READING Repertory Theatre has laid out its shows for the 2024/2025 season– set to be their largest yet.
This season marks the theatre’s 14th and aims to turn well-known stories “on their head” in a programme of shows called ReImagine.
From October, the theatre will begin its run for the upcoming season with the critically-acclaimed Outpatient.
Following a sell-out run at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the production sees the return of Harriet Madeley, who last worked with Reading Rep on last year’s Hedda Gabler.
The Summerhall Lustrum Award-winning comedy follows a woman’s exploits after she is given an untimely death sentence, showing at Reading Rep from Thursday-Saturday, October 15-19.
The company is following up with a collaboration with Orange Tree Theatre and Guildford Shakespeare Company for Shakespeare Up Close.
The show features productions of Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet, some of William Shakespeare’s most seminal works.
The show is designed to support the school curriculum for Key Stage Three and Four students in 80-minute abridgements which tell the complete story using Shakespeare’s original text.
They feature contemporary settings and clear, dynamic staging to make the plays accessible to students.
Shakespeare Up Close comes to Reading Rep on Saturday, November 9.
This year’s Christmas production is The Snow Queen, adapted from the beloved Hans Christian Andersen story by Anna Wheatley.
The Snow Queen is showing from Friday, November 29, to Tuesday, December 31.
For its first show of 2025, the company brings its first co-production with London’s Jermyn Street Theatre to the stage in The Maids.
Jean Genet’s 1947 classic follows sisters and maids Solange and Claire as they act out the killing of their employer.
The Maids is showing from Tuesday, January 28, to Saturday, February 8.
This will be followed by Sam Amestoy’s children’s tale, Rainbow Rescue, which follows Jesse’s first day on the job at the Rainbow Sighting Society.
With help from the audience, Jesse follows the seven steps from his Rainbow Rescue Handbook to bring back the colours of the rainbow.
Rainbow Rescue is showing from Thursday-Saturday, February 20-22.
Reading Rep is rounding off the season with Camille Ucan’s Three Hens in a Boat, in collaboration with Watermill Theatre.
The production, adapted from Jerome K Jerome’s novel Three Men in a Boat, follows Claudette, Gloria and Jay as they navigate the River Thames from Kingston to Henley and their subsequent misadventures.
Three Hens in a Thursday, May 1, to Saturday, May 17.
Paul Stacey, Founding Artistic Director of Reading Rep Theatre, said of the season, “I am thrilled to present our 2024/25 season of work.
“A programme that places Reading at the heart of the national theatre-making landscape, working with exciting names, extraordinary talent and stellar co-producers.
“Reading is, proudly, a cultural hub for the UK, and our 24-25 season reflects that.”
He added: “We remain committed as ever to supporting and nurturing emerging talent, and engaging meaningfully with audiences, both in Reading and across the country.”
Priority booking for members opens at noon on Thursday, September 5, followed by general sale at noon on Saturday, September 7.
Full details of upcoming shows and tickets are available via: readingrep.com
