We commission composers to write new scores for many of our productions and the music you hear when you come to a performance in our theatres is often played live.
Shakespeare's plays are filled with music: they include more than 2,000 references to music, over 400 separate musical terms and around 100 songs.
The musicians in our productions play a vast array of instruments, from the familiar to the highly unusual, often appearing in costume, on stage amongst the actors.
Theatre is a special experience because each performance is a unique event. Music is crucial to any theatrical performance – the unique power of music helps to establish location, period, status, and mood; it also reinforces emotional atmosphere and tension, and helps to drive the narrative.
Our composers
We commission great composers and songwriters to write new music for many of our productions. Over recent years, this list has included:
RSC Recordings
The RSC Music & Speeches series is a unique collection of music composed for every Shakespeare play. The studio recordings encompass scores written for the RSC’s productions of the First Folio plays between 2013 and 2022.
They also include scores selected from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Archive, composed for previous productions of Shakespeare’s plays in Stratford. These scores were composed by many significant composers of the twentieth century, between 1900 and 2005.
Visit our Shop to see what we currently have on offer.
RSC musical archive
The music composed for each of our productions is archived once the show comes to an end. The archive holds over 400 scores composed for Shakespeare plays, written by over 100 different composers. More recent scores have been produced and archived digitally, but going back further in time, the music was handwritten.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust archive includes records from our Music Department and its predecessors, and we have scores in the archive composed for productions in Stratford-upon-Avon by many significant composers of the twentieth century.
The Boy in the Dress
In 2019, David Walliams’ heart-warming comedy was brought to the stage for the first time in a musical with all new songs from Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers. The original cast recording was released in 2020, with 21 tracks from the show, plus two bonus demo tracks performed by Robbie Williams.
The Boy in the Dress CD
Matilda The Musical
We asked Australian comedian and musician Tim Minchin to collaborate with playwright Dennis Kelly on a new musical adaptation of one of Roald Dahl's well known children's stories. Matilda The Musical has now won over 90 international awards and has played around the world, including a Korean-language production that took place in 2018.
Matilda The Musical CD
get in touch
If you're a musician who'd like to work with us, email your details and CV to our Music Department and we'll keep your information on file.
