Noughts & Crosses, Romeo And Juliet, The Howl & The Hum, and what else? Rhod Gilbert’s return, a Brexit show, Lip Service and a new French farce are all in CHARLES HUTCHINSON’S diary for April 1 to 7
Romeo And Juliet story of the week
Noughts & Crosses, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to Saturday
SEPHY is a Cross and Callum is a Nought, and between Noughts and Crosses there are racial and social divides.
A segregated society teeters on a volatile knife edge, and as Sephy and Callum draw closer, their romance can only lead them into terrible danger in Sabrina Mahfouz's stage adaptation of Malorie Blackman's novel for young adults, presented by York Theatre Royal and resident company Pilot Theatre.
The other Romeo And Juliet show of the week
Romeo And Juliet, York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre, Theatre Royal Studio, Thursday to Saturday
THREE York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre groups, each aged 14 to 16, present three versions of Shakespeare's torrid tale of star cross'd lovers. One is set in the 1980s, another in the 1990s, the third in the present day, and two will be performed each night.
He voted Remain, his mum voted Leave, then he wrote a show: Kieran Hodgson
Topical comedy show of the week
Kieran Hodgson: '75, Burning Duck Comedy Club, The Basement, City Screen, York, Thursday
PASSION. Betrayal. Harold Wilson. Character comedian and history-know-it-all Kieran Hodgson tells the surprising tale of how Britain joined Europe in the first place.
On a deeply personal quest for understanding, he discovers the Seventies were about more than TISWAS, the colour brown and the words "Let’s go on strike again".
What sparked this show? Brexit. His mum voted Leave; Hodgson, Remain. Awkward.
King for a day in York: King Creosote at the Stained Glass Centre
Cult Scottish gig of the week
King Creosote, Stained Glass Centre, Martin-cum-Gregory Church, Micklegate, York, Thursday
PLEASE Please You presents an intimate gig with a capacity of only 80 by King Creosote, alias Fife singer-songwriter Kenny Anderson, who founded the Fence Collective coterie of musicians in the fishing village of Anstruther.
Back in the Barbican: The Bootleg Beatles
Tribute gig of the week
The Bootleg Beatles, York Barbican, Friday
TRACING the Fab Four’s journey through the swinging 60s, with a little help from their own Pepperland Sinfonia orchestra, this time The Bootleg Beatles celebrate the 50th anniversary of "the White album", Dear Prudence et al. How apt one Bootleg member should be called Steve White.
Leaping off the page: Rhod Gilbert's The Book Of John show
The Hiatus Is Over comedy show of the week
Rhod Gilbert, The Book Of John, York Barbican, Saturday
AFTER six years away from the stand-up circuit, doing all manner of TV, Welsh firebrand Rhod Gilbert works up a new head of steam, promising "no more lies, no more nonsense".
Rhod thought he had hit rock bottom, but then he met a bloke called John, and this typically irate show is the result.
Murder on their mind: Lip Service in Strangers On A Train Set
Spoof of the week
Lip Service in Strangers On A Train Set, Pocklington Arts Centre, Thursday
SATIRICAL duo Lip Service, alias York actress Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding, return in a fast-moving show designed to appeal to crime aficionados and narrow gauge railway enthusiasts alike.
Challenging a youth to turn down his music, Irene Sparrow, inventor of the left-handed crochet hook, finds herself under suspicion of murder after the train emerges from a tunnel with the young man dead.
This is no ordinary train, however. Each passenger is reading a book, each book is a portal into a parallel universe of train-related crime fiction. Watch out for multiple train sets, keeping the comedy on track.
French farce: Freddie Fox as playwright Edmond Rostand in Edmond de Bergerac. Picture: Graeme Braidwood
Anglo-French alliance of the week
Edmond de Bergerac, Birmingham Repertory Company, Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday to Saturday
PLEASE note, this British premiere has nothing to do with Bergerac on the telly. No, this is a French hit comedy newly adapted into English, turning the spotlight on the man behind the story of big-nosed Cyrano de Bergerac
The setting is Paris, 1895,where Edmond (Freddie Fox) is a struggling playwright with writer's block. That all changes when he helps best friend Leo woo a girl called Jeanne by writing romantic letters to her as if from him. Suddenly, he has the perfect plot for a new play, Cyrano de Bergerac.
Fox is joined in a stellar cast by Henry Goodman's celebrated actor Coquelin, Josie Lawrence's theatrical legend Sarah and Chizzy Akudolu's faded star called Maria.
Howling in the night: The Howl & The Hum at The Crescent
York band gig of the week
The Howl & The Hum, The Crescent, York, Friday
HOME city gig for York's spiralling band of the moment, led by gifted songwriter Sam Griffiths.
The Howl & The Hum sum themselves up thus: "a miserable disco who write Bond themes for films where Jimmy is still hung up on that girl. They combine dark hypnotic pop with post-punk influences, pierced with lyrics that make you call your mum the next morning."
Energy, optimism and romance: Alfie Boe in Harrogate
Big voice of the week
An Evening With Alfie Boe, Harrogate Convention Centre, Saturday
THE tenor voice of the Fisherman's Friend lozenge advert is on tour in the wake of releasing his 1930s-themed album As Time Goes By.
"I'm excited to get back on the road, especially with a new record that I'm so proud of. We'll be enjoying some of great songs from my previous records, but I more than anything want to bring back to life an era when British audiences discovered a brand new kind of American music, full of energy, optimism and romance. "
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here