mac (Birmingham)

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mac

mac (formerly Midlands Arts Centre) is a non-profit arts centre situated in Cannon Hill Park, Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, at grid reference SP067839. It was established in 1962 and is registered as an educational charity which host plays, concerts and films shows; and holds art exhibitions, music classes, and workshops for all ages.

1 Sections
2 Theatre
3 History
4 Future
5 External links

[edit] Sections

It features three theatres, a fully equipped, Dolby Digital, 140-seat cinema, rehearsal rooms, an art gallery (the Cotton Gallery, which features the work of local artists), a shop and a café.

[edit] Theatre

The main 200- seat theatre is in proscenium style. The second theatre, The Hexagon can seat 88, it is a lecture-style theatre and has a stage size of roughly 4m by 3m and is often used by touring companies and musicians. The Greek-style open-air arena is often used for plays, music and comedy performances in summer.

[edit] History

The idea for an arts centre in Cannon Hill Park was the result of a meeting between theatre director John English and local politician Frank Price in about 1960.Between 1972 and 1987 it was the home of the Birmingham Youth Theatre, a company aimed at encouraging and nurturing talent amongst people aged 15 to 23 in the wider community. The company was founded by local teacher Derek Nicholls, who later became Director of the MAC. Success stories from the youth theatre include Adrian Lester and Andrew Tiernan.