Midlands playwright Frankie Meredith launches two shows this summer as part of Coventry 2021
Photo credit: Joe Bailey
Young Midlands playwright Frankie Meredith will premiere two new shows this summer, as part of Coventry UK City of Culture 2021.
May Queen will run from 29 July-8 August in the grounds of Moat House Leisure and Neighbourhood Centre in Wood End, Coventry, as part of the Belgrade Theatre and Paines Plough’s Roundabout 2021 season. Directed by Balisha Karra, one of the Belgrade’s three Co-Artistic Directors for City of Culture Year, May Queen will star Yasmin Dawes as Leigh.
May Day in Coventry, 2022. Sixteen-year-old Leigh has been chosen as May Queen. She’s buzzin, as is the rest of the city.
The cider is flowing and St George’s flag is flying – but during the day’s festivities something happens. Something disturbing, but maybe… unsurprising.
As the year moves on in the City of Peace and Reconciliation, Leigh must face up to the events of that hot May Day, and dig deep within herself to ask – how did she get here? And how does she get out?
Meredith’s second show, folk musical Petticoat Council, premieres at Warwick Arts Centre from 15-17 June. The piece, which Meredith also directs, incorporates storytelling, song, dance & puppetry, and tells the true story of a group of women from Bishop’s Itchington near Coventry, who in 1949 formed the 1st female majority council in the UK post-WW2, transforming the village into a thriving community.
Basically, this story, of these women, didn't happen in a city. It isn’t in London, or Manchester or Birmingham, although it’s near Coventry. It happens in a place you wouldn't expect, a place you wouldn't expect a revolution to happen. And from women you wouldn't expect to start a revolution. And where do revolutions begin? Like everything, they begin with a mother…
This show is aimed at audiences within the communities on which it is based, and will subsequently tour to five Warwickshire community centres and village halls – including Bishop’s Itchington on 18 June - focusing on engaging with locals who may not usually connect with theatre. Other tour dates are Cheylesmore Community Centre on 19 June, Warwickspace Community Centre on 25 June and Jephson Gardens Leamington Spa on 27 June 2021.
Presented by Steph Hartland Productions and Boys Club Theatre, Petticoat Council features design by Rachel Cleary and will star Helen Booth, Madi MacMahon, Georgina Periam & Savannah Gallo.
Meredith said: “Having two shows open this summer (of all summers) is such a dream. I’m so grateful for everyone working so hard to make it happen safely. Although the plays are entirely different in their themes and styles, the one thing I was really passionate about was staging them in the communities in which they’re set. I spent a lot of my teen years in Coventry, so when it came to writing a story here, I just knew it had to be told by a sixteen year old girl and getting her experience on stage.
“With Petticoat Council, my great aunt was one of the women who formed the council, so it’s been in my family for a few generations and has been many years in the writing.
“Both plays focus on how women tell and pass down stories. With moments that will uplift and spark joy, which I feel audiences need right now, they also carry strong messages of resilience, community and hope. I’m most excited about working with the incredible teams on each.”
