The Courtyard Theatre was a 1,048 seat thrust stage theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, operated by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). It temporarily replaced The Other Place theatre during the redevelopment of the Royal Shakespeare (RST) and Swan Theatres. The last performance at The Courtyard Theatre took place in 2010. It was replaced by The Other Place in 2016, which returned as a 200-seat studio theatre in 2016.
Designed by Ian Ritchie Architects and built in 11 months, The Courtyard Theatre was opened in August 2006 to host performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) while its Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres were closed for redevelopment between 2007 and 2010 as part of a £112.8 million transformation project. [1]
Built on the site of the RSC's studio theatre, The Other Place, The Courtyard Theatre was created within a steel extension as a full-sized working prototype for the design of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre's new 1,040+ seat auditorium and provided an opportunity to gain experience relating to sightlines, acoustics, lighting and comfort of seats. [1] [2] The Courtyard Theatre's awards include the National and Regional RIBA Award for Architecture 2007 and the Stratford-on-Avon Council Celebration of Excellence 2007 Design Award. [3] [4]
The Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres reopened on 24 November 2010, with the first full Shakespeare performances beginning in February 2011, with the last performance in The Courtyard Theatre, Matilda, A Musical, taking place in January 2010. [5] Temporary planning permission for The Courtyard Theatre was in place until the end of 2012 and it was used for the World Shakespeare Festival as part of the Cultural Olympiad in 2012. [2]
The Courtyard Theatre was replaced by The Other Place, which was reinstated as a 200-seat studio theatre in 2016. [6] Despite originally intended as a temporary building, the steel extension will remain and will house the new theatre. [7]
Stratford-upon-Avon, commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, 91 miles (146 km) north-west of London, 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Birmingham and 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Warwick. The town is the southernmost point of the Arden area on the edge of the Cotswolds. In the 2021 census Stratford had a population of 30,495.
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratford-upon-Avon, and on tour across the UK and internationally.
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon – Shakespeare's birthplace – in the English Midlands, beside the River Avon. The building incorporates the smaller Swan Theatre. The Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres re-opened in November 2010 after undergoing a major renovation known as the Transformation Project.
Sir Antony Sher was a British actor, writer and theatre director of South African origin. A two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner and a four-time nominee, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982 and toured in many roles, as well as appearing on film and television. In 2001, he starred in his cousin Ronald Harwood's play Mahler's Conversion, and said that the story of a composer sacrificing his faith for his career echoed his own identity struggles.
Walter Charles Dance is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. Dance started his career on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) before appearing in film and television. For his services to drama he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006.
Alexandra Gilbreath is an English actress, born in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
David John Threlfall is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In April 2014, he portrayed comedian Tommy Cooper in a television film entitled Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This. In 2014, he starred alongside Jude Law in the thriller Black Sea. In 2022 he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance in the Martin McDonagh play Hangmen.
Sam John Troughton is an English actor who has made appearances in Robin Hood (2006-2009), Alien vs. Predator (2004), Hex (2005), The Town (2012), The Hollow Crown (2016), The Ritual (2017), Peterloo (2018), Chernobyl (2019), The Outlaws (2021), and Litvinenko (2022).
The Swan Theatre is a theatre belonging to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is built on to the side of the larger Royal Shakespeare Theatre, occupying the Victorian Gothic structure that formerly housed the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre that preceded the RST but was destroyed by fire in 1926.
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The Other Place is a black box theatre on Southern Lane, near to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is owned and operated by the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2006, an earlier version of the theatre closed and reopened as the temporary and larger Courtyard Theatre, while the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres were redeveloped. In March 2016, The Other Place was reinstated as a 200-seat studio theatre.
Ian Ritchie Architects Ltd is a British architectural and design practice, based in London led by its founder Ian Ritchie. The practice changed its name to 'Ritchie Studio' on 24 June 2021. Recently completed projects include the RIBA Award-winning Susie Sainsbury Theatre, the Angela Burgess Recital Hall for the Royal Academy of Music, and the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London.
Tom Morton-Smith is an Olivier award-winning English playwright.
Sir Michael Boyd HonFRSE was a British theatre director and an artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Gregory Doran is an English director known for his Shakespearean work. The Sunday Times called him 'one of the great Shakespearians of his generation'.
Adetunji "Tunji" Kasim is a Scottish actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Bailey in Nearly Famous, Hugo Scott, an art teacher in Shetland, and Ned Nickerson in The CW's Nancy Drew.
The Dirty Duck, also known as The Black Swan, is a pub located on Waterside in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
David Lovell Burbidge, is Chairman of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), former Chairman of the Coventry City of Culture Trust having led the successful campaign to win the 2021 UK City of Culture title, Chairman of Burbidge & Son Ltd and also a Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands, former board member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Founding Chairman of Furniture Makers Hall and Freeman of the City of London (1979).
Miss Littlewood is a stage musical with music, lyrics and book by Sam Kenyon.
The Boy in the Dress is a musical with music and lyrics by Robbie Williams, Guy Chambers and Chris Heath and a book by Mark Ravenhill. The musical is based on the 2008 novel of the same name, written by David Walliams. The story is about a twelve-year-old boy, Dennis, who enjoys wearing a dress and the reactions of his family and friends.
