Nature and Scope
Discover over one hundred years of performance and theatre history in the archives of one of the world's leading theatre companies.
Nature and Scope
Discover over one hundred years of performance and theatre history in the archives of one of the world's leading theatre companies.
The archives of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), held by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-Upon-Avon, are one of the world’s most significant collections relating to theatre history and the works of Shakespeare. Digitised for the first time, these archives offer insights into the history of performance, the RSC and its predecessor, the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre.
Featuring records of groundbreaking performances, innovative staging and costuming and the introduction of new technologies to the theatre, the unique materials published here document hundreds of productions and thousands of performances, spanning more than a century. They provide researchers with the opportunity to explore how the works of not only William Shakespeare and his contemporaries, but also a wide range of playwrights - including contemporary writers commissioned by the RSC - have been staged in Stratford-Upon-Avon and further afield.
Although there have been theatrical performances in Stratford-upon-Avon since at least Shakespeare’s day, the history of the RSC begins with the establishment of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1875, founded by the brewer Charles Edward Flower with the intention of hosting an annual season of Shakespeare's plays in the bard's hometown. The original Victorian gothic theatre, opened in 1879, was mostly destroyed in a fire in 1926; a new theatre designed by Elizabeth Scott was built on an adjacent site, and opened in 1932. In 1959 the theatre’s director, Peter Hall, announced a plan to form a permanent company. The Royal Shakespeare Company was formally established by Royal Charter on 20 March 1961, and the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre would henceforth be known as the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
Since then, the RSC has created ground-breaking productions that are widely acknowledged to be of huge significance in theatrical history, including Peter Brook’s radical 1970 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Gregory Doran’s 2016 production of The Tempest, which utilised CGI technology that had never previously been seen in live theatre.
Fully searchable and drawing upon extensive metadata, including play credits from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, this resource allows researchers to delve deep into the history of theatre and performance. Any two items included in the collection - photographs, prompt books, production records and the RSC's copy of Shakespeare's First Folio alike - can be compared against each other.
Introduction
The archives of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), held by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-Upon-Avon, are one of the world’s most significant collections relating to theatre history and the works of Shakespeare. Digitised for the first time, these archives offer insights into the history of performance, the RSC and its predecessor, the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre.
Featuring records of groundbreaking performances, innovative staging and costuming and the introduction of new technologies to the theatre, the unique materials published here document hundreds of productions and thousands of performances, spanning more than a century. They provide researchers with the opportunity to explore how the works of not only William Shakespeare and his contemporaries, but also a wide range of playwrights - including contemporary writers commissioned by the RSC - have been staged in Stratford-Upon-Avon and further afield.
Although there have been theatrical performances in Stratford-upon-Avon since at least Shakespeare’s day, the history of the RSC begins with the establishment of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1875, founded by the brewer Charles Edward Flower with the intention of hosting an annual season of Shakespeare's plays in the bard's hometown. The original Victorian gothic theatre, opened in 1879, was mostly destroyed in a fire in 1926; a new theatre designed by Elizabeth Scott was built on an adjacent site, and opened in 1932. In 1959 the theatre’s director, Peter Hall, announced a plan to form a permanent company. The Royal Shakespeare Company was formally established by Royal Charter on 20 March 1961, and the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre would henceforth be known as the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
Since then, the RSC has created ground-breaking productions that are widely acknowledged to be of huge significance in theatrical history, including Peter Brook’s radical 1970 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Gregory Doran’s 2016 production of The Tempest, which utilised CGI technology that had never previously been seen in live theatre.
Fully searchable and drawing upon extensive metadata, including play credits from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, this resource allows researchers to delve deep into the history of theatre and performance. Any two items included in the collection - photographs, prompt books, production records and the RSC's copy of Shakespeare's First Folio alike - can be compared against each other.
Providing as complete a record as possible of the RSC and its predecessor's productions from 1889 to 2013, Royal Shakespeare Company Archives features over a thousand prompt books representing the performance of not only the works of William Shakespeare, but also plays dating from Classical Greece to the modern day. These are accompanied by production records including costume bibles, sheet music, photographs and other materials relating to 53 groundbreaking or otherwise significant productions, selected as Highlighted Productions in collaboration with the resource's Editorial Board of academics and theatre practitioners.
For further information on the material selected for inclusion in this resource, visit the Selection Criteria.
Please note that due to copyright restrictions, the ability to download some of the documents included in this resource is restricted.
Scope
Providing as complete a record as possible of the RSC and its predecessor's productions from 1889 to 2013, Royal Shakespeare Company Archives features over a thousand prompt books representing the performance of not only the works of William Shakespeare, but also plays dating from Classical Greece to the modern day. These are accompanied by production records including costume bibles, sheet music, photographs and other materials relating to 53 groundbreaking or otherwise significant productions, selected as Highlighted Productions in collaboration with the resource's Editorial Board of academics and theatre practitioners.
For further information on the material selected for inclusion in this resource, visit the Selection Criteria.
Please note that due to copyright restrictions, the ability to download some of the documents included in this resource is restricted.
This collection contains the following document types:
Prompt Books
The majority of the documents included in this resource are Prompt Books – annotated versions of a play’s script which record all of the information necessary to stage a production of a play according to the vision of its director and other creative personnel.
Prompt books come in all shapes and sizes, designed for slightly different purposes or for use by people in different roles within the theatre. But essentially they all have one function in common: to help the actors, stage managers, and directors piece together a theatrical production.
The prompt book is the production's bible, containing a wealth of instructions and information alongside the basic text of the play. As well as the actors’ lines, you will see cues for music, movement, lighting, sound effects, and/or many other aspects of stage business. Lines, speeches, and sometimes entire scenes may cut from plays; these can be identified by the fact that they have been crossed out, or physically removed. Prompt books often contain additional documentation such as programmes, memoranda relating to the production, or sheet music. You will also see sketches of how a piece of staging is supposed to look, or meant to progress: these are known as stage plots. Some prompt books are extremely detailed, while others contain relatively few notes or directions.
In 1965, Charles H. Shattuck, eminent Shakespearean scholar and Professor of English at the University of Illinois, published The Shakespeare Promptbooks; a Descriptive Catalogue. He painstakingly tracked down hundreds of prompt books in libraries, museums and private collections all over the world, and compiled information about them in order to aid other scholars with their research. He gave every prompt book a code, by which they are still commonly identified today. Since publication of his catalogue, other prompt books have been created and preserved in archives, while further earlier ones have come to light; inevitably these do not have a Shattuck code. However, where they exist for items included in this collection, we have included these codes in document metadata.
For more information on prompt books and how to interpret them, see Dr Toby Malone’s essay, What is a Prompt Book?
This resource also contains additional archival material relating to 53 Highlighted Productions by the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, selected for inclusion by our Editorial Board. These productions have been selected on a variety of grounds - for their originality, notable cast performances, breaking new ground in the presentation of characters or plot lines, and their design, staging, score, and/or editing. The inclusion of additional document types for highlighted productions ensures that multiple aspects of these presentations can be studied in minute detail.
Royal Shakespeare Company Archives contains the following types of documents for Highlighted Productions.
Costumes
High-definition photographs of the original costumes used on-stage in Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and RSC productions.
Costume Bibles
Files created by the costume designer for a production, comprising a collection of all paperwork and information needed to costume that particular show.
Costume Designs
Original designs for the costumes worn by actors on-stage.
Costume Files
Lists of the costume items required by each member of a production's cast, typically including details such as the type and quantity of fabric required to create each item, or where pre-made costume items may be sourced from.
Costume Plots
Lists or charts used to note which characters appear in each scene, which costumes they are to wear, and when the actors are to change between costumes.
Music Files
A file comprising documentation relating to the musical accompaniment for a production, typically comprising its score, and related documentation - such as memoranda concerning revisions, or the placement of musicians on stage.
Photographs
Photographs of actors on stage and in rehearsal, creative personnel at work, sets, and other aspects of productions are included in this collection.
Production Records
Documentation relating to the work which has been undertaken by a production's creative and stage management teams. This documentation typically includes (but is not limited to) memoranda, show reports, technical documentation, sketches, notes, lists, and/or any other matter pertinent to the rehearsal and staging of a production.
Programmes
Theatre programmes typically include credits for the production and information on an individual performance, sometimes supplemented by insights into the play, photographs of the production in rehearsal, biographical profiles of contributors, and information about the season to which the production belongs.
Props
Photographs of props used on-stage in Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and RSC productions.
Set Designs
Original designs for the set used in a production.
Document Types
This collection contains the following document types:
Prompt Books
The majority of the documents included in this resource are Prompt Books – annotated versions of a play’s script which record all of the information necessary to stage a production of a play according to the vision of its director and other creative personnel.
Prompt books come in all shapes and sizes, designed for slightly different purposes or for use by people in different roles within the theatre. But essentially they all have one function in common: to help the actors, stage managers, and directors piece together a theatrical production.
The prompt book is the production's bible, containing a wealth of instructions and information alongside the basic text of the play. As well as the actors’ lines, you will see cues for music, movement, lighting, sound effects, and/or many other aspects of stage business. Lines, speeches, and sometimes entire scenes may cut from plays; these can be identified by the fact that they have been crossed out, or physically removed. Prompt books often contain additional documentation such as programmes, memoranda relating to the production, or sheet music. You will also see sketches of how a piece of staging is supposed to look, or meant to progress: these are known as stage plots. Some prompt books are extremely detailed, while others contain relatively few notes or directions.
In 1965, Charles H. Shattuck, eminent Shakespearean scholar and Professor of English at the University of Illinois, published The Shakespeare Promptbooks; a Descriptive Catalogue. He painstakingly tracked down hundreds of prompt books in libraries, museums and private collections all over the world, and compiled information about them in order to aid other scholars with their research. He gave every prompt book a code, by which they are still commonly identified today. Since publication of his catalogue, other prompt books have been created and preserved in archives, while further earlier ones have come to light; inevitably these do not have a Shattuck code. However, where they exist for items included in this collection, we have included these codes in document metadata.
For more information on prompt books and how to interpret them, see Dr Toby Malone’s essay, What is a Prompt Book?
This resource also contains additional archival material relating to 53 Highlighted Productions by the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, selected for inclusion by our Editorial Board. These productions have been selected on a variety of grounds - for their originality, notable cast performances, breaking new ground in the presentation of characters or plot lines, and their design, staging, score, and/or editing. The inclusion of additional document types for highlighted productions ensures that multiple aspects of these presentations can be studied in minute detail.
Royal Shakespeare Company Archives contains the following types of documents for Highlighted Productions.
Costumes
High-definition photographs of the original costumes used on-stage in Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and RSC productions.
Costume Bibles
Files created by the costume designer for a production, comprising a collection of all paperwork and information needed to costume that particular show.
Costume Designs
Original designs for the costumes worn by actors on-stage.
Costume Files
Lists of the costume items required by each member of a production's cast, typically including details such as the type and quantity of fabric required to create each item, or where pre-made costume items may be sourced from.
Costume Plots
Lists or charts used to note which characters appear in each scene, which costumes they are to wear, and when the actors are to change between costumes.
Music Files
A file comprising documentation relating to the musical accompaniment for a production, typically comprising its score, and related documentation - such as memoranda concerning revisions, or the placement of musicians on stage.
Photographs
Photographs of actors on stage and in rehearsal, creative personnel at work, sets, and other aspects of productions are included in this collection.
Production Records
Documentation relating to the work which has been undertaken by a production's creative and stage management teams. This documentation typically includes (but is not limited to) memoranda, show reports, technical documentation, sketches, notes, lists, and/or any other matter pertinent to the rehearsal and staging of a production.
Programmes
Theatre programmes typically include credits for the production and information on an individual performance, sometimes supplemented by insights into the play, photographs of the production in rehearsal, biographical profiles of contributors, and information about the season to which the production belongs.
Props
Photographs of props used on-stage in Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and RSC productions.
Set Designs
Original designs for the set used in a production.
A variety of research tools provide further contextual information or guidance for teaching and research. From essays and video interviews to biographical profiles and visual resources, explore the options under Research Tools, or view the full list in Teaching Tools.
Research and Teaching
A variety of research tools provide further contextual information or guidance for teaching and research. From essays and video interviews to biographical profiles and visual resources, explore the options under Research Tools, or view the full list in Teaching Tools.