4,596 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Apr 25, 2022 12:15:03 GMT
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1,093 posts
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Apr 25, 2022 12:19:11 GMT
Someone who understands the practicalities of running a building is as essential as artistic vision.
There are two theatres in London that appointed young talented directors as ADs and it backfired massively (one was recently fired, the other is likely not going to last long) because while they are very good at directing plays, they just aren’t up to the boring grunt work of running a building. I can’t remember the details, but didn’t a former NT AD once say that being an AD was all about bins and loos?
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6,326 posts
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Post by Jon on Apr 25, 2022 12:19:57 GMT
There was talk that Greg and Tony would possibly apply as a duo when Greg was in the running to get the role when he did or the time before. The more I think about it Erica as a long serving deputy must be clear favourite for the role. But maybe they do need to go for a younger person Peter Hall was only 30 when he started the company, Trevor Nunn was only 28 when he took over, Terry Hands was younger than Erica is now when he left the job after many years. I personally thought Greg should have got them job after Adrian Noble but Michael Boyd got the job and he was tasked with reducing the defecit which was over £2.5 million. Michael always seemed more like an producer type AD with Greg and others being the more active directors. Michael was there when Matilda was premiered and so created the RSC a great revenue stream. Greg like Erica I do wonder if they did their better work when Deputy AD and then when they get the top job after a few years they just go a bit stale. If you wanted an actor/director would Michelle Terry be an option as she is the Globe AD so knows Shakespeare well and has strong links to the company. But would she be able to run the company/direct and act or would she have to maybe step back largely frm the performing side? There is a tendency nowadays not to hire anyone too young. Indeed, the only youngish AD I think of off the top of my head is Paul Taylor Mills at the Turbine and The Other Palace although Michelle Terry was in her late 30s when he got the Globe AD role. I find it interesting that Gregory Doran did very little if anything outside of the RSC, I don't think he's done anything for the National for example whereas Nunn did plenty of non RSC work.
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6,326 posts
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Post by Jon on Apr 25, 2022 12:25:55 GMT
Someone who understands the practicalities of running a building is as essential as artistic vision. There are two theatres in London that appointed young talented directors as ADs and it backfired massively (one was recently fired, the other is likely not going to last long) because while they are very good at directing plays, they just aren’t up to the boring grunt work of running a building. I can’t remember the details, but didn’t a former NT AD once say that being an AD was all about bins and loos? I think running a building or even just a production company can put you in good steed for the bigger jobs. Rupert Goold for example ran Headlong for 8 years and while that's not building base, it does give you an understanding how to programme work that can be successful.
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1,846 posts
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Post by NeilVHughes on Apr 25, 2022 12:35:18 GMT
Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr at the Bridge and previously the National make a great team.
Do we maybe expect too much, SRB with an experienced Producer / Administrator would be an interesting choice, only caveat is these relationships develop naturally rather than than through recruitment.
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5,592 posts
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Post by lynette on Apr 25, 2022 12:35:46 GMT
There is an exec director at the RSC for running the building. I don’t think the AD has to worry about the toilets…..( same at NT) …more’s the pity….
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6,326 posts
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Post by Jon on Apr 25, 2022 12:39:22 GMT
Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr at the Bridge and previously the National make a great team. Do we maybe expect too much, SRB with an experienced Producer / Administrator would be an interesting choice, only caveat is these thing relationships generate naturally rather than than through recruitment. The question is would SRB want to do it? I imagine it would be creatively stifling compared to acting where he can pick and choose projects. The Two Nicks are a great example of a director and producer partnership.
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Post by Jan on Apr 25, 2022 13:31:00 GMT
Michael always seemed more like an producer type AD with Greg and others being the more active directors. Michael Boyd was a great Shakespeare director - the history cycle, Troilus & Cressida, Dream etc. A far more innovative Shakespeare director than Doran. However he had his problems - a counter-productive obsession with Russian theatre and the problematic RST thrust stage redevelopment for example, but his work on the history cycle was right in the RSC company/ensemble ambitious tradition, he also allowed Doran to direct far more than Doran himself has allowed any other director to do during his own term. Another thing they could do is recruit someone for 2-3 years only, not the usual 5 year term. That might allow someone like Branagh or Sam Mendes to come in and kick-start the place and mentor a successor.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2022 15:22:00 GMT
Michael always seemed more like an producer type AD with Greg and others being the more active directors. Michael Boyd was a great Shakespeare director - the history cycle, Troilus & Cressida, Dream etc. A far more innovative Shakespeare director than Doran. However he had his problems - a counter-productive obsession with Russian theatre and the problematic RST thrust stage redevelopment for example, but his work on the history cycle was right in the RSC company/ensemble ambitious tradition, he also allowed Doran to direct far more than Doran himself has allowed any other director to do during his own term. Another thing they could do is recruit someone for 2-3 years only, not the usual 5 year term. That might allow someone like Branagh or Sam Mendes to come in and kick-start the place and mentor a successor. I was thinking of the work Michael directed when he was the AD it often seemed Greg was directing more stuff tham Michael but I fully agree Michael was a fine Shakesperian Director. As Michael Billington says do you want the big hits turned out every few years or do you look to do the whole cannon of works. How many none Shakespeare plays do you do etc? Adjoa and SRB haven't directed that much if at all to my mind and Adjoa has a great and pretty lucrative role in Bridgerton so are many years hard work would she turn her back on this. If you were looking for an actor to run RSC has David Tennant been considered he is/was on the board and clearly likes the RSC. His stumbling block would also be what roles he may have to forego to do this but he has his ComicCon appearances which are pretty lucrative if he could do them around such a role.
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6,326 posts
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Post by Jon on Apr 25, 2022 15:59:10 GMT
Tennant probably would earn the RSC AD salary doing a day or two at Comic Con so it's unlikely he'd want the job.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2022 19:30:49 GMT
Tennant probably would earn the RSC AD salary doing a day or two at Comic Con so it's unlikely he'd want the job. I meant if he took the job and had to cut back on TV/Film work then if he was still able to do Comic Cons then he might consider the job.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 27, 2022 8:26:11 GMT
Today's announcement for the Winter season further confirms the failure of the Doran/Whyman regime.
Third outing for the Christmas Carol could have made some commercial sense if it were not for the vast number of similar adaptations that keep being produced. It has zero originality to it.
The Totoro piece is certainly original but seems more like something that fits the National better than the RSC.
And where is the Shakespeare?
What is the point of the company if there is no Shakespeare for 1/3 of the year?
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5,592 posts
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Post by lynette on Apr 27, 2022 10:13:50 GMT
Yep we do need a good old fashioned Luscombe comedy don't we?
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6,326 posts
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Post by Jon on Apr 27, 2022 10:54:51 GMT
I don’t really get the complaints about the RSC not putting on Shakespeare when they’ve done that for decades.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 27, 2022 11:10:18 GMT
I don’t really get the complaints about the RSC not putting on Shakespeare when they’ve done that for decades. They are the Royal SHAKESPEARE Company. They should have something Shakespearean in every season. They don't have to do all Jacobethan theatre but they should at least do some. It is a huge percentage of the year where the RSC is doing no S at all. That doesn't sit right with me.
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4,596 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Apr 27, 2022 13:13:36 GMT
I don’t really get the complaints about the RSC not putting on Shakespeare when they’ve done that for decades. I would like at least one per season otherwise its just the RC.
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Post by alexandra on Apr 27, 2022 15:15:17 GMT
What am I missing? They have 2 Shakespeare plays on currently until June (done refreshingly and well). Then they're doing two more until October. Then they're doing two non-Shakespeares until January. What's the problem with that balance? I have no particular axe to grind for them but it seems one or two people have a rigid animus against the RSC for some reason.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 27, 2022 15:27:52 GMT
I am quite happy to be viewed as a long term critic of the Doran-Whyman regime.
They have done long term damage to the RSC.
This winter season announcement just confirms that.
I want the RSC to return to what it is meant to be. A focus on Shakespeare and his contemporaries, championing top quality new writing, a commitment to training the next generation in how to handle the texts and the use of an ensemble.
These have been degraded under Doran.
Putting together a Winter season with no Shakespeare is the wrong call. The Dickens could easily have run in rep with a popular Shakespeare. Particularly when audiences have already seen that production as well as countless others over recent years.
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6,326 posts
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Post by Jon on Apr 27, 2022 15:38:50 GMT
What am I missing? They have 2 Shakespeare plays on currently until June (done refreshingly and well). Then they're doing two more until October. Then they're doing two non-Shakespeares until January. What's the problem with that balance? I have no particular axe to grind for them but it seems one or two people have a rigid animus against the RSC for some reason.Maybe they should apply for the AD job?
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5,592 posts
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Post by lynette on Apr 27, 2022 15:40:45 GMT
They do have a commitment to training the next generation etc etc. There are nine members of the next generation training scheme in the current Henry VI plays. They have young professionals and then the next- next generation in a teenage scheme.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 27, 2022 15:56:36 GMT
Without ensembles, the training isn't leading to the sort of extended real stage experience enjoyed by previous generations
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Post by Jan on Apr 27, 2022 17:07:35 GMT
What am I missing? They have 2 Shakespeare plays on currently until June (done refreshingly and well). Then they're doing two more until October. Then they're doing two non-Shakespeares until January. What's the problem with that balance? I have no particular axe to grind for them but it seems one or two people have a rigid animus against the RSC for some reason. So they're doing 6 plays ? You forgot their Cunard cruise line performances. Here, once again, is their Summer Season (March-October) in 2001 when their ACE grant was the same in real terms as it is now. RST Hamlet Twelfth Night Julius Caesar SWAN King John Love in a Wood (Wycherley) Jubilee (Peter Barnes) THE OTHER PLACE A Russian in the Woods (Peter Whelan) The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Martin McDonagh) The Prisoners Dilemma (David Edgar) ON TOUR The Tempest A Servant of Two Masters (Goldini) BARBICAN The Rivals Tantalus (Peter Hall/John Barton) PIT Richard II Henry IV Pt 1 Henry IV Pt 2 Henry V Back to Methuselah (Shaw) A set of 4 new plays YOUNG VIC The Thoughts of Joan of Arc on the English as She Burns at the Stake (David Farr) Henry VI Part 1 Henry VI Part 2 Henry VI Part 3 Richard III ALDWYCH The Secret Garden (musical) PALACE THEATRE Les Miserables
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 27, 2022 17:41:41 GMT
What am I missing? They have 2 Shakespeare plays on currently until June (done refreshingly and well). Then they're doing two more until October. Then they're doing two non-Shakespeares until January. What's the problem with that balance? I have no particular axe to grind for them but it seems one or two people have a rigid animus against the RSC for some reason. So they're doing 6 plays ? You forgot their Cunard cruise line performances. Here, once again, is their Summer Season (March-October) in 2001 when their ACE grant was the same in real terms as it is now. RST Hamlet Twelfth Night Julius Caesar SWAN King John Love in a Wood (Wycherley) Jubilee (Peter Barnes) THE OTHER PLACE A Russian in the Woods (Peter Whelan) The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Martin McDonagh) The Prisoners Dilemma (David Edgar) ON TOUR The Tempest A Servant of Two Masters (Goldini) BARBICAN The Rivals Tantalus (Peter Hall/John Barton) PIT Richard II Henry IV Pt 1 Henry IV Pt 2 Henry V Back to Methuselah (Shaw) A set of 4 new plays YOUNG VIC The Thoughts of Joan of Arc on the English as She Burns at the Stake (David Farr) Henry VI Part 1 Henry VI Part 2 Henry VI Part 3 Richard III ALDWYCH The Secret Garden (musical) PALACE THEATRE Les Miserables That is one hell of bit of programming. Ambitious but with enough popular pieces to keep audiences happy.
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Post by alexandra on Apr 28, 2022 6:07:45 GMT
2001 was a different world. Why not go back to The (non-Shakespeare) Greeks, or Nicholas Nickleby? I’m not arguing against a London base. As you know, I was addressing the suggestion that the RSC was to be criticised for not getting the balance right between Shakespeare and non-Shakespeare. I especially don’t criticise them for putting on a previously successful production over Christmas in these extremely difficult post-pandemic economic times. Why not help by going to see Rebellion and Wars of the Roses, which you clearly haven’t seen? You might enjoy them.
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Post by Phantom of London on Apr 28, 2022 12:44:41 GMT
I think it is hard to level any criticism of the RSC as it is trying to find its feet again after an incredible couple of years. Besides even the new Shakespeare theatre on the outskirts of Liverpool are doing A Christmas Carol.
I love Shakespeare, but it shouldn’t stop an artistic director from going off piste.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 28, 2022 13:32:20 GMT
Other subsidised companies have managed to come back more effectively than the RSC. And indeed did more during the past two years than the RSC even appeared to consider.
There has been a real failure of leadership and it is right to call them out.
The RSC is an immensely privileged organisation. It should be doing better with the vast resources it has.
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Post by Jan on Apr 28, 2022 16:42:19 GMT
2001 was a different world. Why not go back to The (non-Shakespeare) Greeks, or Nicholas Nickleby? I’m not arguing against a London base. As you know, I was addressing the suggestion that the RSC was to be criticised for not getting the balance right between Shakespeare and non-Shakespeare. I especially don’t criticise them for putting on a previously successful production over Christmas in these extremely difficult post-pandemic economic times. Why not help by going to see Rebellion and Wars of the Roses, which you clearly haven’t seen? You might enjoy them. I’ve got the new Jermyn Street programme till end-year in front of me. 13 plays - new and old - plus 15 other one-off events including rehearsed readings. I think I’ll help them instead thanks, on the basis that at least they’re making an effort, with zero ACE subsidy, as they did last year too when the RSC didn’t.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2022 18:17:05 GMT
I would prefer one Shakespeare play running at least in rep at all times at the RSC and I've defended Greg a lot on here. The new AD should plan out when they will be the "top" Shakespeare plays which will draw the crowds in fit in the more niche plays around this then look at other works be it revivals or new works. There is no reason the new AD could not have their 5 year Shakespeare programme mapped out and then add the other works to it. We don't need to know what they are doing each season but they can have a clear plan and the Company works to this.
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Post by Jan on Apr 28, 2022 19:56:14 GMT
They need to open The Other Place with a full season of plays - new or old I don’t care - it is absolutely inexplicable that it is closed.
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Post by kate8 on Apr 29, 2022 7:55:50 GMT
It’s a scandal that the Swan and The Other Place remain closed. Their obligations as a company involve producing a wide range of work, not just one or two plays at a time in one theatre (plus occasionally the Barbican). The public subsidy isn’t meant to just keep closed buildings and staff ticking over. I can’t understand the reasons for such limited work now, when all other subsidised national arts institutions are more or less fully reopened. RSC seems lacking in ambition and creativity. They could have reduced costs and risk with small cast plays, get big name ‘associate artists’ to do rehearsed readings of plays, etc. But instead they are a theatre company with no apparent wish to do anything with two of their three theatres. I can’t understand Billington having Erica Whyman on his list of suggested successors when she’s a party to this inertia and wasting of public money.
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