RSC offers outdoor theatre opportunity for students and non-professional groups
06 June 2007
During the summer month weekends, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s outdoor theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, The Dell, will play host to a range of lively non-professional productions.
Every weekend between the end of June and through to August, the outdoor space will be available to any student and non-professional theatre groups who wish to perform a Shakespeare-related piece of theatre. The RSC will offer each visiting group a practical workshop, for example in voice, stage combat or movement work, giving them an opportunity to work directly with the RSC team.
Any student and non-professional groups who would like to make use of the space should contact the RSC on thedell@rsc.org.uk
The Dell was an integral part of the RSC’s Complete Works Festival, giving non-professional companies the opportunity to perform their own work alongside the RSC’s repertoire. This year the emphasis is on the development of young talent, and giving audiences the opportunity to see young performers from around the country.
The history of The Dell stretches back nearly half a century. In 1959 the late Dudley Moore appeared in Oxford University Experimental Drama Group’s Bartholomew Fair. The following year saw a Cambridge Undergraduate production of Dr Faustus and Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay featuring Ian McKellen (currently appearing in King Lear and The Seagull), and RADA’s The Knight of the Burning Pestle with Tom Courtenay and John Thaw.
The Dell is situated in a secluded area by Holy Trinity Church, next to the River Avon in the Theatre Gardens on Waterside.
Rachael Barber, RSC Outdoor Programmes Co-ordinator, said:
“The Dell proved a real success during the RSC’s Complete Works Festival, so we are delighted to be offering students and non-professional groups the chance to use the space again for free during the summer. It is a great opportunity to gain experience of performing outdoors.”
Those groups already confirmed to perform in The Dell include The Brit School, Redditch’s MDCC Theatre Company, the Oxford University Drama Society and Gloucester Young Shakespeare Theatre.
In July, in a separate initiative, The Dell will welcome schoolchildren from across Warwickshire and Sandwell, who will present their own responses to Shakespeare’s work.
Further information
For more press information and images, please contact:
Dean Asker
RSC Press Office
01789 412660
dean.asker@rsc.org.uk
