KENNETH BRANAGH

Entertainment

Branagh backs Progress Thu, August 04 2011 By Trish Lee, Arts Editor Email: trish.lee@newburynews.co.uk Phone: 01635 564 563 More News | Back to homepage

Award-winning actor and director becomes official patron of Reading theatre where his stage career began

Progress Theatre, one of Reading’s oldest working theatres, has named Kenneth Branagh as its official Patron. Kenneth Branagh said, “I am delighted to be appointed as a patron of the Progress Theatre in Reading. “I relocated to Reading at the age of nine from Belfast and my stage career started at the Progress when I was a teenager. “Next year the theatre celebrates its 65th anniversary and continues to maintain a quality of production that remains second-to-none.” The former chairman of Progress Theatre, Aiden Moran, said: “We are thrilled to have Kenneth Branagh as our official patron of Progress Theatre, Reading. “The theatre company, which was first formed in 1947, has staged over 520 popular and challenging productionsin Reading. “Kenneth’s endorsement as a highly successful film, radio, television and stage actor and director adds further credibility to the quality and diversity of theatre we produce.” This Summer Progress Theatr staged an open air production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and will be performing Proof, by David Auburn in September. Progress Theatre was established in 1951 by the Progress Theatre company. It is a member of the Little Theatre Guild (LTG) and the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) and is registered in England as a charity. Kenneth Branagh is one of the UK’s finest actors and directors who has consistently delivered popular and critically acclaimed performances on film, television and in the theatre. He is also a successful director. Most recently he directed the film Thor, which has been a huge success worldwide and his performance in the BBC’s Wallander, for which he shoots a new series later this year, has been a massive hit. His most recent appearance in the theatre was in the Donmar’s Ivanov, for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award, and in the autumn he will return to the stage in Belfast in a new comedy, The Painkiller.