RSC Patrons' News - May 2018

FESTIVAL 2018

BOOKING NOW OPEN

Issue 10 / May 2018

PATR ONS

Contents

In this edition of Patrons’ News

02

A note from Erica Whyman

Page 3

Mischief Festival

Pages 4 and 5

Stitch In Time Campaign Update

Pages 6 and 7

Patrons' Events

Pages 8 to 15

Data Protection and GDPR

Page 16

Miss Littlewood

Page 17

David Troughton

Page 18

Patron’s Voice

Page 19

Other ways to support

Page 20

Read all about the Autumn 2018 Mischief Festival.

Peter Bailey, Deputy Technical Director talks to us about the work to move the team out of the current buildings on Waterside.

A review of the Shakespeare Birthday weekend and full calendar of Stratford-upon-Avon and London events including London Patrons' Evening.

Important information.

Casting update.

A life long career at the RSC. Victoria Fannon, Patron, reminisces on many years of RSC productions and introduces our youngest Patron.

A letter from David Suchet, CBE, about the importance of legacies.

A note from Erica Whyman

03

Welcome

Welcome to your May 2018 newsletter in which we announce our autumn Mischief Festival in The Other Place which is a celebration of the work of Honorary Associate Artist David Edgar. Patrons will know of David’s long history of work with the RSC including The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby and his recent adaptation, returning by popular demand to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre this winter, A Christmas Carol.

We are delighted to be reviving David’s monumental play Maydays which was premiered by the RSC some 35 years ago at the Barbican Theatre and included Honorary Associate Artists Antony Sher and David Troughton in the cast. Maydays is being completely rethought and extensively rewritten to reflect the political tides of recent years. It will be directed by Owen Horsley who was Associate Director on the King and Country tetralogy in 2016 and directed the critically acclaimed Salomé last year in the Swan Theatre. We also look forward to David Edgar’s debut as a performer in his solo piece, Trying It On, directed by Christopher Haydon.

Supporting new writing is such a vital piece of the RSC’s work, and is at the heart of The Other Place, and I hope you will join us for the summer and autumn Mischief Festivals. I also hope you also have your tickets for my production of Sam Kenyon’s new musical Miss Littlewood which was workshopped and developed at The Other Place.

It is always a pleasure to get to know Patrons at some of the behind-the-scenes events and I look forward to seeing many of you over the coming months. Highlights include Robert Harris and Mike Poulton discussing the writing process that culminated in the acclaimed stage production of the Cicero trilogy Imperium, which transfers to London next month, the opportunity to hear about the open understudy rehearsal process and see the open understudy rehearsal of Miss Littlewood in July, and London Patrons’ Evening around Macbeth in November.

Thank you for your ongoing involvement and kind support of the Stitch In Time Campaign. We look forward to welcoming you to a performance or special event again very soon.

Deputy Artistic Director Royal Shakespeare Company

Mischief Festival Autumn 2018

04

Mischief Festival Autumn 2018

Maydays David Edgar

The Mischief Festival returns to The Other Place this autumn with a double bill by David Edgar.

Maydays, winner of the 1983 Plays and Players best play award, is revived in a new version for a new age of radical leftism and political upheaval, while in Trying It On, the 70-year-old playwright confronts his 20-year-old self.

Maydays tells the story of the idealistic young who came of age in 1968, and were drawn into revolutionary politics. For some, this commitment defined the rest of their lives. For others, the experience was one of disillusion and betrayal. A story of defection from east to west as well as from left to right, it tells the interlocking stories of a vicar’s son turned student radical, a young Communist who becomes a Conservative ideologue, a single mother and political activist, and a Soviet army officer who ends up as a dissident.

Trying It On

Photo by Sam Allard

David Edgar

“Are we the same person? If not, when and why not? If so, can either of us bear it?” It’s 1968.

David is 20. The Vietnam war rages. The world-wide student revolt is at its height.

Martin Luther King is assassinated. Enoch Powell delivers his “rivers of blood” speech. These events will define David’s politics and give focus to his playwriting. It’s now 50 years on. The 70-year-old is confronted by the 20-year-old. Do they still share the same beliefs?

Is it the world that’s changed, or him? Why did his generation vote Brexit? Has he sold in or sold out? Trying It On marks David’s professional debut as a performer.

Mischief Festival Autumn 2018

05

Key

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE Thursday

27 September

Friday

F

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

28 September

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Saturday

29 September

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Monday

1 October

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Tuesday

2 October

7.00pm

MAYDAYS

Wednesday

3 October

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Thursday

4 October

2.30pm M

MAYDAYS

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

P

Friday

5 October

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Saturday

6 October

2.30pm M

MAYDAYS

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Monday

8 October

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Tuesday

9 October

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Wednesday

10 October

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Thursday

11 October

2.30pm M

MAYDAYS

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Friday

12 October

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Saturday

13 October

2.30pm M

MAYDAYS

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Monday

15 October

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Tuesday

16 October

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Wednesday

17 October

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Thursday

18 October

3.00pm M

TRYING IT ON

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

7.30pm

TRYING IT ON

3.00pm M

TRYING IT ON

7.30pm

MAYDAYS

Friday

19 October

Saturday

20 October

F

L L

F

First Performance

P

Press Night

L

Last Performance

M Matinee

Semi-integrated British Sign Language Interpreted Performance Pre- or Post-Show event

Tickets £15 For disabled people who need the services of a companion, the companion’s ticket is free.

Buy tickets for both Maydays and Trying It On for £25 when bought in the same transaction.

BOOKING NOW OPEN

Stitch In Time

06

Stitch In Time campaign update opportunities to trial workspaces, furniture and room layouts.

The rooms have been created with temporary walls, windows marked up and temporary doors added in the location that doors will be in the new building.

Where possible we are reusing the furniture from the workrooms, such as the work benches, and installing them into Arden Street.

The fluorescent lights from the workrooms are also being re-installed. There will be a support arm on each work bench and lights will be added so they can be adjusted for specific task lighting. Lighting is critical for costume making so the team were keen to retain the lights they already have.

Smaller rooms at Arden Street, previously used as offices, will accommodate the dyeing and spraying facilities. There will be one new dye vat for testing in

the new building but all the other equipment will be moved from the existing workshop.

We have undertaken work to improve the services at Arden Street to accommodate the team, with better IT infrastructure, more access to hot and cold water and installation of a compressed air supply for certain machinery. The plug socket requirements for each workroom have also been meticulously planned. The Men’s Workroom alone requires 56 plug sockets!

The move is taking place now and the team will be fully operational by the start of June to complete the costume making for the opening of Miss Littlewood.

Once the decant is complete, the work onsite at Waterside can begin.

Peter Bailey Deputy Technical Director / Costume Workshop Team

Photo by Gina Print

We have been working for many months on the plans to temporarily relocate the Costume Workshop team from their current buildings on Waterside, opposite the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, to the Arden Street rehearsal rooms. The buildings on Waterside are characterful, but no longer fit for purpose for the costume team. They have been the home of our costume makers since the 1950s so the temporary relocation to Arden Street and setup of the workshop, with equipment, machinery, materials and stock, is challenging.

It has transpired that the three large rehearsal rooms in the Arden Street building provide us with an opportunity. The footprint of the new workrooms that will be built in the restored and redeveloped Costume Workshop transfer exactly onto the spaces at Arden Street allowing us

Stitch In Time

07

Floorplan of the restored and redeveloped Costume Workshop. For an interactive plan visit rsc.org.uk/stitchintime and click 'About the Project'

Thank you to everyone who has supported the Stitch In Time Campaign to restore and redevelop the Costume Workshop.

As well as making great progress with moving the costume team into temporary premises in Arden Street and planning the building work, we are also making headway, with your support, with the fundraising campaign.

When Gregory and Alistair wrote to Patrons and Members in early March with some further details about the improvements being made to the Costume Workshop, and a diagram of the new floor plans, we had ÂŁ1.8 million left to raise of a total project cost of ÂŁ8.7 million.

Over 20,000 people from all over the world - including around half of our Patrons - have now supported the Campaign, either choosing a specific area or making a general gift. Every gift makes a difference and is greatly appreciated by the costume team and by our actors. To find out more or if you would like to make a gift please visit RSC.ORG.UK/STITCHINTIME. As part of the Stitch In Time Campaign we have put together a wonderful programme of events to bring you closer to the craft, skill and attention to detail that goes into each and every costume. In April, Patrons enjoyed a special evening in London

with Designer Kaffe Fassett and a costume-themed afternoon tea at the Shakespeare Birthday weekend in Stratford-upon-Avon.

In the coming months, we look forward to an evening with the Costume Makers on Thursday 28 June and a talk from Stephen Brimson Lewis, RSC Director of Design, on Friday 28 September. We hope you will be able to join us; please do save these dates in your diaries.

Offical thread supplier to the RSC The restoration and redevelopment of the Costume Workshop is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, with additional support from the Garfield Weston Foundation, Lydia and Manfred Gorvy, The Foyle Foundation, The Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation and other generous supporters.

Patrons' Events

08

Photo by Sam Allard

Patrons' Events - May 2018

Reviews of recent Patrons' Events

09

Adrian Edmondson and Christopher Luscombe In Conversation Stratford-upon-Avon – Saturday 3 February 2018

Photo by Sam Allard

Photo by Sam Allard

Towards the end of the critically acclaimed run of Twelfth Night, supporters were treated to an In Conversation with Malvolio himself, Adrian Edmondson, and Director Christopher Luscombe, hosted by RSC Deputy Chair, Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall.

As well as giving an insight into the production and their time with the RSC, both also had fascinating stories to tell about their early theatrical ambitions, their careers in TV and film and their thoughts on the characters’ fates after the final scene of Twelfth Night.

Our next In Conversation will be with novelist Robert Harris and adapter Mike Poulton in London on Friday 15 June, more details can be found in our London event listings on page 11 and our forthcoming event preview on pages 14 and 15.

Patrons: Your Year Ahead

Stratford-upon-Avon – Saturday 17 March 2018 Our first Patrons: Your Year Ahead event was a great success, giving us the chance to report back on key aspects of the RSC and how your support underpins all of the work that we do.

With Development Director Rebecca Preston chairing the talk while updating on progress with the Stitch In Time Campaign,

guests were given updates by Director of Business Services Stephen Eames and Director of Sales and Marketing Chris Hill.

Our Assistant Producer Claire Birch, then gave a fascinating view into her world of producing before the event was rounded off by Head of Professional Development

Miles Tandy giving an inspiring insight into our Education Department and work with young people.

Thank you to everyone who braved the snow and ice to be with us. We are in the process of planning next year’s event so please keep a look out for the new date in the coming months!

Stratford-upon-Avon Events

10

Photo by Sam Allard

Photo by Sam Allard

Stratford-upon-Avon Events

Romeo and Juliet Education insight Wednesday 23 May, 6.30pm – 8.30pm Free event, and will include a pre-event reception

An opportunity to hear Deputy Artistic Director, Erica Whyman, and Director of Education, Jacqui O’Hanlon, in conversation about our upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet and how it relates to our Next Generation initiative as well as other Education projects.

Miss Littlewood Open Understudy Rehearsal Insight Friday 13 July, 12noon – 5pm £20 per person

Hear more about the understudy rehearsal process at the RSC, and see the open understudy rehearsal of Sam Kenyon’s new musical, Miss Littlewood, with post-show tea and cake with the Company.

Showcase Day - Limited places available Saturday 28 July, 10am – 4pm £50 per person

Book your place for this year’s Showcase Day event based around the amazing work of our Costume Department, as well as a behind the scenes look at the work of the RSC.

Patrons’ Evening Post Show Party Thursday 13 September, 5pm – 12midnight

This year’s Patrons’ Evening in Stratford-upon-Avon is now sold out. However, we have a limited number of performance and post-show only tickets available at £100 per person, if you would like to book, please contact Kate Perry at invitation@rsc.org.uk or on 01789 403467.

Tamburlaine Patrons’ Drinks Wednesday 10 October, 6pm – 6.45pm Free with the purchase of a performance ticket

Join us for pre-show drinks, with an insight from a member of the production’s creative team.

A Christmas Carol Patrons’ Drinks Wednesday 12 December, 6pm – 6.45pm Free with the purchase of a performance ticket

Join us for pre-show drinks, with an insight from a member of the production’s creative team.

Timon of Athens Patrons’ Drinks Tuesday 22 January 2019, 6pm – 6.45pm Free with the purchase of a performance ticket

Join us for pre-show drinks, with an insight from a member of the production’s creative team.

Booking Information

As a registered charity, some of these events are charged to cover costs.

Tickets can be booked via your Patrons’ Room at rsc.org.uk or alternatively contact Kate Perry on 01789 403467 or at invitation@rsc.org.uk. All timings are subject to change.

London Events

11

London Events

This year’s London Patrons’ Evening will take place around the newly transferred production of Macbeth at the Barbican Theatre. The evening will include a pre-show canapé reception and a post-show celebration with the Company. Tickets are £175 per person and can be booked using the booking details below.

Photo by Richard Davenport

London Patrons’ Evening – Friday 9 November, Barbican London, 6pm – 12midnight

Robert Harris and Mike Poulton In Conversation The May Fair Hotel Friday 15 June, 6.30pm – 8.15pm £20 per person, to include pre-event drinks.

The next in our In Conversation series, join us to hear from novelist Robert Harris and adapter Mike Poulton as Imperium transfers to London.

Imperium Patrons’ Drinks Gielgud Theatre Thursday 12 July, 6pm – 6.45pm Free with the purchase of a performance ticket

Join us for pre-show drinks, with an insight from a member of the production’s creative team.

Romeo and Juliet Patrons' Drinks Barbican, London Wednesday 28 November, 6pm – 6.45pm Free with the purchase of a performance ticket.

Join us for pre-show drinks, with an insight from a member of the production’s creative team.

Live from Stratford-upon-Avon is generously supported by SIDNEY E. FRANK FOUNDATION. IMPERIUM is the recipient of an EDGERTON FOUNDATION NEW PLAYS AWARD 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.

PRESS NIGHTS

All Artists Circle Supporters are invited to join us for Press Nights in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Swan Theatre and London. Full details and dates are available on the website in your Patrons’ Room.

All Gold Patrons are invited to join us for Press Nights in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Discover More

12

We know Patrons enjoy discovering more about the plays, the creative process and the creative team at the RSC. There are many ways to get closer to our programme. All of these events can be booked online or through the Box Office.

Director Talks

Stratford-upon-Avon These pre-show, onstage events in Stratford-upon-Avon offer a chance to hear the Director (and Writer where relevant) in conversation.

They are a fascinating insight into the creative process.

Post Show Talks

Stratford-upon-Avon Stay on after the show for a free discussion with members of the Acting Company.

Open Understudy Rehearsals Stratford-upon-Avon

Our open understudy rehearsals are not formal performances.

Tickets will go on sale two weeks before each event.

Unwrapped: An onstage demonstration Stratford-upon-Avon

Join our actors and members of the Creative Team as they unwrap our plays and demonstrate some of the skills that go into making them.

Thursday 24 May – King Lear Saturday 2 June – Day of the Living, 6pm ¢ Monday 4 June – #WeAreArrested, 6pm ¢ Monday 2 July – Miss Littlewood ▲ Monday 13 August – The Merry Wives of Windsor Wednesday 22 August – Tamburlaine, 5pm – 5.45pm Monday 17 September – Tartuffe ▲ Monday 1 October – Maydays, 6pm (BSL*) Wednesday 17 October – Troilus and Cressida Monday 10 December – A Christmas Carol ▲ Live Streamed Wednesday 12 December – Timon of Athens

Public Event

Monday 21 May – The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich Wednesday 30 May – King Lear Tuesday 12 June – #WeAreArrested, Day of the Living (BSL*) Monday 18 June – #WeAreArrested, Day of the Living Tuesday 19 June – Macbeth (BSL*) Tuesday 26 June – Romeo and Juliet Tuesday 24 July – Miss Littlewood (BSL*) Wednesday 29 August – The Merry Wives of Windsor Wednesday 5 September – Macbeth Monday 22 October – Tamburlaine Monday 5 November – Tartuffe Friday 9 November – Troilus and Cressida Wednesday 28 November – Romeo and Juliet – Barbican (BSL)* Wednesday 2 January – The Merry Wives of Windsor – Barbican Tuesday 8 January – Macbeth – Barbican Friday 18 January 2019 – A Christmas Carol (BSL*) Thursday 7 February 2019 – Timon of Athens Tuesday 19 February 2019 – Tartuffe (BSL*)

Public Event

Friday 11 May – Romeo and Juliet, 1.15pm Friday 13 July – Miss Littlewood, 1.30pm Tuesday 28 August – The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1.15pm Friday 28 September – Tamburlaine, 1pm Tuesday 9 October – Tartuffe, 1.30pm Tuesday 30 October – Troilus and Cressida, 1.15pm Friday 4 January 2019 – Timon of Athens, 1.30pm

Public Event

30 June – Romeo and Juliet 7 July – Macbeth 21 July – The Duchess of Malfi 13 October – Tamburlaine 3 November – Troilus and Cressida 10 November – Tartuffe 2 February 2019 – Timon of Athens

Public Event

Saturday Saturday Saturday Saturday Saturday Saturday Saturday

5.15pm – 6pm unless otherwise specified Tickets: £5 ▲

Writer and Director Talks

Creative Team Talk * British Sign Language interpreted event ¢

Tickets: Free with a performance ticket. * British Sign Language interpreted event

Tickets: £10

10.15am – 11.15am Tickets: £5 Suitable for ages 12+

Discover More

13

RSC Deputy Artistic Director, Erica Whyman and Director of Romeo and Juliet TALKING ABOUT MY GENERATION Summer 2018

Morton Hall Open Garden Days

in aid of the Stitch In Time Campaign

Saturday 30 June and Saturday 11 August 10am – 4pm Patrons’ guided tour at 11am on each date Morton Hall’s owners are opening their gates to the public on two days this summer with all the proceeds donated to the RSC Stitch In Time Campaign.

Normally reserved for group visits, you are invited to explore eight acres of garden and park surrounding a late 18th century manor house with breath-taking views over the Vale of Evesham.

Morton Hall is located 25 minutes from Stratford-upon-Avon near Inkberrow, Worcestershire.

In addition, Patrons are invited (free of charge) to join the Head Gardener and owner for a guided tour explaining the design and planting of the gardens at 11am on each of the public open days. Entrance tickets: £7 per person

Photo by Clive Nichols

Photo by Paul Stuarr

As Romeo and Juliet opens in Stratford-upon-Avon, we invite people of all ages and backgrounds to explore the theme of generational divide through a series of questioning events, produced in partnership with local youth development organisations.

Please visit rsc.org.uk/my-generation

or £13 per person to include a drink and a cake from the RSC Garden Café.

To book garden tickets and for full access information please visit rsc.org.uk/mortonhall.

To book Head Gardener tickets, please email invitation@rsc.org.uk.

Please note, tickets are limited and will be booked on a first come first served basis.

Forthcoming Events

14

Romeo and Juliet Education Insight

Stratford-upon-Avon – Wednesday 23 May, 6.30pm – 8.30pm Shakespeare Ambassadors taking part in the performance. This will be a fantastic opportunity to hear about the work of our Education Department and how Romeo and Juliet is helping young people to engage with our various Educations projects, from both the RSC senior team and the young

people taking part.

To book a free place for this event and the pre-event drinks reception, please visit your Patrons’ Room at rsc.org.uk or alternatively contact Kate Perry on 01789 403467 or at invitation@rsc.org.uk.

Photo by Sam Allard

Following the opening of our new production of Romeo and Juliet, please join us for a very special Education insight based around this iconic Shakespeare play. Deputy Artistic Director Erica Whyman and Director of Education Jacqui O’Hanlon are in conversation alongside our young

Robert Harris and Mike Poulton In Conversation

Photo by Ikin Yum

Please join us for the next in our In Conversation series of events, with novelist Robert Harris and adapter Mike Poulton hosted

by RSC Deputy Chair, Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall, to discuss the newly transferred Imperium at London’s Gielgud Theatre, and its journey from page to stage.

Tickets are £20 per person and include a pre-event drinks reception. They can be booked via your Patrons’ Room at rsc.org.uk or alternatively contact Kate Perry on 01789 403467 or at invitation@rsc.org.uk.

Photo by Lucy Barriball

The May Fair Hotel, London – Friday 15 June 6.30pm – 8.15pm.

Robert Harris

Mike Poulton

Forthcoming Events

15

London Patrons' Evening Following on from our first ever London Patrons’ Evening last year at the Barbican, we invite you to join us for our second year around this autumn’s newly transferred production of Macbeth in London, with Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack in the title roles.

As well as a chance to see our contemporary production of Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller, guests will also be invited to a pre-show drinks reception and post-show party with the Macbeth company.

Tickets are £175 per person and can be booked via your Patrons’ Room at rsc.org.uk or alternatively contact Kate Perry on 01789 403467 or at invitation@rsc.org.uk.

Above are photographs from our 2017 Patrons' Evening in London

Photo by Alex Rumford

Photo by Alex Rumford

Photo by Alex Rumford

Photo by Alex Rumford

Photo by Richard Davenport

Barbican, London – Friday 9 November 2018

How we look after your information

16

Data Protection Update On 25 May the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) come into force.

As you may already be aware, these regulations enhance the current data protection regulations to ensure that we all have more control over the way our data is used. The RSC is currently reviewing systems and processes to ensure we remain compliant with new advice and best practice and we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some aspects of the regulations that may be of particular relevance to you.

Your privacy is extremely important to us and we continue to take our responsibilities about how we obtain, use and protect your personal data very seriously. Our Privacy Policy is regularly reviewed and updated, and is available on our website at rsc.org.uk/legal/privacy-policy.

The policy statement explains how we collect, manage, use and protect your personal data.

Please be reassured that we will never share your personal data with third parties for their own marketing purposes (unless they are another arts organisation and we have specifically asked you to do so when booking for their work). We may use other companies to deliver some of our messages to you for example the mailing house which mails out Patrons' News to you.

Please always remember that you can review and change your data consent and preferences at any time by logging on to your MyRSC account.

The primary aim of GDPR is to give individuals more information and control over their personal data, and it’s important that we understand your preferences about how we communicate with you and process your data. We set out certain examples of how you can let us know what you would like us to do: ■ If you don’t want us to contact you (other than in relation to your bookings or Membership) then you can let us know in a number of ways. As well as changing your contact preferences online at any time in your MyRSC account, all of our emails to you contain a one-click unsubscribe button at the bottom. Equally, if you are not currently receiving our emails and wish to, you can change this in your MyRSC account, too. o Please note: As an RSC Patron you will keep receiving Patrons' News by post as this is a benefit of your Membership, whether or not you opt for other information by post.

■ We use segmentation to try to tell you about the productions and events that we think are of interest to you based on productions you have seen previously or previous purchases. If you don’t want us to profile your booking patterns (segmentation) you can stop this by emailing segmentation@rsc.org.uk and telling us you do not wish for your data to be used in this way.

■ We may send you surveys to ask you about your experience with us and we use this very useful information to improve our service to our audiences and supporters going forward.

However, if you wish us to stop sending you surveys please let us know by emailing survey@rsc.org.uk.

■ You can ask us to provide details of the data we maintain about you. You should send your request in writing to Head of Legal, Royal Shakespeare Company, Waterside, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6BB. ■ You have probably heard about the right to be “forgotten”, which means anonymising the data we hold on you.

If you wish to request the RSC to remove your data in this way then please write to Head of Legal, Royal Shakespeare Company, Waterside, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6BB. Please be aware that certain other legislative requirements would take precedent over your request, e.g. if you have signed a Gift Aid declaration, this must be stored on your record for seven years so your data would be held until then. o Please do remember in order to fulfil our contractual obligations we need to retain your details and are therefore unable to identify you as “forgotten” if, for example, you are a Patron or have future ticket bookings with us.

If you have any further questions after reading our Privacy Policy, please contact gdpr@rsc.org.uk rsc.org.uk/legal/privacy-policy

Miss Littlewood

17

Image by Dewynters

Miss Littlewood

Book, music and lyrics

by Sam Kenyon Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 6 weeks only: 22 June – 4 August Born into poverty, Joan Littlewood raged her way to have lasting influence on British culture.

Anti-establishment, communist, visionary, rude and glorious, Joan fired the imagination of a generation. Her unique Theatre Workshop was responsible for a raft of successes including Oh, What A Lovely War!, A Taste of Honey and The Hostage, and breathed new life into the then-derelict Theatre Royal Stratford East. This new musical of Joan's life story, told with her own uncompromising candour, reveals a mighty love story at its heart and is directed by Erica Whyman.

Sam Kenyon composed music for the RSC’s Vice Versa (2017), A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play for the Nation (2016), and

Aretha Ayeh

Daisy Badger

Greg Barnett

Laura Elsworthy

Sandy Foster

Amanda Hadingue

Dawn Hope

Solomon Israel

Emily Johnstone

Natasha Lewis

Sophia Nomvete

Tam Williams

The Christmas Truce (2014).

“I’d always wondered about the imaginative moment when Fanny Brice became Funny Girl; when Gypsy Rose Lee became Gypsy; when Eva Perón became Evita. When I read Joan Littlewood’s autobiography, Joan’s Book, and she wrote that she’d quit RADA aged nineteen and walked – walked! – to Manchester, I knew immediately that I was on to something. And then I found the most searing love letters buried in the centre of the book. I’ve written this in homage to the Stockwell-born ‘illegitimate’ daughter of a teenage mother, who has inspired theatre makers worldwide and yet is barely known by her name.”

Sam Kenyon, book, music and lyrics.

Clare Burt

Clare Burt makes her RSC debut to play Joan Littlewood. Her recent theatre credits include: The Divide (Old Vic at Edinburgh International Festival), Big Fish (The Other Palace), Flowers for Mrs Harris (Sheffield Crucible, Chichester Festival Theatre Autumn 2018), London Road, The Miracle/ DNA/Babygirl and Coram Boy (National Theatre), and Sunspots (Hampstead Theatre).

rsc.org.uk/miss-littlewood

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

Behind the scenes

18

David Troughton

Titus Andronicus, directed by Blanche McIntyre, 2017

Honorary Associate Artist David Troughton is a true veteran of the RSC, since he joined in 1982, playing among other things the Clown in a production of Antony and Cleopatra with Helen Mirren and Michael Gambon at The Other Place directed by Adrian Noble.

He has appeared in at least three productions of Macbeth – as Ross, the Porter and King Duncan (as well as Macbett himself in Ionesco’s version of the play in the Swan Theatre in 2007).

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1989

Photo by Reg Wilson

Photo by Reg Wilson

The Venetian Twins 1993

The Shoemaker's Holiday, directed by Philip Breen, 2014 Macbett, directed by Silviu Purcarete, 2007

Photo by Joe Cocks © Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

The Tempest 1993

Gloucester in King Lear, directed by Gregory Doran, 2016 + 2018

Duncan in Macbeth, directed by Conall Morrison, 2007 Bolingbroke in Richard II, directed by Steven Pimlott, 2000

Henry IV, directed by Michael Attenborough, 2000 Richard III, directed by Steven Pimlott, 1995

The Shoemaker's Holiday 2014

Lophakin in The Cherry Orchard directed by Adrian Noble, 1995

Photo by Pete Le May

Caliban in The Tempest, directed by Sam Mendes, 1993

King Lear 2016

Tonio in The Venetian Twins directed

by Michael Bogdanov, 1993 Holofernes in Love’s Labour’s Lost, directed by Terry Hands, 1990 Hector in Troilus and Cressida, directed by Sam Mendes, 1990

Photo by Ellie Kurttz

Cloten in Cymbeline, directed by Bill Alexander, 1989

King Lear plays in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon from 23 May to 9 June.

The Merry Wives of Windsor plays in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon from 4 August to 22 September and then transfer to the Barbican, London, from 7 December to 5 January 2019.

Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by John Caird, 1989 Conrade in Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Terry Hands, 1982 Clown in Antony and Cleopatra, directed by Adrian Noble, 1982

Patron's Voice

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Welcome Alfred Fannon our youngest Patron

Every item we touched, every costume we marvelled over, we couldn’t help but feel excited for that feeling of awe and wonder he would experience on his first visit to a show. I definitely had him in mind when picking out a beautiful, tactile version of Scrooge’s coat, some wonderful armour and other magical items for Alfred to be inspired by as he grows. He finally arrived centre

stage on the 21 December 2017, weighing a healthy 9lb 6oz.

Funnily enough, we had booked to travel to Stratford that night for performances of Twelfth Night and A Christmas Carol so our tickets were Alfred’s gift to some other RSC fans! When he’s ready to make it through a performance, we’d love him to see something like the incredible staging of Wendy and Peter Pan,

the wonderful clowning in Love's Labour's Lost or the verbal jiggery pokery of Matilda The Musical. With so many diverse productions every season, we know we’ll be spoilt for choice for him and we can’t wait to introduce him to the magic, and make it a special and exciting occasion for him as his RSC journey begins.’

Victoria Fannon, Bronze Patron

Photo by Manuel Harlan

On the 22 September 2017, Alfred Stanley Fannon officially made his RSC event debut as a six month pregnancy bump, at the spectacular Stitch In Time Patrons' event.

A Letter from David Suchet, CBE

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Share your love of Shakespeare 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

Stay In Touch Thank you to those who have shared their stories.

Please do keep in touch.

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.

A gift to the RSC will transport a young person, the younger you, to somewhere magical, start a

Individual Giving Team: Pete Warman, Michele Cottiss, Rosie Kew Telephone: 01789 403470 Email: patron@rsc.org.uk

lifelong love of Shakespeare and theatre in language and performance and create memories that last a lifetime.

To share your memories and for more information about leaving a gift in your will to the RSC, please contact Rebecca Preston, Development Director, 01789 403473 rebecca.preston@rsc.org.uk Yours sincerely, David Suchet, CBE RSC Associate Artist

Pete, Rosie and Michele