FAQ - General enquiries

• What do I do if I have lost an item at the theatre?

  If you've lost something at the RSC, we will try our hardest to help you get it back.
  Call us on 01789 272 443. If there is no reply leave a message and your call will be returned as soon as possible. It's really helpful if you let us have a detailed description of the thing you've lost - the more specific the better. It will also be really helpful if you let us know when you lost it, the performance you were watching and the seat you were sitting in.

  Our lost property department keeps everything we find in the theatre for one month from the date it's found. After this time it legally becomes our property, so we will use it for charitable purposes, recycle it or dispose of it responsibly. All personal data is removed from property and securely destroyed.

  If we find your property we'll make an appointment with you so that you can come and collect it from us. If you can't collect in person we can post it to you – we'll calculate the postage based on the weight. Since we are a charity, we ask that you send the equivalent amount of money in stamps to us before we post the item out to you.

• Can you tell me whether the production I am seeing is in a modern or a traditional setting?

  Tickets for our productions go on sale as soon as we begin planning a show. However most of the creative decisions – including setting – often don't happen until rehearsals. So if you buy your tickets early we may not know yet what kind of production it's going to be. But talk to the team at the Box Office when you are booking your tickets and have a look at the information about the play in What's On and Buy Tickets where we publish extra details about our shows, such as interviews with the director.

• How do I find out the length of a show?

  We always publish show running times in the What's On and Buy Tickets section of the website. But because every production is a unique treatment of the play, the exact running time of a show is not fixed until the first performances have happened. The team at the Box Office can help if you need to know the approximate length of a show before this.

• Why is there smoking on stage when there is a ban on smoking in public places?

  We want our shows to be the best they can be. Where the artistic integrity of a performance makes it appropriate for a performer to smoke, the area in which that person performs will not be required to be smoke free.

  Please contact the Box Office (01789 331111) if you are concerned about smoking in a production. 

• Why have sections of a Shakespeare play I saw been changed or cut?

  Most of the plays we perform have lots of different editions, especially Shakespeare's plays. Directors will often choose their performance text from many different editions of the play. This means that the same play will differ from production to production, and sometimes from the version you know. In addition, directors will edit plays to suit their particular interpretive approach to an individual production.

  You can find out why they've chosen a particular version or interpretation at the Director's Talk which you can find in our Events listings. We also publish recordings of all Director's Talks (which is free to download) at our Soundcloud page. 

• What is your artistic policy?

  Our Royal Charter explains that our job is to 'conserve, advance and disseminate the dramatic heritage of Shakespeare and to advance the dramatic art, both in the United Kingdom and throughout the world.' If you want to know more about what that means in practice, and the goals of our current Artistic Director, Gregory Doran, there's lots more information in the Our work section of this website.

• Will the RSC perform in a venue in my local area?

  We try to bring our productions to as many local theatres as we can. You can see the latest information about our touring productions in the What's On section. We are always interested to hear from venues that are keen to accommodate an RSC production and we work with schools and local theatre companies through our Learning and Performance Network.

• How do I submit a script to the RSC for feedback?

  The RSC does not accept unsolicited scripts; instead we identify writers we are interested in working with by closely monitoring new work across the UK. 

  If you have a play reading, workshop sharing, or show coming up, do invite us. You can find out more about the work of the Literary Department, and how to contact them, on the New plays and writers page.

• Is the theatre available for hire?

  Yes. We have many rooms and spaces available to hire – including both the Royal Shakespeare Theatre auditorium and the Swan Theatre auditorium - for conferences, meetings, weddings and film and TV locations. Find out how to hire these and other spaces in the Commercial hire section.

• Can I raise money for my charity at the theatre? Can the RSC donate prizes to my fundraising event?

  We are ourselves a charity and support many other charities. We make annual collections for a theatrical industry charity, Acting For Others, World Aids Day, The Poppy Appeal and Comic Relief. In addition, we make relevant appeals on behalf of local, national or international incidents. We receive a lot of requests throughout the year from individuals and organisations requesting sponsorship or donations and it is always with regret that we say we cannot assist with such requests.