ACCESS MATTERS Welcome to our Summer 2017 Access Matters, where you can find out about our access provision and our forthcoming assisted performances. In 2017, exactly 2000 years after the death of Roman poet Ovid, inspiration for Shakespeare and his contemporaries, we transport you to Shakespeare’s Rome. Angus Jackson previously directed Don Quixote (2016) at the RSC, and I’m delighted to welcome him as Rome Season Director for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre more from him below. Snow in Midsummer is a contemporary reimagining of a Classical Chinese drama and will be the first production in our long-term cultural exchange with China. The Hypocrite is a hilarious new farce from Richard Bean (whose One Man, Two Guvnors went global) and is a co-production with Hull Truck Theatre as part of Hull UK City of Culture 2017. The Rome influence also touches the Swan Theatre with Phil Porter’s hilarious recrafting of Plautus’s comedies, Vice Versa, and a beautiful, erotic tragedy in one act by Oscar Wilde, Salomé. Beyond our work on stage, we continue to host a variety of events and exhibitions, as well as programmes for students and teachers throughout the year. Our first permanent exhibition, The Play’s The Thing, opens at the end of October and offers a fascinating, hands-on glimpse of RSC treasures and secrets. With RSC productions touring the UK, performing in London, showing in cinemas and travelling around the world, there is something for everyone as we head into 2017. I look forward to welcoming you soon.
As I prepare to bring the decadence of Shakespeare’s Rome to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre stage, the politics, power play and corruption seem more pertinent than ever before. I will direct the tragic thrillers Julius Caesar and Coriolanus, and we track the decline of an empire through Antony & Cleopatra, directed by Iqbal Khan, and Titus Andronicus, directed by Blanche McIntyre. This will be an extraordinary collaboration: the four plays will be connected by a shared space, share one designer – Robert Innes Hopkins – and trace a journey together through love, defiance, betrayal, duty and sacrifice.
Gregory Doran Artistic Director
Angus Jackson Season Director, Royal Shakespeare Theatre
www.rsc.org.uk/access
01789 403436
February – September 2017 Stratford-upon-Avon
Julius Caesar
Antony & Cleopatra
Royal Shakespeare Theatre 3 March – 9 September 2017
Royal Shakespeare Theatre 11 March – 7 September 2017
William Shakespeare
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
WILLIAM
Iqbal Khan returns to the RSC to direct, following his critically acclaimed productions of Othello (2015) and Much Ado About Nothing (2012).
SHAKESPEARE
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Audio Described Performances Friday 19 May, 7.15pm Touch Tour 5pm Saturday 19 August, 1.15pm Touch Tour 11am
Audio Described Performances Saturday 17 June, 1.15pm Touch Tour 11am Thursday 7 September, 7.15pm Touch Tour 5pm
Captioned Performances Saturday 6 May, 1.15pm Wednesday 14 June, 7.15pm
Captioned Performances Thursday 8 June, 7.15pm Saturday 5 August, 1 .15pm
Semi-integrated BSL Interpreted Performance Monday 14 August, 7.15pm plus post show talk back 2
Following Caesar’s assassination, Mark Antony has reached the heights of power. Now he has neglected his empire for a life of decadent seduction with his mistress, Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Torn between love and duty, Antony’s military brilliance deserts him, and his passion leads the lovers to their tragic end. Sculpture by Lionel Smit
Photo by Tara Moore. Image Courtesy of Kevin Francis Gray Studio. © 2016
Caesar returns from war, all-conquering, but mutiny is rumbling through the corridors of power. Our Rome season in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre opens with the politics of spin and betrayal turning to violence. Following his sellout productions of Tom Morton-Smith’s Oppenheimer (2014) and James Fenton’s adaptation of Don Quixote (2016), Season Director Angus Jackson steers the thrilling action as the race to claim the empire spirals out of control.
William Shakespeare
www.rsc.org.uk/assisted-performances
CAP
CAP
Company Includes: Josette Simon
01789 403436
3
February – September 2017 Stratford-upon-Avon
Titus Andronicus
Snow in Midsummer
William Shakespeare
Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig Based on the Classical Chinese Drama by Guan Hanqing
Royal Shakespeare Theatre 23 June – 2 September 2017
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Three years later, a businesswoman visits the parched, locust-plagued town to take over an ailing factory. When her young daughter is tormented by an angry ghost, the new factory owner must expose the injustices Dou Yi suffered before the curse destroys every living thing.
Audio Described Performances Friday 21 July, 7.15pm Touch Tour 5pm Tuesday 29 August, 7.15pm Touch Tour 5pm Captioned Performances Tuesday 25 July, 7.15pm Thursday 24 August, 1.15pm
4
Executed for a murder she did not commit, young widow Dou Yi vows that if she is innocent, snow will fall in midsummer and a catastrophic drought will strike.
www.rsc.org.uk/assisted-performances
CAP
A contemporary re-imagining of one of the most famous Classical Chinese dramas, Snow in Midsummer is the first production in our Chinese Translations Project, a cultural exchange bringing Chinese classics to a modern western audience. Playwright Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig and director Justin Audibert (The Jew of Malta, 2015) breathe new life into this ancient story, haunted by centuries of retelling.
Ellie Belcher / Arcangel Images
Shakespeare’s gory revenge tragedy presents us with murder as entertainment, and, as the body count piles up, poses questions about the nature of sexuality, family, class and society. Blanche McIntyre returns to the RSC after her debut directing The Two Noble Kinsmen (2016).
Swan Theatre 23 February – 25 March 2017 Original photograph by Keith van-Loen / Alamy Stock Photo
The decay of Rome reaches violent depths in Shakespeare’s most bloody play. Titus is a ruler exhausted by war and loss, who relinquishes power but leaves Rome in disorder. Rape, cannibalism and severed body parts fill the moral void at the heart of this corrupt society.
FRANCES YA-CHU COWHIG
SNOW IN MIDSUMMER
BASED ON THE CLASSICAL CHINESE DRAMA BY GUAN HANQING
Audio Described Performances Friday 17 March, 7.30pm Touch Tour 5.15pm Saturday 25 March, 1.30pm Touch Tour 11.15am Captioned Peformance Thursday 23 March, 7.30pm
CAP
Semi-integrated BSL interpreted performance Tuesday 21 March, 7.30pm
01789 403436
5
February – September 2017 Stratford-upon-Avon
The Hypocrite Richard Bean
Swan Theatre 31 March – 29 April 2017
Vice Versa
Phil Porter Inspired by the plays of Plautus
THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY, HULL TRUCK THEATRE AND HULL UK CITY OF CULTURE 2017 PRESENT
RICHARD BEAN
THE HYPOCRITE
Swan Theatre 11 May – 9 September 2017 A side-splitting comedy romp, lovingly ripped off from the Roman comedies of Plautus by Phil Porter (The Christmas Truce, 2014; A Mad World My Masters, 2013). A wily servant and a pair of wronged young lovers team up to bamboozle a pompous general in this riotous new farce. Dodgy disguises, comic capers and a talking monkey create pandemonium as the tricksters try to save the girl, free the servant and live to tell the tale!
What would become a defining moment in Hull’s history is, quite frankly, the worst day of Sir John Hotham’s life. Charged by Parliament to deny King Charles I entry to the city, Civil War seems inevitable and losing his head more than probable. And that’s to say nothing of his problems at home – a lovesick daughter, a ghost obsessed with the chinaware, sexually arousing furniture and a wife intent on escape. The Hypocrite is a riotous comedy from award-winning playwright Richard Bean (One Man, Two Guvnors). Transferring direct from Hull to Stratford-upon-Avon this brand new co-production is directed by Phillip Breen, whose RSC comic credentials include the ‘uproariously enjoyable’ The Merry Wives of Windsor (2012) and the ‘gloriously entertaining’ The Shoemaker’s Holiday (2014).
6
Director Janice Honeyman (who directed Antony Sher in the Baxter Theatre’s 2009 production of The Tempest in association with the RSC) piles on the physical fun in this world premiere production.
Audio Described Performances Wednesday 19 April, 1.30pm Touch Tour 11.15am Friday 28 April, 7.30pm Touch Tour 5.15pm Captioned Performance Friday 21 April, 7.30pm Company Includes: Mark Addy
www.rsc.org.uk/assisted-performances
CAP
Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, The Simpleton, “Character Head” No.17, © Belvedere, Vienna
The Royal Shakespeare Company, Hull Truck Theatre and Hull UK City of Culture 2017 present
A NEW ROMAN COMEDY BY PHIL PORTER INSPIRED BY THE PLAYS OF PLAUTUS
Audio Described Performances Friday 7 July. 7.30pm Touch Tour 5.15pm Saturday 2 September, 1.30pm Touch Tour 11.15am Captioned Performances Tuesday 11 July, 7.30pm Saturday 9 September, 1.30pm
01789 403436
CAP
7
February – September 2017 Stratford-upon-Avon
Salomé
We spoke to Ben about his experiences at the RSC, touring and access in British theatre. Below are some of his thoughts. Photo by Topher McGrillis
Oscar Wilde
Swan Theatre 2 June – 6 September 2017 Imprisoned by a fearful Herod, the prophet Jokanaan rejects the sexual advances of Herod’s stepdaughter, Salomé. When she is compelled by Herod to dance, Salomé is filled with lust-driven revenge and demands the head of the prophet as payment.
Owen Horsley, Associate Director on the King & Country season, directs our first-ever Oscar Wilde production in Stratford-upon-Avon. This new production places sexual ambiguity at the core and revels in the beauty of this poetic masterpiece. This production features nudity and scenes of a sexual nature.
8
OSCAR WILDE
A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a pure joy. If we can take everybody away from their normal day to day lives worrying about mortgages and Brexit and divorces and Syria, and all these things that happen in our daily lives, and give them that escapism for a couple of hours – that’s what it’s about for me. But there were challenges – in Glasgow, I couldn’t get into my dressing room because the keypad was too high up. It’s just those kind of things people don’t think about. I do it all the time when I’m booking accommodation myself – I forget to tell people I’m short! The common challenge for me in all theatres is height, similar to many people in wheelchairs – being able to reach passcodes on doors, it’s those kind of things. The Relaxed Performance for A Midsummer Night’s Dream was amazing. We worked with Welcombe Hills, a special school. The actors playing the fairies, including me, met the children a few days before the rest of the company, and got to know them. When the kids met the rest of the cast, they just had these big smiles on their faces. And I just thought “Yes, this is what it’s going to be about”. Immediately these guys have fallen in love.
© Yaroslav Kazakov/Shutterstock
Salomé has fascinated and inspired artists across the ages. In Wilde’s lyrical one-act drama – originally banned in Britain – he reinvents Salomé as a powerful and enigmatic figure, both erotic and chaste.
Ben Goffe played Mustardseed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in Stratford-upon-Avon and on tour.
My mum is a dance teacher and owned her own dance school, I started going to dance classes aged three – it was easier than to get me to a babysitter! I always loved acting and dancing.
Audio Described Performances Friday 14 July, 7.30pm Touch Tour 5.15pm Saturday 26 August, 1.30pm Touch Tour 11.15am Captioned Performances Wednesday 19 July, 1.30pm Tuesday 15 August, 7.30pm
www.rsc.org.uk/assisted-performances
CAP
When I was about 16 and working in panto as one of Snow White’s seven dwarfs, I started thinking about where I should train – because I wanted to act, dance and sing. I trained at Italia Conti and it was great. I remember having to do the splits on my second day! I was treated the same as anyone else. I’m not sure many dwarfs are at my level of tap, breakdancing, and singing…but I definitely count myself as an actor first. Actor, dancer, singer: that’s the order for me. For me, I hope being part of the RSC means I’ll be seen for a lot more straight acting roles. When I first started out, I’d done lots of pantos – but I wanted to break that barrier. I wanted to be employed as an actor and not just for being a dwarf. If someone is casting for a part that is male, 20-30…why shouldn’t I go for that? My agent puts me up for parts they feel suit me as an actor.
My dad was in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but despite being such an iconic image from the film, none of the actors playing Oompa Loompas were credited. But attitudes are changing, and so many people are now getting parts because of their talent – not because of their disability. People are talking about disability more and more now. During the Paralympic Games in London, everybody learnt so much about disability. It was a really vivid way of showing how powerful people can be, if we just make some small adaptations to our environment. At theatres, the wider the variety of people in the environment, the less we will have to think about ‘access needs’ – the provision will just be there, for all audiences and actors. I love working with Audio Description and BSL – sometimes you’ll get layers of laughter as things are described, or the way the joke is interpreted in BSL means the audiences using the interpretation get the joke before everyone else has caught up. I’d love to play Puck or Feste, or maybe Petruchio, or Banquo. Don’t dress us up as clowns or puppets or anything else. Give us something gritty to do.
01789 403436
9
SAT SUN MON TUE
WED THU
FRI
SAT SUN MON TUE
WED THU
FRI
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 13
14
15
16
17
18
19 20
21
22
23 7.30 F Snow
24 7.30 Snow
25 7.30 Snow
26 27 7.30 Snow
28 7.30 Snow
1 7.30 Snow
2 1.00 Snow 7.00 P Snow
3 7.15 F Caesar 7.30 Snow
4 1.30 Snow 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Snow
5
6 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Snow
7 7.30 Snow
8 1.30 Snow 7.30 Snow
9 7.30 Snow
10 7.30 Snow
11 1.30 Snow 7.15 F Antony 7.30 Snow
12 13 7.15 Antony 7.30 Snow
14 7.15 Antony 7.30 Snow
15 1.30 Snow 7.15 Antony 7.30 Snow
16 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Snow
17 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Snow
18 1.15 Caesar 1.30 Snow 7.15 Antony 7.30 Snow
19 20 7.15 Antony 7.30 Snow
21 7.15 Antony 7.30 Snow
22 1.30 Snow 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Snow
23 1.00 P Caesar 7.00 P Antony 7.30 ● Snow
24 7.15 Antony 7.30 Snow
25 1.15 Antony 1.30 Snow 7.15 Antony 7.30 L Snow
26 27 7.15 Caesar
28 7.15 Caesar
29 7.15 Caesar
30 1.15 Caesar 7.15 Antony
31 7.15 Antony 7.30 F Hypocrite
1 2 1.15 Antony 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Hypocrite
3 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Hypocrite
4 1.15 OUR Caesar 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Hypocrite
5 1.00 Hypocrite 7.00 P Hypocrite 7.15 Caesar
6 1.15 Antony 7.15 Antony 7.30 Hypocrite
7 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Hypocrite
8 9 1.15 Caesar 1.30 Hypocrite 7.15 Antony 7.30 Hypocrite
11 7.15 Antony 7.30 Hypocrite
12 1.15 OUR Antony 1.30 Hypocrite 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Hypocrite
13 1.15 Caesar 7.15 Antony 7.30 Hypocrite
14 7.15 Antony 7.30 Hypocrite
15 16 17 1.15 7.15 Antony Caesar 1.30 7.30 Hypocrite Hypocrite 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Hypocrite
18 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Hypocrite
19 1.30 Hypocrite 7.30 Hypocrite
20 1.15 Caesar 7.15 Antony 7.30 Hypocrite
21 7.15 Antony 7.30 ● Hypocrite
22 23 24 1.15 7.15 Antony Caesar 1.30 7.30 Hypocrite Hypocrite 7.15 SBP Caesar 7.30 Hypocrite
25 1.00 RLIVE Caesar 7.30 Hypocrite
26 1.30 Hypocrite 7.00 LIVE Caesar 7.30 Hypocrite
27 1.15 Caesar 7.15 Antony 7.30 Hypocrite
28 7.15 Antony 7.30 Hypocrite
JUNE
4 1.15 Antony 7.15 Caesar
5 7.15 Caesar
6 1.15 ● Caesar 7.15 Antony
7
8 7.15 Antony
9 7.15 Caesar
10 7.15 Caesar
11 1.15 Antony 7.15 Antony 7.30 F Vice
12 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
13 1.15 Caesar 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
14 15 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
16 7.30 Vice
17 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
18 1.00 Vice 1.15 Caesar 7.00 P Vice 7.15 Caesar
19 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
20 1.15 Caesar 1.30 Vice 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
21 22 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
23 1.00 RLIVE Antony 7.30 Vice
24 7.00 LIVE Antony 7.30 Vice
25 1.15 Antony 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
26 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
27 1.15 Caesar 1.30 Vice 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
28 29 7.15 Antony
30 7.15 Antony
31 7.15 Caesar
1 1.15 Caesar 7.15 Caesar
2 7.15 Antony 7.30 F Salomé
3 1.15 Antony 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Salomé
4
5 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Salomé
6 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé
7 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé
8 1.00 Salomé 7.00 P Salomé 7.15 ● Antony
9 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Salomé
10 1.15 Caesar 1.30 Salomé 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé
11 12 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
13 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
14 1.30 Vice 7.15 ● Caesar 7.30 Vice
15 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé
16 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé
17 1.15 Antony 1.30 Vice 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
18 19 7.30 Vice
20 1.30 OUR Vice 7.30 Vice
21 1.30 Salomé 7.30 Salomé
22 7.30 Salomé
23 7.15 F Titus 7.30 Salomé
24 1.30 Salomé 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
25 26 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
27 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
28 1.30 Vice 7.15 Titus 7.30 Salomé
29 7.15 Titus 7.30 Salomé
30 1.30 OUR Salomé 7.15 Titus 7.30 Salomé
1 1.15 Titus 1.30 Salomé 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
2
3 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
4 7.00 P Titus 7.30 Salomé
5 1.30 Salomé 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
6 1.15 Titus 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
7 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
8 1.15 Caesar 1.30 Salomé 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé
9
10 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
11 7.15 Titus 7.30 ● Vice
12 1.30 Vice 7.15 Titus 7.30 Salomé
13 7.15 Titus 7.30 Salomé
14 1.15 OUR Titus 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Salomé
15 1.15 Caesar 1.30 Vice 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
16 17 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé
18 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé
19 1.30 ● Salomé 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
20 1.15 Titus 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
21 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
22 1.15 Caesar 1.30 Vice 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Salomé
23 24 7.15 Titus 7.30 Salomé
25 7.15 ● Titus
26 7.15 Caesar 7.30 F Venus
28 1.30 Venus 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé
5 1.15 ● Antony 1.30 Vice 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
6
7 7.15 Titus 7.30 Salomé
8 1.00 RLIVE Titus 7.30 Salomé
9 1.30 Vice 7.00 LIVE Titus 7.30 Vice
10 1.15 Caesar 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Salomé
11 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé
12 1.15 Antony 1.30 Vice 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
13 14 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Salomé
15 7.15 Antony 7.30 ● Salomé
16 1.30 Salomé 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
17 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
18 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
19 1.15 Caesar 1.30 Salomé 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé
20 21 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
22 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
23 1.30 Vice 7.15 Titus 7.30 Salomé
24 1.15 ● Titus 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Salomé
25 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Salomé
26 1.15 Titus 1.30 Salomé 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
27 28 7.15 Titus 7.30 Vice
29 7.15 Titus 7.30 Salomé
30 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé
27 10.30 Venus 1.00 P Venus 1.15 Caesar 7.15 Antony 7.30 Salomé 31 1.15 Antony 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
2 1.30 Venus 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Venus
3 10.30 Venus 1.15 Caesar 1.30 Venus 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
4 1.30 L Venus 7.15 Antony 7.30 Vice
FRI
WED THU
FRI
2 1.15 Titus 1.30 Vice 7.15 L Titus 7.30 Salomé
3
4 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Salomé
5 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Salomé
SAT SUN MON TUE
6 7.15 Antony 7.30 L Salomé
7 7.15 L Antony 7.30 Vice
WED THU
8 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
FRI
9 1.15 Caesar 1.30 ● Vice 7.15 L Caesar 7.30 L Vice
TO BE ANNOUNCED
SAT SUN MON TUE
WED THU
SAT SUN MON TUE
WED THU
FRI
29 30 1.15 Antony 1.30 Hypocrite 7.15 Caesar 7.30 L Hypocrite
MAY
3 7.15 Antony
10 7.15 Antony 7.30 Hypocrite
FEB
5
SAT SUN MON
MARCH
FRI
4
JULY
10
WED THU
3
1 7.15 Caesar 7.30 Vice
MON TUE
SAT SUN MON TUE
2
SEPTEMBER
AUGUST
1 1.30 Venus 7.30 Vice
FRI
SAT SUN MON TUE
WED THU
29 1.15 Antony 1.30 Salomé 7.15 Titus 7.30 Salomé
30 31 7.15 Titus 7.30 Venus
AUGUST
2 7.15 Caesar
WED THU
1
MAY
1 7.15 Caesar
SAT SUN MON TUE
APRIL
FRI
JUNE
WED THU
APRIL
MARCH
FEB
MON TUE
Performance Schedule
JULY
February 2017 – August 2017
FRI
SAT SUN MON
= Access Performances F = First Performance P = Press Night L = Last Performance KEY: OUR = Open Understudy Rehearsal RLIVE = Live to Cinema rehearsal LIVE = Live to Cinema ■ = Audio Described Performance = Semi-integrated British Sign Language Interpreted Performance ● = Captioned Performance =P re-or Post-Show on stage event SBP = Shakespeare’s Birthday Performance Royal Shakespeare Theatre Julius Caesar, Antony & Cleopatra, Titus Andronicus Swan Theatre Snow In Midsummer, The Hypocrite, Vice Versa, Salomé, Venus & Adonis ABBREVIATIONS Snow = Snow in Midsummer, Caesar = Julius Caesar, Antony = Antony & Cleopatra, Hypocrite = The Hypocrite, Vice = Vice Versa, Titus = Titus Andronicus, Venus = Venus & Adonis
11
London
King Lear
Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing (or Love’s Labour’s Won)
Barbican, London 31 October – 17 December 2016
Barbican, London 10 November – 23 December 2016
Cymbeline is the ruler of a divided Britain. When Innogen, the only living heir, marries her sweetheart in secret, an enraged Cymbeline banishes him. Distracted by Innogen’s marriage, Cymbeline is blind to the actions of a powerful figure behind the throne who is plotting to seize power…
King Lear has ruled for many years. As age begins to overtake him, he decides to divide his kingdom. But vanity clouds his judgement, and he soon wanders the wilderness, left to confront the mistakes of a life that has brought him to this point.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
Antony Sher plays one of Gillian Bevan plays the title role, directed Shakespeare’s greatest roles, directed by Gregory Doran. by Melly Still.
12
Audio Described Performance Saturday 26 November, 1.30pm Touch Tour 11.30am Captioned Performance CAP Friday 9 December, 7.15pm
Photo by Ellie Kurttz
Photo by Ellie Kurttz
Audio Described Performance Friday 2 December, 7.15pm Touch Tour 5.15pm Captioned Performance Friday 16 December, 7.15pm
0207 638 8891 / barbican.org.uk
CAP
Haymarket Theatre 9 December 2016 – 18 March 2017
HHHHH
‘Sparklingly funny and giddily blissful’
Audio Described Performances Love’s Labour’s Lost: Wednesday 18 January, 2.30pm Touch Tour 12.30pm Much Ado About Nothing: Wednesday 18 January, 7.30pm Touch Tour 5.30pm Captioned Performances Love’s Labour’s Lost: Wednesday 1 February, 2.30pm Much Ado About Nothing: Wednesday 1 February, 7.30pm
CAP
TIMES
Shakespeare’s great romantic comedies, Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing were first paired to great acclaim at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 2014. Matching events, characters and themes suggest that these razor-sharp romances belong together. In Love’s Labour’s Lost two sparring lovers, Berowne and Rosaline, are separated; at the start of Much Ado About Nothing, two sparring lovers meet again after a long absence and continue to quarrel, until they are tricked into acknowledging their love. Directed by Christopher Luscombe, with a dazzling design by Simon Higlett and glorious music by Nigel Hess, the productions are set either side of the First World War.
01789 403436 www.trh.co.uk
Photo by Manuel Harlan
Cymbeline
Photo by Manuel Harlan
London
13
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Front row seats
There are four seats available at every performance in the front row of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Swan Theatre stalls for people with either a visual or a hearing impairment. Please ask Box Office staff about the availability of these seats when booking your ticket. The Other Place has five available wheelchair spaces. Four of them are on the ground level and one on the upper level. Although the Studio Theatre is unreserved, you can request wheelchair spaces and make the Box Office aware of any access issues, and we will do our best to accommodate any requests.
Braille
We produce Cast Lists in Braille. If you would like to receive Access Matters in Braille please contact us at access@rsc.org.uk or call 01789 403436.
Induction loop
All our theatres are fitted with a loop system as are the Box Office and shop counters.
Touch Tours
We offer free Touch Tours before Audio Described performances. Touch Tours offer the opportunity to get close to the set, costumes and props used in the play. During a tour backstage, the audio describers will guide you through important props and character costumes used in the production.
Swan Theatre and The Other Place Audio Describers
Julia Grundy, Ellie Packer, Mary Plackett, Carolyn Smith.
Captioners
Stefanie Bell, Roz Chalmers, Kay George, Janet Jackson, Ridanne Sheridan, Beverley Ward.
BSL Interpreters
Becky Allen, Clare Edwards.
Please call 01789 403436 to book your free place.
The Play’s The Thing
The Play’s The Thing is our new interactive, multi-sensory exhibition for families, opening 22 October 2016. Spark your imagination with weird and wonderful treasures from our past productions. See costumes worn on our stages. Generate your own Shakespearean plot. Make Ariel fly. Step inside the mind of a director. This exhibition is multi-sensory, with touch labels, designed to be accessible for all. There is a lift to the first floor exhibition and the layout is designed to be accessible for wheelchair users. Large print information and audio transcription is available and video content is captioned. Assistance dogs are welcome in the exhibition. Tickets for disabled people are £4.25. If you require the services of a companion their ticket is also £4.25.
Photo by David Tett
For more information about the exhibition visit www.rsc.org.uk/the-plays-the-thing/access, or if you have any questions about the accessibility of the exhibition, please email access@rsc.org.uk.
14
www.rsc.org.uk/assisted-performances
Photo by Jo Bowker
Assistance Dogs can be taken into the auditorium, please tell Box Office staff when booking your seat if you are bringing your dog. Alternatively you can leave your dog with a member of staff in the foyer, please let us know when booking.
Photo by Stewart Hemley
Hearing and Guide Dogs
This exhibition is supported by
01789 403436
15
Booking Tickets
Tickets for productions in Stratford-upon-Avon in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Swan Theatre for disabled people are £16, whenever you visit or wherever you choose to sit. If you require the services of a companion their ticket will also be £16. Tickets for The Other Place vary but are discounted. To book please call 01789 403436. Alternatively you can book online using the access booking form at www.rsc.org.uk You can book for Captioned and BSL interpreted performances online. To buy tickets, select the production you want to see, click the ‘Buy Tickets’ button and enter the code 10408 in the promo box above the list of dates. This will bring up the appropriate performances and link directly to the best seats.
Theatre access
Both the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Swan Theatre have lift access to all levels of the building. There are wheelchair spaces on all levels of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Swan Theatre stalls. Adapted toilets are available on all levels of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and on the ground floor and first gallery level of the Swan Theatre. The Other Place has lift access to both levels of the Studio Theatre and there are also accessible toilets on both levels.
Accessible parking
There are seven allocated parking bays for blue-badge users on Waterside directly outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and ten further bays on Chapel Lane, the road opposite the Swan Theatre. There are allocated blue-badge parking bays at the side and rear of The Other Place in Southern Lane. These are free of charge and do not have a time limit. These spaces are controlled by the local authority and are not for Royal Shakespeare Company visitors only. Please ensure you correctly display a GE ST current blue-badge. COLLE
THE OTHER PLACE
There is a car drop off point directly outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and a coach drop off point just past the Swan Theatre.
www.rsc.org.uk/access access@rsc.org.uk 01789 403436 Royal Shakespeare Company, Waterside, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire CV37 6BB This leaflet was printed in October 2016. Every effort is made to ensure that the information remains correct, but please check with the Box Office for full and final details. Registered charity number 212481.