‘The Buddha of Suburbia,’ Ukrainian ‘King Lear,’ Ballet ‘Romeo & Juliet’ Lead Royal Shakespeare Company 2024/25 Season

Naman Ramachandran
·3 min read
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Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, who took charge as co-artistic directors of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 2023, have unveiled 17 shows for the 2024-25 season, their first for the company.

The season includes an eclectic mix of Shakespeare plays and other original work. Emma Rice adapts the celebrated 1990 novel “The Buddha of Suburbia,” an exploration of family, friends, sex, theater and belonging, with author Hanif Kureishi in a co-production with Wise Children. The cast includes Dee Ahluwalia and Ankur Bahl. The novel has been previously adapted as an acclaimed BBC series.

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From the creators of “The Jungle” Good Chance and the RSC present political thriller ‘Kyoto,” a new play by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, fresh off their triumphant stage adaptation of “Stranger Things.”

Kimberley Rampersad directs a new staging of “The Red Shoes,” adapted by Nancy Harris. Double Olivier-winning actor and RSC co-artistic director Daniel Evans returns to the RSC stage in a new production of Christopher Marlowe’s “Edward II” directed by Daniel Raggett. Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer-winning play “English” receives its European premiere in association with Kiln Theatre, directed by Diyan Zora, with actors Nadia Albina, Sara Hazemi, Lanna Joffrey and Serena Manteghi. Presented in association with Headlong, David Edgar’s “The New Real” receives its world premiere, directed by Holly Race Roughan. Tinuke Craig directs Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s comedy of manners “The School for Scandal.” A collaboration with Underbelly, “Tweedy’s Massive Circus” features the star of Gifford’s Circus, Tweedy the Clown.

The Shakespeare works include Uzhhorod Theatre Company, Ukraine’s “King Lear,” adapted and directed by Vyacheslav Yehorov, first performed early in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Luke Thompson leads the company of “Love’s Labour’s Lost” directed by Emily Burns. “The Merry Wives of Windsor” is directed by Blanche McIntyre and led by Samantha Spiro. Tim Carroll directs John Douglas Thompson as Othello with Will Keen as Iago and Juliet Rylance as Desdemona.

“Twelfth Night” is directed by “The Crown” star Prasanna Puwanarajah. Adapted by Christopher Gable and Massimo Moricone with music by Sergei Prokofiev, Northern Ballet visits the RSC for the first time with their staging of “Romeo & Juliet.” Luke Thallon reunites with Olivier-winning director Rupert Goold to make his RSC debut in the title role of “Hamlet.” RSC co-artistic director Tamara Harvey directs Alfred Enoch in a new production of “Pericles.” “As You Like It,” directed by Brendan O’Hea, will be accompanied by a series of family-friendly workshops and events as well as a new interpretation of The “Two Gentlemen of Verona” by young people aged 13-18 from the RSC’s talent development program Next Generation Act.

The shows will be staged at the four theaters in the RSC’s Stratford-upon-Avon home – the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Swan Theatre, The Other Place and outdoor performance space, The Holloway Garden Theatre.

A new ticket initiative is also launched with 25,000 tickets at £25 ($32) or less across the season in Stratford-upon-Avon. This will run alongside the TikTok £10 tickets for 14 to 25 year olds and state school students.

“With this, our first season, we want to throw open the doors in every sense, collaborating with artists from across the globe on all of our stages,” Harvey and Evans said in a statement. “This season marks the beginning of a new era for the RSC. We hope you will join us.”

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