hello! apologies for the missing june’s BAG. i was in tech rehearsals, but i’m back and ready to get stuck in for another month of arts events and opportunities in brum. some venues are looking quiet over the summer, but there’s still plenty on and it’s a particularly good month for opera. enjoy x
what’s on
theatre
at the hippodrome, cult midlands icon Rob Madge is bringing their hit show MY SON’S A QUEER (BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO) home from july 11-13th.
later in the month the 10-day See It First festival at the Belgrade also features Madge’s show, alongside two new plays from Paines Plough which will go on to the Edinburgh Fringe. Also programmed is Gerel Falconer’s TONES, and a devised piece from the Belgrade Ensemble, a collective of some of the most exciting theatre artists in the region.
july also sees the return of fringe theatre festival Birmingham Fest. two highlights i’m looking forward to are RE-TURN, a dance theatre meditation on perfectionism and failure, and OUT AT SEA, an absurdist comedy about democracy from local Latvian amateur company Birmingemas Mazais Teātris, who have won several international awards for their bilingual productions.
opera
a new opera, SONATA FOR BROKEN FINGERS, has its world premiere at the CBSO centre on july 14th. the thriller is set in the last days of Stalin’s reign, and is composed by joe cutler with libretto by max hoehn.
a huge community production of Wagner’s THE FLYING DUTCHMAN, starring birmingham conservatoire alumnus Byron Jackson and directed by Iqbal Khan, will have three performances from july 7th. it features youth community choruses, chamber orchestra the Central England Camerata, and an “all-star” cast of opera singers from around the country.
birmingham opera company are back with a signature large-scale work this month, the rarely-revived NEW YEAR by michael tippett, in something called the ‘dream tent’ on the smithfield site. it’s conducted by birmingham’s own alpesh chauhan, and it opens on the same day as the flying dutchman’s public afternoon dress rehearsal, so if you happen to crave a double bill of massive community opera made in birmingham then you’re in luck.
music
on july 4th Juniper Ceilidh Band are playing at Moseley Hive for a Community Ceilidh - tickets are a bargain and i love a ceilidh!
Open Case, a night of experimental music, is back at centrala on july 13th. strange sounds, free samosas.
visual art
the big exhibitions that i’m excited to see continue over the summer - ACTS OF CREATION from hayward touring is at mac, and RUE BRITANNIA and ARTEMISIA IN BIRMINGHAM continue at ikon. at grand union, you still have a month to catch babeworld’s LOVE IS REAL, AND IT’S INSIDE MY COMPUTER.
a new exhibition, A MOTHER’S LOVE, continues the birmingham art scene’s summer fascination with motherhood. it opens at prayer room on july 5th, alongside other digbeth first friday events including a sound-based farewell to vivid projects at minerva works.
outdoors in victoria square, A BRIGHTER FLAME, an exhibition celebrating the life and work of Benjamin Zephaniah, runs from july 5th-31st.
at the gap in balsall heath, a new video installation opens on july 13th. TURNING POINTS dramatises the oral histories of people who lived and worked in the caribbean in the 1920s, with actors including paterson joseph.
film
some very enticing film programming at mac this month - i’m looking forward to BIFF’s selection of British Asian Shorts and STRIKE, a new and revealing documentary about the Battle of Orgreave. i loved isabella tree’s book WILDING, and this film adaptation looks easy on the eye and mind.
at eastside projects on july 5th, there’s a screening of cameroonian-spanish artist Agnes Essonti Luque’s new film as part of dirty nails (les ongles noir), a project taking place between Birmingham and Dakar.
reading + writing
on july 11th, caleb azumah nelson will be at Heath Bookshop, in conversation about his new book SMALL WORLDS .
comedy
new category this month! at centrala on july 15th, comedy night QUEER AS JOKE looks like a good bet and tickets are a steal.
opportunities
for playwrights and theatremakers
pentabus theatre are looking for a playwright to be in residence with them in and around ludlow, and spend a year writing a full-length play. deadline 22nd july.
blindspot scratch nights are looking for midlands artists who would like to test out a new idea at one of their paid events in coventry in august or september. deadline 10th july.
for composers
contemporary music for all are seeking a composer to write a new 10-minute piece for a large ensemble formed in their first Summer School since 2017. deadline 22nd july.
for print artists
there might just be time for a speedy application for one of four Stirchley Printworks Artist Residencies. deadline midnight 1st july.
thanks for reading! see you next month.
anna x