Coventry’s Belgrade is to host See It First, a week-long series of work-in-progress performances and talks in various spaces around the theatre.
There will be two preview performances of Karis Kelly’s Consumed, a “pitch-black and twisted tale of dysfunctional family dynamics, generational trauma and national boundaries”, on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 July before the show’s run at the Edinburgh Fringe. The play, the Belgrade’s third consecutive co-production with Paines Plough, will return to Coventry from Wednesday 3 until Saturday 6 September as part of a UK tour.
The Belgrade’s new performance space The Jag will stage a series of performances starting with Blindspot Scratch Night on Saturday 19 July, which will be dedicated to bringing working-class and underclass theatre “out of your blind spot”.
Breeders will intertwine the stories of two queer couples in Birmingham decades apart, Tom and Georgie in the 1980s and Jo and Stevie in the 2020s. The play “explores the impact and legacy of the AIDS crisis, queer survival and the messy, beautiful ways we create community”. It will be performed on Wednesday 23 July.
BoonDog Theatre will stage Lovett on Friday 25 July, the story of Sweeney Todd’s Mrs Lovett, which is set before she encounters the demon barber. The play reveals what ultimately leads her to turn his victims into pies.
The Belgrade’s artistic director Corey Campbell said, “we’re delighted to launch this year’s See It First programme, a week that puts new voices, bold ideas and fresh work centre stage. It reflects our ongoing commitment to co-creation, championing talent and stories developed with, by and for our communities. This is about opening our doors, sharing space, supporting local artists and shaping the future together.”
The full programme is available at the Belgrade Theatre web site.