Following our public statement in January in relation to Birmingham REP’s decision to host Nightingale Courts, and a subsequent meeting with their team to highlight the concerns our communities have about this and understand more about this move, we have today [15 February 2021] informed Birmingham REP of the following.
SHOUT and Birmingham REP have been partners since SHOUT launched in 2009 and this has always been a partnership rooted in honesty with our audience considering the Birmingham REP as a safe space which, up until this decision, has always been viewed by them as both welcoming and inclusive.
We will not be partnering with the Birmingham REP on future collaborations (including the 2021 festival and beyond). We remain open to working with the Birmingham REP in the future, but only after they make serious and substantial progress to reconnect with those members of our shared audiences who feel badly let down by their decision. At no point will we look to collaborate with the Birmingham REP whilst their spaces are being used by the Ministry of Justice.
