Birmingham REP will celebrate its 100th birthday with a gala performance on Friday 15 February of Philip Pulman’s I Was A Rat!
Throughout February and March the REP will be celebrating 100 years since Sir Barry Jackson founded the company in what was the first purpose-built repertory theatre in the UK, the Old Rep on Station Street.
The REP has returned to the Old Rep for its centenary celebrations while its current home on Broad Street undergoes redevelopment as part of the new Library of Birmingham. It will reopen later this year.
Over the years many of the UK’s greatest actors started their careers at the REP, including Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft, Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi, Paul Scofield, Ralph Richardson, Albert Finney, Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, Ian Richardson, Elizabeth Spriggs and director Peter Brook.
Roxana Silbert, the REP’s artistic director, said, “Birmingham Repertory Theatre has a unique place in British theatre history and we want to invite everyone to come and explore that rich heritage.
“We’ve scheduled a series of events to mark our centenary and give people an opportunity to get a hands-on, behind-the-scenes insight into the making of theatre, the history of the REP and the amazingly talented people who have worked here.”
The century will include a programme of exhibitions, activity days, guided backstage tours, an audio history project and a new web site, REP100.org, which will make the company’s archives available to the public for the first time.
Behind-the-scenes tours of the Old Rep will be held from 16 February until 30 March and are free, although they must be booked in advance.