Theatre, dance and pop-up performances will be staged in shops, precincts and other places across Coventry city centre during the UK’s first Shop Front Festival.
The festival will be presented by Chris O’Connell and Julia Negus, the writer and producer who run Coventry-based Theatre Absolute, working with independent artistic director Orit Azaz and outdoor producer Lou Lomas.
The two-day pilot festival, which is being supported by Coventry City of Culture Trust, Coventry City Council, Heart of England Community Foundation, Coventry Business Improvement District (BID), Backstage Trust and 29th May Trust, is the first cultural event to be held in the city after it won the title UK City of Culture 2021.
Festival co-artistic director Orit Azaz said, “shoppers and festival audiences will happen across theatre, dance and a range of wonderful sights in shops, in precincts and in a number of Coventry’s buildings.
“The Shop Front Festival invites you to experience Coventry city centre in new ways and we’re delighted that so many businesses and locations will play host to artists and performers from the region and internationally.”
One of the attractions will be the Bureau of Silly Ideas’ The Small Job in which an unusual workforce with curious construction methods responds to regeneration of the city with skills including juggling, climbing and throwing the tools of their trade.
The festival will be held on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 March. Full listings are available at the Theatre Absolute web site.