Old Joint Stock Theatre

Old Joint Stock Theatre
	Old Joint Stock Theatre facade
Address	4 Temple Row West; Birmingham; England
Coordinates	52°28′52″N 1°54′00″W / 52.481111°N 1.9°W
Owner	Fuller, Smith and Turner
Capacity	95
Current use	pub and theatre
Opened	building built 1864
Years active	theatre since 1997
Website
	The 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.

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 1862.^[1] The building was acquired by the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank. The Birmingham Joint Stock Bank, established in 1861,^[2] had four branches within the city; the oldest one, here in Temple Row, was opened for business in 1862.^[2] The Joint Stock Company amalgamated with Lloyds Bank in 1889.^[3] The building was then used by Lloyds Bank. It was converted into a pub in 1997.^[4] The theatre opened in 2006 with the £350,000 cost being provided by the owners Fuller, Smith & 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.^[5]

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.

References

^ The Pub, The Old Joint Stock Bank, Retrieved 15 October 2015
^ ^a ^b "Birmingham Joint-Stock Bank records". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk.
^ Administrative / Biographical History, Archiveshub.ac.uk, Retrieved 15 October 2015
^ Pevsner Architectural Guides: Birmingham, Andy Foster, 2005, p. 119, ISBN 0-300-10731-5
^ BBC News – The Old Joint Stock Theatre accessed 15 October 2015