If you’re not familiar with some of the musicians headed to Harrogate, have no fear – YouTube is here! Just click on the images below to get your ears acquainted with some terrific tunes…

A classic Courtney Pine - Sacrifice

Alex Wilson – The Mali Latino Story

Alex Wilson with Courtney Pine and The Jazz Warriors

Endellion String Quartet play Beethoven OP18-6, 1st Movement

Ayanna Witter-Johnson – Give in

Sir Willard White sings All Through the Night

Mayra Andrade

Krystle Warren – And You From Me

Ruth Bratt is a founding performer of the improvising musical troupe, Showstopper! She spills all about facing fear, the volcanic ash and …cheese….

The show must go on! Has anything ever stopped Showstopper from going on?

“We had just started a show in Greenwich once when there was a power cut – the theatre was plunged into sudden darkness, so we decided to a “radio” version of the show. We’d done the opening number in light, we did the first scene in near darkness with just the emergency exits lighting us, and we were all set to carry on. Unfortunately we were told we had to stop for “safety reasons”. We and the audience were gutted. Oh, and we had to cancel two performances in London thanks to the recent Icelandic ash cloud. We were all together and up for the show – unfortunately we were also stuck in Hong Kong where we’d been performing the show. It’s only ‘Acts of God’, and ‘Health and Safety’ that’ll ever stop us!”

You certainly stopped the critics in their tracks garnering rave reviews in Edinburgh – were you the best thing there?

“Well, we were certainly different from anything else. We don’t like to be in competition – this is going to sound very “hippyish” but it’s all about sharing and playing and generosity – there’s room for everyone. We are very flattered and pleased that other people love the show as much as we do – the audience are as important and vital to the show’s success as we are. Some people come every night (20 plus performances) in Edinburgh every year, which is such a huge compliment and just goes to show that it really is completely different every night! We all pretty much eat, breathe and sleep Showstopper, so it’s great that audiences and critics get drawn into that too. Surely there is nothing more exciting and fun than watching a bunch of actors making things up, making each other laugh, making each other look wonderful, making the audience feel and cry and laugh, and singing to boot? It’s the best job in the world. Sometimes, we’re playing and being a flock of ostriches and one of us will whisper, “we’re adults”. It’s such a childish thing we get to do!”

We saw you did a R4 pilot – how does it feel to potentially share billings with the Archers?

“Incredible! We’re keeping everything crossed for a series. Not just so that we can be twinned with Ambridge, but also because recording that show, we felt like rock stars. And who doesn’t want to feel like a rock star?”

What would be your desert island discs be – and your one luxury?

“Oooh, nice. Well, assuming all 12 of us would be going together, we’d need compilations of all the musicals, because we’d never be able to just sit around eating coconuts and making fire out of twigs and the sun, there’d always be a song on the go. Plus we’d want to practise in case we got picked up by a passing ship and got to resume whatever tour or season we were doing at the time. So if were were all there, we’d have a Sondheim box set, a West End box set, I’d like some Dolly Parton and our luxury would be a really nice bathroom (that’s for me, I really don’t like camping loos!), with a piano. If I’m there alone, my luxury would be the rest of the Showstoppers. If that’s not allowed, can I take cardboard cut-outs of them?”

I can understand the importance of laughter but your website says you like to be ‘frightening’ too – argh! Are you scary?

“Hee! Sometimes. We try to be everything. While comedy is massively important, we never set out to be funny. We don’t really do “jokes”, we just say logical things that are funny because of the context they are in. We’re trying to create a genuine musical which would be on in the West End, but when you have eight brains all trying to create something simultaneously but not able to tell each other what they’re thinking in advance, it’s bound to be funny. So we attempt seriousness and, if called for, scariness, and generally something funny comes out of our seriousness and commitment to that!”

Improvisation sounds scary – is it?

“Yes. And no. It’s scary in that you have to relinquish control and let whatever happens happen. And it’s scary to turn off that little person on your shoulder who says, ‘Don’t say that, don’t do that, people will think you’re silly’. Once you’ve got rid of your censor, things get much less scary and in Showstopper the trust we have in one another is extraordinary and we each act like a bungee cord. If one of us falls, the others will sproing them back. (Is ‘sproing’ a word? It is now). We are completely in each other’s hands, but they are great hands to be in. Impro is only as scary as you let it be. The best thing is that there are no lines to learn, so there are no lines to forget. That’s scary – every actor’s nightmare, forgetting your lines, or not knowing them in the first place. We always know our lines, we just don’t know what those lines are before we say them…

Are you a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants types in your day-to-day lives? Do you break into song in the Asda queue?

“We all try to live by the philosophy of “Yes, and…” It basically means that you say “Yes” as much as possible and then add to it – it’s the most important impro rule. Accept offers that are made to you and then build on them. We try not to avoid stuff that scares us, but rather grab it with both hands. For instance, four of us are scared of heights, but in Hong Kong we got the cable car which takes 45 minutes to go from one end to the other and has a 200 foot drop to the sea. Take that, fear! Having said that, we are all perfectionists and control freaks…. I do sometimes think I might go a bit bonkers if I didn’t have the release of telling stories and making stuff up on stage – I’d certainly be talking to myself a lot more. And I did once break up with a boyfriend because he didn’t like my songs about his parking… So that’s a yes!”

What’s the worst audience suggestion you’ve ever had?

“That’s hard, because you don’t want to put anyone off yelling out – because that’s the only way the show works. Late night audiences can sometimes be a bit off colour, but mostly we’re impressed with how imaginative people are when you give them permission. However, “cheese”, “badger” and “Scunthorpe” are suggestions which come up most often and are the least useful. We have no idea why, but “cheese” is the most yelled word. We have done a show called “Cheese”. It was set on a submarine. I don’t think we’ll ever do a show about cheese again.”

If all else fails is there a standard gag you know you can always fall back on?

“Unfortunately not. That would make life easier! People can tell if it’s not spontaneous, and it would feel like cheating. But because we have nothing planned when we start each show, we have no way of knowing what would help in that situation. There’s no universal gag. Except falling over maybe. That’s always funny. Perhaps we’ll try it…”

Showstoppers started out as an actors’ workshop – are you all frustrated Hamlets underneath all the music, dance and frivolity?

“We all come from different backgrounds; improvisers, comedians, musicians, musical theatre bods, and yes, proper actors. It’s what makes it so interesting – it’s a real mixture of talents and disciplines. We do improvise Shakespeare as well, so any of those desires do get fulfilled from time to time. We all have other projects too – one of our company just finished a run of The Count of Monte Cristo at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, another is taking a solo show up to Edinburgh this year. And to be honest, this job gives us all the chance to do proper acting as well as being frivolous. And why would you want to say someone else’s words, the same words, every night for 4 months, when you can make up new ones every night, and be constantly surprised and inspired by the people around you who are also making everything up?”

What would you say to people too scared to do something different in life to encourage them to do something different and see Showstopper in Harrogate this summer?

“I would tell them to say “Yes, and”. If you want to watch something that will make you laugh, can make you cry, might make you scream, but will definitely entertain, come along and help us make a show. It’s YOUR show that we’ll be doing; we can’t make a show without an audience, because we have no story until you tell us what you want to see. You’ll be the only people who will ever see it – the show you see will only ever be seen on the night you see it. Once we’ve done it, it’s gone into the ether, never to be seen again so it’s a really communal experience. It’s the only time you will ever be in the audience of a show where you know as much as the actors know about what’s going to happen, where you can experience the creation of something, where you are integral to it. Just say “Yes, and”.

Finally, make us laugh? Tell us a joke!

“OK, so tell me what you want it to be a joke about and I’ll make one up. Just, please, not cheese based. Er, but I’ve just realised the only joke I know is about cheese!

Q. What did the mexican say when he saw someone else eating his food?

A. That’s nacho cheese!

Cheese IS funny. Damn.”

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, Harrogate Theatre, Sat 17 July, 8pm. Tickets from £11.

Ticket Hotline: 0845 130 8840.

News just in that Ayanna Witter-Johnson has sold out Darlington and London dates already. Make sure you don’t miss your chance to catch the captivating star in Harrogate. Ayanna is a composer, jazz vocalist, cellist and pianist who has developed musically from a diverse background of mixed cultures. Her compositional versatility includes writing for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, big bands, string quartets and choirs as well as songs, soundscapes and pieces for solo instruments and tape, across a range of styles including jazz, classical, contemporary, R&B, soul, reggae and electro-acoustic.

Check out the sound of the woman Courtney Pine tipped as “one of our rising stars of the future”!

Click here for YouTube clip

www.myspace.com/ayannawitterjohnson

Take a bite out of the Big Apple this summer. Temperatures seem to be rising as the sunshine finally kicks in, but one thing that’s guaranteed to get you hot under the collar, rain or shine, is America’s next big thing: Peter Cincotti.

The 25 year-old native New Yorker is sweeping into Harrogate on July 27 looking no doubt, effortlessly cool channelling old fashioned Sinatra-style glamour (“I just wear what I’m comfortable in,” Peter insists.) It’s a look and sound that has drawn comparisons with Jamie Cullum. The girls in the Harrogate Festival office thought that ‘Blonde Buble’ hit the mark: “Wow – never heard the “Blonde Buble” before! Haha!!!” Peter laughed. “That’s great. Although my hair hasn’t been blonde since I was 5.”

Well it looks slightly sun-kissed. Peter will be singing his new Warner Bros. album, East of Angel Town, a collection of evocative songs that are often described as ‘cinematic’.

“I guess people refer to that album as cinematic because maybe it paints pictures for them?” Peter explained. “I just write about what I know, and what I see, and I’m glad to hear that other people can relate to it and see their own pictures and images in the songs.”

What does he hope audiences take from his music?

“I just hope they like it. I’m not trying to impart some kind of wisdom or anything, or preach to anyone about certain topics. But I do love when songs ask questions.”

Cincotti was famously mentored by Harry Connick Jr – how much did he shape and influence his career?

“He was a big influence for me when I was younger and playing blues and jazz. I met him when I was 7 years old and he always used to call me up on stage when he was performing. I’ll always be grateful for the endless opportunities he gave me.”

Peter’s own sound blends a range of musical genres. The album tells stories woven into melodies that merge pop, rock, blues, funk and jazz with his percussive piano playing and rich vocals. He sings about the seductive world of Los Angeles and loneliness and love in New York City. How would he describe his style?

“I guess I’d describe what I do as piano based pop music. But it is hard to categorize because we do blend a lot of different styles together. I guess the best way to explain it is to come to the show!”

Would he ever be seduced to sell his soul to the manufactured pop-world?

“Well the short answer is no, but, why do ‘the pop world’ and ‘being a musician’ have to conflict?

Cincotti has a punchy, dynamic sound that somehow manages to be simultaneously classic and modern.

“As far as my writing goes, I have many different influences. To me, nobody comes close to the great old time writers– people like Kander and Ebb, and Lerner and Lowe, among so many others. But I also love writers like Stevie Wonder, Sting, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, Billy Joel… But for different reasons. What I write is an attempt to blend these influences and cross genre lines.”

The New York Times called him “one of the most promising singer-pianists of the next generation”. He’s obviously loved in his home city, is there anything he misses about New York when he’s on the road touring?

“The more I’m away, the more I miss New York. But I love visiting the UK, and I’m really looking forward to coming to Harrogate and seeing a place outside of London.”

Well, Harrogate is certainly a long way from the mean streets of New York. And it’s his first venture up north. What are his expectations of our tea-room filled, garden-rich town?

“I’m not sure if I have any expectations, but your description paints a nice little picture. I look forward to performing there.”

And for Harrogate audiences who don’t have any expectations of Cincotti?

“If they want a break from those quaint tea rooms and retiring gardens you told me about (although that does sound lovely), they should come and see a little bit of New York instead.”

Peter Cincotti, Tuesday 27 July, 8pm The Royal Hall. Ticket Hotline: 0845 130 8840

Tickets: £30, £22, £15 and £12, Under 25s: £5. Boxes: £66, £44.

Missed Glastonbury this year? Or maybe you want the outdoor festival experience with access to decent public loos? Have no fear, the Harrogate Festival is here offering a weekend of laid back world and contemporary music in a PapaKåta style tent.

On Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July the Festival’s New Music New Venues initiative kicks off, doing what it says on the tin: bringing new music to a new venue.

As John Lennon once said at a gig – those in the cheap seats clap, the rest of you, “just rattle your jewellery”. As well as the Fringe breaking down barriers, the mainstream Festival is taking music away from the civilised seats of the theatre into a very big tent in a field (in Crescent Gardens). So feel free to clap, rattle and roll the weekend away, when laid back acoustic world music will be in the air, with artists playing into the evening for an authentic festival experience.

Headline acts include Muntu Valdo at 7.30pm on Saturday 17; Valdo’s music is rooted in the blues, mixing African traditions (he was brought up in Cameroon and then France) with striking modernity and technical mastery, building up layers of sounds with loops and samples. Muntu Valdo is appearing as part of the Black Routes tour.

On Sunday, Rafiki Jazz – the UK’s fast-rising world music collective – takes centre stage at 7.30pm. The diverse family of African and Latin musicians offer an inspired fusion playing gloriously ambitious contemporary global dance music.

Other acts include the internationally acclaimed blind veteran master-musician and singer/songwriter from Marrakech, Hassan Erraji, offering his danceable contemporary global sound. Locally, catch the Leeds genre defying band Heart-ships blending post-rock, East Asian chants and nu-folk for a truly euphoric sound. And from Harrogate, Samantha Smith will be singing the soulful acoustic songs from her latest EP.

New Music New Venues, Crescent Gardens, Harrogate, July 17 & 18, from 3pm. Tickets £10 for all-day access.

Ticket Hotline: 0845 130 8840.

Find out more about specialist Papakata tents at: http://www.papakata.co.uk/

Check out the latest review for Oddsocks in The Stage magazine!

Dead Romantic

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Published Monday 28 June 2010 at 12:20 by Pat Ashworth

Oddsocks must be one of the cheeriest companies in Britain, a band of strolling players who have fun with their audience even in the interval. Their stage is a lumbering old wagon with flaps lowered on rope pulleys for scene changes and they have no amplification or technical wizardry whatsoever. What ensues after the shout of, “Turn the cart”, is a performance in itself.

It’s an ad-libbing knockabout, exaggerated in every possible way to reach to the back of a large and picnicking audience. Six actors divide all the parts among them, with the biggest demand perhaps on Carrie Hall as a fireball Hermia and a mouthy, streetwise Puck, a punk in all but dress. She tosses on a dummy to lie in the forest and reappears as Puck in an impossibly short time. There must be a lot of Velcro being ripped in that tent behind the cart.

Andy Barrow capers in the grossest of beer bellies as Bottom, Andrew McGillan plays Oberon as a comically self-promoting cult figure, a leader of the pack, and Louise Hamer manages beautifully to delineate Hippolyta, Helena and Titania. The mechanicals are glorious, not least Kevin Kemp as a nerdy Peter Quince and Lawrence Kemp as a tottering, tight-skirted Thisbe.

Assing-About

As for the fairy band, they’re beyond New Age, a collection of weird and wonderful festival-goers. They couldn’t have ordered the full orange moon that slid into view in a twilight sky at just the right moment. Altogether daft and absolutely magical.

Oddsocks Productions

Take a picnic to the delightful Harlow Carr gardens and feast on thespian frolics.

It would be a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions to miss out on the Festival’s favourite annual treat! Enjoyed by all the family, this year they’ll be performing Shakespeare’s most-popular and much-loved comedy featuring the mischievous Puck, the ass that is Bottom, three pairs of bickering lovers and a cast of fairies in a moonlit forest.

A magical experience in the enchanted gardens of Harlow Carr – perfect for a Midsummer’s evening!

Tickets: Adults £16.50,
Children 7-16 £10
Children under 7 £3
Group Discount £12

Entry to advance bookers from 6.30pm, tickets bought on the door access will be from 7pm.
Seating is unreserved and not provided.

For Tuesday July 20

For Wednesday July 21

“I almost fell off my seat!” Classical Source Review exclaimed after witnessing the young pianist Sasha Grynyuk at work. “Here was a young pianist using exquisite, totally natural, rubato,” the reviewer continued, “indeed the hands were actually out of sync, the left leading the right – marvellous old-world pianism that Alfred Cortot would have admired.”

Yamaha – the official piano for the Harrogate International Festival – will be presenting a very special recital in the Royal Hall on 30 July featuring Sasha Grynyuk, the critically acclaimed young Ukrainian pianist. One of the highlights of the festival, Sasha will be performing a wide ranging programme including works by Schumann, Chopin and Beethoven.

Born in Kyiv Sasha studied at the National Music Academy of Ukraine and is now based in London. He is the prize-winner of many international piano competitions including the Rio de Janeiro International Piano Competition, where in 2009 he was awarded First Prize. In 2009 Sasha Grynyuk was chosen as a Rising Star by BBC Music Magazine and International Piano Magazine.

His recent successes also include Guidhall’s Wigmore Prize as well as being the only pianist in more than a decade to win Guildhall School’s most prestigious award – the Gold Medal – previously won by such artists as Jacqueline Du Pre and Bryn Terfel. Sasha regularly performs in most renowned concert halls throughout Europe, South and North America, the Far East and Asia.

Yamaha’s Mike Ketley said: “We are thrilled to be the official piano for this prestigious festival and proud to be presenting one of the world’s brightest up-coming piano talents. Sasha is a great ambassador for Yamaha Pianos and we look forward to supporting his career as his global reputation grows.”

Yamaha Presents: Sasha Grynyuk

Friday 30 July, Royal Hall, 8pm. Tickets: £15. Call the Ticket Hotline: 0845 130 8840 or book online

Christine Tobin is a jazz singer who inspires the most powerful rhetoric. Lionel Shriver (the Orange prize-winning author) described her as “sexy, gutsy, bluesy and beautiful”. Other adjectives that litter her reviews: eclectic, experimental, dreamily evocative. Writing in The Guardian, the British editor, critic and composer John L Walters took this praise to vertigo-inducing heights: “… She should be on a global stage, rubbing shoulders with fellow troubadours like Cave, Mitchell and Cohen.”

Is this the best thing anyone has ever said about her?

“Being somebody who stands up on stage all praise is good,” she laughs. Speaking from her home on the Kent coast, the Irish-born singer-songwriter’s voice is as lyrical and honeyed as you’d imagine. “I suppose I fall pray to that kind of syndrome but I do really like that comment. You couldn’t ask to be put in better company. You know you’ve got Joni Mitchell who’s a great musician, a great songwriter, with wonderful chords and harmony and melody in her tunes and her lyrics are just full of poetry. And she’s been really prolific – so to be mentioned in the same sentence as her…then of course Leonard Cohen, who’s a fantastic lyricist – that’s pretty much an honour.”

Tobin last appeared in Harrogate in the mid-90s but is passionate about supporting musical festivals, particularly in an age where the X-Factor reigns and money is being piled into sports and the Olympics. “I think it’s extremely important, it’s a great celebration of the real diversity of people’s work and there seems to be quite a broad spectrum of music as well at the Harrogate festival so it’s very important. Increasingly on TV there seems to be a lack of money being put into making proper programmes, although BBC4 is great at presenting something other than the big rock-style, pop-style shows, but it’s great that there is a forum like Harrogate.”

And for audiences, it’s a chance to experience world-class musicians in a truly authentic way: “Yes, the concert experience,” Christine said. “That’s the kind of ultimate really because the audience are very much part of the performance, it feeds back to the artist it’s a two-way thing.”

Christine will be singing from her new album Tapestry Unravelled – alongside jazz pianist Liam Noble. The album is her own take on the classic seventies album, Tapestry by Carol King. It’s quite brave to choose such an iconic album?

“Yeah, well it was a personal choice really – for personal reasons. It was an album that I listened to a lot with my eldest sister when I was a kid. She passed away last year, and I had it in my mind. I sang one of the songs from that record at the service, at her funeral, so it bought that album back to mind.”

So does she have quite a difficult relationship with the album?

“Well not really because every song is really beautiful. It seems to always evoke really good memories and good feelings; it’s just a very warm record so generally it’s very big on the feel good factor. So for me, it’s got a lot of warm memories and tenderness in there. They’re just really well-crafted songs, really perfect. And I guess I could have said I’ll just do a couple of Carol King songs but it seemed odd to split them up because it’s such a well-made album, so well-written, that it seems that they belong together. So I decided to be brave and you know plunged in and did it for those reasons.”

Christine is inspired by some of the classic jazz vocalists of all time including Betty Carter for her ability to give depth and meaning to lyrics and Billy Holliday (“well she’s just one of the icons of the 20^th century.”) She’s into Brazilian and West African music too and is a big fan of Mali singer, Oumu Sangare.

Romantic and radical, it’s not surprising Tobin’s musical spirit attracts high profile fans such as Leaving Las Vegas cult filmmaker Mike Figgis. But what would she say to audiences in Harrogate who were unfamiliar with her music?

“I’d say please do come to the gig, it’s going to be great – Liam Noble is an extraordinary talent, he’s a really amazing piano player and we honour the original songs but we do stretch out on them a bit as well. And Liam is just wonderful for setting a different sort of backdrop to the songs. One of the review quotes said we bought more luminosity to the material, more meaning…I’d say to people if they come along, they’re going to hear a lot of songs that they like done in a fresh way.”

Tapestry Unravelled is released on 28 June, by Trail Belle Records. Find out more about Christine at www.christine-tobin.com

You can see Christine in cabaret at The Crown Hotel, 8 for 8.30pm. Tickets £18 Unreserved, under-25s: £5. Book online

or call the Ticket Hotline: 0845 130 8840.

The local but globally crucial charity Yorkshire Cancer Research have linked with the Festival’s leading attraction this year, author Alan Bennett.

Miss Clair Challenor-Chadwick, Head of Marketing and Fundraising said: “Yorkshire Cancer Research is delighted to be working with the festival this year and in particular Alan Bennett. Like Alan, all of us have personal stories of cancer. It is a staggering fact that 259 people die of cancer every week in Yorkshire alone. We really encourage audiences to please consider making a donation to Yorkshire Cancer Research when you buy your ticket to Alan Bennett.”

Alan Bennett is not only a Yorkshire icon but something of a living legend; described by The Telegraph as “our Mozart of the mundane, our Picasso of the prosaic”, Alan will be featuring alongside the third prize winner of last year’s Leeds International Piano Competition, Alessandro Taverna.

Taverna will play Beethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninov in the first half of the event in celebration of the piano theme of 2010. The elite pantheon of pianists on offer this year is inspired by honorary president of the Festival and co-founder of the Leeds International Competition, Dame Fanny Waterman DBE.

Alan Bennett will then read from his work in the second half of the Royal Hall event for 45 minutes followed by an opportunity for audiences to chat to the great man with a 20 minute Q&A.

Alan Bennett with Alessandro Taverna, supported by Yorkshire Cancer Research, is at the Royal Hall on Sunday 25 July, 8pm.

To find out more about the work of Yorkshire Cancer Research visit www.yorkshirecancerresearch.org.uk

Tickets from £12. Ticket Hotline: 0845 130 8840.

Can’t bear to drag yourself away from the box? Not even for some of the world’s most inspirational artists, musicians and writers? Well the Harrogate Festival is offering all of you square eyes something really special – a giant movie screen at the bottom of Montpellier Hill.

It’s a chance to watch some absolute classic films open-air style with a programme destined to put a warm fuzzy glow onto your summer. Films in the pipeline include the DreamWorks animation, How to Train Your Dragon and instant classic, the Oscar-winning Up, which sees pensioner Carl Fredricksen tie thousands of balloons to his home to fulfil a lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Forget the kids; this film will cause some serious damage to your tear ducts. Don’t leave your tissues at home for this literally uplifting movie destined to leave you laughing and crying all at the same time!

What do you get when you cross ‘swell’ and ‘elegant’? High Society, starring the iconic Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelley, Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong brings some swellegant partying to proceedings with the sensational songs

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? True Love and Well did you Ever? With dialogue that zips, clothes that drip chic and songs that wedge themselves firmly into your hearts, this is a classic you won’t want to miss.

Other films include Ocean’s 11 and Dirty Dancing (nobody puts Baby in the corner), and tying into the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival celebrating 120 years of Agatha Christie*, there’s a chance to catch a ride full of murderous twists and turns courtesy of Murder on the Orient Express and ITV shows Poirot, Marple and the Murdoch Mysteries from TV channel, Alibi.

In addition, the Festival plan to show student shorts from the Northern Film School and the work of other local young filmmakers.

The Big Screen (FREE entry) will feature at the bottom of Montpellier Hill, 16^th-18^th July. Keep an eye on the website for details.

* More Tea Vicar? Celebrating 120 years of Agatha Christie features Christie’s grandson, Mathew Prichard, biographer Laura Thomson and crime author Andrew Taylor at the Crown Hotel on Friday 23 July, 5pm (tickets available at http://www.harrogate-festival.org.uk/crime or Ticket Hotline: 0845 130 8840.