RSC to embrace amateur performers

Every amateur theatre group in the UK is being invited to apply to ‘RSC Open Stages’ – a celebration of Shakespeare and live theatre being led by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), eight regional theatres and a number of organisations representing amateurs. The initiative will see amateur groups given professional support and new opportunities to perform their own Shakespeare themed productions. Successful applicants will become members of RSC Open Stages, receive marketing packs to help with publicity and recruiting for their performances, and be invited to attend regional events hosted by the participating regional theatres, where they can take part in workshops aimed at inspiring ideas for use in their productions. The eight participating regional theatres will then host showcases featuring performances of selected RSC Open Stages productions, and the initiative will culminate in a national showcase at the RSC’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon, to coincide with the Cultural Olympiad’s World Shakespeare Festival in 2012.

There are more than 5,000 amateur theatre groups in the UK, with over a million people taking part each year. RSC Artistic Director Michael Boyd said of the project: “I want the RSC to lead a step change in the relationship between professional theatre and the amateur sector… We have achieved such a change in our relationship with schools and teachers, with an extraordinary increase in the quantity and quality of collaborative work on Shakespeare with young people over the last 20 years. It’s time to make the same offer of collaboration to all those adults who share our obsession with live theatre.”

Partner theatres in the project include the National Theatre of Scotland, the Lyric Theatre Belfast, the Sage Gateshead, Contact Theatre Manchester, Hall for Cornwall, The Nuffield Theatre Southampton, the New Wolsey Ipswich and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. Partner amateur organisations include Voluntary Arts, National Operatic and Drama Association, the All England Theatre Festival, Little Theatre Guild, International Theatre Exchange, Drama Association of Wales, Scottish Community Drama Association, and The Bear Pit in Stratford-upon-Avon.