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. Follow us on Twitter . Email us at
Posters of forthcoming productions are here.

In the spotlight

Romeo and Juliet: Creation Theatre Company (Wed 12 May to Sun 23 May).
Relatively Speaking: The Mill at Sonning (Tue 18 May to Fri 30 Jul).
Lessons in Life: Progress Theatre (Wed 19 May to Fri 21 May).
The Hound of the Baskervilles: Watermill Theatre (Fri 21 May to Sat 19 Jun).

Reading's Rabble Theatre are premiering a new play by Newbury's Beth Flintoff: The Last Abbot of Reading from 11th June to 3rd July in Reading Abbey ruins. It's about Hugh Faringdon, Henry VIII and the ruin of Reading Abbey.

Progress Theatre's Abbey Ruins Open Air Shakespeare production this year is Romeo and Juliet from 14th to 24th July.

Miracle Theatre from Cornwall are bringing their outdoor touring production of Starcrazy to Ogbourne Maizey near Marlborough on 14th July.
October 1957: the world lives in fear of nuclear war, Russia has launched Sputnik 1, UFOs are cropping up everywhere, MI5 is on high alert and Stanley is building something in his garden shed. He may live in suburbia but, in his mind, Stanley is voyaging through outer space. He hopes to make contact with other life forms. His neighbour, Gwen, thinks he should be exploring the unknown much closer to home… A cosmic comedy about obsession and the rekindling of love, hope and possibility.

See What's on for a list of everything.

Online productions

Strangers is the new online film currently picking up critical acclaim at the online festival theSpaceUK. Written by local writer Nick Card and starring local actors Emily Browne and Steve Schollar it tells a dark tale of when two strangers meet by chance. Desperate circumstances lead to desperate action that result in a shocking revelation with disturbing consequences. Can things ever be the same again?

Life in Stages is the National Theatre’s brand-new interview series that profiles some of the biggest names in British theatre. Featuring interviews from Olivia Colman and Rufus Norris, Jessie Buckley and Josh O’Connor, and Adrian Lester and Meera Syal. Each episode reveals the funny, personal, and poignant stories from their lives on the stage. Watch Life in Stages for free on the NT's YouTube channel. New episodes every week from 22 April!

Newbury Theatre and Penny Post

Newbury Theatre has joined up with Penny Post to give updated theatre information, and it will also appear here. Penny Post is a great source of local information - if you don't know it already, I can thoroughly recommend it.

Online theatre

The National Theatre are making their NT Live recordings available online. You can subscribe for £9.98 a month or rent individual plays for £7.99.

You can search for reviews of previous productions - there are more than 900 pages of them in the Archive!

Latest news

Date	Item
10 May	Sinodun Players' first production since lockdown is The Wind in the Willows at Wallingford Corn Exchange from 14th to 17th July.
9 May	And now the Corn Exchange, Newbury are back with a summer season of outdoor productions, opening the batting with Blithe Spirit at Thatcham Cricket Club on 20th June. This is followed in July and August by Pride and Prejudice and The Importance of Being Earnest at Welford Park, The Great Gatsby at Shaw House and A Midsummer Night's Dream at Bucklebury.
4 May	The Watermill are back with three outdoor productions from 21st May. There's The Hound of the Baskervilles - if you missed it last year, don't miss it this time, As You Like It from the Watermill Ensemble, and Just So, a family musical inspired by Rudyard Kipling's Just So stories.
25 Apr	Life in Stages is the National Theatre’s brand-new interview series that profiles some of the biggest names in British theatre. Featuring interviews from Olivia Colman and Rufus Norris, Jessie Buckley and Josh O’Connor, and Adrian Lester and Meera Syal. Each episode reveals the funny, personal, and poignant stories from their lives on the stage. Watch Life in Stages for free on the NT's YouTube channel. New episodes every week from 22 April, starting with Rufus Norris and Olivia Colman.
25 Apr	Kennet Opera are presenting three outdoor concerts in July and August in Wantage, Newbury and Brimpton. This follows the outdoor concerts they did last year with arias and choruses from grand operas that we all love – Puccini, Verdi, Mozart and more.
18 Apr	New Era Players are back, with an outdoor production of Daisy Pulls It Off at Shaw House between 17th and 26th June.
11 Apr	Woodley Light Operatic Society's next production is Celebrate the Musicals, a relaxed evening of musical entertainment in a cabaret setting with a ploughman's supper.
11 Apr	Shinfield Players' next production is Bloomin' Murder on Zoom. A virtual Murder Mystery by Carol Vockins. The PLOT thickens, can you SHED any light on it? Can you un EARTH the murderer? Can you WEED out who's DUG themselves into a HOLE? Enjoy the virtual challenge of being a detective for the evening!
11 Apr	Kennet Opera are planning to do more outdoor concerts in 2021. So far, they've booked Shaw House again for the evening of Sunday 11th July and they hope to return to Church House in Wantage in the same month.

Now and coming soon

theSpaceUK - Strangers Strangers is a new online film from theSpaceUK. Written by local writer Nick Card and starring local actors Emily Browne and Steve Schollar it tells a dark tale of when two strangers meet by chance. Desperate circumstances lead to desperate action that result in a shocking revelation.

New Era - Daisy Pulls It Off Daisy Pulls It Off is a jolly romp from New Era Players in the style of the old Angela Brazil books for girls, set in a boarding school in the 1920/30s. Though scorned by some of the girls because of her humble roots, Daisy Meredith sets out with her best friend to find the school treasure. After many trials and tribulations, all comes good. This is an outdoor performance at Shaw House between 17th and 26th June.

Sinodun Players - The Wind in the Willows Sinodun Players return to the stage with The Wind in the Willows at Wallingford Corn Exchange from 14th to 17th July. It's one of the all-time great animal stories and a true classic of children’s literature. It introduces us to Mole, Rat, Badger and – of course – the irrepressible Toad. Will Toad get out of prison and find his way home? And can his friends help him to save Toad Hall?

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This site was last updated on 10-May-2021. Our web hosts are ION Systems.