The Birmingham Press

Theatre Fever celebrates the best of West Midlands’ theatre

A two week celebration of theatre will highlight the best of West Midlands’ creativity this March.

Theatre Fever includes over 30 shows in Birmingham, the Black Country, Solihull and Coventry, including eight special commissions from some of the region’s most exciting talent.

The West Midlands has a thriving theatre scene, with many playwrights, producers and actors choosing to forge their careers in the region. Nationally, as many people watch live theatre as attend English Premiership and Football League matches combined*. Theatre Fever will draw attention to this key part of the region’s economic and cultural life with a busy programme of shows by both established and emerging theatre companies.

Theatre Fever includes several new works, including Soul City ArtsIf Walls Could Speak at mac birmingham, a story of how the Birmingham ward of Sparkbrook has been a gateway into the city for generations of migrants. Coventry-based Talking Birds make a rare return to the theatre when they present We’re Only Here Today, at mac birmingham, whilst Theatre Absolute’s Always is a tiny, ten-minute piece made for just 15 audience members at a time.

Much of Theatre Fever can be found in unusual places. Award-winning Women & Theatre premiere their new 15 minute play Something Out Of The Ordinary in the Co-op car park in Stirchley, Birmingham, whilst Tin Box will invite audiences to meet Maggie, a lady with many stories, in pubs across Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. There is even work for people who don’t want to leave home, with Palimpsest City by Bohdan Piasecki who invites you to navigate his digital city to find new poetry.

Fresh new talent will sit alongside some of the region’s most establish companies. Kindle Theatre present their dramatic rock-chick gig The Furies in the former industrial unit @AE Harris, whilst internationally-renowned Stan’s Café premiere The Anatomy of Melancholy at Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry.

Theatre Fever has been organised by Holding Space, a consortium of arts organisations who help theatre to flourish in the West Midlands.

Holding Space comprises Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Black Country Touring, mac birmingham, Stan’s Café and Warwick Arts Centre.

Theatre Fever programme:

Theatre Fever runs from 9 – 24 March 2013 at venues around Birmingham, the Black Country and Coventry. Full listings available at www.theatrefever.co.uk from Wednesday 20 February.

9 March

Middle Ground Theatre Company

Cadfael: The Virgin In The Ice

A classic medieval murder mystery.

Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton

 

9 March

Birmingham Savoyards

HMS Pinafore and The Zoo                    

Gilbert & Sullivan’s best known comic opera and Sullivan’s rarely performed The Zoo.

The Old Rep, Birmingham

 

9 March

Alex Brockie

Inferno Kid              

A dark comedy about a former professional wrestler.

@A.E. Harris, Birmingham

 

9 March

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Pengy

The story of two boy penguins who, against the odds, become parents.

mac birmingham

 

9 March

Belgrade Youth Theatre

Playlist                     

Are we defined by the music we listen to?

Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

 

9 March

University Of Warwick Drama Society

Richard III

Shakespeare’s slickest, sexiest thriller.

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry

 

9 & 10 March

The Window Collective

Window Dressing 

Exuberant fun with some unpredictable twists. All safely behind glass.

Various locations, Birmingham

 

9 – 16 March

Crescent Theatre Company

Kindertransport                 

In 1938-39, 10,000 mostly Jewish children in Nazi occupied Germany were sent to Britain.

Crescent Theatre, Birmingham

 

9 – 16 March

Blue Orange Arts

Lady Chatterley’s Lover              

The controversial DH Lawrence classic novel adapted for the stage.

Blue Orange Theatre, Birmingham

 

9 – 16 March

Dungate Jury Associates

The Old Queen’s Time                 

A comedy written for the Old Joint Stock about love, friendship and revenge.

Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham

 

9 – 19 March

Tin Box

Pint Dreams            

Maggie is travelling around, one pub at a time. Join her for a drink.

Various locations

 

9 – 24 March

Bohdan Piasecki

Palimpsest City                  

Navigate your way through an online city to uncover brand new poetry.

Online, see Theatre Fever website

 

11 – 12 March

Brian Yeats

Go And Play Further Up Your Own End                     

A stroll down memory lane to Birmingham’s swinging sixties.

Solihull Arts Complex

 

12 – 13 March

Talking Birds

We’re Only Here Today               

Two strange men appear at your house and know everything about your life.

mac birmingham

 

12 – 15 March

Stan’s Cafe

Anatomy Of Melancholy              

A 17th century self-help book reveals much about our own modern concerns and obsessions.

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry

 

12 – 16 March

Wolverhampton Musical Comedy Company

Footloose                

The 80’s classic movie comes to the stage.

Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton

 

12 – 16 March

Theatre Absolute

Always                     

A 10 minute story of the planet, inertia, desire, and deadly consequences.

Shop Front Theatre, Coventry

 

14 – 16 March

3 Bugs (Birmingham University Drama Society)

Nineteen Eighty Four                   

A dark adaptation giving George Orwell’s classic a new lease of life.

@A.E. Harris, Birmingham

 

14 – 28 March

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Heather Gardner                

Thrilling, enigmatic, destructive, Heather Gardner brings to life one of Ibsen’s most irresistible heroines in a fresh and stylish new version.

The Old Rep, Birmingham

 

15 March

Temple Theatre

Unmythable            

A whistle-stop tour through the greatest Greek myths ever told.

Stourbridge Town Hall

 

16 March

National Theatre Connections

We Lost Elijah and Mobile Phone Show

A play about Elijah and the riots. A rhapsody of rap, text, tweet and gabble.

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry

 

17 – 18 March

Soul City Arts

If Walls Could Speak                    

The story of an inner city neighbourhood told through graffiti, music and rhyme.

mac Birmingham

 

18 – 19 March

Highly Sprung Performance Company

The Mobile Phone Show             

Jim Cartwright’s rhapsody of rap, text, tweet and gabble.

Shop Front Theatre, Coventry

 

18 – 24 March

Deborah Tracey

Faids, Braids And Keeping it Real                    

LaToya, hot shot stylist at Touching Silk Beauty Salon has stories to tell you.

Various hairdressers, Birmingham

 

19 March

Space To Develop

Cover Up                 

West London, a knife-crime and a teenage boy charged with murder.

The Edge, Birmingham

 

20 March

Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Hidden Histories – REP100

The Old Rep, Birmingham

An exploration of the theatre bringing to life the secret world of The REP.

 

21 March

The Owen Lewis Portable Theatre

The Human Race / A Mothers Ransom                       

A black comedy about ordinary people. A thriller featuring a harassed mother.

Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton

 

21 – 22 March

Unitied Artists

For Their Own Good                    

How we care for animals might tell us something about how we care for ourselves.

mac birmingham

 

23 March

Teasel Theatre

Grisly Tales From Tumblewater            

Dickens meets Roald Dahl via Horrible Histories with laughs, frights and music.

The Public, West Bromwich. Supported by Black Country Touring.

 

23 March

Argy Bhaji Arts & Women & Theatre

Something Out Of The Ordinary

Everyday is the same, till something changes and nothing is ever the same again.

Co-op Car Park, Stirchley, Birmingham

 

23 March

The Fetch

East of the Sun, West Of the Moon                   

A tale of adventure featuring a magical white bear, a girl and an anarchic troll!

Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton. Supported by Black Country Touring.

 

23 March

Kindle Theatre

The Furies               

A theatrical rock and metal gig for anyone who likes to let it all out.

@A.E. Harris, Birmingham

 

23 – 24 March

Babakas

Our Fathers             

A moving, unforgiving tribute to fathers everywhere who try to do their best.

mac birmingham

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