RSC Earmarks Two London Bases for 2005???

Seven months later than planned perhaps, but it’ll be a double dose of news when it comes. The absence of a base for the Royal Shakespeare Company in the capital since Adrian Noble withdrew from the Barbican in May 2002 has caused new artistic director Michael Boyd no end of grief. Boyd was due to announce an interim London home this past January, but there’s still been no official word, despite rumours that the West End’s Piccadilly Theatre is a leading contender (See The Goss, 4 Jan 2004). At a press briefing yesterday, an RSC spokesperson revealed that the revised deadline is now this July, when the company will announce not just the main branded London base that will be set up to house the Tragedies and other key productions from the main Stratford repertoire, but also a temporary receiving house for the four premiere plays from this autumn’s New Work Festival (See News, 20 Apr 2004). Wherever they are, both London venues are expected to welcome their respective RSC transfers from spring 2005.

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