RSC announces BBC broadcast of THE WINTER’S TALE & live theatre returns to Stratford

Photo credit: Hugo Glendinning

As the one year anniversary of theatres closing due to the pandemic approaches, The Royal Shakespeare Company has revealed the opportunity to see two productions from its postponed 2020 season: The Winter’s Tale and The Comedy of Errors.

Directed by the RSC’s Deputy Artistic Director Erica Whyman, the filmed version of The Winter’s Tale has been re-rehearsed to adhere to strict safety measures, and brought to life with its original creative team on board. Set across 16 years, spanning the coronation to the moon landings, the production “imagines a world where the ghosts of Fascist Europe collide with horrors reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale”.

The adaptation will form part of Lights Up, the BBC’s unprecedented collection of plays for TV and Radio, and is hoped to air around Shakespeare’s birthday on BBC Four and later BBC iPlayer. After broadcast, The RSC will stream the production for its Subscribers, Members and Patrons outside the UK.

Phillip Breen will reconceive The Comedy of Errors, one of Shakespeare’s earliest and funniest works for outdoor performance to mark the opening of the newly created Garden Theatre. Further casting creative team details and information about the new space will be announced in April.

RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran says: “These have been and will continue to be challenging times, but we look forward with optimism... we’ve had extraordinary support, generosity and patience from our supporters and audiences which has been a great source of encouragement as we navigated the ups & downs of the year. Alongside our colleagues across the industry, we will play our part in the recovery of our towns and cities and the wellbeing of our communities, and we cannot wait to welcome audiences back”.