The Royal Shakespeare Company Sells Off Old Wardrobe in Jumble Sale

Posted on by The Gryphon Web Editor

What’s the cost of an RSC costume? A very early start we should think.

Fancy yourself a piece of history? Julius Caesar’s chest armour perhaps? Or Lady Macbeth’s guilt stained necklace? Last week, the Royal Shakespeare Company offered the chance to enter their old wardrobe and buy any of the items that were on show, in the most dramatic jumble sale yet.

As the Bard himself proclaimed, ‘clothes maketh the man [or indeed the person]’. In Shakespeare’s case, it’s usually a pair of too tightly fitting stockings and a similarly tailored corset- all part and parcel of an interpretation of one of the Renaissance plays. However, if you have ever taken a trip to the Royal Shakespeare Company, you will have witnessed for yourself the dexterity of the costumes that grace their stages, ranging from the elegant, and sometimes outrageous, to the downright gaudy and obscene. Having seen a production of The Merchant of Venice a few years ago, which was firmly set in the casinos and bars of the Las Vegas strip, I can safely vouch that the sets and wardrobes are far from the stuffy and worn corsets and pants that are often associated with period productions.

So those who got themselves down to Stratford Upon Avon’s primary arts bastion on Saturday 23rd September were in for a theatrical treat, queuing for up to a couple of hours to hunt through the eclectic collection of around 10,000 items of the RSC’s most creative costumes. Thrifty punters were able to explore the vast catalogue of garments up for grabs, which comprised of a generous variety of uniforms, jewellery, shoes, shirts and suits- all of which were somehow used by the company in their productions.

The sale was the largest the RSC have ever created, and with due reason, many were outside waiting from the early hours of the morning. Happy bargain hunters shared their finds on Twitter with the hashtag #StitchInTime, and included photos of their new treasures from Shakespearean codpieces to the stitched representation of gluttony, one of the Seven Deadly Sins from the 2016 production of Dr. Faustus. I wonder especially where or for what the new owner of that particularly ghastly costume will decide to parade their new purchase… Some of the other pieces on sale included items from RSC productions of Cymbeline (2016), Othello (2015) and Julius Caesar (2009). Prices started from a mere £1 and the proceeds all help towards the restoration and rebuild of the RSC Costume Workshop.

This unique opportunity was very well received by RSC fans and the general public alike and demonstrates the hearty and non-pretentious culture of the company, despite their formidable reputation. Another Shakespeare quote springs to mind, albeit a rather darkly tinged one but at its basest, apt nonetheless: ‘an eye for an eye’ or rather, in this case, a slightly scuffed pair of boots for another yet to grace the stage. It is an imaginative way of funding the restoration of their new costume department through giving back to its supporters a piece of the company to own for themselves. It’s this animated relationship between stage and spectator that characterises the RSC as the modern and quirkily creative company that continues to surprise and delight and its efforts to engage with its patrons and theatregoers is one that must be cherished.

Natasha Lyons

(Image courtesy of RSC)