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Reading, Berkshire
Every year Reading hosts the Reading Festival, which has been running since 1971. The festival takes place on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. Since 1999, Reading has been twinned with a simultaneous festival in Leeds, with the same acts appearing at both festivals on different days. In 2005, the main festival spawned the Reading Fringe Festival. Set up by a group of musicians, promoters, film-makers and artists, and now in its 6th year, to help showcase acts and performers in the towns venues in the runnup to the main festival.
For some twenty years up until 2006, Reading was also known for its WOMAD festival. However the event eventually outgrew its Rivermead site. As of 2007, amid much controversy,[54]the event relocated to Wiltshire in the form of Womad Charlton Park.[54][55][56] The Head of Culture, Chris Smith - tasked with keeping WOMAD in Reading - was on holiday at the time of the announcement that WOMAD was to move. He later took a senior job with WOMAD.[57]
Perhaps the most notable home-grown artist is Mike Oldfield of Tubular Bells fame. Slowdive, The Cooper Temple Clause, Stuart Price, Morning Runner, My Luminaries, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, OK Tokyo, Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip, Pete & The Pirates, SixNationState, Pure Reason Revolution, Exit Ten, Sylosis, Malefice, The Arusha Accord, Bennet and Mr Fogg have had some degree of success. David Byron, first and most famous singer of hard rock band Uriah Heep lived his last years in Reading before he died in 1985. The Chemical Brothers attended Reading Blue Coat school. Lead singer of 'odd-pop' group The Hoosiers Irwin Sparkes is from Woodley. He supports Reading FC and in the music video for The Hoosiers' song 'Goodbye Mr. A', he can be seen playing as the team on a football game.
Reading plays host to semi-professional and amateur choirs and choral societies. Reading Festival Chorus has celebrated its 60th anniversary. RFC sings a diverse music programme, with works like Mozart's Requiem, Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man in 2005 to Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and a summer programme of English and American Folk songs by Tippett and Aaron Copland.
Reading has several orchestras. The long-established Reading Symphony Orchestra (RSO)[58] is one of the town's amateur orchestras, led by a professional conductor and leader. It presents four main concerts a year, and is often engaged to work in collaboration with other musical organisations and for private functions. The Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra (APO),[59] founded in 2002 and named after Richard Aldworth, the founder of Reading Blue Coat School, rehearses and plays most of its concerts at the school. APO's remit is to be as innovative as possible, giving local people the chance to play by rehearsing exclusively at weekends, attracting a wider audience to classical music (especially younger people) through its 'Concert Virgin Scheme' and education projects, and championing the music of talented young composers. Reading Youth Orchestra (RYO) provides an opportunity for younger musicians.
Reading theatre venues include The Hexagon and 21 South Street, which are professional venues supported by Reading Borough Council. The Hexagon is a multi-purpose venue in the heart of Reading that provides rock, pop, comedy, classical music and dance as well as theatre. Recent performances have included Reel Big Fish and their mix of ska-punk as well as comedy from Russell Howard.[60] South Street presents performing arts from both the professional and community sectors, including fringe theatre, comedy, music, dance and live literature.[61]
Amateur theatre venues in Reading include Progress Theatre,[62] a self-governing, self-funding theatre group and registered charity founded in 1947 that operates and maintains its own 97-seat theatre.[63] Progress Theatre produces a yearly open air Shakespeare production in the Reading Abbey Ruins that has come to represent a highlight of Reading's cultural calendar.[64]
Golden Globe and Oscar Awards winning actress Kate Winslet was born and raised in Reading. Her husband, award winning director Sam Mendes was also born, though not raised in Reading.
Reading is also home to The Rep College. Established in 1997 it is based at The Rising Sun Arts Centre in Silver Street. It is a professional training college for actors and produces 14 public shows each year.[65]
Reading has a history of grassroots arts movements. 21 South Street, previously an unemployment (dole) office, was temporarily occupied by artists in the late 1980s, and this action eventually led to its becoming a Council run Art Centre. Similarly, an occupation of the condemned former Huntley and Palmer's building in 1989 took place by a collective of artists, calling it the Biscuit Base, in an attempt to put pressure on Reading Borough Council to provide more art space. This action did not secure it as art space, but did eventually lead to it being recognised by the council as a historic building. The facade was reprieved from demolition and converted to housing. in 1990, participants in the failed Biscuit Base action occupied a former temperance house in Silver Street which became the town's independent art centre The Rising Sun.[66]
Reading has two local newspapers.
Three local radio stations broadcast from Reading: BBC Radio Berkshire, Reading 107 FM and Heart Berkshire. Other local radio stations, such as London's 95.8 Capital FM, Basingstoke's 107.6 Kestrel FM and Slough's Star 106.6 can also be received.
Local television news programmes are the BBC's South Today and ITV's Meridian Tonight.
The local Blah Blah magazine[67] provides free monthly arts and entertainment listings.
The Reading Half Marathon is held on the streets of Reading in March of each year, with as many as 16,000 competitors from elite to fun runners.[68]
Reading is the home of Reading Football Club, an association football club nicknamed The Royals, who were formed in 1871. Formerly based at Elm Park, the club plays at the 24,500 capacity Madejski Stadium in the south of the town near the M4 motorway. The stadium is named after chairman John Madejski, who has owned the club since 1991. Reading FC won promotion to the top flight for the first time in 2006 as Football League Championship champions with a national record of 106 points. They finished eighth in their first season as a top division club (just missing out on a UEFA Cup place) but were relegated the following season. The club's current manager is Brian McDermott.
Reading is a centre for rugby union football in the area, with the Guinness Premiership team London Irish as tenants at the Madejski Stadium. Reading is also home to another three senior semi-professional rugby clubs; Reading Abbey R.F.C., Redingensians R.F.C. and Reading R.F.C. The town hosts several other football variants, such as Gaelic football's St. Anthony's GAA, Australian rules football team Reading Kangaroos, and American football team Berkshire Renegades.
The sport of field hockey is represented by Reading Hockey Club, who play in the Men's Premier Division and the Women's Division One of English Hockey League. The Reading Rockets are a basketball club that play in the English Basketball League.
Like many Thames-side towns, Reading has rowing clubs, representing both town and university. The local Redgrave-Pinsent Rowing Lake provides training facilities, although much rowing is also conducted on the river itself. Dorney Lake, some 27 km (17 miles) to the east of Reading, provides a full international competition venue and will host the rowing events of the 2012 Summer Olympics. There are also several sailing lakes to the south and southwest of the town, the largest being Theale Lake (home of Burghfield Sailing Club) close to junction 12 of the M4. These lakes are also popular with water-skiing and jet-skiing enthusiasts.
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