A theatre company is inviting its audience inside Reading Prison for the first time in years.
The prison – which is also known as the Gaol- has been closed since the last prisoners left in November 2013.
Guests were briefly allowed a glimpse into the prison for the ArtAngel exhibition in 2016.
Now a Reading theatre company is inviting guests to enter the prison for the first time since then.
RABBLE Theatre will be holding a preview event ahead of their planned full-scale production of William The Conqueror in 2027.
The actors will be presenting exclusive selected scenes, workshops and demonstrations from the production when the event take place on Saturday, June 28.
The production company has been granted access to Reading Prison by its owners the Ziran Education Foundation.
Chinese businessman Channing Bi, the founder of the foundation, purchased the prison for £7 million from the Ministry of Justice in January last year.
Although development plans have not surfaced yet, Mr Bi has initially indicated he would like to create a hotel, museum and art gallery at the prison.
Mr Bi invited the media, former mayor Tony Page and Matt Rodda, the Labour MP for Reading Central to the prison last October.
Since then, the Prison has been closed off again, with an augmented reality exhibition in January the public to view artwork hung on the walls using a phone app, without entering the site itself.
RABBLE Theatre, previously known as ‘Reading Between the Lines’ has a penchant for historical productions, with dramatisations of the lives of King Henry I, Empress Matilda and King Henry II.
