Coming up at The Priory
With around 7 in house productions produced by Priory members each year, plus countless more external organisations hosting events in our spaces, there’s something for everyone to enjoy at The Priory!
We regularly add to our upcoming list as more gets booked into our calendar, so make sure you check back regularly to secure your tickets before they’re gone!
Dick Whittington
Pack up your hanky and join daring Dick Whittington and his trusty cat on their quest for fame and fortune. Their magical rags to riches tale takes us on a journey to London where the streets are (apparently) paved with gold.
The legendary Priory panto returns full of sparkle, excitement and fun. Our hero’s incredible adventure takes him onto the High Seas, into battle with the evil King Rat and see him fall head over heels in love with his boss’s daughter Alice. All the while the magical Bells are singing out his destiny – to become Mayor of London!
Full of fun, singing and lots of action – we promise to have you buzzing from a fantastic, festive night out.
Christmas Craft Fayre
The Priory’s infamous Christmas Craft Fayre returns this year, on Saturday 2nd December!
Full of all manner of traditional & homemade Christmas gifts, crafts, food & drink - it’s the perfect chance to pick up a range of gifts for your loved ones!
With mince pies, mulled wine, tea & coffee a plenty (and free entry of course); join us to really get into the festive spirit! Plus you’ll be able to have a peak into the theatre as we prepare for our panto!
Accessibility Information
There are no production elements which require additional access arrangements.
Richie’s Quiz Night
A Priory Members Social Event
Back by popular demand, the infamous Priory Quiz Night returns this November having last taken place over zoom during lockdown!
Hosted by the one and only Richie Collett, this members social is not one to be missed!
The usual assortment of weird and wonderful prizes as you have come to expect from Richie (Fray Bentos Pies may make an appearance!). A night of fun and silliness is guaranteed!
Accessibility Information
There are no production elements which require additional access arrangements.
Michael Mansfield – The Power in the People
Presented by Kenilworth Books in collaboration with Kenilworth Arts Festival.
Join us for an evening with Barrister Michael Mansfield, KC, who has spent his career fighting injustice, persecution and corruption. Be it the Birmingham Six, Bloody Sunday, Stephen Lawrence, the Marchioness, Hillsborough or Grenfell, he has come to learn one thing – that people power is unstoppable.
If cost is a barrier, complimentary tickets are available. Please call Kenilworth Books on 01926855784 or email info@kenilworthbooks.co.uk
Manford's Comedy Club
NEW TO THE PRIORY!
The Priory is delighted to be joining Manford's nationwide network of comedy venues with our very own launch night this Autumn.
Featuring the hottest new talent, comedy circuit favourites and household legends, all personally chosen by Jason Manford.
Please note that entry to this performance is Strictly 18+
Accessibility Information
Subject to change, there are no planned production elements which require additional access arrangements.
MYJO Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra with Jeff Hooper
The Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra is now widely acclaimed as one of the U.K.’s top big bands. Its reputation has been founded on a consistently high quality of performance over two decades. In addition, audiences find they are infected by the enjoyment which band members bring to performances, and the excitement which the band generates.
MYJO has featured in concert with many famous names from the musical world, including Benny Carter, John Dankworth, Bobby Shew, Arturo Sandoval, Bob Florence, Stan Tracey, Jools Holland, and TV chat show host, Michael Parkinson.
The repertoire of the orchestra is intentionally very broad, and covers virtually the whole period of big band music. In this way Music Director, John Ruddick hopes to make students aware of their musical background. However, at the same time he attempts to develop a more contemporary emphasis to the band’s performance, and seeks a balance between good ensemble playing and exciting soloists, believing that each is essential for a band’s ultimate success.
REVIVAL: The Tribute to ABBA
Re-live the magic of a live ABBA concert spanning all the greatest hits from 1972 to 1981. If you love ABBA or you're nuts about Mamma Mia, with Tribute Band Revival, you're in excellent company.
The band's full-featured interactive tribute show encapsulates the sights & sounds of ABBA, fully reproducing hit after hit of those classic pop sounds.
Accessibility Information
This performance contains strobe lighting and loud music.
IntaDance: Fanfare for Forty
Intadance presents a Celebration for their 40th Anniversary, showcasing a selection of ‘Highlights’ from previous shows along with newly choreographed routines.
Packed with great tunes, diverse themes, with a selection of genres including Ballet/Tap/Musical Theatre/Contemporary/Acro and Commercial.
Join with us as we celebrate this great occasion!
Full Price £14.00
Concession £12.00 Over 60’s and under 16’s (proof of eligibility will be required)
To book, call 07976755286.
Ticket bookings for this event are being handled directly by IntaDance..
Contact them via the telephone number above with any queries. Our box office will be unable to assist.
Accessibility Information:
This performance contains strobe lighting and loud music.
Twelve Dancing Princesses (PYT)
Directed by Nicky Jessop & Performed by the Priory Youth Theatre
“Once upon a time, a king had twelve beautiful daughters who danced in secret every night…” The king is mystified by their secret, and issues a challenge to the men of his kingdom – find out what his daughters are up to! Of course, one good-hearted young man succeeds – but at what cost?
This story, recognizable to any defiant teenager or exasperated parent, is about the walls we build between each other, and how the power of love and communication can tear them down.
Accessibility Information
This performance contains the use of strobe lighting and theatrical haze.
This amateur production of “Twelve Dancing Princesses” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk
Magic of the Dinosaurs
Presented by Greg Chapman
Magician and comedy performer Greg Chapman presents his new show - and this show is themed around one of his favourite subjects - DINOSAURS!
An entertaining evening for adults and families to enjoy, including comedy, magic, mentalism, storytelling, puppetry, and more, all coming together into a fun and exciting evening where you may learn something as well!
Accessibility Information
Subject to change, there are no planned production elements which require additional access arrangements.
Haunted Adventures - Ghost Hunt
Hosted by Haunted Adventures Ltd
Haunted Adventures are one of the UK’s most popular overnight ghost hunting event organisers. We have been providing the general public with ghost hunting experiences since 2015 and we still continue to be one of the UK’s most popular paranormal event organisers. With a lot of research our team hand pick the most haunted, active and historic places across the UK. Do you have what it takes to join our team in some of the most spine chilling buildings in the UK.
Divorced, Beheaded, Died
Presented by Select Society Theatre Company
The year is 1544 and King Henry, the eighth of that name, is engaged upon Royal 'progress'; he has halted to afford his subjects the opportunity to have 'audience' with their Sovereign Lord and King.
In the course of the ‘audience’, His Majesty will recount the events of his long reign; telling of his wives and his children, and His Majesty will invite his Loyal Subjects to Petition him or question him on ANY related subject : there may be some surprising answers – a lively Q&A is assured!’
Audience age guidance 12+
Ultimate Elton
Winner of the National Tribute Music Awards 2013, 2016 and 2017. A lifelong Elton John fan, Paul Bacon first started singing and performing Elton’s songs whilst studying Performing Arts at University in the early 1980’s. With an extraordinarily similar singing voice to Sir Elton’s, Paul is able to draw on an amazing back catalogue of hits to produce a truly wonderful celebration of Elton’s music.
Elton John’s extraordinary repertoire means that Ultimate Elton can serenade an audience with some of the most beautiful ballads ever written, including Your Song, Candle in the Wind, Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, Sacrifice and Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word. He can also change the pace and get people up dancing with classics like Crocodile Rock, I’m Still Standing, The Bitch is Back and Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting.
Sheila’s Island
Directed by Stuart Lawson
Bonfire night 2019, Sheila, Denise, Julie, and Fay are Team C in Pennine Mineral Water Ltd.’s annual outward-bound team-building weekend. Somehow, Sheila has been nominated team leader, and, using her cryptic crossword solving skills, has unwittingly stranded her team on an island in the Lake District.
Our intrepid heroines find themselves manufacturing weapons from cable ties and spatulas, and create a rescue flag with plastic plates and a toasting fork.
Questions are asked; truths are told; dirty washing is aired.
Is it possible to build an adequate night shelter with a prom dress and a sleeveless jumper? What is Julie’s husband really up to in Aldi? And why are they on this bloody team building exercise when they could be at a spa?
Trip to London
We’re off to London!
It’s time for the quarterly social event, and this time we’re venturing out of Kenilworth and heading down to the big smoke!
Join us on Saturday 19th August as we travel in a swanky coach (with toilet!) for you to make of the day as you please. Whether you fancy tea at The Ritz, a matinee musical or see the skyline from atop The Shard - the city is waiting for you!
The coach will leave promptly from The Priory at 9am and drop us off on Park Lane in Mayfair, and will depart from the same location at 7pm, returning around 9:50pm.
Places are extremely limited so book now to avoid missing out!
At just £15, this is an absolute bargain and you’ll have to be quick to guarantee a spot!
Fleetwood Machine
A lovingly-crafted, musically-authentic and passionately-performed celebration of one of the greatest bands in history, Fleetwood Mac!
Fleetwood Machine stay true to the spirit and sound of the original music, replicating the unique sounds of Lindsey Buckingham & Peter Green’s guitars, the intricate drum patterns of Mick Fleetwood and the haunting vocal harmonies that are Fleetwood Mac’s trademark!
With a wide range of songs to show the incredible diversity of this fabulous catalogue, Fleetwood Machine showcase all of the beloved mega-hits plus some brilliant, less well-known songs from the Peter Green era to excite even the most discerning fans!
Curtains
Curtains is a musical send-up set in 1959 Boston, Massachusetts and follows the fallout when Jessica Cranshaw, the supremely untalented star of Robbin' Hood of the Old West is murdered during her opening night curtain call.
It is up to Lt. Frank Cioffi, a police detective who moonlights as a musical theatre fan, to save the show, solve the case, and maybe even find love, without getting killed himself.
Packed with glorious tunes and a witty, charming script filled with delightful characters, Curtains will have you laughing until the last curtain falls!
The original Broadway production garnered 8 nominations at the 2007 Tony Awards.
Prize Women: Editor and Storyteller
Presented by Kenilworth Books
Join us to hear author Caroline Lea in conversation with Jillian Taylor (Senior Commissioning Editor) at Penguin’s Michael Joseph imprint, chaired by bookseller and illustrator, Tamsin Rosewell. There will be time for questions from the audience and Caroline will be signing books in the foyer after the event too.
Caroline Lea’s novels has long been among our best-sellers they have inspired some of our most dramatic window displays too. With a focus on author Caroline Lea’s latest novel, Prize Women, the discussion will look at the relationship between author and editor: how does an editor guide an already masterly storyteller? What kind of discussions about plot, language and structure happen during the editorial process? How much can a book change from first draft to final, with the input and expertise of an editor?
Caroline Lea grew up on the island of Jersey and gained a First from Warwick University, where she later become a tutor in Creative Writing. Her fiction and poetry have been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, while her debut novel, The Glass Woman –a gothic thriller set during the Icelandic witch trials – was shortlisted for the Historical Writers Association Debut Crown Award. Her next novel, The Metal Heart – a powerful Second World War love story set on the island of Orkney – was selected as a Waterstones Scottish Book of the Month. Prize Women, her latest novel, is inspired by film footage Caroline found, showing the women who took part in the Great Stork Derby. Caroline was immediately struck by the awful implications of a competition which made women compete to have children, and by the fact that such a shocking story had remained buried for so long.
Jillian Taylor is Publisher for Fiction and Non-fiction at Penguin Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Jillian started her career in academia, as a medievalist, before moving into publishing a decade ago. She has worked with authors ranging from Anthony Beevor to the late John lé Carre, and currently divides her list between novelists and narrative non-fiction authors and historians. She has edited many Sunday Times bestsellers, Richard & Judy selections and Waterstones Books of the Month. Authors she has worked with have won or been finalists for: the Man Booker Prize, Women’s Prize, Wolfson History Prize, Welcome Book Prize, Baillie Gifford Prize, Dylan Thomas Prize, Costa Book Awards (sadly defunct) and the Rathbones Folio Prize. Jillian’s list includes Stephen Fry’s Mythos, Joanne Paul’s The House of Dudley, Jack Cornish’s The Lost Paths, Dawn French’s Because of You, Caroline Lea’s Prize Woman and Costanza Casati’s Clytemnestra.
Tamsin Rosewell has been a bookseller for over 15 years, and also works as an illustrator – the original art for her book cover designs has been on display at Waterstones as well as in indie bookshops and during festivals. Most recently she has been working with twice Carnegie-winning author, Berlie Doherty, to re-cover new novels and the reissues of much older, award-winning titles. When she’s not covered in ink, she works at 55-year-old independent bookshop, Kenilworth Books. She is also known as a radio broadcaster and documentary writer, with a three-part series’ about artist and visionary William Blake, and also a series about the history of the apocalypse: The Idea of the End. She is a Trustee of The Blake Society.
Paranormal Eye - Ghost Hunt
Hosted by Paranormal Eye UK
Join the paranormal eye as we invite you on this intense ghost hunt at the priory theatre in Kenilworth. The theatre in Warwickshire is a tardis once you enter. The Theatre was converted from a disused chapel built in 1816. However, there is the belief that there was also a former church here. We have full access after dark to all three floors, including the crypt, which lies hidden underneath a trap door within the stage area. Ghost hunts here are said to be a terrifying experience, as poltergeist activity has been reported within the main theatre itself. Many former paranormal investigators here have encountered some rather dark energies. Dark ghostly shadows have been witnessed, footsteps heard, and deep growls and moans. Many believe this is connected to the former chapel. Join us as we invite you to step out of your comfort zone and be part of this ghost night where you will be a part of seances, watch and wait vigils and some more modern equipment sessions, including spirit boxes and Evp sessions.
Are you ready to enter this old haunted theatre?
Tasting Notes Live
Presented by The Book Taster
Tasting Notes Live returns to The Priory for the third year running this June. Featuring Six authors, a full day of bookish love, goodie bags, breakfast and lunch … and so much more!
The Book Taster was founded by Jenna, who, whilst juggling motherhood, being a Primary School Teacher & a book worm, devouring books at a rate of knots! Jenna set up The Book Taster when she was unable to find a one-off bookish gift box for a friend who needed a little ‘pick me up’. When unable to find anything on the market, Jenna curated her own box which was warmly received. Repeating this a few times and not only enjoying the process but how the gift went down- the idea of ‘The Book Taster’ was born.
Waiting for God
Thrown together by circumstance, two spirited residents of Bayview Retirement Village, a stuffy seniors home where stepping out of line is strictly frowned upon, form an alliance and begin to give the home's oppressive management a run for their money
All the favourite characters from the original series are re- imagined, facing the challenges that come with growing old disgracefully in the era of the silver surfer.
This British sitcom aired originally on BBC1 from 1990 to 1994.
Eurovision Song Contest Party
Good Evening Europe!
As the eyes of Europe descend on the United Kingdom for the first Eurovision held in the country since 1998, The Priory will play host to our members to enjoy the evening and watch the contest.
The bar will be open, drinks flowing and music blaring!
The Coronation
A Priory Members Social Event
The Priory is opening our doors to members, family & friends to watch and celebrate the coronation of His Majesty the King!
Taking place on Saturday 6th May, the coronation will be streamed live on our large screen in the auditorium for all to enjoy. Doors will open to the theatre at 8:30am.
Entry is free of charge, however we do ask that you bring a plate of food/nibbles with you. The more creative the better! Think Royal tea party - scones, cucumber sandwiches, coronation chicken! We don’t want 40 plates of sausage rolls after al!
StingChronicity
StingChronicity present a theatre show like no other, telling the story of Sting’s career — starting with the early days of The Police, charting their rise and fall, through to Sting’s highly successful solo period in the ’80s and ’90s, and The Police’s eventual reunion in 2007.
The look, the sound, the equipment, the musicianship... rarely do you find a tribute where each one of these individual components has been painstakingly addressed in just as much detail as the last.
The Police Academy and The Sting Operation, however, do exactly that. ‘Roxanne’, ‘Every Breath You Take’, ‘Englishman in New York’ and ‘Fields of Gold’ are just a few of the highlights in a set that could legitimately be described as ‘all killer, no filler’.
Carnival Queen Crowning Ceremony
Presented by The Kenilworth Carnival Committee
We’re delighted to welcome the Kenilworth Carnival Team back for another year!
In a lavish ceremony across our foyer and auditorium, nominees from the town come together to find out if they’ve done enough to become the next Carnival Queen!
And Then There Were None
Ten strangers gather at the mansion on Soldier Island, just off the coast of Devon. They are invited under a variety of pretences: for employment, for a detective case, or just for a good time. Before the party truly gets under way, a recording plays that accuses each guest of murder. Baffled, these strangers realize that they have no idea who their host is, and when the first guest is murdered, they understand that they have been brought to the island by a maniac who intends to dispense his own form of justice.
Who is the killer? And who will survive this gathering and make it off the island? As time goes by, and characters fall away in accordance with the lines of a sinister nursery rhyme, it is clear that the survivors can trust no one.
And Then There Were None is a mystery thriller that set the bar for the “whodunnit” genre.
Priory Bingo Night
A Priory Members Social Event
Back by popular demand, the infamous Priory Bingo Night returns this February!
Hosted by the one and only Richie Collett, this members social is not one to be missed!
Tickets are £6 each and cash prizes will be awarded on the night.
Please note, you must be a current Priory Member in order to attend this event.
Email Richie here to Book Tickets
Accessibility Information
There are no production elements which require additional access arrangements.
Blithe Spirit
The fussy and cantankerous novelist Charles Condomine finds himself literally haunted when an eccentric medium – Madame Arcati – inadvertently conjures up the ghost of his first wife, Elvira, at a séance. When she appears, visible only to Charles, and determined to sabotage his current marriage to Ruth, life – and the afterlife – get complicated.
Things go rapidly downhill as a baffled Charles watches his dead wife and his living wife fight over him, but who will win?
Intensely funny, Blithe Spirit combines farce, emotion and wit to great effect.
Haunted Adventures - Ghost Hunt
Hosted by Haunted Adventures Ltd
Haunted Adventures are one of the UK’s most popular overnight ghost hunting event organisers. We have been providing the general public with ghost hunting experiences since 2015 and we still continue to be one of the UK’s most popular paranormal event organisers. With a lot of research our team hand pick the most haunted, active and historic places across the UK. Do you have what it takes to join our team in some of the most spine chilling buildings in the UK.
Book Tickets
Ticket bookings for this event are being handled directly by Haunted Adventures Ltd.
Contact them via the link above with any queries. Our box office will be unable to assist.