Shakespeare's Globe Announces Summer Season 2022

Shakespeare's Globe has announced the Summer Season 2022 full of pomp, pageantry, politics, and power. The season runs April - October 2022. Productions include:

• Director Lucy Bailey returning to the Globe to direct Much Ado About Nothing
• Henry VIII, with a new perspective by director Amy Hodge and writer Hannah Khalil
• King Lear starring Kathryn Hunter and Michelle Terry, directed by Helena Kaut-Howson
• The Tempest, directed by Globe Associate Artistic Director Sean Holmes
• Julius Caesar, directed by winner of the JMK Award 2021, Diane Page
• Sarah Frankcom, directing Macbeth with over 20,000 free tickets for teenagers
• Joan, a powerful new play written by Charlie Josephine and directed by Ilinca Radulian

Also, this summer for the very first time: Family-favourite CBeebies with a specially adapted As You Like It for pre-school children performed on The Globe stage and aired on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer. Also, a full-scale production of Midsummer Mechanicals for families and young people in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. This year also marks the start of the 12-month tenure of the Globe's new resident writer Hannah Khalil.

As well as being a world-renowned theatre and cultural landmark, Shakespeare's Globe has one of the largest education departments in a theatre in the country. Activities this year include: The return of the Globe's flagship Telling Tales storytelling festivals for February and Easter half-term, the 16th annual Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank project, and the continuation of the vital and successful Anti-Racist Shakespeare Webinars.

This will be the Globe's first full summer season since 2019. The effects of the pandemic are still very present and ever-changing, despite this the organisation performed to 200,000 people over the 2021 season. The Globe welcomed in 2022 by featuring live on BBC One's New Year's Eve official countdown. This year marks the Globe's 25th Anniversary, and pre-pandemic it welcomed over a million visitors a year, sharing 10% of London's play-going audience. It has operated, for 24 years, without any regular public or Arts Council England subsidy. The iconic cultural landmark is bringing in Summer 2022 as a start to recovering and rebuilding for the next 25 years, and more to come. There will be a special performance to celebrate the Globe's quarter century on 18 June.

Summer 2022 Theatre Productions

Michelle Terry, Artistic Director, says: "For our summer season 2022, our magnificent wooden 'O' will hold the past and present, the personal and political, power, pomp, pageantry and passion. The world beyond may be uncertain, but these plays are sure to guide us through the summer days with hope, strength, and purpose - and of course with people. Above all else there will be people. People being together, with other people. Summer Season 2022 at Shakespeare's Globe. It's going to be epic."

Much Ado About Nothing opens 22 April - 23 October. Director Lucy Bailey returns to the Globe after directing the seminal production of Titus Andronicus (2014) as well as Macbeth (2010), Timon of Athens (2008), As You Like It (1998), The Maid's Tragedy (1997), and Comus for the Sam Wanamaker (2016). The battle of the sexes is reignited this summer with Shakespeare's energetic tale of jealousy, self-discovery, and love. Lucy co-founded and was the Co-Artistic Director of The Print Room. She recently directed Oleanna (Bath Ustinov/West End), Gas Light (UK Tour), Ghosts (Royal & Derngate Northampton); and Witness for the Prosecution (currently running at London County Hall). Much Ado About Nothing is designed by Joanna Parker, Assistant Director/Dramaturg Clemmie Reynolds and will be performed by the Globe Ensemble including: Peter Bourke, Rachel Hannah Clarke, George Fouracres, Nadi Kemp-Sayfi and Ciaran O'Brien.

Henry VIII opens 19 May - 21 October. Amy Hodge returns to the Globe having previously directed Women Beware Women in the Playhouse in 2020. Co-written by John Fletcher Henry VIII is Shakespeare's final play and explores love, lineage, and power. Today, the Globe's current Resident Writer Hannah Khalil becomes Shakespeare and Fletcher's third collaborator to tell the story from a female perspective. Olivier nominated theatre & film director Amy Hodge recently directed Fantastically Great Women Who Change The World (UK Tour), Mr Gum and The Dancing Bear - The Musical! (The National Theatre), and Mother Courage and Her Children (The Royal Exchange and Headlong). Henry VIII is designed by Georgia Lowe.

King Lear opens 10 June - 24 July. Twenty-five years after their original, ground-breaking production, internationally lauded director Helena Kaut-Howson, movement director Marcello Magni and 'one of the greatest stage actors alive' (Vanity Fair) Kathryn Hunter reunite to bring King Lear to a new generation. Helena has previously directed Faithful Ruslan - The Story Of A Guard Dog (Belgrade Theatre/Citizens Theatre) and The Lower Depths (Arcola Theatre). Marcello is a co-founder of theatre company Complicité and co-directed their productions of Help! I'm Alive and Foe. Kathryn Hunter was the first British woman to play King Lear professionally and returns to the Globe after playing Richard III in 2003. Most recently Kathryn appeared as the witches in the 2021 film The Tragedy of Macbeth directed by Joel Coen. Kathryn reclaims the title role; with the Globe's Artistic Director Michelle Terry playing Cordelia and the Fool, and Marcello taking the role of Kent. Also joining the cast are Ryan Donaldson, Emma Ernest, Max Keeble, Glyn Pritchard, Marianne Oldham, Ann Ogbomo, Mark Jax and Diego Matamoros. King Lear is designed by Pawel Dobrzycki with Naeem Hayat as the Assistant Director.

The Tempest opens 22 July - 22 October. Directed by Associate Artistic Director of the Globe, Sean Holmes, most recently directing the 2021 winter season production Hamlet. Sean also directed the summer season ensemble productions A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night and co-directed the 2019/20 winter season productions Richard III and Henry VI. Prior to this, Sean was Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith, credits include: The Seagull, Terror, Bugsy Malone and Blasted - winner Olivier Award 2011, Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. Shakespeare's most elemental comedy will be brought to life by the 2022 Globe Ensemble including: Peter Bourke, Rachel Hannah Clarke, George Fouracres, Nadi Kemp-Sayfi and Ciaran O'Brien.

Joan opens 25 August - 22 October. Written by Charlie Josephine and directed by Ilinca Radulian, this powerful new play rediscovers the story of the unexpected leader, Joan of Arc. Ilinca returns to the Globe after co-directing the 2019/20 winter season productions Richard III and Henry VI. Ilinca has previously directed Luck Out and Roulette Player (The Yard Theatre). Her assisting credits include The Night of the Iguana and Summer and Smoke (West End), as well as Hamlet and Mary Stuart (Almeida Theatre and West End). Charlie recently appeared in Metamorphoses in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, 2021. Writing and performing credits include Blush (Edinburgh Fringe) - Underbelly Untapped Edinburgh Season 2016 and The Stage Edinburgh Award 2016 and Bitch Boxer (Edinburgh Fringe) - Soho Theatre Young Writers Award 2012, Old Vic New Voices Edinburgh Season 2012, British Council Showcase 2013, Holden Street Theatre's Award 2013, Clonmel Theatre Award 2014, and Adelaide Fringe Award 2014.

This year, from 3 May - 10 September, Globe on Tour will be bringing a production of Julius Caesar to The Globe and venues across the UK including: Morden Hall Park, (London), Hay Festival (Hay-on-Wye), The Reader at Calderstones (Liverpool), Taunton Brewhouse, The Outsiders Project & BEAF (Boscombe), Penlee Park Open Air Theatre (Penzance), West Horsley Place (Guildford), and Brighton Open Air Theatre. Julius Caesar is directed by Diane Page, Winner of the JMK Award 2021 for Statements after an Arrest under the Immorality Act (Orange Tree Theatre). Shakespeare's epic tragedy takes on startlingly new relevance and asks the question: in a world where the mark of one's success is how great your country is, how far are our leaders willing to go to reign supreme? Diane returns to the Globe after assistant directing Bartholomew Fair, 2019. Her previous directing work includes Out West, In Love and Loyalty (Lyric Hammersmith) and Ghost Stories (Associate Director West End and Tour). Julius Caesar is designed by Khadija Raza with Jesse Haughton-Shaw as Dramaturg.

BBC family-favourite CBeebies will be live on stage at The Globe this summer with a special adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy As You Like It. On 9 and 10 August, this unique Shakespearean production with a CBeebies twist will be performed especially for pre-school children and their families. Featuring CBeebies' favourite stars, four performances (11am and 2pm on both days) will be filmed in front of a live audience before airing on BBC iPlayer at a later date.

Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank returns for the 16th anniversary of the project with Macbeth. Created specifically for young people, the project provides over 20,000 free tickets to state schools in London and Birmingham. Productions exclusively for schools will run 3-30 March and public performances 12 March-16 April. Directed by acclaimed theatre director Sarah Frankcom, Macbeth's bloody journey from hero to tyrant will provide thrilling action and chilling supernatural moments. Sarah was director of LAMDA and the Artistic Director for the Royal Exchange from 2008 - 2019, most recently winning a Manchester Culture Award 2021. Previous credits also include Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet (Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, BBC), The Nico Project, The Skriker (Manchester International Festival), Hamlet - stage and film with Maxine Peake, West Side Story, Death of A Salesman, Happy Days, A Streetcar Named Desire Our Town - winner of the UK Theatre Award for best director (Royal Exchange, Manchester) and The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder (National Theatre). Macbeth is designed by Rose Revitt, Composed by Louise Anna Duggan and Zands Duggan, Movement Director is Rachel-Leah Hosker, Fight Director is Kev McCurdy, and Prime Isaac is the Assistant Director. The cast comprise: Issam Al Ghussain, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, Hannah Azuonye, Fiston Barek, Patrick Elue, Stacey Evans, Aoife Gaston, David Hartley, Beth Hinton-Lever and Chris Nayak.

Midsummer Mechanicals opens 28 July - 21 August. For the first time in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse the Globe is premiering a full-scale production for families and young people. A co-production with Splendid Productions, directed by Lucy Cuthbertson and Kerry Frampton and written by Kerry Frampton and Ben Hales. Midsummer Mechanicals is an hilarious new follow-up to the play-within-a-play from A Midsummer Night's Dream, following Peter Quince's troupe's attempt to recapture the success of their first hit show, Pyramus and Thisbe.

Macbeth is cast by Verity Naughton and Nicholas Hockaday. All other summer season productions are cast by Head of Casting at the Globe, Becky Paris.

Summer 22 Learning:

Lucy Cuthbertson, Co-Director of Education, says: "All our work with schools continues apace - here at the Globe, in schools, and online. We are honoured to have the incredible Sarah Frankcom directing this year's Playing Shakespeare production of Macbeth and are very proud of our first full-scale production for families in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, a co-production with Splendid Productions. We will also see numerous events for families and young people in February Half-Term, Easter and Summer holidays, including our popular new storytellings, workshops, acting courses and the return of the Globe Youth Theatre."

The Globe's flagship Telling Tales Storytelling festival will return for February and Easter Half-Term. Suitable for young people from ages 5-12+ years, with activities being held onsite. Families can uncover the magic of storytelling together in a Family Workshop or explore Shakespeare's plays in one of the many fun Storytelling sessions bringing to life Shakespeare's Winter's Tale, Henry V and Romeo and Juliet. Families can also enjoy a special Family Guided Tour or take part in a Sword Fighting or Elizabethan Dressing Demonstration.

Summer School at Shakespeare's Globe runs throughout August. Aspiring actors are invited to the Globe's Young Actors courses. Suitable for ages 8-19 years a variety of courses will take place over 5 days in August and involve voice, text and movement sessions with participants working collaboratively with their peers. Young Actors will culminate with a small sharing of work for family, carers and friends. Also available is the Globe's Young Academics course for students going onto further studies in English Literature and will involve working with leading academics and actors to conduct in-depth textual analysis of Shakespeare's plays. This summer will also see the continuation of the Globe Youth Theatre where 120 talented young people (aged 11-19) will continue their training programme at Shakespeare's Globe.

Continuing throughout the summer are the Globe's Lively Action Workshops & Tours. Suitable for children & students at all key stages, these practical, interactive workshops can be hosted at the Globe, in schools, or online for just £10 per pupil. Each workshop is tailored to a specific learning objective and actively explores any Shakespeare play of choice. A range of games and activities are used to draw out elements of the play's characters and themes as well as exploring language, interpretation and personal response.

Shakespeare's Globe continues to support teachers with a variety of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses. Led by an experienced Globe Education Practitioner, the sessions are available online or onsite and offer exciting techniques to engage with Shakespeare through active and creative approaches in the classroom. Workshops include: Shakespeare and Women, Shakespeare and Sexuality, Teaching Anti-Racist Shakespeare and Teach Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth.

Summer 22 Higher Education and Research:

Professor Farah Karim-Cooper, Co-Director of Education and Dr Will Tosh, Head of Research, say: "Higher Education and Research continues to be busier than ever in 2022. We are delighted that our illuminating Anti-Racist Shakespeare webinar series returns to explore racial identity and Shakespeare. Discovery and experimentation in staging and performance will take place in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse with the return of 'Research in Action' and following another deeply uncertain year for universities and drama schools, we will be delighted to welcome students from across the world with our flagship partnerships with Rutgers University and King's College London. We continue to work with a range of drama schools and universities, offering courses on Shakespeare and performance. Our Globe Studios return with workshops and training courses for professional actors and directors."

The vital Anti-Racist Shakespeare Webinars continue throughout 2022 with discussions on Much Ado About Nothing (13 October, 6pm), Julius Caesar (8 September, 6pm), Henry VIII (31 May, 6pm) and King Lear (21 July, 6pm). Sponsored by Cambridge University Press, the free events will be hosted by Shakespeare's Globe and delivered by actors and scholars of colour. Audience members, theatre professionals, teachers and scholars from all backgrounds are welcome to add their critical voices by attending and asking questions.

This year also sees the return of Research in Action, taking place in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Audiences, scholars, and students are invited to a variety of events including Editing in Action: Fletcher for the 21st Century (25 May, 6pm) in which Prof Lucy Munro (King's College London) and Prof Clare McManus (University of Roehampton) explore what performance can bring to the editing of early modern texts. In Translation in Action: Comedies of the Hispanic Golden Age (27 June, 6pm), Prof Barbara Fuchs, Robin Kello, Rhonda Sharrah and Samantha Solis experiment with translations of classical Hispanic comedia for English-speaking audiences today. In Perfuming the Early Modern Stage: Here's a Sweet Stink Indeed (2 August, 6pm) Dr Chloe Preedy and Dr Freya Verlander explore how perfumes, incense, and less pleasant odours were used in early modern drama. Finally, These are the Youths That Thunder (17 May, 6pm) is a public lecture in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse by two rising stars of Shakespeare studies who will offer up new ideas on Shakespearean times and texts.

In June, the Globe will be hosting events on Shakespeare and Poland. Including: Rarely Played: Cleopatra and Caesar (26 June, 1pm). Led by Professor Charles S. Kraszewski, this inspiring and engaging seminar will introduce audiences to the extraordinary life and works of renowned Polish Romantic poet Cyprian Norwid. Read Not Dead: Cleopatra and Caesar (26 June, 4pm) the Globe's much-loved script-in-hand performance series returns with the world premiere in English of Cyprian Norwid's Shakespeare-inspired, Cleopatra and Caesar. Inspired by Antony and Cleopatra, Norwid's piece offers a striking perspective on Shakespeare's Queen. Finally, the Globe will host Roundtable: King Lear (23 June, 6pm) Polish-born, internationally acclaimed theatre and opera director Helena Kaut-Howson discusses her introduction to Shakespeare whilst growing up in Poland and how it has influenced this year's production of King Lear in The Globe Theatre. She will be joined by an English and a Polish Shakespeare scholar, in a discussion chaired by Patrick Spottiswoode, Founder of Globe Education and now a Senior Research Fellow at Shakespeare's Globe.