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
Theatre in Birmingham return of closure for the majority of theatres. The Birmingham Repertory Theatre was closed for two years from December 1940, and only the Alexandra Theatre would stay open for the entire remaining duration of the war. The most notable theatrical development of the war years were the Plays in the Park, that saw Birmingham's theatre companies working around the threat of evening bombing of the city centre by presenting matinèe performances of drama in the city's parks. The opening of the Sutton Coldfield transmitting station in 1949 made Birmingham the first British city outside London to have a television service,