News and Events
RSC re-opens on time and on budget
12th Oct 2010
RSC Executive Director Vikki Heywood, said: 'We are very proud to have delivered this new playhouse for Shakespeare on time and on budget and enormously grateful to everyone who has supported us, from the Arts Council and Advantage West Midlands to the more than 13,000 people from 55 countries who've contributed to our fundraising campaign.'
Arts Council England contributed £50 million. Ros Robins, West Midlands director Arts Council England, said: 'We are delighted to be associated with this prestigious and important development of the theatres.
'Shakespeare and Stratford provide a worldwide beacon for the arts and engage the interest of millions of people. The RSC attracts audiences from all over the world and makes a significant contribution to the UK economy. These new facilities will be superb and allow the actors to really engage with the audience.'
The doors re-open 24 November 2010. Visitors are invited to rediscover and explore the building, which will have a brand new 1000-seat thrust stage auditorium, 36 metre high tower, new exhibition spaces, new places to eat and drink - including Rooftop Restaurant and Riverside Café and terrace, restored 1930s features and improved public areas including the new Weston Square.
Visitors will be able to take part in a series of preview events and activities which will help test the spaces, while throughout the opening period Matilda, A Musical plays at The Courtyard Theatre.
Over four months visitors can enjoy the building from 9am-7pm most days. The new Rooftop Restaurant will also be open during the evening.
In February 2011, the current RSC ensemble will perform the first productions on the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre stage when they return from London's Roundhouse to revive King Lear and Romeo and Juliet, directed by RSC Associate Directors - David Farr and Rupert Goold. The company will also perform Artistic Director Michael Boyd's production of Antony and Cleopatra in the Swan Theatre and both Young People's Shakespeare productions of Hamlet and The Comedy of Errors, before going back to London to premiere three new plays at Hampstead Theatre which run from April to June 2011.
The RSC will celebrate its 50th birthday and formally reopen the theatres with new companies and a new season from April 2011. Further details will be announced in November.
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Source: Arts Council
