This July young people and early career performers will take to the stage at Birmingham Rep as part of its Rep Rising 26 Festival.

Rep Rising 26 will include four headline productions – The Red Shoes, Jane Eyre, Antigone and 1984 – which will feature young actors drawn from The Rep’s celebrated young people’s performance training companies, aged between 14-26.

Following a call-out earlier in the year for proposals from emerging and early career artists the Festival will also include a wealth of one-off performances, including work from Birmingham and Black Country theatre makers. The work includes pieces about the benefits system, the former Lyndhurst Estate (now Abbeyfields) in Erdington, a sitcom style show about students looking to catch a pigeon, a Eurovision/Shakespeare mashup, and a performance by The Rep’s new musical theatre group, Young Rep Collective.

Rep Rising 26 performances will take place in two of The Rep’s auditoria: The Studio and The Door.

Full details of performances are below:

The Red Shoes | Wednesday 1 – Friday 3 July | The Studio
Presented by Rep Studio 8, The Rep’s intensive training programme for emerging actors aged 18-26.

When an orphaned young woman is taken in by a wealthy family, she’s expected to keep her head down and her spirit quiet. But when she slips on a pair of dazzling red shoes, her world begins to spin and her hunger for life and freedom can no longer be contained.

Rep Studio 8 bring to life Nancy Harris’s bold, contemporary retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s dark fairy-tale of dance, desire and destruction. An amateur production by arrangement with Nick Hern Books.

Jane Eyre |  Tuesday 7 – Wednesday 8 July | The Studio
Birmingham Rep’s Young Rep Seniors, made up of 14-18 year old performers, take to the stage with Polly Teale’s bold and imaginative adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel Jane Eyre. This powerful retelling brings the emotional intensity of Jane’s journey vividly to life, revealing the passions and hidden struggles that shape her story.

As Jane grows from a lonely child into a determined young woman, she fights to define her own identity in a world that seeks to confine her. Teale’s innovative approach places Bertha, the ‘woman in the attic’, onstage as a living, breathing embodiment of Jane’s suppressed fears and desires – creating a striking and unforgettable theatrical experience.

With rich ensemble storytelling, atmospheric movement and compelling performances, The Rep’s Young Rep Seniors illuminate a timeless tale of love, resilience and the pursuit of freedom.

A fierce, haunting, and deeply human reimagining of a beloved classic.

Antigone | Friday 10 – Monday 13 July | The Studio
The Company, The Rep’s theatre ensemble for young adults aged 18-26, present Antigone, a classic Greek Tragedy adapted by bestselling writer and poet Hollie McNish. Born into tragedy, destined for defiance.

When her brothers die fighting for Thebes, Antigone refuses to accept injustice and in defiance of Kings Creon, Antigone buries both of her brothers’ bodies, a choice she may pay for dearly. As the king tightens his grip on power, one woman’s act of love becomes a battle for truth, morality, and freedom.

In this striking new adaptation of Antigone, Hollie McNish reimagines Sophocles’ tragedy for our times, weaving her signature wit and warmth through a story of rebellion, love, and legacy.

This classic tale finds fresh resonance in a world still wrestling with power, conscience, and the courage to speak out.

1984 | Friday 17 – Saturday 18 July | The Studio
Young Rep Seniors (made up of 14-18 year olds) present a tense, unsettling and strikingly contemporary staging of George Orwell’s dystopian classic, adapted for stage by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan.

Winston Smith is an ordinary man trapped in an extraordinary nightmare. He must fight to stay human under a regime that rewrites reality, watches every move and crushes even the smallest flicker of independent thought.

In this world, truth is fragile. Fear is weaponised. Rebellion is dangerous – and sometimes, heartbreakingly, impossible.

This is 1984 reimagined for our current moment: immediate, gripping and uncomfortably impossible to ignore.

Other performances from early career and emerging artists:

The Anatomy of Evil | Thursday 9 July | The Door
A visceral reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde from Cotswold based Sparkhouse Ensemble in collaboration with Box House Theatre Company.

Created by post A-Level students and university graduates returning to the Cotswolds, The Anatomy of Evil is a blend of physical theatre, gothic horror and visually bold and intense theatrical techniques restructuring Stevenson’s iconic gothic horror chronologically to expose the full descent of Dr Henry Jekyll into the obsession, paranoia, and self-destruction of Mr Hyde.

Supported by Edward Bennett, this production is perfect for audiences aged 12+ and offers an introduction to stylised and experimental performance-making.

Point-scoring | Friday 10 July | The Door
A gripping solo performance from Black Country based Actor/Theatre-Maker, Jessica Mabel in a staged work-in-progress of POINT-SCORING.

First created and performed at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 2024, this piece of striking and topical piece of political theatre is inspired by conversations with claimants and appointees of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) from the Midlands. The show follows ‘E’, a mother of two young boys who has previously applied and failed for PIP. With the help of her husband, ‘E’ takes on the process of trying again while battling with her own real-time struggles, including every parent’s dread… hosting your child’s birthday party!

The show fuses real research, projections, soundscapes, and fun props to create a deeply touching and profoundly necessary multimedia experience, interrogating the world of benefits for individuals with psychiatric conditions in the Midlands. 

Benji's Boutique | Saturday 11 July | The Door
Birmingham-born actor, writer and director Stefan Davis’ script-in-hand sharing of the first act of his brand new production.

At the centre is Benji, a loud, charismatic frontman who thrives on image, status, and presence. Running the business behind the scenes is his sister Shaneen, the sharp, strategic mind keeping everything afloat while rarely receiving the credit. Alongside them are Kimberly and Alexis, each bringing their own perspective, humour, and tension into the space.

Fuelled by early to mid-2000s UK garage, fashion and the shift from high street culture into a new digital era, Benji’s Boutique is a pressure cooker of a show, where humour and conflict collide into a vibrant insight into a modern Black British family full of big personalities, sharp dialogue, and playful confrontation.

Lyndhurst Memories | Thursday 16 July | The Door
Birmingham-based artist CJ Lloyd Webley bring his immersive and explosive original piece of ensemble theatre.

Originally commissioned by Midlands Arts Centre in 2025, this project draws on lived experiences, oral history and CJ’s own personal reflection of the changing social landscape of the former Lyndhurst Estate (now Abbeyfields) in Erdington.

Blending humour, warmth and moments of tension, Lyndhurst Memories captures the energy, contradictions and resilience of growing up on the estate through naturalistic dialogue, stylised movement, and an ensemble of interconnected and occasionally overlapping voices.

There's a Pigeon in my Bathroom | Friday 17 July | The Door
Four Birmingham students will be put to the test as they attempt to remove a... domesticated, common, and definitely terrified pigeon from their upstairs bathroom.

Based on a true story, There’s a Pigeon in My Bathroom follows four students. One pigeon. And absolutely zero common sense. From fire extinguishers to a custard cream, chaos ensues as the friendship between Ben, Emma, Katie and Hugo (and their deposit!) is well and truly tested in this hour-long sitcom-like-play described as being somewhere between Derry Girls and The Inbetweeners.

All The World's A Stage: The Shakespeare/Eurovision Mashup | Saturday 18 July | The Door
A Eurovision style concert show with a twist as all the acts are modern versions of Shakespearean characters representing the country setting of the play. These heroes, villains, lovers and comedians of literature are transformed into K Pop style bands, arrogant rappers, pop-tastic divas and tragic rockstars – all competing for the winning title.

With a historical host, an interactive audience vote and songs that’ll get you well and truly ready for the weekend, All The World’s A Stage shines a literal spotlight on some of Shakespeare‘s most iconic characters in a brand new, unique and subtly educational way.

To book, visit birmingham-rep.co.uk