Behind the Scenes Archives – Wokingham Theatre

Much Ado: Directors Q&A with Alan Long

A VE Day retelling of Shakespeare’s most famous romantic comedy will be rounding off the June 2024/25 season at Wokingham Theatre. We sat down with Director Alan Long to hear what audiences can expect from our production of Much Ado About Nothing. Without giving too much away for those who aren’t familiar, can you tell us a bit about the story? In many ways, it’s one of the original rom coms, featuring all the classic rom com tropes. People fall in love, there is a problem, people fall out of love, there is a genius solution and all is well. It’s your basic rom com structure! But in this case

How to get involved backstage at WT

The creative opportunities for getting involved with a Wokingham Theatre production extend far beyond acting, with the technical teams backstage providing the beating heart of theatre life. As we approach our 2025-26 season, our Technical Director Gary Rees, wants to lift the curtain on backstage opportunities, and take some of the fear out of people who may wish to learn a new technical skill, but are nervous about what it might entail. We sat down with him to hear what opportunities there are for getting involved with technical theatre and how to sign up, whatever your level of experie

Love From a Stranger – Director Q&A with Thomas Atkinson-Joy

Originally written in the 1930s, Agatha Christie’s Love from a Stranger is a remarkably contemporary thriller brought up to date to 2025. We’ve sat down with director Thomas Atkinson-Joy to hear what audiences have in store for our June production. Without spoilers, can you tell us a little bit about the play? Without spoilers? Tricky! The show follows Sophie, a young woman who has been stuck in both a fairly loveless long-distance relationship and a dead-end office job that she feels utterly trapped by. When she and her housemate win the lottery, finally she has a chance to escape and

Home I’m Darling – Q&A with Jerry Radburn

Laura Wade’s comedy / drama Home, I’m Darling, is coming to Wokingham Theatre. We sat down with director Jerry Radburn to hear what audiences have in store from our latest production. Without giving too much away (because we know there is a BIG twist in the story) what is the play about? Well that’s the trouble, it’s hard to say much without giving away the big twist, which we realise at the end of the first scene. But the story is examining the roles of women and domestic life in the 1950s, but the author looks at it through a modern day, contemporary lens. I think many of our audience

In Conversation: Pressure at Wokingham Theatre

It is widely regarded as the most important weather-based decision in history, as the Allies struggled to decide on the right day for the invasion of Normandy during the Second World War. The disagreement between British and American teams on the approach to the D-Day Landings is the historical backdrop for Wokingham Theatre’s latest play, David Haig’s Pressure. We caught up with cast member Dave Wood to hear what it’s like trying to bring this incredible series of events to life on our stage. Without giving too much away, what is the play about? It’s the true story of the Allied Forces trying

The Truth – Q&A with Rachel Pearson and Adrian McDougall

We sat down with Director Rachel Pearson and cast member Adrian McDougall to hear what audiences can expect from the first play of the new year.

Q&A with The Dresser director Murray Lindo

We sat down with The Dresser’s director, Murray Lindo to hear what audiences can expect from this gem of theatre.

Q&A with Entertaining Angels Director Margery Jackson

We sat down with Entertaining Angels director Margery Jackson to hear all about the rehearsal process and what’s in store for the first show this year.

Theatre Tour for New & Prospective Members

If you are a new member, or know someone who is thinking of joining, our next ‘Access All Areas’ Theatre Tour will be on Saturday 22nd June 2024 at 2pm. This is an opportunity to have a look round the theatre, meet other members and see what’s going on and what’s coming up. It’s also an ideal opportunity to see what is involved in all the Front Of House, Technical, and Back-Stage roles that we are always looking for volunteers for – maybe there is an area that you would like to be involved with ? For further information contact Rachel Pearson at RachelP@woki

From the Director: Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Christopher Hampton wrote the play Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which he adapted from the epistolary novel by Choderlos de Laclos in the mid 70s. It was eventually produced by the RSC in 1985 at The Other Place, Stratford, and was scheduled for just 22 performance with Alan Rickman in the role of ‘Valmont’. Its surprising commercial success led to a transfer to the West End in 1986, and the following year, he wrote the screen play for the much feted film version ‘Dangerous Liasons’ which came out in 1988. The novel, set in pre-revolutionary France in the 1780’s, is about French Aristocrats