Belgrade Theatre

The Belgrade Theatre was built in 1958 as part of the reconstruction of Coventry after World War II. Holding 858 in its two-tier main auditorium, and 250-300 in the flexible, second space, B2, it remains one of the largest regional producing theatres in Britain.

Autumn 2007 saw the re-opening of the Belgrade Theatre after completion of its £14 million redevelopment project, including the creation of B2, and refurbishment of the existing listed building.

The Theatre remains the major arts and cultural facility in Coventry and the only building-based professional producing theatre company in the city. It aims to present a broad spectrum of excellent work and produces a wide range of shows.

Having started the Theatre-in-Education (TIE) movement in the 1960s, the Belgrade also continues to pioneer new initiatives in this field as well as other community and outreach programmes.

The current Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Hamish Glen, was appointed to the theatre in March 2003, bringing with him an ambitious artistic policy and a pledge to bring rarely performed classics to the West Midlands.

A champion of new writing the Belgrade has also given voice to numerous playwrights including William Ivory (Bomber’s Moon) and Geoff Thompson (Fragile). The theatre also works with local writers to produce plays specifically for local audiences, such as Alan Pollock’s Coventry Blitz play 'One Night in November', his follow up, 'Too Much Pressure', and Nick Walker’s FA Cup play 'We Love You City'.

The Belgrade operates one of the UK’s largest theatre-based Corporate Membership schemes – the Directors’ Club, and also hosts Events & Conferences of national significance including Holocaust Memorial Day and Coca-Cola’s National Sales Conference in 2013.