Cunard has joined forces with the Royal Shakespeare Company to bring renowned theater to its transatlantic stage.
According to a press release, guests of the Queen Mary 2 will enjoy “tailored theatrical performances” by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), which creates “captivating theatre” by Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other famous people in literature, past and present.
The performances will be available for all guests onboard Cunard’s flagship, including Shakespeare’s love scenes in a new piece called Boundless as the Sea created by Owen Horsley.
Guests will also have the opportunity to see new work from the RSC with Miss Littlewood, a musical by Sam Kenyon that is making its transatlantic debut.
For those interested in learning what it takes to be an RSC actor, the onboard cast will be leading a series of workshops that explore their craft. Guests will also be able to access Shakespeare Tales – intimate, informal events where the actors will perform their personal favorite sonnets and speeches, and answer questions from the audience.
“We are delighted to welcome the Royal Shakespeare Company onboard our flagship, the Queen Mary 2. To be able to offer our guests access to unique performances by world leaders in both contemporary theater and Shakespeare’s finest work, is an extraordinary opportunity which I know our guests will fully immerse themselves in,” said Cunard’s Vice President for brand and product, Lee Powell.
RSC Acting Artistic Director Erica Whyman said that the company was thrilled to be working with Cunard to bring its performances to the guests of the Queen Mary 2 “together with unique opportunities to get close to working theater artists and learn more about our house playwright.”
“The RSC ignites imaginations and expands horizons, and Shakespeare’s plays allow us to imagine new and remarkable worlds, so this partnership has a perfect synergy. Boundless as the Sea, which is what Juliet calls her love for Romeo, will be a heart-warming taster of all the ways Shakespeare explores love and romance, and we are also very pleased to be presenting a version of the joyous, quirky and toe-tapping Miss Littlewood. This is an exciting new venture for us, and we look forward very much to meeting new audiences onboard,” Whyman noted.
In addition, the Queen Mary 2 will host a touring exhibition, Digital Diorama: An Augmented Journey Through Shakespeare’s Stratford. Guests will use devices to experience scenes from his plays come to life before their eyes. Some of the RSC’s most popular productions in recent years including Hamlet, Henry V, The Merry Wives of Windsor and As You Like it will also be screened in Cunard’s onboard cinema, Illuminations.
The three-year partnership will begin on May 29 until Aug. 12, 2022, and then again from Sept. 15 to Nov. 13, 2022, and will offer this program exclusively to Cunard guests on the Queen Mary 2 throughout these two periods.
Guests will experience either Boundless as the Sea or Miss Littlewood on each featured voyage. Dates for future years to be announced at a later date.
