Progress Theatre is a local theatre company at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

in England. It is a registered charity and it is a member of the Little Theatre Guild (LTG) and the

National Operatic and Dramatic Association NODA has a membership of 2500 amateur theatre groups and 1000 individual enthusiasts throughout the UK, staging musicals, operas, plays, concerts and pantomimes in a wide variety of performing venues, ranging from the country's leading profes ...

(NODA).

History

Progress Theatre was established in 1946 with the aim of presenting new and challenging work. Its first production was staged in 1947 in Palmer Hall, West Street, Reading. It moved to its present location, The Mildmay Hall, The Mount (near

Reading University The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

) in 1951. In 1964, after a fund raising campaign, the

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England * Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

of the building was bought. After modernisation, the theatre now seats 97 people.

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...

, who was a member of the theatre in the late 1970s became Progress Theatre

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

in 2011.

Educational role

In the 1950s a Student Group for 14- to 18-year-olds was set up. A charitable organisation, "The Progress Theatre" was established in 1962 with the object of promoting education in performing arts in Reading and the surrounding area. Since 2009, the Progress Youth Theatre consists of two groups for 15- to 18-year-olds and groups for school years 4 to 6 (ages 8 to 11), 7 to 8 (ages 11 to 13) and 9 to 10 (ages 13 to 15). The groups give a public performance each year.

Present day

The theatre has a membership of around 150 people and puts on a regular menu of classic and contemporary theatre. All of these productions are managed by volunteers. The theatre also stages a summer open-air event, predominantly a Shakespeare play, at the historic and newly-revovated ruins of

Reading Abbey Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, m ...

. These productions are managed in partnership with

Reading Borough Council Reading Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. Berkshire is purely a ceremonia ...

. In 2007, the event was expanded to form the Reading Abbey Ruins Open Air Festival. Due to the ongoing restoration of the abbey, in 2011 the event temporarily moved to the gardens of Caversham Court, the site of a Tudor manor house on the banks of the River Thames. However, it returned to Reading Abbey Ruins in 2018, following the completion of the renovations, and continued to perform from this beautiful location.

Past productions

Progress has presented contemporary plays since its founding and the first performances in England of ''

The Good Woman of Setzuan ''The Good Person of Szechwan'' (german: Der gute Mensch von Sezuan, first translated less literally as ''The Good Man of Setzuan'') is a play written by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, in collaboration with Margarete Steffin and Ruth Berla ...

'' by Bertolt Brecht and '' The Shadow of a Gunman'' by

Seán O'Casey Seán O'Casey ( ga, Seán Ó Cathasaigh ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes. ...

were produced at the theatre in 1952 and 1958 respectively. More recently, Progress has produced a series of Christmas shows based on popular children's books including: *''

Mort ''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the ...

'' by

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first no ...

(adap.

Stephen Briggs Stephen Briggs (born 1951) is a British writer of subsidiary works and merchandise surrounding Terry Pratchett's comic fantasy ''Discworld''. '' The Streets of Ankh-Morpork'', the first Discworld map, was co-designed by Briggs and Pratchett an ...

) in 1997–1998 *''

James and the Giant Peach ''James and the Giant Peach'' is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The first edition, published by Alfred Knopf, featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. There have been re-illustrated versions of ...

'' by Roald Dahl in 2005–2006, using an adaptation by David Wood usually available only to professional productions. Recent years have also seen productions of notorious plays such as ''

Blasted ''Blasted'' is the first play by the British author Sarah Kane. It was first performed in 1995 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London. Synopsis The play is set in an expensive hotel room in Leeds. Ian, a foul-mouthed middle-aged tabloid ...

'' by Sarah Kane while the yearly open-air Shakespeare season continues to prove popular.

Past seasons

Famous members

*Sir

made his earliest theatre appearances with Progress Theatre in the 1970s, including one minor role as "second policeman" and is the theatre's

. *Dame

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

is currently the patron of the Friends of Progress Theatre. *

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

, a pop singer and actress, was a member of the Theatre's Student Group in the early 1960s. * Gerard Johnson, a British keyboard player, was also a member of the Theatre's Student Group between 1976 and 1981. * Peter Strickland, director and screenwriter of

Berberian Sound Studio ''Berberian Sound Studio'' is a 2012 British psychological horror film. It is the second feature film by British director and screenwriter Peter Strickland. The film, which stars Toby Jones, is set in a 1970s Italian horror film studio. Plot B ...

. *

Elize du Toit Elize du Toit (born 21 February 1980) is a South African-born English actress best known for playing the role of Izzy Davies in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2000 to 2004, with a brief return in 2007. Early life Elize du Toit was ...

, an actress who has appeared in

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...

and

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...

. *

Brendan Patricks Brendan Patricks (born 3 December 1980) is a British actor and magician from Reading, England. He is well known for playing the role of Evelyn Napier in Downton Abbey. Patricks was born in Reading to an Irish father and English mother, and att ...

, a London based magician and actor from

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

Notes

A. ''My Voice(s)'', a piece of new writing featured in the First Write Fest, was subsequently developed and performed at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringebr>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9NzMer9tf

References

External links

Progress Theatre website
{{coord, 51, 26, 39.9, N, 0, 57, 28.12, W, region:GB, display=title Arts organizations established in 1946 Amateur theatre companies in England Organisations based in Berkshire Culture in Reading, Berkshire Theatres in Berkshire Buildings and structures in Reading, Berkshire Charities based in Berkshire Community theatre Little_Theatre_Guild_of_Great_Britain