The Royal Shakespeare Company, which opens a season of eight plays at London’s Roundhouse tonight, has announced a five year partnership with the Camden venue which will see the company present an annual season of work there from 2012.
The RSC’s first visit to the Roundhouse was in 2008 when it presented its epic Histories cycle, which went on to win Best Company Performance and Best Revival at the 2009 Laurence Olivier Awards.
The company returns there this winter with eight productions performed by its current ensemble, presented on a specially constructed thrust stage at the Roundhouse which mirrors the Courtyard theatre in Stratford, the company’s temporary home during renovations on the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
RSC Artistic Director Michael Boyd commented: “We have loved being at the Roundhouse. It is an extraordinary space, with an aesthetic and ethos that matches our own. We are especially pleased that this new partnership means we can continue to offer London audiences an opportunity to experience our work as it’s seen in our Stratford home: on a thrust stage, bringing them so much closer to the action, and in a building which echoes our desire to bring together the intimate and epic.”
In addition, the RSC is in talks with Delfont Mackintosh Theatres, the owner of the Novello theatre where the RSC has previously presented work, to bring further productions from Stratford to London in 2011.
Vikki Heywood, Executive Director of the RSC, added: “We also remain in close producing and presenting relationships with many and varied London producers and theatres and are delighted that we continue to benefit from the success of Les Misérables, produced by Cameron Mackintosh. These enable us to continue to forge creative and inspiring partnerships which benefit our London audiences.”
This year’s play cycle opens tonight with Rupert Goold’s production of Romeo And Juliet, starring Sam Troughton and Mariah Gale. The season includes an extensive programme of education projects and opportunities for young people, including two plays specifically adapted for young people, The Comedy Of Errors and Hamlet.
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