What is good... SHAKESPEARE

British Shakespeare Company history

The British Shakespeare Company is the best known and most successful open-air Shakespeare company in Great Britain. As a performer of Shakespeare's works, we are second in size and reputation only to the RSC. Since its inception the British Shakespeare Company has achieved critical acclaim for its productions both throughout Great Britain and internationally.

The tradition of open-air theatre is deeply rooted in British culture. For over a thousand years companies have created theatres in the centre of towns, erecting a pageant wagon or scaffolding stage where they performed great historical and classical drama for a mass audience. It is the spirit of these open-air acting troupes that inspires the British Shakespeare Company.

Motivated by these traditions, and a desire to take Shakespeare out of theatres and into sites that would make it more vibrant, accessible and exciting for a modern audience, actor-manager Robert J Williamson set about creating a festival in his home town of Leeds. Now in its 14th year, it is the largest professional Shakespeare festival in the UK, attracting 15,000 people.

As well as being "Britain's largest and best loved open-air Shakespeare Company" (the BBC), we have performed in London's West End, at major repertory theatres and even at Royal Palaces. Constantly seeking new challenges and looking to bring our work, as did Shakespeare himself, to different audiences the BSC have also produced Shakespeare Festivals at Edinburgh Castle, Wadham College - Oxford, Aston Hall - Birmingham, Chiswick House – London, De Montfort Hall – Leicester, Kenwood House – Hampstead – London, Marble Hill House – Richmond, Nottingham Castle, Nottingham Playhouse, Royal Pavilion & Preston Manor - Brighton, Rochester Castle – Kent, Holland Park Theatre & Royal Botanic Gardens – London and atArundel Castle as part of the Arundel Festival.

We have just completed our first film Sweet Swan of Avon, filming across England and Norway, which will be released internationally at the end of 2008. This includes scenes from 15 of Shakespeare’s plays, which means the BSC has visited more of the plays on film than any other company.

We also put forward the idea of a National Shakespeare Day to be held on 23 April that received cross-party support and widespread news coverage. Our suggestion to send out “Shakespeare Packs” to schools for children of all ages to give them an early and fun introduction to Shakespeare has now been taken up as government policy.

The British Shakespeare Company has performed over 1500 shows, entertained hundreds of thousands of people, employed hundreds of actors – from movie stars to the finest classically-trained verse-speakers – and always aims to capture the imagination of the public by presenting the Bard’s greatest works in a clear, engaging and dynamic style.