Six of the Best: Yorkshire Festival Events

Chip Shop The Musica - until July 3

Taking place in real, working chip shops across Yorkshire, this original show tells the story of Ayla, who dreams of being a grime MC and brass-loving Gram’s, who is stuck in his chip shop rut. Audiences can watch the story unfold at their local chippy where Ayla and Gram sing and dance their way from being like chalk & cheese to hopefully, becoming fish & chips.

See www.freedomstudios.co.uk/projects/chip-shop

#chipshopthemusical (Freedom Studios). Tickets: £10/£12 includes fish and chips/vegetarian.

The Raunch (Zero Central) - June 29-July 2

A modern day cabaret spectacular, melding state of the art technology with whip-cracking energy and featuring a rogue’s gallery of the most wanted characters this side of Dodge City, the show is set to take historic variety club, Batley Frontier, by storm. The Raunch is created by digital circus company Zero Central. It stars legendary cabaret performer Empress Stah as The Bad Sherriff with her trigger-happy aerial act.

Batley Frontier, doors open 7pm, performance starts 8:30pm, tickets: £10-£25.

Opera for the Unknown Woman - June 22-24

Taking place at Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield, from 7.30pm, this imagines Earth in the year 2316. World economies have failed, people are scattered, pursued by flood and famine. Aphra, the last hope for life has two weeks to live. Can a group of women drawn together by an unearthly power in 2016 alter the earth’s future and save Aphra? Written, directed and co-composed by award winning sound artist Melanie Wilson. Tickets £10-19, www.thelbt.org/Opera-Unknown-Woman

Talking Statues - until July 3

Featuring the voices of Brian Blessed, Ian McMillan and Gemma Whelan (Gameof Thrones), this exhibit aims to answer a question you have probably never asked yourself: if statues could talk, what stories would they tell? Pass a Talking Statue, swipe your phone on a nearby sign and presto: your phone rings. It’s the Black Prince on the line… Or a lion… Using drama, humour and location technology, Talking Statues breathes new life into the statues that surround us all.

For more information, see the weblink: talkingstatuesleeds.co.uk

The Nile Project - June 18

The Nile Project – described as “a committed, euphoric international coalition” by the New York Times – will have its UK premiere at the Bradford Alhambra Theatre on June 18.

The Nile Project brings together artists from the 11 countries sharing the world’s longest river to combine their instruments, languages, scales and rhythms in one of the tightest cross-cultural collaborations in music.

Bradford Alhambra, tickets: £18-£24, see www.bradford-theatres.co.uk/whats-on/the-nile-project for more information about the event.

Big Disco - July 1

Big Disco will see the world’s largest disco ball (10.33m), on loan from Bestival, suspended from a crane above Duke Studios in Leeds for a night of food, fun and entertainment and a DJ line-up including Craig Charles and Utah Saints. Organisers are encouraging people to host their own ‘Little Discos’ and are aiming get thousands of people across the region dancing to the same track at the same time. Festival organisers, in collaboration with Duke Studios and NEWSUBSTANCE, are behind the event which will see the public vote for the winning track. Tickets: £15: thebigdisco.com