Corn Exchange and New Greenham Arts

The Corn Exchange, Newbury, and New Greenham Arts

Box office

01635 522733
The Corn Exchange, Newbury. A map is here.
New Greenham Arts, 113 Lindenmuth Way, New Greenham Park, Newbury. A map is here.
Productions are at the Corn Exchange if no venue is shown.

Way Out West, 4th February, 20:00 at New Greenham Arts
Two men walk into a pub - and then it stops being normal. Pints are drunk; conversation spans the creation of the universe, the meaning of happiness, the chemical construction of pork scratchings – and how they seem to know more about each other than complete strangers could, or should. And they both seem to recollect dreams in which they met Laurel and Hardy, and each other. As the alcohol kicks in Simon and Peter find themselves lurching towards an unnerving philosophical and spiritual world, where it becomes a distinct possibility that they are Laurel and Hardy reincarnated... but that’s simply laughable, absurd and beyond comprehension – isn’t it? This funny, tender, melancholic and puzzling play comes from the company who created recent hit shows Meeting Joe Strummer and Don’t Shoot The Clowns.

Lord of the Flies, 7th to 8th February, 19:45 and 13:30 on Wednesday at The Corn Exchange
William Golding's Lord of the Flies is one of the most disturbing and celebrated novels of modern times. Multi award winning Sell a Door Theatre Company brings to stage one of Great Britain's most celebrated tales adapted by Nigel Williams in this 2012 UK revival of the classic tale of morality vs. immorality. A plane has crashed on an uninhabited island. The only survivors are a group of school boys. There are no homes or schools, no adults, no rules and before long the boys’ fragile sense of order begins to collapse. With the discovery of ‘the beast’, their games take on a more sinister significance and this once well-behaved group of children quickly turns into a bloodthirsty, murderous tribe.

Our Country’s Good, 28th February to 1st March, 19:45 and 13:30 on Thursday at The Corn Exchange
“A play is a world in itself. A tiny colony we could say. And you are in charge of it. That is a great responsibility” Australia. 1788. A British ship arrives with a cargo of soldiers and convicts transported abroad for their country’s good. As the soldiers struggle to impose order on the outcasts of the old society, a benevolent governor seizes on the notion of a play. In the shadow of the gallows and the gum tree the convicts gather under the direction of 2nd Lieutenant Ralph Clarke and rehearsals begin for The Recruiting Officer. Based on real events Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Olivier award winning modern classic is an inspiring tale of the transforming power of theatre. See the Reviews.

Suitcase Circus, 3rd March, 11:30 at The Corn Exchange
A delightfully heart-warming and interactive family-friendly spectacular. Meet Wobulous Discombobulous, the anarchic sock as he presents a line up of extraordinarily talented performing objects, all with their own unique and captivating storylines. Suitcase Circus features the most unlikely of performers including the world's only acrobatic potato sack, a daredevil ski glove, an incredible dancing milkshake straw, the hypnotic tie snake Windsor Knot, and the lovable yet bizarre magical Mexican hat Timrek.

For Once, 6th to 7th March, 19:45 at The Corn Exchange
In a place where everyone knows your name you can't forget who you are. Written by the multi-award winning welsh playwright Tim Price whose recent credits include writing for Donmar Warehouse and National Theatre of Wales, this highly acclaimed drama was inspired by a week spent in a Welsh borders market town and the young people he met there. Life, love and loss in a picture postcard town are laid bare in this heartbreaking but darkly comic new play. Through a series of intertwining accounts For Once cuts to the heart of a family, and a community, turned upside down by tragedy.

All the Single Ladies, 17th March, 14:30 and 19:45 at The Corn Exchange
Starring Leslie Ash & Brooke Kinsella. The course of true love never did run smooth… Three women, three stories, three lives and one problem, All the Single Ladies is an hilarious, feelgood evening with a marathon punch. Lies, deceit, red faces, regrets, hangovers and revenge. Liz is a veteran in the art of romance – if love is a battleground this woman calls the shots. Orla has waited so long for Mr Right she hasn’t noticed her prince has turned out to be a frog. Alison is just too young to have been left on her own. One has been married seven times. One would settle for being introduced to his friends; the other has just lost the love of her life. It seems these women have little in common but when was a woman all that she seems?

1 Beach Road, 22nd March, 19:45 at The Corn Exchange
1 Beach Road is the new play from the award winning RedCape Theatre. A tale of friendship, defiance, a shrinking island, synchronized swimming and trying to turn back the tide. With the unrelenting encroachment of the shoreline, the sea swallows the row of bungalows, the road, the garage, and eats its way to the back door of 1 Beach Road, where the inhabitants refuse to budge. Victoria and Jane are left standing at the edge of a precipice. 1 Beach Road explores the metaphorical connections between Alzheimer’s and Coastal Erosion and asks, “what is it like to lose everything - your home and your memories?”

Showtime, 22nd to 24th March, 20:00 at New Greenham Arts
Riding high on the wave of recent successes, the Nomads return to the stage this spring to blend their annual Showtime concoction. A throng of show-stopping songs, a dash of drama, with a few ladles of zany humour thrown in for good measure, this year they explore the perils of home-brewed love potions. May contain zombies.

The Seagull Effect, 28th March at The Corn Exchange
As a couple's relationship crumbles and they’re confronted by its debris, Britain is hit by the unexpected 1987 storm. As the winds break through the mundanity of British weather, typified by grey skies and cloudy sunshine, they also clear the way for some clarity and perspective on our everyday choices and their unforecasted effects. Using exciting and evocative staging, multimedia and personal recollections, Idle Motion pick their way through the chaos left behind during those remarkable six hours. They reflect upon the waves of destruction and the paths of the individuals it crossed.

Reviews of Robin Hood

2nd December 2011 to 2nd January 2012.

Review from the Newbury Weekly News.

Beg, steal, or borrow a child

Just get down to the Corn Exchange and join the fun with Robin and his merry band

Robin Hood, at the Corn Exchange, Newbury, until January 2

It's that time of year again (Ooooh yes, it is) for wicked villains to chase innocent princesses to the delight of children aged five to 55.

Indeed, Christmas, for yours truly, doesn't start before the first panto.

We all know how it's going to end and we all know the gags along the way, but we still want a few surprises arid the Hiss and Boo production of Robin Hood, at the Corn Exchange until January 2, certainly delivers.

Pantos are nothing if not magical, and it doesn't get more so than with a cameo appearance by the greatest wizard of them all: Gandalf (sorry Merlin).

The company lost one of its stars this year. Adam Brown - one half of Plested and Brown - is in New Zealand filming the forthcoming adaptation of The Hobbit, but Hiss and Boo pulled off a coup, getting Brown to not only record a tête-à-tête with Claire Plested - alone worth the price of the ticket - but also to rope in fellow Middle-earth adventurer, Sir Ian McKellen.

On opening night, with McKellen's 'appearance' a well-kept secret, the audience's excitement was palpable at hearing that unmistakable voice speak the most famous of Tolkien lines: "Thou shall not pass!" (Ominously reminding me of my maths exams.)

With the departure of Brown, a heavy load of comedy expectation weighs on Plested in the role of Sharon-A-Dale, the rapper with a south London twang.

But buckle? Not for a moment.

Her load is admittedly lightened considerably by Matthew Grace as the lovable and forgetful - but never forgettable - Billy Bumpkin, who has, he claims, been promised a new outfit for next year. We'll see, Billy, we'll see.

The baritone bearded lady, Ian Mowat, in the role of Lady Shania Tuck, gets all the best comedy bits and he - sorry, she - is surprisingly athletic for such a... voluptuous gal.

Individually, the rest of the cast all shone, but what lifts this production above the ordinary is the sheer amount of energy: dancing, cart wheeling, singing and swaying, the audience were gasping in sympathy.

My advice? If you don't have a child, borrow one. It's too much fun to miss.

EDDIE VAN DER WALT

There are reviews in The Stage ("the production team have excelled themselves"), The British Theatre Guide ("hugely enjoyable family entertainment... the perfect start to the festive season") and the Reading Chronicle ("they’ll be Robin an’ rollin’ from Newbury to Thatcham and beyond this Christmas thanks to the pantomime at the Corn Exchange").

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