Birmingham Stage Company is moving from the city’s Old Rep Theatre just down the road to the New Alexandra Theatre.
The BSC has been resident professional company at the Old Rep since 1992. But it has been looking for a larger venue to present its 3D productions of Horrible Histories.
Actor-manager Neal Foster said, “it’s become obvious that we need a bigger stage for our shows but we’ve been reluctant to leave the Old Rep in case it jeopardised the venue.”
Birmingham Ormiston Academy, which caters for 14- to 19-year-olds and specialises in drama, the arts and design, has taken over the Old Rep on a five-year lease from the city council and has an option to extend until 2024.
Foster added, “now the theatre is in the wonderfully safe hands of BOA, we can leave the building knowing it has a bright future.
“I launched my company at the Old Rep in 1992 when I was 26 and I hope it continues to inspire more young people in the same way it did me. The Old Rep gave me everything I wanted from life and it will always be my favourite building in the world.”
The BSC’s productions regularly appear in the West End and tour to New York, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar. The company’s last show at the Old Rep, Horrible Christmas, was the most successful in its history.
Foster, currently touring Australia with Horrible Histories, has been seeing shows at the company’s new home, the Alex, since he was five.
“To know I’ll be performing on its great stage is a huge thrill. Derek Salberg, who ran the building’s former repertory company for many years, was a great supporter of the BSC in our formative years and I think he would have been delighted with this news.”
Nicky Monk, head of regional programming at the Ambassador Theatre Group which operates the Alex, said, “we’re absolutely delighted to have the BSC, with its fantastic reputation for family theatre, join us. We’re looking forward to exciting collaborations in the future.”
The company’s world première production of Gangsta Granny by David Walliams will be the first BSC show at the New Alexandra Theatre from 7 December. It will then go on a national and international tour.