The centre’s popular live screenings from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York return, kicking off with Donizetti’s Anna Bolena. Renowned Russian soprano Anna Netrebko plays the determined Englishwoman with her sights on the throne.

Jack Whitehall headlines the comedy stakes, while musical highlights will include The Fallows, an up-and-coming folk group from nearby Coventry.

See the full events schedule here

James Cook has joined this cohort with a post titled ‘Why the Birmingham comedy scene repeatedly dies on its hole…‘. His gripes are that (and I apologise for paraphrasing):

• research shows that residents of Birmingham are the most risk averse in the country. We have a drinking culture, but not much of a ‘going out’ culture. This makes things difficult for promoters
• there are too many poor quality comedy night charging people good money to see new, unpaid acts. These nights are rubbish and will put people off ever going to a comedy night again

I don’t claim to know too much about this – I go to the occasional stand-up show, but I don’t have James’s experience of the local comedy scene and he’s not the first to have made this complaint. However, from a lay punter’s point of view, I was under the impression that if comedy’s your thing then Birmingham caters for you pretty well. We’ve got:

• the NIA and LG Arena for the big, mainstream touring shows
• Town Hall and Alexandra Theatre for other biggish touring shows
• two main stand-up venues – The Glee Club and Highlight
• other occasional shows at The Public and the MAC. Warwick Arts Centre and various places in Wolverhampton are fairly close too
• some smaller, regular nights bringing in some decent national names (Comedy Junction and Popcorn Comedy)
• there’s a proliferation of other, smaller nights at pubs and bars around over the city too

In terms of general promotion, we’ve got a dedicated comedy website and (almost?) every year the Birmingham Comedy Festival draws a ring around a load of shows happening over the space of a month and shouts about them.

That seems like a pretty healthy spread to me. Certainly a good deal more than many other towns and cities can claim. Does it constitute a ‘scene’? If not, is it just the audiences for the smaller gigs that are missing, or something else?

I’d be interested in hearing what people think. Or, seeing as how he started the discussion, leave a comment on James’s post.

Round these parts The Drum, The Rep and Hippodrome have offers. Looking a little wider there are offers at Warwick Arts Centre, Belgrade Theatre, Playbox Theatre and the RSC.

Arts Council England has made a seventh round of awards from its £40 million Sustain fund for organisations under pressure as a result of the recession.

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra:

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s application met the Sustain criteria as the Orchestra has been adversely impacted by the recession. As such, we have offered a Sustain award of £388,000 to maintain the quality of artistic output and resolve immediate cash flow problems caused by loss of development income and touring income.

Warwick Arts Centre:

Elements of Warwick Arts Centre’s application have been judged to meet the Sustain criteria. As such, we have offered a Sustain award of £215,000 to help the organisation with the adverse impact of the recession by maintaining the quality of artistic output and resolve immediate cash flow problems caused by loss of income from box office, trusts and foundations.

Spotted via Audiences Central.

In other news, the Arts Council get their website redesigned and then go hiding all their information in Word docs, PDF’s and Excel spreadsheets. Irritating.

Pilot is a platform for testing new theatre work from the West Midlands and beyond. Deadline for submissions Monday 1st March, 12pm

RELEASE THE BEAST

Had an idea laying dormant for a while that you almost daren’t wake up? Not sure if it’s mad or genius?
Kindle invite performers/practitioners/fools to submit ideas for performance which frighten them. Whether in form, content or style it must push you beyond your comfort zone into unknown territory.

Challenge yourself in a lively, supportive atmosphere and get honest feedback from peers and audience. All fools will be applauded.

AE Harris is an industrial warehouse in Birmingham’s Jewelry Quarter. It’s big, blank and open to you, with four huge spaces and lots of corners, nooks and crannies to test your idea in. Site-specific ideas are most welcome.

We can offer you a small bursary, documentation of your performance, and rehearsal space in the venue from Monday 29th March.

Kindle will also be hosting an unusual meal for all the artists involved on the Wednesday night, in the venue.

In other news, on 6 March you should definitely go to Warwick Arts Centre for The Bite Size Festival 2010:

a whirlwind tour of the region’s theatre, offering you the one-off opportunity to sample a range of great work in one place on the same day.

This year’s lineup includes Stans Cafe, Pentabus, Foursight, Kindle, Jane Packman Productions, Spanner, New Macho, Needle and Thread and Vanessa Oakes. PLUS the first opportunity to see two shows we’ve commissioned especially with Warwick Arts Centre and mac following the First Bite Festival back in November: Caroline Horton’s You’re Not Like The Other Girls Chrissy and Untied Artists’ Al Bowlly’s Croon Manifesto.

Grab a day ticket and wallow in some entertainingness. Kindle Theatre will be doing 30 mins of Eat Your Heart Out, which I saw last year and thought was really very good indeed.

Tomorrow night (Thursday) I’m taking a wander over to Warwick Arts Centre, as are a couple of Birmingham-based outfits, for It Came From Pilot:

Father and son duo, Kings of England perform Where We Live and What We Live For. In 2001 75 year old Peter Bowes had a trans-ischemic attack, a stroke. In this gentle, moving work he and his son remember and imagine the man he once was.

The Other Way Works premier Avon Calling which explores the eternal triangle of mother – daughter – and Avon Cosmetics. Drawing vividly on personal source material Louise Platt reveals an intimate and comic portrait of a woman, a mother and an Avon Lady. Ex-Avon lady.

This is part of Fierce‘s programme of stuff at WAC running from Sept-Dec (although no news of what else is upcoming just yet).

A few extras for context:

• PILOT Nights are testing grounds for short, work-in-progress pieces from ‘some of the UK’s most exciting theatre companies’. Audience feedback is encouraged
• The Other Way Works are using Avon and Me to collect people’s personal stories about Avon cosmetics. If you want to see what the show has come ‘from’ there’s a video from the March 09 PILOT Nights here
• Kings of England are based in the North West but I’m assured they’re lovely. Their blog makes for a great read too