The Stage

RSC’s £100m Stratford redesign unveiled

Published Wednesday 14 June 2006 at 18:35 by Alistair Smith

The Royal Shakespeare Company has revealed £100 million plans to transform its home in Stratford-upon-Avon, converting the main auditorium into a 1,000-seat courtyard theatre with a thrust stage.

Designs drawn up by architects Bennetts Associates have been unveiled for the first time, showing proposals to “strip back” modern additions to the building to reveal much of the thirties design by Elizabeth Scott. The smaller Swan auditorium has been seen as the inspiration for the new main performance space, which is due to be opened in 2010.

RSC artistic director Michael Boyd commented: “We want to move away from the 19th century proscenium ‘picture frame’ to a theatre which celebrates interaction. Our commitment to bring an immediacy and clarity to Shakespeare means we need to bring the audience to a more engaged relationship with our actors. The best way we can achieve this is in a bold, thrust stage, one-room auditorium - a modern take on the theatres of Shakespeare’s day.”

The project will cost £100 million, 85% of which has already been raised, principally through funding from Arts Council England and Advantage West Midlands. Judi Dench will help front an international fundraising campaign to generate the remaining £15 million.

A central feature of the redesign will be a 33 metre-high tower at the main entrance to the building with views across the surrounding area and providing access to the three levels of the venue. The proposals will also unite the Swan and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s foyer and box office spaces and provide improved and enlarged public spaces outside the building which could also be used for performance. The RSC will be submitting a planning and listed building application for the project later this year.

RSC chairman Christopher Bland added: “We are delighted with the work Bennetts Associates has done so far with the RSC team, which has the enthusiastic support of the entire board. The architects have demonstrated that it is possible to transform the existing Royal Shakespeare Theatre in a way that marries the best of the past with our ambition to create the finest modern playhouse in the world for Shakespeare.

“We want to open up the theatre and improve its relationship with the town. At the moment, we have a building that can feel like a fortress. At this outline stage of the design process, I’m confident that we’ve got a scheme that reflects the RSC’s ambition to reach out and make Shakespeare fresh and relevant to a new generation.”