Wanna be a star?

Local bands needed for theatre production.

Birmingham Repertory Theatre is looking for local up-and-coming bands to appear in their latest production, Never Try This At Home.

Never Try This At Home opens at The Rep in February 2014. This new dark, black comedy is an homage to Saturday morning TV taking its inspiration from legendary shows such as Tiswas and Going Live.  Never Try This At Home, written by Carl Grose and Told By An Idiot, is framed as a televised reunion of the presenters of Shushi, a fictional Saturday morning show cancelled after one disastrous episode and is an anarchic and disturbing exposé of the world of TV and fame.

The Rep is looking for five local bands to appear in three or four performances each between 26 February and 15 March. The bands will be required to warm-up the audiences before the show, perform a specially-composed theme tune and make an appearance in the actual show.

Nisha Modwahdia, Associate Producer at the Rep says of the local band search: “This is a fantastic opportunity for up-and-coming bands to be heard and seen by a wider audience.  We want to hear from as many different types of groups as possible – rock, folk, jazz, pop, indie, R&B, metal, ska, hip-hop and more.”

Any interested bands should email the Rep at [email protected] with a link to footage of their band performing, a brief description, name and telephone number before Friday 3 January.

In return bands will get to perform in front of a live audience in the Rep’s new theatre, The Studio.  Promotional information and a link to the band’s music will be listed in the programme and on the Rep’s website allowing them to reach lots of potential new fans. Each band will be given complimentary tickets to see the show as well as a number of discounted tickets for friends and family, and The REP will give each band, professionally filmed footage of them performing.

The final bands will be chosen by a judging panel at Birmingham Repertory Theatre and will be contacted week commencing 13th January 2014. Bands must be based in the West Midlands, have enough material to fill at least 20 minutes, be free to perform between 26th February and 15th March, and not be currently affiliated with any music label.  All band members must be 16+.