Public Servant Lifestyle

The RSC has outlined plans for a transformed home in it's 1930's-built base at Stratford-upon-Avon.

The world-renowned Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has unveiled plans to transform its home in Stratford-upon-Avon, opening up the 1932 Royal Shakespeare Theatre and bringing the audience and actors closer together in a more engaging auditorium for Shakespeare. The Company has already received pledges for 85% of the £100 million required for the project.

Initial designs from project architects Bennetts Associates will restore the key Art Deco elements of the Grade II* listed theatre while creating a more welcoming, combined entrance for both the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres.

A New Auditorium

At the heart of the project is a new main stage for the Company, designed with theatre consultants Charcoalblue. The new Royal Shakespeare Theatre will replace the 1932 auditorium which owes more to cinema than theatre design and separates the audience from the actors.

Pictured (right): Outside The Courtyard Thearte, designed by Ian Ritchie Architects. Photographer: Stewart Hemley.

The RSC's ambition is to create the best theatre for Shakespeare in the world, a modern take on the courtyard theatres of Shakespeare's day, with a thrust stage auditorium seating just over 1,000 people. The aim is to transform the relationship between artists and audiences, reducing the distance from the furthest seat to the stage from 30 to 15 metres.

RSC Artistic Director, Michael Boyd, said: "We want to move away from the 19th Century proscenium 'picture frame' to a theatre which celebrates interaction. Our commitment to bring an immediacy and clarity to Shakespeare means we need to bring the audience to a more engaged relationship with our actors. The best way we can achieve this is in a bold, thrust-stage, one-room auditorium – a modern take on the theatres of Shakespeare's day."

Key elements of the scheme include:

A new 1,000 seat thrust stage for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Restoration of the valued heritage elements of the building

An accessible riverside walkway running alongside the RSC's theatres enhancing access to the river and gardens

Dramatically expanded and fully accessible public areas with improved facilities for audiences, including a rooftop café/restaurant and two new café/bars, foyers linking the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres, and more and better toilets

A theatre tower marking a new entrance, providing circulation to all parts of the building and unrivalled views across Stratford

A public square, providing a meeting place and outdoor stage for music and performance that connects the theatres and their surrounding environment

Improved and accessible backstage conditions for artists and stage crew, including new dressing rooms as well as training, study and rehearsal spaces for actors

A centre for the RSC's workshop, learning and administrative facilities immediately opposite the theatre, providing opportunities for tours revealing the backstage life of the Company.

RSC Perform Throughout Project

The RSC, which contributes £57 million a year to the economy of the West Midlands, will continue performing in Stratford throughout the transformation at a new, temporary venue, The Courtyard Theatre. In addition to a year-round presence in Stratford, the Company will continue to perform in London, Newcastle and on tour in the UK and overseas during construction work on the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres.

Pictured (left): on Stage at The Courtyard Theatre, designed by Ian Ritchie Architects. Photographer: Stewart Hemley.

The 1,000 seat Courtyard Theatre, designed by Ian Ritchie Architects, opens in July 2006 with Michael Boyd's Olivier Award winning production of Shakespeare's Henry VI trilogy. Built as an extension to The Other Place, the RSC's studio theatre, The Courtyard Theatre is a prototype for the auditorium in the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Following the transformation of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, The Other Place will then be restored as a home for the Company's small scale and experimental work.

£85 Million Pledged

The RSC has already secured 85% of the funding required for the £100 million transformation project. In 2005 Arts Council England confirmed their £50 million pledge for the project to be matched from other sources. In January this year, regional development agency Advantage West Midlands pledged to invest a further £20 million in the project to reflect the RSC's position as a flagship for cultural tourism and a significant economic force in the region.

RSC Honorary Associate Artist, Dame Judi Dench and RSC Deputy Chair Susie Sainsbury, will lead the international fundraising campaign to reach the £100 million target. The RSC has already secured over £15 million in private pledges, with significant commitments from the RSC Board and Governors and supporters in the West Midlands. As with the fundraising for the construction of the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres, funding has also been secured from donors in the United States through RSC America and its Board members.

Wide Ranging Consultation

The RSC has undertaken a wide-ranging programme of public consultation, shaped by a Community Forum which was set up in March 2005 and is chaired by Professor Sir Brian Follett, former Vice Chancellor at the University of Warwick. The Company has also canvassed opinions widely among actors, theatre artists, staff, and crucially, audiences. Research among RSC audiences shows their priorities include: improved sightlines; more foyer space and informal spaces to meet; and better use of the theatres' riverside setting. Consultation continues through the refinement of the outline designs.

The RSC's plans have been developed in tandem with the proposals from Stratford-on-Avon District Council and Warwickshire County Council to develop the waterfront area in the town. The RSC is working closely with the local authorities on a shared vision and master-plan for the waterfront.

Timetable

Work on the transformation of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre is scheduled to start in Spring 2007 following the RSC's year-long Complete Works festival this year. The Company expects to submit a planning and listed building application later this year. The Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres will re-open in 2010.

RSC Chairman, Sir Christopher Bland, said: "We are delighted with the work Bennetts Associates has done so far with the RSC team, which has the enthusiastic support of the entire Board. The architects have demonstrated that it is possible to transform the existing Royal Shakespeare Theatre in a way that marries the best of the past with our ambition to create the finest modern playhouse in the world for Shakespeare.

"We want to open up the theatre and improve its relationship with the town. At the moment, we have a building that can feel like a fortress. At this outline stage of the design process, I'm confident that we've got a scheme that reflects the RSC's ambition to reach out and make Shakespeare fresh and relevant to a new generation."

About The Company

The RSC is one of the UK's national theatre companies. In the last eleven years, the Company has mounted 171 new productions, given 19,000 performances, sold 11 million tickets, and played in 100 towns and cities in the UK and 50 towns and cities around the globe. The company's turnover is £32 million.

Here's a few of the impressive facts and figures about what the RSC do, all year round:

RSC brings an estimated £31.75 million worth of investment to the Stratford/West Midlands area each year. RSC also brings an estimated £18 million worth of direct income into the Stratford area, including £11.8 million of self-generated income.

Over half over the RSC's income is self-generated, with over 850,000 visitors in 2001/2.

The RSC received £12.8 million in subsidy from the Arts Council of England in 2002/3.

The RSC performed over 40 weeks of UK touring in year 2000/1.

In 1998, the RSC launched a policy of programming for family audiences with a new stage version of C.S Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. This production alone attracted 40,000 first-time attendees to the RSC.

Over 250,000 people in the UK under the age of 25 see the RSC's work each year - approximately 25% of the RSC's total audience.

For the 2001 production of Alice in Wonderland, the Hats, Millinery and Jewellery Department alone made over 90 items of hats and accessories, including fans and jewellery.

The Snow Queen in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2002) wore a hat with stripped ostrich quills. Each quill had to be hologrammed and painted.

The RSC Men’s Costume Department can make a shirt from start to finish in four hours. A good pair of trousers might take twelve hours.

The RSC Armoury uses the local blacksmith to make battle shields in his forge. Abattoir aprons, made of fine steel mesh, are used by the RSC Armoury to make chain mail for battle wear.

All RSC hats, boots and costumes make their way to the RSC Hire Wardrobe after the end of a production and are available to be hired by members of the public.

The RSC's Complete Works festival continues apace - follow this link for further information.

More information available in On Stage