Full casting has been announced for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s forthcoming production of The Tempest, directed by Richard Eyre in his first time directing Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon. The production runs at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from Wednesday 13 May to Saturday 20 June, with a press night on Tuesday 26 May at 7pm.
As previously revealed, Kenneth Branagh will play Prospero, marking his return to the RSC after more than three decades and taking on the role for the first time.
Ruby Stokes joins the company as Miranda, making her RSC debut. She recently starred in the New York transfer of The Other Place and has appeared in The Habits at Hampstead Theatre, Till the Stars Come Down at the National Theatre, and That Face at the Orange Tree Theatre. Her screen credits include The Jetty for the BBC, The Burning Girls for Paramount+, Lockwood and Co for Netflix and Bridgerton.
She will play opposite Fred Woodley Evans as Ferdinand. He previously appeared with the RSC in Wendy & Peter Pan at the Barbican and has theatre credits including Outlying Islands and Orphans at Jermyn Street Theatre. His screen work includes Bridgerton season 4.
Amara Okereke makes her RSC debut as Ariel. She is currently touring the UK in Top Hat and recently appeared in Nicholas Hytner’s film The Choral. Her West End credits include My Fair Lady at the London Coliseum, A Streetcar Named Desire at Sheffield Theatres and Spring Awakening at the Almeida.
Ashley Zhangazha also joins the RSC for the first time as Caliban. His West End credits include MJ The Musical, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Henry V and Fences, alongside appearances at the National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe. He won a UK Theatre Award for Guys and Dolls at the Royal Exchange.
David Bark-Jones plays Alonso, Keir Charles plays Trinculo, and Guy Henry returns as Stephano. RSC Associate Artist Paul Jesson plays Gonzalo, with Mark Meadows and Henry Pettigrew returning as Antonio and Sebastian.
The full company also includes Darrell Brockis, Halle Brown, Philip Childs, Stuart Edgar, Amber Sylvia Edwards, Tallulah Hamilton Barr, Razak Osman and Henry Pettigrew.
Director Richard Eyre said: “This is the first time I have directed a Shakespeare play at Stratford, and I am thrilled to be bringing The Tempest to life for the RSC with a remarkable cast led by Kenneth Branagh and exceptional creative team including design by Bob Crowley. The play remains endlessly fascinating — I see it as Shakespeare’s autobiography, a meditation on art and freedom. Of course, there are themes of power, belonging, and colonisation that have long invited new readings and responses. The Tempest is a story shaped by encounters between cultures and systems of power, a story of revenge and magic, and I am thrilled to be working with such an incredible company to tell this story.”
The creative team includes set designer Bob Crowley, costume designer Fotini Dimou, lighting designer Hugh Vanstone, composers Akintayo Akinbode and Stephen Warbeck, sound designer Nicola T. Chang, video designer Akhila Krishnan, and movement and intimacy director Annie‑Lunnette Deakin‑Foster. Casting is by Charlotte Sutton CDG.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
