By Gillie Tunley and Brenda Sandilands.
‘Jerusalem’ at the Progress Theatre. Photo courtesy of the Progress Theatre.
The inspired Progress Theatre Company are staging Jerusalem, the acclaimed and award-winning play by Jez Butterworth. Tautly directed by the insightful John Goodman, it is a savagely funny and anarchic masterpiece of life in our green and pleasant land whose themes of disaffection, poverty and homelessness resonate still now.
Reading Rep are staging the charming A New Coat for Christmas by Anna Glynn, directed by Owen Jenkins, with sprinklings of festive fizz and a magical musical score by Robin Colyer, directed with zest by Catriona Mackenzie. It is based on a true tale of finding friendship by Harriet Ziefert.
The accomplished Progress Youth Theatre are presenting their bold interpretation of the ancient Greek canon The Oresteia (ingeniously adapted and delicately directed by Rhys Lawton). Its themes of justice and gender equality still resonate today.
Liz Real and Martina Hildebrandt, eminent local artists, have combined their creative forces to present a fun and feisty exhibition of work at the Central Library’s HolyBrook gallery portraying eminent women of the area and also examining the compelling history of our prison.
‘Birdsong’ at the Progress Theatre. Photo (c) Richard Brown
We will remember them…
The Progress Theatre are performing Sebastian Faulks’ poignant Birdsong this week. Cleverly condensed for the stage by Rachel Wagstaff, this story of love and loss alternates between the war torn horror of 1916 and the tranquil peacetime of Amiens and is directed with great emotional insight by Steph Dewar.
Jesus Christ Superstar at the Progress Theatre. Photo (c) Richard Brown.
The Progress Theatre dazzled on 12 September with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar, directed by the inspirational Andy Camichel with wonderful musical direction by Jane Southern and fabulous Band, and choral coaching by the versatile Stuart McCubbin.
This week, the Reading Rep Theatre present Carmen the Gipsy, based on the original Prosper Mérimée legend, in collaboration with the Romany Theatre Company. It is a powerful and punchy production (directed by Abigail Graham) and is infused with Romany values, featuring magnificent original music (by the inspired Dan Allum).
By Gillie T and Brenda Sandilands
And then the rabbit died, co-written by Atramental Theatre’s Kate Sullivan and Rory Devlin, was first performed in November last year and is still highly topical. This raw and funny play takes us through the confusing maze that is Ireland’s family planning system (or lack of, in the words of the playwrights).
By Brenda Sandilands and Gillian Tunley
Reading University Dramatic Society’s (RUDS) captivating new musical leads us into an imaginary end-of-the-world scenario. A long-lost letter which foresees the doom and destruction of the planet is discovered – is a devastating meteor on its way?
By Gillie Tunley and Brenda Sandilands
Our cultural journey began at the elegant Barn in Upper Redlands Road and we admired Joy Frey’s gloriously vibrant handmade original prints and Ursula Waechter’s gorgeous brush-decorated earthenware, so reminiscent of the classic and well-loved Aldermaston pottery. We also enjoyed watching the resident hens scuttling joyously over the velvet green lawn!
By Gillie Tunley and Brenda Sandilands.
Happy Jack at the Progress Theatre. Photo (c) Richard Brown, courtesy of the Progress Theatre.
Progress Theatre are staging Happy Jack, John Godber’s timeless and touching tale (inspired by his own grandparents) of a couple in mining Yorkshire, where coal is king.
By Gillie Tunley and Brenda Sandilands.
Photo (c) Aidan Moran, Progress Theatre.
This week the inspirational Progress Theatre are staging two original plays which examine the troubled world of mental health.
By Gillie Tunley and Brenda Sandilands.
Alison Hill as ‘Kay’ in ‘Little Gem’ at the Progress Theatre. Photo (c) Richard Brown.
The Progress Theatre are performing Elaine Murphy’s tenderly crafted Little Gem next week. Steph Dewar’s warmly funny and moving production, intimately staged, employs seamlessly interwoven monologues that are delivered by three generations of working-class Irish women.
By Gillie Tunley and Matthew Farrall.
‘A Clockwork Orange’ at the Progress Theatre. Photo (c) Richard Brown
The fabulous Progress Theatre Company take us on a dystopian romp in their latest production of A Clockwork Orange, based on Anthony Burgess‘s cult novel and tautly directed by Matt Tully.
By Gillie Tunley and Brenda Sandilands.
Nanny Ogg (Liz Carroll) and Granny Weatherwax (Melanie Sherwood) in ‘Maskerade’. Photo (c) Aidan Moran
The Progress Theatre are staging the late-lamented Terry Pratchett‘s Maskerade this week, a Discworld play full of mystery, murder and musical mayhem. Chris Moran’s production fizzes with delicious lunacy – opera has never been such fun!
By Gillie Tunley and Brenda Sandilands.
The Picture of Dorian Gray. Photo (c) Richard Brown
The Progress Youth Theatre staged a winning and witty production of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Progress Theatre, Reading this week. It was skilfully adapted and slickly directed by Ali and Liz Carroll and engagingly performed by a mercurial cast of six, who slipped effortlessly between characters with the help of imaginative headwear and accessories, draped around the atmospheric set.
By Gillie Tunley and Brenda Sandilands.
Elisse Power, Alex McCubbin and Charlie West. Photo (c) Richard Brown
The Progress Theatre serves a slice of small-town America in the charmingly offbeat Buddy Cop 2 from the Debate Society of Brooklyn (Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen) and delightfully directed by the insightful Dan Clarke.
O joy, I’ve just discovered the divinely glitzy New Fashion ladies shop at 94 Whitley Street in Reading.
A Little Nibble. Photo (c) Richard Brown courtesy of the Progress Theatre
The Progress Theatre are presenting a sumptuous smorgasbord of superb drama this week in their 12th Annual Writefest, showcasing the best of local writing in six short plays.
Rob Rose (right)
Mick Jagger was not the only musical luminary to grace Milman Road. Musician Rob Rose, who died in 2014, lived on the road from 2012.
