Birmingham Rep is offering members of the LGBTQ+ community the opportunity to take part in LGBTQTeeHee! - a free 10-week stand-up comedy course running on Tuesday nights between September and November, culminating in a live comedy showcase on The Rep’s stage on 27 and 28 November.

A drag revue celebration of Stephen Sondheim also comes to The Rep this September as Send in the Clowns presents Queeny Todd (Thursday 24 - Saturday 26 September). Fatt Butcher presents a line-up of the Midlands’ finest drag and cabaret talent, on a musical journey reimagining Sondheim’s life, legacy, and back catalogue.

LGBTQTeeHee! Comedy masterclass take place on Saturday 22 August and stand-up comedy courses take place on Tuesday 15 September – 24 November.

LGBTQTeeHee! is a supportive free 10-week stand-up comedy course for budding comedians aged 18 and over from the LGBTQ+ community.  Starting with the fundamentals of comedy and ending with a live showcase performance, participants are guided through every step of the process.

During the course participants will explore comedy personas, joke-writing techniques and performance skills, learning how to shape experiences into original comedy. They will receive feedback from professional comics, mentors and fellow participants in a welcoming and encouraging environment.

Everything culminates in the LGBTQTeeHee! Comedy Festival on 27 and 28 November,  where participants will present their material as part of an empowering and hilarious comedy set - an evening of joy, laughter and lots of jokes.

Things kick off with a Comedy Masterclass on Saturday 22 August at 12noon, followed by the ten-week comedy course, taking place at The Rep on Tuesdays, between 15 September and 24 November, 6-8.30pm. Those interested in taking part should register their interest via The Rep’s website.

Send In The Clowns is a filthy, outrageous and joyful drag revue show celebrating the magic and madness of musical theatre.

Isn’t it rich? Isn’t it queer? This time the Clowns are taking on their biggest challenge yet… ART! Yes that’s right, it’s finally time for the Clowns to meet their namesake and take on the ‘Shakespeare of Musical Theatre’, the man, the myth, the legend – Stephen Sondheim! Expect a celebration-cum-assassination of musical theatre’s greatest composer (sorry, Andrew), as the clowns get high…brow with a musical journey reimagining Sondheim’s life, legacy, and back catalogue.

Join your host cabaret superstar and “incredible vocal powerhouse” (West End Best Friend) Fatt Butcher alongside a stellar line-up of the Midlands’ finest drag and cabaret talents including Dahliah Rivers, Blü Romantic, and Alanna Boden. Expect unique takes on favourites from Company, Sweeney Todd, Into The Woods, A Little Night Music, Gypsy, West Side Story, and whatever obscure stuff we dig out the back of the musical sofa bastardised beyond belief (not for the easily offended).

Returning to The Rep with their 10th original(ish) show, Send In The Clowns: Queeny Todd promises an unforgettably raucous show packed with outrageous comedy, spine-tingling live vocals, camp cabaret and sing-a-longs. Each show ends with the unmissable ‘twenty minute musical’, a drag recreation of a legendary musical rehearsed in two days and performed in 20(ish) minutes – chaos is guaranteed!

For more information, visit: birmingham-rep.co.uk