King Charles III Surprises Sold-Out RSC Tempest Audience at Stratford Theatre
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 23
King Charles III Surprises Sold-Out RSC Tempest Audience at Stratford Theatre
9 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 23
King Charles III drew cheers after arriving unannounced at a sold-out Royal Shakespeare Company performance of The Tempest in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Backstage, the monarch toured the costume department, praised the pieces as “brilliant,” and later met the cast after the show.
Tamara Harvey, one of the RSC’s co-artistic directors, said Charles seemed a “true enthusiast of the theatre” and was “laughing away” during the performance.
The visit spotlighted a high-profile production directed by Sir Richard Eyre and starring Sir Kenneth Branagh as Prospero—his first return to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in more than 30 years.
Charles is a patron of the RSC, whose leaders called the royal visit “a tremendous honour.”
As the RSC stages both Shakespeare and Game of Thrones, is royal patronage guiding it into a new era?
Can a single royal visit help close the UK's growing arts education gap for children?