Theatre in shop fronts, pop-up performances in precincts and dancing in the streets will be staged in the UK’s first Shop Front Festival which will be held in Coventry.
Writer Chris O’Connell and producer Julia Negus who run Coventry-based Theatre Absolute are working with independent artistic director Orit Azaz and outdoor producer Lou Lomas on the project.
The festival will feature “some of the UK’s most exciting new and established artists, theatre makers and performers”.
Festival co-artistic director O’Connell said, “the programme is looking incredibly exciting with a mix of new work from the city as well as pieces from award-winning national and international artists and companies.
“We’re hoping to bring something for everyone from young to old, from those who have experience of theatre, dance and music events to those who might stumble across one of our events for the first time.
“By taking over unusual and disused shops and spaces, the festival is a unique opportunity for us to see our city through fresh eyes, and experience how culture can bring every part of the city to life.”
Among the highlights are Made in Store by Nick Walker, a semi-improvised show made in collaboration with shopkeepers and their customers in specially selected shops in the city, DIY Dance, an invitation to local youth and community dance groups to perform short dance pieces in response to city centre architecture, and two new pieces from Motionhouse Youth, working alongside a number of Coventry groups in different dance styles and forms.
National and international artists and theatre companies will adapt and respond to the city. The Empathy Museum, a collaboration between cultural philosopher Roman Krznaric and Clare Patey, will present A Mile in My Shoes. People will go for a walk wearing someone else’s shoes, listening to the shoes’ original owner telling a story.
Tangled Feet’s Inflation features four fools arriving on the high street with a motley collection of blow-up props and an unco-operative bouncy castle. With an initial plan to educate the public on the great British history of castles, they get sidetracked into a fruitless mission to understand the world-wide banking collapse and how we got to Brexit.
And Coventry-based Talking Birds will stage The Q, a walkabout show “whose mischievous yet professional orange-clad operatives find inventive ways to enhance the queuing experience”.
The Shop Front Festival will take place on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 March. Some events will be free. The festival is the first of many cultural events to be held in Coventry after it won the title of UK City of Culture 2021.