In February 1913, the Birmingham Repertory Theatre opened its doors with a bold statement of intent: a production of Twelfth Night staged by its founder, the visionary Barry Jackson. For Jackson, theatre was not just an art form but a lifelong commitment, and Shakespeare lay at its heart. Years of dedicated work had already seen his company build a reputation for staging Shakespeare’s plays with skill and ambition, making the choice of an opening production feel both natural and inevitable.

Yet Jackson was not content to simply preserve tradition. A decade later, inspired in the most unexpected way by a group of Birmingham schoolchildren, he set out to challenge convention. His 1923 production of Cymbeline broke with established norms by dressing its characters not in Elizabethan costume, but in the everyday fashion of the 1920s. The result was electrifying – and divisive. Audiences and critics were split between admiration and outrage as Shakespeare’s world was suddenly brought into the present day. This bold experiment marked the birth of what we now recognise as “modern dress Shakespeare”, a concept that continues to shape theatre today.

This engaging talk led by our Rep Volunteers, explores that moment of theatrical revolution and its lasting legacy, tracing how the Rep became the birthplace of a movement that transformed how we experience Shakespeare. Along the way, it will also delve into the rich and imaginative staging history of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – a play that, with its shifting realities and playful spirit, lends itself perfectly to reinvention across time and style.

Join us to discover how a radical idea took root in Birmingham and changed the course of theatre history – and how that spirit of innovation still resonates in today’s productions.