RSC sets 2027 season with Debicki as first female Richard II and Molony in Coriolanus
Elizabeth Debicki will become the first woman to play Richard II for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The actor will make her RSC debut in the role. It sits at the centre of the company's 2027 season in Stratford-upon-Avon The Stage.
Damien Molony will play Coriolanus. The production opens the 2027 season in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the company's large main house in Stratford.
It is directed by Elizabeth Freestone, an RSC associate director. It runs from 6 February to 20 March, with a press night on 16 February. A press night is the official opening that critics review WhatsOnStage.
Romeo and Juliet follows in the same theatre. Joanna Bowman directs. It runs from 6 July to 28 August, with a press night on 15 July.
The Swan Theatre, the RSC's smaller Stratford space, will stage two world premieres. That means first stagings anywhere.
Mrs Dalloway comes first. Zoe Cooper has adapted Virginia Woolf's novel. Tamara Harvey directs. It runs from 16 April to 12 June, with a press night on 27 April.
Piranesi follows. Sami Ibrahim has adapted Susanna Clarke's novel. Ned Bennett directs. It runs from 3 July to 21 August, with a press night on 14 July.
The season also includes a transfer, meaning a production moves from its original venue into another house. The WhatsOnStage Award-nominated play Born With Teeth will transfer to Stratford-upon-Avon after its West End run.
It replaces Othello. That production was due to be directed by Monique Touko and star Sharon D Clarke. The RSC said it has been postponed.
For fans, this means a summer with familiar titles and new work side by side. Shakespeare fills the big stage. Two much-loved novels reach the stage for the first time next door.
