RSC TO TOUR THE COMEDY OF ERRORS TO SCHOOLS AND THEATRES IN AUTUMN 2018
CONTINUING THE COMPANY'S FIRST ENCOUNTERS WITH SHAKESPEARE SERIES OF PRODUCTIONS FOR 7-13 YEAR OLDS ACROSS THE UK
Performances run October - December 2018
www.rsc.org.uk/first-encounters-the-comedy-of-errors/
Members of the press are welcome to review the production from Wednesday 24 October 2018 onwards.
As part of its commitment to provide young people with a fantastic first experience of Shakespeare, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in association with seven regional partner theatres will tour The Comedy of Errors to schools and theatres this autumn. For over a decade the RSC has been taking these First Encounters productions - which are edited versions of the plays performed using Shakespeare’s original language - on the road into the heart of communities.
Directed and edited by Alex Thorpe, and primarily aimed at 7-13 year olds, the production will feature a gender-split cast of eight actors and actor-musicians. It will open in October 2018 in Midlands schools and the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, before embarking on a seven week national tour of schools and regional theatres.
Other locations the tour will visit include Northampton; Blackpool (in association with The Grand Theatre, Blackpool), Middlesbrough; Bishop Auckland (in association with Theatre Royal, Newcastle upon Tyne), Kent (in association with The Marlowe, Canterbury), Hull (in association with Hull Truck Theatre), York (in association with York Theatre Royal), Bradford (in association with Alhambra Theatre, Bradford), and Stoke-on-Trent (in association with New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme). Current tour details at the end of the release.
A key feature of the First Encounters productions is that they could not take place without the involvement and engagement of the audiences and local community they are visiting. Young people from each of the towns that The Comedy of Errors tours to will be directly involved in the production. Each performance will feature a team of up to twenty local young people who will perform an edited version of one of the play’s opening speeches, in which Egeon explains how he became separated from his wife and one of his twin sons. Schools will also be invited to decorate parts of the set ahead of the RSC’s visit to create a sense of their hometown.
Alex Thorpe said: "The RSC’s First Encounter’s productions have a long and exciting history of not only giving young audiences their early experiences of Shakespeare and theatre, but also actively involving them in the making of it. This year I am delighted to be leading a company who will take things a step further. This production is being built around its audience and the places we visit. Extending and building on the play’s themes, the professional company of actors and actor-musicians will be joined by ensembles of young performers from across the UK to help tell some of the story. Ephesus, the play’s market town setting, will feel uncannily familiar as local communities work together to complete the stage’s design.
“My relationship with the RSC’s Education Department has seen me collaborate with and learn from teachers, artists and school groups right across the country. Being brought up in the North West market town of Kendal, the opportunity to take Shakespeare’s farcical comedy to locations that feel like home is the perfect way to share one of Shakespeare’s earliest works.”
Jacqui O’Hanlon, RSC Director of Education, said: “At the heart of our First Encounters with The Comedy of Errors tour are the regional theatres and schools we are privileged to work in collaboration with to create it. Many of us have our first encounter with Shakespeare at school, an experience which can define our attitude to live theatre and to Shakespeare for all of our lives. Together with our partner theatres we bring the excitement and wonder of Shakespeare’s work right into the heart of schools and local communities. We know that audiences for this work include significant numbers who are new to Shakespeare and to theatre. And that 20% of returning audiences have had their first encounter with theatre through these tours is testament to the profound impact that partnerships between schools and theatres can have on local communities; partnerships forged out of a shared vision for education in which access to the arts plays a central part.”
This is Alex Thorpe’s RSC directing debut. He was an assistant director at the RSC between 2015-17, working on The Two Noble Kinsmen, Volpone and The Jew of Malta, and Associate Director between 2016-17, working on The Seven Acts of Mercy. As a director his work includes: Three Tales from Ovid by Amber Hsu (RSC), Frankie Vah by Luke Wright (Underbelly/Soho Theatre/ Paul Jellis Productions); Twelfth Night (Orange Tree Theatre); Metamorphosis (Little Angel Theatre); Lee Harvey Oswald (Finborough Theatre); The Break of Day (Manchester School of Theatre/Home, Manchester); The Suicide (Arts Ed) and Romeo and Juliet (RWCMD). Alex graduated from the Theatre Practice degree at the Central School of Speech and Drama and on the Theatre Directing Programme at Birkbeck College.
Other members of the creative team include: Amelia Hankin (Designer), Eamonn O’Dwyer (Music), Simon Pittman (Movement), Lisa Connell (Fights) and Edie Edmundson (Puppetry Director).
Members of the press are welcome to review the production from Wednesday 24 October 2018 onwards. Please contact Dean Asker to arrange tickets.
For further information please contact:
Dean Asker
RSC Press Office
01789 412660
dean.asker@rsc.org.uk
SCHEDULE
The schedule below will be updated on the RSC’s website with booking details as they become available
www.rsc.org.uk/first-encounters-the-comedy-of-errors/
STRATFORD-UPON-AVON/WARWICKSHIRE 16 Oct – 20 Oct 2018
Sydenham Primary School, Leamington Spa
Tuesday 16 October, 1.30pm (schools’ performance)
Newburgh Primary School, Warwick
Wednesday 17 October, 1.30pm (schools’ performance) and 6.30pm (public performance)
The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Friday 19 October, 10.15am and 2pm (public performances)
Saturday 20 October, 10.15am (public performance)
Box Office: 01789 403493, www.rsc.org.uk
WARWICKSHIRE/BIRMINGHAM 22 – 27 Oct 2018
Michael Drayton Junior School, Nuneaton
Monday 22 October – performance schedule TBC
Nelson Mandela Primary School, Birmingham
Tuesday 23 October, 1.30pm (schools’ performance) and 7pm (public performance)
Wednesday 24 October, 1.30pm (schools’ performance)
The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Thursday 25 October, 2pm (public performances)
Friday 26 October, 10.15am (public performance/relaxed performance)
Saturday 27 October, 10.15am (public performance)
Box Office: 01789 403493, www.rsc.org.uk
NORTHAMPTON/WARWICKSHIRE 30 Oct – 2 Nov 2018
Ecton Brook Primary School, Northampton
Tuesday 30 October – performance schedule TBC
Simon De Senlis Primary School, Northampton
Wednesday 31 October – performance schedule TBC
The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Thursday 1 November, 2pm (public performance)
Friday 2 November, 2pm (public performance)
Box Office: 01789 403493, www.rsc.org.uk
BLACKPOOL 6-10 Nov 2018
Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary School, Blackpool
Tuesday 6 November, 1pm (schools’ performance) and 7pm (public performance)
Hodgson High School, Poulton-le-Fylde
Wednesday 7 November, 1pm (schools’ performance)
The Grand Theatre, Blackpool
Thursday 8 November, 10am and 1.30pm (public performances)
Friday 9 November, 1.30pm and 7pm (public performances)
Saturday 10 November, 1.30pm (public performance)
Box Office: 01253 290190, www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk
MIDDLESBROUGH/BISHOP AUCKLAND 13-15 Nov 2018
Macmillan Academy, Middlesbrough
Tuesday 13 November, 1.15pm (schools’ performance), 7pm (public performance)
Wednesday 14 November, 1.15pm (schools’ performance), 7pm (public performance)
King James I Academy, Bishop Auckland
Thursday 15 November, 1.45pm (schools’ performance) and 7pm (public performance)
KENT 20 – 23 Nov 2018
Canterbury Academy
Wednesday 21 November – performance schedule TBC
King Ethelbert School, Birchington
Thursday 22 November, 1.30pm (schools’ performance), 7pm (public performance)
Towers School and Sixth Form Centre, Ashford
Friday 23 November - performance schedule TBC
HULL AND YORK 27-30 Nov 2018
St Mary’s College, Hull
Tuesday 27 November, 1.45pm (schools’ performance), 7pm (public performance)
York High School, York
Wednesday 28 November, 11.45am (schools’ performance), 7pm (public performance)
York Theatre Royal
Thursday 29 November, 1pm (schools’ performance), 7.30pm (public performance)
Friday 30 November, 10.30am (schools’ performance), 7.30pm (public performance)
Box Office: 01904 623568, www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
BRADFORD/STAFFORDSHIRE 3 – 7 Dec 2018
Bradford College, Bradford
Monday 3 December, 1.30pm (schools’ performance), 6.30pm (public performance)
Springhead Primary School, Stoke on Trent
Wednesday 5 December – 10.30am, 2pm (schools’ performances)
Thursday 6 December – 2pm (schools’ performance), 7pm (public performance)
Friday 7 December – 10.30am, 2pm (schools’ performances)
Notes to editors
About RSC Education
We encourage everyone to enjoy a lifelong relationship with Shakespeare and live theatre and through our Education work change the way that children and young people experience Shakespeare at school.
We build long term relationships with school, teachers and communities and particularly those who have the least access to Shakespeare, the RSC and cultural provision. Each year we reach over 530,000 young people in over 1,200 schools across the UK, inspiring children of all ages, backgrounds and abilities and ensuring that Shakespeare is for everyone.
Further information from: www.rsc.org.uk/education
We work in long term partnership with the following regional theatres:
The Grand Theatre, Blackpool
The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
The Marlowe, Canterbury
Hall for Cornwall, Cornwall
Hull Truck Theatre, Hull
Intermission Theatre
Theatre Royal, Newcastle upon Tyne
Nottingham Theatre Royal
Northern Stage
New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme
York Theatre Royal
The work of the RSC Education Department is generously supported by PAUL HAMLYN FOUNDATION, THE ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER FOUNDATION, THE POLONSKY FOUNDATION, THE ERNEST COOK TRUST and TAK ADVISORY LIMITED
The Royal Shakespeare Company creates theatre at its best, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world. We produce an inspirational artistic programme each year, setting Shakespeare in context, alongside the work of his contemporaries and today’s writers.
Everyone at the RSC - from actors to armourers, musicians to technicians - plays a part in creating the world you see on stage. All our productions begin life at our Stratford workshops and theatres and we bring them to the widest possible audience through our touring, residencies, live broadcasts and online activity. So wherever you experience the RSC, you experience work made in Shakespeare’s home town.
We have trained generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future. We encourage everyone to enjoy a lifelong relationship with Shakespeare and live theatre. We reach 530,000 children and young people annually through our education work, transforming their experiences in the classroom, in performance and online. Registered charity no. 212481 www.rsc.org.uk.
Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk
