About us
Situated in a prestigious Grade II listed building in the centre of the historic town of Newbury, the Corn Exchange opened for trade in 1862 but was soon being used as a community venue. Even when it was less than a year old on 10 March 1863, a promenade concert was held to bring to an end a day of celebrations for Queen Victoria. The Corn Exchange as we know it today, with its professional 400-seat theatre, reopened in September 1993 after a £3.5 million refurbishment programme. Today the Corn Exchange boasts a 40-seat cinema and a Learning Centre and receives more than 100,000 visitors a year from across West Berkshire, South Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire and beyond. The Corn Exchange champions artistic excellence and works for its community in providing West Berkshire with world-class performances both indoors and outdoors, and supports a wide spectrum of artists and practitioners. Our outreach work brings opportunities to take part for people of all ages and abilities and works to support vulnerable, isolated and disadvantaged members of the community, putting learning and wellbeing at the heart of this work. Our mission is to bring the arts to as many local people as possible. In addition to our much-loved annual pantomime, essential to the survival of our theatre, we have a particular artistic focus on circus and contemporary dance especially as it relates to our outdoor work. Through 101, our dedicated creation space for outdoor arts located in Greenham Business Park, we host at least one large-scale outdoor event per season to break down any stigmas associated with the arts and encourage people who might not normally come to the theatre to attend an event at the Corn Exchange.
