SHORT TAKES : Shakespeare Troupe Cuts Back

The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced 21 productions for 1990, blaming a cash shortage for its most modest year since the 1970s.

“I regret the reduction in the work, but it will give all our actors a chance to do their work well,” artistic director Terry Hands told a news conference Wednesday.

He introduced four-theater repertoire “as streamlined as we can make it.”

Hands, 49, is resigning later this year to go free lance. He said his successor is expected to be named next month and be in place by April 1.

Hands attributed the reduced output to a cumulative deficit of $4.1 million, despite the $1.65 million annually that the company receives from its internationally successful musical, “Les Miserables.” The company staged 27 productions last year, 32 in 1988 and a record 47 in 1987.

He said the decision had nothing to do with critics’ complaints that the company has been overextending itself, typically staging more productions per year than are seen on Broadway all season.