The Barbican in London

Designed as the London home of the RSC, the Barbican Theatre has hosted a wide range of our shows.

Opened in 1982 as part of the Barbican Centre arts complex, the theatre has more than 1,000 seats and sits amongst a number of other facilities at the Barbican Centre, including a library, art gallery and food outlets.

The Barbican Centre is open seven days a week and is free to visit. Most recently, the Barbican played host to our 2019 productions of As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew and Measure for Measure.

The exterior of the Barbican Theatre in London. — The Barbican.
Photo by Helen Maybanks © RSC Browse and license our images

The history of the Barbican

Plans for the brutalist building began in 1960 when the RSC joined forces with the London Symphony Orchestra to create a contemporary space for theatre and performance. The final designs were agreed in 1968, but it took from 1970 to 1982 for the build — which included creating over 2,000 flats and realigning an Underground line — to be completed by the architecture firm Chamberlin, Powell and Bon. The Barbican complex was given Grade II listed status in 2001.

Named after the Barbican area in which it stands, the Centre was built on the former site of Cripplegate, one of the gates in the London Wall, which was heavily bombed during the Second World War. It is also believed that Shakespeare himself lived in this area for a time, in a house on the corner of Monkwell and Silver Street.

The first RSC shows in the new theatre were Trevor Nunn's Henry IV Parts I and II, with Patrick Stewart in the title role and a supporting cast that included Timothy Dalton and Harriet Walter. Since then, the Barbican has run a variety of RSC productions, from Shakespeare to contemporary theatre, with many shows premiering at the venue. They include Les Miserables (RSC/Cameron Mackintosh production) which opened at the Barbican in September 1985.

Trevor Nunn 1982 production

Henry IV Part I 1982 programme

“Henry ushers in new venue” Ned Chaillet, Times, 4 June 1982

The company's new London venue, the Barbican Theatre, officially opened on 9 June 1982 with Trevor Nunn’s double-bill of Henry IV Parts I and II. In this striking image of the programme, the City of London resembles the biblical Tower of Babel. Old St Paul’s Cathedral can be seen at the top of the cityscape. The Barbican Theatre was considered very suitable for staging the histories as it measured 73 feet wide, 48 feet deep and 30 feet high. Its fly tower was five storeys up from the stage, which enabled large pieces of set to be stored or lowered on-stage quickly during scene changes.

Director Trevor Nunn

This photo shows Trevor Nunn, who directed Henry IV Parts I and II in 1982. From 1968 to 1986 he was Artistic Director, a role he held jointly with Terry Hands for the last eight years. By 1982, Nunn had directed over 30 productions for the company.Although many critics focused on the new venue of the Barbican Theatre, Nunn’s production was commended for its psychological insight and attention to detail, which was echoed in John Napier’s intricate set design. The production’s tone was also conveyed through Guy Woolfenden’s evocative music.

Photo by Joe Cocks Studio Collection © Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Browse and license our images

John Napier's set model

Here we see the model of a section of the set designed by John Napier, who collaborated with the company on many notable productions including ‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’. The image has been annotated with the abbreviation ‘PS US’ indicating that the position of the structure was Prompt Side (stage left) Up Stage (towards the back of the stage). The set featured timber structures: “cat walks, rusting pulleys, roped hatches which…form an ever-changing module of streets, taverns and palace interior” Irving Wardle, Times, 10 June 1982. In the next image we will see the set in action.

Photo by Joe Cocks Studio Collection © Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Browse and license our images

John Napier's galleried set

“A towering timbered maze” Robert Cushman, Observer, 13 June 1982

This production photo features John Napier’s set which consisted of three enormous trucks (platforms on wheels), hydraulically operated, that transformed the stage into London streets or tavern interiors and could be cleared away to provide a large space for battle scenes. The timber set was decorated with a miscellany of wheels, crates, armour and cross-bows. In this image, the galleried set emphasizes the triangular relationship of Prince Hal (Gerard Murphy, stage right), Henry IV (Patrick Stewart, stage left) and Falstaff (Joss Ackland, stage right ground).

Photo by Chris Davies © Chris Davies Browse and license our images

Opening cues

In this extract from the production’s Prompt Book, we can see the opening cues which include lighting (LXQ), music (MQ) and sound (SQ). The stage manager performed a list of checks before the Barbican Theatre house lights were dimmed and the production begun. An interesting backup scenario is revealed in the instruction “IF TAPE FAILS Q BAND BOX’ meaning that if the recorded music failed, the live musicians would be cued to play. The opening sequence featured a torch-lit crowd singing the Latin hymn ‘Adoramus Te Christe’ (We Adore You Christ), towards the end of which the King (Henry IV) moved to centre stage (CS) before delivering the play’s first line.

Adoramus music score

“It seems then that the tidings of this broil
Brake off our business for the Holy Land.” Henry IV, Act 1 Scene 1

This is an extract from the choir’s score for ‘Adoramus’ which was the musical cue ‘Q2’ in the Prompt Book. The score is divided into three staves for the different singers: soprano and alto; tenor and baritone; bass. The hymn begins with a stately tempo (Maestoso = majestic) and then becomes fairly quiet (mp = mezzo piano). The religious tone reflects Henry IV’s desire to overcome his guilty conscience over Richard II’s death by going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The composer Guy Woolfenden’s expressive music underpinned the production’s scene and mood changes. He had the distinction of composing the music for all the productions of Henry IV Part I featured here in 'Other Productions'

Dividing the kingdom

“Come, here’s the map: shall we divide our right
According to our threefold order ta’en?” Glendower, Act 3 Scene 1

The ‘Cotton Map’ seen here was reproduced in the programme and dates from the 1530s. It was owned by the antiquarian and collector Robert Cotton (1571-1631) and is thought to be based on the medieval Gough Map. Maps are an important political tool and this is thought to have belonged to Henry VIII who displayed in one of his royal residences. In the play, Henry IV struggles to control his kingdom, while the rebels try to divide it. Hotspur disputes his proposed share with Glendower in Act 3 Scene 1. Interestingly the historic Hotspur was actually older than Henry IV while Prince Hal was only sixteen years old at the Battle of Shewsbury.

Fathers and sons

“Do thou stand for my father” Prince Henry (Hal), Act 2 Scene 4

Trevor Nunn’s production focused on father and son relationships, an example of which is shown in this production photo of the would-be father Falstaff and his pretend son Prince Hal. Making his RSC debut, Joss Ackland played Falstaff as an outwardly genial but calculating individual who knew how to exploit his connection with Hal. Gerard Murphy as Prince Hal considered his character to be “young, emotional, with a love of life and a growing sense of responsibility” Guardian, 4 June 1982. They conveyed physical and emotional attachment to one another.

Launch Gallery

The complex also contains the Pit, a smaller 164-seat studio theatre, which has hosted a range of our shows, including King John (2001) with Guy Henry in the titular role and Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1986) featuring Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson and Lesley Manville.