Coventry's Belgrade Theatre Sets Full Autumn, Winter Season

Coventry's Belgrade Theatre has today announced full details of the shows to feature in its Autumn 2015 Season which include the U.K premiere of Crush, a new musical-comedy by Maureen Chadwick and a new stage adaptation of Iain Seraillier's The Silver Sword.

Autumn 2015 Highlights

Set in an all-girl's boarding school at the dawn of the swinging sixties, Crush is a sizzling new musical comedy from the pen of Maureen Chadwick (creator and writer of hit TV dramas Waterloo Road, Footballers' Wives and Bad Girls) with music and lyrics by Kath Gotts (Bad Girls The Musical and The Realness).

Crush will make its UK premiere on the Belgrade Main Stage from Fri 4 - Sat 19 Sept 2015. The show will then play Theatre Royal Brighton (22-26 Sept) and Richmond Theatre (29 Sept - 3 Oct). Crush is presented by Big Broad Productions, in co-production with the Belgrade Theatre Coventry.

Ian Seraillier's highly acclaimed and much-loved children's novel, The Silver Sword, will receive its world stage premiere at Coventry's Belgrade Theatre from Sat 26 Sept - Sat 3 Oct before embarking on a UK Tour in Autumn 2015.

Set in the immediate aftermath of WWII, The Silver Sword follows the Polish Balicki children's search for their parents as Europe is divided up and displaced people return to their homelands. During their adventures they cross paths with people from every nation as well as animals such as Jimpy the cockerel, Bistro the chimpanzee and Ludwig the dog.

Make-believe, music and magic come together on the Main Stage with the return of the Belgrade's legendary pantomime, Beauty and The Beast from Wed 25 Nov - Sat 9 Jan.

Finding a great Christmas night out that doesn't suck can be a real pain in the neck. Thankfully, the Belgrade's alternative B2 Xmas show is back with added bite this Christmas with a brand new show from the pen of Nick Walker, Vampomime from Sat 5 Dec - Sat 2 Jan.

Young theatre goers can look forward to a festive visit from Imagine Theatre who return to B2 from Thurs 10 - Thurs 24 Dec with their new production of Santa's Rusty Robot, an all-new interactive adventure for ages 2-6 from the pen of children's TV presenter and producer, Iain Lauchlan.

October Festival of Theatre For Children and Families:

From Mon 19 - Sat 31 October, the Belgrade Theatre will be hosting the October Festival of Theatre for Children and Young People featuring some of the best professional theatre around including The Cat in the Hat, Marty MacDonald's Farm, The Snow Dragon plus a selection of TiE productions touring to local schools. For full programme information, see the press release also enclosed.

Touring Productions:

The Belgrade has also announced details of a number of high quality touring productions visiting the theatre this Autumn which include Oscar Wilde's much loved and brilliantly witty comedy The Importance of Being Earnest from Tues 29 Sept - Sat 3 Oct starring Nigel Havers, Christine Kavanagh and Sian Phillips performing as The Bunbury Company of Players.

This will be followed by a visit from Moira Buffini's Olivier award-nominated comedy, Handbagged from Tues 6 - Sat 10 Oct. Having enjoyed smash-hit success on the West End, Handbagged is a wickedly funny new play that opens the clasp on the relationship between two giants of 20th Century politics, Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher.

From the writer of We Love You City and Oh No It Isn't comes a brand new play inspired by whatever major story is dominating the news that week. Running in B2 on Fri 9 & Sat 10 Oct, Our Main Story Tonight is a brand new, topical news show from the pen of acclaimed Coventry playwright Nick Walker.

This will be followed by a new UK tour of The Smallest Show on Earth starring Liza Goddard and Brian Capron from Tues 13 - Sat 17 Oct. Terrence Rattigan's award-winning WW2 biopic Flare Path will visit the Belgrade Main stage from Tues 3 - Sat 7 Nov in a major revival tour directed by Justin Audibert. This is followed by a brand new co-production between Pitch Lake Productions and Tara Arts for Black Theatre Live, She Called Me Mother starring BAFTA-nominated actress Cathy Tyson on Sat 7 Nov. Back by popular demand following a record-breaking week in 2013, Agatha Christie's legendary Box Office smash-hit The Mousetrap returns from Mon 9 - Sat 14 Nov.

Newly announced one night shows this Autumn include the return of feel-good favourite Abba Mania on Wed 23 Sept. Recreating the original soundtrack to the 70s, Les McKeowen stars in The Bay City Rollers on Thurs 24 Sept. Ex-Drifters favourite Roy G Hemmings brings the authentic sound of Motown to Coventry on Fri 25 Sept in the R G Hemmings Motown Show. This will be followed by a visit from ole' blue eyes in Frank Sinatra - The Centennial Concert on Sat 26 Sept, a lavish musical celebration of one of the greatest entertainers of the twentieth century.

Looking Ahead - Winter 2015/16

Following a string of hugely successful classic comedies, the Belgrade Theatre's Artistic Director, Hamish Glen, makes a welcome return to the subject of marriage for his latest production, The Sisterhood from Sat 30 Jan - Sat 20 Feb. Relocated in time from the 17th Century to 1980s France, this wonderfully witty comedy, based on Molière's classic satire Les Femmes Savantes is brought to life afresh in Ranjit Bolt's brilliantly astute and hilariously-observed adaptation. The perfect antidote to the post-Christmas blues!

Newly announced touring shows arriving in Winter 2016 include a repeat visit from Propeller with their fast-moving and visually stunning production of Pocket Dream from Thurs 4 - Sat 6 Feb. Sex, scandal and showbiz combine in glamorous new 1940s musical Miss Nightingale from Tues 9 - Sat 13 Feb, a brand new show against the perilous backdrop of war-torn London.

From the company behind the bestselling Horrible Histories stage shows comes a brand new adaptation of David Walliams' bestselling children's novel Gangsta Granny from Tues 16 - Sat 20 Feb.

Celebrating the life of musical legend Judy Garland, End of the Rainbow is a fiercely funny and emotionally charged new play charting Judy's explosive London comeback at the height of the swinging sixties. Featuring a selection of Garland's most memorable songs, this brand new co-production between the Belgrade Theatre, Paul Taylor-Mills and Mercury Theatre Colchester bursts onto the Belgrade Main Stage from Tues 23 - Sat 27 Feb.

This will be followed by a visit from West End diva and star of I'd Do Anything Jodie Prenger in a new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black's West End and Broadway hit, Tell Me On A Sunday on Thurs 10 Mar.

For a full list of one night concerts, please see the Autumn/Winter 2015 brochure enclosed. For tickets, call the Belgrade Theatre Box Office on 024 7655 3055 or visit the website www.belgrade.co.uk where cheaper tickets are available.

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