The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) will screen the state funeral of Her Majesty The Queen on Monday 19 September in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. The building will open at 10am, with access to the auditorium from 10.15am ahead of the funeral service between 11am-12noon. It is expected that the screening will end at 1pm, with the building closing at 1.30pm.
Tickets, which are free, will be available to reserve from 10am on Thursday 15 September via rsc.org.uk, in person from the RSC’s Box Office in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and from 12noon by phone on 01789 331111.
Her Majesty the Queen was Patron of the Royal Shakespeare Company since 1961, when the Company was created.
Catherine Mallyon (RSC Executive Director) and Erica Whyman (RSC Acting Artistic Director) said: “We are deeply saddened at the news of the Queen’s death, and our thoughts are with her family, and particularly His Majesty The King. Her Majesty The Queen was Patron of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1961, when the Company was created.
“Her Majesty last visited us in Stratford-upon-Avon on 4 March 2011, to open formally the transformed Royal Shakespeare Theatre. This was a memorable day in the history of the RSC where she met and talked with members of the Company and those involved in the redevelopment and transformation of the theatre.
“It was a great pleasure for us to rehearse with (the former) HRH The Prince of Wales in preparation for his poetic tribute to his mother on her 90th birthday in 2016. We were honoured to be part of such a special moment.
“Shakespeare’s Henry VIII contains a prophecy by Archbishop Cranmer about the baby princess Elizabeth I:
She shall be, to the happiness of England,
An aged princess; many days shall see her,
And yet no day without a deed to crown it.
“Translated to our times, Elizabeth II sought the happiness of England with her steadfast service, certainly lived many days, and did a great deed on every one.” Apart from access to the screening between 10am and 1.30pm the Royal Shakespeare Theatre will be closed on Monday 19 September.
There were no RSC performances planned to take place on this day in either Stratford-upon-Avon or London, and the small number of Stratford theatre tours due to run on the day of the funeral will be cancelled. Bookers will be contacted, and offered a refund or the option to rebook.
The RSC Box Office in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre foyer is open from 10am until 7.15pm Monday to Saturdays.
