BELGRADE THEATRE COVENTRY ANNOUNCES 'SEE IT FIRST', A PROGRAMME OF NEW PLAYS, WORKSHOPS AND CONVERSATIONS

BELGRADE THEATRE COVENTRY IS DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE DETAILS OF  'SEE IT FIRST',

A PROGRAMME OF NEW PLAYS, WORKSHOPS AND CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN ARTISTS AND AUDIENCES PLAYING FROM 19 – 26 JULY 

Artistic Director Corey Campbell and CEO Laura Elliot and the whole team at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry are delighted to announce details of See It First. 

From Saturday 19 July to Saturday 26 July, The Belgrade will be an artistic hub for the region, with preview and work-in-progress performances, scratch nights, and workshops and talks for artists, creatives and industry, taking place in various spaces around the theatre itself, and in the Belgrade’s exciting new performance space, The Jag.  

Shows this summer at the Belgrade

As previously announced, See it First will include two preview performances of Consumed (25 & 26 July), ahead of the show’s run in Edinburgh. Consumed, the Belgrade’s third consecutive co-production with Paines Plough, will then return to the Belgrade from 3 – 6 September as part of a UK tour.  

A Paines Plough, Belgrade Theatre, Sheffield Theatre and Women’s Prize for Playwriting Production, in association with The Lyric Belfast, Karis Kelly’s play is a pitch-black and twisted tale of dysfunctional family dynamics, generational trauma and national boundaries.  

Performance  

As part of See it First, The Jag will play host to a series of performances, starting with Blindspot Scratch Night (Saturday 19 July) led by Blindspot Nights, a Coventry-based scratch night dedicated to bringing working/ underclass theatre out of your blind-spot.  

Breeders (Wednesday 23 July) intertwines the stories of two queer couples in Birmingham decades apart, Tom and Georgie in the 1980s, and Jo and Stevie in the 2020s. Set against drag bars, doctor’s offices, and late-night conversations, the play explores the impact and legacy of the AIDS crisis, queer survival, and the messy, beautiful ways we create community.  Apples and Snakes are proud to platform the next generation of performance poets in an evening of scratch shows from the most exciting voices coming out of Coventry with Playing Poetry: Coventry Showcase (Wednesday 23 July). Playing Poetry is a development programme for emerging poets wanting to create solo performer shows. For eight weeks, they have been working with nationally established artists to bring their shows to life – plus, there will be special performances from Jasmine Gardosi, Bradley Taylor and Coventry Poet Laureate, John Bernard. 

Feeling sweaty and overwhelmed surviving your first summer in the big Smoke? Wade in with lifeguard Nikki for an evening of cabaret as she cracks the secret to surviving London life, pondlife that is. Sepondment (Thursday 24 July) is a heart-warming and very silly work-in-progress show about class, nature and Sisqo. 

From BoonDog Theatre, Lovett (Friday 25 July) is the origin story of Sweeney Todd’s Mrs Lovett. Set before she encounters the demon barber, we discover what ultimately leads her to turn his victims into pies. You may think you already know Mrs Lovett, but this new play invites you to dig into what made her: the brutal choices of a life in poverty. When the difference is life or death, morality becomes a moveable feast… and Eleanor is getting hungry. 

A Coggia presentation, The Blighted Star (Saturday 26 July): A local student vanishes. A town’s anxieties surface… Ivan’s been missing two weeks. A young CCTV operator is determined to find him. What hides in places we’re scared to look? 

Workshops 

Facilitating and Directing: In Conversation (Saturday 19 July) is hosted by Artistic Director Corey Campbell and Associate Director Jay Zorenti-Nakhid. Building on last year’s workshop - but from a new angle – this session will offer fresh provocations, practical tools, and open dialogue around what it means to lead a room responsively, creatively, and with purpose. This session will be held in the Belgrade Theatre’s Patrick Suite between 3pm – 6pm.   

A dynamic and participatory session built around Co-creation and the evolving role of producers, Producer Gathering (Wednesday 23 July) features a panel discussion with guest speakers including Corey Campbell, Erica Whyman, Ned Glasier and Elizabeth Zeddie Lawal. The session creates space for questions, ideas and actions that can be taken forward and put into practice. It will beheld in the Belgrade Theatre’s Burbidge Room from 4pm.  

Hosted by Pravesh Kumar, Artistic Director of Rifco - the trailblazing South Asian-led theatre company - Elevating the British South Asian Voice (Thursday 24 July) will explore Rifco’s journey, their mission to champion South Asian stories and voices, and the opportunities available for artists in the West Midlands. The session will be held in the Belgrade Theatre’s Screen Room at 5pm.  

Georgia Kelly, Artistic Director of Blindspot Theatre, a Belgrade Theatre Springboard Company, shares their tips and tricks for getting funding for projects under £30k in Demystifying Arts Council Funding (Friday 25 July). This two-hour workshop, held in the Belgrade Theatre’s Screen Room at 2pm, will be followed by a co-working space where participants are welcome to get feedback on an existing application or help with starting a new one. 

Artist Social, with special guests from Paines Plough, will be a relaxed evening provide a space local creatives to gather, share, and spark ideas. Held in the Belgrade Theatre’s Burbidge Room from 6.30pm, this will offer an opportunity to spend time with other artists in an informal setting and exchange experiences in an honest, open and energising way. 

Rounding off See It First's series’ of workshops is the Open Writers’ Lab (Saturday 26 July) in collaboration with the Belgrade Theatre as part of Paines Plough’s Tour The Writer programme. The session begins at 2pm in the Patrick Suite.  

Artistic Director of the Belgrade Theatre Corey Campbell said “We’re delighted to launch this year’s See It First programme, a week that puts new voices, bold ideas and fresh work centre stage. It reflects our ongoing commitment to co-creation, championing talent and stories developed with, by and for our communities. This is about opening our doors, sharing space, supporting local artists and shaping the future together.” 

Further information on schedule and ticketing for See It First can be found at: www.belgrade.co.uk/events/see-it-first-2025-2/