July 2026

Audition notice: The Swell

The Swell by Isley Lynn is a fabulous story about what we are willing to do for the ones we love. The story Annie and Bel are building a life together. Wedding plans are underway, the future feels certain, if not entirely uncomplicated. Then Flo walks back into their lives. Annie’s oldest friend, restless, magnetic, and impossible to pin down, Flo brings with her a history that neither woman can ignore. As she settles in, old dynamics resurface and new desires begin to take shape, drawing the three women into a charged and increasingly fragile triangle. But this is only part of the story. Movi

An Ideal Husband: in conversation with director Emma Merchant

Politicians’ corrupt pasts coming back to haunt them. Blackmailing secrets among the rich and elite of London’s high society. Societal demand for public perfection at all costs. No, this isn’t the latest scandal from Downing Street. It is the plot of Oscar Wilde’s razor sharp comedy of manners, An Ideal Husband, which opens to a sold out audience at Wokingham Theatre next week. “What a wonderfully complex play An Ideal Husband is,” says the play’s director, Emma Merchant. “I don’t think I had realised what a huge production this would be when I took on the project. At first sight i