Hot weather shuts the RSC
Hundreds of theatre-goers were left disappointed when last night’s performances of Hamlet and The Alchemist were cancelled at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
Faulty air conditioning systems meant that the Swan and Royal Shakespeare Theatres were not comfortably habitable in the hot weather.
Although the company has confirmed today's matinee of The Alchemist and tonight's performance of Hamlet will go ahead, they cannot yet say if this evening's Alchemist will be on as at the moment the air conditioning cannot cope with cooling the two theatres simultaneously. A further announcement is expected at 2.30pm.
In a statement issued to the Herald, the RSC said:
“Owing to a technical problem with the theatre’s cooling system, unfortunately we had to cancel the performances of Hamlet in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and The Alchemist in the Swan Theatre last night (Tuesday). We are very sorry that the performances were cancelled. All patrons have the option of a full refund or the chance to rebook for a subsequent performance.
“Today’s (Wednesday) matinee performance of The Alchemist at 1.30pm in the Swan Theatre, and this evening’s performance of Hamlet, at 7.15pm in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, will go ahead.
“However, due to an ongoing technical problem with our cooling system, caused by the unusually high temperatures over the past few days, tonight’s evening performance of The Alchemist (7.30pm) in the Swan Theatre may not go ahead.
“The engineers have worked through the night and the cooling system is currently working at 50 per cent, so, at this time, we are only able to run one theatre at a time. We are working very hard to repair the fault with the system and will have a further update at 2.30pm today. Members of the public who wish to discuss their booking now should contact our Box Office on 01789 403493.
“Any patrons affected by last night’s cancellations wishing to discuss the matter in further detail, should contact Steve Haworth, Head of Sales and Ticketing, by letter (RSC Box Office, RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6BB) or by email steve.haworth@rsc.org.uk”
