The Old Joint Stock Theatre is based in Birmingham and is an 80-seater black box studio space. It celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
For this latest Fringe Focus, I asked Artistic Director James Edge to tell us about the history of OJS and the plans going forward.
Could you give us a bit of history of the Old Joint Stock Theatre and how it has evolved?
The Old Joint Stock Theatre has always been one of Birmingham’s hidden gems. Nestled above a Victorian pub in the heart of the city, it’s an intimate 80-seat venue with an incredible history of nurturing new talent and ambitious productions.
In recent years, we’ve really focused on defining what the theatre stands for. One of my ambitions as Artistic Director has been to establish the Old Joint Stock as the Midlands’ home for contemporary musical theatre. We’re particularly interested in productions that perhaps didn’t find their audience on larger stages, or shows that take on an entirely new life when experienced in an intimate setting.
There’s something incredibly powerful about watching a musical in a space where the performers aren’t fifty feet away behind an orchestra pit; they’re right in front of you. Rather than presenting a story above the audience’s head, you look them in the eye and invite them on the journey. You make eye contact, you hear every breath, every lyric lands differently, and suddenly a show becomes a shared experience rather than simply a performance. That intimacy can completely transform a piece of theatre.
At the same time, we’ve continued to champion new writing, emerging artists and bold creative risks. Fringe theatre should be a place where exciting ideas are given the opportunity to flourish, and we’re proud to have become a venue where artists know they’ll be encouraged to think ambitiously.
How would you programme and shape a typical season?
For me, a successful fringe theatre has to be balanced.
There can sometimes be a temptation to programme only the shows that feel like “safe bets” or have strong commercial appeal, but I think audiences deserve much more than that. A healthy season should celebrate every corner of live performance.
We aim to programme musicals, plays, comedy, cabaret, concerts, spoken word and experimental work, ensuring there’s something for every kind of theatre-goer. Equally important is making sure different communities can see themselves represented across the season. Theatre should feel welcoming and accessible to everyone.
Supporting local creatives is also hugely important to us. Birmingham has an extraordinary pool of talent, and we want the Old Joint Stock to be somewhere artists can develop their careers without feeling they need to leave the Midlands.
Alongside our visiting productions, we regularly host scratch nights, open mic evenings and community events that allow people to test new material in front of a live audience. Every season also includes at least one in-house production, whether that’s a full-scale musical, a concert or one of our popular cabaret evenings. Producing our own work allows us to keep pushing creatively whilst giving opportunities to emerging performers and creatives.
Ultimately, I want every season to feel varied, surprising and full of discovery.
What is the fringe scene like in Birmingham and the Midlands?
The Midlands fringe scene is growing, and that’s incredibly exciting, but there’s still a long way to go.
Creating theatre in a small venue has never been more financially challenging, particularly for an unfunded theatre like ours. Rising production costs mean every project involves a significant leap of faith.
That said, I genuinely believe fringe theatre has never been more important.
As ticket prices continue to rise across the industry, fringe venues remain one of the most accessible ways for audiences to experience live performance. They also provide emerging artists with somewhere to experiment, fail safely, learn and develop their craft without the pressures that often come with larger commercial productions.
Some of the most exciting theatre being created in Britain isn’t happening in thousand-seat auditoriums; it’s happening in rooms with fewer than a hundred seats, fuelled by passion rather than budget.
If we want the next generation of writers, directors, actors and designers to thrive, fringe theatre isn’t a luxury. It’s essential.
What has been your greatest achievement so far?
Without question, producing Be More Chill alongside my team Emily Susanne Lloyd and Liam Alexandru has been one of the proudest moments of my career.
It was an enormous undertaking for an 80-seat fringe venue. We knew we were taking a risk, but we believed in the show and, more importantly, we believed in what our team could achieve.
The production sold out its four-week run, received fantastic reviews, and went on to receive nominations for a WhatsOnStage Award for Best Studio Production alongside four Fringe Theatre Awards, winning Best Video Design, a huge credit to Liam’s incredible work.
Walking into the London Palladium for the WhatsOnStage Awards alongside productions with vastly larger budgets was a surreal moment. It demonstrated that size doesn’t define quality. A small team with passion, imagination and belief can create work that sits comfortably alongside the biggest names in British theatre.
What I’m perhaps most proud of, though, is our casting philosophy. We could easily have filled every role with performers boasting extensive West End credits, but fringe theatre has a responsibility to create opportunities. Around half of our cast were receiving significant professional credits for the first time. Giving talented performers that platform is exactly why venues like ours exist, and seeing those artists continue to flourish has been every bit as rewarding as the awards themselves.
You’re based in a pub owned by Fuller’s, who are known for being supportive of theatre. What’s the venue like to work in?
Firstly, I’m incredibly grateful to Fuller’s for the trust they’ve placed in us.
Over the past few years they’ve allowed us to dream big, even when those dreams have involved productions that perhaps looked slightly terrifying on paper. Some of our shows have had ambitious budgets and challenging break-even figures, but they’ve backed our creative vision because they understand the long-term value of producing exceptional theatre.
The Old Joint Stock is Fuller’s only theatre, and they’ve given us the freedom to explore what can be achieved within a fringe space. We won’t always produce theatre on that scale; it simply wouldn’t be financially sustainable, but knowing that level of trust exists allows us to be genuinely ambitious when the right project comes along.
Of course, we’re always mindful that we’re operating within a commercial business. Creative ambition and financial responsibility have to work hand in hand. I think over the last three years we’ve built a relationship where both sides understand one another, and that’s allowed the theatre to continue growing.
This year is particularly special as the Old Joint Stock celebrates its 20th anniversary. It’s a wonderful opportunity not only to celebrate everything that’s come before, but also to look ahead at what the next twenty years might hold.
What’s coming up over the season and how can audiences find out about it?
We’ve got a fantastic season ahead.
Many of our audience favourites are returning, including Do You Hear the People Sing-Along?, Musical Crowd Pleasers, I Screamed a Scream – A Villains Cabaret, Slight Miserables: The Ultimate Musical Theatre & Christmas Cabaret, alongside the return of one of our hugely popular festive radio plays, which we’ll be announcing very soon.
Alongside those productions, we’ll continue welcoming an exciting programme of visiting companies from across the UK, showcasing everything from brand-new writing to established fringe favourites.
Outside the theatre, the Old Joint Stock team is also producing our brand-new open-air production, Sherlock Holmes and the Bitter of the Baskervilles, written by Showstopper! co-creator Adam Meggido. It’s a brand-new Sherlock Holmes adventure created especially for pub gardens and will tour to 27 Fuller’s pubs across the country this summer. Featuring four exceptionally talented actor-musicians, it’s funny, fast-paced and designed to be the perfect summer evening out.
Audiences can find full listings, book tickets and keep up with everything we’re doing by visiting the Old Joint Stock website or following us on social media. We genuinely believe there’s never been a more exciting time to visit the theatre, and we can’t wait to welcome audiences through our doors.