Isis Hainsworth, Adam James and More to Star in RSC’s MEASURE FOR MEASURE

The full cast has been revealed for the RSC’s forthcoming production of William Shakespeare’s razor-sharp thriller of hypocrisy and corruption, Measure for Measure, directed by Emily Burns, which runs in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon between Saturday 13 September – Saturday 25 October 2025.   
 
Making their RSC debuts, the production will feature Isis Hainsworth as Isabella, Adam James as Duke Vincentio and Tom Mothersdale as Angelo. 
 
Isis Hainsworth began her career in the West End. She is best known for her role in the BBC Three horror series Red Rose. Her previous theatre credits include The Outrun (Edinburgh International Festival / Royal Lyceum Theatre), The House of Bernarda Alba (National Theatre), Romeo & Juliet (Almeida), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bridge Theatre), Moonlight/Nightschool (Harold Pinter Theatre), Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour (National Theatre Scotland) and What Now? (Strange Town at the Traverse). Screen credits include Red Rose, Les Miserables, The Victim, Harlots, Wanderlust, One of Us, In Plain Sight, Catherine Called Birdy, Metal Lords, Emma and Misbehaviour.  
 
Adam James is known for his numerous screen credits which include Dalgliesh, Young Sherlock, The Buccaneers, The Day of the Jackal, Hotel Portofino, The Suspect, Treason, Vigil, Belgravia, I May Destroy You, Deep State, King Charles III, Home from Home and Doctor Foster. His theatre credits include Consent (National Theatre/Harold Pinter Theatre) King Charles III (Almeida/Wyndham’s Theatre/Broadway), Girl From The North Country (Noel Coward Theatre), Shipwreck (Almeida Theatre), The Happy Tragedy of Being Woke (Complicité), Bull (Young Vic/Sheffield Crucible/Off Broadway 59E59 New York), My Child, Now or Later (Royal Court), 13, Blood and Gifts, Gethsemene (National Theatre), The Memory of Water, Tiger Country, Rapture, Blister, Burn (Hampstead Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing (Wyndham’s Theatre), King Lear, Time and The Conways, Poor Superman, Snake in Fridge (Royal Exchange Theatre), An Enemy of the People, Glass Menagerie, Chimes at Midnight (Chichester Festival Theatre/Minerva Theatre) and Original Sin (Sheffield Crucible). 
 
Tom Mothersdale is known for his roles on screen in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light. Other screen work includes Brian & Maggie, Bodies, Culprits, Alex Rider, War of the Worlds, Van der Valk, Treadstone, A Discover of Witches, Hanna, Electric Dreams – The Hood Maker, King Charles III, Overlord, Black Noise. His theatre credits include London Tide, John, Cleansed (National Theatre), Love and Other Acts of Violence (Donmar Warehouse), Blue Water, Cold and Fresh, A Thousand Stars Explode in The Sky (Lyric Hammersmith), The Cherry Orchard (Young Vic), Richard III, Boys, The Glass Menagerie (Headlong), Glass, Kill, Bluebeard, Imp, The Woods (Royal Court), Dealing with Clair (Orange Tree Theatre), Oil (Almeida Theatre). 
 
The full company comprises; Emily Benjamin (Mariana/Francisca), Isis Hainsworth (Isabella), Valentine Hanson (Friar Peter), Oli Higginson (Claudio), Adam James (Duke Vincentio), Miya James (Juliet/Angelo’s Assistant), Natasha Jayetileke (Provost), Kaffe Keating (Camera Operator), Douggie McMeekin (Lucio), Tom Mothersdale (Angelo), Sion Pritchard (Escalus), Katie Singh (Camera Operator) and John Vernon (Barnardine). 
 
Director, Emily Burns returns to the RSC following the success of her production of Love’s Labour’s Lost which opened Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans’ inaugural season in 2024. Her previous theatre credits include Dear Octopus and Jack Absolute Flies Again at The National Theatre, Reykjavik at the Hampstead Theatre, and The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage (co-director), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (associate director) and Julius Caesar (associate director) at the Bridge Theatre. 
 
Talking about the production Emily said: “Measure for Measure is four hundred years old, yet shockingly modern. In this version, the psychological thriller at the heart of the play is tuned to its highest frequency - savage, uncompromising, heart-racing. This company are ferociously talented, ruthlessly incisive and completely exhilarating to watch on stage - I’m delighted to be working with a cast of such wit, drive and audacity.” 
 
Joining Emily on the creative team are Set and Costume Designer Frankie Bradshaw, Lighting Designer Joshua Pharo, Composer Asaf Zohar, Sound Designer Christopher Shutt, Movement and Intimacy Director James Cousins, Video Designer Zakk Hein and Casting Director Charlotte Sutton CDG.