The Rep has been in my life for as long as I've lived in Brum, getting on for 30 yrs now. We get…read morethere once or twice a year and the productions we've seen have always been enjoyable, some of them have been outstanding. As a review about the venue I can honestly say that the Rep has got better and better over time. Tonight I was in the House for 'The Exorcist', comfortable seating and wonderful production on the stage. Last year we were in the studio for 'Beryl', one of the best plays I have seen. Again great production values and a very comfortable experience for the audience. The Marmalade bar offers great cocktails, you can dine here too. Centenary Square is a big part of the cultural quarter of Birmingham with Symphony Hall, The Rep and Library of Birmingham all lined up like ducks in a row. Whilst the Rep seems to have been here forever, it feels brand new on the inside. There's a wonderful ambience around here, it's part of the Birmingham buzz. The real challenge of living in Birmingham, is that there is so much going on and only so much time. Then again, time spent at the Rep is happy time.

This was my first visit to the Rep, and one that was eagerly anticipated, being a keen theatregoer…read more So when the opportunity arose to sign up for the double feature of The Exorcist and Seance, I jumped at the chance. My first impressions of the building itself were positive, there was a buzz about the place and the staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. Finding our seats was easy and the seating was generous, with plenty of legroom and offered an unobstructed view of the stage. Comfy too, having been to many performances elsewhere where fidgeting becomes the norm. The production itself was impressive, with a cast that were mostly familiar. I had been wondering how such a performance of the iconic horror tale would translate on stage and I was not disappointed. From the glare of the lights going up, to being suddenly (and loudly) plunged into darkness set the tone for the evening. The effects were spectacular, with a mix of live action, projections and more traditional effects. Yes, we get the iconic scenes, voice effects and some blood and gore. I had been trying to work out who was voicing the demon, and had the of course moment when I read my programme of Sir Ian McKellen. An eerie and unsettling tone is kept throughout, and is a treat for any horror fan. The Seance was a trippy mind game from start to finish. I don't want to spoil too much (I went in knowing nothing), as people are booked in over the coming days. What I will say is this. Your senses are deprived and the tension ramped up to boiling point. I don't scare easily but when the lights finally came on, I realised I had been holding my breath mostly. Had my eyes been open or closed? Such fun though. I also got to experience the bar, Marmalade and the atmosphere in there was fantastic. I look forward to sampling the menu on my next visit!

As it's own space. I wanted to add the The Patrick Centre for the performing arts to yelp. Accessed…read morethrough the upper floor in Birmingham Hippodrome's main foyer, this is a 200-seater auditorium more intimate experience than the huge show space of the Hippodromes main theatre. Jord M and I won tickets to see Beautiful Thing at The Patrick Centre thanks to Vicky O (Our Birmingham Community Manager and thanks to the team at Birmingham Hippodrome for the Tickets!) We were here on press night! Which meant a free programme and drinks in the VIP Lloyd room before the show and during the interval. Within five minutes of our arrival, I saw actress Charlie Brooks by the stage door, and resisted having a photograph rather than crashing her conversation. My night was already made!! If you don't know Beautiful Thing, is a 1993 play by Jonathan Harvey, about two teenage boys finding love on a south London council estate. Although current for the time it was made, it is really now a play set in the 1990s with lots of nods to the culture of the day. 1990s copies of The Guardian, Hello! magazine, reading the problem page in gay magazines and finding gay venues in classified directory all add to the authenticity of the time. Charlie Brooks who plays Janine Butcher in EastEnders is BRILLIANT as Sandra, a single, hard-working mother with a string of ex boyfriends. She is funny, warm and much more loveable than the hard faced character she plays in the soap. I was really excited to see her in this role made famous in the film by Linda Henry who is Shirley Carter in EastEnders. Her son Jamie is played by the great Sam Jackson from Skins, and he really is believable as Sandra's child who is starting to want to explore his own sexuality. Acting-wise there is lots of crossover with BBC EastEnders. Their neighbour's son Ste is played by excellent Thomas Law who played Peter Beale version 4 in EastEnders. His awkward sexual awakening, and the homophobic violence from his family, remind you that this was first performed a year after being homosexual was declassified as a mental illness in the UK (in 1992.) Sandra's hippyish boyfriend, Tony, is played smoothly by Gerard McCarthy who played Kris Fisher in Hollyoaks. Tony is "right on" about too understanding about everything and you feel like he is a bit of a yes man. And finally the cast is rounded out by the talented Vanessa Babirye, as the other neighbour Leah. Leah's obsession with the music of Mama Cass provides the even more retro soundtrack to the play. While this is really Jamie and Ste's love story for me the performance of Charlie Brooks stole the show. If you get chance to see it around the country then GO SEE IT!

The Blue Orange Theatre is truly a treasure in the JQ. It's a small community led theatre that puts…read moreon top productions, comedy nights and workshops showcasing new and classic texts. I might have missed it, if it wasn't for a good friend noticing they had Misery on in 2011. I bought a ticket with trepidation, not knowing at all what to expect. What I got (for the paltry price of £10) was a spellbinding treat of mindblowing proportions. The actual theatre itself is very small and lends itself to productions where the audience are put in the thick of the action. Since attending Misery, I have been to see Dracula and Jekyll and Hyde (both fantastic). There is a bar with offerings of real ale (£3 a bottle), spirit and mixers and wine. The small seating area is bijoux with artwork adorning the walls and warm, welcoming staff guiding you into the venue. It's clean and fresh and doesn't feel at all corporate. The way the shows use the space is very clever indeed, with it not lending itself to complicated set changes and fancy effects. My best advice is to keep an eye on the listings. Many of their big plays have a "pay what you can" night. Tickets for these nights cannot be pre-booked, but you turn up and literally pay what you can afford to get in. If you're a bit skint, it's the perfect way to get a slice of culture and not break the bank. Also check out many of their free nights which are a great way to experience the venue.

I've always been of opinion that the smaller the theatre, the rawer the talent and that's never…read morebeen more true than at the Blue Orange Theatre. We went for the first time to watch Treasure Island which was a play by Richard Louise Stevenson. The script was informative and the acting enjoyable. Although it's only a small theatre, there was a warm and friendly atmosphere which I believe came from the sheer passion from the actors clearly doing something that they loved. I picked up a leaflet on the way out that was promoting a number of their evening acting classes and regular workshops; something I wasn't aware was available in the Jewellery Quarter. I may give it a try and become a big star! If so, you heard it here first, darling.

AE Harris as the previous reviewer has stated in an empty venue that's hired out for community…read moreprojects and events. Yes it's the home of Stan's Cafe, the Theatre Company and also houses festivals such as Be Festival. However, I'd like to give another view of the venue as I organised the first Birmingham Vintage Festival there. It's an astonishing place to hold events in. For one it's huge and you can use one or all of the rooms depending on what's available and two it's a blank canvass so you can leave it looking industrial or lay down carpets and have low lighting for a fashion show. Charlotte and the people that run it will do everything they can to make your event a success and the Vintage Festival went down really well with locals and city shoppers coming. We even had a stage and had two bands playing (the theme was 1970s). Do check it out whether it's to see a unique production or hold an event there.

I'm not sure about this place, it's a little cold and I don't find it that welcoming but I've been…read moreto see some great Theatre plays and productions and I've been impressed by those. The reason why I say I'm confused about this place is I'm not sure whether it should really be a place to house plays/productions but I guess the industrial feel about it; is what makes the place special. The venue is huge and there's a lot of space for large productions. I find it too big and there's been times when I've been there and thought the space was a little too large for the play taking place. It still consists of a lot of the old features; it's a great place for providing that sense of heritage. I'd definitely say it's a place to visit if you want to see a play in a different type of venue.

I'd finished watching a Canadian band that I'd supported called The Wilderness Of Manitoba who were…read moretouring the UK. They said that I should catch them again when they played the next week at The Edge in Digbeth. I though I knew my city inside out, but obviously not, as I'd never heard of The Edge. When the night came, I took a wander down the back streets of Digbeth looking for the venue. It took me a while to find it, as it is set back a bit from the road by a long drive. Once inside I found the place had an underground feel to it. A makeshift bar was selling drinks at well-below pub prices, the walls and floor were decorated with 3-D objects and while the band played their set un-amplified, people listened quietly or slipped outside to have a cigarette on one of two sofas underneath a palm tree. The Edge has developed since then, but they are keeping true to their name by continuing with edgy shows, exhibitions, performances and performance workshops that you won't see elsewhere.

One of the most amazing films ever had been recreated in superb fashion at the Birmingham Rep the…read moreplay itself is amazing! Incredible staging and well worth going to see! All the suspense and horror of the film on stage in Birmimgh! One of the best things I have seen in a long time! The cast were incredible they captured the feeling and the emotion of the film perfectly making you believe and feel part of the drama. It was the staging that stole the show for me with all the key moments you would expect and the special effects were incredible. Overall one of the nest things I have seen in a long time and well worth going to see this halloween! The Séance is a totally unique experience, it is truly haunting and incredibly well done. You do sit down and have a totally spooky time. It's great

Okay, this is primarily a review of the performance of 'The Exorcist' and secondly of its…read moreassociated event 'Seance'. However it would be unfair not to mention The Rep itself and its 'partner', best-supporting-actor, Centenary Square. I have also posted a separate review for the Birmingham Rep. I grew-up a fan of horror movies, but was far too young to see the film when it came out in the early 1970s but I remember being entertained by the hype concerning its affect on filmgoers! When I saw the film it was a bit of an anti-climax, special affects had moved on. So 40+ years on I was fascinated to see how this could work as a stage play, and whether it would still have impact on the audience. Silent pitch-darkness kicked things off, and the audience reacted with nervous, sceptical laughter, but the sceptics weren't laughing for long! The cast was excellent, with some household names in Peter Bowles and Jenny Seagrove. Each and every actor played their part extremely well and I found myself drawn into the weaving narratives. The production team's use of the space and the set was incredibly clever and effective. The second act brought the narratives together and the dénouemont we were so eagerly anticipating. Lovely...? Not this play! There was some great use of humour along the way, which I don't remember in the film version, plus it was set in modern times, mobile phones and MRI scans. It made me think of that YouTube channel "how the film should've ended", I wanted to suggest Skype exorcism to Father Merrin... On afterwards for 'The Seance' - I'm afraid it didn't do much for me. In the days of Doris Stokes et al. this 'worked' (in the trickery sense) because of the tensions, connections and heightened senses between the participants. Instead, this was sensory deprivation. If you're going in a group I guess you might find it an interesting thing to try. The seance is in a rectanglar shipping-container in Centenary Square. It made me think of all the amazing things that we've had to our city within Centenary Square over the years, what a marvellous space it is. As above, best supporting actor Oscar please! Lastly an observation on the Rep- it's my favourite theatre space in Birmingham and quite unlike the others. It is fresh, very easy to access, and has everything I need as a theatre-goer. I feel The Rep has gone up several notches since it's been annexed with the library of Birmingham. What lucky people we are.

I visited the Edge for an arts evening and was thrilled by what I found…read more Combining both a presentation by a local forrager and baker, a VJ or visual artist and a full size cinema screen with oil drum fires and free punch, i'd recommend the edge to anyone who wants to experience a distinctly different evenings entertainment. Inside there's what looks slightly ramshackle looking kitchen and toilet facilities but edge made the most of the large yard and really hosted a great event which will live on my memory as a memerable evening in Birmingham. I wonder what edge has up it's sleeve next!

The Edge is another one of those venues hidden away on the Bradford Street side of Digbeth. Be…read moreprepared to explain to a taxi driver exactly how to get there, and if you don't know how to get there yourself, the best thing to say is that it's up the road from The Fountain pub on Cheapside. I've been to this venue for an array of different performances and festivals such as Flatpack and Network Music Festival - and I think the space is perfect for emerging talent. I've never experienced a bad night at this venue, and I've also DJed here once. I'm usually quite scared and nervous when DJing, but the relaxed atmosphere contained inside The Edge gave me great confidence. Although it is another abandoned warehouse, there's this amazing secret vibrancy kept inside which is different from other venues, mainly expressed from the friendly staff and people. There are also permanent art fixtures on the walls, and the warehouse itself seems a lot cleaner and tidier inside when compared to other converted factories. The Edge also sells delicious brownies and other cakes and sweets, which take you back to your childhood days. Keep your eyes peeled for events here.