Warwick Arts Centre this Autumn/Winter

Black Voices pay homage to the songs of Nina Simone. Photo courtesy of Warwick Arts Centre.

Warwick Arts Centre have launched their Autumn/Winter 2023/2024 Season Launch – and there’s everything from the mind-blowing to the mind-growing! Highlights include The Gruffalo, Lucy Worsley, James Wilton Dance, John Grant & Richard Hawley, Planting Roots Festival, Phantom Sculpture, and more.

Giant monsters, TV names, and a major sculpture exhibition all feature in Warwick Arts Centre's forthcoming Autumn/Winter 2023-2024 season.

Among the star names heading to the Coventry venue over the coming months are TV’s ‘Queen Of History’ Lucy Worsley, CBeebies' songsmith Nick Cope, and former popstar-turned-Reverend (and author), Rev. Richard Coles. They join a line-up that also includes Warwickshire life coach Holly Matthews (Tue 10 Oct), SAS Who Dares Wins' Billy Billingham (Sat 21 Oct), and explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes (Fri 2 Feb 2024).

Lucy Worsley. Photo courtesy of the Warwick Arts Centre.

Several concerts also celebrate departed musical legends. Fresh from a sell-out performance at the Manchester International Festival, John Grant and Richard Hawley salute the genius of country star, Patsy Cline (Sat 23 Sep), and Black Voices pay homage to the Songs of Nina Simone (Sat 28 Oct). The music of the late great Tina Turner is the focus of the hit-filled What's Love Got To Do With It? (Sun 26 Nov), while award-winning saxophonist Tim Garland salutes jazz great (and former collaborator) Chick Corea, aided by the NYJO (Fri 7 Dec).

John Grant and Richard Hawley. Photo courtesy of Warwick Arts Centre.

Elsewhere, British Poet Laureate Simon Armitage takes to the stage with his post-punk band, LYR (Thu 5 Oct), chart-topping duo Ward Thomas (Tue 21 Nov) perform tracks from their lauded recent album, Music In The Madness, and Fisherman's Friends (Fri 9 Feb) bring a taste of the Cornish sea to land-locked Coventry.

Warwick Arts Centre also plays host the very best in stand-up comedy, with appearances from Frankie Boyle (Wed 4 Oct, Tue 6 Feb), Tom Allen (Sat 7-Sun 8 Oct, Thu 2 May), Rachel Fairburn (Fri 10 Nov), Russell Howard (Sat 11-Sun 12 Nov), Lucy Beaumont (Thu 23 Nov), and Sarah Millican (Thu 29 Feb-Sun 3 Mar).

What's Love Got to Do With It - the music of Tina Turner. Photo courtesy of Warwick Arts Centre.

Other programme highlights include The Beginning (Wed 29 Nov) from acclaimed international performers and University of Warwick alumni Bert and Nasi; the athletic new production by James Wilton Dance, Lore (Tue 30 Jan); and - leading the Christmas charge - Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's mighty The Gruffalo (Tue 28 Nov-Sun 31 Dec), which has been adapted for the stage by the much-praised Tall Stories.

Tall Stories stage adaptation of The Gruffalo. Photo courtesy of Warwick Arts Centre.

In addition, there's also plenty of free activities, including a Night At The Movies concert (Wed 11 Oct), the return of Family Sundays (from Sun 8 Oct), the weekly multi-sensory Mini Creatives sessions (from Tue 3 Oct) and Workshop Wednesdays (from Wed 8 Oct), plus the family-friendly Planting Roots Festival: Green Family Celebration (Sat 4 Nov), and a major exhibition, Phantom Sculpture (Fri 6 Oct-Sun 10 Mar, Mead Gallery).

So big, it continues until Spring, and includes a mid-run change-over, Phantom Sculpture brings together works from some of the biggest names in art, including Anthony Caro, Barbara Hepworth, William Turnbull, Rachel Whiteread, Sarah Lucas, Mona Haroum, and Richard Deacon, for a grand exploration of how the past influences the present.

Joseph Buckley - Phantom Sculpture. Photo courtesy of Warwick Arts Centre.

Doreen Foster, Warwick Arts Centre Director, said: "As we open our 2023 autumn season, we continue our commitment to free activities for everyone with plenty of performances and workshops for all ages. Meanwhile, The Gruffalo is the perfect Christmas treat, our family-friendly Planting Roots Festival spans workshops, discussion, performance, and more, and our Orchestral Series commences with a welcome return from the stunning Chineke! Orchestra followed by the Symphony Orchestra of India’s first visit to us.

"And don’t forget our three cinema screens. Home to not only those big Hollywood blockbusters – such as Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting In Venice, the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe chapter, and Ken Loach’s final film, The Old Oak – but also the only venue in Warwickshire where you’ll regularly find a selection of the very best films from around the world."

To find out more about Warwick Arts Centre’s forthcoming season, and to buy tickets, see: warwickartscentre.co.uk

Box Office: 024 7649 6000