Birmingham Rep's Spring, Summer 2015 Seasons to Feature HARVEY, THE KING'S SPEECH & More

Birmingham Repertory Theatre announces a new season of work today for Spring and Summer 2015 including major revivals of the Pulitzer prize-winning HARVEY, THE KING'S SPEECH plus the world premieres of six very different, but equally original plays.

Having re-opened The REP just over a year ago, artistic director Roxana Silbert says of the 2015 programme:

"I'm delighted to be able to offer our audiences a real breadth of vibrant theatrical voices from the King of England to a working class Glaswegian boxer. We are fortunate to embrace a building and an audience who welcome plays that range from the Broadway hit HARVEY to local writer Steve Camden's debut play, BACK DOWN. He and another local writer, Stephanie Ridings have their plays staged here at The REP for the first time.

"The season will feature the scale and excitement of The HOUSE alongside the intimacy of The STUDIO and The DOOR. I'm particularly proud of our commitment to new regional and international work. This season alone features plays by four local writers and six world premieres, plus we'll be turning the theatre inside out with BE FESTIVAL and ACCIDENTAL BRUMMIE, a new piece developed by our Foundry artists with Cressida Brown, and we'll also be welcoming the acclaimed Palestinian Freedom Theatre on their first UK tour."

Opening the season is Mary Chase's prize-winning comedy, HARVEY (6 to 21 February). First produced on Broadway in 1944 where it ran for four years, this new production stars James Dreyfus (Notting Hill, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Donkey's Years, Cabaret) as Elwood - a man with only one character flaw; an unwavering friendship with a 6-foot tall, invisible rabbit named Harvey.

The REP's artistic director, Roxana Silbert directs a striking new production of THE KING'S SPEECH (25 February to 7 March) - the play by David Seidler from which the Oscar-winning movie was adapted - with Ray Coulthard as the King and Jason Donovan playing the powerful and dramatic Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue. Co-produced with Chichester Festival Theatre, the production will also tour the UK.

The 2015 Spring and Summer season also features a thrilling new production of Jim Cartwright's much-loved THE RISE AND FALL OF LITTLE VOICE (15 to 30 May). The Olivier award-winning play about the painfully shy but hugely talented Little Voice and her faultless impersonations of the greatest divas will be directed by James Brining, artistic director of West Yorkshire Playhouse in a co-production between The REP and the Playhouse.

The first of six world premieres is Stephanie Riding's UNKNOWN MALE (28 to 31 January) - an unforgettable and haunting play exploring the impact of a railway suicide on a train driver and her family. Stephanie is a graduate of Roxana Silbert's inaugural REP Foundry artist development programme. UNKNOWN MALE was written during Stephanie's time on the Foundry.

BACK DOWN (27 February to 7 March) is the highly anticipated first play by Birmingham-born Steven Camden, more commonly known as the award-winning performance poet Polarbear. Directed by The REP's Associate Director, Tessa Walker, BACK DOWN is an insightful and funny coming-of-age story which will also tour regionally to school and community venues.

The fiercely funny FEED THE BEAST (16 April to 2 May) looks at the rocky relationship between the press and our politicians in a world of spin-doctors and Leveson Inquiries. Written by Steven Thompson, the award-winning writer of Damages, Whipping It Up, Roaring Trade and the highly acclaimed BBC dramas Sherlock and Doctor Who, this world premiere is co-produced with the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich and directed by Peter Rowe.

Taking place in and around The REP's spaces both public and backstage as well as the Library of Birmingham, the premiere of ACCIDENTAL BRUMMIE (5 to 9 May), created by director Cressida Brown in collaboration with the REP's Foundry artists, will explore how many of the city's inhabitants became a Brummie accidently and asks what it means to be a Brummie?

The season will also play host to the world-renowned Palestinian Freedom Theatre, embarking on its first ever tour of the UK with THE SIEGE (1 to 6 June) - a new play inspired by the true story of a group of fighters who took sanctuary in one of the world's holiest sites, the Church of the Nativity. Palestinian theatre director Nabil Al-Raee and British theatre director Zoe Lafferty traced the fighters who are now exiled across Europe and collected their untold accounts. THE SIEGE is created by The Freedom Theatre actors - an ensemble who have lived under occupation their whole lives.

A haunting monologue about a Glaswegian boxer, THE PYRAMID TEXTS (26 to 30 May) by the BAFTA award-winning writer Geoff Thompson and performed by James Cosmo (Trainspotting, Braveheart, Game of Thrones) receives its world premiere at The REP as does the bittersweet story COLLIDESCOPE (30 March) by REP Foundry artist Hannah Graham.

The Olivier Award-winning West End comedy JEEVES AND WOOSTER IN PERFECT NONSENSE (9 to 14 March) arrives at The REP starring Robert Webb (Peep Show, That Mitchell and Webb Look) as Bertie Wooster. He will be joined by Christopher Ryan (The Young Ones and Absolutely Fabulous) as Seppings for an evening of raucous comedy with Wodehouse's finest characters.

Britain's favourite circus comes to The REP following four sold-out seasons in London's Hyde Park. CIRQUE BERSERK (19 to 26 March) promises a danger-filled spectacle that will amaze audiences of all ages with thrilling stunts and contemporary circus skills.

The programme of visiting productions for Spring and Summer 2015 includes Talawa Theatre Company's 2013 production of Arthur Miller's ALL MY SONS (24 to 28 March) starring Ray Shell and Doña Croll as Joe and Kate Keller. ALL MY SONS, directed by Michael Buffong is a searing investigation of honesty, guilt and the corrupting power of greed.

The popular Kneehigh Theatre return to The REP following hit productions Brief Encounter and Tristan and Yseult, with a new staging of Daphne Du Maurier's REBECCA (17 to 22 April). One of the world's most celebrated theatre companies, Kneehigh create a spellbinding production of du Maurier's masterpiece, directed by Emma Rice, which conjures Cornish romance and theatrical magic.

Joan Littlewood's legendary musical, OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR (5 to 9 May) comes to The REP to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War 1. This highly-acclaimed new production by Theatre Royal Stratford East directed by Terry Johnson offers a rare opportunity to see Littlewood's masterpiece featuring some of the greatest war-time songs including Pack Up Your Troubles. The cast includes Wendi Peters.

There'll be room for all the family too during Spring and Summer as Tall Stories' magical musical adaptation of Julia Donaldson's and Axel Scheffler's ROOM ON THE BROOM (28 January to 1 February) flies into The REP direct from a West End season. The REP's First Stages series of theatre for young children sees a varied programme of shows from February to June including WHATEVER THE WEATHER (7 February), BY THE RIVERBANK (18 April), OPEN HOUSE (2 May), STATIK (30 May) and LITTLE RED (6 June).

In the lead-up to the general election The REP's youth theatre company, The Young REP, will present THE MANIFESTO (17 March to 1 April) - a short season of punchy, political plays from satirical comedies to gripping dramas.

Siân Phillips and Robert Powell will bring to life the works of the great French writer, Collette in A SUMMER IN THE SOUTH (15 February) for a fascinating evening set against the Paris of la belle époque and World War 1.

Other season highlights include Birmingham writer and actor Tyrone Huggins' THE HONEY MAN, Caroline Horton's PENELOPE RETOLD (1-2 April), Selina Thompson's CHEWING THE FAT (14 to 16 May) and Tamasha Theatre's 21st Century love story, BLOOD (19 to 23 May).

The season concludes with the return of BE FESTIVAL (22 - 28 June) offering a vibrant selection of theatre from across Europe. The festival will once again transform The REP, turning it back to front with an interval dinner served on the main stage.

Tickets for The REP's Spring and Summer 2015 Season are on sale to members from Wednesday 15 October and general booking opens on Monday 20 October.

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