Small Bells Ring by Studio Morison is a Super Slow Way and Coventry City of Culture Trust co-commission in collaboration with Lancashire Library Service & Coventry Library Service and supported by the Great Places Programme. Small Bells Rings is part of the Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 Green Futures programme which is supported by the National Heritage Lottery Fund. The development of Small Bells Ring was supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
Celebrate Coventry's heritage, traditions and diversity. Coventry Welcomes returns in 2021 and offers a chance to explore the lives of those seeking sanctuary and those who have welcomed them throughout the generations. Designed to celebrate the people of Coventry, the events span genres and include some of the things we enjoy most, music, dance, drama, food, literature, poetry, workshops, storytelling and much more, embracing diversity in all its forms. Coventry Welcomes takes part at the same time as the national Refugee Week initiative led by Counterpoints Arts. Working with over 15 partner organisations across the city including Positive Images Festival, Coventry Asylum and Refugee Action Group (CARAG), Coventry Refugee & Migration Centre (CRMC) and Counterpoints Arts we are planning a series of events that are thought-provoking, encourage debate and promote the sharing of ideas. Central to this week of performances will be Stand and be Counted Theatre’s Can You Hear Me, Now? a celebratory, large-scale outdoor performance. It will be an immersive and joyous experience, made with and for the people of Coventry. Expect live music, dance, spoken word, puppetry and storytelling. We have activities for everyone – from young children to the older members of our community. Bring your family and friends, and join us in our celebration. The programme includes:
A Stand and Be Counted Theatre Production, commissioned by Coventry UK City of Culture 2021. In partnership with Belgrade Theatre, Coventry and Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre. Can You Hear Me, Now? is a celebratory, large-scale outdoor performance. It will be an immersive and joyous experience, made with and for the people of Coventry. When we stand side by side, we are stronger. We sing together and we are louder. When we move together, we can make the city vibrate. The city is our playground, our podium, our home. This is a love letter to you, my city. And this space here? This space is for you. Expect live music, dance, spoken word, puppetry, storytelling and spectacle. Can You Hear Me, Now? - We are having our say, using our voices and we want you to join us! Stand and Be Counted are the UK’s first Theatre Company of Sanctuary. They make campaigning theatre designed to promote social change and unity and work with artists, participants, arts organisations and festivals around the world to empower audiences and collaborators to have their say. They will be working with people seeking sanctuary in the city to create an urgent response to what it feels like to be silenced and how society can and must learn to listen. Supported by Arts Council England and Spirit 2012. For more information on Coventry City of Culture 2021 click HERE https://coventry2021.co.uk/coming-soon/can-you-hear-me-now/
I’m Still Standing – The Music of Elton John is a musical celebration of the legendary 50-year career of Sir Elton John.
"Amazing tribute to Elton John".
"Joel’s performance as Elton John is staggeringly close to the real thing".
"At the end of the show the audience rose to their feet for the ovation they didn’t want it to end".Featuring all of Elton’s greatest hits performed by the outstanding Joel Buckingham and backed by an amazing live band. No show about Elton John would be complete without the outrageous outfits and glasses which have become a signature of his live shows from the early 1970’s right up to the modern day. The show takes you through an incredible legacy of great songs and music and features all the hits including: Crocodile Rock, Rocket Man, Candle in the Wind, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, Sacrifice, Daniel and The Circle of Life. To book your tickets, please visit the Belgrade website [embed]https://www.belgrade.co.uk/events/im-still-standing-the-music-of-elton-john/[/embed]
Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 will work with The Booker Prize Foundation to bring the world’s leading book prizes to the city in an unprecedented partnership. Highlighting the international symbolism and message of Coventry, the virtual announcement of the 2021 International Booker Prize winner will come from the city. The prize is awarded annually for a single book, translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland. Following the announcement, the Coventry Big Booker Read will bring together readers across the city to read the winning novel and share their experiences. For more information on Coventry City of Culture 2021 please visit their website https://coventry2021.co.uk/coming-soon/
Good Chance, Stephen Daldry, David Lan and Tracey Seaward present a Good Chance Theatre Production in association with handspring Puppet Company Produced. With Refugee and Migrant Communities Little Amal, a young refugee, is embarking on a remarkable journey – an epic voyage that will take her from the Syria/Turkey border, across Europe. To find her mother. To get back to school. To start a new life. Can she achieve what now seems more impossible than ever? And how can we help? Little Amal is a 3.5-metre-tall puppet that will travel through Coventry, a city of sanctuary and a city of welcome, in July 2021. She will be welcomed with a series of events across the city created by and with the local community. From music to food, to the celebration, how will you welcome Little Amal?
A celebration of Coventry’s rich cultural links to its twin city of Kingston, Jamaica, and the unique influence Sound System culture has had on Coventry and the wider UK’s music landscape. ‘Long before 2-Tone, Britain's reggae-loving youth were grooving at blues parties to roots reggae, pumped out of huge speakers, with a bassline that could loosen your fillings.’ Pete Chambers, Coventry Evening Telegraph Sound Systems are an integral part of Jamaican popular culture and music history. The community that migrated to live and work in Coventry brought this sound with them, to keep a vibrant cultural connection to their roots. UK Sound systems were set up across the country and would compete to play the very best music combining the latest releases with one-off dubplates that set them apart. Championing Coventry’s Sound Systems and their contribution to the cities musical landscape was the brainchild of Colin Bell, a local producer, promoter and Chair of the Coventry West Indian Centre, with a passion for sound system culture and a desire to highlight not only Coventry’s relationship to Kingston but also the cultural contributions of the wider Caribbean community to the city. Inspired by his passion, Coventry UK City of Culture are co-creating this project with Colin Bell as creative lead, and with support from The Playmaker Group known internationally for their work in Sound System events from Notting Hill Carnival to the Jamrock Reggae Cruise, this project promises Coventry audiences a unique experience of some of the best local sounds combined with an international flair. Following a series of heats, designed for audiences to select their favourite acts, the final event will see Jamaica and Coventry’s very best loved Sounds connecting with local, national and international audiences both live and digitally. This uniquely collaborative performance will showcase their music and champion Coventry’s contribution to the musical and cultural legacy of Sound Systems. For more information on Coventry City of Culture 2021 please visit their websitehttps://coventry2021.co.uk/coming-soon/
Celebrating community, student and hospital radio across Coventry and Warwickshire as eight local stations take over BBC Coventry and Warwickshire. Arawak Radio, Coventry Hospital Radio, Hillz FM, Radio Abbey, Radio Panj, Radio Plus, RAW Student Radio and Vanny FM, are coming together to bring the city an audio experience like no other. Broadcasting for the day, the takeover day provides a unique chance to experience a true representation of the voice and soundtrack of Coventry. As well as being able to listen in to the show, there will be opportunities on the day to attend stripped back live sessions from some of Coventry’s best-loved local artists, and the chance to discover some new talent too. This line-up will be curated by the community stations, shining a light on the role radio in the city plays towards championing and providing platforms for local talent. With support from Voluntary Arts ‘Up For Arts’ model, local stations will bring content from their communities to your radios. So, make sure to tune in to enjoy shows ranging from live music to debate and documentary to radio dramas, all created in Coventry. The Coventry City of Culture team, Voluntary Arts and BBC CWR have committed to work closely with Community, Hospital and Student stations; with training, networking and engagement opportunities. As well as further moments that put local radio at centre stage throughout our year of culture and beyond. Supported by BBC CWR and Voluntary Arts. For more information on Coventry City of Culture 2021 please visit their website https://coventry2021.co.uk/coming-soon/
Produced by Coventry UK City of Culture in Partnership with Coventry Business Improvement District, curator Charlie Levine, and the Royal Institute of British Architects. Following a year where we have mainly been gazing out of our windows, we are now inviting you to look in. The Show Windows is inspired by Wizard of Oz author, L. Frank Baum’s book about shop window design and follows on from the success of RIBA’s Regent Street Windows project in 2018. His term, ’show windows’ has inspired the project and the brief to architects and artists, to create immersive pieces that invite audiences to journey to other places, and to celebrate the locations and people that will help us display the artworks. Working with Coventry BID, RIBA, curator Charlie Levine, and our local city centre shops and businesses we have created a programme of ambitious window installations designed by local, UK based and international architects and artists. This project aids city centre recovery and helps us all embrace positive change post Covid-19 lockdown. These portals will inspire and excite all audiences, including the shop owners themselves, with local engagement being at the core. We are excited to be working with other partners to realise our Coventry city centre, national and international shop window takeover, including SqW:Lab and Tarq in Mumbai, Quiet Down There, Craft Council and more to be announced soon. For more information on Coventry City of Culture 2021 please visit their websitehttps://coventry2021.co.uk/coming-soon/