RSC UPDATE ON LONDON PRODUCTIONS IN 2018
THE RSC AND PLAYFUL PRODUCTIONS PRESENT IMPERIUM I: CONSPIRATOR AND II: DICTATOR AS IT TRANSFERS TO THE GIELGUD THEATRE IN LONDON’S WEST END FROM JUNE 2018
RSC WINTER SEASON AT THE BARBICAN SEES MACBETH, ROMEO AND JULIET AND THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR TRANSFER FROM THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE IN STRATFORD-UPON-AVON
OVER 30,000 TICKETS FOR £10 AND UNDER WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE RSC’S LONDON PRODUCTIONS
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) today announces its forthcoming productions in London.
This includes the acclaimed epic historical thriller Imperium - Mike Poulton’s stage adaptation of Robert Harris’ best-selling Cicero books, which transfers for a limited season at the Gielgud Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue from 14 June 2018.
Directed by RSC Artistic Director, Gregory Doran, the cast will be led by RSC Associate Artist and Olivier and Tony Award-winner Richard McCabe (The Audience) as Marcus Tullius Cicero, with the role of Cicero’s faithful servant, Tiro, who narrates their adventures played by Joseph Kloska. Many other members of the original company return for the London run.
This theatrical event, co-produced by the RSC with Playful Productions, follows the last collaboration on RSC Associate Artist Mike Poulton’s stage adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies which enjoyed success at the Aldwych Theatre after its Stratford run, and transferred to Broadway in 2015.
Imperium will be staged as six plays, presented in two performances, each with two intervals, as it did during its sold out run in the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon last year.
Told through the eyes of Cicero’s loyal secretary Tiro, Imperium chronicles how the great orator’s early success unwittingly paves the way for a brutal and bloody end to the Republic.
With Rome in chaos at the hands of the civic mob, Cicero must use all his cunning and brilliance to restore the power of the Senate from its would-be Emperor: one Gaius Julius Caesar.
The productions are designed by Anthony Ward with lighting by Mark Henderson. Music is composed by Paul Englishby, with sound by Claire Windsor. Movement is by Anna Morrissey.
Imperium plays at the Gielgud Theatre from 14 June – 8 September 2018.
IMPERIUM PRESS DAY - Saturday 30 June
Imperium I: Conspirator 1.30pm, and Imperium II: Dictator 7pm
Further ticketing and listings details for Imperium to follow.
RSC AT THE BARBICAN
Later this year, the three Shakespeare productions from the RSC’s current Stratford-upon-Avon season this spring will transfer into the Barbican Theatre from October.
Polly Findlay directs Christopher Eccleston in his RSC debut in the title role of Macbeth, with Niamh Cusack returning to the company to play Lady Macbeth and Edward Bennett as Macduff, in a contemporary production of Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller.
Erica Whyman directs Romeo and Juliet with Bally Gill and Karen Fishwick as the star-crossed lovers. This devastating tragedy looks directly in the eye at a generation of young people let down by their parents. Young people from the RSC's Associate Schools will play the Chorus, alongside the professional cast. The production will then tour in 2019, with more young people joining across the country. Romeo and Juliet builds on the incredible achievements of Erica’s 2016 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play for the Nation which united 84 amateur performers, 580 children and a professional company.
Concluding the season with a change of tone, Fiona Laird directs the hilarious comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor, with RSC Associate Artist David Troughton as Falstaff, in a contemporary setting - with more than a hint of reality TV - as the RSC continues to take audiences on its journey through Shakespeare’s canon.
The RSC season plays in the Barbican Theatre from 15 October 2018 – 19 January 2019.
Catherine Mallyon, RSC Executive Director, said:
“We are thrilled to be able to bring Imperium to London alongside Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and The Merry Wives of Windsor in our regular residency at the Barbican, and our continuing production of Matilda The Musical in the West End. Shakespeare and live theatre are for everyone and we are committed to sharing our work with the widest possible audience, so we are delighted to offer 30,000 tickets at £10 and under across all our productions, including our RSC Key £5 tickets for 16-25 years olds.
“We believe that affordable theatre should be within everyone’s grasp and our accessible ticket pricing and offers continue across the UK, with 98 weeks of touring this year, including Hamlet at the Hackney Empire this month, our First Encounter production of Julius Caesar currently on tour, and our UK and Ireland tour of Matilda The Musical, which opens at Leicester’s Curve this week.”
RSC Press Nights at the Barbican:
Macbeth - Tuesday 23 October 2018, 7pm
Romeo and Juliet - Tuesday 6 November 2018, 7pm
The Merry Wives of Windsor - Wednesday 12 December 2018, 7pm
Ends
For further information on Imperium in London, please contact Ben Chamberlain at The Cornershop PR on ben@thecornershoppr.com
For further information on the RSC and our shows at the Barbican, please contact Philippa Harland, RSC Head of Press on 020 7845 0512 or Philippa.harland@rsc.org.uk
Supporters
Imperium is the recipient of an EDGERTON FOUNDATION NEW PLAYS AWARD
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
The work of the RSC Education Department is generously supported by PAUL HAMLYN FOUNDATION, THE ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER FOUNDATION, THE POLONSKY FOUNDATION and THE ERNEST COOK TRUST.
About the Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company creates theatre at its best, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world. We produce an inspirational artistic programme each year, setting Shakespeare in context, alongside the work of his contemporaries and today’s writers.
Everyone at the RSC - from actors to armourers, musicians to technicians - plays a part in creating the world you see on stage. All our productions begin life at our Stratford workshops and theatres and we bring them to the widest possible audience through our touring, residencies, live broadcasts and online activity. So wherever you experience the RSC, you experience work made in Shakespeare’s home town.
We have trained generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future. We encourage everyone to enjoy a lifelong relationship with Shakespeare and live theatre. We reach 530,000 children and young people annually through our education work, transforming their experiences in the classroom, in performance and online. Registered charity no. 212481 www.rsc.org.uk.
About Playful Productions
As Producer and General Manager productions include: Shrek The Musical UK & Ireland Tour, Edward Albee’s The Goat Or, Who is Sylvia? (Theatre Royal Haymarket); Don Juan in Soho (Wyndham’s); No Man’s Land (UK tour and Wyndham’s); Kinky Boots (Adelphi); Hangmen (Wyndham’s); American Buffalo (Wyndham’s); The Audience (Gielgud – which was also a worldwide digital broadcast with NT Live, Gerald Schoenfeld – Broadway, Apollo and Executive Producer on the Netflix TV series of The Crown series 1 & 2 (based on The Audience); Wolf Hall: Parts 1 & 2 (Broadway); Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies (Aldwych); Shrek the Musical (UK & Ireland tour); The Weir (Wyndham’s); South Downs/The Browning Version (Harold Pinter); Sweeney Todd (Adelphi); Hay Fever (Noël Coward); Flare Path (Theatre Royal Haymarket); Yes, Prime Minister (Gielgud, Apollo, Trafalgar Studios and three UK tours); Krapp’s Last Tape (Duchess); Enron (Noël Coward); Red (Broadway); Hamlet (Broadway); Mary Stuart (Apollo and Broadway); Don Carlos (Gielgud) and Frost/Nixon (Gielgud and Broadway) and the forthcoming Shrek The Musical UK & Ireland Tour (December 2017), Quiz (Noel Coward Theatre, March 2018), The Moderate Soprano (Duke of York’s Theatre, April 2018) and Kinky Boots UK & Ireland Tour (September 2018).
As General Manager productions include: Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill (Wyndham’s); An American in Paris (Dominion); Groundhog Day (Old Vic); Wicked (Apollo Victoria, two UK & Ireland tours and an international Tour); Blithe Spirit (Gielgud); Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane); Dirty Dancing (Aldwych, two UK tours and Piccadilly); Shrek the Musical (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane); Million Dollar Quartet (Noël Coward) and Clybourne Park (Wyndham’s). www.playfuluk.com
About the Barbican
A world-class arts and learning organisation, the Barbican pushes the boundaries of all major art forms including dance, film, music, theatre and visual arts. Its creative learning programme further underpins everything it does. Over 1.1 million people attend events annually, hundreds of artists and performers are featured, and more than 300 staff work onsite. The architecturally renowned centre opened in 1982 and comprises the Barbican Hall, the Barbican Theatre, The Pit, Cinemas One, Two and Three, Barbican Art Gallery, a second gallery The Curve, foyers and public spaces, a library, Lakeside Terrace, a glasshouse conservatory, conference facilities and three restaurants. The City of London Corporation is the founder and principal funder of the Barbican Centre.
The Barbican is home to Resident Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra; Associate Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra; Associate Ensembles the Academy of Ancient Music and Britten Sinfonia, Associate Producer Serious, and Artistic Partner Create. Our Artistic Associates include Boy Blue, Cheek by Jowl, Deborah Warner, Drum Works and Michael Clark Company. International Associates are Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig and Jazz at Lincoln Center.