Photos: First Look at MIDDLEMARCH at RSC's Swan Theatre in Stratford

You can now get a first look at production photos for The Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Middlemarch, George Eliot's expansive study on provincial life, written by Nina Raine (Consent, Tribes, Tiger Country) and co-produced with Second Half Productions.

This sweeping two-part adaptation is directed by Olivier Award-winning Jeremy Herrin (Every Brilliant Thing, Wolf Hall Trilogy) and will officially open at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon on Wednesday 28 October, running until Saturday 16 January 2027.

The full company includes Rory Alexander (Will Ladislaw), Lizzie Annis (Celia Brooke / Mary Garth), Emma Bown (Mrs Hackbutt / Clerk), Gunnar Cauthery (Mr Farebrother / Sir James Chettam), Ian Drysdale (Mr Casaubon / Caleb Garth), Steven Dykes (Dr Wrench), Dave Fishley (Mayor Vincy / Bambridge / Thesiger), Peter Forbes (Mr Brooke / Featherstone / Raffles), Ebenezer Gyau (Fred Vincy), Mackenzie Heynes (Joshua Rigg / Mr Hawley), John Hodgkinson (Mr Bulstrode / Borthrop Trumbull), Penny Layden (Mrs Bulstrode / Mrs Garth / Lady Chettam / Mrs Waule / Mrs Dollop / Tantripp), Emma McDonald (Rosamond Vincy), Anita Reynolds (Mrs Vincy / Mrs Mawmsey / Mrs Abel), Andrew Richardson (Tertius Lydgate), Amanda Root (George Eliot / Mrs Cadwallader), Nia Towle (Dorothea Brooke) and Molly Watton Williams (Martha / Jonas).

'Good small work for Middlemarch, and great work for the world.' As the community of Middlemarch confront the dawning of social progress and political reform – embraced by some and opposed by others – a series of private stories emerge.

Nina Raine's new stage adaptation brings George Eliot into the characters' world, as narrator, confidante and counsellor. Joining Jeremy and Nina on the creative team are Set and Costume Designer Grace Smart, Lighting Designer Ben Jacobs, Composer Paul Englishby, Sound Designer Nicola T. Chang, Movement Director Lucy Cullingford, Dramaturg Rebecca Latham, Casting Directors Charlotte Sutton CDG and Christopher Worrall CDG, Intimacy Director Clare Foster, Music Director Nathan Feeney, Voice and Dialect Emma Woodvine and Associate Director Molly Stacey.