SITELINES Archive
SITELINES - Theatre in Unusual Spaces, is our award-winning programme of off-site work curated or produced by South Street, encompassing everything that doesn't fit a traditional theatre space including outdoor spectacle, intimate one-to-one work, promenade performance, site-specific / responsive work and everything in between.
Previous SITELINES produced shows:
Jackson's Corner (2013)
Written & Performed by Benedict Sandiford
Directed by Cassie Friend
Performed in Reading's Jackson's Corner department store, to mark the closing of a retail institution. Read Total Theatre's review.
The Final Whistle (2016, revived in 2019 & 2022)
Written & Performed by Benedict Sandiford
Directed by Cassie Friend
SITELINES wins Cultural Space of the Year at 2016 Reading Cultural Awards
Staged in the home changing rooms of Madejski Stadium, this piece wove together stories of Reading Football Club, Reading's history and the love of football itself. Read Liz Allum's review.
Being Gordon Greenidge (2017)
Written & Directed by Benedict Sandiford
Performed by Chris Udou & Christopher Tajah
Winner of Made in Reading Award at 2017 Reading Cultural Awards
Promenade performance taking place in Reading School's cricket pavilion, exploring the life and career of cricket legend and Reading resident Gordon Greenidge. Made in collaboration with Barbados and Friends Association. Read Whitley Pump's review.
In Ruins (2018)
Created by Sabina Netherclift, Benedict Sandiford, Cassie Friend & Catherine Dyson (with The Abbey School), Rabble Theatre & Beautiful Creatures
Marking the reopening of the Reading Abbey Ruins as part of Reading Abbey Revealed, this performance involved several Reading-based organisations, including Beautiful Creatures, Rabble Theatre and RedCape Theatre. The promenade show began at St Laurence Church, moving through Forbury Gardens and the Abbey Gateway, ending in the Chapter House.
Amelia (2019, revived in 2021)
Created & performed by Cassie Friend, Sabina Netherclift & Benedict Sandiford
Written by Benedict Sandiford
Performed around Caversham Lock and View Island, this show explored a dark chapter of Reading's history, with the arrest and trial of baby farmer Amelia Dyer. Audience comments:
"Innovative and captivating. A local story that was conveyed with skill and the right level of emotion. We all loved it."
"Excellent, imaginative telling of this well-known Reading true story."
"Enjoyable and striking from the first moment."
Behind Closed Doors (2020)
Written & performed by Sabina Netherclift & Benedict Sandiford
Created in response to the covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, this performance was an anthology of isolation tales, from a hillwalking father to the plague village priest, the Norwich anchorite to a Biodome gardener. Performed in South Street's main auditorium, with audience members watching in isolation from single-person booths.
On Track (2021, revived in 2022 & 2023)
Created & performed by Cassie Friend
Written by Catherine Dyson
A one-woman show performed at The Hexagon in Reading, a venue which had been transformed into a 'velodrome' for the occasion. The show told the story of Kit, a single working parent struggling under the pressures of lockdown, who re-discovers her love of cycling as a means of coping.
Brothers (2021)
Written & performed by Benedict Sandiford
Designed by Nigel Bish
Produced by John Luther
A seven-minute performance for one person at a time, commissioned by the Reading Abbey Revealed project. Originally performed in the Forbury Gardens as part of Reading Abbey's 900 Year Anniversary celebrations in June 2021, the piece explores the treatment of the Franciscan Brothers by Reading Abbey circa 1285.
Threads (2023)
Created by Cassie Friend & Sabina Netherclift
with students from University of Reading in association with Reading Museum
A show about Elizabeth Wardle, who in 1885 decided England needed its own copy of the Bayeux Tapestry. Performed in Reading Museum, where the copy of the Bayeux Tapestry is displayed.
Believers (2023)
Written by Catherine Dyson
Performed by Sanjay Lago
Directed by Sabina Netherclift
Produced by John Luther
One summer night in 1783, something extraordinary and unexplained was witnessed in the skies above Berkshire. It is said to be the world's first ever recorded sighting of a UFO. This show reimagined what this experience would have felt like through the eyes of a 21st century tour guide, leading audiences through Caversham Court Gardens.
