Shakespeare wrote his plays with live music as a core feature of them, and this is how the RSC ran its productions for decades. Image credit: Shutterstock.
Following the public petition launched in December 2025 calling on the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) to halt proposed cuts to its music department, the Musicians’ Union is deeply concerned to learn that the organisation is going ahead with its plans.
The decision will mean there will be no permanent music department and the employed Houseband players will soon be made redundant. The MU believes that this will lead to a diminishing of the prevalence of live music in its productions.
Live music was a critical element of Shakespeare's plays
Live music was a critical element of Shakespeare’s plays and has long been a defining feature of the RSC’s work. Yet, in the past year in a worrying trend, the Company has increased its use of electronic or recorded music in place of live musicians in a number of their productions.
MU Midlands Regional Organiser Stephen Brown said: “RSC has closed the Music Department and the Houseband members are soon to be made redundant. Shakespeare wrote his plays with live music as a core feature of them, and this is how the RSC ran its productions for decades, using the MU RSC Agreement as a basis. It’s the end of an era - we fought to keep both the music department and our members' jobs, so are deeply concerned with this outcome.”
We will be negotiating with the RSC to safeguard live music
The MU will be reviewing its existing agreement with the RSC and entering negotiations, in consultation with our freelance members, to ensure that live music continues to hold a central place within future RSC productions.
Stephen Brown added: “The RSC wants to move to a freelancer-only model and likely use more recordings. We are therefore concerned about how live music will feature in future productions. We will be making a strong case for live music to remain as a core element of RSC productions and consulting our freelance members in this process.”
The MU is holding a meeting for freelance musicians who work at RSC to discuss the agreement and make sure their views are represented in upcoming talks. Any members who are affected by the closure of the Department, or who wish to share their views, are encouraged to contact us at Midlands@theMU.org.