We sat down with director David Brady to discuss Flashbang, a critically acclaimed, award-nominated story of friendship, loyalty, and what happens when everything falls apart - inspired by the people of Coventry.
What drew you to Flashbang?
Flashbang was created in the Summer of 2020 – (right in the middle of the pandemic!) with all of our projects cancelled and time to create new stories we wanted to create a new piece of work that felt much closer to home than anything we’d worked on before. The story behind Flashbang – about 5 best mates (and the town that they grew up in) felt very natural to create. As the show has grown we’ve seen less than positive portrayals of young men (think Adolescence etc) over the last few years on TV and even fewer examples in theatre – Flashbang is as a relative outlier of a positive portrayal of the experience of growing up somewhere that very definitely isn’t London that we hope audiences will relate to.
How did Coventry and its culture influence the direction and feel of the show?
I was born and brought up in Coventry, and although I’ve lived in London for a while I’m back very often. I’m struck by how little people write stories about normal people living in unusual circumstances. Coventry has a real “little city energy” which means that outsiders are often dismissive of where we come from but if you’re from the City – you’re fiercely protective of it – and we wanted to capture something of that energy – the fierce loyalty that people have for their home town and their mates without ever wanting to be anywhere else. It’s not often that you see stories about cities like Coventry, and while some of the genre stuff like One Night in November or Three Minute Heroes are brilliant – nobody really writes about “normal” life in cities like Coventry so we wanted to capture some of that too.
The play moves between wild nights and deep emotional moments – how did you bring that rollercoaster energy to the stage?
Flashbang is the story of five best mates and hurtles from their memories of their earliest days in primary school to the young men that they are today through an incident which happens in the show which changes all of their lives forever. It’s a story about how young men in their early twenties handle friendship, grief and finding their own place in the world – with humour, relatability, and shows what to do when something goes horribly wrong and how they may not necessarily have all the tools to cope with what happens when the world explodes around you. The show’s got a very specific format which never stops moving – and our brilliant actors hit the stage running at the start of the show and don’t stop till it finishes – so its got a really lovely pace and energy to it.
How did you collaborate with the other creatives to bring the characters and their friendship to life?
I’m blessed to be able to work with a brilliant creative team – the actors bring such humour and emotion to their characters and I know you’ll fall in love with them like I did. I’m also very lucky to work with the brilliant Lucy Glassbrook who is our Movement Director (also from the Midlands!) and Gregory Jordan who is our incredible technical director. We’ve worked hard together to bring the world of the show and each of them bring their own talents to the show. We’re also very lucky to have been supported by Ross Kernahan – who is our brilliant production photographer, and the team at Chewboy Productions who have helped bring the visuals of the world to life in all of our pre-show promo. We’ve all worked together a long time now – so the show has evolved with us over the last few years.
If someone from Coventry came to see Flashbang, what little details or moments do you think they’d instantly recognise?
The “Flashbang” of the title happens somewhere very Coventry-specific, which you’ll recognise when you see the show, but there’s references throughout that you’ll recognise. There’s a very fun nightclub scene which is very definitely inspired by nights out at the Colly, and lots of mysterious references to a ring road, the Eastern by-pass, and a certain football team that won a very big football competition a very long time ago (and have never let the world forget it!)
What song instantly puts you back in your Cov era?
The best bits of the Flashbang Spotify playlist include some Cov-specific songs (how could we ignore The Enemy?) but there’s also some brilliant songs by Rudimental, Hard-Fi, the Kaiser Chiefs, Swedish House Mafia, The Streets and The Fratellis – so if you imagine THAT sort of lads night out you’re on the right track (no pun intended!)
What do you hope audiences take away after watching Flashbang?
That your best mates will always be there to catch you if you fail (or if you fall), that going to the theatre can introduce you to some of the best stories about where you come from, and that growing up in a small city twenty miles down the road isn’t so bad after all 😉
If you could sum up Flashbang in three words, what would they be?
Honest, Generous, Ours.
Flashbang runs at the Belgrade from Thu 7 – Sat 9 May 2026.