Fun and thought-provoking new season announced at Warwick Arts Centre
Entertainment galore in store for a range of ages and tastes
Monstrous tales, award-winning theatre and electrifying dance are among the treats awaiting in Warwick Arts Centre’s autumn/winter season.
A theme running throughout the season is 'home', with a series of events that brings together work exploring the places, people and experiences that shape lives. Highlights include an autobiographical story of love, loss and resilience called Pieces of My Life (October 22); African Soul Rebels featuring Les Amazones d’Afrique (October 6); West Midlands favourite Fatt Butcher with his joyous Congregational (November 27 and 28); and a powerful new piece of theatre from award-winning writer Inua Ellams, Once Upon A Time In Sokoto (November 5 to 7).
Elsewhere, there’s plenty to keep families thoroughly entertained, with appearances from poetry legend Michael Rosen (October 25) and the charming Nick Cope (November 8), plus Dinosaurs Live! (October 11) with the Natural History Museum, a brand new family musical from Little Angel Theatre entitled Toto The Ninja Cat and The Great Snake Escape (October 31 to November 1) and the much-loved The Gruffalo’s Child (November 28 to December 27). Warwick Arts Centre’s ongoing Free Family Events programme also continues with Musical Picnics, Family Singing, Family Sundays, Mini Creatives and My First Concert (various dates).
Other well-known names heading to the West Midlands arts centre include writer Caitlin Moran (September 25), poet Brian Bilston (October 1), astronaut Tim Peake (October 6), globetrotter Michael Palin (October 16), Inside No.9’s Reece Shearsmith (October 10) and historians Tracy Borman (October 4), Lucy Worsley (October 11) and Mary Beard (November 5).
There’s plenty to laugh at too, with mirth-filled shows from Alan Davies (September 25), Hasan Al-Habib (October 8), Maisie Adam (October 9), Jazz Emu (October 14), Nurse Georgie Carroll (November 1), Mike Wozniak (November 12) and Romesh Ranganathan (December 4).
A varied music line-up boasts jazz hero Courtney Pine (September 26), country-pop duo Ward Thomas (September 24), former Ultravox frontman Midge Ure (November 29) and accomplished guitarist Martin Simpson (December 3), while the London Gospel Choir reimagine Paul Simon’s era-defining Graceland (December 11).
Acclaimed Brazilian guitarist Plinio Fernandes joins Chineke! Orchestra (November 26) and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra tackle The Nutcracker (December 9) as part of the Orchestral Season, while the Welsh National Opera Orchestra accompany a screening of Hitchcock’s classic Psycho (October 29) with a live performance of Bernard Herrmann’s chilling score.
There will also be talks with leading writers and curators including journalist Omar El Akkad in conversation with journalist and author Gary Younge, poet Nikita Gill talking to poet Len Pennie, and Stephanie Phillips speaking to 2-Tone pioneer Pauline Black of The Selector.
And the UK’s most significant exhibition of contemporary art, British Art Show 10, runs from October 2 to January 10, with Warwick Arts Centre’s Mead Gallery hosting works by a range of artists including Turner Prize 2025 winner Nnena Kalu, West Midlands-born artist Emma Talbot and painter Matthew Krishanu.
Visit warwickartscentre.co.uk or call 024 7649 6000 to book tickets or for more information about these and other shows at the venue.