The inaugural season of Richard Twyman, the artistic director of English Touring Theatre (having taken over from Rachel Tackley), starts in February with Othello.
This co-production with Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory will be directed by Twyman with Abraham Popoola in the title role, Norah Lopez Holden as Desdemona, Mark Lockyer as Iago and Katy Stephens as Emilia.
With them are Brian Lonsdale, Ghazwan Alsafadi, Hayat Kamille and Piers Hampton.
In the autumn, a co-production with Royal & Derngate Northampton and Rose Theatre Kingston of Sam Holcroft’s comedy Rules for Living will be directed by National Theatre associate director Simon Godwin.
And finally, Conor McPherson’s The Weir will tour twenty years after its world première at the Royal Court in a co-production with Mercury Theatre Colchester. This is part of the Regional Touring Network programme, a three-year partnership between nine regional theatres to develop new audiences.