Royal Shakespeare Company will receive the largest American gift ever
25 September 2007
NEW YORK (24 September 2007) - The president of the U.S. organization in support of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has pledged the largest-to-date American gift benefitting the RSC’s work.
Christopher Seton Abele of Milwaukee, known in national philanthropy circles as one of the new breed of strategic donors, has pledged $5 million of the $15 million the American organization plans to raise towards the $228 million redevelopment of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
The gift is a significant boost to the work of Royal Shakespeare Company America, which raises U.S. funds to:
- support the development of theatre artists at the RSC;
- showcase the Royal Shakespeare Company’s work in America; and
- transform its English home to create the best modern playhouse for Shakespeare in the world.
Abele continues an historic tradition and joins an illustrious list of fellow Americans who have supported the RSC from its inception, including John D Rockefeller Jr., who in 1931 gave the largest gift at that time ($500,000), to enable the construction of the historic, art-deco Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford.
Current US donors and supporters are even more passionate about Shakespeare and the RSC than they have ever been, with American donors already committing $10 million to the fundraising efforts of the Royal Shakespeare Company America
Abele, President of RSC America and co-founder of the Milwaukee Shakespeare Company, said: "It's been a privilege to help continue a long tradition of American support for an institution that is not only a treasure for England but a treasure for the world. Michael Boyd's brilliant artistic direction and Susie Sainsbury's passionate and untiring support as Chair of the RSC International Council are an inspiration to all those who share with the RSC the conviction that a world unconnected to the history and work of the greatest writer in the English language is a world deeply diminished."
The Royal Shakespeare Company is led by Michael Boyd, Artistic Director, and Vikki Heywood, Executive Director. The RSC Board is chaired by Sir Christopher Bland and Lady Susie Sainsbury. Lady Sainsbury also chairs the American board, the RSC International Council and the Transforming our Theatres campaign. President of the RSC Board is HRH Prince Charles.
Led by Boyd and Heywood, the RSC wants to make theatre which engages with the world and connects people with Shakespeare. To that end, it has invested heavily in becoming a long-term developmental home for professional actors, writers and theatre artists and in bringing actors and audiences closer together.
For example:
- Michael Boyd is directing an ensemble of actors on two and three year contracts to stage all of Shakespeare’s Histories. The epic cycle will be complete with Henry V in November in Stratford-upon-Avon and the full octology will be performed at London’s Roundhouse in April 2008.
- The RSC has also recently completed the huge Complete Works Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon, staging every one of Shakespeare’s 37 plays, long poems and sonnets in a year-long program, involving 19 of its own productions and 30 visiting companies, performing in over 10 languages.
- The new Royal Shakespeare Theatre will house the largest tiered thrust stage auditorium in the world, with over 1000 seats. Both intimate and epic, it will allow audiences and performers to share Shakespeare’s work in a space he would recognize. The design pays homage to the work of Elisabeth Scott, the building’s original architect, but improves the experience of theatre-goers significantly, by reducing the distance of the furthest seat from the stage from 95ft to 45ft.
- The Transforming Our Theatres project also includes new public spaces, much improved backstage facilities, a riverside walkway, a dedicated exhibitions space and a tower from which you can see Shakespeare’s town, his birthplace, his school and the church where he is buried. Work has now begun and is due for completion in 2010. The Company continues to perform at its award-winning temporary home, The Courtyard Theatre, which is acting as a prototype for the new RST.
Michael Boyd, Artistic Director of the RSC, said: "We have a long and happy tradition of welcoming Americans to Stratford-upon-Avon and I hope many more visitors will enjoy the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre, as a place of inspiration and true engagement with Shakespeare’s work and his legacy. Our temporary home, The Courtyard Theatre, is already much loved by audiences and actors alike as a great space for Shakespeare and it's been wonderful to use it as a test bed for our plans for the RST. We're so grateful for Chris Abele's leadership gift, and for the continued support of US visitors and donors. We can look forward to bringing more of our work to America."
John Lithgow, currently appearing in Stratford as Malvolio in Twelfth Night, said, "Acting with the RSC at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon has been one of the most exciting stage experiences of my life. I'll never forget that moment, early in rehearsals, when the whole company was ushered onto that stage, just to get the feel of it. We looked at all those empty seats, none of them more than fifty feet away, and we knew we were in for something special."
Dame Judi Dench, the stage and screen actress who has a long affiliation with the RSC and serves as honorary chair of its current fundraising campaign, said: "As someone who has played all the RSC's theatres, it seems to me that what the Company has found is a brilliant way of retaining the best of the original building while constructing a new theatre which will work wonderfully for actors and audiences alike. We are creating a theatre in Stratford that Shakespeare could walk into and recognize as a playhouse for his work. It's a spectacular idea."
A unique segment of the American campaign will support future visits to America of RSC productions - first begun by the Stratford Players, who in 1913 took a full repertoire of 14 Shakespeare plays to 35 cities, from Buffalo to San Diego, and from Seattle to Atlanta.
The Royal Shakespeare Company, headquartered at the playwright's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, is the leading ensemble theatre company connecting Shakespeare with the world today. Royal Shakespeare Company America supports the activities of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the United Kingdom, the United States, and throughout the world, through sponsorships, education, development, fundraising and other efforts.
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Further information
This release has been distributed as a courtesy to the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal Shakespeare Company America by Jeffrey Richards & Associates. Inquiries should be addressed to the representatives noted below.
U.S. Contact:
Elliot Fishman, Ricochet Group LLC: Elliot@ricochetllc.com,
Telephone 212-247-1705; mobile 614-361-0778
UK Contacts for further information:
Liz Thompson, Director of Communications: liz.thompson@rsc.org.uk, Telephone +441789412667
Philippa Harland, Head of Press: philippa.harland@rsc.org.uk Telephone +442078450512
Notes to editors:
Transforming our Theatres – Background and plans to transform the RST:
The transformation of the RSC’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon will create the best modern day playhouse for Shakespeare in the world. Designs, from project architects Bennetts Associates, will retain the key Art Deco elements of the Grade II* listed theatre while creating a more welcoming, combined entrance for both the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres.
At the heart of the project is a new main stage for the Company which will be a modern take on the courtyard theatres of Shakespeare's day. The thrust stage, seating just over 1,000 people will bring the actors and audience much closer together reducing the distance from 95 ft to 45ft.
US visitors to the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon
During the 2006 RSC Complete Works Festival, 4927 US ticket buyers purchased 24,141 tickets and spent a total of £495,808.40 to see Shakespeare plays in Stratford-upon-Avon.
447 of those ticket buyers were from New York (State).
History of RSC touring in the US
From 1913, when the 'Stratford-upon-Avon Players' toured to North America with a repertoire of Shakespeare plays, the RSC has continued a regular touring presence in the USA. In that first tour they covered several states and went on to Canada. For full US touring details, please see attached sheet.
RSCA Board
Christopher Seton Abele, President
Nick Lovegrove
Dana G Mead
Laurence Isaacson CBE
Dr Henry McKinnell
Dr Douglas McPherson
Mark Pigott OBE
Lady Sainsbury of Turville, Chairman
King Lear and The Seagull
Both King Lear and The Seagull, directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, premiered in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2007, thanks to the support of US donor, Mark Pigott OBE. These shows have now embarked on an international tour and are currently performing in the US, thanks to the support of Accenture, the global management consulting technology services and outsourcing company.
Accenture became the RSC’s 'high performance business partner' in 2003, and in 2007 they strengthened their support of the Company by sponsoring the King Lear and The Seagull International Tour. Accenture provides the Company not only with financial support, but also consulting services which are helping the RSC develop its performance as a business and to achieve the same unparalleled success commercially as it enjoys artistically. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.
