To honour the twelve days of Christmas the Belgrade Theatre are sharing twelve stories that demonstrate the charitable activities of the Belgrade Theatre. In the spirit of giving gifts over the Christmas period you might like to make a donation to the Belgrade Theatre (registered charity 219163) to continue this work. The 12 stories begin on Christmas Day and run until 5 January 2012.
The 12 stories of the Belgrade depict a few of the charitable activities that take place on a daily basis at the Belgrade Theatre and make it easier to understand why the Belgrade Theatre is a registered charity (number 219163)
As a charity, the Belgrade Theatre is committed to using the performing arts to offer the people of Coventry and Warwickshire the very best entertaining, educational and thought-provoking productions, and to develop our creative professionals to ensure a successful future for the Arts.
The funding to allow this to be achieved is found from a variety of sources including, Coventry City Council and Arts Council, ticket sales, secondary spend (such as ice-creams and programmes). In recent years the Belgrade has begun to increase its income though commercial activities, we have a set construction company; Belgrade Production Services that are commissioned to build sets and costumes for other theatres, to make use of our facilities we hire out the Belgrade from Events and Conferences during quiet periods. We also actively fundraise for projects through various methods including corporate sponsorship and donations from grant making organisations and individuals.
All of this means that we can continue to offer the people of Coventry high quality theatre and participatory arts activities at the lowest price.
Danielle Ismay’s behaviour had left her at risk of exclusion from school and put on a curfew, but after being referred by her school to Acting Out at the Belgrade, she began to focus her energies in a new direction.
Danielle said, “I started coming to sessions at the Belgrade once a week after getting into trouble at school and it really changed my life.”
Danielle was even chosen to take part in a professional Main Stage production of The House of Bernarda Alba when the director, Gadi Roll, decided to cast some young local actors in one of the play’s most visually stunning scenes.
Former Belgrade Drama Worker, Lisa Byrne, said “Danielle had a bit of a shaky start with Acting Out, but once she settled she began to improve massively. She began to feel very proud of her work and as a result she began to flourish. Her passion, determination and love of the work all contributed to her fantastic results, achieving distinctions in both her acting and dance certificates.”
Since first opening in 1958, the Belgrade has played an important role in developing creative professionals. In the ’60s and ’70s, Coventry was the place to be if you were an aspiring young actor. The work that we produce today is once again challenging the boundaries of British theatre and the actors that we are working with today will be the UK’s much loved and respected performers in 20 years’ time. We are heavily investing in the future of British arts.
Ian McKellen: It all started for Sir Ian McKellen in 1961 when he got his first job in a Belgrade production of A Man for All Seasons. He went on to appear in 15 Belgrade productions before moving on to perform in theatres around the country including the National Theatre and the RSC.
Throughout his career he has also appeared in numerous Hollywood blockbusters such as X-Men, Gods and Monsters, for which his performance was Oscar-nominated, and the multi-award winning Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Recalling his time at the Belgrade Theatre, Sir Ian said the Belgrade “offered me the highest salary of eight pounds and ten shillings a week to play as cast. I had a wonderful time; I relished having such a wide range of roles from Shakespeare and Agatha Christie to Chekhov, and working with some fantastic people like Leonard Rossiter.”
Critical Mass is the Belgrade’s playwriting course and was first developed in 2008 in partnership with the Royal Court London and The Drum in Birmingham. The programme offers young people from Coventry’s BME communities the opportunity to work with professional playwrights and dramaturges to develop their own script. After successfully completing the Critical Mass playwriting course, participants are given the opportunity to showcase their work to an audience in the B2 auditorium, enabling their words and imagination come to life on stage.
“I feel empowered and fortunate to have had this experience” – Critical Mass participant.
Clive Owen developed his passion for acting in the Belgrade Youth Theatre appearing in numerous Belgrade productions such as Bartholomew Fayre in 1979 and The Prisoner in 1982. Since then he has enjoyed a hugely successful and varied acting career with roles in a string of box-office hits including the title role in King Arthur, The Bourne Identity, Children of Men and Gosford Park. In 2004 he won a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award and a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his appearance in the drama Closer, in which he starred alongside Jude Law, Julia Roberts and Natalie Portman. He is currently preparing to play the role of Ernest Hemingway in a film about his life alongside Nicole Kidman.
Clive revisited the Belgrade earlier this year and said, “I had heard about the groundbreaking work that the Belgrade is delivering for and with young people, and I wanted to find out more, since this is where it all began for me. The work that the theatre is doing is genuinely transforming the lives of young people – providing them with creative opportunities, building their confidence, offering qualifications, giving them a voice in the city – I was very impressed with the range and quality of the current programmes. I know what an impact participating in such activity can have on a young person’s life – the Belgrade Youth Theatre made me realise just how passionate I was about acting – without that outlet, things could have worked out very differently for me, and I probably wouldn’t be an actor today.”
The ambition of the artistic policy and the quality of the Theatre’s work over recent years has led to a transformation of its reputation in the Profession, enabling the Belgrade to attract co-producing partners including English Touring Theatre, The Traverse Theatre Edinburgh, Arcola Theatre London and Talking Birds.
Hamish Glen, Artistic Director of the Belgrade mixes productions of local relevance with those of a European repertoire of work to reflect Coventry’s internationalism and its unique position as the city of Peace and Reconciliation.
This season he has programmed two productions that explore the nature of marriage and the question of where the power lies between the parties. The battle of the sexes and the role of women in the family are explored this season in the Belgrade’s productions of Nora, which is writer Ingmar Bergman’s spellbinding adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Strindberg’s The Father, which was written as a response to A Doll’s House. These issues are timeless and are as relevant today as they were when the plays were originally written.
In 1965, the Belgrade formed the first ever Theatre in Education company, a company dedicated to using theatrical performance and drama workshops to explore issues of cultural, social, political and moral significance as part of a free service to schools and the young people of Coventry.
It was a groundbreaking project and word soon spread to other UK theatres and beyond. To this day it is an ongoing international success story, which continues to benefit millions of young people all over the world.
The Belgrade currently runs one TiE project on an annual basis, Big School, a project about transition from Primary to Secondary school. According to recent research , 90% of Primary School pupils have concerns about going to Secondary School. These concerns include bullying, getting lost in the school, the arrival of regular homework and exams as well as experiencing peer pressure to do certain activities such as smoking or drug taking.
With this many young people having fears and concerns about this stage of their lives, the Belgrade alongside Coventry’s Local Education Authority began the Big School productions in 1998 as a way of easing the fears and allowing the pupils to voice their concerns to people other than their fellow classmates.
The Belgrade is currently working alongside Coventry City Council to identify key issues to be tackled regarding teenage pregnancy and sexual health in Coventry. Together with a group of young parents, the Belgrade will produce a film about the ups and downs of parenting that will be shown in secondary schools throughout Coventry, alongside a series of lesson plans that will use drama to teach sexual health.
Also part of this project was the Belgrade Young Company’s recent production of Spring Awakening, which aimed to highlight the importance of good communication in promoting sexual health and helping combat teenage pregnancy, the rates for which are extremely high in Coventry. The theatre also organised a free event with the city council called The Big Conversation, which provided young people, parents and carers with the opportunity to debate issues surrounding sexual health.
The Belgrade Theatre provides opportunities for people of all ages to engage with theatre and the arts. Its new project Creative Gymnasium (50+) is an exciting participatory arts project specifically designed for people aged 50 years old and over. Developed by the Belgrade Theatre and in partnership with Age UK, this project will provide opportunities for people aged 50 and over to meet, develop new creative skills and then share them with others.
Participants explore a range of physical creative exercises, as well as taking part in group discussion, and delving into the art of storytelling and reminiscence theatre. This will culminate with the creation of a brand new performance which will see participants use the skills they have developed to create a production which not only reflects the 50+ community in Coventry, but is also based on individual experiences.
The Belgrade Theatre has recently started a creative apprenticeship scheme, which aims to develop the next generation of theatre professionals.
The Belgrade’s creative apprenticeship scheme has filled eight positions in the areas of theatre operations, wardrobe, lighting, customer services, sound, marketing and community arts. Offered in conjunction with Stratford upon Avon College and Heart of England Training, the new 11-month apprenticeship posts will provide paid, hands-on experience.
At the end of the course the apprentices will have gained a wealth of knowledge about working in a theatre and a level two qualification in their specified area.
Janthi Mills, General Manager at the Belgrade added: “The theatre is committed to offering apprentice opportunities across the wide spectrum of different departments and professions available in the arts. By offering hands on training we can ensure we are building an appropriate and fit for purpose workforce for the future while also tapping into new and fresh ideas.”
We offer the people of Coventry and Warwickshire the opportunity to see some of the country’s best drama, musicals, comedy and music, without having to travel far to see them. David Jane, Commercial Director says, “The people of the city have the right to be able to come and see these productions at as reasonable a price as we are able to offer. Due to the cost of staging these productions, the Belgrade, like many other theatres, only receives on average 5% of the ticket price, with the rest being used to pay the touring company and the direct production costs. The theatre relies on its public subsidy to maintain its building and staff without having to charge much higher prices to the public.”
This season we have Propeller returning with The Winter’s Tale and Henry V, Peter Shaffer’s award winning psychological thriller Equus, Bill Kenwright’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and the hilarious Avenue Q amongst many more.
Award winning director Sir Trevor Nunn began his career at the Belgrade Theatre in 1962 when he won the ABC Director’s Scholarship to become a trainee director for the theatre. It was here that he learnt his craft before being selected to become Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. “The first really big production I did, Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle, was a show that London reviewers came and talked terribly enthusiastically about”.
Trevor returned to the Belgrade Theatre during the reopening season in 2008 to direct Scenes from A Marriage in the B2 auditorium.
The work that the Belgrade produces itself is unique to Coventry. After much consideration and consultation, our Artistic Director, Hamish Glen, chose a European repertoire of work to reflect Coventry’s internationalism and its unique position as the city of Peace and Reconciliation. Work such as One Night in November, We Love You City and Too Much Pressure highlighted specific moments in Coventry’s history.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Coventry City Football Club winning the FA Cup, the Belgrade Theatre are restaging We Love You City so that the fans can relive that infamous day over again.
