Belgrade Theatre Commission (number 219163). The Belgrade acquired its name in recognition and thanks for a gift of timber from the Yugoslavian (today Serbian) capital city of Belgrade (Coventry's official sister city), that was used extensively in the construction of the auditorium. Since opening in 1958, the theatre has established itself as a centre for the new and innovative productions. Having pioneered the Theatre-in-Education movement in the 1960s the theatre continues to work with disadvantaged young people and uses drama as a tool to develop personal and social skills. Their most successful programme "Acting Out" has been commissioned by Coventry's LEA for
English Renaissance theatre it did not, contrary to what is commonly stated, order the closure, let alone the destruction, of the theatres themselves: The Act purports the ban to be temporary ("...while these sad causes and set Times of Humiliation do continue, Public Stage Plays shall cease and be forborn") but does not assign a time limit to it. Even after 1642, during the English Civil War and the ensuing Interregnum (English Commonwealth, some English Renaissance theatre continued. For example, short comical plays called Drolls were allowed by the authorities, while full-length plays were banned. The theatre buildings were not closed but rather