THREE FOR THE POT AND ONE FOR PRESTIGE:
REPERTORY AT THE ALEXANDRA THEATRE, BIRMINGHAM
In the study of repertory theatres, much attention has been paid to the history of Birmingham Repertory Theatre, but to date there has been scant critical account of the Alexandra Theatre. This paper discusses the importance of the neighbouring ‘Alex’ in regional theatre, for its longevity, business practices and artistic policy are attributes worthy of consideration. Now a touring house managed by the national chain Ambassador Theatre Group, it was once a pioneer in resident repertory companies and their circuits.
The Alexandra Theatre formula, led by the Salberg family, was highly successful in replacing or competing with touring companies. By 1946, when the number of licensed theatres in Britain had declined from 600 in 1912 to 420, repertory accounted for over one half of their activity, with 179 resident companies and 51 touring repertories, outwith London. The majority of these repertories might not have been theatrical pacemakers like the non-profit companies in Dublin, Belfast, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. But they were an extensive profit-seeking repertory stratum, and they began with the influential and inspiring Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham.
Read Paul Iles' paper about the Alexandra Theatre’s commercial repertory company, 1911 to 1975, click here.
'Policy is everything: popular prices, popular plays, personal management and publicity' - Derek Salberg, 1980.
