RSC (and other) programmes

Mon 1 Jun, 19:01 (last edited on Mon 1 Jun, 19:08)

Running a secondary market in programmes isn't intended to save the RSC money, Christine;  it's intended to save us money and (in a very small way) to save waste.  For some of us on modest pensions, going to the RSC at all can be a challenge:  more than £200 for two of us to see the Middlemarch double-bill for my next birthday, for example.

My nephew has been laid off from the RSC props department; so I'm well aware of the financial constraints that they're under. But there's an opportunity to make a donation when buying tickets, which I've used myself when I've been feeling flush.  There's no need for anyone to lease or buy any of the programmes from the Morris Room if they'd rather not - but for some of us it will be a very welcome possibility, not least if otherwise in a tight month we might not buy one at all.

Mon 1 Jun, 08:46

Loaning out RSC programmes might save paper & ink, but it won't save jobs in the theatre and Stratford triggered by the RSC's current financial crisis. The RSC generates about 60% to 78% of its total income itself, and needs support -- as do young people looking to develop their skills in the theatre and related professions.

The cost-saving exercise that was outlined by the RSC last September has meant that voluntary redundancy has been offered to more than 400 of their 835 permanent staff, with compulsory redundancies and reductions in salary also on the cards.  The aim is to reduce the overall workforce by 11%. Freelancers with skills in carpentry and set-building are also likely to be badly affected. 

The cuts are proposed because of rising energy and material costs, the need to pay back loans from the Covid period, plus the loss of public subsidies from the Arts Council and Reform-led Warwickshire County Council. 

In March the RSC said goodbye to its Head of Music and reduced the in-house music team from 7 to 4. Their costume workshops are also facing significant changes, including the merging of specialist teams – such as hat-making, jewellery, and armoury – into a single, broader department. 

So far at least, there hasn't been a loss of quality in the RSC productions, although the emphasis on getting new audiences (and young people) into the theatre has changed the range of plays on offer each season. 

I could support the loaning out of RSC and other theatre programmes if the aim were to make past programmes available to school and college students who are studying the plays. But we are instructed to throw out any programmes for plays whose run has finished. Not a good idea! 

Sun 31 May, 16:47

True what you say John but all theatres are having trouble keeping their heads above water. They depend a good deal on extras like programmes and refreshments. 

Fri 29 May, 21:23

We paid £7 for our Tempest programme at Stratford yesterday.  You don't need to though:  there's now a box in the Morris Room with RSC and other current programmes in it.  Just pay £1 to borrow one, or £2.50 to buy one:  you save money, the Corner House makes money, and less paper & ink are used.

Please help this new scheme by donating any programmes that you buy for local plays etc with a multi-week run.  (And while you're at it, do recycle any programmes that you find in the box for plays whose run has finished.)  Thank you!