Box office takings have more than doubled to £18.1m from £8.3m in 2010/11, when the company had reduced operations due to the refurbishment of the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres. Its audience almost doubled between the two seasons - up to 708,022 people in 2011/12. Percentage capacity remained static at 89%.
The results were reported at the RSC's annual general meeting in Stratford, which saw artistic director Michael Boyd and executive director Vikki Heywood hand over to Gregory Doran and Catherine Mallyon respectively.
NT in NYC - The National Theatre has announced that it is opening a New York office. Led by Tim Levy, the office will oversee all of the NT's North American work. NT executive director Nick Starr said, "The National Theatre has been very grateful to be so warmly welcomed by American audiences over the years. We have a continuing appetite to bring our very best work to the US, both productions on stage and the National Theatre Live cinema screenings.
"It is also a great opportunity to align the National Theatre's efforts with the indefatigable work and support of the American Associates of the National Theatre. Establishing this office will allow us to build on existing relationships with American theatre companies, and to continue to foster a theatrical dialogue involving artists from both sides of the Atlantic."
Shed of the Year - A garden shed in Somerset, which was named Shed of the Year after hosting online gigs, is facing closure. Owner, Jon Earl, from Clevedon, said he was struggling to pay the running costs of the not-for-profit project. Songs from the Shed has hosted more than 400 acoustic shows with acts, including Fairport Convention and Paul Heaton, coming from across the world. Its website has had more than a million views, but Mr Earl said the running costs are becoming too much. Mr Earl said he needed "a few hundred pounds" to allow him to continue, to pay for things like music licences and website costs, as well as day-to-day running costs.
Awards Update - Rihanna and Taylor Swift have picked up the most nominations for this year's MTV Europe Music Awards. The pair are up for six and five awards respectively, and go against each other in the Best Female, Best Pop and Best Look categories. Justin Bieber and Katy Perry are in the running for four awards each, while Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj are among those up for three. The MTV EMAs take place on 11 November in Frankfurt, Germany.
(Jim Evans)
