Amelia Bullmore in rehearsal for her lead role as Penelope in The Penelopiad at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
FROM The Penelopiad’s feminist twist on The Odyssey to Alan Carr testing new material, the Brontë sisters’ other story to Jamie’s blossoming, Charles Hutchinson Hutchinson watches autumn find its fifth gear.
Greek tragedy twist of the week: Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, Odyssey: Her Story, York Theatre Royal, today until October 31
BOOKER Prize winner Margaret Atwood revisits Homer’s The Odyssey in an exuberantly irreverent and darkly humorous retelling where she gives voice to Odysseus’s silenced wife, Penelope – still awaiting his return 20 years after the Trojan War – and her chorus of maids in a tale of injustice, betrayal and revenge that exposes the truth behind the myth. Creative director Juliet Forster’s cast is led by Happy Valley and Riot Women star Amelia Bullmore. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Nancy Cadogan: Exhibiting At The Bend In The River at Beningbrough Hall from today
Exhibition opening of the week: At The Bend In The River: Paintings by Nancy Cadogan, Beningbrough Hall, Beningbrough, near York, today 11am to 4pm
LONDON figurative artist Nancy Cadogan explores how a place is shaped by memory, artistry and human connection in At The Bend In The River, an exhibition spread across four rooms of Beningbrough’s Reddihough Galleries that brings together newly commissioned large-scale paintings, drawings and immersive creative spaces that respond to the National Trust estate’s Ouse riverside setting, historic house and changing landscape.
Through art, film, drawing and creative writing, Cadogan invites visitors to “pause and reflect on the journeys we take and the places and memories that sustain us”. Look out too for intimate works that reflect on women, time and storytelling. Tickets (as part of National Trust admission): nationaltrust.org.uk/beningbrough.
Alan Carr: Two gigs in one day at Pocklington Arts Centre
Comedy gigs of the week: Alan Carr, Work In Progress, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow, 3pm and 7.30pm
THE Celebrity Traitors 2026 winner, comedian, television presenter and quiz host Alan Carr is heading to Pocklington for a brace of “very special work-in-progress shows” ahead of his Have I Said Too Much? tour, when he will play York Barbican on March 13 2027. Box office: Pocklington, pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; York, yorkbarbican.co.uk.
James Fountain: Trumpet soloist for York Guildhall Orchestra’s concert at York Barbican
Classical concert of the week: York Guildhall Orchestra, York Barbican, tomorrow, 3pm
YORK Guildhall Orchestra launches its new season with a Sunday afternoon programme of works by Malcolm Arnold, William Walton and Spanish composer and pianist Manuel de Falla.
Arnold’s ebullient Trumpet Concerto, composed in 1981, will be played by soloist James Fountain after the opening orchestral fanfare of Walton’s Crown Imperial. De Falla adapted his 1919 ballet Three Cornered Hat, featuring Spanish folk and dance music, into two orchestra suites; the second will be performed tomorrow. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Jess Murray’s Emily, left, Lara Stafford’s Charlotte and Millie Rhodes’s Anne Brontë in York Settlement Community Players’ Underdog: The Other Other Brontë
York premiere of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Underdog: The Other Other Brontë, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 13 to 17, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
CHARLOTTE Brontë (played by Lara Stafford) has a confession about how one sister (Emily, Jess Murray) 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 (Millie Rhodes).
Claire Morley directs Settlement Players in Sarah Gordon’s irreverent retelling of the life and legend of the Brontë sisters as you have never the Yorkshire scribbling sisters before. Premiered at the National Theatre in 2024, this not a story of well-behaved women but of the power of words, sisters and sisterhood, love and jealousy, support and competition. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Henry Raby: Wrestling with the twin emotions of hope and anger at The Old Paint Shop
Poetry gig of the week: The Old Paint Shop presents Henry Raby, Hope and Anger, York Theatre Royal Studio, October 14, 8pm
YORK punk poet and Say Owt artistic director Henry Raby wrestles through the twin emotions of hope and anger with a spoken-word cocktail of poetry and comedy as he seeks to understand the righteous and the rotten. “Come and share in fist-clenched frustration and celebrate examples of the world, and the heartfelt people in it, at their shiniest and brightest,” says Henry. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
“Reaching 25 years in music is incredibly emotional,” says York Barbican-bound Katherine Jenkins
“Reunion with old friends” of the week: Katherine Jenkins, 25 Year Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, October 15, 7.30pm
WELSH mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins, 46, the biggest-selling classical artist of the 21st century, plays York Barbican as the only Yorkshire venue on her 25 Year Anniversary Tour, her first in five years. “Reaching 25 years in music is incredibly emotional, but this tour is truly a celebration of the fans who have been there from the very beginning,” she says.
“To be heading out across the UK and Ireland for 18 special shows feels less like a celebration of a career and more like a reunion with old friends, and I can’t wait to stand on stage, look out into those familiar faces and share it all over again.” Jodok Cello supports. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
York Stage’s cast for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, starring Frankie Bounds as Jamie New
Bold and unapologetic musical of the week: York Stage in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Grand Opera House, York, October 16 to 24, 7.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday, plus 2.30pm Saturday matinees and 4pm Sunday
TOM MacRae and Dan Gillespie’s Sheffield musical plays the Grand Opera House for the first time in Nik Briggs’s production for York Stage that restores the grit to both complement and counter the glitz in the uplifting underdog story of Jamie New (Frankie Bounds), a 16-year-old schoolboy from a Steel City council estate with big dreams and the courage to stand out when it would be easier to stay quiet.
Equipped with the love of his mum, support of his friends and the strength to face the world head on, Jamie fights prejudice, finds his voice and discovers the freedom of stepping into the spotlight on his own terms. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Tom Stade: Playing by his rules at York Barbican
Come and see for yourself why…Tom Stade Rules, YO1 Radio Live Lounge, York Barbican, October 16, 7.30pm
CANADIAN free spirit Tom Stade takes aim at the absurdities of modern times with his incisive, gloriously unfiltered wit as he grapples with rebellion, responsibility and the tension between the old and the new. From unspoken social codes and cultural divisions, identity to marriage, Stade dismantles all the rules and redefines them his way. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Portuguese jazz singer Raquel Alvaro: Performing with The Jazzville Quinteton October 24
YORK Theatre Royal Studio will be transformed into The Old Paint Shop cabaret club once more for an autumn season of 13 shows spanning spoken word to vibraphone, burlesque to anarchic bingo from October 7 to 24.
As ever, seating will be cabaret club style and unreserved, offering a unique theatrical experience where you can “grab a drink at the bar, sit back, relax and enjoy the show in York’s most exciting nightspot”.
Here are the acts in store:
October 7, Vibe-ology
LED by John Settle’s vibraphone, underpinned by blazing Hammond Organ, soulful drums and Al Morrison’s guitar, York quartet Vibe-ology play jazz, blues, funk and Latin.
Collectively, band members have worked Corinne Bailey, Rae, the New Mastersounds, Haggis Horns, Martina Topley-Bird, New York Brass Band, Larry Carlton, Alan Barnes, Dennis Rollins and countless others. Expect an eclectic programme from four of the north’s busiest players.
October 8, Evolution Of Fishermen
BROUGHT together by a mutual love of storytelling, harmony and original folk songs in 2021, contemporary folk band Evolution Of have played venues such as Green Note, O2 Academy Islington, Old Blue Last in London and The Crescent in York. They have appeared at festivals such as Wilderness, Deer Shed, Gate To Southwell, LOOP Fest and Sam Lee’s The NEST stage at Medicine Festival too.
October 9, Boogaloo Stu presents Big Squiffy Bingo
BOOGALO Stu is “altogether completely ridiculous, simply fabulous and utterly idiotic” as he hosts a night of gloriously playful and anarchic bingo where utter filth, joyous fun and flashmob dances collide.
“You’ll get non-stop nonsense, outrageous antics, buttock-clenching workouts, hilarious prizes and some very ballsy bingo to boot,” promises Stu, whose gift hamper will be stuffed to the brim with all manner of exotic prizes. “So come on down and win it big!”
October 10, Beverley Beirne Quartet
JAZZ singer Beverley Beirne has performed at leading clubs throughout the UK and Europe. For this performance, she brings with her two highly regarded jazz musicians from the London scene, pianist John Crawford and double bassist Andy Hamill, along with northern drummer Steve Hanley.
October 14, Henry Raby, Hope and Anger
YORK punk poet and Say Owt supremo Henry Raby wrestles through the twin emotions of hope and anger with a spoken-word cocktail of poetry and comedy as he seeks to understand the righteous and the rotten. “Come and share in fist-clenched frustration and celebrate examples of the world, and the heartfelt people in it, at their shiniest and brightest,” says Henry.
October 15, Hannah Rowe
NORTHERN silky vocalist Hannah Rowe will be backed by her ten-piece band at The Old Paint Shop on the first stop of her autumn tour. Described as Yorkshire’s answer to Raye and Olivia Dean, she is a standout in the independent music scene, gracing stages at Tramlines, Truck, Y Not and Victorious Festival with her jazz-infused soulful sound and timeless writing.
October 16, Freida Nipples presents…The Exhibitionists
JOIN York’s own internationally award-winning burlesque artist Freida Nipples as she welcomes some of her favourite and most fabulous performance artists from across the UK and further afield to The Old Paint Shop.
“From burlesque to drag and beyond, be sure to expect the unexpected,” says Freida. “Only a few things are guaranteed: glamour, gags and giggles. Get ready to explore the world of The Exhibitionists.”
October 17, Alligator Gumbo
THE seven-piece Alligator Gumbo 7-piece play jazz from the heyday of the New Orleans swing/jazz era, in particular the “Roaring Twenties”, when music was raw and largely improvised with melodies and solos happening simultaneously.
Performing extensively for more than ten years, Alligator Gumbo have made numerous appearances at international jazz festivals and clubs throughout the country, establishing themselves as favourites on the British jazz scene.
October 20, Coming Out Scratch Night
THIS sparkling one-off night of new LGBTQ+ performances by actors, poets and writers features eight stories in various styles, each exploring the highs (and occasional lows) of coming out.
The show is produced by Yorkshire queer touring theatre company Roots, winners of an Edinburgh Fringe First award for Happy Meal, with all proceeds going towards their support of new local artists.
October 21, Pen and Stu – Folk!
MODERN folk duo Pen and Stu play original contemporary folk with BIG whistles, tenor guitars and an assortment of other instruments. Their songs, written by Pen and arranged by Stu, tell stories of famous characters from history and folklore, heroes, villains and pirate queens.
Their Folk! show comprises plenty of wonderful traditional and original tunes and songs, including unreleased tracks and favourite folk covers.
October 22, (Fool)ish Improv: About Time
YORKSHIRE improvisers Fool(ish), return to The Old Paint Shop to deliver their usual comedic chaos inspired by you, the audience. “Together, we will rewrite the history of York by travelling through time, ignoring the experts and rediscovering what really makes York tick,” they say.
“Unvictorious Vikings, Random Romans, Wandering Wizards and brand-new ghost stories (that you wish had stayed buried) all combine in this unlikely history instantly improvised in the present moment. About Time is the time-travelling improv comedy show powered by laughter and inviting you to play with our past.”
October 23, Say Owt Showcase
THE Say Owt Showcase evening of poetry, music and comedy veers from the righteous to the raucous to the heartfelt and back again, brought to you by the same gobby gang that have been proudly packing out The Crescent for years.
Veterans of the Edinburgh Fringe and highly commended in the York Culture Awards, let Hannah Davies, Stu Freestone, Jarmouse and Henry Raby entertain you.
October 24, The Jazzville Quintet with Raquel Alvaro and Alec Robinson
AFTER two sold-out shows at The Old Paint Shop, The Jazzville Quintet return for a joyful celebration of Latin, swing and haunting jazz ballads, led by the fabulous Portuguese jazz songbird, Raquel Alvaro.
A graduate of Leeds Conservatoire, Raquel is adept at many styles of singing, embracing classical, Fado and all styles of jazz. Joining Raquel is piano maestro, arranger and composer, Alec Robinson, her fellow Leeds Conservatoire graduate, alongside saxophone star, Alex Fisher, Chris Sykes on drums and Tim Murgatroyd on double bass.
All shows start at 8pm apart from Coming Out Scratch Night at 7pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
ILKLEY jazz singer Beverley Beirne will play The Old Paint Shop cabaret season on her return to York Theatre Royal Studio on October 10.
“For this performance, I’ll be singing material from both my latest albums, some fantastic jazz standards from the Great American Songbook, jazz arrangements of other genres, original songs by Duncan Lamont and a preview of some of my compositions that I hope to record next year as part of my fourth studio album,” says Beverley, who first brought her trio to the Theatre Royal Studio in February 2025.
“Alongside me will be London jazz stars in their own right, John Crawford on keys and Andy Hamill on double bass, and Yorkshire drumming star Steve Hanley.”
Beverley, who released debut album Seasons Of Love in January 2012, has performed at leading clubs throughout the UK and Europe including Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Jazz Club, 606 Club, The Stables (the late Cleo Laine’s Buckinghamshire venue), Gregory’s in Rome and Venice Jazz Club, as well as headlining Marsden Jazz Festival and Limerick Jazz Festival with her band of leading British musicians.
Her most recent album, July 2021’s Dream Dancer, was in the Grammy long-list for Best Jazz Vocal Album and featured Old Brasil, written by saxophone legend Duncan Lamont, originally as the theme to the 1970s’ children’s programme Mr Benn, which lodged at number two on the Roots Charts in the United States for several weeks.
Released on 33 Jazz Records, the album focuses on Beverley’s takes on songs of hope, passion, living life to the full, day dreaming, regret, love lost and love found and ultimately dancing through the game and rhythm of life.
Produced by Grammy-winning New York producer Jason Miles, who has worked with Luther Vandross, Miles Davis and Sting, Dream Dancer’s repertoire includes Irving Berlin’s little-known Reaching For The Moon and Bill Withers’ Grandma’s Hands, highlighting Beverley’s comparison to Anita O’Day and Cleo Lane.
Beverley also interprets two number one hits, David Bowie’s Let’s Dance The Clash’s Should I Stay Or Should I Go in a bluesy version, on that album.
Miles also produced Beverley’s previous album, 2018’s Jazz Just Wants To Have Fun, featuring her interpretations of Come On Feel The Noise (Slade’s Cum On Feel The Noize), Adam Ant’s Prince Charming, Bananarama’s Cruel Summer, The Specials’ Ghost Town, ABC’s When Smokey Sings, M’s Pop Muzik, Right Said Fred’s Deeply Dippy and more 1980s’ hits besides.
“Beverley has one of those voices that you can keep on listening to,” he says. “I just don’t hear many jazz singers today like her.”
In 2020, Beverley recorded The Ilkley Suite, a commission for Ilkley Jazz Festival composed by pianist Jamil Sherif, head of jazz at Leeds Conservatoire, who was joined by a trio of Leeds Conservatoire educators, bassist Gary Jackson, drummer Dave Walsh and saxophonist Nadim Teimoori.
Looking ahead, Beverley says: “The new album is coming along really well and I can’t tell you how much the process of writing a whole album of originals has taught me, not just about the music, but about myself too.
“There’ll be more about that at the gig, so come along! Be the first to hear my own tunes before we head into the studio to record them. I’m incredibly excited to share what I’ve been working on.”
Tickets for the Beverley Beirne Quartet’s 8pm concert on October 10 are on sale on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Mary Anning Rocks at the Yorkshire Museum, York. Picture: Antony Chappel Ross
DINOSAUR museum adventures and the CBeebies house party, CHIC’s good times on the coast and Sparks’ York return after 52 years offer contrasts aplenty in Charles Hutchinson’s choices for the days ahead.
Last-chance holiday activities: Yorkshire Museum, Museum Gardens, York, open Tuesdays to Sundays, 10am to 5pm
AS the school summer holidays enter their final fortnight, the Yorkshire Museum invites visitors to “make the most of the interactive activities, craft sessions and amazing exhibits before term starts again”.
Grab a dinosaur backpack to explore the Mary Anning and Jurassic galleries in dino-themed entertainment for younger ones, while spotting fossils and dino bones on their adventures on August 21, 24 or 28. The final Melsonby Hoard treasure trove crafting session will be held on August 26, although Viking beaded jewellery and bug brooch making are available every day through the summer break. Pay once to receive all these free activities and unlimited return visits for a year. Tickets: yorkshiremuseum.org.uk.
No common ground: Pandora Clifford’s Mags and Liz Garland’s Liz in Handbagged at the SJT, Scarborough. 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 Magic Numbers: Brothers and sisters in unison at The Crescent
Siblings of the week:An Evening With The Magic Numbers, The Crescent, York, Friday, 7.30pm
THE Magic Numbers combine two pairs of siblings, Romeo & Michele Stodart and Sean & Angela Gannon, who are known for their unique harmonies, melodic hooks, songwriting craftsmanship and timeless sound, exemplified by Forever Lost, Love Me Like You and Love Is A Game across five albums. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Nile Rodgers: Performing with CHIC at Scarborough Open Air Theatre
Coastal gig of the week: Nile Rodgers & CHIC, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Saturday, gates open at 6pm
IN the final Scarborough Open Air Theatre concert of the summer, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, Grammy Lifetime Achievement winner and composer, producer, arranger and guitarist Nile Rodgers returns to the Yorkshire coast for the third time with CHIC, the New York City R&B and soul band he co-founded with Bernard Edwards.
Expect such disco dancefloor fillers as Le Freak, Good Times, We Are Family and I’m Coming Out. Acid jazz combo Brand New Heavies support. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Sparks’ Ron and Russell Mael: Playing York after 52-year hiatus on August 25. Picture: Munachi Osegbu
York gig of the week: Sparks, York Barbican, August 25, doors open at 7pm
CULT Californian pop-rock pioneers Sparks play York for the first time since 1974 on their 2025-2026 world tour, coinciding with this month’s release of latest album Live On The Moon.
The Mael brothers, Ron (keyboards), 81, and Russell (vocals), 77, are lining up a euphoric, career-spanning set, picking from such hits as This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us, Amateur Hour, Something For The Girl With Everything, Looks, Looks, Looks, The Number One Song In Heaven and Beat The Clock. Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer supports. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The poster for CBeebies House Party Live! at York Barbican
Children’s show of the week: CBeebies House Party Live!, York Barbican, August 26, 11am and 2pm
DIRECTED by CBeebies superstar Justin Fletcher, CBeebies House Party Live! is a fun-packed family stage show full of sensational songs, stupendous surprises and mega moments.
Throwing an epic party just for you will be special guest Mr Tumble, Mister Maker, York Theatre Royal pantomime alumni Andy Day and Evie Pickerill, Duggee, Nigel Clarke and George Webster, who promise dancing, singing, streamers, giant jellies, bubbles galore and a CBeebies bedtime story. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Lee Gemmell’s Egyptology student Edward Bellingham in Baron Productions’ The Mummy Lot No. 249
Thriller of the month: Baron Productions presents Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Mummy Lot No. 249, St Mary’s Church, Bishophill Junior, York, August 28 & 29, 7.30pm
FOUNDED by Daniel Wilmot in 2015, York company Baron Productions presents Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1892 one-act play The Mummy Lot No. 249 as its 2026 summer show, in which Oxford student Abercrombie Smith discovers his neighbour, Egyptology student Edward Bellingham, has used ancient magic to reanimate a malevolent mummy to terrorise and attack his rivals.
Wilmot’s cast features Jack McAdam as Smith, Lee Gemmell as Bellingham, M. Alder as Peterson, Lauren Hegarty as Hastie and Ellie Guffick as Monkhouse Lee. Box office: https://www.ticketsource.com/baron-productions.
The artwork for the interactive Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote at Milton Rooms, Malton
Crime detection games ahead: Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote, Milton Rooms, Malton, September 2, 7.30pm
HOSTED by super-fan, playwright and PopHorror co-producer Tim Benzie, cult event Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote comes to Malton with an interactive screening of NBC Universal Television’s classic Murder, She Wrote episode A Fashionable Way To Die, wherein Jessica Fletcher visits Paris to support her friend’s fashion show, but soon a murder takes place that only she (or you) can solve.
Combining games, prizes and audience participation, Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote features a race to solve the crime, via the Fameometer and the Suspiciometer; a Cabot Cove quiz; a singalong to the theme tune with new lyrics, plus clips and biographies of the campy guest stars. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
The Snake Davis Band: Heading back to Helmsley Arts Centre
Return upcoming: The Snake Davis Band, Everlasting Love Tour, Helmsley Arts Centre, September 12, 7.30pm
SAXOPHONIST Snake Davis is “so happy to be back at Helmsley Arts Centre yet again”, this time showcasing new tunes and his new album on the Everlasting Love Tour with his four-piece band featuring guitar, bass guitar and drums.
The set will span “floaty to danceable, soul and Northern Soul to pop, jazz to world”, embracing original material and classic sax pieces such as Baker Street and Night Train, as Snake swaps performing arena and stadium gigs with stellar acts for playing intimate venues with his own music choices and favourite musicians. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Michelle Yim in The Ballad Of Mulan, on tour at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Malcolm Tam
Tour 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 Mulantells 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.
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.
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.
“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
Danger, danger for a ranger at close quarters with a dinosaur’s teethin Dinosaur Adventure Live: Danger On T-Rex Mountain at York Theatre Royal
DINOSAUR adventures and Knavesmire’s music showcase weekend, a not-so-sweet Transylvanian transvestite and a French farce promise variety aplenty in Charles Hutchinson’s week ahead.
Children’s show of the week: Dinosaur Adventure Live, Danger On T-Rex Mountain, York Theatre Royal, today, 2.30pm
SIXTY-FIVE million years in the making, Dinosaur Adventure Live brings a fusion of family-friendly storytelling, puppetry and roarsome science to the stage as the ancient world of dinosaurs crashes back to life for gasps, giggles and occasional jump-scares.
From a shadowy raptor on the loose to baby dinosaurs that you can feed (carefully!), Mike Newman’s show blends humour, thrills and hands-on learning into an interactive stage experience. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Liz Foster: Exhibiting her abstract artworks in Arnup Studios’ first collective show at Pyramid Gallery
Exhibition launch of the week: Arnup Studios at Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, today, 11am to 2pm, then running until September 27
CERAMICIST Hannah Arnup, landscape and natural world artist Michelle Galloway, abstract artist Liz Foster, plein-air and studio artist Kate Pettitt, British wildlife ceramicist Penny Phillips and handmade jewellery designer Emma Welsh will be on hand at today’s opening of Holtby-based Arnup Studios’ first collective exhibition at Pyramid Gallery. Gallery opening hours are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.
Justine Warner with exhibits from today’s showcase of experimental textiles and mixed media at Laburnum Cottage, Sheriff Hutton
Art showcase of the week: Experimental Textiles and Mixed Media, Laburnum Cottage Art Studio, West End, Sheriff Hutton, near York, today, 10am to 5pm
NORTH Yorkshire Open Studios textile and mixed-media artist, Landscape Artist Of The Year 2022 contestant, teacher and workshop tutor Justine Warner plays host to an exhibition of one year of student work, showcasing skills, workbooks and final pieces based on a wide range of experimental textile techniques that employ exciting and unusual materials in creative ways.
Look at how Bondaweb, Lutradur, soluble fabrics, metal, foils, gel printing, transfer printing, batik, tetra pack printing, block printing and heat-shrink can be used and speak with some of the students who experimented with them.
Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s introverted office worker Thomas struggling with his bothersome briefcase in Skedaddle Theatre’s A Brief Case Of Crazy
Silent love story of the week: Skedaddle Theatre & Shoddy Theatre present A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, today, 2pm & 7pm
INSPIRED by the timeless genius of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mr Bean,Rowan Armitt-Brewster, Samuel Cunningham and Lennie Longworth’s physical comedy A Brief Case Of Crazy is a silent love story with a very loud heart, told through slick choreography, mime, clowning and puppetry.
Meet Thomas, an awkward, introverted office worker with a quiet crush on his equally shy colleague, Daisy. His quest for love must contend with a boisterous boss named Simon and a rather bothersome briefcase that drags an awkward introvert into extraordinary events. Will his quest for love fail? Or will he discover that what’s on the inside counts most? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Five upwards.
Dominic Goodwin in a triptych of his myriad roles in Twice Nightly
Recalling variety’s golden days: Pyramus and Thisbe Productions present Dominic Goodwin in Twice Nightly, Friargate Theatre, York, tonight, 7.30pm
RYEDALE writer, performer and pantomime dame Dominic Goodwin is touring his first one-man comedy show, directed by York director and actor Thomas Frere.
Twice Nightly follows the story of struggling comedian Freddie Francis in 1956 as the final curtain hovers over variety. Many acts of the time are highlighted, including Norman “Over The Garden Wall” Evans (said to be an influence on Les Dawson) Stockton comic Jimmy James, wartime star Robb Wilton and the iconic Max Miller. Box office: York, 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.
CMAT: Songs of identity, grief and beauty standards at Scarborough Open Air Theatre tonight
Coastal gig of the week: CMAT, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, today, gates 6pm
CMAT, alias Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, burst on to the music scene six years ago with her debut single Another Day (KFC). The Dublin-born, County Meath-raised singer and songwriter has since released three bitingly humorous, emotionally honest albums, 2022’s If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, 2023’s Crazymad, For Me and 2025’s Mercury Prize-nominated Euro-Country, her exploration of identity, grief and beauty standards, exemplified by Take A Sexy Picture Of Me. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.co.uk.
Stephen Webb’s Dr Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, doing the Time Warp again at the Grand Opera House next week. Picture: David Freeman
Musical of the week: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grand Opera House, York, July 20 to 25, Monday to Thursday, 8pm; Friday & Saturday, 5pm and 8.30pm
STEPHEN Webb leads the cast as Dr Frank N Furter on The Rocky Horror Show’s latest return to the Grand Opera House, joined by comedian Jackie Clune as the Narrator. Directed by Christopher Luscombe, Richard O’Brien’s outré musical tells the story of squeaky-clean American college sweethearts Brad and his fiancée Janet’s very frank encounters at the freaky doctor’s Transylvanian castle after their car breaks down.
Cue an adventure full of fun, frolics, frocks and frivolity, bursting with timeless songs and outrageous outfits as O’Brien combines science-fiction, horror, comedy and music while encouraging audience participation. Those audiences are sure to dress up in the most outrageous fancy dress. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Lenny Pearce: Techno for toddlers at York Barbican
Techno dance moves for children: Lenny Pearce, Toddler Rave World Tour Part 2, York Barbican, July22, 3.30pm
LENNY Pearce is a force in family entertainment, captivating a global audience as the pioneer of Toddler Techno. Driven from his passion as a father, and his strong commitment to his home life, Lenny makes songs and videos and performs live shows where he spins children’s favourites, remixed into modern hits that keep young ones and parents alike dazzled. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Andrew O’Neill: Looking to Escape at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York. Picture: Andrew O’Neill
Fringe shows of the week: Halfway To Edinburgh at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, presents Joe Sellman-Leava in Copycat (Work In Progress), July 23, 7.30pm; Andrew O’Neill: Escape, July 24, 8pm
DOES AI spell the end of humanity, or the dawn of a new utopia, ponders Fringe First winner Joe Sellman-Leava. He might be a technophobe, but he is determined to find out by using innovative design and a whirlwind of uncanny impressions to tell the story of a teacher, a student, and a copycat dictator to examine the links between art, fascism and rapid technological change.
HOW do we get out of this mess, asks cult comedian Andrew O’Neill in his surreal, political show, Escape, about the ways in which we disagree with each other, while suggesting some ways we can find our way out. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Airline hostesses at the treble: Bethan Olliver as Gloria, left, Val Debenedetti as Gabriella Jorja Cartwright as Gretchen in Rowntree Players’ Boeing Boeing
Farce of the week: Rowntree Players in Boeing Boeing, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, July 23 to 25, 7.30pm
MARC Camoletti’s high-flying 1960s’ French farce Boeing Boeing is cleared for take-off in Hannah Shaw’s English-language production for Rowntree Players. Meet self-styled Parisian lothario Bernard, who has Italian, German and American fiancées, each one a beautiful airline hostess with frequent “layovers.”
He keeps “one up, one down, and one pending” until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris, and to Bernard’s apartment, at the same time. Shaw’s cast features Max Palmer as Bernard, Lizzie Lawton as Robert, Rebecca Thomson as Berthe, Jorja Cartwright as Gretchen, Bethan Olliver as Gloria and Val Debenedetti as Gabriella. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Craig David: TS5 DJ set at York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend next Friday
Outdoor concerts of the week: York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Knavesmire, York, Craig David presents TS5, July 24, and Tom Grennan, July 25
SOUTHAMPTON singer-songwriter and DJ Craig David presents his TS5 DJ set on Music Showcase Friday’s double bill of racing and old-skool anthems, from R&B to Swing Beat, Garage to Bashment, plus current House hits, when he combines his song and MC skills.
Bedford singer-songwriter Tom Grennan is Saturday’s post-racing performer, drawing on such hits as Little Bit Of Love, Let’s Go Home Together, Remind Me, Here and How Does It Feel, plus songs from his number one albums Evering Road, What Ifs & Maybes and Everywhere I Went Led Me To Where I Didn’t Want To Be and top-five debut Lighting Matches. Tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk; no booking fees; free parking on race day.
Tom Grennan: Performing next Saturday’s Music Showcase Weekend at York Racecourse
Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s introverted officer worker Thomas struggling with his bothersome briefcase in A Brief Case Of Crazy
SILENCE is golden in A Brief Case Of Crazy, a retro ray of comedic sunshine from Skedaddle Theatre that elicits the broadest of smiles and makes the heart pound with glee.
Trained in physical theatre at East 15 Acting School, Roan Armitt-Brewster, Lennie Longworth and Samuel Cunningham draw inspiration from another Rowan, Atkinson’s Mr Bean, as well as the black-and-white cinema of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
There are shades too of Nick Park and Aardman Animation’s Wallace & Gromit comedies and Belgian surrealist René Magrittein the design for this hour-long “silent love story with a very loud heart”.
Armitt-Brewster, who appeared on the Theatre Royal main stage in Around The World In 80 Days-ish and the 2024 pantomime Aladdin, has described A Brief Case Of Crazy as “the sweatiest, stinkiest show in the world”.
In 1940s’ vintage woollen tank top, cardigan and fitted suit respectively, and sometimes in coats and bowler hats too, in such hot conditions for performing, Armitt-Brewster, Longworth and Cunningham must have felt even sweatier, even stickier. Nevertheless, they put everything into such a physically demanding show, one that keeps them constantly on the move, regularly breaking into ever-faster dance routines.
They do not speak a word, but their facial mannerisms speak volumes, and all manner of sound effects and recorded songs and incidental music are the trigger for crisply choreographed movements of exquisite comic timing, especially in scenes on the London Underground.
Armitt-Bewster’s Thomas, in his specs and tank top that have not changed since childhood, is an introverted, nervy, nerdy office drone with a hidden crush on Longworth’s just-as-shy co-worker Daisy, in woolly hat, green cardigan and red skirt, who turns out to be equally secretly love struck (both of them keeping a photo of the other in a stashed-away folder).
Always standing in the way of love’s true path Cunningham’s office boss Simon, a preening poltroon with a large mirror in his briefcase, a snarling growl for Armitt-Brewster’s timid Thomas on every entrance and a red rose for Daisy, stolen each time from knock-kneed Thomas.
Love-struck: Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s timid Thomas and Lennie Longworth’s equally shy co-worker in A Brief Case Of Crazy
Can love prevail or will dastardly Simon spoil everything? The office “romance” is played with mime and clowning, dance steps and slapstick set-pieces, sometimes involving the drawers of the office chest, where one opens as another is pushed shut. Always keep an eye out for the unexpected, such as the office sunflower suddenly growing taller in the pot when love is declared.
The characters are caricatures with familiar tropes, but beneath the comedy lies pathos too, as bullying and grief suddenly rise to the surface in a brief, deeply moving puppetry scene that takes Thomas back to his childhood.
In the blink of an eye, amid the changing sounds of a hospital, the scene recalls how Thomas was picked on, how he injured himself in a fall, how his mother tended to his injuries, and how that handkerchief went from her hand to his after she dies all too young. When theatre is this economical but visually rich in its storytelling style, it is all the more impactful.
Indeed, the timing is so well judged throughout that only once – in a sequence of love-blossoming dance routines in quick-quick succession, where Armitt-Brewster plays Astaire to Longworth’s Rogers – could the editing be tighter. Maybe trim a song, but definitely keep in Armitt-Brewster tap-dancing finale.
All three performances are a delight, from Armitt-Brewster’s tragicomic office nerd to Longworth’s toothy, Chaplinesque Daisy – you could picture her playing Shakespeare’s Puck – topped off with Cunningham’s vainglorious Simon, the cadaverous cad of the piece.
From a trio of misbehaving briefcases to the cast’s ability to put both commotion and emotion into motion, A Brief Case Of Crazy is an utter joy in its celebration of the romance of the underdog, its empowerment of being different, its love and refinement of a time-honoured but increasingly neglected performance style. You’d be crazy to miss it.
Skedaddle Theatre & Shoddy Theatre present A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 7pm; tomorrow, 2pm and 7pm.Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Five upwards.
Eliza Carthy: Performing with The Restitution at Ryedale Festival
A MYTHICAL tale of a goddess, a near-future re-spinning of the selkie myth, an Arthurian quest of a lifetime, a bothersome briefcase in a love story and a nostalgia trip to variety’s golden days keep Charles Hutchinson entertained.
Folk gig of the week: Eliza Carthy and The Restitution, Ryedale Festival, Selby Abbey, tonight, 7pm
FLAMBOYANT Robin Hood’s Bay fiddler and singer Eliza Carthy continues to re-imagine traditional music with fiery imagination and fearless individuality. The daughter of Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson, she grew up immersed in the folk world, and here she performs with her powerhouse touring band in one of Yorkshire’s most atmospheric and beautiful settings. For the full festival programme and tickets, go to: ryedalefestival.com.
Megan Drury in Wright & Grainger’s SELENE at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
Radical myth revamp of the week: Wright & Grainger and Theatre@41 present Megan Drury in SELENE, Halfway To Edinburgh Season, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 7pm, and tomorrow, 8.30pm
AUSTRALIAN actor Megan Drury stars in Easingwold duo Phil Grainger and Alexander Flanagan Wright’s tale of the goddess and the dark side of the moon in a radical explosion of an ancient myth.
A young girl watches the moon landings on repeat. A teenager makes a list of all the things they are not. A young adult starts to discover who they are. Expect a story addressing the light sides of us, the dark sides of us, the things orbiting around us as we grow up and not least the wild stuff inside us. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
The Three Inch Fools: Epic tale of Arthurian adventure and medieval mayhemat Helmsley Walled Garden
Outdoor theatre show of the week: The Three Inch Fools in King Arthur And The Holy Fail, Helmsley Walled Garden, tomorrow, 7pm
FOUNDED by Cumbrian brothers James and Stephen Hyde, The Three Inch Fools present an epic tale of Arthurian adventure and medieval mayhem, set in a land of daring quests, dashing knights and endless jousting.
Waiting in the wings is a would-be hero, by the name of Arthur, but when Camelot is rocked to its core by a tragic – and frankly improbable – incident involving a large table of an undisclosed shape, Arthur is thrust into the quest of a lifetime, Destiny awaits, chivalry calls and the quest to end all quests begins. Bring chairs, blankets and cushions. Picnics welcome. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s introverted Thomas and Lennie Longworth’s equally shy Daisy in A Brief Case Of Crazy
Silent love story of the week: Skedaddle Theatre & Shoddy Theatre present A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, tomorrow to Saturday, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee
INSPIRED by the timeless genius of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mr Bean,Rowan Armitt-Brewster, Samuel Cunningham and Lennie Longworth’s physical comedy A Brief Case Of Crazy is a silent love story with a very loud heart, told through slick choreography, mime, clowning and puppetry.
Meet Thomas, an awkward, introverted office worker with a quiet crush on his equally shy colleague, Daisy. His quest for love must contend with a boisterous boss named Simon and a rather bothersome briefcase that drags an awkward introvert into extraordinary events. Will his quest for love fail? Or will he discover that what’s on the inside counts most? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Five upwards.
Hannah Davies & Jack Woods: Re-imagining selkie myth in a not-too-distant future
Dystopian vision of the week: Hannah Davies & Jack Woods in The Ballad of Blea Wyke, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
IN North Yorkshire writer and storyteller Hannah Davies and musician Jack Woods’ dystopian re-imagining of the selkie myth in a not-too-distant future, a young woman wants to see the sea. A stranger stands on a cliff. The last grey seal swims towards the shore.
On her 18th birthday, tough care-leaver Cerys breaks the city’s lockdown and travels to the coastal cliffs that birthed her, the crumbling landscape drawing her back to her mythic past. Cue a haunting interweaving of story, music, poetry and song. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Elf Lyons, the woman on the edge at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
Comedy gig of the week: Halfway To Edinburgh Season presents Elf Lyons Is The Woman On The Edge (Work In Progress), Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 7.30pm
LET London comedian, classically trained clown and Sky Arts Award winner Elf Lyons introduce this Work In Progress preview of her Edinburgh Fringe-bound show Elf Lyons Is The Woman On The Edge: “I’m sorry, I’ve said too much…”
She does, however, go on to say it will be “a completely normal, autobiographical (and in no way complex) observational stand-up show about love. A perfect show to take yourself to. Inspired by Vertigo, Apollo 13 the opera Pagliacci. Directed by Ingmar Bergman.” Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Dominic Goodwin in a triptych of his myriad roles in Twice Nightly
Recalling variety’s golden days: Pyramus and Thisbe Productions present Dominic Goodwin in Twice Nightly, Friargate Theatre, York, Friday and Saturday, 7.30pm
RYEDALE writer, performer and pantomime dame Dominic Goodwin is touring his first one-man comedy show, directed by York director and actor Thomas Frere.
Twice Nightly follows the story of struggling comedian Freddie Francis in 1956 as the final curtain hovers over variety. Many acts of the time are highlighted, including Norman “Over The Garden Wall” Evans (said to be an influence on Les Dawson) Stockton comic Jimmy James, wartime star Robb Wilton and the iconic Max Miller. Box office: York, 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.
Tommy Banks; Turning up the heat at York Theatre Royal
Culinary event of the week: An Evening with Tommy Banks: Spinning Plates: Live, York Theatre Royal, Friday, 7.30pm
MICHELIN-STARRED chef and entrepreneur Tommy Banks makes the trip from his Oldstead family farm to York Theatre Royal to bring his extraordinary story to the stage for the first and only time. Told across three intersecting timelines – the past 25 years, the defining 12 months and the opening night for his latest pub —each moment teeters on a knife-edge.
Banks runs the Black Swan at Oldstead, Roots York, in Marygate, York, and the Abbey Inn at Byland, as well as co-founding Jeopardy Hospitality, whose first venture is the General Tarleton at Ferrensby, Knaresborough. For one night only, he combines storytelling and immersive cinema to lift the lid on hospitality service at its most intense. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
CMAT: Songs of identity, grief and beauty standards at Scarborough Open Air Theatre
Coastal gig of the week: CMAT, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Saturday, gates 6pm
CMAT, alias Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, burst on to the music scene six years ago with her debut single Another Day (KFC). The Dublin-born, County Meath-raised singer and songwriter has since released three bitingly humorous, emotionally honest albums, 2022’s If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, 2023’s Crazymad, For Me and 2025’s Mercury Prize-nominated Euro-Country, her exploration of identity, grief and beauty standards, exemplified by Take A Sexy Picture Of Me. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.co.uk.
Danger on T-Rex Mountain in Dinosaur Adventure Live at York Theatre Royal
Children’s show of the week: Dinosaur Adventure Live, Danger On T-Rex Mountain, York Theatre Royal, Saturday, 2.30pm
SIXTY-FIVE million years in the making, Dinosaur Adventure Live brings a fusion of family-friendly storytelling, puppetry, and roarsome science to the stage as the ancient world of dinosaurs crashes back to life for gasps, giggles and occasional jump-scares.
From a shadowy raptor on the loose to baby dinosaurs that you can feed (carefully!), Mike Newman’s show blends humour, thrills and hands-on learning into an interactive stage experience. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Matt Ford: In full swing at Milton Rooms, Malton
In the swing of things: Ryedale Festival presents Matt Ford and The Swing Legends Band, Milton Rooms, Malton, Sunday, 7pm
BRITISH singer and BBC Proms regular Matt Ford is joined by a full band to celebrate the songs of Frank Sinatra and fellow crooning legends Dean Martin, Tony Bennett and Michael Bublé. From late-night ballads to high-octane numbers shaped by elegance and irresistible wit, this is music that still knows exactly how to swing. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Super Furry Animals: Flower power in the botanical gardens at Live At York Museum Gardens. Picture: Ryan Eddleston
NINE comedians on one day in a garden, a mythical tale of a goddess and the dark side of the moon, a near-future re-spinning of the selkie myth and a bothersome briefcase in a love story keep Charles Hutchinson’s head spinning with artistic possibilities.
Rock gig of the week: Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Super Furry Animals, today, gates 4pm
FUTURESOUND’S third season of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts climaxes today with Welsh psychedelic rock band Super Furry Animals’ headline set. On the bill too are singer-songwriter Baxter Dury, indie-pop septet Los Campesinos!, Nottingham alt-country band Divorce and North Wales psychedelic act Pys Melyn. Box office: futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events.
The Gesualdo Six: Performing Wishing Tree: A Choral Journey 1 at St Lawrence’s Church, York, on July 14 at 3pm at Ryedale Festival. Picture: Ash Mills
Festival of the week: Ryedale Festival, until July 26
RYEDALE Festival presents 60 events this month in 40 different venues, including Tenebrae, The Gesualdo Six, John Wilson & Sinfonia of London’s An English Summer, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Opera North.
Taking part too are tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Christopher Glynn, Sheku & Isata Kanneh-Mason, pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, Eliza Carthy and The Restitution, soprano Erika Baikoff, cellist Laura van der Heijden, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists and Kirkbymoorside Town Brass Band. For the full festival programme and tickets, go to: ryedalefestival.com.
Cutting a dash: Russell Kane’s 7.10pm set will last 25 minutes at York Comedy Festival tomorrow
Comedy event of the week: Futuresound presents York Comedy Festival, Live At York Museum Gardens, York, tomorrow, gates 3pm
TOPICAL comedian Russell Howard (9.30pm) and Geordie surrealist Ross Noble (8.35pm) take top billing at the second open-air York Comedy Festival, promoted by Futuresound.
In tomorrow’s line-up too will be Irish stand-up and podcast sensation Joanne McNally (7.40pm); stand-up and presenter Russell Kane (7.10pm); Big Kick Energy podcaster and comedian Suzi Ruffell (6.15pm); Alex Lowe’s 82-year-old comic creation Barry From Watford (5.45pm); cult stand-up hero and viral sensation Jeff Innocent (4.50pm) and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Nabil Abdulrashid (4.20pm), all hosted by Jarred Christmas. Box office: yorkcomedyfestival.com.
Megan Drury in Wright & Grainger’s SELENE, part of Theatre@41’s Halfway To Edinburgh Season
Radical myth revamp of the week: Wright & Grainger and Theatre@41 present Megan Drury in SELENE, Halfway To Edinburgh Season, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, July 15, now 7pm; July 16, 8.30pm
AUSTRALIAN actor Megan Drury stars in Easingwold duo Phil Grainger and Alexander Flanagan Wright’s tale of the goddess and the dark side of the moon in a radical explosion of an ancient myth.
A young girl watches the moon landings on repeat. A teenager makes a list of all the things they are not. A young adult starts to discover who they are. Expect a story addressing the light sides of us, the dark sides of us, the things orbiting around us as we grow up and not least the wild stuff inside us. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
UPDATE: 13/7/2026
STATEMENT from Team 41: “As you may have noticed the show now partially clashes with England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina.
“To allow people to catch as much of the match as possible, we’ve moved the start time for Wright & Grainger’s SELENE to 19:00.
“The show is 70 minutes long, so you’ll hopefully be able to enjoy Wright & Grainger’s SELENE and then see the match from the first Hydration Break.
“There is another performance of SELENE on Thursday at 8.30pm, so if you would prefer to move to that show, send an email to [email protected].”
Silence is golden: Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s Thomas in A Brief Case Of Crazy at York Theatre Royal Studio
Silent love story of the week: Skedaddle Theatre & Shoddy Theatre present A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, July 16 to 18, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee
INSPIRED by the timeless genius of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mr Bean,Rowan Armitt-Brewster, Samuel Cunningham and Lennie Longworth’s physical comedy A Brief Case Of Crazy is a silent love story with a very loud heart, told through slick choreography, mime, clowning and puppetry.
Meet Thomas, an awkward, introverted office worker with a quiet crush on his equally shy colleague, Daisy. His quest for love must contend with a boisterous boss named Simon and a rather bothersome briefcase that drags an awkward introvert into extraordinary events. Will his quest for love fail? Or will he discover that what’s on the inside counts most? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Five upwards.
Hannah Davies & Jack Woods: Performing The Ballad Of Blea Wyke at Helmsley Arts Centre on July 17. Picture: Matt Jopling
Dystopian vision of the week: Hannah Davies & Jack Woods in The Ballad of Blea Wyke, Helmsley Arts Centre, July 17, 7.30pm
IN North Yorkshire writer and storyteller Hannah Davies and musician Jack Woods’ dystopian re-imagining of the selkie myth in a not-too-distant future, a young woman wants to see the sea. A stranger stands on a cliff. The last grey seal swims towards the shore.
On her 18th birthday, tough care-leaver Cerys breaks the city’s lockdown and travels to the coastal cliffs that birthed her, the crumbling landscape drawing her back to her mythic past. Cue a haunting interweaving of story, music, poetry and song. Box office: Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Dominic Goodwin in a triptych of three of his multiple roles in Twice Nightly at Friargate Theatre
Recalling variety’s golden days: Pyramus and Thisbe Productions present Dominic Goodwin in Twice Nightly, Friargate Theatre, York, July 17 & 18, 7.30pm
RYEDALE writer, performer and pantomime dame Dominic Goodwin is touring his first one-man comedy show, directed by York director and actor Thomas Frere.
Twice Nightly follows the story of struggling comedian Freddie Francis in 1956 as the final curtain hovers over variety. Many acts of the time are highlighted, including Norman “Over The Garden Wall” Evans (said to be an influence on Les Dawson) Stockton comic Jimmy James, wartime star Robb Wilton and the iconic Max Miller. Box office: York, 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.
Turning up the heat: North Yorkshire chef Tommy Banks
Culinary event of the week: An Evening with Tommy Banks: Spinning Plates: Live, York Theatre Royal, July 17, 7.30pm
MICHELIN-STARRED chef, restaurateur and hospitality leader Tommy Banks makes the trip from his Oldstead family farm to York Theatre Royal to bring his extraordinary story to the stage for the first and only time. Told across three intersecting timelines – the past 25 years, the defining 12 months and the opening night for his latest pub —each moment teeters on a knife-edge.
Banks runs the Black Swan at Oldstead (head chef since June 2013), Roots York, in Marygate, York (since 2018) , and the Abbey Inn at Byland (since 2023), as well as co-founding Jeopardy Hospitality, whose first venture is the General Tarleton at Ferrensby, Knaresborough, in 2025.
His debut cookbook, Roots, was published by Orion in April 2018. He set up the food box business Made In Oldstead in 2020, Banks Brothers canned wine company in 2021, Tommy’s Pie Shop in 2024 and Tommy Banks Hospitality, for large-scale events, stadia catering and corporate hospitality nationwide, in 2025.
In 2019, Banks became resident chef at Lord’s Cricket Ground; in 2022, chef partner of Twickenham Stadium; in 2025, chef partner of Sunderland AFC. A lifelong Sunderland supporter, he now leads the culinary offering at Banks on the Wear and oversees corporate hospitality at the football ground.
Exemplified by the three-acre kitchen garden by the Black Swan, sustainability sits at the heart of everything Banks does. His field-to-fork commitment to responsible growing, foraging and low-impact cooking has been recognised with a Michelin Green Star, while his dedication to nurturing future talent continues through apprenticeship programmes and industry partnerships.
For one night only, he combines storytelling and immersive cinema to lift the lid on hospitality service at its most intense, reflecting on a lifetime of ambition, vulnerability, risk and pressure (cookers).
Set against a turbulent backdrop, where soaring business rates and crushing VAT force three pubs to close every week, Banks exposes the brutal reality of keeping the doors open while revealing the plate-spinning demands of leadership and what it takes to pursue excellence.
Along the way, discover the community of talent he has built in the once-sleepy village of Oldstead, firmly rooted in camaraderie, resilience and Yorkshire grit. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
This Is Torture for Sean Walsh: Anxiety levels rising at Harrogate Theatre, York Theatre Royal and the SJT, Scarborough. Picture: Jiksaw
Gig announcement of the week: Sean Walsh, This Is Torture, Harrogate Theatre, October 6, and York Theatre Royal, November 6, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, April 14 2027
I’M A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! 2022 series survivor Sean Walsh has decided to name his latest stand-up tour show after the phrase he says the most: “This Is Torture”. The dishevelled Camden comedian will be bringing his signature blend of chaos and charm to Harrogate, York and the newly added Scarborough to put himself through an anxiety filled-hour, as he indeed will on no fewer than 71 occasions on a tour now extended by 37 dates.
The ever-observant Walsh’s podcasting portfolio takes in co-hosting Oh My Dog! with Jack Dee, where guests discuss their special canine bonds, and What’s Upset You Now?, putting the world to rights in cathartic trips to the pub with Paul McCaffrey. In addition, on Class Clown, he sits down with the boldest rule-breakers in entertainment to explore the personal battles that shaped them.
In 2024, he made his Shakespearean debut as Malvolio in Twelfth Night at Stafford Gatehouse, then played Yvan in a tour of Yasmina Reza’s Art. Tickets: www.seannwalsh.com; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Scarborough,01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
In Focus: Navigators Art presents Moss Glow And Shadow Bloom, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight 7.45pm
York singer Gabriella Hunzinger
YORK arts collective Navigators Art’s final gig before a summer break brings together four Yorkshire performers whose work conjures unique worlds up in a magical programme of electronic, acoustic and vocal sounds, influenced by folk traditions and environmental awareness.
Combining ancient and modern iconography, art, poetry and music, the bill features York singer Gabriella Hunzinger, No Spinoza, previewing forthcoming album Jupiter’s Great Hurricane, Sheffield experimental songwriter Pefkin and Things Found And Made’s lost cinematic folk-tales.
No Spinoza’s Thomas Pearson
GABRIELLA HUNZINGER: Her songs take wisdom from nature’s seasonal cycles and explore connections between ourselves, the earth and what lies beyond our conscious experience. Accompanied by cellist Filipe Massumi and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Webster.
NO SPINOZA: Welcome to the thematic universe of forthcoming album Jupiter’s Great Hurricane, where Thomas Pearson’s songs bridge history and legend, ancient and modern. Featured in session on BBC Introducing.
Pefkin
PEFKIN: Sheffield performing and recording artist. Multi-instrumentalist and experimental songwriter of slowly unfolding psychedelic hymnals, inspired by nature.
THINGS FOUND AND MADE: Lost cinematic folk-tales: imagined histories, half remembered rituals of sound and nature, from York.
Tickets: https://www.ticketsource.com/navigators-art-performance or on the door.
