DANIEL EVANS AND TAMARA HARVEY ANNOUNCE THEIR INAUGURAL SEASON AS CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTORS OF THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

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Newly appointed Co-Artistic Directors of the RSC, Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey today announce their inaugural season for the Company, encompassing a full year of programming and opening up all four theatres in the Company’s Stratford-upon-Avon home – the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Swan Theatre, the newly invigorated The Other Place, as well as the popular outdoor performance space, The Holloway Garden Theatre.

Comprising eight Shakespeare plays across the four stages, three world premières, a European première, a UK première, two major revivals, and two visiting productions, the season will welcome internationally renowned talent to the RSC, with five writers and ten directors – including Harvey – making their RSC debuts, Ukraine’s Uzhhorod Theatre with King Lear, and Northern Ballet with Romeo & Juliet.

With a desire to put accessibility at the heart of their tenure, Evans and Harvey will programme a summer season in The Holloway Garden Theatre with bite-sized Shakespeare for all ages, plus workshops and events. A major new ticket initiative is also launched today with 25,000 tickets at £25 or less across the season in Stratford-upon-Avon. This will run alongside the TikTok £10 tickets for 14 to 25 year olds and state school students.

Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans said today, 
“We begin our chapter at the RSC by announcing a whole year’s worth of shows - seventeen in total, across four stages. With this, our first season, we want to throw open the doors in every sense, collaborating with artists from across the globe on all of our stages, and ensuring we can welcome as many people as possible with a brand-new ticket initiative of 25,000 tickets across the season at £25 or less.

“Our house playwright sits at the core of our season, with eight new productions across our theatres. The timeless, protean nature of Shakespeare’s writing offers an exciting canvas for artists – and we're excited to be renewing collaborations with so many of them, as well as inviting myriad others to make their RSC debuts. We will also host Northern Ballet for the first time with their imagining of Romeo & Juliet and Ukraine’s Uzhhorod Theatre with King Lear, both bringing their own unique take on Shakespeare’s stories.

“Shakespeare stands alongside a play by Christopher Marlowe, his contemporary, and a raft of new work by some of our most creative contemporary storytellers – Emma Rice and Hanif Kureishi, Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, Sanaz Toossi, Nancy Harris and David Edgar, bringing first-time partnerships with Wise Children, Headlong, Good Chance and Kiln Theatre.

“This season marks the beginning of a new era for the RSC. We hope you will join us.”

The Shakespeare plays will be led by artists including Emily Burns, Blanche McIntyre, RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey, Brendan O’Hea, Prasanna Puwanarajah, Tim Carroll and Rupert Goold, with actors Luke Thompson, Samantha Spiro, Alfred Enoch, John Douglas Thompson, Will Keen, Juliet Rylance and Luke Thallon leading the companies of Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Pericles, Othello and Hamlet respectively.

The new work includes a co-production of Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia with Emma Rice’s Wise Children; the European première of Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play English produced in association with Kiln Theatre and directed by Diyan Zora; a new project from the award-winning team behind The Jungle, Kyoto, in a co-production with Good Chance directed by Justin Martin and Stephen Daldry; a new adaptation of The Red Shoes by Nancy Harris, directed by Kimberley Rampersad; and David Edgar’s The New Real directed by Holly Race Roughan, Artistic Director of Headlong.

Completing the season, Tinuke Craig directs Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s comedy of manners, The School for Scandal; and Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans makes his return to the RSC stage in the title role of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II directed by Daniel Raggett.

THE SEASON IN FULL

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE:

• Luke Thompson leads the company of Love’s Labour’s Lost directed by Emily Burns
• Rumour, gossip and scandal take centre stage in a comedy double-bill of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor directed by Blanche McIntyre, led by Samantha Spiro as Mistress Page; and Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The School for Scandal directed by Tinuke Craig
• Tim Carroll directs John Douglas Thompson as Othello with Will Keen as Iago and Juliet Rylance as Desdemona
• Twelfth Night directed by Prasanna Puwanarajah
• Adapted by Christopher Gable and Massimo Moricone with music by Sergei Prokofiev, Northern Ballet visits the RSC for the first time with their much-loved staging of Romeo & Juliet
• Luke Thallon reunites with Olivier Award-winning Director Rupert Goold to make his RSC debut in the title role of Hamlet

SWAN THEATRE:

• Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia makes its global stage première in a major new co-production with Wise Children directed and adapted by Emma Rice, with Hanif Kureishi, with a cast including Dee Ahluwalia and Ankur Bahl
• From the creators of The Jungle, Good Chance and the RSC present Kyoto, a new play by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin
• RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey directs Alfred Enoch in a major new production of Shakespeare’s late romance Pericles
• Associate Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival Theatre, Kimberley Rampersad directs a magical new staging of The Red Shoes, adapted by Nancy Harris
• Double Olivier Award-winning actor and RSC Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans returns to the RSC stage in a new production of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II directed by Daniel Raggett

THE OTHER PLACE:

• Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, English, receives its European première in association with Kiln Theatre, directed by Diyan Zora (2021 Genesis Future Directors award-winner) with actors Nadia Albina, Sara Hazemi, Lanna Joffrey and Serena Manteghi
•  First performed early in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Uzhhorod Theatre Company present King Lear, adapted and directed by Vyacheslav Yehorov
• Presented in association with Headlong, David Edgar’s The New Real receives its world premiere, directed by Holly Race Roughan

THE HOLLOWAY GARDEN THEATRE:

• The Holloway Garden Theatre will make its return to Stratford-upon-Avon with a new staging of Shakespeare’s As You Like It directed by Brendan O’Hea. This will be accompanied by a series of family-friendly workshops and events as well as a new interpretation of The Two Gentlemen of Verona by young people aged 13-18 from the RSC’s talent development programme Next Generation Act

FAMILY-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES:

• May half-term activities announced today include Tim Crouch’s critically acclaimed one-man re-imagining of Twelfth Night, I, Malvolio, and a new collaboration with Underbelly, Tweedy’s Massive Circus featuring the star of Gifford’s Circus, Tweedy the Clown
• The Play’s The Thing – the RSC’s free interactive exhibition returns with new exhibits for 2024 co-curated with Stratford-upon-Avon partners The Fred Winter Centre, ILEAP and Warwickshire Pride, and is inspired by themes of Resilience and Possibility. The exhibition features the RSC’s First Folio alongside costumes worn by Vivien Leigh, Josette Simon, Ben Kingsley, David Tennant and Ian McKellen with interactive opportunities to explore the story of the RSC

Priority booking for Members and Supporters opens from Monday 22 January for Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Buddha of Suburbia, English, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The School for Scandal, King Lear, Kyoto, Romeo & Juliet, Pericles and As You Like It; with public booking opening on Thursday 8 February. For further information on how to become an RSC Member or Supporter, visit here.

On sale from Spring 2024: Othello, Twelfth Night, The Red Shoes, The New Real, Hamlet and Edward II, with further details to be announced.

ENDS

For further enquiries, please contact:
Kate Evans 07920 244 434, email: kate.evans@rsc.org.uk

X: @TheRSC

Instagram: @thersc

Royal Shakespeare Company incorporated under Royal Charter. Registered charity No. 212481

SEASON AT A GLANCE

LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Thursday 11 April - Saturday 18 May
Press Night: Thursday 18 April at 7pm
Tickets from £10

Emily Burns presents her playful and contemporary take on Shakespeare’s vibrant comedy, with Luke Thompson (Bridgerton, A Little Life at the Harold Pinter Theatre) making his RSC debut as Berowne alongside Melanie-Joyce Bermudez (Princess), Ioanna Kimbook (Rosaline) and Rilwan Abiola Owokoniran (Ferdinand), with full casting to be confirmed.

Love’s Labour’s Lost is directed by Emily Burns with Design by Joanna Scotcher, Lighting by Neil Austin, Music by Paul Englishby, Sound by George Dennis, Choreography by Shelley Maxwell and Casting by Charlotte Sutton CDG.

THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA
A co-production with Wise Children
Swan Theatre
Thursday 18 April – Saturday 1 June
Press Night: Tuesday 30 April at 7pm
Tickets from £15

An irresistible, heart-breaking and joyful exploration of family, friends, sex, theatre and, ultimately, belonging. Emma Rice adapts the award-winning 1990 novel, The Buddha of Suburbia with Hanif Kureishi in a major new co-production with Wise Children. Featuring Dee Ahluwalia as Karim and Ankur Bahl as Haroon.

The Buddha of Suburbia is directed by Emma Rice, with Set Design by Rachana Jadhav, Costume Design by Vicki Mortimer, Sound and Video Design by Simon Baker, Lighting by Jai Morjaria, Music by Niraj Chag, Choreography by Etta Murfitt, Fights by Kev McCurdy and Casting by Matthew Dewsbury CDG.

ENGLISH
The Other Place
Thursday 9 May - Saturday 1 June
Press Night: Wednesday 15 May at 7pm
Tickets from £25

Kiln Theatre: Wednesday 5 – Saturday 29 June
Press Night: Thursday 6 June at 7pm

Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer prize-winning play about four adult Iranian classmates who grapple with learning English as a foreign language receives its European Premiere produced in association with Kiln Theatre, where it will transfer in June. Featuring Nadia Albina as Marjan, Lanna Joffrey as Roya, Sara Hazemi as Goli and Serena Manteghi as Elham.

The production is directed by Diyan Zora with Design by Anisha Fields, Sound by George Dennis, Movement by Maria Tarokh and Casting by Lotte Hines CDG.

THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Wednesday 5 June - Saturday 7 September
Press Night: Wednesday 12 June at 7pm
Tickets from £10

Curtains are twitching and tongues are wagging in this fresh new production of Shakespeare’s suburban comedy of mischief and double-dealing directed by Blanche McIntyre with Samantha Spiro as Mistress Page.

Design is by Robert Innes Hopkins, Lighting by Malcolm Rippeth, Music by Tim Sutton, Sound by Emma Laxton, Movement by Ingrid Mackinnon, Fights by Philip d’Orléans and Casting by Matthew Dewsbury CDG.

KYOTO
A co-production with Good Chance
Swan Theatre
Tuesday 18 June - Saturday 13 July
Press Night: Tuesday 25 June at 7pm
Tickets from £15

From the writers and directors of the universally-acclaimed The Jungle, this timely and fast-paced political thriller directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin places audiences right at the heart of the historic 1997 Kyoto climate summit.

THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Tuesday 2 July - Friday 6 September
Press Night: Tuesday 9 July at 7pm
Tickets from £10

Tinuke Craig, Artistic Associate at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, directs Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s brilliantly biting comedy of manners with Design by Alex Lowde, Dramaturgy by Jude Christian and Casting by Matthew Dewsbury CDG.

PERICLES
Swan Theatre
Friday 26 July – Saturday 21 September
Press Night: Wednesday 7 August at 7pm
Tickets from £15

RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey makes her RSC directorial debut with Shakespeare’s stirring tale of love, hope and miracles, with Alfred Enoch in the title role.

Set Design is by Jonathan Fensom with Costume Design by Kinnetia Isidore, Lighting by Ryan Day, Music by Claire Van Kampen, Movement by Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster and Casting by Matthew Dewsbury CDG.

Darwin Escapes is the Headline Sponsor of Pericles.

AS YOU LIKE IT
The Holloway Garden Theatre
Thursday 18 July – Sunday 1 September
Press Night: Wednesday 24 July, 5pm
Tickets from £10

The RSC’s popular Garden Theatre returns for a limited summer season with a joyful 80-minute staging of William Shakespeare’s timeless comedy As You Like It, directed by Brendan O’Hea.

The Holloway Garden Theatre is generously supported by Charles Holloway.

THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
A Next Generation Act production
The Holloway Garden Theatre
Thursday 22 – Saturday 24 August

25 members of our Next Generation Act young company will perform a new

re-interpretation of The Two Gentlemen of Verona for audiences of all ages. Aged between 13-18, young company members are made up of students from 12 cities and towns across England including Blackpool, Bradford, Birmingham, Cumbria, Hastings, Hull, Kent, Leicester, Northampton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sudbury, and York.

KING LEAR
Uzhhorod Theatre Company
The Other Place
Saturday 15 June
All tickets £15

Uzhhorod Theatre Company present their compelling new staging of Shakespeare’s King Lear, directed by Vyacheslav Yehorov, and created in collaboration with the refugee communities of Uzhhorod, Western Ukraine during the height of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. King Lear is performed in Ukrainian without surtitles.

ROMEO & JULIET
Northern Ballet
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Thursday 19 September - Saturday 28 September
Tickets from £10

Adapted by Christopher Gable and Massimo Moricone with music by Prokofiev, Northern Ballet’s critically acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s masterpiece invites audiences to rediscover the iconic love story like it’s the very first time.

COMING SOON: OCTOBER 2024 – MARCH 2025

OTHELLO
Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Multi-award winning actor John Douglas Thompson makes his RSC debut in the title role alongside Will Keen as Iago and Juliet Rylance as Desdemona in a new production of Shakespeare’s Othello, directed by Tim Carroll.

THE NEW REAL
The Other Place

Presented in association with Headlong, Holly Race Roughan directs the world premiere of a major new political play by David Edgar.

TWELFTH NIGHT
Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Prasanna Puwanarajah returns to the RSC to direct Shakespeare’s seasonal comedy.

THE RED SHOES
Swan Theatre

Kimberley Rampersad directs the classic fairy tale in a new version by Nancy Harris.

Pragnell is the Headline Sponsor of The Red Shoes.

HAMLET
Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Olivier award-winning Director Rupert Goold returns to the RSC to direct Luke Thallon in the title role.

EDWARD II
Swan Theatre

Daniel Raggett directs RSC Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans in Christopher Marlowe’s rarely performed tragedy.

BOOKING INFORMATION

Ticket Discounts:
Discounts are available for Over 65s, Disabled People and Carers, Families, UK School and College Groups and Groups of 10 or more. Terms and conditions apply.

See the website rsc.org.uk or call the Box Office on 01789 331111 for more details and to buy tickets.

Assisted Performances:
The RSC offers a range of assisted performances on selected dates throughout the year. A list of upcoming dates and booking detail is available HERE. 

NOTES TO EDITORS 

The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England 

The work of the RSC is supported by the Culture Recovery Fund

The RSC is generously supported by RSC America

The Holloway Garden Theatre is generously supported by Charles Holloway

Darwin Escapes is the Headline Sponsor of Pericles

Pragnell is the Headline Sponsor of The Red Shoes

RSC £10 Tickets for 14-25s supported by by TikTok

The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation

New Work at the RSC is generously supported by Hawthornden Foundation and The Drue and H.J. Heinz II Charitable Trust

Assisted Performances at the RSC are kindly supported by The Saintbury Trust

Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) creates exceptional theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, London and around the world, performing plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, as well as commissioning a wide range of original work from contemporary writers. Our purpose is to ensure that Shakespeare – and theatre as a whole – is for everyone, and we do that by unlocking the power of his plays and live performance, and with our learning and education work throughout the UK and across the world. 

Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk     

Darwin Escapes currently operates 26-holiday resorts and three golf courses across the UK offering holiday breaks, holiday home ownership and golf breaks. Conveniently placed Warwickshire based Stratford-upon-Avon Lodge Retreat, is located only two-miles away from the centre of the city and is perfect for theatre trips, along with exploring the local area. You'll enjoy a peaceful countryside location, with luxurious self-catering accommodation, while still being able to enjoy both the culture and city.

Newly opened in Summer 2023, Blenheim Palace Lodge Retreat, is a perfect gateway to the Oxfordshire countryside. Offering you a completely unique experience, of one, two and three-bedroom wonderful lodges, located within the beautiful 12,000-acre Blenheim Estate, with Blenheim Palace only a 20-minute walk away or 5 minute drive away.

Darwin Escapes offers a wide range of holiday accommodation at its holiday resorts, ranging from romantic boutique escapes to luxury lodge retreats and traditional family-focused holiday parks. All locations boast state-of-the-art and diverse accommodation with some offering on-site facilities including spas, gyms, restaurants, and activities.

For further information about Darwin Escapes and its numerous golf and holiday destinations and facilities visit www.darwinescapes.co.uk or follow them on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook: @DarwinEscapes

Pragnell is a British family run jeweller, with a rich and royal heritage spanning over 170 years. As one the UK’s last full-service jewellers, all Pragnell fine jewellery is handcrafted in British workshops by our highly trained craftspeople, using gemstones of exceptional beauty and quality. Pragnell’s three showrooms are located Stratford-Upon-Avon, Mayfair and Leicester.

TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok's global headquarters are in Los Angeles and Singapore, and its offices include New York, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Wise Children Created and led by Emma Rice, Wise Children launched in April 2018 and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. Based in the South West, we make ground-breaking work with exceptional artists, and tour across the world. Alongside our shows, we run a unique professional development programme, The School for Wise Children, training a new and more diverse generation of theatre practitioners. We recently bought a building, The Lucky Chance, in Frome, Somerset which we plan to use as our creation space, a home for the School and a tiny theatre in which to welcome audiences of all shapes and sizes. 

https://www.wisechildrendigital.com/

Instagram:          @Wise_Children

Facebook:          @WiseChildrenCompany

Kiln Theatre sits in the heart of Kilburn in Brent, a unique and culturally diverse area ofLondon where over 140 languages are spoken. We are a welcoming and proudly local venue, with an internationally acclaimed programme of world and UK premieres. Our work presents the world through a variety of lenses, amplifying unheard/ignored voices into the mainstream, exploring and examining the threads of human connection that cross race, culture and identity.

“Kiln Theatre has revitalised the cultural life of Brent and brings world-class theatre at an affordable price to people from all walks of life." Zadie Smith

"This place was a special cocoon. Now she has grown and blossomed into a beautiful butterfly." Sharon D. Clarke

We believe that theatre is for all and want everyone to feel welcome and entitled to call the Kiln their own. We are committed to nurturing the talent of young people and providing a platform for their voices to be heard.

"I wanted to say thank you for creating the most diverse theatre I have been to. In terms of race, culture, class, age, everything - not only in the selection of shows and actors, but in the audience."  Audience member

Good Chance creates ground-breaking, heart-thumping “theatre that shakes hands with the world” (Sunday Times) at the intersection of climate and refugee justice. Founded by playwrights Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, Good Chance established its first temporary Theatre of Hope, an 11m geodesic dome, in the heart of the ‘Jungle’ refugee and migrant camp in Calais in 2015, promoting freedom of expression, creativity and dignity for everyone. Good Chance now creates powerful and provoking work including The Jungle and The Walk with Little Amal, to spark new connections and conversations across divides, through surprise and spectacle, connecting communities through art and exploring the big issues of our time to make real change possible. Central to all of this is the development of artists who have been displaced to be an integral part of the UK’s creative ecosystem. Good Chance has delivered 550 events globally, reached 1.1 million audience members and active participants, given paid employment to over 750 artists and bespoke 1-2-1 support and employment to 150 artists with lived experience of displacement.

Northern Ballet is the UK's foremost narrative ballet company. We tell unexpected stories that move our audiences across the country and online. We aim to reach as many different people and places as possible with our passionate storytelling, mastery of classical dance technique and live music.

We believe in the power to change lives through dance and are committed to engaging with people from all different sectors of the community. We have an absolute commitment to our leading role as an international ambassador for world-class dance, often showcasing our exceptional home-grown artistry on the world-stage.

We’re an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, which means funding thanks to taxpayers and National Lottery players is vital in supporting our work.

Headlong We’re Headlong. We make theatre with the power to move. Big, exhilarating productions that use the unexpected to connect everyone we reach, right across the nation. Whether a work is old or new, there are always different questions we can ask. So our productions are an invitation: to come and see something in a new way. Join us.

Previous Headlong productions include A View From the Bridge, Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play, A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction, Henry V, Jitney, Best of Enemies, People, Places & Things and Enron, and major digital theatre innovations Signal Fires and Unprecedented.

Artistic Director - Holly Race Roughan, Executive Director - Lisa Maguire