A series of performances co-produced by the Belgrade Theatre and national new writing company Paines Plough, a new outdoor theatre show by Coventry-based company Highly Sprung and a Royal Shakespeare Company production that can be enjoyed by audiences while 'social distancing' are among the first events announced for Coventry when it becomes UK City of Culture 2021.
In July, the Belgrade will get together with Paines Plough in its pop-up theatre Roundabout to host plays by four writers. Further details will be announced later.
The following month, Coventry-based company Highly Sprung will stage CastAway, a major new outdoor theatre show highlighting the environmental crisis. Performed by an all-female cast, it will combine movement and dance on a stage of floating plastic. It has been imagined to be staged in Coventry’s Canal Basin. After its première, the show will go on a tour of canals and rivers of central England.
The RSC plans to present a new co-commission, Faith, in September. It will be led by deputy artistic director Erica Whyman, associate director Jen Davis, Coventry-based writer Chris O’Connell, playwright Chinonyerem Odimba and design consultant Tom Piper.
Influenced by Shakespeare and the Coventry mystery plays, Faith is a 24-hour invitation to find out what keeps each of us going in tough times and how people of faith and of no faith understand and celebrate the chapters of their lives.
Belgrade co-artistic director Corey Campbell will work in November with six emerging Midlands writers—Sophie Ellerby, Sophia Grissin, Sam Kurd, David Payne, Annabel Brightling, Daniel Anderson and Rory Rawson—to produce a six-part digital television series, SeaView. Inspired by a true story, the urban drama celebrates the aspirations of a black, working-class family exploring urgent questions around choice and circumstance.
Chenine Bhathena, creative director of Coventry City of Culture, said, “we hope in these dark times to give people something to look forward to—things they can do and enjoy whatever the future may hold.
“When Coventry is faced with a challenge, we tackle it head-on. The resilience and innovation that the city is known for around the world can be seen in the events we’ve announced today.
“We look forward to announcing more in January 2021 when we’ll be sharing our full programme, with local artists and organisations central to the celebrations.”