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 . Email us at

Posters of forthcoming productions, audition notices and requests for help are below

Newbury Theatre: the future

I created the Newbury Theatre website 25 years ago, in April 2000. At that time, there were very few amateur groups that had their own web site, and I provided a platform that they could use. Now they all have their own web sites, and this seems a good point to change Newbury Theatre.

Up to now, some groups have been sending me information about their forthcoming productions, and I have perodically searched other group sites for this information. I'll no longer do this searching, but if you continue to send me your information, I'll include it. I'll also continue to include professional theatre information, but only for the Newbury Corn Exchange, the Watermill theatre, RABBLE Theatre and the Mill at Sonning. So nothing else for Reading, Basingstoke or Oxford.

On this basis, I'll retain newburytheatre.co.uk for at least two years. It contains a huge number of review pages - over 1000 - mostly from the Newbury Weekly News and I'm very grateful to the NWN and Trish Lee for giving me permission to publish them.

You can see what the site looked like in 2001 at web.archive.org/web/20010302021159/http://www.comptonplayers.freeserve.co.uk/. It hasn't changed much! I'll continue to provide a weekly theatre page on Penny Post.

If you have any comments or questions about this, please email me, Paul Shave at .

In the spotlight

My Fair Lady: The Mill at Sonning (Thu 20 Nov to Sat 17 Jan).
Hamnet: Theatre at the cinema (Fri 16 Jan to Thu 29 Jan).
Hamlet: Theatre at the cinema (Thu 22 Jan to Wed 11 Feb).
The Fifth Step: Theatre at the cinema (Fri 23 Jan to Thu 29 Jan).

See What's on for a list of everything.

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 1000 pages of them in the Archive!

Latest news

Date	Item
11 Jan	Russell Players' panto in Swallowfield on 28th and 31st January is Beauty and the Beast.
4 Jan	Kennet Opera's next production from 30th January to 1st February is Susannah at Shaw House, Newbury.
28 Dec	Review of Boundary Players' Play On! "a hilarious farce... laughs aplenty... a great ensemble piece of theatre... this kind of comedy can be difficult to pull off but Boundary Players did it admirably well" Newbury Weekly News.
20 Dec	AmEgos Theatre (Wantage) are holding a sing-through and auditions for their July production of The Pirates of Penzance on 15th February and 1st March 2026.
20 Dec	Blewbury Players are holding auditions for their July production of The Wind in the Willows on 31st January and 1st February 2026.

Now and coming soon

Russell Players - Beauty and the Beast Russell Players' panto on 28th and 31st January is Beauty and the Beast. Is Belle’s kindness any match for the evil Malevolent’s wickedness? Can he break the curse Malevolent has placed on the Beast and return him to his human form? Probably not, but add a clever and cunning fairy, and a dancing horse to the mix, with some laughter and audience participation, and she is certainly in with a chance. Join us and help Belle prove that love can conquer all in our production of Beauty and the Beast.

Faringdon Dramatic Society - Beauty and the Beast Faringdon Dramatic Society's panto is Beauty and the Beast from 30th January to 7th February. Be our guest in Little Snoring, where Belle is not living her best life. No friends, no good books and chased relentlessly by the repugnant Hugh. Belle is looking for adventure and boy, does she find it! Drawing inspiration from the iconic animated film; enchanted castles, living furniture and a brooding Beast all beckon in this one of a kind adventure. With dad jokes, poo jokes and a romance for the ages there is something for everyone in this tale as old as time retold.

Auditions and requests for help

Blewbury Players - The Wind in the Willows Blewbury Players are holding auditions for their July production of The Wind in the Willows as a workshop on the mornings and afternoons of 31st January and 1st February 2026. More information at www.blewburyplayers.co.uk/wind-in-the-willows-2026

AmEgos Theatre - The Pirates of Penzance AmEgos Theatre (Wantage) are holding a sing-through and auditions for their July production of The Pirates of Penzance. We'll have a sing-through and intro session on Sunday 15th Feb, followed by auditions on Sunday 1st March. Then rehearsals are every Wednesday and Sunday from 18th March. So there's something fabulous to fill your new calendars with! If you fancy singing some terrifically funny and touching songs, and being a pesky pirate, a plodding police officer or a military daughter... then come along. Performance dates: 23rd to 25th July. Register your interest or get more details by emailing

New Era - backstage help wanted New Era Players (Newbury) want backstage helpers.

If you want your group's poster to be on the front page, then email it to the

This site was last updated on 11-Jan-2026. Our web hosts are ION Systems.