'Break a leg!' – Find out why the West Midlands may become a centre for musical theatre

A landmark report has been commissioned into establishing the UK’s first dedicated training centre in the region.

The West Midlands has a long tradition of musical theatre and the Birmingham Hippodrome is involved in a bid to make the plan a reality.

It has joined up with the Arts Council England, Birmingham City Council, Birmingham City University, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and West Midlands Combined Authority to find the funding.

The working party will create a business case for a world-leading facility for musical theatre in the UK. The five partners will work with local, regional and national stakeholders to develop a first-class proposition. This will be informed by a period of consultation with sector and regional partners, as well as examples of international excellence in this field.

The belief is that Birmingham, as one of the youngest and most diverse cities in Europe, can build an international creative ecology around the art form.

This will stimulate economic growth, provide new employment opportunities for young people from all backgrounds, and help cement the UK’s position as a leader in a thriving international musical theatre market.

Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England said: “The UK has a strong reputation for creating and producing musicals that delight audiences across the country and around the globe. Birmingham’s far-sighted plans for a new National Centre for Musical Theatre will help drive the growth of this important art form nationally and internationally, as well as offering the opportunity to nurture the next generation of creative talent in the West Midlands.”

Musical Theatre is of the one of the most financially buoyant art forms in this country. Musicals make up 10 per cent of performances across UK theatres, but account for 21 per cent of tickets sold and 25 per cent of revenue. In the West End, musicals make up 51 per cent of performances and account for over 60 per cent of tickets sold and 61 per cent of revenue (c.£250m).

A National Centre for Musical Theatre would grow skills and training to help to fill the national industry skills gap whilst creating opportunities for young people from the region.

It would further enhance the West Midlands as an exciting location to live and work as an artist and create a new cultural destination for the region. With Mercury Musical Developments and Musical Theatre Network both located in Birmingham, the partnership has a strong network of regional expertise to draw on.

Lichfields have been appointed to carry out the business case, alongside a report looking at the infrastructure and location of the project. The aim is to create world leading musical theatre facilities, supporting a new generation of creatives and the desire for the West Midlands to become a region renowned for R&D in the creative industries.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA chair said: “Musical innovation is in the DNA of the West Midlands. From pioneering heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath to the multi-cultural Two Tone movement, our impact on music has been global. Even our greatest TV export, Peaky Blinders, is now a stage musical so I can't think of a better place to have a National Centre for Musical Theatre.

We need to unleash and nurture the enormous talent we have in the West Midlands by providing the training opportunities local people need to land jobs in our growing creative sector. Having a musical theatre centre located here will help support that ambition.”

The partners include Birmingham Hippodrome and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Birmingham Hippodrome has recently set up the UK’s first venue-based department for New Musical Theatre, committed to creating opportunities for musical theatre talent from the across the UK. The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Acting School is one of the UK’s highest ranked courses, and this collaboration will see them look to create a dedicated musical theatre course.

Jon Gilchrist, Artistic Director & Chief Executive Officer of Birmingham Hippodrome said: “Our audience loves musical theatre, and of the 600,000 tickets we sell every year, more than half for musicals.

"This partnership will work to harness the incredible creative talent of the West Midlands to make a genuine destination for the art form. We hope that one day soon our stages will be filled with the work of artistic talent developed here in Birmingham.”

Councillor Saima Suleman, Birmingham City Council, Cabinet Member for Digital, Culture, Heritage & Tourism added: "This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for Birmingham and the wider West Midlands. Partners working constructively together with an aim to establish the UK's first National Centre for Musical Theatre here not only showcases the city’s commitment to the arts but also promises to drive economic growth and create new opportunities for young people across all backgrounds. Whilst the Council is facing challenges it is great to see initiatives can continue and as one of Europe's most vibrant and diverse cities, the city is uniquely positioned to build a world-class creative hub that will shape the future of musical theatre and place our region firmly on the global stage."

Professor David Mba, Vice-Chancellor, Birmingham City University added: “Birmingham City University was founded way back in 1843, when the Birmingham Society of Artists opened the Birmingham Government School of Design. From that foundation, BCU now provides the greatest number of creative industry graduates in the whole of the West Midlands.

“On that basis, it’s natural we would back the exciting proposition of a National Centre for Musical Theatre, bringing a storied artform into the region with an eye on the future.

“Bringing musical theatre education to Birmingham would mean nurturing even more creative talent within the West Midlands, helping the region meet the industry’s skills gap and, in turn, harnessing the arts to power the region back towards prosperity. By bringing together the educational excellence of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with the reputation of the Hippodrome, and the support of the Arts Council, City Council and WMCA, we can make Midlands musical theatre into a force that will command attention nationally and internationally.”