Editing Royal Shakespeare Company (section)

====Foundation and history====
In 1959, while still the director-designate of the Memorial Theatre, [[Peter Hall (theatre director)|Peter Hall]] announced that the formation of a permanent company would be a primary objective. David Addenbrooke wrote of Hall's belief that Shakespeare, more than any other dramatist, needed a 'style', a tradition and unity of direction and acting.<ref>Addenbrooke (1974)</ref> On 14 January 1960, Hall's first policy statement as director also proposed the acquisition of a second theatre, in London, to be used as a city outlet for selected Stratford productions. The RSC was formally established on 20 March 1961 with the royal announcement that the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre would henceforth be known as the [[Royal Shakespeare Theatre]] and the company as the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The critic [[Michael Billington (critic)|Michael Billington]], summarising these events, wrote: "In 1960 the twenty-nine-year-old Peter Hall formally took charge at Stratford-upon-Avon and set about turning a star-laden, six-month Shakespeare festival into a monumental, year-round operation built around a permanent company, a London base and contemporary work from home and abroad. Looking back, it is difficult to realise just how radical Hall's dream was at the time; or indeed how much opposition there was to the creation of what became officially known in March 1961 as the Royal Shakespeare Company."<ref name="Billington"/>

[[John Barton (director)|John Barton]] had been appointed associate director in January 1960,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2006/feb/07/theatre.rsc|title=Interview: John Barton – Stage|last=Bllington|first=Michael|date=7 February 2006|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=3 December 2015|archive-date=19 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119120046/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2006/feb/07/theatre.rsc|url-status=live}}</ref> and was followed in 1962 by [[Michel Saint-Denis]], [[Peter Brook]] and [[Clifford Williams (actor)|Clifford Williams]] who joined the company as resident directors. John Bury was appointed head of design in 1964. The repertoire was also widened to take in modern work and classics other than Shakespeare.

In 1962, strong opposition to the establishment of a London base for the RSC came from the [[Royal National Theatre]] which – led by [[Viscount Chandos]] and [[Laurence Olivier]] – wished to be the sole subsidised company operating in London. Following a deal with [[Prince Littler]], managing director of Associated Theatre Properties, the RSC established the [[Aldwych Theatre]] as its London base for productions transferred from Stratford to London, its stage redesigned to match the RST's apron stage.

Twenty years later, in the summer of 1982, the company took up London residence in both the Barbican Theatre and The Pit studio space in the [[Barbican Centre]] under the auspices of the City of London.  The RSC was closely involved in the design of these two venues.  In 2002 it left the Barbican after a series of allegedly poor seasons, partly because the then artistic director [[Adrian Noble]] wanted to develop the company's touring performances. His decision means the company has no regular London home.