Come socialise with your theatre friends during the Criterion's Big Build! On the 7th September we'll be heading to Spencer Park to enjoy their "Bands in the Park" event. Bring a picnic and a friend and we'll have a lovely, informal catch-up.

The Customer Experiences team is organising three training sessions for around the time of the theatre's Grand Reopening. This is a training session open for all -- from experienced members to non-members interested in volunteering. All three training sessions will be the same, so please book yourself in on the one session you can do. BOOK YOUR PLACE WITH THIS ONLINE FORM [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHOomgWrm2__YUaCSyifRsh6NHM15R7Qxr78EmAsCTdFa_AA/viewform?usp=header]. We'll be doing some GENERAL TRAINING FOR EVERYONE WORKING IN THE NEW BUILDING, ESPECIALLY AROUND FIRE SAFETY, and then we'll be covering some specifics for: * Bar * Front of House * Box Office * etc. As well as being a useful refresher and update for experienced members, this will be a great opportunity for new volunteers to learn how things work and get stuck in.

The Customer Experiences team is organising three training sessions for around the time of the theatre's Grand Reopening. This is a training session open for all -- from experienced members to non-members interested in volunteering. All three training sessions will be the same, so please book yourself in on the one session you can do. BOOK YOUR PLACE WITH THIS ONLINE FORM [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHOomgWrm2__YUaCSyifRsh6NHM15R7Qxr78EmAsCTdFa_AA/viewform?usp=header]. We'll be doing some GENERAL TRAINING FOR EVERYONE WORKING IN THE NEW BUILDING, ESPECIALLY AROUND FIRE SAFETY, and then we'll be covering some specifics for: * Bar * Front of House * Box Office * etc. As well as being a useful refresher and update for experienced members, this will be a great opportunity for new volunteers to learn how things work and get stuck in.

The Customer Experiences team is organising three training sessions for around the time of the theatre's Grand Reopening. This is a training session open for all -- from experienced members to non-members interested in volunteering. All three training sessions will be the same, so please book yourself in on the one session you can do. BOOK YOUR PLACE WITH THIS ONLINE FORM [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHOomgWrm2__YUaCSyifRsh6NHM15R7Qxr78EmAsCTdFa_AA/viewform?usp=header]. We'll be doing some GENERAL TRAINING FOR EVERYONE WORKING IN THE NEW BUILDING, ESPECIALLY AROUND FIRE SAFETY, and then we'll be covering some specifics for: * Bar * Front of House * Box Office * etc. As well as being a useful refresher and update for experienced members, this will be a great opportunity for new volunteers to learn how things work and get stuck in.

We are thrilled to announce the main house productions of 2026. This is going to be a particularly exciting season for us as it will be the first to take place in what will be our transformed bar and foyer space. We think it is an exciting and celebratory season - with a mix of new writing and more classic pieces, well known and unusual plays. As a member of the audience, actors, backstage teams and front of house please do come along, get involved and be part of a wonderful year of theatre. All details are below and please look out for Open Reading and Audition notices as well as announcements of tickets going on sale for all these productions coming very soon. January 31st to February 7th: The Who’s ‘Tommy’ by Des McAnuff/Pete Townshend March 21st to 28th: ‘The Unfriend’ by Steven Moffat May 9th to 16th: Springboard Festival 2026 June 27th to 4th July: ‘Popcorn’ by Ben Elton September 26th to 3rd October: ‘Underdog: The Other Other Brontë’ by Sarah Gordon December 5th to 12th: Shakespeare in Love adapted for the stage by Lee Hall PLAY SYNOPSES RESCHEDULED DATES SAT 31ST JANUARY TO 7TH FEBRUARY 'THE WHO’S ‘TOMMY’ BY DES MCANUFF AND PETE TOWNSHEND (1968/1994) Genre: Rock Musical, Cast 20+, Director: Deb Relton-Elves (Sweeney Todd, 2023; Rumpelstiltskin,2016; Snake in the Grass, 2015, Musical Director: Rob Parish (Sweeney Todd, 2023) This thoroughly entertaining rock musical with its dramatic score and fascinating storyline, has been thrilling theatre goers for years and is just as relevant today as when it was first produced. Whilst dealing with some dark themes there are moments of hope and triumph so audiences are uplifted as well as moved. At its heart, the story celebrates family, forgiveness, resilience, and ultimately the extraordinary power of healing. The story of Tommy is timeless. The artistic vision of our production is a simplicity of set, costumes and props with the use of inspirational projection and lighting to complement and enhance the piece, with an emphasis on the cast to bring the characters to life through the wonderful music. This production of Tommy exists outside the bounds of a specific time or place. ________________________________________________________________ SAT 21ST TO 28TH MARCH 'THE UNFRIEND' BY STEVEN MOFFAT (2023) Genre: Comedy, Cast: 7 (3f 4m), Director: John Ruscoe (The Homecoming, 2024; The Father, 2019; Communicating Doors, 2017) While on holiday, Peter and Debbie befriend Elsa: a lusty, Trump-loving widow from Denver, USA. She's less than woke but kind of wonderful. They agree to stay in touch – because no one ever really does, do they?When Elsa invites herself to stay a few months later, they decide to look her up online. Too late, they learn the truth about Elsa Jean Krakowski. Deadly danger has just boarded a flight to London! But how do you protect all that you love from mortal peril without seeming, well, a bit impolite? Because guess who's coming... to murder! Steven Moffat's play The Unfriend takes a hilarious and satirical look at middle-class England's disastrous instinct always to appear nice.Steven Moffat is an award-winning writer whose internationally successful television shows include Doctor Who, Sherlock and Dracula. ______________________________________________________________________________________ SAT 9TH TO SAT 16TH MAY SPRINGBOARD FESTIVAL 2026 Now in its 4th year, Springboard provides eight evenings of fabulous and varied entertainment in the form of short one act plays, poetry/spoken word, music, film, literary discussion and visual art. The festival brings together Coventry and Warwickshire amateur and professionals in one space, with in-house Criterion company performances and community/Criterion collaborations alongside external artists, musicians and poets. _______________________________________________________________________________________ SAT 27TH JUNE TO SAT 4TH JULY 'POPCORN' BY BEN ELTON (1998) Genre: Comedy Thriller, Cast: 9 (5f 4m), Director: Dean Sheridan (Grace, 2024) A play adaptation of the best-selling 1996 novel of the same name by well-known comedian and author Ben Elton. Set in the Beverly Hills home of Oscar winning movie director Bruce Delamitri, Popcorn is a satirical comedy thriller. When notorious killers Wayne and Scout interrupt Bruce's passionate introduction to Brooke Daniels, a model and actress, they want more than an autograph from their cinematic idol. Wayne intends to use Bruce's "art" as justification for murder. Events are disrupted by the arrival of Bruce's soon to be ex wife and spoiled teenage daughter and his producer. However, Wayne means to succeed whatever the cost. When Popcorn was first written, it was asking, do violent movies create a violent society? Can minds be corrupted by images and ideas presented in films? In the era of social media this has perhaps more potency: do platforms which are often unregulated, cause any damage and desensitise minds? _______________________________________________________________________________________ SAT 26TH SEPTEMBER TO 3RD OCTOBER 'UNDERDOG: THE OTHER OTHER BRONTË' BY SARAH GORDON (2024) Genre: Comedy, Cast 8 (3f, 1m, 4m/f) Director: Anne-marie Greene (Every Brilliant Thing, 2024; Afterlife, 2023; Glorious, 2020) Synopsis: Charlotte Brontë has a confession about how one sister became an idol, and the other became known as the third sister. You know the one. No, not that one. The other, other one… Anne. This is not a story about well-behaved women. This is a story about the power of words. It’s about sisters and sisterhood, love and jealousy, support and competition. Sarah Gordon’s play is an irreverent retelling of the life and legend of the Brontë sisters, and the story of the sibling power dynamics that shaped their uneven rise to fame. ______________________________________________________________________________________ SAT 5TH-12TH DECEMBER 'SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE' BASED ON THE SCREENPLAY BY MARC NORMAN AND TOM STOPPARD, ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE BY LEE HALL (2014) Genre: Comic Drama, Cast: over 20, Director: Hugh Sorrill (Mary Stuart, 2022) Synopsis: Based on the Academy Award-winning movie, this enchanting, hilarious, romantic stage play reimagines William Shakespeare's creative process – and explores his inspiration – as he writes Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare hasn't written a hit in years, and theatre owner Henslowe is counting on Shakespeare's promised comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter, to keep his wolfish creditors from the door. At the casting session, Will hears his lines spoken with great feeling by an unknown young actor and his curiosity is fired. Soon he discovers the secret of the talented young actor and rediscovers his muse. As Shakespeare falls in love with an unattainable noblewoman, the farcical comedy transforms into the timeless tragedy that is Romeo and Juliet.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES I am writing this to update you all on a difficult board decision, taken a few days ago, to postpone our upcoming production of ‘Tommy’. The building development project has been moving at pace, and the change is going to be something special. The development schedule is monitored very closely, as those of you who read the development bulletin will know. However, in recent weeks we have hit some unforeseen delays, all of which were absorbed into the plan. We have an old building and expect to discover some problems due to the scope of the works we are trying to achieve, and we built in time for potential delays. The schedule was still on target, albeit a challenging one, until our structural engineer advised that our wardrobe floor and area above the bar required reinforcement to make safe and futureproof. We, of course, have instructed these works but the time impact on the end date means that works would not be finished in time for the opening of Tommy. This is obviously devastating to everyone involved in the project and production. We have considered every option we could think of to work around and discussed at length the possibilities open to us. We met with the creative team behind ‘Tommy’ and discussed the situation and the possibilities of continuing, opening on time and adapting around the building works to ensure audiences could access the auditorium. The consensus was that a work around to open in an unfinished building would be detrimental to the production, put too much pressure on everyone involved, many of whom are also involved in the development works, and ultimately have too large an impact on what promises to be an amazing show. Over the past few years, we have faced several large challenges around getting the shows on and we have always worked very hard to overcome them. I am always very proud of our resilience and record in overcoming seemingly unsurmountable odds. Our Artistic Director has always driven this attitude and continues to do so, but as a board we felt that we have no choice in this instance but to postpone. I wanted to share this with you, and the reasons behind the decision, before you heard it elsewhere.  THE NEW DATES FOR ‘TOMMY’ HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED AS 31ST JANUARY TO 7TH FEBRUARY 2026.  The show will go on, the development will be completed, a few weeks late admittedly. It has been quite a few days! I would like to thank the development team and the board for facing into a very difficult decision at the right time and also the creatives behind ‘Tommy’ for understanding, showing such desire to continue, and wanting to give the show the best possible start. We will of course update you on any further developments, but rest assured we are working very hard to ensure the project is completed to the right standard and is fit for the future. Hopefully, we will not find any more surprises! For further information on the project, look out for our development update bulletins or why not visit our just giving page which explains exactly what we are doing and the problems we have encountered, details on the website. You may feel the desire to contribute and become a part of our history! Please do contact me if you have any questions or comments. Jon Elves, Chair, Criterion Theatre

Following the success of the new writing dramas in this year’s festival, we are seeking expressions of interest in a process to develop new dramatic works (including adaptations of out of copyright works) by Coventry and Warwickshire based playwrights. Six short plays will be chosen to be performed three times each at the Springboard Festival 2026 (dates late spring TBC). The six successful writers will be offered a fee of £50. The plays, (which can be extracts of larger works) will be of between 10 and 30 minutes long, and feature a cast of two or more. Writers would not usually appear in their own work. To express interest please submit to ANDREW@CKAM.CO.UK : * Name, contact details, and brief details of your writing experience. * A precis of your idea, the characters and brief outline of the plot or scenario. PLEASE DO NOT SEND A FULL PLAY. THIS IS A DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY NOT A PLAYWRITING COMPETITION. * Are you willing to attend free peer-led workshops fortnightly at the theatre? * What genre best describes your play? DEADLINE FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST: 14TH SEPT 2025 THE LATEST, EARLIER IF WE ARE OVERSUBSCRIBED. Deadline for drafts to be advised, but by December 2025. Selection of plays to be performed will start in December by a panel of directors, who will go on to arrange a table read of the plays. The final selection will then be made by the Artistic Director of the Criterion Theatre.

STATUS AND PROGRESS BULLETIN #11 & #12 TIMING AND PROGRESS: 3 WEEK DELAY TO ORIGINAL PLAN STATUS AGAINST PLAN  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ ⇒               The additional work required to the bar ceiling has caused agreed the delays, and there is further slippage due to delays in starting electrical 1st fix.   WORKS COMPLETED IN WEEK 11 (01AUG25) Building works on extension struture complete: * Remaining areas of bar stripped out * Wardrobe floor has been jacked up and the sag removed * Decision made to maintain common ceiling height throughout and toreinforce the wardrobe floor above the bar * Work started on suspended ceiling in bar lounge * Stud work and partitioning started in toilets * Started opening up toilet lobby door to improve access * Started fitting further insulation between framework in extension *   WORKS COMPLETED IN WEEK 12 (08AUG25) * Wardrobe floor reinforcement (double joists) complete * Steel reinforcement for sagging support beam installed * Work continuing on suspended ceiling in bar lounge * Toilet lobby door widening complete  * Aircon unit pipework installation * Electrical first fix delayed *   WORKS PLANNED FOR WEEK 13  (W/C 11AUG25) * Start electrical 1st fix (cable installation) * Complete suspended ceiling installation in bar lounge   More big changes in this update : The ceiling above the bar and the remaining bar stud work has been removed ready for reinforcing the wardrobe floor to future proof our old theatre building. Doorway into toilet lobby is being widened to improve access and the new toilets are starting to take shape? The external scaffolding has been removed, giving a better impression of the new front extension. The sagging wooden beam has been reinforced with steel framework and the toilet door has been widened to improve access. 

Since 1960, the Criterion has entertained audiences from its base on Berkeley Road South, Earlsdon. In that time, the fabric of the building has not changed to any great extent, with the majority of any renovations typically carried out by volunteers within the theatre. However, it has long been recognised that our wonderful building needs modernising to prepare it for the next generations of users; not only improve the theatrical experience for audiences and volunteers, but also to become more energy efficient building fit for a greener future. The biggest barrier to such development has always been how to fund it. The theatre has always been run to serve its community, not one to maximise its profits, which meant large scale redevelopment has, to up to now, remained out of reach. However, thanks to an incredible gift left by one of our founding members - Chris Murly - the generosity of donations over many years, and the prudency of our finance team, we have been able to look at a number of key changes to the theatre. The redevelopment will begin immediately after the close of the “Springboard Festival 25” on 18th May and be finished in plenty of time for the grand reopening when “The Who’s Tommy” hits the stage in November. WHAT'S CHANGING?  The most obvious change will be the front of the building, with a new modern frontage featuring large format stone texture cladding panels, an illuminated sign and accessible entrance. This will also create more space in the building, and slightly reduce capacity in the car park. There will be also major changes to the front of house/bar/toilet areas with a number of new features: - New open entrance extension - Opening up bar and entrance - Complete refit and refurbishment - New fixed banquette seating - New furniture throughout - Sympathetic bar refurbishment - Full toilet refurbishment - New wall and floor finishes - Theatrical entrance to auditorium - Inclusive, flexible design HEATING AND COOLING Managing the temperature within the theatre has always been a challenge. Installing an economical air conditioning system will not only ensure that the building’s temperature is more easily managed, but also help to reduce the carbon footprint. FUTURE PLANS The next planned stage of development will see the installation of solar panels on the roof to make our energy use even greener, and also to replace the stage lighting with more efficient LED lamps. We will then be looking to the backstage area to provide a more accessible, fit for purpose space for the cast and crew who put on our wonderful productions. In order to achieve our ambitious plans, we will have to continue to fundraise in a major way. If you would like to contribute at all to our wonderful plans, we would be eternally grateful for any donations (big or small) from individuals, community groups or businesses.  We have a JustGiving page which you can donate to by visiting the website at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/criterionbigbuild or contact Barbara at fundraising@criteriontheatre.co.uk if you want to discuss other ways of donating to the theatre.   If you are able to help in any other capacity (DIY, professional trades) or just want to be involved please drop an email to volunteer@criteriontheatre.co.uk and make yourself known. There are some wonderful small, manageable projects in the pipeline, a real chance to play a part in shaping the future.