Old Rep

The Old Rep

formerly The Birmingham Repertory Theatre
The Facade of The Old Rep from Station Street
Address	Station Street, B5 4DY Birmingham England
Coordinates	52°28′36″N 1°53′54″W / 52.47678°N 1.89828°W / 52.47678; -1.89828
Public transit	Birmingham New Street
Owner	The Crescent Theatre
Designation	Grade II listed
Type	Proscenium arch
Capacity	385 (including 2 wheelchair spaces)
Construction
Opened	15 February 1913 (1913-02-15); 111 years ago
Years active	1913–present
Architect	S. N. Cooke
Website
oldreptheatre.co.uk

The Old Rep is a Grade II listed theatre, located on Station Street in Birmingham, England. When it was constructed in 1913, it was the United Kingdom's first ever purpose-built repertory theatre. When built, it became the permanent home for Barry Jackson's newly formed Birmingham Repertory Company, which began life in 1911, born from his amateur theatre group, The Pilgrim Players, founded in 1907. Jackson funded the construction of the theatre and established a professional, resident company there, which soon became a major powerhouse within the British theatre due to its innovative stagings of the works of both Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw, resulting in some considering it to be Birmingham’s answer to The Old Vic.

In June 2024, it was officially announced that The Crescent Theatre, which celebrated its centenary in the same year, would be taking over the running of the historic 111 year old theatre in August 2024, alongside its own theatre complex in Brindley Place.^[1]

The theatre is situated just opposite New Street Station, from which a Birmingham Civic Society blue plaque dedicated to Sir Barry Jackson can be seen. For a relatively small street consisting of 9 buildings, Station Street also houses additional buildings of historic importance including, Britain's oldest working cinema; The Electric and The Crown Public House, which was given Grade II listed status in March 2024.