The Royal Shakespeare Company has opened submissions for this year’s season of outdoor performances at The Dell in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The annual season, now in its 15th year, includes a range of lively student, community, and semi-professional productions of Shakespeare and Shakespeare-inspired plays. The performances will take place over weekends in July and August at the RSC’s outdoor theatre in Avon Bank Gardens, on the banks of the River Avon by Holy Trinity Church.

The Dell was launched as part of the Complete Works Festival in 2006 and has hosted more than 325 amateur theatre companies, community groups, schools, universities and semi-professional theatre companies to growing audience numbers of all ages.

The Dell offers a great opportunity for groups to bring an already established piece of work or to create something new especially for the space.  The criteria include: 

- Written by or inspired by Shakespeare
- Suitable for an outdoor space
- Will appeal to diverse audiences from international tourists, day trippers, and families
- Between 50 and 90 minutes long

As part of the RSC’s aim to work at the heart of the local community and region, priority will be given to groups from the Midlands region during the selection process.

Submissions are by open application to the RSC and will be short-listed by a panel. The closing date for applications is 9am on Monday 20 March.

More information, including how to apply, can be found at rsc.org.uk/thedell