Over the Top

The year is 1918, and the troops on the Western Front get a surprise visit from a group of suffragettes who’ve come to perform a show to lift their spirits. But with bullets whizzing overhead and howitzers shaking the ground, the troupe get stuck behind enemy lines and a rescue mission is needed. Hashtag #FirstWorldWarProblems. Luckily Sergeant Beauty is on hand, leading a crack team of daredevils to rescue them. But with a perilous, pun-filled journey ahead, will any of them make it back to Blighty in time for Christmas? Performed by a fabulous all-female cast led by director Katy Stephens, Over the Top’s fearless band of suffragettes definitely have our vote.

Pitched as a fun-filled night out away from the kids, the Belgrade’s annual alternative panto is fast becoming something of a festive institution in Coventry, with Midlands playwright Nick Walker this year returning for his sixth such show.