The Royal Shakespeare Company Will Increase Capacity in the Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Garden Theatre

The Royal Shakespeare Company has today announced that that extra tickets for The Comedy of Errors, running in The Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Garden Theatre, will be on sale for performances from Tuesday 17 August.

Following the confirmed easing of government restrictions on Monday 19 July, the RSC increased its capacity from 250 to 310 seats per performance and will move to 80% capacity, 400 seats from mid-August.

Catherine Mallyon, Executive Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, said;

"We are delighted that already over 7,000 people have joined us in the outdoor theatre since it opened in July and we hope to see many more visitors joining us over the summer either at the theatre or as part of our extensive free family activity programme in the gardens.

Throughout the pandemic, we have remained in regular communication with our audiences and have worked closely with colleagues from across the industry to monitor changing visitor sentiment and confidence levels. Our audiences have told us consistently that they would feel most confident returning to an outdoor setting, a view that has continued despite the lifting of restrictions. Our aim is to balance the desire to satisfy demand for seats, but also to protect those that are vulnerable due to Covid-19 or nervous about returning to full capacity performances.

An outdoor theatre remains the most confident and safe way for us to return to on stage performances as we look forward to the re-opening of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in October with our new production of 'The Magician's Elephant."

Audiences visiting the theatre between now and 16 August will be asked to wear a face covering when inside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre building, queuing in the gardens and moving around the Garden Theatre auditorium, unless they are exempt. Once seated, audience members can remove their face covering to watch the performance.

From 16 August onwards, mask-wearing inside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre building and in the Garden Theatre grounds will be optional.

Audiences attending a performance of The Comedy of Errors between now and 26th September are also encouraged to check-in to the Garden Theatre via the NHS Track & Trace app upon entry to the theatre space.

Anyone dining in the Rooftop Restaurant, whether they are attending the performance or not, will be asked to check-in via a NHS Track & Trace for the Rooftop.

Enhanced cleaning and sanitisation of all areas of the building will take place before and after every performance or event. All cleaning regimes follow the latest government Covid-secure guidance.

All RSC events and performances have been carefully planned to ensure social-distancing guidelines can be observed on stage and backstage at all times, which includes training staff and performers to ensure they know how to keep themselves and others safe.

The latest information and answers to frequently asked questions are updated regularly on the company's website.

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