The first tour to Australia by the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was during 1949-50, when Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth visited four major cities. Productions of Henry IV Part 1, As You Like It and Othello took place in 1953 as part of a tour which also visited New Zealand. After being renamed the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961 foreign touring continued: Twelfth Night and The Winter’s Tale visited in 1970, and in 1973 three Australian cities were visited by the World Tour of Peter Brook’s famous production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 1975 there were tours of both the anthology programme The Hollow Crown and Hedda Gabler, and in 1986 the production of Richard III starring Antony Sher spent two months in three cities, the only non-British venues for this production. The Comedy of Errors in 1993, A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1997, and A Servant to Two Masters in 2000 all visited as part of extensive foreign tours. In 2002 The Hollow Crown went on a major tour of Australia and New Zealand. More details of venues visited and cast lists can be found by searching the RSC Performance Database which can be reached from the Library and Archives page of our website.