THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA and More Set For RSC's Winter Season at the Barbican

Alongside one world premiere, three new Shakespeare productions and a major revival going on sale at Stratford, RSC Co-Artistic Directors, Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, have announced their first Winter season at the Barbican, which sees two critically acclaimed productions transfer from Stratford-upon-Avon.

The RSC’s co-production with Wise Children, The Buddha of Suburbia, a world premiere based on the novel by Hanif Kureishi, adapted for the stage by Emma Rice with Hanif Kureishi, will play the Barbican Theatre this autumn. It will be followed by director Eleanor Rhode’s 5-star production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Mathew Baynton as Bottom.  Priority booking starts from Tuesday 18 June with public booking opening on Tuesday 9 July. 

Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans said, “We’re so proud that these two productions, led by two brilliant directors, will play the Barbican stage later this year. Together, they encapsulate one of our core missions at the RSC: to bring people together to experience new plays side-by-side with those of our house playwright, to deepen our understanding of ourselves, each other and the world around us, and bring joy. Both these productions are naughty, soulful and entertaining, and we can’t wait to share them with audiences in the capital. Meanwhile, in Stratford, we’re looking forward to continuing our inaugural Stratford season with a host of inspiring artists.”

The announcement coincides with the release of tickets for the Stratford-upon-Avon Autumn/Winter season, which go on public sale from Tuesday 9 July. The six productions include three Shakespeare plays, a world premiere and a major revival, previously announced as part of Harvey and Evans’ inaugural programme including 

• The world premiere of David Edgar’s The New Real directed by Holly Race Roughan and presented in association with Headlong, with a cast including Roderick Hill, Patrycja Kujawska, Jodie McNee, Lloyd Owen and Sergo Vares
• A new staging of Hans Christian Anderson’s dark fairytale The Red Shoes, adapted by Nancy Harris and directed by Associate Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival Theatre, Kimberley Rampersad
• Othello directed by Tim Carroll with John Douglas Thompson as Othello with Will Keen as Iago, Juliet Rylance as Desdemona and Anastasia Hille as Emilia
• A festive production of Shakespeare’s bittersweet winter masterpiece: Twelfth Night directed by Prasanna Puwanarajah
• William Shakespeare’s Hamlet; directed by Rupert Goold and featuring Luke Thallon in his RSC debut
• Edward II directed by Daniel Raggett with double Olivier award-winning actor and RSC Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans in the title role.

The six titles join the Pulitzer Prize Winning production English by Sanaz Toossi playing at the Kiln Theatre until the 6 July, the world premiere of Joe Robertson and Joe Murphy’s Kyoto playing in the Swan Theatre in co-production with Good Chance, a comedy double-bill of The Merry Wives of Windsor and The School for Scandal, playing in repertoire in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre this Summer, and an 80-minute staging of As You Like It running for six weeks in The Holloway Garden Theatre from July. They are joined by Northern Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet, the UK premiere of Uzhhorod Theatre Company’s King Lear and Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey’s RSC debut, directing Alfred Enoch in Pericles in the Swan Theatre prior to its transfer to Chicago. 

For the Barbican season priority booking for Members and Supporters opens on Tuesday 18 June, with public booking from Tuesday 9 July.

For the Stratford-upon-Avon Autumn/Winter productions priority booking for Members and Supporters opens on Tuesday 18 June, with public booking from Tuesday 9 July. For further information on how to become an RSC Member or Supporter, visit here.

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