The Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) announces casting details for its First Encounters with Shakespeare touring production of Twelfth Night.
Between the 20 September to the 12 November 2022, the company will perform in schools and theatres up and down the country. Starting in Birmingham, the production will travel to Northampton, Cumbria, Blackpool, County Durham, Middlesbrough, York, Bradford, Hull, Nottingham, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Suffolk and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Making their RSC debuts are Pérola Congo as Maria alongside Tyreke Leslie as Antonio and Sir Toby Belch, Daniella Agredo Piper in the role of Viola, Laura Smithers as Olivia and Stanton Wright in the roles of Sebastian and Sir Andrew Aguecheek.
Ibraheem Toure returns to the RSC in the role of Orsino following his appearance in the RSC’s production of Henry VI: Rebellion earlier this year. Also returning to the RSC is Emma Manton as Malvolio and Alice Blundell as Feste. Alice appeared in Erica Whyman’s 2021 production of The Winter’s Tale and Emma’s RSC credits include The Heart of Robin Hood, Love’s Labour’s Lost/Love’s Labour’s Won and The Christmas Truce.
A story of mistaken identity, Viola finds herself washed up in a strange land separated from her twin brother. Disguising herself as a man called Cesario, Viola finds work with Duke Orsino, only to fall head over heels in love with him. But Orsino is in love with Olivia, who is grieving for her brother and refusing all offers of romance. Until, that is, she sees Cesario for the first time.
Director, Robin Belfield, has given this production of Twelfth Night a 21st century update with an environmentally conscious take on Shakespeare’s tale of heartbreak, hoaxes and hidden identities. With sustainability at its core, the creative team has sought to limit waste and reduce the environmental impact of the theatre-making process wherever possible. Designer Georgie White has led a team of students from Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA) to design and create a set made from reclaimed, recycled and ethically sourced materials.
Young people from the RSC’s Associate Schools Programme have also been involved in many other aspects of staging the production. As well as a cast of pupils from each venue chosen to play the sailors in Act 1, Scene 2, young people at each host venue have also created bunting to decorate the set and taken on RSC Next Generation Backstage* roles in wardrobe, stage management and lighting.
Aimed at bringing Shakespeare and live performance to those who have never seen his work live and to younger audiences, the tour focusses on visiting areas of structural disadvantage. Using edited versions of the original language, First Encounters with Shakespeare productions are 90-minute, abridged versions of Shakespeare’s plays.
Commenting on the production, Director, Robin Belfield, said: ‘We want children and young people’s first encounters with live theatre and Shakespeare to be fun, engaging and meaningful. So, we asked them what was important to them, and two things came across very clearly and consistently: that the show should be a co-creation between the RSC and the young people themselves and that climate crisis should sit at its heart.
‘From thinking about how much paper we use to print scripts, programmes, flyers and posters; to how we reduce mileage and the size of van we use; to the design and sustainability of costumes and set, it’s been an incredible journey. Whilst we haven’t resolved all the issues, it’s been an incredibly interesting and important process that will have broader implications and inform the way we work across the whole of the RSC in the future.’
