The Royal Shakespeare Theatre News

With rehearsals underway for As You Like It, this is a formative time for Lucy in what is her first encounter with not only the play, but also the character. Talking ensemble and expectations, Lucy also shares her initial impressions of Rosalind, namely (and in her own words): 'How has she not been in my life before now?!'

This Christmas, an adaptation of The Boy in the Dress will play the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, penned by Mark with music and lyrics from Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers. As news of the musical broke, we spoke to Mark about adapting the text, and his own favourite books from childhood.

Artistic Director, Gregory Doran, today announced the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) Winter 2019 season which includes the world stage premiere of a new musical adaptation of The Boy in the Dress, based on the best-selling novel by David Walliams with songs by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers. The new musical, directed by Gregory Doran, plays for eighteen weeks in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from November 2019 to March 2020.

Having recently worked on a number of musicals (including the acclaimed Half a Sixpence), Rachel Kavanaugh returns to the RSC for a play which has some ghosts of the past and present. Sharing some of her earliest experiences with theatre, Rachel reveals what it's like to work alongside a figure from then, and what audiences can expect from this show now.

Actress and writer Charlotte Josephine features in her first season for the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. Catching up on the first day of rehearsals for the London transfer, Charlotte spoke to us about how Erica Whyman's production will resonate with audiences, as well as what it's like taking on a role normally played by a man and speaking 'forbidden' words.

Embracing the darkness of the play and space, we are 'cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in to saucy doubts and fears' alongside Macbeth in Polly Findlay's terrifying and thoughtful production.

Edward Bennett returns to the Royal Shakespeare Company for his third season, appearing in Polly Findlay's Macbeth. As the production comes to London, Bennett gives us an insight into Findlay's rehearsal room, discusses how Macduff is similar to previous roles he's played here, and also shares his own superstitions surrounding the Scottish Play and theatre...

RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran announced today his ambition for a new collaborative cross-cast ensemble which reflects the nation, to play three Shakespeare productions in a newly reconfigured Royal Shakespeare Theatre next summer. All three productions will then tour in repertoire for the first time to six regional theatres in 2019.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's 2019 tour Romeo and Juliet will run at Theatre Royal, Glasgow next year as part of a UK tour. Tickets are on sale to ATG Theatre Card holders on Tuesday 4 September on go on general sale on Friday 7 September.

'Hey Nonny Nonny!' 'Sigh No More!' Shakespeare's classic, playful comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, is this year's rip-roaring Season 5 opener for the vibrant, 30 by Ninety Theatre in Mandeville, Louisiana. This suburban playhouse, positioned just across the lake from New Orleans, is named for its' common latitude and longitude, but doesn't hold back on big city ambitions to invigorate, entertain, and challenge local audiences to grow from shared experiences through the stage. It is an idea not lost on Shakespeare himself nearly five millennials ago.

What larks! Maybe not for the purists nor for anyone looking for a Chekhovian analysis of the human condition, but a guilty pleasure full the laughs.

In 1968, playwright David Edgar was 20 years old. It was also the year of some of the most important and formative events in modern history, including the Paris student revolt, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Enoch Powell's "rivers of blood" speech, and the ongoing war in Vietnam. Trying It On is a new play written and performed by David Edgar, which reflects on the legacy of this momentous year, drawing on first-person interviews with some of the leading political figures of the time, as well as contemporary activists. The performance also marks David's first professional stage performance in this contemplative one-man play.

Next up at the RSC's Swan Theatre is an oft-forgotten Restoration comedy by Mary Pix; originally titled The Beau Defeated, Jo Davies' production shifts the focus onto the widowed protagonist with the new title The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich. It comes in the same year as two new productions of another Restoration Comedy, The Country Wife, are unveiled at Southwark Playhouse and Chichester's Minerva Theatre - and plays alongside The Duchess of Malfi and Macbeth (in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre).

The Barbican today announces its September to December 2018 Theatre and Dance season. Tickets go on sale to Barbican Members plus on Thursday 15 March, to Barbican Members on Friday 16 March and to the general public on Monday 19 March 2018. Young Barbican tickets for 14-25 year-olds are available for all productions from September to December 2018 (excluding Imagined Touch). There are 50,000 Young Barbican tickets for art, film, music, theatre and dance ranging from £5, £10 or £15.

Almost two years after its first performance, the Royal Shakespeare Company's critically acclaimed Hamlet returns to the stage. A revival of Simon Godwin's 2016 production, this international tour brings together old and new faces. As the tour reaches its London leg, James Cooney spoke to us about returning to the play, the bond between Horatio and Hamlet, and dealing with self-doubt as an actor.

On the day that one of the most important British playwrights of the post-1960s generation celebrates his 70th birthday, he is also announcing his stage debut. Trying It On is a new play written and performed by David Edgar, which reflects on the legacy of the worldwide student revolt of 1968 (when David was 20 and at university), drawing on first person interviews with some of the leading political figures of the time, as well as contemporary activists.

RSC Artistic Director, Gregory Doran, announces the RSC's winter 2018 season, a nationwide schools' tour and a new 10 ticket offer for first time visitors.

The Unicorn Theatre announces the appointment of Justin Audibert as the company's new Artistic Director. Justin will take up the position in summer '18, taking over from Purni Morell who steps down as Artistic Director this spring after nearly seven years in the role.

It was September of this year that I first saw this particular Titus Andronicus, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Back then, I was struck by how timely a production this seemed: corruption of power, toxic masculinity and the silencing of women all at the forefront under Blanche McIntyre's direction. A month later, the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke. Two months after that, the production transferred to the Barbican Theatre. Today, it proves an even more powerful and potent production, on both the Barbican and global stage.

Hannah Morrish plays her first season at the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in no less than three of the Rome MMVII shows. Playing Lavinia in Titus Andronicus, Portia in Julius Caesar and Virgilia in Coriolanus, Hannah spoke to us about the female voice and timeliness of this season.