Royal Shakespeare Company News

This Christmas, Southampton's Nuffield will be transformed into the enchanting, mythical kingdom of Camelot to tell the story of young MERLIN and his childhood friends Arthur and Gwen as they embark on an action-packed journey of a lifetime, encountering powerful magic forces, mystical characters and adventures beyond their wildest dreams. MERLIN will run 26 November 2015 - 3 January 2016, with press night set for Tuesday 1 December 2015. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal!

Broadway Philadelphia presents TIME Magazine's #1 Show of the Year, MATILDA THE MUSICAL, at the Kimmel Center's Academy of Music tonight, November 17-29, 2015.

Matilda Wormwood, her parents, and her school are here, and things will never be the same. Hershey Theatre presents the RSC tour of MATILDA.

They were the brand name on every woman's lips. Goodman Theatre announces it will produce the world premiere of War Paint, a new musical that charts the ascent and arch-rivalry of cosmetics entrepreneurs Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden. Patti LuPone, who 'generates more raw excitement than any other performer on Broadway' (The New York Times), and Christine Ebersole, a 'first-class, revitalizing master of period style' (The New York Times), respectively star as Rubinstein and Arden, the brilliant innovators with humble roots who shrewdly navigated the 1930s male-dominated business world to forever change the business of beauty. Directed by Michael Greif (Rent, Next to Normal, If/Then, Grey Gardens), War Paint reunites Scott Frankel and Michael Korie-the acclaimed composer and lyricist team of Grey Gardens and Far From Heaven-with Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright (Grey Gardens, I Am My Own Wife, The Little Mermaid). The musical is inspired by the book, War Paint, by Lindy Woodhead and the documentary film, The Powder & the Glory, by Ann Carol Grossman and Arnie Reisman.  

An army of artists including Ian McKellen, Stanley Tucci, Andrew Scott, Bertie Carvel, Jeremy Irvine, Jessica Brown Findlay, and many more will read Homer's sequel, THE ODYSSEY, which will be live-streamed free from unusual and iconic locations across London to celebrate the end of Almeida Greeks, today 12 November 2015.

We are delighted to announce the spring 2016 Ustinov Studio French Canadian season, running from 18th February until 30th April. This is a rare opportunity to experience Canada's contemporary theatre scene, one of the most vibrant in the world, reflecting a rich diversity of regional and cultural identities.

Following acclaimed runs at both the Brighton Fringe and at the Bridewell Theatre, Pam Gems' PIAF, is to transfer to Charing Cross Theatre for a 5-week season from Tuesday, 1 December.

BroadwayWorld is excited to report initial casting for The Public Theater's New York premiere of HEAD OF PASSES, written by Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Tina Landau. Phylicia Rashad returns to The Public to play 'Shelah' in this deeply moving new drama about family, acceptance, and the power of faith. Rashad last appeared at The Public in THE STORY by Tracey Scott Wilson in 2003. HEAD OF PASSES begins previews on Tuesday, March 15 in the Newman Theater with an official press opening on Monday, March 28.

In summer 2016 Tippet Rise, a brand new arts center that celebrates the union of land, art, architecture and music, will open outside Fishtail, Montana, midway between Billings and the edge of Yellowstone National Park.

An army of artists including Ian McKellen, Stanley Tucci, Andrew Scott, Bertie Carvel, Jeremy Irvine, Jessica Brown Findlay, and many more will read Homer's sequel, THE ODYSSEY, which will be live-streamed free from unusual and iconic locations across London to celebrate the end of Almeida Greeks, on Thursday 12 November 2015.

Red Bull Theater today announced that their Twelfth Season will continue with John Marston's THE MALCONTENT, directed by Derek Smith, featuring Geraint Wyn Davies along with the previously announced Matthew Rauch ('Banshee'), four-time Academy Award nominee Marsha Mason, Kelley Curran, Clifton Duncan, Cameron Folmar, Christopher Innvar, Rachel Mewbron, Christina Rouner, Rocco Sisto, Susanna Stahlmann, and Nathan Wilkenstein. 

This Christmas, Southampton's Nuffield will be transformed into the enchanting, mythical kingdom of Camelot to tell the story of young MERLIN and his childhood friends Arthur and Gwen as they embark on an action-packed journey of a lifetime, encountering powerful magic forces, mystical characters and adventures beyond their wildest dreams. MERLIN will run 26 November 2015 - 3 January 2016, with press night set for Tuesday 1 December 2015.

The Young Vic's critically-acclaimed production of Arthur Miller's A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, directed by Ivo van Hove, opens tonight at the Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street). It will play an 18-week limited engagement through Sunday, February 21, 2016.

John Dowland, though also a sprightly and humorous composer, is most famous for the darker side of his character and the pervading melancholy that nourished his unquiet soul. But he was in no way the inventor of highly charged melodic poignancy in solo lute music. Two important composers of the generation of English lutenists that preceded him clearly show signs of great invention including moments of tormented yearnings which led to music of extraordinary depth. John Johnson (died in 1594) and Anthony Holborne (died in 1602) were the most prominent lutenists to remain in England during the Elizabethan period (Dowland spent many years on the Continent). Their œuvre contains rhapsodic Pavans of lyrical intensity and richness of harmony, spirited Galliards, striking character pieces and elaborate variations. They were both virtuosos if the highest calibre as the daring of their diminution techniques attests.

Following wide acclaim at Hampstead Downstairs last year, James Fritz's Olivier-nominated debut play FOUR MINUTES TWELVE SECONDS, directed by award-winning director Anna Ledwich, transfers to Trafalgar Studios this autumn, running tonight 10th November - Saturday 5th December 2015. Press night is set for Thursday 12th November.

Using heart-wrenching emails from soldiers in Iraq along with TV news footage and Rumi & WW I poetry, SANCTUARY a new play written and performed by theater and film actress Susanne Sulby, will play a limited engagement January 3 through 23rd at Off Broadway's Lion Theatre (410 West 42nd Street). SANCTUARY will have an official press opening Thursday, January 7th at 6:30PM.

Daniel Fish, the innovative director of theater, opera, and film, collaborates with designer Jim Findlay to create WHO LEFT THIS FORK HERE, a new interdisciplinary work inspired by the psychological and emotional themes of aging and mortality in Anton Chekhov's The Three Sisters. WHO LEFT THIS FORK HERE is set for four performances only, Wednesday, December 9, through Saturday, December 12, at 7:30pm at Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC)'s Howard Gilman Performance Space, 450 West 37th Street.

Following its opening in Stratford-upon-Avon, and its tour to school halls and theatre spaces across the country in Summer 2015, The Famous Victories of Henry V comes to the Barbican for one performance only. Directed by Owen Horsley and using Shakespeare's original language, the production condenses the three great plays of Henry IV Parts I & II and Henry V into a 90 minute adventure for 8 - 13 year olds. 

TIME Magazine's #1 Show of the Year, MATILDA THE MUSICAL, is coming to Memphis as part of the 2015-2016 Broadway Series. Produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Dodgers, the first national tour of MATILDA THE MUSICAL will be coming to the Orpheum Theatre January 12 - 17, 2016. Tickets will go on sale to the public today, November 6th at 10:00 AM.

Entering its seventh season in 2015-16, CONTACT!, the Philharmonic's new-music series, will extend its reach across New York City through a new partnership with National Sawdust (formerly Original Music Workshop), a new, non-profit, state-of-the-art music venue opening in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in October 2015.