Immerse yourself in the workings of theatre, with stories of people who shaped our unique history

We begin the story of the RSC in our Front of House areas, taking a look at the hidden history of the most-seen areas of the building and introducing you to the people and stories that made the RSC what it is today, from well-known performers to skilled craftspeople.

No day at the RSC is the same so depending on what is happening on the day of your tour, you will get to see a part of the building that isn't usually accessible to the public. While you're with us, you could be led through the iconic Royal Shakespeare Theatre or you could be taken into the beautiful Swan Theatre.

You will also go behind the scenes and get up close to some of our costumes, with the chance to get hands on, try on some items of headwear - maybe a crown or a helmet? And explore our hair and make-up box. 

What you need to know

Did someone say "Macbeth"? Learn about theatre superstitions and some supernatural sightings

There has been a theatre on our site since 1879 and this tour will take you through some of the stories that have arisen during that 140+ years, including ghostly exits and entrances, but also the history of theatre superstition.

Once the building has closed to other visitors, you will visit the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres and experience complete darkness, then move through to other parts of the buildings where visitors are normally not allowed to find out more about how we achieve some of the gory or ghostly effects in our performances.

What you need to know

We have a range of packages for groups running  throughout the year. For more details about what we offer for your group, visit our bring your group the the RSC page.

Cost: £10 per person for groups of 10+.

To discuss which package will work for you and make a booking call 01789 331111 from midday to 6pm (UK time) Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays, or email groups@rsc.org.uk

Get close up to our fabulous costumes and discover the expert tailoring and craft techniques that go into making them

You will be shown around our state-of-the-art Costume Workshop to see at first-hand how our costumes are made, from cutting, tailoring and stitching to finishing techniques such as dyeing, printing and beading.

After seeing the workshops where our costumes are made, you will visit our Costume Hire at The Other Place where we store and hire out more than 60,000 items of costume. There you will get close up to our huge selection of gowns, crowns and many other items.

What you need to know

Discover how our skilled carpenters, engineers and artists build the world of a performance

See the life cycle of a set, from the Drawing Office, where our skilled engineers create the drawings and plans for each object of scenery that appears on the stage. Then to the Scenic Engineering Workshop where a team of engineers fabricate and weld materials together, building the sets and their underlying structure.

Step into the carpentry workshop to see our skilled carpenters create scenery from wood, plastic and canvas, and discover some unusual items in the Prop Workshop where expert propmakers create the objects you see on stage.

Every tour will be unique - your visit takes place in our workshop/warehouse environment on a normal working day where we are building sets and props for our shows. This is a chance to see parts of a show taking shape before they appear on the stage and there is likely to be heavy machinery in use and forklifts in operation to move larger items around the workshop. 

Finally there will be a rare opportunity to explore our Prop Hire store, a treasure trove of objects, small and large, where we store the furniture and props used in our shows and hire them out.

What you need to know

Upon arrival at the site, please be aware there may be forklifts and lorries, as well as people moving large pieces of scenery.

All of our tours can be tailored for school visits - just let us know the ages of the students taking part when booking and we will do the rest. Please note that one adult is required for every 10 students.

Schools can book a Theatre Tour by emailing learning.boxoffice@rsc.org.uk or call the Learning Hotline on 01789 331259 (midday – 6pm, Monday – Friday, excluding Bank Holidays).