Three Shakespeare productions from the Royal Shakespeare Company’s summer Stratford season are to transfer to the Barbican from October 2019.
The company features 27 actors who each appear across two of the three productions: As You Like It, directed by Kimberley Sykes, The Taming of the Shrew, directed by Justin Audibert and Measure for Measure, directed by Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director Gregory Doran.
Said Doran, “this season we’ve worked particularly hard to assemble a company which reflects the nation in ways it’s never done before. We’ve introduced a 50-50 gender-balanced ensemble across the entire season and brought together talent from all corners of the United Kingdom, reflecting both the ethnic, geographical and cultural diversity of Britain today and those artists who are underrepresented on our stages.
“We want to create a season of work which places contemporary audiences at its heart, which speaks directly to the present moment. I’ve always been struck by Shakespeare’s use of the word ‘now’. It’s his favourite word. The stories he tells may have been written down hundreds of years ago but they’re happening now, to all of us. I hope this season will express the very now-ness of Shakespeare’s plays.”
As You Like It will run at the Barbican from 26 October 2019 until 18 January 2020. The Taming of the Shrew starts on 5 November and also runs until 18 January. Measure for Measure begins on 12 November until 16 January.
The three productions will tour to Salford in 2019 before going to the Barbican. They will also visit Canterbury, Plymouth, Nottingham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Blackpool in 2020.