FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR RSC’S MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by William Shakespeare
Directed by Michael Longhurst
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
12 April – 24 May 2025
Press Night: Tuesday 22nd April, 7pm
BOX OFFICE: rsc.org.uk, 01789 331111
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Casting is announced for the RSC’s forthcoming production of William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Michael Longhurst. It runs in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon between 12 April to 24 May 2025.
Set in the world of top-flight football and celebrity culture, where scandal-filled rivalries are the hottest new thing and lads and WAGs collide, Longhurst’s Much Ado About Nothing is the first production in Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans second season as Co-Artistic Directors of the RSC.
Freema Agyeman, who made her RSC debut in Twelfth Night last year, plays Beatrice. Freema is known for her WhatsOnStage Award winning performance in Romeo and Juliet at the Duke of York Theatre last year. This upcoming role will mark her third Shakespeare production in two years. Her screen credits include New Amsterdam, Dreamland, Sense 8, Dr Who and Torchwood.
Nick Blood makes his RSC debut as Benedick. Nick was recently in After The End (Stratford East) and joins the cast following a recent SAG nomination for his role in Day of the Jackal (Sky). He is well known for his role as Lance Hunter in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Other screen credits include Joan, Slow Horses, Andor, Euphoria and Trollied.
Eleanor Worthington Cox plays Hero. Eleanor made history in 2012 when she was awarded the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for playing the title role in the RSC’s Matilda The Musical. Her recent stage work includes Next to Normal, The Secret Life of Bees and Jerusalem. Screen credits include Britannia, The Irregulars, The Enfield-Haunting, Cucumber, Hetty Feather and Maleficent.
Daniel Adeosun makes his RSC debut as Claudio. His previous theatre work includes The Comedy of Errors (Globe), Trouble in Mind (National Theatre), The Secret Love Life of Ophelia (Greenwich Theatre) and his screen credits include The Red King, Andor, September 5, The Book of Clarence.
The full cast comprises: Daniel Adeosun (Claudio), Freema Agyeman (Beatrice), Azan Ahmed (Conrade), Nick Blood (Benedick), Gina Bramhill (Margaret), Nick Cavaliere (Verges), Flaminia Cinque (Sexton/Ensemble), Peter Forbes (Leonato), Tanya Franks (Antonia), Lydia Fraser (Ursula/Ensemble), Olivier Huband (Don Pedro), Megan Keaveny (Ensemble), Nojan Khazai (Don John), Antonio Magro (Dogberry), Posi Morakinyo (Balthasar/Oatcake/Ensemble), Jay Taylor (Borachio), Arthur Wilson (Seacole/The Friar/Ensemble), Eleanor Worthington-Cox (Hero). Full bios can be seen here.
Director, Michael Longhurst said: "I’m delighted to be tackling this play for my RSC directing debut with such an amazing company of actors - a premier league of talent indeed! It’s an incredibly exciting time to be directing for the RSC, as part of Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey’s second season; thanks to Anna Cooper CDG for the assist in selecting the team.
“I’m thrilled that Freema Agyeman will continue her remarkable foray into Shakespeare’s canon, returning to Stratford-upon-Avon to play Beatrice and that the incredible Nick Blood joins her to make his RSC debut as Benedick. Like the standout talent from a football youth academy, Eleanor Worthington Cox steps back into the very RSC rehearsal room to play Hero, 13 years after her Olivier-Award winning performance as the eponymous role in Matilda The Musical.
“Much Ado About Nothing is about love: finding and accepting it - but its timeless investigation of masculinity and sex and gender power dynamics in a slander-fuelled plot - felt ripe for exploration in the contemporary setting of topflight football where WAGs and players-behaving-badly can enact a not-so-merry war.”
Joining Michael Longhurst on the creative team are: Jon Bausor (Set & Costume Designer), Jack Knowles (Lighting Designer), Emma Laxton (Sound Designer), Julia Cheng (Choreographer & Movement Director), Tal Rosner (Video Designer), Sara Green (Intimacy Director) and Anna Cooper CDG (Casting Director).
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For further press information, please contact: Olivia Scull, Press Officer, RSC: Olivia.scull@rsc.org.uk, 074433 84242
Listing Information:
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Michael Longhurst
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
12 April – 24 May 2025
Press Night: Tuesday 22nd April, 7pm
Tickets from £15
BOX OFFICE: rsc.org.uk, 01789 331111
Chilled and Handheld Captioned performance: Saturday 3 May, 1.15pm
Touch Tours (to accompany Audio Described performance): Saturday 10 May, 11.15am and Friday 23 May, 7.15pm
Audio Described performance: Saturday 10 May, 1.15pm and Friday 23 May, 5.15pm
Captioned and Chilled performance: Thursday 15 May, 1.15pm
Captioned performance: Wednesday 21 May, 7.15pm
Director Talk: Monday 21 April 5.15pm
Unwrapped, Saturday 17 May, 10.15am
Post Show Talk: Thursday 22 May
NOTES TO EDITORS
The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England
The work of the RSC is supported by the Culture Recovery Fund
The RSC is generously supported by RSC America
With thanks to Season Supporter Charles Holloway OBE
RSC £10 Tickets for 14-25s supported by TikTok
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s mission is to bring people together to experience stories that deepen our understanding of ourselves, each other and the world around us, and that bring joy. Shakespeare’s restless exploration of all of human nature is our inspiration and touchstone.
The Company’s roots lie in the bold vision of a local brewer, Edward Fordham Flower, who in 1879 established a theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon with his son Charles. The RSC as we know it today was formed by Sir Peter Hall, whose ambition was to produce new plays alongside those of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. We continue this today across our three permanent theatres in Stratford – the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Swan Theatre and The Other Place – and indeed online and around the globe. We believe everybody’s life can be enriched by culture and creativity. Our transformative Creative Learning and Engagement programmes reach over half a million young people and adults each year. We have collaborated with generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future.
Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk
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