Swan Theatre

The Swan Theatre is a theatre belonging to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is built on to the side of the larger Royal Shakespeare Theatre, occupying the Victorian Gothic structure that formerly housed the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre that preceded the RST but was destroyed by fire in 1926. Trevor Nunn and Terry Hands were joint artistic directors of the RSC when the company opened The Swan. Designed by Michael Reardon, it has a deep thrust stage, and is a galleried, intimate auditorium holding around 450 people. The space was to be dedicated to playing the works of William Shakespeare's contemporaries, the works of European writers and the occasional work of Shakespeare. The Swan Theatre's opening season was in 1986. The theatre was launched on 8 May 1986 with a production of The Two Noble Kinsmen by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher (not published until 1634 and thought to be Shakespeare's last work for the stage). It was directed by Barry Kyle. On 13 November 1986 The Queen visited Stratford-upon-Avon to open the Swan Theatre. The official opening ceremony was held during the day and in the evening The Fair Maid of the West, directed by Trevor Nunn was staged in front of an invited audience. The Swan has subsequently been used for many other types of drama including the works of Chekhov, Ibsen and Tennessee Williams. Between January 2022 and April 2023 the Swan Theatre was refurbished as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's £112.8 million transformation project. Improvements to the Swan include re-carpeting of the auditorium on all levels and re-upholstering of seats. The project also saw the installation of a new induction hearing loop, an upgrade to the sound and lighting infrastructure and the replacement of the air conditioning system which has enabled roof-space to be freed up, returning the capability for flying and hanging scenic items over the stage. The project also enabled a number of structural changes, so the…