The RSC Key celebrates 10,000 members

Hello to all of our RSC Key members! We hope you're keeping warm with lots of hot chocolate and by dreaming of summer with our Summer 14 productions. Here at the RSC we're very excited as the RSC Key recently celebrated reaching 10,000 members. Our latest blog post comes from one of our Marketing Interns, Ryan Brown, who tells us all about helping with a press photo call with our lucky 10,000th member.

Having undertaken a six month work placement in the RSC’s marketing department, it is very exciting to be working as a part of the RSC Key, especially when the RSC Key recently celebrated its 10,000th member. This prestigious title was awarded to 21 year old Hannah Cammock from Stratford-upon-Avon. Lucky Hannah won a bag full of RSC Key goodies (including a pretty sweet notebook and mug) as well as tickets to see the fantastic Wendy & Peter Pan!

Hannah also got to have an exclusive photo shoot outside of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (the turmoil of being a Key celebrity, eh?) as part of an article for the Stratford Herald. When Lucy (Marketing Assistant and manager of the RSC Key) and I met Hannah, she was over the moon and hugely excited about being the 10,000th RSC Key member. She couldn’t stop laughing when she saw her companion for the photo shoot: our giant Key.

Hannah Cammock (L) with Lucy Dwyer (R)

 

When asked for a quote from the Stratford Herald, Hannah said the following:

"As a theatre lover I’m thrilled to be the 10,000^th member of the RSC Key.  I joined the RSC Key because I think it’s a great opportunity to introduce more young people to the arts and especially the Royal Shakespeare Company. Personally for myself, it is an affordable way to see upcoming performances, and I’m hoping to try and see everything this year."

We'll hold you to that, Hannah!

Hannah Cammock

The day was a really rewarding experience for everyone involved. Being a part of RSC Key history was very exciting - who would have thought we would reach 10,000 members since it started in 2010? It shows you that young people want to see theatre (and want £5 tickets!) and who knows, hopefully we will be celebrating our 20,000^th Key member soon.

If you have friends that are aged 16-25 and are still not a member of the RSC Key then what are you waiting for?! Get them to join online for FREE today - and read the published article in the Stratford Herald here.

Ryan Brown

Happy New Year from the RSC Key

We'd like to wish all of our RSC Key members a Happy New Year and to say thank you to those of you who came to our Christmas Pub Quiz in December. It was wonderful to see so many of you there enjoying yourselves and, although it was extremely close, we’d like to give a huge congratulations to the winning team The Tiny Foxes! Our latest blog post comes from one of our Marketing Interns, Sian Bateman, who gives us the lowdown on the event.

As an intern in the Marketing Department at the RSC, you wouldn’t believe the variety of tasks and experiences I encounter week on week. As part of my individual project with The RSC Key, I was invited to attend the pub quiz at The Dirty Duck - an exclusive event for RSC Key members! The thought of drink, free nibbles and some challenging trivia was something I just couldn’t resist - oh, the hard life of an intern!

Some last minute equipment testing and the placement of some RSC Key sweets (Tutti Fruity) upon the tables meant we were raring to go; now all we needed was some theatre enthusiasts. Within about a minute the empty Duck was filled with Shakespeare supporters and pub quiz lovers alike, great start! The thing I enjoyed most about this event was the atmosphere created with just a few RSC staff, a microphone and plenty of RSC Key members. The cheer when the ‘Shakespeare Round’ was announced just proved how relevant Shakespeare’s theatre is, even now, and I was encouraged to see how much enjoyment can be gained from a shared interest.

Now I must apologise to the RSC Key members for the 200+ photos I took that evening, I got a little snap happy when handed a very nifty piece of equipment (oops).

In addition to the pub quiz, some of our members took part in vox pops and were interviewed about their thoughts on the RSC Key. It was amazing to hear all the positive reviews and feedback on a scheme I’ve been assisting with for the last month, which, for me, makes it so much more worth my effort.

I’d like to thank everyone that attended our event as I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope you did too, I can’t wait for the next RSC Key event to be announced! In the meantime, check out our gallery of photos from the evening.

Until next time!

Sian Bateman

Intern? Our turn!

Here in the RSC Marketing department, our current set of fantastic interns are coming to the end of their time with us, so we thought it would be a good idea for each of them to write a blog post giving an insight into the nitty gritty life of an RSC Marketing Intern. Intern? Our turn! comes from Eve Parker.

Eve Parker

I’m nearing the end of my internship with the Marketing Department here at the RSC and still busy as ever! For those that aren’t sure quite what marketing entails, you’d be surprised how much we do! Right now I am in the middle of updating our Pinterest site, sending off mail to our new RSC Key members, and writing an application for The Industry Wedding Awards. That, of course, is only one afternoon out of many over the course of my internship, and the experiences I have had have been varied. From the glamorous and exciting (think free lunches to ‘greet’ the new acting companies once they arrive in Stratford, or sneak previews of sets for upcoming shows featuring a certain Mr Tennant), to the everyday chores (rehanging 7ft posters in the freezing cold and rain, and LOTS of carrying boxes!) I’m constantly learning more about the department and the company in general.

The Marketing internship is great because you are in the office once a week for 6 months, meaning that you get to see how things run over a full season. There’s a certain thrill from seeing work you’ve done come to life. It was somewhat surreal to finally see the costumes worn by the actors onstage in ‘A Mad World My Masters’ after uploading the designs onto the website a few months previously!

As well as assisting with the day-to-day running of the department, each intern is given their own project to work on over the course of the internship. I am a bit of a wedding nerd so was handed over to Lucy our Hires Manager, and have had great fun helping her come up with new ways to promote our Wedding & Civil Ceremonies service. It was a complete pleasure and honour to then help out on a couple’s Big Day, you can definitely see all the hard work pay off!

I’ll be sad to end my time here in our Chapel Lane offices, but I’ve still got a lot to do before I’m done and I’ll be sure to make the most of it. For now though I’m back to my to-do list, and it seems that I can tick off job number 4: ‘Write Blog Post’!

Eve Parker

As You Like It
Directed by Maria Aberg

Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Until 28^th September

Reviewed on the 18^th April 2013 by Luke Taylor age 18

Wrestling, lust, music! What’s not to love about Aberg’s As You Like It. A performance abounding in naughty references, Shakespeare’s As You Like It does not disappoint. The RSC’s bravura performance questions As You Like It’s reputation of being an uncompleted version of 12^TH Night.  Aberg successfully modernises the traditional comedy but still maintains the sexual ambiguity in a haughty rendition, which leaves the audience falling in love with the idyllic forest of Arden.

From the tragedy-esque beginning that leaves the audience on the edge of their seat to the perfect party ending, As You Like It fires on all cylinders. This capricious court features a monotonous heartbeat thumping as the gallant Orlando finds himself successfully beating the wrestler Charles. In comparison to the idyllic forest of Arden where liberation occurs as they ‘fleet the time carelessly’, and through all of this Aberg’s directing is unmistakably successful.  Her interpretation of the capricious court in which Rosalind and Celia find themselves creates unnerving tension as the stage lights create an emphatic effect. This effect is used throughout the court scenes and creates an unnerving aura, making the audience relate to the protagonist’s want to escape Duke Fredrick’s despot. Heroine Rosalind is then banished by Duke Fredrick but not before she has stolen Orlando’s heart in what the audience determines as love at first sight. Rosalind and Celia then go in disguises of Ganymede and Aliena, apt names for the sexual antics that take place in forest. Love struck Orlando then follows suit after agreeing to take perennial servant Adam along with him. It is at this point that the stage is transformed from the repressive court to the magical, idyllic forest of Arden, where characters experience liberation.

The staging really is very impressive as the audience find themselves in a hippy camp where characters in essence compete against nature for survival. Celia from here on in takes much more of a back seat which is a shame as her quirky nature evokes much laughter. Orlando and Rosalind are then reunited, however with Rosalind dressed as Ganymede, which results in Rosalind being able to test her lover through wit, wordplay and repartee. Through this relationship both characters explore sexuality with continuous support from the clown Touchstone, much to the amusement of the audience.  We are then introduced to varying amounts of mis fit characters that each experience their own trials in the forest. The play, with out spoiling too much, ends, as is typical of a comedy endings, happily.

A special mention must be made to the director of the music Laura Marling. While the set design is incredible, it is complemented by the songs, which heavily feature the play.  Other productions that I have watched have interrupted the songs in a very rustic way with a single acoustic guitar and a sombre voice. Marling completely reinvents this tradition by having a full folk-like band performing songs, which the audience can’t help but join in with.  Marling’s melodies instil this idyllic view of the forest and further this feel good vibe that makes the play so enjoyable.

To conclude if you would like an easy watch, where your not afraid to laugh at the numerous sexual innuendos, that ends on an uplifting, happy note I couldn’t recommend a better play. Aberg has done an excellent interpretation of a play that has the potential to be quite repetitive and therefore deserves to be extolled.

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The Winter’s Tale reminds us how much we need Theatre

The Winter's Tale
Directed by Lucy Bailey
On UK tour from 13 March - 20 April

Review by Jake McBride

Things have certainly been quite wintry for the Arts lately as the cuts continue to bite and theatres across the country lose out on funding. The gap between rich and poor looks as wide as ever and with the highs of 2012 over, there doesn’t seem to be as much to celebrate.

What better opportunity, then, but to sit back and bask in The Winter’s Tale, a play that reminds us just how much we need stories and theatre, even more so when times are tough. What the government perhaps doesn’t realise is that the harder the times are, we need theatre more than ever, not less, and Shakespeare’s play provides the perfect lesson in teaching us how art is equally capable of creating life, as life is of making art. Resolutely defying the realistic and all barriers of time, it takes us into a world of magic and romance, music and dance, thunderous oracles and stormy seas, sheep-shearing and man-eating bears. It broadly opens up the possibilities of theatre, and in turn, the possibilities of our imagination, offering us the chance to meet “with things newborn”.

Director Lucy Bailey certainly rises to that challenge with the RSC’s latest production. She is all too aware that The Winter’s Tale is exactly the sort of theatre that’s needed for hard times, grounding her production in two kingdoms that are separated primarily by class. Set in the 1860’s, the play begins with the rich Pre-Raphaelite Sicilia, before moving to a Bohemia as an industrial Lancashire sea resort sixteen years later. But the luxurious veneer of Sicilia is deceiving; it’s not long before the colourful and exotic rugs that had warmed the stage during the first act are swept away and a stark, distinctly chilling atmosphere pervades the theatre, particularly through the screen that acts as the visual backdrop of the set. Prisoners bound and gagged are thrown down along the gangways while an executioner stands ominously, sword in hand, at the centre of the stage. Leontes (played by Jo Stone-Fewings), struck seemingly from nowhere by a deep suspicion that his wife (Tara Fitzgerald) is having an affair with his friend Polixenes (Adam Levy), lets his jealousy turn him into a tyrant, destroying his closest relationships and the idyllic lifestyle they had built and shared together.

It’s not among the rich that happiness and a passion for life is to be found. The shepherds (or rather, fishermen, as they are here) of Bohemia don’t have much but they certainly make the most of it. The stage comes alive with Morris dancing, accordion-playing and Pearce Quigley as the pedlar Autolycus, swindling as many laughs from the audience through his dry delivery as he does purses from unsuspecting pockets. It’s a place free from the bitterness and envy of government, and even when Polixenes temporarily spoils the fun, it’s only after he has been pushed through a sewer and had his clothes soiled. The harsh realities of the world are never completely brushed to one side – the penitential figure of Leontes remains visible throughout, stuck at the top of a magnificent tower rising out of the stage, brilliantly designed by William Dudley. Yet the figure of Perdita (Emma Noakes) brings him back down to earth and reconciles both worlds, rich and poor, restoring warmth to what was cold before. The play ends by quite literally bringing art to life before our eyes, showing us humanity in all its fullness and how important it is that, unlike Leontes, we never lose sight of that.

Like the holidaying shepherds, the play offers only a brief respite from the pressures of work and reality, but it brings a ray of sunshine back into our everyday lives to help dispel the wintry gloom and offer hope of new things. Even at a time when little money is going around, Bailey’s production of The Winter’s Tale in particular shows us that it’s not money we need in order to have a good time and to tell a great story. All you have to do, as Paulina says, is “awake your faith” and be prepared to resolve yourself “For more amazement”.

The Winter's Tale is on UK tour from 13 March 2013

Photos courtesy of RSC, Sheila Burnett

A Life of Galileo

Bertolt Brecht, translated by Mark Ravenhill. 

Directed by Roxana Silbert 

Swan Theatre,

Until 30 March 2013

 

Reviewed on 13th February 2013 by Alice Leake age 24

A Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht, translated by Mark Ravenhill.  Directed by Roxana Silbert at the RSC Swan Theatre, 13th February 2013.

The current RSC season takes a look at what else was going on in the world during Shakespeare’s lifetime, A Life of Galileo is the Italian input into this “World Elsewhere” theme. The play is in essence a debate between scientific logic and religious faith.  An enjoyable, light hearted and humorous script devised by Mark Ravenhill and Roxana Silbert’s lively direction have the audience captivated from the word go.  Galileo believes that fact based research and development is key to human advancement, whereas the church considers these issues less important than giving people a purpose in life, as faith does.  The church argues that science irresponsibly draws us away from humanity by quashing religions legitimacy, thereby leaving humans on a par with animals.  With debates on issues such as IVF, abortion and euthanasia constantly in and out of the headlines, this question of science’s social responsibility resonates with modern day audiences.  The majority of people in Britain accept that science is factual and those that are religious generally come to terms with this by marrying the two together.  However, in America there are still schools that teach religion in science lessons, so the idea “God created the world, Adam and Eve and everything we see” is readily received as fact.  A Life of Galileo dramatises this debate by focusing on Galileo’s struggle to publish work that would contradict biblical teachings on the cosmos.  After evading the church’s powerful autonomy for years, he is eventually branded a heretic, caught and forced to recant his findings.  This plot proves extremely interesting.  Viewing Galileo’s personal story gives the play depth and we learn about the origins of scientific theories we now take for granted.   

Mark Ravenhill has translated Brecht’s play wonderfully, it is witty and engaging and he has given director Roxana Silbert the means to create a production that feels fresh and playful.  The direction is full of contrasts that keep the audience on their toes - one moment involving them directly, the next leaving them a fly on the wall.  We get off to a brilliant start as actor Ian McDiarmid (Galileo) introduces the first scene through a large red microphone; his booming voice is accompanied by LED light strips that flash the key words above the stage and along the balconies, a real credit to lighting designer Rick Fisher.  This method of introducing new scenes was repeated by other members of the cast throughout the play and was crucial to the audiences understanding as the modern and abstract sets did little to convey a time and place.  However, this is not a criticism, designer Tom Scutt has done the production justice by allowing the audience room for imagination.  The visual impact of large sheets of bright blue graph paper cascading down from the orchestra balcony left a strong first impression on entering the theatre and his modern costumes complimented the show by helping the audience to keep the play’s contemporary connotations in mind. 

In terms of execution Jodie McNee (Galileo’s daughter) was excellent.  In the scene where she waited to hear if her father would recant, her frantic prayers had many of the audience fighting back tears.  Philip Whitchurch’s performance also stood out, his comic timing was superb as ever.  In one scene, Whitchurch compelled the audience to enjoy the surreal onslaught of a song that had the cast raucously stomping around the stage in bizarre makeup and costumes, bouncing on gym balls and wheeling hoola-hoops crying “who doesn’t want to be their own master”.   The real genius of this piece though, was the scintillating performance of Ian McDiarmid as Galileo.  At times he was full of dry wit, mischievous and petulant but as the play progressed and the church began to persecute Galileo, he showed a man whose spirit had been broken but not lost its rambunctious core.  I was deeply impressed by his surprising and charismatic performance, throughout the play he undulated with a turbulence of emotions that brought the character to life and enchanted the audience.  His acting actually over shadowed a few of the other performers who seemed a little over rehearsed in comparison.

However, overall this play really delivered.  The RSC have managed to create a Galileo that the audience can relate to, a thought provoking and touching interpretation that at times had the audience on the edge of their seat.  This, plus lashings of theatrics made for a deliciously entertaining show that should not be missed.  You can catch it in Stratford-Upon-Avon from now until the 30th March.

We asked you on Twitter and Facebook what you would like to ask an actor. Lots of you replied with fantastic questions and you can see Thomas's replies below -

I was asked to answer some questions. When I was asked, I said, “Okay. But please, I don’t want to come across as some know- it- all actor who’s full of anecdotes. I know nowt really. So I’ve answered these as honestly and sometimes as naively as my first thought after reading them…

How did you get a role in an RSC production?
I was on a Scottish beach with my parents and our dog. Agent rang. I bombed it down to London dead quick. I read the play and learnt a bit from Act Three of Merry Wives, the bit where Simple finds Falstaff in the pub. I met with Philip Breen, the director and Helena Palmer, the casting director. It was all really relaxed and we had a bit of a laugh. At that point, I was unaware I’d also be auditioning for The Mouse and his Child but I did, a couple of days later. That audition was in the same room, with Paul Hunter and Helena Palmer. Paul and I had a conversation but I wasn’t allowed to use the letter ‘P’. That was a good indication of what the following fourteen weeks would be like! 

It's common knowledge it's a difficult business, and that it takes time, commitment and courage to succeed. On the 'not so good days' or after auditions which maybe didn't go so well, How do you pick yourself up and re-motivate yourself?
As long as you’re prepared, polite and passionate then pretty much everything else is out of your hands. So much is down to an image in a director’s head. There are loads of extraneous factors which can determine whether you get the job or not. If you do your best, it’s so often not about ability. That’s a comfort because there’s very little you can do about the other things.

Did you find it a daunting (as well as exciting!) prospect to be working with the RSC?
Aye. It was peculiar though because I have nothing to compare it to. It was all a whirlwind for about the first month. It’s a really welcoming, accommodating and exciting place to be. Everyone- the cast and crew, the lasses in the green room, Tony the tour guide- are proper salt of the Earth folk. I’ve learnt something new every day.
How do you go about learning the iambic pentameter rhythm with the hope of it eventually being instinctive and not having to think about it?

I always remember that Shakespeare isn’t meant to be read, it’s meant to spoken and heard. So Shakespeare wrote in a way which made it accessible for his actors to speak with as much ease as possible. It mimics the way we speak naturally. There aren’t any rules to Shakespeare. That’s important. Don’t let it bog you down. The iambic and all that other stuff has never really got me all worried because it’s all there to help and not hinder. How Shakespeare writes, it offers a tool kit to the actor. It allows us information on the emotion of the character, the purpose of the speech- you know, all that nitty gritty acting stuff, it’s all there- weaved in the words and the structure. It’s about a positive mind. Don’t be afraid of it. Don’t just read it off the page because then it’s very easy for it all to be minimised. They aren’t just words. They are human emotions. So what do they do to your body? How do they make you feel? Get up and move. Tap the rhythm on a surface. Beat it out with your feet.  It’ll be interesting which words fall on the beat and the possibilities it opens as an actor. Use what’s written and then be creative. It’s a collaboration between Shakespeare and you, the person who’s embodying his words.

How has performing with the RSC affected your work/work ethic?
Coming straight out of drama school, I’m still in the habit of getting up early and doing all them warm up exercises and stuff. Some aspects, a lot of aspects have been really familiar. What’s interesting is the fact that I’m working with people- and they might hate to read this- that are old enough to be my parents. Drama school’s not like that, yeah, there’s a span of ages but on the whole there’s a lot of early to middle twenty year olds. So that’s a nice dynamic, working with these people who’ve got CVs as long as a basketball player’s arms. The Mouse and his Child has been a lot of playing, dossing about with balls and bric-a-bric in a room in Clapham. These are grown men and women, with mortgages and kids and weekly ASDA shops and all that stuff. They are big kids- talented, creative people who’ve never lost the three year old version of themselves and the work that attitude produces is awesome. There’s something about that which is really inspiring.

Which Shakespeare role as he found the most challenging role to perform so far and which is his favorite one to perform if different?

I’ve barely played any. I did Polixenes in The Winter’s Tale at drama school. It’s a fantastic play. It was a situation where I wasn’t cast perfectly. I mean, Polixenes is meant to be this sophisticated, powerful charming gent. However hard I tried I was still this gangly nineteen year old, incapable of growing facial hair. It makes me laugh that Leontes is paranoid that Polixenes is having an affair with his wife Hermione. There wasn’t a hope in hell that the girl playing Hermione would’ve found me any more attractive than a little brother with a snotty nose. Anyway, it was a good experience. I’d like to play the clown character in that play, the Shepherd’s son. I’d also like to have a crack at Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Fool in King Lear. Iago from Othello has always interested me, especially if it was in a production like Frantic Assembly’s at the Lowry in Manchester about four years ago.  As a young man, I’m drawn to Hamlet. In the same tormented- young man –way, I’ve always wanted to play Giovanni in ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. That’s not Shakespeare, it’s John Ford. Proper good play. I started to read Shakespeare’s sonnets a bit back. They’re superb. They are like verses from a rap song. I’d love to have the opportunity to bring them to life.

To a young person who dreams of becoming an actor but doesn't know what sort of training to pursue - what would you advise?

I only know one sort. I went to drama school. Of course there’re other ways of going about it but speaking completely personally, I really doubt I’d be with the RSC if it wasn’t for drama school. I knew no-one. No casting people, no directors. Not even the names of many theatres. Drama school was a way of channeling all this energy I had as a boisterous, naïve, eyes wide open puppy from the hills of Lancashire in to various tools I could use. It gave me the opportunity to meet people too, that’s invaluable.

What is his LEAST favourite Shakespeare. The one he'd tell Shakespeare not to write if he could?

To be fair, I don’t know enough to make a proper answer. I’d say though that in every single Shakespeare play there are elements which are politically, socially and  emotionally forceful. I mean, look at The Merry Wives of Windsor. It has a bit of a reputation of being hastily put together at the request of the queen and all that. There aren’t many thesis written on that play like there are about Hamlet or Lear. However, it’s a play about families, masculinity, racism and airs and graces in suburbia. It’s not too unlike a sitcom. It might be a bit of a leap in comparison but I reckon it’s voyeuristic in the same way as Made in Chelsea and all that clap trap is popular at the moment. It’s a peep in to the workings of relationships. It’s reality. So yeah, at first it doesn’t seem very intellectual and perhaps it isn’t, I don’t know, but it offers something. They all do. All his pieces do. Well, the one’s I’ve read and seen do.

Read Thomas's other blog for the RSC Key below or his other RSC blogs here

You can also follow Thomas Pickles on Twitter @thomas_pickles_

Images
Thomas Pickles and Anita Dobson in The Merry Wives of Windsor photo by Pete Le May and Thomas Pickles and the cast of The Mouse and his Child photo by Keith Pattison.