Unfortunately, the ongoing restoration work at the Abbey Ruins prevents us from producing our Open-Air Shakespare production in 2009. Instead, we will be giving an in-house production of Much Ado About Nothing in December. Progress Theatre (The Mount, Christchurch Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5HL) is a very different and far more intimate environment than the Abbey Ruins, but the same dedicated team will be producing the show to the highest standards.

In 2008, Progress Theatre presented The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare's riotous comedy of the sexes. Breaking with traditional presentations, the show was set in the Wild West with saloon brawls complementing the exquisite verse.

Previous years have seen productions of other Shakespeare classics:

• 1995 - Henry V
• 1996 - Macbeth
• 1997 - King Lear
• 1998 - Much Ado About Nothing
• 1999 - Richard III
• 2000 - Twelfth Night
• 2001 - As You Like It
• 2002 - Julius Caesar
• 2003 - The Merchant of Venice
• 2005 - Romeo and Juliet
• 2006 - The Winter's Tale
• 2007 - A Midsummer Night's Dream
• 2008 - The Taming of the Shrew

Find out more in our History section.