ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

formerly (until 1961) Shakespeare Memorial Company, important English theatrical company based in Stratford-upon-Avon and in London. The repertoire of both the Stratford-based and the London-based parts of the company centres on works by William Shakespeare and other Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights. The company was founded in 1875 and was originally attached to the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, which had been built through the efforts of Charles Edward Flower. This theatre opened in 1879 as the site of an annual festival of Shakespeare's plays, and its resident, seasonal company came to be called the Shakespeare Memorial Company. In 1925 a royal charter was granted to this company, which had by then become one of the most prestigious in Great Britain. The director Peter Hall reorganized the company in 1960 and divided it into twin units, one to play at Stratford and the other to be based in London. It was renamed the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961. These changes enabled the company to develop into a professional ensemble working year-round. The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford was similarly renamed the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. In 1982 the London unit, which had been based at the Aldwych Theatre, moved to new quarters at the Barbican arts complex. The Royal Shakespeare Company also makes international tours.