First Ten Years, The

Synopsis: Second episode in a three-part radio series exploring the story of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Presenter James Naughtie looks at the RSC’s formative first decade interviewing Peter Hall and Peter Brook about the stultifying 1950s theatre culture which they inherited. As Brook recalls, "those old laddie codger actors just boomed away".

BBC programme information: "The two Peters discuss other aspects which were ripe for change - the need for a European-style ensemble, for training in verse-speaking, for longer and more open rehearsals, for productions which arose from a particular time rather than simply being wheeled out again and again - all RSC hallmarks which are now taken for granted. Veteran members of the company Patrick Stewart and Judi Dench recall the joys of that time, including, in Dench’s case, the indiscrete joys of affairs which inevitably arose due to the geographical isolation of Stratford. Contemporary Associate Director Greg Doran explains the attraction of working in Stratford - walking daily, on his way to rehearsals, past the church where Shakespeare was baptised and buried; while Hall explains how vital it was to start up a London season if he was to succeed in turning a group of actors into a world-class company."

Meanwhile, the current Company dramaturge Jeannie O’Hare explains how productions of new works by contemporary writers - Pinter, Bond, Hare - helped re-energise the RSC, culminating in what is often seen as its aesthetic high-point - Brook’s Dream in 1971 - which, in a rare interview, the great Peter Brook himself recalls for the programme." (30 minutes)
Series: RSC at 50, The
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Radio
Year of production: 2011
Notes: Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 12/4/2011
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: actors; Royal Shakespeare Company; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); theatre directors; theatre history