COALVILLE THEATRE FESTIVAL

19th to 21st june 2026

MAKING THE INVISIBLE, VISIBLE

Coalville is set to become the star of its own show with the launch of a bold new theatre festival celebrating the town’s heritage, people, and identity through original performances.

Rooted in Coalville’s industrial past and shaped by the voices of the community today, the festival will present newly created theatre about the town, for the town. Drawing inspiration from local history, lived experience, and the places that define Coalville, the programme will transform familiar spaces into stages and everyday stories into powerful live performances.

FESTIVAL PRODUCTIONS

  • COALVILLE

    Castle Rock students are developing an original piece of drama exploring the life of a miner, drawing inspiration from Gary Clarke’s powerful dance work Coal. The performance will take place at Snibston Colliery Park as part of the Coalville Theatre Festival, connecting the students’ work directly to the history and stories of the site itself.

    EVENTS FOR THIS PROJECT 

  • WHAT SHE CARRIES

    Young people from Smiles Academy will create a vibrant piece of street theatre inspired by Coalville’s iconic Mother and Child statue. Designed by Robert Thomas for the opening of the Belvoir Centre in 1963, the sculpture represents the town’s industrial heritage and strong sense of community identity.

  • A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

    Richard Dax (headteacher) directs his students to bring this abridged classic to life at the Century Theatre. A brilliant opportunity to see the next generation discovering Shakespeare in their own way and particularly fitting as the festival coincides with the midsummer solstice.

  • BOOTS OF STEAL AND COAL

    As Coalville Town FC celebrates its centenary this year, we look back to 1918—when a group of factory workers from Coalville stunned the football world. By day, they laboured in perilous munitions factories; by night, they played the game they loved. Their dedication and spirit carried them to victory in the Bass Charity Vase. Yet by 1921, they were banned, overlooked, and largely forgotten. But the spirit of the game did not disappear—it endured. More than a century later, that same determination lives on. In the 2024/25 season, Coalville Town Women reached a major milestone, winning their league and earning promotion to the First Division. They may not yet be household names, but with every step they take onto the pitch, they continue to shape the town’s proud footballing story. As a community, we are incredibly proud to watch them carry that legacy forward.

  • FRAMED

    Ashby School students creating an original piece to explore the many challenges facing young people today. FRAMED captures a moment in time for a teenager, defined by perception. It focuses on a pivotal event for all characters, a defining turning point in a young person’s life. Through shifting perspectives and subtle changes in detail, it questions truth and bias, asking whether we confine young people within frames shaped by our own assumptions.

  • WORKING TITLE : THE PALITOY WOMEN

    In this new production for the Coalville Theatre Festival, local playwright Ben Weatherill brings to life the women behind the factory doors of Palitoy. The humour, the resilience, the friendships and the quiet pride that shaped the town of Coalville. Warm, funny and deeply human, this celebration of Coalville's working women - and the legacy they left behind.

    EVENTS FOR THIS PROJECT 

  • GRIMM AFTER DARK

    Set in Coalville’s iconic nightclub — a place where generations of local young people have come to dance, meet friends, and find their place — Young Actors Academy present Grimm’s fairy tales colliding with modern youth culture. These dark re-imagined stories explore identity, temptation, power, and the fragile journey from innocence to adulthood, reflecting the real experiences of young people growing up in Coalville today.  When the clock strikes twelve… who will you become?  Enter the club. Lose the fairy tale. Find yourself.

  • CDG CELEBRATE 75 YEARS

    For the Coalville Theatre Festival, Coalville Drama Group create a celebratory piece marking their 75th anniversary. Blending tradition with fresh creativity, their performance honours decades of community storytelling, dedicated volunteers, and memorable characters, reflecting their enduring passion for live theatre and invites audiences to share in a remarkable legacy for generations past and present alike.

  • BETWEEN ROUNDS

    Labour Club Drama and Dance Society create something unexpected as part of the Coalville Theatre Festival, a powerful, intimate theatre experience will be unfolding where you least expect it — in cafes, clubs, and pubs across the town. Here in Leicestershire, local services are working hard to respond — but the need for conversation, connection, and visibility has never been greater. This piece brings those conversations into the everyday — into the places we meet, drink, laugh, and pass each other by. Sometimes the most important conversations don’t happen in theatres — they happen in the spaces we share.

  • THEATRE FOR BABIES

    Wrenne presents a gentle, sensory theatre experience for babies and their grown-ups. Created by Eliza and Melly, the show grew from a simple idea: when we realised there was no theatre for babies in Coalville, we decided to make our own.

    Inspired by Somewhere Over the Rainbow, the piece weaves together live music, soft lighting, and playful bubbles to create a calm, magical space for connection. Designed for babies aged 0–18 months (with older siblings very welcome), the experience is as much for parents as it is for little ones.

    Wrenne invites you to slow down, tune in, and share moments of joy, curiosity, and closeness—while gently offering ideas for play and interaction to take beyond the performance.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE THEATRE FESTIVAL

Please contact : theatre@coalvillecan.coop