DAVID EDGAR AND MARGARET ATWOOD IN SPECIALLY PROGRAMMED TALKS AT THE RSC

The Royal Shakespeare Company plays host to a variety of talks and events in Stratford-upon-Avon this autumn, with a range of writers, directors and special guests. The talks on offer include:

• Making A Scene: Curated and presented by award-winning playwright David Edgar,  this series of talks asks modern writers about their relationship to Shakespeare
• Margaret Atwood in conversation: The award-winning novelist comes to the RSC to mark the release of her new book, a re-imagining of The Tempest
• Pre-show director talks: The directors of The Two Noble Kinsmen, King Lear and The Rover speak about the process of creating RSC productions.

MAKING A SCENE

As part of Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary year, David Edgar talks to recently commissioned RSC playwrights Ella Hickson (Wendy & Peter Pan 2013/15) and Tom Morton- Smith (Oppenheimer 2015) about their favourite scenes from Shakespeare, and where they find inspiration in his work.

A prolific playwright, David Edgar’s association with the RSC began at The Other Place, when his acclaimed play Destiny was staged there in 1976. His other plays for the RSC include Pentecost, Written on the Heart and the multi award-winning Nicholas Nickleby. He founded Britain’s first postgraduate playwriting course at the University of Birmingham, and became the country’s first Professor of Playwriting Studies. His book about playwriting, How Plays Work, was published in 2009.

Admission to all Making a Scene talks is £5.

Making a Scene, Playwrights Today: Tom Morton-Smith

Saturday 17 September

11.30am – 12.30pm

The Studio Theatre @ The Other Place

Suitable for ages 14 plus

David Edgar talks to playwright Tom Morton-Smith about his favourite scenes from Shakespeare and where he finds inspiration in his work.

Making a Scene, Playwrights Today: Ella Hickson

Saturday 12 November

11.30 – 12.30pm

In the Studio Theatre @ The Other Place

Suitable for ages 14 plus

David Edgar talks to Ella Hickson about her favourite scenes from Shakespeare and where she finds inspiration in his work.

MARGARET ATWOOD IN CONVERSATION

Eminent novelist Margaret Atwood comes to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre to discuss her latest book with RSC Deputy Artistic Director Erica Whyman. The novel, Hag-Seed, is a re-imagining of Shakespeare’s late play The Tempest.

Margaret Atwood is the author of more than 40 books of fiction, poetry and critical essays, including The Handmaid’s Tale, Booker-winning The Blind Assassin, the MaddAddam trilogy and The Heart Goes Last. Her work has received many awards around the world and she has consistently named Shakespeare as one of the most important influences on her work.

Hag-Seed is published as part of the VINTAGE Hogarth Shakespeare series.

Saturday 8 October

10.15am – 11.15am

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Admission: £10. Book and event tickets, which include entry to the talk and signed copy of Hag-Seed at a discounted price, are £25

DIRECTOR TALKS

For each of the RSC’s productions, we host a director talk, providing a unique insight to all stages of the show’s creation, from rehearsal room processes and design choices, to bringing the show to life on stage. Admission to all talks is £5

The Two Noble Kinsmen – director talk with Blanche McIntyre

Tuesday 23 August

Swan Theatre, 5.15pm – 6pm

King Lear – director talk with Gregory Doran

Thursday 25 August

Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 5.15pm – 6pm

The Rover – director talk with Loveday Ingram

Wednesday 14 September

Swan Theatre, 5.15pm – 6pm

To book tickets for any of the talks detailed in this release, call 01789 403493, or visit the box office in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Tickets can be purchased online via the following links:

Making a Scene talks: https://www.rsc.org.uk/events/making-a-scene

Margaret Atwood in conversation: https://www.rsc.org.uk/events/margaret-atwood-in-conversation-hag-seed

Director talks: https://www.rsc.org.uk/events/director-talks

    ENDS      

For more press information please contact:

Siobhan Palmer

RSC Press Office

01789 403667, 07990 530075

Siobhan.palmer@rsc.org.uk 

Images available from www.rsc.org.uk/press-images

About RSC

The Royal Shakespeare Company creates theatre at its best, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world.

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 encourage everyone to enjoy a lifelong relationship with Shakespeare and live theatre.  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 reach 450,000 children and young people annually through our education work across the UK, transforming their experiences in the classroom, in performance and online. 

Registered charity no. 212481 www.rsc.org.uk