Paul O'Donnell Announces SYMPHONY OF US As Part Of Coventry UK City Of Culture

From the maker of the smash hit We've Got Each Other comes an epic and personal spectacle made by six people of Coventry, a local creative team and Orchestra of the Swan. As part of Coventry UK City of Culture, Symphony of Us will be performed live in Coventry Cathedral in February 2022 with more details to be announced soon.

Six people of Coventry will share with audiences the stories of who they are, supported by an original live composition played by the region's most established chamber orchestra. These proud Coventrians, either born in the city or who have made it their home, are each quietly changing the world. Interweaving stories from teachers, parents, midwives, football fans and spiritual ministers, Symphony of Us spans the personal experiences of love, loss and their hometown.

Paul O'Donnell 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 that my contribution to our UK City of Culture year flips this on its head by celebrating who we are right now, working with six people of this city and a full Cov creative team to make something spectacular together".

Paul O'Donnell's past work includes: an all singing all dancing harem of Pauls (Nothing!), one very 'real' cowboy in a very 'real' saloon (So Far West), a mime artist trying to break free of his glass box (One Thing On His Mime) and a full scale West End Bon Jovi musical that is almost entirely imagined by his audience (We've Got Each Other). Paul is an Associate Artist at Birmingham Repertory Theatre and with Theatre Absolute and also Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Coventry's Shoot Festival which supports and develops artists in Coventry and Warwickshire. In 2018 he won BE Festivals Audience Prize voted for by the audience for We've Got Each Other as well as the Audience Prize and Best Performer Prize at FITT Festival in Tarragona, Spain. He has toured across the UK, Spain, America and Canada.

Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 started in May 2021, running for 12 months. The 365-day cultural programme will reflect Coventry as a diverse, modern city, demonstrating that culture is a force that changes lives. Coventry is known internationally as a city of welcome, a city of activists and pioneers, peace and reconciliation, innovation and invention, and now a City of Culture.

Coventry is the city where movement began, from innovation in the transport industry to a history of welcome, it has moved people for centuries. For a whole year, Coventry will celebrate with events, music, dance, theatre, and large-scale spectacle. As well as these big celebrations, it will show its unexpected side, with more intimate experiences and ways to get involved in every neighbourhood. And it's not just Coventry. This epic celebration will also witness the entire region getting involved and benefitting from the opportunities that being City of Culture brings. It will be co-created with the people of Coventry and bring about long-term social, economic and cultural benefits.

Learn more at https://coventry2021.co.uk/what-s-on/symphony-of-us.