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| Author | DCM |
| Categories | Exhibitor News |
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is to stream its upcoming production of Richard II starring former Doctor Who actor David Tennant live in cinemas this November.
The sold-out performance of the show on 13 November will be broadcast in real time from Stratford-upon-Avon on the big screen, while a recording will also be beamed direct into 1000 schools on November 15. With all advance theatre tickets already snapped up ahead of the October opening, cinema will take the production to a fan-base that would otherwise have missed out.
"We want to bring the work we make... to the widest possible audience," said RSC artistic director Gregory Doran. "Taking our productions live into cinemas and direct into schools is the next logical step."
Richard II, which tells of a king whose vanity and weakness threatens to drag England into a dynastic civil war, runs in Stratford from 10 October to 16 November before transferring to the Barbican in London in December.
Members of the creative team, including Doran and Tennant, will take part in a live online Q&A as part of the initiative. Two further RSC Shakespeare plays will be filmed live during 2014, the titles of which will be announced in September.
Tennant previously worked with the RSC on its hit 2008 production of Hamlet, also directed by Doran, which was recorded and transmitted to worldwide TV audiences to critical acclaim.
Speaking to the Guardian, Doran said it was "very important" that a way was found to "re-imagine" the production for a cinema audience. "It mustn't just be like having a security camera peering at the stage," continued the director, who took over from previous RSC chief Michael Boyd last year.
The cinema version of Richard II will also be seen in North America, Australia, Japan and Europe and will be streamed to 1,000 schools in the UK.
Click here for full details on RSC Live from Stratford-upon-Avon and its programme of live broadcasts to cinemas around the world from Shakespeare’s home town.