1879: The Royal Shakespeare Company

 

 

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre was originally called The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. A local brewer, Charles Flower, donated the land it would be built on and launched a campaign to build a theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. The Royal Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was opened in 1879. Flower also started the RSC Collection in 1879, a collection of Shakespearean and theatre memorabilia. It spans from the 1600s to the modern day and includes things like costumes, props, and artworks relating to Shakespeare and the different iterations of his works over the years. In 1913, the theatre took its first tour to the U.S. In 1926, the original theatre’s auditorium and stage was destroyed by a fire. The theatre would reopen in an adjacent site in 1932, and it was designed by Elisabeth Scott. In 1958, Stratford/London operations would begin after Aldwych Theatre is leased in London; these operations would eventually be moved to the Barbican, leased from the City of London, in 1982. In 1961, the Royal Shakespeare Company was founded, and the theatre was renamed the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. In 1974, a former storage / rehearsal room became The Other Place. A new The Other Place was built in the late twentieth century and opened in 1991, and an even newer The Other Place was opened in 2016, complete with a studio theatre, rehearsal rooms, and a costume store. The Swan Theatre was opened in 1986. It was created out of the shell of the 1879 theatre that burned down. Being built hundreds of years after Shakespeare died, the Theatre has no direct connections with him, but it’s an important part of Stratford and the plays they perform helps keep his legacy alive. 

Titus Andronicus at the Swan Theatre

The stage set for Titus Andronicus at the Swan Theatre

Hamlet Hail to the Thief at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre