Five of the best things to do in and around Rugby in the next seven days

From a musical favourite to powerful art, there's plenty to enjoy...
Five Star Theatre presents the musical CatsFive Star Theatre presents the musical Cats
Five Star Theatre presents the musical Cats

1 THEATRECats, Benn Hall, Rugby, March 29 to 31Five Star Theatre, which is behind the Benn Hall’s pantomimes, musicals and popular children’s shows, celebrates its 10th anniversary with this production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats. Based on TS Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the show is set among a larger-than-life junkyard playground and is alive with favourite feline characters including Rum Tum Tugger, the Magical Mr Mistoffelees, Macavity, Jennyanydots, Old Deuteronomy, Grizabella and the Old Gumbie Cat. The show features the song Memory, which has been famously covered by Elaine Paige, Barry Manilow and Barbra Streisand. Details: www.bennhall.com

2 ARTAbout Face, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, March 30 to June 16New additions to Rugby Borough Council’s collection of 20th and 21st century British contemporary art feature in About Face, an exhibition of portraits which opens this week. Works by Turner Prize winner Lubaina Himid and Claudette Johnson have been added to the renowned Rugby Collection after securing grants from Art Fund, Arts Council England, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Contemporary Art Society. Himid and Johnson have both played leading roles in Britain’s Black Arts Movement, creating pieces which focus on racial politics and identity. The exhibition also includes loans from The Lowry and portraits from the Rugby Collection, with pieces by Stanley Spencer, Maggi Hambling and Craigie Aitchison on display, along with eight loans from the National Portrait Gallery, including self-portraits by Lucian Freud, Richard Hamilton and Eduardo Paolozzi.Details: www.ragm.co.uk

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

3 EXHIBITIONRural Rugby, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, March 30 to September 1The second major exhibition opening in town this week looks at Rugby’s rural history. Rural Rugby explores the town’s historic role at the heart of Warwickshire’s agricultural industry, from the moment in 1225 when King Henry III granted Henry de Rokeby, the lord of the manor, permission to hold a street market in the town centre. Sheep Street, one of the town’s oldest thoroughfares, became home to a bustling agricultural market, with farmers from Rugby’s rural villages travelling into town to sell livestock and produce.Details: www.ragm.co.uk

4 FAMILYVarious shows and activities, Warwick Arts Centre, March 31 to April 7Monstersaurus! is an energetic musical show full of magic, mayhem and plenty of monsters, followed by Ready Steady Lift Off!, an interactive experience that invites audiences to create their very own rocket and join an astronaut programme. There are also plenty of other activities for children. Details: warwickartscentre.co.uk

5 FAMILY THEATRERed Riding Hood and the Wolf, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, April 3 to 5The timeless tale of Little Red Riding Hood will be radically reimagined by the renowned puppet theatre company Little Angel Theatre. You’ve never heard it told this way before...Details: belgrade.co.uk