The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) announce full casting for its upcoming productions of The Empress, by Tanika Gupta, and world premiere of Falkland Sound by Brad Birch, which will open in the Swan Theatre in the Summer of 2023.

These timely and evocative plays are brought sharply into focus in 2023 and offer fresh perspective on Britain’s relationship with its imperial past and how it continues to shape the country’s identity today. The Empress will run in the Swan Theatre from Friday 7 July to Friday 15 September 2023, with press night on Tuesday 18 July before transferring to the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London from Wednesday 4 October to Saturday 28 October, with press night on Tuesday 10 October.

With acts from 26 countries performing in Liverpool as they competed to win Eurovision Song Contest 2023, Sweden's Loreen came out on top in an uplifting and pulsating completion, as the city was the base for this year’s competition as it represented the war-torn Ukraine – whose Kalush Orchestra won the competition in ‘22. They opened the show and performed featuring a surprise cameo by Catherine, Princess of Wales.

A contemporary tragedy in small-town Ireland, a literary detective story about the Brontë sisters, elopement and scandal in a liberal thinking household, and a classic Shakespearean comedy about unrequited love – Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Theatre Company unveils its summer season of shows.

Spinning is one of the best-known plays of award-winning Irish playwright, Deirdre Kinahan.  Inspired by a real case of the kidnapping of a daughter by her father, Kinahan ponders: what happens when your life spins, how do you react, how do you survive it?  In small-town Ireland, father-of-one Conor is desperate to hold on to a life that is disintegrating before his eyes. 

It’s Eurovision time as this year’s event going global, with fans around the world joining in on the voting. 26 acts will be performing in Liverpool today, to an expected global audience of 160 million viewers, with acts from as far away as Austria – whose rockers, Voyager, will be opening the show with Teya & Salena's up-tempo Who The Hell is Edgar? - a song inspired by 19th Century poet Edgar Allan Poe.

Birmingham Rep is delighted to bring to its stage the world premiere tour of Nesrin Alrefaai and Matthew Spangler’s stage adaptation of Christy Lefteri’s gripping bestselling novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo from Tuesday 13 – Saturday 17 June.  Reuniting the team that produced the international stage sensation The Kite Runner.

Wicked, “one of the most successful musicals of all time” (BBC News), will fly back into the Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday 5 March to Sunday 7 April 2024 and producers today confirmed that the previously announced Laura Pick (Elphaba) will be joined by Carl Man as ‘Fiyero’, reuniting these two former Wicked West End cast members. Further casting to be announced.