Celebrate summer in Stratford-upon-Avon with the RSC
- Socially distanced ‘pop-up’ Shakespeare in The Dell Gardens from 1 Aug
- Riverside Café and Rocket re-open for takeaway service
- RSC Summer School goes online for 2020
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As businesses across Stratford-upon-Avon start to re-open their doors this Summer, the Royal Shakespeare Company announces full details of its new outdoor pop-up Shakespeare performances taking place each weekend throughout August in the Dell Gardens.
The RSC continues to explore every opportunity to open its Stratford buildings as soon as possible and fully intends to re-open the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) with new events and re-scheduled performances of The Winter’s Tale and The Comedy of Errors. Both productions were in rehearsal and due to open in the RST this spring. Further details will be announced soon, but this remains dependent on government advice on social distancing and on whether it is financially viable for the Company to perform to audiences inside our theatres.
RSC Artistic Director, Gregory Doran, said: “Whilst we continue to await news on Stage 5 of the re-opening roadmap and the distribution of the extremely welcome £1.57bn government rescue package for arts and culture, we are delighted to see businesses across the town re-open their doors to locals and visitors from all over the UK. Our buildings may be closed but our commitment to Stratford-upon-Avon is as strong as ever. We are delighted to be working with our current acting company, who would otherwise be performing in The Winter’s Tale and The Comedy of Errors, to deliver this unique scratch programme of socially-distanced, outdoor Shakespeare, and though it may not have lights and costume, and the full bells and whistles of a normal RSC show, is sure to be a welcome treat for anyone who, like me, has been missing live theatre these last few months.”
Helen Peters, Chief Executive of Shakespeare’s England, said: “The past few months have been testing times for many, but the tourism and arts sectors have been hit massively. Stratford-upon-Avon is synonymous with the RSC and vice versa, so whilst the doors have to remain closed, it is fantastic that the RSC have found these innovative ways to engage with their audience and deliver that magic back for the Town as a whole, its residents and the visitors.
With the summer holiday season just starting, the move could not have come at a better time as many people will be looking for events and activities to do closer to home this year.
Stratford-upon-Avon and the surrounding towns are reawakening and now is the time to show people what we have to offer, so it is perfect that the RSC and The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust along with many other attractions are adapting their offer in order to welcome people back.”
'Shakespeare Snapshots' sponsored by Darwin Escapes
The RSC is thrilled to announce a new series of free outdoor performances, sponsored by Darwin Escapes, taking place in the Dell Gardens from Sat 1 August.
Running from Friday to Sunday until the end of the month, Shakespeare Snapshots will take place for 45 minutes at 1pm and 3pm each day.
These high-energy family-friendly performances will be different each week, taking inspiration from well-known Shakespearean texts and themes and featuring actors from the RSC’spostponed productions of The Winter's Tale and The Comedy of Errors.
Featuring a mixture of socially-distanced speeches and scenes from Shakespeare’s best-loved plays, these fun, fast-paced, no-frills performances are the perfect re-introduction to live theatre and are suitable for Shakespeare enthusiasts, newcomers and Stratford day-trippers..
Performances will be first come, first served, with space for up to eight household groups (maximum 6 people each), plus some standing spaces.
Riverside Cafe and The Rocket
Visitors to Stratford-upon-Avon can also enjoy a daily takeaway service from the RSC’s Riverside Cafe, which is open from 10am to 4pm.
When in town, visitors can stop off at the Riverside Cafe or ‘Rocket’ ice cream van located at the front of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Both will serve a wide range of drinks, ice cream, crisps and cakes. The Riverside Cafe will offer a full range of fair-trade tea and coffee. Alcohol will also be served from 12noon.
Customers are asked that they observe social distancing throughout their visit, using the markings on the pavement and payment is by contactless card only.
RSC Virtual Summer School
Online, the RSC’s 73rd annual Summer School continues with a virtual programme of events which delve deeper into the company’s postponed programme of plays taking place in the Autumn of 2020 and 2021.
The online Summer School will take place from 25 – 27 August 2020 and is priced at £45 for three sessions. Events taking place as part of this year’s programme include The Wars of the Roses – A taste of things to come with RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran and Assistant Director Owen Horsley about Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3 and featuring performances by the RSC company, an introduction to The Winter’s Tale with Professor Michael Dobson and The Winter’s Tale – A play for today with RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran in conversation with RSC Deputy Artistic Director Erica Whyman about her planned production of The Winter’s Tale. This session will include RSC actors sharing some of their work from The Winter’s Tale rehearsal rooms.
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Kate Evans kate.evans@rsc.org.uk 01789 412622 or 07920 244434
For press images, please register free of charge at https://images.rsc.org.uk/
BOOKING INFORMATION: 01789 331111 or rsc.org.uk
WITH THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS
Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk
Royal Shakespeare Theatre productions sponsored by Darwin Escapes
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation and The Kovner Foundation
Charles Holloway Season Supporter, The Winter's Tale and The Comedy of Errors
Shakespeare Snapshots are sponsored by Darwin Escapes
The Winter’s Tale is supported by RSC Production Circle members Mark Thompson and Jane Blumberg-Thompson
The Wars of the Roses is supported by RSC Production Circle Members Agnieszka and Witold Balaban, The Hitz Foundation, Ms Teresa Tsai, Marcia Whitaker and Kathleen J. Yoh
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Royal Shakespeare Company creates theatre at its best, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world. We produce an inspirational artistic programme each year, setting Shakespeare in context, alongside the work of his contemporaries and today’s writers.
We have trained generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future. We encourage everyone to enjoy a lifelong relationship with Shakespeare and live theatre. We reach 530,000 children and young people annually through our education work, transforming their experiences in the classroom, in performance and online.
Everyone at the RSC - from actors to armourers, musicians to technicians - plays a part in creating the world you see on stage. All our productions begin life at our Stratford workshops and theatres, and we bring them to the widest possible audience through our touring, residencies, live broadcasts and online activity. So wherever you experience the RSC, you experience work made in Shakespeare’s home town.
We recognise the climate emergency and work hard to embed environmental sustainability into our operations, creative work and business practice and have made a commitment to reduce continually our Carbon Footprint. We have measures already in place from green electricity to replace energy consuming equipment with high efficiency, using low carbon equipment, and delivering programmes to raise environmental awareness across the RSC. We acknowledge that sharing our work with audiences across the world will involve travel and that we need to mitigate the impact of that on our carbon footprint.
Registered charity no. 212481 rsc.org.uk
Darwin Escapes
Darwin Escapes currently operate 21 luxurious holiday resorts and 3 golf courses across the UK offering holiday breaks and holiday home ownership. A wide variety of holiday styles are accommodated, ranging from romantic boutique escapes to luxury lodge retreats and traditional family focused holiday parks, all of which boast state-of-the-art and diverse accommodation and on-site facilities including spas, gyms, restaurants and activities.
The company strives to provide the best possible holiday experience for holiday makers and holiday home owners with resorts in stunning UK locations with accommodation and facilities that rival those of 5 star hotels.
For further information about Darwin Escapes and its numerous holiday destinations and facilities visit www.darwinescapes.co.uk or follow them on Twitter or Facebook: @DarwinEscapes