The Royal Shakespeare Company: Still Playing The Part

By Jennifer Dorn | British Heritage  | 0 comments  |  Print This Post  |  Email This Post

Meanwhile in London, the Royal Shakespeare Company has an agreement with Cameron Mackintosh, the dynamic producer and the owner of seven legitimate theaters in London’s West End. The Company currently leases one West End theater each year from Mackintosh and will do so for the next several years, ensuring a regular London season. The RSC is optimistic that the arrangement with Mackintosh gives its theater a regular presence in London while it looks for a more permanent space—its own space—there. The Company is also attempting to attract younger audiences in London by making some of the best seats in the house available at £5 on the day of performance to those aged 16-25.

The Royal Shakespeare Company is not just about Stratford-upon-Avon and London but also the northern English city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Since 1977 Newcastle-upon-Tyne has provided a third home for the RSC—it transfers productions to theaters there for a regular season. The RSC productions are also regularly transferred from England to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. History reveals that Shakespeare liked to take his own company, which was based in London, on tour to as many parts of England as possible. Today’s RSC is also trying to reach as many people as possible and is hoping to expand its travels around the world.

Aunique partnership was formed in 2001 with the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Royal Shakespeare Company comes into residence on the college campus for several weeks each year to perform and to conduct educational activities for adults and children.

Realizing that it needs a regular presence in London and adamant about its artistic mission, the Royal Shakespeare Company is looking to the future. It has committed itself to connect with Shakespeare and to be defined by an ensemble. Now, under the leadership of Michael Boyd and Vikki Heywood and a well-trained ensemble of actors, the RSC is ready to enter into another remarkable age of theater. You could almost say that “all’s well that ends well,” except there is a lot of future ahead for the historic Royal Shakespeare Company as it continues into the 21st century.

This article by Jennifer Dorn was originally published in the November 2007 issue of British Heritage Magazine. For more great articles, subscribe to British Heritage magazine today!

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Tags: 20th - 21st Century, British Heritage, Culture, Historical Figures

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