Black History Month - A Rep Retrospective

Here at The Rep we’ve always been dedicated to our mission statement: To be a Theatre for Everyone!

And with today being the first day of Black History Month 2025, we wanted to celebrate the rich cultures, histories, and the phenomenal Black talent that has been gracing our stages over the last 12 months, and a little teaser of what we have in store for the next 12!

From ground-breaking performances that dazzled and delighted our audiences, to the playwrights, performers, creative and Team Rep members behind the scenes – join us in celebrating the passion, creativity, and brilliance of these artists that allowed us to bring stories that resonate, challenge, and celebrate Black heritage to The Rep!

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• We had the joy of welcoming back our Patron of Youth and Education, Baroness Floella Benjamin this February for this year’s production of Coming to England – closing out their magnificent tour right here where it was first premiered back in 2022.
• This March, also saw the return of Rep Foundry alumni, Nyasha Gudo as the director of Everybody Want to Be Ronaldo – a football-focused new production set in Birmingham, created by Brummies, and staring Brummies – including Jerome Scott who previously starred as Edmund in our 2023 Christmas production of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
• Later on in the month, we welcomed the soulful harmonies of John McLean and Celia Wickham-Anderson‘s (of Black Voices fame) for Jamaica Love – a musical odyssey through Jamaica’s rich heritage.
• This year also featured two returning friends of The Rep as part of our Spring Season of Dance – Ballet Black and Phoenix Dance.
  • Ballet Black: Shadows – Brought another spine-tingling double bill to our main stage, featuring the stunning adaptation of Nigerian writer Oyinkan Braithwaite‘s international bestselling novel, My Sister, The Serial Killer and Chanel DaSilva‘s UK choreographic debut in A Shadow Work. 
  • Phoenix Dance: Inside Giovanni’s Room – A powerful adaptation of writer and civil right activist, James Baldwin‘s ground-breaking novel of love, identity, and societal expectations choreographed by Phoenix Dance Artistic Director Marcus Jarrell Willis.
• Then in June, the Caribbean vibes kept on coming, with the Midlands based, G.A.P Entertainment bringing us Jah Makin’ It Happen – two completely sold-out nights filled with music, laughter, and the celebration of culture.
• In August, we saw both the return of Nyasha (as Associate Director), our former Associate Director, Daniel Bailey (after initially joining as part of the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme) and Midland’s Legend, Sir Lenny Henry for the adaptation of his hilarious book, The Boy with Wings. Co-produced with our friends at Polka Theatre, this out-of-this-world adventure was the perfect end to our Summer School Holiday programming!

But here at The Rep, celebrating the Black voices of Birmingham and beyond doesn’t stop after October is over! Our upcoming Winter – Spring Season will continue to feature thought-provoking plays and vibrant performances and even more dance!

Starting with this year’s Christmas entertainment for our younger audience members (and their adults!) – Anansi The Spider. Made in collaboration with Unicorn Theatre, this brilliantly spun web of trickster tales from West Africa and the Caribbean will be delighting children ages 4 – 8 from Thu 4 Dec until Sun 11 Jan!

And following the theme of Rep co-productions, the dream-team behind the SELL-OUT A Thousand Splendid Suns tour have reunited to create a powerful new adaptation of Small Island coming to The Rep from Wed 1 – Sat 18 Apr.

Journey from the sun-drenched shores of Jamaica to the cold, grey streets of 1940s London in this powerful and intimate portrayal of hope and belonging created by The Rep, Leeds Playhouse and Nottingham Playhouse in association with Actors Touring Company, is based on Andrea Levy’s multi-award-winning novel which has been adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson and directed by Matthew Xia.

Joining next year’s ‘This Is Dance’ programming will be ACE dance and music’s new double bill TWASI: The Way That We See It for ONE DAY ONLY (Sat 24 Jan, 7.30pm)! From the perspective of the African diaspora these two performances will showcase two contrasting  but deeply compelling visions of our world today.

And in March, Pilot Theatre (UK Theatre Award winners of Excellence in Touring) will be bringing their gripping adaptation of Noughts and Crosses to our main stage from Tue 24 – Sat 28 Mar, in association with Northern Stage. This gripping Romeo and Juliet story by acclaimed writer Malorie Blackman is a captivating drama of love, revolution and what it means to grow up in a divided world.

Get ready for a year of ground-breaking theatre that is just as likely to entertain and inspire as it it to move, challenge, and maybe even change you!