Author Description

The story of The Royal Shakespeare Company is a gripping tale of art, rebellion, money, and above all, magnificent drama. What began as a radical, flourishing vision in the 1960s has today become a troubled conglomerate battling artistic decline. Revealing how the RSC went from glory to crisis, Inside the Royal Shakespeare Company tracks the heady conflicts between creativity and commerce that shaped the institution. Former RSC literary manager Colin Chambers goes behind the scenes to offer a rare analysis of the evolution and development of the world's most famous theatre company across four decades and four artistic directors. The talented artists who launched the cutting-edge RSC - such as Peter Hall and Peggy Ashcroft - offered a new vision of what a Shakespearean company could be: A large-scale ensemble presenting a classical and contemporary program relevant to its society. Art was reconnecting to social issues, forging a theatre of national debate that was move vivid and diverse than any since Shakespeare's day. Raising the curtain on a key part of theater history, Inside the Royal Shakespeare Company shows how this remarkable institution came to be, how it foundered on the economic shoals of the 1980s, and how it is fighting to recover the magic of its heyday under new leadership.