Elvis Costello and US alt-rock legends Mercury Rev headline a stand-out music programme that also features rising star Ry X, MOBO Award winning saxophonist YoLanda Brown, the beautifully melancholic Tindersticks and plenty of folk from The Young’Uns and Teddy Thompson.
The venue’s reputation as a theatre and dance powerhouse continues with a diverse range of productions, from Rifco’s Bhangra style musical Laila to an invitation from Random Scream to change the world one vodka shot at a time in 7 Promises. Cinematic set design and mesmeric physicality combine under a wide-open sky with only rickety camper vans for shelter as Warwick Arts Centre joins forces with the International Dance Festival Birmingham for 32 Rue Vandenbranden.
Melanie Wilson and Fuel look to the future in Opera for the Unknown Woman, a production combining theatre, contemporary classical music, electronics and film to tell the story of Aphra, the last hope for life on a dying Earth in the 24th Century. A theme of climate change runs throughout the whole programme this season, culminating in artists’ summit Doing Nothing is Not An Option.
The family programme offers the chance to get up close to some prehistoric beasties in Dinosaur Zoo. Daniel Bye tells the story of a boy and his robot best friend in Error 404 and Travelling Light present Into the West, a mash-up of urban life and Irish myth. Scamp Theatre return with Julia Donaldson favourite Tiddler and Other Tales and Bamboozle present Hansel and Gretel.
The Mead Gallery presents a free exhibition of light and sculpture in Another Minimalism. This exhibition brings together the work of artists influenced by the California Light and Space artists of the 1960s and 1970s, including Larry Bell, Tacita Dean, Olafur Eliasson, Spencer Finch and James Welling. These artists use photography, film, glass, mirrors and coloured lights are to alter the viewer’s perception of space and time.
Romesh Ranganathan headlines a comedy programme that also features Adil Ray’s Citizen Khan, Jenny Eclair, Susie Blake and Kate Robbins as a panel of Grumpy Old Women and stand-up from Sara Pascoe, Bill Bailey and Mark Watson.
The classical concert series comes to a triumphant conclusion with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz and the Philharmonia Orchestra, featuring a programme of Sibelius and Elgar under the baton of Edward Gardner.
Julia Carruthers, the newly appointed Programme Director at Warwick Arts Centre said: “As we enjoy longer and warmer days, this summer’s busy and wide-ranging programme offers something for everyone. Specially featured are puppets with big jaws and big teeth, vodka and eco warriors, glass, mirrors and coloured lights, a camper van, grumpy women and, inevitably, too many men with beards.”
The season also features a continuation of the venue’s new series of Masterclasses, as well as the return of the popular Met Opera and RSC Live digital screenings, and a special sing-along screening of Calamity Jane with Janice Connolly’s comedy character Barbara Nice acting as compere.
