Newbury Theatre

Newbury theatre guide

Find out about theatre events coming up in and around Newbury and West Berkshire, reaching out to Oxford, Basingstoke and Reading. This site is updated very frequently - see What's new below.

In the spotlight, week beginning 28th June

PYT Week at Progress Theatre (Monday to Saturday).
Macbeth by Domino Players (Wednesday to Friday).
The King and Queen of Sugar Street at the Watermill Theatre (Wednesday to Saturday).
Peter Pan by Sinodun Players (Thursday to Saturday 11 Jul).
The Doctors and The Ruffian on the Stair by Russell Players (Friday to Saturday).
Are There More of You at The Croft Hall, Hungerford (Sunday).

Open air theatre

Here comes summer, and it's time for open air theatre again.

Romeo and Juliet, 30th June to 22nd August, at Wadham College Walled Garden, Oxford
Romeo, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, meets the beautiful Juliet, a Capulet and his family's sworn enemy. They fall in love, but the high walls of the colleges cannot hide their passion and only serve to inflame the family feud. Somebody has to stop them before they end up with a musician for a son-in-law. Be electrified by this guitar wielding, heart pounding, rock and roll love story set in one of Oxford's most stunning gardens. www.oxfordshakespearecompany.co.uk Telephone: 0870 609 2231.
Twelfth Night, 9th July to 5th September at Said Business School Amphitheatre, Oxford. The Creation Theatre Company production.
The Comedy of Errors, 28th July to 9th August at Bodleian Library Quadrangle, Oxford
The Globe On Tour. Estranged twin brothers with estranged twin servants form the basis for this hectic tale of cross-purposes, manic slapstick and social nightmare.

News and special events

Newbury Dramatic Society - Outside Edge auditions

Newbury Dramatic Society are holding auditions for their November production of Richard Harris's comedy Outside Edge about a cricket team trying to win a game of cricket whilst sorting out their various marital problems at the same time. The auditions are on 3rd, 10th and 17th August in Newbury. See the NDS page for more details.

Another author has contacted us with a play he'd like to see performed. Harry Eicke's first play The Paraffin Oil Shop has recently been published by New Theatre Publications. It's for five females and four males. Two families are brought together for a funeral in the nineteen sixties. One family is working class, while the other is middle class. It's a story that exposes the weaknesses in humans when leadership is weak and those incidents are still with us today but on a larger scale. You can see the details at www.plays4theatre.com/bookdetails.php?pr=708.

StopGap Theatre Company are at the North Wall Arts Centre, South Parade, Oxford OX2 7NN from 15th to 18th July at 7:30 with 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, John Ford’s thrilling masterpiece of illicit desire, appalling destruction, and eternal damnation. The box office is at 01865 319450 or book online at www.thenorthwall.com.

Guy van der Westhuizen is an amateur playwright who has recently completed a comedy called Oswald’s Return. If you'd be interested in giving him feedback on it (or even producing it), contact him on 07971 690249 or email .

The Watermill are taking bookings now for their professionally-led summer theatre courses for young people.

The local drama festival season is now over.

Results from the Wallingford Drama Festival: Best overall production: Didcot Phoenix (One Was Nude and One Wore Tails); The Commended award: Old Gaol technical crew (Nearly a Silver Wedding); Best Youth production: Abingdon Drama Group "Acting Up" youth group (I Know What You Did Yesterday); Best actor: Geoff Atkinson, H.A.O.D.S (Happy Birthday Me); Punters' Prize: Compton Players (A Dog's Life).

Results from the Didcot Drama Festival of One Act Plays: Overall winner: Sinodun Players (Night School by Harold Pinter); Runners up: Abingdon Drama Club (A Kind of Alaska by Harold Pinter); third: Compton Players (A Dog's Life by Pam Valentine); Audience choice of best play: Compton Players (A Dog's Life); Adjudicator's choice: Mary Warrington, director and actor, Compton Players (A Dog's Life).

The Guild of King Alfred Players are holding open meetings and auditions for their November production of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. These will be held in the Red Cross Hall, Wantage, at 7:30 on Tuesday 9th June, Tuesday 7th July and Tuesday 14th July.

We've got details of HADCAF (Hungerford and District Community Arts Festival) starting on 5th July.

Rain or Shine Theatre Company's production of The Taming of the Shrew is coming locally:
29th July, 6:30 - Millets Farn Centre, Abingdon, 01865 391169

Shinfield Players' Theatre are holding readings and auditions for their October production of the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The readings and auditions are in July - see their page for details.

What's new

You can get the latest updates via RSS. If you don't know what RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is, this may not be for you (find out more here), but if you're using an RSS reader already, this is the best way to keep up to date with the changes to this site.

Date	Item
30 Jun	Newbury Dramatic Society are holding auditions in August for their November production of Outside Edge.
28 Jun	Two authors would like to get their plays produced. One is called Oswald's Return and the other is called The Paraffin Oil Shop.
27 Jun	StopGap Theatre Company are at the North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford from 15th to 18th July with 'Tis Pity She's a Whore.
21 Jun	Russell Players of Swallowfield's next production is two one-act plays: The Doctors and The Ruffian on the Stair.
21 Jun	In November, H.A.O.D.S' production in Henley is Return to the Forbidden Planet.
21 Jun	Faringdon Dramatic Society's next production in November is Our Town by Thornton Wilder.
21 Jun	Abingdon Operatic Society's October production is Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
20 Jun	New season at The Mill at Sonning.
20 Jun	June and July events at the Kenton Theatre, Henley.
13 Jun	Sinodun Players of Wallingford are holding an audition for their autumn production of Separate Tables at the Corn Exchange, Wallingford on Monday 15th June.
13 Jun	The Community of Hungerford Theatre Company Children’s Theatre are producing the musical Robin Hood and Friends on 27th June.
13 Jun	Details of the Watermill summer courses for young people.
13 Jun	Results from the Wallingford Drama Festival.
6 Jun	Review of Mortimer Dramatic Society's Dead Man's Hand ("small cast worked well together... the characters developed well within the fast-paced script" - NWN).
6 Jun	Review of the Watermill's Blithe Spirit ("the Watermill showed how it should be done - and did it superbly" - NWN).
2 Jun	KATS' next production in Upper Bucklebury is a double bill Weekend Breaks and Dinner Plans at the end of July.
2 Jun	The Guild of King Alfred Players are holding open meetings and auditions for their November production of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The meetings are in June and July.
31 May	Review of Mortimer Dramatic Society's production of Dead Man's Hand ("production needed more pace... will keep you guessing until the end" - Newbury Theatre).
31 May	New season at the Hexagon and South Street in Reading.

Coming soon

The Community of Hungerford Theatre Company Children’s Theatre are producing the musical Robin Hood and Friends on 27th June. This fun musical explores the relationships between Robin Hood and his many friends and enemies. Swash-buckling scenes are alternated with sensitive moments, and dungeon scenes contrasted with feasting and dancing.

This summer, as part of Wantage Summer Festival, The Domino Players present William Shakespeare's Macbeth, the tragedy about a regicide and its aftermath. The Domino Players' company of actors range from 14 - 70 years old and are performing in the ideal surroundings of Lains Barn, Wantage, from 1st to 3rd July.

King Alfred Players - Auditions The Guild of King Alfred Players are holding open meetings and auditions for their November production in Wantage of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. These will be held in the Red Cross Hall, Wantage, at 7:30 on Tuesday 9th June, Tuesday 7th July and Tuesday 14th July. Everyone is welcome, for both front- and back-stage roles.

Shinfield Players Theatre are holding read-throughs and auditions for their October production of Sweeney Todd on 13th, 15th, 19th, 20th and 22nd July. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by Hugh Wheeler, Based on a version of Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond. New members are welcome to the readings and auditions.

Hippolita loves Soranzo; Soranzo loves Annabella; Annabella loves Giovanni; Giovanni loves Annabella - Giovanni and Annabella are brother and sister. StopGap Theatre's production at North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford from 15th to 18th July is 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, John Ford’s thrilling masterpiece of illicit desire, appalling destruction, and eternal damnation.

As part of HADCAF, The Community of Hungerford Theatre Company are staging three one-act plays at the Theatre in the Arcade from 20th to 25th July. The plays are A Cream Cracker Under the Settee by Alan Bennett, A Dog's Life by Pam Valentine and Still Waters by Delsie Darke.

If you want your group's poster to be on the front page, then email it to the editor:

This site was last updated on 30-Jun-2009.