The Watermill Theatre

We are delighted to announce that The Watermill has been named Theatre of the Year at The Stage Awards! These awards highlight the achievements of theatre companies and individuals across the UK and are voted for by a panel of industry experts. Joint Chief Executives Paul Hart & Claire Murray said: "To win an award that celebrates the work we made in our first year without Arts Council funding feels amazing. It's testament to the hard work of the staff team, all the brilliant freelancers who have been part of our year and it's been made possible by a huge amount of support. We are grateful to have the spotlight on The Watermill, our tiny theatre that today stands alongside The National Theatre as a joint winner of Theatre of the Year. We're proud to have navigated the first year without subsidy so successfully. We know there will be greater challenges ahead, but this award is a wonderful boost to our confidence giving us the recognition of the industry for the quality and ambition of our work.” A huge congratulations to our co-winners the National Theatre, and to all the other winners and nominees.

Last week was Discover! Creative Careers Week 2024, which we participated in through our Careers in the Arts programme, run in partnership with Corn Exchange Newbury & 101 Outdoor Arts. During this week, our busy Outreach team worked with over 4,500 students to inspire and give insight into a future in the creative industries, with a series of workshops spanning the many different areas of working in the arts, including marketing, directing and playwriting. You can find out more about the opportunities that we offer young people through our Careers in the Arts programme all year round, at the website here: https://lnkd.in/emQAtVi2 In the pictures below, one of our team presents the Careers in the Arts programme at a local school, and a team of young people from a local school get stuck into some activities at a Playwriting, Theatre Design and Access workshop. Thank you to Discover Creative Careers for setting up the week.

Have you ever wanted to get more involved in your local community, support charity and the arts? Did you know that there are lots of opportunities for you to get involved with The Watermill Theatre through our Corporate Sponsorship and Membership opportunities. As a values driven organisation, we want to partner with other local businesses who share our values of inclusivity, sustainability, community and creativity. As a corporate partner, you could help us to deliver high quality theatre to our local community and beyond, enable our outreach programme to work with vulnerable young people and adults and receive marketing and hosting benefits in return. Consider sponsoring one of our mainstage shows, a fundraising event, or work with us to create a bespoke partnership that works for you. Contact development@watermill.org.uk to hear more about the different opportunities for our organisations to work together.

We had a really fun, festive weekend, with our annual Christmas Fair, which we extended to be across two days for the first time, due to popular demand! This fundraising event also helps to support local, independent businesses and artists, and has kicked off the festive cheer just in time for our Christmas show, Pinocchio. Thank you to our wonderful stallholders for bringing their creativity, and beautiful and tasty goods with them!

We were thrilled to be awarded Community Charity of the Year at last week's Greenham Trust Charity Awards 2024. The annual ceremony celebrates the amazing local charities and voluntary groups in the area and the award celebrated the work of our Outreach Team who attended the event at the Corn Exchange last Thursday. A massive thank you to the team at Greenham for continuing to support charities in the West Berkshire area and for highlighting all of the amazing work done by so many individuals working in the charity sector. Also, a big thank you to our hard working Outreach team who offer over 13,000 opportunities for people in the local area each year, and drive the access work that we incorporate into our main stage shows, to ensure that our theatre is accessible to all.   The Watermill was also nominated for Charity of the Year, which was won by the wonderful Newbury Soup Kitchen.

Over the last few months, we've been raising money to offer tickets to children who would otherwise not normally be able to afford to go to the theatre, the opportunity to come and see our Christmas Show, Pinocchio. Through our public appeal, Gepetto's Gift, we raised £4,540 which translates to over 400 tickets which have been offered to local schools, who are bringing groups of young people to see the show. Last year's equivalent campaign, Emerald City, received some lovely feedback from recipients including this comment from an accompanying teacher "Our children loved coming to the Watermill to watch “The Wizard of Oz”. For many this may be the only chance they will ever have of watching a story come to life in an theatre and the intimate nature of the Watermill makes that so much more immersive and real." We're thrilled to be able to engage more young people in the arts through this appeal, and very grateful to everyone who has donated and helped to make this happen!

After a very busy morning hosting Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce for a networking event with other local businesses, we were thrilled to collaborate with Hungerford Bookshop on a very special conversation with the Queen of Latin and Head Judge of Strictly Come Dancing, Shirley Ballas. Shirley was joined by fellow author AJ West, to discuss her latest book, 'Dance to the Death' which tells the gripping tale of dancers turned detectives, Lily and Susie as they discover a murder at the Royal Albert Hall. Judging by the laughter coming from the audience, this event (and book) was a big hit! Thank you to the wonderful team at the Hungerford Bookshop for working with us on what we hope will be the beginning of a long, collaborative partnership.

Yesterday we were privileged to host a networking event with Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce and meet lots more local businesses. We had a wonderful turnout, and managed to make some stage dreams come true, as members took to the King's Speech stage to tell us more about their businesses. It was also a wonderful opportunity to talk a little bit more about charitable partnerships and how they can benefit charities and businesses. Thank you to Andrew Spaak for sponsoring the event. If you are interested in working with us or hosting corporate away days with us, contact development@watermill.org.uk

We're thrilled that our award-winning production of The Lord of the Rings will return to the UK in 2025 at Theatre Royal Plymouth Royal, followed by a European tour.    Artistic Director of the Watermill and Director of The Lord of the Rings Paul Hart says, "To tell this most epic and beloved story onstage, we had to start small and think big. Very much like a Hobbit! What began as an intimate production at The Watermill has grown into something larger than we ever imagined, traveling across continents and captivating audiences with its music and storytelling. It’s been an exhilarating journey, and I am thrilled to bring the show back to the UK before we embark on the European tour. Each night, we create this world anew, and I hope audiences leave feeling a little more like the Hobbits we all have within us—hopeful, wide-eyed, and daring to do the impossible." https://lnkd.in/e3jB3NBU

We're really excited to be hosting BBC Studios Strictly Come Dancing legend and head judge, Shirley Ballas in conversation, on the 23rd October for a special fundraising event. This sparks the start of an exciting collaboration with the wonderful Hungerford Bookshop. Shirley will be discussing her new book, Dance to the Death, a thrilling tale of murder and intrigue, set at The Royal Albert Hall. Tickets are on sale to the general public now. For more information head to https://lnkd.in/eb4YnW2g