First Word

News from around the region

Initiative to nurture comedy writing talent makes a return at Birmingham Rep

Sky Studios and Birmingham Repertory Theatre have announced the return of Sky Comedy Rep, a joint partnership that aims to discover and nurture emerging comedy writing talent from across the UK - and particularly from communities that have traditionally been under-represented in the arts. Now in its second year, the scheme will see eight writers selected to develop a one-act stage play. This year, all plays will focus on the premise of ‘a proposal in the park’. The eight plays will then be performed as part of a three-day festival at the Rep in early 2023.

Hands-on-History fun for families at Aston Hall

A Birmingham Heritage Week event is this month providing families with the chance to explore Aston Hall. Aston Alive! Hands-on-History (Saturday 17 September) offers visitors the opportunity to speak to the master stonemason and see how the hall might have been shaped, learn about cookery and the home front during the Second World War, help Queen Victoria’s soldiers make munitions, and try on armour and weapons of the Middle Ages. To find out more, visit birminghammuseums.org.uk

A theatrical tour of the Jewellery Quarter

Birmingham residents can take a theatrical journey through the heart of the city’s famous Jewellery Quarter this month, as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival. Gem Of A Place (Friday 9 - Sunday 11 and Friday 16 - Sunday 18 September) will see participants being led through the area’s historic streets. En route they will encounter six dramatic stories exploring unique aspects of the Jewellery Quarter. For more information and to book tickets, visit gemofaplace2022.eventbrite.co.uk

Lights, camera, action! Birmingham Film Festival makes a welcome return

November - and will feature more than 200 professional and independent movies from home and abroad. For more information about the event, visit birminghamfilmfestival.co.uk.

BRB set to hit the ground running with autumn season line-up

Birmingham Royal Ballet will hit the ground running with their autumn programme next month. Starting with a triple bill celebrating ‘the marriage of music and movement’, the company then present two critically acclaimed Sir Peter Wright productions: Coppelia and The Nutcracker. The latter has just received a million-pound refurbishment. To find out more and book tickets, visit birminghamhippodrome.com

Half a Conchord set to visit Symphony Hall

songs from his new album. The talented New Zealander, whose CV also includes writing compositions for the Muppet movies, plays Symphony Hall on Thursday 22 September. For more information, visit bmusic.co.uk/events/bret-mckenzie

Autumn fun at Moseley Folk & Arts Festival

Birmingham’s Moseley Folk & Arts Festival makes a welcome return early this month. Taking place at Moseley Park & Pool from Friday 2 to Sunday 4 September, the popular annual event’s line-up of entertainment this year features performances by, among many others, Supergrass, Kurt Vile, The Weather Station, Bess Atwell, Seasick Steve (pictured), Jethro Tull, Dr John Cooper Clarke, The Coral, Midlake and poet Simon Armitage... For more information and to book tickets, visit moseleyfolk.co.uk

Little But LIVE! back in Moseley for a third year

A community arts festival taking place in Moseley Park and The Moseley Hive is this month returning for a third year. Run by Birmingham-based theatre company Paperback Theatre, Little But LIVE! features theatre, comedy, poetry, interactive workshops, exhibitions and live music. For more information and to book tickets, visit paperbacktheatre.com

The sounds of Cuba at MAC...

Irresistible tropical rhythms and Afro-Cuban sounds from the streets of eastern Cuba come to Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) Birmingham this month, when the Cannon Hill Park venue hosts Son Yambu. The talented band perform in MAC’s Outdoor Arena on Thursday 8 September.

Beanstalk magic in Birmingham

Birmingham Rep’s festive family offering will this year include a brand-new production of a classic fairytale. Written for three to six-yearolds by acclaimed children’s theatre playwright Katherine Chandler, Jack And The Magic Beanstalk will play in the Rep’s most intimate space, The Door, from Wednesday 7 to Saturday 31 December.

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Cirque Du Soleil brings brand-new show to Birmingham

The world-renowned Cirque Du Soleil is bringing its brand-new show to Birmingham’s Utilita Arena next month. Titled Corteo, which means cortege in Italian, the production is described as ‘bringing together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity, situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth’. The show stops off at the Utilita Arena from Wednesday 19 to Sunday 23 October. For tickets, visit ticketmaster.co.uk

Rags to riches to support sick youngsters

Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity is calling on the public to turn their rags into riches for sick youngsters by taking part in the ‘Big Drop’ during Recycle Week (19 - 25 September). The idea is simple: organise a bulk collection of unwanted but good-quality clothing, accessories, shoes, linen and bric-a-brac at your school, workplace, place of worship or community centre, and then see it turned into cash, raising vital funds to support young patients. For more information, visit bch.org.uk/big-drop

Laughs aplenty at next month’s Birmingham Comedy Festival

Birmingham Comedy Festival is back this autumn with more than 80 performances across 10 days. The multi-award-winning event, which runs from Friday 7 to Sunday 16 October, features ‘a mirth-filled line-up’ that includes stand-up comedy, improvisation, theatre, podcasts and magic. To find out more and book tickets, visit bhamcomfest.co.uk

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Commonwealth medal success for university

Alumni and students from the University of Birmingham became sporting heroes in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games securing a total of 12 medals. Among the winners were current student Lily Walker and five alumni - Hannah Martin, Holly Hunt, Anna Toman, Lily Owsley and Flora Peel - who were part of the goldwinning Team England women’s side which beat Australia to claim Commonwealth Games victory for the first time.

Poetry & performance festival back in the city

The UK’s biggest poetry & performance festival of new writing returns to Birmingham from 8 to 11 September as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival. The BBC’s Contains Strong Language (CSL) provides a platform ‘for the most exciting, existing and emerging artists in the region’. The event also collaborates with artists from the Commonwealth in an eclectic variety of programmes broadcast across BBC Radio networks. To find out more, visit bbc.co.uk/events

New production explores Windrush betrayal

A new production telling the story of how the Windrush Generation were targeted by the government - as part of its ‘hostile environment’ policy to reduce net migration - is coming to Birmingham’s Crescent Theatre. The show, titled Windrush: The Betrayal and presented by Agape Theatre Company, stops off at the city-centre venue on Saturday 10 & Sunday 11 September.

News from around the region

Programme revealed for British Science Festival

The British Science Association (BSA) has unveiled the full programme for this year’s British Science Festival. An event dedicated to celebrating ‘the people, stories and ideas at the heart of science’, the festival takes place in Leicester this month (13 - 17 September) and features more than 100 ‘free, engaging and off-thewall installations, performances and activities’. The programme has been curated by BSA in partnership with De Montfort University Leicester and fuses science and research with performance, art and technology. Commenting on the event, its director, Antonio Benitez, said: “The British Science Festival exists to shake up the UK’s scienceengagement landscape in a truly unique, creative and inclusive way. “This year’s line-up - developed in collaboration with De Montfort University alongside dozens of fantastic research institutions, organisations, visual & performance artists, creative researchers and activists - will do just that. We’re excited to deliver a programme of unique events that showcases world-class research taking place in the Midlands and beyond.” For further information and to book tickets, visit britishsciencefestival.org

Dance Hub Birmingham to invest in new projects

Dance Hub Birmingham (DHB) is backing three new projects as part of its Strategic Investment Programme (Round One). The projects will be led by Arts Connect, Sampad South Asian Arts & Heritage and Sonia Sabri Company. The DHB Strategic Investment Programme aims to invest a total of £500,000 in a diverse range of initiatives that will make dance ‘a vibrant and resilient contributor to the economic life’ of the West Midlands. Commenting, Chris Rodriguez, DHB Steering Group Chair, said: “DHB’s investment in these projects will mark a commitment to building partnerships that are ambitious for dance in the region.”

Old Rep provides platform for creatives to develop new work

Birmingham theatre The Old Rep has launched a brand-new monthly evening aimed at providing creatives with a citycentre platform to develop their work. Once a month on a Thursday night, Up To Scratch will see the Station Street venue opening its doors to artists and companies, to give them the opportunity to test out their material in a safe space and in front of ‘a positive and friendly audience’. The first event takes place on Thursday 8 September (7pm onwards). If you have any work that you would like to perform or see performed by others, email darren.knapton@oldreptheatre.co.uk.

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s powerful romantic musical, South Pacific, has been an audience favourite for the past 70 years. A new Chichester Festival Theatre production is touring the UK this autumn, stopping off at Birmingham’s The Alexandra along the way. What’s On recently caught up with leading lady Gina Beck to find out why the show remains so popular...

South Pacific may have premiered more than 70 years ago, but its themes are as relevant today as back in 1949. That’s the opinion of actress & singer Gina Beck, who will take the lead role of US navy nurse Nellie Forbush when the musical comes to Birmingham’s The Alexandra this month. Composed by the legendary Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, the show tells the tale of a group of American service personnel posted to the South Pacific during World War Two. When Nellie meets plantation owner Emile de Becque, she loses her heart to the handsome stranger - but then she discovers he has two mixed-race children. The prejudices she brings from home mean there’s a real danger she’ll turn her back on love. “South Pacific is one of those shows that holds up a mirror to society and makes you think about the racial problems which are still very prevalent today,” says Gina, who’s starred in a string of West End musicals, including Wicked, Les Misérables, The Phantom Of The Opera and Matilda. “It’s an incredible musical, and incredible that it was written at the time it was, because it’s so forward thinking.” Brought up in the age of racial segregation in Arkansas, Nellie is forced to question her beliefs. “It’s so unfortunate that she can’t seem to get past it, even though she’s in love with Emile. Her initial reaction is that she would rather lose the love of her life over this thing which she says is born and bred in her. “But then Emile going off to war, and the possibility that she might lose him, re-sets Nellie and allows her to figure out what’s important. And then she says in the second act ‘what piffle, what was I thinking, to put that above love?’ “I can’t believe what it was like growing up at that time - how hard it would be not to become indoctrinated by everybody else’s beliefs if you’re taught from a young age. But that doesn’t make it right. But it’s fine to learn - I think that’s the message of the show: that we should all try to learn to understand people.” South Pacific has become a classic musical for more reasons than just its story. As well as a host of colourful characters, the show is also famous for a string of catchy songs, including Some Enchanted Evening, Happy Talk, Bali Ha’i, There Is Nothing Like A Dame, I’m In Love With A Wonderful Guy, I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair and Younger Than Springtime. “It’s packed with hit after hit. The book, Tales Of The South Pacific - by James A Michener won a Pulitzer Prize back in the day, so it’s incredible that the show has such a good script and great songs as well.” Gina first played the role of Nellie at the Chichester Festival Theatre last summer, with Julian Ovenden taking the part of Emile. Following a successful run, it was announced that the production would tour, beginning at London’s Sadler’s Wells last month. For Gina, playing Nellie was an absolute nobrainer as soon as she knew the show was going to be helmed by Chichester Festival Theatre’s artistic director, Daniel Evans. Having played Magnolia Hawks in Daniel’s production of Show Boat when he’d been at Sheffield Theatres, she was keen to work with him again. “I was in the production of Matilda in the West End when Daniel texted me and asked ‘when do you leave the show?’ He had this idea back in 2019 to stage South Pacific in Chichester for the summer of 2020, so I negotiated to leave Matilda early in order to be in South Pacific. “I left Matilda on the 15th of March, and on the 16th, the whole of the West End closed because of Covid.” South Pacific finally opened at Chichester last summer. Taking it on tour has meant some adaptations. “We had to re-work a lot of things because we’re changing the shape of the stage. In Chichester it’s a thrust stage, almost in the round, and now every stage on the tour has a proscenium arch, so it’s straight onto the audience. “It’s kind of fun in a way to make these changes because it’s opened up new ideas. We went back to the script and reassessed bits that maybe didn’t work so well the first time. “About half the cast is new, mainly in the ensemble. The lead characters are largely the same, so it’s been nice to have a kind of shorthand with the other principles returning. It’s great because it’s not like you’re just doing the same show again - the lines are the same but a lot of the intentions are different.” South Pacific will mark the first time Gina has appeared at The Alexandra - although she did play Wendy in Peter Pan at Birmingham Rep in 2007 and has performed in concerts at Symphony Hall. She also had a cameo role in Birmingham-made television soap, Doctors. “I had a great time in Birmingham when I was there for three months in 2007. I thought it was very vibrant at the time, and I’m sure it’s changed a lot since then.” And she’s confident audiences will enjoy the production. “South Pacific is a really classy show. If you know what to expect from a Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, you won’t be disappointed. The production has stuck to the traditional values of that big-scale musical; the sets are luscious, the costumes amazing, and the choreography is big pieces with lots of people on stage. The band is huge and the songs sound great - we haven’t pared anything down. But then Daniel has given it a very fresh kind of twist. He’s brought every single bit out, to challenge people and to make it more modern for modern audiences. For people who don’t know Rodgers & Hammerstein, hopefully they will fall in love with a great story - and fall in love with Rodgers & Hammerstein as well. “