Selection Criteria
This resource presents a digital edition of a significant portion of the Royal Shakespeare Company's archive, making a broad range of prompt books and supporting materials connected with their most prolific and celebrated productions available online for the very first time.
Prompt Books
To strike a balance in selecting material while also offering a comprehensive picture with a broad time-span, a diverse run of prompt books have been included, beginning with those used at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre between 1889 and 1960, and then continuing with those used by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at various theatres between 1961 and the beginning of Gregory Doran’s tenure as Artistic Director in 2013. Although the Company's archive of prompt books continues beyond this date, this presents a tangible cut-off point which simultaneously provides a wide-ranging collection of material.
Highlighted Productions
In addition to a comprehensive selection of prompt books, we have selected 53 of the RSC and its predecessor's most innovative productions as Highlighted Productions, for which additional archival materials have been digitised. This ensures that users can engage in more in-depth research into individual Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and RSC productions which are regarded as particularly original in the presentation of characters or plot lines, and their design, staging, score, use of new technologies, and/or editing.
The selection of these productions was informed by the project’s seven editorial board members, made up of key creative personnel and academics from institutions such as the RSC, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Shakespeare Institute. The consultant editors provided detailed feedback on productions throughout the Company's production history, and the final list of productions selected was intended to cover a broad range of plays, eras, directors and themes, balanced by the availability of material in the archive.
A note on omissions
Where prompt books or other documents are missing, exclusions have largely been due to:
- Copyright and permission considerations
- Data protection concerns
- Content being available in existing open access resources.
Selection Criteria
This resource presents a digital edition of a significant portion of the Royal Shakespeare Company's archive, making a broad range of prompt books and supporting materials connected with their most prolific and celebrated productions available online for the very first time.
Prompt Books
To strike a balance in selecting material while also offering a comprehensive picture with a broad time-span, a diverse run of prompt books have been included, beginning with those used at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre between 1889 and 1960, and then continuing with those used by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at various theatres between 1961 and the beginning of Gregory Doran’s tenure as Artistic Director in 2013. Although the Company's archive of prompt books continues beyond this date, this presents a tangible cut-off point which simultaneously provides a wide-ranging collection of material.
Highlighted Productions
In addition to a comprehensive selection of prompt books, we have selected 53 of the RSC and its predecessor's most innovative productions as Highlighted Productions, for which additional archival materials have been digitised. This ensures that users can engage in more in-depth research into individual Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and RSC productions which are regarded as particularly original in the presentation of characters or plot lines, and their design, staging, score, use of new technologies, and/or editing.
The selection of these productions was informed by the project’s seven editorial board members, made up of key creative personnel and academics from institutions such as the RSC, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Shakespeare Institute. The consultant editors provided detailed feedback on productions throughout the Company's production history, and the final list of productions selected was intended to cover a broad range of plays, eras, directors and themes, balanced by the availability of material in the archive.
A note on omissions
Where prompt books or other documents are missing, exclusions have largely been due to:
- Copyright and permission considerations
- Data protection concerns
- Content being available in existing open access resources.