(Michael Billington’s article appeared in the Guardian, 3/11.)
It works. That's one's instant verdict on the transformed Royal Shakespeare Theatre. And it succeeds precisely because it feels new and strangely familiar. The old art deco lobby of Elisabeth Scott's 1932 building is still there. So too are the riverside vistas. Yet, as one strolls through the copious cafes and the expansive corridor linking the main building to the Swan, the prime impression is one of space, as if one were aboard a not too heavily populated luxury liner.