FULL COMPANY ANNOUNCED FOR RSC’S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM AT THE BARBICAN THIS WINTER
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Barbican Theatre
Tuesday 3 December – Saturday 18 January
Press Night: Tuesday 10 December at 7pm
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The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) today announces the full cast for A Midsummer Night’s Dream which will run at the Barbican from Tuesday 3 December 2024 – Saturday 18 January 2025.
Andrew Richardson joins the company as Oberon/Theseus following his critically acclaimed breakout performance in the Bridge Theatre’s multi award-winning production of Guys and Dolls. Katherine Pearce, recently seen on screen as Amy Spratt in BBC’s Waterloo Road, returns to the RSC as Puck.
New company members also include; Alexander Bellinfantie (Moth), Eliza Smith (Mustardseed) and Natalie Thomas (Peaseblossom).
They join returning cast members Nicholas Armfield (Demetrius), Mathew Baynton (Bottom), Emily Cundick (Snout), Esme Hough (Cobweb), Ryan Hutton (Lysander), Laurie Jamieson (Snug), Neil McCaul (Egeus), Helen Monks (Rita Quince), Adrian Richards (Philostrate), Boadicea Ricketts (Helena), Sirine Saba (Titania/Hippolyta), Dawn Sievewright (Hermia), Mitesh Soni (Flute) and Premi Tamang (Starveling).
Director Eleanor Rhode said: “I am so excited to be back in the rehearsal room for A Midsummer Night’s Dream with our incredible company. There was so much joy and energy in the making of the original production, and this came through strongly to our audiences in Stratford, who responded in kind. What a treat to be able to get to do it all again - we can’t wait to fill the Barbican stage with love, laughter and magic!”
With Mathew Baynton (Ghosts, Wonka) as Bottom, this hilarious production of Shakespeare’s captivating comedy will transport audiences from deepest midwinter to the most magical of midsummer nights.
Mathew is known for co-creating, writing and starring as Thomas Thorne in Ghosts (BBC) and for playing Fickelgruber in the film Wonka. Mathew is also known for his many roles in Horrible Histories and for co-creating, writing and starring in the BBC’s The Wrong Mans.
Directed by Eleanor Rhode, Set and Costume Design is by Lucy Osborne; Illusion Direction and Design by John Bulleid; Lighting Design by Matt Daw; Composed by Will Gregory; Sound Design by Pete Malkin; Movement Direction by Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster; Video Design by Will Duke; Fight and Intimacy Direction by Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown; and Casting by Matthew Dewsbury CDG.
For press enquiries contact Bethany Arnold, Senior Publicist bethany.arnold@rsc.org.uk
LISTINGS
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Barbican Theatre
Tuesday 3 December – Saturday 18 January
Press Night: Tuesday 10 December at 7pm
Tickets from: £25
Box Office: www.rsc.org.uk Tel: 01789331111
Captioned Performances – Saturday 21st December, 1.30pm, and Saturday 18th January, 1.30pm
Relaxed Performance – Saturday 11th January, 1.30pm
Insight – Thursday 16th January, 10.30am
Unwrapped – Saturday 18th January, 10.30am
This production includes creative audio description, which is performed live and in character by the cast, at every performance from press night. Audiences can access audio description and an additional soundscape through headsets.
Touch Tours are also available on the following dates:
Saturday 21st December, 11.30am, Saturday 4th January, 11.30am, Saturday 11th January, 11.30am and Friday 17th January, 5.15pm
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
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 (RSC)
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 agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk. Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of the bodies responsible for administering the Government’s unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund, of which we delivered over £1 billion to the sector in grants and loans. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19.
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