The Royal Shakespeare Company

June 19, 2024

Direct Access are the accessibility consultants for several theatre sites managed by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).

Our team delivered audits for the Grade II-listed Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Straford-upon-Avon, as well as its neighbour, The Swan Theatre, which was completed in 1926 after the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre burned down.

Other sites that our team audited include several buildings used for costuming and actor workshops (like 39 Waterside) as well as proposed employee residencies, such as The Old Ferry House – an 18th century brick, slate and tile three-storey house.

Additionally, Direct Access audited several sites in London used by RSC to deliver world-renowned theatrical performances, including the Cambridge Theatre and the Barbican.

The full range of accessibility audits included reviews of both front and back of house facilities at each site, ensuring that the needs of potentially disabled employees and volunteers (in terms of both physical elements and RSC policy) would be provided for, as well as visiting members of the public.

Furthermore, Direct Access made comments on RSC’s online/web accessibility, checking where improvements could be made to ensure that RSC were aware of how they could make their digital media perceivable and operable under the WCAG 2.2 guidelines.

Our collaboration with RSC contributes to the Company’s goal to become a global, multi-platform theatre company by 2034. As part of this vision, they are prioritising equity, diversity, justice, inclusion, and accessibility – which is where Direct Access came in.

By delivering accessibility consultancy, our goal was to assist the RSC in the development of inspirational and inclusive facilities that would allow the stories by Shakespeare and others to be experienced and celebrated by diverse audiences, including disabled people.

The Royal Shakespeare Company

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