Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre is to showcase some of the best new work for young people in a two-week festival.
The season will include a new touring production of The Cat In The Hat, Marty MacDonald’s Farm featuring the voice of Justin Fletcher, otherwise known as Mr Tumble, and a new adaptation of Vivian French’s The Snow Dragon.
The festival celebrates the 50th anniversary of theatre-in-education (TiE) which began at the Belgrade in 1965.
All-male theatre company Propeller opens the festival on Monday 19 October with Pocket Merchant, a condensed version of The Merchant of Venice.
A “powerful and provocative” new play by Lisa Evans telling the story of the “freedom fighters” who set about challenging the inherent racism in America’s deep south during the 1960s, Rise Up will be performed in the B2 auditorium from Monday 19 until Wednesday 21 October.
Developed in partnership with Essex Police, The Hate Play is an interactive performance portraying the devastating impact of victimisation and hate crime on a group of young friends. Box Clever Theatre interprets Michael Wicherek’s script in B2 from Thursday 22 until Saturday 24 October.
The Snow Dragon, a new adventure from children’s theatre company Tall Stories who were behind The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom, plays on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October.
This will be followed by a visit from Marty MacDonald’s Farm from Monday 26 until Wednesday 28 October.
Light Show is a fully immersive experience in which participants are taken on a multi-sensory journey of textures, smells and tactile experiences which is accompanied by live music. Running in B2 for four performances on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 October, this new theatre show for ages 3 to 11 comes in two tailored versions: for children with profound learning disabilities on Tuesday and for those with autism on Wednesday.
Mischief and mayhem combine in a new stage adaptation of The Cat In The Hat on the Belgrade’s main stage from Thursday 29 until Saturday 31 October.
Completing the festival is I Wish I Had A Moustache in B2 on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October. Written and performed by Young Identity's Keisha Thompson, this “comedic and at times disturbing exploration of beauty, gender anxieties and the taboo of body hair asks some important questions of how we define and value ourselves”. It is suitable for children aged 12 and above.
Further details are available at the Belgrade web site.