Half of Royal Shakespeare Company’s Staff Eligible to Apply for Voluntary Redundancy

More than half of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 835 employees will be eligible to apply for voluntary redundancy amid the company's challenging financial situation

The Royal Shakespeare Company has released the following statement: 

The RSC is transforming so it is best placed to be a leading global theatre company that is part of local, national and international conversations that build connections, create opportunities and spark joy.

 But the conditions in which we operate have become tougher. Materials and energy and remain at an all-time high post-pandemic, the costs associated with employing staff have increased, and public investment continues to decline in real terms. And there are ever increasing demands on government spend in intensely challenging economic circumstances. 

Audiences, too, have less money to spend due to the cost-of-living crisis and we can’t expect box office alone to make up the shortfall.

To thrive – and to survive – the RSC needs to be more agile, resilient and sustainable. Our structure must enable our ambition, not impede it; we must be relentless in our pursuit of working as effectively and efficiently as possible; and we need to generate additional forms of income to invest in the creation of theatre and learning through theatre, which are our founding purpose.

The need to reduce our cost base is real and urgent. We have held vacancies for some months and wherever possible will continue to do so; and we are now offering as many of our staff as possible the opportunity to apply for voluntary redundancy. Alongside this, we are seeking to make operational efficiencies and to generate additional forms of income.

This is a challenging moment. But it is our duty – all of us, as custodians of the Royal Shakespeare Company for this time – to ensure that the RSC can bring people together through theatre for generations to come.

Andrew Leveson, Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey

Executive Director and Co-Artistic Directors of the RSC