The RSC’s award-winning costumes are essential to creating the very best theatre, but the workshops where our craftsmen and women work are no longer fit for purpose. We need to give our team of skilled costume makers 21st century workshops with the space, light and facilities to help them continue to create stunning costumes for you and audiences around the world to enjoy.

Latest project update:

FLOOR PLAN OF THE RESTORED AND REDEVELOPED COSTUME WORKSHOP

Click on the areas to find out more and discover how your support will make a difference.

More about the project

The RSC's Artistic Director Gregory Doran talks about the work of the Costume Workshop and the Stitch In Time Campaign:

Costume making in Stratford-upon-Avon

The craftsmanship involved in every costume, and how a costume looks and feels, enables our actors to transform into the characters you see on stage.

Since the 1950s our costumes have been created in Waterside, Stratford-upon-Avon, in buildings hidden behind the former scene dock constructed for the Memorial Theatre in 1887.

Our Costume Workshop is the largest in-house costume-making department of any British theatre, employing 30 people.

Specialist skills include men’s and ladies’ costume construction, armour-making, millinery, dyeing and printing. There are also facilities for fitting and maintenance, so being close to our theatres is essential.

Over the years the buildings have developed in response to the evolution of costume production leading to an ad hoc layout and facilities which are no longer fit for purpose.

Redeveloping the Costume Workshop

In May 2018 we started a two-year building project to restore and redevelop the buildings. We will:

• Create the best facilities for costume making, in a working environment fit for the 21st century including more space, more natural light and improved heating and cooling.
• Care for our heritage Grade II listed buildings, including the 1887 Scene Dock.

• Create new training and apprenticeships opportunities to enable costume making skills to be passed on to future generations and to secure the future of costume making in Stratford-upon-Avon.

• Enable visitors to experience the heritage of our world-class Costume Workshop for themselves through tours, digital experiences and education, participation and outreach opportunities.

Thousands of people from around the world have already supported the restoration and redevelopment of the Costume Workshop including public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, and contributions from individuals, Trusts and Foundations and businesses. We have £250,000 left to raise from a total project cost of £8.7 million.

SUPPORT THE COSTUME WORKSHOP PROJECT

We need your support and ask you to choose an area to support from underwear to armour, from jewellery to shoes. Please give what you can, every gift makes a difference and is greatly appreciated.