Royal Shakespeare Company News

Today in 1982, Macbeth opened at the Circle in the Square Theatre, where it ran for 21 performances. Written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. The earliest account of a performance of what was probably Shakespeare's play is April 1611, when Simon Forman recorded seeing such a play at the Globe Theatre.

Mark Bazeley and Kristin Davis will join the previously announced Natascha McElhone in Trevor Nunn's production of Fatal Attraction to play Dan and Beth Gallagher. Written by James Dearden, the world stage premiere of Fatal Attraction will open at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on 25 March 2014, with previews now starting on 11 March and currently booking to 21 June 2014. Designs are by Rob Jones with lighting by Paul Pyant and sound by Paul Groothuis.

The Broadway Cast - led by Hannah Yelland and Tristan Sturrock - will appear in the internationally celebrated Kneehigh production of Noel Coward's Brief Encounter, which will have a 43-performance limited engagement at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts February 15 to March 23, 2014 (press opening February 19). Yelland and Sturrock are joined by fellow New York cast members Joe Alessi, Dorothy Atkinson, Damon Daunno, and Annette Laughlin. Musician David Brown appeared in the show in the UK and musician James Gow joins the company for The Wallis engagement.

Academy Award, Tony Award and Emmy Award winner Christopher Plummer takes the stage for 16 performances only in a Center Theatre Group special event, "A Word or Two," which opened at the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre on Wednesday, January 22, 2014. Written and arranged by Plummer and directed by Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, "A Word or Two" is presented in association with the Stratford Festival of Canada and continues through February 9, 2014. Click below to watch interviews with Plummer and McAnuff on opening night!

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE presents the world premiere of THESE PAPER BULLETS!, a modish ripoff of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, adapted by Rolin Jones, with songs by Billie Joe Armstrong, and directed by Jackson Gay, March 14-April 5 at the University Theatre (222 York Street). Opening Night is Thursday, March 20.

The 'MIZ Kids' have been announced for Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schonberg's Tony Award-winning musical masterpiece LES MISERABLES, which returns to Broadway beginning Saturday, March 1 at the Imperial Theatre. The official opening night isSunday, March 23.

Full casting is announced for the first two plays in the 'Roaring Girls' season. Led by Royal Shakespeare Company Deputy Artistic Director, Erica Whyman these rarely performed Jacobethan plays reveal some of the great parts written for and about women.

Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Machinal, starring Rebecca Hall, written by Sophie Treadwell and directed by Lyndsey Turner, began previews on December 20 and opened on January 16, 2014 at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway. Machinal is a limited engagement through March 2. Below you can check out photos of Suzanne Bertish in the BroadwayWorld.com series 'In The Spotlight' by acclaimed photographer Walter McBride!

The Wooster Group has extended their previews of CRY, TROJANS! (Troilus and Cressida) through February 15 at the Performing Garage. The production is a re-working of their half of a 2012 collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company, focusing on the Trojan side of the drama as a pastiche American 'Indian' tribe.

Trustus Theatre is bringing Bruce Norris' Pulitzer Prize, Tony, and Olivier Award-winning comedy Clybourne Park to the Thigpen Main Stage. This show, a response to Lillian Hellman's A Raisin in the Sun, is a provocative and humorous look at racial relations and reactions in America. Clybourne Park is directed by award-winning guest director Jim O'Connor, and opens on the Thigpen Main Stage tonight, January 24th at 8:00pm.

Follow the preparation for Orlando Shakespeare Theater's epic production of THE LIFE & ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKELBY in this guest blog series.

The Trap Door Theatre presents JUDITH, A PARTING FROM THE BODY, written by Howard Barker and directed by Zeljko Djukic. The cast features Kevin Cox, Stacie Beth Green, and Nicole Wiesner. The show will open tonight, January 23, 2014 at 8PM and is set to close on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 8PM.

Trap Door Theatre will present 'Judith, A Parting of the Body', written by Howard Barker and directed by Zeljko Djukic, featuring Kevin Cox, Stacie Beth Green, Nicole Wiesner.

Olney Theatre Center proudly announces the return of legendary star of stage and screen Sir Ian McKellen, making his musical comedy debut in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as the "Book Voice", narrating the action in the Tony-winning musical. Former Artistic Director Jim Petosa, who produced McKellen's first appearance at Olney, has signed on to voice the show's "TV Announcer". How to Succeed is known for having voiceover parts often recorded by recognizable voices including broadcast journalists Walter Cronkite (1995 Broadway revival) and Anderson Cooper (2011 Broadway revival).

Academy Award, Tony Award and Emmy Award winner Christopher Plummer takes the stage for 16 performances only in a Center Theatre Group special event, "A Word or Two," which opens at the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre tomorrow, January 22, 2014. Written and arranged by Plummer and directed by Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, "A Word or Two" is presented in association with the Stratford Festival of Canada and continues through February 9, 2014. Scroll down for a sneak peek at Plummer onstage!

Academy Award, Tony Award and Emmy Award winner Christopher Plummer takes the stage for 16 performances only in a Center Theatre Group special event, 'A Word or Two,' which opens at the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre on Wednesday, January 22, 2014. Written and arranged by Plummer and directed by Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, 'A Word or Two' is presented in association with the Stratford Festival of Canada and continues through February 9, 2014.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF is thrilled to present the epic theatrical event The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I and II. Written by David Edgar and adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens, the production is produced in Collaboration with Theatre UCF. Co-directed by Artistic Director Jim Helsinger and Theatre UCF Chair/Artistic Director Christopher Niess, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I & II is presented in rotating repertory from today, January 22 to March 9, 2014 at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park.

Dame Judi Dench is being considered for the elderly version of Mon Mothma, the senator who co-ordinated and gave the Rebel Alliance briefing in J.J. Abrams' upcoming 'Star Wars: Episode VII.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces casting for Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night's Dream, a 75-minute abridged production of William Shakespeare's whimsical comedy of misplaced young passions and magical mischief. This new adaptation by Jeff Award-winning director David H. Bell provides a quality, family-friendly introduction to Shakespeare with special opportunities for audiences to interact with the actors at every performance. In addition to public performances each Saturday, this production will welcome 1,000 students each day to the Theater's home on Navy Pier during its five-week run in the Courtyard Theater, followed by a tour to schools across the Midwest. Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night's Dream will be performed for the public Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. from February 22 to March 22 in CST's Courtyard Theater. After each performance, the actors remain on stage for a brief question-and-answer session, before joining the audience in the Lobby for one-on-one conversations and photo opportunities.

James I, James II and James III - are a new cycle of history plays by award-winning playwright Rona Munro and directed by Laurie Sansom, Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland, which are to be presented in an unprecedented co-production by the National Theatre of Scotland, Edinburgh International Festival and the National Theatre of Great Britain, during the Edinburgh International Festival in August and at the National Theatre in London from September to October.