Co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey today announce further details of the RSC’s 2026-27 season line-up, which sees three-time Olivier Award-winning actress Sharon D Clarke take up the titular role in a radical reimagining of Shakespeare’s Othello directed by Monique Touko, and Rufus Norris direct for the company for the first time with the world premiere of Brock’s Mill by RSC Writer-in-Residence Stewart Pringle.
The company also mounts its first commission for early years audiences with the world stage premiere of The Bear and the Piano: an enchanting new co-production with Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, developed for ages 3+ and based on the best-selling children’s book by David Litchfield.
Audiences across England, from Nottingham to Newcastle, will be able to experience Blanche McIntyre’s sell-out production of The Merry Wives of Windsor in their local theatre in Spring 2028, as part of a major four-year touring programme opening at Blackpool’s Grand Theatre with further casting and on-sale details to be announced.
RSC Co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey said:
“We want to ensure that as many people as possible feel welcome at the RSC through the stories we choose to tell and the artists who tell them, whether delivering high-quality arts experiences to first-time theatre theatregoers in Stratford, re-examining 400-year-old texts through an urgent new lens, touring world-class Shakespeare productions to communities across England, or welcoming our 13 millionth audience member to Matilda The Musical worldwide in the show’s 15th birthday year.
“This announcement brings together three very different plays, each of which explore the theme of transformation and how the stories we choose to tell ourselves can help shape the way we see the world and help us navigate our place within it.
“Meanwhile, our mission to find new ways to grow RSC audiences continues, with the news that the multi-award-winning Hamlet Hail to the Thief will make its London premiere later this year in a direct transfer from Stratford-upon-Avon. This thrilling marriage of Shakespeare’s words and Thom Yorke’s haunting soundtrack, performed live by a cast of musicians and actors, is our seventh production to be presented in London this year and speaks to our ambition to create world-class theatre that is part of the local, national and global conversation, and to collaborate with the very best international artists.”
Marking her RSC debut in 2027, three-time Olivier Award-winning actor Sharon D Clarke takes up the titular role of Othello in Shakespeare’s tragedy of shattered passion, revenge and psychological warfare, playing from 13 February – 3 April 2027 in the Swan Theatre. Set in a climate-threatened future in which a black lesbian holds a seat of power, this movement and music-infused Othello by Monique Touko (Marie and Rosetta, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding) re-imagines Shakespeare’s 400-year-old story through the lens of misogynoir, as an unsanctioned marriage perilously crosses boundaries of race, sex and status, allowing jealousy, suspicion and malign intent to close in.
The creative team comprises: Set Designer Paul Wills, Costume Designer Jodie-Simone Howe, Lighting Designer Matt Haskins, Sound Designer Khalil Madovi, Movement Director, Kloé Dean, Fight and Intimacy Director Bethan Clark. Dramaturgs Rebecca Latham and Professor Ayanna Thompson and Casting Director Christopher Worrall CDG.
NEED TO KNOW: Priority booking for RSC Members and Supporters for all new productions opens from 10 am on Friday 3 July, with public booking opening from 10 am on Thursday 16 July. For further information on how to become an RSC Member or Supporter, visit their website.
