RSC WINTER 2018 SEASON AT THE BARBICAN
MACBETH, ROMEO AND JULIET AND THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR TRANSFER FROM THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE IN STRATFORD-UPON-AVON.
OVER 20,000 TICKETS FOR £10 AND UNDER ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE SEASON.
This winter the three Shakespeare productions from the RSC’s Summer 2018 Stratford season will transfer to the Barbican Theatre from 15 October.
Macbeth, directed by Polly Findlay: 15 October 2018 – 18 January 2019
Romeo and Juliet, directed by Erica Whyman: 2 November 2018 – 19 January 2019
The Merry Wives of Windsor, directed by Fiona Laird: 7 December 2018 – 5 January 2019
Polly Findlay directs Christopher Eccleston in his RSC debut in the title role of Macbeth, with Niamh Cusack returning to the company to play Lady Macbeth and Edward Bennett as Macduff, in a contemporary production of Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller.
RSC Deputy Artistic Director, Erica Whyman directs Romeo and Juliet with Bally Gill and Karen Fishwick as the star-crossed lovers. This violent and devastating tragedy looks in the eye of a generation of young people let down by their parents. Young people from the RSC's Associate Schools will play the Chorus*, alongside the professional cast. The production will then tour in 2019, with more young people joining across the country. Romeo and Juliet builds on the incredible achievements of Erica’s 2016 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play for the Nation which united 84 amateur performers, 580 children and a professional cast.
Concluding the season with a change of tone, Fiona Laird directs the hilarious comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor, with RSC Associate Artist David Troughton as Falstaff, in a contemporary setting - with more than a hint of reality TV - as the RSC continues to take audiences on its journey through Shakespeare’s canon.
The season plays in the Barbican Theatre from 15 October 2018– 19 January 2019.
For full cast and creative details please visit the following pages:
Macbeth - https://www.rsc.org.uk/macbeth/cast-and-creatives
Romeo and Juliet - https://www.rsc.org.uk/romeo-and-juliet/cast-and-creatives
The Merry Wives of Windsor - https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-merry-wives-of-windsor/cast-and-creatives
*Associate Schools Performers
The Royal Shakespeare Company will be working with 36 young people from London who will join the professional cast in Romeo and Juliet. The young people aged 12 – 18 all attend schools or theatres in the RSC’s Associate Schools programme or work in partnership with the RSC. In teams of four they will perform each night at the Barbican, sharing the role of the Chorus with the professional cast.
The young people will take part in three or four rehearsals with the members of the RSC’s Education team, and members of the Romeo and Juliet creative team. They will then join the professional company for an onstage rehearsal and their public performances, as the production runs at the Barbican until 19 January.
The London young people join from: Barking Abbey, Eastbury Community School, Intermission Youth Theatre, Uxbridge High School and Vyners School.
Powered by Samsung, the Associate Schools Programme is the RSC’s partnership programme with regional theatres and schools across England. The ambition of the Associate Schools Programme is to bring about a significant change in the way young people experience, engage with, and take ownership of the work of Shakespeare.
For further information please contact Armani Ur-Rub in the RSC Press Office at armani.ur-rub@rsc.org.uk.
Love As A Revolution
What have love and rebellion done for humanity? What can we fight for to make the world a better place? These are some of the questions a Royal Shakespeare Company exhibition challenges people to think about with a mural which will be on display for free at the Barbican Centre, Level G for the duration of the season.
Love As A Revolution is inspired by the love-story in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In her large-scale illustrations, artist Jasmine Thompson depicts scenes of courage, solidarity and revolution and invites viewers to take part by writing their own messages of how love and unity can change society.
The exhibition was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and first shown in Stratford upon Avon, February – April 2018.
Jasmine is an illustrator, designer, and caricaturist. Her work often explores social issues and politics and uses illustration to venture into new ways of telling a story.
Redefining Juliet
Redefining Juliet, first created by Storme Toolis in 2016, has been remounted in 2018 with a new cast in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Barbican.
Toolis, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, casts three performers to share the role of the eponymous heroine of Shakespeare’s tragic love story. Driven by her own desire to play Juliet, Toolis choses actors whose femininity and value have been questioned by society. Redefining Juliet combines scenes from Romeo and Juliet with the performers’ own hard-hitting, personal stories. In selecting those who would not typically be given the opportunity to play this leading character, Toolis challenges widely held societal ideals about beauty and desirability.
Originally developed through the Barbican’s Open Lab programme, with the process documented and broadcast on BBC Four, this new iteration of Redefining Juliet received a period of research and development in Stratford-Upon-Avon, culminating in a work-in-progress public reading in June at The Other Place, as part of the RSC’s Mischief Festival.
Redefining Juliet will transfer to London in November for two performances in The Pit, as part of the Barbican’s 2018 season The Art of Change.
Weekend Lab
The Merry Wives of Windsor director, Fiona Laird will be hosting an intensive weekend workshop in response to her production.
This Lab is suitable for students, emerging or mid-career actors, directors and theatre-makers, ages 18+.
The Weekend Lab will take place over the weekend of Saturday 12 - Sunday 13 January 2019.
To find out more or book tickets to this event please follow the link below:
https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2019/event/weekend-lab-rsc
RSC Press Nights at the Barbican:
Macbeth – Tuesday 23 October 2018, 7 pm
Romeo and Juliet - Tuesday 6 November 2018, 7 pm
The Merry Wives of Windsor - Wednesday 12 December 2018, 7 pm
RSC Post Show Talks at the Barbican:
Romeo and Juliet, Wednesday 28 November 2018 (BSL Interpreted)
The Merry Wives of Windsor, Wednesday 2 January 2019
Macbeth, Tuesday 8 January 2019
Post show talks are available to audience members who have attended the evening’s performance.
RSC Access Performances at the Barbican:
Semi-integrated BSL performances
Romeo and Juliet – Wednesday 28 November, 7.15pm
Captioned and Audio Described performances
Macbeth – Wednesday 14 November, 7.15pm
Romeo and Juliet – Saturday 15 December, 1.30pm
The Merry Wives of Windsor – Tuesday 18 December, 7.15pm
Live From Stratford-upon-Avon Screenings:
Broadcast to UK cinemas
The Merry Wives of Windsor – Wednesday 12 September 2018, 7.00pm
Troilus and Cressida – Wednesday 14 November 2018, 7.00pm
America Encore Screenings
The Merry Wives of Windsor - Friday 5 October – Sunday 4 November 2018
Australia Encore Screenings
The Merry Wives of Windsor - Saturday 6 October – Sunday 7 October 2018
For more information on specific screening dates, please visit our cinema page, where you can search by State, city or venue: https://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/in-cinemas
Note: The dates for the Australia and America Troilus and Cressida Live From Stratford-upon-Avon Screenings have not yet been confirmed.
Ends
For further information on the RSC in London or press ticket requests, please contact Armani Ur-Rub at armani.ur-rub@rsc.org.uk or 01789 27 2388.
For press images, register free of charge at https://www.rsc.org.uk/press/press-resources/press-images
To contact the Barbican Box Office:
Call 020 7638 8891 or visit https://www.barbican.org.uk/
Social media at @RSCPress and @TheRSC
#RSCxLDN #RSCMacbeth #RSCRomeoandJuliet #RSCWindsor
Supporters:
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION and THE KOVNER FOUNDATION
The work of the RSC Education Department is generously supported by PAUL HAMLYN FOUNDATION, THE ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER FOUNDATION, THE POLONSKY FOUNDATION, THE ERNEST COOK TRUST and TAK ADVISORY LIMITED The work of the RSC Literary Department is generously supported by THE DRUE HEINZ TRUST
Live From Stratford-upon-Avon is generously supported by SIDNEY E. FRANK FOUNDATION.
The work of the RSC Literary Department is generously supported by THE DRUE HEINZ TRUST
The RSC’s London production of Romeo and Juliet is kindly supported by ICBC (London)
The Associate Schools Programme is powered by Samsung
£5 tickets and BP Shakespeare Pass for 16-25s
The BP £5 tickets and BP Shakespeare Pass for 16 – 25 year olds gives access to £5 tickets for all RSC productions whether we are performing in Stratford-upon-Avon, London or on tour. The pass enables 16-25 year olds to see five shows in Stratford-upon-Avon for £20 – the cheapest way to enjoy shows at the RSC. Tickets can be booked in advance on the phone, online or in person with some available for sale on the day of the performance. This programme is supported by BP.
About the Royal Shakespeare Company
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.
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 hometown.
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. Registered charity no. 212481 www.rsc.org.uk.
About the Barbican
A world-class arts and learning organisation, the Barbican pushes the boundaries of all major art forms including dance, film, music, theatre and visual arts. Its creative learning programme further underpins everything it does. Over 1.1 million people attend events annually, hundreds of artists and performers are featured, and more than 300 staff work onsite. The architecturally renowned centre opened in 1982 and comprises the Barbican Hall, the Barbican Theatre, The Pit, Cinemas One, Two and Three, Barbican Art Gallery, a second gallery The Curve, foyers and public spaces, a library, Lakeside Terrace, a glasshouse conservatory, conference facilities and three restaurants. The City of London Corporation is the founder and principal funder of the Barbican Centre.
The Barbican is home to Resident Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra; Associate Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra; Associate Ensembles the Academy of Ancient Music and Britten Sinfonia, Associate Producer Serious, and Artistic Partner Create. Our Artistic Associates include Boy Blue, Cheek by Jowl, Deborah Warner, Drum Works and Michael Clark Company. International Associates are Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig and Jazz at Lincoln Center.
About Trafalgar Releasing
Launching in 2010, Trafalgar Releasing (formerly operating as Picturehouse Entertainment) quickly established itself as a passionate, award-winning, market leader in global event distribution, working in partnership to unite audiences with entertainment and the arts.
Trafalgar Releasing distributes a total of more than 70 special events and films a year, around the world.
We work across music, theatre, high arts and feature films including Rammstein: Paris, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, Monty Python Live (mostly), The Rocky Horror Show Live, Roger Waters The Wall and Almeida Live: Richard III starring Ralph Fiennes and Vanessa Redgrave. We have worked with Nick Cave on two feature films; 20,000 Days on Earth (dir. Jane Pollard & Iain Forsyth) and One More Time With Feeling (dir. Andrew Dominik) as well as distributing award winning feature films like Paul Verhoeven’s Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner, Elle, starring Isabelle Huppert, BAFTA winner, The Imposter, The Lobster, starring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz and Green Room with Patrick Stewart. www.trafalgar-releasing.com
About Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
About Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) is China’s largest commercial bank, a leader in the Chinese domestic market, with a strong customer base, advanced information technology, a diversified product range and operating domestically and internationally in upwards of 45 countries and regions with 419 institutions. In 2017, ICBC was ranked the 1st place among the Top 1000 World Banks by The Banker, ranked 1st place in the Global 2000 listed by Forbes and topped the sub-list of commercial banks of the Global 500 in Fortune for the fifth consecutive year, and took the 1st place among the Top 500 Banking Brands of Brand Finance for the second consecutive year.
Established in 2003 in the City of London, ICBC (London) plc has provided professional solutions to various clients’ needs. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited London Branch was authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority in 2014, and together with its 100% wholly-owned subsidiary, ICBC (London) plc (collectively referred to as the “Bank”), provides a range of regulated financial products and banking services to its UK, Chinese and international clients, including corporate customers, individual customers and financial institutions. The Bank has specialized teams focusing on Commercial Real Estate, Commodities and Structured Finance, Global Loan Syndications, Trade Finance, Project and Infrastructure Finance and Treasury solutions by way of offering hedging solutions for currency and interest rate exposure via Foreign Exchange products and Interest Rate Derivatives.
‘Integrity Leads to Prosperity’ is the core value behind ICBC’s long-term development, including integrity and diligence, prudence and compliance, innovation and excellence, endurance and dedication.
To learn more about ICBC, please visit our website http://www.icbclondon.com
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, cameras, digital appliances, medical equipment, network systems, and semiconductor and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com.
About Arts Council England
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