The Belgrade Theatre Coventry has announced the appointment of Corey Campbell, Balisha Karra and Justine Themen as the three Creative Leads who will oversee its producing programme for Coventry’s year as City of Culture in 2021.
The recruitment follows a call-out for two theatre-makers to join the Belgrade’s Deputy Artistic Director Justine Themen in taking over the planning and programming of the Belgrade’s home-produced work for 2021, with the aim of introducing fresh perspectives and working towards lasting change across the theatre industry.
Through collaborative creation with emerging artists, diverse talent and local communities, the three leads will deliver a bold and ambitious produced programme for the year, to sit alongside the Theatre’s usual variety of presented work, which includes a wide range of touring musicals, classic drama, live music and family shows.
Belgrade Theatre Artistic Director Hamish Glen said: “Coventry has a long history of innovation, inclusivity and championing often unheard voices. The idea to recruit these Creative Leads for 2021 was inspired by the story of the African-American actor Ira Aldridge, who, at the age of 21, became the first person of colour to manage a British theatre, taking over the Coventry Theatre in 1828. At the time, slavery was still legal throughout the British Empire.
“Today, Coventry is one of the UK’s youngest and most diverse cities, so it felt fitting to honour Aldridge’s legacy by ensuring that we continue to amplify marginalised voices, providing an opportunity for a new generation of creative talent to explore their own ideas about how to take the industry forward. We look forward to building our relationship with them, and to seeing how their vision develops alongside our existing programme, helping us to evolve our longer-term approach as a theatre.”
Coventry City of Culture Trust Creative Director Chenine Bhathena said: “Since the beginning of the bidding process, our strategy has always been to develop the City of Culture programme through a devolved delivery model. We are committed to working with arts organisations in the city to test new ways of working and connecting with communities, so that our creative partners can deliver ambitious and exemplary programmes during and long after 2021.
“We are a creative city, and the Trust is committed to building a programme for 2021 that is co-created, supporting and investing in people from many different communities across the city to develop imaginative events and activities. We are delighted that the new artistic team at the Belgrade are also committed to testing how they co-create new programmes, working with local communities of all ages, abilities and backgrounds and to really understand the role of the theatre in our 21st century city.”
