The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has announced the full casting for its upcoming production of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Michael Longhurst. The play will run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon from 12 April to 24 May 2025.
Set in the world of top-flight football and celebrity culture, where scandal-filled rivalries are the hottest new thing, Longhurst’s Much Ado About Nothing is the first production in Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans’ second season as Co-Artistic Directors of the RSC.
Freema Agyeman, who made her RSC debut in Twelfth Night last year, will play Beatrice. Freema is known for her WhatsOnStage Award-winning performance in Romeo and Juliet at the Duke of York Theatre last year. Her screen credits include New Amsterdam, Dreamland, Sense 8, Dr Who, and Torchwood.
Nick Blood makes his RSC debut as Benedick. Nick was recently in After The End (Stratford East) and joins the cast following a recent SAG nomination for his role in Day of the Jackal (Sky). He is well known for his role as Lance Hunter in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Other screen credits include Joan, Slow Horses, Andor, Euphoria, and Trollied.
Eleanor Worthington Cox plays Hero. Eleanor made history in 2012 when she was awarded the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for playing the title role in the RSC’s Matilda The Musical. Her recent stage work includes Next to Normal, The Secret Life of Bees, and Jerusalem. Screen credits include Britannia, The Irregulars, The Enfield Haunting, Cucumber, Hetty Feather, and Maleficent.
Daniel Adeosun makes his RSC debut as Claudio. His previous theatre work includes The Comedy of Errors (Globe), Trouble in Mind (National Theatre), The Secret Love Life of Ophelia (Greenwich Theatre), and his screen credits include The Red King, Andor, September 5, and The Book of Clarence.
The full cast comprises: Daniel Adeosun (Claudio), Freema Agyeman (Beatrice), Azan Ahmed (Conrade), Nick Blood (Benedick), Gina Bramhill (Margaret), Nick Cavaliere (Verges), Flaminia Cinque (Sexton/Ensemble), Peter Forbes (Leonato), Tanya Franks (Antonia), Lydia Fraser (Ursula/Ensemble), Olivier Huband (Don Pedro), Megan Keaveny (Ensemble), Nojan Khazai (Don John), Antonio Magro (Dogberry), Posi Morakinyo (Balthasar/Oatcake/Ensemble), Jay Taylor (Borachio), Arthur Wilson (Seacole/The Friar/Ensemble), and Eleanor Worthington-Cox (Hero).
Director Michael Longhurst said: “I’m delighted to be tackling this play for my RSC directing debut with such an amazing company of actors – a premier league of talent indeed! It’s an incredibly exciting time to be directing for the RSC, as part of Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey’s second season; thanks to Anna Cooper CDG for the assist in selecting the team.
“I’m thrilled that Freema Agyeman will continue her remarkable foray into Shakespeare’s canon, returning to Stratford-upon-Avon to play Beatrice and that the incredible Nick Blood joins her to make his RSC debut as Benedick. Like the standout talent from a football youth academy, Eleanor Worthington Cox steps back into the very RSC rehearsal room to play Hero, 13 years after her Olivier-Award winning performance as the eponymous role in Matilda The Musical.
“Much Ado About Nothing is about love: finding and accepting it – but its timeless investigation of masculinity and sex and gender power dynamics in a slander-fuelled plot – felt ripe for exploration in the contemporary setting of topflight football where WAGs and players-behaving-badly can enact a not-so-merry war.”
Joining Michael Longhurst on the creative team are: Jon Bausor (Set & Costume Designer), Jack Knowles (Lighting Designer), Emma Laxton (Sound Designer), Julia Cheng (Choreographer & Movement Director), Tal Rosner (Video Designer), Sara Green (Intimacy Director), and Anna Cooper CDG (Casting Director).
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
