Royal Shakespeare Theatre

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre stands beside the River Avon in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace in the English Midlands. The present building, completed in 2010, houses both the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the smaller Swan Theatre. It occupies the site of earlier memorial theatres, the first opened in 1879 after a campaign led by brewer Edward Fordham Flower and his son Charles Edward Flower. The 1932 Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, designed by Elisabeth Scott, became the first major British building by a woman architect. After a £112.8 million Transformation Project, the complex reopened in November 2010 with a thrust stage that brings actors within 15 metres of the furthest seat. The theatre is worth the journey because it preserves Shakespeare’s plays in their original staging conditions. The auditorium seats over 1,000 people on three sides of a thrust stage that projects into the audience. The project team, led by Peter Wilson OBE, included architects Bennetts Associates and theatre consultants Charcoalblue. An urn containing the ashes of actor Ian Richardson was placed in the auditorium foundations during renovation. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip officially opened the theatre in March 2011 with a performance of Romeo and Juliet. The project drew funding from private pledges, Arts Council England and a public campaign. Visitors find a riverside walk that passes the theatre towards Holy Trinity Church. Inside, the Rooftop Restaurant and Bar overlooks the Avon and Bancroft Gardens. A 36-metre tower offers views across Stratford-upon-Avon from its 32-metre platform. The PACCAR Room exhibition space and a new Riverside Café sit beside a colonnade linking the two theatres. The building is fully accessible, with lifts, accessible toilets on every level and tripled wheelchair spaces. The Swan Theatre, housed in the remains of the 1879 building, continues to stage its own productions.