Royal Shakespeare Company associate artist David Troughton heads the cast of Thomas Dekker’s Jacobean comedy The Shoemaker's Holiday which the RSC is to produce for the first time.
Troughton last appeared at the RSC in 2007 in Macbeth and Eugen Ionesco's satire Macbett. In The Shoemaker's Holiday Troughton plays larger-than-life character Simon Eyre who runs a shop and is on his way from rags to riches.
The play involves aristocrat Rowland Lacy falling in love with middle-class girl Rose Oatley, but her parents do not approve. His father sends him to war, so Rowland has to take drastic action to avoid any chance of personal injury and secretly pursue his love.
Losing himself among the craftsmen of London, he assumes the guise of a Dutch shoemaker at Simon Eyre’s shop.
The rest of the cast features Ben Allen (Askew), Ross Armstrong (Warner), Daniel Boyd (Ralph Damport), Vincent Carmichael (Earl of Lincoln), Laura Cubitt (seamstress), Hedydd Dylan (Jane Damport), Sandy Foster (Sybil), William Gaminara (Sir Roger Oatley), Michael Grady-Hall (Lovell), Michael Hodgson (Hodge), Jack Holden (The King), Andrew Langtree (Dodger), Joel MacCormack (Firk), Tom McCall (Skipper), Josh O'Connor (Rowland Lacy), Vivien Parry (Margery Eyre), Thomasin Rand (Rose Oatley) and Jamie Wilkes (Hammon).
Director of The Shoemaker's Holiday is Phillip Breen who made his RSC debut in 2012 with The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Designer is Max Jones, lighting will be designed by Tina MacHugh and music will be by Jason Carr. Sound is by Andrea J Cos and movement by Ayse Tashkiran.
The Shoemaker's Holiday runs in the Swan Theatre, Stratford from Thursday 11 December until Saturday 7 March 2015. Press night will be Thursday 18 December.