Full Cast Set For TRISTAN & YSEULT UK Tour
The show will begin previews at Theatre Royal Bath from 11 September 2026.
The Emma Rice Company has announced full casting for Rice's adaptation of Tristan & Yseult. The production was originally produced in 2003 and last seen on stage in 2017. Co-produced with York Theatre Royal and Nottingham Playhouse, the show will embark on a UK tour, with previews at Theatre Royal Bath from 11 September 2026, as part of the company's three-year partnership with the venue, entitled The Director's Cut. The show will also run at St Ann's Warehouse in New York from 1-22 November.
John Leader and Nandi Bhebhe lead the cast as Tristan and Yseult. They are joined by Matthew Churcher (Frocin), Tom Fox (Morholt and Brangian), Jack Heydon (Love Spotter), Stephanie Hockley (Whitehands), Edward Rowe (King Mark) and Nigel Sudarkasa (Love Spotter). In the band are Pat Moran, Stu Barker, Harry Miller, Philippa Hogg and, as alternate for the New York run, Mary Johnson.
Originally produced by Kneehigh and Emma Rice, Tristan & Yseult opened in the open air at Restormel Castle in Cornwall and Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire. In 2004, it played the Minack Theatre, Porthcurno, before being reimagined as an indoor production for the Cottesloe at The National Theatre in 2005. This UK tour marks the first time Tristan & Yseult has been performed to audiences since 2017.
Written by Anna Maria Murphy and Carl Grose and adapted and directed by Rice, the creative team is completed by Stu Barker (Composer), Simon Baker (Sound Designer), Malcolm Rippeth (Lighting Designer), Etta Murfitt (Choreographer & Intimacy Coordinator), with the original set and costume design by Bill Mitchell, refreshed by Vicki Mortimer.
Experience the original, critically acclaimed production of Tristan & Yseult - one of the most influential theatre productions of the 21st century. Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, this iconic show returns to the UK for the first time in ten years, offering a rare chance to encounter a modern masterpiece fresh and live on stage.
First created in 2003, Tristan & Yseult took the theatrical world by storm. Visceral, playful, and heartbreakingly beautiful, this internationally celebrated production blends myth, music, movement, and storytelling into an unforgettable theatrical night out. This landmark show, that has inspired a global generation of artists and audiences, is now re made, re mastered – and truly unmissable.
Biographies
Nandi Bhebhe plays Yseult. Her work for the company includes Wuthering Heights and Bagdad Café. Her other theatre credits include Les Liaisons Dangereuses (National Theatre), The Little Mermaid (Bristol Old Vic), Twine (Yard Theatre), Robin Hood: The Legend Re-Written (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre), Europeana (Royal Shakespeare Company), Faultline (Gate Theatre), Ubu! A Singalong Satire (UK tour), A Monster Calls (The Old Vic), Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare's Globe) and 946 (UK tour). Her television credits include The Dream Lands, Emmerdale and The Jetty; and for film, Your Fault: London, The Thing with Feathers and Cyrano.
Matthew Churcher plays Frocin. His work for the company includes Wuthering Heights, Little Match Girl. His other theatre credits include Hamlet, The BFG, The Bear & The Piano (Royal Shakespeare Company), Gypsy, Brief Encounter,The Secret Garden, A Streetcar Named Desire (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), Animal Farm, All Or Nothing (UK tours), Wolves In The Walls (Little Angel Theatre), Pippi Longstocking (Royal and Derngate, Northampton), Peter Pan, Jane Eyre (National Theatre/Bristol Old Vic), War Horse (National Theatre), and White Teeth (Kiln Theatre).
Tom Fox plays Brangian. His work for the company includes A Child's Christmas in Wales, Wuthering Heights, The Little Match Girl and Happier Tales. His other theatre credits include Pride and Prejudice…But Funny, Journey to the Centre of the Earth (UK tours), Aesop's Fables (Theatre Royal Norwich), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Westacre Theatre), Frankenstein (On a Budget), and Alice in Winterland, War of the Worlds (On a Budget), Suitcase Shakespeare: Macbeth, Suitcase Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet and A Christmas Carol (Lamphouse Theatre).
Jack Heydon plays Love Spotter. His theatre credits include The Flying Bath, The Everywhere Bear (Little Angel Theatre), Treasure Island (Bristol Old Vic), Billy Budd (Wilton's Music Hall), A Matter of Life and Death (New Vic Theatre), Pinocchio, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tale of Mr Tod (Red Rose Chain Theatre), Waiting for Anya (The Barn Theatre), and A Christmas Carol (Middle Temple Hall, London).
Stephanie Hockley plays Whitehands. Her work for the company includes Wuthering Heights, Blue Beard, and Malory Towers. Her other theatre credits include Miracle on 34th Street (HOME Manchester), Vernon Girls (Liverpool Royal Court), A Christmas Carol, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Storyhouse), Robin Hood (Watermill Theatre), Return to the Forbidden Planet (Upstairs at the Gatehouse), The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel (Liverpool Everyman) and The Witch of Edmonton (Sam Wanamaker Festival).
John Leader plays Tristan. His work for the company includes Wuthering Heights. His other theatre credits include The BFG (RSC), The Little Mermaid (Bristol Old Vic), A Monster Calls (The Old Vic), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Bridge Theatre), Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Henry V, Doctor Faustus, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons: A Reimagining (Shakespeare's Globe), Peter Pan, War Horse (National Theatre), Chigger Foot Boys (Tara Arts Theatre), Running Wild (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Orange Tree Theatre), Beasty Baby (Theatre Rites/ Polka Theatre) and Alice's Adventures Underground (Les Enfants Terribles). His television credits include The Sandman, Britannia and The Girlfriend Experience; and for film, Femme and The Runner.
Edward Rowe plays King Mark. His theatre credits include Aladdin, Jack and the Beanstalk, Peter Pan, Treasure Island, Sleeping Beauty, Dick Whittington (Hall for Cornwall), White Horse (Regal Theatre, Redruth) and Fisherman's Friends the Musical (UK tour). His television credits include The Witcher, Shakespeare and Hathaway, Beyond Paradise, Strike, House of the Dragon, Alex Ryder and Delicious. His film credits include Rose of Nevada, Edge of Summer, Enys Men and Bait. Edward was born and raised in Cornwall, and he regularly performs standup comedy as his character Kernow King (The King of Cornwall).
Nigel Sudarkasa plays Love Spotter. A recent graduate of LAMDA, his theatre credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream (Orange Tree Theatre).
Tour Dates
Sept. 11 - 19, 2026 – Theatre Royal Bath – Bath, England
Sept. 22 - 26, 2026 – Theatr Clwyd – Mold, Wales
Sept. 30 - Oct. 3, 2026 – Citizens Theatre – Glasgow, Scotland
Oct. 6 - 10, 2026 – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre – Guildford, England
Oct. 20 - 24, 2026 – Royal Lyceum Theatre – Edinburgh, Scotland
Nov. 1 - 22, 2026 – St. Ann's Warehouse – New York, New York
Jan. 26 - 30, 2027 – Oxford Playhouse – Oxford, England
Feb. 9 - 13, 2027 – Nottingham Playhouse – Nottingham, England
Apr. 6 - 17, 2027 – York Theatre Royal – York, England
