The Royal Shakespeare Company’s image archive, which includes production photos spanning more than 80 years in the company’s Stratford and London theatres, is being made available to the public online for the first time.
The archive comprises productions from 1936 to the present day including Judi Dench as Viola in Twelfth Night, Ian McKellen as a young Romeo, Patrick Stewart as Mark Antony in Antony and Cleopatra in 2006 and Meera Syal as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing in 2012.
People may search the image library by actor, director, year or keywords such as “revenge” or “modern dress”. Images may be downloaded free of charge for personal use, education use or private study. Anyone can request them as high-resolution images for commercial us.
Michelle Morton, the RSC’s image manager, said, “we often get asked for images of our archive productions for a variety of uses, so we’re really pleased to be able to share an array of our show photography online to the public in a dedicated and easily searchable format.
“Since sharing these images on social media, we know that people enjoy looking at and reminiscing about past productions, and up to now it’s been difficult for people to access these pictures independently.
“With more than 80 years of theatre history encapsulated within the library, it will undoubtedly be of interest to those who are teaching the plays, to students who are researching areas such as costume or make-up in theatre, or for our audiences who simply want to remember theatrical moments.”
The archive may be viewed at the RSC web site.