The spectacular growth of the Royal Shakespeare Company under the direction of Peter Hall is one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of the modern British theatre. The years 1960 to 1968 marked the development of a series of artistic and administrative policies at Stratford – Upon- Avon and in London, which have greatly influenced the basic framework of many subsequent theatrical organizations in this country and abroad. Since 1960 the production output of the company has been enormous in the volume, variety and quality, and the initials ‘RSC’ have become an international synonym for the best in British theatre.
Peter Hall’s ideas for the formation of a permanent ensemble company at Stratford were by no means new or unique, but under his direction the RSC was the first major company to succeed in implementing such ideas on a large scale in Britain.
When Hall began his revolution at Stratford a commercial star system dominated the British theatre; earlier ensemble schemes had collapsed or been severely modified through lack of financial support; the National Theatre was still a subject for debate and controversy; and the notion of a large state subsidy for the theatre was still a somewhat embryonic concept.
Finance was the key factor, and in the determination to make his ideas work Hall set out to create an organization with one primary objective in mind –the attainment of a substantial government subsidy. He believed that only through financial support from public funds could his ensemble grow under purely artistic conditions, and, to achieve this goal, the RSC embarked on a development scheme of immense proportions. The scheme also involved immense risks, and the first three crucial years of the company’s growth necessitated continual compromise between artistic ideal ad economic necessity.
When Hall began his revolution at Stratford a commercial star system dominated the British theatre; earlier ensemble schemes had collapsed or been severely modified through lack of financial support; the National Theatre was still a subject for debate and controversy; and the notion of a large state subsidy for the theatre was still a somewhat embryonic concept.
Finance was the key factor, and in the determination to make his ideas work Hall set out to create an organization with one primary objective in mind –the attainment of a substantial government subsidy. He believed that only through financial support from public funds could his ensemble grow under purely artistic conditions, and, to achieve this goal, the RSC embarked on a development scheme of immense proportions. The scheme also involved immense risks, and the first three crucial years of the company’s growth necessitated continual compromise between artistic ideal ad economic necessity.
The National Theatre was created in 1962, and in the following year peter Hall’s company was also granted government subsidy. It might well be said that the early years of the RSC paved the way for the National Theatre, as Hall’s organization was certainly the first to formulate and successfully operate under the policies and precedents which have been followed by the National and later subsidized theatres.
Between 1960 and 1963, the RSC exemplified what could be achieved when a company and its artists were freed from the accepted ‘commercial’ and ‘success’ pressures of the theatrical profession. The company, which Hall created in 1960, was, in many ways, the beginning of a movement, which spread throughout Britain during the sixties: now, subsidized theatre is an accepted fast- of – life, and most provincial cities have at least one theatre under local or state subsidy.
The production work of the RSC has been widely praised, criticized, discussed and written about, and over the Hall years the sum total of the company’s presentations amount to a very considerable achievement.
The production work of the RSC has been widely praised, criticized, discussed and written about, and over the Hall years the sum total of the company’s presentations amount to a very considerable achievement.
