The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) announces a new series of its in-house podcast, Interval Drinks, with the first episode featuring multi-award-winning author of Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell, interviewed by director of the RSC’s sell-out stage adaptation, Erica Whyman, ahead of the production’s transfer to the Garrick Theatre in London this autumn.
New episodes from the series will become available to download every Thursday at 11am and will feature conversations between director and environmental activist Elizabeth Freestone, Chief Executive of The Royal Meteorological Society Dr Liz Bentley, actor Ibraheem Toure, Artistic Director of Trybe House Theatre, Philip J Morris, writer and director Charlie Josephine, Artistic Director and joint CEO, of Cardboard Citizens, Chris Sonnex, RSC Associate Artist Alexandra Gilbreath and Wellbeing in the Arts founder, Adam Bamborough.
Interval Drinks is an opportunity to learn more about the life of the RSC from those at the heart of the Company. The Podcast offers audiences a rare insight into the professional journeys of these RSC artists, as well as a chance to explore the craft of modern theatre and discuss some of the biggest issues facing the theatre industry today.
In episode one, Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Maggie O’Farrell talks with director and former acting artistic director of the RSC, Erica Whyman. They discuss Hamnet, the novel and the process of putting it on stage, as well as Hamlet and autobiography in fiction, including the part Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, plays in his work.
The stage production of Hamnet will transfer direct to London’s Garrick Theatre this autumn after selling out ahead of its world premiere at the newly restored Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon this April. The production will run for a limited 14-week season from Saturday 30 September 2023 – Saturday 6 January 2024 with a press performance on Wednesday 18 October 2023.
Hamnet has sold over a 1.5 million copies worldwide and was named both Waterstones Book of the Year and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2020. The novel also saw Maggie O’Farrell named the winner of the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction; the UK’s most prestigious annual book award celebrating and honouring fiction written by women. As the No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller in 2021, Hamnet was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction (2021) and British Book awards ‘Fiction Book of the Year’ (2021).
In episode two, director Elizabeth Freestone, who recently directed the RSC’s critically acclaimed and climate crisis inspired production of The Tempest, speaks to Dr Liz Bentley, Chief Executive of The Royal Meteorological Society, about the climate crisis and the place of theatre and the arts within that, as well as the mini ice age that happened in Shakespeare’s lifetime. Episode two will be available to download on Thursday 29 June.
Episode three features actor and learning practitioner Ibraheem Toure interviewing Artistic Director of Trybe House Theatre, Philip J Morris about their own first encounters with Shakespeare and how they make those first encounters for young people. Episode three will be available to download on Thursday 6 July.
In the fourth episode, writer and director of the RSC’s upcoming production Cowbois, Charlie Josephine, meets Artistic Director and joint CEO, of Cardboard Citizens, Chris Sonnex to talk about “theatre and about class and about identity and about passion”, including making theatre for and about people that have lived experience of homelessness, poverty and inequity. Episode four will be available to download on Thursday 13 July.
In the final episode of the series, actor and RSC Associate Artist Alexandra Gilbreath speaks with Wellbeing in the Arts founder Adam Bamborough. Alex is currently marking her 30th year with the RSC, and was recently seen in Gregory Doran’s production of Cymbeline before starting rehearsals for The Empress. They talk about mental health in the theatre industry, stage fright itself as well as their own experiences and getting help. Episode five will be available to download on Thursday 20 July.
The series launched in Spring 2021, bringing together members of the RSC’s acting company with inspirational personalities from the Company’s history. Previous episodes include conversations with Adjoa Andoh, Justin Audibert, Paul Chahidi, Tinuke Craig, Kate DiCamillo, Juliet Gilkes Romero, John Kani, Lucien Msamati, Tim Minchin, Femi Temowo, David Tennant and David Threlfall.
Each episode of the series is available to download for free via the RSC website, as well as multiple podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes). There are also vodcast episodes with Charlotte Arrowsmith and Sophie Woolley available via the RSC YouTube channel.
The music is ‘Oberon’s Theme – King of Shadow’, originally composed by Sam Kenyon for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016).
