From Emma Rice’s York debut to Ben Fogle’s wild tales, a vengeful Duchess to Sleaford Mods’ stroppy political pop, a gripping Oscar winner to Beth’s EP launch, CHARLES HUTCHINSON picks his highlights of the week ahead

What Emma Rice did next after leaving Shakespeare’s Globe

Wise Children, presented by Wise Children/The Old Vic, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to March 16

KNEEHIGH founder Emma Rice never brought her fabulous Cornish company to York, but post - Globe artistic directorship, her new company Wise Children launches with a big, bawdy tangle of theatrical joy and heartbreak.

Rice brings an exuberantly impish vision to Angela Carter’s great last novel, a celebration of show business, family, forgiveness and hope on a bed of show girls and Shakespeare, sex and scandal, music, mischief and mistaken identity – and butterflies by the thousand. Don’t miss.

York Press:

Plenty of politics: Sleaford Mods at Fibbers. Picture: Roger Sargent

Why are there no political bands any more? Oh, hang on...

Sleaford Mods, Fibbers, York, Wednesday

FIRST The Specials bring politics back to the top of the charts with their first album in four decades, Encore. Now gnarly Nottingham duo Sleaford Mods release their fifth blast across the barricades, Eton Alive, on their own Extreme Eating label.

“We fall in to the toilet again and at the mercy of whatever policies are holding order in the s**t pipe of this tatty civilisation,” says vocalist Jason Williamson, ahead of Wednesday’s sold-out gig. “It is here our flesh regenerates as we rattle in to another form, ready and ripe for order.”

York Press:

Vengeful: David Phillipps in rehearsal for playing Antonio in Settlement Players’ The Duchess Of Malfi. Picture: Sam Taylor

Acts of revenge of the week

The Duchess Of Malfi, York Settlement Community Players, York Theatre Royal Studio, Wednesday to March 16

NATIONAL Theatre and RSC actor Sam Taylor directs Settlement Players for the first time in a fast-moving, collar-grabbing interpretation of John Webster’s 1614 revenge tragedy.

“At its heart, ‘Malfi’ is very much akin to a modern-day thriller, where the Duchess’s love for Antonio causes her brothers to tear down her life in revenge,” Sam suggests. Expect obsession, passion, blood and, yes, revenge.

York Press:

Roller play: Pippa Fulton and Jackie Lye in Jane Thornton’s I Want That Hair

Waiting for the Godbers? Here comes...

I Want That Hair!, John Godber Company, East Riding Theatre, Beverley, Wednesday to March 30

DIRECTED by John Godber and written by his wife, Jane Thornton, this life-changing comedy finds Bex and Heidi battling with the daily routine of blow dries and highlights and questioning if they really want that hair.

As Bex’s big birthday approaches, not only her salon is at the crossroads. Should she alter the salon, the wallpaper, or the way she lives her life? Pippa Fulton and Jackie Lye star.

York Press:

Off Strictly limits: Dianne Buswell, Amy Dowden and Chloe Hewitt do their own dance thing in Here Come The Girls

‘All new’ dance show of the week

Here Come The Girls, York Barbican, Thursday

STRICTLY Come Dancing professionals Dianne Buswell, Amy Dowden and Chloe Hewitt are the “Girls” coming York’s way on this “fresh and innovative” show’s debut tour.

The ballroom and Latin routines have been choreographed by Patrick Helm, who will be partnering Dianne too.

Flower show of the week

Burnby Hall Gardens presents Wonderful Water Lilies, Pocklington Arts Centre, Thursday

AQUATIC garden specialist James Allison delves into a potted history of the hardy water lily. His passion for water gardens started in his teens after building his first pond in his family garden and he is now CEO of Water Garden Solutions and the author of Water In The Garden.

York Press:

Wild night in York: Ben Fogle at the Barbican

Out of the wild show of the week

Ben Fogle: Tales Of The Wilderness, York Barbican, Friday

N a wild night of storytelling, audacious television adventurer Ben Fogle shares tales, from swimming with crocodiles to conquering Mount Everest; from crossing Antarctica to rowing the Atlantic Ocean.

There’s more: his year cast away on an island in the Outer Hebrides and a story with a real sting, when he took part in the world stinging nettle-eating championships.

York Press:

Launch night: Beth McCarthy showcases her debut EP at Fibbers

EP launch of the week

Beth McCarthy, Fibbers, York, Friday

YORK singer-songwriter Beth McCarthy, The Voice star at 16, showcases her debut EP, Self Portrait, at 21 with Jason Odle on keyboards and synthesisers and Ed Dennis on drums. Tracks include Shame, co-written with The Shires’ Ben Earle, and Wildfire, penned with Leeds band The Dunwells.

York Press:

Americana abounds: Thunder & Rain at Selby Town Hall

Inaccurate weather forecast of the week

Thunder & Rain, Selby Town Hall, Saturday

AMERICANA powerhouse five-piece from Golden, Colorado - a former gold rush town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains - blend their favourite elements of bluegrass, country, pop and alt-rock.

Oscar winner screening of the week

Free Solo (12A), City Screen, Monday 12.15pm

YES, 12.15pm on a Monday might not be ideal, but Best Documentary winner Free Solo is more gripping than a thriller. Free soloist climber Alex Honnold takes on his life-long dream: to climb the 3,200-ft El Capitan rock in Yosemite National Park... without a rope.