Coventry’s Warwick Arts Centre is to host the UK première of Peter Brook’s The Valley of Astonishment which it is co-producing with Theatre des Bouffes du Nord.
The play—one of the last directed by Brook—can be seen only in Paris, London and Coventry.
The Valley of Astonishment explores “the fascinating experiences of real people who see the world in a radically different light”. It’s a “kaleidoscopic journey into the wonders of the human brain, inspired by years of neurological research, true stories and Farid Attar’s epic mystical poem The Conference of the Birds”.
The show, which features Kathryn Hunter, Marcello Magni, Jared McNeillm, Raphael Chambouvet and Toshi Tsuchitori, is one of the highlights of the summer season at Warwick Arts Centre. It runs from Wednesday until Saturday, 11 to 14 June.
Musical theatre will be represented by Union Theatre with its World War II adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore from Tuesday until Saturday, 22 to 26 April.
Physical dance theatre company Gecko returns to the arts centre with Institute, an “intimate, funny and revealing exploration of care”, from Tuesday until Friday, 13 to 16 May.
The dance programme includes Fabulous Beast’s The Rite of Spring and Petrushka on Tuesday and Wednesday, 29 and 30 April and balletLORENT, which reimagines the fairy tale Rapunzel as a “darkly beautiful ballet for families”, from Thursday until Saturday, 29 to 31 May.
Alan Rivett, director of Warwick Arts Centre, said, “This summer the arts centre will be fizzing with excitement. There’s something for everyone in our programme whether you’re nine or 90.”
Full details of the summer programme can be found at the Warwick Arts Centre web site.