The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It was the first civic theatre to be built in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and is now a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

building A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...

Background

Coventry was the fastest growing city in Britain between the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second World Wars World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Its cramped

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

streets were becoming dangerously congested and overcrowded, and in 1938 the

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

appointed Donald Gibson to become the first city architect. The newly created City Architect's Department had ambitious plans, and the devastation of the

Coventry Blitz The Coventry Blitz ( blitz: from the German word ''Blitzkrieg'' meaning "lightning war" ) was bombing that took place on the British city of Coventry. The city was bombed many times during the Second World War by the German Air Force (''Luftw ...

allowed it more freedom to design an entirely new city centre. In 1955, Gibson resigned; extensive work had already taken place in the city centre, but a growing Coventry required further development. The person who took over from him,

Arthur Ling Arthur George Ling (20 September 1913 – 20 December 1995) was a British architect and town planner. From 1955 to 1964, he was City Architect and Planning Officer for Coventry. As head of Nottingham University’s Department of Architecture, h ...

, would be the designer of the Belgrade Theatre. Some versions of the overall plan for the city centre included three new theatres and

cinemas A movie theater (American English) or cinema (Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business that contains auditoriums for viewing fi ...

, but during the 1950s it became clear that this would not be viable. There were still two pre-war cinemas operating in the city centre, and audiences were falling. It was decided that a single new theatre would be built on the corner of Corporation Street and Upper Well Street.

History

NSB Reynolds Coventry View from Belgrade Theatre Entrance September 1964

The first steps of construction took place in 1952, when Coventry's twin city of

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

(now

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

), pledged a gift of

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

timber to be used in the new theatre. It is after this city that the Belgrade is named. The Yugoslavian

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Ivo Vejvoda visited the construction site in 1957, during the same trip he also opened an exhibition of modern Yugoslavian art at the Herbert Gallery. In the same year, the

Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...

announced that they would give financial support to the City Council to equip the new theatre, which was going over budget. The Belgrade was officially opened at 8 pm on 27 March 1958 by the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, Duchess of Kent ...

in a ceremony attended by many "civic personalities and representatives of the theatre world" including Sir

Kenneth Clark Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director and broadcaster. His expertise covered a wide range of artists and periods, but he is particularly associated with Italian Renaissa ...

and

Sam Wanamaker Samuel Wanamaker (born Samuel Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director, whose career on stage and in film and television spanned five decades. He began his career on Broadway theatre, Broadway, but sp ...

. Coventry's first female

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

, Pearl Hyde, gave an address of welcome and thanks to the Duchess from the Royal box before the first show began, '' Half in Earnest'' by

Vivian Ellis Vivian John Herman Ellis, CBE (29 October 1903 – 19 June 1996) was an English musical comedy composer best known for the song " Spread a Little Happiness" and the Paul Temple theme " Coronation Scot". Life and work Ellis was born in Hampste ...

Belgrade Theatre Coventry fountain Mar 2021

Under Bryan Bailey, the theatre's first director, the Belgrade's resident company was established. This was the first Coventry-based theatre company since the Midland Theatre Company was disbanded by the Arts Council in 1957, producing the premieres of the "Wesker trilogy" (''

Chicken Soup with Barley ''Chicken Soup with Barley'' is a 1956 play by British playwright Arnold Wesker. It is the first of the 'Wesker trilogy' – being followed by ''Roots'' and '' I'm Talking about Jerusalem'' – and was first performed on stage in 1958 at the B ...

'', ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

'' and ''I'm Talking About Jerusalem'') by

Arnold Wesker Sir Arnold Wesker (24 May 1932 – 12 April 2016) was an English dramatist. He was the author of 50 plays, four volumes of short stories, two volumes of essays, much journalism and a book on the subject, a children's book, some poetry, and ot ...

. In the 1960s the Belgrade developed the innovative

Theatre in Education Theatre in education (TIE), originating in Britain in 1965, is the use of theatre for purposes beyond entertainment. It involves trained actors/educators performing for students or communities, with the intention of changing knowledge, attitudes, ...

concept, beginning with its project ''Pow Wow''. This took a group of children and encouraged them to form a relationship with a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

. They were then introduced to an American Indian who was being kept in a cage as a

prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

, and given more information about the characters and their views. In the end, the children had to decide whether to free the prisoner or not. This blend of theatre and education had never been seen before. The theatre received a number of grants for maintenance and renovation through the 1980s and 1990s, before a major refurbishment was announced as part of Coventry's Millenium project. It was closed in 2006 for extensive building work including the addition of a new performance space, which took ten months longer than expected, but was completed fully funded at a total cost of around £14 million. The theatre eventually reopened on 22 September 2007 with a performance of ''

Mr Puntila and His Man Matti ''Mr Puntila and His Man Matti'' () is an epic comedy by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. It was written in 1940 and first performed in 1948. The story describes the aristocratic land-owner Puntila's relationship to his servant, Ma ...

''. The new B2 studio performance area was opened by Prince Edward on 4 February 2008, the 50th anniversary year of the Belgrade's inaugural performance. A further capital project to expand and upgrade facilities (architects Corstorphine & Wright) was completed fully funded in 2021 despite the Pandemic, with an adjacent shop being seamlessly absorbed into the footprint resulting in an enlarged stylish cafe and glamorous new first floor Bar called 1958.

UK City of Culture 2021

Led by Artistic Director Hamish Glen (2003–2021), the Belgrade was involved in the bid for Coventry to become UK City of Culture 2021, which it won in December 2017. There were scenes of jubilation at the theatre where Coventrians had gathered to hear the announcement of the winner. Three co-artistic directors were appointed for the City of Culture year: Justine Themen, Corey Campbell and Balisha Karra. They were to oversee the producing programme for 2021, "providing an opportunity for a new generation of creative talent to explore their own ideas about how to take the industry forward". On 3 March 2021 it was announced that two producers would join the creative team for 2021: Sâmir Bhamra and Krysztina Winkel. Bhamra praised the theatre for its "commitment oensuring diverse voices are at the heart of the team leading its produced programme for 2021".

2021 Spring Season

The Belgrade's 2021 Spring Season ran from March to July with a mix of drama, musicals, and live music.

Events in collaboration with Coventry UK City of Culture

The Belgrade collaborated with the Coventry UK City of Culture Trust to produce a number of events in 2021. These included a series of performances in the ''Roundabout'' pop-up theatre as well as online and outdoor performances such as ''Can You Hear Me, Now?'' and ''Like There's No Tomorrow''.

Design and construction

The Coventry City Architect's Department under Donald Gibson produced a model in 1944 that showed three interlinked theatres and cinemas arranged radially around a quarter circle shaped

car park A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdic ...

, centred roughly on the site of the Belgrade. Through the late 1940s and early 1950s, it became increasingly clear that only one theatre was needed, so Arthur Ling began work on the building that stands there today. The south east elevation is reminiscent of Gibson's Broadgate House (1948–53) with an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

of shopfronts underneath a brick-clad block of flats for visiting actors, with regular square windows framed with pale stone. Ling departed from Gibson's theme for the rest of the building though, with its northeast flank of

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...

and glass. The north east elevation faces Belgrade Square, an open area with a

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

and some green space. When originally built, the theatre had a covered entrance for people arriving in vehicles, which has since been removed. Ling utilised the gift of beech timber from Belgrade to panel the inside of the auditorium, which was fitted out in the style of the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

. The Russian architect

Arkady Mordvinov Arkady Grigoryevich Mordvinov (; born Mordvishev (), January 27, 1896 – July 23, 1964) was a Soviet architect and construction manager, notable for Stalinist architecture of Tverskaya Street, Leninsky Avenue, Hotel Ukraina skyscraper ...

visited in 1958, and praised the theatre's "intimate note" as well as the quality of the

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

in the auditorium. The extension opened in 2008 was designed by

Stanton Williams Stanton Williams is a British architectural firm based in Islington, London. The firm's projects include the refurbishment of Rhodes House, Oxford, the Marshgate Building at University College, London University College London (Trade n ...

, "contrasting heuse of coloured renders and translucent panels" to "signal ..presence within an evolving cityscape". It consists of a new seven-storey block to the north west of the existing theatre containing a 300-seat

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...

and additional rehearsal space. Its form and size aims to " espondto the scale of an adjacent new

mixed-use development Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...

". The extension won a

RIBA National award RIBA National Awards are part of an awards program operated by the Royal Institute of British Architects, also encompassing the Stirling Prize, the European Award and the International Award. The National Awards are given to buildings in the UK w ...

in 2008, and was described as "stunning" and "imposing" by the British Theatre Guide in 2007.

Belgrade Square

Belgrade Theatre Coventry sculpture Mar 2021

Belgrade Square sits with the theatre to its southeast, and is faced by the Telegraph hotel from the northeast. It contains a fountain of rectangular stepped pools and two sculptures.

''A Memorial to Bryan Bailey''

''A Memorial to Bryan Bailey'' is a sculpture by Norelle Keddie, originally produced in 1962. It commemorates the death of Bryan Bailey, the theatre's first director, in a car crash in 1960. It was recast in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

and placed on its current

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

in 2008. It sits between the fountain and the front of the theatre.

''Two Sides of a Woman''

''Two Sides of a Woman'' is a bronze sculpture by Helaine Blumenfeld, acquired by Coventry City in 1986. It sits to the west of the fountain in a raised bed.

Management

The Belgrade is run by the Belgrade Theatre Trust, a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

(number 219163) controlled by a board of

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

s. The trust's objectives as stated in their

memorandum of association The memorandum of association of a company is an important corporate document in certain jurisdictions. It is often simply referred to as the memorandum. In the UK, it has to be filed with the Registrar of Companies during the process of incorp ...

are to "promote, maintain, improve and advance education, particularly by the production of educational plays and the encouragement of the arts". The trust's income was around £7.1 million in the 2019–20 financial year, predominantly from donations and charitable activities.

Staff

*Management ** Chief Executive Laura Elliot ** Creative Director Corey Campbell *Trustees **Stewart Fergusson – ''Chair'' **Nathaniel Dodzo **Roger Bailey **Annette Hay **Hamish Glen **

Alan Pollock Alan Pollock is a British author, playwright, and scriptwriter.. Pollock was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in French Language and Literature from St John's College, University of Oxford in 1984. His plays include: * ''All Tomorrow's Par ...

**Jonathan James Wilby **Tony Skipper **Sheila Anne Bates **Joanna Reid **Paul Carvell

References

External links

* – Belgrade Theatre *{{URL, coventry2021.co.uk – Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 1958 establishments in England Theatres in Coventry

Belgrade Theatre, Coventry The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built in Britain after the Second World War and is now a Grade II listed building. Background Coventry was the fastest growing city in ...

Producing theatres in England