Imagine if nobody had taken a chance on Shakespeare…

As a producing theatre, we don’t just stage stories. We create them, develop them and give artists the chance to make work that begins here in Reading before finding audiences beyond our town.

Our Artistic Director, Paul Stacey, has written a short letter about why that matters—not just to us, but to everyone who walks through our doors.

Read Paul’s letter below

“Every classic was once a new play.

There was a time when Oscar Wilde was an unknown writer. Noël Coward was once a young playwright hoping someone would stage his work. William Shakespeare, Willy Russell, all relied on someone taking a chance on an untested voice. The stories we now treasure didn’t begin as classics – they became classics because a producing theatre believed in them.

That’s why producing theatres matter. And that’s why Reading Rep exists.

When I founded Reading Rep, the ambition wasn’t simply to bring more theatre to Reading. It was to create a company of artists making theatre together. That’s what the “Rep” in Reading Rep has always meant to me. Whilst we don’t produce work in the traditional weekly repertory model, we believe deeply in its spirit: a creative home where writers, actors, directors, designers, technicians and audiences come together to create work that begins here.

Being a producing theatre gives us something incredibly precious: the freedom to choose.

The freedom to rediscover great classics and ask why they still matter today. This season we’re celebrating Oscar Wilde through The Importance of Being Oscar – not simply looking backwards, but exploring why his wit, courage and humanity continue to speak to us more than a century later.

The freedom to breathe new life into familiar stories. Our new adaptation of A Christmas Carol isn’t about repeating what’s been done before; it’s about finding a fresh way to tell a story that still has the power to move us.

And the freedom to create the future. This season we’ll premiere Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s new adaptation of The Turn of the Screw, working with one of Britain’s most exciting writers to reimagine a literary masterpiece for today’s audiences. Last season, The Last Five Years, created with the Barn Theatre, began life here in Reading before going on to reach audiences beyond our town. That’s what producing theatres do. They don’t simply present stories – they create them.

Running through everything we do is one simple belief: we exist to give voice to people who might otherwise not be heard.

That means championing stories that deserve a wider audience. It means creating opportunities for artists whose work may never have been seen in Reading before. It means constantly asking who isn’t in the room yet – and how we can make theatre that welcomes them in.

Sometimes that means introducing audiences to a brilliant new writer. Sometimes it means reimagining a classic through a completely fresh perspective. Sometimes it means giving a local young person their first opportunity to train or perform professionally. More often than not, it means all of those things at once.

Every ticket you buy gives us permission to keep making those choices. It tells us there is an audience for ambitious theatre. It allows us to invest in local talent, employ brilliant artists, develop new work and take creative risks. It gives us the confidence to back the next generation while continuing to celebrate the stories that have shaped us.

Most people buy a ticket thinking about the next two hours. We think about the next twenty years. Because somewhere, a playwright is writing the next great play. Somewhere, an actor is waiting for their first opportunity. Somewhere, a young person in Berkshire is discovering that theatre could be part of their future.

If Reading Rep can help make even a small part of that happen, then we’re doing what we set out to do all those years ago. Thank you for believing in what we’re building together.

I look forward to welcoming you to the theatre soon.”