RSC'S ROME SEASON TRANSFERS TO THE BARBICAN, WINTER 2017
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Rome MMXVII Season of four Shakespeare plays will transfer to the Barbican theatre from this November, straight from their run at the RST in Stratford-upon-Avon
Coriolanus, directed by Angus Jackson – 6 November – 18 November 2017
Julius Caesar, directed by Angus Jackson – 24 November 2017 – 20 January 2018
Antony & Cleopatra, directed by Iqbal Khan – 30 November 2017 – 20 January 2018
Titus Andronicus, directed by Blanche McIntyre – 7 December 2017 – 19 January 2018
Angus Jackson, who recently directed the sell-out RSC productions of Oppenheimer and Don Quixote, is season director for Rome MMXVII. He directs Julius Caesar which has just opened in Stratford, and will direct Coriolanus which opens in September, completing the Rome season in Stratford before its London transfer.
Iqbal Khan directs Antony & Cleopatra, with Josette Simon in the role of Cleopatra after her last RSC appearance in Michael Boyd’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1999 and Antony Byrne as Antony (last seen as Kent in Gregory Doran’s production of King Lear last year)
Blanche McIntyre directs Titus Andronicus, following on from last summer’s production of The Two Noble Kinsmen for the RSC. This opens in the RST in July this year.
A shared scenic aesthetic for all four plays is designed by Robert Innes Hopkins.
The full cast and creative teams will transfer for all four shows from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. However, in the London run the repertoire is reordered to bring out the chronological history of the themes and narratives in the plays.
Angus said of the repertoire:
“I am thrilled to be bringing the decadence of Shakespeare's Rome to the Barbican.
We are going to present these plays not in the order that they were written but in the order that the stories happen. Beginning with Coriolanus - a semi fictional character from 500 BCE - through to Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra, legendary characters who lived just before the birth of Christ. And finally, Titus Andronicus, in which we see an entirely imagined Rome at the end of its dominance. In this order we track the ascendance and the decline of a civilisation: the establishment of a Republic in the aftermath of the abolition of a monarchy, the Republic becoming an Empire and ultimately destroying itself.”
For full cast and creative details please visit the following pages:
Coriolanus: cast details to be announced shortly
Julius Caesar: https://www.rsc.org.uk/julius-caesar/cast-and-creatives
Antony and Cleopatra: https://www.rsc.org.uk/antony-and-cleopatra/cast-and-creatives
Titus Andronicus: https://www.rsc.org.uk/titus-andronicus/cast-and-creatives
Barbican Backstage Pass
Spend a day backstage at the Barbican with the RSC's technical team as they prepare for the evening’s performance of Julius Caesar. The day will give students an insight into the technical process of staging a production, as well as the broad range of careers in the production process and wider theatre industry.
Students will work with members of the RSC lighting, stage management, sound and design teams on specific production tasks, and will bring a moment of their own version of Julius Caesar to life on the Barbican’s stages.
Date: Tuesday 16 January 2018, 10am-5pm
To register your interest, please email creative.learning@barbican.org.uk using the subject line 'Barbican Backstage Pass'.
Weekend Lab: RSC
RSC director Iqbal Khan leads an intensive practical weekend in response to his production of Antony and Cleopatra at the Barbican.
This Lab is suitable for students, emerging or mid-career actors, directors and theatre-makers, ages 18+.
Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 January 2018; includes a ticket to Antony and Cleopatra on Saturday evening.
LIVE FROM STRATFORD-UPON-AVON
Our series of productions, filmed live from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford to cinemas around the country and internationally, continues this year, with Trafalgar Releasing (formerly Picturehouse Entertainment) as our worldwide distribution partner:
Julius Caesar 26 April 2017 and encore dates worldwide
Antony & Cleopatra 24 May 2017 and encore dates worldwide
Titus Andronicus 9 August 2017 and encore dates worldwide
https://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/in-cinemas
-ends-
For further information, please contact Philippa.harland@rsc.org.uk 020 7845 0512
For press images, register free of charge via:
https://www.rsc.org.uk/press/press-resources/press-images
Social media at @RSCPress and @The RSC
#RSCRome
#RSCCaesar
#RSCCleopatra
#RSCTitus
#RSCCoriolanus
TICKETS: 020 7638 8891 or www.rsc.org.uk
SEASON AT A GLANCE
BARBICAN THEATRE
All plays perform in repertoire apart from Coriolanus:
Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
Directed by Angus Jackson
6 November – 18 November 2017
Press night: 8 November 2017 at 7pm
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Directed by Angus Jackson
24 November 2017 – 20 January 2018
Press night: 12 December 2017 at 1pm
Antony & Cleopatra by William Shakespeare
Directed by Iqbal Khan
30 November 2017 – 20 January 2018
Press night: 12 December 2017 at 7.00pm
Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare
Directed by Blanche McIntyre
7 December 2017 – 18 January 2018
Press night: 14 December 2017 at 7pm
BOOKING:
Advisory Council, Artists Circle and Gold Patrons
Advisory Council, Artists Circle, and Gold Patrons Tuesday 4 April
Silver Patrons Wednesday5 April
Bronze Patrons Thursday 6 April
Members’ booking opens Friday 7 April
Subscribers’ booking opens Monday 10 April
PUBLIC BOOKING: Tuesday 11 April
www.rsc.org.uk or 020 7638 8891
Cinema bookings for live and encore screenings can be made at www.onscreen.rsc.org.uk
Notes to Editors:
The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION and THE KOVNER FOUNDATION
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
BP £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. The scheme is supported by Project Partner, BP
The Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company creates theatre at its best, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world.
Everyone at the RSC - from 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 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 Trafalgar Releasing
Since its launch in 2010, Trafalgar Releasing (formally operating as Picturehouse Entertainment) has distributed award winning feature films including Paul Verhoeven’s Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner, Elle, starring Isabelle Huppert, BAFTA winner The Imposter; 20,000 Days On Earth, featuring Nick Cave; The Lobster, starring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz; Green Room with Patrick Stewart; Todd Solondz’, Wiener-Dog, starring Greta Gerwig and Danny DeVito; Swiss Army Man with Daniel Radcliffe and Jim Hosking’s BIFA-winner debut comedy The Greasy Strangler.
Trafalgar Releasing works with the some of the world’s most renowned houses & companies; distributing high-profile arts content to cinemas worldwide from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. Additionally distributing in the UK, content from the Bolshoi Ballet, Glyndebourne, the National Theatre and the Metropolitan Opera.
In addition, Trafalgar Releasing bring special events to the big screen around the world; Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (in partnership with CinEvents) features a new interview with the drummer from Bowie’s band and Rammstein: Paris, directed by Jonas Åkerlund captures the emotion and thrill of Rammstein live. Trafalgar Releasing slate includes Monty Python Live (mostly), The Rocky Horror Show Live, Roger Waters The Wall, The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company’s live season, One More Time With Feeling (a second collaboration with Nick Cave), directed by Andrew Dominik, and Alan Bennett’s Diaries Live with the BBC, Faber & Faber and Profile Books