Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey announce inaugural RSC season
Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, the newly appointed Co-Artistic Directors of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), have today revealed their inaugural season from 2024 into 2025.
This ambitious year-long programme will utilise all four of the Company’s theatres in Stratford-upon-Avon: the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Swan Theatre, The Other Place, and The Holloway Garden Theatre.
The season features a diverse range of productions, including eight Shakespeare plays performed across the four stages. It also includes three world premières, a European première, a UK première, two major revivals, and two visiting productions. This impressive lineup will bring international talent to the RSC stages, with five writers and ten directors, including Harvey herself, making their RSC debuts. Notable highlights include Ukraine’s Uzhhorod Theatre presenting King Lear, and Northern Ballet’s interpretation of Romeo & Juliet.
Evans and Harvey are placing a strong emphasis on accessibility during their tenure. The Holloway Garden Theatre will host a summer season offering bite-sized Shakespeare for audiences of all ages, complemented by various workshops and events. Additionally, a new ticket initiative has been introduced, offering 25,000 tickets at £25 or less across the Stratford-upon-Avon season. This initiative complements the existing TikTok £10 tickets available for 14 to 25 year olds and state school students.
Speaking about the new season, Harvey and Evans shared their vision: “We’re excited to announce a year full of shows, totalling seventeen, across four stages. Our aim is to open our doors in every sense, collaborating with global artists and making our performances accessible to a wide audience with our new ticket initiative. Shakespeare’s work remains central to our season, providing a canvas for both established and new artists.”
They added: “Alongside Shakespeare, we’ll be showcasing works by his contemporary Christopher Marlowe and contemporary storytellers like Emma Rice and Hanif Kureishi. This season marks a new era for the RSC, and we’re thrilled to invite audiences to join us in this journey.”
The season’s Shakespeare productions will feature prominent artists such as Emily Burns, Blanche McIntyre, and RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey. Actors including Luke Thompson, Samantha Spiro and Alfred Enoch will lead various plays, including Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Othello.
The new works include a co-production of Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia, the European première of Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play English, and the new project Kyoto. The season also includes Nancy Harris’s adaptation of The Red Shoes and David Edgar’s The New Real.
Rounding off the season, Tinuke Craig will direct The School for Scandal, and Daniel Evans will star in the title role of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II, directed by Daniel Raggett.
For more information, visit rsc.org.uk
