This isn’t a sponsored post.
BrumHour is invited to review and share about productions at the theatres below throughout the year.
Compiled by Dave Massey twitter.com/BrumHour
We currently face a unique and challenging situation in UK and across the globe. As a result many producing theatres and those who play home to touring productions have taken some very tough decisions.
Temporary theatre closures across Birmingham and the West Midlands
Please note the date of each statement or announcement is listed for each venue. Further updates may have taken place since then but every effort has been made to ensure the information is correct at the time of publishing.
The Alexandra
The Alexandra, Suffolk Street Queensway, Birmingham B5 4DS
Arriving to review a press night production of Everybody’s talking about Jamie on Monday 16th March, BrumHour was advised that the production had been halted within one hour of the scheduled curtain going up.
In a statement on Monday 16th March, Mark Cornell, Group CEO of Ambassador Theatre Group owners of The Alexandra said:
We understand that this decision comes as a disappointment and a massive inconvenience for those of you already on the way to a venue this evening, but ultimately we all want the same thing: the health and safety of our communities, and we believe this is the correct decision to make.
We hope to provide you with an update within the next 48 hours regarding the exchange of tickets. We will be consulting with industry bodies and the government over the immediate future.
For now, we would like to thank you for your understanding and patience, and to recognise the incredible efforts and support of our producers, partners and customers over this difficult period.
Keep following The Alexandra on Twitter for further updates: twitter.com/thealexbham
Belgrade Theatre
Belgrade Theatre, Corporation Street, Coventry CV1 1GS
Belgrade Theatre on 17th March said:
We can now confirm that the Belgrade Theatre will remain closed next week. All performances of Blood Brothers, The Twisted Tale of Hansel & Gretel and the Coventry Gang Show have been cancelled. Our team will be in touch with all bookers as soon as possible.
Refunds and credits are available, but if you wish to support our work during this difficult time, you can also donate the cost of your ticket. Thank you for your continued support and patience at this challenging time.
Find more via Twitter: twitter.com/BelgradeTheatre
Birmingham Hippodrome
Birmingham Hippodrome, Hurst Street, Birmingham B5 4TB
Birmingham Hippodrome was due to have The Book of Mormon until 28th March. On their website they said:
Following the recommendation from the UK government today (March 16), we can confirm all upcoming performances of The Book of Mormon at Birmingham Hippodrome (16th March up to and including 28th March) will unfortunately be cancelled.
We ask all ticket holders to avoid contacting Birmingham Hippodrome directly. The ticket sales team will be in touch as soon as possible with those affected.
For upcoming performances from 29th March onwards, we are in discussions with producers and will keep our ticket holders informed. The safety and health of our staff and visitors is our number one priority and we will continue follow any recommendations from the relevant authorities and implement all appropriate instructions accordingly.
See their updates on Twitter here: twitter.com/brumhippodrome and on their website here: birminghamhippodrome.com
Birmingham Rep
Birmingham Rep, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2EP
Affecting productions including Tartuffe, The High Table, Romeo And Juliet and Confessions Of A Cockney Temple Dancer. On 17th March Birmingham Rep announced productions scheduled for March and April would no longer be happening.
In a statement Birmingham Repertory Theatre said:
Following the recent government guidelines, The REP has taken the decision to temporarily close the venue to the public with immediate effect in order to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
We are sad to announce that all productions opening in March and April will no longer be happening as planned. All off-stage projects have also been suspended for this period. For shows and projects later in our Spring & Summer season, we are closely monitoring the situation and will continue to review our policy in line with official guidelines as they develop. Our Autumn & Winter season is currently not affected.
Our box office team will be contacting customers over the coming days to arrange exchanges, credit notes or refunds. Please bear with us during this difficult time and thank you for your understanding. If you urgently need to speak to a member of the sales team then please call 0121 236 4455 and select option 1,or email ticketservices@birmingham-rep.co.uk and a member of the team will respond as soon as they can.
It is a worrying time for the theatre industry and, as a registered charity which relies on the support of its audiences and donors, we hope that some affected customers will be able to support our work, both on and off stage, by accepting an exchange/credit note or by donating the cost of their ticket. We appreciate that this is a difficult time for everyone though and understand if this is not possible.
We look forward to welcoming you back to the theatre in the future but for now, we hope everyone stays safe and healthy.”
Keep updated with Birmingham Rep here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/news
Blue Orange Theatre
118 Great Hampton Street Birmingham B18 6AD
In short Twitter statement on 17th March, Blue Orange Theatre said:
COVID-19 Update – thank you for your patience; we are temporarily closed to prevent further spread of Coronavirus.
Such a worrying time for the entire theatre industry & we rely on the support of our audiences. We hope that some affected customers may be able to support us by accepting an exchange/credit note or by donating the cost of their ticket. We also understand if this is not possible.
Follow Blue Orange Theatre on Twitter at: twitter.com/BlueOrangeThtr
Crescent Theatre
Crescent Theatre, 20 Sheepcote Street, Birmingham B16 8AE
In an update Crescent Theatre said:
Following the recommendation from the UK government on 16th March, we have taken the difficult decision to suspend all performances at the Crescent Theatre until further notice. We ask all ticket holders to avoid contacting the theatre directly. The box office team will be in touch with those affected as soon as possible.
As you can appreciate, this is a fast-moving and still developing situation, and we will update the information on our website, Facebook and Twitter feeds as it becomes available.
The health and safety of our staff and visitors is our number one priority and we will continue to follow any recommendations from the relevant authorities and implement all appropriate instructions accordingly. We would like to thank all of our customers for their support and understanding at this difficult time and we look forward to welcoming you to The Crescent Theatre in the future.
This affects productions including A Bunch of Amateurs and Buckets & 100. See the Crescent Theatre website here: crescent-theatre.co.uk
Lichfield Garrick
Lichfield Garrick, Castle Dyke, Lichfield WS13 6HR
On their website Lichfield Garrick said:
We are really sorry to announce that Lichfield Garrick is cancelling shows for the remainder of March following the official guidance from the UK Government and Public Health England.
Our Box Office team is in the process of refunding or crediting all patrons affected in the coming weeks who have booked tickets, and we ask people to please bear with us whilst we make our way through that list.
At present we are cancelling shows up until the end of March and will then work on a rolling basis following guidance. We are working with the performers to reschedule where possible.
If you haven’t received a refund or a credit acknowledgement for the cancelled shows in the next week please email the theatre on garrick@lichfieldgarrick.com
As you know, Lichfield Garrick is an Arts Charity that relies on ticket sales to support its charitable projects, so the closure of the theatre will have a significant effect on us.
The Government have not enforced a shutdown so the theatre will not be able to claim off the insurance.
If you are able to, please consider to donate your ticket price to our charity so that the theatre can sustain itself during these times of uncertainty.
We will be keeping you updated as and when things change on here and via our social media channels.
Thank you for your continued support.
See the full update at: lichfieldgarrick.com
Midlands Arts Centre (MAC)
Midlands Arts Centre, Queen’s Ride, Birmingham B12 9QH
On Friday 20th March MAC said:
We have taken the decision to close MAC to the public from 6pm, Friday 20th March. We will initially close for two weeks, until Monday 6 April and we will continue to monitor the evolving situation to determine when we will re-open.
See the full updated along with events that are affected at: macbirmingham.co.uk/news/2020/03/17/coronavirus-covid-19-update#
The Old Joint Stock
The Old Joint Stock, 4 Temple Row West, Birmingham B2 5NY
As a bar with an intimate theatre above The Old Joint Stock is in a different position to most of the theatres here as the bar area remains open as of Wednesday 18th March. On Twitter The Old Joint Stock said:
We are closely monitoring all government advice in both the Theatre/Entertainment industry, and also the Licensed Trade/Hospitality industry. As it stands, our venue remains fully open until further notice.
We are also in discussions with all theatre companies who are due to perform here over the coming months. As a result of these discussions, and a number of differing factors, the decision has been made that the following productions will NOT be going ahead as scheduled:
The White Plague, JEW…ish, Howerd’s End and From Judy to Bette.
All ticket holders for these productions will be contacted in the next couple of days and will be issued with a full refund. Thank you for your continued support, especially during these uncertain times.
See updates on The Old Joint Stock’s Twitter at: twitter.com/OldJointStock
The Old Rep
The Old Rep, 45 Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY
On Twitter, The Old Rep said:
A show update after this morning’s (17th March) Coronavirus (COVID-19) statement: Please be assured our Team are working their hardest to get in touch with all customers.
For any enquiries please email boxoffice@oldreptheatre.co.uk.
Follow The Old Rep on Twitter here: twitter.com/TheOldRep
The RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company)
The RSC, Waterside, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6BB
On Monday 16th March The RSC said both on Twitter and their website:
Following government advice, and alongside other UK theatres, all RSC venues, and venues that the Company is performing at, are now closed. This will be for an undetermined period of time and will remain under review in line with government advice. This includes all activity at our Stratford theatres and at other UK theatres including Matilda The Musical, Kunene and the King and all of our productions on UK tour.
Please check our website over the next few days for further information regarding future performances.
Wolverhampton Grand
Wolverhampton Grand, Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1DE
In a statement on 18th March Wolverhampton Grand said:
Following advice from the UK Government which stipulates that people should avoid public buildings, including theatres, and the position adopted by the industry body, UK Theatre, Management at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre has taken the decision to extend the closure period until Sunday 19th April 2020.
For performances after 19th April, we are in discussions with producers and will keep all ticket holders informed as we continue to follow recommendations and advice from the relevant authorities.
Whilst we very much regret this decision, the welfare of our loyal patrons and our 160 employees is of the upmost importance to our organisation.
We will contact all customers who have purchased tickets for upcoming performances as soon as possible. Customers will have the following options:
We can refund your tickets to your personal theatre account as credit to use against a future purchase. Account credit can also be used to purchase Grand Theatre Gift Vouchers.
We can refund transactions to the method of payment used when purchasing. For cash payments, refunds will be issued via a cheque which will be posted to you.
The Grand Theatre is a registered charity and relies totally on the support of our customers. You may, if you wish, donate the cost of your purchase to Wolverhampton Grand Theatre’s Charity to help us safeguard our wonderful organisation in these difficult times, which has been at the heart of Wolverhampton for the past 125 years.
Please be assured you do not need to contact the Grand Theatre, customers will be contacted directly as soon as possible, and in performance date order.
We will work closely with producers during the coming weeks in order to do our best to reschedule the productions on alternative dates.
Wolverhampton Grand Theatre would like to personally thank all of the customers who are choosing to donate their ticket money or their £3 booking fee back to the theatre when the Box Office have contacted them for refunds. Your support to the safeguarding of our beloved theatre is hugely appreciated.
We wholeheartedly thank you for your patience and understating during this unprecedented and difficult time.
See updates via the Wolverhampton Grand website here: grandtheatre.co.uk
