The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) today releases rehearsal photography for the upcoming production of Middlemarch, George Eliot’s expansive study on provincial life, adapted by Nina Raine (Consent, Tribes, Tiger Country) and co-produced with Second Half Productions.
This sweeping two-part adaptation will be directed by Olivier Award-winning Jeremy Herrin (Every Brilliant Thing, Wolf Hall Trilogy) and open at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, with Part 1 playing from Thursday 1 October and Part 2 from Saturday 10 October, and running until Saturday 16 January, with press performances on Wednesday 28 October at 1pm and 7pm.
The full company includes Rory Alexander (Will Ladislaw), Lizzie Annis (Celia Brooke / Mary Garth), Emma Bown (Understudy), Gunnar Cauthery (Farebrother / Sir James Chettam), Ian Drysdale (Mr Casaubon / Caleb Garth), Steven Dykes (Understudy), Dave Fishley (Mr Vincy / Bambridge / Powderell), Peter Forbes (Mr Brooke / Featherstone / Raffles), Ebenezer Gyau (Fred Vincy), Mackenzie Heynes (Understudy) John Hodgkinson (Mr Bulstrode / Borthrop Trumbull), Penny Layden (Mrs Bulstrode / Mrs Garth / Lady Chettam), Emma McDonald (Rosamond Vincy), Anita Reynolds (Mrs Vincy / Mrs Mawmsey / Mrs Abel), Andrew Richardson (Tertius Lydgate), Amanda Root ( George Eliot / Mrs Cadwallader), Nia Towle (Dorothea Brooke) and Molly Watton Williams (Understudy).
‘Good small work for Middlemarch, and great work for the world.’
As the community of Middlemarch confront the dawning of social progress and political reform – embraced by some and opposed by others – a series of private stories emerge.
Nina Raine's new stage adaptation brings George Eliot into the characters' world, as narrator, confidante and counsellor.
Joining Jeremy and Nina on the creative team are Set and Costume Designer Grace Smart, Lighting Designer Ben Jacobs, Composer Paul Englishby, Sound Designer Nicola T. Chang, Movement Director Lucy Cullingford, Dramaturg Rebecca Latham, Casting Directors Charlotte Sutton CDG and Christopher Worrall CDG, Music Director Nathan Feeney, Voice and Dialect Emma Woodvine and Associate Director Molly Stacey.
ENDS
For press enquiries please contact: Bethany Arnold, bethany.arnold@rsc.org.uk
LISTINGS INFORMATION
MIDDLEMARCH PARTS 1 & 2
By Nina Raine
From the novel by George Eliot
A co-production with Second Half Productions
Part 1: Thursday 1 October - Saturday 16 January
Part 2: Saturday 10 October - Saturday 16 January
Swan Theatre
Tickets from £15
‘Good small work for Middlemarch, and great work for the world.’
As the community of Middlemarch confront the dawning of social progress and political reform – embraced by some and opposed by others – a series of private stories emerge.
Nina Raine's new stage adaptation brings George Eliot into the characters' world, as narrator, confidante and counsellor.
Described as one of the greatest works in English literature, Eliot’s respected and beloved novel set in her Warwickshire homeland is adapted for the Swan Theatre, directed by Jeremy Herrin and co-produced with Second Half Productions.
This adaptation condenses Middlemarch into one play presented in two parts. For the best experience, we suggest seeing both parts in order, in one day or on separate days.
Creative Team Talk: Saturday 24 October 2026
Post show talk: Thursday 26 November 2026
Audio described performances with pre-show touch tour:
Friday 4 December 2026: Middlemarch 1 (1.15pm), Middlemarch 2 (7.15pm)
Saturday 9 January 2027: Middlemarch 1 (1.15pm), Middlemarch 2 (7.15pm)
touch tours at 11.15am
Captioned performances:
Saturday 14 November 2026: Middlemarch 1 (1.15pm) Middlemarch 2 (7.15pm)
Wednesday 2 December 2026: Middlemarch 1 (7.15pm)
Thursday 3 December 2026: Middlemarch 2 (1.15pm)
Friday 18 December 2026: Middlemarch 1 (1.15pm) Middlemarch 2 (7.15pm)
Chilled performances:
Thursday 7 January 2027: Middlemarch 1 (1.15pm)
Friday 8 January 2027: Middlemarch 2 (7.15pm)
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
The work of the RSC is generously supported by Backstage Trust
With thanks to Season Supporter Charles Holloway OBE
The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a leading global theatre company that sparks local, national and international conversations that build connections, create opportunities and bring joy. We passionately believe that great storytelling can change the world, and that theatre offers its own unique form of storytelling: it’s live and shared, and transforms a group of strangers into audiences who, together, experience a story come to life in front of their eyes.
We collaborate with the most exciting artists to tell the stories of our time, and through a range of programmes we nurture the talent of the future.
We perform on three stages in our home in Stratford-upon-Avon, in London and in communities and schools across the country and around the world.
Our transformative Creative Learning and Engagement programmes reach over half a million young people each year.
rsc.org.uk
@thersc
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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.
Second Half Productions is an entertainment company founded in 2020 by Jeremy Herrin, Alan Stacey and Rob O’Rahilly to generate innovative productions for the stage. By commissioning world-leading artists to create new work and by breathing new life into classic stories, we invigorate audiences in London, the UK and beyond.
Recent and upcoming productions include Amadeus (New Theatre Cardiff, Noël Coward); August: Osage County (Noël Coward); Middlemarch (RSC); Every Brilliant Thing (Broadway, West End, Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Guess How Much I Love You (Royal Court); The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (West End, UK tour, Chichester Festival Theatre), Grace Pervades (Theatre Royal Haymarket, Theatre Royal Bath) The Little Foxes (Young Vic), People, Places & Things (Trafalgar Theatre), Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Wyndham’s Theatre), A Mirror (Almeida, Trafalgar Theatre), Ulster American (Riverside Studios), Best of Enemies (Noël Coward Theatre), The Glass Menagerie (Duke of York’s Theatre).
Our team is Co-Founders and Directors, Jeremy Herrin, Alan Stacey and Rob O’Rahilly; Creative Director, Lucie Lovatt; Executive Producer, Alecia Marshall; General Manager, Grace Nelder; Finance Manager, Sophie Wells; Production and Executive Coordinator, Immie Maclean and Development and Production Assistant, Sam Hooper. Press & Publicity by Kate Hassell for Bread & Butter.
