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Dateline: 12th October, 2003 No London Transfers for RSC Season? It seems likely that none of the current Stratford Royal Shakespeare Company productions will transfer to London after the season ends in November, although most will form part of the Newcastle season which runs from 4th November to 6th December. However the production of The Taming of the Shrew will not be in Newcastle because the set is being sent to the US ahead of the company's visit. If this is the case, it will be the first time there have been no London transfers since the company was founded in 1960. The current season was planned by Adrian Noble who, of course, left the company in March. He had severed the connection between the RSC and what had been its regular London home, the Barbican, last year and subsequent attempts to run a London season, at the Roundhouse, the Gieldgud and the Old Vic, have lost a considerable amount of money, with the Gielgud season losing £1m and the Old Vic season closing three weeks early. It is understood that the current company is very unhappy about the situation, although the RSC do point out that there was no provision made in their contracts for a London season, except for an option to lengthen their commitment, an option which has not been exercised. It has been suggested that the current season has suffered because the RSC has been concentrating on the future, and, in particular, Michael Boyd's first season. One company member told the website What's Onstage, "Somebody in the management has let the ball drop on our season because all energies are focussed on the future, rather than present successes. The only way it makes any kind of sense is to question the commitment of the management of the RSC.... Complacency seems to be what went wrong." London-based RSC fans are very aggrieved. One told the BTG, "This is the second kick in the teeth from the RSC. First they leave the Barbican and now they don't seem to be sufficiently bothered about their fans in London to get even a token season up and running."
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