THE present and the future is very much to the fore in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s announcement of its Winter 2017 season.

As well as what’s coming up later this year at Stratford-upon-Avon, the company’s artistic director, Gregory Doran has also revealed plans for the RSC’s Next Generation, a new long-term talent development programme.

Through this scheme it is planned to give up to 100 young people each year from disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to develop a career in the theatre, providing them with the chance to explore a career in acting, directing or working backstage.

Developed in collaboration with partner theatres and schools across the country, RSC Next Generation is a response to the fact that young people from low-income backgrounds remain under-represented across the theatre sector.

Some of the best theatre-makers, actors and directors in the business will give advice, teaching, support and practical experience, under the guidance of the RSC, in three key areas:

  • NEXT GENERATION ACT:  Up to 24 talented young people aged 13-18 will join RSC Next Generation to hone and develop their skills as actors. The RSC will continue to offer these students support until they are 18 years old, recruiting new members of the Young Company each year.

  • NEXT GENERATION DIRECT: This strand, with Intermission Theatre, is for young people over 18 who demonstrate the creative leadership and directing skills needed to take a play from page to stage.

  • NEXT GENERATION BACKSTAGE: Each year 40-50 students aged 13-18 will be given a ‘Backstage Pass’ to discover everything that goes on behind the scenes to bring each production to life.

Participants in the programme will be drawn from the thousands of young people who attend (or have attended) the RSC’s 500+ Associate and Partner Schools nationwide in communities that are under-represented in the cultural industries.

Meanwhile, other RSC highlights later this year in both the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Swan, include - Imperium: The Cicero Plays – this will be the world premiere of a new adaptation by Mike Poulton of Robert Harris’ best-selling Cicero trilogy, directed by Gregory Doran; Twelfth Night - Christopher Luscombe returns to the RSC to direct, A Christmas Carol - world premiere of David Edgar’s new adaptation of Dickens’s classic tale, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh; and Coriolanus - Sope Dirisu takes the title role in this previously announced production, directed by Angus Jackson.

Other productions are Dido: Queen of Carthage, The Other Place hosts the Mischief Festival with a showcase of two premieres in May, directed by Erica Whyman and Kirsty Housley, Queen Anne by Helen Edmundson, directed by Natalie Abrahami, which transfers to London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket in June for a 13-week season with Romola Garai as the Duchess of Marlborough.

There’s also Twelfth Night, directed by Christopher Luscombe starting in November and A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, a new adaptation by David Edgar, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, which is the company’s festive production opening late November.