Coventry University students tread the boards at the RSC

TAPP, a Coventry University Graduate theatre group, will be performing a new piece of work, Come Heavy Sleep, at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Courtyard Theatre in Stratford as part of 'Pilot Night' this week.

Created in collaboration with Birmingham-based theatre-makers, Kindle Theatre and 101 New Music Ensemble (led by students from Birmingham Conservatoire), the production will take place on Thursday 12th July.

Come Heavy Sleep takes its name from a lute composition by Robert Johnson, a contemporary of Shakespeare, and is a murder story told in reverse. This highly stylised production seeks to playfully reinvent the theatrical experience and offers the audience an original take on a story inspired by Shakespeare’s works.

This innovative performance is part of 'Pilot Night', a one-off evening of five new performances that offers regional theatre-makers the opportunity to test work in development on a live audience. Come Heavy Sleep is also part of ongoing research by Kindle Theatre into music-theatre where live music, extended voice technique, and ensemble performance combines to create bold spectacle.

Dr Geoff Willcocks, Head of Performing Arts at Coventry University said,

This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to perform at one of the world’s most famous theatres. We believe that this is the first time that a university company has performed at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

This project has been possible because of Coventry University’s commitment to put their students in ‘real-world’ situations. We are not an ivory tower and this type of innovation reflects the high level of teaching that students can expect on our performance courses. The performance next Thursday reflects the very high standards that our students achieve.