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Dateline: 20th June, 2006
Courtyard Theatre Completed The Courtyard Theatre, built as an extension to The Other Place, previously the RSC’s 150-seat studio theatre in Stratford, has been completed. The new building houses a new 1,000 seat auditorium, while The Other Place auditorium provides the foyer space, cloakroom, bar areas, dressing rooms and band rehearsal space for The Courtyard Theatre. The auditorium, designed with theatre consultants Charcoalblue, is a prototype for the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre – reflecting the Company’s ambition to bring actors and audience closer together.
The Courtyard Theatre provides the RSC with valuable extra capacity during the Complete Works festival, and from April 2007 will serve as the Company’s main performance venue in Stratford during the transformation of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, due for completion in 2010. The Courtyard Theatre was built in 11 months, on time and on budget at a cost of £6 million.
The new building has been designed by Ian Ritchie Architects, among whose most recent projects include The Spire in Dublin and the new production centre at the Plymouth Theatre Royal. The Courtyard Theatre’s walls are built of ‘Corten A’ steel sheets creating a sound-proof auditorium to meet the RSC’s high acoustic requirements. This recyclable material was chosen so that its red colour blends with the surrounding buildings.
Architect Ian Ritchie said, "When I began work on the design for The Courtyard Theatre the vision was to create a space that worked for everybody – artists, the audience and the people who have to work in the building. And although the building is temporary, it doesn’t mean it can’t also be beautiful. The design allows people to get a real sense of theatre as they walk to their seat. I think people will be surprised to see how close they are seated to the stage. The real test however will be the RSC’s audiences – and I can’t wait to see how they respond."
As well as Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy which will be the first prorductions in the theatre, the venue also plays host to other productions during the year-long Complete Works festival including the final production of the festival, King Lear, with Sir Ian McKellen in the title role, directed by Sir Trevor Nunn. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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