Coronavirus: Birmingham Repertory Theatre warns of job losses

The theatre, based in Centenary Square, said its survival was threatened if it did not act now

Up to 47 jobs could go at the Birmingham Rep Theatre, with the venue warning its survival was at risk.

The jobs, at one of the country's foremost producing theatres represent about 40% of its workforce.

On Monday, its Artistic Director Sean Foley welcomed a £1.5bn emergency package from the government for the arts sector.

However, the theatre said it had lost 80% of its income, a position it described as "unsustainable".

It said it was looking at a range of cost-saving measures and "with great sadness" would be consulting with staff about redundancies.

The theatre, based in Centenary Square, celebrated its own centenary in 2013 and its stage has featured the likes of Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft, Michael Gambon and Derek Jacobi, among others.

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A joint statement from executive director Rachael Thomas and artistic director Sean Foley, said: "Our role as custodians of this much-loved theatre, with its historic legacy, is to ensure that it survives the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Even after the new measures are taken into account, we believe that survival is threatened if we do not act now.

"We could still be facing many months of being unable to trade and must therefore take action to mitigate the loss of income by reducing our costs."