FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR RSC’S TITUS ANDRONICUS WITH SIMON RUSSELL BEALE
FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR RSC’S
TITUS ANDRONICUS WITH SIMON RUSSELL BEALE
Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare
Directed by Max Webster
Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Thursday 17 April – Saturday 7 June
Press Night: Tuesday 29 April at 7pm
BOX OFFICE: rsc.org.uk, 01789 331111
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Full casting is announced for the RSC’s forthcoming production of William Shakespeare’s bloodiest of tragedies, Titus Andronicus, directed by Max Webster, which runs in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon between Thursday 17 April – Saturday 7 June 2025.
As previously announced, RSC Associate Artist, Simon Russell Beale returns to the RSC to play the title role. Simon was last seen at the RSC in Gregory Doran’s landmark production of The Tempest. Simon’s other credits for the company include King Lear, Ghosts, Richard III, The Seagull, Edward II, Troilus and Cressida, The Man of Mode and Restoration. Simon has won three Olivier Awards for his performances in Uncle Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse, and Candide and Volpone, both for the National Theatre. He also won the Tony Award for his performance in the National Theatre’s The Lehman Trilogy on Broadway, following a sell-out run in London. Other credits include Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House). He has just played A E Housman in Tom Stoppard’s The Invention of Love (Hampstead Theatre).
On screen, Simon was most recently seen in HBO’s hit series House of the Dragon. He has received two BAFTAs for his performances in the BBC’s The Hollow Crown: Henry V Parts 1 and 2 in 2013, and A Dance to the Music of Time in 1998, as well as the British Independent Film Award’s Best Supporting Actor accolade for his performance in the dark comedy, The Death of Stalin in 2017.
Natey Jones plays Aaron. Natey’s previous RSC credits include Doctor Faustus, Don Quixote and The Alchemist. Other theatre includes The Grapes of Wrath, Small Island (National Theatre), The Harder They Come (Public Theatre, New York), Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical (Lyric Theatre), Rockets and Blue Lights (Royal Exchange, Manchester), Death of a Salesman (Piccadilly Theatre), Tina – The Tina Turner Musical (Aldwych Theatre) and Mlima’s Tale (The Kiln). Film credits include Pretty Red Dress.
RSC Associate Artist Emma Fielding returns to the RSC as Marcia Andronicus. Emma’s previous RSC credits include A Museum in Baghdad, Cymbeline, Measure for Measure, The School for Scandal, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Broken Heart and Revolt She Said, Revolt Again. Other theatre credits include A Suite in Three Keys (Orange Tree), Mary’s Babies (Jermyn Street), A Woman of No Importance (Vaudeville) and originating the role of Thomasina in the National Theatre’s production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. More recently, Emma has been seen on screen in the PBS remake of Van Der Valk and the BBC series Strike: The Ink Black Heart and Beyond Paradise.
Wendy Kweh plays Tamora. Previous RSC credits include Snow in Midsummer. Other theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing, Top Girls, The Welkin, The Oresteia (National Theatre), Maryland, You For Me For You (Royal Court Theatre), Antigone (Colchester Mercury Theatre), Crave (Chichester), Julius Caesar (The Bridge) and Chimerica (West End). Her television credits include: The Bay and Silent Witness.
Following her RSC debut as Rosalind in As You Like It last summer Letty Thomas returns to play Lavinia. Theatre credits include Strategic Love Play (Soho Theatre, Paines Plough), Grounded (The Bridge Theatre, Brussels), That is not who I am and Scenes with girls (Royal Court), The Divide (Old Vic), and An Oak Tree (Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh). Screen credits include Soulmates, Bridgerton and The Crown.
The full company comprises: Jeremy Ang Jones (Demetrius), Simon Russell Beale (Titus Andronicus), Marlowe Chan-Reeves (Chiron), Danny Collins (Martius/Messenger), Ned Costello (Bassianus/Publius), Emma Fielding (Marcia Andronicus), Joshua James (Saturninus), Natey Jones (Aaron), Thomas Josling (Quintus/Aemilius), Wendy Kweh (Tamora), Joel MacCormack (Lucius), Jerone Marsh-Reid (Alarbus/Goth), Sharita Oomeer (Nurse/Goth) and Letty Thomas (Lavinia).
Director, Max Webster makes his RSC debut. His recent theatre credits include The Importance of Being Earnest (National Theatre), Macbeth (Harold Pinter/Donmar), Antigone (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Henry V (Donmar) and Life of Pi (Broadway, Boston, Wyndham’s, Sheffield Crucible, winner of 5 Olivier and 3 TONY Awards). Opera credits include La bohème (Göteborg Opera) and The Merry Widow (ENO).
Talking about the production Max said: “I have always been fascinated, curious and horrified by Titus Andronicus and when the RSC asked me to think about this play with one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of his generation - Simon Russell Beale - it was impossible to say no. Around him we have assembled an insanely talented company, including Natey Jones, Emma Fielding, Wendy Kweh and Letty Thomas, which feels like a very special way for me to work for the first time at the RSC.
“I think this play - one of Shakespeare’s first - is full of young man bravado and anger, and creates a howl of pain that seems to echo tragically with our modern world.”
Joining Max on the creative team are Set and Costume Designer, Joanna Scotcher; Lighting Designer, Lee Curran; Composer, Matthew Herbert; Sound Designer, Tingying Dong; Movement Director, Jade Hackett; Fight and Intimacy Directors, Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown; and Casting Director, Matthew Dewsbury CDG
The Craft and Design Sponsor is Pragnell.
For more press information please contact:
Kate Evans, Head of Media Relations
kate.evans@rsc.org.uk, 07920 244434
Dean Asker, Senior Media Relations Officer
dean.asker@rsc.org.uk, 0778 9937759
NOTES TO EDITORS
Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare
Directed by Max Webster
Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Thursday 17 April – Saturday 7 June
Press Night: Tuesday 29 April at 7pm
BOX OFFICE: rsc.org.uk, 01789 331111
Tickets from £10
'Blood and revenge are hammering in my head'
The war may be over, but the violence has just begun.
When victorious general Titus Andronicus executes his enemy’s son in a merciless show of vengeance, he has no idea of the evil his actions will incite. As the two sides trade violent acts of retribution, one man revels in the bloodbath.
Director Talk: Friday 25 April, 5.15pm
Handheld Captioned performance: Thursday 8 May, 7.30pm
Captioned and Chilled performance: Wednesday 14 May, 1.30pm
Audio Described performances: Saturday 17 May, 1.30pm, Friday 30 May, 7.30pm
Chilled performance: Saturday 24 May, 1.30pm
Captioned performance: Saturday 31 May, 1.30pm
Integrated BSL interpreted performances: Friday 6 June, 7.30pm, Saturday 7 June, 1.30pm
Unwrapped: Saturday 24 May, 10.15 – 11.15am
Post Show Talk: Friday 6 June (BSL Interpreted)
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
Pragnell – Craft and Design Sponsor
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.
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