The Royal Shakespeare Theatre News

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) will mark Shakespeare's 450th Birthday with a free fireworks display outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon on the evening of Wednesday 23 April.

Casting is announced for Simon Godwin's production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona which opens in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon this July with a press night on Tuesday 22 July, before being broadcast live into cinemas worldwide, streamed into schools and transferring to Newcastle Theatre Royal.

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) will celebrate Shakespeare's 450th birthday this year with a spectacular firework display on Wednesday 23 April (Shakespeare's actual birthday). Later that week, on Saturday 26 April and as part of Stratford-upon-Avon's weekend-long annual Shakespeare Birthday Celebrations, the RSC will also offer a range of free family theatre activities.

As part of the 2014 centenary of The Great War, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is staging a new play, The Christmas Truce. Inspired by real events exactly 100 years ago, when soldiers along the Western Front left their trenches on Christmas Eve to meet their enemies in No Man's Land to talk, exchange gifts and play football, the play will draw on true stories of soldiers in the Warwickshire Regiment.

The Royal Shakespeare Company will tour Henry IV Parts I and II, Shakespeare's celebrated history plays, to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Norwich, Salford, Bradford, Bath and Canterbury between September - November 2014. The productions will take to the road after a season at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon between March - September 2014, and before playing at the Barbican in London between November 2014 - January 2015.

As part of a season marking the centenary of the First World War, Christopher Luscombe returns to the Royal Shakespeare Company to direct a single company of actors in a fresh pairing of two of Shakespeare's most sparkling comedies, set in the shadow of war.

The new musical, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter opens TONIGHT at the Sondheim Theatre on Broadway. Below - meet the cast!

Simon Paisley Day joins Richard Fleeshman and Jenna Russell in the cast of Urinetown, opening at St James Theatre this spring.

The new musical, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, about the early life and career of the legendary and groundbreaking singer/songwriter is currently in previews on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 West 43rd Street), following a critically acclaimed, sold-out World Premiere in San Francisco. An official opening night set for Sunday, January 12, 2014. Scroll down to learn more about the cast!

Music Box Theatre expands its Stage-to-Screen programming this winter, importing even more captured live stage performances from the UK than ever before. Additional programming includes a new collaboration with the UK's Royal Shakespeare Company kicking off December 7 and 18 with Richard II, starring Doctor Who's David Tennant, beamed from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

I recently sat down to chat with Jane Lapotaire in her dressing room at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre as she prepared for a matinee performance of Richard II. As we talked, Lapotaire chortled over a greeting card (sent by a long time actor friend) that featured a spotted pig wearing a crown. Lapotaire explained the joke: the pig was a Gloucester Old Spot--a sly reference to Lapotaire's role as the Duchess of Gloucester in the production of Richard II currently playing to sell-out crowds.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) production of William Shakespeare's RICHARD II with David Tennant in the title role opened last night to rave reviews. The production will be shown across the US and Canada from today, December 3, 2013 to January 2, 2014 as the premiere broadcast of 'Live from Stratford-upon Avon,' a program that will screen RSC productions from Shakespeare's home town around the world.

John Hegley and Sara Pascoe are joined by Byron Vincent and Hollie McNish in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon on Sunday 9 February 2014 for an evening of poetry, comedy and music.

Casting is announced for Gregory Doran's productions of Henry IV Parts I & II which play in repertoire in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon from March 2014 with a double press day on Wednesday 16 April, before transferring to Newcastle Theatre Royal, embarking on a UK tour and transferring to London's Barbican.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) production of William Shakespeare's RICHARD II with David Tennant was screened across the U.K. last Wednesday, November 13th. The production was seen by more than 60,000 people in 364 cinemas across the U.K., generating more than £1 million ($1.6 million) in box office receipts, including the more than 20,000 people who booked tickets for upcoming screenings.

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) previously announced that it is collaborating with Picturehouse Entertainment on 'Live from Stratford-upon-Avon', a new programme to screen its productions live from Shakespeare's home town, and will work with Ravensbourne College to stream the production straight to UK schools.

This November the Royal Shakespeare Company launches two new free public exhibitions, open from 10am daily at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The Barbican today announced a stellar program of events for spring and summer 2014, pushing the boundaries of all major art forms for its diverse audiences. This new program builds on the most successful year ever for the Barbican, with attendances for events at the Centre exceeding 1 million for the first time, an increase of 36% on 2011/12. In this Olympics year, box office receipts also rose 33%, and the Barbican's commercial income increased by 35%.

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the Artistic Direction of Diane Paulus, iwill present the second production of the 2013/14 Season: David Farr's The Heart of Robin Hood, directed by Gisli Örn Gardarsson, to begin performances Wednesday, December 11, 2013 at the Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge. The production runs through Sunday, January 19, 2014.

As the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) opens Gregory Doran's production of Richard II and embarks on its six year journey to perform every one of Shakespeare's 36 plays, the Company reports a strong performance for the last financial year (2012/13) in its Annual Review, published at this afternoon's AGM.