Talk:Royal Shakespeare Company

Notable RSC Actors .. or not?

David Cross worked with the RSC? Really? I suppose it's possible, but if he really did then maybe someone can reference it on the wiki about him that is being linked to.

No, he didn't. I'm going to delete him. Old Moonraker 13:22, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

and Dennis Waterman?? Mujinga 20:40, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Waterman was a child actor and played Mamillius in Winter's Tale and a boy player in The Shrew of 1960. As an adult he was in Saratoga at the Aldwych in 1978. --Old Moonraker 14:41, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

wow, I've learnt something new! cheers Mujinga 14:43, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

I think, there are now so many actors listed, many of them are in my opinion not really notable . Would it not be better, if new names would only be listed, after an article in wikipedia is written about them? And those with no article yet, be deleted? Anne-theater 20:46, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

I have no deleted all the actors, who have no article in wikipedia. Except Chuck Iwuji and David Waller, who I both have seen on the stage of the RSC myself. For all the others I would suggest, that first an article is written, in which the performances for the RSC are noted, and that then the name is added to the list of the notable RSC actors. Otherwise this list is getting so long,that almost no one can keep track or differ between the really notable ones and those, who got the attention of a contributor to wikipedia. Anne-theater (talk) 21:27, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

"Notable" has been very widely stretched on this page until now—thank you for this WP:BOLD edit. I'm pleased you kept David Waller, though, I keep meaning to get round to him! --Old Moonraker (talk) 22:10, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

Is the section even necessary? Doesn't the category Royal Shakespeare Company members suffice? Amo (talk) 16:00, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

The section has been so diluted by recentism it now has no value. As User:Amo. --Old Moonraker (talk) 16:20, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps a way out for this section, and the the other listy sections, is to rewrite them as prose and set the bar at anyone that you can't find a (sourced) sentence or two about probably shouldn't be included. I suspect the problem lies with the list format; it encourages willy-nilly addition of new items. --Xover (talk) 23:35, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

I think, there are now so many actors listed, that it is almost a full list of everyone, who ever stood on the stage in Stratford. E.g. Art Malik, he seems to have been working in Stratford, but in the article about him, there is no production listed or further information about his work on the stage. He might even have been a spear-bearer! It seems, that the category notable actor is defined so broad by now, that it has become worthless. Perhaps it should be sized down to those actors, who have been in a major role or title role in Stratford. Otherwise, they should be deleted. Anne-theater (talk) 01:12, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

Did Gary Oldman really work with the Royal Shakespeare Company? If so, could you please give me the names of the plays, which he has been a part of? RSC alumni are quite close-knit, but I can't recall a single RSC actor talk about him at all (no, not even those actors who have worked with him in films, as well as being RSC alumni). And even he doesn't talk about being part of the RSC at any point during his career. I read that he was actually rejected by the RSC. I'm quite well-read about the RSC, and I cannot recall a single article that says,"Gary Oldman, RSC alumnus". Infact, Gary's own Wikipedia article has no mention of him working with the Royal Shakespeare Company, at any given point in time, during his career. He made the entrance into films through theatre, but I don't recall him doing Shakespeare at the RSC. Could someone please clarify this for me? Thanks. 59.184.134.177 (talk) 13:42, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

Yep, he was a member: 1985-6, but in London residencies (Almeida and Barbican) rather than Stratford. Thanks, as ever, to Simon Trowbridge's Stratfordians for this information. --Old Moonraker (talk) 13:53, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

Peter Land

AFAIK Peter Land only had one major role with the company, that of Proteus in The Two Gentlemen of Verona in 1981. This doesn't really qualify him as a notable member of the company, or does it? The name of the editor who listed him might be a joke, of course... I'm inclined to rv this. Old Moonraker 16:04, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

• Inclined to agree. The same user created Gillian Lynne (wife of Peter Land) so probably really is vanity. Proteus isn't a bad role, mind. AndyJones 16:12, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Done. Gillian Lynne is notable and was overdue for an entry of her own, though. Old Moonraker 15:18, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

Gentlemen & Ladies (who can tell nowadays), may I address this subject seeing as I am the subject Peter Land. Even though this talk is from many years ago, may I agree wholeheartedly that if I was responsible for making up the list of notable RSC Actors I would not add me to that list. But I do take issue over the mistaken he "only had one major role" at the RSC. That is not correct. During my three years on-and-off at the RSC I played not only Proteus in Two Gentlemen of Verona but also Dumaine the Elder in Trevor Nunn’s sparkling production of Alls Well That Ends Well opposite the late great Peggy Ashcroft while having a 'notable' slash at Polixenes opposite Patrick Stewart and Gemma Jones. But it is true that Third Goth in Titus Andronicus, Chorus in Butch Strong, Man in Alone Plus One amounts to very little. That being said I will continue to oppose those that guess and do not adequately check the facts. Always in my own name. If that is 'vanity' then so be it, but I stand by my truthful word. Peter land (talk) 20:40, 30 July 2011 (UTC)

Peter: any cast member from Nunn's truly memorable 1981 All's Well That Ends Well has sufficient claim to fame in my book, but not in Simon Trowbridge's, which is what I'm relying on here. When I saw you in Winters Tale you were "Dion, a Sicilian Lord", rather than Polixenes. Some modesty: weren't you the deviser of Man Alone? --Old Moonraker (talk) 21:10, 30 July 2011 (UTC)

Old Moonraker - Thanks for giving me a positive word. I was thinking that the past meant for little. Obviously in Simon Trowbridge's (who he) mind my past obviously does. I actually played, that is as I said, "slashed" at Polixenes for memorable performances when Ray Jewer's father died in Canada. Gemma Jones writes about it in one of those Playing Shakespeare books; kindly saying that my performance made them rethink the play. I must have been stunningly bad or stunningly the opposite. I indeed played Dion opposite Hugh Quarshie. Yes I devised: Alone Plus One, which was based on the music of Brel, Weill and Eisler. Maybe Mr Trowbridge, if he'd seen that performance might have heralded my ease with musical material. But politically my time at the RSC had to come to an end when I was told as the only 'notable' male singer in the company that the up-coming Les Miserables did not have any available young men roles in it. Imagine my surprise when it opened to see the stage crawling with young men. And they say Political Life is a minefield. (Peter land (talk) 21:57, 30 July 2011 (UTC))

Trowbridge: The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company ISBN 978-0-9559830-2-3. --Old Moonraker (talk) 06:09, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for that, of course he must be a dependable source, but even specialised sources can be very, very wrong. Would anyone mind if this section about this guy Peter Land is deleted? Think the point has been made and also been taken. Peter land (talk) 11:23, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

Third Theatre

There are references on this page and the Stratford-upon-Avon page to The Other Place as the third theatre the RSC run. According to their site the third theatre the RSC run in Stratford is the newly opened Courtyard Theatre. Anyone want to elaborate on the situation before I change the text of the article? --Edith The Hutt 14:58, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

The Courtyard Theatre is the large, temporary theatre they are using while the Memorial Theatre is being refitted. Details here. Old Moonraker 15:12, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

The theatres in Stratford are more than three. First there was the old Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, then its art deco replacement later to be known as the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Then came The Other Place, established by Buzz Goodbody. The Swan Theatre was Trevor Nunn's dream space. The Courtyard Theatre is a come-lately building that temporarily replaces the RST and the Swan - and occupies the groundspace of The Other Place which will eventually be re-opened when the RST and Swan are functioning in 2010.

I do not know what Edith the Hutt had in mind with her plans to delete essential information about the RSC real estate in Stratford. But I hope she will respect the history, as experiened and continuing ti be exierienced by me over many a year of Stratford theatregoing. John Thaxter (talk) 14:58, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

References

I tried to put the references into a more 'traditional' version. But as most of them are weblinks, it looked not as it should have. Is there a possibility to write these references in a different way? Anne-theater 20:53, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

Have you tried using the most apt template from the WP:CIT page and using it with the <ref> tag? It's a good way to get consistency, but it can be tedious. --Old Moonraker (talk) 22:10, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

Works

No mention of their edition of WS's complete works? Peter jackson (talk) 16:04, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

I suspect it's far too recent as yet. While there have been some news stories about it, there hasn't been time to asess whether it has sufficient notability (and what form that notability takes) to merit inclusion. When the established critical editions (Arden, Oxford, Norton, &c.) or journals start citing it or referring to it we'll see the whether and how to include it. --Xover (talk) 16:14, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

There's a review in Shakespeare Survey, 61 (2008). It says (page 394) "The RSC Shakespeare is the first freshly edited Complete Works since the Oxford Shakespeare of 1986" but is generally negative. Peter jackson (talk) 10:46, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Another review in Shakespeare Quarterly, 59, pp 483-8. Also rather negative, or at least expressive of disappointment. Peter jackson (talk) 10:47, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Beerbohm Tree?

I can not find anything about his performances in Stratford in the article about this actor. Was he in Stratford and is he notable enough to be mentioned in the article? Anne-theater (talk) 00:00, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Sir Herbert is certainly notable enough: any critical edition (Arden, Oxford, &c.) of Shakespeare's plays is very likely to have an entry for Beerbohm-Tree, Herbert (grabbed from the nearest example, my Arden 3rd of Hamlet; the Oxford Hamlet omits him, but only, I surmise, because whomever created its index was a blistering imbecile). As one of the more prominent Shakespearian actors of his day I find it very much plausible that he acted at Stratford at some point, but given the timing—he was an actor–manager who staged his own productions of Shakespeare (e.g. MacBeth in 1911), and died in 1917, while the RSC qua RSC didn't start until 1959—I would tend to doubt it. --Xover (talk) 01:16, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

21st Century history

The existing section doesn't read well, seeming to have a rather favourable bias. Could someone with comprehensive knowledge of the topic provide some revision, please?

For example, phrasing like "Talking of these achievements with typical modesty..." sets a tone too cosy to be truly encyclopedic and, in particular, only covering the positive achievements whilst merely referring readers to a printed book for a more critical view reads as uncomfortably partial. Rather than refer out,could someone summarise the key points of criticism here, please?
Ministry (talk) 16:57, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

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NPOV dispute

I have tagged this article as I believe the History section is heavily biased against the actions of certain directors and staff, and the claims made are poorly sourced when they are sourced at all. I will return to the article when I have a chance to try and produce a more neutral tone in the history from the available sources, but it will almost certainly require an expert's attention to properly rectify. Triptothecottage (talk) 10:37, 24 February 2017 (UTC)

@Triptothecottage: I think you'll have to be more specific about your concerns to enable anyone to address them. --Xover (talk) 07:20, 9 April 2017 (UTC)

Presentation at school

Well,we have presentation at school that's why I'm finding any information about Royal Shakespeare on. Our topic is based in this company. Alphadjodia (talk) 00:41, 26 April 2019 (UTC)

Founded

The Article states the RSC was founded in 1879, but also states its founder was a man born in 1930. Unless he is a time traveller something has gone amiss. 2A00:23C7:C82:3101:E994:8341:9E8F:E26B (talk) 22:17, 8 April 2023 (UTC)