Royal Shakespeare Company update for Winter 2008
28 February 2008
- Neil Bartlett returns to the RSC to direct a boldly theatrical new production of Romeo and Juliet, which will tour around the UK and play in repertoire with Don John at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon
- Kneehigh Theatre, in association with the RSC, come back to Stratford to open and perform a compelling new production of Don John, directed by Emma Rice, before embarking on a national tour
- Filter Theatre, in association with the RSC, revive their radically cut and fast paced version of Twelfth Night (last seen during the Complete Works Festival), directed by Sean Holmes, as the Filter Schools/ RSC Education Tour in Birmingham, Warwickshire and London schools and for one late night performance at The Courtyard Theatre
- Wilton's Music Hall, in London - the oldest surviving music hall in the world - will be the beautiful and atmospheric new venue for the RSC's two new plays, The Cordelia Dream and The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes, in Winter 2008
The RSC announces plans for forthcoming new projects in 2008, as it gets ready to open five Shakespeare productions in Stratford in the spring and summer, its season of new work at the Tricycle theatre, and The Histories at the Roundhouse in April and May.
RSC Artistic Director Michael Boyd said; "2008 is a year of great change for the RSC, with the transformation of our theatres well and truly underway. But the ambitions for our work remain the same - to play Shakespeare, to build on the legacy of the Complete Works Festival, collaborating and developing our relationships with other UK companies, to tour, taking that work out to as wide an audience as possible, and to continue our commitment to writers and to new plays.
"Neil Bartlett's Romeo and Juliet will play at The Courtyard Theatre over Christmas, and I'm excited by what Neil will bring to bear on one of Shakespeare's most popular plays. It will perform in repertoire with Kneehigh's new production of Don John, which will premiere in Stratford. Our relationship with Kneehigh Theatre began with their playful retelling of Cymbeline in the Complete Works Festival, and I'm very proud that they want to continue collaborating with the RSC on this retelling of Mozart's Don Giovanni.
"Both productions will also tour across the UK, and we welcome back Filter Theatre's hugely successful Twelfth Night, originally commissioned as part of our Complete Works Festival, which will tour to our younger audiences in schools across Warwickshire and in London, making Shakespeare immediate and alive in the classroom.
"We are also building on our promise to create new work alongside Shakespeare and to develop that work within our Shakespeare ensembles. Writers Adriano Shaplin and Marina Carr, along with directors Elizabeth Freestone and Selina Cartmell, will spend the summer rehearsing with The Merchant of Venice and The Taming of the Shrew company, and I am delighted to announce that their productions of The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes and The Cordelia Dream will premiere at Wilton's Music Hall, a venue steeped in history and full of good ghosts.
"We will, as usual, be bringing some of our Stratford Shakespeare repertoire into London in the autumn, and will be announcing the details in due course.”
Production summary
Stratford-upon-Avon
The Courtyard Theatre
Romeo and Juliet
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Neil Bartlett
27 November 2008 – 24 January 2009
Tour Press Night (Brighton): 23 October 2008
Stratford Press Night: 4 December 2008
This boldly theatrical new staging of Shakespeare's fast-moving story of two teenagers torn apart by their families' vendetta reunites award-winning director, Neil Bartlett, and designer, Kandis Cook, the creative team behind last year's sell-out Stratford-upon-Avon production of Twelfth Night, with John Lithgow.
The production will do a six week tour to Number One venues around the UK, including Brighton, Glasgow, Milton Keynes, Salford and Norwich, before The Courtyard Theatre run in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Don John
Kneehigh Theatre in association with the RSC
Directed by Emma Rice
12 December 2008 – 10 January 2009
Press Night: 18 December 2008
A libertine, his lovers and a perilous dinner party; sex and promiscuity are all good fun until someone loses a parent. The legend of the world's greatest lover meets the controlled madness of Kneehigh Theatre.
After their inspirational production of Cymbeline during the Complete Works Festival in 2006, Kneehigh return to Stratford with a new production inspired by Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. A driving force in contemporary British theatre, Kneehigh's joyous, compelling and physical storytelling has recently included Tristan & Yseult, Nights at the Circus, Rapunzel and Brief Encounter which is currently playing in the West End.
The production will tour the UK after premiering in The Courtyard Theatre (dates and venues to be announced).
Filter Schools/RSC Education Tour
Twelfth Night
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Sean Holmes
Schools in the Midlands from 3 - 14 November 2008
The Courtyard Theatre, Friday 7 November 2008, 11pm
Schools in London from 17 - 28 November 2008
Two worlds collide in Filter's explosive new take on Twelfth Night. The worlds of the play are formed through sound with which the actors and musicians create a clear and playful language. Filter approach this show using their trademark fusion of live and recorded music with naturalistic and stylised physical movement. Running at around 75 minutes, this production will perform in schools around the West Midlands and London during November as part of a national tour, with an additional late night performance at The Courtyard Theatre on Friday 7 November. Playing to 11-13 year olds during the tour, it will be the first time many students will have seen Shakespeare live.
Events update
Mark Ball, newly in post as RSC Head of Events and Exhibitions, is currently working with RSC Associate Director, Deborah Shaw, to develop a new programme which reflects our commitment to interpreting Shakespeare for all of our audiences. Our new theatre in Stratford will allow us to create new seasonal exhibitions in our foyers and public spaces, as well as interactive experiences in a dedicated exhibition space. And our events programme takes up a new role at the heart of the intellectual development of the company as well as delivering much-loved favourites such as Storytelling and Family Days.
Shakespeare's Birthday - this will be celebrated in Stratford on the weekend of 26/27 April. The Birthday Performance will be The Taming of the Shrew on Saturday 26 April at The Courtyard Theatre and the RSC will host four events in the usual marquee in the Swan Gardens, on Sunday 27 April, including ‘Shakespeare and Me' and ‘Bond Meets the Bard'.
The RSC Open Day, which attracts over 15,000 people every year, will take place on Sunday 31 August. The company opens its doors to the public with a packed programme of backstage tours, talks and workshops by RSC practitioners. Further information to be announced.
London
Wilton's Music Hall, E1
The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes
By Adriano Shaplin
Directed by Adriano Shaplin and Elizabeth Freestone
From 4 December 2008
Press Night: 9 December 2008
This world premiere of award-winning playwright Adriano Shaplin's new history play is set in London 1658. England's most famous philosopher is poised to do battle with a faction of young scientists, Cromwell has closed the theatres, and talk in the coffee houses is of revolution...The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes brings to life a period of history when science was the new theatre and philosophy became a new faith. It is a provocative and experimental journey back to a time of dead dogs, new gods, and witnessing miracles.
The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes is cast from the ensemble of actors performing The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice and includes Stephen Boxer, Angus Wright and Amanda Hadingue.
The play will have a four week run at the iconic Wilton's Music Hall on the outskirts of the City. This 19th Century rough-hewn building will become a riotous coffee house for Shaplin's unsentimental view of God and Science.
The Cordelia Dream
By Marina Carr
Directed by Selina Cartmell
3 January 2009 – 24 January 2009
Press Night: 8 January 2009
Award-winning Irish playwright Marina Carr returns to London with a ferocious two-hander. A musician and his rival, a younger woman, are having a long-awaited conversation. As they spit their mutual malice with precision and aplomb, they question the hatred they have used to outdo each other in pursuit of art. With echoes of King Lear, it promises to unpick the belief that a muse must be made of love.
The Cordelia Dream is cast from the ensemble of actors performing The Merchant of Venice and The Taming of the Shrew and includes Michelle Gomez and David Hargreaves.
The play will have a four week run at the hauntingly beautiful Wilton's Music Hall on the outskirts of the City. The fabric of this 19th Century building is in a state of glorious dilapidation but preserves its true acoustic.
Events update
The England Debate – to accompany The Histories at the Roundhouse, a high-profile panel of artists, politicians and thinkers join Artistic Director Michael Boyd on stage to discuss Shakespeare's vision of England and our concept of Englishness today. Sunday 18 May, 11.30am – 12.30pm.
Notes to Editors
Romeo and Juliet tour dates:
Theatre Royal, Brighton
17 - 25 October 2008
Box Office: 08700 606 650 (bkg fee) or www.theambassadors.com/theatreroyal
Groups Hotline 08700 606 617
Booking opens 15 March 2008
The King's Theatre, Glasgow
28 October - 1 November 2008
Box office: 0870 060 6648 or www.kings-glasgow.co.uk
Groups and Schools 0141 240 1122
Booking opens 2 April 2008
Milton Keynes Theatre
4 - 8 November 2008
Box Office: 0870 060 6652 (bkg fee) or www.miltonkeynestheatre.com (bkg fee)
Booking opens 18 March 2008
The Lowry, Salford
11 - 15 November 2008
Box Office: 0870 787 5793 or www.thelowry.com
Booking opens 3 July 2008
Theatre Royal, Norwich
18 - 22 November 2008
Box Office: 01603 630000 or www.theatreroyalnorwich.com
Booking opens August 2008 (Friends of the Theatre) and September 2008 (Public booking)
Booking information
RSC Ticket Hotline: 0844 800 1110
www.rsc.org.uk
RSC Members:
Full members postal booking opens 10 March 2008
Full members telephone/web opens 2 April 2008
Associate members postal opens 7 April 2008
Associate members telephone/web opens 30 April 2008
RSC members booking opens in June 2008 for new work at Wilton's Music Hall
Public booking opens 19 May 2008
Further information
For more information please contact:
Liz Thompson
Director of Communications
01789 412667
liz.thompson@rsc.org.uk
Or
Philippa Harland, Head of Press
0207 845 0512
philippa.harland@rsc.org.uk
Or
Nada Zakula, Press Officer
01789 412622
nada.zakula@rsc.org.uk
For press ticketing, please call Dean Asker on 01789 412660 or dean.asker@rsc.org.uk
All RSC production images are available by registering on the EPO (www.epo-online.com)
