Friends of the Belgrade Theatre Newsletter Issue 18

Issue Eighteen Spring 2014

The Young Company take on Shakespeare The Belgrade Community & Education Company will be marking the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth with its production of The Tempest, which will be performed by the Young Company. Running in the B2 auditorium from Mon 3 to Sat 8 March, the brightest of the Belgrade’s Youth talent come together in a fast-paced, physical production of Shakespeare’s last play, created in association with Frantic Assembly.

Many young people might find Shakespeare’s work a bit daunting. We caught up with some of our young performers to find out how they’ve found it.

“The language is simply beautiful and it takes you out of your mind and transports you to another place.”

Ben Durber, plays Caliban “Working with Shakespearean text has helped me become more articulate.”

Joelle Ikwa, plays Miranda

“...discovering beauty in words...”

Janeks Babidorics, plays Ferdinand “Shakespeare has opened my mind to be more creative in my writing.”

Nathan Otshudy, Stephano “It’s wonderful that the language can mean so much and create so many different emotions.”

Molly Davidson, plays Sebastian “I’ve fallen in love with Shakespeare! I wish it was first taught to me like this.”

Chris Penk, plays Gonzalo “I grew to love Shakespeare throughout this opportunity and I can’t wait to share what we’ve done together.”

Bethany Kavanagh, plays Trinculo “At school Shakespeare was like a foreign language, but once you research it and get the play on its feet, it is very enjoyable.”

Matthew Williams, plays Prospero

Above: The Young Company in rehearsal

Friends of the Belgrade Theatre Events Bring a friend to see The Perfect Murder Date: Tuesday 25 February Time: 7pm We are inviting Friends of the Belgrade to bring a friend/family member to this performance of The Perfect Murder.

Both you and your guest will receive a complimentary drink and ticket for the show. Pre show there will be a talk about the Friends of the Belgrade membership levels and if your guest becomes Friend of the Belgrade Theatre you will receive a 50% discount on your renewal price. *Tickets are subject to availability.

Pantastic Pancake Flipping Race Date: Tuesday 4th March Time: 12 - 2pm Location: Broadgate, Coventry

Join the Belgrade’s Pantastic Pancake Flipping Race in support of the Give the Gift of Theatre campaign. The event will see teams of four competing in a series of races involving flipping pancakes whilst navigating around obstacles for a chance to win a selection of prizes. Entry is free but teams will need to bring their own frying pan.

To register your team of four please email friends@belgrade.co.uk To book for any of these events please contact friends@belgrade.co.uk or call 024 7684 6758.

Friends of the Belgrade Theatre benefit from receiving 20% off individual tickets.

See back page for season diary.

Last year’s Pancake Race

Crime writer Peter James on The Perfect Murder

Claire Goose and Les Dennis in The Perfect Murder

Peter James’ bestselling novella The Perfect Murder has been adapted for the stage.

Starring Les Dennis and Claire Goose, the show, directed by Olivier Award winner Ian Talbot, will visit the Belgrade from 24 Feb to 1 March.

We spoke to Peter ahead of the show’s launch to find out more.

What inspired you to write The Perfect Murder?

I’ve always been interested in the notion of the perfect murder. We’re all capable of killing. What most of us are not capable of doing is living with our conscience after this has happened. There are around 600 homicides every year in England and the police reckon that there’s at least 600 more that they don’t know about- 600 perfect murders.

There’s also a classic scenario that you get where someone in a married couple decides that they’ve fallen in love with someone else and it’s easier to kill their partner than it is to deal with the heartache and expense of a divorce. After a while, they can’t live with it and they have to tell someone. The dangerous people are those who can live with their consciences. I thought it would be wonderful to have a couple where the husband has decided to kill his wife and he’s able to live with it and the wife has the same plan…

Shaun McKenna has adapted The Perfect Murder for the stage- did you work closely with him during this process?

We had a couple of long brainstorming lunches, kicking ideas around, and then he just went and nailed probably 95% of it in the first draft.

Shaun has done a beautiful adaptation. I’ve had three books made into movies in the past and I’ve hated them with a passion. When I got Shaun’s script I was thinking…yeah, I know what’s going to happen.

Then I read it and I was mesmerised. I thought…wow. He’s actually made it better!

So the spirit of the novella is still there?

It’s completely there. His genius with it is has been to turn it from a novella into a really visually exciting stage play that’s got some great laughs in it but also some really scary moments.

What should the audience expect when they see The Perfect Murder?

Shaun’s made it great entertainment. There’s a lot of humour in it.

If you’ve ever had a go at your husband or your wife, you’re going to recognise elements of yourself in that. There’s a brilliantly satisfying twist at the end that’s different to the book… I’m so looking forward to watching the curtain rise. The theatre’s always been a dream of mine: I grew up in Brighton where my parents had regular weekly seats at the Theatre Royal. I used to sit there dreaming that one day I would write a play, put it on and see it. It’ll be an incredibly nerve wracking, but incredibly proud moment for me. Out of everything that I’ve done, this is the most exciting moment for me.

The Belgrade Bulletin Development After such a successful Give the Gift of Theatre appeal we are beginning to plan the 2014 appeal and will be approaching local businesses for their support in the New Year. We recently worked with the Coventry Telegraph to host a B2B exhibition. This event is an example of one of the different ways in which the Belgrade raises additional funds.

While summer may seem a long way off, the department is looking ahead to the return of the Belgrade Unplugged events, more will be revealed soon.

As always if you have a suggestion for a fundraising event that we could hold, or you could hold on our behalf, do not hesitate to contact us on 024 7684 6758 or email developmentadmin@belgrade.co.uk.

Communications The team has just about recovered from promoting its most successful pantomime in recent years and is now working on promoting the new Spring Season. This includes booking radio and newspaper adverts for shows including as The Mummy, See How They Run and the Spanish Golden Age Season and arranging press and radio interviews with some of the actors who will be visiting the theatre. The team is in the process of recruiting a new apprentice via the Creative Access scheme which helps tackle the under-representation of ethnic minorities in media.

Community & Education In November the Community & Education Company residencies kicked off with Curious Directive, a Norfolk based theatre company who use scientific subjects and stories as a stimulus for their work, Artistic Director Jack Lowe led a workshop on their practice with each of the C&E groups.

The current Critical Mass BME writing group recently completed their eleven week course and are now working on writing their own scripts.

Meanwhile the C&E team and participants are working hard to put on

three shows this Spring. Following the success of Playlist, our talented Young Company will have the opportunity to work with esteemed physical theatre company Frantic Assembly to perform a rousing version of The Tempest.

As part of National Theatre Connections 2014, Belgrade Youth Theatre members will also be performing Pronoun, a new play by Evan Placey which explores gender and sexuality. And in May, our Year 11 Acting Out group will be performing James Graham’s Bassett, where a group of students are trapped in a classroom and tensions are rising.

Production It has been a busy few months with Jack and the Beanstalk on the Main Stage and Oh No it Isn’t in B2. But there is no rest as these shows come to an end because it is straight back into The Alchemist. The Belgrade Production Services workshop team have been hard at work building and painting the modern set and figuring out the best way to fit it into B2, whilst Stage Management have been conducting their own experiments to find the perfect props.

Front of House We have had a very busy Christmas with Jack and the Beanstalk and Oh No It Isn’t. Not only did we provide great service to the hundreds of patrons coming through our doors at this time of year, but we are also managed to keep the appearance of the public areas up to scratch!

We are now looking ahead to what will be an exciting Spring season.

We have begun to contact all of the new season visiting companies to gather all of the information that the Operations team will require during their visit.

There are also exciting developments on the horizon for the conferencing aspects of the department and we are working closely with the Development team to update the way we deliver our Conferencing and Events.

Chris sharing a joke with HRH Prince Edward

Meet the Team Chris Ivens – Front of House Usher What is your role at the Belgrade Theatre?

I am the Housekeeper for the Belgrade Theatre, which means that along with the other cleaners, I am responsible for keeping the theatre clean and tidy for the public, staff and actors who are working here.

How long have you worked here?

I am one of the longest serving members of staff at the Belgrade. I struggle to remember how long I have been working here, but I do remember being here before we celebrated the 25th anniversary.

Editors’ Note: We recently celebrated our 55th anniversary, so Chris has been working here for at least 30 years!

How did you get into your job?

A friend of a friend recommended me for the job and the rest if history.

What are the most exciting and challenging parts of your job?

The most exciting part of my job is coming in to work in the morning to find the building is clean. That very rarely happens though.

The £14 million redevelopment we had a few years ago was definitely the most challenging. Anyone who has had building work on their home knows how messy builders are. We had them here for years and it was difficult to keep the building clean, especially when they fitted the carpet before they had finished the building work! When we reopened in 2007 I got to meet HRH Prince Edward when he visited.

Have you ever experienced any real disasters?

The only major disaster was when the building flooded due to heavy rainfall about three or four years ago. Most of the building was fine apart from a couple of offices and Box Office.

Box Office was hit the worst and it took a long time to get everything back to normal; I wondered whether the damp smell would ever leave. I’m glad to say that it has now gone and it hasn’t flooded since (fingers crossed).

What are your favourite shows that you have seen at the Belgrade Theatre?

Panto is always my favourite show of the year, but it’s our biggest and most popular show, which means it’s even more hard work for me and the rest of the cleaning team. I also like the music and comedy shows that we stage.

What shows are you most looking forward to seeing in the new season?

My granddaughter loves Peppa Pig so I’m bringing her to see Peppa Pig’s Big Spalsh in May. I’ve also booked for West Side Story and ABBA Mania.

Can you tell us something we might not expect about your job?

The things we have to clean up in the auditorium often depends on the shows we have on; in the past we have had to clean snow, sand, peat, straw, animals and children.

The most random though was when we had a show (I can’t remember what it was called) that featured a live snake. This was a diva of a snake and the sound of the vacuum cleaner scared it so we couldn’t clean backstage until it was gone. Never mind the snake being scared, we were terrified of it!

Help the Belgrade Volunteers get the opportunity to work in an exciting, vibrant atmosphere whilst at the same time enhancing the theatre-going experience for our patrons. They will assist in meeting and greeting patrons, checking tickets and helping patrons find their correct seats.

If you would like to volunteer at the Belgrade Theatre please call Eamonn Finnerty, Operations Manager on 02476 846 742 or visit www.belgrade.co.uk/about-us

The Belgrade Theatre gives the gift of Theatre.

Give the Gift of Theatre runs throughout the year to provide people who are facing challenging circumstances with free theatre tickets.

Spending quality time together watching a show and building happy memories for the future can be a luxury and one that some people simply cannot afford. We can’t make people’s problems go away, but we can give them some respite from them, and help them to feel more positive.

Above: Iain Lauchlan as Dame Trott & Craig Hollingsworth as SImon in Jack and the Beanstalk at Belgrade Theatre Left: Iain Lauchlan as Dame Trott in Jack and the Beanstalk at Belgrade Theatre - credit Robert Day

Thanks to the generosity of over 1,000 individuals and businesses we exceeded our £7,325 target for this year’s Give the Gift of Theatre campaign by raising a whopping £8,900, enabling even more families facing financial hardship and children spending Christmas in hospital to see our panto Jack and the Beanstalk.

In association with our friends at Coventry Foodbank, on 5 and 12 December 380 people were able to come and see the show and on Boxing Day a performance was also streamed digitally into hospices, hospitals and nursing homes across the region.

Thank you to everyone who generously donated to make this happen, and provided people who are facing a challenging Christmas time with a treat that they won’t forget – the gift of theatre.

We’re already looking toward 2014, and making sure that we can build upon the success of this appeal, so if you would like to make a donation to support Give the Gift of Theatre 2014, you can do so at www.localgiving.com/belgradetheatre.

Alternatively, maybe you would like to do some fundraising yourself to support this. We’d really welcome your support by doing this and can help with the planning and administration of it too. Some things that you might want to consider doing in support of Give the Gift of Theatre could include: • Coventry Half Marathon • Bring a team to the Pancake Race • A car boot sale • A coffee morning • A dress down day at school or work And for some people, your employer might even match the amount that you raise and donate it too!

If you would like to discuss a fundraising idea, please call Lexy Rooney on 024 7684 6758 or email arooney@belgrade.co.uk.

What’s On Diary As part of your Friends of the Belgrade Membership, you are entitled to 20% off the following shows. * Discount is valid on 1 ticket if you have a Single Membership and 2 tickets if you have a Joint Membership.

Show

Dates

Description

The Alchemist

Sat 1 - Sat 22 Feb

While the master of the house is out of town to escape the plague, his house-keeper sets up with ‘a cheater and his punk’ as the city’s premier conman.

The Comedy of Errors

Tues 11 - Sat 15 Feb

Shakespeare’s smartest and most farcical play, two sets of estranged twins separated at birth find themselves in the same city 25 years later, with hilarious consequences.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Tues 11 - Sat 15 Feb

Love and illusion collide when two pairs of lovers become entangled in fairy mischief on the eve of a royal wedding.

Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain

Tues 18 - Sat 22 Feb

Prepare yourselves for Horrible Histories live on stage with Barmy Britain, direct from the West End.

The Perfect Murder

Mon 24 Feb - Sat TV and stage star Les Dennis stars in The Perfect Murder by international best-selling crime thriller novelist 1 Mar Peter James.

See How They Run

Mon 3 - Sat 8 Mar

The comedy of this much-loved farce is heightened by the fact that the cast are all under four foot tall, including Warwick Davis, the most famous short actor in Britain.

Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story

Mon 10 & Tues 11 Mar

The story of Buddy Holly, from his meteoric rise to fame, to his final legendary performance at The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.

The Mummy

Fri 21 - Sat 29 Mar

More dastardly than Dracula and more fearful than Frankenstein, the mother of all horror comedies, The Mummy, comes to Coventry!

A Lady of Little Sense

Weds 26 MarThurs 17 Apr

Part of the Spanish Golden Age Season, A Lady of Little Sense is a big-hearted and hilarious romantic comedy which celebrates the power of love.

Don Gil of the Green Breeches

Thurs 27 March - Sat 19 Apr

The second play in our Spanish Golden Age Season, Don Gil of the Green Breeches, is an exuberant comedy which blends mistaken identity, role-reversal, ghosts, and green trousers.

Punishment Without Revenge

Fri 28 March Sat 19 Apr

Punishment Without Revenge is a dark and thrilling drama which finalises our Spanish Golden Age Season.

Check our What’s On guide or visit www.belgrade.co.uk for more details.

A peek at Pygmalion Alistair McGowan, Rula Lenska and Jamie Foreman will star in the centenary year production of Bernard Shaw’s enduring masterpiece, Pygmalion, directed by Tony award-winning David Grindley.

The story follows the aristocratic and pompous Professor Henry Higgins, who makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can transform the manners and speech of cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle and pass her off as a society lady.

We got hold of these exclusive photos of the cast in costume.

Don’t miss Pygmalion on the Main Stage from Mon 12 to Sat 17 May.

Book Now 024 7655 3055 or via www.belgrade.co.uk

The Belgrade Theatre is a registered charity, no. 219163

Packed with a host of larger-than-life characters, including Alfred Doolittle and lovelorn Freddy Eynsford-Hill, this classic British drama is perhaps best known as the inspiration for the musical My Fair Lady.