Annabel van Griethuysen’s Miss Hannigan in York Light Opera Company’s Annie. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
YORK Light Opera Company will stage Annie for the first time in 25 years at York Theatre Royal from February 12 to 21 under the direction of Martyn Knight.
This heart-warming tale of hope, family, and second chances with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin and book by Thomas Meehan is packed with such knockout songs as Tomorrow, Hard Knock Life and You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile.
Expect dazzling choreography, stunning costumes and a full live band, alongside a stellar cast of York talent, led by Annabel van Griethuysen as Miss Hannigan after her forgetful but unforgettable Sister Mary Amnesia in Nunsense: The Musical at Theatre@41, Monkgate, in Summer 2024 and hostess Marlene Cabana in Eurobeat: Pride Of Europe at the same theatre last summer.
Joining Annabel in the cast of 38 others will be Harriet Wells and Hope Day, sharing the role of Annie, Neil Wood as Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, Sarah Craggs as Grace Farrell, Martin Lay as Rooster and Chloe Jones as Lily St Regis.
Annie at the double: Hope Day, left, and Harriet Wells sharing the title role in Annie. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
Neil Wood’s Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks and Sarah Craggs’s Grace Farrell in York Light Opera Company’s Annie. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
Assistant director Kathryn Addison says: “This production of Annie places special emphasis on the young performers who are the soul of the show. Through the casting process, the orphan casting for two teams of young people was developed first, fostering strong connections, confidence and ensemble storytelling before the final roles were assigned.
“Our energetic cast of young performers are joined by experienced adult performers and a creative team committed to storytelling. Annie promises to deliver a heartfelt and joyful theatrical experience for audiences of all ages.”
York Light Opera Company in Annie, York Theatre Royal, February 12 to 21, 7.30pm, except February 15 and 16; February 14, 15 and 21, 2.30pm; February 19, 2pm. The February 17 show will be British Sign Language Interpreted. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Back row: left to right, Olivia Watts, Rose Hirst, Phoebe Ellis, Emilia Heward, Sophie Helme, Elizabeth Reece and Lottie Barnes; middle row, Eliza Clarke, Eleanor Powell, Meredith Clarke, Belle Sturdy-Flannery, Bea Wells, Perdie Rolfe and Leonore Thornton; front row, kneeling, Olive Connolly, Hope Day, Harriet Wells, Emilia Cole. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
York Printmakers: Tenth anniversary exhibition…with cake on Saturday
IN his third highlights package of the New Year, Charles Hutchinson picks out a riparian exhibition, a brace of pantos, murderous deeds in 1950s’ Italy and a transatlantic folk talent.
Exhibition of the week: York Printmakers, Rivers of York, City Screen Picturehouse, York, until February 7
CELEBRATING York Printmakers’ tenth anniversary, Rivers of York presents original hand-made prints inspired by the River Foss and River Ouse. Head to City Screen’s upstairs lounge today from 2pm and 4pm for Prints and Cake, a chance to share cake, find out more about the prints and meet the artists who created them.
On show are a variety of printmaking techniques, including etching, linocut, collagraph, monotype, screen print, solar plate, Japanese woodblock, lithography and stencilling, in works that explore the rivers’ place in the history, ecology and culture of York from Roman times to the present.
Paula Cook’s villainous Queen Lucrecia and John Brooks’s scheming Chamberlain in Pickering Musical Society’s Snow White
Panto time: Pickering Musical Society in Snow White, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, until January 25, 7.15pm, except January 19; 2.15pm, January 17, 18, 24 and 25
DIRECTED for the tenth year by resident director Luke Arnold and scripted by Ron Hall, Pickering Musical Society’s 2026 pantomime blends familiar faces with new turns, led by Alice Rose as Snow White in her first appearance since Goldilocks in 2018.
Local legend Marcus Burnside plays Dame Dumpling alongside mischievous sidekick Jack Dobson as court jester Fritz, his first comedic role. Company regular Courtney Brown switches to comedy too as Helga; Paula Cook turns to the dark side in her villainous debut as Queen Lucrecia; Danielle Long is the heroic Prince Valentine, John Brooks, the scheming Chamberlain and Sue Smithson, Fairy Dewdrop. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.littleboxoffice.com.
Jack Robinson’s PC World and Evie-Mae Dale’s Sergeant Pong in Malton and Norton Musical Theatre’s Aladdin – The Pantomime
Panto time too: Malton and Norton Musical Theatre in Aladdin – The Pantomime, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 1.30pm, 5.15pm; Sunday, 2pm; January 20 to 23, 7.15pm; January 24, 1pm, 5.15pm
BETWIXT York roles in York Shakespeare Project’s The Spanish Tragedy and Black Treacle Theatre’s Anne Boleyn, Harry Summers continues to corner the market in dark roles as wicked magician Abanazar in Malton and Norton Musical Theatre’s Aladdin.
Fresh from his villainous scene-stealing in The Spanish Tragedy, Thomas Jennings plays the Emperor. Further principal players in the mystical land of Shangri-La include Harriet White’s Aladdin, Isabel Davis’s Princess Jasmine; Rory Queen’s dame, Widow Twankey, Tom Gleave’s Wishee Washee, Mark Summers’ Genie of the Lamp and Annabelle Free’s Spirit of the Ring. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
The Steelers: Paying tribute to Steely Dan at Helmsley Arts Centre
Tribute show of the week: The Steelers, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday 7.30pm
THE Steelers, a nine-piece band of musicians drawn from around Great Britain, perform songs from iconic Steely Dan Steel albums Pretzel Logic, The Royal Scam, AJA and Goucho, crafted by Walter Becker and Donald Fagan since 1972.
Once described as “the American Beatles”, Becker and Fagan’s songs are noted for their clever lyrics and sophisticated arrangements. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf, left, and Ed McVey as Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr Ripley. Picture: Mark Senior
Game of lies of the week: The Talented Mr Ripley, Grand Opera House, York, January 19 to 24, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
BEFORE its West End run, The Talented Mr Ripley plays the Grand Opera House with a cast led by Ed McVey as Tom Ripley, Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf and 2020 Strictly Come Dancing finalist Maisie Smith as Marge. Tom is a nobody, scraping by in New York, forging signatures, telling little white lies, until a chance encounter changes everything. When a wealthy stranger offers him an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy to bring home his wayward son, Dickie, Tom leaps at the opportunity.
In the sun-drenched glamour of 1950s’ Italy, surrounded by shimmering waters and whispered secrets, Tom is seduced by Dickie’s freedom, wealth and effortless charm. Fascination turns to obsession in Patricia Highsmith’s story, whereupon an innocent chance turns into a chilling game of lies, identity theft and murder. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Elanor Moss: Songs of the nuances of life lived in relation to others at Pocklington Arts Centre
Folk gig of the month: Elanor Moss, Pocklington Arts Centre, January 29, 8pm
ELANOR Moss, an “emotionally transatlantic” talent with family roots in Lincolnshire and Baltimore, Maryland, draws on influence from homes familiar and felt in songs that turn over the nuances of life lived in relation to others, taking inspiration from the British and American folk canons alike.
In keeping with such heroes as Judee Sill, Joni Mitchell, Sibylle Baier and Vashti Bunyan, her subject is “always people in all their lovely flawed-ness”. Ned Swarbrick supports. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
John Doyle: Returning to York Theatre Royal to direct The Secret Garden The Musical this spring
Welcome back to nature: The Secret Garden The Musical, York Theatre Royal, March 17 to April 4
TONY Award-winning John Doyle, artistic director of York Theatre Royal from 1993 to 1997, returns to his old patch to stage his trademark actor-musician interpretation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden in a new revival of the Broadway musical with a score by Lucy Simon and book and lyrics by Marsha Norman.
In 1906 North Yorkshire (North Riding, as was), newly orphaned Mary Lennox is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her widowed uncle in a moorland house of memories and spirits. Determined to breathe new life into her aunt’s mysterious neglected garden, she makes new friends while learning of the power of connection and the restorative magic of nature. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Amber Davies in the poster for Legally Blonde The Musical, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, in April
Casting announced for: Made At Curve presenting Legally Blonde The Musical at 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 will play Elle Woods in the 2026 tour of Legally Blonde The Musical, joined by York Theatre Royal pantomime villain Jocasta Almgill as Brooke Wyndham, fresh from playing wicked fairy Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty.
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 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.
Catrin Mai Edwards: Cast as Martha in The Secret Garden – The Musical
THE cast and creative team is in place for John Doyle’s revival of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical The Secret Garden – The Musical at York Theatre Royal.
Performed by a company of actor-musicians from March 17 to April 4, the show has music by Lucy Simon and book and lyrics by Marsha Norman.
Doyle, Theatre Royal artistic director from 1993 to 1997 and Tony Award winner, will direct a cast led by Catrin Mai Edwards as Martha; Joanna Hickman, Lily; Henry Jenkinson, Archibald; Elliot Mackenzie, Dickon; Ann Marcuson, Mrs Winthrop; Elizabeth Marsh, Mrs Medlock; André Refig, Neville, and Steve Simmonds, Ben.
Estella Evans: Sharing role of Mary Lennox
Estella Evans and Poppy Jason will share the role of Mary Lennox and Christian Buttaci and Dexter Pulling will do likewise as Colin. The ensemble is completed by Stephanie Cremona, Matthew James Hinchliffe, Lara Lewis, and Melinda Orengo.
Completing the creative team alongside director-designer Doyle are musical supervisor and orchestrator Catherine Jayes, co-designer David L Arsenault, costume designer Gabrielle Dalton, lighting designer Johanna Town, sound designer Tom Marshall and casting director Ginny Schiller CDG.
Adapted from American-English author Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 children’s novel, themoving and timeless story of love, loss, healing and hope is set in North Yorkshire (North Riding, as was) when newly orphaned Mary Lennox is sent to live with her widower uncle at the secluded Misselthwaite Manor, a moorland house inhabited by memories and spirits from the past.
Poppy Jason: Sharing role of Mary Lennox
On discovering her Aunt Lily’s mysterious garden, Mary is determined to breathe new life into its neglected greenery with the help of her new friends,as she learns the power of connection and the restorative magic of nature.
Director John Doyle says: “It’s such a privilege to bring the story of The Secret Garden back to its Yorkshire roots and to bring it to life on the York Theatre Royal stage with the support of this wonderful creative team. We have an immensely talented cast of actor-musicians on board and I can’t wait to start rehearsals next month.”
Theatre Royal chief executive officer Paul Crewes adds:“We are thrilled to be welcoming John Doyle, our former artistic director, back to York Theatre Royal for this incredible production of The Secret Garden – The Musical.
Director-designer John Doyle
“This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the spring season here at YTR and we are looking forward to York audiences experiencing this new take on such a beloved musical.”
The Secret Garden – The Musical, York Theatre Royal, March 17 to April 4; previews, March 17 and 18, 7.30pm, March 19, 2pm; press night, March 19, 7pm; March 20, 7.30pm; March 21, 2.30pm, 7.30pm; March 23, 6.30pm; March 24 and 25, 7.30pm; March 26, 2pm, 7.30pm; March 27, 7.30pm; March 28, 2.30pm, 7.30pm; March 30, 6.30pm; March 31, 7.30pm; April 1 and 2, 2pm, 7.30pm; April 4, 2.30pm, 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Aoife Kenny in the role of Aurora in Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal. Picture: S R Taylor Photography
WEST End actress Aoife Kenny is making her York Theatre Royal debut as Princess Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty of the title of this winter’s pantomime co-production with Evolution Productions.
Originally from Birmingham, now living in Reading and working mainly on the London stage, she made her first ever visit to York for the September 30 pantomime press launch. “My first time in Yorkshire was last Christmas for Snow White at Sheffield Lyceum Theatre [also co-produced by Evolution Productions],” she says.
Aoife had studied at Laine Theatre Arts performing arts school, in Epsom, Surrey, when the Covid 19 pandemic made for a disrupted finale to her musical theatre degree under lockdown restrictions in 2020.
“I had to finish my studies that summer on Zoom, and luckily it was a nice summer, so I was able to complete the course out in the garden,” she recalls.
“Ever since then, I’ve done various musical theatre shows, such as being in the ensemble for Frozen The Musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which you can watch on Disney+. We filmed it in February 2024.
“I’ve just finished in a show in London called Clueless [at Trafalgar Theatre], a musical theatre show that KT Tunstall wrote the score for, with lyrics by Glenn Slater [best known for Sister Act and Tangled]. Amy Heckling, the writer-director of the original film, wrote the script.
“I was in the ensemble and covering for the role of Dionne Marie Davenport, played by Stacey Dash in the 1995 film. It was meant to run for a year but closed early after six months.
“When I rang Paul (Evolution Productions director and York Theatre Royal panto script writer Paul Hendy) and said, ‘the Clueless job has been cancelled, do you have a panto slot for me ?’, as I’d enjoyed Snow White so much, luckily this chance to play Aurora in York came up.
Aoife Kenny’s Princess Aurora and Christian Mortimer’s Prince Michael of Moravia singing a duet in Sleeping Beauty. Picture: S R Taylor Photography
“I’ve been raving about Paul’s script writing. He really knows his art and he just captures so well what works for a ‘straight’ panto character. He knows how kids think, being a dad, and is very up to date with the modern world, which always helps.”
Aoife enjoys performing with Evolution. “They’re lovely people to work with, really easy going, and it’s nice to have input into a show, whereas you can’t do that with West End show. The joy of panto is reacting to the audience and having fun with them,” she says.
“This year I’m in the princess’s role, which kind of drives the show forward – someone’s got to get the show’s message across! She’s a modern-day princess in our show, and although she’s still being rescued [from Carabosse’s curse], she can hold her own.”
Aoife can certainly hold a tune too. “I was brought up in an Irish-Jamaican family who loved musicals, growing up with so much music around me 100 per cent of the time. Me and my sister Sinead, all we’ve known is music and musical theatre,” she says.
“My parents were a bit reluctant at first [for Aoife to pursue a stage career] because it’s a hard industry but Sinead and I had the talent and they’ve thoroughly supported us.” Who should be sitting directly in front of CharlesHutchPress on press night but Aoife’s parents, whereupon a very proud conversation ensued.
Naming a favourite musician, Aoife picks Steve Wonder. “I went to see him at Hyde Park this summer, which was amazing, but that was the day I found out I’d lost my Clueless job, so there I was, in the middle of Hyde Park, crying – and that’s when I decided to contact Paul [Hendy] about a panto job.
She is a “huge fan” of Beyonce too. “I saw her at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in June on her Cowboy Carter Tour,” she says. “I loved her country album! Her career has been going as long I’ve been here – I’m 26 – and she’s an icon. She does her own thing, and she has a message behind everything, so it’s not just the music with her.”
Christmas has been a chance for Aoife to reunite with her partner, musical theatre actor Matt Blaker. “He’s been out in the Philippines doing The Bodyguard The Musical for ten weeks,” she says. “My family are all away in Spain for Christmas, but Matt’s coming up for a couple of days from Reading. Just the two of us together – and York’s not a bad place to be for Christmas!”
Aoife Kenny’s Princess Aurora and Tommy Carmichael’s Jangles performing in Sleeping Beauty with ensemble members Chris Morgan-Shillingford, back row, left, Elijah Daniel James, dance captain Alyssia Turpin, Sophie Flora and, front row, Jayden Tang and Charlotte Rose O’Sullivan. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Aoife Kenny: back story
TRAINED at Laine Theatre Arts, Epsom, Surrey, graduating with a BA (Hons) degree in musical theatre in 2020.
Theatre credits include Clueless (Trafalgar Theatre); Frozen The Musical (West End); Snow White (Sheffield Lyceum); White Christmas (UK tour); Carousel (Kilworth House); Chess (Theatre Royal Drury Lane); Sunset Boulevard (Alexandra Palace); Up Next Gala (National Theatre); Sleeping Beauty (Mayflower Theatre, Southampton); Peter Pan (Swansea Grand Theatre); Cinderella (SEC Armadillo, Glasgow) and A Little Night Music and Beauty And The Beast (Laine Theatre Arts).
Television credits include Songs Of Praise, The Chart (pilot), Children In Need and The X Factor. Other credits include Bare (London Palladium); Josh Groban’s Stages (UK tour); Russell Watson (UK tour); Turn Up London (Cadogan Hall); Drive In London (concert); Love Never Dies in concert (Theatre Royal Drury Lane) and I Put A Spell On You (Theatre Cafe).
Kevin the “vicious” Velociraptor in Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
On second thoughts: child’s play at the pantomime on a Saturday afternoon
RE-VIEW: Sleeping Beauty, York Theatre Royal, until January 4 ****
ACCOMPANYING three children plus chocolate goodies to Saturday afternoon’s matinee of Sleeping Beauty, Charles HutchPress discovered – not for the first time – that he was wrong. Very wrong.
We need to talk about Kevin, the “vicious Velociraptor”, derided in the original review as the “dawdling, limb-twiddling dinosaur that somewhat undermined the impact of speciality act Kris Madden’s fire artistry as Guardian of the Raptor” at the close of Act One.
To these eyes, Kevin still looks lost in the sudden spotlight, his front limbs doing a Tommy Cooper “Just Like That” impersonation”, spoiling any chance of being scary, but no, no, no. Kevin was a roaring success with Louis, dinosaur devotee, aged five. Enraptured by the Raptor indeed.
And that’s the point. York Theatre Royal and co-producers Evolutions Productions have the right instincts for a pantomime that will appeal to all comers. The animal kingdom has always been part of the Theatre Royal show, whether Martin Barrass’s unforgettable Seal back in the day or Zeus the scene-stealing Border Collie two years ago.
Louis loved Kris Madden’s pyrotechnics too – an act truly on fire, topped off by his burning top hat in his walk-down – and Finley named that twisting, turning fire starter as his favourite too, while Molly most enjoyed Golden, the up-up-uplifting K-Pop Demon Hunters hit that has become this pantomime season’s ubiquitous song in another on-trend choice by the Theatre Royal panto team.
Fired up:Kris Madden’s Guardian of the Raptor in Sleeping Beauty. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Encountering Sleeping Beauty for a second time, CharlesHutchPress was struck once more by the political jibes (especially a dig at the early release of prisoners under Labour’s watch); the cornucopia of corny puns and the chemistry of dame Robin Simpson’s Nurse Nellie, Tommy Carmichael’s dippy Jangles and Christian Mortimer’s game Prince Michael in the outstanding splosh slapstick scene.
Top marks too go to Terry Parsons, Michelle Marden and Stuart Relph’s gorgeous set designs and Michael J Batchelor and Joey’s Dame Creations’ ever-witty costumes for Simpson’s polka-dotty dame.
The exploding confetti cannon – fired without warning after a big build-up much earlier– finds Simpson’s dame at his best in pulling all the strings amid the comical chaos.
No less explosive is the battle for supremacy of CBeebies’ star Jennie Dale’s Fairy Moonbeam and Jocasta Almgill’s wicked fairy Carabosse in a lung-busting sing-off as they spar to the max in Everything About You.
To put the cherry on the festive icing, Louis excitedly joined the queue to meet Jennie Dale, still on full beam in the foyer ahead of another performance that evening.
York Theatre Royal and Evolution Productions present Sleeping Beauty, York Theatre Royal, today, 2.30pm (captioned performance), 7pm; December 31, 11am, 3pm; January 2, 2.30pm (relaxed performance), 7pm; January 3, 2.30pm, 7pm; January 4, 11am, 3pm.
Jennie Dale’s Fairy Moonbeam and Jocasta Almgill’s Carabosse battling for singing supremacy in York Theatre Royal’s musical variation on a spoken-word slam or rap battle
Which songs feature in Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal?
Good Day Sunshine (The Beatles)
Hot To Go (Chappell Roan)
Introducing Me (Nick Jonas, from Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam)
School’s Out/Baggy Trousers/ABC (Alice Cooper/Madness/The Jackson 5)
Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics)
Hakuna Matata (Elton John, from The Lion King)
Die With A Smile (Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars)
Golden Slumbers (The Beatles)
Hellfire (Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, from The Hunchback Of Notre Dame)
Pinball Wizard (The Who)
A Hundred Years Have Passed (from Dragonland)
Everything About You (Ugly Kid Joe)
A Thousand Years, repurposed as A Hundred Years (Christina Perri)
Ghostbusters (Ray Parker Jr)
Together In Electric Dreams (Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey)
Golden (from K-Pop Demon Hunters)
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, audience songsheet song, (Wham)
Everybody Needs Somebody To love, walk-down song (Bert Berns, Solomon Burke and Jerry Wexler, from The Blues Brothers).
Fergus Powell’s Moonface Martin, left, and Adam Price’s Billy Crocker in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Anything Goes at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York. Picture: Felix Wahlberg
SEEING out the old year, welcoming in the new, Charles Hutchinson refuses to advocate putting your feet up in the festive season.
All aboard for the last chances to see: Pick Me Up Theatre in Anything Goes, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, today to December 30
CLIMB aboard the S.S. American as it sets sail in Andrew Isherwood’s all-singing, all-dancing staging of Anything Goes, Cole Porter’s swish musical, charting the madcap antics of a motley crew leaving New York for London on a Christmas-themed steamer.
Meet nightclub singer/evangelist Reno Sweeney (Alexandra Mather) and lovelorn Wall Street broker Billy Crocker (Adam Price), who has stowed away on board in pursuit of his beloved Hope Harcourt (Claire Gordon-Brown). Alas, Hope is engaged to fellow passenger Sir Evelyn Oakleigh (Neil Foster). Enter second-rate conman Moonface Martin (Fergus Powell) to join Reno in trying to help Billy win the love of his life. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Frances Marshall of History Riot: Presenting Tales From The Trail at York Castle Museum
Family-friendly performances of the week: History Riot in Tales From The Trail, York Castle Museum, Eye of York, York, today (27/12/2025) to January 3, except January 1, between 10am to 5pm daily
HISTORY Riot return to York Castle Museum with Tales From The Trail, an array of family-friendly performances, with start times being advertised at the admissions desk each day. Join two madcap Victorian characters for an urgent shopping trip on the Victorian street of Kirkgate this festive season.
The billboard poster for The Tubs & Bull’s co-headline show at The Crescent, York
Double bill of the week: The Tubs and Bull, The Crescent, York, tonight, 7.30pm
IN A Please Please You Seasonal Rock’n’Roll Party, The Tubs and Bull team up for a co-headline show, featuring Dan Lucas at the double, complemented by some friends DJing in the bar.
Cardiff indie rock band The Tubs comprises Lucas, Owen Williams, Max Warren and Taylor Stewart; York alt. rock band Bull features songwriting frontman Tom Beer, guitarist Lucas, drummer Tom Gabbatiss, bassist Kai West and keyboard player and vocalist Holly Beer. Box office: thecrescentyork.com/events/the-tubs-bull/.
Aoife Kenny’s Aurora and Christian Mortimer’s Prince Michael of Moravia in Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal. Picture: S R Taylor Photography
Still time for pantomime: Sleeping Beauty, York Theatre Royal, until January 4
YORK Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster directs returnee dame Robin Simpson’s Nurse Nellie, Jocasta Almgill’s Carabosse, Tommy Carmichael’s Jangles, CBeebies star Jennie Dale’s Fairy Moonbeam, Aoife Kenny’s Aurora and Harrogate actor Christian Mortimer’s Prince Michael of Moravia in Sleeping Beauty.
Written as ever by Paul Hendy, the Theatre Royal’s festive extravaganza is co-produced once more with award-winning Evolution Productions. Look out too for Kris Madden’s pyrotechnics: he indeed the fire starter, twisting, turning fire starter. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Turning ugly: Luke Attwood’s Melody Hard-Up and Brandon Nicholson’s Harmony Hard-Up in UK Productions’ Cinderella at the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
Still time for more pantomime: Cinderella, Grand Opera House, York, until January 4
CORONATION Street star Lisa George’s Fairy Godmother leads the Grand Opera House pantomime cast, joined by Tobias Turley (ITV’s Mamma Mia I Have A Dream) as Prince Charming and West End star Rachel Grundy (Rocky Horror Picture Show, Legally Blonde) as Cinderella in UK Productions’ Cinderella, scripted by award-winning Jon Monie.
Directed by Ellis Kerkhoven, West End drag stars Luke Attwood and Brandon Nicholson double down on the rather saucy mayhem in Ugly Sisters mode, joined in the capering comedy corner by Jimmy Bryant’s Buttons. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The creative team behind The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz at Castle Howard. Picture: Tom Arber
The Yellow Brick enters the home straight: The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, Castle Howard, near York, until January 4
CASTLE Howard is transformed for winter into an immersive Christmas experience, dressed in set pieces, decorations, floristry, projections, lighting and sound for The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz.
Created by CLW Event Design, headed up by Charlotte Lloyd Webber and Adrian Lillie, the show-stopping Emerald City High Street in the Long Gallery is the highlight, with life-size fabricated shop fronts inspired by York’s Shambles, while the 28ft Christmas tree sparkles in the Great Hall. Leeds theatre company Imitating The Dog provides the spectacular projections and soundscapes. Tickets: castlehoward.co.uk.
Snow show in A Winter Adventure at JORVIK Viking Centre
Deep freeze: A Winter Adventure at JORVIK Viking Centre, York, until February 22 2026
A WINTER Adventure brings a new wintery experience to the underground York visitor attraction, where the 10th century Vikings are celebrating Yule with natural decorations hung on their houses. For the first time, visitors can peer through Bright White’s time portal into the blacksmith’s house excavated on this site in the 1970s, seeing what it would have been like to live there.
They will then board a time sleigh to travel back in time around the backstreets, transformed by Wetherby set dressers EPH Creative, who have covered streets and houses in a thick blanket of snow, bathed in cold blue lighting.Pre-booking is essential for all visits to JORVIK at jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk.
Fever presents: Candlelight: Best Of Bridgerton On Strings, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, January 3, 6.30pm; Candlelight: Tribute To Queen & More, 8.30pm
DEAREST Reader, Lady Whistledown has given her verdict: the event of the season is here! Bathed in the soft glow of candlelight, favourite melodies from Shondaland’s Bridgerton series on Netflix are re-imagined by the New World String Quartet in a magical 60-minute performance of Candlelight: Best Of Bridgerton On Strings.
Later that same night, Candlelight presents the music of Queen and More in a live, hour-long multi-sensory musical experience featuring We Will Rock You, Somebody To Love, Radio Ga Ga, Killer Queen, We Are The Champions, Another One Bites the Dust, Bohemian Rhapsody and many more. Box office: support.feverup.com.
Ancient Hostility: Passionate political and personal song in harmony at Navigators Art’s A Feast Of Fools III
Navigators Art presents A Feast Of Fools III, The Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York, January 4, 7.30pm, doors 7pm
WELCOME to A Feast Of Fools III, York arts collective Navigators Art’s sign-off to “Holiday’s end – the last gasp of Mischief” in a celebration of Twelfth Night and Old Christmas packed with live folk music and a nod to the pagan and the impish.
On the bill will be: Ancient Hostility, performing passionate political and personal song in harmony; North West folk duo Joshua Arnold and Therine, presenting vocal-led trad and experimental versions of British folk songs; Pefkin, whose ritualistic hymnals draw heavily on the landscape and the natural world, and White Sail, York’s multi-instrumental alt-folk legends. Box office: www.ticketsource.co.uk/navigators-art-performance.
Pickering Musical Society’s principal panto players for Snow White at Kirk Theatre, Pickering
First panto of the New Year: Pickering Musical Society in Snow White, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, January 14 to 25, 7.15pm, except January 19; 2.15pm, January 17, 18, 24 and 25
DIRECTED for the tenth year by resident director Luke Arnold and writer by Ron Hall, Pickering Musical Society’s 2026 pantomime combines comedy, spectacle, festive magic, dazzling scenery and colourful costumes.
The show features such principals as Marcus Burnside’s Dame Dumpling, Danielle Long’s Prince Valentine, Alice Rose’s Snow White, Paula Cook’s Queen Lucrecia and Sue Smithson’s Fairy Dewdrop. Audiences are encouraged to book early to avoid disappointment. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.littleboxoffice.com.
Tommy Carmichael’s Jangles with dame Robin Simpson’s Nurse Nellie in Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal. Picture: S R Taylor Photography
AFTER performing in an Evolution Productions’ pantomime co-production with York Theatre Royal for the first time in Aladdin in 2024, Tommy Carmichael is reprising his daft-lad act as Jangles in Sleeping Beauty this winter.
“Oliver Scott, who works with Evolution director [and Theatre Royal panto writer] Paul Hendy a lot, directed me in The Wind In The Willows on an outdoor theatre tour [by Ely company KD Theatre Productions], when I played seven characters, including Chief Weasel, and then recommended me to Paul, so it fell sweetly into place for me,” Tommy recalls.
Based in Livingston, near Edinburgh, where his partner works, Doncaster-born Yorkshireman Tommy felt very much at home on the York stage straight away. “It was a lovely experience. I felt so welcomed by everyone who was already part of the Theatre Royal show [writer Hendy, director Juliet Forster, regular dame Robin Simpson], but it was also nice that there was a fluidity to creating the show.
“It’s not completely set in stone, so you can play with ideas and suggest things to each other, so the show feels like it’s all of us making it, rather than one person’s ideas.”
Tommy Carmichael’s ever-cheerful Charlie in Aladdin at York Theatre Royal last winter. Picture: S R Taylor Photography
Now playing the comic’s role in a panto for the fourth time in Sleeping Beauty, Tommy loves bonding with audiences. “The audience is like an extra member of the cast, another character that you can bounce off at each show, as Paul Hawkyard [playing villain Ivan Tobebooed] said to me at Aladdin last year,” he says.
“That helped me because I’ve never been able to work out how the energy changes from rehearsing a scene four or five times in the rehearsal room, where you think ‘Am I doing this right?’, but as soon as you test it in performances, you think, ‘Ah yes, this does work’.”
A key characteristic of his role is to connect with the children in the audience, to be their idiot brother! “I teach children theatre, from the ages of six to 18, in Livingston, where I work at Proscenium Stage School, so that’s very transferable to the stage show, as all the things I wouldn’t necessarily know, they bring into class!”
Tommy is delighted to be bouncing back to York this winter. “The fact that I’ve been asked back is an honour,” he says. “I feel so grateful that the Theatre Royal trusts me with it, because, from doing an audition to starting in the rehearsal room, they don’t know what you’ll be like, but they liked what I gave them in Aladdin and I’m just so excited to be back.”
Tommy Carmichael’s poster portrait, announcing his return in Sleeping Beauty
As is the lot of a jobbing actor, Tommy has performed in myriad spaces. “I performed in the grandeur of Ely Cathedral in The Wind In The Willows; I worked with Immersion Theatre Company in Harlow, and during lockdown I did an open-air show in a tent with all the sides off!,” he says.
“I’m a very sweaty person, and you could see the condensation come off my head and hands. That was in Dick Whittington, when I played the dame.”
In his amateur theatre days, Tommy appeared as the dame “a lot”. “I got my panto training in dames, and I’ve played the villain too,” he says. “But I love playing the comic, being able to shout and have the whole audience as your friend, being silly without the pressure of telling the story. I love that thing of ‘Can we just get on with it?’, and I’ll say ‘No’!”
Tommy is back in York after touring in the interactive cabaret show Big Strong Man with the Doncaster company The Growth House, whose motto is “Don’t Grow Up, Grow Out”, delivering “personal, passionate and experimental live events that are part protest, part party and all theatre”.
Tommy Carmichael: Spending Christmas Day back home in Doncaster
“They’ve become the resident company at CAST in Doncaster and are now being mentored by the Emma Rice Company [formerly Wise Children],” he says. “That show [Big Strong Man] is like a game show, where four different types of masculinity all fight for who should be ‘the ruler of all men from now until the end of time’.”
Combining storytelling, song, dance, improv, ladders, competition, boy band parodies, lip syncs, placards, blocks, charity-shop suits, karaoke and a bear in a celebration of northern culture and community spirit, “it’s a show where four Northern men are given the impossible task of fixing the men’s mental health crisis in one night. We did it in theatres and working men’s clubs too, taking it to spaces where men in various works of life feel more comfortable.”
Being in York for the winter season has its advantages at Christmas for Tommy. “It had been ten years since I was able to go back to the family at Christmas, but fortunately my family are in Doncaster, so I could see them last Christmas and will do so again this year, having been used to not spending Christmas with them, so that’s lovely.”
York Theatre Royal and Evolution Productions present Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal until January 4 2026. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Doing time in pantomime: Tommy Carmichael’s Jangles, centre, in the Sleeping Beauty slosh scene with dame Robin Simpson’s Nurse Nellie, left, and Harrogate actor Christian Mortimer’s Prince Michael of Moravia at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Jocasta Almgill’s wicked fairy Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal. Picture: S R Taylor Photography
WEST End star Jocasta Almgill has headed home to Yorkshire to patrol the dark side as villainous Carabosse, East Riding accent and all, in Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal.
One hundred years of sleep await Aoife Kenny’s Princess Aurora but there will be no rest for Jocasta’s wicked fairy until January 4 2026.
Originally from Hull and now based in London, she has appeared in such musical roles as Diana Morales in A Chorus Line (Curve Leicester/Sadler’s Wells/national tour) and Rizzo in Grease (Dominion Theatre, London), receiving nominations for the 2022 Black British Theatre Award for Best Supporting Female in a Musical and the 2023 WhatsOnStage Award for Best Supporting Performer in a Musical.
No wonder York Theatre Royal creative director and Sleeping Beauty director Juliet Forster enthuses: “We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Jocasta to York for this year’s panto. She is an incredible talent and audiences are in for a real treat.”
Amid her myriad credits, Jocasta has performed in York previously. “I was in the original tribute to The Blues Brothers, which came to the Grand Opera House years ago in my first job out of college [Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, from where she graduated in 2009 after three years of musical theatre studies],” she says.
East Yorkshire-raised actress Jocasta Almgill
“Then I came back on tour in 2018 with Hairspray, when I was Peaches, one of The Dynamites.” Watch this space for news of a possible return there in a “big musical” next year.
In the meantime, Jocasta is revelling in breaking new ground in Sleeping Beauty. “Carabosse is my first baddie. It’s such fun,” she says. “I always do the Fairy normally, and I love the Fairy in panto, but she’s there to tell the story.
“As Carabosse, I can just have fun and have a lovely time being bad, so I’m really enjoying playing the baddie. Basically Carabosse is so annoyed she’s not been invited to Aurora’s Christening that she casts a spell on her that, before her 18th birthday, she will prick her finger and then be asleep for 100 years.”
Such bad behaviour contrasts with Jocasta’s previous goody-goody pantomime roles for Evolution Productions, York Theatre Royal’s panto partners. “Last year I played Cupid the Fairy in Beauty And The Beast at Canterbury; prior to that, Myrtle the Mermaid in Peter Pan in St Albans.
“In 2020, for Evolution, I was at The Hawth Theatre in Crawley, when we were socially distanced with the tier system in place for Covid 19, and we managed to stay open through the run. It was called something like Dame Dolly Saves Panto!” Indeed it was.
Jocasta enjoys working with the award-winning Evolution team each panto season. “One hundred per cent! It’s why a lot of actors go back to work with them each year, having that security of a good show each winter, which frees you up to do other acting jobs over the rest of the year, knowing you have a job at Christmas.”
Jocasta Almgill’s Carabosse in her lair. “She’s my first baddie. It’s such fun,” she says. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
This year took Jocasta to Japan to reprise her role as Diana Morales in A Chorus Line. “It started off as a Curve production in Leicester, then went to Sadler’s Wells, and then some Japanese producers picked it up,” she says.
“We were there for ten weeks, playing three cities, Tokyo, Sendai, Osaka and then back to Tokyo. Japanese is a tricky language to learn, but within the company there were lots of Japanese people, so I could practise my Japanese.”
How did that go? “Sometimes they would laugh at me! Like when I thought I was saying ‘That was delicious’ and in fact I’d said ‘Would you marry me’!”
She took the opportunity to go sight-seeing in each city. “There was more time than you might think to do that – and I’m quite the early bird, getting up early to see things. It was very special to be there; an experience I shall never forget.”
Jocasta had pinned her hopes on playing a panto villain earlier than this winter. “At St Albans two years ago, I said ‘I want to play Captain Hook’, which would have been so much fun, but then they cast me as Cupid,” she recalls.
Jocasta Almgill in rehearsal for her villainous role as Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty
“I thought, ‘it’ll never happen’, but thankfully they offered me Carabosse this winter, and I told them, ‘I’d love to do that’.”
Jocasta is delighted to be drawing the boos in Sleeping Beauty. “It’s great to be working with Evolution again. We have a brilliant show on our hands that’s really exciting and is a real spectacle, as well as being funny. Visually it’s amazing, and I’m very happy with my costumes,” she says.
“I sing quite a few big numbers. Paul [Evolution Productions’ artistic director and York panto writer Paul Hendy] always has me doing some rocky numbers. I did Guns N’ Roses’ Welcome To The Jungle as Welcome To The Panto in Beauty And The Beast, and here I’m doing Hellfire, from The Hunchback Of Notre Dame musical.
“I get to open Act Two with Pinball Wizard, and I’ve got a duet with Jennie Dale’s Fairy Moonbeam where we compete with each other in Ugly Kid Joe’s Everything About You.
“The cast bounces off each other so well, and I love working with Robin [Robin Simpson’s dame Nurse Nellie], who’s hilarious. Luckily I don’t have too many scenes with him or I’d be giggling!”
York Theatre Royal and Evolution Productions present Sleeping Beauty until January 4 2026. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Jocasta Almgill in her poster portrait, announcing her appearance in Sleeping Beauty
Behind the scenes of Sleeping Beauty pantomime with S R Taylor Photography
YORK Theatre Royal pantomime photographer S R Taylor Photography has gone behind the scenes to give a glimpse into the backstage magic of this winter’s co-production with Evolution Productions.
Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster directs regular dame Robin Simpson’s Nurse Nellie, Jocasta Almgill’s villainous Carabosse, Tommy Carmichael’s daft lad Jangles, CBeebies’ star Jennie Dale’s Fairy Moonbeam, Aoife Kenny’s Aurora, Harrogate actor Christian Mortimer’s Prince Michael of Moravia and fire act Kris Madden’s Guardian of the Raptor in the panto run until January 4 2026.
Here is a selection of Taylor’s plethora of panto photographs.
Behind you: S R Taylor Photography takes a picture of York Theatre Royal dame Robin Simpson as Nurse Nellie prepares to enter the stage
Aoife Kenny’s Aurora in a quiet moment in the wings
Jennie Dale’s Fairy Moonbeam on full beam
Raptor the dinosaur and fire act Kris Madden’s Guardian of the Raptor turn up the heat in Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal
Robin Simpson’s Nurse Nellie in a riot of colours in Sleeping Beauty. The dame’s costumes are designed by Michael J Batchelor and Joey’s Dame Creations
Kris Madden lighting the wheel of fire for his pantomime pyrotechnics in Sleeping Beauty
Aoife Kenny’s Aurora and Christian Mortimer’s Prince Michael of Moravia performing a duet in a captivating scene in Sleeping Beauty
Hat trick! Kris Madden prepares to light up the panto with one of his fire highlights
Artist Donna Maria Taylor at work in her “bright and airy” Studio 1 at South Bank Studios, York. Picture: Paul Oscar Photography
SOUTH Bank Studios resident artist Donna Maria Taylor’s latest collection of paintings will be on display at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, from Thursday, when she will attend the 6pm to 9pm launch.
At the invitation of Bluebird artistic curator Jo Walton and bakery co-owner and poet Nicky Kippax, her This Rugged Earth exhibition will run for eight weeks until February 12 2026.
Inspired by the world around her and her travels both here in the United Kingdom and Europe, the majority of the new work nods to her love of rugged hillscapes and mountainous landscapes.
Donna exhibits regularly, this year taking part in York Open Studios, North Yorkshire Open Studios and the Saltaire and Staithes art festivals, as well as exhibiting in Skipton, Danby, Scarborough and Lincoln.
Her Bluebird Bakery exhibition, however, brings her work much closer to home. “Therefore I’m thrilled to have my paintings exhibited here,” she says.
Alongside her professional art practice, Donna is a fully qualified and experienced tutor, offering regular art workshops in York, as well as art retreats to Southern Morocco, Andalusia in Spain and Tuscany in Italy.
Next year, she will be opening her South Bank studio for the seventh consecutive year for York Open Studios (April 18/19 and 25/26 2026), and she will exhibit in the main gallery space of York Hospital, Wiggington Road, York, from September 2026 onwards.
The poster for Donna Maria Taylor’s launch of This Rugged Earth at Rise:@Bluebird Bakery
Here, Donna discusses This Rugged Earth, her highly productive 2025 and plans for next September’s York Hospital show with CharlesHutchPress.
Does the look of Rise/Bluebird Bakery influence your choice of artworks to be shown there?
“Only in terms of scaling up the size of some of my paintings to fill the space. Given that I’m used to painting large backdrops in the theatre though, going a little bigger is no real problem. It just means more paint and bigger brushes!
“I do think that the colour palette I’ve been using recently compliments Bluebird’s interiors, but I’m not someone who creates original artwork to match a room. My work is personal to me and hopefully forms a cohesive collection, no matter where it’s shown.”
What draws you to rugged hillscapes and mountainous landscapes?
“Something within me I guess – maybe it stems from walks I used to enjoy as a child in the Peak District…or family holidays in the Lake District and North Wales? I also spent three winter seasons working as a ski instructor in the Austrian Alps when I was younger, so maybe that’s it?
Loch Long, 2025, by Donna Maria Taylor
“I love the drama of rugged landscapes, the fresh air and the connection you have with nature. Although I don’t think I could live permanently in the countryside, I’ll often spend my spare time there – sketching, en-plein-air painting, walking or mountain biking with family and friends.”
Where have you travelled in Europe recently?
“I’ve been lucky enough to travel through quite a few places – Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria – mainly because I chose the ‘slow travel’ option to reach my art retreat destinations.
“I also came back from Italy via Slovenia this time: a place I’ve never visited before. The scenery there is stunning, although you do have to be aware of bears – not something we have to worry about when wandering around in this country…”
How do the opportunities to teach in Morocco, Andalusia and Tuscany come about? What do your sessions cover?
“They come via word of mouth and recommendations really. My first Moroccan holiday came about when I tripped and broke my foot whilst working on stage in the theatre back in 2018, meaning I couldn’t walk for several months.
Hole Of Horcum, 2025, by Donna Maria Taylor
“I had a lot of time on my hands and was stuck at home all day, so what was I to do? Make exciting plans for the future, of course!
“I’d already run a couple of art holidays in the UK, so going further afield and combining my love of art and travel felt like the perfect next step. By that point, I’d also had more than 20 years’ experience teaching adults, so I was used to working with a wide range of groups and abilities.
“Sketchbooks have always played an important role on the retreats because they allow you to get out and explore. When you’re somewhere new, that’s essential – so that you really get a sense of the place.
“The sketchbook becomes a sort of visual diary; a real record of your time spent there. Sketchbooks also make the retreats accessible to everyone, from complete beginners onwards.
“I encourage the use of a range of media in them, including watercolour, collage and acrylics. Of course, some people prefer to focus on more finished pieces, and that’s absolutely fine too. As an experienced educator you learn to adapt to each person’s needs.”
La Tania, 2025, by Donna Maria Taylor
What do your art classes and workshops cover?
“There’s a wide range of media and techniques: watercolours, inks, acrylic, print, collage, pastels and oils. I try to encourage learners to experiment, play with the mediums and really develop their own style, but observational drawing is also an important and fundamental part of it all too. It’s all about ‘learning to see’ and creating your own visual language.
“I think coming from a theatre background really has given me a multi-disciplinary approach to both my art and my teaching.”
How did your exhibitions in 2025 compare and contrast: Skipton, Danby, Scarborough, Lincoln, York Open Studios, North Yorkshire Open Studios (NYOS), Saltaire, Staithes and York Hospital (from November 2025 to February 2026)? It sounds like a very busy, very productive year.
“Yes, I perhaps packed a little too much into my calendar this year, but I do like to keep busy. The exhibitions organised through NYOS, York Hospital and the gallery were fantastic for getting my work out in front of new audiences, but festivals and events are quite different because you get to meet and engage with the people who want to talk to you about your work, so it becomes far more interactive and personal.
Les Chenus, 2025, by Donna Maria Taylor
“Also, you’re often working alongside other artists at events too, which I love. It’s harder work but very rewarding.”
Looking ahead, what will you exhibit in the York Hospital main gallery space from next September?
“New work that hopefully doesn’t exist yet! As an artist, I’m always striving to stretch myself and find new ways of expressing myself, so the answer to that really is ‘watch this space’…”
What is the function of art in a hospital?
“Having art in hospitals genuinely makes a difference to the lives of patients, visitors and staff alike. I know this from personal experience but also from the lovely messages people sometimes send me to tell me how much seeing my work has meant to them or made their day.”
Donna Maria Taylor: back story
ORIGINALLY from South Yorkshire, Donna completed Art Foundation course after A-levels, followed by degree in Multi-disciplinary Design.
Began career in Stoke-on-Trent as textile and ceramic tile/mural designer before gaining a distinction in her Postgraduate Diploma in Theatre Design.
Led to long and varied career in theatre design and production, allowing her to draw on wide range of creative skills. Worked in theatres across UK and abroad before moving to York in 2000 to take up post of full-time scenic artist at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds.
Continues to work regularly with Yorkshire theatres, including Leeds Playhouse and York Theatre Royal, where she served as prop maker and workshop facilitator for this summer’s community production, His Last Report.
Well known for creating large-scale animal puppets that first appeared in the York Minster Mystery Plays, From Darkness Into Light, in 2016.
Alongside her theatre work, Donna contributes to community art projects, including two pieces inspired by the work of artist John Piper, now on display at Southlands Methodist Church.
Based at Studio 1, South Bank Studios, Southlands Methodist Church, Bishopthorpe Road, York, where you can visit her by appointment (donnataylorart@icloud.com) .
Wanderful: Lisa George’s Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at the Grand Opera House, York
CHRISTMAS music and pantomimes aplenty dominate Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations for December fun-filled fulfilment.
Having a ball: Cinderella, Grand Opera House, York, until January 4 2026
CORONATION Street star Lisa George’s Fairy Godmother leads the cast of Tobias Turley’s Prince Charming, Bradley Judge’s Dandini and West End actress Rachel Grundy’s Cinderella in UK Productions’ Cinderella, scripted by Jon Monie.
Directed by Ellis Kerkhoven, West End drag stars Luke Attwood and Brandon Nicholson bring the mayhem in Ugly Sisters mode as Harmony and Melody Hard-Up, joined in the comedy corner by Jimmy Bryant’s Buttons. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Radiant: Jennie Dale’s Fairy Moonbeam in Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
No sleep till January 4: Sleeping Beauty, York Theatre Royal
YORK Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster directs returnee dame Robin Simpson’s Nurse Nellie, Jocasta Almgill’s Carabosse, Tommy Carmichael’s Jangles, CBeebies star Jennie Dale’s Fairy Moonbeam, Aoife Kenny’s Aurora and Harrogate actor Christian Mortimer’s Prince Michael of Moravia in Sleeping Beauty.
Written once more by Paul Hendy, the Theatre Royal’s festive extravaganza is co-produced with award-winning Evolution Productions, the same team behind All New Adventures Of Peter Pan, Jack And The Beanstalk and last winter’s Aladdin. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Hooked: Jamie McKeller savours the role of Captain Hook in Rowntree Players’ The Pantomime Adventures Of Peter Pan at the JoRo. Picture: Matt Hillier
Putting ‘Pan’ into pantomime: Rowntree Players in The Pantomime Adventures Of Peter Pan, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Wednesday to Friday; Saturday, 2pm and 7.30pm
HEAD to the fantastical world of Neverland in Howard Ella and Gemma McDonald’s pantomime for Rowntree Players. Cling on to your seats as Hannah King’s Peter Pan and the Lost Boys do battle with Jamie McKeller’s rather nasty Captain Hook and his even nastier bunch of pirates.
Fear not as Michael Cornell’s Nanny McFlea and McDonald’s ever-eager apprentice Barkly are on hand to assist in the most ridiculous of ways. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Paul Toy: Directing York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust in A Nativity For York
Nativity play of the week: York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust in A Nativity For York, All Saints Church, North Street, York, tonight, 7.30pm
USING medieval scripts from the York Cycle of Mystery Plays and music both medieval and folk in style, Paul Toy’s community cast tells a familiar story of a marvellous birth, threaded with humour, reverence and, sadly, hatred, where candlelight emphasises the constant struggle of the light against the darkness.
The performance lasts one hour with no interval. Refreshments will be available. Box office: 033 666 3366, ympst.co.uk/york-nativity or on the door.
Kate Rusby: Winter wonderland of South Yorkshire folk carols at York Barbican
Alternative carol concert of the week: Kate Rusby, Christmas Is Merry, York Barbican, tomorrow, 7pm
BARNSLEY folk nightingale Kate Rusby plays her regular festive fixture at York Barbican, returning with her folk band and the Brass Boys for two sets of jolly carols from South Yorkshire’s pubs, Christmas chart chestnuts and original winter songs.
Christmas Is Merry marks her 20th anniversary of these winter warmers, drawing on her six studio Christmas albums: 2008’s Sweet Bells, 2011’s While Mortals Sleep, 2015’s The Frost Is All Over, 2017’s Angels And Men, 2019’s Holly Head and 2023’s Light Years. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Musical director Dylan Allcock in rehearsal with cast members Emilio Encinoso-Gil and Hannah Christina for Elizabeth Godber’s Jingle All The Way at Pocklington Arts Centre
Deer duo of the week: Jingle All The Way, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow to December 23; relaxed performance on December 14, 1.30pm
FROM the team behind The Elves And The Shoemaker Save Christmas and Jack Frost’s Christmas Wish comes Elizabeth Godber’s latest Christmas family adventure, co-directed by Jane Thornton with musical direction by Dylan Allcock.
Reindeer siblings Rex (Emilio Encinoso-Gil) and Rosie(Hannah Christina) are reluctant to start at a new school just before Christmas, especially when that school is the East Riding Reindeer Academy, home of supreme athletes. Although Rosie fits in quickly, Rex struggles to find where he belongs, but a school-wide competition might change all that. Santa has a position free on his sleigh squad; could this be Rex’s big chance? Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Setting sail in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Anything Goes: Reno Sweeney (Alexandra Mather, second from left)and her Angels, Sophie Curry, left, Chloe Branton and Sophie Kemp. Picture: Felix Wahlberg
Getting a kick out of you musical of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Anything Goes, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday to December 30
DITCH York’s December chills and climb aboard the S.S. American as it sets sail in Andrew Isherwood’s all-singing, all-dancing staging of Anything Goes!, Cole Porter’s swish musical, charting the madcap antics of a motley crew leaving New York for London on a Christmas-themed steamer.
Meet nightclub singer/evangelist Reno Sweeney (Alexandra Mather) and lovelorn Wall Street broker Billy Crocker (Adam Price), who has stowed away on board in pursuit of his beloved Hope Harcourt (Claire Gordon-Brown). Alas, Hope is engaged to fellow passenger Sir Evelyn Oakleigh (Neil Foster). Enter second-rate conman Moonface Martin (Fergus Powell) to join Reno in trying to help Billy win the love of his life. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Swinton & District Excelsior Band: Festive cheer at Milton Rooms, Malton
Afternoon of festive music and joy: Swinton & District Excelsior Band’s Christmas Spectacular, Milton Rooms, Malton, December 14, 2pm
THIS musical matinee with the Swinton & District Excelsior Band features the senior band, training band and beginners’ group, who perform a joyful mix of carols and seasonal favourites with festive cheer for all the family. A raffle and retiring collection will boost band funds. Entry is free but donations are welcome at the close. To book, go to: ticketsource.co.uk/swinton-district-excelsior-band/t-nolgkxa.
Bill Scott & Friends: In concert at Kirk Theatre, Pickering
Yuletide Tales of the week: Bill Scott & Friends, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, December 17, 7.30pm
THIS Christmas celebration “in harmony with a difference” comes to Pickering for the first time as vocal quartet Bill Scott, Lesley Machen, Jan Burtenshaw & Tim Tubbs perform a seasonal programme of carols, songs, poems and readings in every mood, from sacred, secular and lyrical to comic, sad and joyous.
Whether moved by the solemn beauty of a traditional carol or lifted by a light-hearted poem, this Yuletide fusion of music and tales promises to be a magical gathering. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk/events/yuletide-tales/.
Jennie Dale’s radiant Fairy Moonbeam in York Theatre Royal and Evolution Productions’ Sleeping Beauty. All pictures: Pamela Raith Photography
NOT even the cast knows what to expect in York Theatre Royal’s sixth collaboration with Evolution Productions when a button is placed under the control of Moss, the dame’s pick from the audience for affable humiliation on Monday.
An inspired pick, it turns out, with a laugh as distinctive and unusual as his name, giving more grist to the mill for Robin Simpson’s saucy, smart returnee dame to grind.
This was press night, but a press night with a difference. When would Moss press that button to release the explosive power of the confetti cannon?
The show is ticking over nicely when suddenly… Bang! Cue Kool And The Gang’s Celebration, Aoife Kenny’s Princess Aurora being jolted from her Sleeping Beauty slumbers and a mass outburst of cast “corpsing”.
Come Hull or high water: Jocasta Almgill’s villainous Carabosse in boastful skulduggery mode with her creepy Goth acolytes in Sleeping Beauty
Whereupon Simpson’s ever-gregarious Nurse Nellie improvises, interjects, scolds Moss and interrupts Christian Mortimer’s Prince Michael of Moravia as he tries to resume singing Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’s aptly titled Die With A Smile once he regains his composure, only to put him off his stride again.
This is panto mayhem at its best, unpredictable, bringing out Simpson’s innate sense of capitalising on the moment. One of many reasons why his dame is the poster face for next year’s Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs – his seventh Theatre Royal dame too.
That explosion is not the only moment when Sleeping Beauty goes off piste to winning effect. Tommy Carmichael’s returning daft lad, Jangles, finds himself in a pickle, when a bed fails to rotate in the obligatory ghost scene, leaving him in view of the audience.
In tandem with Simpson’s dame, he milks this glitch to the ad-libbing max, and it would surprise no-one if this easily solved technical hitch does not become a regular part of the show. It’s how pantomimes grow and change through a run, and one of live theatre’s greatest joys. No two shows are ever the same.
Harrogate actor Christian Mortimer’s Prince Michael of Moravia in Sleeping Beauty
It helps that Evolution Productions director Paul Hendy writes such a well structured show with the strongest of foundations to leave Simpson and Carmichael, blossoming in his second York panto, to play fast and loose when chance allows.
Mortimer joins in the fun and games too, a playful change from the conventional straight-laced princely type entrusted with soppy ballads that peaks with the best slippy-slidey slapstick slosh scene at the Theatre Royal in years. Indeed, the slapstick is an upgrade on Aladdin last year, now more than a match for Hendy’s verbal wit.
Hendy and Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster, in their sixth panto partnership, place equal emphasis on story, set-piece, slapstick, spectacle and sass, respectful of tradition but thoroughly modern too.
No YTR/Evolution panto would be complete without a CBeebies star – it’s becoming a tradition in itself – and Jennie “Swashbuckle” Dale is the best yet, radiating joy, warmth and no little wit as the “fun, silly storyteller” Fairy Moonbeam. No wonder she worked with Victoria Wood, no less, in the past on What’s Larks!.
Top: Fired up! Kris Madden’s pyrotechnics in Sleeping Beauty. Bottom:The more vacuous than vicious Velociraptor called Kevin the Raptor in Sleeping Beauty
She just happens to have a spectacular singing voice too – capable of going down valley, up, up, up Dale – at its best in a show-stopping sing-off with Jocasta Almgill’s “evil, stroppy and silly” Carabosse in Ugly Kid Joe’s Everything About You.
Powerful voice, physical presence, a thoroughly good sport at being panto-villainous, Almgill tops it off with a Hull accent, exaggerated just so, you kner, for comic effect. Her rendition of The Who’s Pinball Wizard with re-tooled lyrics is a belter too.
The Hendy staples are wheeled out, from the dame’s cart with pictorial placards, this year on the theme of musicals, to an animal, still not on a par with Zeus the scene-stealing Border Collie two years ago but designed to thrill dinosaur-fixated children in the form of “the vicious Velociraptor”, whose bark turned out to be worse than his bite, as it were.
Indeed, the dawdling, limb-twiddling dinosaur somewhat undermined the impact of speciality act Kris Madden’s fire artistry as Guardian of the Raptor. I’d be tempted to fire the Raptor to give Madden the unimpeded spotlight his hot stuff deserves, but that wouldn’t fit with his role!
Robin Simpson’s gaudy, gregarious dame Nurse Nellie in Sleeping Beauty
As ever, there is as much to enjoy in Hayley Del Harrison’s punchy choreography as in Hendy’s puns in the punchlines, together with Terry Parsons, Michelle Marden and Stuart Relph’s dazzling set designs, Parsons, Amy Chamberlain and Ella Haines’s costumes and especially Michael J Batchelor and Joey’s Dame’s Creations’ ever-changing wardrobe for Simpson’s dame. The pink theme for the walkdown attire is particularly striking.
Musical director, arranger, composer and drummer Edwin Gray adds to the drama with his superb arrangements for songs that vary from Chappell Roan’s Hot To Go, for the dame, to an ensemble mash-up of Schools Out/Baggy Trousers/ABC; from two Beatles’ numbers, the opening Good Day Sunshine and Golden Slumbers, to this year’s fizziest pop anthem, Golden, from KPop Demon Hunters.
Ensemble players Alyssia Turpin, Elijah Daniel James, Sophie Flora, Chris Morgan-Shillingford, Carlotte Rose O’Sullivan and Jayden Tang play their part to the full too, bringing added oomph to songs and having fun in myriad cameos, such as Carabosse’s dungeon Goths and towering guards.
Politics pretty much misses out this year – nothing feels funny about politics right now – although a flooding joke goes down well in flood-familiar York. Sleeping Beauty is very much awake, picking up momentum as the best pantos do, with Simpson, Dale and Almgill outstanding and Moss making sure everyone keeps their wits about them.
York Theatre Royal and Evolution Productions presents Sleeping Beauty until January 4 2026. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Aoife Kenny’s Princess Aurora and Tommy Carmichael’s Jangles with the ensemble cast of Chris Morgan Shellingford, back row, left, Elijah Daniel James, dance captain Alyssia Turpin, Sophia Flora, and , front row Jayden Tang, and Charlotte Rose O’Sullivan
Did you know?
NEXT winter’s York Theatre Royal & Evolution Productions co-production will be the Theatre Royals’ first-ever pantomime staging of Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs. Written by Paul Hendy and starring regular dame Robin Simpson, the show will run from December 4 2026 to January 3 2027. Tickets are on sale on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
