RSC brings unknown plays to London in 'the most daring project for years'
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Your support makes all the difference.Two West End producers have brought the troubled Royal Shakespeare Company back to London for the most adventurous season of plays seen in the capital's Theatreland.
The plays, written in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, are rarely performed and include such works as The Malcontent by John Marston, a revenge comedy, and The Island Princess by John Fletcher, a Jacobean swashbuckler. Without the help of the commercial producers, the RSC would not have been able to bring the plays to London, where it no longer has a permanent home.
Last night, one of the company's biggest stars, Sir Antony Sher, attacked the RSC management for leaving its home at the Barbican without finding a replacement. The RSC's annual report released yesterday showed no signs of the financial troubles easing. The deficit is £2.4m, an increase of £1m in the past 12 months. In the report, the RSC chairman, Lord Alexander of Weedon, admitted mistakes, saying that a season at the Roundhouse in London had failed to bring in the audience from the Barbican. He said: "Crucially, we must respect and listen carefully to our core audiences who regularly attend the RSC."
The five plays begin at the Gielgud Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue tomorrow night. The two producers, Bill Kenwright and Thelma Holt, have agreed to mount the season, understood to cost close to £1m. The plays have been performed in a sell-out season at the Swan theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon; but presenting unknown works with few big-name performers in London is a daring project.
Ms Holt has insisted that all 28 performers have flu injections, because understudies cannot be afforded. Every actor is on the same wage for the eight-week season.
The discontent within the RSC was illustrated when Sir Antony told The Independent that the decision to leave the Barbican was "utterly stupid". He said: "This is a massive and amazing venture, and I'm proud to be a part of it. The RSC couldn't have brought us into London. They were ditching us. We were about to be the first casualty of the utterly stupid decision to lose our London home. The RSC does need to be in London. I am sure we will soon see all of those bad decisions reversed under the new artistic director, Mike Boyd."
The RSC actors appealed to Ms Holt to help to stage the works. She in turn is understood to have asked Mr Kenwright and he is believed to be putting up most of the money. Ms Holt said: "We need to have the RSC ensemble in London. This is undoubtedly the most daring project to have been put on in Shaftesbury Avenue for years."
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