Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, Co-artistic directors of the RSC look back on 2024 – and forward to this year.
THE year 2024 has seen our first season of work as co-artistic directors of the RSC. It’s such a privilege to welcome audiences to our theatres, many of whom, we know, are loyal theatregoers from the Stratford area.
We really appreciate your support and feedback. It’s also been wonderful to collaborate with some of the most exciting people working in theatre today.
Kyoto. Photos: Manuel Harlan
There were so many highlights, including the joyful The Buddha of Suburbia, which played this autumn at the Barbican in the capital, and the thrilling climate-change drama, Kyoto (about to open at Soho Place in the West End), both having begun in the Swan Theatre. Tamara’s Pericles played to packed houses, again in the Swan, before heading to Chicago to fly the flag for the RSC across the Atlantic. A hysterical Merry Wives had audiences in stitches during the summer months and The Red Shoes and Twelfth Night have been delighting young and old this festive season.
Samantha Spiro and John Hodgkinson in Merry Wives
Alongside the work on our stages, we’re passionate about developing new audiences and making theatre accessible to everyone. Our creative learning and engagement work continues to reach over half a million young people every year, and one of the most inspiring parts of our job so far has been visiting young people up and down the country, from Hartlepool to Newquay, and hearing them speak with eloquence and passion about all that Shakespeare means to them.
We’ve also been inspired by the work of artists and companies across Stratford who make the town such a special place to live, work and go to school in. We’re excited by the potential of a new arts and culture strategy for the town and look forward to continuing to collaborate on its development.
Pericles at the Swan
2025 promises even more theatrical magic. Daniel has just started rehearsals for Marlowe’s Edward II, and we can’t wait for Rupert Goold’s production of Hamlet, featuring a stellar cast led by Luke Thallon, Nancy Carroll and Jared Harris. Both will open next month. And in June audiences can experience Hamlet Hail to the Thief, where Shake-speare’s great tragedy will collide with Radiohead’s seminal album for what promises to be an unmissable theatrical experience.
Before any of that though, we’re hugely excited to be announcing our next season of shows at the end of this month, which will see Shakespeare sitting alongside new plays, classics, and a very special new Christmas show. Keep an eye out for details.
In the meantime, we wish you a Happy New Year, and we look forward to seeing you at the theatre very soon.