RSC new AD

[cirque]

No…EW

watch and see

[cirque]

No…EW

watch and see

[cirque]

No…EW

watch and see

[oxfordsimon]

Aug 6, 2022 13:19:17 GMT Phantom of London said:

Could Emma Rice be possibility?

not a chance.

[Jan]

Aug 6, 2022 13:20:33 GMT cirque said:

No…EW

watch and see

It wouldn’t surprise me if she renamed the Artistic Director job title to remove the word “Director” - too hierarchical and a hangover from the unenlightened days of the patriarchy - you may have noticed that already she’s taken to saying “when I made Romeo & Juliet” rather than “when I directed ….”

[tributary]

If it’s Whyman then they’re kaput. She has no record of attracting first-rank directors and likely no ability to attract them. I remember the RSC under Trevor Nunn and Terry Hands. I remember the RNT under Richard Eyre. If this autumn brings us Whyman at the RSC to set alongside the useless Norris at the RNT, I think I might start to oppose arts funding.

[Jan]

Aug 6, 2022 15:28:21 GMT tributary said:

If it’s Whyman then they’re kaput. She has no record of attracting first-rank directors and likely no ability to attract them. I remember the RSC under Trevor Nunn and Terry Hands. I remember the RNT under Richard Eyre. If this autumn brings us Whyman at the RSC to set alongside the useless Norris at the RNT, I think I might start to oppose arts funding.

What would also be odd is that as far as I can see she’s only ever directed (sorry, made) three Shakespeare plays in her life including her nine years at the RSC. Although to be fair she’s directed one of them, Winter’s Tale, twice.

[cirque]

Fully agree. It is a horror show .

[Jan]

I agree Norris is useless but at least he’s managed to programme two popular-looking Shakespeare plays for the rest of this year, something the RSC hasn’t managed despite it being their main job. I’m not that bothered about Norris, he’ll be gone in 2025 and whoever takes over has a clean slate. The RSC’s problems are much deeper and more structural, they’re in long-term decline which may actually be irreversible.

[tributary]

Norris has lost Travelex, raised the ticket prices through the roof and made the RNT somewhere the first rank of directors simply don’t want to work. He’s got worse and worse at the job and he wasn’t much good to begin with. I suspect financially Norris’ successor will inherit an organisation deep in the red. When you think that Hytner left Norris a profitable and successful RNT it is a crying shame indeed.

[oxfordsimon]

The way ACE funding is currently structured actively works to the detriment of building true audience development.

Tick box diversity and inclusivity exercises do not build audiences. Using community actors does not build audiences.

The thing that does build audiences is quality productions with talented actors. If you do good work, people will come.

If you embark on a decade of mediocrity, your audience retention drops. If you extend that decade by doing more of the same, you deserve to fold.

The RSC doesn't have a god given right to exist. If it folds, something new will emerge from the wreckage.

But the fault is not just with the RSC board, ACE are at the heart of the problems with the entire sector.

They are not fit for purpose and need to be replaced with a new body that has a laser like focus on supporting audiences and quality.

[lynette]

I think we shouldn’t dismiss the educational work that the RSC does. The exam system has managed to diminish Shakespeare who is hanging on with his fingernails. I am not familiar with any outreach work that the NT has been doing give or take a pandemic of course. But I never see kids at the NT whereas you can always see them at the RSC ( sometimes they are American …) But I do agree with oxfordsimon that if it is good, they will come. Word of mouth is powerful, we all know that. The RSC has been slow out of the gates post covid and may have problems getting the creatives out of London but this may improve next year. Whoever is appointed I hope with give him/her/them a decent chance before we start sniping.

[Jan]

Aug 6, 2022 21:07:42 GMT lynette said:

I think we shouldn’t dismiss the educational work that the RSC does. The exam system has managed to diminish Shakespeare who is hanging on with his fingernails. I am not familiar with any outreach work that the NT has been doing give or take a pandemic of course. But I never see kids at the NT whereas you can always see them at the RSC ( sometimes they are American …) But I do agree with oxfordsimon that if it is good, they will come. Word of mouth is powerful, we all know that. The RSC has been slow out of the gates post covid and may have problems getting the creatives out of London but this may improve next year. Whoever is appointed I hope with give him/her/them a decent chance before we start sniping.

Agree but EW has already been there 9 years, is acting AD for the current period of inactivity and was defacto AD for certain areas before that. She’s already used up some of her chance to impress.

[oxfordsimon]

Whoever takes over must have a track record of directing Shakespeare.

Not just one or two plays.

Emma Rice had directed only 1 Shakespeare before getting the Globe job and that was widely panned by critics.

Erica Whyman similarly had 1 Shakespeare directing credit when she was appointed to the RSC and has only added 2 since. 1, as has already been noted, was a repeat of The Winter's Tale.

It's time to put those with a track record of excellence with Shakespeare at the heart of our national Shakespeare company.

[oxfordsimon]

The RSC has done great things. But they haven't matched that ambition in years.

Open Stages had 2 iterations and made a real difference to large numbers of amateur groups, performers and directors. That is what real community engagement looks like. Mentoring, training and education. Not using a few amateur actors to bulk things out.

Plus they worked with partners round the country to mean it was accessible to a huge geographical area.

The Complete Works festival was outstanding. Bringing together companies from all over the world to showcase all the plays in one year.

But what have we had since Doran and Whyman took over?

Increasingly tame productions just aimed at ticking boxes and not upsetting too many people

A woeful reaction to the pandemic with not enough effort made to sustain activity

Dismantling of the company concept

Loss of goodwill locally and nationally

Failure to complete Doran's aim to stage all the plays on the main stage in a timely fashion

A decade of mediocrity and failure.

[cavocado]

The make up of the RSC's board is interesting. From what I can see, there's no UK-based Shakespeare academic and nobody representing the local area, either business or district/county council. If you were setting up the company from scratch those would be two obvious areas you'd want represented on your board. www.rsc.org.uk/about-us/whos-who

[Jan]

Aug 7, 2022 11:06:00 GMT cavocado said:

The make up of the RSC's board is interesting. From what I can see, there's no UK-based Shakespeare academic and nobody representing the local area, either business or district/county council. If you were setting up the company from scratch those would be two obvious areas you'd want represented on your board. www.rsc.org.uk/about-us/whos-who

Stanley Wells is there amongst the throng of board members and governors of varying grade and titles. It is surprising how many are USA-based or linked, given I would have thought zero was an appropriate number. None from the EU of course.

[oxfordsimon]

There are some brilliant Shakespeare scholars in the US so I wouldn't say it was inappropriate to have them represented. 0lys the RSC has long ties to the US

Perhaps they should have audience representatives on the board. The people who pay to see the shows should have an input!

[Jan]

Aug 9, 2022 12:21:39 GMT oxfordsimon said:

There are some brilliant Shakespeare scholars in the US so I wouldn't say it was inappropriate to have them represented. 0lys the RSC has long ties to the US

Perhaps they should have audience representatives on the board. The people who pay to see the shows should have an input!

Why not someone from the Comedie Francaise, or a major European Arts festival, or similar. Just to give a wider independent perspective ? There must be problems in common across these major European organisations. The RSC just seems so complacent and Little Englander in their outlook. And replete with conflicts of interest - Hilary Mantel and David Tenant as governors and creatives - how likely were those two to ever challenge Doran ?

[oxfordsimon]

Given the greater reverence given to Shakespeare in Germany and Russian I can see the case for looking there for candidates.

But how many UK representatives are on the Comedie Francaise board?

[oxfordsimon]

Aug 9, 2022 14:22:11 GMT oxfordsimon said:

Given the greater reverence given to Shakespeare in Germany and Russian I can see the case for looking there for candidates.

But how many UK representatives are on the Comedie Francaise board?

None would be the answer

[cavocado]

I don't disagree with having US board members especially as they seem to do a lot of fundraising there.

But, as many of us have said in discussions on the RSC, they should be aiming for excellence, the best Shakespeare productions you can see anywhere in the world. And they should be committed to their Stratford base as a centre of excellence, which can't really be done without local support and an understanding of how they are embedded in the local economy. A strong commitment to those two things might be expected to be represented at board level, just as they've got people who represent/advise on their commitment to anti-racism for example. So I find it odd that there's no local representative or no UK academic on their board.

I'm not sure how audience representation would work. How would you pick someone? I imagine most of the UK board members are also audience members (albeit not ones who pay for their tickets).

As far as I understand it, the power is with the board members, not the governors, who seem to have more of an ambassadorial role, so I don't think there's any issue with having people like Tennant as governors.

[Jan]

Aug 9, 2022 15:10:52 GMT cavocado said:

I don't disagree with having US board members especially as they seem to do a lot of fundraising there.

But, as many of us have said in discussions on the RSC, they should be aiming for excellence, the best Shakespeare productions you can see anywhere in the world. And they should be committed to their Stratford base as a centre of excellence, which can't really be done without local support and an understanding of how they are embedded in the local economy. A strong commitment to those two things might be expected to be represented at board level, just as they've got people who represent/advise on their commitment to anti-racism for example. So I find it odd that there's no local representative or no UK academic on their board.

I'm not sure how audience representation would work. How would you pick someone? I imagine most of the UK board members are also audience members (albeit not ones who pay for their tickets).

As far as I understand it, the power is with the board members, not the governors, who seem to have more of an ambassadorial role, so I don't think there's any issue with having people like Tennant as governors.

Tenant was on the selection committee that appointed Doran. Was he on it this time too ?

[theatrelover123]

Why was Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys on the selection committee? Most odd

[tributary]

Aug 9, 2022 15:10:52 GMT cavocado said:

I don't disagree with having US board members especially as they seem to do a lot of fundraising there.

But, as many of us have said in discussions on the RSC, they should be aiming for excellence, the best Shakespeare productions you can see anywhere in the world.

This is true but I can’t imagine they could be further away from it. If they appoint Whyman or Polly Findlay or Simon Godwin, in my opinion, they really are finished. Another national
theatre company allowed to dwindle into expensive indifference.