NEW RSC IN DEVELOPMENT

Here is an artist's view of The Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres from the Bancroft Gardens. The Company’s 14-acre site on the banks of
the River Avon is at the heart of the RSC operations and the new theatre is scheduled to be finished in 2010. Shakespeare has been performed
for the last 200 years in Stratford and with £110m funding they are revamping the theatres and adding a courtyard style curtain-less stage.
We want to open up the theatre and improve its relationship with the town. At the moment, we have a building that can feel like a fortress with
its gates shut to visitors. At this outline stage of the design process, I’m confident that we’ve got a scheme that reflects the
RSC’s ambition to reach out and make Shakespeare fresh and relevant to a new generation.’ — RSC Chairman, Sir Christopher Bland

In the meantime, performances are being held in a temporary 1,000 seat auditorium on a car-park site (next to the Dirty Duck Pub - a favourite of locals and thespians for decades). If there's no performance on, you can always pop in to the Brass Rubbing centre behind the old theatre. Also, you can cross to the pretty park and children's playground on the rickety chain ferry that operates through the summer season.

The roving Hamlet House video boffin will be out and about in the New Year with some YouTube footage of the development as it progresses.

Related links: Here's a potted history of events in Shakespeare's life and subsequent building of the London and Stratford Theatres: Timeline of the Shakespeare Theatre