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Dateline: 22nd December, 2003

Politics is the premier attraction at the Rep

Birmingham Rep's spring and summer season offers a rich blend of classic, contemporary and new plays with politics playing a leading role.

The season features international politics, party politics, sexual politics and the politics of war. There is also work on offer for younger theatregoers as well as the latest offerings from touring companies.

The Rep's artistic director Jonathan Church said: "Over the past three years we've been steadily increasing the range and variety of work we offer in both the main house and our studio theatre.

"Our spring and summer season offers what is probably our most varied, ambitious and busiest programme yet. All this follows a very successful year for the Rep which has witnessed many creative successes, record sales for our Christmas shows and excellent responses to our national and international work including Of Mice and Men, Hamlet and The Snowman."

The season opens with a new adaptation by Bryony Lavery of Ibsen's A Doll's House from February 3rd to 14th. This production marks the start of the Rep's commitment to produce and tour a variety of work, in particular work that is aimed at young people in education. After performances in Birmingham, A Doll's House will go on a UK tour.

The rest of the programme includes:

• Nitro's hip-hop dance musical Slamdunk from February 24th to 28th;
• Continental Divide, two plays by David Edgar examining both sides of a political campaign, called Mothers Against and Daughters of the Revolution, from March 6th to 13th;
• Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and her Children from March 16th to 20th;
• Follow My Leader by Alistair Beaton from March 26th to April 10th;
• The Norman Conquests, three plays by Alan Ayckbourn - Table Manners, Living Together and Round and Round the Garden - from April 20th to May 22nd;
• Ridin' The No 8 from June 29th to July 17th.

In The Door, which showcases new work, the season begins with the world premiere of Robert Warrington's debut play Forward, a black comedy about a Birmingham working class family's attempts to come to terms with their past, present and future. It runs from February 5th to 28th.

The rest of the programme:

• Calcutta Kosher by Shelley Silas from March 9th to 13th;
• Glyn Cannon's On Blindness from March 23rd to 27th;
• the off-Broadway hit comedy Fuddy Meers by David Lindsay-Abaire from April 16th to May 8th;
• The Straits by Gregory Burke from May 12th to 15th;
• San Francisco-based The Riot Group in Pugilist Specialist from May 18th to 22nd.

Steve Orme

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©Peter Lathan 2003