Here’s a question for you … what do a Maori Coriolanus, an all female Richard III and a performance that puts Shakespeare’s favourite characters in a public swimming pool in Penzance have in common?

The answer is that they are all plays written or inspired by Mr Shakespeare and they are being performed as part of the UK’s biggest amateur theatre project – Open Stages – the RSC’s ground-breaking initiative which sees amateur groups from across the UK perform their own productions with help and guidance from the RSC and nine other regional partner theatres.

Just a few examples of the huge range of work being done by over 6,400 participants (the oldest being 90 and the youngest 6 years old), include a Tempest set and performed in a Tesco supermarket, the Royal Air Force Theatrical Association (RAFTA) staging Return to the Forbidden Planet with technical help from an Army officer (The Junction, Cambridge, 24-27 Aug), Much Ado About Nothing staged by members of the Royal Navy who have returned from active duty on their naval base in Portsmouth Harbour, and The First and Last Performance of the Titanic Shakespeare Society – an Edwardian concert party set on the Titanic’s voyage performed in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, where the great ship was built. Here at SeatChoice our involvement is with the RAFTA production where we are Co-producer and Company Manager for the show!

As part of this support, the participating groups can attend a ‘Skills Exchange’ workshop day hosted by each of the partner theatres and led by the RSC’s own team of theatre practitioners, so that expertise in areas such as acting, design, movement, voice and text as well as lighting, directing and stage management can be shared. RSC Open Stages has already run 17 of these Skills Exchange days across the UK from Cornwall to Manchester, running over one hundred workshops, working with over a thousand amateur theatre makers – with another 5 Skills Exchanges yet to come.

Ian Wainwright, RSC Open Stages producer, said; “We are delighted that so many groups around the country are staging their own unique take on Shakespeare in a variety of theatres, town halls, castles, beaches and forests in a breathtaking variety of creative ways – in the Midlands this includes a torch lit performance of Macbeth in Coventry Cathedral and not forgetting the RSC’s own Front of House staff, who are bringing ‘interactive comedy mayhem to people’s summers’ with a performance on Stratford’s Bancroft Gardens outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. It is really positive to see the continued popularity of Shakespeare as an inspiration for live performance both for professionals and amateurs.

With 19 productions, Macbeth is the most popular of the plays with A Midsummer Night’s Dream coming a close second (18 productions) and Twelfth Night third (12 productions). For more information about the project please go to thee RSC Open Stages web page. There is also a map of the geographical spread of productions taking place around the country.