Coventry’s Belgrade has announced casting for Bob Eaton’s 2 Tone musical Three Minute Heroes which makes its return to the city for three weeks in October.
Written and directed by former Belgrade artistic director and committed 2 Tone fan Bob Eaton, this new production features a young cast of up-and-coming talent including Conor Nolan as Sean, Joe Eaton Kent as Tim and Elizah Jackson as Sharon. They appeared together in Bob Eaton’s The Re-creation Quartet as part of the 2013 Coventry Mysteries Festival.
Completing the cast are Bromsgrove actress Sarah Workman (Sonia) and multi-instrumentalist Sheldon Green (Zac) who arranges and plays music for some of the country’s biggest venues including the National Theatre and the O2. His previous actor-musician credits include Jonny in the Bill Kenwright UK touring production of Save The Last Dance For Me.
2 Tone was a music genre created in England in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae and new wave.
Three Minute Heroes played to sell-out audiences during its premiere at the Belgrade in 2000. The production returned to the Belgrade main stage for a second run the following year.
Three Minute Heroes is a “funny, feelgood and at times thought-provoking tribute to the city that inspired a musical revolution”.
It features a soundtrack of songs which made stars of The Specials and The Selecter including "On My Radio", "A Message to You, Rudy", "Ghost Town", "Free Nelson Mandela" and "Three Minute Hero".
Bob Eaton said, “I’m delighted to be bringing Three Minute Heroes back to the Belgrade Theatre for 2014. As a writer, I’ve always been fascinated by local stories, stories which mean something to a particular town or city.
“The story of 2 Tone is written into Coventry’s DNA and Three Minute Heroes was my way of celebrating and reflecting upon that legacy.
“When the show was first conceived back in 2000, I was lucky enough to have the support of many of the original stars of the 2 Tone movement including Pauline Black, Neol Davies, Horace Panter and Rankin Roger who got involved in workshops and came up with some really great ideas on moving the show forward.
“Fourteen years on and here we are, bringing the story of 2 Tone to a whole new generation of fans. For this production, I’m fortunate to be working with a fantastic group of local, young actor-musicians.
“There’s a whole new generation of teenagers who are really into ska and it was important to me that the production reflect that legacy. It was an exciting project back in 2000 and I think this time around it’s going to be even more exciting!”
Design is by Patrick Connellan and lighting design is by Chris Ellis. Musical supervision is by Tayo Akinbode.
Three Minute Heroes will play on the Belgrade’s B2 stage from 4 until 25 October.