Old Joint Stock Theatre

The Old Joint Stock Theatre is a studio theatre and pub located at 4 Temple Row West in the centre of Birmingham, England. The listed building was designed as a library but owes its present name to its use by Birmingham Joint Stock Bank.

Old Joint Stock Theatre
Old Joint Stock Theatre facade
Address4 Temple Row West
Birmingham
England
Coordinates52.481111°N 1.9°W / 52.481111; -1.9
OwnerFuller, Smith and Turner
Capacity95
Current usepub and theatre
Openedbuilding built 1864
Years activetheatre since 1997
Website
The Old Joint Stock Theatre

History

The present day theatre and pub is housed in a grade II listed building built as a library by architect J. A. Chatwin in 1864.[1] The building was quickly acquired by the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank. The Birmingham Joint Stock Bank had four branches within the city and the oldest one here in Temple Row had been established in 1861. The Joint Stock Company amalgamated with Lloyds Bank in 1889.[2] The building was then used by Lloyds Bank. It was converted into a pub in 1997.[3] The theatre opened in 2006 with the £350,000 cost being provided by the owners Fuller, Smith and Turner. The design of the theatre was important and an ex theatre manager was used as a consultant during the construction. This consultant was the first manager of the pub and theatre.[4]

Description

The theatre seats 95 in a flexible arrangement and is located on the first floor of the pub. The venue hosts mostly theatre performances. It has a resident musical theatre company (The Old Joint Stock Musical Theatre Company aka OJSMTC). The venue programme has also included music, comedy and dance.

The theatre includes full dressing and green room facilities, a box office and a theatre "Gin" bar for interval drinks, as well as a demountable stage and seating that allows each production or hire to inhabit the space to its best potential.

The theatre attracts companies and artists from across the region and nationally including Mrs Barbara Nice, Stewart Lee, Reginald D Hunter, Jim Jeffries and Tom Allen. The theatre also hosts corporate evenings and offers casino, comedy, wedding receptions etc.

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See also

References
  1. The Pub, The Old Joint Stock Bank, Retrieved 15 October 2015
  2. Administrative / Biographical History, Archiveshub.ac.uk, Retrieved 15 October 2015
  3. Pevsner Architectural Guides: Birmingham, Andy Foster, 2005, p. 119, ISBN 0-300-10731-5
  4. BBC News – The Old Joint Stock Theatre accessed 15 October 2015
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