Created in Birmingham

It seems Tory MP Michael Fabricant got his facts wrong when he said the Birmingham Rep was “no longer going to receive it’s funding” in the House of Commons. Anthony Herron inquired and is happy to report “the REP is not facing cuts it is likely to get an inflationary increase.” Thanks Ant.

Here’s a handy roundup of the local amateur theater scene from John Slim of The Post.

Whatsthebigmistry’s Doorwonderland, which was one of my personal highlights of the Fierce Festival this year, is returning to Birmingham on November 28th and 29th. More details on the Custard Factory blog.

Grimley of The Post reports on a good year for the Birmingham Hippodrome which sees them with money in the bank to spend - apparently a rare thing in the theatre business. Their future strategy is also outlined and seems to be heavy on the dance bringing in more international companies to complement the BRB and DanceXchange.

Read the full article.

The MAC has gotten an £800,000 grant for a new studio theatre, according to The Stirrer, which will be the new home for Sampad amongst others.

Noted: Script - “the West Midlands agency for dramatic writers”. They give advice, run workshops and are based in the Custard Factory.

Marc Reck went to the International Mask Festival and tells all. His blog is turning into a pretty good place for cultural reports these days.

According to The Stirrer plans were revealed by the Council for the new Central Library building this weekend. Costing £193 million it will sit next to and incorporate the REP theatre in Centenary Square creating a “a new centre for learning and culture.” (Hang on, isn’t that what Eastside’s supposed to be?) Along with a shared entrance this will also give the REP a new mid-sized auditorium.

And Here’s the BCC page with all the details and a nice picture.

This shows “how Centenary Square could look in the future, following completion of the Library of Birmingham development (indicated in red), Arena Central and the redevelopment of Paradise Circus.” It’s expected to be completed in 2013 and “boost and consolidate the continued regeneration of the city centre’s Westside and the improvement of Centenary Square.”

John Slim overviews the local amateur theatre scene.

Terry Grimley interviews Michael Chase, director of the very intriguing International Mask Festival.

Audiences Central has news of the International Mask Festival taking place in Stourbridge from October 19th-27th along with some fantastic images of people in masks. Here’s my favourite:

Woo!

You can get a copy of the festival brochure from Audiences Central and download a PDF version.

Here’s a video:

It was found on the MySpace of Cloud Cuckoo Land who describe it as a “psychedelic robot musical” which ran at the Edinburgh Fringe for two weeks last year.

It was filmed and edited by Scott Johnson aka filmficciones70 and the music was by Matt Eaton of Pram and Micronormous.

There appear to be some interestingly odd people involved in this outfit. One to keep an eye on methinks…

The Typ-Tap Festival at the MAC on July 10-11th sees two days of looking at new theatre writing for a young audience. A number of plays are being performed along with discussions and seminars.

More details of the methodology of this festival and the schedule on the MAC website.

Interesting looking spoken word piece coming up at The Drum on June 15th.

If you though you understood Africa in relation to your own life in the West, even just a little, think again…

Africa attacks all the senses – an unparalleled cacophony of sounds, smells, colours and feelings from a continent with a rich, magnificent history and deep rooted culture. I Dream of Accra… captures this frenzied spirit in an epic multimedia poem featuring African and European musicians, poets, storytellers, DJs rappers and visual artists, including Tunde Jegede and his string quartet, MC poet B.R.I.E.S. and Kelly Budge from Your Mum.

Doors are 7.30pm and tickets are a fiver. More info.

The Birmingham Rep is putting on a play on a canal boat this summer.

Taking the audience on a journey around the waterways of Birmingham, Sarah Woods‘ brand new play will be an unpredictable, exciting and unmissable experience for all the family. Hop onboard a canal boat to follow the adventures of a young girl and find out exactly what is in the mysterious box.

The shows run from Sat 16th - Sun 24th June and while tickets are £15 they’re doing a special family deal at £12 for 2 adults and 2 kids.

On Friday I went to see The Pandora Effect / Frozen Sea at the REP and without getting into a review I was completely blown away by it. Not being a drama aficionado I’ve been burnt a few times at the theatre (most recently at Stratford for the RSC’s Tempest which was terrible) but this was one of the best things I’ve ever seen in any medium, from Gary Carter’s script (dense and complex on one level while still being accessible and flowing) to the actors who really acted with the subtlest of emotional shifts.

Blinding stuff, and if that doesn’t convince you then how about free tickets for the final performance on Saturday evening at 7.45pm?

I probably shouldn’t do this but what the hell. If you ring the box office on 0121 236 4455 and quote FANTASTIC FIERCE OFFER you can book up to six tickets for free. If they ask where your heard say you’re an “Audiences Central Subscriber” but there shouldn’t be any problems.

If there are problems then it’s £10 and well worth every penny.

I got an email last week from Banner Theatre about their current production, Strangers in Paradise Circus, which is currently playing in schools across the city.

A bit of digging revealed the fascinating history of the Banner Theatre. Formed in 1973 at the inspiration of broadcaster and musician Charles Parker the theatre is avowedly political as Artistic Director and founder member Dave Rogers explains in this 1997 article.

We see ourselves as part of that tradition of theatre which has its roots in the Agit prop theatre of the Russian Revolution, the Blue Blouse troupes of Germany in the 1930s, the work of Ewan MacColl and Joan Littlewood in the early days of Theatre Workshop and the explosion of radical theatre companies in the 1960s and 70s.

As part of this tradition, Banner uses the characters and plot in its productions to expose and illuminate the political forces that overshadow and control so many aspects of our existences. […] Our prime focus is to expose hidden political and social forces. We are, of course, interested in issues of power between individuals whether based on class, gender, race, sexuality or disability and we seek to make the connection between these relationships and the wider political, historical and economic environment in which these relationships are shaped.

The Banner Theatre Archive is held at the Central Library and forms part of the new Connecting Histories resource project which will be going live online late May early June.

On their approach to theatre Dave Rogers writes:

Banner is a theatre of actuality. Actuality for us is people’s experience, captured by the tape recorder. Used either verbatim or as a source, it is at the heart of Banner’s work. We use people’s voices because vernacular speech is powerful and dramatic, and people present at a deep level their beliefs and values in the jokes, stories and anecdotes they tell about themselves. Our use of actuality literally gives people a ‘voice’ in our productions.

Banner Theatre uses actuality as source material for script writers to develop characters and scenes, for song writers to develop rhythmic, melodic and thematic ideas and as a live theatre resource, played through our P.A. system, to complement, contradict and counterpoint action on the stage.

Strangers in Paradise Circus is going to be reworked as “They get free mobiles… don’t they?” for a national tour.

This live multimedia show, combining music, song, video, film and theatre, speaks for Britain’s newest arrivals as they dodge borders, bullets and bureaucracy in their quest for safety and security from war-torn lands in Africa and the Middle East. It tells the human stories of people in the wrong place at the wrong time, and cuts through the myths, lies and prejudice surrounding the search for sanctuary in England’s green but sometimes not so pleasant land.

But “They get free mobiles . . . don’t they?” also shows how our lives here in the UK are integrally connected to those of refugees from impoverished third world countries and exposes the big business interests that profit from the exploitation of children and slave labourers, particularly in the mining and production of tantalum – a key element in our mobile phones.

All very interesting and it’s nice to see an active community arts outfit with this kind of history.

The Dynamics 07 International Puppet Festival starts on May 19th and runs across the West Midlands for full month. Those events taking place in Birmingham are happening at the MAC, the Drum, Solihull Central Library and Chelmsley Wood Library.

With over 100 performances in 30 places over 30 days, you’ll find a whole array of fascinating styles and content in shows for the very young, for families and for adult audiences.

We’ve invited overseas companies from Pakistan, Russia, Hungary, Slovakia, Turkey, Belgium and France. They’ll be telling stories both traditional and new and using puppetry skills and techniques from each country. Alongside these you can see a range of leading national companies from within the UK‘s thriving puppet theatre sector.

The main event seems to be a mostly free Puppet Extravaganza at the MAC over the weekend of June 2nd - 3rd:

A whole weekend of fun for all the family, in the delightful setting of mac Cannon Hill Park. Join us for a rolling programme with non-stop with shows from far and wide including very special visitors from Russia, France, and Turkey.

Puppetry is one of those arts that is often overlooked so this event, the largest in the country, is great news. Spread the word.

Thanks to D’log for the link.

The B-Theatre is a “support and development structure for new theatre practice in the West Midlands” created and co-ordinted by Simon Day. (I assume that’s this Simon Day though don’t hold me to it. [Layer: Nope, it’s a different Simon Day]) Their main show is PILOT which tours around venues in the West Mids every few months.

PILOT gives theatre-artists the chance to try out new material and an audience the opportunity to share in its development. PILOT is a place where people are free to fail, but where they often succeed in entertaining and challenging, and in showing that live theatre is still kicking strong.

The next PILOT is on Thursday April 12th at the Custard Factory Theatre and features Augusto Corrieri, Jake Oldershaw, Kindle Theatre, Search Party, Talking Birds and The Plasticine Men. More details here.

The PILOT after that is on 27 June and submissions are very welcome.

Women & Theatre are doing two free performances of The Cervical Monologues at The Hub, 318 Vicarage Road, Kings Heath on March 8th.

Researched with a wide range of patients & health professionals, The Cervical Monologues explores issues such as life, love, sex & sexuality, as well as demystifying the screening process through the sharing of stories and experiences of real people. The play has been devised to be equally effective for both health professionals’ training and health promotion in the community, as well as being an entertaining and thought provoking piece of theatre.

Performances are at 2pm and 6pm and there will be tea and cake!