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Dateline: 22nd September, 2004
New Plans for the RST The RSC has announced today that it intends to create a thrust stage within the existing 1932 Royal Shakespeare Theatre, retaining the key art deco elements of the building.
The new auditorium for the RSC’s core Shakespeare repertoire, seating around 1,000 people, will be a ‘one room’ theatre where the stage thrusts into the audience with theatregoers seated around. The aim is to improve the relationship between the audience and the actor by bringing them closer together in a theatre space where the distance from the furthest seat will be reduced from the current 27 metres to between 14 and 16 metres.
As well as replacing the existing auditorium, the £100 million plan includes expansion of the front of house facilities with improved provision for disabled access, bars, restaurants, toilets and exhibition space. Backstage facilities will be expanded, with improved dressing rooms and a greater separation between the main house and Swan theatres – addressing the current cramped technical and support facilities. The Swan and The Other Place theatres will be retained, and a new dedicated space for the Company’s educational activity will be created.
RSC Artistic Director, Michael Boyd, said, “Most major new theatres of the last century have moved away from the ‘us and them’ of the 19th Century proscenium ‘picture frame’ in search of spaces which celebrate the interaction cinema can’t achieve.
“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, one-room auditorium – a modern take on the courtyard theatres of Shakespeare’s day. Actors, directors and audiences alike want a more intimate experience than the current RST can offer.”
The Company will shortly launch the search for an architect for the project. It expects that work on the site will start in 2007 after the Complete Works of Shakespeare Festival. The RSC will continue to perform in Stratford throughout the build, expanding when required into a temporary theatre.
Chairman of the RSC Board, Sir Christopher Bland said, “Today the RSC is announcing the completion of a thorough option review and will now apply to Arts Council England and Advantage West Midlands for financial support for the design phase.
“This project has been on a long and valuable journey. What’s always been clear is the need for a new main stage in Stratford. I’m confident now that we have a plan that will work for both audiences and artists.
“The current RST sits on the best site in the town for the Company’s main theatre. There’s a history of continued Shakespearean performance on that site that we’re keen to preserve – theatrical ghosts and all. The challenge now is to find an architect who can marry the best elements of the existing buildings with the clear brief we’ve outlined for the auditorium, backstage and audience facilities.”
The brief to the architect will include preservation and restoration of the key heritage elements of the 1932 building, including the art deco façade, foyers and ‘fountain staircase’ which links the stalls and circle bars. The Victorian gothic exterior of the former 1879 Memorial Theatre – partially destroyed by fire in 1926 – will also be preserved and restored.
Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage said, “The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is an iconic building and draws audiences and actors from around the world. Yet it has long been acknowledged that the theatre has many shortcomings and fails to meet the expectations of today’s increasingly sophisticated audiences. “We are delighted that the RSC is going to refurbish the 1932 theatre in a way which will see its outstanding art deco interiors retained. We believe there is great scope for upgrading the historic building while maintaining its special character. We look forward to working closely with the RSC and their development team to create a first class 21st century home for Shakespearean theatre in Stratford.”
Commenting on the plans, RSC Honorary Associate Artist, Dame Judi Dench said, “As someone who has played all the RSC theatres, it seems to me that what the Company has now found is a brilliant way of retaining the original building while constructing a new theatre inside it which will work wonderfully for actors and audiences alike. “It's a spectacular idea which has my full support.”
The RSC has drawn up a programme of wide-ranging consultation on the plan during the design process. An extended programme of public consultation will begin once the architect has been appointed. Public money spent on the project to date includes money spent on the 2001 Feasibility Study which breaks down as:
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