Belgrade’s Coventry Blitz play goes international

21/11/2013

The Belgrade Theatre’s hit Coventry Blitz play One Night in November reached a whole new, international audience when one of the performances was streamed live via the internet to thousands of people all over the world.

On Tuesday 15 Oct, as the performance of One Night in November began on the Belgrade’s Main Stage, more than 1,500 people were also watching the live stream online from the comfort of their own homes.

As well as people from Coventry and the West Midlands watching, people from across the world logged on to watch the production, with viewers also tuning in from Newcastle, Cornwall and as far afield as Coventry’s twin town of Kiel in Germany, Sweden, South Korea and Australia.

Prior to the live stream of the show, and during the interval, people watching online could also see interviews with the play’s writer Alan Pollock and the Belgrade’s Artistic Director Hamish Glen, as well as some memories from survivors of the Coventry Blitz.

Hamish Glen, the Belgrade’s Artistic Director and Director of One Night in November said, “The play has been a huge success with Coventry audiences and I’m thrilled that thousands more people have been able to share the experience via the live stream, and from as far away as Australia and South Korea. The feedback we have received from people who watched it has been really positive, with many praising the high quality of the playback. It’s an extremely moving play, so I’m particularly pleased that the emotional impact was not lost by watching it on screen. Whilst nothing beats the experience of sitting in a theatre and watching a live production, on this occasion a live stream has proved to be the next best thing, particularly for those who can’t make it to the theatre.”

The live stream of One Night in November was produced in association with the newly launched Coventry TV. Creative and Managing Director Martin Head, who directed the live streamed performance said, “Working with the Belgrade Theatre was a fantastic opportunity. To turn this popular and important play about the Coventry Blitz into a live, online television production, using new remote controlled cameras and the very latest streaming technology was very rewarding, especially as it was received so well by viewers locally and also across the world.”  

“The Belgrade’s use of digital media to support their productions is cutting edge and to help them deliver their first completely streamed production extended that work to a new level. It was very exciting to see the theatre’s whole team and the cast of the play really get behind the project and while we were live, they kept running backstage to watch the broadcast!”

Written by Alan Pollock, One Night in November tells the story of one family’s harrowing experience of the Coventry Blitz. The play was first staged in the Belgrade’s B2 auditorium as part of the theatre’s reopening season in 2008. After receiving an overwhelming response from audiences and critics alike, it was restaged later that year for another sell out run. Popular demand led to the production being moved to the Main Stage in 2010 and again this year.