Birmingham Repertory Theatre announces autumn/winter season

The Birmingham Repertory Theatre have announced their new season with highlights including the world premiere of Chris Hannan's play What Shadows starring Ian McDiarmid and an updated version of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.

Opening the season will be The House, a contemporary adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest. A co-production with Leicester Curve, the show will be directed by Nikolai Foster and runs from 9 to 24 September.

Kneehigh bring their show 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips to the Rep from 6 October. A co-production with The Rep and Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the show is directed by Emma Rice and retells Michael Morporgo's novel about the preparation for the D-Day landings.

Treasure Island will then run over the festive period (25 November to 7 January). Directed by Phillip Breen, the show is adapted for the stage by Bryony Lavery and will feature newly composed music.

In the studio, Ian McDiarmid (Star Wars, Faith Healer) leads the cast as Enoch Powell in the world premiere of What Shadows (28 October to 12 November) by Chris Hannan. Using Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' speech that he gave in Birmingham in 1967 as a starting point, What Shadows brings to life the community that inspired it and the effects it still had on people years later.

As previously announced, The Exorcist will run from 1 October to 5 November, the first time the production will be staged in the UK.

Elsewhere in the season, the REP and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) come together for a world premiere of Cold Calling: The Arctic Project (8 to 12 November). Set against a backdrop of Arctic landscapes, the piece explores love, loneliness and loss and will feature actress Jan Pearson performing text by Anthony Neilson, accompanied by live music from the CBSO and projections from Simon Wainwright.

Love by Alexander Zeldin (26 January to 11 February), a co-production with the National Theatre, considers the strains on families who are placed in temporary accommodation, and Looking for John (15 to 19 November) is the world premiere of Tony Timberlake's play following the story of Olympic gold-winning ice-skater and forgotten hero, John Curry.

Artistic director Roxana Silbert commented: "We continue to attract fantastic audiences by commissioning the best new plays, writers and directors in the country and hosting the cream of national and international companies and theatre makers. I'm particularly proud to be premiering three plays next season that have local, national and international resonance."