A play for the nation

As I write I have just embarked on the most thrilling and perhaps most daunting theatrical adventure I have ever undertaken. My team at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and I have been planning and preparing this project for over 18 months and now, as we enter the 400th anniversary of the year Shakespeare took his extraordinary gifts to his grave, I am at last in rehearsals for Dream 16.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an enchanting play, full of wisdom, mischief and joy, but it is also about community, about people coming together from all walks of life and congregating in the name of peace and stability. It is full of beautiful poetry, almost no difficult language and themes known to every single one of us, such as how to love, how to grow up, and that allowing ourselves to believe in fairies, even just for an evening, is very good for the soul.

It is an exercise in trust, in partnership and one which tests and celebrates our firmly held belief that Shakespeare truly is for everyone

However, this production is like no other. 18 generous and brilliant professional actors will share their stage with 14 different amateur casts playing Bottom, Quince and the Mechanicals in each of the show’s tour locations. And 58 groups of ten schoolchildren will join Titania’s fairy train. In total 687 people will take part in the show between February and July, and when the production returns to Stratford in June each amateur cast will join us there to perform on our glorious stage. It is an exercise in trust, in partnership and one which tests and celebrates our firmly held belief that Shakespeare truly is for everyone.

A project like this requires a great number of willing and energetic partners, and this one has its roots in relationships that the RSC has been developing and nurturing for a long time with many of the unsung heroes of UK theatre. Almost since the RSC was formed it has toured Shakespeare around the country and we are committed to ensuring that audiences can see the finest productions of Shakespeare wherever they are. However, many of our partner theatres face significant economic and audience development challenges, so we wanted to do something that would both celebrate their endeavours and enable them to do more. My experience outside London, particularly the eight years I spent in Newcastle with Northern Stage, has given me a strong interest in the ‘almost attenders’, those who are tempted to come, could afford a reasonably priced ticket, but are not confident that they’ll enjoy it. And I know that when you are in the business of inviting great drama to tour to your venue, meaningful partnerships are essential in providing imaginative reasons for those new attenders to come. So putting this production together with our 11 touring venues (Northern Stage in Newcastle, Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Grand Theatre in Blackpool, The Alhambra in Bradford, Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, Theatre Royal in Norwich, Nottingham Theatre Royal, Hall for Cornwall in Truro, The Barbican in London, New Theatre in Cardiff and the Grand Opera House in Belfast) has been a real pleasure. The wisdom and energy they have put into the relationships with schools and amateur groups and into mobilising local audiences has been invaluable.

Another core belief of ours is that all young people deserve an enjoyable and inspiring experience of Shakespeare, rooted in rehearsal practice and performance. We know that when they get on their feet and do what professional actors do – look for clues in the text to bring the characters and the stories to life, and play with all the ways those characters and stories relate to us now – they become fearless, not just about Shakespeare, but about theatre, about speaking in public, about learning itself. Shakespeare’s unique status means that a very special confidence is gained when you conquer him, and discover how much fun his words can be.

The RSC has been in a remarkable partnership with schools and regional theatres through our Learning and Performance Network, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. It has engaged with over 500,000 children by working hand in hand with regional theatres and hub schools to share our rehearsal techniques and create performances of Shakespeare for regional festivals and for the main stage in Stratford. This experience has encouraged us to be very ambitious for and with our young people, so in Dream 16 all 580 children will sing Titania’s lullaby and speak the final fairy blessing.

UK amateur theatre is in excellent health, and since 2010 we have worked with over 200 amateur groups to boost their confidence in producing Shakespeare by sharing skills and techniques with actors and directors. For Dream 16 we auditioned almost 600 amateurs, so I saw at first hand the tremendous talent and energy there is right across the UK. Since choosing our casts we have asked a great deal of our amateur partners. They have had to give up precious free time to undertake training and preparation, learning to deal with multiple requests for local and national coverage of the project and, like me, learning to use the latest connective technology so that we can rehearse online. I have been impressed with their dedication and flexibility, and we are all learning how to make the most of each group’s particular strengths while integrating them into the professional production. My hope is that Dream 16 will inspire people to take part in theatre themselves.

Amateur theatre and schools have loyal, generous audiences who come to support their family and friends, but they don't always attend professional theatre with the same confidence or regularity. So Dream 16 is an amazing opportunity to introduce new people to Shakespeare – and to make sure they have an incredible night out. It is a project on an almost unimaginable scale, but it is also a very simple idea: to make a new production of a great play in partnership with good colleagues. If it works it will strengthen those bonds and make visible a truly national passion for making theatre.

Erica Whyman is Deputy Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
www.rsc.org.uk