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Changes at the RSC

Dateline: 10th June, 2001

When a major national company announces far-reaching changes in the way in which it works, there is bound to be concern, even worry, not only within the company itself but also within the whole theatre world. Predictably the unions, Equity and BECTU, have protested. Equity has shown great hostility and BECTU has called upon Ken Livingston, the Mayor of London, to oppose the plans to leave the Barbican.

Not long after the proposals were announced, I received this from a correspondent:

They sacked all the wardrobe staff in Stratford last week, then had to re-employ them the next day when they realised Alice would need a lot of skilled workers for the costumes! It was a really crass way of telling people their contracts would end at the end of this season and the Stratford end of the operation is sunk in anger, gloom and depression! The actors rehearsing Jubilee are just sitting around giggling at the director - Greg Doran - one of the biggest supporters of the scheme - it's that or cry! They too are angry - and insulted by this move.

We lose The Other Place - all its staff are sacked as well! There will be no playing in repertoire so no going to Stratford over a few days and seeing at least three or four different plays - God knows what the Shakespeare Institute will do, their study weeks and Summer Schools will be totally disrupted by loss of repertoire playing and what sort of excuse is it that Branagh and Fiennes will deign to come back for a few weeks STARRING role! Is this going to be back to the Stock Company of the 19th century?

By decimating the skilled staff - the heart of the RSC - and ending the ethos of the RSC - ensemble and Repertoire - Adrian Noble, for all his fine words, has killed a great company and it will rise from the ashes in a totally different form.

The biggest sin though was the lack of consultation with anyone outside a circle of supporting directors and businessmen who work from figures and on sheets of paper - if it looks good financially, then do it, never mind the human cost. For all Adrian's fine words, there is real desperation and anger among RSC supporters - we old fuddy duddies always going on about the glories of the past - as he would describe us. Well, I'm a lot younger than him and I remember when the BBC was a fantastic place to be and work in before the businessmen and accountants took over and when some things are lost, they can never be replaced when people realise just what they have lost.

On the other hand, according to director Michael Boyd, the RSC "feels like a cultural sausage factory, admittedly producing good sausages" and is in danger of slipping into "dull irrelevance" if changes are not made. "Without putting a little Semtex under an organisation like this you go nowhere." he went on. "Subtle use of Semtex is not a bad thing."

Adrian Noble claims that, in general, actors are in favour of the changes. "We've also consulted 40 actors about the new structure," he said, "ranging from those leaving drama school to ones who have always turned us down. Ninety per cent were in favour of a contract of six months or less. There was a tidal wave in support of change.

"The changes we plan - a new deal for actors and a bold reinterpretation of what it is to be a national theatre company - are focused on the next generation of theatregoers."

The Implications

Articles Indices:

2001
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©Peter Lathan 2001