Trouser a bargain in RSC online auction

Published: 10 April 2018
Reporter: Steve Orme

David Tennant as Hamlet Credit: Ellie Kurttz
Romola Garai (Cordelia) and Ian McKellen (King Lear) Credit: Manuel Harlan
Patrick Stewart as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice Credit: Ellie Kurttz

Trousers worn by David Tennant in Hamlet in 2008, Ian McKellen’s red, floor-length coat in King Lear in 2007 and the black trousers Patrick Stewart wore as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice in 2011 are to be auctioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company to support the restoration and redevelopment of its costume workshop.

Costumes worn by actors including Simon Callow, Sinead Cusack, Judi Dench, Anita Dobson, Jane Lapotaire, Antony Sher and Susannah York will also feature in the auction which will be held on eBay. Fifty-four items will be auctioned online between 8PM on Tuesday 17 and 8PM on Friday 27 April.

RSC Board member and associate artist Tennant said, “I’ve had the pleasure of wearing many costumes at the RSC, created in its workshop in Stratford.

“I always think of the first costume I had when I went there, which was for Touchstone in As You Like It. It was beautifully put together and the amount of work that had gone into it took my breath away. The attention to detail, the sheer craftsmanship that is engrained in each costume impressed me then and continues to impress me at the company today.”

Money raised from the auction will go to the RSC’s Stitch in Time campaign which has so far raised £1.2 million of its £3 million target. The redevelopment will create more space at the company’s costume workshop and allow visitors to experience it for the first time.

All bids for the auction need to be entered by the bidder independently via eBay.

*Some links, including Amazon, Stageplays.com, ATG Tickets, LOVEtheatre, BTG Tickets, Ticketmaster, The Ticket Factory, LW Theatres and QuayTickets, are affiliate links for which BTG may earn a small fee at no extra cost to the purchaser.

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