RSC
Such Tweet Sorrow
We actively support charities and the arts through sponsorship and preferential rates so we were delighted when the RSC asked us to evaluate its first Twitter play, Such Tweet Sorrow. The RSC wanted to know if this new approach to theatre met its objective of attracting a different audience - primarily younger and new to the RSC.
Such Tweet Sorrow was a groundbreaking piece of work bringing Romeo and Juliet to the digital world. Six actors improvised their dialogues and the love, romance, violence and tragedy were played out over a 5 week period during Spring 2010. Other digital media, including Twitpic, YouTube and Facebook, supported the play and the way it talked to followers.
And so it's not surprising that social media also provided the means for us to carry out the research. Followers of the play were invited to take part via tweets posted by us, and the online survey was customised to look like the Such Tweet Sorrow profile page.
What we found out was fascinating. Followers were highly committed to the play, with over half following it from beginning to end and 40% following all the tweet feeds, rather than just a few favourite characters. People particularly liked being part of something they viewed as new, creative and interactive yet still true to the original Shakespeare version.
But did the play also attract the new audience it hoped to? The answer is yes and no. The play certainly attracted a much younger, more ethnically diverse and less upmarket audience than is usually the case for RSC productions. But, quite a lot of the play's followers were experienced theatre-goers who weren't necessarily new to the RSC. Many were students or connected in some way already to the theatre.
As these followers have potential to be ambassadors for the RSC, acting as early adopters of new theatre production styles, we can definitely say, all's well that ends well.
