Today, after a wonderful morning of visiting the Hereford Cathedral and the home of our coach driver, Richard, we traveled to Stratford-Upon-Avon for a tour of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) theatre. We arrived just in time for our tour and started learning about the history its history.
Our tour guide showed us rehearsal studios where they practice “flying” (being in a harness on a rope), and what I thought was one of the most exciting rooms, the costume storeroom. We entered the costume room and were immediately met with a variety of helmets and suits of armor. He shared with us techniques for making things lighter for the actor, cheaper to manufacture, and even how they keep everything smelling nice and not musty.
It was incredible to see all these different costumes that they made by hand for their shows. He also shared with us that they have professional people to expertly distress the clothing which was so interesting! It was a really educational tour and gave me even more of an appreciation for shows and all the work that goes into creating them.
By Samantha Schlattmann
