Theatre Fever is aiming to leave audiences hot and bothered. Marion McMullen finds out why the region's blazing art scene is super-cool.
Don’t panic if men in white coats approach you on the streets over the next few days with thermometers at the ready.
They just want to check if you have theatre fever as a two-week celebration of the theatre scene in the Midlands gets under way.
Theatre Fever will see shows in pubs, hairdressers and even a supermarket car park, as well as the normal theatre venues.
“Nationally as many people watch live theatre as attend English Premiership and Football League matches combined,” says Helen Stallard, of Theatre Fever.
“We 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 starts next Saturday and will feature more than 30 shows across Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull and the Black Country, including eight special commissions.
Helen says: “The West Midlands has a thriving theatre scene, with many playwrights, producers and actors choosing to forge their careers in the region.”
The new work includes a rare return to the theatre by Coventry-based Talking Birds.
They present We’re Only Here Today at the mac in Birmingham and also hope to take the stage special on tour next year.
The award-winning company has built up a reputation for performing in weird and wonderful places and have been touring the UK with a giant aluminium whale, but the new work sees them back in the theatre.
Writer Nick Walker says: “The regional arts scene is really working hard and thriving in difficult times for the subsidised sector.
“Theatre Fever shows the range of activity, creativity and persistence that is keeping audiences watching.”
Also at the mac is Soul City Arts and If Walls Could Speak, which tells the story of how the Birmingham ward of Sparkbrook has been a gateway into the city for generations of migrants. Award-winning Women & Theatre premiere their new 15-minute play Something Out Of The Ordinary in the Co-Op car park in Stirchley, Birmingham, while Tin Box 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. He is inviting people to navigate his digital city to find new poetry.
Fresh new talent also sit alongside some of the region’s most established companies.
Kindle Theatre present their dramatic rock-chick gig The Furies in the former industrial unit @AE Harris, while internationally-renowned Stan’s Cafe premiere The Anatomy Of Melancholy at Coventry’s Warwick Arts Centre.
Theatre Fever has been organised by Holding Space, a consortium of arts organisations including Birmingham Rep, Black Country Touring, mac, Stan’s Cafe and Warwick Arts Centre.
Nick Walker says Theatre Fever highlights the best of what is on offer across the region, adding: “There is a real buzz about the event and it shows the work companies are carrying out across the region.”
* Go to www.theatrefever.co.uk for full Theatre Fever listings.
Fever Hot Spots
MARCH 9
Alex Brockie – The Inferno Kid
A dark comedy about a former professional wrestler.
@A.E. Harris, Birmingham
Pengy
The story of two boy penguins who, against the odds, become parents.
mac birmingham
Belgrade Youth Theatre
Playlist
Are we defined by the music we listen to?
Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
University Of Warwick Drama Society
Richard III
Shakespeare’s slickest, sexiest thriller.
Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry
MARCH 9-10
The Window Collective
Window Dressing
Exuberant fun with some unpredictable twists. All safely behind glass.
Various locations, Birmingham
MARCH 9-16
Blue Orange Arts
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
The controversial DH Lawrence classic novel adapted for the stage.
Blue Orange Theatre, Birmingham
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
Tin Box
Pint Dreams
Maggie is travelling around, one pub at a time. Join her for a drink.
Various locations
MARCH 12-13
Talking Birds
We’re Only Here Today
Two strange men appear at your house and know everything about your life.
mac birmingham
MARCH 12-15
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
MARCH 12-15
Theatre Absolute
Always
A 10-minute story of the planet, inertia, desire, and deadly consequences.
Shop Front Theatre, Coventry
MARCH 16
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
MARCH 18-19
Highly Sprung Performance Company
The Mobile Phone Show
Jim Cartwright’s rhapsody of rap, text, tweet and gabble.
Shop Front Theatre, Coventry
MARCH 18-24
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
MARCH 23
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.
Argy Bhaji Arts & Women & Theatre
Something Out Of The Ordinary
Every day is the same, till something changes and nothing is ever the same again.
Co-op Car Park, Stirchley, Birmingham
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.
Kindle Theatre
The Furies
A theatrical rock and metal gig for anyone who likes to let it all out.
@A.E. Harris, Birmingham