Workshops & Events

A dark rock with the title 'The Ballad of Blea Wyke' in gold lettering. There is a small silhouette of a person standing on the edge of the rock, a large golden sphere, and a coiled rope.

The Ballad of Blea Wyke

by Hannah Davies and Jack Woods, directed by Em Whitfield Brooks

A young woman wants to see the sea. A stranger stands on a cliff. The last grey seal swims towards the shore. On her eighteenth birthday, Cerys, a tough care-leaver, breaks the city’s lockdown and seeks the coastal cliffs that birthed her, the crumbling landscape drawing her back to her mythic past.

Evocative and lyrical spoken word storytelling that draws inspiration from the traditional Selkie myth and reimagining it for a not-too-distant future on the Yorkshire coast. A haunting interweaving of story, music, poetry and song, with a rich backdrop of harmonies.

‘Beautiful and heart-rending’ ‘Spell-binding and magical’ ‘Utterly transporting’

(Audience Feedback)

‘No York shaper of words captures a sense, meaning and memory of

place so movingly, so evocatively...’

‘Elliot Smith-like nihilism contrasting with nimble, beautiful guitar playing.’

(Charles Hutchinson Press)

YORK

Friday 10 July 8:30pm

rise @ Bluebird Bakery, 201 Acomb Rd, Acomb, York YO24 4HD

Buy tickets here.

HEMSLEY

Friday 17 July 7:30pm

Helmlsey Arts Centre, Meeting House Ct, Helmsley, York, YO62 5DW

Buy tickets here.

Em Whitfield Brooks, a woman in black clothing raising her right hand with fingers spread wide, eyes closed, and mouth open, she is conducting a singing workshop.

Voicefulness Community Choir

Voicefulness is my own autumn choral project. Open to adults at all levels of singing ability - no previous experience necessary! - we meet in central York once a week for six weeks.

These evening  sessions are relaxing and fun as we explore an embodied, mindful approach to the voice and sing together in harmony. We then take ourselves out into the city in early December for a busking performance or two. 

Autumn 2026 Dates

6 x Thursday evenings in central York

7.15 - 8.45pm

29th October - 3rd December

Sunday 6th December: Mid-morning busking performances.

Spaces are limited, book yours now.