An estimated 24,000 young people will see a Shakespeare production in their school hall or local theatre next year when the RSC takes two First Encounters with Shakespeare productions on tour. Aimed at younger and ‘first-time’ audiences, the shows will tour for 24 weeks to school halls, town halls and regional theatres across the country throughout Spring and Autumn 2025.
Reaching more schools and communities than ever before in 2025, the RSC will also stream the 2024 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream into classrooms nationwide in February, whilst the award-winning Matilda The Musical begins its second major tour of the UK and Ireland in October next year.
At a time when creative learning provision in English schools has reached an all-time low, the RSC’s expanded touring activity gives thousands more pupils and teachers the opportunity to enjoy a live performance of Shakespeare or live theatre in their own hometown or city.
RSC Director of Creative Learning and Engagement, Jacqui O’Hanlon, expands:
“Access to the arts in schools is at a crossroads after being eroded over many years with thousands of young people denied the sorts of experiences that we know positively impact on life chances and learning outcomes.
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“Taking our work directly into schools and communities we see the very real difference that expressive arts subjects and experiences make to children’s lives. We believe that the very best way for Shakespeare’s work to be experienced by young people is through performance; and we believe that live theatre and an arts-rich education are the right of every child.”
Bringing Shakespeare’s magical play into school halls, theatres and town halls across England, the first RSC First Encounters with Shakespeare production for 2025 is The Tempest which will tour between February and May 2025. A fresh, abridged take on Shakespeare’s original text, the creative team includes Aaron Parsons (Director and Movement), Aldo Vázquez (Set and Costume Designer) and Jack Drewry (Composer and Sound Designer). A team of RSC Creative Associates will collaborate with young people in preparation for the production, exploring and developing the world of the play through sound, as well as delving into the key moments, themes, characters in the play.
The production will open in early February and travel to RSC partner schools and theatres in County Durham, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, York, Hull, Bradford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle upon Tyne, Corby, Blackpool and Cumbria, culminating in Northampton on 10 May 2025 (see notes to editors for list of venues). The tour of First Encounters: The Tempest is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, which makes it possible for the RSC to expand its tour to work in partnership with more places across England.
In Autumn 2025, thousands more pupils will get their first taste of Shakespeare and live performance when the second First Encounters with Shakespeare production begins its 12-week tour of schools and theatres. Full details to be announced in the New Year.
On-demand access to A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be available from 3-7 February as part of the RSC’s free Schools’ Broadcast Programme. Eleanor Rhode’s 5-star production with Mathew Baynton as Bottom delighted audiences when it opened in Stratford-upon-Avon earlier this year, and the production opens at the Barbican theatre in London on 3rd December. The creative team includes Lucy Osborne (Set and Costume Designer), John Bulleid (Illusion Director and Designer), Matt Daw (Lighting Designer) Will Gregory (Composer) Pete Malkin (Sound Designer), Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster (Movement Director), Will Duke (Video Designer), Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown (Fight and Intimacy Directors), Matthew Dewsbury CDG (Casting Director).
Audiences can also see the second major UK and Ireland tour of the RSC’s multi award-winning Matilda The Musical, opening in Leicester on 6 October 2025. Based on Roald Dahl’s best-selling novel with literacy and books at its heart, the show has already been seen by 12 million people across 100 cities worldwide. The musical will celebrate 15 years on stage when it opens at Leicester Curve before traveling to Bradford, Liverpool, Plymouth, Sunderland, Edinburgh, and Manchester where it will run through March and April 2026. Further tour dates to be announced in 2025.
Written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and developed and directed by Matthew Warchus, the production is designed by Rob Howell, with choreography by Peter Darling, orchestrations, additional music and musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker and special effects and illusions by Paul Kieve.
Further information about First Encounters: The Tempest can be found here
