What's on Reading Podcast

April 2022 – A Hundred Years (Or More) This year’s big anniversaries don’t quite span the 900 years of Reading Abbey, but we are celebrating 100 years of the Berkshire Organists Association, 150 years of Reading Football Club, and 200 years of Reading’s biscuit heritage. So we sat down with Brendan and Matthew from Reading Museum (readingmuseum.org.uk) and David from Berkshire Organists (berkshire...

Mar 2022 – Creative Communities There’s something unique about coming together and creating together. So this month we talk learning new skills, staying connected, welcoming new faces and sharing creative passions with three guests who are each at the heart of their respective creative communities – Kenny from CosXPo (cosxpo.com), Suzanne from Jelly (jelly.org.uk) and Richard from Dreading Poetry...

February 2022 – Campus Culture The University is big part of Reading – and has a lot to offer the town’s cultural community, too. We chat with Amanda from the Cole Museum of Zoology ( collections.reading.ac.uk/cole-museum ), Maddy from the University Rock Society and Sarah from the Reading University Drama Society ( rusu.co.uk/student-activities/societies/ ) to talk about the exciting things they’...

Jan 2022 – Everybody dance From hip-hop to ballet, from the under 5s to the over 50s, there’s so much dance happening in Reading. So went to the home of dance – or, at least, the home of Dance Reading’s Liz ( www.dancereading.com ) – where we were joined by Josie from Reading School of Dance ( www.readingschoolofdance.com ) and Sonia from …with Sonia Brown ( www.withsoniabrown.com ) to talk about...

December 2021 – The 3Bs of Christmas   This Christmas, Reading’s 3Bs are Biscuit Town, Beauty And The Beast! We went on-site in Forbury Gardens as the Twilight Trail was being set-up to talk to the creative people making it happen. And we also grabbed some Covid-safe time with some of the cast and crew of this year’s Hexagon Panto to find out what they’re excited about this year, too! The Whats On...

Nov 2021 – Setting the Stage for Christmas   Get ready to unwrap a mix of the traditional and eclectic items on Reading’s Christmas list with Alex from RABBLE Theatre ( rabbletheatre.com ), Stephen from Trinity Concert Band ( trinityband.co.uk ) and Martin from Shinfield Players Theatre ( shinfieldplayers.org.uk ), Reading Male Voice Choir ( rmvc.net ) and Royal Berks Charity ( royalberkscharity.c...

October 2021: New Spaces This month we catch up with Matthew from Reading Biscuit Factory ( readingbiscuitfactory.co.uk ), Chris from Bar 77 ( facebook.com/Bar77Reading/ )  and Tamalia from Creativ. Spaces ( madebytamalia.co.uk ) to talk about opening new creative venues and ventures for Reading, the reasons for doing so and what’s to come!   The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlan...

September 2021 – Heritage Open Days These days, September means Heritage Open Days – a chance to take a look behind the curtain at our town’s hidden heritage and history. And we’ve got an early peek at what’s coming up this year with Isabel from The MERL, Richard from Reading Civic Society, and Rev'd Dr Liz Ratcliffe of Tilehurst St Michael - whatsonreading.com/heritage-open-days-2021 This po...

August 2021 – Local arts, national names   August is traditionally a month where national names descend on a certain field in Reading. So we thought this month we could catch up with three organisations who bring big-name acts to town all year round, while also giving a platform to local artistes, too - John Luther from South Street ( whatsonreading.com/venues/south-street ), Dave Maul from Heavy...

July 2021: Out in the open air This month, we stepped out to talk about the wonders of al fresco arts and heritage – Tony from Progress Theatre (progresstheatre.co.uk), who present their open air Shakespeare in the Abbey Ruins, Rhodri from Stand and Deliver Comedy (standanddelivercomedy.com), who's brought stand-up to Reading's most interesting beer garden, and Terry of Terry's Read...

June 2021: Unlocking new doors   This month we were lucky enough to be some of the first people to visit Reading Rep ( www.readingrep.com ) at their new theatre where Nick was more than happy to talk about their shiny new digs. And we were joined by Amy from Readipop ( www.readipop.co.uk ), who’ve also just moved into a brand new home, and Kevin from the Retreat ( www.theretreat.pub ), who’ve just...

This month we met up in the grounds of Reading Abbey to talk about the biggest birthday party in town – the celebration of its 900th anniversary as part of this year's Water Fest. Our guests are John from the Friends of Reading Abbey (readingabbey.org.uk) who talks about the great history of the site, Graham from the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust (katrust.org.uk) who helps put the "water...

April 2021 – Art Attack With Banksy making public art the talk of the town, we decided to meet up a stone’s throw away in Forbury Gardens to talk about art in Reading with Dr Naomi Lebens, Curator of the University of Reading Art Collections (collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collections), and Pavlo Keresty from Open Hand Open Space and their new 571 Oxford Road Gallery (ohos.org.uk). We cover Reading...

This month, we’re talking about the history and heritage of the Oxford Road with three artists who are helping to bring it to life as part of the new High Street Heritage Action Zones project ( reading.gov.uk/hshaz ). Look forward to specially-commissioned audio histories, a unique portrait and a collection of recipes. The Whats On Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden Media: Podcasts &am...

This month, we’re joined by local poet and author Claire Dyer ( clairedyer.com ) and local DJ Tim aka DJ Dubious ( facebook.com/dj.dubious ) to give us a bit more of a personal approach of how individual artistes are performing during the pandemic, from getting that audience reaction to giving people something to look forward to.   The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden...

This month we’re joined by Jamie Read of READ College (www.readcollege.org), Matt Foster from the Rock Academy (www.therockacademyfoundation.org) and Seamus Allen of What’s The Game?! Improv (www.facebook.com/WhatsTheGameImprov) who discuss the changes, challenges and new possibilities that come from teaching classes under lockdown. And Damien barely gets a word in… The What's on Reading podc...

This month, we were 'live' on location at the preview night of the Reading Twilight Trail in Forbury Gardens and the Abbey Ruins. As well as doing our best to describe this fantastic experience, we also caught up with some of the people who made the event a reality, and some of the other VIP guests who were in attendance.  The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlantic Garden...

This month we're joined by Liz from Dance Reading (dancereading.com), Danny from Readifolk (readifolk.org.uk) and Steph from Progress Theatre (progresstheatre.co.uk). Together we talk about the challenges and successes of going from stage to screen, from trying out new ways of being creative, to recreating the same sense of community found at live events. This episode was recorded at the star...

As both great institutions have recently reopened their doors, we sat down with Matt from Reading Museum ( readingmuseum.org.uk ) and Isabel from The Museum of English Rural Life ( merl.reading.ac.uk ) to catch up on their history and talk about the changes to museum life – pre-, post- and mid-pandemic. Recorded in the garden at the Merl!    The What's on Reading podcast is produced by Atlant...

Following the massively successful (and fun) "Reading World Cup of Arts, Culture & Heritage" that was run on Twitter last month, we invited the "final four" onto the podcast this month to talk about their success in the tournament, the support of the community and a pair of VERY tense semi-finals. So join Stephen from the Sainsbury Singers (sainsburysingers.org.uk), Josie f...

This month, we caught up with Toby from RABBLE Theatre ( https://rabbletheatre.com/ ), Mel from Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra ( https://www.aldworthphilharmonic.org.uk/ ) and Alex from Mad Monkey Improv ( https://whatsonreading.com/venues/mad-monkey-improv ) to talk about what they’ve been doing during the pandemic and the way they’ve had to re-plan for the future – including radio plays, profes...

Something a little different this month as we talk all things Reading Fringe Festival with the people behind the shows – Steph, one of the Fringe organisers; Fiona, an artist and curator based in our twin-town of Dusseldorf; and Reading-based comedian Preet. Together we discuss the challenges of putting on a digital festival, why the Fringe brings something different to our arts calendar and learn...

As lockdown continues, we speak to three guests who’ve had to get creative and learn new skills in order to continue to BE creative and TEACH new skills! We’re joined by Rachel from StrikeUp Theatre ( https://www.strikeuptheatre.co.uk/ ), Dawn from Berkshire Maestros ( https://www.berkshiremaestros.org.uk/ ) and Catherine from the Centre for Heritage and Family History ( https://berksfhs.org/ ) wh...

As lockdown continues, Reading's arts, culture and heritage community have learned to find ways to virtually connect with their audiences and ensure that they keep doing what they do so well. We are joined – virtually – by: Jenn from Reading Swing Jam ( readingswingjam.wordpress.com/ ) Dave from The Free Radicals Improv ( www.freeradicalsimprov.co.uk ) Simon from Reading Libraries ( www.readi...

Join us for a very different edition of the What’s On Reading podcast as we talk about how Reading’s arts and cultural organisations are coping with the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak. We’re joined by three guests who have been impacted in different ways – Dave Maul talks about having to move the Are You Listening? Festival ( https://areyoulistening.org.uk/ ) from its prime April slot; South S...