Issue Nine Spring/Summer 2011

Friends of the Belgrade Theatre benefit from receiving 20% off individual tickets.See back page for season diary.Book Now 024 7655 3055 or via www.belgrade.co.uk

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I hope you will all agree that we’ve put together a fantastic season of home produced shows for you this Autumn/Winter.

First up is Bomber’s Moon which will be playing in B2 from Sat 10 Sept to Sat 1 oct. written by william Ivory, who also wrote the hit film Made in Dagenham and the recent BBC 4 adaptation of D.H Lawrence’s Women in Love, this new play is all about hidden memories, dark secrets

and the nature of faith, told through the eyes of former RAF gunner Jimmy and his new care assistant, David.

This Christmas our spectacular pantomime will return to the Main Stage from Tues 29 Nov to Sat 7 Jan 2012 with Coventry’s favourite Dame, Andy Hockley, taking on the role of Mother Goose, and over in B2 the festive cheer continues with this year’s B2 Xmas Show, Crackers by Forbes Masson, which will be running from Mon 12 to Sat 24 Dec. In true B2 Xmas Show style, this specially commissioned show promises a unique combination of festive fun and live music especially for grown-ups.

The fourth and final home produced show of the season will be Nora, which is Ingmar Bergman’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Playing in B2 from Sat 28 Jan to Sat 18 Feb 2012, this classic story tells the timeless tale of a prim and proper housewife whose seemingly perfect world comes crashing down around her.

As ever we’ve got some great visiting shows with us this season including The Royal National Theatre’s The Pitmen Painters, R.C Sherriff’s Journey’s End and the innovative A Play, a Pie and a Pint series.

I hope you all have a great summer and I look forward to seeing you here for the new season.Hamish GlenArtistic Director, Belgrade Theatre

Shows Dates Overview

Bomber’s Moon Sat 10 Sept – Sat 1 oct

Former RAF gunner Jimmy and his new care assistant, David, have both been through the wars - and both have the scars to prove it. whilst Jimmy is facing his final battle, against old age and infirmity, David is desperate to build a new future and lay his past to rest.

The Pitmen Painters Mon 12 – Sat 17 SeptExamining the lives of a group of ordinary men that do extraordinary things, The Pitmen Painters is a humorous, deeply moving and timely look at art, class and politics.

Charles Ross: One Man Star Wars Trilogy

Tues 20 SeptThe One-Man Star Wars™ Trilogy sees Charles Ross single-handedly play all the characters, sing the music, fly the ships, fight the battles and condense the plots into just 60 minutes

The Johnny Cash Road Show wed 21 SeptFeaturing Clive John as the ‘Man in Black’ performing all his classic hits, including Ring of Fire, I Walk the Line, Hurt plus many more.

T. Rextasy Thurs 22 SeptT. Rextasy are officially recognised as the world’s number one group dedicated to the greatest glam rocker of them all. So whip out your platforms and Get it on!

Julian Sands stars in “A celebration of Harold Pinter”

Fri 23 Sept

This intimate and personal celebration is drawn largely from Pinter’s poems and political prose. Combined with anecdotes and stories, Sands explores how Pinter’s poetry - rather than his plays - delivers a profound insight into the Nobel laureate’s literary legacy.

Fascinating Aida The Cheap Flights Tour

Sat 24 Sept

Three times olivier Award nominated and now a world-wide internet sensation, Fascinating Aida is still Britain’s best comedy cabaret trio. This brand new show will include their infamous anthem to budget travel Cheap Flights.

Season’s Greetings Mon 26 Sept – Sat 1 oct

It’s Christmas at Belinda and Neville’s house, a time for family and friends to come together and celebrate the festivities... and celebrate they do! Take one frustrated wife, add a seductive stranger, two eccentric uncles and a mechanical monkey, and watch the hilarity unfold in Ayckbourn’s explosive festive treat.

Season Talk with Hamish Glen, Artistic Director Date: Tuesday 2 August Time: 3pm Meeting Place: Box Office

Hamish Glen will host a talk about the new Autumn/winter 2011 season he has programmed for the Belgrade and how he is putting Coventry back on the nation’s cultural map.

To book for this event please call 024 7684 7658 or email friends@belgrade.co.uk

Look out for a Friends event that is being arranged around Bomber’s Moon. This will take place some time in September although the exact details and date are yet to be confirmed. once the rehearsal schedule has been finalised an invite will be sent out.

Don’t forget Heritage Open Day on Sat 10 September from 10am. There will be all kinds of events going on throughout the day so make sure you pop in. Check our website or call Box office on 027 7655 3055 for more details.

Exclusive Friends of the Belgrade Theatre Events

Hamish Glen looks ahead to Autumn/Winter 2011

Friends with Benefits...

Signatures at the Belgradewhether you’re seeing a show or just dropping by, whether you’re arriving early or staying late, the new Signatures at the Belgrade Café Bar and Restaurant can offer the perfect atmosphere in which

to relax and enjoy a high-quality range of food and drink.

For more information call Signatures at the Belgrade on 024 7684 6762 or go online at www.belgrade.co.uk

a t t h e B e l g r a d e

C a f é B a r & R e s t a u r a n t

As part of your Friends of the Belgrade Membership, you are entitled to 20% off the following shows. * Discount is valid on 1 ticket if you have a Single Membership and 2 tickets if you have a Joint Membership.

Exclusive Friends of the Belgrade Theatre Events

As we embark on another brand new season, here’s a quick reminder of the benefits of being a Friend of the Belgrade Theatre.

• 20% off selected shows (see diary below)

• 10% off at the theatre’s Signatures restaurant, café and bars

• 48 hours advanced notice and priority booking at the start of every season

• NEW As of this season Friends can now book their tickets online

we’ve also teamed up with some local organisations to enable you to keep receiving excellent discounts outside of the theatre including:

• 10% off food and beverages at Coombe Abbey Hotel

• 10% off food and beverages at Stresa Restaurant and Bar at Ramada Hotel & Suites, Coventry

• 10% off at food and beverages at Wroxall Abbey Estate

Calvin Slater Head of the Stage Department.

How long have you worked here?

I started as a casual worker in 2004.

How did you get into your job?

I had been working in the west End and after moving back to Coventry I knew some people who worked here so I started as a stage hand and have been here ever since.

What are the most exciting and challenging parts of your job?

All shows are different so it is always a new challenge to fit them into our spaces.

Have you ever experienced any real disasters?

Thankfully no.

What are your favourite shows that you have seen at the Belgrade Theatre?

I think Don Juan Comes Back From the War stands out because it was so intensive for the stage crew. we were on stage as much as the actors and we even had a curtain call!

I also loved the staging for The Miser, which looked fantastic,

but my personal favourite would have to be The Dark Side of Buffoon, as it was the funniest show I have ever worked on. I would love to see it back at the Belgrade in the future.

What shows are you most looking forward to seeing in the new season?

Probably Bombers Moon, because I enjoy our home produced shows, especially those in B2, the new studio space.

Can you tell us something we might not expect about your job?

we develop incredible eyesight because we work in the dark so much!

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Meet the TeamAn interview with William Ivory, the writer of Bomber’s Moon

In the last issue of the Friends Newsletter we ran a competition to win tickets to see Uncle Vanya in B2 and a three course meal in the Signatures Restaurant. We caught up with the winner, Dot Trailor, to see how it all went.

“I was delighted to be the winner of the Friends competition in the last newsletter. The three course meal was delicious with a good choice of menu and served by friendly, efficient staff in a lovely relaxed atmosphere. Super Trouper was being performed on the Main Stage and some of the audience were dressed in Abba costumes which really added to the evening. Uncle Vanya is a classic by Anton Chekhov and has been performed since 1899 in Russia, parts of Europe and even on Broadway in 1930. It was very well acted by quite a large cast and was at times both funny and sad and thought provoking throughout. B2 was an ideal setting and full use was made of the various entrances and exits.”

Friends Competition Update

The Belgrade Theatre Coventry in co-production with Arcola Theatre present

By Anton Chekhov. In a new version by Helena Kaut-Howson and Jon Strickland

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What inspired you to write Bomber’s Moon?

My father was a navigator with 50 Squadron in RAF Bomber Command (a cause of much merriment as a young boy, since yearly he seemed unable to find his way from our house in Nottinghamshire to his family home in South Wales where holidays were inevitably taken) and I was interested in trying to understand the effect his war time experiences had had on him in later life. In particular, I was intrigued by the fact that so many ex bomber command men (my father included) had lived rather anti social lives on their de-mobilization from the force. Marriages had failed, businesses had collapsed, heavy drinking had been embarked upon, all to a level which was surprisingly high for the time. when one took into account, however, the kind of men who had joined Bomber Command, men who tended to be bright, ambitious, grammar school boys, some of them already embarked on successful careers before they joined up, then the level of dysfunction was startling. The question was: why?

what struck me, right from the off, was a story my dad had told me about a raid he’d been on to Essen, towards the end of the war, which had nevertheless been a bit fraught, and after which, within a few hours of landing, he’d been able to hitch a motorcycle ride from his airfield in Skellingthorpe to my Grandmother’s house in Southwell, for a late afternoon tea. The idea was mind boggling. And that contrast between war and peace was unlike in any other service. In the RAF you didn’t go ‘off’ to battle and stay away for months on end. You flew from a base in England, amidst all that was recognisable and grounding, endured six, seven, or eight hours of unimaginable stress and fear (a Bomber Command flier, in his first five ops had a life expectancy less than a Tommy in World War One) only to return within a few short hours, to be plopped right back into civilian England and loved ones and relative normalcy. I remember thinking: ‘That way, madness lies.’

Have you encountered any problems during the creative process? If so, how did you overcome them?

The only real problem I had was missing my dad. He died about 18 months before I began the script and I kept wanting to ask him questions. I miss him bitterly. I suppose, also, there was the issue, at times, of feeling like an intruder. As a writer, you often feel that;

Did you know that on the first night of a week long tour the theatre’s management team host a drinks reception for the cast and crew of the show in the Cafébar?

why not stay for a drink after the show and see if you can spot a star.

The Pitmen Painters – Mon 12 SeptSeasons Greetings – Mon 26 SeptVerdict – Mon 3 octJourney’s End – Mon 24 octRhinestone Monday’s – Mon 31 octDreamboats and Petticoats – Mon 14 NovAll the Fun of the Fair – Mon 20 Feb

that you’re raiding lives for a story, and is that a decent thing to do? of course, any decent writer has flint where his conscience should be, so you overcome that in the end. Regrettable but true.

Are there any elements or characters in Bomber’s Moon that are based on true events or stories?

well, as I’ve more than hinted, Jimmy, the central character has something of my dad in him. And of me, too. And David has a lot of me in him. But they are both constructs more than they are facsimiles of real people. Real people tend not to play out drama as you’d like them too, hence the need to invent. The setting of the story is based upon the care home in which my dad spent his last year or so and one of the central ‘triggers’ in the play is also based on a true event: that of the Nuremberg Raid of 1944 which our central character flew and which was the night on which Bomber Command suffered its heaviest losses of the war: 96 planes failed to return and 545 airmen died, more airmen killed in one night than died during the entire battle of Britain.

What aspects of Bomber’s Moon do you think will appeal to audiences?

I think it’s a story about ordinary people put under extraordinary pressure – and emerging, though bloodied, still unbowed. I came to see Alan Pollock’s brilliant One Night in November a while back and I hope that my play offers a similar mix of high emotion and wry humour. Actually, the humour, bizarrely enough, given the

subject matter is so serious, is the thing I hope audiences most enjoy. It suggests to me the magnificent resilience of humanity, even through war and aging.

Sum up Bomber’s Moon in five words.“Do not go gentle...anywhere!”

“ Bomber’s Moon is a story about ordinary people put under extraordinary pressure – and emerging, though bloodied, still unbowed.”

“ A Bomber Command flier, in his first five ops had a life expectancy less than a Tommy in World War One.”

Spot a st r in the Cafébar