ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY IN LONDON 2021
- RSC RETURNS TO THE BARBICAN WITH THE COMEDY OF ERRORS FOR WINTER 2021-22
- WORLD PREMIERE OF HILARY MANTEL’S THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT SET FOR THE WEST END THIS AUTUMN
- MATILDA THE MUSICAL RETURNS TO THE WEST END IN SEPTEMBER
THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
FROM 16 NOVEMBER 2021
DOWNLOAD IMAGES AND TRAILER HERE
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) today announces that The Comedy of Errors will transfer to the Barbican for a strictly limited London run following a season in Stratford-upon-Avon and a short National Tour. The production, directed by Phillip Breen (The Provoked Wife, The Hypocrite) will run at the Barbican from Tuesday 16 November until Friday 31 December, with an Opening Night on Tuesday 23 November.
The production was due to be part of the RSC’s summer season in 2020 but was postponed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 17-strong cast includes members of the original acting company, with a number of roles recast. The Comedy of Errors at the Barbican is sponsored by ICBC (London).
A father ends up in the wrong country on the wrong day as a government makes hasty proclamations about travel. A lonely son, while searching for his brother, loses himself. Across town a wife starts to realise her husband is not the man she thought he was (but rather likes it). Will anything ever be the same again?
Director Phillip Breen says:
“I am beyond excited to be making my debut at the Barbican this autumn with this production of The Comedy of Errors. It’s an extraordinary play, not least because of how it resonates with the times we now find ourselves in – a play of family reunions, people finding each other once again, people holding each other at sunset – it seems entirely apt for this moment, and for the RSC to be reunited with the Barbican once again this autumn.”
Gregory Doran, RSC Artistic Director, said:
“The Royal Shakespeare Company’s home is in the very heart of the country, but we have always cherished our strong presence in London, the theatre capital of the world. This autumn we will be back at the Barbican, Gielgud Theatre and Cambridge Theatre and we cannot wait.
I look forward to returning to the Barbican, sharing our summer production of The Comedy of Errors with London audiences. The play, directed by Phillip Breen, a master of comedy, is one of Shakespeare’s most hilarious and joy-filled, but with its accompanying themes of separation, loss and ultimate reunion it also chimes with our challenging times.”
Toni Racklin, Head of Theatre and Dance at the Barbican said:
“We’re delighted to welcome the RSC back to the Barbican in 2021 in a relationship that continues to get deeper and stronger. In these uncertain times, the RSC’s annual fixture in our year-round international theatre and dance programme is warmly anticipated by both our organisations and audiences. We’re so thrilled that we are able to show The Comedy of Errors to our London audiences, and to welcome for the first time Phillip Breen, who makes his Barbican debut.”
Jonathan Broadbent and Greg Haiste retain their roles as, respectively, Dromio of Syracuse and Dromio of Ephesus, whilst Hedydd Dylan (Adrianna), Guy Lewis (Antipholus of Syracuse) and Rowan Polonski (Antipholus of Ephesus) join the company. Original cast member Avita Jay will now play Luciana.
Jonathan Broadbent plays Dromio of Syracuse. His previous RSC credits include The Tempest, Queen Anne and Love for Love. Other theatre credits include Henry VI Parts I, II and III, Richard III, Henry IV Parts I and II and Henry V (Shakespeare’s Globe); The Wizard of Oz (Sheffield Crucible); and My Night with Reg (Donmar Warehouse/Apollo Theatre). Jonathan’s screen credits include The Crown, Silent Witness, EastEnders, and Kenneth Branagh’s film adaptations of The Magic Flute and As You Like It.
Hedydd Dylan plays Adrianna. Previous RSC credits include Oppenheimer, The Shoemaker’s Holiday and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other theatre credits include: Bartholomew Fair and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare’s Globe), Mother Courage (Headlong/Manchester Royal Exchange) and The Cherry Orchard (Sherman Theatre). TV credits include: Emmerdale, Bang, Hinterland and Pobol Y Cwm.
Greg Haiste will make his RSC debut as Dromio of Ephesus. His numerous theatre credits include Quiz (Chichester Festival Theatre/Noël Coward Theatre); Richard III and Nell Gwynn (Shakespeare’s Globe/Apollo Theatre); 39 Steps (Criterion Theatre); and The Lady in the Van, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Hamlet and The Accrington Pals (West Yorkshire Playhouse). His TV credits include Pennyworth, Timewasters, Heartbeat, Jane Hall and Emmerdale, whilst film credits include The Current War, The Time of Our Lives and Starfish.
Avita Jay plays Luciana. Her previous RSC credits include The Winter’s Tale. Other theatre credits include Lovely Bones (Birmingham Rep); Billionaire Boy (NST Theatre/UK Tour); The Secret Garden (York Theatre Royal); and The Jungle Book (National Tour). TV work includes Emmerdale, Silent Witness and Coronation Street.
Guy Lewis makes his RSC debut playing Antipholus of Syracuse. Theatre credits include: The Butterfly Lion (Minerva, Chichester Festival Theatre); Goodnight Mr Tom (Duke of York’s); Twelfth Night (Regent’s Park); A Christmas Carol (Birmingham Rep), Pygmalion, Measure for Measure and Hamlet (Clwyd Theatr, Cymru); and Hamlet and The Canterbury Tales (Northern Broadsides/New Vic). TV credits include Torchwood and Casualty.
Rowan Polonski plays Antiphlous of Ephesus. Other RSC credits include The Hypocrite (RSC/Hull Truck); The Omission of the Family Coleman, Shakespeare in Love (Theatre Royal Bath); Cockamamy (Hope Theatre, Islington); Desert Rats (Arts Theatre) and Another Country (Trafalgar Studios). TV works includes Doctor Who and Otherworld.
The cast also includes: Toyin Ayedun-Alase (Courtesan), Antony Bunsee (Egeon), Alfred Clay (Dr Pinch), William Grint (2nd Merchant), Zoe Lambert (Aemelia), Dyfrig Morris (2nd Merchant Bodyguard), Baker Mukasa (Angelo), Patrick Osborne (Balthasar), Nicholas Prasad (Duke Solinus), Riad Richie (1st Merchant) and Sarah Seggari (Luce).
Phillip Breen’s previous RSC directorial credits include The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Provoked Wife and The Hypocrite. The production is designed by Max Jones with Lighting by Tina MacHugh, Music by Paddy Cunneen, Sound by Dyfan Jones, Movement by Charlotte Broom and Fights by Renny Krupinski.
We very much hope that the next stage in the Government Roadmap will be reached in July so that our productions can take place as planned and that we will be operating without social distancing in place. However, if social distancing does remain, we will need to consider the implications for our shows.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
Barbican, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS
Barbican Box Office: 020 7638 8891 or visit https://www.barbican.org.uk/
Run time approx. 2 hours 20 minutes (including interval)
Tickets from £20 - £57.50 with a limited number of Premium Seats available at £72.50
Groups and schools rates available on selected performances
Day seats will be available at £10
£5 tickets available for 14-25 year olds
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Tuesday 16 November – Friday 31 December 2021
Press night: Tuesday 23 November 2021, 7pm
Monday-Saturday, 7.15pm
Thursday & Saturday matinees, 1.30pm
Please note that there will be no performances on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day or the evening of New Year’s Eve. Additional matiness will take place on Tuesday 28 December and Friday 31 December.
SEASON ON SALE
RSC Major Supporters, Production Circle, Artists Circle and Gold Patrons Tuesday 29 June
RSC Silver Patrons Wednesday 30 June
RSC Bronze Patrons / Barbican Principal Patrons Thursday 1 July
Premier Patrons/ Barbican Patrons
Members and Barbican Membership Plus Friday 2 July
Subscribers and Barbican Members Tuesday 6 July
Public Booking Friday 9 July
RSC ASSISTED PERFORMANCES AT THE BARBICAN
Relaxed performance
Thursday 9 Dec, 1.30pm
Performance with Integrated BSL Interpreter
Wednesday 15 December, 7.15pm
Captioned and Audio Described performance
Saturday 11 December, 1.30pm
A touch tour will take place at 11.30am, before the audio described performance.
EVENTS
Post Show Talk Back (BSL interpreted)
Wednesday 15 December (post evening show)
THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT
MATTHEW BYAM SHAW, NIA JANIS & NICK SALMON FOR PLAYFUL PRODUCTIONS AND THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRESENT THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT
As previously announced, producers Playful Productions and the Royal Shakespeare Company will stage the third and final novel in the Wolf Hall trilogy, The Mirror and the Light, adapted for the West End stage. The world premiere will run at the Gielgud Theatre from Thursday 23 September for a strictly limited season until Sunday 28 November, with an Opening Night on Wednesday 6 October.
The play will be the concluding chapter of Hilary Mantel's multi award-winning novels about the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, all commissioned and developed for the stage by Playful Productions. The Olivier and Tony Award-winning Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies were hailed as landmark and must-see theatrical events and sold out their London runs in 2014. The Mirror and the Light has been adapted for stage by Mantel herself alongside Ben Miles, who will return to his role as Cromwell to complete the trilogy. Nathaniel Parker joins him, resuming his Olivier Award-winning and Tony Award nominated role as Henry VIII. Jeremy Herrin, who was nominated for an Olivier Award for the first two productions, returns to direct.
Wolf Hall won the prestigious Man Booker Prize in 2009, and Bring Up the Bodies won in 2012, making Mantel the first woman ever to have received the award twice. Bring Up the Bodies also won the Costa Novel Award, the first time the same novel has won both this and the Man Booker.
The trilogy charts the riveting rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell in the ruthless court of Henry VIII.
If you cannot speak truth at a beheading, when can you speak it?
England, 1536. Anne Boleyn’s fate has been sealed by the executioner. Jane Seymour must deliver King Henry a healthy heir. And to the disgust of Henry’s nobles, Thomas Cromwell continues his ruthless ascent from the gutters of Putney to the highest rank beside his master. But with the threat of invasion and the King’s legacy tottering, Cromwell is vulnerable and his enemies are poised to strike.
The further you climb, the harder you fall.
The production will feature scenic and costume design by Christopher Oram who won both Olivier and Tony Awards for his work on Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies and music by Stephen Warbeck.
Opening the show is subject to the government allowing indoor performances to begin by then with sufficient notice, understanding what restrictions on social distancing and audience number caps are imposed, the public health status, and the availability of insurance cover either from the market or more likely from a government indemnity scheme.
Press representatives: Maisie Lawrence and Ben Chamberlain at Bread and Butter PR
maisie@breadandbutterpr.uk | 07786075979
ben@breadandbutterpr.uk | 07931723988
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Matthew Byam Shaw, Nia Janis & Nick Salmon for Playful Productions, and the Royal Shakespeare Company present
Hilary Mantel’s
THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT
Adapted by Hilary Mantel and Ben Miles
Gielgud Theatre
Shaftesbury Avenue
London W1D 6AR
First preview: 23 September 2021
Press Night: 6 October 2021
Final Performance: 28 November 2021
Performance times: Tues - Sat 19.30; Wed, Sat and Sun also at 14.30
Running time: Approximately 2 hours 30 minutes including an interval
Audio described performance: Tuesday 9 November, 19.30
Captioned performance: Thursday 11 November, 19.30
Groups and schools rates available.
Tickets from: £17.50 (including booking fee)
150 tickets per performance will be available at £32.50 or under (including £2.50 booking fee)
Book online: themirrorandthelight.co.uk
Phone: 0844 482 5130
MATILDA THE MUSICAL
AT THE CAMBRIDGE THEATRE FROM THURSDAY 16 SEPTEMBER
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s West End production of Matilda The Musical will return to the Cambridge Theatre from 16 September 2021. Celebrating 10 years since the multi award-winning show opened in London, this iconic British musical has won 99 international awards including 24 for Best Musical and has been seen by more than 10 million people across more than 90 cities worldwide. Matilda The Musical is now booking through to 13 February 2022. For further information visit www.matildathemusical.com.
Matilda The Musical is delighted that the four performers in the title role of Matilda will be Imogen Cole, Alyssa D’Souza, Alex Munden and Zoe Simon, with their first performances from 16 September. Carly Thoms will be taking over the role of Miss Honey, joining the adult cast which includes Elliot Harper as Miss Trunchbull, Sebastien Torkia as Mr Wormwood and Annette McLaughlin who will be returning to the company in the role of Mrs Wormwood, taking over from Marianne Benedict. Full casting information is available here.
A new trailer, which can be seen here, will give audiences the opportunity to see a range of special highlights from the show.
A tonic for audiences of all ages, this anarchic production about a strong and determined heroine with a vivid imagination has welcomed almost 4 million audience members in London. Matilda The Musical is the 6th longest running show in the West End and the 16th longest running musical in West End history. Matilda The Musical will also visit the Netherlands for the first time, translated into Dutch for a run at the Oude Luxor Theater Rotterdam. The theatre hopes that the musical will bring visitors to the city as it emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic. It has also announced plans to work with partners in Rotterdam to develop an education programme around the show. Tickets are now on sale for Matilda De Musical in Rotterdam visit matilda-demusical.nl
Adapted from Roald Dahl’s much loved 1988 book and commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the musical premiered at the RSC’s Stratford-upon-Avon home in 2010, before transferring to the West End in October 2011, where it opened to rave reviews.
Written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, and developed and directed by Matthew Warchus, the theatre production is designed by Rob Howell, with choreography by Peter Darling, orchestrations, additional music and musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker and the special effects and illusions are by Paul Kieve.
Matilda The Musical is produced by Executive Producers Denise Wood and Griselda Yorke for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The production was developed with the support of Jeanie O’Hare and the RSC Literary Department. André Ptaszynski had worked as one of the Executive Producers of the production from 2011 until his untimely death in 2020. He is much missed by all of his colleagues.
Press Representatives: Chloe Pritchard-Gordon and Laura Myers at About Grace PR
Chloe@aboutgracepr.com | Laura@aboutgracepr.com
LISTINGS INFORMATION
MATILDA THE MUSICAL
Cambridge Theatre
Earlham Street
London WC2H 9HU
For the full performance schedule and to book tickets visit www.matildathemusical.com
www.matildathemusical.com
Twitter: @MatildaMusical
Facebook: @MatildaTheMusical
Instagram: @MatildaTheMusical
- ENDS -
For further information about The Comedy of Errors at the Barbican or press ticket requests, please contact Bethany Arnold at bethany.arnold@rsc.org.uk or 0208 016 5016.
For press images, register free of charge at https://www.rsc.org.uk/press/press-resources/press-images
Social media at @TheRSC
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 a recipient of the Weston Culture Fund
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation and The Kovner Foundation
The Comedy of Errors is supported by RSC Season Supporter Charles Holloway and ICBC (London)
The Mirror and the Light is supported by RSC Production Circle member Peggy Czyzak-Dannenbaum
Edwardian Hotels London - Preferred Hotel Partner for Matilda The Musical in London
The work of the RSC Literary Department is generously supported by The Drue and H.J. Heinz II Charitable Trust
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
The Royal Shakespeare Company creates world class theatre, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world, performing plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, as well as commissioning an exceptionally wide range of original work from contemporary writers. Our purpose is to ensure that Shakespeare is for everyone, and we do that by unlocking the power of his plays and of live performance, throughout the UK and across the world.
We believe everybody’s life is enriched by culture and creativity. We have trained generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future. Our transformative learning programmes reach over half a million young people and adults each year, and through our Placemaking and Public Programme we create projects with and for communities who have not historically engaged with our work. We are a leader in creative immersive technologies and digital development.
We have a proud record of innovation, diversity and excellence on stage and are determined to grasp the opportunity to become an even more inclusive, progressive, relevant and ambitious organisation.
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About ICBC (London)
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