THE REAL life stories of six Coventrians are brought to the stage with orchestral accompaniment as part of a new show written by Paul O’Donnell.
The music for ‘Symphony of Us’ has been composed by Ivor Novello Award-winning Daniel Fardon and will be performed by the Orchestra of the Swan.
Shows will take place at Coventry Cathedral at 7.30pm on Friday, February 4, and 3pm and 7.30pm on Saturday, February 5, as part of Coventry’s year as the UK City of Culture.
These six proud Coventrians, either born in the city or who have made it their home, are each quietly changing the world.
Primary school teacher and passionate LGBTQ+ advocate Duncan Brightside brings his experience as the Chair of Prism LGBTQ+, a network supporting children or young adults coming to terms with their sexuality.
Coventry City Football Club fan and former Chair of the Sky Blue Trust Moz Baker tells his story of a football team displaced and his want to just be ‘an ordinary fan’ in his home city.
Malaysian-born mother-of-six Nor Aziz is a keen gardener and considers herself a ‘community pollinator’ – she finds strength from her garden and learns a lot about the world from it.
Sam Collinge, a bereavement midwife with over 30 years experience, was the first person in her role in the local area and devised the process of support from scratch.
She is also passionate about supporting families through bereavement.
Guyanese-born Spiritualist Minister Lynette Coulston is aged 88, a mother-of-nine and a retired teacher.
And the youngest participant is 21-year-old Roze Navab who has been a ‘Cov kid’ ever since moving to Iran from Coventry aged two.
Roze was inspired by Coventry’s Twin City history to build creative connections across the world.
Paul said, “As an artist born and bred in Coventry I am aware of how joyfully self-deprecating we as people can be and how we often celebrate the city’s past but forget about its present.
“I am hugely excited our contribution to our UK City of Culture year flips this on its head by celebrating who we are right now.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with six people of this city and a full Cov creative team to make something truly spectacular together.”
The show is 90 minutes long and is suitable for those aged seven and over.
Translations are available with Polish, Chinese, Arabic, Gujarati, Urdu subtitles.
Visit coventry2021.co.uk/what-s-on/symphony-of-us for tickets and more information.
