Corn Exchange Newbury Reveals Autumn 2025 Lineup Featuring SHAMILTON, ROBIN HOOD AND MAID MARIAN, and More

The Corn Exchange Newbury has announced its action-packed Autumn 2025 season, bringing an eclectic blend of world-class tributes, laugh-out-loud comedy, family favourites, innovative dance, and thrilling theatre to Berkshire’s celebrated cultural venue. Running from 28 August 2025 through 3 January 2026, the season includes more than two dozen productions designed to entertain audiences of all ages.

The theatre season launches with Shamilton: The Improvised Hip-Hop Musical (28 August), fresh from a hit Edinburgh Fringe run. In this unscripted musical, the cast creates an entire Broadway-style show on the spot, inspired by a historical figure chosen by the audience. Later in the autumn, Drum (14 October) explores identity, music, and migration through a vibrant combination of dance and archival material. Stories From an Invisible Town (21 October) offers a solo tour-de-force by award-winning writer Shôn Dale-Jones, while Revenge: After The Levoyah (4 November) closes out the theatre season with a wild political satire that finds Malcolm Spivak plotting to kidnap Jeremy Corbyn.

Dance fans will have the opportunity to experience Story of One, Story of Many (24 September), a Kathak dance performance exploring migration and time through the lens of South Asian artists. Later in the season, Hot House (16 October) from Richard Chappell Dance brings a thrilling fusion of Indian classical music and garage beats to the Corn Exchange stage.

The music programme offers a nostalgic journey through iconic artists and genres. September highlights include UK Pink Floyd Experience (13 September), Northern Live: Do I Love You (18 September), Bootleg Eagles (19 September), Emilio Santoro as Elvis (20 September), and The Dolly Show (25 September). October continues the celebration with Some Guys Have All the Luck: The Rod Stewart Story (18 October), while Step Into Christmas (15 November) provides a glittering, festive soundtrack as the holidays approach.

Comedy remains a cornerstone of the Corn Exchange experience, with The Comedy Network returning on 5 September, 17 October, and 7 November. Other featured acts include Jenny Eclair: Jokes, Jokes, Jokes Live (26 September), Matt Richardson: Brash (9 October), Milton Jones: Ha!milton (5 November), and Suzi Ruffell: The Juggle (8 November).

Family-friendly programming runs throughout the season. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show (10–12 October) features more than 75 puppets in a stage adaptation of Eric Carle's beloved stories. Stick Man (28–30 October) follows the misadventures of a wooden hero trying to return home, and Horrible Histories: Gorgeous Georgians & Vile Victorians (31 October) brings British history to hilarious, gory life. Younger audiences can also enjoy Flowers and Friendship Bracelets (1 November), a music-and-dance celebration of contemporary pop, and Dinosaurs Live! (9 November), a lifelike stage show created in collaboration with the Natural History Museum.

Among the season's talks and special events are A Particularly Nasty Case: A Murderously Funny Evening with Adam Kay (6 September) and An Evening with Adam Frost (22 October), plus two special fundraising events for the Old Library Campaign: Newbury Sounds: A Fundraising Concert (30 August) and An Audience with Clare Balding (16 September).

Outdoor arts return with Creative Commons (13–14 September), a free two-day event at Greenham Common featuring circus, storytelling, and interactive installations. In December, the Festival of Light (14 December) brings glowing lanterns and live music to Newbury town centre.

Capping off the year is the Corn Exchange's beloved in-house pantomime, Robin Hood and Maid Marian (28 November–3 January), written and directed by the acclaimed team Plested Brown and Wilsher. With nostalgic music, dazzling costumes, and accessible performances including BSL, captioned, relaxed, and dementia-friendly options, the show promises to be a joyous finale to 2025.