Each year Birmingham City Council spends £3bn of our money. But where does it all come from? And where does it all go?
In 50 fascinating minutes, using 6,000 gold blocks, and starring a human size bear, Stan’s Cafe’s fast and funny new theatre show sets out to explain it all!
Touring venues across Birmingham from 27 February to 16 March 2023, All Our Money follows Bordesley, a football mascot, through his first day as the unlikely new leader of Birmingham City Council.
Normally in charge of entertaining fans at half-time, he now has to ensure care homes can afford tea time, and potholes are filled. But caught in a storm of conflicting priorities and central government restrictions, does Bordesley have what it takes to make the Council’s budget add up, and keep the city running?
Although perhaps not an obvious subject for a comedy, All Our Money cleverly uses humour to make a serious (and highly complex) topic easier to grasp – as director James Yarker explains.
“I admit the council budget is an unlikely subject for a theatre show, but the humour makes it really enjoyable,” says James. “It’s an important subject that few of us know much about. Researching the show we’ve learnt an enormous amount, and we’re packing it all into a fun 50 minutes.
“All Our Money will leave audiences thinking in new ways about their Council Tax, as well as roads, parks, bins, libraries, care homes, why we vote, and how we are governed.”
Founded in 1991, Stan’s Cafe make original, playful theatre shows that have been performed around the world.
With a history of explaining vast numbers in clever entertaining ways, the company’s most famous piece is arguably Of All The People In All The World. Shown in countries as far afield as Australia, Scandinavia, Brazil, Canada and Japan, the production makes stories relating to human population statistics accessible by using grains of rice.
Similarly, All Our Money employs 6,000 gold dominoes to help explain the complicated Council finances in simple visual terms – with each shiny block representing half-a-million pounds.
Other Stan’s Cafe shows include Precious Emily, which looked at the lives of champion weightlifters Precious McKenzie and Emily Campbell (and was commissioned by Birmingham2022 Festival to celebrate the Commonwealth Games); improvised walkabout performance, The Commentators; and The Anatomy Of Melancholy, which bought a 500-year-old medical text to life.
The All Our Money Birmingham tour begins on Monday 27 February 2023 at Digbeth’s The Warehouse, and stops off in Deritend, Kings Heath, Small Heath, Jewellery Quarter, Aston, Handsworth, Balsall Health, Quinton, Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham City Centre, before concluding at Stirchley’s Attic Brewery on Thursday 16 March 2023.
For more information, including tickets, see: https://stans.cafe
BIRMINGHAM TOUR LISTINGS
Mon 27 Feb 2023: The Warehouse (FOE), Digbeth, 7.30pm
Wed 1 Mar 2023: Sector 57, Deritend, 7.30pm
Thu 2 Mar 2023: Irish Centre Birmingham, Kings Heath, 7.30pm
Sat 4 Mar 2023: Stirchley Baths, Stirchley, 2pm & 6pm
Sun 5 Mar 2023: Purbanat, Small Heath, 3pm
Sun 5 Mar 2023: 1000 Trades, Jewellery Quarter, 8pm
Mon 6 Mar 2023: Legacy Centre of Excellence, Aston, Time TBA
Tue 7 Mar 2023: Quinborne Community Centre, Quinton, 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Wed 8 Mar 2023: St Andrew’s Sports and Community Centre, Handsworth, 7.30pm
Fri 10 Mar 2023: Moseley Baths, Balsall Heath, Time TBA
Tue 14 Mar 2023: Clifton Road Youth Centre, Sutton Coldfield, 7.30pm
Wed 15 Mar 2023: The Exchange, Centenary Square, 1pm & 6pm
Thu 16 Mar 2023: Attic Brewery, Stirchley, 7.30pm
ABOUT STAN’S CAFE
For more information on Stan’s Cafe, see:
Website: Stans.Cafe
Twitter: @stanscafe
Instagram: @Stans_cafe
Facebook: Stan’s Cafe Theatre