PICTURES revealing what the multi-million revamp of the RSC’s costume workshop in Stratford will look like have been revealed.
The company has started to restore and redevelop its two-storey workshop in Waterside at a cost of nearly £9million – some 70 years after it first opened.
The project will see the historic grade II listed buildings conserved and extended. A new entrance will also be created using the former doors which were built for the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1887.
The RSC has the largest in-house costume-making department of any British theatre, and its workshop – which also has its own armoury – will see many improvements. These include a larger millinery, jewellery, dyeing and print workshops along with a larger fitting room.
The changes will allow the department to take on apprentices and also welcome visitors.
RSC technical director Stephen Rebbeck said: “Our costumes are essential for us to create theatre at its best, made in Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford and shared around the world.
“The project will help us create the best facilities for costume-making fit for the 21st century, as well as offer new training and apprenticeship opportunities and allow visitors to experience our world-class costume workshop for themselves.”
Updating the workshop has been funded through grants from the likes of the National Lottery along with the RSC’s Stitch in Time fund-raising appeal, which is still ongoing.
Visit www.rsc.org.uk/stitch-in-time to donate or find out more.
