No results found

Membership Banner 1296x140px Oct 24 ukcjw9
Culture, Theatre

The Reading Rep Theatre Announce First Repertory Company

divider

The Reading Rep Theatre in Berkshire has today announced their first ever repertory company, who will mark a milestone for the organisation by performing two productions in rep for the first time in the Berkshire theatre’s history.

Executive Director, Nick Thompson said: “You might be surprised to hear that this is the first rep company that Reading Rep has created in its 11 year history! It’s exciting to have such an incredible cast performing two classics. We really do have a production for everyone this Christmas. And we can finally feel truly deserving of our name!”

The two productions are: a new adaptation of the pantomime Potted Panto by Daniel Clarkson, Jefferson Turner and Richard Hurst (running from Monday 27thNovember – Sunday 31st December 2023, Press Night: 29th November), which brings the audience seven classic pantomimes in just seventy minutes.

Founding Artistic Director Paul Stacey said of Potted Panto: “Pantomime is a brilliant tradition in the UK, but sadly it's often not seen as great art. This panto, which covers almost every British panto, is a brilliant summation of everything that makes this tradition so special; from dance to music hall, slapstick to singing, drama to comedy and everything in between. It's not just a summary of panto, but a summary of everything that makes British theatre so special.”

The second festive outing is a new production of Mary Elliott Nelson’s adaptation of the classic 1946 movie It’s A Wonderful Life, running from Thursday 30th November – Saturday 30th December 2023 (Press Night: 5th December).

On It’s A Wonderful Life, Stacey said: “It’s A Wonderful Life is one of my favourite films of all time. It tells the story of how helping other people will help you. There is no better time to tell this tale of community, perseverance and hope. This production extends Reading Rep’s tradition of sellout successes at Christmas.”

The repertory company will comprise of Mark Desebrock (Hedda Gabler – Reading Rep, Hamlet – Almeida West End), Eugene Evans (Peter Pan – Reading Rep, Romeo 7 Juliet – Lyric Theatre), Orla O’Sullivan (War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience and We’ll Catch Stardust Yes We Will - The Vaults) and Charlotte Warner (A Christmas Carol, A Midsummer Night’s Dream– Reading Rep). Three of the cast return to the theatre having performed in productions during Reading Rep’s tenth anniversary season last year.

www.readingrep.com

RECOMMENDED

Clay Brown Julie Rodrigues Rosalind Holley Lucy Muigai. Photo Credit   Mykola Romanovskyy min lfihky
Wed 16 Oct 2024

In September, the largest-ever gathering of B Corps took place at the inaugural Than Words Festival in Oxford. The organisers' aim was to harness the power of people using business as a force for good, put ideas into action and tackle the issues that matter.

Junaid Mubeen   Author Photo qhjttp
Fri 20 Sep 2024

With the advent of ChatGPT and generative AI, the question of how humans retain our creative edge feels more pertinent than ever. Esther Lafferty talks to Oxford-Harvard mathematician Junaid Mubeen, a Countdown Champion, TED speaker and author.

STORNOWAY PRESS PHOTOCREDIT ALEX LAKE 001 p4sfoa
Mon 1 Jul 2024

Dr Brian Briggs – “Brian is fine” – divides his time between Llanelli’s Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Wetland Centre, where he is senior reserve warden, and his ‘other

nik kershaw
Fri 31 May 2024

Nik Kershaw’s debut album Human Racing came out in 1984 and saw him dominating the singles chart with tracks including Wouldn’t It Be Good, I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me and Dancing Girls. Swiftly followed by The Riddle, Nik spent 62 weeks in the charts and was one of the musicians to play Live Aid in July 1985.