Issue 6 Spring 2019
Dream Team A very warm welcome to the Spring edition of our newsletter. As the days grow longer and the weather warmer, there’s a definite sense of new beginnings in the air. It seems a perfect time to share our latest news and fresh updates with you. Rachel Cranny Head of Fundraising
In this Issue: -
Dream Team KPMG Backs Youth Nowhere To Hyde Squaring Up Web Wise Planning Permission UVB Update REP First Update Driving Donations A Friendly Afternoon Events
Later this year we say a fond farewell to Artistic Director Roxana Silbert and Executive Director Stuart Rogers. Between them, they’ve done an amazing job of making The REP one of the most dynamic and innovative theatres in the country. But goodness, what a team we’ve recruited to replace them. Sean Foley is our new Artistic Director. Winner of two Olivier awards, Sean has worked with big names including Kenneth Branagh, Gemma Arterton, Rob Brydon, Brendan Gleeson and Steve Coogan. He’s really excited by this new opportunity. Here’s what he said: The UK’s ‘Second City’ is full of amazing people: as one of the most multicultural cities in Britain, its stories are specific, but also universal. I’m British, but also half Irish, half Brummie, and am excited to be returning to work in the city having grown up in its suburbs. I hope to fill the theatre with stories that engage all its communities and audiences while connecting with the wider world. Sean will have a Deputy AD in Amit Sharma. Amit has been Associate Director at Manchester’s Royal Exchange and at Graeae, where he led a flagship, UK-wide new writing programme. He is especially passionate about theatre for D/deaf and disabled artists. Amit knows The REP well, having performed in The House and directed in The Door.
‘I can’t wait to get started on the next chapter in The REP’s illustrious history’, he says. Keeping a weather eye on the business will be our new Executive Director, Rachael Thomas, currently ED at Derby Theatre. Rachael’s career includes stints at Nottingham Playhouse and Lincoln Castle, where she managed an award-winning £22m restoration project. An MBA from Bath University, Rachael will work closely with Sean and Amit in a theatre she’s always admired. ‘These are exciting times for Birmingham’, she says: I share a vision for The REP to play a bold and distinctive role in the life of the city as a theatre that’s firmly grounded in and relevant to all its local communities but with a national and international outlook. Sean, Amit and Rachael start through the late spring and summer, with their first season opening in 2020. It’s not easy to recruit a whole new leadership team all at once, and we’re just thrilled with the outcome. They are truly, in the words of our Chair, Angela Maxwell, a dream team.
KPMG backs Youth Over the Easter holidays members of our Young REP company will be staging one of their biggest productions to date: a radical re-telling of Jekyll & Hyde. But that’s not the only good news for the Young REP. Now the company has a major sponsor in the shape of the Birmingham branch of leading auditors KPMG LLP. The Young REP works with young people aged between 9 and 25 across Birmingham and the West Midlands. Now there are 15 Young REP groups working in a diverse range of settings. One group is specially tailored to children with learning disabilities; another works with young African Caribbean men on a project devoted to tackling mental health issues. Performance-led, our Young REP places skills development and personal development at its core. Members work with professional staff to create highquality theatrical experiences. Groups meet every Saturday during term time and every year they have an incredible opportunity to perform at The REP. As The REP’s official youth theatre Sponsor, KPMG will support all 15 Young REP groups. That’s an invaluable contribution towards the extensive running costs of our youth theatre. KPMG have also generously agreed to fund bursaries for young people who would otherwise not be able to take part. In the words of Philip Morris, our Senior youth theatre Director, “At The REP we’re passionate about ensuring our opportunities are as accessible as possible and we
want to welcome a diverse group of young people to the Young REP. We are immensely grateful to KPMG for their support.” If you ever wondered what Young REP graduates get up to later in life, here’s a lovely finale to the story. KPMG’s senior partner in Birmingham, and their Midlands Regional Chairman, Karl Edge, was a member of our youth theatre in the 1980s. Karl has always loved the performing arts. Looking back, he reflects that “As a working class lad, drama helped me to develop the confidence to perform at a high standard, which is a fundamental part of my career, so I’m delighted that some 30 years on, KPMG is able to support the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.” It just goes to show that theatre can take you anywhere.
Nowhere to Hyde ‘In my extreme distress of mind, I had a morbid fear’. So writes the hero of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 classic, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, one of the creepiest tales in all literature. It tells the story of what happens when a man finds he has a much, much darker side than he ever imagined. To this timeless story of split identities, awardwinning writer Evan Placey has brought a radical contemporary twist. Picking up where RLS left off, he focuses on Harriet, Dr Jekyll’s widow (apologies for the plot spoiler if you don’t know the original!). Director Tessa Walker explains that Harriet has the desire to live a different life but is stopped by the restrictive world around her. It explores themes in Stevenson’s original Gothic tale of transformation, freedom and revenge but from a young woman’s perspective. And it’s a truly youthful show. Tessa directs 17 actors drawn from our brilliant and talented Young REP. They’re all aged between 15 and 18. Some, like Ella and Sophie, are veterans of previous shows such as To Sir with Love and The Rotters’ Club, while others will be taking their first bow. For some of the cast it’s an amazing hobby; for others, a step towards gaining a place at drama school. Evan Placey’s Jekyll and Hyde runs in The House from 18-27 April. Prepare to be scared…
Squaring Up Here’s a teaser. What has 700,000 paving blocks, 1350 cubic metres of concrete, 1km of drainage, 5km of ducting and 57 trees? No, it’s not the Yellow Brick Road. It’s the new Centenary Square, and it’s almost there! With just four months to go, it looks like it will be thoroughly worth the wait. Hoardings have come down and sweeping new vistas opened up. It feels bright, open, clear and somehow much bigger – a real statement that says, ‘Yes, this is Birmingham’. And The REP is at the heart of it. We get our front garden back in all its glory. Imagine sitting there outside Marmalade, drink in hand, surveying the wonderful new reflection pool and thinking about the evening’s show. Then afterwards, bask in the glow of 43 towering lamps designed to create a magically luminous welcome to our reborn city. There’s one more statistic: the project has taken more than 80,000 man hours of work. Fortunately there was more than one man on the job.
Our Capital Development Ambitions We have recently undertaken a feasibility study to look at potential physical improvements to the bar and catering provision in the theatre to maximise commercial income and improve ambience, service and operability. This study has been concluded and we are now working with Birmingham-based APEC architects to progress designs, proceed with planning and refine the cost plan.
Web Wise In our digitised world, it’s sobering to reflect that around a quarter of the UK’s population are unable to use a website. The issue may be a visual impairment or learning difficulty such as dyslexia.
We’ll be sharing our ambitions and plans at two presentations on 7 May at 11am and 8 May at 5pm. If you would like hear more about our feasibility study and our proposals by attending one of these presentations please email: beyondthefacade@birmingham-rep.co.uk Your feedback will be very welcome.
On that basis, we reckon we might be short of 20,000 potential web visitors every month. That’s a lot of people who might be missing out on an amazing theatre experience. So what’s to be done? Simple: we’ve acquired some special software. It’s called Recite Me, it converts written text to speech, and we recently piloted it successfully. In a survey, 40% of respondents said they are more likely to use the website with the software added, with 40% also saying they are more likely to visit the theatre based on the improved accessibility of the website. Thanks to a generous grant from the Brian Shaw Memorial Trust, a Stourbridge-based charity that supports people of all ages, we’ve now installed Recite Me to make it easier for everyone to find out about what we’re doing and how to experience it. ‘Help like this is so important to me’, said one appreciative user. It’s a natural step for The REP, winner of the 2018 UK Theatre award for Promoting Diversity. People from across the region will benefit. Children and young people, older people in registered care, disabled people and those from areas of multiple deprivation: Recite Me is a valuable tool in helping The REP fulfill its mission to speak to everyone.
UVB Update Unique Venues Birmingham continues to go from strength to strength and has had a great start to 2019. It was a real pleasure to host the Senior Women in Policing Conference in March. In total, the UVB team welcomed 625 women from Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands Police forces. The timing of the conference was significant as it provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate International Women’s Day together. We are also very proud to have been nominated for Hospitality Venue Of The Year 2019 at the annual City of Birmingham Business Awards. These awards celebrate the best of Birmingham business and take place in October.
REP First We are now entering into the 3rd and final year of our REP First campaign and thanks to the generosity and support of our audiences, donors, sponsors and funders we have raised a fantastic £670,000! These funds have made a dramatic difference and had a huge impact on our activities. We are now more determined than ever to reach our million pound target! The money raised has already enabled us to nurture many more emerging writers and artists, offer 2000 free tickets to local disadvantaged children, take huge strides towards making all our activities accessible to all and allowed us to develop projects with groups such as; people living with dementia, children with severe learning disabilities and those at risk of mental health issues.
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A Friendly Afternoon A few months ago, we were thrilled to welcome a group of our wonderful REP Friends for a very special tour of both The Old REP and The REP. The group were treated to a guided tour behind the scenes of both venues, learning all about The REP’s pioneering history from 1913 to today, before getting to know one another over lunch.
Thank you to everyone who has played their part so far! We are extremely excited about hosting our biennial Gala Dinner on Friday 21st June alongside the performance of ‘Sir Ian McKellen On Stage’.
To find out more about becoming a REP Friend please contact Emma Knight on 0121 245 2162 or emma.knight@birmingham-rep.co.uk
REP Events
All proceeds from this very special event will support REP First. There are still limited individual tickets and tables remaining. For more information and to book, please contact Rachel Cranny on 0121 245 2163.
18 May - REP Friends event ‘Fred Jeffs: The Sweetshop Murder’ 23 – 25 May Young REP Theatre Festival
Driving Donations
7 and 14 June REP Foundry Nights
We are very grateful to our parking partner Q Park for their generous support for our appeal. For every pre-booking made by a customer using our REP discount code, they have donated an additional 10% to the REP First campaign. To date this has resulted in a total contribution of £1,400.
21 June Gala Dinner alongside ‘Ian McKellen On Stage’ 22 June - Discovery Day
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