IAN McKellen’s acting tips, Tutti Frutti’s Sunshine in rainy June, three Hormonal Housewives, Lucy Beaumont times two and supreme singers Claire Martin and June Tabor make CHARLES HUTCHINSON’S list
Theatre event of the week
Sir Ian McKellen in Ian McKellen On Stage With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others…And You!, Grand Opera House, York, Monday, 7.30pm
SIR Ian McKellen’s 80th birthday tour bring the celebrated actor to the Grand Opera House for the first time in his new solo show.
“The show starts with Gandalf and will probably end with an invitation to act with me on stage,”he says. “In between there will be anecdotes and acting.”
RAY OF SUNSHINE: Tutti Frutti in Yellow Is The Colour Of Sunshine at the York Theatre Royal Studio
World premiere show of the week
Tutti Frutti in Yellow Is The Colour Of Sunshine, York Theatre Royal Studio, Wednesday to Saturday
BRENDAN Murray’s vibrant new play for children aged three upwards uses spoken word, sign language, movement and Japanese-inspired design to tell the charming story of Hani and Yoshi.
Underneath an ever-changing multicoloured sky, the little boy and girl make friends, learn about feelings and work out – with a little help from some dancing magpies – how to communicate what’s in their hearts.
JOYOUS ROMP: Josephine Partrirdge, left, Julie Coombe and Vicki Michelle in Hormonal Housewives
Girls’ night out of the week...and men welcome too
Hormonal Housewives, Grand Opera House, York, Wednesday, 7.30pm
‘ALLO ‘Allo! star Vicki Michelle joins writer/comedian Julie Coombe and Top Girls’ Josephine Partridge in a no-holds-barred romp through the joys of being a fabulous 21st century woman.
Weight gain, weight loss, mood swings, moody teenagers, men, Zumba, therapy, housework, homework, electrolysis, sex, working out, staying in, going out, bikini waxes, celebrity gossip, eating, not eating, chocolate, wine, social media, are all covered in Coombe and husband John MacIsaac’s sassy sketch show.
BELIEF: Claire Martin showcases her new album Believin' It with her Swedish band
Jazz chanteuse of the week
Claire Martin, Believin’ It Tour, National Centre for Early Music, York, Thursday, 7.30pm
LONDON jazz singer Claire Martin is on the road with her Swedish band, promoting her April album, Believin’ It, her 20th for Linn Records.
Performing with Martin Sjöstedt, piano, Niklas Fernqvist, double bass, Michael Janish, double bass, and Daniel Fredriksson, drums, Martin will be showcasing a record that re-works Mr. Mister’s Broken Wings, 10cc’s I’m Not In Love, Ivan Lins’ Love Dance, Joni Mitchell’s You Dream Flat Tires and Pat Metheny’s Timeline.
GALVANISING: Poet Hollie McNish at York’s spoken-word night, Say Owt. Picture: Kat Gollock
Poet of the week
Say Owt presents Hollie McNish, The Crescent, York, Thursday, 7.30pm
BENJAMIN Zephaniah says “I can’t take my ears off her”. Kate Tempest reckons her poetry is “welcoming, galvanising and beautiful”. Emma Watson, Robin Ince, P!ink and Tim Minchen are fans. Welcome to a night with Hollie McNish, the first poet to record at London’s Abbey Road Studios.
BITTERSWEET TALES: June Tabor in concert with Quercus at the NCEM
Trio of the week
Quercus featuring June Tabor, National Centre for Early Music, York, Friday, 7.30pm
FOLK singer June Tabor unites with jazz soprano and tenor saxophonist Iain Ballamy and pianist Huw Warren to create poignant chamber music. Tabor’s intensely passionate voice combines with Ballamy’s mellifluous melodies and Welshman Warren’s off-kilter musicality to tell life’s bittersweet tales.
Topical dance show of the week
Attitude Dance Club in Attitude Rising, Grand Opera House, York, Saturday, 2.30pm
ATTITUDE Dance Club returns to the Grand Opera with its annual showcase, this year in aid of Help For Heroes.
Boasting close to 200 club members, ADC performs routines in many styles, such as Street, Lyrical, Contemporary and Hip Hop, plus educational dances and dances that tackle current affairs.
BAD VIBES: Bad Polyanna in concert at The Crescent
Beauty and darkness gig of the week
Black Rose presents Bad Pollyanna, The Crescent, York, Saturday, 7.30pm
BAD Pollyanna blend beauty with darkness as they celebrate the duality of love, sex and the human condition through music and art. “We believe you should be whoever you want to be,” they say.
HERE’S LUCY: Hull comedian Lucy Beaumont previews new Space Mam show
Edinburgh Fringe previews at the double
Lucy Beaumont and Susan Riddell The Basement, City Screen, York, Sunday, 8pm
YORK’S Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Hull comic Lucy Beaumont and Scottish writer Susan Riddell in a night of Fringe warm-ups. In Space Mam, offbeat new mum Beaumont marks “finally turning into a real woman” by telling surreal anecdotes about bubble wrap, ladies’ boxing and boobs; in Duvet Day, her debut show, Riddell champions laziness in an increasingly manic world. Lucy also plays Pocklington Arts Centre on Thursday.
CLASS ACT: York actress Joanne Heywood, centre, in rehearsal for Stepping Out
Meanwhile, on the East Coast....
Stepping Out, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Thursday to August 3
RICHARD Harris’s tap-dancing, feelgood musical comedy is being staged for the first time in the round. SJT artistic director Paul Robinson’s cast of ten plays a group of strangers that comes together every week for a tap class in the local church hall, gradually forming friendships and revealing secrets.
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