Across the Evening Sky: Josienne Clarke sings the songs of Sandy Denny

Josienne Clarke has been hailed as the songwriter-poet of melancholy, as well as a thrilling interpreter of traditional song. In the wake of her acclaimed new album, Parenthesis, I, she is now stepping up to honour Sandy Denny – a singer with whom she has been compared – with a show that brings Denny’s music to a new generation.

“If I can take one young fan of mine and introduce them to Sandy, in a context that they can grab hold of,” she says. “If they like my music they will love Sandy. And that would be the whole concept sorted. To pass it on, so that these songs can go on forever.”

Songs like ‘An Old-Fashioned Waltz’, ‘Reynardine’, ‘Fotheringay’ and ‘The Sea’. “You’d be shot for not including ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes’,” she adds. “And ‘Solo’ is a beautiful song, one that has personal resonance for me.”

Rather than a solo show, audiences can expect a folk-rock set-up of guitar, piano, bass and drums. “I want to be free to sing,” says Clarke, who usually accompanies herself on guitar. “It’ll be an ensemble to get all the textures and tones that you can get out of her music.”

Clarke describes Denny’s songs as her north star – a constant guiding light. “Look at how brilliant they are – and there are so many of them. And each one has gold in it.”

If any contemporary performer is set to extract that gold and fashion it anew, it is Josienne Clarke.

£19 plus booking fee.

Carer/PA/Essential companion tickets

These are available for all events. They are limited to one per ticket order and can be booked by emailing info@gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk and quoting the event name, booking reference on your ticket order and information you’re comfortable sharing on why a companion ticket is required.

This is a seated show
We have three main seated layouts for shows;

floor seating with or without cabaret tables on floor level only [up to 100 capacity], or
seating rake only [up to 119 capacity], or
both seating rake with floor seating in front (in rows, or with or without cabaret tables) [up to 200 capacity].

Every seat on floor level and the first row on our seating rake is accessible to those who require a wheelchair space, an ambulant seat, or those who don’t have any access requirements. Thus, they will be bookable under the same ticket type and unreserved. When buying your tickets, we ask you to declare if you have any access requirements at the checkout so we can reserve any seats or space for those who need them.