ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY ANNOUNCES FULL CAST FOR ALL IS BUT FANTASY
- Whitney White makes her creative and stage debut at the RSC with All Is But Fantasy
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Cast includes Juliette Crosbie, Daniel Krikler, Renée Lamb, Georgina Onuorah, Timmika Ramsay and Whitney White
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Dame Harriet Walter joins Whitney White for Reframing Women in Shakespeare, a special in-conversation event on 7 February
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) today announces the full company for All Is But Fantasy, a bold new work created by Whitney White at The Other Place in Stratford-upon-Avon from 21 January to 21 February with press night on 4 February.
Blurring boundaries between Shakespearean myth, contemporary storytelling, and live music, All Is But Fantasy is a two-part high-energy gig-theatre show, catalysed by a red-hot soundtrack of musical genres from rock and soul to pop and gospel. Directed by Whitney White, the production continues the RSC’s commitment to fostering innovative new writing.
The full cast comprises: Juliette Crosbie (A Christmas Carol) as Desdemona/ Juliet, Daniel Krikler (RSC’s Wendy & Peter Pan, Fiddler on the Roof) as Man, Renée Lamb as First Witch (Six the Musical, Little Shop of Horrors), Georgina Onuorah (Hamilton, The Wizard of OZ, Oklahoma!) as Second Witch, Timmika Ramsay (Guys and Dolls, Moulin Rouge) as Third Witch, and Whitney White (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Saturday Church, Liberation) as Woman.
Whitney White is an Obie and Lily Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated director, actor and musician, celebrated for her bold, innovative storytelling across both Broadway and off-Broadway. She recently received the Drama League’s 2025 Founders Award for Excellence in Directing and just opened Saturday Church, a new musical featuring songs by Sia and Honey Dijon at New York Theatre Workshop.
Director Whitney White said: “This ensemble is exceptional. Each member of the company brings a distinct musicality, depth, and interpretive intelligence to the production, and together they have shaped a world that feels both immediate and boldly imaginative. Renée, Georgina, Timmika, Daniel, and Juliette are remarkable artists whose individual strengths cohere into a truly dynamic collective. All Is But Fantasy is rooted in collaboration, and this company exemplifies that spirit with generosity and rigor. It is a privilege to make my RSC debut alongside such an extraordinary group of performers.”
Her directing credits on Broadway include The Last Five Years and Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, off-Broadway credits include Liberation, Walden, Jordan’s, Soft, On Sugarland, What to Send Up When It Goes Down, Our Dear Druglord, and For All the Women Who Thought They Were Mad. She also created Macbeth In Stride at Brooklyn Academy of Music, writing the book, music and lyrics. Additional directing work includes The Secret Life of Bees, By The Queen, The Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington, A Human Being of a Sort, An Iliad, The Amen Corner, Othello, Canyon, and Jump.
On screen, Whitney has appeared in Ocean’s Eight, Single Drunk Female, Louie, and The Playboy Club, and she contributed as a writer to Boots Riley’s acclaimed series I’m A Virgo for Prime Video.
Also announced today, Dame Harriet Walter returns to the RSC in Reframing Women in Shakespeare: Harriet Walter & Whitney White in Conversation place on Saturday 7 February from 11:30am to 1pm at The Other Place. This one-of-a-kind session brings together Dame Harriet Walter and Whitney White for a powerful exploration of how women are represented in Shakespeare’s works. It will feature a dynamic curated conversation, readings from She Speaks and All is But Fantasy, and an audience Q&A. Guided by Sandeep Mahal, Deputy Executive Director of the RSC, attendees will experience two visionary artists reimagining Shakespeare for the present day.
The full creative team comprises: Director Whitney White, Set and Costume Designer Soutra Gilmour, Lighting Designer Ryan Day, Sound Designer Tony Gayle, Music Supervisor Simona Budd, Music Director Tom Knowles, Assistant Music Director Falk Meier, Intimacy Director Lucy Hind, Fight Director Kate Waters, Voice Coach Nia Lynn, Choreographer Sarita Piotrowski, Associate Choreographer Christopher Tendai, Assistant Director Mumba Dodwell, Dramaturg Réjane Collard Walker and Casting Directors Charlotte Sutton CDG & Christopher Worrall CDG.
For more information or media enquiries related to All Is But Fantasy please contact:
The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon
Wednesday 21 January – Saturday 21 February
Press Night: Wednesday 4 February
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
With thanks to Season Supporter Charles Holloway OBE
RSC £10 Tickets for 14-25s supported 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
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
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
TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Their 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
