Coventry & Warwickshire Cover August 2018 .qxp_Coventry & Warwickshire Cover 23/07/2018 12:46 Page 1 JONAS BLUE PLAYS THE Your FREE essential entertainment guide for the Midlands GODIVA FESTIVAL COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIRE WHAT’S ON AUGUST 2018 2018 AUGUST ON WHAT’S WARWICKSHIRE & COVENTRY Coventry & Warwickshire ISSUE 392 AUGUST 2018 ’ WhatFILM I COMEDY I THEATRE I GIGS I VISUAL ARTS I EVENTSs I FOOD On warwickshirewhatson.co.uk inside: PART OF WHAT’S ON MEDIA GROUP GROUP MEDIA ON WHAT’S OF PART Yourthe 16-pagelist week by week listings guide MERRY WIVES... frolicsome fairies and men dressed as women at the RSC TWITTER: @WHATSONWARWICKS TWITTER: @WHATSONWARWICKS SISTER SLEDGE lost in music at Solihull Summer Festival FACEBOOK: @WHATSONWARWICKSHIRE ART IN THE PARK family fun at Leamington’s Jephson Gardens WARWICKSHIREWHATSON.CO.UK Digbeth Arena F/P June 2018.qxp_Layout 1 23/05/2018 10:40 Page 1 Contents August Warwicks_Worcs.qxp_Layout 1 23/07/2018 14:30 Page 2 August 2018 Contents We Are Family - Sister Sledge perform live at Solihull Summer Fest - page 23 Kuunatic Ronan Keating Matilda The Musical the list bring their psychedelic sound looks forward to headlining continues to delight audiences Your 16-page to The Tin Music & Arts... Coventry’s Godiva Festival in the Midlands week-by-week listings guide page 15 feature page 16 page 26 page 51 inside: 4. First Word 11. Food 15. Music 19. Festivals 26. Theatre 35. Film 38. Visual Arts 43. Events fb.com/whatsonwarwickshire fb.com/whatsonworcestershire @whatsonwarwicks @whatsonworcs Warwickshire What’s On Magazine Worcestershire What’s On Magazine Warwickshire What’s On Magazine Worcestershire What’s On Magazine Managing Director: Davina Evans [email protected] 01743 281708 Sales & Marketing: Lei Woodhouse [email protected] 01743 281703 Chris Horton [email protected] 01743 281704 What’sOn Editorial: Lauren Foster [email protected] 01743 281707 Brian O’Faolain [email protected] 01743 281701 Sue Jones [email protected] 01743 281705 Abi Whitehouse [email protected] 01743 281716 MEDIA GROUP Lauren Cole [email protected] Ellie Hutchings [email protected] Adrian Parker [email protected] 01743 281714 Contributors: Graham Bostock, James Cameron-Wilson, Heather Kincaid, Katherine Ewing, Jenny Ell, Jack Rolfe, Elly Yates-Roberts Publisher and CEO: Martin Monahan Accounts Administrator: Julia Perry [email protected] 01743 281717 This publication is printed on paper from a sustainable source and is produced without the use of elemental chlorine. We endorse the recycling of our magazine and would encourage you to pass it on to others to read when you have finished with it. All works appearing in this publication are copyright. It is to be assumed that the copyright for material rests with the magazine unless otherwise stated. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in an electronic system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recording or otherwise, without the prior knowledge and consent of the publishers. First Word Warwickshire August.qxp_Layout 1 23/07/2018 16:03 Page 1 Entertainment news from around the region Worcester Festival returns for a 16th year The Worcester Festival is this month back for its 16th year, kicking off on Saturday 11 August and running right through to the Au- gust bank holiday (Monday the 27th), with events and activities happening across the city every single day. Commenting on the 2018 edition of the festi- val, director Chris Jaeger said: “The Worces- ter Festival is a people’s festival. It offers a wide range of eclectic events for all the fam- ily, and many of the events are free. What could be better at holiday time? It’s a great opportunity to try an event at a venue you’ve never been to, or perhaps to try something you’ve never done before. We really hope as many people as possible come along and get involved. Let’s get celebrating!” 30k grant awarded to Canadian comic Stewart proposed activity will help to achieve step changes across the city. For more information Midlands motor museum heads Into The Punset about how to apply for the fund, visit The Archive of the British Motor Industry Canadian comedian heartofenglandcf.co.uk/coventry-2021 Heritage Trust, housed at the British Motor Stewart Francis is visit- Museum in Gaydon, has been awarded a ing the Midlands dur- £30,000 cataloguing grant. ing what he says will Evesham set to do battle, The cash will fund The Art Of Selling, a pro- be his last ever ject focusing on creating an electronic cata- standup tour. 13th century-style! logue of a unique collection of sales and Punchline wizard Fran- Midlanders are this month being invited to press material originating from British Ley- cis will be bringing his step back in time to the 13th century and land. The funding has been provided by the new show, Into The watch a reenactment of the Battle of Eve- Archives Revealed cataloguing programme, Punset, to venues in sham. which is supported by, among other organi- Coventry, Malvern, The free-to-attend event, taking place in the sations, the National Archives. Bromsgrove, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Birm- Heart of Evesham on 4 & 5 August, features a ingham, Telford and Shrewsbury. For more medieval festival & camp plus numerous information, visit stewartfrancis.com demonstrations. For more information, visit battleofeve- sham.co.uk New fund helps Coventry gear up for City of Culture A new fund has been launched to help indi- viduals, social enterprises, community groups and artistic & cultural organisations prepare for Coventry’s year as UK City of Cul- Go Ape in Warwickshire ture in 2021. The Coventry UK City of Culture Fund has Coombe Country Park could soon become been launched by the Coventry City of Cul- home to Warwickshire’s first Go Ape outdoor ture Trust in partnership with the Heart of adventure visitor attraction. England Community Foundation, which will Talks are currently taking place between Go administer the fund. Ape and Coventry City Council about opening Those applying for grant funding are being a site in spring 2019. The company currently encouraged to consider the four themes of has 33 visitor attractions in the UK, the near- Coventry’s UK City of Culture programme - est to Warwickshire being the site located at Being Human, Moving, Underground and Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. Reinvention - and to think about how their 4 whatsonlive.co.uk First Word Warwickshire August.qxp_Layout 1 23/07/2018 16:03 Page 2 First Word The NEC Group ‘makes it social’ NEC Group Arenas and their of- ficial box office, The Ticket Fac- tory, have teamed up with Edinburgh-based start-up ‘make it social’ to offer customers a simple way to purchase tickets with friends. Initially available on selected events, the new initiative allows a group leader to reserve a num- ber of arena seats together, and then to issue invitations to friends, who can individually pay for their seats. All the group leader needs to do to start the process is click on the ‘book with friends’ button featured on The Ticket Factory event pages. Play and connectivity at the centre of Coventry festival The fifth edition of Coventry’s Festival of Imagineers will take place in and around the city centre from 17 to 22 September. Emma Rice brings Celebrating work created at the intersection of art, design and engineering, the festival is this year fo- her Wise Children cusing on themes of play and connectivity. to the Belgrade Visitors to the event will be able to walk alongside a large-scale balloon and sound installation, view 1,000 hoops suspended in the cathedral, contribute their ideas to a large-scale project, board a cus- The Coventry Belgrade is set to tom-converted double decker bus which turns the whole city into a stage, and play the streets in a co-produce acclaimed theatre- maker Emma Rice’s latest stage- ‘festival finale’. For more information, visit festivalofimagineers.co.uk work. Presented in partnership with the Old Vic Theatre, Oxford Bromsgrove Give It A Swirl this holiday at the RSC... Playhouse and York Theatre venue looking Royal, Wise Children is the The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is offering families a whole host debut offering from Emma’s a bit Peaky of summer holiday activities to enjoy this month, both inside and outside newly formed company. A Worcestershire arts the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The production has been centre is this month host- Highlights include Give It A Swirl - the RSC’s new outdoor pop-up theatre adapted from the classic novel ing a Peaky Blinders- initiative, which is hosting a range of free-to-attend puppet shows and by Angela Carter. themed night of boxing production-themed mini performances. Tickets for the show can be and music in aid of Birm- For more information about the school summer holidays at the RSC and booked by calling the Belgrade’s ingham Children's Hospi- a complete schedule, visit rsc.org.uk box office on 024 7655 3055, or tal. by visiting belgrade.co.uk Bromsgrove’s Artrix venue is inviting visitors to get dressed up in their flapper dresses and baker boy caps to ‘experience the dark 1920s underbelly of Birmingham’ (Saturday 18 August). The evening features a full bar, live 1920s- themed boxing, a live Peaky Blinders-themed band and a ‘best dressed’ competition. To find out more, visit artrix.co.uk whatsonlive.co.uk 5 First Word Warwickshire August.qxp_Layout 1 23/07/2018 16:03 Page 3 First Word Ghostly goings-on in Lucy O’Byrne to Stratford-upon-Avon! star in Evita Families fancying a spinetingling A touring production of the ‘fright night’ experience this Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim school summer holiday should Rice musical masterpiece check out Tudor World Museum’s Evita is stopping off at the ghost tours.