Belgrade Theatre Commission (number 219163). The Belgrade acquired its name in recognition and thanks for a gift of timber from the Yugoslavian (today Serbian) capital city of Belgrade (Coventry's official sister city), that was used extensively in the construction of the auditorium. Since opening in 1958, the theatre has established itself as a centre for the new and innovative productions. Having pioneered the Theatre-in-Education movement in the 1960s the theatre continues to work with disadvantaged young people and uses drama as a tool to develop personal and social skills. Their most successful programme "Acting Out" has been commissioned by Coventry's LEA for
John English (theatre director) Highbury Theatre as a reminder of his devotion to the theatre and to the promotion of the arts, be it amateur or professional, in the city of Birmingham. John English (theatre director) John English, OBE, MA (13 January 1911 – 20 December 1998), was a theatre director, actor, writer and entrepreneur in Birmingham, England, and the founder of the Highbury Theatre, the Midlands Arts Centre as well as being one of the founding members of the Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain. John English was born in Dudley, West Midlands, on 13 January 1911. Son of Bertie and Emeline English;