Midday Variety Thurs 10 Oct & Thurs 7 Nov Performance times: 1.30pm Tickets: £13 (no further concessions) Pre meal deal: £10 (advance booking essential) This is Coventry’s best variety show with an all-star line-up hosted by top Midland’s comic Malcolm Stent: Thurs 10 Oct – Headlining this great show is top TV comedian Mick Miller, support by singing virtuoso’s Andante and music by the Martyn St James band. Thurs 7 Nov – Back by popular demand is big band crooner Matt Ford. Support comes from multi-instrumentalist Andy Eastwood with live music by the Fast Lane Orchestra.
Hall and Childs Ltd in association with The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry and Paul Tyrer and Jamie Clark for The Booking Office Ltd Present Kindertransport by Diane Samuels Directed by Andrew Hall Weds 23 – Sat 26 Oct Performance times: Evenings: 7.45pm Matinees: Thurs and Sat, 2.30pm Tickets: £8.75 - £20.75 Concessions apply In Germany in 1938, as the clouds of war gather, a desperate mother forces her nine year old daughter onto a train, sending Eva out of danger and into the arms of strangers. In England, decades later, another mother reluctantly prepares for the departure of her grown-up daughter, as Faith severs the ties of childhood. Then a chance discovery opens an unhealed wound and a long-buried secret is revealed. The bittersweet experience of every parent as they try to teach their child to survive alone unites these women across the decades. “...the best play about the pain and passion of mother/daughter relationships...” The Guardian
Our House Mon 28 Oct – Sat 2 Nov Performance times: Evenings: 7.45pm Matinees: Weds 30 Oct & Sat 2 Nov, 2.30pm Tickets: £18.25 - £31.25
Winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical Inspired by the music of Madness, this raucous musical comedy is an uplifting tale of life and love, heartbreak and hilarity, good and bad, set in London’s famous Camden Town in the mid-‘80s. It’s Joe Casey’s 16th birthday and tonight’s the night he’s treating his girlfriend Sarah to an evening in a brand new luxury apartment - the only problem is he has to break in! When the police turn up Joe has to decide – run away or face the music – a choice that will set the course of his life, and his love, forever. Bringing together one of the most successful British writers with one of the best loved British bands, Our House will have you laughing, crying and dancing in the aisles. Using some of the greatest hits from the mighty Madness back catalogue including: Our House, Baggy Trousers, My Girl, Driving in My Car, The Wings of a Dove, Night Boat to Cairo and the all-time classic It Must Be Love, you’d be mad to miss it! Our House is written by Tim Firth whose work includes the record-breaking Calendar Girls, Kinky Boots, Preston Front and Neville’s Island. “Brilliant entertainment.” The Telegraph
Aliens Love Underpants Fri 8 & Sat 9 Nov Performance Times: Fri: 1:30pm Sat: 10.30am and 12:00pm Tickets: Fri: Adult £14.50, Child £10.75, Family £37 Sat: Adult £16, Child £12.75, Family £43 Schools: £9.50 Concessions apply Aliens love underpants. Of every shape and size. But there are no underpants in space. So here’s a big surprise! Based on the best-selling children’s book, this zany and hilarious tale is delightfully brought to life on stage for the very first time. With stunning effects, madcap action, original music (and lots of aliens of course!), this fantastically fresh and funny production will delight the whole family. You’ll laugh your pants off!
Ha Ha Holmes Starring Joe Pasquale Tues 12 Nov Performance times: Evenings: 7.45pm Tickets: £21.25 Concessions Apply
You’d be absolutely barking to miss this pipe-smoking new show as Holmes and Watson embark on their most dangerous adventure yet...hunting down the Hound of the Baskervilles! It’s elementary! It’s also downright hilarious as comedy national treasure Joe Pasquale takes on the lead role in the ultimate Sherlock Holmes spoof.
Fascinating Aida: Charm Offensive Weds 13 Nov Performance Times: Evening 7:45pm Tickets: £17.25, £21, £24 Concessions apply Following Cheap Flights, their massively successful sold-out tour, Britain's best comedy trio and global internet sensation Fascinating Aida bring their brand new show to Coventry. Newly invigorated by over ten million YouTube hits, Dillie Keane, Adele Anderson and Liza Pullman take to the road once again with a selection of old and new songs to celebrate 30 years of being at the top of the cabaret tree. 'The magnificent Fascinating Aida is sharp enough to be considered a dangerous weapon’ Daily Telegraph
Moscow Ballet Sleeping Beauty Thurs 14 – Sat 16 Nov Performance times: Evening 7:45pm Matinee: Sat 16, 2.30pm Tickets: £17.25 – £27 Concessions apply Tchaikovsky’s sumptuous music fills the air with wondrous characters coming to life before your very eyes. Fairytale characters are abound alongside a King, a Queen, good and evil fairies, fairies of gold, silver, diamonds and sapphire plus the inevitable handsome Prince. This is the story of Princess Aurora, The Sleeping Beauty - a tale lovingly retold and performed here at the Belgrade magnificently by Russia’s finest, Moscow Ballet - La Classique.
Big Girls Don’t Cry Thurs 16 Jan 2014 Performance times: 7.45pm Tickets: £15.25 – £22
The iconic sound of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons are recreated in this feelgood concert. With four phenomenal singers and a fantastic live band playing hits like Bye Bye Baby, Silence is Golden, Working My Way Back To You Babe and December, 1963 (Oh What a Night).
An Evening of Burlesque Fri 17 Jan 2014 Performance times: Evening: 7:45pm Tickets: £19.75, £22.50, £27 Concessions apply Britain’s biggest burlesque extravaganza returns for its third, sizzling spectacular. For 2014 a fresh cast of burlesque stars are unveiled in this riotous romp from the bizarre world of burlesque to cutting-edge variety. It’s the slickest, wickedly wittiest and most delightfully staged cabaret. Over 18’s only.
Abba Mania Sat 18 Jan 2014 Performance Times: Evening: 7.45pm Tickets: £18.75, £21.50, £26 Concessions apply Abba Mania is accepted as the world’s number one touring ABBA production. Looking for an excuse to party, reminisce or be entertained by the best music ever? Then Abba Mania is for you! Enjoy all your favourites such as Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen, Super Trouper and many more, Dig out those platforms, dust down those flares and thank ABBA for the music.
OperaUpClose present La Traviata Tues 21 Jan 2014 Performance times: Evening: 7.45pm Tickets: £15.25, £18.25, £22 Concessions apply. Following the huge success of their first visit with La Bohème, Olivier Award-winning Company OperaUpClose return with Verdi’s La Traviata. This new version of Violetta’s story, a so-called ‘fallen woman’ who sacrifices her own happiness for the sake of her lover, is set in the era of speakeasies and bootlegging.
One Night of Elvis
Wed 22 Jan 2014 Performance times: Evening: 7:45pm Tickets: £17.25, £21, £24 Concessions apply. Lee Memphis King, Europe’s most successful Elvis Presley tribute artist presents the ultimate tribute to the King celebrating the entire career of the musical legend. Backed by a world class band and featuring large screen projection, this is the largest Elvis show to tour UK theatres. Prepare to be enthralled and spend one night with Elvis.
Circus of Horrors: London After Midnight Thurs 23 Jan 2014 Performance times: Evening: 7:45pm Tickets: £19.75, £22.50, £27 Concessions apply. The Circus of Horrors presents what is undoubtedly its greatest show to date London after Midnight. The show that stormed into the finals of Britain’s Got Talent is back with an aweinspiring rock n roller coaster of show that flys like a bat out of hell to celebrate an astounding 18 years of shock n’ roll. Ever since it’s conception at the 1995 Glastonbury Festival the show has toured the World achieving cult status and dragging circus screaming and shouting into the 21st century and beyond. The new sensation is inspired by the legendary & sinister lost movie ‘London after Midnight’ and is packed with new shocks will take you on a whirlwind journey though a plague ridden London in 1665 & culminating during the great fire of London in 1666. The story will twist & turn as 5 murders are committed in various London landmarks, each one becoming more & more horrific and all intermingled with some of the greatest, most daring, bizarre & beautiful circus acts on earth. From sword swallowers to dare devil balancing acts, from hair hangers to demon dwarfs, from a pickled person to astounding ariel acts, all performed with a forked tongue firmly in each cheek by an almighty cast & the devil driven rock n’ roll of Dr Haze & The Interceptors from Hell. If Quentin Tarantino had directed Cirque Du Soleil then you would be only half way there. ‘Completely wowed the audience’ The Daily Mail
The Rat Pack is Back Fri 24 Jan 2014 Performance times: Evening: 7.45pm Tickets: £19.75 - £27 Concessions apply The Rat Pack is Back perfectly captures the music, comedy and personalities of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davies Jr and Dean Martin – the original Las Vegas legends. Featuring the classics I’ve Got You Under My Skin, The Lady is a Tramp, The Candy Man and many more.
Magic of Motown Sat 25 Jan 2014 Performance times: Evening: 7.45pm Tickets: £20.25 - £27.75 Concessions apply Direct from the States, the biggest Motown concert tour in the UK returns, featuring 36 hits from The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Lionel Ritchie. An all new show with original Detroit sounds costumes and great choreography.
The Belgrade Theatre and Riding Lights Theatre Company present The Alchemist By Ben Jonson Sat 1 – Sat 22 Feb 2014 Performance times: Evenings: 7.30pm except Tues 4 Feb, 7pm Matinees: Weds 2 & 19 and Sats 8, 15 & 22 Feb, 2.45pm Previews: Sat 1 & Mon 3 Feb, all tickets £8.75 Tickets: £8.75 – £18.75 Schools: £7.25 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. A full range of alternative services is offered to the citizens who beat a furtive path to their door – anything from the secret of eternal youth, to that recipe of recipes which will turn a tin can into bankable gold. Masters of the ludicrous disguise, the team of con-artists find their multiple deceptions spiralling out of control, until they receive some alarming news... Jonson's brilliant satire burns away the dross, exposing a society whose obsessions make it vulnerable to any well-worked scam. This explosive production of The
Alchemist from Riding Lights, especially revived for Coventry, is fast, furious, feisty and very, very funny. 'Exhilarating comedy... A highly accessible and glittering production' The Stage
Propeller – A Midsummer Night’s Dream & The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare Sat 11 – Sat 15 Feb 2014 Performance times: The Comedy of Errors Evenings: Tues 11 & Fri 14, 7.30pm Matinee: Sat 15, 2pm Post Show Discussion: Fri 14 Feb A Midsummer Night’s Dream Evenings: Weds 12, Thurs 13 & Sat 15, 7.30pm Matinee: Thurs 13, 2pm Post Show Discussion: Thurs 13 Feb Tickets: £11 - £25 Schools: £8 - £11 Concessions apply Edward Hall’s all-male company will have you rolling in the aisles and leave you breathless with disbelief with this contrasting pair of comedies. Nobody does Shakespeare like Propeller! Propeller’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream has enchanted packed houses all over the world. In Shakespeare’s most magical play, love and illusion collide when two pairs of lovers become entangled in fairy mischief on the eve of a Royal Wedding. Dreams and reality become interchangeable and romantic chaos ensues. Seeing really is believing! In Shakespeare’s smartest and most farcical play, The Comedy of Errors, two sets of estranged twins, separated at birth, find themselves in the same city 25 years later with hilarious consequences. A series of mistaken identities, assumed personas, and wild mishaps bring a family crisis – so complicated that time itself loses the plot – into heart-warming focus. Fortunately the audience is always one step ahead... “Every performance is fantastic… It really is magic.” **** The Guardian
Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain Tues 18 – Sat 22 Feb 2014 Performance times: Evenings: 7pm Matinees: Weds 19, Thurs 20, Fri 21 & Sat 22, 2.30pm Tickets: Adults: £14.25 to £18.75 Children: £9.50 to £14.75
Family tickets: £36 to £52 W all want to meet people from history. The trouble is everyone is dead! So it’s time to prepare yourselves for Horrible Histories live on stage with Barmy Britain, direct from the West End. Can you beat battling Boudicca? Has William Wallace met his match? Would you lose your heart or head to horrible Henry? Can evil Elizabeth entertain England? Will Parliament survive gunpowder Guy? Can King Charles keep his head? Would you stand and deliver to dastardly Dick Turpin? Escape the clutches of Burke and Hare, dare to dance the Tyburn jig, move to the groove with Queen Elizabeth and prepare to battle in the frightful First World War.
Ready Steady Cook - Live on Stage Mon 10 & Tues 11 March 2014 Performance times: Evenings: 7:45pm Tickets: £25.25 Concessions apply. One of Britain’s most successful TV cookery shows ‘Ready Steady Cook’ is coming to the Belgrade Theatre in its first ever live show. Fronted by Chef Lesley Waters, and featuring some top TV chefs – plus a Celebrity Host – Ready Steady Cook Live! will include all your favourite elements of the TV show, including the red tomatoes and green peppers, and the ‘Quickie Bag’!
Brassed Off Weds 23 – Sat 26 April 2014 Performance times: Evenings: 7.45pm Matinees: Thurs 24 & Sat 16, 2.30pm Tickets: £16.25 - £31 Concessions apply It is 1992, Grimley Colliery faces the threat of closure and the future of the brass band seems uncertain. With the miners torn between redundancy packages and the picket lines, band-leader Danny’s hopes of winning the national brass band competition seem like a distant dream. But the arrival of flugelhorn-playing Gloria brings hope, romance and controversy to the Yorkshire brass band on the brink of collapse. Featuring rousing live music, including Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Jerusalem, Brassed Off is a funny and heart-warming drama which reaches stirring heights as a locally cast Brass Band performs the final scene. This production coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Miners' Strike of 1984.