From Strictly stars to Kinky footwear, fast-talking Russell Kane to a race day comedy, The Sound Of Music to gender matters in Rotterdam, CHARLES HUTCHINSON flags up the week’s winners for April 8 to 13

York Press:

Movie moves: Aljaz and Janette in Remembering The Movies at York Barbican

Strictly for dance fans

Aljaz and Janette in Remembering The Movies, York Barbican, Tuesday

AFTER their Remembering Fred tribute to Fred Astaire, Strictly Come Dancing couple Aljaz Skorjane and Janette Manrara return to York with Remembering The Movies, a rollercoaster ride through cinema history.

Travelling from the Golden Age of Hollywood through to the modern mega musical, they tip their hat to Audrey Hepburn, Saturday Night Fever, Gene Kelly, The Greatest Showman, Marilyn Monroe, La La Land, James Bond, Cabaret and more besides, aided by a multimedia LED screen and cast of singers and dancers.

First time in York play of the week

Imitating The Dog in Heart Of Darkness, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday and Wednesday

IN their York debut, innovative Leeds company Imitating The Dog combine live performance with digital technology in a typically bold, visually rich, multi-layered retelling of Joseph Conrad’s influential novel Heart Of Darkness .

This tale of lies, brutal greed and the dark heart that beats within us all has been re-sited from Africa to a timeless Europe, the story unfolds like an animated Cinemascope graphic novel on the hanging projections screens above the cast's heads.

Quick wit of the week

Russell Kane in The Fast And The Curious, York Barbican, Thursday

IN this new show from the 43-year-old Enfield comedian, presenter writer and actor, Russell Kane will motor through love, family and life, seeking to prove "the fast and the curious among us see more stuff and get more done"

Kane has previously done such stuff as BBC Three’s survival programme Stupid Man, Smart Phone and three series of hosting Live At The Electric. Still curious?

York's racing season starts here

Ladies' Day, Pick Me Up Theatre, John Cooper Studio @41 Monkgate, York, Tuesday to Saturday

AMANDA Whittington's rollicking romp of a comedy tells the story of what happens when Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda take a day off from their fish-filleting jobs in a Hull factory and head for York Races.

Factory hairnets make way for fascinators, secrets are spilled with the champagne and friendships are tested to the limit, but as the day unfolds and tempers fray, their accumulator bet keeps quietly winning. If their luck and their nerve holds, the ladies could hit the jackpot.

Chewing the fat show of the week

Food For Thought, Displace Yourself Theatre, York Theatre Royal Studio, Tuesday

IF we really are what we eat, what does that say about who we are today? Displace Yourself Theatre's feast for the senses and tastes from around the world asks who is winning and losing in the game to put food on to our plates and into our bellies.

Mouth-watering music and visuals and a sprinkling of tangy humour are the icing on the cake.

Fantastic day for seeing...

Nick Heyward (Acoustic), Selby Town Hall, Friday

EIGHTIES pop pin-up Nick Heyward goes acoustic for an intimate career-spanning show that travels from Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) to his latest solo album, Woodland Echoes.

The hills are alive with...

The Sound Of Music, York Stage Musicals, Grand Opera House, York, Friday to April 20

YORK Stage director Nik Briggs marks the 60th anniversary production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical with Jo Theaker in "the Julie Andrews role".

BBC Radio York presenter Adam Tomlinson is the musical director for the story of Maria, the Captain, his many children and the Nazi advance.

Best new comedy about gender, sexuality and being a long way from home

Rotterdam, Hartshorn-Hook, York Theatre Royal, Thursday to Saturday

IN John Brittain's bittersweet New Year comedy in Rotterdam, Alice has finally plucked up the courage to email her parents to tell them she's gay. Before she can hit send, her girlfriend Fiona reveals that he has always identified as male and now wants to start living as a man named Adrian.

York Press:

Irish date: Mary Coughlan to play Leeds Irish Centre

Yorkshire gig of the week

Mary Coughlan, Leeds Irish Centre, Thursday

IRISH blues and jazz singer Mary Coughlan performs an intimate gig in a suitably Irish setting. Now 62, she has overcome childhood trauma, alcoholism and drug addiction in a 15-album career, a testament to her inner strength and the power of redemption.

Cyndi Lauper musical of the week

Kinky Boots, Leeds Grand Theatre, Monday to April 20

INSPIRED by true events, Cyndi Lauper's Kinky Boots tells the story of Charlie Price, a struggling Northampton shoe manufacturer, whose factory’s future hangs in the balance...until help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola, a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos.