The partnership between Davidson College and the Royal Shakespeare Company began in 2002 with a two-week educational and performance residency that included the RSC production of The Merchant of Venice. The company returned in 2005 with a repertory bill of Julius Caesar and The Two Gentlemen of Verona, as well as extensive campus and community outreach.

In 2006, RSC artists worked with Davidson students to develop a cabaret production using scenes and music from Shakespeare’s work that was presented in the Duke Family Performance Hall. Two pieces, For Every Passion Something and Infinite Variety, arose from this production and ran for two weeks at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival with a company of 28 students.

In 2007, the RSC brought director Dominic Cooke’s promenade productions of Pericles and The Winter’s Tale to the Duke Family Performance Hall, as well as a new play commission by the RSC, Roy Williams’ Days of Significance.

In 2008, the RSC chose the residency as an opportunity to develop a brand new work by Rona Munro, Little Eagles, exploring with Davidson faculty and students the mystery and mastery involved in the creative process.

Academic Symposiums

Davidson faculty have developed academic symposiums in concert with the RSC residencies, bringing renowned scholars to campus from across the globe. The 2008 residency was no exception, as the campus welcomed Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Albee, along with other notable writers and scholars, for “Imagining History: Shakespeare and His Legacy.”

Looking Ahead

In his farewell words to the 2008 company, Davidson President Tom Ross said, “Ours has been a rich and rewarding partnership. Literally thousands of students, educators, and other visitors have attended lectures, panels, and workshops over these years—not to mention that more than 20,000 tickets have been sold to RSC productions in the Duke Family Performance Hall, including Little Eagles.”

Davidson will continue its friendship with the Royal Shakespeare Company, looking forward to future opportunities to collaborate with Britain’s premiere theater company in celebration of Shakespeare and the liberal arts.