With Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre marking its 60th anniversary in 2018, celebrations are set to get into full swing this summer with an ambitious performance takeover of the nearby CET Building. Running 10-14 July, a unique mini-festival titled Read All About It! will bring professional performers from Mercurial Dance together with the Belgrade’s own community companies for two site-specific shows inspired by the city’s diverse history.
In City Final, six groups led by the Belgrade’s Community & Education team invite audiences on a journey back in time to the days when the building was filled with the hustle and bustle of busy newsrooms. Drawing on stories covered by the Coventry Telegraph over the years, a series of short performances will fill multiple floors of the building in a large-scale promenade experience. As well as reliving headlines from across the decades, the show also offers audiences the chance to explore the building itself for one last time before a major redevelopment sees it transformed into a hotel later in the year.
Meanwhile, in Retold, acclaimed West Midlands-based dance company Mercurial Dance take over the building’s foyer area in an interactive, cabaret-style show. Real-life memories supplied by members of the community will be brought to life by a professional and community cast using dance and music, allowing audiences to bear witness to the many ways that Coventry has changed across the decades as it approaches its year as City of Culture in 2021.
Ahead of their performances this summer, Mercurial Dance are also offering you the chance to be part of the Retold project by getting in touch to share your stories of the city. Choreographer and director Oliver Scott is calling on Coventrians to send in their favourite tales and anecdotes to be used as the basis for shows running throughout the week. In particular, he’s keen to hear about memorable moments spent in the city; favourite places in Coventry and why; stories from the past; and where you were during significant events that have taken place here.
There are several ways to take part, depending on how you like to communicate. You can email your stories to [email protected], or write a letter to Mercurial Dance, 11a Coventry Canal Basin, Leicester Row, CV1 4LH. You can also get in touch via Facebook (www.facebook.com/mercurialdance), Instagram (www.instagram.com/mercurialdance) or Twitter @MercurialD, using #RetoldCov and #CETtakeover.
Retold and City Final will run jointly as part of Read All About It! at the Coventry Evening Telegraph Building on Corporation Street on from Tuesday 10 until Saturday 14 July. Tickets and additional information will be available soon at www.belgrade.co.uk.
