Heavyweight play of the week

Alone In Berlin, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday

BASED on true events, Hans Fallada’s portrait of life in wartime Berlin follows a quietly courageous couple, Otto and Anna Quangel, their story now transferred to the stage by York Theatre Royal and the Royal & Derngate Northampton in Alistair Beaton’s adaptation.

In dealing with their own heartbreak, they stand up to the brutal reality of the Nazi regime. facing the gravest of consequences.

Comedy nostalgia of the week

Round The Horne, Apollo Theatre Company, Grand Opera House, York,

Wednesday, 7.30pm

FROM the producers of UK tours re-enacting The Goon Show and Hancock’s Half Hour, now Round The Horne takes a step back in time to the BBC’s Paris Studios to transfer a Sunday afternoon radio from 1965 to 1968 to the stage.

Adapted and directed by Tim Astley from Barry Took and Marty Feldman’s original scripts, the show revels in re-creating the mischief of Kenneth Horne and co.

Dance show of the week

Anton & Erin: Dance Those Magical Movies, York Barbican, Wednesday, 7.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing perennial Anton du Beke and ballroom dance partner Erin Boag’s new show celebrates magical movies with singer Lance Ellington, a dance ensemble and Richard Balcombe’s 23-piece orchestra.

The durable duo will roll out the Hollywood red carpet for Breakfast At Tiffany’s; Singin’ In The Rain; Casablanca; The Wizard Of Oz; The Greatest Showman; Titanic; Moulin Rouge and James Bond.

Always make room for tea, cake and music

Alison and Robert Gammon, Dementia Friendly Tea Concert, St Chad’s Church, Campleshon Road, York, Thursday, 2.30pm

CLARINET player Alison Gammon and pianist husband Robert play a 45-minute programme of classical music, followed by tea, coffee and homemade cakes.

Together they perform Camille Saint-Saens’ Clarinet Sonata alongside Niels Gade’s Fantasy Pieces, complemented by Robert’s solo piano playing of Debussy and Chabrier works.

Write place, right time

York Writers present Literary All-Sorts, The Basement, City Screen, York, Thursday, doors, 8pm

YORK’S longest-established writers’ circle gathers for an evening of poetry and prose, joined by guest poet Gilham, of Fosdyke And Me fame.

Chipping in will be Nick Boreham, Stuart Larner, Mark Thompson, Maggie Cobbett and Clint Wastling, plus other members.

If you need Friends…

Friends! The Musical Parody, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm

THIS good-hearted, uncensored romp both celebrates and lampoons the TV sitcom misadventures of twentysomething pals Ross, Chandler, Monica, Phoebe, Joey and Rachel as they navigate the pitfalls of work, life and love in 1990s’ Manhattan.

The first UK and Irish tour of this off-Broadway and Las Vegas musical coincides with news that the real Friends stars will be reuniting after 16 years for a one-off HBO special in May.

Music for the Early afternoon, mid-afternoon and early evening

Early Music Day 2020, National Centre for Early Music/Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, Saturday, from 1pm

EARLY Music Day offers three concerts in one day: Steven Devine at 1pm, Palisander at 3.30pm and The Brabant Ensemble at 6pm.

In Preludes & Fugues: Part 1, harpsichordist Devine performs J S Bach’s 48 Preludes and Fugues (The Well-Tempered Clavier) at the NCEM; recorder group Palisander are joined by York’s Minster Minstrels in the Unitarian Chapel for Double, Double Toil & Trouble; then it’s back to the NCEM for The Brabant Ensemble’s A Monk’s Life: Music from the Cloisters, 1550-1620.

Double act of the week

Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Croft & Pearce, The Basement, City Screen, York, Saturday, 8pm

THE stars of BBC Radio 4’s The Croft & Pearce Show present their new narrative sketch show.

These winners of the Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe award have sold out theatres in London and New York. Time for York to embrace them too.

Children’s show of the week

Opera North in Green Eggs And Ham, National Centre for Early Music, York, Sunday, 11.30am and 2pm

OPERA North’s two singers and nine-piece orchestra provide an introduction to opera for children aged four to seven and their families by bringing the Dr Seuss book to musical life.

The short performance begins with an interactive workshop, introducing families to the music, instruments and themes within the piece, before the persistent Sam-I-Am teaches a lesson for life: you cannot know what you will like until you have tried it.

Birthday celebration of the week

Sondheim 90, A Birthday Concert, Pick Me Up Theatre, John Cooper Studio, Theatre @41 Monkgate, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

NEW York composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim celebrates his 90th birthday on this very day, prompting Pick Me Up Theatre to present an evening of his finest music in his honour.

Musical director Tim Selman assembles a cast of 20, drawn principally from those who have performed for Pick Me Up in Sondheim’s Into The Woods, Assassins, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street.