SUMMER FUN AT THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
SUMMER ACTIVITIES AT THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
STRATFORD-UPON-AVON
TO BOOK TICKETS CALL 01789 331111
www.rsc.org.uk/summer-holidays
TUESDAY 30 JULY – FRIDAY 30 AUGUST 2019
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is offering families a whole host of exciting activities this Summer, both inside and outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
Inside Out returns to the Bancroft Terrace for its second year, with more free activities and family-friendly weekend shows in its swirl-shaped outdoor performance space.
Highlights include:
- Give The Swirl a whirl! The return of Inside Out brings back outdoor pop-up theatre with a range of storytelling, music, magic, and Shakespeare-themed mini performances across summer holiday weekends, all completely free
- Escape the every day with a new Summer Escapes Pass, offering a trip up the Tower, a guided theatre tour, a look at our award-winning playmaking exhibition The Play’s The Thing and tickets for any one of our Summer Season plays for just £20, or £40 including a pre-theatre two-course meal at Susie’s Café Diner
- Each week is inspired by a different Shakespeare play, including As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet and The Comedy of Errors
- Take part in a two hour workshop with an RSC Director before seeing a show, then meet and chat to members of the cast and crew after the performance is over
- Learn about the theatre making process on a backstage tour, especially designed for families
LISTINGS
WORKSHOPS AND ACTIVITIES
Five weeks packed full of activities, performances and events. Each week’s activities are inspired by a different Shakespeare play. Children must be accompanied by an adult unless otherwise stated.
Spotlights
Event Space, The Other Place
£4 per person, recommended for ages 10+
Wednesday 31 July, 2.30 – 3.30pm: Set Design
Wednesday 14 August, 2.30 – 3.30pm: Caring for the Collection
Wednesday 21 August, 2.30 – 3.30pm: Making Armour
Wednesday 28 August, 2.30 – 3.30pm: Stage Management
Find out what it takes to create a show at the RSC from making armour to caring for our collection.
Introduce: Singing
£3.50 adult, £3 child
Circle Bar, Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Wednesday 31 July, 11 – 11.45am
Suitable for ages 4-8 and their families and carers
Take part in fun voice warm ups, learn some simple songs and sing your heart out!
Discover: As You Like It
£4 adult, £3.50 child
Gatsby Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Wednesday 31 July, 1.30pm – 3pm
Suitable for ages 8-12 and their families and carers
Take part in this fun introduction to the play. Discover the story and themes in As You Like It as you work as an actor does, on your feet!
Discover: Backstage Discovery Tour
£9 adult, £8 child
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Every Friday throughout August, 10.30am – 12:30pm
Suitable for ages 8-12 and their families and carers
Go behind-the-scenes on a theatre tour. Learn the secrets of theatre making, try on RSC costumes, and create a piece of art to take home.
Explore: Performance Day
£30
10am – 5pm
Thursday 1 August: As You Like It, Clore Learning Centre
Thursday 15 August: The Taming of The Shrew, Gatsby Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Suitable for ages 13-17 to attend without an adult
Take part in a 2-hour workshop with an RSC Director before seeing the show. After the matinee you will then get a chance to meet members of the company and ask them questions. Ticket price includes the show ticket and workshop.
Open Set Changeovers
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
£6 per person, recommended for ages 10+
Friday 2 August, 3pm
Wednesday 7 August, 3pm
Thursday 15 August, 4pm
Tuesday 27 August, 3pm
Watch our technical team transform the stage from one play’s set to another in 90 minutes as our host talks you through the fascinating process.
Introduce: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
£3.50 adult, £3 child
Gatsby Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Wednesday 7 August, 10 – 10.45am
Suitable for ages 4-8 and their families and carers
Introduce your child to A Midsummer Night’s Dream through games and simple rehearsal techniques.
Discover: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
£4 adult, £3.50 child
Gatsby Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Wednesday 7 August, 11.30am – 1pm
Suitable for ages 8-12 and their families and carers
Discover the story and themes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream as you work as an actor does, on your feet.
Discover: Creating a Scene
£4 adult, £3.50 child
Gatsby Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Thursday 8 August, 1.30 – 3.30pm
Suitable for ages 8-12 and their families and carers
Join an RSC Assistant Director in a practical workshop and learn how we rehearse scenes and take a play from page to stage.
Explore: Directing
£10
Gatsby Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Thursday 8 August, 10am – 12pm
Suitable for ages 13-17 to attend without an adult
Learn the skills and techniques that a director would use to transform a script into a play.
Introduce: Stage Fighting
£3.50 adult, £3 child
Backstage Trust Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Wednesday 14 August, 11 - 11.45am
Suitable for ages 4-8 and their families and carers
Work as a family to create your own mini fight scene with fake punches, slaps and hair pulls.
Discover: Stage Fighting
£4 adult, £3.50 child
Backstage Trust Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Wednesday 14 August, 1.30 – 3pm
Suitable for ages 8-12 and their families and carers
Learn to fight like Katherine and Petruchio from The Taming of the Shrew.
Blood, Guts and Gore
Event Space, The Other Place
£4 adult, £3.50 child, all ages welcome
Wednesday 21 August, 11am – 12pm
Join former RSC Head of Wigs and Make-up, Brenda Leedham, as she talks about the tricks of the trade and how bruises, cuts and scars are created.
Discover: Hamlet
£4 adult, £3.50 child
Backstage Trust Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Wednesday 21 August, 1.30pm – 3pm
Suitable for ages 8-12 and their families and carers
Discover the story and themes in a fun introduction to the play and work as an actor does, on your feet!
Discover: Speaking Shakespeare
£4 adult, £3.50 child
Gatsby Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Thursday 22 August, 1.30 – 3pm
Suitable for ages 8-12 and their families and carers
A fun and lively session that will have you quoting Shakespeare like a professional.
Explore: Voice
£10
Gatsby Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Thursday 22 August, 10am – 12pm
Suitable for ages 13-17 to attend without an adult
Explore how to use your voice with a range of exercises and activities to take away with you.
Introduce: The Comedy of Errors
£3.50 adult, £3 child
Circle Bar, Level 1, Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Wednesday 28 August, 11– 11.45am
Suitable for ages 4-8 and their families and carers
Introduce your child to The Comedy of Errors through games and simple rehearsal techniques.
Introduce: Clowning
£4 adult, £3.50 Child
Backstage Trust Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Wednesday 28 August, 3 – 4pm
Suitable for ages 4-8 and their families and carers
Take inspiration from The Comedy of Errors and discover what makes you funny and how to get your audience belly laughing in this fun introductory workshop.
Discover: Clowning
£4 adult, £3.50 child
Backstage Trust Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Thursday 29 August, 1.30am – 3pm
Suitable for ages 8-12 and their families and carers
Create some double trouble with this clowning workshop inspired by The Comedy of Errors.
Explore: Clowning
£10
Backstage Trust Rehearsal Room, The Other Place
Thursday 29 August, 10am – 12pm
Suitable for ages 13-17 to attend without an adult
Discover what makes you funny in this clowning workshop. Take inspiration from The Comedy of Errors with slapstick and double act work.
FREE EVENTS
Kate’s Story Adventures
Suitable for under 5s
10am – 11.30am, meet outside The Other Place
Tuesday 30 July
Tuesday 6 August
Tuesday 13 August
Tuesday 20 August
Tuesday 27th August
Kate’s Storytree will take you on a journey through magical gardens and into a different story adventure on this pushchair friendly walk through the theatre’s gardens. There will be a wet weather alternative, so come along whatever the weather! Recommended for under 5s, but older siblings also welcome.
Drop-In Craft
Suitable for all ages
Upper Foyer, The Other Place, 12 noon – 3pm
Tuesday 30 July
Tuesday 6 August
Tuesday 13 August
Tuesday 20 August
Tuesday 27 August
Free craft workshops inspired by the play of the week. Drop in and stay for as long as you like.
INSIDE OUT PROGRAMME
Our theatre games return to the Bancroft Terrace from early June, with a full programme of free performances in our outdoor space, The Swirl.
Performances are free, but tickets must be booked in advance. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Saturday 20 July
The Crick Crack Club performance storytelling presents Clare Murphy
Suitable for all ages, performances last 30 minutes.
12 noon: Weird Beings from Other Realms
In the world just beyond this one there exist all kinds of weird beings; pookas dressed as animals, giants with endless strength, fairies that will steal you away if you don't know the secret of escape. Come and hear stories from the other realms!
2pm: How Rabbit got her Tale and other How’s and Why’s
Why does the sun shine? Where does the moon go? How can a tree save your life? Stories to explain it all in a performance laced with wit and glee!
3.30pm: Crazy Lazy Jack and other Adventures
An adventure can start anywhere, but usually it begins right outside your front door. Listen to tales chock-full of strange adventures, shapeshifting, wild journeys and bizarre challenges.
Sunday 21 and Sunday 28 July
Give it a Swirl: Though She be but Little, She is Fierce
Suitable for all ages
12 noon, 2pm and 3.30pm
RSC Assistant Director Emma Baggot creates a brand new family show. Approx: 25 minutes
Saturday 27 July
Period Prestidigitation by Jones and Barnard
Suitable for all ages, performances last 30 minutes.
12 noon, 2pm and 3.30pm
Enter Mr. Barnard as a beautifully attired Victorian gent with an array of amazing tricks, including orange juggling and spinning Christmas puddings. There is plenty of audience participation and a little bit of Dickens quotation in this right rib-tickler of a show.
Saturday 3 August
The Crick Crack Club performance storytelling presents Ben Haggarty
12.30pm: Maria Morevna (or How Prince Ivan got a Horse)
Suitable for ages 6+, performance lasts 60 minutes
A full-blooded romper stomper of a Russian fairytale, complete with warrior princesses, animal helpers, rivers of fire, stolen horses and the great witch, Baba Yaga, Granny Bandy, herself.
3pm: Jack and the Twelve Dancing Princesses
Suitable for ages 5+, performance lasts 45 minutes.
A widowed king with twelve daughters has an alarming mystery on his hands and there's only one person who can solve it. Fairytale-teller extraordinaire, Ben Haggarty, tells a story of broken shoes, enchanted mirrors & magic that is stronger, stranger and more startling than you've ever heard before.
Sunday 4 and Sunday 18 August
Give it a Swirl: As You Vibe It
Suitable for all ages, approx. 25 minutes
12 noon, 2pm and 3.30pm
RSC Assistant Director Noa Wagner creates a brand-new family show re-telling the story of As You Like It through spoken word and music.
Saturday 10 August
Peablossom Cabaret
Suitable for all ages, performances last 30 minutes
12 noon, 2pm and 3.30pm
Extraordinary improvised cabaret. Mr Pea and Miss Blossom perform a brand-new musical show based on you, the audience. Be their guests as they improvise lyrics on the spot about your hobbies, your grandma, your cat... anything at all!
Sunday 11 and Sunday 25 August
Give it a Swirl: Bottom’s Up!
Suitable for all ages, performances last approx. 25 minutes
12 noon, 2pm and 3.30pm
DJ Bottom has a tale to tell. And he is going to tell anyone who will listen (and those who won’t). But his band has abandoned him, and he needs your help to create a musical version of a dream he had about a Queen and her fairies. RSC Assistant Director Rosie Jones creates a brand-new family show inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Saturday 17 August
The Crick Crack Club performance storytelling presents Daniel Morden
Performances last 30 minutes
12 noon: Happily Ever Laughter
With a repertoire of timeless tales, Daniel Morden is like a human Netflix, he will select a tale to amaze, amuse, delight or confuse! Suitable for all ages.
2pm: Family Tales
Who doesn't love a good once-upon-a-time story? Magical tales from long ago. Suitable for all ages.
3.30pm: The Fool of the World
Expect mysterious strangers, dark forests, impossible tasks, high drama & low comedy! Suitable for ages 7+.
Saturday 24 August
The Crick Crack Club performance storytelling presents Jan Blake
Suitable for ages all ages, performances last 30 minutes
12 noon: The Cat’s Tale
A clever cat finds the very best place to live, a family of diligent cats reward their human helper, and a greedy cat eats everything and everyone it sees...up to a certain point!
2pm: The Calabash Children
A woman prays to be a mother, a little sister refuses to do as she’s told, and a wicked godmother tries to get rid of her goddaughter, these are bold tales of stubborn sisters and beautiful friendships.
3.30pm: The Children of Wax
Ngwabi, his brothers and sisters aren't like other children; they're special; they're different and this difference makes them stranger than the rest. The Queen of Afro-Caribbean storytelling, Jan Blake, tells the tale of a family who make the best of what they have.
Sunday 31 August
The Bonkers Balloon Show by Balloonatic
Suitable for all ages
12 noon and 3.30pm, with a 45 minute walkabout performance at 2pm
A completely off the wall, unique show filled with comedy, circus fun, music, magic and lots and lots of balloons. A simple balloon gets turned into an alien, a helicopter and an air guitar, audience members are transformed into balloon creatures in front of your very eyes, and a magic trick makes a balloon appear from nowhere.
Sunday 1 September
Weirdo Sister
Suitable for all ages, performances last 25 minutes
12 noon, 2pm and 3.30pm
The three witches are gathering, the cauldron is bubbling and something wicked is on its way. But aren’t they forgetting someone? Meet the friendly fourth witch as she tries to prove her powers, join her sisters and lead Macbeth to his doom.
25 minutes.
AVAILABLE DAILY
Digital Diorama
FREE, open daily
PACCAR Room, Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Imagine a day in the life of a young William Shakespeare. While strolling around his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon he observes six short scenes which will later influence his plays. Explore his experience through augmented reality and see Shakespeare’s world through a new lens.
Digital Diorama has been envisioned and brought to life with development and technical support from Intel and is funded within the Audience of the Future programme by UK Research and Innovation through Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
The Play’s The Thing
£8.50 adult, £4.25 child, open daily
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Take a magical journey through 100 years of theatre making in our award-winning interactive exhibition.
Kids go free during Warwickshire school holidays.
The redevelopment of the Swan Wing and The Play's The Thing exhibition are generously supported by THE NATIONAL LOTTERY HERITAGE FUND
Tower and Tours
Available daily
Get closer to the world of theatre on a tour and enjoy spectacular views from our Tower.
Royal Shakespeare Theatre productions sponsored by Darwin Escapes
Ends
Notes to Editors:
For more information about this press release please contact Emily Magdij on 01789 412657, 07920 541729 or Emily.magdij@rsc.org.uk
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 home town.
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
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
Darwin Escapes currently operate 1 golf retreat and 21 luxurious holiday locations 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 raise the standards of the UK holiday park industry and to ultimately provide the best possible experience for holiday makers and holiday home owners by creating brand new destinations in stunning UK locations with accommodation and resort 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
Digital Diorama
The project is funded within the Audience of the Future programme by UK Research and Innovation through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund brings together the UK’s world-leading research with business to meet the major industrial and societal challenges of our time. It provides funding and support to UK businesses and researchers, part of the government’s £4.7 billion increase in research and development over the next 4 years. It plays a central role in the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy. It is run by UK Research and Innovation, which comprises the Research Councils, Innovate UK and Research England.
UK Research and Innovation is a new organisation that brings together the UK Research Councils, Innovate UK and Research England into a single organisation to create the best environment for research and innovation to flourish. The vision is to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), a leader in the semiconductor industry, is shaping the data-centric future with computing and communications technology that is the foundation of the world’s innovations. The company’s engineering expertise is helping address the world’s greatest challenges as well as helping secure, power and connect billions of devices and the infrastructure of the smart, connected world – from the cloud to the network to the edge and everything in between. Find more information about Intel at newsroom.intel.com and intel.com.