The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major

British theatre Theatre of United Kingdom plays an important part in British culture, and the countries that constitute the UK have had a vibrant tradition of theatre since the Renaissance with roots going back to the Roman occupation. Beginnings Theatre w ...

company, based in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

, Warwickshire, England. The company employs more than 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Stratford-upon-Avon, and on tours across the UK and internationally. The company's home is in Stratford-upon-Avon, where it has redeveloped its Royal Shakespeare and Swan theatres as part of a £112.8-million "Transformation" project. The theatres re-opened in November 2010, having closed in 2007. As well as the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, the RSC produces new work from living artists.

Company history

The early years

There have been theatrical performances in Stratford-upon-Avon since at least Shakespeare's day, though the first recorded performance of a play written by Shakespeare himself was in 1746 when Parson Joseph Greene, master of Stratford Grammar School, organised a charitable production to fund the restoration of

Shakespeare's funerary monument The Shakespeare funerary monument is a memorial to William Shakespeare located inside Holy Trinity Church at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, the church in which Shakespeare was baptised and where he was buried in the chancel two days after ...

. John Ward's

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

-based company, the

Warwickshire Company of Comedians The Warwickshire Company of Comedians, also known as Mr Ward's Company of Comedians and after 1767 as Mr Kemble's Company of Comedians, was a theatre company established by John Ward in Birmingham, England in the 1740s, touring throughout the Wes ...

, agreed to perform it. A surviving copy of the playbill records that the company performed ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

''. The first building erected to commemorate Shakespeare was

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

Jubilee Pavilion A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

in 1769, and there have been at least 17 buildings used to perform Shakespeare's plays since. The first permanent commemorative building to Shakespeare's works in the town was a theatre built in 1827, in the gardens of New Place, but has long since been demolished. The RSC's history began with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, which was the brainchild of a local brewer, Charles Edward Flower. He donated a site by the River Avon and in 1875 launched an international campaign to build a theatre in the town of Shakespeare's birth. The theatre, a Victorian-Gothic building seating just over 700 people, opened on 23 April 1879, with a performance of ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'', a title which gave ammunition to several critics. The Memorial, a red-brick Gothic cathedral, designed by ''Dodgshun and Unsworth'' of

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, was unkindly described by

Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

as "an admirable building, adaptable to every purpose except that of a theatre." From 1919, under the direction of William Bridges-Adams and after a slow start, its resident New Shakespeare Company became one of the most prestigious in Britain. The theatre received a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

of Incorporation in 1925, which gave it status. On the afternoon of 6 March 1926, when a new season was about to commence rehearsals, smoke was seen. Fire broke out, and the mass of

half-timbering Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the struc ...

chosen to ornament the interior provided dry tinder. By the following morning the theatre was a blackened shell. The company transferred its Shakespeare festivals to a converted local cinema. Fund-raising began for the rebuilding of the theatre, with generous donations arriving from philanthropists in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In January 1928, following an open competition, 29-year-old

Elisabeth Scott Elisabeth Whitworth Scott (20 September 1898 – 19 June 1972) was a British architect who designed the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon, England. This was the first important public building in Britain to be designed by a ...

was unanimously appointed architect for the new theatre which became the first important work erected in the United Kingdom from the designs of a female architect. George Bernard Shaw commented that her design was the only one that showed any theatre sense. Her modernist plans for an

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

structure came under fire from many directions but the new building was opened triumphantly on

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's birthday, 23 April 1932. Later it came under the direction of Sir Barry Jackson in 1945,''State of the Nation: British Theatre Since 1945'' by Michael Billington, Faber (2007)

Anthony Quayle Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was a British actor. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969). He also played impor ...

from 1948 to 1956 and Glen Byam Shaw 1957–1959, with an impressive roll-call of actors. Scott's building, with some minor adjustments to the stage, remained in constant use until 2007 when it was closed for a major refit of the interior. ;Timeline: * 1932 – New Shakespeare Memorial Theatre opens, abutting the remains of the old. * 1961 – Chartered name of the corporation and the Stratford theatre becomes "Royal Shakespeare". * 1974 – The Other Place opened, created from a prefabricated former store/rehearsal room in Stratford. * 1986 – The Swan Theatre opened, created from the shell of the 1879 Memorial Theatre. * 1991 – Purpose-built new Other Place, designed by Michael Reardon, opens. * September 2004 – The vision for the renewal of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre transformation is announced. * July 2006 – The Courtyard Theatre opens with a staging of Michael Boyd's Histories. * November 2010 – The Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres re-open following their transformation. * March 2016 – The Other Place was reinstated as a 200-seat studio theatre.

The RSC

Foundation and history

In 1959, while still the director-designate of the Memorial Theatre, Peter Hall announced that the formation of a permanent company would be a primary objective. David Addenbrooke wrote of Hall's belief that Shakespeare, more than any other dramatist, needed a "style", a tradition and unity of direction and acting. On 14 January 1960, Hall's first policy statement as director also proposed the acquisition of a second theatre, in London, to be used as a city outlet for selected Stratford productions. The RSC was formally established on 20 March 1961 with the royal announcement that the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre would henceforth be known as the

Royal Shakespeare Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a Grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespea ...

and the company as the Royal Shakespeare Company. The critic Michael Billington, summarising these events, wrote: "In 1960 the twenty-nine-year-old Peter Hall formally took charge at Stratford-upon-Avon and set about turning a star-laden, six-month Shakespeare festival into a monumental, year-round operation built around a permanent company, a London base and contemporary work from home and abroad. Looking back, it is difficult to realise just how radical Hall's dream was at the time; or indeed how much opposition there was to the creation of what became officially known in March 1961 as the Royal Shakespeare Company." John Barton had been appointed associate director in January 1960, and was followed in 1962 by

Michel Saint-Denis Michel Jacques Saint-Denis (13 September 1897 – 31 July 1971), ''dit'' Jacques Duchesne, was a French actor, theatre director, and drama theorist whose ideas on actor training have had a profound influence on the development of European th ...

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...

and Clifford Williams who joined the company as resident directors. John Bury was appointed head of design in 1964. The repertoire was also widened to take in modern work and classics other than Shakespeare. In 1962, strong opposition to the establishment of a London base for the RSC came from the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

which – led by

Viscount Chandos Viscount Chandos, of Aldershot in the County of Southampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and held by a branch of the Lyttelton family. It was created in 1954 for the businessman and public servant Oliver Lyttelton. He was th ...

and

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

– wished to be the sole subsidised company operating in London. Following a deal with

Prince Littler Prince Frank Littler CBE (25 July 1901 – 1973) born Prince Frank Richeux, was an English theatre proprietor, impresario, and television executive. Life and career Littler was born in Ramsgate, Kent, in the south east of England, the elder son ...

, managing director of Associated Theatre Properties, the RSC established the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

as its London base for productions transferred from Stratford to London, its stage redesigned to match the RST's apron stage. Twenty years later, in the summer of 1982, the company took up London residence in both the Barbican Theatre and The Pit studio space in the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

under the auspices of the City of London. The RSC was closely involved in the design of these two venues. In 2002 it left the Barbican after a series of allegedly poor seasons, partly because the then artistic director

Adrian Noble Adrian Keith Noble (born 19 July 1950) is a theatre director, and was also the artistic director and chief executive of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1990 to 2003. Education and career Noble was born in Chichester, Sussex, England. After le ...

wanted to develop the company's touring performances. His decision means the company has no regular London home.

Innovation and growth

The RSC had first tackled its need for a small auditorium in 1971. At the insistence of

Sir Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is an English theatre director and lyricist. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has dire ...

(who had taken over as artistic director in 1968), the company hired

The Place The Place may refer to: * The Place (London) The Place is a dance and performance centre in Duke's Road near Euston in the London Borough of Camden. It is the home of London Contemporary Dance School and the Robin Howard Dance Theatre, and forme ...

off the

Euston Road Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to Kings Cross, London, King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston ...

in London and constructed its own theatre space for an audience of 330, seated on raked wooden benches. Two seasons of plays were staged in 1972 and 1973, none suitable for the Aldwych. In December 1973

Buzz Goodbody Mary Ann "Buzz" Goodbody (25 June 1946 – 12 April 1975) was an English theatre director. Associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) for almost all of her short career, Goodbody is remembered for her sometimes politically charged exper ...

, the company's first female director, drew up a plan for what would become The Other Place studio theatre in Stratford, designed by

Michael Reardon Michael Reardon may refer to: * Michael Reardon (climber) (1965–2007), American climber, filmmaker and writer *Michael Reardon (actor), foreign actor who starred in '' The Syndicate: A Death in the Family'' (1970) *Michael Reardon (architect), En ...

to seat 140 people, which opened to a first and highly successful season in 1974. The name chosen for the new studio space was favoured within the company because it implied an alternative theatre, but also because it is a quotation from ''Hamlet''. In August 1976, Nunn staged ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' with a minimalist set at The Other Place, playing for 2 hours 15 minutes without an interval. The small, nearly round stage focused attention on the psychological dynamics of the characters. Both

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...

in the title role and

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

as Lady Macbeth received exceptionally favourable reviews. The production transferred to London, opening at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

in September 1977 before its further transfer to the larger

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...

venue for a two-month season. It was also recorded for transmission by

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

. In 2004, members of the RSC voted Dench's performance the greatest by an actress in the history of the company. Summing up this triumphant period, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' critic Michael Billington later wrote: " n 1977the RSC struck gold. This was, in fact, the perihelion of Trevor Nunn's ten-year reign as the company's sole Artistic Director and Chief Executive (in 1978 he began to share power with Terry Hands). In London, the company opened a new studio space at the

with plays by Barker, Taylor, Bond and Brecht. Its Aldwych repertory combined the usual Stratford transfers with

Nichol Nichol is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Andrew Nichol (born 1974), Australian rules footballer * B. P. Nichol (1944–1988), Canadian poet * Barbara Nichol (born c. 1956), Canadian writer and documentary maker * Cameron Ni ...

's ''

Privates on Parade ''Privates on Parade: A Play with Songs in Two Acts'' is a 1977 farce by English playwright Peter Nichols (book and lyrics), with music by Denis King. The drama draws upon Nichols' own experiences in the real-life Combined Services Entertai ...

'', Ibsen's ''Pillars of the Community'' and Brecht's ''

The Days of the Commune ''The Days of the Commune'' is a play by the twentieth-century German dramatist Bertolt Brecht. It dramatises the rise and fall of the Paris Commune in 1871. The play is an adaptation of the 1937 play '' The Defeat'' by the Norwegian poet and drama ...

''. At the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Terry Hands and actor Alan Howard had a marathon year working on ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

'', a virtually uncut, ''

Henry VI, Part 1 ''Henry VI, Part 1'', often referred to as ''1 Henry VI'', is a Shakespearean history, history play by William Shakespeare—possibly in collaboration with Thomas Nashe and others—believed to have been written in 1591. It is set during the ...

'', ''

Henry VI, Part 2 ''Henry VI, Part 2'' (1591) is a Shakespearean history play about King Henry VI of England's inability to quell the bickering of his noblemen, the death of his trusted advisor Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and the political rise of Richard of ...

'' and ''

Henry VI, Part 3 ''Henry VI, Part 3'' (often written as ''3 Henry VI'') is a Shakespearean history, history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591 and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas ''Henry VI, Part 1, ...

'' and ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...

''. And the action at The Other Place included Jonson, Ford, Musset, Gems and Rudkin. No other company in the world could match that output for quantity and quality". Nunn and Hands were joint artistic directors of the RSC when the company opened The Swan, its third theatre in Stratford. The Swan Theatre, also designed by

, has a deep

thrust stage In theatre, a thrust stage (a platform stage or open stage) is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its upstage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between performers and the ...

and a galleried, intimate 450-capacity auditorium. The space was to be dedicated to playing the works of Shakespeare's contemporaries, the works of European writers and the occasional work of Shakespeare. The theatre was launched on 8 May 1986 with a production of ''

The Two Noble Kinsmen ''The Two Noble Kinsmen'' is a Jacobean tragicomedy, first published in 1634 and attributed jointly to John Fletcher and William Shakespeare. Its plot derives from "The Knight's Tale" in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales'' (1387–140 ...

'' by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher (not published until 1634 and thought to be Shakespeare's last work for the stage). It was directed by

Barry Kyle Barry Albert Kyle (born 25 March 1947, in Bow, London) is an English theatre director, currently Honorary Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, England. Kyle attended Beal Grammar School in Ilford and then studied drama and Engl ...

Costumes and props

The RSC's costume department is 'the largest in-house costume-making workshop in British theatre' and 'world-renowned'. In 2021, the RSC raised over £8 million for a project to update the costume and prop department. Alistair McArthur, head of costume, called the old working space "Dickensian" and added, "If we knew there was rain coming we'd have to clear everything off the table the night before." The prop-makers design and make many of their own props for the many productions. A 'Prop Shop' in Stratford-upon-Avon is the studio in which most of the props are made.

Troubled times

Nunn (who had been appointed to follow Hall's tenure at the National Theatre in 1968) ceded his RSC executive directorship in 1986 to his co-artistic director

Terry Hands Terence David Hands, (9 January 1941 – 4 February 2020) was an English theatre director. He founded the Liverpool Everyman Theatre and ran the Royal Shakespeare Company for thirteen years during one of the company's most successful periods; ...

, who bore the brunt of media hostility during a difficult few years for the company. Hands took the decision to suspend the RSC's residency at The Barbican Theatre and The Pit during the winter season of 1990–91, thus vacating the capital for the first time in 30 years. This was seen as essential if the RSC was to secure an increase in subsidy from the Arts Council. Shortly after that decision

returned to the RSC to take over from Hands as artistic director and chief executive. The company had serious funding problems. Noble's decision to sever all RSC connections with the Barbican Centre, funded by the Corporation of the City of London, was widely condemned, and towards the end of his tenure things began to go terribly wrong, partly through his pursuit and support of the so-called Project Fleet, a radical scheme aimed at rescuing the RSC from its financial crisis by replacing the Royal Shakespeare Theatre with a crowd-pleasing "Shakespeare Village" and streamlining the company's performance structure and ensemble principle.

A 21st-century renaissance

None of Noble's plans came to fruition. He left the job an unhappy man in March 2003. Michael Boyd then assumed control of the RSC, now burdened with a deficit of £2.8 million. By a combination of artistic excellence and quiet husbandry, including a year-long Complete Works of Shakespeare Festival (begun in April 2006 in collaboration with other theatre companies) plus a financially successful London season at the

Novello Theatre The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster. It was known as the Strand Theatre between 1913 and 2005. History The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of The Waldo ...

in 2006, Boyd slowly rebuilt the company's fortunes and reputation. In 2007, he launched the long-awaited Stratford theatre redevelopments, including construction of the temporary

Courtyard Theatre The Courtyard Theatre was a 1,048 seat thrust stage theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, operated by the Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratf ...

while work was in progress, designed to house his RSC Histories cycle before its transfer to the Roundhouse in London in 2008. Talking of these achievements with typical modesty he told the ''Evening Standard'' in December 2007 ("The Man Who Remade the RSC"): "There was a bit of gardening to do, but we are now beginning to show signs of walking the walk." "The Histories" ensemble went on to win three Olivier awards in 2009. In addition, that same year the RSC commissioned a completely new edition of Shakespeare's First Folio, titled "

Complete Works" and published by

Modern Library The Modern Library is an American book publishing Imprint (trade name), imprint and formerly the parent company of Random House. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, Moder ...

. To provide balance, Simon Trowbridge in ''A Royal Shakespeare Company Book'', published in 2017, is highly critical of aspects of the Boyd years, including his decision to redevelop the Royal Shakespeare Theatre as a second Swan Theatre. The RSC is the sole British member theatre of the

Union of the Theatres of Europe The Union of European Theatres (UTE; ) is an alliance of European public theatres. It promotes European integration through cultural interaction. It does transnational theatre work comprising over ten thousand performances and reaching three mi ...

. In March 2008, the RSC launched a manifesto 'Stand up for Shakespeare', a campaign to promote a positive experience of Shakespeare for children and young people. The tenets of this manifesto, ''Do It on Your Feet, See It Live, Start It Earlier'' form the basis of the work of the Education department. In 2010, the RSC opened a new suite of education spaces on Waterside. In 2011, BP began to subsidised the RSC's £5 ticket scheme for 16 to 25-year-olds. In summer 2011 the company undertook a residency in

Park Avenue Armory The Park Avenue Armory, also known as the 7th Regiment Armory, is a historic armory for the U.S. Army National Guard at 643 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. Designed in the Gothic Revival style ...

, New York, running a series of performances and an accompanying education programme in partnership with the

NYC Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (more commonly known as New York City Publ ...

. In 2012, the RSC produced the World Shakespeare Festival, a celebration of 'Shakespeare as the world's playwright' working with UK and international arts organisations, and including the Globe to Globe Festival by Shakespeare's Globe. The same year, planning permission was granted by Stratford District Council to reinstate The Other Place. Funding for the new theatre came from a £3 million grant from the Arts Council England, raised through the National Lottery. Funding was also received from the

Gatsby Charitable Foundation The Gatsby Charitable Foundation is an endowed grant-making trust based in London, founded by David Sainsbury in 1967. The organisation is one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts set up to provide funding for charitable causes. Although the ...

, The Backstage Trust, and from public donations; this is the final phase of the Transformation project. Live from Stratford-upon-Avon, a new project to broadcast the company's productions in cinemas around the world and stream them into schools was announced in May 2013. The project began with Shakespeare's ''Richard II'', starring

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

, in November 2013, and followed up with ''Henry IV'' parts 1 and 2 and ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' in 2014. In February 2016, Artistic Director Gregory Doran's productions of ''Henry IV Part I'' and ''Henry IV Part II'', and ''Henry V'' went on tour in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong as part of the King & Country Tour. The same year, the Royal Shakespeare Company also opened their first permanent exhibition, entitled The Play's The Thing. On 23 April 2016, the RSC performed a one-night extravaganza, called 'Shakespeare Live!'. Broadcast on BBC Two from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, it marked the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's Death. It involved a collection of Shakespeare scenes and monologues with appearances from

Catherine Tate Catherine Tate (born Catherine Jane Ford, 5 December 1969) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC Two, BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), as well as bein ...

, Dame Judi Dench,

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...

and even one from

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

. In June 2019, the actor

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (; born 18 January 1960) is an English actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen, having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Oliv ...

resigned from the RSC over its sponsorship deal with oil company BP. In October 2019, the RSC announced that it would be ending its partnership with BP at the end of year following criticism of its association with the oil company. A week before, school students threatened to boycott the theatre company if it did not sever links with the firm. A spokesperson for the RSC explained that "Young people are now saying clearly to us that the BP sponsorship is putting a barrier between them and their wish to engage with the RSC". In February 2021, the RSC announced five new members to its board of trustees: Andrew Miller, Amanda Parker,

Winsome Pinnock Winsome Pinnock FRSL (born 1961) is a British playwright of Jamaican heritage, who is "probably Britain's most well known black female playwright". She was described in ''The Guardian'' as "the godmother of black British playwrights". Life Wins ...

, Justine Themen and

Ayanna Thompson Ayanna Thompson is Regents Professor of English at Arizona State University and Director of the Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies (ACMRS). She was the 2018–19 president of the Shakespeare Association of America. She specializes ...

. It was announced that Daniel Evans and

Tamara Harvey Tamara Harvey is a British-based theatre director. Background Tamara Harvey was born in Botswana and grew up in Massachusetts and Brighton. She became co-artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon with Danie ...

would become joint Artistic Directors from June 2023. Their first season was announced on 16 January 2024 commencing from April.

Artistic directors

* Peter Hall (1960–1968) *

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is an English theatre director and lyricist. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has dir ...

(1968–1978) *

and

(1978–1986) *

(1986–1991) *

(1991–2003) * Michael Boyd (2003–2012) *

Gregory Doran Sir Gregory Doran (born 24 November 1958) is an English director known for his Shakespearean work. ''The Sunday Times'' called him 'one of the great Shakespearians of his generation'. Doran was artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company ...

(2012–2022) *

Erica Whyman Erica Whyman, OBE (born 27 October 1969) is an English theatre director who became deputy artistic director at the Royal Shakespeare Company in January 2013. Background Whyman was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, but lived in Barnsley until aged eig ...

(2021–2023) (Acting Artistic Director) * Daniel Evans and

(2023– )

Theatres

The RSC has three permanent theatres in Stratford-upon-Avon: * The

, a 1,060-seat theatre with

(re-opened 24 November 2010 after Transformation project) * The

Swan Theatre Swan Theatre may refer to: * The Swan (theatre), an Elizabethan playhouse * Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, a theatre belonging to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England * Swan Theatre, Worcester The Swan Theatre is a t ...

, a smaller

, capacity 461 * The Other Place, a studio theatre, rehearsal room and development space that opened in April 2016 The

was built as a temporary replacement for The Other Place theatre to house the company's work when the RST and Swan were closed for the Transformation project. It provided a full-scale working prototype for the new RST's auditorium, seating 1,045 people around a thrust stage. It was also used in 2012 for productions in the

World Shakespeare Festival The World Shakespeare Festival was a programme of events about William Shakespeare and his work. They took place mostly in London and Stratford-upon-Avon as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad which accompanied the Olympic Games. It was produced ...

including ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in an Indian setting. The Courtyard Theatre was replaced by The Other Place, which was reinstated as a 200-seat studio theatre in 2016. In July 2021, a temporary 500-seat outdoor theatre was built in the Swan Gardens named the Lydia & Manfred Gorvy Garden Theatre. The theatre was built due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

to allow productions to return following the Government guidance, beginning with Phillip Breen's production of ''The Comedy of Errors'' running during summer 2021. The theatre was resurrected and renamed as The Holloway Garden Theatre for the summer 2024 production of ''As You Like It'', directed by Brendan O'Hea. The company's London presence has included tenancies of the

in Duke's Road, Euston, the

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

, the Barbican Theatre and The Pit at the

in the City of London. There have also been seasons at The

Mermaid Theatre The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new th ...

, the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West E ...

(1988 and 1989), the Roundhouse in Camden, the

, the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt in ...

, the

and the

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 994 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and ...

. The Theatre Royal in Newcastle upon Tyne is the third home of the Royal Shakespeare Company, alongside Stratford-upon-Avon and London.

Key productions

* ''

'', directed by Peter Hall and starring

as Coriolanus,

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress. In her career spanning over six decades, she has garnered List of awards and nominations received by Vanessa Redgrave, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony A ...

as Valeria,

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Siegf ...

as Sicinius Velutus,

Edith Evans Dame Edith Mary Evans (8 February 1888 – 14 October 1976) was an English actress. She was best known for Edith Evans – stage and film roles, her work on the West End theatre, West End stage, but also appeared in films at the beginning and t ...

as Volumnia, and

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining fame for movie acting during the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' ( ...

and

Mary Ure Eileen Mary Ure (18 February 1933 – 3 April 1975) was a British actress. She was the second Scottish-born actress (after Deborah Kerr) to be nominated for an Academy Award, for her role in the 1960 film '' Sons and Lovers''. Early life Born i ...

as Roman citizens. (1959) * ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'', directed by

and starring

Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was an English actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award for his work. Scofield ...

as Lear,

Irene Worth Irene Worth, CBE (June 23, 1916March 10, 2002), born Harriett Elizabeth Abrams, was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the British and American theatre. She pronounced her first name with three syllabl ...

Goneril Goneril is a character in William Shakespeare's tragic play ''King Lear'' (1605). She is the eldest of Leir of Britain, King Lear's three daughters. Along with her sister Regan (King Lear), Regan, Goneril is considered a villain, obsessed with p ...

Patience Collier Patience Collier (born Irene Marjorie Ritscher; 19 August 1910 – 13 July 1987) was a British actress. Career Patience Collier began her theatrical career in Manchester. In 1956 she played Maria in Denis Cannan and Pierre Bost's ''The Power ...

as Regan,

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 1938 – 10 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Tracy Bond, Teresa di ...

Cordelia Cordelia is a feminine given name. It was borne by the tragic heroine of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'' (1606), a character based on the legendary queen Cordelia. The name is of uncertain origin. It is popularly associated with Latin '' cor'' (gen ...

Peter Jeffrey Peter Jeffrey (18 April 1929 – 25 December 1999) was an English actor. Starting his performing career on stage, he later portrayed many roles in television and film. Early life Jeffrey was born in Bristol, the son of Florence Alice (née ...

as the

Duke of Albany Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on younger sons in the Scotland, Scottish and later the British royal family, particularly in the Houses of House of Stuart, Stuart and House of Hanover, Hanover. History ...

Tony Church James Anthony Church (11 May 1930 – 25 March 2008) was an English actor, who has appeared on stage and screen. In 1989 he became the Dean of the National Theatre Conservatory, which is the teaching arm of the Denver Center Theatre Company in ...

as the

Duke of Cornwall Duke of Cornwall () is a title in the Peerage of England, traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch, previously the English monarch. The Duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created i ...

, Alan Webb as the

Earl of Gloucester The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of Peerage of England, England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear.'' Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation (1121) *Robert, 1st Earl ...

, Tom Fleming as the

Earl of Kent The peerage title Earl of Kent has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In fiction, the Earl of Kent is also known as a prominent supporting character in William Shakespeare's tragedy K ...

, Brian Murray as

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...

James Booth James Booth (born David Noel Geeves; 19 December 1927 – 11 August 2005) was an English film, stage and television actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Private Henry Hook in '' Zulu.'' ''Variety'' called him "a punchy b ...

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

Clive Swift Clive Walter Swift (9 February 1936 – 1 February 2019) was an English actor and songwriter. A classically trained actor, his stage work included performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but he was best known to television viewers for h ...

as Oswald, and

Alec McCowen Alexander Duncan McCowen, (26 May 1925 – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. Early life McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer ...

as the Fool. (1962) * ''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604. It was published in the First Folio of 1623. The play centers on the despotic and puritan Angelo (Measure for ...

'' directed by John Blatchley and starring

Marius Goring Marius Re Goring (23 May 191230 September 1998) was an English stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell and Pressburger, Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in ''A Matter of Life and D ...

as Angelo,

as Isabella, Tom Fleming as Vincentio,

Ian Richardson Ian William Richardson (7 April 19349 February 2007) was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Conservative politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's '' House of Cards'' (1990–1995) television trilogy, as well as the pivot ...

as Lucio,

as Escalus,

as Pompey and

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. After graduating from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a ...

as Claudio. (1962) * ''The

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

'', adaptation of the '' Henry VI'' and ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' plays, directed by Sir Peter Hall and starring

David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Othe ...

as Henry VI,

Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily "Peggy" Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991) was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was determined from an early age to become ...

Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou (; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Through marriage, she was also nominally Queen of France from 1445 to 1453. Born in the ...

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was an English actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including '' The Cruel Sea'' ( ...

as the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

Paul Hardwick Paul Hardwick (15 November 1918 in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire – 22 October 1983, London) was an English actor. Career Theatre *''The Wars of the Roses'' (1965) – Gloucester *''Richard II'' (1970) – John of Gaunt John o ...

as the

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester ( ) is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curre ...

Janet Suzman Dame Janet Suzman (born 9 February 1939) is a South African-born British actress who had a successful early career in the Royal Shakespeare Company, later replaying many Shakespearean roles on television. In her first film, '' Nicholas and Alexa ...

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

Brewster Mason Brewster Mason (30 August 192214 August 1987) was an England, English stage actor who also appeared in films and on television. He was born in Kidsgrove, Staffordshire and made his stage debut at the Finsbury Park Open Air Theatre in 1947. He th ...

as the

Earl of Warwick Earl of Warwick is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which has been created four times in English history. The name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick. Overview The first creation came in 1088, and the title was held b ...

Roy Dotrice Roy Dotrice (26 May 1923 – 16 October 2017) was a British stage and screen actor. He played the antiquarian John Aubrey in the solo play '' Brief Lives''. He won a Tony Award for his performance in the 2000 Broadway revival of '' A Moon for ...

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

. (1963) * ''

Marat/Sade ''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (), usually shortened to ''Marat/Sade'' (), is a 1963 play by Peter Weiss. The work was firs ...

'' by

Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and '' The Investigation'' and h ...

, directed by

and starring

as the herald,

Clive Revill Clive Selsby Revill (18 April 1930 – 11 March 2025) was a New Zealand actor, best known for his performances in musical theatre and the London stage. A veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he also starred in numerous films and television ...

as Marat, Patrick Magee as de Sade and

Glenda Jackson Glenda May Jackson (9 May 1936 – 15 June 2023) was an English actress and politician. Over the course of her distinguished career she received List of awards and nominations received by Glenda Jackson, numerous accolades including two Academy ...

Charlotte Corday Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont (27 July 1768 – 17 July 1793), known simply as Charlotte Corday (), was a figure of the French Revolution who assassinated revolutionary and Jacobins, Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat on 13 July 1793. Cor ...

. (1964) * ''

The Homecoming ''The Homecoming'' is a two-act play written in 1964 and published in 1965 by Harold Pinter. Its premières in London (1965) and New York (1967) were both directed by Sir Peter Hall. The original Broadway production won the 1967 Tony Award ...

'' by

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

, world premiere directed by Peter Hall (June 1965) * ''

Staircase A stairwell or stair room is a room in a building where a stair is located, and is used to connect walkways between floors so that one can move in height. Collectively, a set of stairs and a stairwell is referred to as a staircase or stairway ...

'' with

and Patrick Magee (1966) * ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' directed by Peter Hall with

in the title-role (1965) * ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'', directed by

(1970) * ''

Old Times ''Old Times'' is a play by Harold Pinter. It was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre in London on 1 June 1971. It starred Colin Blakely, Dorothy Tutin, and Vivien Merchant, and was directed by Peter Hall. ...

'' by

directed by Peter Hall (1971) * ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

'' directed by

(1973) * ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed around 1607, by the King's Men at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre. Its first appearance in print was in the First Folio published ...

'' directed by

starring

(1973) * ''

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

'', directed by John Barton, starring

and

Richard Pasco Richard Edward Pasco (18 July 1926 – 12 November 2014) was a British stage, screen and television actor. Early life Pasco was born in Barnes, Surrey, the only child of insurance company clerk Cecil George Pasco (1897–1982) and milliner Ph ...

, alternating the roles of Richard and Bolingbroke (1973–74) * ''

Travesties ''Travesties'' is a 1974 play by Tom Stoppard. It centres on the figure of Henry Wilfred Carr, Henry Carr, an old man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during World War I, the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he w ...

'' by Tom Stoppard, starring John Wood, world premiere directed by Peter Wood (June 1974) * ''The Marrying of Ann Leete'' by

Harley Granville Barker Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directing a ...

, starring

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place'' and gained further recogn ...

, directed by David Jones (September 1975) * ''

'', starring

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...

, directed by

(1976) * ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', starring Ian McKellen and

Francesca Annis Francesca Annis (born 14 May 1945) is an English actress. She is known for television roles in '' Reckless'' (1998), '' Wives and Daughters'' (1999), ''Deceit'' (2000), and '' Cranford'' (2007). A six-time BAFTA TV Award nominee, she won the 1979 ...

, directed by Trevor Nunn (March 1976) * ''

'', starring Judi Dench and

, directed by John Barton (April 1976) * ''

The Iceman Cometh ''The Iceman Cometh'' is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1946, the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 9, 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling, where it ran for 136 perf ...

'' by

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

, with Alan Tllvern taking over the role of Hickey from the "indisposed"

, directed by Howard Davies (May 1976) * ''

The Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play ...

'', a musical by Trevor Nunn and

Guy Woolfenden Guy Anthony Woolfenden (12 July 1937 – 15 April 2016) was an English composer and conductor. He was head of music at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon for 37 years, making music an integral part of over 150 productions t ...

(September 1976) * '' Wild Oats'' by John O'Keeffe, starring

Alan Howard Alan Howard may refer to: * Alan Howard (actor) (1937–2015), English actor * Alan Howard (cricketer) (1909–1993), English cricketer * Alan Howard (engineer) (1905–1966), American engineer * Alan Howard (hedge fund manager) (born 1963), hed ...

and

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, ...

, directed by Clifford Williams (December 1976) * ''

'', directed by

starring

and

(1976–77) * ''

'' by

Peter Nichols Peter Nichols may refer to: * Peter Nichols (author) (born 1950), American author * Peter Nichols (playwright) (1927–2019), English playwright * Peter Nichols (journalist) (1928–1989), English newspaper journalist and author * Peter Nichols, ...

, world premiere directed by

Michael Blakemore Michael Howell Blakemore AO OBE (18 June 1928 – 10 December 2023) was an Australian actor, writer and theatre director who also made some films. A former Associate Director of the National Theatre, in 2000 he became the only individual to ...

(February 1977) * ''Destiny'' by David Edgar, world premiere directed by Ron Daniels (May 1977) * ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'' directed by

Jon Amiel Jon Amiel (born 20 May 1948) is an English director who has worked in film and television in both the UK and the US. After receiving a BAFTA Award nomination for the BBC series ''The Singing Detective'' (1986), he went on to direct films, inclu ...

with

Bob Peck Robert Peck (23 August 1945 – 4 April 1999) was an English actor who played Ronald Craven in the television serial ''Edge of Darkness'', for which he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor, BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He ...

Edward Petherbridge Edward Petherbridge (born 3 August 1936) is an English actor, writer and artist. Among his many roles, he portrayed Lord Peter Wimsey in the 1987 BBC television adaptations of Dorothy L. Sayers' novels, and Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's ''R ...

and

Roger Rees Roger Rees (5 May 1944 – 10 July 2015) was a Welsh-American actor and director. He won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for his performance as the lead in ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play), The Life and Adventures of Nicho ...

(1978) * ''The Greeks'' directed and adapted from

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

and

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

by John Barton (1980) * ''

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'', or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'', is the third novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839. The character of Nickleby is a young man who must support his ...

'' adapted for the stage by David Edgar with music by opera composer Stephen Oliver, world premiere directed by

and John Caird (1980), winner of a

Drama Desk Special Award The Drama Desk Special Award is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements by an individual or an organization that has made a significant contribution to the theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway or off-o ...

in 1982 * '' Carrie'', based on

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

's 1974 horror novel, directed by

with a book by Lawrence D. Cohen, lyrics by

Dean Pitchford Dean Pitchford (born July 29, 1951) is an American songwriter, screenwriter, director, actor, and novelist. His work has earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for three additional Oscars, two more Golden Globes, e ...

, and music by

Michael Gore Michael Gore (born March 5, 1951) is an American composer. He is the younger brother of singer Lesley Gore. Biography A 1969 graduate of the Dwight-Englewood School, Gore received the school's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2004. Gore, along wi ...

. The Royal Shakespeare Company co-produced the Pre-Broadway try-out in the U.K. * ''

'' directed by

starring

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; 19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career ...

and

Antony Sher Sir Antony Sher (14 June 1949 – 2 December 2021) was a British actor, writer and theatre director of South African origin. A two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner and a five-time nominee, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982 and ...

(1992) * ''

'' directed by

starring

Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen as well as for his work at the Royal National Theatre, he has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, two ...

and

Sinéad Cusack Sinéad Moira Cusack ( ; born 18 February 1948) is an Irish actress. Her first acting roles were at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, before moving to London in 1969 to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has won the Critics' Circle and ''Eve ...

* ''

'', directed by Bill Alexander starring Sir

(1984) * ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' by Claude-Michel Schoenberg and

Alain Boublil Alain Boublil (born 5 March 1941) is a French national musical theatre lyricist and librettist, best known for his collaborations with the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg for musicals on Broadway and London's West End. These include '' La ...

directed by

(1985–2019) * ''

Les liaisons dangereuses ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu on March 23, 1782. It is the story of the Marquise Isabelle de Merteu ...

'' by

Christopher Hampton Sir Christopher James Hampton (born 26 January 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play Les Liaisons Dangereuses (play), ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' based on the Les Liaisons da ...

starring

Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his distinctive deep, wikt:languid#Etymology 1, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and b ...

Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Scottish actress. She is the recipient of three BAFTA nominations and one Scottish BAFTA nomination, as well as two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her work on stage. She has starred in sever ...

, and

Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actress of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film '' Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Le ...

, world premiere directed by Howard Davies (1985) * ''

'' directed by

starring

Jonathan Pryce Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor. He is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nom ...

(1986) * ''

Titus Andronicus ''The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus'', often shortened to ''Titus Andronicus'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first t ...

'' directed by

Deborah Warner Deborah Warner (born 12 May 1959) is a British director of theatre and opera, known for her interpretations of the works of Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Benjamin Britten, and Henrik Ibsen, and for her collaborations with Irish actress Fiona ...

starring Brian Cox (1988) * ''The Plantagenets'' adaptation of ''

'', '' Part 2'' and '' Part 3'' and ''

'', directed by

, starring

Anton Lesser Anton Lesser (born 14 February 1952) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Harold Macmillan in ''The Crown'', Clement Attlee in '' A United Kingdom'', Chief Superintendent Bright in '' E ...

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ralph Fiennes, various accolades, including a British Academy Film ...

as Henry VI and

David Waller David Waller (27 November 1920 – 23 January 1997) was an English actor best known for his role as Inspector Jowett in the British television series ''Cribb''. He also appeared as Stanley Baldwin in ITV's '' Edward & Mrs Simpson'' (1978), and ...

as Duke of Gloucester (1988) * ''

'' directed by

with

Willard White Sir Willard Wentworth White, Order of Merit (Jamaica), OM, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 10 October 1946) is a Jamaican-born British operatic bass baritone. Early life White was born into a Jamaican family in Kingston, Jamaica, Kingst ...

and

Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's '' Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago ha ...

(1989) * ''

The Master Builder ''The Master Builder'' () is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's more significant and revealing works. Performance The play was published by Gyldendal AS in C ...

'' directed by

starring John Wood (1989) * ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' directed by

(1992) * ''

'' directed by

starring

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

(1992) * ''

'' directed by

starring

Robert Stephens Sir Robert Graham Stephens (14 July 193112 November 1995) was an English actor in the early years of Britain's Royal National Theatre. Early life Stephens was born in Shirehampton, Bristol, in 1931, the eldest of three children of shipyard ...

and

Simon Russell Beale Sir Simon Russell Beale (born 12 January 1961) is an English actor. He has been described by ''The Independent'' as "the greatest stage actor of his generation". He has received various accolades, including two BAFTA Awards, three Olivier Awar ...

(1993) * ''

'' directed by David Thacker starring

Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the United Kingdom, United States, and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film '' Die Another Day'', for whic ...

(1994) * '' This England: The Histories'', a season of all Shakespeare's sequential history plays (2000) * ''

'' directed by Michael Boyd starring

(2004) * ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...

'' by

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

directed by

Dominic Cooke Dominic Cooke (born 1966) is an English director and writer. Early life Born in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, south London, Cooke was brought up seeing a lot of theatre as a teenager from free theatre tickets provided by the Inner London Ed ...

(2006) * ''

Pericles Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...

'' directed by

(2006) * Repertory performances of ''

'' and ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...

'' starring

and

Frances Barber Frances Barber (née Brookes, born 13 May 1958) is an English actress. She received Olivier Award nominations for her work in the plays '' Camille'' (1985), and '' Uncle Vanya'' (1997). Her film appearances include three collaborations with ...

, directed by

(2007) *

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

The Penelopiad ''The Penelopiad'' is a novella by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It was published in 2005 as part of the first set of books in the '' Canongate Myth Series'' where contemporary authors rewrite ancient myths. In ''The Penelopiad'', Penelope rem ...

, directed by Josette Bushell-Mingo and produced by Peter Hinton, was a co-production between the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and the National Arts Centre of Canada (2007). * ''The Histories'' in Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Roundhouse (2008) * ''

'' directed by

, with

as Hamlet and Patrick Stewart as Claudius (2008) * Roald Dahl's ''Matilda the Musical'', book by Dennis Kelly (writer), Dennis Kelly, music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, directed by Matthew Warchus (2010) * ''Love's Labour's Lost'' directed by Christophe Luscombe, with Edward Bennett (actor), Edward Bennett and Michelle Terry (2014) * ''Wolf Hall Parts One & Two, Wolf Hall'' based on the two novels by Hilary Mantel, adapted for the stage by Mike Poulton, directed by Jeremy Herrin, produced in London's West End and on Broadway theatre, Broadway (2015). * ''Oppenheimer (play), Oppenheimer'' by Tom Morton-Smith, directed by Angus Jackson and starring John Heffernan (British actor), John Heffernan as J Robert Oppenheimer. (2015) * ''The Tempest'' directed by

, with

and Mark Quarterly, designed by Stephen Brimson Lewis, in collaboration with Intel and The Imaginarium Studios. * ''Imperium (play cycle): Conspirator'' and ''Imperium: Dictator'' adapted from Robert Harris (novelist), Robert Harris' trilogy by Mike Poulton, with Richard McCabe as Marcus Tullius Cicero and Peter De Jersey as Gaius Julius Caesar (2017, Stratford Season) (2018, London Transfer). * ''

'' directed by Iqbal Khan (director), Iqbal Khan, with Josette Simon and Antony Byrne in the title roles (2017). * ''

'' directed by Angus Jackson, with Sope Dirisu as Coriolanus (2017). * Angus Jackson also directed ''

'' in 2017. * ''

'' directed by Blanche McIntyre, with David Troughton in the title role (2017). * Adrian Edmondson starred as Malvolio in Christopher Luscombe's ''

'' (2017). *

directed a puppet-based production of ''Venus and Adonis (Shakespeare poem), Venus and Adonis'' in 2017. * Simon Godwin directed Paapa Essiedu in ''

'' in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2016, before it came back for a UK tour and shows in America in 2018. * ''

'', directed by

and with

in the title role, premiered in 2016 and was revived for a short run in 2018. * ''

'' directed by Polly Findlay, with Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack (2018). * ''

'' directed by

, premiered in 2018, with a UK tour scheduled for 2019. * ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' directed by Fiona Laird (2018). * ''Troilus and Cressida'' directed by

, with music from Evelyn Glennie (2018). * ''Timon of Athens'' directed by Simon Godwin (2018). * ''The Boy in the Dress (musical), The Boy in the Dress'' by David Walliams, book by Mark Ravenhill, music and lyrics by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, directed by

(2019) * ''The Comedy of Errors'' directed by Phillip Breen (2021) * Kate DiCamillo's ''The Magician's Elephant (musical), The Magician's Elephant'', book and lyrics by Nancy Harris, music and lyrics by Marc Teitler, directed by Sarah Tipple (2021) * ''

'' directed by

, starring Arthur Hughes (British actor), Arthur Hughes (2022) * Studio Ghibli's ''My Neighbour Totoro (play), My Neighbour Totoro'' adapted by Tom Morton-Smith, directed by Phelim McDermott (2022) * ''Cowbois (play), Cowbois'' by Charlie Josephine, co-directed by Charlie Josephine and Sean Holmes (theatre director), Sean Holmes (2023) * ''

'', directed by Eleanor Rhode, starring Mathew Baynton (2024)

Notable actors past and present

References

Sources

* Addenbrooke, David: ''The Royal Shakespeare Company: The Peter Hall Years'', William Kimber (1974) * Adler, Steven: ''Rough Magic: Making Theatre at the Royal Shakespeare Company'', Southern Illinois University Press (2001) * Sally Beauman, Beauman, Sally: ''The Royal Shakespeare Company: A History of Ten Decades'', Oxford University Press (1982) * Peter Hall (theatre director), Hall, Peter: ''Making an Exhibition of Myself: The Autobiography of Peter Hall'', Sinclair-Stevenson (1993) * Pringle, Marian: ''The Theatres of Stratford-upon-Avon 1875–1992: An Architectural History'', Stratford upon Avon Society (1994) * Trowbridge, Simon: ''The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company'', Oxford: Editions Albert Creed (2010) * Trowbridge, Simon: ''A Royal Shakespeare Company Book'', Oxford: Englance Press (2017) * Theatre Record and its annual Indexes * RSC programme notes (including those for ''Richard II'' at the Courtyard, August 2007)

External links

*
Royal Shakespeare Company at Google Cultural Institute
* {{Authority control 1879 establishments in England Shakespearean theatre companies in England Theatre companies in Warwickshire Theatre companies in London Theatre companies in Newcastle upon Tyne Royal Shakespeare Company,