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Birmingham Rep releases update on its involvement in Nightingale Courts
In December 2020, the Birmingham Repertory Theatre made the decision to accept a contract from the Ministry of Justice for the venue to become a temporary Nightingale Court until June 2021, which it was hoped would secure the future of the theatre during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A Nightingale Court is a temporary court in England and Wales established to deal with the backlog of legal cases brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. The move by Birmingham Rep was not well received, with press reports highlighting that the move had “alienated staff, audiences and cultural workforce”, leading to criticism from prominent figures.
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Following its decision, SHOUT Festival, Birmingham’s annual festival of queer art and culture, released its own statement highlighting concerns regarding this decision.
The statement read: “Historically, LGBT+ people have been criminalised by the legal system just because of who we chose to love and who we are. Amongst our LGBT+ PoC communities we recognise that PoC are overrepresented in all areas of the criminal justice system with institutional racism and unconscious bias creating issues and a lack of trust in a system which often falls short in its treatment of everybody in a fair and consistent manner.
“SHOUT Festival recognises the devastating impact the pandemic has had on the cultural sectors and our communities and know that leaders across all organisations are having to make difficult decisions in order to survive and be there for future audiences to enjoy and benefit from.
“However, SHOUT Festival and its parent organisation Birmingham LGBT has, first and foremost, always advocated for a fair and just world which is free from discrimination and, right now, members of our community feel unsafe and unheard by a space they previously and proudly called their own and we wish to pledge our continued support to Black artists and communities most affected by this decision.”
After meeting with The Rep in the new year, SHOUT Festival released a follow-up statement, which said: “SHOUT and Birmingham Rep have been partners since SHOUT launched in 2009 and this has always been a partnership rooted in honesty with our audience considering the Birmingham Rep as a safe space which, up until this decision, has always been viewed by them as both welcoming and inclusive.”
The statement explained that SHOUT would no longer be partnering with the Birmingham Rep on future collaborations, including their 2021 festival. However, they remain open to working with them again “but only after they make serious and substantial progress to reconnect with those members of our shared audiences who feel badly let down by their decision.”
In its own update on the matter, the Rep stated: “Over the past few months, the impact of this [decision] has been greater than we could have imagined, and we accept that some people have been hurt by our decision, for which we are sorry.
“Over the past six months we’ve spent time listening to our staff, artists, audiences and stakeholders. Thank you to all who have shared their thoughts and feelings with us; we welcome and respect all views, including those who have disagreed with our decision.
The Rep recognises that in order to meet this aim, deeper changes are needed to ensure that the theatre is “inclusive and representative of the hugely diverse city that we serve”.
It is fully committed to a journey of culture change moving forward; it has already begun by inviting people in for conversations.
“Our policies, procedures and practices have to change so that we can better understand and reflect our community’s wishes and needs. The Rep’s community work over many years, including during Covid, is a solid foundation for us to build upon.
“We know it will take some time to embed structural change and win back trust where it has been lost, but we are committed to the ongoing journey and will dedicate time and resources to it as we move forwards. We are also committed to sharing progress and listening to feedback along the way so that we can be sure we are achieving what we set out to do.
“The Rep belongs to Birmingham and we want the city to shape its theatre. We welcome the involvement of as many of our stakeholders as possible in our journey: audiences, participants, staff, artists, partners and communities.”
To join a session and find out more about The Rep’s plan of action for the year or to share your comments, you can email feedback@birmingham-rep.co.uk. Any freelancer will be reimbursed for their time.
