Sunday Lunch in Tahiti

Listen to another poem from Helmsley Arts Centre. Martin is a Trustee and Treasurer of Helmsley Arts Centre and a member of the Ryedale Writers group based there.
listen to ‘Sunday Lunch in Tahiti by Martin Vander Weyer’ on Audioboo

In Retreat by Brian Clark

listen to ‘In Retreat by Brian Clark’ on Audioboo

Brian won third prize with this poem in the international Segora open poetry competition in 2011 and was published late last year in France by Through the Mill in Segora: Festival Edition, poetry and poets 2010-2012 an anthology. He is a founder member of the Ryedale Writers Group at Helmsley Arts Centre.

Read by David Powley

Ryedale Artists at Work 3 : Matthew Dwyer

Welcome to another video in our occasional series on Ryedale Artists.

(Note: if you want to increase the quality of the video click on the little cog wheel at the bottom right of the screen after you've clicked the arrow at the centre and choose a higher number. It was made in HD but whether you receive it at top quality depends on your broadband speed.)

Matthew Dwyer and his wife, Louise, own the Saltbox Gallery in Helmsley and they are both practising artists in their own right.  Matthew was commissioned to design and make a new metal gate for St. Oswald's Church in Oswaldkirk village, a project made possible by support from Ryedale District Council and LEADER funding. This video follows its progress to completion just before Christmas 2012.

The Ballad of the Old Meeting House by Martin Vander Weyer

On the 18th day of the 12th month of 2012 Helmsley Arts Centre celebrated the 200th birthday of its home, The Old Meeting House in Helmsley, built by the Quakers in 1812. The party was so successful everyone there agreed we shouldn't wait another hundred years for the next one! One of the evening's delights was the music provided by the Red Hot Santas ski band, last seen in Helmsley market square during the Queen's jubilee celebrations in 2012 - wonderfully energetic, a joyous, funny yet precisely controlled anarchy, that lifted people to their feet to move to its rhythms. Another was this Ballad written and read by Martin, with action in the background provided by Sue Elm and Charlie Grumbley.

As you see you are not actually seeing (as suggested by the box on our website) but only hearing Martin read his ballad but we hope you enjoy it just the same.

If you would like to read the Ballad for yourself then you can on Helmsley Arts Centre website.

Helmsley School winner in National Park competition

A Guisborough sixth former won a prestigious musical composition contest last night (November 28) at an event celebrating the National Park’s 60th birthday.

And young writers from primary schools in Fylingdales and Helmsley won joint first prizes in a story writing competition.

Music competition winner Richard Bracknall

The National Park asked the budding composers and authors to create pieces of work inspired by the North York Moors.

On Being Seventyfive

listen to ‘On Being Seventyfive written and read by Brian Shackleton’ on Audioboo

Brian is a member of  Ryedale Writers at Helmsley Arts Centre.

Adult acting classes in Pickering

A new adult acting class is starting at The Friends Meeting House in Pickering and students will have the opportunity to learn from professional actor and director Mark Stratton. Mark is a graduate of the Mountview Theatre School in London and has vast experience across many areas of theatre and television, playing many diverse roles. He has toured China in ‘The Tempest’ for Northern Broadsides, and toured the UK with them in ‘Vacuum’ and ‘Wars of the Roses’ the latter of which started life at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Appearing in many regional theatres, he is equally at home in serious drama, comedy and musical theatre. He has worked on many television dramas and appeared opposite Anthony Hopkins in the film ‘Across The Lake’. “Living in the North York Moors has made me realise that there is little opportunity for adults to engage with certain arts, especially the craft of acting”, said Mark. “That’s why I co-founded Esk Valley Theatre with my wife, choreographer Sheila Carter. These classes are an extension of my dream to demystify theatre and make it relevant and accessible to rural communities. I believe many people have little idea how the craft of acting can help them in many areas of life”.

A new poem from Ryedale Writers at Helmsley Arts Centre

Read by David Powley

listen to ‘Keep in Touch by David Smith’ on Audioboo

Local authour Ian Johnson talks about his first novel 'The Witcher Keys'

In the wonderful Lion Inn atop the North York Moors local author Ian Johnson describes the remarkable background to his first novel 'The Witcher Keys'.

Ian, who is also a construction manager, was working on an old house that tenants had repeatedly quit complaining the house made them feel ill. Looking into what the problem might be led Ian to uncover ..... well.... let's let Ian tell the story:

The novel is published by The Book Guild on October 25th and, as Ian says in the film, there will be a launch at the Lion Inn next month. To order the book from Amazon just click the link below:

Helmsley Open Mic workshop invitation

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Open mic workshops are great fun and provide readers with 5 mins or so to read a few poems (or one long one), a dramatic monologue, or a short story of your choice to an appreciative audience. If you just want to listen that's fine too.

Just come along to Helmsley Arts Centre on October 5th, from 7.30pm to share your work or that of a favourite author.

Tickets just £2 on the door and children are free.

This event is part of the buiild up to the first ever Ryedale Book Festival taking place on October 20th - find out more here.

Listen to our new poem

listen to ‘Remembering the Cats by David Powley’ on Audioboo

Life Models required

People of all shapes and sizes are required for life drawing classes starting September 12th at Helmsley Arts Centre.

Classes are on Tuesday afternoons 2-4pm. Nude or partially clothed.

Phone tutor John Creighton on 01751 417 888 for further details.

Who's to Blame for the Financial Crisis?

Listen to our new poem, by Martin Vander Weyer, who, appropriately enough, also happens to be the Arts Centre's Treasurer.

National Theatre Live comes to Helmsley !

Thursday 6th of September  7.00pm

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time


Join us for the first screening of our brand new National Theatre Live series where Mark Haddon’s multi-award-winning novel is beautifully adapted into a stage play for the first time. In the intimate setting of the Cottesloe Theatre, NT Live will transport us to front row seats for this imaginative in-the-round production. Christopher is under suspicion of killing Mrs Shears dog. With an extraordinary brain, he’s exceptional at maths but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, but his detective work takes Christopher on a journey that upturns his world.
Starring Matthew Barker and Niamh Cusack.
Adapted from Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel by Simon Stephens.
Directed by Marianne Elliott.
Running time: approx. 2 1/2 hours including 20-minute interval

£12 / Concs: £10 (OFFER: All 3 NT Live shows: £30 / Concs £24)  Buy tickets now

The other two shows are : 11 October - The Last of the Haussmans with Julie Waters and Rory Kinnear,  directed by Howard Davies.

                                          1 November - Timon of Athens with Simon Russel Beale, directed by Nicholas Hytner

Three poems about power

Two poems entered earlier this year in our poetry competition's 9 - 12 year olds category:
The Volcano by George Leeming, read by Louise Fitton
Engine Power by Marcus Allen, read by Martin Vander Weyer

And one poem entered in the 5-8 category:
Vicious Sea by Teagan Jones, read by Louise Fitton

The Sunne Rising at Helmsley Arts Centre

The Sunne Rising by John Donne, chosen and read by David Powley because way back in the mid 1960s it was for him such an exciting discovery : the combination of caressive intimacy with the poet’s delight in playing intellectual games as he builds up his argument against the sun. The sentiment is so relaxed and everyday (for lovers, anyway) yet contained and conveyed in a poem so tightly controlled in its rhythms, phrasing, shape, sound and argument.
John Donne, born in 1572 but still very much alive.
Do you have a favourite poem? Let us know and why you choose it.
And don't forget to send us your own poems to read and display at the Arts Centre.

Don't miss two fabulous plays performed by our Youth Theatre

Starting tomorrow!!!

The Blues Sisters is a lively and inventive comedy with music. When Madame Chantelle's School of Dance and Deportment is threatened with closure by evil property developer Barnaby Sludge, Maddy, Becky and Annie are transformed into 'The Blues Sisters'. They take on the crooks, but will they save the day?

Rain on Me, Mark Rees' award-winning drama for teenagers, won the Quidi Vidi trophy at the Scottish Youth Finals in Dundee in June 2001. This is a modern Romeo and Juliet with overtones of West Side Story and Roxanne. While the drama is serious in parts, it is hugely entertaining and contains realistic and sometimes hilarious dialogue.

Thursday 28 to Saturday 30 June, 7.30pm
£6 / Concs £5 Students & Under 25s £3

buy tickets now

Hello to the blogosphere!

Hello to the blogosphere! 

Em here, Artistic Director, in my first blog since taking up the post at Helmsley Arts Centre six months ago. Better late than never!

Very exciting developments to tell you about as our summer programme is under way and there's lots happening. 

The main news this week is that we've just signed a contract with the National Theatre to stream some of their productions ABSOLUTELY LIVE in our cinema. We are one of only 160 venues in the UK to be doing this, and we're hoping both our theatre and cinema audiences will love this new addition to the programme. I went down to the National last week to hear how it works, and was really impressed. They dont just film one of their performances from the back of the theatre; they build a platform over some of the front seats, they rig cameras, cranes and anything they need to get the best filmed version, they do separate rehearsals to ensure the filming goes well - and then fill the theatre with a live audience as well. So it really is as if you, in our cinema, are sitting on the very front row of the Olivier, the Lyttelton or the Cottesloe Theatre, and watching it all as it happens.

Nicholas Hytner, AD of the National, told us about the shows we'll be getting. The first one is Thursday 6th September; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime based on the book by Mark Haddon, filmed in the round, in the intimacy of the Cottesloe Theatre. Then on October 11th Julie Walters stars in bittersweet comedy Last of the Haussmans, which is getting rave reviews already. November 1st it's Shakespeare's Timon of Athens starring Simon Russell Beale, described by the Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation". This rarely-staged play depicts a society in the throes of post-credit crunch upheavals, and will be set in the present, so a topical production indeed. And on Jan 17th we'll be showing The Count of Monte Cristo, a big swashbuckling family spectacle in true National Theatre style. So - something for everyone. Get your tickets early!

Keep in touch. Tell us what you want to see at your arts centre, and thank you for your support.

More soon....Em

Poetry at Helmsley Arts Centre : The Ticking Clock by Christopher Ware

The Ticking Clock is read by the author.
Bonfire is read by David Powley
The Power of Vision is read by Rachel Shackleton
In Search of Inspiration is read by David Powley

Poetry at Helmsley Arts Centre : Bonfire by David Smith

David Smith's poem is from a collection of his poems called "Unnatural Workings",  published by
Quoin Publishing, Middlesborough. The poems reflect his farming upbringing and his observations whilst travelling in the international freight business.

A writer of both short stories and poetry his work has appeared in "The Sid  Chaplin Short Story Anthology", Red Squirrel Press and Assent.

He was born and lives in North Yorkshire and now he has joined forces with Helmsley Arts Centre as a member of  Ryedale Writers at Helmsley Arts Centre, to be launched at the Centre on Monday 16th July at 7.00pm, further details of which will be announced soon.

And remember, if you have a poem of your own you would like to have read (or to read aloud yourself) do let us know. Likewise, if there's a poem not your own that you particularly like let us know about it and  a little of why you like it so much.

Bonfire is read by David Powley