Royal Shakespeare Company appeal close to £112m target

The new auditorium is due to open in November

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has announced it has £5m left to raise for its £112m redevelopment of theatres in the bard's birthplace in Warwickshire.

The RSC has built a new auditorium with seating capacity for 1,000 people using the original facade of the 1932 theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

It said spectators will be sat closer to the stage and it had also built a new theatre tower and viewing platform.

It said it hoped to raise the funds for its 50th anniversary in April 2011.

An RSC spokesman said it had raised £107.3m to date with £3.6m of donations from UK grant provider the Garfield Weston Foundation and the US-based PACCAR and Kresge charity foundations.

It has also produced a fundraising film trailer with audio from memorable RSC performances to help encourage public donations.

RSC executive director Vikki Heywood said: "The project is on time and on budget and we're looking forward to welcoming people into the building in November."