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Dateline: 29th April, 2010
RSC Needs £5.5m With one year to go before its Transforming Our Theatres Appeal closes, the RSC has announced it has £5.5m left to raise to reach its £112.8m goal. The Company also announced charitable gifts totalling £3.6m from the Garfield Weston Foundation (£2m), the PACCAR Foundation (£1m) and the Michigan-based Kresge Foundation ($1m). In recognition of their donations, the RSC will name the new theatre square, Weston Square, and the new exhibition space, the PACCAR Room.
A total of £107.3m has now been raised, including £34.3m from charitable trusts and foundations and individual donors. As well as the major donors who have supported the Appeal, over £1.1m has been contributed by the public. 10,000 people from 49 countries have already given to Appeal initiatives, including ticket top-ups, the Take Your Seat appeal, supported by David Tennant, and the ‘sponsor a brick’ scheme, championed by Sir Patrick Stewart. Other valued support includes an additional £3m from the National Lottery via Arts Council England, taking their total contribution to £53m, and £20m from Advantage West Midlands.
Today, a new campaign film, We’re Coming Home, goes live on www.rsc.org.uk/transformation inviting people to play their part in helping the RSC secure the remaining £5.5m.
The film has been created by RSC actor-turned-film-director, Chris McGill, and has involved over 160 Warwickshire volunteers who stepped into costumes to create the crowd scene. RSC alumni have also helped by recreating audio clips from some of their most memorable RSC performances. They include Sir Antony Sher (Richard III), Alan Howard (Henry IV, Part II), David Warner (Hamlet), Janet Suzman (Antony and Cleopatra), Chuk Iwuji (Henry VI) and, most recently, Joe Dixon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Jonathan Slinger as Richard II. Vikki Heywood, RSC Executive Director, said, "We are overwhelmed by the level of support for the Appeal and it illustrates the passion and interest people have in the Company and the work of Shakespeare. I want to thank everybody who has taken the time to get involved and help us to get one step closer to our £112.8 million target, particularly the Arts Council and Advantage West Midlands, the Gatsby Foundation and the Weston, PACCAR and Kresge Foundations. Fundraising is a tough job, particularly in the recent economic climate, but I’m confident that we will get there with the help of our audience and supporters.
"The project is on time and on budget and we’re looking forward to welcoming people into the building in November when we will open the doors for a series of preview events and activities to help us test the space. The Appeal will close next April when we will also be celebrating our 50th birthday." In November/December of this year, the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres will open their doors with a series of preview events and activities to test the spaces. Then in February 2011 there will be the first full productions reopen the RST and Swan Theatre, when the current ensemble returns from London’s Roundhouse to revive shows from the current repertoire, allowing the company to further test the spaces. Finally in April 2011 there will be new productions opening in the RST and Swan Theatre to coincide with the RSC’s 50th anniversary.
Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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