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The RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) has announced details of a sweeping programme of change which will have major implications for its artists, staff and audiences. The measures have been designed to reshape the organisation, and thereby secure its long term future, making it more agile, flexible and less institutional.
Under the new proposals, the RSC will place more emphasis on performances, and less on building and theatre management, particularly in London. The organisation?s current structure, under which a company of actors creates a season of plays which transfer annually from Stratford to Newcastle to London, will change radically. The new model will involve a number of smaller RSC companies opening plays throughout the year at a wider variety of performance spaces and locations. In London this will mean more plays in a wider range of venues, more premières, and a presence in the West End.

At the Barbican Centre, where the RSC has been the resident theatre company since 1982, discussions are taking place to redefine the relationship with the company. The RSC currently employs around 85 employees in London and the majority are involved in running the Barbican and Pit Theatres on behalf of the Barbican Centre. Commenting on the proposals, the Barbican?s Artistic Director Graham Sheffield said: ?I look forward to a new relationship with the RSC and to collaborating with them to maximise the freedom, flexibility and quality of the programme in the Barbican Theatre. These changes promise similar benefits for the Barbican as the release of the summer period in 1998, which enabled us to launch our own BITE international theatre season. At the same time, we look forward to maintaining the co-operation between the two organisations which has so recently been exemplified by our joint presentation of ?Tantalus??.

An integral part of the RSC?s new proposals will be the redevelopment of the Company?s Stratford-upon-Avon base, with the creation of more flexible performance spaces and improved facilities for visitors. The Arts Council of England has already earmarked £50m for the project, with a further £50m required in matching funding. A feasibility study on the redevelopment is underway and will report in the autumn. Job losses of between 50-60 are anticipated amongst the more than 500 strong team in Stratford.

The company is continuing its commitment to touring in the UK regions. Currently 69 per cent of its UK performances take place in theatres outside of London, in schools, community and leisure centres, as well as in theatres.

There are also plans for the further development of international partnerships, especially in the United States where a five-year partnership with the University of Michigan is already in place and relationships with performance venues on both the East and West coasts are currently being negotiated.

The new plans are intended to appeal to actors and directors with a package which includes shorter contracts and more attractive pay and conditions for actors, as well as programming of both new and classical plays. As part of the package of proposals for artists, the RSC is planning the launch of a new Academy in Stratford-upon- Avon, for training the next generation of classical actors. The Academy will recruit actors at the start of their careers and expose them to the very best talent in classical theatre through a programme of intensive training which will end with a Shakespeare production.

The Arts Council of England (ACE), the RSC?s principal funder, has welcomed the broad thrust of the company?s plans, and expressed its support for any proposals which will produce an even stronger programme of artistic excellence delivered regionally as well as in Stratford and in London. ACE will be presented with more detailed proposals for its strategy for change during the summer, after which it will assess what level of financial support it will provide through its Stabilisation Programme.

New Writing at the RSC: see page 5