Anna Glynn
Co-artistic director of Flintlock Theatre

On Friday, May 22, it will be 150 years to the day that Oxford Brookes was founded as The Oxford School of Art.

Opening in 1865, the school was launched at the Taylor Institution – on the side of the Ashmolean Museum – in a room lent by the University of Oxford.

Benefactors including Dean Liddell, father of Alice Liddell – the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland – and the Duke of Marlborough came together to form Oxford’s first centre of learning for working people, which was in contrast to most institutions at the time.

They were inspired by the Great Exhibition – a display of culture and industry in London – to develop practical skill amongst the “artisan class”.

Now 150 years later and following a sometime tumultuous journey, Oxford Brookes is a beacon of excellence in higher education.

It has an international reputation not only for offering world-class teaching but also for the quality of its student experience. Furthermore, it maintains that original commitment to recognising talent and removing barriers to education, ensuring that it remains the open-access arena for learning that it always was.

I was commissioned to write a short play celebrating the history of Brookes in October last year.

At that point, I have to admit I knew very little about the university, despite having grown up in Oxford.

I have worked closely with Oxford Brookes and drawn on the extraordinary interactive timeline of original sources that they have recently published.

The play, Educating Oxford, has been entirely informed by the recollections of former students, by actual speeches delivered at key moments in the university’s evolution and, crucially, by the soundtrack of the generations that passed through its doors and the incredible list of bands that played at the Brookes student union.

The piece is infused with the vibrancy, warmth, tenacity and humour of 150 years of passionate leaders, fun-loving students and ardent supporters of a place that has enabled countless people to fulfil their dreams and carve out meaningful and fulfilling lives.

As an Oxford theatre company, it was a great honour to be invited to create this original piece of theatre.

Flintlock Theatre is known for its highly physical, immersive storytelling that puts the audience front and centre of the theatrical experience – and this piece will be no different.

Our aim will be to make our audience feel a part of the 150-year journey whilst accurately and sensitively representing the contributions of some very special individuals in developing the university, not least the man himself – John Henry Brookes.

Our audience should expect the unexpected, not only from the performers but also from the incredible story that will unfold about this extraordinary institution.

We are incredibly grateful to have been entrusted with such a significant event and are excited that Flintlock is making its own contribution to the Brookes’ story, further embedding the company in the cultural landscape of this marvellous city and establishing a connection to a university that represents excellence, access and fun.

The performance on May 22 is an invitation-only event.

Members of the public will have the opportunity to see the performance at this year’s Oxford Open Doors later this year.

Oxford Brookes’ history can also be explored via the 150th anniversary digital timeline which can be found online at brookes.ac.uk/150-years