The Other Place is a

black box theatre A black box theater is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction. The black ...

on Southern Lane, near to the

Royal Shakespeare Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespe ...

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is owned and operated by the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. In 2006, an earlier version of the theatre closed and reopened as the temporary and larger

Courtyard Theatre The Courtyard Theatre was a 1,048 seat thrust stage theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England operated by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). It temporarily replaced The Other Place theatre during the redevelopment of the Roya ...

, while the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres were redeveloped. In March 2016, The Other Place was reinstated as a 200-seat studio theatre.

History

In 1974, the RSC acquired its first studio theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, The Other Place. The name was chosen to reflect continuity from the company's work at

The Place The Place may refer to: * The Place (London) The Place is a dance and performance centre in Duke's Road near Euston in the London Borough of Camden. It is the home of London Contemporary Dance School and the Robin Howard Dance Theatre, and former ...

, London. Converted from a rehearsal room, and directed initially by

Buzz Goodbody Mary Ann "Buzz" Goodbody (25 June 1946 – 12 April 1975)Jennifer Uglow, et al. ''The Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography'', London: Macmillan Papermac, 1999, p.232. As the press/opening night of Buzz Goodbody's production of ''Hamlet'' was ...

, this corrugated ‘tin hut’ became home to some of the company's most exciting small-scale and experimental work both in classical productions and in productions of work from contemporary writers such as David Edgar, Edward Bond and Peter Flannery. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

s journalist Andrew Dickson would later note,

In April 1975, a production of Hamlet opened at The Other Place, the Royal Shakespeare Company's pocket-sized studio theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. A little-known 31-year-old called Ben Kingsley was the prince. Elsewhere in the cast were Charles Dance and Mikel Lambert. The reviewers fell off their seats in shock. Nicholas de Jongh, writing for the Guardian, called the production "totally unexpected". The Times' Irving Wardle confessed: "It is a long time since I have been so gripped." He later ranked it one of his productions of the decade. In fact, played in jeans and shirt-sleeves to an audience of just 150, this Hamlet was proclaimed one of the greatest anyone could remember. One person was not there to celebrate: the director, Buzz Goodbody. A few days before, she had taken a fatal overdose of sleeping pills in her London flat. She was just 28.

It was an intimate studio theatre space and in such close confines, it was not unknown for actors to interact with the audience by sitting amongst them or rushing onto the stage through the theatre’s main entrance. The Other Place was closed in 1989 for two years of rebuilding and was replaced with a more modern building, designed by

Ian Ritchie Architects Ian Ritchie Architects Ltd is a British architectural and design practice, based in London led by its founder Ian Ritchie. The practice changed its name to 'Ritchie Studio' on 24 June 2021. Recently completed projects include the RIBA Aw ...

and opening in 1991. It remained true to the spirit of the original building, housing some of the company's most exciting productions as well as hosting overseas companies, workshops, teaching courses and conferences on all aspects of theatre, including the annual Prince of Wales Shakespeare School. The new building later closed and was transformed into a foyer for the RSC's temporary

which was built on the adjacent car-park to house performances in Stratford-upon-Avon whilst the RSC's main houses, the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres, were redeveloped as part of the Transformation project. The Other Place's fifteen-year history represented "a brief, shining moment in the long history of the Royal Shakespeare Company".Smith-Howard (2006: 4)

The new The Other Place

The RSC had anticipated the extension for the Courtyard Theatre would be a temporary building. However, plans were made to bring back The Other Place, keeping the existing structure of the current Courtyard Theatre. In 2012, planning permission was granted by Stratford District Council to reinstate The Other Place within the extended building. The Other Place is a 200-seat studio theatre with a remodelled internal space to create a new-style, mixed use TOP which will provide opportunities for community, amateur and educational use. Over 30,000 costumes are available to the public for the first time through theatre tours. There is also space for small conferences and meetings and occasional commercial hire. The redevelopment of the new TOP began in February 2015 and the theatre opened on 21 March 2016, in time for the 400th anniversary of

William Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

death. Funding for the new theatre came from a £3 million grant from the

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

raised through the National Lottery. Funding was also received from the

Gatsby Charitable Foundation The Gatsby Charitable Foundation is an endowed grant-making trust, based in London, founded by David Sainsbury in 1967. The organisation is one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, set up to provide funding for charitable causes. Although the ...

, The Backstage Trust and from public donations. This is the final phase of the Transformation project, to redevelop the entire theatre complex in Stratford-upon-Avon.

History

The new The Other Place

See also

References

Further reading