Newbury theatre guideFind 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.
News and special eventsShop in Waitrose Newbury and support your local groups! When you shop in Waitrose, you get a green token to put in one of three pots to support local causes. In Waitrose Newbury in March, those three are The Community of Hungerford Theatre Company, Compton Players and Kennet Opera. At the end of the month, Waitrose divide £1000 in proportion to the number of tokens given to each group. Oxfringe is the fringe festival for Oxford, featuring music, literature, comedy and theatre. Oxfringe 2010 runs from 24th March to 11th April. Oxfringe drama productions are included on the BT Studio and OFS Studio pages. Theale Green Community School are looking for local amateur groups to perform the ten short plays in their Mystery Cycle on the school playing field on 18th April (see the poster on the right). The plays are: Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, The Nativity, The Slaughter of the Innocents, The Wedding at Cana, The Garden of Gethsemane, The Trial, The Crucifixion, The Harrowing of Hell and The Resurrection - a mixture of tragic and humorous tales to choose from. All are short (five pages) and can be learnt or read from the script; the narrative lines can particularly suit being read out. They can be plotted in as few as three rehearsals. A cast of thirty could all play a part but a troupe of four or five could easily manage in multiple roles. You can see more about it at www.rwbarts.com. Theale Green will offer the venue, a choice of script and guidance from their Actor in residence. It is up to you how you perform and stage the story in your own unique style. If your group would like to take part in this exciting community event, contact Nigel Wilson, Drama Department, Theale Green Community School, 0118 930 8552 or This year's Didcot Drama Festival of One Act Plays takes place from 25th to 29th May at the Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot (www.cornerstone-arts.org). Kennet Opera's next production is The Elixir of Love by Donizetti, which will be performed at the Newbury Corn Exchange on June 24th to 26th. Rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings at the Hungerford Rugby Club at 19:30, beginning January 27th. All welcome. Auditions for chorus parts are open to all - anyone interested is welcome to come along for a few rehearsals before auditioning. Auditions for principal parts are initially only open to society members, though others will be considered if the company cannot cast internally. For more information, see the society website: www.kennetopera.co.uk. What's new
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| Date | Item |
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| 13 Mar | New season at Central Studio, Basingstoke. |
| 9 Mar | The plays for the Watermill's Raising Voices from 29th to 31st March are One Plus Infinity, The Road to Port of Barry, Planting David and Nearer to Shakespeare. |
| 7 Mar | Hungerford Young Performers Theatre are presenting Grimm Tales, a compilation of Grimm's fairy tales, at Herongate Leisure Centre on 20th March. |
| 6 Mar | Information about the Oxfringe drama productions. |
| 6 Mar | New season at Arlington Arts Centre, Newbury |
| 6 Mar | New season at BT Studio, Oxford. |
| 6 Mar | When you shop at Waitrose Newbury in March, your green token will go to The Community of Hungerford Theatre Company, Compton Players or Kennet Opera. |
| 4 Mar | Review of The Community of Hungerford Theatre Company's Carousel ("TCHTC continued the tradition of encouraging youngsters... this production never quite took off for me" - NWN). |
| 4 Mar | Review of KATS' Cinderella 2 - After the Ball ("a wonderful night's entertainment... KATS delivered another first class pantomime" - NWN). |
| 3 Mar | Progress Youth Theatre's productions at the end of March are The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and Travesties by Tom Stoppard. |
| 3 Mar | Theale Green Community School are looking for amateur groups to perform one of ten short mystery plays in April. |
| 27 Feb | New season for Sinodun Players, Wallingford. |
| 27 Feb | New season for Abingdon Drama Club. |
| 27 Feb | Domino Players' next production in March is Alan Ayckbourn's Round and Round the Garden. |
| 27 Feb | Faringdon Dramatic Society's June production is Cold Comfort Farm. |
| 27 Feb | Goring Gap Players' next production in March is Map of the Heart. |
| 27 Feb | Hook Players' April production is Alan Ayckbourn's Round and Round the Garden. |
| 27 Feb | New season for KATS in Thatcham. |
| 27 Feb | Kingston Bagpuize Drama Group's April production is The Female of the Species. |
| 25 Feb | Review of Boundary Players' Silhouette ("a very enjoyable evening's entertainment" - NWN). |
| 23 Feb | New Era Theatre Club's March production is Humble Boy at Wash Common, Newbury. |
| 23 Feb | The Old Gaol Theatre Company are producing Prescription for Murder in Abingdon in March. |
| 23 Feb | Overton Dramatic Society's May production is The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society Murder Mystery: "Murder at Checkmate Manor". |
| 23 Feb | Purley Players are producing Dish of the Day at the end of April. |
| 23 Feb | Russell Players of Swallowfield's next production in March is The Boy Who Fell Into a Book. |
| 23 Feb | Starmaker are producing Fame in March and Honk! in May. |
| 23 Feb | Studio Theatre Club's next production in May is The Hypochondriac in Abingdon. |
| 23 Feb | WLOS's June production is Guys and Dolls at the Kenton Theatre, Henley. |
| 21 Feb | New season for Shinfield Players. |
| 21 Feb | New season at Woodley Theatre. |
| 20 Feb | New season at the Kenton Theatre, Henley. |
| 20 Feb | H.A.O.D.S's next production in April is The Boyfriend. |
| 20 Feb | Reviews of the Watermill's Heroes ("brilliantly funny... concise, excellent play" - NWN; "very funny and moving tale" - Newbury Theatre). |
| 14 Feb | Review of Silchester Players' Little Red Riding Hood ("a refreshing and highly-original twist to the fairytale" - NWN). |
Coming soon
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If you want your group's poster to be on the front page, then email it to the editor: |













