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Rain or Shine: The Pickwick Papers

The Pickwick Papers

The Rain or Shine Theatre Company is coming back to the Barn, Goosecroft (RG8 8DR), on Friday 26th June 2026, with a performance of “The Pickwick Papers”.

 

The performance will start at 7:00 pm, doors open 6:15 pm, bar available serving wine and soft drinks, card or cash.

Tickets cost £18 (adult) and £8 (child).

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Tickets are available from:

    • David Downs on 0118 942 4167 (cash only)
    • The ticket Hotline 03306 600541 (card only)
    • Website (booking fee applies, so the ticket price including fee will be £19.51/£8.67) www:ticketsource.com (card only)

As usual, an optional donation may be made after the performance to a local charity (details to be confirmed on the day).

This summer the Rain or Shine Theatre Company aims to guide you into the delightfully chaotic Victorian world of The Pickwick Papers, where misadventure and merriment collide in a whirlwind of Dickensian absurdity!

Join the lovable Mr. Pickwick and his eccentric band of companions as they bumble their way through confusing courtships, courtroom shenanigans, questionable duels, and carriage rides gone terribly wrong. Expect fast-paced wit, slapstick, more multi-rolling mayhem, and a cast of larger-than-life characters in this brand new and hilarious adaptation.

Dickens has never been this delightfully unpredictable! Secure your seat and prepare for an uproarious adventure with the Pickwick Society—where the only certainty is a thoroughly good time to be had by all!

The performance last for 2 ½ hours, including a 15-minute interval.

Visit to Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park, 17th July 2026

 

Our main visit this year is a rare opportunity to tour a Royal property on the Windsor Great Park, about 3.5 miles from Windsor Castle.  No – not the one which has recently become vacant, but Cumberland Lodge, built in 1650 after Cromwell sold off lots in the park .  Following its return to the monarchy at the Restoration, it was the official residence of the Ranger of the Great Park.  Now occupied by an educational charity, past residents include Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough; Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, son of George II; and Princess Helena, daughter of Queen Victoria.

Our visit includes a private tour of the house and concludes with a cream tea.  There is ample parking for Lodge visitors, and we shall meet in the car park.  The tour starts at 2:00 pm and the visit will finish at 4:00 pm.

Tickets cost £25 per person, pre-booking is required.  Numbers are limited, so don’t delay booking.

Summer Barbecue, 5th June 2026

We are delighted to once again be holding a summer BBQ this year, after a gap of seven years.  Over the years we have been generously hosted by a succession of members, and this year Suze Stevens-Wood and Ray Sewart have volunteered their garden at Old Timbers, 4 Beech Road.   This is an informal social evening and the chance to chat over some lovely food.

You are asked to bring a dish to share for either the salad or dessert table, a chair to sit on, plate, bowl, cutlery, glass and whatever you want to drink.  Arrive 7:00 pm for a 7:30 pm start.

There is a charge of £7 per person which covers a starter, BBQ meats, vegetarian options and other costs.  Pre-booking is required by 31st May.

Visit to Holy Trinity Church, Reading, 15th May 2026


Holy Trinity Church on the Oxford Road is about 500 metres West of the town centre.  Built in 1826, it appears in one of the earliest photos taken by Henry Fox Talbot, in 1840.  It is grade II listed, mainly because of its rood screen designed by Augustus Pugin.

Our tour begins at 2pm, led by Ron Cutting and includes a trip to the very fine crypt, which for many will be the highlight of our visit.

Tickets cost £5 per person, pre-booking is required, torches recommended.

Meeting dates 2026

Meetings are held at The Barn, Goosecroft, Purley on Thames RG8 8DR

Friday 9th January, 7:00 pm.  * Rain or Shine Theatre Company – Agatha Appleton and the Peril of the Pyramids.  Advance booking required.

Friday 16th January, 7:30 pm.  “Signs of the Times: Reading’s Memorials” by Malcolm Summers.

Friday 20th February, 7:30 pm.  “Reading’s Trolleybuses” by Dave Hall.

Friday 20th March, 7:30 pm.  Project Purley’s AGM followed by “Windsor Castle 1100 – 1700” by Dr David Lewis.

Friday 17th April, 7:30 pm.  “Images of Purley: Recent Finds” by Catherine Sampson.

Friday 15th May, 2:00 pm to c3:00 pm: * Visit to Holy Trinity Church, Reading.  Advance booking required.

Friday 5th June, arrive 7:00 pm for 7:30 pm start, * Summer BBQ.  Advance booking required.

Friday 26th June, 7:00 pm * Rain or Shine Theatre Company – The Pickwick Papers.  Advance booking required.

Friday 17th July, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm, * Visit – Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park.  Advance booking required.

Friday 18th September, 7:30 pm. * Fish and Chips Supper and “The Bayeux Tapestry” by Sue Ellis.  Advance booking required.

Friday 16th October, 7:30 pm.  “The History of Forbury Gardens, Reading” by Joy Pibworth.

Friday 29th November, 7:30 pm.  “Three Purley Houses Through Time” by Suze Stevens-Wood & Catherine Sampson.

Friday 18th December, time TBA.  * Christmas Party.

*ADVANCE BOOKING REQUIRED

Rain or Shine: Agatha Appleton

The Rain or Shine Theatre Company is coming back to the Barn on Friday 9th January 2026, with a performance of “Agatha Appleton and the Peril of the Pyramids”.

The performance will start at 7:00 pm, doors open 6:00 pm, bar open from 6:15 pm, serving wine and soft drinks, card or cash.  Tickets will be available from David Downs, 0118 942 4167, and the charity being supported by the bucket collection will be Diabetes UK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Chapman’s 90th Birthday

John is a founder member of Project Purley, and has contributed a huge amount of research to the history of Purley on Thames, much of which is in our website archives.  He was also instrumental in organising the move of the Barn from Belleisle to Goosecroft, when the Trentham’s site was developed for housing.  All of us owe him a great debt of gratitude for his perseverance over several years in saving this beautiful building, which has become the main community space in the village.

John turned 90 on 30th September 2025, and to contribute to his celebrations, Project Purley gave him a birthday cake at the VJ day anniversary meeting in the Barn.  It was an excellent cake, and he didn’t get to take much of it home!

John Chapman and his 90th birthday cake; presentation by Marjorie Butler

VE Day 80th Anniversary in Words, Images and Music

An event hosted by Project Purley and other local organisations and individuals.
Monday 5th May
2:00 – 4.30 pm – doors open 1.45 pm
The Barn, Goosecroft, Purley on Thames, RG8 8DR
Tickets £5 per person from Marjorie Butler on 0118 941 8856 or at a Project Purley meeting

Pre-booking required

Doors open at 1.45 pm and our event begins at 2:00 pm.  Discover Purley during the Second World War.  Find out where Spitfire parts were made in the village, how we welcomed children, families and businesses evacuated from London, how Purley Park River Estate expanded into a village within a village and read about the eventful bops in their community hall.  Discover the stories of those who served in the armed forces and on the home front and our connections to the “Great Escape” and the infamous Thai-Burma Railway.  Maybe you’ll find a former resident of your home served in the war?

There will be an exhibition, Pathe Film news clips, music, images and a talk in two halves, by historian Mike Cooper on “The Collapse of Germany in 1945”.

The ticket price also includes tea/coffee and cake.

The afternoon will end about 4.30 pm. Pre-booking is required as numbers are limited.

 

Rain or Shine: The Rivals

The Rain or Shine Theatre Company is coming back to the Barn on Friday 20th June 2025, with a performance of Sheridan’s The Rivals.

The performance will start at 7:00 pm, doors open 6:15 pm, bar open from 6:30 pm, serving wine and soft drinks, card or cash.

 

The Rivals,  a 17th Century comedy adventure by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

When fashionable 18th century London society comes to take the waters in the spa-town of Bath, comic confusion, daring duels and romantic entanglements abound.

At the centre of it all is heiress Lydia Languish, who is determined to elope with the penniless Ensign Beverly rather than marry the eligible Jack Absolute.

Come and sample the sparkling wit and whirlwind plot of The Rivals, a Restoration Comedy which has delighted audiences for over 250 years with its collection of comic characters, including the formidable Mrs Malaprop, a creation so famous for the way she mangles the English language that her name is now immortalised in the dictionary.

This brand new adaptation combines Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s masterpiece with Rain or Shine’s fast and furious comic flair.

Tickets available online (card only) – click link below:

 

 

Or point your phone camera at the QR code below:

Or via the Rain or Shine telephone ticket line: 03306 600541.

Or from David Downs (cash only) at the April and May meetings in the Barn, or call him on 0118 942 4167.

 

Rain or Shine: Murder Most Wilde

The Rain or Shine Theatre Company will be back at the Barn in Purley on Friday 6th December with their new performance Murder Most Wilde.  Tickets from David Downs, 0118 942 4167, or from the Rain or Shine website:  https://www.rainorshine.co.uk/

The performance will start at 7:00 pm, and the bar will be open at 6:30 pm and at the interval.  Profits from the evening will go to Cancer Research.

Following their highly successful summer tour of The Importance Of Being Earnest, Rain or Shine Theatre Company is touring ‘Murder Most Wilde’, a new adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s comic and quirky tale “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime”, a delightfully silly Victorian comedy chock full of muddled murder attempts and comic confusion.