ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY’S ROME SEASON TRANSFERS TO THE BARBICAN, WINTER 2017
Date: 16 October 2017
ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY’S ROME SEASON TRANSFERS TO THE BARBICAN, WINTER 2017
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Rome MMXVII Season of four Shakespeare plays will transfer to the Barbican theatre from 6 November, straight from their run at the RST in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Coriolanus, directed by Angus Jackson – 6 November – 18 November 2017
Julius Caesar, directed by Angus Jackson – 24 November 2017 – 20 January 2018
Antony & Cleopatra, directed by Iqbal Khan – 30 November 2017 – 20 January 2018
Titus Andronicus, directed by Blanche McIntyre – 7 December 2017 – 19 January 2018
Angus Jackson, who previously directed the sell-out RSC productions of Oppenheimer and Don Quixote is Season Director for Rome MMXVII, and directs Coriolanus, featuring Sope Dirisu in the title role as the fearless but reluctant leader.
Following Coriolanus’ run in Stratford, it will open the London Season at the Barbican on 6 November - he also directs Julius Caesar with Andrew Woodall in the title role, which joins the repertoire from 24 November.
Iqbal Khan directs Antony & Cleopatra, with Josette Simon in the role of Cleopatra after her last RSC appearance in Michael Boyd’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1999 and Antony Byrne as Antony (last seen as Kent in Gregory Doran’s production of King Lear last year).
Blanche McIntyre’s production of Shakespeare’s bloodiest play Titus Andronicus will complete the season playing from 7 December.
A shared scenic aesthetic for all four plays is designed by Robert Innes Hopkins.
The full cast and creative teams will transfer for all four shows from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. However, in the London run, the repertoire is reordered to bring out the chronological history of the themes and narratives in the plays.
Angus said of the repertoire:
“I am thrilled to be bringing the decadence of Shakespeare's Rome to the Barbican.
We are going to present these plays not in the order that they were written but in the order that the stories happen. Beginning with Coriolanus - a semi-fictional character from 500 BCE - through to Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra, legendary characters who lived just before the birth of Christ. And finally, Titus Andronicus, in which we see an entirely imagined Rome at the end of its dominance. In this order, we track the ascendance and the decline of a civilisation: the establishment of a Republic in the aftermath of the abolition of a monarchy, the Republic becoming an Empire and ultimately destroying itself.”
For full cast and creative details please visit the following pages:
Coriolanus: https://www.rsc.org.uk/coriolanus/cast-and-creatives
Julius Caesar: https://www.rsc.org.uk/julius-caesar/cast-and-creatives
Antony and Cleopatra: https://www.rsc.org.uk/antony-and-cleopatra/cast-and-creatives
Titus Andronicus: https://www.rsc.org.uk/titus-andronicus/cast-and-creatives
Draw New Mischief
As part of our Rome Season transferring to London, our current exhibition of political cartoons - Draw New Mischief - will be displayed on the Mezzanine floor at the Barbican Centre between 3 November 2017 – 21 January 2017.
The Royal Shakespeare Company have commissioned five current cartoonists to create new works that link to Shakespeare’s Rome plays in response to contemporary political events.
These new cartoons will be exhibited throughout the season’s run, and include:
- Steve Bell one of the Guardian’s chief cartoonists, where he has been producing cartoons since 1981. He has won numerous awards, including the Political Cartoon Society Cartoonist of the Year (2005, 2007), and the Channel 4 Political Humour Award (2005).
- Christian Adams a political cartoonist at the Daily Telegraph, for which he has worked since 2005. He previously worked at the London Evening Standard from 1994 to 2002.
- Ann Telnaes a political cartoonist at the Washington Post. In 2001 she won the Pulitzer Prize for her work. A solo exhibition of her cartoons appeared at the Library of Congress in 2004.
- Victor Ndula a political cartoonist for the Kenyan national newspaper the Star. In 2012 he won first prize in the United Nations/Ranan Lurie Political Cartoon Awards.
- Lorna Miller a political cartoonist whose work has appeared in Private Eye and the Morning Star. Lorna has been nominated for the 2016 Political Cartoon of the Year Award.
Barbican Backstage Pass
Spend a day backstage at the Barbican with the RSC's technical team as they prepare for the evening’s performance of Julius Caesar. The day will give students an insight into the technical process of staging a production, as well as the broad range of careers in the production process and wider theatre industry.
Students will work with members of the RSC lighting, stage management, sound and design teams on specific production tasks, and will bring a moment of their own version of Julius Caesar to life on the Barbican’s stage.
Date: Tuesday 16 January 2018, 10am-5pm
To register your interest, please email creative.learning@barbican.org.uk using the subject line 'Barbican Backstage Pass'.
Weekend Lab: RSC
RSC director Iqbal Khan leads an intensive practical weekend in response to his production of Antony and Cleopatra at the Barbican.
This Lab is suitable for students, emerging or mid-career actors, directors and theatre-makers, ages 18+.
Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 January 2018; includes a ticket to Antony and Cleopatra on Saturday evening.
TICKETS: 020 7638 8891 or www.rsc.org.uk
-ends-
For further information and press ticket requests please contact Armani.Ur-Rub@rsc.org.uk 01789 27 2388
For press images, register free of charge via:
https://www.rsc.org.uk/press/press-resources/press-images
Social media at @RSCPress and @The RSC
#RSCRome
#RSCCaesar
#RSCCleopatra
#RSCTitus
#RSCCoriolanus
SEASON AT A GLANCE
BARBICAN THEATRE
All plays perform in repertoire apart from Coriolanus:
Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
Directed by Angus Jackson
6 November – 18 November 2017
Press night: 8 November 2017 at 7pm
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Directed by Angus Jackson
24 November 2017 – 20 January 2018
Press performance: 12 December 2017 at 1pm
Antony & Cleopatra by William Shakespeare
Directed by Iqbal Khan
30 November 2017 – 20 January 2018
Press night: 12 December 2017 at 7.00pm
Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare
Directed by Blanche McIntyre
7 December 2017 – 19 January 2018
Press night: 14 December 2017 at 7pm
Notes to Editors:
The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION and THE KOVNER FOUNDATION
The work of the RSC Literary Department is generously supported by THE DRUE HEINZ TRUST
BP £5 tickets and BP Shakespeare Pass for 16-25s
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