THE THREE MUSKETEERS to Open at RSC With All-Female Titular Cast
Ayesha Antoine, Patricia Rodríguez, and Sophie Russell star at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
The RSC and Told by an Idiot have announced that Ayesha Antoine, Patricia Rodríguez and Sophie Russell will take up the titular roles of musketeers; Athos, Porthos and Aramis in a thrilling new take of Alexandre Dumas's classic novel, opening in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from Saturday 28 November, with press night on Tuesday 8 December.
Adapted and directed by Told by an Idiot Co-founder and Artistic Director Paul Hunter, the production will see Ayesha Antoine as Porthos, Patricia Rodríguez as Aramis and Sophie Russell play Athos. Further casting will be announced later this year.
Director Paul Hunter said: "I'm delighted to be bringing together such an extraordinary group of performers for The Three Musketeers. Alexandre Dumas's story is one of the great adventures: full of friendship, courage, romance and reckless abandon. With Told by an Idiot's trademark blend of visual invention, physical comedy and joyful anarchy, we're creating a version that celebrates the sheer pleasure of live theatre.
“At its heart, The Three Musketeers is about people choosing loyalty, hope and togetherness in a world that often seems intent on division. It's gloriously funny, wildly theatrical and completely life-affirming. We can't wait to share it with audiences this festive season."
Biographies
Ayesha Antoine's recent theatre credits include How The Other Half Loves (Old Vic), Eureka Day (Gate Theatre), Between Riverside and Crazy (Hampstead Theatre), Out West: Go, Girl (Lyric Hammersmith), Blank (Donmar Warehouse) and White Teeth (Kiln Theatre). Her previous collaborations with Told by an Idiot include Napoleon Disrobed and The Ghost Train. Other theatre work includes Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company at RADA), Life of Galileo (Young Vic), The Suicide (National Theatre), Red Velvet (Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company/Garrick Theatre) and Big White Fog (Almeida Theatre).
For television, Ayesha has appeared in Bergerac, Queenie, Grace, Endeavour, In the Long Run, Cursed, Malory Towers, The Long Song, Chewing Gum, Doctor Who and Skins. Her film credits include Artemis Fowl, Girl, This Time and Win.
Patricia Rodríguez is a performer, director and playwright, and co-founder of Little Soldier and Las Ganas. She has worked internationally for more than 30 years, creating and performing original work across theatre, comedy and devised performance.
Her theatre credits as a performer include The Tempest (Shakespeare's Globe), directed by Tim Crouch; Heads Will Roll and Get Happy (Told by an Idiot); Nothing Happens (Twice), Derailed, Don Quixote and You & Me (Little Soldier); Muckers (Conde Duque/Theatre Royal); and No Way Out (Flight of the Scales). Her writing and directing work includes Deadpan Karaoke, Orsai, caLORCAlor and Hamlet, the latter winning Best Family Show at the Almagro Festival in 2025.
Patricia has performed throughout Europe, North America and Asia, and has taught internationally at institutions including the Philippe Gaulier School, East 15 Acting School and the University of Leeds. She trained with Philippe Gaulier, Aitor Basauri, John Wright and Paul Hunter.
Sophie Russell returns to the RSC, where her previous credits include As You Like It, The Comedy of Errors, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, The Drunks, American Trade and Oxygen.
Her theatre work includes The Merry Wives of Windsor, Titus Andronicus, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, Henry IV Parts One and Two, Henry V, Henry VI, Richard III and Emilia (Shakespeare's Globe); The Prudes, The Wolf from the Door and Collaborators (Royal Court Theatre); A Christmas Carol and Mrs Hudson's Christmas Corker (Spymonkey); Every Last Trick (Royal & Derngate, Northampton); You Can't Take It With You (Told by an Idiot/Manchester Royal Exchange); Spyski! (Lyric Hammersmith); The Good Soul of Szechuan (Young Vic); Get Happy (Told by an Idiot/Barbican) and Stories from an Invisible Town (Barbican).
Her television credits include I Hate Suzie, Kisses and Bumflicks, Living in Fear, Casualty and Wire in the Blood. Film work includes The Invisible Woman and How I Got Here.
