Take a sneak peek as we get ready to open the Old Library!

After nearly a decade of vision, the Old Library transformation has now officially been completed and will soon open as a vibrant, flexible arts hub.

We are so excited to announce that the Old Library's Café Bar will be opening to the public on Monday 23 March, with courses and classes beginning in the Upstairs and Downstairs spaces from Monday 20 April and performances in the studio theatre starting in the autumn season.

The project started in late 2022, followed by planning, consultation and design work, with construction works starting early 2025. Just over half of the costs were raised through trusts, foundations and public donations for which we are very grateful. We took the building back to bare walls and redeveloped it into its new design with two flexible spaces, the capacity to seat 94 people for live performance and a Café Bar. The ambition was to create a space that feels calm, welcoming, friendly, flexible, exciting – a place people want to return to. 

Our work with communities, both within our buildings and out in community locations has grown with over the past 15 years with 30,000 engagements last year. This has included work such as: Touch To See – an arts programme for those with visual impairments; Contactless Creativity – a project we ran during the pandemic, delivering arts activity packs to those having to isolate, with a regular Kennet Radio broadcast, so those isolated participants could feel connected to others taking part in the project; Becoming Us - a post pandemic parent and baby social engagement activity, to support new parents to reconnect with others and for their babies to move towards developmental milestones; and Youth Theatre – using theatre to explore all kinds of topics as well as to develop confidence, team work, new skills and make friends. Our youth theatre has now grown to over 140 members!

The programme continues to grow, with evident impact and we are especially delighted to open the Old Library as a focal point, a central place, from which this work can grow, adapt and reach further to improve lives locally. With two flexible spaces, upstairs and downstairs, we can increase our provision, and the number of people we reach, who benefit through their engagement with the arts. But we also have the chance to engage people not just in creative participation activity but enhance their experiences with intimate theatre performances designed for smaller audiences and a programme for families with young children.

The Old Library Café Bar will be open from Monday 23 March, 10am - 4pm (Monday - Friday). So please do come down and enjoy a coffee and a bite to eat in our brand-new venue.