The RSC Live Collection

"The Royal Shakespeare Company and the Arden Shakespeare side by side online: what a wonderful combination of resources for students and scholars alike! To be able to watch the ever-growing list of films of RSC productions and then to turn to the superb scholarship of Arden editions (or vice versa) seems to me the perfect way to study - and enjoy – Shakespeare."

Peter Holland, Chair of the International Shakespeare Association, Associate Dean for the Arts, McMeel Family Professor in Shakespeare Studies, Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, University of Notre Dame, USA

The RSC Live Collection offers students worldwide their own seat in the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company theatre. It was launched on Drama Online with 17 films of live productions performed between 2013 and 2017. These included the cutting-edge 2016-17 production of The Tempest starring Simon Russell Beale.

A further 10 films of productions performed in 2018 and 2019 were later added to the collection, including Twelfth Night starring comedy icon Adrian Edmondson.

8 more films have been added to the collection since 2023, including A Midsummer Night's Dream with Mathew Baynton (Ghosts, Horrible Histories) as Bottom and a production of The Winter's Tale set across a 16-year span, from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II to the moon landing.

These 3 sets of films are available as separate perpetual access purchases (RSC Live 1, RSC Live 2 and RSC Live 3). Alternatively, institutions can subscribe to all the plays through a single subscription to the RSC Live Collection.

Designed with the student and researcher in mind

• The films render beautifully in the video player and are accompanied by transcripts with real-time tracking of lines spoken and a search transcript function.
• Each video is enhanced by a collection of still production images.
• An Educational Resource Pack for teachers is provided for each play.

Pair the films with other performances, playtexts and critical texts including those in:

• The Arden Shakespeare in the Core Collection
• Shakespeare scholarship from Critical Studies and Performance Practice
• Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy on Screen
• The Hollow Crown
• Maxine Peake as Hamlet
• National Theatre Collection
• Shakespeare's Globe on Screen