'The endurance of Shakespeare depends not only on the felt experience of good, vivid theatre, but also on dynamic scholarship that reveals his living text. So we have pursued a long-held ambition: the creation of the first RSC Complete Works edition. Editing Shakespeare, like staging his plays, is a constantly evolving process. We're delighted to be working with Macmillan on this new edition with a team led by Jonathan Bate - one of the foremost Shakespeare scholars of his generation and a valued presence in the RSC rehearsal room.' - Michael Boyd, Artistic Director, Royal Shakespeare Company

The RSC Shakespeare is the first and only Complete Works edition to be commissioned by The Royal Shakespeare Company. The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is an ensemble theatre company based in Stratford upon Avon and London, dedicated to bringing the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries to a modern audience. For more information visit their website at www.rsc.org.uk.

For a brief overview of the edition, click here to watch a short video presentation by Jonathan Bate.

The team behind the edition have developed a wealth of features that we hope will appeal to students, teachers, scholars, actors and theatre-goers alike including:

• A thorough and innovative edit of Shakespeare's text based on the 1623 First Folio. For a detailed account of the editorial principles followed in the edition, click here to read The Case for the Folio by Jonathan Bate

• Thought-provoking essays to introduce each play and a superb general introduction by renowned Shakespearean scholar Professor Jonathan Bate

• On-page glossary notes that reveal the many layered meanings of words and phrases unfamiliar to a modern audience. For more information about the research behind these notes and some examples of the type of specialist language, slang, political references, biblical or classical allusions or bawdy humour that they cover, click here to read an article by Héloïse Sénéchal, Chief Associate Editor.

• Clear, single column page design - with plenty of white space for taking notes, line numbers marked every 5 lines, both Act: Scene divisions and running scene counts and editorial stage directions clearly distinguished from stage directions in the Folio. To see an annotated sample page which explains the thinking behind the page design, click here.

• A 'key facts' box for each play which includes useful reference information including a plot summary, analysis of the percentage of lines and scenes allocated to each major role, analysis of the percentage of verse versus prose, dates, sources and texts available.

• Illustrated by RSC performance photographs – for some plays several different productions are featured to illustrate different interpretive approaches.

• Comprehensive contents – this edition includes all the material that might be needed by a student of Shakespeare, including a number of works not included in The First Folio: The Sonnets, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Pericles, Shakespeare's scene from Sir Thomas More, Venus and Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece, Let the bird of loudest lay (also known as The Phoenix and Turtle), To the Queen. For a full table of contents click here.

Leading the editorial team is renowned Shakespearean scholar Professor Jonathan Bate. Jonathan has worked in close collaboration over many years with the artists and archivists at the RSC. His introductions and notes draw on a unique wealth of experience and resources and will help the reader to understand Shakespeare's plays as they were originally intended - as living theatre to be enjoyed and performed

Collector's Edition – coming in June 2007, an exclusive Collector's Edition, bound in soft, brown goatskin and delivered in a bespoke gift box. For more information or to pre-order your copy as the print-run will be limited, click here.