The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has announced that the BBC will broadcast a recorded version of The Winter’s Tale, one of their 2020 productions that was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Shakespeare classic is due to air around Shakespeare’s birthday in April, with the exact date still to be confirmed.
The Winter’s Tale is Directed by Erica Whyman, the RSC’ Deputy Artistic Director, and scheduled to be broadcast as part of BBC Lights Up, a season of plays across both TV and Radio. The season is produced in partnership with theatres across the UK and continues the BBC Art’s Culture in Quarantine initiative.
The RSC’s Artistic director Gregory Doran commented “it has been an incredibly tough year for all in the industry, including our freelance colleagues who make this industry tick.”
The RSC have confirmed that the recording will feature the original cast and creative team of the 2020 production in its entirety, with screen direction by Bridget Caldwell.
Jonty Claypole, the BBC’s Director of Arts, said “BBC Lights Up is a major broadcast season celebrating the creativity and resilience of UK theatre in its darkest hour.
“It’s that seemingly impossible thing: a theatre festival in the midst of a pandemic… central to that mission is the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of The Winter’s Tale”
The Winter’s tale will be available to watch on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer. The RSC will also be streaming the production to subscribers, members and patrons based outside the UK following the BBC broadcast.
Words by Isabelle Casey.
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Image: Hugo Glendinning // © RSC