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

Book now for the RSC's Dream in March - see below.

See What's on for a list of everything.

Things are up in the air again with theatres thinking how to go back to online-only productions as well as outreach activities, including some that are specifically theatre related.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

In a profile pic-obsessed, filter-fixated world where online and reality blur, influencer Dorian Gray makes a deal. For his social star never to fade. For the perfect self he broadcasts to the world to always remain. But as his mental health starts to decline, as corruption and murderous depravity start to creep into his world, the true and horrific cost of his deal will soon need to be met. This is a brand-new adaptation that brings Oscar Wilde’s Faustian tale kicking and screaming into a world of Instagram, Facebook and dating apps. The Picture of Dorian Gray is co-produced by The Barn Theatre, Lawrence Batley Theatre, New Wolsey Theatre, Oxford Playhouse and Theatr Clwyd.

This is a video on demand production available for streaming from 16th to 31st March. Tickets are £12 and can be bought via the Watermill site - the Watermill benefits from ticket sales.

Stage 100

At least three of those listed in the prestigious Stage 100 – normally recognising the most powerful people in theatre in a year and this time about theatre in the pandemic – have links to Newbury. Read Trish Lee's article about it in the Newbury Weekly News here.

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?

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, particularly now when a lot of us will be stuck at home.

Mortimer Dramatic Society

Mortimer Dramatic Society are at the forefront of amateur theatre in the area with a new audio presentation, available online, of Joyce Grenfell monologues, performed by members of the society, directed by Kerry Thomas and narrated by Tom Shorrock. This selection features the classic Joyce Grenfell monologues, Free Activity Period, read by Phil Collins; The Committee, read by Mark Auckland; A Terrible Worrier, read by Neil Johnson; Shirley’s Girlfriend, read by Paula Stenson.

They have also released The Snow Goose as an audiobook. For some years they have produces pieces for the hospital radio service at The Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. One of these is a four-part presentation of Paul Galico’s novella. This beautifully poetic story, written in simple lyric prose, tells the story of Philip Rhayader a lonely hunchbacked artist who lives alone in an abandoned lighthouse on the desolate Great Marsh of Essex. One afternoon, a hauntingly beautiful child, Fritha, visits Rhayader, bringing with her an injured snow goose. At first Fritha is scared of Rhayader, with his sinister hump and crooked hand, but he is gentle and kind and Fritha begins to visit regularly. When the snow goose departs for home, Rhayader is left alone again. The following winter, the snow goose and Fritha return to the lighthouse. Time passes and one year Fritha is frightened to discover her feelings for Rhayader. But this is 1940 and Rhayader is setting sail for Dunkirk to help the soldiers trapped on the beaches. Fritha never sees Rhayader again. But the story of the saviour with the snow goose passes from soldier to soldier and into legend…
You can listen to the episodes now on the MDS web site, at www.mortimer-dramatic.org/the-snow-goose-audiobook.

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.

The RSC are offering Dream, a live, online performance set in a virtual midsummer forest. Theatre, music and groundbreaking technology combine in an extraordinary exploration into the future of live performance. 12th to 20th March.

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

Latest news

Date	Item
17 Jan	Creation Theatre presents Grimm Tales for Fragile Times and Broken People, a deliciously dark and twisted set of fairy tales, online via Zoom, performed LIVE by a five-strong cast from 28th January to 14th February.
17 Jan	Online Murder Mystery ‘The Curse of Queen Nefertiti’s Necklace’. Still a few seats left for this great online 'Egyptian Murder Mystery', in aid of the October Club, Wantage. It's for an organisation which cares for people suffering from Alzheimer’s and Dementia. The Murder Mystery is at 19:00 on Friday 22nd January.
12 Jan	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 with disturbing consequences. Can things ever be the same again?