“The theatre is immortal” – Sir Barry Jackson, 1943

On February 15 1913, the Old Rep – called, at the time, the Birmingham Repertory Theatre – opened its doors with a production of Twelfth Night. The brainchild of theatre legend Barry Jackson, construction of the theatre had begun only four months prior, in 1912, funded entirely by him. The company was built from his amateur group, the Pilgrim Players, which had been performing throughout the city since 1907, and would become the base of the Birmingham Repertory Company. It was the first purpose-built repertory theatre in the UK. By May of the next year, a workshop and paintshop were added, making the theatre self-contained. 

The outbreak of the First World War only a year later immediately provided challenges, but also the opportunity for the players to offer their audiences respite from the conflict, performing at military hospitals and even touring in the spring of 1915. The men of the company who’d been unable to join up spent their Sundays building shells at the aluminium works. Meanwhile, the women of the theatre were afforded new opportunities by the war; most notably, 1917 saw Maud Gill become the UK’s first female stage manager. 

One night during the Christmas season of 1921, a fire broke out in the fly gallery, greatly damaging the curtain, lighting equipment and scenery, and resulting in the theatre being flooded by the sprinklers. Among the debris, the company still put on its matinee the next day, having worked the entire morning to make it possible. In happier events, 1923 saw the British premiere of George Bernard Shaw’s Back to Methusalah! at the Old Rep, with a cast that included a young Edith Evans. 

The Second World War caused even greater trials, when theatres were forced to close in 1939. While the Old Rep managed to reopen quickly, in 1940, the city was targeted during the Blitz, and the wardrobe building was hit by a bomb. Though three decades of costumes and props were destroyed, the show went on until December – albeit, with a swap to matinee performances only. The theatre would then stay closed for a full year, first re-opened by an outside company at the end of 1941, and later seeing the Rep company return in 1942.  The company honoured its thirtieth anniversary not with any celebration, but by keeping the theatre open for the city of Birmingham during such difficult times. 

Come peacetime, the first play of the post-war was Shaw’s Man and Superman, directed by then-unknown, twenty-year old Peter Brook.  In these years and after, many other talented young performers and creatives got their starts at the Old Rep. Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Brian Cox, June Brown, Michael Gambon, Timothy Dalton, Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, Albert Finney, Toyah Wilcox, Cedric Hardwicke and many others are all among the names that began their careers here in Birmingham. 

In the decades after the war, the company began to desire a bigger venue. In 1960, Barry Jackson met with the Birmingham City Council and Arts Council England to secure funding to build a new venue. Sadly, the project would outlive him; he died in 1961. But his efforts were not in vain –  in 1968, the funding was finally agreed upon, and in 1971, the Birmingham Repertory Company moved to its new venue in Centenary Square. The building you are standing in was renamed The Old Rep, and taken over by the Birmingham City Council. 

For the next four decades, the council would continue to manage the Old Rep building, hosting a variety of companies and productions. On April 5, 1989, the building was Grade II listed. In 2011, the construction of the new city library meant  Birmingham Rep building in Centenary square would have to temporarily close, and so the Birmingham Repertory Company returned here to Station Street. In February 2013, the Birmingham Repertory Company celebrated its centenary in its old home, before finally returning to the current location later that year. 

In 2014, Birmingham Ormiston Academy, a local stage school, took over the running of the building from the council, continuing to hire it out, but also utilising it as a space for the training of young performers and creatives.  After ten years, they decided not to further renew the lease, and in June 2024, it was announced that the Crescent Theatre would take on management of this building. As of August 2024, both theatres are operated by the Crescent Theatre company.

Current Patrons of The Old Rep include Brian Cox, Brian Blessed, Annette Badland and Toyah Willcox.

Notable Performers

The Old Rep has played a central role in the early careers of many of the UK’s most celebrated actors and theatre-makers. A few notable names who have all performed at The Old Rep include:

  • Peggy Ashcroft – Joined the Rep straight from drama school. She starred alongside Laurence Olivier in John Drinkwater’s Bird in Hand in 1927.
  • Peter Brook – Made his directing debut at The Old Rep in 1945 directing Man and Superman written by George Bernard Shaw.
  • June Brown – Starred as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth in 1958, alongside actor Albert Finney who played the lead role.
  • Richard Chamberlain – Took a lead role in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet in 1969.
  • Julie Christie – Appeared in the Christmas Revue Between These Four Walls in 1963.
  • Brian Cox – Starred in William Shakespeare’s Othello in 1968, alongside Michael Gambon. Cox is now also a patron of The Old Rep.
  • Edith Evans – She appeared as The Oracle in Part VI of George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman in 1945.
  • Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies – Took a lead role, alongside Ion Swinley, as Juliet in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
  • Albert Finney – Starred alongside actress June Brown in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth in 1958.
  • Jane Freeman – She had performed numerous roles at the Repertory Theatre. She went on to play a part on BBC’s Last of the Summer Wine as Ivy.
  • Michael Gambon – Spent three years with the Royal National Theatre at The Old Vic. He was advised by Laurence Olivier to join the Birmingham Repertory Company to gain more experience in performing. He went on to star alongside Brian Cox (actor) in Othello in 1968.
  • John Gielgud – Took a lead role in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet in 1924.
  • Derek Jacobi – Had a starring role as Henry VII in William Shakespeare’s Henry VIII (play).
  • John Neville – Joined the Rep for 3 seasons from February 1949 to March 1950, his final part was as John Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest opposite Peter Vaughn’s Algernon.
  • Robert Newton – Joined the Birmingham Rep Company in February 1921, aged 15, as an ASM. By March, 1921, he was on stage in Captain Brassbound’s Conversion by George Bernard Shaw. He was at the Rep for two years until February 1923, during which time he appeared in 25 productions, some alongside Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies and Cedric Hardwicke who were both in the company at that time.
  • Laurence Olivier – Joined the company for a year from 1927 to 1928. He performed as Tony Lumpkin in She Stoops to Conquer, Malcolm in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and also appeared in The Taming of the Shrew and Uncle Vanya. In 1947 he was also the youngest actor to be Knighted.
  • Ralph Richardson – Played Traino in a 1928 production of The Taming of the Shrew. His three-year stint also included performances of The Importance of Being Earnest, The Farmer’s Wife and Dear Brutus.
  • Paul Scofield – Performed in Shakespeare’s Hamlet in 1942, as part of the Rep Travelling Company. Whilst performing as Toad in Toad of Toad Hall (1944). He met Peter Brook and they went on to have a lifelong collaboration. In a 2004 Royal Shakespeare Company poll stated that his performance in William Shakespeare’s King Lear was the best ever.
  • Toyah Willcox – Attended The Old Rep’s drama school in her late-teens and participated in many of their shows including Separate Tables and charity fashion shows at Warwick Castle. Willcox is now a patron of The Old Rep.