Hot summer tickets: Jump if you’re offered one

Telling the dramatic story of the building of the great East Coast rail network using a community cast of over 200 actors, In Fog and Falling Snow promises to be an unforgettable experience. The audience will move through the National Railway Museum’s collections and end up in a new purpose-built theatre. History brought to life by the people of York.

National Railway Museum, to July 11.

• York Early Music Festival

This year’s festival celebrates 300 years of music-making across England and France from the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 to the court of Louis XIV who died in 1715. Performers include the London Handel Players, baroque specialists Mary Collins and Steven Player, the Taverner Consort, the Early Opera Company and internationally acclaimed instrumentalists such as Andreas Staier, Kati Dbretzeni, Richard Boothby and Thomas Dunford.

At various venues in York, until July 11.

• The Silent Wild

Yorkshire-based artist and curator Diane Howse presents an exhibition that uses text, performance, film and sound to explore the sonic landscapes within the writing of the Brontës. The project has been created in collaboration with filmmaker Adam Baroukh, choreographer Carolyn Choa, poet Thomas A Clark, calligrapher Gigi Leung and musician and sound artist Lemma Redda.

Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth, until September 28.

• Rob Ryan

Visitors to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park are invited into the whimsical world of renowned artist Rob Ryan with Listen to the World, an exhibition of intricate papercuts and prints – often paired with wise and witty pieces of writing – spanning the last six years of the artist’s career, all of which are available to buy.

Listen to the World, July 4-November 1.

• Open Season

The West Yorkshire Playhouse’s Open Season runs throughout the month of July and is a vibrant showcase of a diverse range of youth, community and professional performers from Leeds and beyond. Highlights of the programme include Voices of a New Generation, a young poetry slam festival produced by Leeds Young Authors, and Anniversary in which a group of older performers present a dance they have created with choreographer Royston Maldoom.WYP, Leeds, July 4-25.

• Jesus Christ Superstar

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera burst onto the stage in 1971 and changed the face of musical theatre forever. Telling the story of the last seven days in the life of Jesus through a ground-breaking score, the show retains its power even after more than 40 years. Classic songs include Superstar, I Don’t Know How to Love Him and Everything’s Alright.

Leeds Grand Theatre, July 6-11.

• Dirty Dancing

The second UK tour of Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage stops off at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford this month for a three-week run. The production features the much-loved characters and original dialogue from the phenomenally successful 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. The dance sequences are a highlight as are the many hit songs including the Academy Award-winning (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.

The Alhambra, Bradford, July 7-25.

• Camelot: The Shining City

With their customary panache and stunning vision, Slung Low have once again come up with a spectacular idea for a large-scale theatrical event. Remember, this is the company who mobilised hundreds of community actors in York for Blood + Chocolate in York last year and recreated Moby Dick at Leeds Dock. In collaboration this time with Sheffield People’s Theatre, the company – with a cast of over 150 – create a contemporary reworking of the myth of King Arthur. The story will be told in three parts and will take place on the Crucible stage, in Tudor Square and in the city of Sheffield itself.

Sheffield Crucible, July 9-18.

• SJT at 60

This year the Stephen Joseph Theatre is celebrating its 60th anniversary and as 
part of a programme of events a new exhibition charting the theatre’s history opens at Scarborough Art Gallery this month. The show covers the SJT’s progress from its beginnings in 1955 as the UK’s 
first ever theatre in the round up to the present day and includes photographs, posters, programmes and props from many of the productions over the last six decades.

Scarborough Art Gallery, July 11 to September 13.

• Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 
Now in its 13th year, the Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is considered one of the top literary festivals in the UK. Writers featured in this year’s impressive looking line-up include Val McDermid, Sally Wainwright, Eddie Izzard, Ann Cleves, Jonathan Freedland, Nicci French and Mark Billingham. The programme includes panel discussions, author interviews and workshops.
Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate, July 16-19.

• Anthony Caro

Four of the region’s most influential visual arts organisations – the Henry Moore Institute, The Hepworth Wakefield, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Leeds Art Gallery, which together make up the Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle – are celebrating the career of Sir Anthony Caro, one of Britain’s greatest sculptors. Caro in Yorkshire is grounded in two major exhibitions at The Hepworth Wakefield and the nearby Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

From July 18 to November 1.

• Niddfest Literary Festival

A new addition to Yorkshire’s burgeoning literary festival scene, Niddfest launches this summer with a line-up of some of the UK’s finest writers. Set in the stunning landscape of Upper Nidderdale, the family-friendly festival’s aim is to celebrate nature in writing and will feature poets, novelists and non-fiction writers who share a love of nature. Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy will host the opening night.

Upper Nidderdale, July 24-26.

• Tramlines Festival

Sheffield’s popular annual music festival showcases local talent as well as national and international names on the music scene. This year you can see veterans such as Billy Bragg, Martha Reeves, the Buzzcocks and the Charlatans as well as fresher faces like Hannah Lou Clark and Kate Tempest and the Crookes.

Various venues, Sheffield, July 24-26.

• Underneath the Stars Festival

The charmingly named music festival at Cannon Hall Farm, near Barnsley, was launched last year by contemporary folk star Kate Rusby and is back again for another lively mix of folk, swing and jazz. The line-up this year’s weekend of musical treats includes Rusby herself, alongside the likes of Eddi Reader, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Philip Selway, Molotov 
Jukebox, Martin Simpson and Hope and Social.

Cannon Hall Farm, near Barnsley, July 24-26.

• The Great Yorkshire Fringe

A new ten-day festival comes to York this summer. The Great Yorkshire Fringe will hit Parliament Street at the end of July 
and continue into early August. The aim of this sustainable fringe festival is to bring the best in comedy, cabaret, theatre and music to York in three pop-up venues along the famous city thoroughfare. Paul Merton, Sara Pascoe, Reginald D Hunter and Al Murray are just some of the big stand-up names on the comedy bill in a programme which features something for all ages.

York, July 24-August 2.

• Leeds Festival

There are a number of successful, smaller niche festivals around Yorkshire, but this is still the granddaddy of them all and this year’s headliners are likely to draw big crowds once again. To mention just a few, they include the Libertines, Mumford and Sons, Metallica, the Cribs, the Maccabees, Django Django and the Wombats.

Bramham Park, August 28-30.

• Bingley Music Live

Scottish alternative rock band Idlewild are the final big name act to be added to the impressive list of headliners that includes Funeral for a Friend, James, Labrinth, Super Furry Animals and the Beat at this year’s Bingley Music Live. Launched in 2007, Bingley Live has established itself as a popular family-friendly festival and consistently punches above its weight.

Myrtle Park, Bingley, September 4-6.