Birmingham REP has joined forces with communities across the city to bring to life a range of theatre performances.
Residents of Birchfield, Quinton, Harborne, Sparkbrook, Washwood Heath, Smethwick, Oldbury and Welsh House Farm can watch productions created with and for them by artists from the REP.
Each of the performances has been made through collaborations and conversations with local people. It is part of the REP’s community theatre project Furnace, an initiative designed to bring together people to create theatre with, for and about communities in Birmingham and the Black Country.
Tessa Walker, the REP’s associate director, said, “theatre has great power to bring people together. It’s been an amazing experience to discover so many extraordinary stories from people who are a part of these very different communities across Birmingham.”
The first of the Furnace season is Our Feast by Rachel Mainwaring who has been working with Dolphin Women’s Centre and Birchfield Big Local to create “a feast of food, stories and performances”. It can be seen on Tuesday 3 and Thursday 5 July.
More than 60 years ago, sweetshop owner Fred Jeffs was murdered in Quinton. The case remains unsolved. Writer, director and great-nephew of Fred Jeffs, Graeme Rose, re-examines the case in Fred Jeffs: The Sweet Shop Murder from Wednesday 11 until Friday 13 July. With members of the local community who remember the murder, Rose will look at the original evidence and present clues in a story that should have all the ingredients of a noir thriller.
Artist Sarah Hamilton Baker has created The Sense of You, a promenade piece made with Focus Birmingham, a charity for sight loss, which can be seen on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 July.
Run The World on Wednesday 25 July is an audio walking tour celebrating the spirit of Sparkbrook, created by writer, actor and personal trainer Manjeet Mann with women from the Ashiana Community Project.
The annual Welsh House Farm carnival will have interactive installations as part of Echoes of the Estate. Inspired by residents’ collaborations with artist Jay Crutchley, it will feature large-scale theatre, moments of live storytelling in people’s homes and public art from around the estate.
All performances are free.