Something major and important that will change everything

I’m confused. And I’m a news junkie too. It’s a bad combination.  I think if I watch just a little more bloodshed and misery, I might understand the world better. It might all become clear. It doesn’t. Today tanks roll through Ukraine, asylum seekers could be flown to Rwanda, Boris Johnson is Prime Minister. How

Open Door at The REP

In 2013, BOLDtext Playwrights initiated discussions with Birmingham REP about presenting New Writing nights, and the OPEN DOOR initiative emerged. We pioneered it by presenting eight individual pieces of work-in-progress to a growing regional audience hungry for new work that reflected their lives. Click ‘continue reading’ or scroll down for older posts about the shows.

Bolder, Better, Brilliant

We’ve come a long way since we started in 2014. Beginning in The DOOR at the Birmingham Rep, we’ve burst out onto the streets of Digbeth, into the garden of a mansion, and even taken over a jail. We figured it’s about time we wrote down what it is we do. Read our manifesto below.

Follow Me

In summer 2019 it was anounced that the Birmingham Weekender would be going ahead. Planned for the beginning of October, it left us with less than three months to devise, pitch, and produce a show for the festival. To find out what we came up with click ‘continue reading’ or scroll down for older posts.

Behind Bars: Ghosts of the Lock-Up

Our first site-specific production, Behind Bars took place within the walls of a 130 year-old Victorian prison. Kicking off with nine performances in October 2018, the show’s notoriety got it sent back to the clink for a further twelve performances the following year. Click ‘continue reading’ or scroll down for older posts about the show.

The show that almost went wrong

What could possibly go wrong, quipped our unflappable producer Julia as she signed up to her duties on Power of Invention back in 2019. Turns out, pretty much anything. The original plan was for a promenade show inside Soho House where the audience would meander through the house and encounter the industrial giants of the

Minted

Birmingham was riddled with forgers in the late eighteenth century. Some were so cocky that they even advertised on street signs.   Copper coins were in short supply. They were made by hand presses and so easy to forge that The Royal Mint didn’t bother making them. Its own study revealed that 92% of halfpennies were

Free eyeballs

I live one Curly Wurly away from a Tesco Express. That’s how long it takes somebody to eat one while wandering down my street – finishing it just in time to hurl the wrapper into my garden.  I’m afraid I chunter when I occasionally pick those wrappers up. I curse the fact that I have

Happy New Month

I love New Year – any excuse for a party – though it could do with a new theme tune.  Auld Lang Syne is a bit of dirge and nobody knows the words. And I’m not too fond of the fireworks. Or the hangovers.  But I love New Year resolutions. I love that feeling of a

Mirrorworld.MONSTER

Stephen Jackson reveals how he’s been spending lockdown… If you can hear a strange creaking sound, I apologise. It’s me. I’m pivoting. Apparently that’s what you have to do in Lockdown – pivot – however much it hurts. Pivot if you want to survive. I’m pivoting from starving playwright to starving children’s illustrator. I’m trying