Progress Theatre

The Progress Theatre web site is at www.progresstheatre.co.uk. You can find details of the Youth and Student Groups there.

Next productions

Progress Youth Theatre, 22nd to 27th March
This week will see a performance by the Floodlights (young people aged 15 to 17) and Blinders (young people aged 16 to 18). The two groups meet for weekly workshops in which they use warm-ups, drama games and exercises, and improvisation to develop theatre skills.
The Importance Of Being Earnest, 22nd and 24th March, 19:45
By Oscar Wilde. A rollicking comedy of manners and errors! Jack and his friend Algy create alter egos in order to escape their everyday lives. All very well until they discover Cecily and Gwendolyn (the young women they love) are in love with someone who is not (quite) them. Will true love survive a Gorgon mother, babies in handbags, train stations, Christenings, repulsive names, cucumber sandwiches (or lack of!), cake, muffins and tea?!?
Travesties, 23rd and 26th March, 19:45
By Tom Stoppard. Carr, in his 80s, remembers back (fondly, if somewhat erratically) to the good old days at the British Consulate in Zurich in 1917. The year he played ‘the other one – not Earnest’ in The Importance of being Earnest. The year he met, and fell out with, James Joyce, author of Ulysses, at that time Manager of ‘The English Players’. Carr’s mind plays mix and match with figures in history who were in Zurich at the time of the War (Lenin and his wife Nadya and Tristan Tzara, a Rumanian poet and Dadaist) and characters straight out of The Importance of being Earnest. What ensues is a romp through farce, satire, word-play, historical play, sharp wit and social comment.
DOUBLE BILL! 27th March The Importance Of Being Earnest, 17:30; Travesties, 19:45.

Intimate Exchanges, 14th to 24th April, 19:45
By Alan Ayckbourn. Lionel thinks himself a ladies’ man and is confronted with a choice between two very different ladies. He could start an affair with Celia, the long-suffering wife of an alcoholic headmaster, or try it on with Sylvie, Celia's housemaid with a yearning for self-improvement. Performances on alternate evenings show the different but equally hilarious events that unfurl depending upon Lionel's decision. A reduced price combined ticket to see both plays is available.

The Pillowman, 20th to 29th May, 19:45
By Martin McDonagh. In an oppressive police state, an author is dragged in for questioning following a series of brutal child murders that mirror his stories. The good cop/bad cop antics of his interrogators mask a dark undertone as the author is pressured into revealing the events of his own childhood that inspired his writing. Disturbing, hilarious and thought-provoking in equal measure, The Pillowman premiered at the National (starring David Tennant) and won two Tony Awards and an Olivier Award for McDonagh before he went on to write and direct the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning In Bruges.

Progress Youth Theatre, 14th to 19th June, 19:45
This week will see performances by the Parcans Group (young people aged 11 – 13) and the Strobes Group (young people aged 13 – 15). Each group meets for weekly workshops, to develop acting and production skills through improvisation, devising and various games, exercising and activities. The members are enthusiastic, energetic and committed. Last year the Parcans presented an adaptation of Twelfth Night whilst the Strobes presented two contemporary pieces: Mugged and Feather Boy. Both groups have also won awards at local Drama Festivals.

Where

Progress Theatre
The Mount, Christchurch Road, Reading RG1 5HL
Click here for a map.

Box Office

0118 960 6060, or via the web site at www.progresstheatre.co.uk.
Admin: 0870 774 3490.

Review of Five Children and It!

29th December 2008 to 10th January 2009.

From the Newbury Weekly News.

Five go back to childhood Five Children and It, at Progress Theatre, Reading, from December 29 to January 10 This E. Nesbit novel is the enchanting tale of five children and their discovery of a sand fairy who grants them wishes. It tells of the adventures that the children have and how they learn to be careful of what they wish for. Progress Theatre's production had been adapted from the novel by Ali Carroll, who also directed with Christine Moran. Together this team made every effort to give the story a refreshing new angle and demonstrated their creative flare. Instead of five siblings, we were introduced to five children being ill-treated in an unsavoury orphanage. Patrick Grimes as Cyril, Jack Jones as Robert, Syvie Briggs as Anthea and Maddie Fleming as Jane performed wonderfully together - a credit to the directors' casting. The added twist was that the story begins with all five children as grown ups. They return to the sand fairy and wish for the story of their youthful adventure to be retold. This worked well and the adult characters remained part of the action, discreetly interacting with the children and also assuming the role of five narrators. Kevin Hallett as adult Cyril, Steve Webb as adult Robert, Laura Lewis as adult Jane and Michael Beakhouse as adult Lamb, captured the characteristics of the children's roles. But, of course, there would be no story without the impish Psammead - or sand fairy to us - played by Sam Rogers. Sam was full of fun and won the audience over instantly with her excellent portrayal. A well-designed set complemented the action, with hinged flats hidden all over the stage allowing fluent scene changes by cast. However, the actual painting was not of the same standard and neither the lighting. The arrival of sunset was often too subtle to be effective. But this caused no serious distraction and it was a good production. Perhaps a shorter run would have seen a fuller audience enjoying it? It certainly entertained me and I would look forward to their next. DANIEL MASKELL

Previous productions

A Couple of Poor, English-speaking Poles, 1st to 6th March 2010
Going Postal, 28th January to 6th February 2010
Don Juan Comes Back From The War, 15th to 17th December 2009
Much Ado About Nothing, 26th November to 5th December 2009
4th Write Fest, 22nd to 24th October 2009
Closer, 28th September to 3rd October 2009
Little Sweet Thing, 7th to 9th July 2009
Twelfth Night, 29th to 30th June 2009
PYT Week, 29th June to 4th July 2009
The Dianalogues, 8th to 13th June 2009
Popcorn, 7th to 16th May 2009
Entrapment, 16th to 18th April 2009
Macbeth, 30th March to 4th April 2009
I, Bertolt Brecht, 5th to 14th March 2009
3rd Write Fest, 29th to 31st January 2009
Five Children and It!, 29th December 2008 to 10th January 2009
The Tamer Tamed, 20th to 29th November 2008
Kindertransport, 27th October to 1st November 2008. See the review in the Archive.
Honour, 22nd to 27th September 2008
The Taming of the Shrew, 14th to 26th July 2008
A Right Mouthful, 5th July 2008
Last Resort, 26th to 28th June 2008
The Women of Lockerbie, 19th to 24th May 2008. See the review in the Archive.
Four Nights in Knaresborough, 10th to 19th April 2008. See the review in the Archive.
Return to the Forbidden Planet, 14th to 23rd February 2008. See the review in the Archive.
2nd Write Fest, 17th to 19th January 2008
The Jungle Book, 28th December 2007 to 5th January 2008
Blue/Orange, 19th to 24th November 2007. See the review in the Archive.
My Voice(s), 3rd November 2007
The Veil, 22nd to 27th October 2007
Woman in Mind, 20th to 29th September 2007
A Midsummer Night's Dream, 16th to 28th July 2007. See the review in the Archive.
The Husband Defeated, 10th to 19th May 2007
Decadence and People in Cages, 16th to 21st April 2007
The Insect Play, 26th to 31st March 2007
Far Side, 12th to 15th March 2007 at 21 South Street
Wait Until Dark, 22nd February to 3rd March 2007. See the review in the Archive.
Festival of New Writing, 22nd to 27th January 2007
Alice in Storyland, 28th December 2006 to 6th January 2007
The Good Woman of Setzuan, 16th to 25th November 2006
Hannah and Hanna, 9th to 14th October 2006. See the review in the Archive.
Entertaining Mr Sloane, 7th to 16th September 2006. See the review in the Archive.
2006 Reading Abbey Ruins Open Air Shakespeare: The Winter's Tale, 17th to 29th July 2006. See the review in the Archive.
Dracula, 11th to 15th July 2006. Progress Theatre Student Group.
Skylight, 1st to 10th June 2006
Hot Chit Chat .com and In The Village, They Are Saying, 24th to 29th April 2006
Blasted, 20th to 25th March 2006
Julius Caesar, 1st to 4th March 2006
Breaking the Code, 9th to 18th February 2006. See the review in the Archive.
James and the Giant Peach, 29th December 2005 to 7th January 2006. See the review in the Archive.
Godspell, 10th to 19th November 2005
The Woman who Cooked her Husband, 3rd to 8th October 2005. See the review in the Archive.
... A Many Splendoured Thing, 24th July 2005
2005 Abbey Ruins Open Air Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, 18th to 30th July 2005. See the review in the Archive.
The Government Inspector, 5th to 9th July 2005
Charley's Aunt, 12th to 21st and 28th May 2005
Two New Plays, 4th to 9th April 2005
The Caucasian Chalk Circle, 24th February to 5th March 2005
The Demon Headmaster, 29th December 2004 to 8th January 2005. See the review in the Archive.
The Crucible, 18th to 27th November 2004
Happy Days, 11th to 16th October 2004
The Comedy of Errors, 27th July to 1st August and 11th September 2004
Much Ado About Nothing, 6th to 10th July 2004
Stepping Out, 17th to 26th June 2004. See the review in the Archive.
Too Clever By Half, 26th February to 6th March 2004. See the review in the Archive.
Rama and Sita, 30th December 2003 to 10th January 2004
Two New Plays, 10th to 15th November 2003:
  How to Become Famous by Arthur Burke
  Generation Games by Kerry Murdock
Copenhagen, 13th to 18th October 2003
Reading Abbey Ruins Shakespeare 2003
 The Merchant of Venice, 21st July to 2nd August. See the review in the Archive.