The University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham and RSC collaborated between 2016 and 2026, sharing their vision of theatre as an engine room for creative thinking and research.

The collaboration between the University of Birmingham and the RSC embodied a shared commitment to enriching student experience and contemporary Shakespeare studies and a commitment to the importance of arts and humanities disciplines.

Through this collaboration - which incorporated a wide-ranging programme of study and research within the University's Shakespeare Institute - students had the opportunity to experience working with RSC artists and practitioners in their undergraduate and postgraduate courses. RSC Co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey became Honorary Fellows of Shakespeare Institute in 2024.

We continue to collaborate as part of the university's Culture Forward network, which brings together Birmingham and West Midlands-based cultural, creative and community organisations with the University’s academics, researchers and experts.

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Professor Tom Lockwood, Professor of English Literature, said:

“Two great institutions working together created further enormous benefits, combining our world-leading arts research with the RSC’s cutting-edge artistic practice.

"Our students were at the heart of the collaboration and are encouraged to study and create theatre in Shakespeare's own daring spirit.

"They benefitted from the expertise of RSC artists and practitioners through innovative modules, masterclasses, workshops and projects.”

Jacqui O'Hanlon, Director of Creative Learning and Engagement, said:

“Our partnership with the University of Birmingham was rooted in a shared commitment to and belief in arts and humanities subjects as fields that shape the world around us and contribute to a better and more equitable society.

"Together, the University of Birmingham and the Royal Shakespeare Company created formal and informal opportunities for knowledge exchange about Shakespeare’s work and different forms of theatre practice – bringing together students, scholars and artists to explore the place and relevance of that work in our world today. It was an incredibly rich partnership that we were privileged to be part of.”

Learning Impact

The partnership engaged over 1,000 University of Birmingham (UoB) students through an extensive learning enrichment programme, plus over 300 students watching world class performances on our stages, every year.

There were up to 60 bespoke activities programmed annually including Q&As with artists and directors including Daniel Evans and Whitney White, plus workshops with Erica Whyman, David Edgar and Justine Themen.

In addition, there were multi day programmes of R&D workshops for RSC First Encounters performances, plus co-delivered MA modules on Teaching Shakespeare, Shakespeare & Society and The Shakespeare Ensemble. The latter enabled a group of students to devise, produce and perform their response to Shakespeare with a public performance at The Other Place.

Recent impact data shows the practical opportunities to engage with RSC theatre-making professionals demonstrably strengthened participants’ engagement with contemporary theatre practice and contributed to the development of future creative talent within the theatre sector.

Learners - and their teachers - became more confident, creative, and critically engaged. Academic colleagues at UoB recorded benefits for students and their own educational practice through collaboration with RSC colleagues.

Research

  • Signing Shakespeare

  • Stratford Roundhouse Project

  • Birnam Oak

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MORE ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM 

RSC and University of Birmingham collaboration

Shakespeare Institute

University of Birmingham School of English, Drama and Creative Studies

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