The Royal Shakespeare Company will bring its celebrated production of Hamlet to York Theatre Royal’s Main House from 14 to 18 April.
Directed by multi award-winning Rupert Goold, the production offers a striking interpretation of Shakespeare’s family tragedy. Goold, known for Dear England at the National Theatre and major RSC productions including Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of Venice, will become Artistic Director of The Old Vic in 2026.
Ralph Davis leads the cast as Hamlet. His recent stage credits include Iago in Othello at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, earning him second place in the 2025 Ian Charleson Awards, alongside acclaimed performances at Shakespeare’s Globe and the RSC.
The company includes Rob Alexander-Adams, Richard Cant, Kat Collings, Raymond Coulthard, Maximus Evans, Ian Hughes, CJ Johnson, Julia Kass, Poppy Miller, Georgia-Mae Myers, Mark Oosterveen, Djibril Ramsey, Colin Ryan, Jonathan Savage, Jamie Sayers, Leo Shak and Benjamin Westerby.
Rupert Goold said: “Hamlet is a play about the inevitability of death – the death of fathers, the death of kings, the mortality facing each and everyone of us, but it is also a play about how to live, what makes a good life and a just one too, however brief our allotted time. Our production is set aboard a ship but one that is soon to founder, going down with all hands. Its inspiration comes from the most famous sinking in history, and just as that icy tragedy came to pass in a little over two and a half hours our play takes place in real time and for about as long, as much catastrophic thriller as poetic meditation. It’s a production that asks what it means to be human and decisive when time is running out.”
Revival Director Sophie Drake added: “I’m so looking forward to taking this exciting show on the road. We’ve assembled a wonderful cast, led by Ralph Davis, who promises to make a great Hamlet. It’s probably Shakespeare’s most famous play, but I’m sure no one will have seen a Hamlet like this before. I can’t wait for audiences to see it.”
The creative team features Sophie Drake, Es Devlin, Evie Gurney, Jack Knowles, Adam Cork, Hannes Langolf, Akhila Krishnan, Kev McCurdy, Rebecca Latham and Matthew Dewsbury CDG.
The tour is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
