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Theatre in Southern England: BerkshireBracknell's South Hill Park, an arts centre, has two auditoria: the Wilde Theatre (330 seats) and the Studio Theatre (50). It takes middle- and small-scale touring productions, but also produces in-house. In addition, it is a venue for community theatre. Eton, of course, is famous for Eton Collge, one of the best-known and highly-regarded public schools in the country. Its only theatrical venue is in Eton College itself, the Farrer Theatre, which seats 401 people. It is used mainly for private (to the school) productions, but is occasionally available to amateur and professional companies. Another arts centre, the Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead, like its equivalent in Bracknell, also has two auditoria: the Theatre seats 225 and the Studio 100. It takes both incoming and local productions. The Watermill at Newbury is probably the best known theatre in the entire county. A 216-seater, it is a producing theatre, with a season running from February to January. Each production runs for five or six weeks. It also has outreach and education programmes. Newbury also has its own arts centre, the Corn Exchange, which provides a wide ranging programme in its 420-seater space. It is Reading, however, which has the most theatre provision in Berkshire. 21 South Street, an arts centre, takes small-scale experimental and avant-gard theatre, cabaret, and contemporary and community arts in general. It seats 125, much smaller than the Hexagon, a multi-purpose entertainment centre. Seating 1200, the Hexagon is very precise about its programming: ten weeks of drama, one and a half of dance, a five-week panto, seventeen weeks of concerts and variety, two weeks of film, three weeks of what doesn't fit into any other category, and it's dark for the other four weeks. The Mill at Sonning is unusual: a dinner theatre, it produces its own shwos: nine per annum, each with a five to six week run. It can accommodate 212. The fourth performance space in Reading is the Progress Theatre, an amateur venue with just 99 seats. Windsor, of course, is best known for its royal connections, for there Windsor Castle is sited. Appropriately it has its Theatre Royal: a 633-seater producing theatre. Its shows run for three weeks (except for a six-week panto). It does pre-West End co-productions and is often the starting point for national tours. Occasionally it will take other incoming shows. The Windsor Arts Centre, by contrast, is quite small - a 160-seater auditorium and a 100-seater studio - and is managed by vilunteers. It tries to offer a full range of arts adn entertainment. Wokingham and Woodley are both served by amateur theatres. The Wokingham Theatre seats 125 and the Woodley 100.
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