Royal Shakespeare Company Schedule - What's on at the RSC in 2009

Despite construction works, a full schedule of drama

With two of its important Stratford-upon-Avon Theatres closed for updating (Royal Shakespeare Renovations - 2007-2010 Plans at Shakespeare Theatres) The Royal Shakespeare Company is still going great guns. Plans for 2009 - 2011 include the launch of the new RSC 2009-2011 "long ensemble", a group of actors under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Boyd, who will work together for nearly three years, preparing a rich repetoire of works for the opening of the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 2010 and the RSC's 50th anniversary in 2011. In addition to classical works of Shakespeare, the company is performing newly commissioned plays for its Other Russia season. The strand explores the culture and issues of republics of the former Soviet Union and Russian theatre set before and after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Here's what you can plan to see in 2009

In Stratford-upon-Avon

• The Winter's Tale A tale of destructive jealousy. Shakespeare strips away the trappings of a man's success to discover the nature of true happiness. This play marks the beginning of the RSC's long ensemble - with the same company of actors performing all the plays for the next two years. In repertory from March 31 to October 3.
• As You Like It Young lovers, courtly intrigue and a lusty game of mistaken identity in the Forest of Arden. One of Shakespeare's most delightful comedies. From April 18 and in repertory until October 3.
• A Comedy of Errors Aimed at families and children, this is a specially distilled version of the tale of two sets of twins, separated at birth. Produced in association with Told by an Idiot theatre company, the production is ideal as a child's first exposure to Shakespeare. From June 25 to August 15 in repertory.
• Julius Caesar Politics and betrayal, violence and bloody civil war. Wow! In repertory from May 15 to October 2.
• The Drunks A new comimission for the Other Russia season by Mikhail and Vsyacheslav Durnenkov. A shell-shocked soldier returning from Chechnya stumbles into a small town power struggle. Described as darkly comic, the work marks the introduction of large-scale new writing to the RSC's Courtyard Theatre. August 21 to October 1 in repertory.
• The Grain Store A new RSC commission by Natal'ia Vorozhbit. Set in the Ukraine in 1929, as Stalin launches the first of his Five Year Plans, to catastrophic effect on a close-knit rural community. From September 10 in repertory until October 1.

In Newcastle

The company transfers to Newcastle, October 20 to November 7, performing The Comedy of Errors, Julius Caesar, The Winter's Tale and As You Like It at the Theatre Royal.

The Newcastle season also includes two new plays at Northern Stage:

• Days of Significance by Roy Williams. Fresh from critical acclaim in London, the play is described as a disturbing and persuasive portrait of two young soldiers, before and after their tours of active service.
• A Tender Thing by Ben Power. In this re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's words are woven through the story of an older couple, whose lifetime of love is under threat.

Buy tickets online from the RSC website; by post, writing to Box Office, The Courtyard Theatre, Southern Lane, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6BB, UK, or by ringing the ticket hotline 0844 800 1110 (from within the UK only).