morearts : more arts for Wokingham

Blunderbus Theatre Company: 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'

The Kenton Theatre, New Street, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 2BP

How to get there.

Plop was a baby Barn Owl with very knackety knees. He lived at the top of a tall tree, in a field. He was fat and fluffy. He had big round eyes. Plop was exactly the same as every barn owl that has ever been except for one thing: he was afraid of the dark.

One day, Mrs Barn Owl suggested that Plop fly down into the world and find out about the dark for himself. So Plop climbed out of his nest-hole, peeped over the edge, wobbled a bit and fell off his branch. And so began Plop's adventure...

With an irresistible blend of live music, puppetry and storytelling, this beautiful new show based on Jill Tomlinson's classic book introduces an old friend to a new generation of theatre-goers. Join Plop the baby barn owl as he journeys into the night-time world of campfires, fireworks, starry nights and moonlit adventures. Come join us - it's going to be a hoot!

"Packs charm in bucketloads" - The Stage.
"Totally captivating" - The Primary Times

Tickets: All tickets £8, Family £28 from the Kenton Theatre box office on 01491 575698 or go to www.kentontheatre.co.uk.

More information: www.kentontheatre.co.uk.

Progress Theatre: 'Art' by Yasmina Reza

Progress Theatre, The Mount, Off Christchurch Road, Reading RG1 5HL

How to get there.

Translated by Christopher Hampton.

"My friend Serge has bought a painting..."

So begins the belligerent and outraged Marc, self appointed voice of common sense, as he and his two oldest friends - the emerging aesthete Serge and the ever insecure Yvan - discover that their views on art, status and relationships don't match up.

Could the purchase of an extravagant piece of modern art trigger the deconstruction and destruction of a friendship built up over fifteen years?

Art is a hilarious play centred on perceptions and perspectives filled with beautifully crafted dialogue and characters.

Directed by: Glynn Oram.

Tickets: Full £10, Concessions £8 from www.readingarts.com or call 0118 960 6060.

More information: www.progresstheatre.co.uk.

Oxfordshire Theatre Company and the Watermill Theatre: 'Some Like it Hotter'

The Kenton Theatre, New Street, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 2BP

How to get there.

Great movie stars never die - they just sparkle on forever. It's September 2010 and at long last funny man Jack Lemmon and the incomparable Marilyn Monroe are reunited with old friend Tony Curtis. But how come Tony looks thirty again? Where exactly are they? Who is the stranger on the set? And what the hell is going on?

This brand new, fast moving, fantasy comedy whisks the three screen icons back to their most beautiful, sexy and hilarious selves as they are forced once again to don heels and stockings and go backstage during the making of the best loved of all the classic Hollywood comedies.

Daring dialogue and razor-sharp wisecracks, sparkling musical numbers and red hot jazz, join us for the most surprising comeback in movie history, starring Monroe, Curtis & Lemmon - dead, uncut and hotter than ever. Now that's entertainment!

Some Like it Hotter was written by Richard Hurford.

Tickets: Adult £12, Seniors & Students £11, Friends & Keepers £10 from the Kenton Theatre box office on 01491 575698 or go to www.kentontheatre.co.uk.

More information: www.kentontheatre.co.uk.

Russell Players present: 'The Sapphire and the Flute'

Swallowfield Parish Hall, Swallowfield Street, Swallowfield RG7 1QX

How to get there.

The Sapphire and the Flute is a magical, fantasy play for all the family!

The play was written by two members of the Russell Players and follows the adventures of the Children of the Sapphire as they face trial and tribulation in their quest to save the King, Queen and land of Valladonia from ruin.

Written by Juliet Devon & Mitch Mitchell.

Tickets: Child (15 and under) £5, Adult £8 available by calling the Box Office on 0118 988 2954 or from Henry Street Garden Centre, Swallowfield and Spencer's Wood Post Offices.

Shinfield Players Theatre presents: 'Tiptoe through the Tombstones' by Norman Robbins

Shinfield Players Theatre, Whitley Wood Lane, Reading, Berks RG2 9DF

How to get there.

As fog descends, the last remaining members of the murderous Tomb family return to the family mansion to receive information about their inheritance from Crayle, their scheming lawyer. The last time the family visited only two people survived!

In the cobwebby corridors things (and people) are seldom what they seem as, with poison in every decanter and mysterious disappearances into secret passageways, hosts and guests alike join the increasing number of bodies in the cellar.

A super murder mystery spoof to keep the audience guessing 'who dun it'!

Tickets: Adults £8, Children £4, Concessions £7 (opening night reduction available) from the Box Office on 0118 975 8880 or by email.

More information: www.shinfieldplayers.org.uk.

Henley Players: 'The Browning Version & Harlequinade'

The Kenton Theatre, New Street, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 2BP

How to get there.

The Browning Version, Terence Rattigan's one-act masterpiece, is about cruelty, kindness and the inescapability of self. Andrew Crocker-Harris is an embittered and disliked teacher of Greek and Latin at a British public school. He is being forced to retire on the pretext of ill health. His younger wife despises him for failing to achieve his early promise and compensates by having an affair with the science master. Andrew must come to terms with his failed life and attempt to regain his self-respect. Change and hope are found in unexpected places.

Harlequinade, in contrast, is Rattigan's affectionate and humorous view of a touring theatrical company staging Romeo and Juliet. Unfortunately the two leading stars are far too old to be playing such young characters and matters are thrown into confusion by the arrival of a young mother claiming to be the leading actor's daughter.

Tickets: Tuesday £8; Wednesday, Thursday £10 (Concessions £9); Friday & Saturday £11 from the Kenton Theatre box office on 01491 575698 or go to www.kentontheatre.co.uk.

More information: www.kentontheatre.co.uk.

Progress Youth Theatre: 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding

Progress Theatre, The Mount, Off Christchurch Road, Reading RG1 5HL

How to get there.

Progress Youth Theatre presents an all female production of Nigel Williams stage adaptation of William Golding's classic controversial novel, Lord of the Flies.

Golding's acute and sometimes savage investigation of human nature and our concept of civilisation is brought into stark focus with a switch of gender, further underlining the universality of the human power struggle within self governance and tribal instinct.

Tickets: Full £10, Concessions £8 from Reading Arts Box Office (booking fee applies) online at www.readingarts.com or by calling 0118 960 6060 or in person from The Hexagon or Reading Town Hall. Tickets can be purchased at the theatre from 7.15pm on the night with performances starting at 7.45pm

More information: www.progresstheatre.co.uk.

Big Wooden Horse and Theatre Royal Winchester present: 'The Way Back Home'

The Kenton Theatre, New Street, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 2BP

How to get there.

In The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers, one day a boy finds a plane in his cupboard. He doesn't remember leaving it there, but decides to take it out for a go right away! He flies his plane higher and higher until he runs out of petrol and lands on the moon. He is frightened, lost and alone until a passing Martian lands there too. Who is the strange alien? Can they really be friends? Will they find their Way Back Home?

This exciting new production for young children and their families has been created by the team behind the hit shows Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and The Night Before Christmas, with original music from the composers of The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom.

Audience participation is welcomed! Suitable for age 3+.

"Well paced and full of the variety a very young audience needs" - The Stage

Tickets: £8 (Family £28) from the Kenton Theatre box office on 01491 575698 or go to www.kentontheatre.co.uk.

More information: www.kentontheatre.co.uk.