Coventry stories will continue to take centre stage in the Belgrade’s forthcoming Autumn 2018 season, following the sell-out success of its site-specific show Read All About It! at the former Coventry Evening Telegraph Building, part of the Coventry 2021 build-up programme.
The season gets underway with a second site-specific production, delivered in partnership with Coventry Cathedral as part of the Plumb Line Festival, celebrating 100 years of the Diocese of Coventry. Like Read All About It!, Meet Me in the Ruins will present audiences with a series of snapshots rooted in local history, following five characters all at a crossroads in their lives.
Featuring stories penned by Ola Animashawun, Alan Pollock, Marcia Layne, Alan Pollock, Nick Walker and Paven Virk, this atmospheric, open-air performance with song is for everyone who has ever felt drawn to the magical space beneath the spire, and shows at Coventry Cathedral 6-8 September.
Credit: Arnim Friess
Then from 19-21 September, Noctium Theatre bring their new play Hymns for Robots home to Coventry, following a run at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Created with support from the Belgrade Theatre’s Springboard talent development programme, this stylish and inventive piece mixes Noctium’s heightened performance style with analogue and digital music to bring to life the story of Coventry-born electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire.
Now best known for her work on the iconic Doctor Who theme tune as part of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Delia Derbyshire was a musical trailblazer, cited as an influence on bands as diverse as The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Orbital. Using strange sounds and weird “wobbulations”, this company of Coventry University graduates shine a light on an unsung genius, regarded by many as the “mother of modern music”.
From 29 September-20 October, another local music legend makes his theatrical debut as Musical Director of the world premiere production of We’ll Live and Die in These Towns. Taking the songs from The Enemy’s number one debut album as its soundtrack, the show sees the band’s former frontman, Tom Clarke, reimagine his songs for the stage in a gritty and compelling new play.
Written by Coventry playwright Geoff Thompson (Fragile, 2012), it tells the story of a young rock musician, Argy, who suffers a crisis of confidence just hours before a major homecoming gig that could make or break his career. Unable to persuade him to perform, his manager sends him off into the city, where encounters with people and places from his past help him to make decisions about his future.
Finally, from 23-28 October, the Belgrade will be starting Christmas early when Nativity! The Musical comes home to Coventry. Kicking off its second UK tour at the Belgrade with a massive cast of Midlands kids, this much-loved Christmas show is revived by Coventry writer and director Debbie Isitt, just before the release of her latest film, Nativity Rocks!
Every child in school wants the chance to sparkle and shine in the Nativity play, and at St Bernadette’s, ambitious teachers have decided to mount a musical production. But when rumours of a Hollywood producer arriving start to circulate, tensions run high between St Bernadette’s and their rivals, Oakmoor School. Can Mr Maddens and Mr Poppy pull off the spectacular show they’re aiming for? Find out in this funny, feelgood festive celebration.
