Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre has announced the remaining shows that will complete its spring season.
The Belgrade’s own productions will include Nikolai Gogol’s comedy Marriage and Chekhov’s drama Sons Without Fathers.
The spring season starts with a new production of Gogol’s light-hearted and farce-like comedy Marriage which will be directed by the Belgrade’s artistic director, Hamish Glen.
The Belgrade has commissioned the production as part of its continuing exploration of plays on the theme of marriage.
Set during the summer in St Petersburg, the story follows indecisive civil servant Ivan as he decides it’s finally time to marry. His matchmaker comes forward with a blushing bride-to-be, but a string of suitors is already lined up and Ivan’s best friend steps forward to help wipe out the competition.
Marriage runs in the B2 auditorium from 2 until 23 February.
The Belgrade is teaming up with London’s Arcola Theatre to produce a new adaptation of Chekhov’s play Sons Without Fathers.
It’s “a tale of sex, vodka and shattered dreams”. Village schoolteacher Platonov is drawn into a series of extra-marital affairs that hold the promise of escape from the provincial Russian reality where he and his circle of friends are trapped.
Consumed by bitterness and disappointment, they attempt to fill the void in their lives with sex and vodka, blaming their fathers for the mess they've been left in.
Sons Without Fathers is in B2 from 13 April until 4 May.
Hoopla and the Belgrade are bringing back their children’s play The Night Queen for a limited run in B2 from 18 until 26 January. It’s inspired by Mozart’s The Magic Flute and is a “magical blend of music, mystery and adventure”.
The Belgrade will also host a number of touring productions, starting with Driving Miss Daisy, featuring Gwen Taylor and Don Warrington, from 11 until 16 February.
One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show will run on the main stage from 12 until 16 March; a new production of French farce Boeing Boeing follows from 19 until 23 March; and The Arrival, created by Tamasha Theatre Company, visits from 26 until 28 March.
Leading children’s theatre producers Birmingham Stage Company will be making two visits to the Belgrade in the spring: there’s a chance to see Terrible Tudors and Vile Victorians brought to life on the main stage in their Horrible Histories shows from 2 until 6 April; and their adaptation of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach arrives from 11 until 15 June.
Beverley Callard and Ray Quinn appear in the comedy The Rise and Fall of Little Voice which stops off at the Belgrade from 28 May until 1 June.
Music is featured in The Dolly Parton Story on 5 March and Gilbert and Sullivan Abridged on 26 March.
Moscow Ballet La Classique returns to the main stage with Delibes’ Coppelia from 7 until 9 March while Call Mr Robeson, which tells the story of actor, singer and civil rights campaigner Paul Robeson, returns to B2 on 22 March.