Since we first opened our doors in 1961 as the Royal Shakespeare Company we have been inviting Britain's most influential theatre makers to do their best work with us. In five decades, we have produced over 200 living writers alongside Shakespeare, with the classical and the contemporary influencing each other throughout.
In 2011 the RSC celebrates Shakespeare's role as the catalyst and provocateur of British theatre by opening up our back catalogue of landmark plays. We are holding rehearsed readings of key plays from the last 50 years, provocative debates and workshops.
We will be celebrating and sharing an in-depth look at the RSC as the company where actors, writers and directors gain their classical training, looking at the influences of John Barton, Cicely Berry and Michel Saint-Denis.
Alongside these events we will be inviting you, our audience, to recall your stories and memories of the RSC and help build a shared vision of how the theatre develops in the coming decades.
Download the RSC 50 Brochure (PDF)