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NEAL FOSTER – Actor/Manager

Neal Foster began a Drama degree at Warwick University but left after seven weeks and applied for drama school. In the meantime he set up his own theatre company which commissioned and toured two new plays about Jane Austen and D.H. Laurence. Foster then went to The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, after which he did six months work in rep in Oxford and Basingstoke and then approached The Birmingham Rep with the idea of staging THE SEAGULL in The Rep Studio. The Rep agreed to the idea on the proviso that Foster raise £15,000 pounds for the production. Foster raised the money by persuading thirteen actors and writers to let him interview them on stage at The Young Vic and The Playhouse Theatre in front of a paying audience. They included Dame Judi Dench, Michael Frayn, Dustin Hoffman, Sir Derek Jacobi, Jack Lemmon, Sir Ian McKellen, Peter O’Toole, Prunella Scales, Sylvia Syms and Sir Donald Sinden. THE SEAGULL was then produced at The Birmingham Rep where it broke box office records.

Foster then approached The Birmingham City Council with the proposal of setting up a new resident company in the historic Old Rep Theatre, which from 1913 to 1971 had been the home of the Birmingham Rep company, but for the last twenty years had housed amateur theatre. During the twelve months of negotiations, Foster interviewed Glenn Close and Richard Dreyfuss on Broadway to raise money for the new company.

In September 1992 Sir Derek Jacobi and Paul Scofield became active patrons of the company and the Lord Mayor of Birmingham re-opened The Old Rep Theatre with the newly named Birmingham Stage Company in residence.

Since then his company has staged over seventy productions, including CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF with Marcus D’Amico and Barry Stanton; HABEAS CORUPUS with Carmen Silvera; HAMLET directed by Richard Dreyfuss; THE CRUCIBLE directed by Jonathan Church; the world’s first major production of THE BORROWERS; SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER with Diana Coupland and Stephen Mangan; the world premiere of HRH by Snoo Wilson with Corin Redgrave, directed by Simon Callow which transferred to the Playhouse Theatre; OLEANNA and SPEED-THE-PLOW by David Mamet which marked the company’s debut at The Edinburgh Festival; the world premieres of LIGHTING THE DAY and BRIDGES AND HARMONIES by Oren Lavie; THE DICE HOUSE by Paul Lucas at The Arts Theatre; PROOF by David Auburn at the Arts Theatre; the world’s first major production of THE JUNGLE BOOK; the world premiere of COLLISION by Dominic Leyton; SKELLIG which marked the company’s US debut at the New Victory Theatre, New York; the world premiere of HORRIBLE SCIENCE by Nick Arnold; eight world premieres of HORRIBLE HISTORIES, including BARMY BRITAIN which has become the longest running children’s show in West End history.

Foster’s company has also become the UK’s leading producer of work for children including JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, THE BFG, GEORGE’S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE, THE WITCHES and FANTASTIC MR FOX by Roald Dahl, WHY THE WHALES CAME and KENSUKE’S KINGDOM by Michael Morpurgo, THE FIREWORK MAKER’S DAUGHTER by Philip Pullman and SKELLIG by David Almond.

The company tours nationally and internationally and has been invited to perform in New York, Hong Kong, Dubai, Syria, Abu Dhabi, Malta, and Bahrain.

In 1995 Neal was made Fellow of The Birmingham Society for outstanding contribution to the quality of life in the city of Birmingham and he was shortlisted for a Creative Britons Award for his contribution to the country’s cultural and creative wealth.