ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY ANNOUNCES NEW SEASON OF SHOWS FOR 2026-27
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TONY AWARD-WINNING ACTOR JONATHAN GROFF LEADS AN ALL-MALE CAST IN AS YOU LIKE IT, DIRECTED BY RSC CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR DANIEL EVANS.
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF TRANSFORMATIVE PARTNERSHIP WORK IN SCHOOLS: HARRIET WALTER LEADS AN ALL-FEMALE COMPANY IN PHYLLIDA LLOYD’S TRAILBLAZING 2012 DONMAR WAREHOUSE PRODUCTION OF JULIUS CAESAR, PLAYING IN THE OTHER PLACE & TOURING TO SECONDARY SCHOOLS ACROSS ENGLAND THIS AUTUMN, CO-PRODUCED WITH KPPL PRODUCTIONS.
RSC & TOLD BY AN IDIOT PRESENT AN UPROARIOUS NEW TAKE ON ALEXANDRE DUMAS’ THE THREE MUSKETEERS ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY PAUL HUNTER
JEREMY HERRIN (WOLF HALL TRILOGY) DIRECTS A TWO-PART ADAPTATION OF GEORGE ELIOT’S MASTERPIECE MIDDLEMARCH, WITH SCRIPT BY NINA RAINE, CO-PRODUCED WITH SECOND HALF PRODUCTIONS.
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RSC Co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey today announce further details of their 2026 Season which sees Tony award-winning Broadway star Jonathan Groff make his RSC début and Harriet Walter return to the company in a landmark RSC touring production, celebrating 20 years of transformative partnership work in schools.
Joining the previously announced world premiere of Game of Thrones: The Mad King, the first-ever stage play arising from George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy series, is a joyful, all-male staging of Shakespeare’s As You Like It, a landmark revival of Julius Caesar directed by Phyllida Lloyd, set in a women’s prison and touring to schools and communities across England throughout the autumn, a vibrant retelling of George Eliot’s Middlemarch, adapted by Nina Raine and directed by Jeremy Herrin, and a mischievous take on Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers by Paul Hunter in a riotous new co-production with Told by an Idiot.
RSC Co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey said:
“We are delighted to share our new season, which brings together five productions including an epic fantasy, a 19th century literary masterpiece, a swashbuckling adventure and two plays from our in-house playwright. Each of these productions, in their own way, celebrate how time-honoured stories, when viewed through fresh eyes, can defy expectations, and help us to see the world around us anew.
From the sweet-natured romance of As You Like It to the righteous anger of Phyllida Lloyd’s Julius Caesar, the anarchic adventures of The Three Musketeers to the sweeping societal shifts of George Eliot’s Middlemarch, themes of identity, transformation, freedom, justice and the liberation that comes from breaking free of expectations loom large this autumn, as classic stories and universal struggles take on powerful new resonance in the hands of some of the most exciting artists of today.
As ever, our commitment to the dual mission of making theatre and education through theatre remains at the heart of who we are as a company. In 2026, we celebrate the milestone of 20 years working in long-term partnership with schools across the UK. Since 2006, we have seen our network of Associate Schools expand to reach over 280 schools in 100 towns and cities across England, transforming the lives of thousands of young people in the process.
We know, from our own evidence-based research, what a very real difference our pioneering theatre-based teaching approaches to Shakespeare make to the way children see themselves, and the way that the adults in their lives see them, which is why we are thrilled to be working with KPPL productions to bring the seminal production of Julius Caesar to the heart of communities across England. This landmark tour represents a new milestone in the RSC’s long-term partnership work with schools and is one of a series of celebratory events taking place throughout 2026 to showcase the life-changing impact this work has, empowering young people to see themselves and the world with fresh eyes.”
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In the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Tony Award-winning Broadway star Jonathan Groff plays Rosalind in a joyful new production of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, directed by RSC Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans. The production marks Groff’s RSC début performance, having previously originated the roles of Melchior Gabor in Spring Awakening the musical and Kristoff in Disney’s Frozen franchise. His performance as King George III in the international smash-hit musical Hamilton was a fan-favourite, and he won his first Tony Award for playing Franklin Shepherd in the revered revival of Merrily We Roll Along. Jonathan can currently be seen playing Bobby Darin in the hit Broadway musical Just in Time at the Circle in the Square Theatre, New York.
He is joined by Fisayo Akinade in the role of Celia. On screen, Fisayo is best known for his roles as Dean Monroe in Russell T. Davies’ hit Channel 4 series’ Cucumber and Banana and Mr. Ajayi in the 2022 Netflix series Heartstopper. Fisayo’s theatre credits include playing Gary in the UK premiere of Jeremy O. Harris’s groundbreaking Slave Play at the Noel Coward Theatre and Reverend Hale in The Crucible, directed by Lyndsey Turner at the National Theatre, alongside roles in Alistair McDowall’s 2022 play The Glow for The Royal Court and Anne Washburn’s Shipwreck at the Almeida Theatre.
As You Like It plays from Saturday 26 September - Saturday 7 November with press night on Tuesday 6 October.
In The Other Place, Olivier Award-winning actress Harriet Walter returns to the RSC to play Brutus in a revival of Phyllida Lloyd’s landmark, all-female, Julius Caesar.
First performed at the Donmar Warehouse in 2012 under Artistic Director Josie Rourke and Executive Director Kate Pakenham as part of a trilogy of all-female Shakespeare plays, the production follows a group of female prisoners who choose to perform Shakespeare's play to express their preoccupations with freedom and justice. The original production was famously described by The Observer as “oneof the most important theatrical events ofthelast20years” and remains a seminal event in theatre history.
This First Encounters with Shakespeare production, produced in partnership with KPPL Productions, sees Harriet Walter and the company tour to schools across England for five weeks from Monday 21 September – Friday 23 October as part of a series of events celebrating 20 years of the RSC’s pioneering partnership work with schools and theatres, after which the production will visit The Other Place from Thursday 5 – Saturday 28 November.
An in-depth series of in-school workshops and post-show discussions will accompany the production. These live events, unique to each performance, will see cast, creatives, young people and guest speakers from local communities and the criminal justice system discuss how this 400-year-old text connects with our lives and world today.
In the Swan Theatre, George Eliot’s expansive study of provincial life, Middlemarch, comes to the stage in a sweeping two-part adaptation by Nina Raine (Consent, Tribes, Tiger Country). Directed by Jeremy Herrin (Guess How Much I Love You and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold) in co-production with Second Half Productions, this beloved story of a fictional 1832 Midlands town at the precipice of pivotal social change will be performed 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.
Looking ahead to the festive season in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, audacious theatre company Told by an Idiot unleash their trademark visual comedy on Alexandre Dumas’s thrilling classic novel in The Three Musketeers, playing from Saturday 28 November – Saturday 9 January with press night on Tuesday 8 December. Adapted and directed by Told by an Idiot Co-founder and Artistic Director, Paul Hunter, this wild new stage adaptation brings together an international company of performers, captivating live music and a charmingly unreliable Spanish narrator, in a theatrical feast full of energy, joy and a raging zest for life.
Priority booking for all newly announced productions opens from Monday 2 March at 10am with public booking opening on Wednesday 18 March at 10am. For further information on how to become an RSC Member or Supporter, visit https://www.rsc.org.uk/support/become-a-member-supporter-or-renew
Priority booking for Game of Thrones: The Mad King opens from Tuesday 14 April 2026 with public booking from Friday 24 April 2026. More information will be announced later in the year.
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Celebrating 20 years of transformative partnership work in schools
The RSC’s Associate Schools Programme works with 16 regional theatres and 280 schools across England to embed the active teaching of Shakespeare in the curriculum. First piloted in 2006, the programme is open to primary, secondary and special state-funded schools and further education colleges in England, with a specific focus on schools serving areas of structural disadvantage and is built around the principle of schools and theatres working in local partnership clusters to develop long-term, sustainable pathways to success.
To celebrate 20 years of pioneering collaboration this Autumn, the RSC has commissioned a series of events which – together – explore the changes, challenges and developments in the education system over the last 20 years and the impact that RSC partnerships have on helping to ensure access to an arts-rich curriculum for all.
Building Partnerships: A 20-year story
The RSC will host a major symposium on Friday 18 September inviting colleagues from across the cultural and education sectors to share learnings from 20 years of partnership work in schools. Building Partnerships: A 20-year Story brings together over 200 partner representatives from across England and the wider arts sector to reflect on the transformative role cultural partnerships play in the lives of young people. The RSC will also publish a 20-year overview containing lessons learnt and impact created within an ever-changing landscape of education and cultural policy making.
As part of the symposium and running from Wednesday 16 – Saturday 19 September, Barnsley-based arts charity LUNG, present a new play, commissioned by the RSC, which brings together the testimony of young people, teachers and headteachers from across the RSC’s Associate Schools, Associate Theatres and the wider education sector. The production will be performed by members of the RSC’s young company, Next Generation Act, and features verbatim accounts from young people, education specialists and industry experts to consider real-life experiences of the education system. The production will involve young people from Next Generation Direct and Backstage programme through paid traineeships.
Running alongside Julius Caesar’s five-week tour to schools and communities across England from 21 September – Friday 23 October is a supporting programme of co-curated workshops, post-show discussions and sharing opportunities offering young people from mainstream school and alternative provision settings the opportunity to respond creatively to the themes and ideas. This includes – for the first time – running workshops in a West Midlands Pupil Referral Unit (PRU).
The content created in schools and communities over five weeks will culminate in a Young Creatives Festival taking place in The Other Place on Saturday 21 November 2026. Co-curated by the RSC’s Youth Advisory Board and featuring contributions from the Julius Caesar company, the event will see over 200 young people gather in Stratford for an inspirational programme of workshops, panel discussions and debates, examining themes of justice, governance, leadership and the power of words to inspire and affect change.
Deputy Executive Director and Director of Creative Learning and Engagement, Jacqui O’Hanlon, said:
“We are incredibly proud of the work we have undertaken in collaboration with extraordinary teachers, young people and partner theatres over the past 20 years. They have irrevocably changed our understanding of the value of Shakespeare’s work in education. It has been inspirational to see classroom practitioners bring Shakespeare’s work to life in ways that capture the imagination of learners of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.
We now have a 20-year evidence base that describes the very real difference that an arts rich education makes to a child’s life and learning outcomes. All children should have this entitlement, but all children don’t. Where a child lives and the kind of school they go to is still the greatest predictor of whether they will get access to high quality arts experiences, with all the benefits they bring. We hope that in the next 20 years, that argument will be won and all children, irrespective of background, will have equal access to the arts; they will ultimately shape and define the future of the arts and Shakespeare's work in this country.”
ENDS
For further enquiries, please contact: Kate Evans (Head of Media Relations) 07920 244 434, email: kate.evans@rsc.org.uk
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SHOW BY SHOW:
GAME OF THRONES: THE MAD KING
A new play
Based on the novels by George R.R Martin
Adapted by Duncan Macmillan
Directed by Dominic Cooke
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Summer 2026. Priority booking opening in April
Enter the world before.
A long winter thaws in Harrenhal, and spring is promised. At a lavish banquet on the eve of a jousting tournament, lovers meet and revellers speculate about who will contend. But in the shadows, amid growing unease at the blood-thirsty actions of the realm’s merciless Mad King, dissenters from his inner circle anxiously advance a treasonous plot. Far away, the drums of battle sound.
Family bonds, ancient prophesies, and the sacred line of succession will be tested in a dangerous campaign for power. Who will survive? Who will rise?
‘Wars aren’t won by those with most cause, but whose story’s best told.’
Game of Thrones: The Mad King is a sweeping new stage epic from the world of George R. R. Martin, written by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke. Spanning the final years before the events of the novels, this powerful drama reveals a legendary chapter of Westerosi history.
Come face to face with familiar characters from the houses Targaryen, Stark, Lannister, Baratheon and Martell and witness the events that set the stage for the world’s most critically acclaimed series.
Game of Thrones: The Mad King will have its world premiere at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Summer 2026. Become a member for priority booking opening in April.
Game of Thrones: The Mad King is co-produced with Simon Painter, Tim Lawson, Mark Manuel, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures obo HBO and Sir Leonard Blavatnik and Danny Cohen for Access Entertainment.
AS YOU LIKE IT
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Daniel Evans
Saturday 26 September – Saturday 7 November
Tickets from £10
‘If I were a woman…’
Tony Award-winning Jonathan Groff makes his RSC debut as Rosalind in Shakespeare’s most sweet-natured comedy, where love is love – no matter where it falls.
Rosalind is banished from the court of Duke Frederick – but not before she and young Orlando fall for each other. Seeking out her exiled father in the Forest of Arden with her devoted cousin, Celia, Rosalind disguises herself as a young man, Ganymede.
In fear of his own life, Orlando also escapes to the forest and soon runs into Ganymede, who pledges to cure his lovesickness. But in order to do so, Orlando has to woo her… or rather, he has to woo ‘him'. Then the games commence.
Daniel Evans directs an all-male cast in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
The creative team includes Set Designer Anisha Fields, Costume Designer Colin Richmond, Lighting Designer Ryan Day, Movement Director Michela Meazza and Casting Director Charlotte Sutton CDG.
As You Like It is supported by RSC Production Circle Supporters Shriti Vadera and Richard and Minette Watson
MIDDLEMARCH PARTS 1 & 2
By Nina Raine
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
Swan Theatre
Tickets from £15
‘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.
The creative team includes Set and Costume Designer Grace Smart, Composer Paul Englishby, Sound Designer Nicola T. Chang, Movement Director Lucy Cullingford and Casting Directors Charlotte Sutton CDG and Christopher Worrall CDG.
JULIUS CAESAR
Originally produced by the Donmar Warehouse
Touring to RSC Associate Schools from 21 September to 23 October
Thursday 5 – Saturday 28 November, The Other Place
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Tickets from £30 (The Other Place)
‘Liberty, freedom, tyranny is dead!’
Harriet Walter reprises her role as Brutus in Phyllida Lloyd’s groundbreaking 2012 Donmar Warehouse production, bringing world-class theatre to schools across England, and to The Other Place.
From the back of a prison van, Ancient Rome is brought to the stage. Reflecting on their own preoccupations with freedom and justice, a group of female prisoners present a 90-minute version of Julius Caesar.
Caesar’s creeping dominance in Rome risks democracy. A collective of conspirators secretly recruit the popular senator Brutus and they assassinate Caesar to reclaim the republic for the citizens. As terror and chaos rule the streets, Shakespeare’s politically-charged play exposes how the overthrow of a tyrant by violent means seldom leads to a peaceful outcome.
This First Encounters with Shakespeare tour, in a co-production with KPPL Productions, will play in five partner schools, inviting young people to voice their opinions on the play. Audiences in Stratford and on tour can join in post-show discussions on selected dates.
★★★★★ ‘one of the most important theatrical events of the past twenty years’ The Observer
Julius Caesar is supported by Backstage Trust and RSC Production Circle Supporter Miranda Curtis CMG
THE THREE MUSKETEERS
A Royal Shakespeare Company and Told by an Idiot co-production
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Saturday 28 November – Saturday 9 January
By Paul Hunter
From the novel by Alexandre Dumas
Tickets from £10
’It is 1625, or twenty-five past four.’
When the innocent D’Artagnan sets off to Paris to become a Musketeer, a life of danger, romance and anarchy lies ahead.
Young King Louis XIII’s loose grip on power and his marriage is a delicious opportunity for the dastardly Cardinal Richelieu and mysterious Milady.
Landing in the centre of this cut-throat world, D’Artagnan races through the streets and the battlefields on the trail of his abducted sweetheart Constance, fighting for honour and dodging the target on his back.
But whenever strife is near, his new pals appear: The Three Musketeers.
‘One for all, and all for one!’
This Christmas, Told by an Idiot unleash their trademark visual comedy on Alexandre Dumas’s thrilling classic novel in a theatrical feast full of energy, joy and a raging zest for life.
The off-stage team includes Director Paul Hunter, Set and Costume Designer Michael Vale, Lighting Designer Aideen Malone, Composer Ian Ross, Sound Designer Tingying Dong and Casting Director Matthew Dewsbury CDG with further details to be announced.
BOOKING INFORMATION
Ticket Discounts:
Discounts are available for Over 65s, Disabled People and Carers, Families, UK School and College Groups and Groups of 10 or more. Terms and conditions apply. See the website rsc.org.uk or call the Box Office on 01789 331111 for more details and to buy tickets.
Reduced Price Previews and Press Nights in Stratford-upon-Avon are priced at £32.50 or under for A price seats and a limited number of Premium Tickets are also available.
From 16 September onwards, mobile/e-tickets will be sent via email no earlier than 7 days prior to the performance. All ticket details will be included in an e-confirmation at the time of booking.
Assisted Performances:
The RSC offers a range of assisted performances on selected dates throughout the year. A list of upcoming dates and booking detail is available HERE.
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 generously supported by RSC America
The work of the RSC is generously supported by Backstage Trust
With thanks to Season Supporter Charles Holloway OBE
Pragnell – Craft and Design Sponsor
As You Like It is supported by RSC Production Circle Supporters Shriti Vadera and Richard and Minette Watson
Julius Caesar is supported by Backstage Trust and RSC Production Circle Supporter Miranda Curtis CMG
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
RSC Learning is supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, GRoW @ Annenberg and other generous supporters
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 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
KPPL is an independent production company with a social justice focus. Director Phyllida Lloyd and producer Kate Pakenham first worked together on the Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy which they presented on stage in London and New York, on screen and in prisons and schools.
In 2025 KPPL produced the transfer from Nottingham Playhouse of James Graham’s Punch to the West End, welcoming over 5,000 school children to see the play and bringing together 11 charity partners to offer weekly conversations around the show. Profits from the West End run will be used to create a version of the play to tour into schools in Autumn 2027. In 2024 KPPL co-produced the National Theatre’s Grenfell: In The Words Of Survivors at St Ann’s Warehouse, New York and made the documentary, O Brave New World, about KPPL's work using Shakespeare to support rehabilitation of women in prison.
KPPL has a special interest in making world-class work that supports change in the criminal justice and education sectors.
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 Every Brilliant Thing (Broadway, West End, Edinburgh Festival Fringe); 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 Production and Development Assistant, Sam Hooper. Press & Publicity is by Kate Hassell for Bread & Butter PR, and Marketing & Sales by Stacy Coyne Wright.
Told by an Idiot is a critically acclaimed UK theatre company that explores the human condition through theatre that is ambitious but never pretentious, experimental but always accessible. We avoid boredom at all costs and are fascinated by the space between laughter and pain. We consistently experiment with what theatre can be and who gets to make it. In doing so, our work blurs the line between theatre maker, participant and audience.
We nurture the skills and talents of emerging theatre makers through our Taught by an Idiot artist development programme and our work excludes no one. It simulates and challenges people across the world and we remain committed to making theatre for anyone who breathes.
Our vision is to ensure we make a major contribution to the national and international reputation and reach of the cultural sector in England by creating risk-taking, dynamic and critically acclaimed new work which consistently reflects ambition, quality, inclusivity and relevance.
