BrumHour is invited to press nights at Birmingham Rep throughout the year.
By Dave Massey with content from Birmingham Rep
Season Preview: Birmingham Rep Autumn/Winter 2019/20
After Magneto himself landed on the Birmingham Rep Stage as Sir Ian McKellen swept through the land., the Autumn/Winter line up for Birmingham Rep has been announced. Filled with its homegrown productions, collaborations and a couple of touring productions, take a look:
The Lovely Bones (6th to 21st September)
Preview Performances: 6th-9th September
On its previous visit to Birmingham Rep I reviewed The Lovely Bones in November 2018 saying:
It is a brave, stark and bold production that you should go see if you get chance.”
Birmingham Rep says:
The Autumn season opens with the return of The Lovely Bones. Commissioned by The REP and premiered in 2018 to critical acclaim, Melly Still returns to direct Bryony Lavery’s uplifting adaptation of Sebold’s story about life after loss, ahead of a new UK tour.”
Book tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/the-lovely-bones.html
Rebel Music (19th September to 5th October)
Preview Performances: 19th to 21st September
Birmingham Rep said:
Rebel Music is the latest play from Birmingham born-writer, Robin French, co-created and directed by Alex Brown, commissioned by Birmingham Repertory Theatre and presented in association with Middle Child. Set in the sweltering hot summer of 1976, Rebel Music is the story of three friends who are forced to navigate racial politics and social upheaval alongside their own turbulent teenage years.
A raucous celebration of people power, set to a soundtrack of Punk, Reggae and 2Tone, Rebel Music will also tour to local community venues as part of The REP’s ongoing commitment to making theatre accessible to all.”
Buy tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/rebel-music.html
Barber Shop Chronicles (26th to 28th September)
Birmingham Rep said:
Following two sell-out runs at the National Theatre and a world tour, Inua Ellams’ acclaimed Barber Shop Chronicles comes to The REP. Directed by Olivier award-winning director Bijan Sheibani, Barber Shop Chroniclesis a heart-warming, hilarious and insightful new play that leaps from a barber shop in Peckham to Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos and Accra over the course of a single day.
Get tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/barber-shop-chronicles.html
Prism (4th to 12th October)
Preview Performances: 4th to 7th October
Birmingham Rep says:
Opening at The REP ahead of a UK Tour, Robert Lindsay stars in Prism, Terry Johnson’s delightfully witty and poignant play based on the extraordinary life of double Oscar-winning cinematic master Jack Cardiff; the man who made Hollywood’s greatest divas beautiful and who lived a life as colourful as his cinematography.
Part fact, part fiction, Prism, sees Cardiff retired and wanting to live in the past rather than remember it. Prism is a co-production between The REP and Hampstead Theatre following the play’s sell-out run in London in 2017.
Book tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/prism.html
Fierce Festival (15th to 20th October)
The biannual festival which merges provocative political messages with glam parties and a community message returns for 2019.
Find out more here: wearefierce.org
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) (15th October to 2nd November)
Birmingham Rep said:
Promising an adaptation like no other of Jane Austen’s definitive rom-com is the breathtakingly- talented Blood of the Young’s Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) which caused a sensation last year at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow.
In a new scaled-up production, this unique and colourful take on Jane Austen’s unrivalled classic is an irreverent all-female adaptation featuring a gloriously subversive love letter to the 19th century original and a killer karaoke soundtrack. A co-production between Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre.
Book tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/pride-and-prejudice-sort-of.html
Prime Time (23rd to 26th October)
Birmingham Rep says:
Prime Time is a new piece of theatre and the third collaboration between The REP and Women & Theatre exploring themes of women in work.
Comprising three monologues by three playwrights – Maeve Clarke, Rachael Mainwaring and Rochi Rampal and featuring Janice Connolly, Prime Time explores the experiences of women of retirement age; those still working through choice or necessity, full-time carers and those embracing new opportunities for the final third of their lives.
Get tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/prime-time.html
My Beautiful Laundrette (5th to 9th November)
Birmingham Rep says:
Hanif Kureishi’s iconic and ground-breaking 1985 film, My Beautiful Laundrette (5 – 9 November) comes to the stage in a bold new production directed by Nikolai Foster, Artistic Director of Leicester Curve.
Set in London during the Thatcher years, Kureishi’s story of a British Asian community explores issues of sexuality, cultural conflict, gender equality, class and generational strife, all presented against a funky backdrop of 80s music and culture.
Get tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/my-beautiful-laundrette.html
An Inspector Calls (12th to 16th November)
Birmingham Rep says:
The Autumn season in the main house also includes Stephen Daldry’s landmark production of An Inspector Calls.
Visionary, radical and challenging this version of J. B. Priestley’s classic thriller, hailed as the theatrical event of its generation, has been seen by more than 4 million people worldwide and was last seen at The REP in 2008.
Get tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/an-inspector-calls.html
Peter Pan (30th November to 19th January 2020)
Birmingham Rep said:
For Christmas 2019, a fresh and spectacular new staging of Peter Pan sees the return of director Liam Steel following his highly-acclaimed production of The Wizard of Oz last year.
Filled with swashbuckling adventure the eternal classic Peter Pan is the perfect festive show for adventurous children and those still young at heart.
Book your tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/peter-pan.html
Penguins (4th to 14th December)
Returning for 2019: I loved this life affirming visual storybook about two male penguins to adopt a baby penguin at a New York Zoo.
Book tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/penguins.html
Birmingham REP is next to the Library of Birmingham in the newly renovated Centenary Square, on Broad Street, it is nearly 10 minutes walk from Birmingham New Street Station (Via Bridge Street/Holiday Street and Navigation Street).
This isn’t a sponsored post.
