RSC & MARQUEE TV ANNOUNCE ONLINE ‘PREMIERE’ & ‘WATCH-ALONG’ OF TWELFTH NIGHT TO MARK WORLD THEATRE DAY
To mark World Theatre Day (Friday 27 March), the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is inviting people to join a live ‘watch along’ from their living rooms on Saturday 11 April of a recording of their 2017 production of Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night, featuring Adrian Edmondson as Malvolio and Kara Tointon as Olivia.
The production will premiere on Marquee TV on Saturday 11 April, with the watch-along starting at 7.15pm (UK time).
Marquee TV, the international multi-genre performing arts streaming service, working with the RSC and other arts organisations, is responding to the current closure of theatres by offering everyone a no obligation free 30 day trial to watch some of the best in theatre, dance and opera. There are already 17 RSC productions available to stream, including Richard II and King Lear with, respectively, David Tennant and Antony Sher in the title roles.
Marquee TV will also be streaming ‘premieres’ of productions that are new to the platform, including Twelfth Night, each Saturday.
The RSC is inviting everyone to join the ‘watch along’ by posting their comments live on Twitter during the performance. People can get involved by following the RSC - @theRSC - and by using the hashtag #AlmostLiveFromTheRSC
Directed by Christopher Luscombe and set in 1890s England, Twelfth Night originally opened in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon in November 2017. As with all of its Shakespeare productions since 2013, the RSC also broadcast Twelfth Night into cinemas across the world, and into schools for free.
Christopher Luscombe, director of Twelfth Night, said: “In these testing times it’s wonderful that theatres are sharing such a range of their productions online. I do hope Twelfth Night will help to keep everyone entertained. As the play centres on two lost souls trying to find their way in an unfamiliar world, it may well speak to us all as never before! I was blessed with a fantastic cast and production team on this show, and I’m thrilled that their work is being celebrated - especially at a time when live theatre has had to be put on hold. A ‘watch along’, with the audience commenting on Twitter, sounds like a great idea to me - it’ll be fascinating to hear what everyone has to say!”
Susannah Simons from Marquee TV said: “Twelfth Night is just the right play to lift the spirits, and this is a wonderful production. We are thrilled to be able to bring it to a wider audience, cross garters and all.”
A full list of actor and creative credits for the original production can be seen here
For more press information please contact:
Dean Asker
Senior Media Relations Officer, Royal Shakespeare Company
dean.asker@rsc.org.uk 0778 9937759
Notes to editors:
People can sign up to the no obligation free 30 day trial at www.marquee.tv
A selection of images from the production are available here. Video footage is available on request.
View a trailer from the original production
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
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation and The Kovner Foundation
Twelfth Night was generously supported by the Twelfth Night Syndicate
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. Registered charity no. 212481 rsc.org.uk