£13.7 million project to revitalise Hexagon Theatre reaches first major milestone

READING COUNCIL’S £13.7 million project to revitalise the town’s much-loved and popular Hexagon Theatre reached its first major milestone this month.

The ambitious Hexagon Theatre project will see the creation of an attractive, flexible and exciting new space for performances and community use.

The Council today (Wednesday 12 July) announced the official appointment of the internationally renowned professional team who will support this major project moving forward. This includes:

Lead architect: Haworth Tompkins – a Stirling prize-winning architectural studio with an international reputation for working on theatre projects such as The National Theatre ‘Futures’ Project and the refurbishment and remodelling of Chichester Festival Theatre.  Haworth Tompkins will work in partnership with a multi-disciplinary design team, including Charcoalblue as Theatre and Acoustic Consultants, JCLA as Landscape Architects, Momentum as Structural Engineers and Skelly and Couch as Service Engineers.

Project management: Equals Consulting, an independent project management consultancy formed by construction industry professionals with theatre experience.

The latest announcement follows the news in January 2023, that the Council has been successful in its bid for ‘Levelling Up’ funding, and had been awarded £19.1 million to revitalise Reading’s cultural offer – which includes both the Hexagon project and an £8.6 million development at the Council’s civic offices to create a new Central Library and redesign the customer reception and service areas.

The plan at the Hexagon Theatre is to extend to the right-hand side of the existing building with an entrance directly off Queens Walk. This will offer much-improved accessibility and a new multi-function community space. The space will provide for a wider variety of performances and uses.

This will form the first phase of a longer-term regeneration of the 1970s-built Hexagon.

The theatre development is part of an ambitious and wider plan to create the ‘Minster Quarter’. The Minster Quarter plan will include building hundreds of new homes in a significant area of the town centre, creating a vibrant thriving new community at the heart of the town. A lot of the housing will be much-needed affordable housing. It will bring new jobs and growth which will benefit local residents and the local economy.

All proposals focus on improved sustainability as part of the Council’s commitment to working towards a net-zero carbon Reading by 2030.

The Council has match funded the award by 10% from its own capital investment fund.

 Emma Gee, Reading’s Interim Executive Director for Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services, said: “Today’s announcement heralds an exciting first step towards revitalising our popular Hexagon Theatre, including a brand new and additional flexible performance and community space.

“This is further incredible news for Reading and once again confirms the Council’s strong track record of successfully attracting external investment and the highest quality project support to benefit local residents and our ability to deliver against investment. We are incredibly proud of the calibre of the team we have onboard with us to help us achieve this ambitious goal.

“The Hexagon Theatre is a much-cherished and well-established institution, both in Reading and across the wider region, but it comes with limitations. With our successful bid and with an internationally renowned team onboard, we now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform and breathe new life into this service, while also supercharging our broader plans for redevelopment of the Minster Quarter and to create new benefits and opportunities for everybody in the town.”

Director Lead for the project, Lucy Picardo from Haworth Tompkins, said: “We're thrilled to be appointed. Building upon our extensive experience, working on over 30 performing arts projects, we are excited to be given the opportunity to work alongside Reading Council to develop proposals for an ambitious, sustainable, adaptable theatre and community space next to the Hexagon Theatre. Alongside our dedicated and creative team, and with valuable input from the local community, we’re looking forward to unlocking the potential of this iconic theatre for staff, performers and visitors alike.”

The Council is also currently running a public consultation on its plans at the Council’s Civic Offices, to deliver a modern, new Central Library and redesign the customer reception and service areas. People can find out more and take part before 24 July at www.reading.gov.uk/NewCivicLibrary

Find out more and follow this massive transformational project’s progress here: www.reading.gov.uk/leisure/revitalising-the-hexagon-and-central-library