The Old Rep Theatre Birmingham.

Date of Investigation : 3rd August 2007

Team members present : Joanne, Lynnette, Julie, Lyndie, Paul, Tony, Pam.

Guests : Tina, Louise, Stuart

We were very excited at the prospect of investigating The Old Rep Theatre in Birmingham. It was only achieved with the help and support of Rob Evans , we offer him our thanks and gratitude for making this investigation possible. We also thank the management at the theatre for giving their permission for this investigation.

We arrived at 9 pm and I introduced the team and guests to Louise and Stuart of Central England Paranormal Investigations ( CEPI). They would be joining us this evening for the investigation. After introducing Robert and getting everyone to sign in we proceeded to the dance school ,which I had decided would be base room for the evening. We had a short tour of the building so everyone could try to get their bearings , as all though it appears to be a small building it is a labyrinth inside. We would also decide where we would investigate. The group returned to the base room and decided that the best way to proceed would be to split into two groups. The locked off cameras would be in the base room and corridor outside it.

The areas to be investigated would be :

Dressing rooms 1 2 3 and The Green Room,

Dressing rooms 4 5 6 7 ,

Bar and Foyer,

Auditorium and Balcony area.

The two groups for this evening would be :

Group 1 : Lynnette , Tony, Stu ,Julie, and Lou

Group 2: Joanne, Lyndie, Paul, Tina and Pam

 It was decided we would work in 90 minute slots between each would be a break for refreshments and at the end of the evening the usual discussion , so no details were to be shared between groups before then.

The findings:

Group 1

Dressing rooms 1 2 3.

Two members of this group felt very hot in this area .A lady was picked up and it was felt she was responsible for make up in the theatre or possibly the costume department, she was in a very frantic atmosphere.This energy was responding to knocks and twice we heard the click of heels on concrete.This all seemed to come from dressing room 3. Two members also heard singing and both agreed it was a lady and a very melodic tune although it seemed very faint. One of them did say it was scales although the other was not sure. This area had a very definite female atmosphere.

Dressing rooms 4 5 6 7

In this area we had very little activity but felt this had been a male dressing room.

The Green room

Visit 1

On this visit two people sat on the sofa by a double glazed window, they felt very hot, nauseous and had a pressure inside their heads like they had suddenly developed a bad head cold. When they moved away from the area it dissipated. A man with Salt n Pepper hair was picked up and he had a bushy moustache.The name George was picked up in this room. Various shadows were seen and the fridge kept making a clicking noise every couple of minutes, it was thought this was the thermostat. One member had a cool breeze blow across his face. No one else in the group felt this.

Visit 2

We decided to visit this room again after Rob had told us it had been Sir Barry Jackson's office.We though we would try calling out again now we had a targeted name to try.The two members who had felt ill before felt no ill effects in the same areas. We had shut all the doors of the dressing rooms but all heard the noise of a door being opened, upon investigation they were all still closed.We had lots of apparently responsive knocks to questions.One group member was extremely cold.A localised draft was felt and seemed to be travelling around the group.The most noticeable thing was that although we had sat in this room for over 20 minutes the fridge that had been so active on the last visit was now silent.Why wasn't the thermostat making the same repeated noises ?

Stairwell outside Dressing rooms 1,2,3

We spent a short time on this stairwell. The group heard shuffling noises that appeared to be very close we presumed it to be Robert in his office just at the bottom of the stair well.It wasn't till we went down that we realised that Rob's office was not on this level but the next one down and also down a corridor. A member also heard a distinct sigh but it was no one else in the group.

Base Room

When this group went back into the base room we all noticed a very strong smell of alcohol although it dissipated shortly after.

Bar Area

The group all sat in the one corner and did start to have some responses but they seemed to be coming from the auditorium and we all felt drawn there so we moved to that area.

Auditorium

It was felt that a terrible accident had happened in this area. One group member heard a scream as she was walking up the stairs and another had the name Charles and felt that he had fallen down the stairs from about halfway and had broken his neck.A distraught lady was picked up with the possible name of Gloria. It was felt that she was an usherette in the theatre.Both of these energies seemed to be from the 1930's era.We heard lots of noises from within the auditorium and also from the stage area. We heard something being dragged across the stage.At one point one group member seemed to be surrounded by a dark mass and group members saw her seem to disappear and another outline be visible, that of a lady holding a tray infront of her.They felt it looked like the sort of thing they would carry ice creams in during the intervals.During this time the group member in question had felt quite at ease but very sleepy.We were all drawn to the rear area by the soundbox.All group members noticed that it looked like someone was peering between the cracks in the door at the top of the stairs.A lot of noises were heard coming from the balcony and one team member picked up on a spirit seemingly waving frantically to get his attention.The group also heard whispers but could not decipher them.One group member had the feeling that a mischievous energy was present here.

The Balcony

In this area there were lots of knocks and they seemed to be in response to questions.It sounded like the door at the rear of the balcony opened but it did not. The name Jenny was picked up and the energy of a young girl seemingly from the 1950's era.

On the way back to the base room one of the men in the group were tapped on the head not enough to hurt but definitely noticeable.

Can you see light anomolies on the stage and curtain ?

Notice the light anomolie in the pit.

Taken from the balcony , notice the light anomolies over the orchestra pit.

Group 2

Dressing Room 1 2 3  The group had little activity in these rooms, they had a few knocks that seemed in response to questions.The name Joseph was picked up by one group member.

Dressing Room 4 5 6 7  

Room 4 A lady was sensed outside and a cold breeze was felt .

Room 5 A group member had the impression of rails of clothes and prop stores, and also the image of a lady having a baby.At the same time another group member heard a baby crying. A cat was heard in this area and the name Mr Pickles was picked up, was this the cats name ?

Room 6 A woman was seen in this room in a white shroud type outfit she was crying and wailing and was running around the rooms and corridor.When she was requested to do something the lights flickered on and off.Orbs were seen by a group member in this room.

Room 7 This group attempted scrying and they appeared to be successful with a member seeing two images one of a balding man and another of a lady.Another group member had the name of Mr.Cohen a small robust Jewish man who was quite agitated.Someone else had the image of white feathers and a woman being very emotional about the affair she was having with a married man, another member in the group mentioned sensing an upset female in this room.

In the corridor outside the rooms a cat was heard purring by a couple of members and one felt a cat rub against their legs.Several coldspots were felt in the corridor and a group member saw the image of a clown and the group all smelt a very bad odour.The names Terry ,Mary, and the image of Noel Gordon and the Beverly Sisters were picked up in this area.

The Green Room

None of this group wanted to stay in the green room ,they felt a strong male dominance and some felt very uneasy. A feeling of gambling and death was felt in the room.Several orbs were caught on camera and also some flashing blue lights were seen and the entire group felt extremely cold in here.The fridge was making repeated noises for the whole period of time the group were in here, apparently the thermostat.

Auditorium

One group member heard someone singing "Papagano" and felt very hot then it changed to tingling and coldness.She also picked up that someone had a terrible fall, and also that there was a terrible fight by the stage.A male energy was picked up near the stage and some audible sighs were heard. Another member had the image of a man named Frank having a heart attack but unfortunately he passed away in hospital.Plus the image of a man called Reginald that people called "Reggie Darling" and that he was the victim of a vicious attack near the stage.He was singing " Who want's to be a millionaire" . A janitor named Tommy was picked up and he was sweeping the floor with a long handled broom wearing a grey flat cap with a cigarette in his mouth. This seems to be a ghost not a spirit.The names Bernard, Charles, and Lucy were picked up in this area.Lots of knocks were heard in the room and the sound of something being turned that needed oiling.

On the way back to the base room the man in the group was tapped on the head. It did not hurt but it was strange enough for him to mention it to the other members in the group.

During the discussion at the end of the evening many similarities between both groups came to light. Both groups had picked up on the male energies in the green room and had one member who had been tapped on the head in the same area of the theatre. This is more peculiar as they were both men and it had happened on the same stairwell.The name Charles had been picked up in the auditorium by both groups as had the fall. Members in both groups said that it was very difficult to get the spirits to step forward but it was an incredible evening. One of the more strange occurrences was the fridge in the green room.During both groups first visit it was making repeated clicking noises, which both groups realised ,were very likely caused by the thermostat.On group ones second visit the fridge made no noise at all.

We rounded the evening off at about 5 am and packed everything away.

The locked off cameras do not appear to have caught anything of any significance nor have any of the voice recorders. A few of the photos taken had light anomalies on , some of which I have posted with this report. The other video footage is still being analysed if anything of any significance is found I will update this report accordingly.

We would like to thank everyone for making this such a good investigation and especially Rob. Special thanks go to Louise and Stuart for joining us on this investigation we are glad you could make it and we all enjoyed working with you on this.

The whole group hope we can arrange another visit soon and cannot wait for the opportunity as we all feel this property has so much more to offer.

  This Link will take you to the Birmingham Government website with links to the Archives of The Old Rep plus information about

  Sir Barry Jackson and his family.