2014 coventry mysteries festival guide

free music + amazing theatre + surprising artworks + new experiences + moving sculpture = 4 great days in may

23-26MAY

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FROM 1392-1578, Coventry’s Mystery Plays were proudly performed in a festival of drama and spectacle by its guilds of

tradesmen within the city walls. The plays retold, for entertainment and instruction, the Christian story from Creation to Doomsday.

THEY were one of the largest festivals in the UK of their time - and a source of great pride. Kings and Queens came to see them

from Henry V to Elizabeth I. Unlike York & Chester, little remains of the plays that were performed - the Coventry Carol being the main exception.

THE Coventry Mysteries Company was created in 2010 to create a festival for the people of Coventry, no matter what

their faith is. Our ‘modern’ Mysteries takes the principles of the medieval guilds - unity, mutual understanding, invention and a respect of difference to create a festival for everyone in Coventry today.

MYSTERYHISTORY

Coventry Mysteries Company is funded by

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WElCOME to this year’s festival. If you were hoping for jesters’ hats then you might be a little

disappointed. We haven’t any!

W E don’t want to try and recreate the past, we want to reflect the world around us and look to the future.

Coventry is a place where 100s of languages are spoken. We want to find ways to connect with each other, to look at the world we live in and to find moments of everyday wonder.

If it all sounds a bit worthy don’t worry. We’ve got room on our dance floor for mini Sophie Ellis Bextors or titchy Arctic Monkeys. We’ve

theatre, dance, performance and hidden spaces to explore. This festival wouldn’t have happened without a host of kind-hearted Coventrians helping us. And now it simply can’t happen without you.

WHAT is great about this city is that we’re all in it together. So lets enjoy it. Right here right now.

Elgiva Field & Ian WhitakerDirectors of the Coventry Mysteries festivalwww.coventrymysteries.com

HELLO!

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Pg 1-2 Mystery HistoryPg 3-4 Hello! Pg 5-6 Debbie SmythPg 7-8 3D pavement art Pg 9 Bishop Studios Pg 10 We have designs on your windowsPg 11 Schools Junk Orchestra in BroadgatePg 12 Booktrust’s family show in the cityPg 13-14 An immersive theatre experience in Drapers’ HallPg 15- 16 Last Supper for just 39 people Pg 17 -18 MissingPg 19 Junk OrchestraPg 20 Dance & Parkour for the city streetsPg 21-22 A daytime rave for parents and their little onesPg 23-24 A twisted brass band Pg 25-26 DominoesPg 27 How to Book Pg 28 Keep in touchPg 29 MapPg 30 The festival at a glance

friday 23 – monday 26 may2014

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Coventry Mysteries presents Engineer Theatre Collective’s

“An incredibly impor-tant piece of theatre... There’s something about knowing that the words & emotions on stage are real that heightens every-thing” HHHHH The Skinny

Where?: B2 Belgrade Theatre, Belgrade Square, CV1 1GS

When?: fri 23 May 8pm Sat 24 May 2pm & 8pm

Price: £12.50/£8.50 concssave 75p on every ticket booked online

IN Britain, one person goes missing every two minutes. This is the equivalent of the entire population of Plymouth each year.

cREATED from the first hand interviews of families, friends, politicians, and the police involved in Nicola Payne’s disappearance,

Missing looks at the mystery and impact of some-one going missing in today’s society.

WINNER of the Scottish Daily Mail Edinburgh fringe Drama Award, this is a powerful piece of theatre that

we urge you to see.

DEBBIE SMYTH

Where? Cathedral lanes Shopping Centre, CV1 1ll

When? Watch the installation grow from Sat 17 May before its completion for the start of the festival.

10am - 6pm daily

FREE

EVERYONE everywhere can remember having a name tag sewn into their school jumper, on their PE kit, even their socks. But how many

people knew that the label that defined them came from Coventry?

DEBBIE Smyth creates a fragile line of thread from Coventry’s landmark factory, “Cash’s”, to connect everyone in the world today.

THIS is a beautiful installation from an international textile artist. Her work blurs the boundaries between fine art

drawings and textile art, 3D work, illustration and embroidery, literally lifting the line off the page in a “pin and thread” drawing.

EVERYONE EVERYWHERE

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DEBBIE SMYTH

TJUlIAN BEEVER

Where? Broadgate, CV1 (near the Godiva Statue).

When? from Wed 21 May.

The drawing will be revealed on Sat 24 May 3pm

FREE

JUlIAN Beever is known all over the world for his pavement drawings, especially for his 3D illusions, which are drawn to be

seen from one particular viewpoint. His chalk drawings are cleverly distorted to create this brilliant 3D effect.

FOR this year’s festival he’ll be creating a stunning glimpse of the River Sherbourne that runs underneath the city’s streets.

COME and see the artist, dubbed by the press as the “Pavement Picasso”, at work before his drawing is revealed on

Saturday 24 May.

THE “PAVEMENT PICASSO”

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we urge you to see.

missing

THROUGH THE WAllS PROJECTS

Where? Bishop Studios, 50 Bishop Street, CV1 1HW

When? fri 23 - Sun 25 May 12.30pm - 4.30pm

FREE

FOR the Mysteries artists Jake Bevan explores issues of identity, memory and existence in contemporary society,

James Birkin paints the decay and regeneration of a city, and Hannah Sutherland uses news feeds and assemblage art to capture our displacement and engagement with current affairs in modern life. Jack foster completes the quartet of artists on show as he blends together superstition, pilgrimage, skinner box pigeons and painterly abstractions on canvas.

THROUGH The Walls Projects occupy Bishop Studios; an artist led gallery and studio space in Coventry city centre,

run by Coventry University fine Art Graduates.

bishop studios

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missing

THROUGH THE WAllS PROJECTS SUPERMUNDANE, PETER CRAWlEY & COVENTRY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Where? look out for pop-up encounters with artwork across the city centre.

When? fri 23 - Mon 26 May

FREE

we have designs on your windows

INTERNATIONAl graphic designers and illustrators, Supermundane and Peter Crawley are joined by graphic design students from

Coventry University to create pop-up artistic encounters to brighten up your day.

SUPERMUNDANE, aka Rob lowe, is an award-winning artist, typographer, writer and illustrator. His mesmeric drawings have

been published and exhibited worldwide.

PETER Crawley’s threaded artworks capture the sound wave of songs minute by minute. His work, Free Nelson Mandela remem-

bers the impact of Jerry Dammer’s anti-apartheid anthem 30 years ago and pays tribute to the life, struggles and achievements of Nelson Mandela. 10

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AfTER a week of workshops with ‘Mr Junkman’ we’re proud to introduce our very own Junk Orchestra.

RECYClING our rubbish to make marvellous music, over 150 children from Coventry’s schools will herald the start of this year’s

festival with instruments they’ve made themselves.

TRY it yourself and come along for a ‘Junk Jam’ on Saturday with the real Junk Orchestra.





missing

COVENTRY MYSTERIES PRESENTS

Where? Broadgate, CV1 (near the Godiva Statue).

If it is wet join us in the Cathedral lanes Shopping Centre.

When? fri 23 May 1pm

FREE

COVENTRY SCHOOLS’ JUNK ORCHESTRA

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missing


COME along and join us for a storytelling performance about a girl called Ameera: her family is always so busy sometimes she

wishes time would just stop.

BUT when Ameera’s wish comes true she changes her mind and needs to make the clock start again.

JOIN Ameera and her friends telling stories to help fix time!

BOOKTRUST PRESENTS AN ExCITING SHOW fOR All THE fAMIlY!

Where? Central library, Smithford Way, CV1 1fY

When? Sat 24 May 11am & Sun 25 May 1pm

FREE

Throughout the festival Booktrust will be reaching out to communities within the city performing at local libraries on fri 23 & Sat 24 May. See bookstart.org.uk/ onceuponatime for more info.

once upon a time

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IN the heart of Coventry lies a mysterious and intriguing building – The Institute of Impossibility. For the first time in a generation

the Institute is to be opened to a lucky few...

j OIN award-winning company lAStheatre for an immersive adventure. fall in love with peculiar characters, encounter real

scientists and explore the evolution of all things – from crops to legends, satellites to stories.

THE Institute of Impossibility is created in collaboration with Coventry University, the University of Warwick, and Interplay

(National Centre for Sensory Theatre).

COVENTRY MYSTERIES & lASTHEATRE PRESENT

The institute of impossibility

Where? Drapers’ Hall, Bayley lane, CV1 5RN

When? fri 23 - Sun 25 May 2.15pm & 7.15pm

Price £12.50/£8.50 concs - save 75p on every ticket booked online.

FREE schools show on Fri 23 May 2.15pm

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COVENTRY MYSTERIES & lASTHEATRE PRESENT

for tickets 024 76 55 30 55 www.coventrymysteries.com

“An unmissable night of entertainment, intrigue, and debate - with a touch of education snuck in when you aren’t looking” New Scientist

“Thrillingly immediATe” FT









we urge you to see.

RECKlESS SlEEPERS PRESENT

“Unbearably moving”The Guardian

Where? St John the Baptist Church, fleet Street, CV1 3AY

When?fri 23 May 7.30pm Sat 24 May 7.30pm Sun 25 May 5pm

Price £17.50/£15 concs save 75p on every ticket booked online

WHAT would be your last words to the world? With a glass of wine in hand international theatre company,

Reckless Sleepers invite you to The Last Supper.

WOUlD you say, like Bogart, “I should have never switched from Scotch to Martinis…” or something more

profound?

FROM heroes to villains, to the infamous to the unknown, Reckless Sleepers deliver the last words of Marilyn Monroe,

Rasputin, Albert Einstein, Joan of Arc to the victims of the Hiroshima bombings - alongside 13 last meal requests from death row. There are only 39 seats for each show. Book now!

THE last supper

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RECKlESS SlEEPERS PRESENT

HHHHH “gripping” Les Temps

HHHH “mesmerising... holds yoUr ATTenTion for dAys AfTer” Time Out



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“An incredibly important piece of theatre... There’s something about knowing that the words & emotions on stage are real that heightens everything” HHHHH The Skinny

Where? B2 Belgrade Theatre,Belgrade Square, CV1 1GS

When? fri 23 May 8pm Sat 24 May 2pm & 8pm

Price £12.50/£8.50 concs - save 75p on every ticket booked online



Missing looks at the mystery and impact of someone going missing in today’s society.


we urge you to see.

ENGINEER THEATRE COllECTIVE PRESENTS

MIssing

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THE JUNK ORCHESTRA PRESENTS

SAUl Eisenberg is “Mr Junkman” – turning everyday objects into an awesome tuned junk orchestra. All the objects have a

history; a story which is told along with all the music that they hold.

TRANSfORMING rubbish into rhythms, scrap into scores, join “Mr Junkman” for the ultimate Junk Jam. Have a go on the

flipflopaphon, the tromballoony, the springy tuby thingy and the gardenhoseatoot...

JUNK JAM

Where? Upper Precinct, CV1 1DE

(If it is wet we’ll retreat to Shelton Square - but we won’t let the weather stop the music)

When?Sat 24 May 1pm, 2pm & 3pm

FREE

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THE JUNK ORCHESTRA PRESENTS

JUNK JAM MADE OF STARS

WHAT bonds young men together? A group of 12 young men fly over obstacles and spiral through wide-

open spaces on a collision course with each other. When they meet they confront issues of communication, identity, trust and faith.

OVER 50-minutes young men meet in four different urban spaces around the city. Initial resistance is met by

friendship and through competition alliances are formed. Is this a coincidence or is it a stronger bond that unites them?

COVENTRY MYSTERIES & BEINGfRANK PHYSICAl THEATRE PRESENT

Where? look out for explosive encounters across the city centrestarting at Millennium Place, Hales Street, Coventry CV1 1JD

When? Sat 24 May 2.30pm & 4.30pmSun 25 May 2.30pm & 4.30pm

FREE

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we urge you to see.

BIG fISH lITTlE fISH EVENTS PRESENTS2-4 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE

“JUsT mAgiC” Time Out

“london’s latest clubbing craze” Guardian Guide

Where? The Dog, Hertford Street,Coventry, CV1 1lf

When?Sun 25 May 2-4pm

Price £5 adults £3 children save 75p per ticket if you book online

BIg Fish Little Fish is a daytime rave for parents with babies, toddlers and children up to 7 years with real club DJs mixing

old skool rave and indie anthems to hip hop and drum’n’bass – all at a baby friendly volume so the whole family can party together.

T HERE are chill out and craft zones, glow sticks, bubble guns, glitter cannons, temporary tattoos, licensed bar - for mum

and dad - and the massive parachute dance finale.

COVENTRY held the first legal rave in the UK. lets go make some shapes again with our little ones!

BIG FISH LITTLE FISH

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BIG fISH lITTlE fISH EVENTS PRESENTS










we urge you to see.

missing










we urge you to see.

The institute of impossibilities










we urge you to see.

missing


“Completely extraordinary” Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music

Where?: Across the city centre. You’ll hear them before you see them.

When?: Sun 25 May 12.15pm, 1.40pm,3.15pm & 4pm

FREE

PERHAPS Contraption is an astonishing, twisted brass, art pop marching band. This 9 piece troupe create a truly unique musical

explosion to blow you away.

MARCHING like they mean it, this is a rampant, feverish cacophony of oompah, high energy performance and

exuberant choral harmonies, choreography and intricate grooves.

UTTERlY unforgettable. Our soundtrack to Sunday.

PERHAPS CONTRAPTION

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missing



missing


fOR BANK HOlIDAY MONDAY COVENTRY MYSTERIES PRESENT

dominoesCONCEIVED AND DIRECTED BY STATION HOUSE OPERAAN ARTSADMIN PROJECT

ON Bank Holiday Monday 26 May, we’re creating a landmark community art event as the climax to the festival.

DOMINOES takes as its starting point the simplest of ideas... a domino line. Thousands of breeze blocks are used to

create a moving sculpture which runs across the city, unfolding over the course of the day.

WITH the help of local volunteers Station House Opera will create a simple but spectacular line of concrete

blocks that will weave their way through the city’s streets. Occasionally disappearing and then resurfacing the domino line will thread its way through historical and everyday parts of the city, starting at fords Hospital and ending at the Cathedral Ruins.

DOMINOES has become an international phenomenon since it was first created by Station House Opera in london in 2009.

This is the first time it has been created in the UK since then.

to see dominoes in action visit www.coventrymysteries.com

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fOR BANK HOlIDAY MONDAY COVENTRY MYSTERIES PRESENT

dominoesCONCEIVED AND DIRECTED BY STATION HOUSE OPERAAN ARTSADMIN PROJECT

Where? Across the city centre

When? Mon 26 May from 10am, the topple starts 3pm

FREE

Help make it HappenHelp create a major art event within the city that will be talked about for years to come.

Participation doesn’t require particular skills or significant time investment - everyone has the opportunity to take part and be at the centre of this memorable event. Join us. Volunteer at coventrymysteries.com

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HOW TO BOOKThe Belgrade Theatre is our festival Box Office for advance tickets. BOOKINg IS EASY! Call 02476 55 30 55 (Mon - Sat 10.30am - 5.30pm)

Visit Belgrade Theatre, Belgrade Square, Coventry, CV1 1gS (Mon – Sat from 10am - 5.30pm)

Book online - It is easy, secure and cheaper! www.coventrymysteries.com or www.belgrade.co.uk

You’ll save yourself 75p off every ticket if you book online.

If you book through the Mysteries website you’ll be taken to a secure page on the belgrade.co.uk website to complete your booking.

TICKET PRICES

The Institute of Impossibility / Missing£12.50/ £8.50 concessions£7.25 schools

Last Supper £17.50/£15 concessions

Big Fish Little Fish£5 adults/£3 children

Save 75p of every ticket booked online.

Concessions are available to under 26s, over 60s, to groups of 10+, to people in full time education, unwaged or with a disability.

To book a concession you’ll need to bring ID with you when you collect your ticket and when you attend an event.

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Keep INTouch

WIN A LIMITED EDITION PRINT

Sign up to our Mysteries newsletter online before 26 May 2014 and you’ll be automatically entered into a competition to win a special limited edition Supermundane “I Think You Are Wonderful”print.

Sign up at www.coventrymysteries.com

TWITTERfollow @COVMYSTERIES FACEBOOK CovMysteries

WEBSITEcoventrymysteries.com

EMAILinfo@ coventrymysteries.com

WRITE TO:Coventry Mysteries Company, floor 7, Civic Centre 4, Much Park St, Coventry CV1 2PY

This brochure is available in large printemail [email protected] for your copy.

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Map

Getting here is easy. Coventry is well served by rail and road networks. There is parking aplenty - we’d recommend avoiding Barracks Way and Salt lane Car Parks on Bank Holiday Monday as our Domino line may cause delays!

Lady Herbert’s Garden

INDOOR MARKET

J1

J2

J3

J9

J8

J7

J4J5

J6

Pool Meadow Bus Station

Hales St

The Burges

Priory Row

Hales

St

Hay

LnCu

ckco

o Ln

Chapel St

Well St

OUR VENUES

KEY

UnderpassBridge

A45 to Birmingham

CHURCH OFST JOHN

THE BAPTIST

COVENTRY CANAL BASIN

Jordan Well

Hill St

Ryley St

Bond St

Corpora

tion St

Lower Holyhead Rd

Upper Well StBELGRADETHEATRE

Lamb St

Spon St

CENTRALLIBRARY

BROADGATEUPPER PRECINCT

CATHEDRAL LANESSHOPPING CENTRE

SHELTON SQUARE

War

wick

Rd

New Union St Litt

le P

ark

St

Grey

fria

rs La

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FORDS HOSPITAL

Much Park St

Gosford St

Bayley Lane

DRAPERS’ HALL

St M

ary

StHigh St

Salt Ln

Bishop St

BISHOP STUDIOSTRANSPORT MUSEUM

MILLENNIUM PLACE

Fairfax St

Prio

ry S

t

COVENTRY UNIVERSITY

COVENTRY CATHEDRAL &RUINS

POLICE STATION

COUNCILOFFICESTHE DOG

Trin

ity S

tCope St

HERBERT MUSEUM& ART GALLERY

Croft Rd

Star

ley

Rd

Eaton Rd

Station Sq

Chauntry Pl

PRIORY VISITOR CENTRE

ST MICHAEL’S HOUSE

Cox

St

Grove St

Manor Road

Stoney Road

Park Road

RING ROAD

Earl St

Cook St

Friar

s Rd

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

Coventry Railway Station

Hertfo

rd St

Smith

ford

Way

LOWER PRECINCTSHOPPING CENTRE

Lower Precinct

Greyfriars Rd

City Arcade

Bull Yard

WEST ORCHARD SHOPPING CENTRE

ARTSPACE

Mar

ket W

ay

Que

en V

icto

ria

Rd

SKYDOME

Man

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ouse

Dr

St John’s St

Whitefriars St

Whitefriars Ln

A46 University of Warwick/

WarwickArts Centre

5 miles

M1 NorthM69 LeicesterA428 Rugby

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your guide at A glanceFRIDAY 23 MAY PERFORMANCES & EVENTSThROuGh The waLLS (Pg 9) BiShOP STudiOS 12.30-4.30PM SChOOLS juNk ORCheSTRa (Pg 11) BROadGaTe 1PM The iNSTiTuTe OF iMPOSSiBiLiTy (Pg 13-14) dRaPeRS’ haLL 2.15PM & 7.15PM LaST SuPPeR (Pg 15-16) ChuRCh OF ST.jOhN The BaPTiST 7.30PM MiSSiNG (Pg 17-18) BeLGRade - B2 8PM

SATURDAY 24 MAY PERFORMANCES & EVENTSONCe uPON a TiMe (Pg 12) CeNTRaL LiBRaRy 11AMThROuGh The waLLS (Pg 9) BiShOP STudiOS 12.30-4.30PM juNk jaM (Pg 19) uPPeR PReCiNCT 1PM, 2PM, 3PMMiSSiNG (Pg 17-18) BeLGRade - B2 2PM & 8PMThe iNSTiTuTe OF iMPOSSiBiLiTy (Pg 13-14) dRaPeRS’ haLL 2.15PM & 7.15PMMade OF STaRS (Pg 20) MiLLeNNiuM PLaCe 2.30PM & 4.30PMLaST SuPPeR (Pg 15-16) ChuRCh OF ST.jOhN The BaPTiST 7.30PM SuNDAY 25 MAY PERFORMANCES & EVENTSThROuGh The waLLS (Pg 9) BiShOP STudiOS 12.30-4.30PMONCe uPON a TiMe (Pg 12) CeNTRaL LiBRaRy 1PMPeRhaPS CONTRaPTiON (Pg 23-24) waiT & See 12.15PM,1.40PM,3.15PM&4PMBiG FiSh LiTTLe FiSh (Pg 21-22) The dOG 2PMThe iNSTiTuTe OF iMPOSSiBiLiTy (Pg 13-14) dRaPeRS’ haLL 2.15PM & 7.15PMMade OF STaRS (Pg 20) MiLLeNNiuM PLaCe 2.30PM & 4.30PMLaST SuPPeR (Pg 15-16) ChuRCh OF ST.jOhN The BaPTiST 5PM MONDAY 26 MAY THE CLIMAx TO THE FESTIVAL DOMINOES (Pg 25-26) ACROSS THE CITY CENTRE 9AM–TOPPLE 3PM

DON’T fORGET IT WON’T HAPPEN WITHOUT YOU!

FRIDAY TO MONDAY - ALL DAY EVERYDAY JUlIAN BEEVER (Pg 7-8) BROADGATE 10AM-6PM DESIGNS ON YOUR WINDOWS (Pg 10) POP-UP SHOPS 10AM-6PMDEBBIE SMYTH (Pg 5-6) CATHEDRAl lANES SHOPPING CENTRE 10AM-6PM

(SUN & MON 10.30AM - 4.30PM)

Map

2014 coventry mysteries festival guide

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