A DIVERSE range of theatre workshops is in the works over the next couple of years thanks to the Reading Rep theatre company.
Reading Rep Theatre’s ENGAGE programme will provide a variety of theatrical-based activities for vulnerable communities.
It has received support from both The National Lottery Community Fund and Arts Council England’s Cultural Recovery Fund.
The company has been given £200,000 for funding the ENGAGE programme for the next 24 months.
It will provide a summer programme and full participation programme ensuring everyone has the opportunity to access Reading Rep’s work.
Delivering 1,000 hours of free workshops per year and collaborating with 50 local organisations, the scheme will aim to reach 10,000 people.
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Paul Stacey, founding artistic director of Reading Rep, said: “We think of our productions as much more than what the audience eventually gets to see, we think of them as a participation project; an opportunity to engage with communities that otherwise might not be heard.
“It is these communities that have been most impacted by the pandemic and we can’t wait to welcome them to our new venue to collaborate and make and experience art together.”
Each project will be in collaboration with one of Reading Rep’s productions.
Participation projects will include Made in Reading, accompanying DORIAN, Dear Mr Scrooge,to go
with A Christmas Carol, Stranger than Fiction, with Jekyll and Hyde, Alby The Penguin goes to the Library, with Alby The Penguin Saves the World, and Dare to Dream, accompanying A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Reading Rep will deliver this project in partnership with Reading Borough Council, Reading Libraries, Reading College, Activate Learning, University of Reading and the NHS.
Helen Bushell, senior head of regional funding for London, South East and East at The National Lottery Community Fund, said she is “delighted” the funding is being used by the ENGAGE programme.
She added: “Thanks to National Lottery players, projects such as this across the country are playing a vital role at the heart of their local communities and will continue to do so as we rebuild and reconnect with one another throughout this year.”
For more details, visit readingrep.com
