RSC to boost access to arts education

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has announced a host of initiatives aimed at supporting young people’s access to arts education.

They include Time To Act, a two-year research project into the impact of RSC’s work on children’s language development, literacy skills and sense of identity, agency and inclusion.

The study will be RSC’s first since becoming an Independent Research Organisation.

Elsewhere, the RSC has set the date (18 July 2023) for its first national Young Creatives Convention hosted by the RSC Youth Advisor Board. It has also confirmed an eight-week nationwide tour of schools and theatres with its production of Twelfth Night and added the RSCs young company RSC Next Generation Act’s production of Hamlet to its 2023 programme. 

The company also released educational resources for Deaf young people studying Shakespeare and learning materials for GCSE Drama and English students.

RSC Director of Learning and National Partnerships Jacqui O’Hanlon said the initiatives are about opening up access to arts opportunities and benefits for all young people.

“Ask the young people that we work with, or who work with theatres and arts organisations across the UK, and they will tell you about the enormous value of arts subjects and experiences to their lives and development.

“But they will also tell you that society at large doesn’t seem to value them in the same way. Children’s access to arts is a social justice issue and our Youth Advisory Board want to join the debate and champion their rights, their education and their futures.”