Hippodrome Origins is an 18-month artist development programme for creatives in the West Midlands who make theatre.
From 2024-2026, there were eight Origins artists in residence at the Hippodrome, and in May 2026 we held our first Origins Festival to showcase their new pieces.
Origins Festival included eight shows, five workshops, scratch nights, networking events and dinners. Around 700 audience members came to support local artists and celebrate new work in the Midlands.
“Origins Festival is a unique offering to Birmingham and beyond.”
“It has been a long time since I have felt such vibrancy and optimism at a theatre event.”
“It was an absolute vibe.”
We were delighted to have as part of our first Origins cohort:
- Amerah Saleh
- Elizabeth O’Connor
- Grace Barrington
- Jaz Morrison
- Louis Wharton
- Nathan Sebastian Lafayette
- Tina Hofman
- Zakariye Abdillahi
Origins was created to support artists to work on the ideas that energise them, fill their creative well with artistic and cultural experiences, and develop their practice within a group of peers. Sign up to Hippodrome Creatives to receive our newsletter and find out when the next cohort of Origins will be open.
“The Hippodrome Origins programme has truly transformed my creative practice. I came into it very new to theatre and playwriting, but with a background in writing fiction and an interest in trying a new form. The scope and variety of the expert workshops have enabled me to discover the possibilities of theatre, uncover new ways to think about staging, the body, and subtext, and has challenged me to push myself further and more experimentally as a writer. Best of all, it has created a community of Birmingham-based artists that is as supportive as it is critically engaged and passionate about theatre.” – Elizabeth O’Connor, Origins artist
