RSC Patrons News February 2020

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Issue 15/ February 2020

PATR ONS

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In this edition A note from Catherine Mallyon Stratford-upon-Avon Winter Season 2020/21

Behind the scenes at the RSC

Access at the RSC

RSC Education update

Page 3 Pages 4 and 5 Pages 6 and 7 Pages 8 and 9 Pages 10 and 11

The RSC’s Supported Internship Scheme

Stitch In Time Campaign update

Pages 12 and 13

Legacy

Page 14

Patron’s Voice

Page 15

Stay In Touch

Page 16

Two years on

A letter from David Suchet

Kate Bartlett shares her memories

and new content in your online Patrons’ Room

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Welcome

Welcome to your Patrons’ newsletter.

It has been wonderful to see so many Patrons over the last couple of months at our theatres in Stratford-upon-Avon, at the Barbican and at performances elsewhere in London, as well as in New York for our recently opened Timon of Athens.

I was particularly pleased to see so many of our supporters and their families over the festive period and into the new decade enjoying The Boy in the Dress. If you have yet to see it, this heart-warming family musical directed by our Artistic Director, Gregory Doran, runs in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre until 8 March.

We are thrilled to share with you full details of our Winter 2020/21 Season here in Stratford-upon-Avon. I hope you will be able to attend many of the productions and to join us for some of the very special behind the scenes Patrons’ events.

We know that Patrons care passionately about enabling others, especially young people, to discover Shakespeare and live theatre and we are delighted to share in this newsletter some of the recent work of our Education department. I hope you will also enjoy reading about some of our access initiatives which allow everyone to experience the joy of live theatre.

I am pleased to report that the project to restore and redevelop the Costume Workshop continues to progress well. The structure of the building is taking shape and next time you are in Stratford-upon-Avon, I hope you will take a moment to see for yourself the progress being made onsite – perhaps from the top of the Tower. Thank you again to all Patrons who supported the Stitch In Time Campaign and this important project.

We look forward to welcoming you to a performance or Patrons’ event again soon and, as ever, thank you for your support.

Catherine Mallyon Executive Director

The Boy in the Dress is supported by RSC Production Circle members Elizabeth Boissevain and Andrew Jeffreys, Charles Holloway, Ms Teresa Tsai and Kathleen J. Yoh The work of the RSC Literary Department is generously supported by The Drue and H.J. Heinz II Charitable Trust

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Winter 2020 - 2021

Photo by Reg Wilson

“History may not repeat itself, but it often rhymes”. This quotation, usually attributed to Mark Twain, has been running through my head recently as I re-read Shakespeare’s Henry VI plays and Richard III. If you want to understand the dangerous world we live in, with its divisive politics, the rise of demagoguery and the threat of despotism, then you need read no further than Shakespeare’s early history plays. His ability to speak to “now” by depicting “then” is uncanny.

The Wars of the Roses, 1963

For Priority Booking dates for The Wars of The Roses please see cover.

Priority Booking for Richard III will be announced in a future newsletter.

Our Winter Season will look at Shakespeare’s first history cycle starting with the Henry VI plays in the Swan Theatre which we are editing into The Wars of The Roses. We will then open a new production of Richard III in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in spring 2021.

These plays have punctuated the history of the Company every decade or so.

Peter Hall establishing the very identity of the RSC with John Barton’s mighty adaptation The Wars of the Roses in 1963; Terry Hands presented them virtually uncut in 1976 with Alan Howard as Henry VI, and Helen Mirren as Queen Margaret; Adrian Noble’s version opened in 1988 as The Plantagenets; and the crowning glory of my predecessor Michael Boyd’s regime was undoubtedly

The Wars of the Roses is supported by RSC Production Circle Members The Hitz Foundation and Marcia Whitaker

his massive achievement in pulling together both tetralogies in The Histories which concluded in 2008. Twelve years later, this vivid, enthralling story of the brutal struggle for the English Crown will without doubt sound different resonances deep in its audiences’ consciousness.

I have invited Owen Horsley to direct the season with me. Owen was my Associate on the King and Country cycle (Richard II, Henry IV Parts I and II, and Henry V) and most recently directed a visually stunning and inventive production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome for the company in 2017.

Stephen Brimson Lewis, our Director of Design, who designed King and Country, is teaming up for this epic journey with Costume Designer

Photo by Zuleika Henry

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The Magician's Elephant Hannah Clarke who most recently designed our glorious costumes for The Taming of The Shrew. Paul Englishby returns, to rejoin that creative team and compose the music for the Season.

The Wars of the Roses will be presented over two nights in the Swan Theatre with one company of actors.

This format worked to great effect with my sold-out production of Imperium in the Swan Theatre in 2017. Don’t forget to book your table at the Rooftop Restaurant if you are seeing both parts in one day, and bring your Membership card to claim your 10% discount. If you are seeing the plays over two nights, The Arden Hotel offers RSC Members a 10% discount and is conveniently situated opposite the Swan Theatre.

THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT

Next Christmas in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre we are delighted to present a brilliant new musical adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s heartbreaking and darkly magical children’s book, The Magician’s Elephant. It’s a thrilling story which begins with an elephant crashing through the roof of an opera house in a magic trick that goes horribly wrong.

Set in a bleak town which is recovering from a recent war and has lost all sense of community, the elephant’s miraculous arrival sets young orphan Peter on the quest of a lifetime. This touching, delicate and funny story is perfect for Christmas, showing us that happiness can be found in the most unexpected places.

The work of the RSC Literary Department is generously supported by The Drue and H.J. Heinz II Charitable Trust The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation and The Kovner Foundation

This new adaptation by Nancy Harris and Marc Teitler will be directed by Sarah Tipple, Associate Director for the smash hit, The Boy in the Dress, and designed by Colin Richmond.

Gregory Doran Artistic Director

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Designing The Winter's Tale

All images courtesy of Tom Piper © Tom Piper

It is exciting to be back in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre collaborating with Erica Whyman. Our last two shows have been new work in the Swan Theatre: Miss Littlewood and A Museum in Baghdad. So far, we have worked together on two Shakespeare plays for the RSC: A Midsummer Night’s Dream A Play for the Nation, which toured the UK in 2016 with a new set of amateur mechanicals in each venue, and Romeo and Juliet, also a major national tour.

Early sketch: trial scene For The Winter's Tale, Erica and I are also joined by Madeleine Girling, who is designing the costumes and we want to make sure we are creating a coherent world together. It is a common misconception that a director arrives with an idea of how they want to stage the play and it is the designer’s job to realise that.

Although Erica did bring a great deal of research and thoughts about the play, our design process was based around a lot of conversations and a very open sharing of ideas and reference materials. We discussed the key themes of the play and why the play is currently relevant. We are particularly interested in the way it explores the responsibilities of power and how

the women are controlled within these very male court worlds.

Leontes' court needs to appear relaxed and civilised, but with the potential to turn into a place in which a woman can give birth alone in a cell and then be subjected to what reads very clearly to us as a show trial. We were drawn to images of fascist Spain, a Mediterranean nation taken over by an extreme ideology, and found interesting photos of wealthy fascists at play, seemingly oblivious to the dictatorship around them.

Time is a key element in the play and gets a monologue at the beginning of the second half.

The two halves are separated geographically as well as by a 16-year passage of time. The gap between the early 1950s and late 1960s marked an extraordinary change in fashion and society, which the bold freedom of Perdita

allows us to explore in the second half.

Initially I looked at southern European shepherds, but Erica was keen to give Bohemia a grittier edge, looking at the coastal communities of Northumbria where sheep farmers co-exist with fishermen. Certainly, all the herbs Perdita mentions in her harvest blessing are hardy northern species.

We also felt it was interesting to get a real contrast between the heat of Sicilia and a cool clear light in Bohemia. It is easy to get seduced by the modern connotations of the word bohemian, but Shakespeare doesn’t give us a world of velvet dressing gowns, rather the realities of rural life.

In my initial sketches, I looked at how, in hot countries, shuttered screens are used to shield from the sun, while giving a sense of heat beyond. It was interesting to see how easily a wall of decorative

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Early sketch: Bohemia

Model: trial scene

Early sketch: Sicilia Court metal grill shutters could turn into a cage when closed. I put in a floating silk canopy over the thrust stage to give a softer contrast to the rigid structures of the wall of metal grills.

As the design has developed, the use of fabric has also taken on a wider symbolic meaning. It has almost come to represent Hermione, conjured up in the storm and left as swaddling wrapped around baby Perdita, then recycled unknowingly by the Bohemian shepherds to decorate their shearing festival.

A further challenge, especially in a thrust theatre format where you can’t have major flown scenery, is moving back to Sicilia after the time in Bohemia. I have often found that Shakespeare’s plays suit a singular framing environment, rather than trying to naturalistically shift from location to location. His words engage our imagination

Model: Bohemia and let us know where we are. So I wanted to find a way that the two main elements I am working with, the screens and fabric, can be reconfigured in an imaginative way to allow us to leap back to Sicilia and into Paulina’s Picture Gallery for the revelation of the statue. We will leave it to your imaginations as to whether you believe in the magic of Hermione and the statue, but hopefully the message of redemption and forgiveness will come through.

I work initially by sketching and then move to a series of rough models that explore how the space works in three dimensions. I then draw onto the images of the model, imagining specific moments through lighting ideas, for example. Early ideas are costed and inevitable cuts and changes have to be worked through, hopefully refining the ideas rather than having to lose anything

The Winter’s Tale is supported by RSC Production Circle members Mark Thompson and Jane Blumberg-Thompson Miranda Curtis - Season Supporter, Swan Theatre Winter 2019

crucial to our interpretation.

The next phase of work is the technical drawing and construction process which may result in further changes, having to adapt to practicalities. We have workshops planned in which to explore how our large fabric canopy might become a storm, and I am looking forward to collaborating with our lighting designer Prema Mehta.

Then it is into the rehearsal process when the actors and Erica get to explore our imagined world and hopefully find new ideas that hadn’t occurred to me and so develop the play further.

Tom Piper, Set Designer, The Winter’s Tale

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Access at the RSC We believe that Shakespeare and live theatre is for everyone and we want everything we do to be accessible to all our audiences. The RSC has been offering accessible performances since the late 1990s and we continue to work on breaking down barriers so more people can enjoy theatre at its best.

We were the first theatre company in the UK to work with Stagetext to offer a live captioned performance, The Duchess of Malfi, at the Barbican in 2000.

Shortly after this, we also began offering Audio Described performances. Now, in 2020, we offer a range of assisted performances including Captioned, Audio Described, British Sign Language interpreted, Relaxed and Chilled.

As part of our dedication to making our work accessible, we have, for many years, offered a discounted ticket price of £16 for people who are D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent.

The cost is the same for a companion, if needed. We know from our own research that one in ten RSC audience members either consider themselves disabled, or attend with someone who is, and last year we sold over 10,000 £16 tickets for people with disabilities or their companion for Stratford-upon-Avon performances.

We strive to offer more accessible performances and in the last year there have been:

CAP

45 CAPTIONED

PERFORMANCES

23 PERFORMANCES WITH A BSL INTERPRETER

❆

2 CHILLED

PERFORMANCES

45

AUDIO DESCRIBED

PERFORMANCES

s

3 RELAXED

PERFORMANCES

To see a list of our upcoming assisted performances and book tickets please visit rsc.org.uk/assisted-performances or call the access hotline on 01789 331275.

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Assisted Performances Explained We offer a range of assisted performances on selected dates in our three theatres in Stratford-upon-Avon, and when our shows are in London or touring throughout the UK.

Captioned Performances British Sign Language Captioning is live subtitling for Interpreted Performances

Audio Described The action of the play is described through a headset by specially trained practitioners so that you can follow what is happening on the stage at the same time as the rest of the audience. We also offer free Touch Tours before the Audio Described performances to learn more about the props, costumes and set.

We offer performances with integrated British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation where the interpreter is incorporated as part of the action onstage and is in costume.

Relaxed Performances A relaxed performance is where the production, the ambience of the auditorium and theatre 'rules' are relaxed, for example loud sounds might be reduced in volume within the show. These performances are ideal for

Chilled Performances A chilled performance takes a more casual approach to noise and movement in the auditorium, but the performance itself is unchanged. This performance is ideal for people who feel more at ease knowing they can go in and out of the auditorium during the show including people living with dementia. This performance is for everybody and babes in arms are welcome.

Photo by Sara Beaumont

theatre, particularly helpful for people who are D/deaf or hard of hearing but often appreciated by those less familiar with Shakespeare's language. The subtitles run at the same pace at which the lines are said on stage.

people with learning disabilities or autism, or anyone who would benefit from a more relaxed environment.Â

Photo by Sara Beaumont

Clare Edwards signing the dress rehearsal of the Integrated BSL performance of Tartuffe

One of our audio describers, Carolyn Smith, prepares for the show

Photo by Sara Beaumont

Photo by Sara Beaumont

Caption box for performances in the Swan Theatre

Touch Tour for A Christmas Carol

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Last year we welcomed five interns to the RSC for a year of supported work experience.

The students are all from Welcombe Hills School, a special school in Stratford-upon-Avon, which is a Lead School within our Associate Schools Programme.

Each intern has been attached to a department based on their skills and interests, and they have been working in a range of roles, from Box Office to Props, Events and Exhibitions to HR. The interns gave excellent presentations as part of the recruitment process and each student was clear and passionate about which department they wanted to work with.

The Associate Schools Programme is our long-term partnership programme with schools and regional theatres across England with a specific focus on schools serving areas of socio-economic disadvantage.

It is built around the principle of schools working in local partnerships to develop communities of practice.

This is the first year of our pilot programme and we are offering 12-month internships during term-time. The interns work five days a week and have two Job Coaches who support them and monitor their progress.

The Coaches also work with the interns every morning for an hour

All photos by Sam Allard

Update from RSC Education

A previous collaboration with Welcombe Hills School; two days focused around Romeo and Juliet.

The sessions included technology to enhance the students' experience. The project was delivered in partnership with Samsung. and a half on their BTEC and to help them with any specific tasks or challenges within their roles.

Young people with additional needs often struggle to compete in employment because of their lack of academic qualifications.

Only 16% of adults with Autism are in full time employment and 79% of adults with Autism are claiming out of work benefits despite wanting a job. Supported internships offer these young

people the opportunity to gain work experience with an employer. They are extremely successful in raising aspirations and offer the opportunity to gain experience and grow in confidence in a working environment.

The interns began their placements with us in September.

Here they share some of their experiences.

Photo by Emily Magdij

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Our current group of supported interns Our intern within the Props department, Josh, says:

“I work in the Props Hire department.

I am responsible for putting props onto the shelves that come in from the skips.

I have organised all the food into different categories and made it tidier. It is all on the shelves now. Zoe says that I work really fast, but I just like to keep busy and I like to work hard.

I like the experience here because it feels more grown up and I felt I’ve grown out of school. It feels like I’m taking the next step in life. I feel more independent and confident. I have got a bus pass and do the journey all on my own.”

Chelsea is spending her first six months with the Education team and will then move into Events and Exhibitions for the second part of her year.

“I now have an identity card and an email address. I wear the identity card around my neck…I feel very important wearing it. It has my photo on it. Being here at the RSC means I work hard because everyone around me is focused and on task. It makes me focused as well. I don’t get so distracted…I’m a bit of a whizz kid on the computer and I feel proud about that.

Everybody has been really friendly, and I’ve learnt quite a bit. I went into my first meeting last week…People don’t have to put their hands up like at school they just said what their thoughts were and responded to questions at appropriate times. I am glad that I was chosen to be one of the Interns.”

The Associate Schools programme is supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust, The Schroder Foundation, The Ernest Cook Trust, Teale Charitable Trust, The Grimmitt Trust, and is powered by Samsung as part of its commitment to inspire learning through technology.

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Stitch In Time Campaign Update Stitch In Time: Two Years On

Photo by Sam Allard

Photo by Sam Allard

It was lovely to see so many Patrons last October when we celebrated two years of Stitch In Time in Stratford-upon-Avon.

We were thrilled to be joined by Steve Rebbeck, our Technical Director, and Alistair McArthur, our Head of Costume, who updated us on the recent activity onsite and how the Costume Team are working in their temporary home at Arden Street.

For those unable to attend the event here are some highlights.

Steve discussed the physical site and the progress of the build. Demolition began in March 2019 and was completed in April 2019. Once demolition was completed, construction began with the installation of trenching and sheet piling. The machine used to drive the piling into the ground used vibrations to do so, providing a (fairly) quiet installation for staff working near the site.

Once the piling was complete the ground had to be levelled before the first concrete was poured.

The concrete had to be poured in two parts after the onsite building contractors learnt that the concrete was not strong enough to hold the 50ft crane needed to install the steel frames.

Since October, the construction team have been working tirelessly onsite installing the floors, the roof panels and the exterior shell of the building. The work remains on track for completion later this year.

Alistair discussed how the buildings have been designed with the future in mind. Items in the workrooms such as tables, lighting equipment and power outlets are adjustable and moveable.

Alistair mentioned that what works for one department now might not work as effectively in the future, so they want to have the flexibility to adapt as required.

Alistair also shared with our guests how working in Arden Street has had a positive impact on the Costume Workshop team. In the old workshop everyone had kitchenettes in their own rooms which meant everyone took their breaks separately.

In Arden Street, there are no amenities in individual rooms, so everyone takes breaks together in a Green Room. This is a new habit they intend to continue once they move into their new workshop.

Steve Rebbeck talks during the event

Alistair McArthur at Stitch In Time: Two Years On

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Stitch In Time Campaign Update and it will include the new costume, props and maintenance workshops as well as the current Chapel Lane site and those teams that currently work there.

Photo by Sam Allard

Photo by Sam Allard

The new building will be called 39 Waterside in line with the naming of other buildings around the estate. The new entrance will

be the heritage Grade II listed scene dock door, opposite the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Colonnade on Waterside.

This is where all staff and their visitors will access the building,

Photo by Sam Allard

39 Waterside

The restoration and redevelopment of the Costume Workshop is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and The Government’s Local Growth Fund through the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, with additional support from the Garfield Weston Foundation, Lydia and Manfred Gorvy, The Foyle Foundation, Coats – Official Thread Supplier to the RSC, The Wolfson Foundation and other generous supporters.

Morton Hall

A selection of more than 100 tulip varieties can be admired in borders, pots and as cut flowers, revealing the magic and splendour of this unique flower. Expert advice from Bloms Bulbs, winner of 68 Chelsea Gold Medals will be at hand.

Away from the fireworks of tulips, gentle spring planting can be enjoyed in Morton Hall’s peaceful woodland gardens.

Longer walks lead through the Parkland Meadow where camassias and alliums stand out from a sea of wildflowers.

Lunches and teas are served in a garden cafe inside a large marquee on the East Lawn.

A selection of original costumes demonstrating the craftsmanship of the RSC costume department will be on display.

Tickets are £10 per person (under 12s free) and support costume-making at the RSC. For more information and to book your tickets please visit rsc.org.uk/morton-hall, call your ticket hotline or the RSC Box Office Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm on 01789 331111.

Photo by Clive Nichols © Morton Hall Gardens

Following on from last year’s success, we are thrilled to host the 2020 Tulip Festival at Morton Hall Gardens from Saturday 2 to Monday 4 May from 10am to 4pm.

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Dear Patrons The first live theatre I saw was a pantomime.

It was the first time I’d ever sat in a theatre and it was with my grandmother in London. It was all about St George and the Dragon.

I remember vividly the suits of armour and costumes, and thinking this was magic.

I couldn’t have been more than about five, and I was completely transported.

That experience at such a young age ignited my love of theatre.

I ask you to cast your mind back to the first RSC performance you saw, when you first fell in love with Shakespeare, and to think about the performances that have moved you, made you laugh or cry.

I believe passionately that everyone should have opportunities to enjoy Shakespeare and that early encounters with his plays must be vivid, accessible, exciting and enjoyable. I am proud of the wonderful work the RSC does, inspiring over 500,000 young people every year. I ask you to consider joining me in supporting this life-changing work by leaving a gift in your will.

SHARE YOUR LOVE OF SHAKESPEARE A gift to the RSC will transport a young person, the younger you, to somewhere magical, start a lifelong love of Shakespeare and theatre in language and performance and create memories that last a lifetime.

Yours sincerely David Suchet, CBE RSC Associate Artist

To share your memories and for more information about leaving a gift in your will to the RSC, please contact Rebecca Preston, Development Director, 020 8016 5005 rebecca.preston@rsc.org.uk

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Patron’s Voice

True Devotion

(c) Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

Kate Bartlett Bronze Patron

Helen Mirren and Christopher Gable in the 1970 production of Hamlet

Photo by Joe Cocks Studio Collection

Ian's final RSC lead was as Prospero in The Tempest on a Friday night in December before the season ended, as was the tradition at the time, on the Saturday. We skipped lectures to get there. But his last actual appearance on the stage was in Hamlet with Alan Howard and Helen Mirren. He was “allowed” to play Marcellus as it was the last show of his last season.

This was momentous for us!

We went to the stage door after The Tempest and waited for a couple of hours, ignoring Helen Mirren (sorry Helen!) and, at last, our hero appeared.

Amazed that we planned to sleep on the pavement in order to ensure tickets for his final appearance on the RSC stage, he disappeared inside and came back with some old material (bits of curtain, maybe?).

We were thrilled.

It was absolutely freezing that December night, on the paving slabs between the Box Office and the river. But it was worth every shiver to be in the theatre for that event!

Photo by Tom Holte

We often got the nine o’clock bus from Digbeth, arriving in Stratford-upon-Avon in time to get standing tickets for whatever was on. Three friends from Birmingham University, devoted to the RSC, but to Ian Richardson in particular.

Ian Richardson (R) and Estelle Kohler (L) in the 1970 production of The Tempest

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Your Patrons’ Room

• If you have already created an online account with the RSC you can log in with your email address and password. If not, please select Create Account and follow the instructions.

• Once you have logged in, simply click on Patrons’ Room on the top right-hand side of your screen to access your exclusive content.

Photo by Leo Baron © RSC

Photo by Ellie Kurttz © RSC

We are regularly updating your online Patrons’ Room with exclusive behind-the-scenes content to get you even closer to our artistic process. Some of the recent content includes pictures taken at our recent Patrons’ Evenings in London and Stratford-upon-Avon, and a recording of The Boy in the Dress Creative Team Talk.

To access your Patrons’ Room: • Visit rsc.org.uk and click Log In in the top right-hand side of your screen.

DIR EC TOR TALK : K UNENE AND TH E KI NG

Talk with Director Janice Honeyman and Writer and Actor John Kani which was recorded last year.

Photo by Gina Print © RSC

Talk with the Creative Team of The Boy in the Dress.

Photo by Sara Beaumont © RSC

CR E AT IVE TAL K : TH E B OY I N T H E D R E SS

PAT R O NS ' E VE NIN G

We had two successful Patrons' Evenings in 2019, we share photos from both these events.

DAV ID WALLIAMS ON TH E B OY IN THE D RESS David Walliams spoke to Terri Paddock about his inspiration for The Boy in the Dress.

Stay In Touch

Thank you to those who have shared their stories. Please do keep in touch.

Individual Giving Team: Abbie Dargie, Individual Giving Officer Laura Pitcher, Individual Giving Manager Lily Super, Individual Giving Administrator Eleanor Teasdale, Senior Major Gifts Officer Pete Warman, Head of Development Lauren Williams, Senior Major Gifts Manager

Telephone: 01789 403470 Email: patron@rsc.org.uk RSC registered charity number 212481

(left to right) Eleanor, Lily, Laura, Lauren, Abbie and Pete