Written and Directed by Tim Webb
Designed by Claire de Loon
Music by Max Reinhardt

Following their hugely popular performances of How long is a piece of string? and Mole in the Hole – Britain’s best-loved creators of theatre for young people return with an immersive, interactive and multi-sensory show for children aged 3 – 6 and their families.

Join us on an epic, though tiny, table-top voyage of discovery, where your fingers and noses will never be far from the action.

‘Oily Cart has created a wonderful show guaranteed to get the sparks flying in a small child’s imagination.…….. This is the serious pursuit of pleasure, considerably leavened with wit and music.’ Time Out ***** on Mole in the Hole

Running time: 55 mins

Suitable for those aged 3-6 years old

The Indiscipline of Painting is an international group exhibition including works by forty-nine artists from the 1960s to now. Selected by British painter Daniel Sturgis, the exhibition considers how abstraction has remained a site of urgent, relevant and critical enquiry for generations of artists over the last 50 years. The exhibition goes on to demonstrate the ways in which the history and legacy of abstract painting continues to inspire artists working today.

This is an incredibly rare opportunity to see paintings by historical and contemporary figures. The show brings together works by British, American and European artists made over the last five decades and features major new commissions and loans. It includes important works by Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Michael Craig-Martin and Bridget Riley alongside younger artists such as Tomma Abts, Tauba Auerbach, Jacob Kassay and Cheyney Thompson.

The exhibition at Mead Gallery will also feature a new commission by Swiss artist Francis Baudevin.

The Indiscipline of Painting is a collaborative project between Mead Gallery and Tate St Ives, where it opened on 8 October 2011. Arriving at the Mead Gallery from 14 Jan until 10 Mar,the exhibition also draws on the particular context of the significant colour-field abstract paintings which the University of Warwick has collected over the last 50 years, and which are on display across campus.

An events series, including talks, symposia, school tours and family workshops will take place throughout the exhibition.

Mead Gallery and Tate St Ives gratefully acknowledge the support of Arts Council England, The Henry Moore Foundation, The Higher Education Funding Council, and the Swiss Cultural Fund in Britain.

Opening Party: Friday 13 Jan 6.30pm. Everyone welcome!

Slice up paintings to create new surprising works of art. Piece together the bits to make brand new masterpieces.

Age: 6+

Following their triumphant productions of The Changeling (2006) and The Duchess of Malfi (1995), Donnellan and Ormerod return to Jacobean tragedy with a new production of John Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore.

In this violent and bloody drama, we watch a brother and sister’s passionate descent into hell. Incest, morality, religion and corruption all make this play as shocking and controversial today as it was almost four hundred years ago.

Cheek by Jowl have established an international reputation for bringing ‘fresh life to the classics using intense, vivid performances like a laser of light to set the text ablaze’ (The Guardian). The company has toured to over 300 cities in 40 countries and is an Associate Company at the Barbican, London.

“The performances are expressive and assured…Lydia Wilson is outstanding as Annabella” **** Sydney Morning Herald

“An excellent, robust production of a powerful play, and an experience not to be missed for those seeking a riveting night of theatrical excellence.” The Australian Stage

Age: 16+

Performed in English.

A clever contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare’s play of political power and intrigue, directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes. Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut is an impressive, muscular version of Shakespeare’s sometimes overlooked play about power and political pragmatism. The setting – ‘a place calling itself Rome’ – is a recognisably modern Balkan warzone, and writer John Logan skilfully adapts the Bard’s words for more contemporary phrasing.

The director himself takes the lead role of Coriolanus, the war hero turned politician whose abrasive and autocratic personality does not endear him to the masses whose support he needs to become consul of Rome. With its dark, wintry hues and trimmed-back text, this is a spare and vigorous film, and Barry Ackroyd’s (The Hurt Locker) cinematography brings a gritty, up-to-date feel, particularly evident in the visceral battle scenes.

Please note that cinema prices are now inclusive of booking fee

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Robin O’Neill Conductor*
Stephanie Gonley Director/Violin
Derek Han Piano

Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No.3
Glass – Company*
Bach – Piano Concerto in G minor, BWV1058
Interval
Glass – Symphony No.3 (3rd movement)*
Bach – Violin Concerto
Glass – Suite from The Hours*

He’s influenced Brian Eno and William Orbit. He’s written cult film-scores and ice-cool operas. His music features in Battlestar Galactica and Grand Theft Auto IV. He’s even been lampooned on South Park. He’s Philip Glass; he’s probably the most influential classical composer in the world today – and until you’ve heard his music live, you haven’t really heard it at all. Experience the virtuoso English Chamber Orchestra tackling three of Glass’s most influential masterpieces. From 1983’s seminal Company to Glass’s Oscar-nominated score for 2003’s The Hours, there’s nothing minimalist about the power of this music.

ECO director Stephanie Conley gives it the ultimate personal touch by leading from the violin, and she puts Glass in the perfect frame: three of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most timeless orchestral works.

Vibrant, supremely beautiful music from two very different centuries: a massage for the mind and a tonic for the spirit.

Pre-concert talk

Conference Room 6.45pm

Pianist Derek Han in conversation with Paul McGrath, Director of Music for Warwick University

Tickets £2, Subscribers £1

Please call the Box Office to book your ticket for this pre-concert talk on 024 7652 4524.*Browse the full Concert Series 2011/12 below*

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

The eagerly awaited The Iron Lady has been written by award-winning writer Abi Morgan (The Hour), directed by Phyllida Lloyd and stars Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher.

This is the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. A surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman and the price that is paid for power. Meryl Streep has been named Best Actress for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher at the New York Film Critics Circle and has been nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama at the 2012 Golden Globes.

“Only an actress of Streep’s stature could possibly capture Thatcher’s essence and bring it to the screen. It’s a performance of towering proportions that sets a new benchmark for acting.” The Daily Mail

Please note all cinema prices are now inclusive of booking fee

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“I’ve just turned 50, the kids have left home, and my cat just died.”

Suggs: My Life Story in Words and Music hands you an access-all-areas backstage pass to the Madness frontman’s mind as he attempts the dare-devil stunt of single-handedly unraveling the mysteries of his own life.

Join him on an emotional rollercoaster through the ups and downs of an astonishing thirty-year career spanning pop music, radio, television, film…and the pie and mash industry.

Witness him cannon ball to the heights of pop success, stumble and plummet down through the trap door of failure, and then trampoline back up to catch the passing trapeze of showbusiness success.

With musical accompaniment and pointless interjections from his loyal, pianist-come-manservant.

“It’s often very funny, and is delivered with a sense of timing and phrasing that many common-or-garden comics could learn much from” Dominic Cavendish, The Daily Telegraph

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

This event is sold out, however, due to popular demand Steve Hughes returns to Warwick Arts Centre on Mon 5 Mar. Book here

The inimitable Australian comic and ex heavy metal drummer, Steve Hughes returns to Warwick Arts Centre. Direct from sell-out shows at the Sydney and Melbourne Comedy Festivals and storming sets on BBC One’s Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Channel 4’s Stand Up For The Week and Dave’s One Night Stand.

Expect intelligent, straight-talking social commentary from one of the most original and thought-provoking performers to grace the UK circuit.

“Outstanding. Hughes is gold” Metro

“Hard-hitting social commentary at it’s best” Times

“Intelligent, provocative, profound. See him while it’s still legal” Chortle

Support on the night comes from Kiwi comic Sully O’Sullivan.

Running Time: approximately 2 hours.

On the eve of World War I, Zurich and Vienna are the setting for a dark tale of sexual and intellectual discovery. Drawn from true-life events, A Dangerous Method explores the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the beautiful but disturbed young woman who comes between them.

Please note that cinema prices are now inclusive of booking fee

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Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the Q&A that was scheduled to take place following the screening is cancelled. The screening will go ahead as planned at the time advertised.

Be our guest and experience the magic of this spectacular stage adaptation of the classic film. Join the eccentric cast of characters from the childhood favourite, brought to life by Music Theatre Warwick. Based on the much-loved animated feature, dancing spoons, singing teapots and an ancient enchantment make this ‘tale as old as time’ family theatre at its best.

Suitable for those aged 6+

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

FREE Lunchtime Concerts
Thursdays 1.10pm
Ensemble Room, Music Centre,
Warwick Arts Centre

Come along to the Music Centre at lunchtime on Thursdays and check out our series of FREE concerts.

As well as supporting the student ensembles of the University, the Music Centre also hosts performances from professional artists.

12 Jan Melanie Martin, viola and Tanya Ursoa, piano
26 Jan Arsha Kaviani, piano
2 Feb Purcell School
9 Feb Music Scholars
16 Feb Gina Beukes, violin and Helen Leek, piano
23 Feb Royal Northern College of Music
1 Mar Paula Sides, soprano and Jonathan Gale, piano
8 Mar Jessica Kerr, cello and Fergus Kerr, horn
15 Mar Volante Ensemble

The best of British Theatre broadcast live via satellite to screens at Warwick Arts Centre.

In a remote village in Eastern Europe, around 1900, the young Motl Mendl is entranced by the flickering silent images on his father’s cinematograph. Bankrolled by Jacob, the ebullient local timber-merchant, and inspired by Anna, the girl sent to help him make moving pictures of their village, he stumbles on a revolutionary way of story-telling. Forty years on, Motl – now a famed American film director – looks back on his early life and confronts the cost of fulfilling his dreams.

Following Vincent in Brixton and The Reporter, Nicholas Wright’s new play is a funny and fascinating tribute to the Eastern European immigrants who became major players in Hollywood’s golden age. The award-winning Antony Sher – whose previous work at the National includes Primo and Stanley – returns to play Jacob.

“A love-letter to the movies and an appealingly intelligent evocation of Jewish folk culture” **** Michael Billington, The Guardian

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

As seen on BBC1’s Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow.
Double Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee.
Double Chortle Award Nominee: Best UK Headline Act.

Maybe you’ve caught one of his rare TV appearances. Maybe you’ve heard his Radio 4 series What To Do If You’re Not Like Everybody Else. Probably you’ve never heard of Andrew Lawrence at all. How remiss of you. Join him as he embarks on his latest UK stand-up tour.

“Lawrence, should he so wish, could be the defining stand-up comic of his generation” The Guardian

Paul Harris has established an international reputation as one of the UK’s leading educationalists. As composer and writer he has over six hundred publications to his name, and is in great demand as a workshop leader and adjudicator around the world.

His new book The Virtuoso Teacher is out this Spring.

A tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of
rural England and Europe during the First World War.

War Horse begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets.

The First World War is experienced through the journey of this horse – an odyssey of joy and sorrow, passionate friendship and high adventure. War Horse is one of the great stories of friendship and war – a successful book, it was turned into a hugely successful international theatrical hit. Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Drama, it now comes to the screen in an epic adaptation by one of the world’s greatest directors.

Please note that cinema prices are now inclusive of booking fee

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Cinema £7.90 (£6.50) including booking fee

From writer-director Rodrigo Garcia comes the moving story of three women and the power of the unbreakable bond between mother and child. Annette Bening is Karen, a bitter, unhappy spinster coping with the death of her mother and the lifelong feelings of loss and regret over the child she gave up for adoption when she was 14. Naomi Watts is Elizabeth, the grown-up daughter she’s never met, and Kerry Washington is Lucy, an infertile wife who turns to adoption as the key to the maternity she passionately craves.

The rich and complex stories of these three women are interwoven into a single narrative that runs deep with emotion.

“A love letter to motherhood… a tough minded yet delicate drama.” Marie Claire

Please note that cinema prices are now inclusive of booking fee

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The gallery will be open early on these Saturday mornings. Come along for a curator’s talk followed by a tour of the University of Warwick Collection, focusing on abstract paintings.

Clint Eastwood is not just an iconic movie star. Since Play Misty For Me in 1971, he has also been a prolific and accomplished director. His films have shown an ongoing interest in outsiders and marginal figures; they explore what it means to fit in – or more frequently, to not fit in – in America.

Doctor Peter Falconer of the University of Warwick, explores this strand to Eastwood’s career, looking at how, through his work as a director, he has developed a distinctive perspective on American life and culture.

There will be a complete screening of Clint Eastwood’s latest film, J. Edgar starring Leonardo di Caprio in the title role.

Join Simon Callow as he reads excerpts from his exciting new book, Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World. Simon says: “When you find a writer that you love it’s like finding a best friend. Dickens never ceases to delight me. There’s something in him which chimes with me: the energy; the scope; the generosity; the endless inventiveness of it. There is in Dickens the spirit of the medieval carnival that just deeply turns me on. That sense of the world as one big body and a celebration and embrace of all its grotesqueness, the ugliness, the smell, the sweat.”

This promises to be an extraordinary evening, celebrating a great novelist.

Warwick Arts Centre’s screenings of the best opera, live from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York.

With its cataclysmic climax, the Met’s new Ring cycle, directed by Robert Lepage, comes to its resolution. Deborah Voigt stars as Brünnhilde and Gary Lehman is Siegfried – the star-crossed lovers doomed by fate.

Please note that this is a recorded screening screened a day after the live event

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

The tale of a lad who wins a box of records from John Peel’s Shed in a competition on the John Peel show and how it affects his life.

An ode to radio, a box of Peel’s records and anyone who’s ever sought solace in wireless. Adapted from acclaimed book Radio Head.

“I could have listened for hours” ***** The Independent

“Beautifully-written, funny and poignant… Just as John Peel’s records changed his life this lovely, simple, beautifully executed show has enriched ours” ***** The Scotsman

“One of the Top Ten Theatre Highlights of the Edinburgh Festival… Funny, perceptive and charming” **** The Telegraph

“One of the loveliest things you’ll see all year” **** The Herald

Running Time: 1 hour (no interval)

An evening of musical delight featuring Robyn Hitchcock, Krystle Warren, KT Tunstall, Eliza Carthy, John Paul Jones and Howe Gelb.

Curated by renowned English eccentric Robyn Hitchcock, The Floating Palace is an intimate evening of free-wheeling musical collaboration.

It’s a simple concept: musicians admire each other, are a little envious of each other, and given the chance, like to play with each other. But normally they only get the chance to do this in the studio, or after hours.

For the first time before a paying audience, we present a carousel of exceptional ‘roots’ artists; all lit within by their passion for music, accompanying each other on songs they know and songs they’ve only just met.

Robyn Hitchcock is joined on stage by award winning Scottish songstress KT Tunstall, folk legend Eliza Carthy, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Krystle Warren and alternative country experimentalist Howe Gelb.

Unfortunately Abigail Washburn has had to withdraw from The Floating Palace due to unforseen changes in her touring schedule, she will be replaced by Kansas born singer-songwriter Krystle Warren

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

Funny, heart-rending, erotic, suspenseful, exhilaratingly inventive… Jean Vigo’s only full-length feature satisfies on so many levels, it’s no surprise that it’s widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made and a perfect treat for Valentine’s Day. When Juliette marries and moves in with Seine barge captain Jean, their relationship soon shows signs of strain. Sharing the cramped boat with eccentric bosun Père Jules, a cabin boy and a clutter of cats doesn’t help; nor do Jean’s jealous tendencies or the couple’s reluctance to compromise…

No other film matches this mix of playfulness, poetry, sensuality and tenderness; this masterpiece is truly timeless.

Please note that cinema prices are now inclusive of booking fee.

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I have this little sister Lola She is small and very funny…

Don’t miss everyone’s favourite brother and sister, Charlie and Lola, in their extremely everso wonderful stage show! The stars of the hit BBC TV series and books by Lauren Child are brought to life by a magical mix of puppets, live action and music.

Will Charlie ever get Lola to sleep, even though she is not sleepy and will not go to bed? It won’t be easy – the Tigers want their bedtime milk, the Dancing Dogs have borrowed Lola’s pyjamas and Lola thinks there is an ogre hiding in the wardrobe!

“If you’ve got kids, go and see Charlie and Lola’s Best Bestest Play. If you haven’t, borrow some and go anyway… it’s a genuine delight” Sunday Express

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

Charlie and Lola™ and © Lauren Child 2005. Charlie and Lola is produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and distributed by BBC Worldwide Ltd. BBC Worldwide logo ™ & © BBC 1996.

Following a sell-out, award-winning run in Edinburgh, puppet innovators Blind Summit Theatre present a brand new adult puppetry show, The Table.

This visually stunning journey takes in a ballet of disembodied heads, a story told entirely by pictures emerging from a briefcase and a tiny Moses with a cardboard head full of lonely wisdom. Told with beautiful puppets and Blind Summit’s trademark performing style, this story combines dark humour and flat-pack technology. No man is an island… but sometimes a puppet can be a table.

Praise for The Table:

“Eye-poppingly skilful – and bizarrely good fun” **** Time Out

“Astonishingly accomplished puppetry.” **** The Daily Telegraph

“Blind Summit prove once again that when you’re working in miniature you don’t have to think small.” **** The Guardian

Running Time: 1hr 5mins (no interval)

An animated tribute to the life and work of Japanese comics artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi. In post-war occupied Japan, young Tatsumi’s passion for comics eventually becomes a means of supporting his poor family. Already published as a teenager, talented Tatsumi finds even greater inspiration after meeting his idol, famous Disneyesque animator Osamu Tezuka. Despite his steady success, Tatsumi begins to question why Japanese comics should cater to children with cute and whimsical tales and drawings. In 1957, Tatsumi coins the term gekiga (dramatic pictures) and redefines the manga landscape by encouraging an alternative genre for adults.

Realistic and disquieting, Tatsumi’s work begins to grapple with the darker aspects of life…

Love Film? Join Warwick Arts Centre’s new Film Membership and take advantage of discounts, priority mailings and a host of other fantastic benefits. Find out more. To buy online, click here

Who knows which worlds you’ll be transported to, which strange and wonderful people you’ll meet and which stories you’ll be involved with?

You’ll start the day with a blank sheet. Then in a day of improvisation, drama games, music, scriptwriting and theatre skills your play will emerge and grow. You’ll rehearse and finally perform in one of the most impressive concert halls in the country.
Led by Warwick Arts Centre Youth Theatre leaders we can guarantee one thing – everyone will have a great time!!

The Brooklyn bourgeoisie are placed under the microscope in Roman Polanski’s beautifully acted adaptation of Yasmin Reza’s The God of Carnage.

Following a fight between their children, two New York couples come together to discuss the unfortunate event. Zachary, the son of Nancy and Alan has bashed his schoolmate Ethan with a stick, breaking a couple of his teeth. Ethan’s parents Penelope and Michael have called a the tête-à-tête at their home, but what starts out as a civilised attempt at resolution turns uglier by degrees. The couples get to sniping then to arguing and worse, and soon the fractures in their own relationships are showing. Watching the foursome descend into behaviour far worse than that of their children is horrible and funny, often both at the same time.

Carnage showcases performances from some of the finest actors working in film today, and Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet will go head to head for the Best Actress in a Comedy award at the Golden Globes come January 2012.

Please note that cinema prices are now inclusive of booking fee

Love Film? Join Warwick Arts Centre’s new Film Membership and take advantage of discounts, priority mailings and a host of other fantastic benefits. Find out more. To buy online, click here

Award-winning director Alexander Payne (Sideways) blends comedy and tragedy in this story of a father’s journey to re-examine his past and embrace his future.

Matt King looks like a man leading a charmed life. But when his thrill-seeking wife suffers a boating accident, he’s faced with a massive wake-up call. Matt, the ‘back-up’ parent, realises he barely knows his sassy daughters, and has little idea how to cope with or care for them while his wife lies locked in a coma. Payne is a master of the acutely-observed contradictions of life and emotion, finding biting humour in the irony of circumstance and human shortcomings.

This is a long-awaited treat from one of America’s most singular directors, which has already gained five Golden Globe nominations, included Best Picture – Drama, Best Director, and Best Actor for George Clooney.

“Another beautifully chiselled gem – sharp, funny, generous, moving” Entertainment

Paint big, gold and bright pictures! Have a go at expressing your emotions in colour using thick strokes of paint.

Age 6+

A theatrical extravaganza which endeavours to display the rich, diverse culture of Malaysia through a night of music, art, excitement, drama, comedy and dance. Warwick Malaysia Night has throughout the past several years acquired an illustrious reputation among all Malaysians across the UK for being one of the best Malaysia Nights and having the best Dikir Barat performance in the country!

“If your past comes back to haunt you, will you fight it, or run from it?”

Incorporating the vibrant panoramic display of Malaysia’s diverse culture, values and celebrations, Warwick Malaysian Night seeks to bring a play of mystery and adventure to life, bound to captivate and keep you at the edge of your seats.

Set towards the end of the Malayan Emergency, where tension was at an all-high between the National Army and the Communist Party, the launching of a number of guerrilla attacks is being devised. In the
midst of this chaos, Lee Na finds herself awake in a hospital, only to realise that she has lost her precious memory from a gunshot to the head. With great determination in search for the truth, she goes back to her village and faces the many challenges presented to uncover her past. This is a story of self-discovery, love, war and reflection, the echo of Lee Na’s past will never elude her for the memory of our past lives on forever.

Book in groups of 5 or more to enjoy a discount of £2 per person – the discount will automatically applied at booking stage.

Curator Jeremy Lewison will be in conversation with abstract painter Bernard Frize, discussing Frize’s practice within the context of this exhibition.

When white secondary school teacher Amanda is pushed to the ground by a black student Jason, she’s reluctant to report him as she knows exclusion could condemn him to a future as troubled as his past.

But when Jason decides to protect himself by spinning a story of his own, Amanda is sucked into a vortex of lies in which victim becomes perpetrator. With the truth becoming less clear and more dangerous by the day, it isn’t long before careers, relationships and even lives are under threat.

Written by Vivienne Franzmann and directed by Matthew Dunster. Winner of the George Devine Award, Bruntwood Playwriting Competition and nominated for Best New Play at the Theatre Awards UK 2011.

T. Post Show Talk Wed 22 Feb

Age: 14+

“The play of the year? Quite possibly.” ***** The Daily Telegraph

“A startling debut… the young cast are remarkable.” The Times

A winner of the 2008 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting.

A tragic tale of searing passion and memorable music, La Traviata is Verdi’s outstanding interpretation of one of the most popular love stories of the 19th century, La dame aux Camelias.

Based on a true story, it tells of the passionate Violetta. There are many echoes of Verdi’s own life in Traviata and he threw himself into the music. The highlights include the Brindisi, the best known drinking song in opera, the duet Un Di Felice and Violetta’s haunting aria Addio Del Passato.

This magnificent production boasts sumptuous sets and costumes.

‘First-rate singing’ The Stage
‘Uplifting, charming, heroic and finally tear-jerking’ Liverpool Echo
‘An opera lover’s dream’ Manchester Evening News

This production will be sung in Italian with English surtitles.

*Cast subject to change

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

Take a hands-on approach to learning and get involved in our Abstract Painting Workshop, run by artist Mary Riley.

Schedule:

6pm Introduction and visit to Mead Gallery Exhibition, ‘The Indiscipline of Painting.’

6.30pm Return to Studio to commence working with ideas. There will be two exciting choices available:
Working in two colours chosen by participants and working from a still life
OR
Project set by your tutor

8.30pm Appraisal and discussion of the work

9.00pm Finish

The essential aim of the Workshop is to discuss and learn a little more about the complexities of ‘abstraction’ and to put into practice what we have learned from our discussions.

The event is has a limited capacity of 15 people.

Prepare to be surprised and delighted, moved and enlightened as Bobby Baker demonstrates how she achieves that ultimate ‘wellbeing’ factor. From working-out to chilling out, via the kitchen sink, Bobby’s wellness roadshow investigates how to get better at feeling better – cup of tea included.

Bobby has developed this brand new show out of her own experience of illness and hard-won recovery. Designed in collaboration with sculptor Charlie Whittuck, an extraordinary set of fantastical ‘recovery’ apparatus promises surprises galore as well as state-of-the-art technical equipment, all developed with well-being in mind.

Follow Bobby’s expert example and join her on the road to wellness – and beyond.

“A priceless gift wrapped in a theatrical box of tricks.” Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

“Exceptionally funny, Bobby Baker is a performance artist of rare quality and distinction.” The Daily Telegraph

T. Post Show Talk Thu 23 Feb

Running Time: 1hr 20 mins (no interval)

Mad Gyms & Kitchens has been commissioned for Unlimited, a project celebrating disability, arts, culture and sport on an unprecedented scale as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. The project is principally funded by the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor and is delivered in partnership between London 2012, Arts Council England, the Scottish Arts Council, Arts Council of Wales, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the British Council.

Lovable comedian Patrick Monahan blends a high energy style with hilarious and engaging stories of his Irish/Iranian/Teeside heritage. Patrick performs this hit show direct from the Edinburgh Festival. Laugh and be hugged at the same time!

The winner of ITV1’s Show Me The Funny!

“Omid Djalili meets Dave Allen.” Daily Mail

“Born to be a stand up.” Metro

It’s often bemoaned that ‘they don’t make ‘em like they used to’. Well they do now! The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius’s nostalgic hymn to Hollywood’s golden era has emerged as a genuine contender to be the first silent movie in 80 years to win an Oscar having already been named Best Film by the New York Film Critics Circle, and leading the charge at the Golden Globes with six nominations.

It’s 1927, and George Valentin is a movie megastar whose fame is threatened by the advent of talkies. He dismisses the advances of technology as a fad, pigheadedly progressing with directing the film he considers will be his masterpiece. With reverential nods to celebrated Hollywood insider stories such as Singin’ in the Rain and Sunset Boulevard, and to other classics such as Citizen Kane, period details that are lovingly recreated, and perfectly pitched performances, The Artist is a pure delight.

Please note that cinema prices are now inclusive of booking fee

Love Film? Join Warwick Arts Centre’s new Film Membership and take advantage of discounts, priority mailings and a host of other fantastic benefits. Find out more. To buy online, click here

Join presenter Greg Beardsell and a host of talented choirs as the UK’s biggest choral competition, Choir of the Year, comes to Warwick Arts Centre. Singers of all ages will take the stage in attempt to impress a panel of expert judges and be voted through to the semi-finals.

There is something for all tastes with everything from Bach to Barbershop, Gospel choirs to Glee clubs, with plenty of opportunity for audience members to exercise their vocal cords too. From more than 150 choirs auditioning around the UK, only six will make it to the Grand Final in November 2012, broadcast on BBC television and radio. A list of competing choirs is available at www.choiroftheyear.com

www.choiroftheyear.com

Please note that if booking for the morning and afternoon sessions, your discount will be applied at payment stage.

Tom & Jerry, Wallace & Gromit, Fred & Ginger, Laurel & Hardy, Morecambe & Wise, the list of wonderful, entertaining partnerships is long and unforgettable. Come and enjoy a snapshot with the emphasis on music.

Introduced by Brian Bishop.

Please note that cinema prices are now inclusive of booking fee.

Love Film? Join Warwick Arts Centre’s New Film Membership Scheme and take advantage of discounts, priority mailings and a host of other fantastic benefits. Find out more. To buy online, click here

Warwick Arts Centre’s screenings of the best opera, live from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York.

Angela Meade takes centre stage in Verdi’s thrilling early gem. Marcello Giordani is her mismatched lover and all-star Verdians Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Ferruccio Furlanetto round out the cast.

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

Hailing from Berkshire, Fiona Cox came of age in California in the dawning years of the 21st Century. Citing influences such as Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, Fiona’s beautiful vocal delivery soars through intricately crafted original material with an emotional force that breaks hearts as often as it impresses. A country-tinged, lyrical act, backed by acoustic guitars.

Stylusboy is the acoustic creation of Steve Jones, a Coventry bred guitarist and vocalist. He has already gained a strong following with his intimate live performances that have seen him play alongside Newton Faulkner and The King Blues, as well as enchanting the crowds from the mainstage of the Godiva Festival.

Chris Tye marries delicate, gorgeous indie-folk with a city-dwelling, carefree romanticism. In his latest EP, Matchbox Stand, he has captured the beauty and charm of his live performances, as well as bringing a larger sound with more focused production to the table.

As seen on BBC1’s Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow.
Double Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee.
Double Chortle Award Nominee: Best UK Headline Act.

Maybe you’ve caught one of his rare TV appearances. Maybe you’ve heard his Radio 4 series What To Do If You’re Not Like Everybody Else. Probably you’ve never heard of Andrew Lawrence at all. How remiss of you. Join him as he embarks on his latest UK stand-up tour.

“Lawrence, should he so wish, could be the defining stand-up comic of his generation” The Guardian

Click here to visit Andrew Lawrence’s website.

Ruby Turner is a national and international treasure, having already been awarded the prestigious Gold Badge Award for her contribution to British music. Following outstanding performances with Jools Holland’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra at Warwick Arts Centre, don’t miss the chance to see this amazing performer take to the stage in a solo act.

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

“All that succession and repetition of massed humanity. All those vile bodies. And now a party in a mental hospital…”

1939 begins with a fabulous New Year’s Party in London frequented by the fashionable aristocratic set known as ‘The Bright Young Things’, all beautiful and rich and senseless. Amongst them are Adam Fenwick-Symes and Nina Blount, the fiancées fated to never quite tie the knot, Agatha Runcible the vapid but loveable heiress, the flamboyant and ever charming Miles Malpractice, Archie Schwert the copycat, and Simon Balcairn who is also the gossip columnist tearing his friends to shreds.

Nobody can be trusted, nothing is certain, love has a price and money is worthless. Everything is about to collide in a rush of fire and deception and a man with a very odd moustache.

Vile Bodies is the student-written adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s classic novel, a tale as true now as it was then about the role of celebrity, money and love.

With a large cast of student actors and an all student team, Warwick Arts Centre is home to the greatest party of the year.

Conductor Hans-Peter Hofmann
Cello Julian Lloyd Webber

Handel – Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Elgar – String Serenade
Haydn – Cello Concerto in C
Interval
Sibelius – Romance
Mozart – Symphony No.29 in A major K.201

Good things come in small packages. The European Union Chamber Orchestra draws its members from Europe’s very finest young professional orchestra, and the result is a chamber orchestra that plays with the panache of a virtuoso soloist and the commitment of a top string quartet. Tonight, Spring comes early as EUCO teams up with one of Britain’s best-loved cellists for a concert that positively sparkles with freshness.

Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba pops the champagne cork, before Julian Lloyd Webber whizzes through Haydn’s brilliant C major concerto. There’s a lush northern love-song from Jean Sibelius, and it’s springtime in England as the superb string players of EUCO make Elgar’s enchanting Serenade sing like never before.

And to round it all off, the teenage Mozart throws off his periwig and goes gloriously for broke in his exuberant 29th Symphony. Boyish wit, galloping strings and whooping horns: we’re talking serious fun, stunningly played.

Pre-concert talk

Conference Room 6.45pm

Cellist Julian Lloyd Webber in conversation with Paul McGrath, Director of Music at University of Warwick

Tickets £2, Subscribers £1

Please call the Box Office to book your ticket for this pre-concert talk on 024 7652 4524.*Browse the Concert Series 2011/12 below*

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

The best of British Theatre broadcast live via satellite to screens at Warwick Arts Centre.

I in earth, in heaven, or in hell?
Sleeping or waking? Mad or well advised?
Known unto these, and to myself disguised!

Two sets of twins separated at birth collide in the same city without meeting for one crazy day, as multiple mistaken identities lead to confusion on a grand scale. And for no one more so than Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant Dromio who, in search of their brothers, arrive in a land entirely foreign to their distant home.

Do you know me, sir? Am I Dromio?
Am I your man? Am I myself?

Shakespeare’s furiously paced comedy is staged in a contemporary world into which walk three prohibited foreigners who see everything for the first time. Lenny Henry plays Antipholus of Syracuse.

Running time: 3 hrs 15 mins (including interval)

ENCORE SCREENING RECENTLY ADDED. Due to popular demand, we have added an encore screening of The Comedy of Errors on Sun 11 Mar click here for further details and to book.

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

The magnificent five are riding into town!

Armed with over 100 instruments, these brilliant musicians perform a fistful of Ennio Morricone classics from the movies that made Clint Eastwood a star.

The stunning soundtracks include The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, For A Few Dollars More and Once Upon a Time in The West.

This ingenious gang of comic maestros underscore these iconic compositions with hilarious sound effects… blowing on bottles, crushing cornflakes, ‘playing’ coathangers, apples, squeaky toys, rubbergloves, bicycle pumps, nailclippers and many more – recreating every punch up, gunshot, and jangling spur that define the gun slinging west.

Audiences across the world have been amazed and enthralled by this international sensation. Not to be missed.

Visit the official website

“A near-perfect meeting of musical and visual humour” **** The Times

“Take five multi-talented, unashamedly theatrical Australians and let them loose on 100 instruments and you have some idea of Spaghetti Western Orchestra. A joyous celebration” **** London Evening Standard

“Wildly Inventive and Funny” Daily Telegraph

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

On the eve of World War I, Zurich and Vienna are the setting for a dark tale of sexual and intellectual discovery. Drawn from true-life events, A Dangerous Method explores the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the beautiful but disturbed young woman who comes between them. Starring Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor nominee Viggo Mortensen.

Please note that cinema prices are now inclusive of booking fee

Love Film? Join Warwick Arts Centre’s new Film Membership and take advantage of discounts, priority mailings and a host of other fantastic benefits. Find out more. To buy online, click here

A chance to spend the day exploring a particular theme of film guided by specialists in that field.

In the past decade Scandinavian writers and film makers have come to dominate the realm of crime fiction, spearheaded by Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, memorably adapted for the screen and now remade in the US by David Fincher. Critic and broadcaster, Nigel Floyd returns to explore the revitalisation of the crime thriller on the big and small screen (Wallander, The Killing) from the Scandinavian perspective. There will also be an exclusive preview of Headhunters, the first screen adaptation of a novel by Jo Nesbo.

FREE but please book your tickets through Box Office

Limited availability for the full promenade. Additional free tickets will be available for the final section in the Butterworth Hall.

To celebrate the 2012 Cultural Olympiad and the BBC’s Music Nation, Warwick Arts Centre and the Coull Quartet present a fascinating and exhilarating afternoon of activities and exhibitions alongside the premiere performances and BBC Radio 3 recording of Ping!, Joe Cutler’s New Music 20�12 Commission for the Coull Quartet and four table tennis players, with film by Tom Dale.

Try your hand at drumming, or join musical promenades that will feature vocal ping pong with the University choir, basketball percussion from Birmingham Conservatoire, and a ping pong DJ. Watch world-class exhibition table tennis and hourly attempts at the world record for longest rally, challenge the Robo Pong 2050 table tennis robot and get coaching from experts from the Fusion Table Tennis Club. Fun for all the family guaranteed!

Find out more

Visit the PRS for Music Foundation’s Website

PRS for Music Foundation’s New Music 20�12 is a UK-wide commissioning programme initiated by Jillian Barker and David Cohen, and delivered in partnership with the BBC, LOCOG and NMC Recordings. See www.prsformusicfoundation.com for more information.

New Music 20�12 is generously supported by the following committed patrons and funders: Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, John S. Cohen Foundation, PRS for Music Foundation, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council of Wales, Columbia Foundation Fund of the Capital Community Foundation, Incorporated Society of Musicians, Musicians Benevolent Fund, Jerwood Charitable Foundation, RVW Trust, Charlotte and Dennis Stevenson, Tolkien Trust, The Leche Trust, The Bliss Trust, Finzi Trust, The Worshipful Company of Musicians, Lilian Slowe, John and Ann Tusa, John Wates Charitable Trust, Richard Walduck, Honeymead Arts Trust, and Sir Anthony Cleaver.

Take a look at the full programme of New Music 20�12 events here

New Music 20�12 is a UK-wide programme which consists of twenty outstanding new works, each lasting 12 minutes, commissioned to feature centre stage of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. New Music 20�12 commissions will be broadcast by BBC Radio 3 and tour the UK, enabling as many people as possible to enjoy excellent new music as part of our celebrations of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games

Use splodges, spirals, squares and circles to capture yourself or another person in paint.

Age: 6+

We meet two characters who play together – exploring new spaces, new objects, dressing up and taking turns – but what happens when one of them wants to be the ONLY Captain of the ship?

One Little Word captivates children’s imaginations with a moving story told with original music and just ONE spoken word.
M6 Theatre Company is one of Britain’s leading theatre companies specialising in creating and delivering dynamic, high quality and relevant productions for young audiences.

“Magical” The Stage

“Outstanding” Herald Scotland

Birmingham Mail *****

Running Time: 45 mins

Age: 3+

Verdi’s magnificent and epic masterpiece will be presented with a glittering line up of international soloists.

Does anybody love anybody anyway?

So asked insane, Welsh, poet philosopher Howard Jones in 1983. Finally someone dares to answer. Having sorted out religion (Christ on a Bike), politics (Hitler Moustache) and penises (Talking Cock), the star of the award winning podcast As It Occurs To Me and Radio 4’s Richard Herring’s Objective seeks to define and destroy love. Before love destroys him. Again.

Does Richard’s dry-cleaner genuinely love him? How could a romantic gesture involving Ferrero Rochers get dangerously out of control?

“Stimulating and Exhilarating….Utterly Hilarious” ***** Chortle

“The best comedian of his generation.” GQ

“A powerful orator with tricks up his sleeve” The Independent

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

Due to popular demand, the inimitable Australian comic and ex heavy metal drummer, Steve Hughes returns to Warwick Arts Centre. Direct from sell-out shows at the Sydney and Melbourne Comedy Festivals and storming sets on BBC One’s Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Channel 4’s Stand Up For The Week and Dave’s One Night Stand.

Expect intelligent, straight-talking social commentary from one of the most original and thought-provoking performers to grace the UK circuit.

“Outstanding. Hughes is gold” Metro

“Hard-hitting social commentary at it’s best” Times

“Intelligent, provocative, profound. See him while it’s still legal” Chortle

Running Time: approximately 2 hours.

Blanca Li takes the urban streetdance style elektro, a dazzling mix of breaking, disco, vogue, popping and locking, off the streets of Paris, mixes it up with some theatre, contemporary dance and an amazing soundtrack and gives you Elektro Kif.

It’s a show about the hopes and fears, friendships, fights and rivalries of an all male cast of eight exceptional young electro dancers, following them through a typical day at college. It’s funny, fast, colourful and anarchic and features an exhilarating soundtrack especially composed by Tao Gutierrez, which mixes techno with electro house, afrobeat, sampling and classical music.

You’ve never seen anything like this before!

Blanca Li is a choreographer, a film director, a dancer and an actress. Whether performance, opera, video or feature film, she has a large number of projects on the go at any one time. From flamenco to classical ballet to hip-hop, with Blanca Li everything begins, and ends, in the energy of movement and dance.

Visit the Elektro Kif Website

Bryony Kimmings is NOT an alcoholic. But she has always had a rocky relationship with booze. It seems the dark stuff is intrinsically linked to her confidence as an artist, as well as to blame for her most genius and most hideous creations.

From Jackson Pollock to Amy Winehouse, from Oscar Wilde to Charlie Sheen, everyone’s on something but why? From the Total Theatre award-winning creator of Sex Idiot comes a hilarious and moving new one-woman show investigating the historical links between artists and mind enhancing drugs.

2 parts song and dance routine, 1 part breakdown, with a twist of sobering reality for good measure, the show follows Bryony as she cracks open her own creative psyche with the help of a film-maker, a team of scientists, carers and an American IT expert. Created solely from material made during a seven-day experiment, in which Bryony was kept in various states of scientific drunkenness. Performed sober.

“A bold, brassy yet sobering show with lots of bottle.” The Guardian

“Warm, funny and visually stunning.” Time Out

“An unabashedly wacky sweetheart with a delightful anything goes air.” The Times

A Soho Theatre and Junction co-commission. Supported by Escalator East to Edinburgh and Arts Council England. 7 Day Drunk experiment supported by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation. Subsidised rehearsal space provided by Jerwood.

Running Time: 1hr (no interval)

Age: 16+

“Watch her transition to national treasure begin here.” The Sunday Times

Having sold out her first date in super-fast time, we have managed to secure an additional date for Sarah Millican’s Thoroughly Modern Millican tour.

Ever wondered how to make a home-made treadmill? The practicalities of an orgy? Or what to do when you don’t like parties but do like party food? Wonder no more.

Some comedians use very strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

Jimeoin returns for an extra date in 2012!

Stunning world-class stand-up comedy from star of TV’s ‘Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow ‘Jason Manford’s Comedy Rocks, Just For Laughs and Best of Edinburgh Comedy Festival.

‘Inspired ramblings!’ Independent

‘Sublime’ Chortle

‘Brilliant… It gets no better than this… Hilarious!’ Time Out

Some comedians use very strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

The Invisible Dot Ltd are one of the most exciting and innovative production companies in the country. Having worked extensively with cutting edge comedians Tim Key, Mark Watson, Daniel Kitson, David O’Doherty and Simon Amstell we are uniquely placed to to bring you the next generation of exceptional acts emerging through the Edinburgh Fringe and the London alternative circuit… So hence this; The Invisible Dot Tour; a snapshot of the most exciting and experimental acts around…

Highly acclaimed comic Jonny Sweet brings his award-winning show to Warwick Arts Centre with a rip-roaring lecture about the recently decommissioned naval brigate the HMS Nottingham.

“A delightfully silly and inventive hour” – The Observer

Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer winner. Writer and performer of his own Radio 4 series Hard To Tell and star of Channel 4’s Chickens with The Inbetweeners’ Simon Bird and Joe Thomas.

With support from Sheeps, the most hotly tipped sketch group from this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, and Will Andrews.

“Sheeps are something very exciting indeed” – **** Independent

“All hail the comedians you could never clone. William Andrews’ mix of stand-up, sketches and (let’s call it) performance art bursts with ideas.” **** The Times

Some comedians use strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

Conductor Andris Nelsons
Piano Rudolf Buchbinder

Ravel – Suite No.2 from Daphnis and Chloe
Beethoven – Piano Concerto No.4
Interval
Sibelius – Symphony No.2

They’re calling it the most exciting conductor / orchestra partnership in Britain today – and if you’ve been to Birmingham’s Symphony Hall lately you’ll already know that Andris Nelsons and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra are generating the kind of electricity last experienced when Simon Rattle held the Birmingham baton. So expect tingles to run down spines in this shamelessly romantic programme (and which is not in the Birmingham programme so can only be heard in Coventry!).

Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloé suite opens with a radiant sunrise and finishes with a riot. Sibelius’ Second Symphony begins deep in the forests of Finland and ends with a soaring hymn of triumph. Both make the perfect showcase for a conductor who lives and breathes emotion, and an orchestra that gives itself to him, heart and soul. In between, the sly wit of Beethoven’s most personal piano concerto might seem understated. But with Viennese pianist Rudolf Buchbinder at the keyboard, we might just be in for a surprise or two.

Pre-concert talk

Conference Room 6.45pm

A talk with members of the CBSO.

Tickets £2, Subscribers £1

Please call the Box Office to book your ticket for this pre-concert talk on 024 7652 4524.

Browse the Concert Series 2011/12 below

Written by the multi award-winning Welsh playwright Tim Price this highly acclaimed drama was inspired by a week spent in a Welsh borders market town and the young people he met there.
Life, love and loss in a picture postcard town is laid bare in this heartbreaking but darkly comic new play. Through a series of intertwining accounts For Once cuts to the heart of a family, and a community, turned upside down by tragedy.

Time Out, Critics’ Choice ****

Evening Standard, Critics’ Choice ****

Financial Times ****

T. Post Show Talk Fri 9 Mar

For Once is part of Bite Size Festival and the Sat evening performance will also be included in the Bite Size day ticket. Day passes provide access to all Bite Size performances, and are availbable for purchase for £30 (£28) in person at the Box Office or by calling 024 7652 4524

The concert will feature the University of Warwick Chamber Choir performing the Bruckner Mass in E minor accompanied by the University of Warwick Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

The Symphonic Wind Ensemble will also be performing contemporary and well known Wind Band works from their repertoire.

Tickets available through Box Office or on the door on the night.

Bite Size is a day long showcase of new work from some of the most original and intrepid theatre-makers working in the West Midlands.

Kindle Theatre – Hotel du Van

Hotel Du Van is an intimate dining experience for you and three guests. An exotic dish cooked and served to you by candlelight in untypical surroundings.

On the menu for Bite Size: Minotaur

“They’ve given me my most memorable Edinburgh 2010 moment.” Bella Todd, Fringe Review

As featured on BBC Front Row with Kirsty Lang

There are ten 15 minute slots scheduled throughout the day, with slots only available to Day Pass holders. Each performance has a limited capacity of 4. This is a “first come, first served” event, and advanced ticket booking is not available.

Day passes providing access to all Bite Size performances are availbable for £30 (£28) and can be purchased in person at the Box Office or by calling 024 7652 4524

Bite Size is a day long showcase of new work from some of the most original and intrepid theatre-makers working in the West Midlands.

Sam Halmarack and Tom Wainwright – Psychodrama
A Bristol Ferment scratch commission.

Psychodrama is a form of therapy that can uncover some uncomfortable truths which can be damaging if not managed with sensitivity. Unfortunately, Sam and Tom are reckless amateurs and their psychodrama session looks set to end in gruesome tragedy. Identity is confused and a play gets turned inside out.

Sam is a musician and composer for live performance. His Mayfest 2011 hit Sam Halmarack & the Miserablites, developed in collaboration with Bristol Ferment, will tour this year. Tom is a writer and performer whose recent work includes Muscle with Bristol Old Vic/Hull Truck, and the Theatre Bristol/Bristol Old Vic co-commission, Pedestrian, which toured nationally in 2011 after a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2010.

Audience feedback from Bristol Ferment January 2012:

“Extremely funny/most highly entertaining piece of theatre Ive seen in a long time. Pushing boundaries of ‘theatre’”

“Not really sure how to describe it but loved every minute”

“The whole thing was a mixture of joy and sorrow and I absolutely loved it”

Day passes providing access to all Bite Size performances are availbable for £30 (£28) and can be purchased in person at the Box Office or by calling 024 7652 4524

Take inspiration from the sculpture on campus to create 3D collages.

Age: 6+

Bite Size is a day long showcase of new work from some of the most original and intrepid theatre-makers working in the West Midlands.

Little Earthquake – It’s Only A Paper Moon

238,857 miles out in space, a pock-marked sphere of stone exerts a mysterious force over the Earth, brightening the darkest nights and stirring vast ocean tides. Little Earthquake embarks on a fantastic voyage to the fake Moons of the past, present and future, as several sad souls reach out to imaginary lunar landscapes in an attempt to make sense of their earthbound existence.

Supported by The National Lottery through Arts Council England; mac; China Plate; Stan’s Café; Warwick Arts Centre; Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton; and the Universities of Warwick, Stirling and Exeter.

Visit Little Earthquake’s website
Visit Little Earthquake’s Facebook Group
Follow Little Earthquake on Twitter

Work in progress. 30 minutes

Day passes providing access to all Bite Size performances are availbable for £30 (£28) and can be purchased in person at the Box Office or by calling 024 7652 4524

Bite Size is a day long showcase of new work from some of the most original and intrepid theatre-makers working in the West Midlands.

Babakas – Our Fathers

Provider. Teacher. Law-giver. Friend.

Being a father’s no easy job. This is a story of three boys from very different places who grew up, had kids, took decisions, made mistakes, but always tried to do their best. A playful search through sixty years of family life, guided by the hopes and fantasies of three performers whose far-away fathers might just make an appearance.

Babakas is a Birmingham-based international ensemble who hope to make shows that are surprising, generous and honest.

Work in progress. 60 minutes.

Day passes providing access to all Bite Size performances are availbable for £30 (£28) and can be purchased in person at the Box Office or by calling 024 7652 4524

Bite Size is a day long showcase of new work from some of the most original and intrepid theatre-makers working in the West Midlands.

Adam Peck – ONLY
Developed and commissioned through Bristol Ferment

ONLY is a monologue about being an only child. It’s about growing up, making friends and feeling lonely. It’s about memories of pets and parents, houses and homes, dead people and imaginary friends.

Adam Peck’s ONLY first made an appearance as a performed reading in Bristol Old Vic’s Ferment Festival. It was developed into a fifty-minute performance. This is a thirty-minute extract from that show.

“I loved this show when I saw it in Ferment back in January. A beautifully evocative slice of storytelling; Adam’s easy, conversational style really lets you in to his world. A real gem.”
Catherine Morgenstern, Bristol Old Vic

Day passes providing access to all Bite Size performances are availbable for £30 (£28) and can be purchased in person at the Box Office or by calling 024 7652 4524

Bite Size is a day long showcase of new work from some of the most original and intrepid theatre-makers working in the West Midlands.

Caroline Horton – Mess

“Welcome to Josephine’s show. (Boris helps… he is important too… well quite important and always does his best). Unflinchingly the pair confront big issues (and extremely tiny ones) and today they will tackle one particularly thin elephant in the room.”

From the maker of award winning You’re Not Like The Other Girls Chrissy

Triggered at Warwick Arts Centre, Commissioned by BAC and Parabola Arts, Supported by The Bush

Work in progress, 30 minutes
13yrs+

Day passes providing access to all Bite Size performances are availbable for £30 (£28) and can be purchased in person at the Box Office or by calling 024 7652 4524

Bite Size is a day long showcase of new work from some of the most original and intrepid theatre-makers working in the West Midlands.

10 Minute Tasters
Four glimpses into new pieces being made in the West Midlands
(50 minutes)

Francesca Millican-Slater: I Promise to Swim the Channel (or the Story of How I Might)
Work in progress

In times of trouble I run to water, and I know I am not the only one. English coasts are lined with wearied souls who seek answers in horizons, in waves and changing tides. The sea makes my heart lurch like seeing an old lover, makes my stomach contract like when meeting a new one. So in order to get to know it, in order to really understand it, I’m going to swim the channel.
That was two years ago.

And I just moved to the most landlocked city in the country.
The story continues. The swimming continues (sort of).

LCB – Who You Calling Frappucchino
Work in progress

My Dad used to tell me, “Son, If you can make a woman laugh then you’ll always win, even with those big ears of yours.” Partly forgetting that I got them from him.’

Who you Calling Frappuccino? is LCB’s witty response to the Oscar Wilde classic The Importance of Being Earnest. As one of Birmingham’s best up and coming Poets and Story Tellers, LCB takes the audience with him on a ride through his world of micro-stories and observations, boys and their troubles with girls, and accidently falling for Baristas in Starbucks with unlikely tattoos. All told in his own unique style, walking to his own unique beat.

Talking Birds – Decathlon
Work in progress

This is the copy written by Nick Walker about the content of the performance he will be presenting to audiences at around teatime. The copy is a hundred words long and gives a broad indication of the show’s intellectual territory, as well contain a small joke, though it might be hard to spot. Like the work he is presenting, this copy is mainly fiction, with one or two hard facts, and will include a reference to Daley Thompson and the ‘84 Olympics. There will almost certainly be some music in the show, but probably not in the copy.

Teasel Theatre – Grisly Tales from Tumblewater
(excerpt)

Welcome to Tumblewater, not that it’s a welcoming place – unless you’re an undertaker or an umbrella salesman. Caspian Prye, the twisted landowner, controls everything and everyone; even the police. Into this world stumbles Daniel Dorey, a fearless orphan armed only with his wits and a satchel of spine-chilling stories.

Can he bring down Caspian Prye? Can he rescue the girl in the distant room? Can he even stay alive long enough to tell his tales?
Dickens meets Dahl via Horrible Histories with laughs, frights and live music in this playfully gothic one-man adventure for all ages 8+.

Adapted from the novel by Bruno Vincent
Developed with the support of The Brewhouse Theatre and Arts Centre, Taunton.

Day passes providing access to all Bite Size performances are availbable for £30 (£28) and can be purchased in person at the Box Office or by calling 024 7652 4524

Bite Size is a day long showcase of new work from some of the most original and intrepid theatre-makers working in the West Midlands.

Untied Artists – For Their Own Good
Work in progress, 40 minutes
14yrs+

How does our complex and amorphous relationship with other animals affect our own humanity?
Accompanied by a menagerie of exquisitely crafted puppets and automata, two performers investigate the pitfalls of being high up on the evolutionary chain.

Taking source material from interviews and documentary footage of veterinary surgeries, farms, abattoirs, hospitals and homes, this show examines how changing attitudes about how we care for animals might just tell us something about how we care for ourselves.

Devised by the company with text by Arzhang Pezhman

Day passes providing access to all Bite Size performances are availbable for £30 (£28) and can be purchased in person at the Box Office or by calling 024 7652 4524.

The best of British Theatre broadcast live via satellite to screens at Warwick Arts Centre.

*Please note that this is a repeat screening of the live screening on Thu 1 Mar. The live screening is almost sold out, click here for more information

I in earth, in heaven, or in hell?
Sleeping or waking? Mad or well advised?
Known unto these, and to myself disguised!

Two sets of twins separated at birth collide in the same city without meeting for one crazy day, as multiple mistaken identities lead to confusion on a grand scale. And for no one more so than Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant Dromio who, in search of their brothers, arrive in a land entirely foreign to their distant home.

Do you know me, sir? Am I Dromio?
Am I your man? Am I myself?

Shakespeare’s furiously paced comedy is staged in a contemporary world into which walk three prohibited foreigners who see everything for the first time. Lenny Henry plays Antipholus of Syracuse.

Running time: 3 hrs 15 mins (including interval)

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

An evening of laughs from the award-winning comedian Nathan Caton, as seen and heard on Mock the Week, ITV’s FHM Stand-Up Hero and BBC R4, tackles everything from race to school yard jokes in a hilarious show that will leave you in no doubt why Caton regarded as one of the hottest rising stars on the scene with a glittering career ahead!

“Confident, charismatic and upbeat.” Chortle

“Compelling, well-observed stand-up.” The Guardian

“The most exciting young black comic on the scene.” Fest Magazine

The Iliad and The Odyssey are classic tales with a cast of characters who have fascinated audiences for three thousand years: Helen, cursed by her beauty; Achilles, the archetypal flawed hero; Odysseus, the quick-witted survivor against the odds; and towering over them, the omnipotent Olympian Gods and Goddesses.

In this first performance, these leading exponents of the art of storytelling recount the tale of that great quarrel that inspired Western literature.

“They have spearheaded the revival of storytelling in this country, helping to transform it into a vigorous and contemporary form of entertainment.” The Independent

The Iliad and The Odyssey are classic tales with a cast of characters who have fascinated audiences for three thousand years: Helen, cursed by her beauty; Achilles, the archetypal flawed hero; Odysseus, the quick-witted survivor against the odds; and towering over them, the omnipotent Olympian Gods and Goddesses.

This second evening of storytelling follows Odysseus on his treacherous ten-year journey to get back home.

“They have spearheaded the revival of storytelling in this country, helping to transform it into a vigorous and contemporary form of entertainment.” The Independent

The Ethics of Progress is a mind melting, jargon free, whistle-stop tour of leading edge Quantum Physics, delivered with warmth, wit and charm by Unlimited Theatre’s Artistic Director Jon Spooner.

By explaining in straightforward terms the concepts of Superposition, Quantum Entanglement and Teleportation, The Ethics of Progress pushes theoretical physics into real life situations and imagines the world as it might be in the not-too-distant future.

“… I went into this show with a heavy heart thinking the subject would be over my head. I came out wanting to change the world. Brilliant.” The Guardian

A co-production with Oxford Playhouse and Leeds Met Studio.

Featured in Lyn Gardner’s What to See in 2012 on the Guardian website

Nothing is quite as it first appears in Lily’s world. She seems to have everything… but now and then her pain becomes unbearable.

‘Lily, I have some rather bad news, your soul is decaying.’

Missing is a journey into the depths of a person’s psyche. As Lily unearths her forgotten past the truth changes everything. Her pristine life explodes around her in this incredibly inventive new show.

How do you rescue a dying soul?

Enter GECKO’s brilliantly bizarre world with floating scenes and outrageous apparatus. Your imagination will be turned upside down and inside out!

Disturbing like David Lynch.

Beautiful like Cinema Paradiso.

Brilliant like… GECKO.

Vist Gecko’s website
Follow Gecko on Twitter @geckotheatre

Missing is a Gecko production. Supported by Arts Council England.
Co-commissioned by New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich in association with Warwick Arts Centre and DanceEast.

Running time: 80 mins (approx)

Mercury-nominated jazz pianist and composer Zoe Rahman will be touring the UK to mark the release of her fifth album, Kindred Spirits. The music is a powerful and fresh portrait of her combined English, Irish and Bengali heritage.

As well as touring internationally with her own band Zoe has toured extensively with Courtney Pine, Jerry Dammers’ Spatial AKA Orchestra and Way To Blue: The Songs of Nick Drake.

“Pianist Rahman and her fine quartet began with a set of life-affirming music that was never less than entertaining and intellectually stimulating… a fusion of Bengali and Irish musical influences that was truly remarkable.” Western Mail (Brecon Jazz 2011)

“Zoe joyfully celebrates her influences with originality, personality and a certain contemporary verve.” Julian Joseph

Nominated for The Horizon Award – BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2011

Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell are an unlikely alliance – Jonny with his bittersweet kitchen-sink dramas, shows sympathy with American storytellers like Dylan and Tom Waits; while Lucy’s traditional folkie upbringing and vocal style couldn’t be more English.

Just as likely to appeal to fans of Gillian Welch and Low Anthem as the traditional folk world, their EP, The North Farm Sessions received four stars from The Guardian. They have supported both The Unthanks and Bellowhead and appeared at summer festivals including Green Man, End of the Road and Cambridge.

“Delicate, thoughtful and intimate.” **** The Guardian

“There’s something about Jonny and Lucy that makes us feel this is the start of something pretty damn special – They’re made of magic.” MTV

Gabriel Byrne is Papa Reilly, a widower who lives with his two young sons, Ossie and Tito, in the slums of Dublin. One day their grandfather turns up with a beautiful and imposing white stallion named Tir na nOg, a magical creature from ancient Irish legends. But when a rich breeder tries desperately to take the horse away from them, their only hope is to escape and become the coolest outlaws ever to ride… Into The West!

This delightful adventure is nonstop entertainment for the whole family and a perfect treat for St Patrick’s Day.

Please note that cinema prices are now inclusive of booking fee.

Love Film? Join Warwick Arts Centre’s New Film Membership Scheme and take advantage of discounts, priority mailings and a host of other fantastic benefits. Find out more. To buy online, click here

The best of British Theatre broadcast live via satellite to screens at Warwick Arts Centre.

To come to my house, to call for what he likes, to turn me out of my own chair, to insult the family, to order his servants to get drunk, and then to tell me, “This house is mine, sir”. By all that’s impudent it makes me laugh.

Hardcastle, a man of substance, looks forward to acquainting his daughter with his old pal’s son with a view to marriage. But thanks to playboy Lumpkin, he’s mistaken by his prospective son-in-law Marlow for an innkeeper, his daughter for the local barmaid. The good news is while Marlow can barely speak to a woman of quality, he’s a charmer with those of a different stamp. And so, as Hardcastle’s indignation intensifies, Miss Hardcastle’s appreciation for her misguided suitor soars. Misdemeanours multiply, love blossoms, mayhem ensues.

One of the great, generous-hearted and ingenious comedies of the English language, Goldsmith’s She Stoops To Conquer offers a celebration of chaos, courtship and the dysfunctional family.

Running time: 3hrs (including interval)

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Warwick Arts Centre’s screenings of the best opera, live from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York.

Anna Netrebko’s dazzling portrayal of the tragic heroine in Laurent Pelly’s new production travels to the Met from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Piotr Beczala and Paulo Szot also star, with the Met’s Principal Guest Conductor Fabio Luisi on the podium.

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

Please note that this event has been moved from the Cinema to the Theatre. Manon is screened live from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York

Warwick Arts Centre’s screenings of the best opera broadcast live from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York

Natalie Dessay will put on the red dress in Willy Decker’s stunning production, in her first Violetta at the Met. Matthew Polenzani sings Alfredo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky is Germont, and Principal Guest Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium.

Approximate running time 2 hrs. 35 mins

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

Maria do Céu Whitaker Poças is a stunning singer songwriter whose pure voice connects bossa, electronica, samba and dub and has made here the biggest selling Brazilian recording artist in the UK.

Céu captivated the world with her self-titled debut album in 2008. Céu earned both Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations, countless press accolades, and chart topping numbers.

Céu’s fresh electropical sound is emblematic of her hometown Sao Paulo, the intensely urban, forward-looking megalopolis of the tropics, the epicentre of the independent music scene in Brazil and a buzzing hotbed of invention and musical breakthrough.

Opening the show is the funky upbeatness of Curumin and his samba soul. From the same Sao Paulo electro-dance scene as CSS and Telepathique he knows how to get any party started.

A night of the best of new Brazilian music presented on tour by La Linea – The Latin Music Festival with support from Arts Council of England.

“Maybe it’s time for The Girl from Ipanema to step aside and make way for the Girl from São Paulo.” Fox News

“Ceu could warm any room.” Q

“The melodies are sleek and assured, drawing on everything from Kingston dub to psychedelic rock, Erykah Badu-style R & B and cool jazz, all draped in elegant bossa shades.” Sunday Times

“Céu is the future of Brazilian Popular Music” – Caetano Veloso,
Jornal do Brasil

As seen on BBC3’s Edinburgh Gala, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and Dave’s One Night Stand and winner of the Best International Comedian by the New Zealand Comedy Guild, Terry Alderton has also just been named The Sun’s top comedian of 2011.

Terry is back on the road with a brand new show, he’s a unique and unforgettable comedy performer whose popularity grows day by day.

“This is a mainstream act that dares to be different, that comes from the soul… Effortlessly enjoyable yet excitingly different.” ****The Times

“Terry Alderton is on astonishing form … Masterful” **** The Sunday Telegraph

Winner of the TMA Theatre Award 2011 – Best Theatre for Children and Young People

In the sparkling world of White everything gleams, dazzles and shines. But the problem is that all anyone can think about in the world of White is… red…and yellow… and green… and blue…

Ages: 2-4

Following his sell out tour of the UK & Ireland in 2010 and best selling DVD This Is The Show, Irish funnyman Dara O Briain hits the road again with a brand new show for 2012. Dara is one of the most recognisable faces of British TV, hosting Mock The Week, The Apprentice – You’re Fired, Stargazing Live and starring in Three Men in a Boat.

Catch one of the most charismatic, intelligent, fast-talking and down right funny live performers working in the British Isles today.

“One of the most dependably entertaining stand up comics in the land” The Times

“His set is a masterclass in intelligent, no-frills stand-up” The Guardian

“Devilishly sharp” Metro

Some comedians use very strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

We all, at one time or another, need tenderness. Un peu de tendresse bordel de merde! (A little tenderness for crying out loud!) explores the moment of wandering between two love relationships; the different forms of tenderness shared with a dying person, a child, a former lover, a father; the intense request to receive or give tenderness, or to give it when the other refuses.

“St-Pierre is a provocateur, but what gives his productions integrity is their underlying sincerity: they demonstrate both the ugliness and the beauty of our basic instincts.” Toronto Life

Using humour to tackle taboo subjects the show features 20 dancers, naked both literally and figuratively. As the performers leap with primal urgency, or lie crumpled and defeated on the ground, a narrator leads the audience on a journey through their emotions towards a breathtakingly beautiful and moving finale.

Branded the ‘enfant terrible’ of his generation, award-winning Canadian choreographer Dave St-Pierre has been a major force on the contemporary dance scene for over five years and has provoked comparisons with Pina Bausch’s theatre of cruelty.

International Dance Festival Birmingham takes place in venues and outdoor spaces across Birmingham and the West Midlands from 23 April – 19 May 2012. Produced by DanceXchange and Birmingham Hippodrome, IDFB is sponsored by Brewin Dolphin and funded by the European Union, Advantage West Midlands, Arts Council England and Birmingham City Council.

N.B. Age 18+ Please be aware that this production contains explicit adult material that some may find shocking.

Shostakovich – Quartet No. 1 in C major Op.49
Schubert – Quartet in A minor D.804 Rosamunde
Dvorak – Double Bass Quintet in G major Opus 77

Join us in the Helen Martin Studio for a pre-concert talk to Spring Serenade.

Shostakovich – Quartet No. 1 in C major Op.49
Schubert – Quartet in A minor D.804 Rosamunde
Dvorak – Double Bass Quintet in G major Opus 77

They say that string quartets are ‘the music of friends’ – so why not share the joy? Antonín Dvořák did exactly that when he invited a double bass to join in his Serenade Op.77, and the result is thirty minutes of Bohemian sunshine, pounding dance-tunes and melodies that you just can’t get out of your head.

Dmitri Shostakovich never wrote a more optimistic string quartet than his brilliant First. Schubert’s darkly romantic Rosamunde quartet, meanwhile, distils pain into ravishing poetry. Well, what did you expect from the greatest songwriter of all time?

Pre-concert talk

Helen Martin Studio 6.30pm

Tickets £1

Please call the Box Office to book your ticket for this pre-concert talk on 024 7652 4524.

Browse the Concert Series 2011/12 below

Please note that in order to accommodate extra demand for this event this has been moved into the Butterworth Hall. If you have already booked a ticket for this event you will be contacted soon to arrange good seats in the new venue.

Due to an overwhelming public demand, the brilliant Jon Richardson is back on tour in 2012. The new host of Channel 4’s Stand Up For The Week, team captain on 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and best-selling author will be taking his show, Funny Magnet across the UK from February 2012.

Discussing the everyday items that have a profound effect on his outlook, Funny Magnet sees Jon working his pessimism with some hilarious consequences, and as always with his loveable vivacious delivery.

‘Sublimely brilliant, stunning….He is a comic right on the verge of greatness. If you haven’t seen him yet get your finger out and sort it.’ Time Out

Some comedians use very strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

Running time: 2 hours including interval

Prepare to be astonished by stunning vocals, frailing banjo wizardry and sounds you didn’t think were possible on harmonica.

Will Pound and Dan Walsh are two of the most exciting and unique young musicians on today’s music scene and are destined for great things with their ability to encompass an amazing array of musical genres with ease, energy and excellence.

Labelled respectively as ‘one of the most original harmonica players in Britain’ and ‘the UK’s top Clawhammer banjoist’, the two have joined forces to create a highly entertaining and astonishing live set which made its debut in May 2009 at Manchester’s Chetham’s School of Music to a rapturous reception.

Will Pound has recently been nominated as Folk Musician of the Year for the 2012 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

After successfully touring Ying and Young around the UK this Autumn, this May Seann Walsh heads to Warwick Arts Centre with his razor-sharp observational comedy.

A familiar face on Channel 4’s Stand Up For The Week and new team captain of Dave’s Argumental Seann is also winner of the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year and was nominated for Chortle Best Breakthrough Act in 2010 and Chortle Best Compere in 2011.

“a gifted observational comedian…a well rounded, accomplished performer…undoubtedly a star in the very near future” – The Scotsman

Some comedians use strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

Beethoven – Overture to Leonora
Liszt – Piano Concerto No.2
Interval
Brahms – Symphony No.1

Conductor Philippe Jordan
Piano Simon Trpceski

It took Johannes Brahms ten years and a shattered heart to write his First Symphony, and when it was finally complete, the papers dubbed it ‘Beethoven’s Tenth’. Yet when audiences heard the anguished heartbeats of its opening, they suspected they were in the presence of a genius on the Shakespeare scale – and when they heard the magnificent tune with which it finishes, they knew it.

Tonight, the Philharmonia and the acclaimed young Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan re-live that incredible adventure. Beethoven’s stirring Leonora overture gives the call to action, and then Simon Trpčeski takes centre stage in Liszt’s Second Piano Concerto – an outrageously difficult showpiece written by and for the greatest piano virtuoso of all time.

Pre-concert talk

Conference Room 6.45pm

Pianist Simon Trpceski in conversation with Paul McGrath, Director of Music, University of Warwick.

Tickets £2, Subscribers £1

Please call the Box Office to book your ticket for this pre-concert talk on 024 7652 4524.

Browse the Concert Series 2011/12 below

Amateur Transplants frontman Adam Kay sits at a grand piano and sings smutty songs. With sell-out tours and Edinburgh Fringe seasons, his cutting-edge, darkly humourous re-imaginings of pop and rock classics have gained him a cult following across the UK. His songs have over 20 million hits on YouTube (including the iconic London Underground Song) and have been in the iTunes comedy top ten consistently since 2008. This show is probably not suitable for your elderly maiden aunt.

NB Unlike the majority of musical comedy, this is actually funny.

“This made me very, very happy” Stephen Fry

“Filthy at best, depraved at worst – and great, guilty fun” Telegraph

“A comedy classic” Scotsman

Please note, some comedians use strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

Effervescent, high-spirited, vocally brilliant, a work of comic genius: Rossini’s masterpiece The Barber of Seville is a favourite with audiences around the world. ETO’s new production, directed by the exciting and imaginative Thomas Guthrie and conducted by an experienced master of Italian opera, Paul McGrath, stars Nicholas Sharratt as the roguish young Count Almaviva and Kitty Whately as Rosina.

Sung in English Translation.

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

As the UK’s most popular pianist and bandleader, Jools has performed and recorded with some of the most talented musicians and songwriters in the world, including Eric Clapton, the late George Harrison and Luther Vandross, Sting, BB King and Paul Weller.

Jools Holland, OBE, is respected not only as a performer, but also an authority on all music. His BBC 2 Live music show Later… with Jools Holland has now broadcast over 250 episodes featuring artists from all time periods, countries, and genres!

The 20-piece Rhythm & Blues Orchestra features, at its helm, former Squeeze drummer, Glison Lavis. Lavis has been drumming with Jools Holland for over 25 years, since their Squeeze days. Ruby Turner and Louise Marshall are sure to deliver true rhythm and blues boogie woogie with their show-stopping vocals.

This as ever is a delightful evening, which is sure to entertain, involve, and impress the whole audience!

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

ETO Director James Conway and Conductor Michael Rosewell return to this striking production with a new cast, including emerging star Nicholas Lester in the title role. With its heartfelt arias and ensembles, its splendid choruses and ballroom scenes, and Tchaikovsky’s gift for melody, rich orchestration and drama, Eugene Onegin is a night at the opera for romantics of all ages.

Sung in English translation.

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

Organised by the Rotary Club of Coventry Jubilee, this is Coventry’s only Inter-School Talent Competition.

A showcase of the variety of talent in schools in Coventry, with dancing, singing, excerpts from musicals and more…

This extraordinary new one-woman comedy show tells the story of the part Isy played in two people’s blossoming internet romance whilst on her own treacherous search for true love. Bursting with hilarity and genuinely touching, this beautifully nuanced show flits between stand-up, music and character comedy. Also known as Dobby in Peep Show (Channel 4) and Kiki in Whites (BBC2). Double British Comedy Award Nominee.

“A real gem.” The Guardian

“Touching comedy told with affection.” The Sunday Telegraph

Weber – Der Freischutz
Mozart – Piano Concerto No.21 (Elvia Madegan)
Interval
Beethoven – Symphony No.3

“If I could wage war like I can write music, I would destroy him!”

Ludwig van Beethoven was the ultimate musical revolutionary, and he wrote his Third Symphony as a tribute to the ultimate revolutionary warrior – Napoleon Bonaparte. So when Napoleon betrayed his radical ideals, Beethoven tore up the score in an explosion of rage. There’s never been a symphony like the Eroica; two centuries later, music is still reeling from the shockwaves. With the right conductor and orchestra, it’s one of music’s most electrifying experiences, so we’re in luck: the veteran conductor Alexander Liebreich has this music in his blood, and no orchestra is more drenched in the German tradition than the Berlin Symphony.

That should make for some suitably demonic thrills in Weber’s spooktastic Freischutz overture, too. First, though, youth meets tradition as the remarkable 20-year old piano virtuoso Kit Armstrong brings all his freshness and imagination to Mozart’s best-loved piano concerto.

Pre-concert talk

Conference Room 6.45pm

Brian Midgley, lecturer in Music at the University of Warwick talks about the works in tonight’s programme.

Tickets £2, Subscribers £1

Please call the Box Office to book your ticket for this pre-concert talk on 024 7652 4524.

Browse the Concert Series 2011/12 below

Paul Merton returns to his stand-up roots for the first time this century, accompanied by Lee Simpson, Richard Vranch and Suki Webster.

Discover the bizarre workings of Paul Merton’s brain as he muses on the mighty behemoth that is his noggin. Away from the Have I Got New For You desk, Paul Merton proves he’s got legs in a night of sketches, music, magic, variety and dancing girls (well, two of them aren’t girls).

Please note, some comedians use strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

The star of Mock The Week, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and Live At The Apollo, embarks on a brand new tour with a fantastic and hilarious new show!

“A brilliant comic brain… this stand-up cracks some of the best one liners I’ve ever heard”. Guardian

“Perfectly crafted gags”. Sunday Times

Official Website

Some comedians use very strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

In the years since her untimely death, Sandy Denny has emerged as one of the UK’s greatest singersongwriters. Comprehensive re-issuing of all her recordings in recent years has seen her reputation continue to grow, and this very special performance showcases for the first time her entire musical legacy, taking in her work with Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, her solo career and the new songs completed by Thea Gilmore on her acclaimed album Don’t Stop Singing.

Thea joins a unique line up of artists including Maddy Prior, Dave Swarbrick, and Jerry Donahue, alongside Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman), PP Arnold and young admirers including Lavinia Blackwall, Sam Carter, Ben Nicholls, Blair Dunlop and other guests performing with a ‘super group’ house band of core members of Bellowhead to reveal the lady described by Richard Thompson as ‘the greatest British female artist of her generation’.

A new full length touring show from the acclaimed star of BBC2’s Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle.

What can a sexless middle aged married man, whose life now consists mainly of watching Scooby Doo cartoons with a four year old boy, possibly find to write comedy about? Formerly stand-up’s youthful iconoclast, Lee now gawps blankly at News 24 as Britain burns down around him, and blinks weirdly at the vast wayside retail outlets during endless journeys to and from increasingly indistinct provincial theatres. Once he lived on the pleasure planet. Now he is trapped in Carpet Remnant World. And so are you.

“The funniest thing on television” The Guardian

“Thrilling” Metro *****

“Fascinating, funny stuff” The Times ****

“Heralds a new brand of political stand-up” The Guardian ****

“Lee’s glittering rants blend cynicism, vanity and unbearable snobbery.” Guy Stagg, Daily Telegraph

Some comedians use strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

Duane Eddy, the “King of Twang”, has been strumming across America and the world since 1958. During his illustrious career he has notched up numerous UK Top Ten hits, and collaborated with artists such as Paul McCartney, Ry Cooder and Hans Zimmer. In 2011, 25 years after his last record, Duane Eddy released his new album Road Trip to widespread critical acclaim. Produced by former Pulp guitarist and long time fan Richard Hawley, the album finds Duane Eddy as mesmerising a performer as ever, and was voted one of the best albums of 2011 by Mojo magazine.

“Eddy plays guitar the way Hemingway writes. These tunes sound ageless…” 4/5 Uncut

Star and co-creator of BBC Four’s comedy quiz show We Need Answers, award-winning comedian Alex Horne has established a reputation among critics, comics and audiences as a thoughtful and original stand-up, writer and solo performer.

Seven Years In The Bathroom is the ultimate stat-based fun-packed thought-provoking experimental-and-sometimes-stupid hour-long comedy show in which Alex aims to recreate your entire life in one hour. That’s right, he’ll do everything you’ll ever do but in sixty minutes. So in an average lifetime you’ll spend two years shopping, two weeks kissing and eighteen months looking for lost things. You’ll also spend quite a while eating, queuing, crying and googling yourself. Alex is going to squeeze all those things into one show and it’ll be tremendous. And very funny. So come and laugh at your life.

“Beautifully structured, endearingly honest… joyous” The Scotsman.

“A beguiling blend of the smart and the stupid…a real delight” Sunday Times

www.alexhorne.com

Direct from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011.

Following on from his sellout national tour of ‘Uncaged Monkeys’, with Professor Brian Cox, and as co-presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Sony Gold Award winning series ‘The Infinite Monkey Cage’, Robin continues his comic exploration of the human condition in his new show.

Robin asks can you be happy and rational at the same time. Join him in a world of Schrodinger cats, multiverses and evolutionary conundrums. Spend an entertaining evening in Robin’s company as he orienteers through the craggy landscape of evolution whilst plumbing the depths of his own murky consciousness, all without the aid of a safety net.

Running Time: 90 minutes + interval

Age: 16+

The man behind Are You Dave Gorman? and Googlewhack Adventure returns with a brand new show. Always one of comedy’s most innovative thinkers this genre stretching performer is back… and for this brand new show he’s formed a double act… with a projector screen. And they’d like to show you their powerpoint presentation. Cast your powerpoint prejudice* aside, it’s not just for business meetings.

“Gorman has seen his stock rise to such an extent that he’s poised, as never before, to make the leap from cult figure to mainstream phenomenon.” – Telegraph

“intelligent, playful, quirky, obsessive and original” Chortle

*Some bullet points will be used

The support act for this show will be Jay Foreman

Soloists:

Alison Balsom, trumpet
Nicola Benedetti, violin
Natalie Clein, cello
Lesley Garrett, soprano

Take five of the most dazzling stars on the UK classical music scene, combine them with some of Britain’s best-loved tunes, and you’ve got a musical party on your hands. And as the nation comes together to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, that’s exactly what we’ve done!

Alison Balsom is the woman who made Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto a popular classic: no-one makes it sparkle more brightly. Nicola Benedetti has got to be the UK’s favourite violinist – and Vaughan Williams’ serene The Lark Ascending regularly tops the Classic FM Hall of Fame. Cellist Natalie Clein, meanwhile, simply drenches everything she plays in soul, and Saint-Saëns’ gloriously tuneful First Cello Concerto could have been written for her.

And – because you can’t have a gala without a splash of opera! – we also welcome the incomparable Lesley Garrett, who’ll be bringing all her trademark glamour and fun to some of your very favourite operatic arias. Throw in Ravel’s zingy Tzigane, Piazzolla’s sizzling Libertango and a sprinkling of all-time orchestral favourites, and it all adds up to a right royal celebration of a concert. So go on, spoil yourself – and crack out the musical champagne!

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

The silent show that is creating a lot of talk. Mime with noise, stand-up with no talking, drama with no acting. You’ll laugh, you’ll scream and ultimately you’ll end up like The Boy – lost for words.

“The Boy With Tape on His Face is utterly spectacular! Endlessly inventive, hysterically funny. Fight for a ticket.” ***** Time Out

“Wills is the last word in silent comedy.” **** The Guardian

“It’s not often you can say you really didn’t want a show to end.” **** The Scotsman

Mark Watson was a victim of identity theft. Someone successfully posed as him and took all his money. It made him think about the power of the Internet, the nature of identity, the way to stop crime forever and live in a better world, and some other smaller matters. He has now finished thinking about these things and is ready to present his findings, laced with a barrage of new jokes, stories, observations and anecdotes, in his new show.

May contain optional audience interaction, games, improvisation and unaggressive banter.

If you’re coming, please email markwatsonspreview2012@gmail.com for pre-show briefing.

The tour revisits some of Mark’s favourite venues, some brand new territory, and a couple of places which he’s visiting as a dare.

“A kind of unstoppable funny superhero” The Sunday Times

“A huge comic presence” The Times

Some comedians express controversial opinions and use strong language. Please come prepared.

Wanderlust is the brand new show from one of the world’s most popular and travelled comedians. Fresh from sell-out tours across the world, Danny Bhoy comes to Warwick Arts Centre with a show guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face and wanderlust in your heart.

‘Subtle. Intelligent. Perceptive. And very, very funny.’ The Scotsman

‘Like a stand up equivalent of Bill Bryson. Charming and effortlessly funny.’ The Herald

Best International Act Time Out Sydney 2011

Some comedians express controversial opinions and use strong language. Please come prepared.

After the phenomenal success of his Cirque Du Byrne Tour, Jason Byrne is bringing a brand new show back to Warwick Arts Centre. People’s Puppeteer will have new stories, new props, and more of his trademark high octane lunacy from the star of BBC1’s Live At The Apollo, Dave’s One Night Stand and The Channel 4 Comedy Gala.

Jason’s inspired, high-energy mad-cappery has made him the biggest selling comedian at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival. There is no other comedian like him and his sell out shows have won him many awards including Chortle Award for Best Headliner in 2007, and two nominations for the Perrier Award.

“It’s hard to think of any other comic who matches Jason Byrne for ebullient energy and regulated chaos” Independent.

“Unmissable” Evening Standard

“Full-on, doubled-up, gasping-for-oxygen hilarious” Chortle

Some comedians use very strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

Enjoy 10% discount off ice creams and sorbets when you pre-order when purchasing your ticket from Box Office or online. Add an ice cream to your basket now or mention to our Box Office when you call to book your ticket. Find out more here

Brand new show, brand new jokes, same old Jimmy.

“Gagging Order” promises to be an hilarious night out…let’s see shall we.

The show will be packed with one-liners, stories and jokes. Some clever, some rude and a few totally unacceptable.

Everybody’s welcome. Just leave your conscious, sense of common decency and moral compass at home & come on out for a laugh.

Jimmy has sold over a million DVDs and hosted countless TV shows but live comedy is what he does best, come and see for yourself.

Some comedians use strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

N.B. Not suitable for under 16s

“I write” she says “because I love it”.
Joan could also add, I tour because I enjoy how the audiences love the concerts.

Three times Grammy nominated, Brit award nominee and Ivor Novella winner singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading MBE, will be touring the UK during autumn 2012.

Never one to rest on her laurels, Joan remains fresh, vibrant and current; no more so than when live, on stage, where music comes to life. With every tour you are guaranteed a fantastic mix of magical old favourites plus brand new songs to fall in love with. Joan is as happy to play Love and Affection, Willow, Drop The Pilot and Me, Myself I, as the audience is to hear them. She is equally happy and proud of how her audiences embrace hearing new and exciting compositions, like Into The Blues (debuted at No. 1 in the US Blues chart 2007) and This Charming Life (debuted at No. 1 in Amazon download chart 2010).

During her long and illustrious career Joan has been successful in all musical genres, Pop, Blues, Folk, Reggae, and Jazz. Her audience, newly attracted or long term fans are as loyal to her as she is faithful to them.

The 2012 tour will see Joan performing Love and Affection amongst many other firm favourites, and also showcase songs from her brand new CD due for release in time for this mammoth tour.

Joan is recognised as one of the World’s leading singer, songwriter and guitarists.

Don’t miss the chance to see one of the most truly gifted performers of our time and book your seat for what will surely be a night to remember.

After more than a decade since his last stand-up show and following a hugely successful tour of Australia in 2011, Alan Davies, the much-loved star of iconic television series such as Jonathan Creek and QI, makes a long-awaited return to live stand-up this Autumn.

Kevin Bridges comes to Warwick Arts Centre in Autumn 2012 his brand new show ‘The Story Continues…’ which follows up the huge success of his sell-out UK & Ireland tour of 2010. Having made his debut on BBC 1’s ‘Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow’ in 2009 he has now gone onto host the Bafta nominated ‘Live At The Apollo’ and Channel 4’s ‘Stand-Up For The Week’, his new 6 part BBC 1 series – ‘Kevin Bridges What’s The Story’ will be transmitted in February 2012.

“It’s his eye for detail that has elevated him to a MUST-SEE act.“ The Daily Mirror

“The most exciting talent in Scottish stand-up.” The Herald

Please note that some comedians use very strong language and express controversial opinions. Please come prepared.

Adapted from the picture book written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.

Join our intrepid adventurers on their quest to find a bear; as they wade through the gigantic swishy swashy grass, the splishy splashy river and the thick oozy, squelchy mud!

Expect catchy songs, interactive scenes and plenty of hands-on adventure – plus a few special surprises!

Ages: 3+

“A fun-filled frolic.” The Guardian

“A perfect mini-adventure…” The Daily Mail