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Birmingham and CoventryBirmingham Birmingham is England's second city, so you would expect there would be quite a concentration of theatre there. And so there is, although to nowhere near the same extent as in London. There is, for instance, only one producing theatre in the city, although there are quite a number of producing companies based there. The one and only producing theatre is the Birmingham Rep. Built in 1971, its Main House seats 824 and its studio space, the Door, between 140 and 200, depending upon the configuration. The other theatre with rep in its name, the Old Repertory, is now a receiving house which seats 378. Built in 1913, it was the first purpose-built rep theatre in Britain. Locally produced professional theatre is also found at MAC, the Midlands Arts Centre, which offers a vast range of Arts provision, including a number of theatre companies. MAC also has three performance spaces: the Theatre seats 201, the Hexagon 86, and the Arena Theatre, an open-air space 470. The Birmingham and Midland Institute is a cultural and conference centre which also mounts drama and music shows as well as conferences, talks, seminars etc. It works through co-production. Its two performance spaces are the Lyttelton Theatre (290) and the John Lee Theatre (115). There are two major touring houses in the city, the Alexandra (popularly known as the Alex) and the Birmingham Hippodrome. The Alexandra seats 1347 and the Hippodrome 1887. The latter is due to reopen during the Spring after an extensive refurbishment. Then there is the Drum, an African, Caribbean and Asian arts centre, which promotes events (including theatre) and workshops in its two spaces, the Main House (351) and the Studio (140). It is also deeply involved in community and educational work. An interesting development is the Custard Factory, based in the old Bird's Custard Factory. It houses small arts businesses, two dance studios, restaurants, shops and a theatre which seats 200 and accepts work from both touring and local companies. The Crescent is an amateur theatre which is also a receiving house for professional work. It has two auditoria, the Main House seats 342 and the Studio 120. Another major amateur venue, which is also available for hire, is Sutton Coldfield Town Hall, a 404-seater, which presents seven weeks of amateur work each year. Finally there is the CBSO Centre, a 300-seater venue, which is available for hire. Coventry Coventry's Belgrade Theatre (1958) was the first civic theatre to be built after the Second World War. It does three-weekly rep in the Main House and new work and youth theatre in the Studio. The Main House seats 858 and the Studio 60. The only other theatre venue in the city is the Warwick Arts Centre, which is part of the University of Warwick. It presents a varied programme in three venues: the Theatre (573 seats), the Studio (150) and the Concert Hall (1473). Introduction Articles Indices: |
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