FULL CAST ANNOUNCED FOR GEORGE ELIOT’S MIDDLEMARCH
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) today announces the full cast for the upcoming production of Middlemarch, George Eliot’s expansive study on provincial life, adapted by Nina Raine (Consent, Tribes, Tiger Country) and co-produced with Second Half Productions.
Nia Towle will play Dorothea Brooke, with Amanda Root as George Eliot and Mrs Cadwallader. They are joined by John Hodgkinson as Mr Bulstrode and Borthrop Trumbull, Rory Alexander as Will Ladislaw and Andrew Richardson as Tertius Lydgate.
This sweeping two-part adaptation will be directed by Olivier Award-winning Jeremy Herrin (Every Brilliant Thing, Wolf Hall Trilogy) and open at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, with Part 1 playing from Thursday 1 October and Part 2 from Saturday 10 October, and running until Saturday 16 January, with press performances on Wednesday 28 October at 1pm and 7pm.
The full company includes Rory Alexander (Will Ladislaw), Lizzie Annis (Celia Brooke / Mary Garth), Emma Bown (Understudy), Gunnar Cauthery (Farebrother / Sir James Chettam), Ian Drysdale (Mr Casaubon / Caleb Garth), Steven Dykes (Understudy), Dave Fishley (Mr Vincy / Bambridge / Powderell), Peter Forbes (Mr Brooke / Featherstone / Raffles), Ebenezer Gyau (Fred Vincy), Mackenzie Heynes (Understudy) John Hodgkinson (Mr Bulstrode / Borthrop Trumbull), Penny Layden (Mrs Bulstrode / Mrs Garth / Lady Chettam), Emma McDonald (Rosamond Vincy), Anita Reynolds (Mrs Vincy / Mrs Mawmsey / Mrs Abel), Andrew Richardson (Tertius Lydgate), Amanda Root ( George Eliot / Mrs Cadwallader), Nia Towle (Dorothea Brooke) and Molly Watton Williams (Understudy).
Director, Jeremy Herrin said: “George Eliot’s Middlemarch is an entertaining story full of great humanity, wisdom and wit. Nina Raine has distilled this epic beloved novel into a very beautiful play in two parts, which has attracted a great ensemble and creative team to the Swan. I can’t wait to explore its many pertinent themes: family, marriage, love, purpose, religion, morality and more. Theatre is a great form for a story that luxuriates in how we are all essentially connected.”
‘Good small work for Middlemarch, and great work for the world.’
As the community of Middlemarch confront the dawning of social progress and political reform – embraced by some and opposed by others – a series of private stories emerge.
Nina Raine's new stage adaptation brings George Eliot into the characters' world, as narrator, confidante and counsellor.
Joining Jeremy and Nina on the creative team are Set and Costume Designer Grace Smart, Lighting Designer Ben Jacobs, Composer Paul Englishby, Sound Designer Nicola T. Chang, Movement Director Lucy Cullingford, Dramaturg Rebecca Latham, Casting Directors Charlotte Sutton CDG and Christopher Worrall CDG, Music Director Nathan Feeney, Voice and Dialect Emma Woodvine and Associate Director Molly Stacey.
Nia Towle returns to the RSC following her recent appearance in Hamlet, for which she was nominated for the Ian Charleson award. Her theatre credits include Stereophonic (Duke of York’s Theatre), A View from the Bridge (Theatre Royal Bath and Theatre Royal Haymarket), The Crucible (Gielgud Theatre) and The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Duke of York’s Theatre). Her television credits include The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and her film credits include Persuasion.
Amanda Root returns to the RSC, where her previous credits include Troilus and Cressida, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Seagull, Some Americans Abroad, The Man of Mode, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. Her theatre credits include The House of Bernarda Alba (Lyric Hammersmith), King Lear, Conversations After a Burial and Enemies (Almeida Theatre), The Norman Conquests (Old Vic/Broadway), The Deep Blue Sea and The Chalk Garden (Chichester Festival Theatre), Jumpy (Duke of York’s Theatre), The Herd (Bush Theatre), The Country (Arcola Theatre), Donkey Heart (Trafalgar Studios), Racing Demon (Theatre Royal Bath) and Richard II (Bridge Theatre). Her television credits include The Blame, Professor T, Baby Reindeer, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, Lazarus, The Sixth Commandment, The Capture, Dalgliesh, The Sister, You & Me, Vera, Patrick Melrose, Unforgotten, Silent Witness, Breaking the Code, Anna Karenina, The Forsyte Saga, Daniel Deronda, Foyle’s War, Mortimer’s Law, Love on a Branch Line, The Buddha of Suburbia, Little Britain, Love Again, The Robinsons, The Impressionists and Poirot.
Her film credits include Persuasion, Jayne Eyre, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?, The Black Prince, The Iron Lady, Summerland, Their Finest, Allelujah, Love of Your Life and Life Goes On.
John Hodgkinson returns to the RSC, where his previous credits include Titus Andronicus (West End), The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Provoked Wife, Venice Preserved, Twelfth Night, Love’s Labour’s Lost and Love’s Labour’s Won. His theatre credits include Dear England (National Theatre/Prince Edward Theatre), The Ferryman (Royal Court Theatre), Hangmen (Royal Court Theatre/Broadway), and Best of Enemies (Noël Coward Theatre). His film credits include Napoleon, Skyfall and Firelight, and his television credits include Dear England, Life After Life, Catherine the Great, Victoria and Peep Show.
Rory Alexander returns to the RSC following his role as William Shakespeare in Hamnet, which recently completed a US tour. His film credits include Black Palace, Inland, Untamed, Dark Windows and DarkGame, while his television credits include Pistol (FX/Hulu/Disney+), Then You Run (Sky), Alex Rider (Amazon), Outlander: Blood of my Blood (Starz), and Anxious People (Netflix).
Andrew Richardson returns to the RSC following A Midsummer Night’s Dream, for which he was nominated for the Ian Charleson award. His theatre credits include Uncle Vanya (Orange Tree Theatre – also Ian Charleson award nominated) and Guys and Dolls (Bridge Theatre). His television credits include Extrapolations, Triage and The Last O.G., while his film credits include Daughter of the Bride, The Independent, Killer Among Us, Martin Eden and A Call to Spy.
Full cast and creative team biographies are available here, with headshots are available here.
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Royal Shakespeare Company incorporated under Royal Charter. Registered charity No. 212481
From the novel by George Eliot
A co-production with Second Half Productions
Part 1: Thursday 1 October - Saturday 16 January
Part 2: Saturday 10 October - Saturday 16 January
‘Good small work for Middlemarch, and great work for the world.’
As the community of Middlemarch confront the dawning of social progress and political reform – embraced by some and opposed by others – a series of private stories emerge.
Nina Raine's new stage adaptation brings George Eliot into the characters' world, as narrator, confidante and counsellor.
Described as one of the greatest works in English literature, Eliot’s respected and beloved novel set in her Warwickshire homeland is adapted for the Swan Theatre, directed by Jeremy Herrin and co-produced with Second Half Productions.
This adaptation condenses Middlemarch into one play presented in two parts. For the best experience, we suggest seeing both parts in order, in one day or on separate days.
Creative Team Talk: Saturday 24 October 2026
Post show talk: Thursday 26 November 2026
Audio described performances with pre-show touch tour:
Friday 4 December 2026: Middlemarch 1 (1.15pm), Middlemarch 2 (7.15pm)
Saturday 9 January 2027: Middlemarch 1 (1.15pm), Middlemarch 2 (7.15pm)
Saturday 14 November 2026: Middlemarch 1 (1.15pm) Middlemarch 2 (7.15pm)
Wednesday 2 December 2026: Middlemarch 1 (7.15pm)
Thursday 3 December 2026: Middlemarch 2 (1.15pm)
Friday 18 December 2026: Middlemarch 1 (1.15pm) Middlemarch 2 (7.15pm)
Thursday 7 January 2027: Middlemarch 1 (1.15pm)
Friday 8 January 2027: Middlemarch 2 (7.15pm)
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 work of the RSC is generously supported by Backstage Trust
With thanks to Season Supporter Charles Holloway OBE
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a leading global theatre company that sparks local, national and international conversations that build connections, create opportunities and bring joy. We passionately believe that great storytelling can change the world, and that theatre offers its own unique form of storytelling: it’s live and shared, and transforms a group of strangers into audiences who, together, experience a story come to life in front of their eyes.
We collaborate with the most exciting artists to tell the stories of our time, and through a range of programmes we nurture the talent of the future.
We perform on three stages in our home in Stratford-upon-Avon, in London and in communities and schools across the country and around the world.
Our transformative Creative Learning and Engagement programmes reach over half a million young people each year.
Registered charity no. 212481
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk.
Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of the bodies responsible for administering the Government’s unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund, of which we delivered over £1 billion to the sector in grants and loans. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19.
Second Half Productions is an entertainment company founded in 2020 by Jeremy Herrin, Alan Stacey and Rob O’Rahilly to generate innovative productions for the stage. By commissioning world-leading artists to create new work and by breathing new life into classic stories, we invigorate audiences in London, the UK and beyond.
Recent and upcoming productions include Amadeus (New Theatre Cardiff, Noël Coward); August: Osage County (Noël Coward); Middlemarch (RSC); Every Brilliant Thing (Broadway, West End, Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Guess How Much I Love You (Royal Court); The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (West End, UK tour, Chichester Festival Theatre), Grace Pervades (Theatre Royal Haymarket, Theatre Royal Bath) The Little Foxes (Young Vic), People, Places & Things (Trafalgar Theatre), Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Wyndham’s Theatre), A Mirror (Almeida, Trafalgar Theatre), Ulster American (Riverside Studios), Best of Enemies (Noël Coward Theatre), The Glass Menagerie (Duke of York’s Theatre).
Our team is Co-Founders and Directors, Jeremy Herrin, Alan Stacey and Rob O’Rahilly; Creative Director, Lucie Lovatt; Executive Producer, Alecia Marshall; General Manager, Grace Nelder; Finance Manager, Sophie Wells; Production and Executive Coordinator, Immie Maclean and Development and Production Assistant, Sam Hooper. Press & Publicity by Kate Hassell for Bread & Butter.
