Gossip RSC Celebrates 50 years
After its recent musical debut, the Royal Mail is paring up the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) to celebrate its 50th Birthday by issuing a brand new stamp collection. Each of the ten stamps features a famous quote and actor from RSC productions over the past five decades including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and King Leer. Unfortunately, not everyone was able to celebrate, Michael Boyd the artistic director of the RSC lamented that “representing “the extraordinary range of work we have produced,” has been an almost “impossible job.” And with half a century of monumental actors to choose from who can blame him, but some managed to make the cut Sir Patrick Stewart, Dame Judi Dench, David Tennant and the late Paul Scofield are among the actors depicted. To see how many you can identify log onto to the Whatsonstage.com Twitter page.
In April, the RSC began a year long 50th Anniversary season, its first since Sir Peter Hall begun the RSC in 1961. Philip Parker, Royal Mail Stamps spokesperson, said: “We wanted to mark this important anniversary by producing stamps which reflect the drama and excitement generated through Royal Shakespeare Company productions over the past five decades.” Accordingly, the first production will be Michael Boyd’s Macbeth (first performed in 1964), scheduled to open on 16 April. Prior to the full new season, visitors are invited to explore the new buildings behind-the-scenes with a series of events and exhibitions entitled, 1961-2011: Fifty years of great play-making, while the online and in-theatre exhibition History of the RSC in 50 Objects will retrace key events via key objects.
