Maze, in its UK premiere, Nightfall concert, Welburn Abbey, August 20, 7pm.

Huw Watkins: Premiering his Oboe Quartet in festival appearance. Picture: Benjamin Ealovega

The festival will take place in four historic moorland churches – St Hilda’s, Danby, St Hedda’s, Egton Bridge, St Michael’s, Coxwold, and St Mary’s, Lastingham – along with the majority of concerts being staged in the grounds of Welburn Manor, near Kirkbymoorside, where the acoustically-treated venue has been enlarged this year to reflect the festival’s increasing popularity.  

The festival was named a Best of British Fund Winner 2026 by Airbnb, representing Yorkshire as part of the North York Moors Beacon for the Arts.

Jamie says: “Our festival celebrates the art of collaboration in an awe-inspiring setting, taking our audience on a musical quest each year through interwoven themes within a central storyline.

Isabella Gellis: Premiering Creation in August 11’s Dialogue concert at St Hilda’s, Danby. Picture: Ella Pavlides

“Over 18 years, we have built a reputation for breaking down barriers to make exceptional music accessible to all, fostering community and cultural connection through friendship and trust. Uncompromising even amid pandemic challenges, our festival was one of the few to present full, live performances in 2020 and 2021.

“August, when the heather is in full bloom, brings the North York Moors to life. Artists are immersed in the National Park, rehearsing and living in a deeply holistic environment, while audiences are welcome to enjoy picnics on the grounds of Welburn Manor, attend concerts, and explore the region’s historic churches and priories.”

The event continues to attract international artists, 28 this year, many of them committing to the entire fortnight by taking up residencies in a festival of 13 concerts featuring 58 chamber works from 32 composers spanning 300 years to the present day. 

Tom Coult: Premiering Two Nocturnes and A Maze on August 20. Picture: Matthew Johnson

This year, these include Alena Baeva, Benjamin Baker, Oliver Cave, Oliver Heath, Alessandro Ruisi and Charlotte Scott (violin); Sascha Bota, Meghan Cassidy,  Emma Wernig and Simone van der Giessen (viola); Rebecca Gilliver, Tim Posner and Jamie Walton (cello) and Will Duerden (double bass).

Taking part too are: Thomas Adès, Katya Apekisheva, Joseph Havlat, Roman Kosyakov, Daniel Lebhardt and Huw Watkins (piano); Ben Goldscheider (French horn); Nicholas Daniel (oboe); Matthew Hunt (clarinet); Jonathan Davies (bassoon) and James Gilchrist (tenor). Completing the line-up will be the festival’s award-winning Young Artists ensemble, The Davidoff Trio.

Tickets for individual concerts are £18; a season ticket for all 13 costs £190. As ever, under-30s gain free entry to any of the concerts. To book, email [email protected], call 07722 038990 or visit www.northyorkmoorsfestival.com. The full programme can be downloaded via https://www.northyorkmoorsfestival.com/.

“Our 2026 festival celebrates the wonder of beginnings and features six newly commissioned premieres that evoke the six days of the universe’s creation,” says North York Moors Chamber Music Festival director Jamie Walton. Picture: Matthew Johnson

Posted on

Where love becomes 40-love as Rosy and Stuart serve up Shakespeare sonnets on tennis court at Holy Trinity Church

Director Rosy Rowley and writer Stuart Green, on the bench at Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate, rehearsing with Summer Sonnets cast members and producer Maurice Crichton (arms folded, at the back). Picture: John Saunders

DIRECTOR Rosy Rowley and writer Stuart Green are the new doubles partnership for York Shakespeare Project’s tennis-themed 2026 Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?

New balls, please, will be served on the grass of Holy Trinity Churchyard, in Goodramgate, York, from Friday to August 15, with a rest day on August 11.

Should you be wondering “Why tennis?”, the game features in no fewer than seven Shakespeare plays: Hamlet, Act II, Scene 1; Henry IV, Part 2, Act II, Scene 2; Henry VIII, Act I, Scene 3; Much Ado About Nothing, Act III, Scene 2; Pericles, Act II, Scene 1; The Two Noble Kinsmen, Act V, Scene 2, and most notoriously in Henry V, Act I, Scene 2.

In that scene, the French Dauphin mocks King Henry by sending him a gift of tennis balls to besmirch his youthful reputation as a frivolous playboy. Henry responds by threatening to turn the balls into cannonballs to play a set as explosive as McEnroe against the French crown.

Ready to serve: Tennis fan William Shakespeare in York Shakespeare Project’s poster for Summers Sonnets: What The Deuce?

Now  comes What The Deuce?, where summertime at the Goodramgate Lawn Tennis Club finds four doubles teams competing for the chance to play in a Wimbledon amateur tournament, whereupon partnerships and rivalries lead to sabotage and break point. Who has the advantage? Who is at fault? Will the score be love?

Cue further tennis puns aplenty as Rowley directs Green’s script that asks a new collection of ten characters to play out this new sporting and unsporting situation, where each finds a way to share a Shakespeare sonnet.

Pulling on the traditional and not-so-traditional Wimbeldon tennis whites for York Shakespeare Project (YSP) will be Alan Sharp’s Graham; Christine Bramwell’s Elizabeth; Helen Clarke’s Margo; Jamie McKeller’s Lionel; Stuart Lindsay’s Charles; Oscar Langford’s Harry; James Robert Ball’s Tony; Alexa Williams’s Belle; Sarah McKeagney’s Vic and Effie Warboys’ Chessie.

“Stuart has been wanting to write and I’ve been wanting to direct,” says Rosy. “I’d directed a Direct Approach play for Settlement Players – Night Secrets – so I just wanted to get back into it, and I suppose YSP have taken a bit of a punt on us.”

James Robert Ball, left, and Oscar Langford in rehearsal for Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? Picture: John Saunders

It should be pointed out that Rosy and Stuart tread the boards regularly in York, first meeting when performing in the York Theatre Royal community play Sovereign in 2023. “We’ve done a few plays together, such as A Kingdom Jack’d  in April, and theatre is the thing that brought together as a couple,” says Rosy.

“We’ve now got one of those bricks on the wall at Theatre@41, Monkgate, where we both volunteer, that says ‘Theatre together’.”

Stuart and Rosy settled on 80 per cent of the sonnets before Stuart set to work on the script that weaves ten sonnets into the tennis plotline. “We’ve had great fun putting the story together with classic Shakespeare tropes and then putting them in a tennis setting,” says Rosy.

“We’ve crammed a lot into our 50-minute play,” says Stuart. “We have cross-dressing; mistaken identity; poisoning, revenge; lust; unrequited love…

Director Rosy Rowley and writer Stuart Green in the Holy Trinity Churchyard, the setting for courtly love with a difference in their tennis-themed Summer Sonnets. Picture: Maurice Crichton

… “and of course lots of tennis,” says Rosy. “What’s been really important to us is not making the sonnet just something they recite but part of a conversation, which is the case in all but two of them that will be done as monologues.”

Stuart adds: “We wanted to incorporate the sonnets into conversations in the play, thinking how could a sonnet fit with a particular character? The aim is that the audience doesn’t notice they’ve gone into a sonnet because it makes the sonnets really accessible by putting them in a narrative, where suddenly they make more sense.”

Not all of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets focus on romantic love. Death, political vexation, artistic rivalries, human flaws and the passage of time are significant themes too, alongside desire and love.

“We thought how could we interpret sonnets in ways that fit with our play, and the beautiful thing is that there are so many ways to interpret them, not just romantic love,” says. “For example, Christine Bramwell’s sonnet reflects her love for the tennis club and the game.

Belle of the ball: Alexa Williams playing the role of Belle in York Shakespeare Project’s tennis-punned Summer Sonnets: What’s The Deuce. Picture: John Saunders

“Right at the start of rehearsals, I had one-to-one table sessions with each actor to see how we could make their sonnet work with the character.”

Stuart adds: “I think it helps that both Rosy and I are actors because we know what each actor can bring to the part.”

Stuart and Rosy have been delighted by the response to this summer’s sonnet project. “We had 30 people applying to take part, which was a record number,” says Stuart. “Then 24-25 auditioned, and we cast ten, where only two of them – Stuart Lindsay and Effie Warboys – had done Summer Sonnets before.

“A lot of them are new to YSP. It wasn’t a conscious decision; it was just that they were the best to put themselves forward.”

Helen Clarke, left, Oscar Langford, Stuart Lindsay and Sarah McKeagney rehearsing with Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? script writer Stuart Green. Picture: John Saunders

One other new element will be the positioning of the actors in the Holy Trinity churchyard. “We’ve shifted it 90 degrees so that the Chinese restaurant, on Goodramgate, with its fan noise and smells, will now be behind the actors, rather than the audience,” says Rosy. Good decision.

Green by name, green keeper by profession, Stuart first wrote screenplays in his teens and 20s. “I wanted to get into films, but the chances were non-existent, so I became a green keeper, initially at Bushey Hall Golf Club in Watford, then went to college and ended up at Gleneagles for four years,” he says.

“Now I teach green-keeping: I’m a grass nerd! I used to be based at Askham Bryan, where I taught apprentices at the agricultural college. Now I work for Train Together, teaching green keepers and cricket, football and rugby groundsmen.

“There’ll be a groundman as one of the characters in our Summer Sonnets, Alan Sharp’s Graham. I couldn’t resist it! I’ve called on one of my old York Cricket Club contacts to lend us an old line marker – and one of my stipulations was that it had to be squeaky as they generally are!”

Helen Clarke, left, Oscar Langford and Sarah McKeagney rehearsing a scene from Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? Picture: John Saunders

Tennis gear will carry significance in Rosy and Stuart’s production. “What they’re wearing denotes their status at the club, whether it’s all white or not,” says Rosy. “There has to be a bit of a social statement in that.”

No tennis pun has been resisted. “We realised we didn’t have enough tennis innuendo at first, so I’ve had fun writing some absolute ‘tennis filth’,” says Rosy. “Now it’s unashamedly Carry On Tennis,” says Stuart.

“And of course we had to crow-bar ‘You cannot be serious’ in there too,” says Rosy.

York Shakespeare Project presents 2026 Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Goodramgate, York, August 7 to 15, except August 11, 6pm and 7.30pm plus 4.30pm Saturday shows. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/seasons/2e40b388-a069-4f16-bafe-30250ae8c13a

Lara Stafford in her Premium Eclipse Viewer glasses in readiness for August 12’s solar eclipse during the 6pm performance of Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? Pairs are available for free for Sonnets audience members

Not to be eclipsed…

ON Wednesday, August 12, the UK will experience its deepest solar eclipse since 1999, with up to 96 per cent of the Sun covered by the Moon.

Across North Yorkshire, the partial eclipse will begin at 6.12pm, peak at 7.08pm and finish at 8.02pm. That day’s 6pm and 7.30pm performances of Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? will go ahead as planned, but do come prepared for the eclipse experience.

Quick question: Do sunglasses protect eyes in a solar eclipse? NO!The official advice is: Never look directly at the Sun.

Why? The Sun can burn the retinas in the eyes, leading to permanent damage or even blindness. This can occur even if your eyes are exposed to direct sunlight for only a few seconds.

Proper eye protection is the only safe option, not sunglasses. The only way to view the Sun safely – eclipsed or not – is to either project or filter the Sun’s rays.

Suggestion: Make your own box projector or acquire safe solar eclipse glasses. NASA also recommends welder’s glasses rated 14 or higher, to be found at welding supply stores.

Lara Stafford demonstrating the benefit of wearing Premium Eclipse Viewer glasses for August 12’s partial eclipse of the Sun

YORK actress, Physics teacher and Theatre of Science communicator Lara Stafford is teaming up with York Shakespeare Project for a special offer for Summer Sonnet audience members. “August 12’s 6pm show coincides with the solar eclipse: the best one to happen to the UK until 2090, with over 90 per cent of the Sun covered by the Moon,” she says.

“It’ll begin just after 6pm and peak an hour later, just after the performance. A £10 Summer Sonnets ticket has always come with a free drink, but to celebrate this cosmic coming together, we’re going to give out a free pair of eclipse glasses with every ticket sold for performances up to the 6pm show on August 12.”

Lara continues: “I buy them in for work anyway, so I’m just ordering a few more! It’s quite difficult to get eclipse glasses cheaply and guarantee they’re not fakes, and you can ‘only’ watch the eclipse with your eyes if you’re wearing eclipse glasses. So it’s an easy way for us to spread the eclipse excitement around York and spread awareness of the sonnets.”

Should you be wondering, a reference to an eclipse can be found in Sonnet No. 35, one that does not feature in Rosy and Stuart Green’s choices for Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? So here is the quote:

“No more be grieved at that which thou hast done.
Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud;
Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun,
And loathsome canker lives in sweetest bud.”

UPDATE: 11/08/2026

THOSE four lines from Sonnet No. 35 WILL now feature in Wednesday’s 6pm and 7.30pm performances of Summer Sonnets, adding to Alan Sharp’s Shakespeare quotes in his guise as groundman Graham. Every line uttered by the phlegmatic Graham in Stuart Green’s script is either in the rhythm of iambic pentameter or one of the Bard’s references to tennis.

Still shielding their eyes! The Brontë Sisters in York Settlement Community Players’ poster for Underdog: The Other Brontë at Theatre@41, Monkgate

ECLIPSE glasses removed, Lara Stafford will be shining next on the York stage as Charlotte Brontë in Claire Morley’s production of Sarah Gordon’s 2024 play Underdog: The Other Brontë for York Settlement Community Players at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from October 13 to 17.

The plot? Charlotte Brontë has a confession about how one sister became an idol and the other became known as the third sister. You know the one. No, not that one. The other, other one…Anne.

Underdog presents an “irreverent retelling of the life and legend of the Brontë sisters like you’ve never seen them before”. This is not a story of well-behaved women but of the power of words, sisters and sisterhood, love and jealousy, support and competition. Tickets for the 7.30pm evening performances and 2.30pm Saturday matinee are on sale at https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/.

Posted on

What’s On in Ryedale, York & beyond. Hutch’s List No. 32, from Gazette & Herald

York Georgian Festival, promenading through the streets and taking over York Mansion House

YORK River Art Market’s return, Georgian festivities, Shakespeare sonnets on the tennis court and Britpop tribute acts R catch Charles Hutchinson’s eye as August arrives.

York festival of the week: York Georgian Festival, tomorrow to August 10

HIGHLIGHTING the sights and sounds of 18th century life, York Mansion House plays host to the fourth York Georgian Festival in a five-day festival programme that ranges from free displays of dancing and military drills in St Helen’s Square to the York Georgian Masquerade Ball at the Grand Assembly Rooms on Saturday. Talk, tours, performances and workshops feature too. For full listings and booking details, go to: yorkgeorgianfestival.co.uk.

Oscar Langford, left, and James Robert Ball in rehearsal for York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? at Holy Trinity Churchyard, Goodramgate, York. Picture: John Saunders

New balls please: York Shakespeare Project presents 2026 Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Goodramgate, York, Friday to August 15, except August 11, 6pm & 7.30pm, plus 4.30pm Saturday shows

SUMMER at the Goodramgate Lawn Tennis Club finds four doubles teams competing for the chance to play in a Wimbledon amateur tournament, whereupon partnerships and rivalries lead to sabotage and break point. Who has the advantage? Who is at fault? Will the score be love?

Expect further tennis puns aplenty as Rosy Rowley directs Stuart Green’s script that asks a new collection of ten characters to play out this new sporting and unsporting situation where each finds a way to share a Shakespeare sonnet. Taking part will be James Robert Ball, Oscar Langford, Helen Clarke, Sarah McKeagney, Stuart Lindsay, Alexa Williams, Jamie McKeller, Alan Sharp, Christine Bramwell and Effie Warboys. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/

New York Brass Band line up with Hyde Family Jam members Tom Gill (accordion), back row, third from left, and Will Dreyfus (vocals and guitar), front row, left, ahead of Friday’s York Barbican gig

Mash-up of the week: The Crescent presents New York Brass Band & Hyde Family Jam, York Barbican, Friday, 8pm

TWO of York’s biggest, bounciest musical party troupes collide at York Barbican for a co-headline show with a difference. Promoter Joe Coates has decided the four-piece Hyde Family Jam will be on stage first, followed by an eight-piece line up of New York Brass Band, each playing a 40-minute set before rampant folk-rock meets New Orleans brass head on in a collaborative finale of these high-energy street urchins’ biggest hits. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

York Stage’s poster for Raise Your Voice: MTI Broadway Junior Revue at Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York

Musical theatre celebration of the week: York Stage presents brings Raise Your Voice: MTI Broadway Junior Revue, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Friday, 7.30pm, and Saturday, 2pm and 4pm

THIS uplifting showcase by the next generation of performers features iconic songs from Broadway Junior favourites, showcased by a talented young York Stage cast ready to sing out and shine as they take centre stage with confidence, courage and nascent star quality. Cue big numbers, heartfelt moments and personality aplenty. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

The poster for this summer’s York River Art Market. Illustration by Elliot Harrison (@York 360)

Open-air art event of the month: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, York, August 8 & 9 and August 15 & 16, 10am to 5.30pm

YORK River Art Market returns for its 11th year, bringing more than 30 artists from multiple disciplines to the Ouse riverside each day, this year presenting art and design market stalls on both sides of the pathway.

Described as York’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris, the event is being run for the first time this summer by Caroline Turner, a professional potter and ceramics teacher at Clay Space York. Admission is free.

Scissor Sisters: Heading for Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Saturday

Coastal gigs of the week: TK Maxx presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Scissor Sisters, Saturday; Holly Johnson, ABC and Heaven 17, August 14,  gates 6pm

AFTER their 2025 UK arena reunion tour and that summer’s Saturday night Glastonbury set, Scissor Sisters bring their trademark blend of glam, grit and glorious to Scarborough Open Air Theatre this weekend. Jake Shears, Babydaddy, Del Marquis and co will be rolling out such favourites as Take Your Mama, Laura, I Don’t Feel Like Dancin, Let’s Have A Kiki, Only The Horses and Filthy/Gorgeous.

Flamboyant, unapologetically bold Frankie Goes To Hollywood lead vocalist and lyricist Holly Johnson tops the 1980s’ triple bill next Friday, when he performs the chart-topping trio of  Relax, Two Tribes and The Power Of Love, further Frankie smashes Welcome To The Pleasure Dome and Rage Hard and solo hits Love Train, Americanos and Atomic City. Sheffield bands ABC and Heaven 17 support. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Holly Johnson: Frankie says Relax in Scarborough next Friday

Tribute gig of the week: SWT presents Pulp’d vs Blur 2, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm

PULP’D and Blur2 team up for a double-header of Britpop royalty tonight. Born and raised in Sheffield, passionate Pulp fans Pulp’d came together to re-create the hits, passion and Jarvis Cocker moves.

Blur2 bring the very best of Blur to every show: the energy, the fun, the sound, the looks and the musicianship of Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and co. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

The Magpies: Hosting their folk festival weekend at Sutton Park, Sutton-on-the-Forest

Folk festival of the month: The Magpies Festival, Sutton Park, near York, August 14 and 15

RUN by the folk trio of Bella Gaffney, Holly Brandon and Ellie Gowers, The Magpies Festival presents a Friday Main Stage bill of Daraa Tribes (6pm), The Magpies (8pm) and headliners Manran (10pm) and Brass Castle Stage bill of True Foxes (5pm), Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe & Daniel Quayle (7pm), SupaLung (9pm) and New York Brass Band (11pm).

The Saturday line-up on the Main Stage comprises Steady Habits (12 noon), Alex Hart (2pm), Blair Dunlop (4pm), Katherine Priddy (6pm), Gnoss (8pm) and headliners Cut Capers (10pm). The Brass Castle Stage plays host to Songs In The Round, with Katherine Priddy, Blair Dunlop and Chloe Foy (1pm), Tarren (3pm), Ophelia’s Beard (5pm), Around About Dusk (7pm) and Suntou Susso & The Gambian Superstars (9pm). Box office: themagpiesfestival.co.uk/tickets.

Katherine Priddy: Saturday set at The Magpies Festival

Posted on

More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 31, from The York Press

The poster for York River Art Market’s 11th summer season. Illustration: Elliot Harrison (@York360)

YORK River Art Market’s return, Shakespeare sonnets on the tennis court, party bands at the double and a very happy comedian catch Charles Hutchinson’s eye as August arrives.

Open-air art event of the month: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, York, August 1 & 2, August 8 & 9 and August 15 & 16, 10am to 5.30pm

YORK River Art Market returns for its 11th year from today, bringing more than 30 artists from multiple disciplines each day to the Ouse riverside over three August weekends of free art and design market stalls.

Described as York’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris, the event is now run by Caroline Turner, a professional potter and ceramics teacher at Clay Space York, in Walmgate, after founder and director Charlotte Dawson stepped down to focus on her teaching role as award leader for York College’s BA (Hons) 3D creative practice course.

Liz Garland, left, and Meriel Scholfield in rehearsal for the Stephen Joseph Theatre production of Handbagged. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Political drama of the week: Handbagged, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until 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.

Mike Skinner of The Streets: Performing A Grand Don’t Come For Free in full at Scarborough Open Air Theatre tonight

Coastal gigs of the week: Scarborough Open Air Theatre presents The Streets, A Grand Don’t Come For Free, today; Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Sunday, gates 6pm

FOR the first time, The Streets’ Mike Skinner is performing his landmark 2004 album A Grand Don’t Come For Free in full on tour. One of the most influential British records of the 21st century, the multi-platinum-selling chart topper delivered era-defining singles Dry Your Eyes, Fit But You Know It and Blinded By The Lights while taking a cinematic journey through the love, loss, chaos, heartbreak, hope and raw emotion of everyday life with poetic wit and honesty.

Original Sex Pistols members Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock are joined by vocalist Frank Turner on Sunday to mark “50 years of chaos and celebration” since the punk iconoclasts’ brace of Summer 1976 gigs at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall. The Stranglers and The Undertones are special guests. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Maggie Wakeling: Singing ABBA hits aplenty at York Minster tonight

Candlelit concert of the week: Ignite Concerts presents The Music of ABBA, York Minster, tonight, 7.30pm

VOCALIST Maggie Wakeling, from Channel 4’s Your Song and last summer’s Greatest Shows at York Minster, unites with a band and The Ebor Quartet string ensemble to perform the Seventies and Eighties’ hits of  ABBA.

Host Alistair Griffin will be inviting the audience to sing along to Dancing Queen, Waterloo, Mamma Mia, The Winner Takes It All et al at this concert by candlelight. Box office: 07966 959427 or https://igniteconcertsyork.com/events/the-music-of-abba-at-york-minster/.

Paul Smith: Radiating comic warmth twice in a week at York Barbican

York comedy gigs of the week: Hot Water Comedy Club presents Paul Smith, Happy, York Barbican, today and August 5, 7.30pm

PAUL Smith, resident MC and compere of Liverpool’s Hot Water Comedy Club, is heading to York for two nights in his biggest, boldest tour show, Happy: fearless stand-up at full throttle, brimful of observations, true stories and audience interaction. Pulling tales from  real life, Smith finds joy in the chaos, laughter in the everyday and comedy in absolutely everything. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Oscar Langford, left, and James Robert Ball in rehearsal for York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce? at Holy Trinity Churchyard. Picture: John Saunders

New balls please: York Shakespeare Project presents 2026 Summer Sonnets: What The Deuce?, Holy Trinity Churchyard, Goodramgate, York, August 7 to 15, except August 11, 6pm & 7.30pm, plus 4.30pm Saturday shows

SUMMER at the Goodramgate Lawn Tennis Club finds four doubles teams competing for the chance to play in a Wimbledon amateur tournament, whereupon partnerships and rivalries lead to sabotage and break point. Who has the advantage? Who is at fault? Will the score be love?

Expect further tennis puns aplenty as Rosy Rowley directs Stuart Green’s script that asks a new collection of ten characters to play out this new sporting and unsporting situation where each finds a way to share a Shakespeare sonnet. Taking part will be James Robert Ball, Oscar Langford, Helen Clarke, Sarah McKeagney, Stuart Lindsay, Alexa Williams, Jamie McKeller, Alan Sharp, Christine Bramwell and Effie Warboys. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/

New York Brass Band’s James Lancaster: Knees-up with Hyde Family Jam at York Barbican

Mash-up of the week: The Crescent presents New York Brass Band & Hyde Family Jam, York Barbican, August 7, 8pm

TWO of York’s biggest, bounciest musical party troupes collide at York Barbican for a co-headline show with a difference. Promoter Joe Coates has decided the four-piece Hyde Family Jam will be on stage first, followed by an eight-piece line up of New York Brass Band, each playing a 40-minute set before rampant folk-rock meets New Orleans brass head on in a collaborative finale of these street urchins’ biggest hits. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

A wedding dress on display at St Helen’s Church

Wonderful wedding dress exhibition of the week: St Helen’s Church, Sheriff Hutton, near York, August 8 and 9, 11am to 3pm

STEP back in time for a spectacular display of wedding dresses from every decade since the 1920s at St Helen’s Church. Stroll through a century of wedding style with elegant “going away” outfits,mother-of-the-bride ensembles and men’s morning suits, as well as shoes, hats, bouquets and treasured keepsakes.

“Last year’s exhibition was atremendous success,” says Jill Donaldson Hodges. “Visitors were captivated by the changing styles, the intricate design and the delicate fabrics that have shaped wedding fashion for over a century. So why not come along and take a trip down memory lane, or get some ideas for an upcoming event?” Admission is free. The Bluebell Cafe will be open on both days, serving homemade cakes and refreshments.

York Stage’s poster for Raise Your Voice: MTI Broadway Junior Revue at the JoRo

Musical theatre celebration of the week: York Stage presents brings Raise Your Voice: MTI Broadway Junior Revue, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, August 7, 7.30pm, and August 8, 2pm and 4pm

THIS uplifting showcase by the next generation of performers features iconic songs from Broadway Junior favourites, showcased by a talented young York Stage cast ready to sing out and shine as they take centre stage with confidence, courage and nascent star quality. Cue big numbers, heartfelt moments and personality aplenty. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Posted on

Katie Leckey & Emily Carhart to co-direct York Shakespeare Project in Comedy Of Errors in October at Theatre@41

Katie Leckey

KATIE Leckey and Emily Carhart will co-direct York Shakespeare Project’s autumn production of The Comedy Of Errors from October 21 to 24 at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York.

Katie and Emily worked together previously on York Settlement Community Players’ February 2025 production of Joe Orton’s Loot and Griffonage Theatre’s showcase of Lady Augusta Gregory plays, FourTold,  last October.

“We promise an exciting take on Shakespeare’s shortest and possibly funniest play, re-imagining his  early farce with a piratical twist, setting sail to the corrupt island of Ephesus, a land rife with crime, debauchery, swashbuckling action and a fair bit of slapstick,” they say.

Now all they need is a cast. Auditions will take place at Southlands Methodist Church, Bishopthorpe Road, York, from 2pm to 5pm on May 16 and 17, then 6.30pm to 9.30pm on May 18 and 19.

If you are interested in auditioning, please email [email protected] for more information.

Emily Carhart

Posted on

REVIEW: York Shakespeare Project in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, partying until Saturday ***

Ardour on the dance floor in York Shakespeare Project’s Love’s Labour’s Lost. Picture: John Saunders

YORK has a new nightclub, Navarre, but hurry, because it will be shutting after Saturday night.

Welcome to Anna Gallon’s clubland take on Shakespeare’s early comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost in the Four Wheel Drive artistic director’s debut production for York Shakespeare Project as part of the 2026 York International Shakespeare Festival.

In March 2025, co-writers Nick Lane and Elizabeth Godber packed the lads off to a stag do in Ibiza and the lasses off to a hen do in Menorca in the Stephen Joseph Theatre’s shake-up of Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less). When both groups of revellers end up stuck on the same Mediterranean island, shoddy disguises, mislaid love letters and theatrical chaos ensue, all topped off with 1990s’ pop bangers, sung live on stage.

In April 2026, Gallon re-imagines Ferdinand, the King of Navarre, and his three companions, Nick Patrick Jones’s Berowne, Harry Summers’ Longaville and Nason Crone’s Dumaine, as the DJs who once ruled York’s Nineties’ club scene. Now, however, in 2005, they renounce the wild world of drink, dance and late nights, committing themselves instead to a retreat of abstinence: no women, no drink and definitely no dance floors for three years, in favour of fasting and study.

We first encounter them flat out, hung over, slumped on the Navarre dance floor after one heck of a party hosted by Tempest Wisdom’s Moth, the all-hands-on-decks club DJ with a licence to ad-lib. The audience had arrived to the sight of all the cast cutting the rug amid the ever-changing floor lights, as they took up their seats on the perimeter, seats that will be occupied by cast members on occasion too for moments of direct address, all adding to the highly energetic production’s “immersive tag.

The lads must sign off a long list of rules and regulations but this contract of abstinence looks as fragile as Liam “Glenn Huddle” Rosenior’s five-and-a-half-year deal at Chelsea turned out to be.

All it takes is the arrival of Charlie Barrs’ Princess of France, a not-so-diplomatic diplomat, and her entourage of Grace Scott’s Rosaline, Cassi Roberts’ Maria, Vicky Hatt’s Katherine and Helen Clarke’s Boyet to rip their paper-thin yet “solemn” vows to shreds.

Not that Love’s Labour’s Lost is that simple. Shakespeare stirs the pot, as is his wont in pursuit of comedy, to include multiple meddlesome figures, not only Wisdom’s droll, mischievous Moth, but also Elizabeth Duggan’s clown, Costard, Stephen Huws’ verbose schoolmaster Holofernes, and James Tyler’s not-so-bright constable, Dull. Then add Sarah McKeagney’s  curate, Sir Nathaniel,  and David Lee’s Forrester, a guide to the princess, who pops up on the mezzanine level every so often.

Bubbling away throughout is the absurdist farce of aged Spanish nobleman Don Adriano de Armado (Ian Giles) fancying his chances with luscious, lustrous country wench Jaquenetta (Pearl Mollison, dress code, Friday night, York city centre), as lack of reality meets fantasy.

Gallon describes Love’s Labour’s Lost as a “dazzling, witty play about language, love and self-discovery”, where   wordplay, vows and romantic mischief meet in the heat of York nightlife in a celebration of love, temptation and folly. Certainly her production is vibrant, with outbursts of dance, playful interaction and a balance between physicality and rhythmic verse, but while it re-locates to the modern world, the somewhat laboured humour still dwells in bygone times, tending to be clever and loquacious, rather than uproariously funny.

More often than not, typified by Huws’ Holofernes, a multitude of verbiage must be pushed up the hill to release the laughter, whereas Wisdom’s Moth can spin off in any direction with a quick impromptu quip.  

Nevertheless, Gallon achieves her central aim of sending up “ageing players trying to resist temptation, while nightlife culture collides with wellness culture and the irresistible force of love in this comedy of discipline versus desire”.

There is a pleasing frisson to the machinations and deceptions of Ferdinand’s group and the Princess’s posse, especially when the lads don leathers, black string vests and German accents (rather than the original Muscovite disguise), only to be countered by the resourceful women swapping clothes and jewellery to test their loyalty, in the show’s best scene.

Infatuated boy band balladry and assertive Girl Power anthems add amusingly to the friction, while Gallon has fun with club-culture references such as a megaphone, a dance beat replacing a trumpet as a herald of arrival and what appeared to be a little perk-you-up package in a plastic bag. 

Reeves Rowley, Jones, Scott and Wisdom are the stand-outs amid all the ardour on the dance floor, before Gallon’s daring direction delivers one final brave choice: turning on all the theatre lights for the mood-changing announcement of the death of the Princess’s father, the play no longer leading a merry dance.

York Shakespeare Project presents Love’s Labour’s Lost, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

P.S. Happy 462nd birthday to William Shakespeare today (23/4/2026).

Posted on

York International Shakespeare Festival to stage 40 events of the best of the Bard

York International Shakespeare Festival artist-in-residence Lisa Wolpe in Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender

THE eighth edition of the York International Shakespeare Festival opens tomorrow (21/4/2026), featuring performances from across Europe and beyond, all grounded in William Shakespeare’s work, until May 3.

More than 40 events will be staged at festival partners York St John University and Theatre@41, Monkgate, the Yorkshire Museum and Merchant Adventurers’ Hall.

First up, at 1.30pm and 3pm tomorrow, is a new collaboration with York Museums Trust for the premiere of Friends, Romans, Yorkshiremen. Taking place on the Roman Mosaic at the Yorkshire Museum, Museum Gardens, it draws on the four plays that Shakespeare set in Rome for an exploration of the history, memory and the seemingly insignificant. This event is free for those with tickets for the museum.

Highlights will include American performer and festival artist-in-residence Lisa Wolpe in Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender; With Love’s Light Wings, a theatrical experience inspired by Romeo And Juliet, from Georgia; Codename Othello, a UK/Ukraine collaboration, featuring performers from York and Ivano Frankivsk, Ukraine; Shakespeare-based improv from York company Riding Lights and the world premiere of A Kingdom Jack’d by American playwright Scott Bradley, who is in York for the festival.

Look out too for new work from York-based Ukrainian theatre company D.Space; Romanian productions of The Taming Of The Shrew and Richard III;  York composer Morag Galloway’s autobiographical piece Dog Daze; productions of Hamlet from Romania and the UK, complemented by  a day exploring David Gothard’s Hamlet archive; Timonopoly, a game-style show based on the rarely-seen play Timon Of Athens by Edinburgh Fringe award winner Emily Carding, and Petty Me, the ShakeSphere Selection 2026.

The full programme can be found at yorkshakes.co.uk, where tickets can be booked. Brochures are available at libraries across the city.

The Roman Mosaic in the Yorkshire Museum

Taking part in the festival too will be the York Shakespeare Project, directed by Anna Gallon for the first time in Love’s Labour’s Lost as Shakespeare meets the 1990s’ club scene in an immersive new take on the Bard’s early comedy.

Set in the heat and heighted passions of modern nightlife, Anna’s reinvention will run at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from April 22 to 25.

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Anna as our director,” says YSP chair Tony Froud. “She emerged from an outstanding group of applicants, since when she has brought energy and excitement into the rehearsal room. This promises to translate into a totally memorable and entertaining show.

“York is very fortunate to have so many outstanding young directors. This production will show Anna as a key member of that group.”

Anna is co-founder and artistic director of York theatre company Four Wheel Drive, perhaps best known for its 2023 production of The Trial Of Margaret Clitheroe in the Guildhall. She also appeared as Lucetta in YSP’s The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, directed by Tempest Wisdom in 2024.

 “I’m thrilled to be directing Love’s Labour’s Lost for YSP,” she says. “It’s a dazzling, witty play about language, love, and self-discovery – and I can’t wait to bring it to life in a way that feels vibrant and connected to the world we live in today.”

Ben Reeves Rowley in rehearsal for his role as the King of Navarre in York Shakespeare Project’s Love’s Labour’s Lost. Picture: John Saunders

Set firmly in the here and now, Anna’s Love’s Labour’s Lost will re-imagine Shakespeare’s sparkling comedy of wit, wordplay, vows and romantic mischief in clubland. Her playful production promises to mix verse, rhythm, dance and striking visuals to create a fresh and contemporary celebration of love, temptation and folly.

The King of Navarre and his three companions are re-imagined by Anna as the DJs who once ruled York’s club scene but have now renounced the wild world of drink, dance and late nights, committing themselves instead to a retreat of abstinence: no women, no drink and definitely no dance floors.

However, when the Princess of France and her entourage arrive, their solemn vows begin to unravel, as Anna explores. “I want this comedy of discipline versus desire to play out not in a palace, but in a bar, where vows are as fragile as your morals after one too many tequila shots,” she says.

“My interpretation uses Shakespeare’s original language but finds playful, recognisable parallels for modern audiences: ageing players try to resist temptation, while nightlife culture collides with wellness culture and the irresistible force of love.”

As a key element of Anna’s production, the audience will find Theatre@41’s John Cooper Studio transformed from black box into a nightclub. “The bar setting will place Shakespeare into a familiar social space,” she says. “Instead of watching from a distance, theatregoers will find themselves inside the comedy: vows made across tables, love confessions unfolding on dance floors. It will be a shared night out for all.”

York Shakespeare Project’s poster artwork for Love’s Labour’s Lost

Anna’s cast features many faces familiar to York audiences, such as Ian Giles as Don Adriano de Armado, Tempest Wisdom as page Moth, Harry Summers as Longaville and Nick Patrick Jones as Berowne, complemented by six actors new to YSP, Nason Crone’s Dumaine, Vicky Hatt’s Katherine, Helen Clarke’s Boyet, Elizabeth Duggan’s Costard, Stephen Huws’ Holofernes and Sarah McKeagney’s Sir Nathaniel.

Tony enthuses: “We are very excited that Anna’s production has attracted so many actors who are working with us for the first time. Only three of this cast appeared in our last show, Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy, at Theatre@41 last October. It’s a very healthy and invigorating mix.

“In a very strong cast, it’s particularly pleasing to YSP to see Grace Scott and Ben Reeves Rowley in the central parts of Rosaline and the King of Navarre. Both first appeared in our annual Summer Sonnets show and it’s great to see them progressing to major parts in a full production.”

Why should you see YSP’s Love’s Labour’s Lost? Let veteran cast member Ian Giles entice you: “Off the scale for daring entertainment, one of Shakespeare’s most verbal comedies is set in King’s Night Spot in 2005 with a soundtrack of Nineties and Noughties’ belters – what could possibly go wrong (or should that be right)? Come and find out.”

York Shakespeare Project presents Love’s Labour’s Lost, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 22 to 25, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

With Love’s Light Wings, a Georgian theatrical experience inspired by Romeo And Juliet, plays York International Shakespeare Festival on the opening day at York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium

Festival focus: With Love’s Light Wings, York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium, April 21 at 8.30pm

PROFESSOR Manana Anasashvili, from Georgia, Eastern Europe, participated in York International Film Festival for the first time last year with her documentary film about renowned Georgian theatre director Robert Sturua.

Now the head of the Georgian Shakespeare Association returns with her stage production of With Love’s Light Wings, her spin on Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet, in a co-production with the Giorgi Mikeladze State Puppet Theatre that uses minimalistic but highly transformative scenography.

“With Love’s Light Wings is a theatrical experiment inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet, presented as a variation on its central theme,” she says. “It draws loosely on the literary original – retaining only its artistic framework, while actively intervening in the text with a bold and playful approach.

“The result is a radically re-imagined interpretation, staged as a two-actor performance – plus two supporting roles – that challenges conventional theatrical norms. It defies genre boundaries, uniting diverse expressive tools and artistic forms to create an eclectic aesthetic.”

Manana continues: “Distinct scenes and characters are represented symbolically – often through objects – shifting focus from narrative to metaphor. This theatrical collage merges elements of dramatic theatre, puppet theatre, finger performance, pantomime, musical and vocal expression, choreographic elements, as well as other theatrical forms.

“Through the creative transformation of various items and scenic details, the performance generates unexpected artistic effects, opening possibilities for future experimentation and the development of new theatrical trends.

“In the context of the post-dramatic era, theatrical eclecticism emerges as both a cultural and aesthetic strategy, one that embraces the fusion of styles, genres, and historical periods. It is often used as a form of innovation, connecting tradition with contemporary expression.”

 In this production, eclecticism extends beyond scenographic form to resist stylistic uniformity. “The result is a bold theatrical experiment aimed at redefining performance modes and establishing a new artistic language,” she says.

What does Shakespeare mean to Manana? “Shakespeare has been in my life since childhood. My father was a theatre and Shakespeare lover,” she says. “He knew the To Be or Not To Be soliloquy from Hamlet and recited a monologue very often. Then, being the student of the Medical University of Georgia, I have seen film The Moor Of Venice: Othello (1960), the film-ballet starring Vakhtang Chabukiani.  It was unforgettable impression and I began read Shakespeare.

“Later, in 1979 when I was already studying theatre directing at the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film State University, I had seen Richard III staged by Robert Sturua: completely stunning and amazing impression.

“After this day I dreamed in my heart – maybe someday a miracle will happen and I can somehow make a film about this performance. Many years later I realised my dream. I made film about world- renowned Georgian theatre director Robert Sturua, who staged the most Shakespearean plays in the world.

“Shakespeare means for me, contemporary writer who helps us in our lives, who can show us the world in all its dimensions and make us think about who we are as humans, what we strive for, and what or who we live for.”

How has Shakespeare impacted upon your career, Manana? “After being a student of the University of Wisconsin in 2002/2003, taking there the course Acting Shakespeare, and also after finishing later my film about Robert Sturua, I finally decided that I can and I have to teach Shakespeare,” she says.

“Now I am professor of the American-Georgian joint undergraduate programme Liberal Arts at the Ilia State university, and from 2008 I am teaching Shakespeare for the bachelor programme students.  In 2023 I established the Georgian Shakespeare Association and I am the head of this association.”

What is the importance of festivals such as York International Shakespeare Festival, Manana? “This kind of festival helps artists to deepen meaningful cultural dialogues, to see live performances and films and to deepen our knowledge in the contemporary arts of foreign countries, as well as to create connections that help to establish new collaborations.”

Did you know?

WITH Love’s Light Wings was premiered on October 22 2025 in Beijing and Guilin, China, at the WTEA (World Education Theatre Alliance) International Theatre Showcase 2025.

Objectives of With Love’s Light Wings:

• To explore Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as a thematic and emotional source, rather than a fixed narrative.

• To integrate diverse theatrical forms, including dramatic theatre, puppet theatre, finger performance, pantomime, musical and vocal expression and choreographic elements, as well as other theatrical forms.

Professor Manana Anasashvili: back story

THEATRE and film director, professor of joint undergraduate programme Liberal Arts of Michigan State University, Ilia State University and AGILE (American-Georgian Initiative for Liberal Education).

Teaching Shakespeare since 2008.

Her stage production In The Dark Room had a record run, being performed in Georgia for 23 years.

Her film Only Once was awarded at several international film festivals.

Head of International Relations of Georgian Film Academy; founder and head of Georgian Shakespeare Association.

Posted on

More Things To Do in York and beyond the Shakespeare shake-up & art weekends. Hutch’s List No. 15, from The York Press

Rug weaver Jacqueline James: Demonstrating her craft on her loom in Rosslyn Street, Clifton, at York Open Studios h home in York.

SHAKESPEARE is in the spotlight with international guests and a York nightclub rom-com while artists and makers open their studios, as Charles Hutchinson’s diary bulges with inviting opportunities aplenty.

Art event of the month: York Open Studios, York and beyond, today & tomorrow, then April 25 & 26, 10am to 5pm

ACROSS two weekends, 150 artists and makers within York and a ten-mile radius of the city are welcoming visitors to 107 workplaces and studios.

This annual event offers the chance to gain a sneak peek into where the artists work, their methods and inspirations, whether a regular contributor or the 27 new participants, spanning traditional and contemporary painting and print, illustration, drawing, ceramics, mixed media, glass, sculpture, jewellery, textiles and photography. For more information, visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk; access the interactive map at yorkopenstudios.co.uk/map.

The Rollin Stoned: Rolling out The Rolling Stones’ hits and deeper cuts in Malton tribute show

Tribute gig of the week: The Rollin Stoned, Milton Rooms, Malton, tonight, 8pm

THE rock’n’roll circus rolls into Malton for a tribute to The Rolling Stones that focuses on the Brian Jones years from 1964 to 1969.  Now in its 27th year, in The Rollin Stoned show the costumes are shamelessly camp, gaudy and fabulous, the instruments vintage, the wit irreverent, the trademark tongue never far from the cheek, but never to the detriment of the music.

As Keith Richards’ late mother, Doris, once remarked of the line-up featuring Mick Jaguar, Byron Jones, Keith Retched, Bill Wymandy, Charlie Waits and pianist Nicky Popkins: “Phenomenal…I can’t wait to tell Keith and  Mick that you could easily stand in for them.” Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

The poster artwork for Aljaž and Janette’s Let’s Face The Music…And Dance show, on tour and on the move at York Barbican

Dance duo of the week: Aljaž and Janette, Let’s Face The Music…And Dance!, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing couple Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara  pay tribute to “the heroes behind the music we love” as they dance their way through the work of Cole Porter, Hans Zimmer, Quincy Jones, George Gershwin, David Foster and more besides, joined on stage by  an ensemble of dancers and Tom Seals’ Big Band. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Diversity: Asking what it means to be human within the digital age in Soul

Futuristic dance show of the week: Diversity presents Soul, York Barbican, April 20 and 21, 7.45pm

BRITAIN’S Got Talent’s 2009 winners, Ashley Banjo’s Southend dance ensemble Diversity, base Soul around the technological advancements of artificial intelligence, asking what the future holds and what it means to be human within the digital age.

“The future is now,” says Banjo. “Humans have become plugged in and completely connected to a world full of artificial intelligence – a world in which it is hard to distinguish reality from fiction. AI has become so advanced it’s considered a life form of its very own. Is this the next stage in our evolution? What exactly have we created? What makes us human?” His answer: “Soul.” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Amber Davies as Elle Woods and Sprout as Bruiser in Legally Blonde The Musical, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York

Musical of the week: Made At Curve presents Legally Blonde The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, April 21 to 25, 7.30pm plus Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing 2025 finalist Amber Davies plays Elle Woods in the 2026 tour of Legally Blonde The Musical, joined by York Theatre Royal pantomime villain Jocasta Almgill as Brooke Wyndham, after playing wicked fairy Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty last winter.

Davies had been set to appear as Hollywood hooker Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman The Musical at the Grand Opera House in February 2024, but Sydnie Hocknell understudied that week. Hannah Lowther, otherwise playing Margot, will step in for Davies at the April 23 matinee. North Yorkshireman and Curve artistic director Nikolai Foster directs the uplifting, totally pink tale of Elle’s transformation from ‘It Girl’ fashionista to legal ace at Harvard Law School, all in the name of love. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

York International Shakespeare Festival artist-in-residence Lisa Wolpe in Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender

Festival of the week: York International Shakespeare Festival, April 21 to May 3

YORK plays host to two weeks of world premieres, unmissable performances, enlightening talks and world-class exhibitions, bringing together artists from Romania, Croatia, Ukraine, Poland and United States, along with British creatives and York talent, in celebration of Shakespeare’s impact across the globe.

Highlights include festival artist-in-residence Lisa Wolpe’s show Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender, York St John University Creative Centre, April 22, 7.30pm; Petty Men – ShakeSphere Selection 2026, Theatre@41, Monkgate, April 29, 7.30pm; Common Ground Theatre’s Hamlet, Creative Centre, April 25, 7.30pm, and April 26, 4pm, and Olga Annenko’s Codename Othello, performed in English and Ukrainian, Creative Centre, May 2, 6pm, and May 3, 2pm. Full festival programme and box office: yorkshakes.co.uk.

Ben Reeves Rowley’s King of Navarre in York Shakespeare Project’s Love’s Labour’s Lost. Picture: John Saunders

York nightlife drama of the week: York Shakespeare Project in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 22 to 25, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

FOUR Wheel Drive co-founder and artistic director Anna Gallon directs York Shakespeare Project for the first time in Love’s Labour’s Lost as Shakespeare’s comedy of wit, wordplay, vows and romantic mischief meets the 1990s’ club scene in an immersive new take on the Bard’s early comedy, set in the heat and heighted passions of urban nightlife.

Her playful reinvention mixes verse, rhythm, dance and striking visuals to create a fresh and contemporary celebration of love, temptation and folly, wherein the King of Navarre and his three companions are DJs who once ruled York’s club scene but now have renounced the wild world of drink, dance and late nights, committing themselves instead to a retreat of abstinence: no women, no drink and definitely no dance floors. However, when the Princess of France and her entourage arrive, their solemn vows begin to unravel. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Jalen Ngonda: Performing in York for the first time since Futuresound’s Live At York Museum Gardens last July. Picture: Paul Rhodes

Soul show of the week: Jalen Ngonda, York Barbican, April 22, doors 7pm

AFTER appearing on Nile Rodgers & CHIC’s bill at Futuresound’s Live At York Museum Gardens last July, willowy soul singer and pianist Jalen Ngonda opens his seven-date spring tour at York Barbican. Originally from Maryland and now based in Liverpool, Ngonda’s voice and music recall the best of the great Sixties and Seventies’ soul artists, delivered with a contemporary edge. Deptford Northern Soul Club support. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

News Justin: Justin Fletcher in Justin Live, Justin Time To Rock!, York Barbican, Sunday, 11am and 2.30pm

For those about to rock: Justin Fletcher in Justin Time To Rock!

BAFTA-winning CBeebies legend Justin Fletcher MBE, erstwhile Mr Tumble from Something Special and Justin’s House, Gigglebiz and Gigglequiz star, teams up with his friends for a high-energy new theatre show bursting with music, dancing and giggles.

When DJ Engelbert, the coolest canine in the dog-house, launches a contest to find the best rock song in all the land, Justin and his band – Justin Time to Rock! – are determined to win, but can they deliver their song to DJ Engy before the sneaky Rock Lord and his sidekick Vulture try to steal it? Expect The Hokey Cokey, Music Man and Hands Up plus new songs written by Justin and his team. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

What can families expect in Justin Time To Rock!, Justin?

“Justin Time To Rock! is a brand-new story about how me and my friends formed our own band. You’ll hear lots of well-known songs and some brand-new ones too, written especially for the show. Amongst all the fun and laughter, we will need to keep an eye out for the mischievous Rock Lord and his sidekick Vulture, who are out to steal the band’s favourite tunes!”

What is your favourite aspect of performing live?

“Performing live to an excited family audience is such an uplifting and rewarding experience. The moment we run out on the stage, there is a great atmosphere, and the party begins! Our shows are really interactive, and it is great to see many generations of families and friends come together to watch the show and have fun!

What inspired the “music” theme for Justin Time Rock!?

“I’ve always loved music; it’s a very powerful way to express yourself. We wanted to create a show that features lots of different styles of music. I like rock’n’roll music in particular, because it is great to dance to and has a feel-good factor.”

What can you reveal about the new songs in the show?

“When we were writing the story about the band, we wanted to include some brand-new songs that that have never been heard before. One of my favourites is a song called Share A Little Sunshine, which is all about sharing happiness, kindness and friendship. Sharing these feelings can create a ripple effect through the audience, which in turn creates a great atmosphere.”

Your shows are very interactive. How will audiences be involved this time? Are there any moves or songs they should practise at home?

“There will be lots of well-known action songs to get the party started, so everyone should practise their Hokey Cokey, Head, Shoulders, Knees And Toes and an audience favourite, Hands Up. There will also be some new songs to dance to, including the Bubble Pop Bop! Bring on the Bubbles!

What do you enjoy about touring?

“The opportunity to meet so many of our friends all around the UK and to perform our show to them is pure joy!”

What advice would you give to young fans who dream of being on stage or even becoming a rock star?

“Always follow your dreams and be yourself. You never know, some of our songs in the show might encourage you to learn a musical instrument, or to sing, or dance, or to write a song. Surround yourself with good people who care for you and have a go!”

Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Secret Link