The Bard will return to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford in spring 2022 with Much Ado About Nothing and a “fresh” new take on Henry VI Parts 2 and 3.
Michael Balogun and Akiya Henry will play Benedick and Beatrice in Much Ado which will be directed by Roy Alexander Weise who will be making his Royal Shakespeare Company debut. His production will be a “futuristic take on humanity's capacity for change, and for love”.
Gregory Doran and Owen Horsley will direct Henry VI: Rebellion which will be followed by Wars of the Roses directed by Horsley. The plays “tell the story of a nation in crisis and recovery, sharply resonant with our times today”.
The RSC has also announced a “groundbreaking” national new writing project as well as re-affirming its commitment to co-create theatre online, onstage and in classrooms as part of a nationwide Royal Shakespeare Community, working with more than 200 associate schools and 12 regional theatre partners.
Erica Whyman, the RSC’s acting artistic director, said, "as we look beyond the pandemic with renewed confidence, we’re clear what the Royal Shakespeare Company stands for. We play an important role in the UK's creative and economic recovery, but we can only do that because we make theatre with an amazing range of young people and adults up and down the country.
“I have long admired Roy Alexander Weise and we look forward very much to his fresh take on the redemptive Much Ado About Nothing. Then we continue our journey through the canon with a double bill of Henry VI: Rebellion and Wars of the Roses, Shakespeare's most audacious state-of-the-nation plays, created in a groundbreaking collaboration with young people and adults.”
She added, “this commitment to making theatre with the nation is even more vividly expressed in 37 Plays—the most ambitious public writing project in the company's history. After this past 18 months, we all have a story to tell, and working together with our resilient theatre partners up and down the country we’ll set out to encourage everyone to find their voice.”
Much Ado About Nothing will run in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from Friday 4 February until Saturday 12 March 2022. Henry VI: Rebellion can be seen from Friday 1 April until Saturday 28 May and Wars of the Roses from Friday 1 April until Saturday 4 June.