RSC 2019

[Deleted]

Plus a tour of all the main house productions

All three Shakespeare productions will play in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, then tour in repertoire for the first time to six regional theatres in 2019

Interesting note regarding the Swan productions

And we mark 250 years since David Garrick’s famous Shakespeare Jubilee in 1769, which launched Stratford-upon-Avon as the epicentre of the Shakespeare Industry, by staging two plays in which Garrick enjoyed two of his most successful roles

[lynette]

Sept 10, 2018 9:36:12 GMT Jan said:

Sept 10, 2018 8:05:24 GMT @xanderl said:

No woman writers, one woman director, one BAME writer, two BAME directors.

And, of course, Antony Sher. You would think at this point Sher and Doran might be a bit embarrassed by the frequency with which he gets cast at the RSC, but apparently not. 

What is he playing? 

[lynette]

Ok, sorry I just seen it, in the South African play. Fair enough. He should get the accent right 😁

[oxfordsimon]

Doran directed M4M will be a pedestrian snoozefest. There is zero info in the launch to give any clue of his ideas. Which is never an encouraging sign.

Reversed roles Shrew - if they must.

As You Like it - again short on detail.

Not sure all of this was worth the countdown and attempt to create hype.

It is clearly a company in a holding phase until someone comes along to actually give it some personality and real vision.

[Jan]

One wonders, or rather one doesn’t, about why they think we should be interested in a contemporary play from South Africa rather than, say, Germany or France.

[showgirl]

Boring and disappointing to me, unless there's more to come. After such a good year at the Swan, I was hoping for more of the same, ie new plays/musicals, preferably light-hearted and/or a new treatment of something familiar. So the Athol Fugard doesn't qualify.

[David J]

Sept 10, 2018 13:32:33 GMT Jan said:

One wonders, or rather one doesn’t, about why they think we should be interested in a contemporary play from South Africa rather than, say, Germany or France.

And I wonder whether this play is going to reflect what is going on over there at the moment that a lot of people would rather ignore

[samuelwhiskers]

I like Measure for Measure and will take a punt on the Shrew. Nothing else interests me much at this point.

I saw a great promenade production of Venice Preserved in Greenwich a few years ago.

[Jan]

Sept 10, 2018 13:59:26 GMT showgirl said:

So the Athol Fugard doesn't qualify.

A small point, but it’s not by Athol Fugard, it’s by John Kani who I see is now 76.

[lichtie]

I think the Swan line-up looks fine - the main theatre less interesting. Why another AYLI? Won't this be 3 times in 10 years? Is it just to suck the tourists in over the summer?

[Deleted]

Well that was an underwhelming announcement, compared to the RSC's twitter buildup.

[oxfordsimon]

Did I miss the big Aberg news?

[learfan]

Very odd, wonder what she was talking about in the Stage interview then? I got the rsc mailing today and it says the lovely and always luminous Alex Gilbreath will play Lady Brute in Provoked Wife, excellent news.

[theatremad]

"We have some exciting programming lined up for Winter 2019 to be announced early next year"

Quote on a patrons event on the RSC website. God knows what they mean aside from the David Walliams musical

[Jan]

Sept 19, 2018 18:09:14 GMT theatremad said:

"We have some exciting programming lined up for Winter 2019 to be announced early next year"

Quote on a patrons event on the RSC website. God knows what they mean aside from the David Walliams musical

Means nothing, there is no possible programming for Winter 2019 they wouldn’t describe as “exciting”.

[learfan]

Sept 19, 2018 18:09:14 GMT theatremad said:

"We have some exciting programming lined up for Winter 2019 to be announced early next year"

Quote on a patrons event on the RSC website. God knows what they mean aside from the David Walliams musical

Well, they aren't likely to say they have a pile of rubbish planned are they?

[theatremad]

Sept 19, 2018 19:20:30 GMT learfan said:

Sept 19, 2018 18:09:14 GMT theatremad said:

"We have some exciting programming lined up for Winter 2019 to be announced early next year"

Quote on a patrons event on the RSC website. God knows what they mean aside from the David Walliams musical

Well, they aren't likely to say they have a pile of rubbish planned are they?

The only odd thing (slightly) to add is theyve added a patrons event so the main one is later to coincide it seems

[Deleted]

Cast announced for As You Like It, Measure for Measure, and Taming of the Shrew - www.rsc.org.uk/news/cast-announced-for-2019-summer-season-of-shakespeare

The diverse group of actors will perform in a newly-reconfigured Royal Shakespeare Theatre and then on tour around the UK, as part of Artistic Director Gregory Doran’s ambition to create an ensemble that reflects the nation.

He says: “This season reflects the power of storytelling in its most essential form, with the actor at the centre of the work. With Justin Audibert and Kimberley Sykes, I am creating a company which reflects the nation in terms of gender, ethnicity, regionality, and disability - 27 actors who will all appear in two out of the three plays.

“We will build on our commitment to inclusivity and create a truly shared theatrical experience. We are also making some exciting changes to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre auditorium specifically for this season by extending the audience further round the stage at the Circle levels than ever before, creating new perspectives on the action, truly exploiting the unique qualities of our thrust stage, showing our work in a completely new way. We will then tour all three shows in repertoire, something that is rarely achieved with large scale productions.”

All three shows will transfer to the Barbican, no details of other tour venues I can see yet.

[oxfordsimon]

Making changes to the RST (again) is well and good - but they won't be able to recreate that on tour. The last time I saw one of Doran's productions outside of Stratford (the Tennant R2), it really suffered from not being in thrust.

I just wish people would focus on doing good, interesting work - something Doran appears to have forgotten how to do.

[Deleted]

They've deleted the tweet which mentioned all three transferring to the Barbican so I guess they weren't supposed to announce that yet.

[Jan]

I thought the "As You Like It" in 2013 was part of Dorans's plan to stage all of the canon without repetition on the main RST stage - so how come it's back again ? Of course he's already partially abandoned the idea by putting "Timon of Athens" in the Swan, and his strange claim on taking the job that his tenure "would emphasise Shakespeare rather than Company" is also somewhat undercut by him announcing the formation of a 2019 company. Directors really shouldn't announce long-terms plans because they rarely seem to be carried though (Boyd's 3-year Russian season was another). The season doesn't look that interesting but of course it's not aimed at me.

[altamont]

My understanding was that the first of the current cycle was the David Tennant Richard II which was in the autumn in 2013, just following As You Like It

[David J]

Yeah, please don't associate that As You Like It with Gregory Doran's tenure.

To me that represented a glorious end to an era at the RSC

[David J]

I'd be interested to see Sophie Stanton as Jacques after seeing her as Mrs Rich this year.

Always happy to see Sandy Grierson again, especially as Touchstone and Angelo

[NeilVHughes]

Doesn’t bode well when you have to tout the layout of the Theatre as a season draw and further highlights that ‘top’ actors cannot be enticed to Stratford Upon Avon.

Will be interesting to see the casting for Midsummer at The Bridge for a comparison.