Shakespeare Still Relevant, Poll Reveals

And Britain's soaps provide modern-day version of Bard

As the Royal Shakespeare Company's epic staging of Shakespeare's eight play history cycle culminates in London, a new MORI poll for the RSC reveals that Shakespeare's history plays are still regarded by the public as relevant to contemporary politics.

Launched to coincide with Shakespeare's birthday (23 April), a MORI Omnibus poll commissioned by the RSC tested the relevance of Shakespeare's history plays 400 years after they were written.

Almost one hundred years of England's history is staged through This England: The Histories, the RSC's productions of Richard II, Henry IV parts i and ii, Henry V, Henry VI parts i, ii and iii, and Richard III currently at the Barbican and Young Vic theatres in London.

Despite being set in the Middle Ages, the plays cover a number of contemporary political issues, including sleaze, devolution, the Irish question and poll tax riots. According to the research twice as many agree as disagree (40 per cent versus 16 per cent) that Shakespeare's history plays have some relevance to the politics of today.

As well as entertaining audiences, the history plays also said something important about life in Shakespeare's time. In the same way, the poll reveals that Britain's staple soaps - Coronation Street and Eastenders - top the list of contemporary dramas most likely to say something important about Britain in 2001.

Among all respondents, 33 per cent mentioned Eastenders, while 29 per cent thought that Coronation Street was most likely to say something about Britain today. Brookside and Hollyoaks were more popular among teens and twentysomethings, while The Royle Family scored well (28 per cent) among 25-34 year olds.

The poll also reveals that half the British public have seen a theatre production of one of Shakespeare's plays. Of those who have, 32 per cent have seen a production in the last six years. A further 14 per cent have seen a production in the last 10 years.

Despite encouraging levels of attendance across the board, older people are more likely than their younger counterparts to have attended a theatre production of Shakespeare (for example, 57 per cent of over 55s, compared to 44 per cent of 15-24 year-olds).

More dramatic are the disparities between those of different income levels and educational backgrounds. Attendance is highest among those with household incomes over 16330,000 (70 per cent attendance). Equally, 85 per cent of those educated to degree level or higher have attended a Shakespearean theatre production, 42 per cent within the last five years.

Responding to the poll, the RSC's Artistic Director, Adrian Noble, said: "This England: The Histories has been a landmark for the RSC - and the first time in theatre history that all eight plays have been staged together. The poll proves what we already know from the box office - that these plays are as relevant and exciting today as they were 400 years ago.

"It's great to see that so many people have seen a theatre production of Shakespeare. But Shakespeare's not just for high earners with loads of qualifications.

"The RSC is actively recruiting an audience for the future. Already one quarter of our audience is aged 19 and under. The trick is in bringing a wider range of people into the theatre. If we can turn people on to the unique thrill of seeing a performance on stage, then a Shakespeare performance will follow."

At the RSC, a number of initiatives have been introduced to develop new audiences:

• In most of the venues where the RSC performs, young people under 25 can purchase half price tickets. That means the minimum price for a ticket can be as low as 1632.50;
• The RSC has developed new Family Shows to attract new audiences to the theatre. Acclaimed productions of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Secret Garden brought many people to the theatre for the first time (in its first two years The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe generated 88,000 first-time theatre attendees). The RSC is planning to stage Alice in Wonderland this winter;
• Every year the RSC's Mobile Theatre Tour takes professional productions of works by Shakespeare and other classical dramatists to leisure centres, sports halls and schools throughout the UK.

Notes to Editors on This England - The Histories

1. Previous RSC History Cycles have included:

• The Wars of the Roses - an adaptation by John Barton of Henry VI, parts i, ii and iii and Richard III , directed by Peter Hall with John Barton, Clifford Williams, Peter Wood and Frank Evans, Royal Shakespeare Theatre & Aldwych Theatre, 1963
• Terry Hands directed all eight history plays over a five year period Royal Shakespeare Theatre & Aldwych Theatre, 1975-80
• The Plantagenets - an adaptation by Adrian Noble and Charles Wood of Henry VI, parts i, ii and iii and Richard III, directed by Adrian Noble, Royal Shakespeare Theatre & Barbican Theatre, 1988

2. An Electronic Press Kit, featuring performance footage from Richard II, Henry IV part I and Henry VI part iii, as well as interviews with actors and directors, is available on request.

3. Photography from all eight productions is available by contacting the Electronic Press Office on 020-7930 4500 or by emailing: [email protected]

4. Facts and figures on staging This England: The Histories

• 79 actors play over 264 roles in the eight plays in the history cycle
• Over 400 costumes are used during the eight plays, as are
• 5 severed heads
• over 10 pints of stage blood
• over 200 pairs of shoes and boots
• over 50 swords
• over 10 guns
• 24 year old David Oyelowo is the first black actor to play an English monarch in an RSC production. David won the Sunday Times Ian Charleson award for his portrayal of Henry VI.

5. Note on MORI Omnibus poll

The questions were placed on MORI's Omnibus, and a nationally representative quota sample of 1857 adults were interviewed throughout Great Britain by MORI/Field & Tab across 188 constituency-based sampling points. Interviews were carried out using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) face-to-face in respondents' homes between 15-21 March 2001. Data have been weighted to reflect the national population profile. Detailed questions are available on request.

6. The Histories Debate

To celebrate the culmination of the RSC's history cycle, This England: The Histories Debate will discuss the political and social relevance of Shakespeare's history plays. The debate will take place at 3pm on Sunday 22 April in The Pit Theatre at the Barbican Centre, London. BBC journalist Nick Higham will chair a panel of leading commentators including the Home Office Minister the Rt Hon Paul Boateng MP, actor Samuel West, songwriter Billy Bragg, writer Maureen Duffy and historian and broadcaster Michael Wood.