Takeover’s 10th birthday, Lyn Paul’s Blood Brothers farewell, York Shakespeare Project’s 34th production, a Seventies’ dance show and Jools Holland’s return are high on CHARLES HUTCHINSON’S list for October 28 to November 3

Festival of the week

TakeOver 10 Festival, York Theatre Royal, Monday to Saturday

TAKEOVER is celebrating its 10th birthday: a decade of York Theatre Royal giving young people aged up to 26 the chance to run the place and programme events for a festival week.

Under the artistic directorship of Rachel Flannagan, TakeOver has gone green, from productions and marketing, to decorations, ticketing and the brochure colour, “taking steps to reduce our environmental impact”. The full programme can be found at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Jazz gig of the week

Quentin Collins Sextet, National Centre for Early Music, York, Monday, 7.30pm

TRUMPET player Quentin Collins marks the release of Road Warrior, his musical depiction of life as a touring musician, which his all-star British band members know only too well. Performing with him will be Tony Kofi, alto sax, Brandon Allen, tenor sax, Steve Hamilton, piano, Larry Bartley, bass, and Winston Clifford, drums.

Musical of the week

Blood Brothers, Grand Opera House, York, Monday to Saturday

AFTER performances spanning 22 years in the role of Mrs Johnstone in Willy Russell’s epic Liverpool family musical, New Seekers singer Lyn Paul is saying farewell to Blood Brothers on this autumn’s tour.

Produced as ever by Bill Kenwright, the show tells the moving tale of twins separated at birth, who grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with fateful consequences.

Move over Brexit, here’s the other political drama of the week

York Shakespeare Project in Antony And Cleopatra, John Cooper Studio, 41 Monkgate, York, Monday to Saturday

LEO Doulton directs York Shakespeare Project for the first time, presenting the tumultuous story of romance and warfare that spans the Roman world in Antony And Cleopatra.

“It’s one of those pieces that seems to cover everything human, soaring between high politics and the most tender personal feelings, and how the two come into conflict in times of crisis,” he says. Jim Paterson and Elizabeth Elsworth take the title roles.

Song and dance show of the week

Rip It Up The 70s, York Barbican, Tuesday, 7.30pm

BLUE singer Lee Ryan joins Strictly Come Dancing champ Louis Smith, S Club 7's Rachel Stevens and Pussycat Dolls' Melody Thornton for a song-and-dance celebration of the 1970s.

Ryan is no stranger to the dancefloor, having partnered professional dancer Nadyaa Bychkova in the 2018 Strictly series. Smith performed at the Barbican in 2017 in Rip It Up The 50s with Natalie Lowe and Jay McGuiness and in 2018 in Rip It Up The 60s with Harry Judd and Aston Merrygold.

Children’s Halloween show of the week

Halloween On The Farm, Skipbridge Farm, Green Hammerton, near York, Thursday, 2pm to 5pm

WRONGSEMBLE, the Leeds children’s theatre company, present their new storytelling show A Witch’s Tale: Before Hansel and before Gretel, there was Grizelda, a young fairy-tale witch who loved gingerbread.

For this October half-term day out, children’s activities include the chance to meet Skipbridge Farm’s animals and take part in an interactive prop workshop. Hot chocolate will be served in the giant tipi.

Sooner rather than Later…

…with Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm

BOOGIE WOOGIE pianist and band leader Jools Holland makes his traditional autumn visit to York. Joining him, as ever, will be Birmingham blues tornado Ruby Turner, soul and jazz vocalist Louise Marshall and original Squeeze drummer Gilson Lavis.

Pauline Black and Arthur “Gaps” Hendrickson, from ska band The Selecter, are Holland’s special guests; Sheffield.singer Kat Eaton supports.

South Pole expedition of the week

The Great White Silence, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, Friday, 7.30pm

THIS haunting documentary by the early cinematographer H Ponting was compiled from footage taken at the base camp of Captain Scott’s heroic, and ultimately tragic, expedition to the South Pole.

Ponting not only captured the men at work and recreation, but also recorded Antarctic wildlife for the first time, enchanted by the antics of a penguin colony. The screening will be accompanied by Frame Ensemble’s live music score, led by pianist Jonny Best, director of the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival.

North Eastern collaboration of the week

The Pitmen Poets, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm

THE Pitmen Poets gather for a night of songs, music and stories laced with North Eastern humour and humanity. In a collaboration between East Yorkshire events company Hurricane Promotions and the Milton Rooms, ex-Lindisfarne singer and writer Billy Mitchell, Warhorse songman Bob Fox, Tyneside song exponent Benny Graham and songwriter Jez Lowe celebrate the triumphs, tragedy, humour and hard times of the North of England, further illustrated by archive photography.

Saxophonist of the week

Snake Davis, Burden Of Paradise, National Centre for Early Music, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

SAXOPHONIST to the stars Snake Davis, singer Helen Watson and bassist Dave Bowie Jr combine as Burden Of Paradise for a night of musical skill, warm co-operation and anarchic banter.

“It’s jazz for people who don’t like jazz,” says Davis, who invites Sunday’s audience into a world of tenderness, virtuosity and human frailty with interpretations of songs from Dylan to Dowland.

Already sold out: OMD, York Barbican, this Sunday; Romesh Ranganathan: The Cynic’s Mixtape, York Barbican, Friday and Saturday; China Crisis, The RETROspective Tour, Pocklington Arts Centre, Saturday.