Barbican Centre

After twenty-one years without a permanent London base, the RSC moved into the Barbican in 1982. Until then, Stratford productions reached London audiences only through commercial West End transfers. A fixed London address meant the company could plan full seasons in the capital for the first time.

The Barbican Theatre's 1,156 seats were designed in consultation with the RSC, with a stage configuration built for the kind of productions the company was making at the time. Trevor Nunn's Henry IV was among the first major Shakespeare productions staged in the building. Over the following two decades, productions would open in Stratford and transfer to the Barbican for a London run within the same season, allowing audiences who could not get to the Midlands to see the full RSC programme. Gregory Doran's production of The Tempest, with Simon Russell Beale as Prospero, is among the productions most closely identified with the Barbican during the residency years.

After twenty years, the RSC left at the end of May 2002. Artistic director Adrian Noble announced the decision in 2001, arguing for a more mobile company built around touring rather than a fixed London base. The departure was controversial — it removed the company from its largest audience at a stroke.

Thirteen years later, in 2015, the RSC returned to the Barbican on a season-by-season arrangement. Recent seasons have included the Rome Season: Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, and Titus Andronicus performed in repertoire. Other major productions, including a new Twelfth Night, have followed. The Barbican also programmes Shakespeare from visiting international companies, making it the most consistent London address for the plays outside the National Theatre and the Globe.