First Word Birmingham February.qxp_Layout 1 19/01/2022 17:00 Page 1
News from around the region
Peaky Blinders dance show to premiere at Birmingham Hippodrome Tickets are now on sale for Rambert Dance’s Peaky Blinders: The Redemption Of Thomas Shelby. The dance-theatre production will have its world premiere on 27 September at coproducing partner venue Birmingham Hippodrome, where it will run until 2 October. Commenting on the show, Chris Sudworth, director of artistic programme at Birmingham Hippodrome, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Rambert on the creation and world premiere of Peaky Blinders: The Redemption Of Thomas Shelby. The opportunity to collaborate on a production that is so synonymous with our city is incredibly exciting, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience the thrill of seeing the well-known characters from the show come to life on our stage in this sensational adaptation.” For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: birminghamhippodrome.com
Call-out for people to share their stories about life in the West Midlands Leamington Spa dance-circus company Motionhouse is calling on Midlanders to share their stories about life in the region. Motionhouse last month unveiled a special post box in the city’s Centenary Square and invited people to post their stories there. All the stories will be uploaded onto a digital platform via the Motionhouse website. Commenting on the initiative, Motionhouse Rehearsal Director Junior Cunningham said: “The stories will form a snapshot of life in the region as Birmingham and the West Midlands become the focus of international attention through the Commonwealth Games.”
A show-packed 2022 at the Crescent Theatre The Lovely Bones, Little Shop Of Horrors and Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan (pictured) are among the shows being presented at Birmingham’s Crescent Theatre during 2022. Performed by the 99-year-old Crescent Theatre Company, the programme offers ‘a mix of comedy and drama, modern and classic, music and horror’. For more information, visit crescenttheatre.co.uk
Midlands cities to benefit from digital schoolhouse The cities of Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent are each set to benefit from the opening of a ‘digital schoolhouse’. Using play-based learning ‘to bring the computing curriculum to life’, the national Digital Schoolhouse project has received funding of £75,000 from Arts Council England to run a pilot programme that will bring the initiative into public libraries for 04 whatsonlive.co.uk
the first time ever. The pilot is part of an effort to further Digital Schoolhouse’s reach into more communities. The programme is already successfully embedded within the country, reaching over 110,000 students and 10,000 teachers through its 52 schoolhouses.
Celebrating 40 years of Phoenix Dance A Leeds-based dance ensemble is this spring celebrating its 40th birthday by visiting the Midlands with a ‘special anniversary’ programme of entertainment. Bringing together a range of work from across its history, Phoenix Dance Theatre visits Malvern Theatres on Tuesday 15 February and Birmingham Rep on Saturday 12 March. For more information and to book tickets, go to: phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk
