The Royal Shakespeare Company has unveiled a major slate of productions for its 2026–27 season, including the RSC début of Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff and the return of Harriet Walter in a landmark revival of Julius Caesar.
The season also celebrates 20 years of the company’s transformative partnership work with schools across England.
Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, RSC Co-Artistic Directors, said: “We are delighted to share our new season, which brings together five productions including an epic fantasy, a 19th century literary masterpiece, a swashbuckling adventure and two plays from our in-house playwright.”
They added: “From the sweet-natured romance of As You Like It to the righteous anger of Phyllida Lloyd’s Julius Caesar, the anarchic adventures of The Three Musketeers to the sweeping societal shifts of George Eliot’s Middlemarch, themes of identity, transformation, freedom, justice and the liberation that comes from breaking free of expectations loom large this autumn.”
In the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Jonathan Groff will play Rosalind in a new all‑male staging of As You Like It, directed by Daniel Evans. The production marks Groff’s RSC début following acclaimed performances in Spring Awakening, Hamilton and Merrily We Roll Along. He stars alongside Fisayo Akinade, known for Cucumber, Banana and Heartstopper. As You Like It runs from 26 September to 7 November, with press night on 6 October.
At The Other Place, Harriet Walter reprises her role as Brutus in Phyllida Lloyd’s trailblazing all‑female staging of Julius Caesar. First seen at the Donmar Warehouse in 2012, the production is reimagined as part of the RSC’s First Encounters with Shakespeare series and will tour secondary schools across England from 21 September to 23 October before a run in Stratford from 5 to 28 November.
In the Swan Theatre, George Eliot’s Middlemarch is reimagined as a two‑part stage adaptation by Nina Raine, directed by Jeremy Herrin. Part 1 opens on 1 October and Part 2 on 10 October, with both running until 16 January. Press performances take place on 28 October.
For the festive season, the RSC reunites with Told by an Idiot for a riotous new adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers. Directed by Paul Hunter, the production promises high‑energy physical comedy, live music and a “charmingly unreliable Spanish narrator”. It plays from 28 November to 9 January, with press night on 8 December.
The company also marks 20 years of the Associate Schools Programme with a series of nationwide events, including workshops, a major symposium and a Young Creatives Festival. Deputy Executive Director Jacqui O’Hanlon said: “We now have a 20-year evidence base that describes the very real difference that an arts rich education makes to a child’s life and learning outcomes.”
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
