New season of performances gets underway at arts facility
Warwick Arts Centre has a spectacular line-up
WARWICK Arts Centre’s autumn programme is now underway, with a number of big names in comedy, music and television due to perform.
The multi-venue arts complex, situated on the University of Warwick’s campus in Coventry, is famed for the high quality of its theatrical productions, and can this year boast one of its finest ever seasons.
Frantic Assembly & The State Theatre Company of South Australia’s Things I Know to be True, co-produced by Warwick Arts Centre, narrates a story from the perspectives of four grown siblings, who struggle to define themselves beyond the expecta- tions and love of their parents, and features an all-star cast including Natalie Casey and Imogen Stubbs.
English Touring Theatre will be bringing Terrance Rattigan’s classic 1936 comedy French without Tears to the centre, which follows the hilarious and disastrous attempts of four men to woo a beautiful visitor to their French summer school, while international touring company Kneehigh returns with its exultant dance-orientated retelling of Michael Morpurgo’s wartime novel 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips.
Household names and comedy-circuit greats such as Catherine Tate, Nina Conti, Romesh Ranganathan, Seann Walsh and Ross Noble head up the venue’s autumn comedy output, while famous folkies like Kate Rusby, Billy Bragg and Seth Lakeman, and rock ’n’ roll legend Brian May, will lead the centre’s music programme.
Additionally, the centre will continue to offer its popular series of Masterclasses, with workshops in foraging, floristry, fiction writing, photography, calligraphy, stand-up comedy and songwriting all available.
Family shows remain at the programme’s core, from the magnificent puppets of The Very Hungry Caterpillar to the gleeful tale of Molly’s Marvellous Moustache, children and parents alike are sure to be kept entertained this season.
Orchestral music lovers will not be disappointed by British musical institution The Hallé, and the mammoth soundscape of the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, whilst the Concert Series programme will include live screenings from New York’s Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera.
Mesmeric photography from world renowned contemporary artists, as well as The Mead Gallery’s exhibition The Human Document, a photographic anthology of 1930s America, will also be present.
The centre’s dance programme takes an international approach this season, featuring some of the world’s most celebrated artists, with the Aditi Mangaldas Company’s Inter_upted combining the ancient art of Kathak with contemporary sound, rhythm and lighting, and East Mid- lands based Aakash Odedra Company presenting their dance and spoken word piece I Imagine.
Julia Carruthers, programme director at Warwick Arts Centre, said: “Our autumn season has something for everyone.
“Thrilling, internationally acclaimed performances, interesting and emotionally charged exhibitions, film, music, dance, circus, comedy, family shows filled with laughter – it’s a perfect recipe for the most enjoyable of times.
“We will, as always, welcome back old friends of ours with open arms, and if you have never visited us before then I think autumn 2016 is the perfect time to do so!”
For further details, visit www.warwickartscentre.co.uk