The RSC’s award-winning costumes are essential to creating the very best theatre, but the workshops where our craftsmen and women work are no longer fit for purpose. We need to give our team of skilled costume makers 21st century workshops with the space, light and facilities to help them continue to create stunning costumes for you and audiences around the world to enjoy.
Latest project update:
FLOOR PLAN OF THE RESTORED AND REDEVELOPED COSTUME WORKSHOP
Click on the areas to find out more and discover how your support will make a difference.
Lift
We will be fully accessible to everyone for the first time and will no longer have to carry heavy costumes and rolls of fabric up and down stairs.
The Lydia & Manfred Gorvy Hub
Supported by Lydia and Manfred Gorvy
We will open up this Grade II listed building as a versatile new space.
Courtyard Garden
Supported by Anne and René Olivieri
We will have a newly planted courtyard garden situated alongside the heritage buildings.
Entrance (1887 Scene Dock)
A new entrance to the RSC’s offices and the Costume Workshop, utilising the scene dock doors.
Costume Props, Footwear and Armoury
The Costume Props, Footwear and Armoury being emptied during it's relocation to temporary Costume Workshop facilities in May 2018.
Millinery and Jewellery
The team will have more space for storage of materials and will be able to install full size work tables in the restored and redeveloped workshop.
Costume Effects and Dyeing
A larger room to accommodate a large print table, as well as space for the all the costumes being distressed and painted.
Shared Spray Rooms
The shared spray rooms will allow three workrooms to share resources and discover new and imaginative ways of working together.
Dye Workshop
Supported by Coats – Official thread supplier to the RSC
An improved layout allows us to install larger and more appropriate dye vats, and we can dye more fabric at one time.
Lift
We will be fully accessible to everyone for the first time and will no longer have to carry heavy costumes and rolls of fabric up and down stairs.
Ladies’ Costume Workroom
Lots of natural light will help team with detailed costume making. The team are now based at a temporary workshop space whilst the restoration and redevelopment is underway.
The Lydia & Manfred Gorvy Hub
Supported by Lydia and Manfred Gorvy
We will open up this Grade II listed building as a versatile new space.
Costume Stockroom
Supported by Coats – Official thread supplier to the RSC
The previous stockroom was based in a loft space - the new facilities will mean the workshop team won’t have to duck under beams to access materials.
Administration Offices
The Head of Costume Office is supported by The Patrick Trust
Our new office at the heart of the Costume Workshop.
Men’s Costume Workroom
A larger workroom for the Men's Workshop. The layout is being tested in the temporary workshop facilities where the team are currently based whilst the buildings on Waterside undergo their restoration and redevelopment.
Fitting Room
In Memory of Bob Alexander, QC
A large space for actors to try on and develop their costumes, located in the centre of the workrooms
More about the project
The RSC's Artistic Director Gregory Doran talks about the work of the Costume Workshop and the Stitch In Time Campaign:
Costume making in Stratford-upon-Avon
The craftsmanship involved in every costume, and how a costume looks and feels, enables our actors to transform into the characters you see on stage.
Since the 1950s our costumes have been created in Waterside, Stratford-upon-Avon, in buildings hidden behind the former scene dock constructed for the Memorial Theatre in 1887.
Our Costume Workshop is the largest in-house costume-making department of any British theatre, employing 30 people.
Specialist skills include men’s and ladies’ costume construction, armour-making, millinery, dyeing and printing. There are also facilities for fitting and maintenance, so being close to our theatres is essential.
Over the years the buildings have developed in response to the evolution of costume production leading to an ad hoc layout and facilities which are no longer fit for purpose.
Redeveloping the Costume Workshop
In May 2018 we started a two-year building project to restore and redevelop the buildings. We will:
