Also scheduled are new productions of The Merchant of Venice and Othello (the latter starring Hugh Quarshie in the title role), all in the main house Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and Trevor Nunn returning to the company he was once a long-time artistic director of to direct Henry Goodman in the title role of Ben Jonson's Volpone in the Swan Theatre.
Death of a Salesman will begin performances March 26, 2015, prior to an official opening April 1, for a run through May 2. It will also star Alex Hassell, who plays Prince Hal alongside Antony Sher's Falstaff in the RSC's current Henry IV Parts I and II, as Willy's eldest son Biff.
The repertoire continues with two plays set in Venice: Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and Othello.
The Merchant of Venice will begin performances May 14 prior to an official opening May 21, for a run in rep through Sept. 2. Polly Findlay, who is currently represented by her production of Arden of Faversham in the Swan Theatre, will make her Shakespearean debut for the company. She has also directed Protest Song at the National and will direct Treasure Island at the National next.
Othello will begin performances June 4 prior to an official opening June 11, for a run in rep through Aug. 28. It will be directed by Iqbal Khan, who previously directed Much Ado About Nothing for the company in 2012. Hugh Quarshie, who last appeared with the company in 1996 in Faust and Julius Caesar, will play the title role, opposite Lucian Msamati as Iago. Msamati's previous stage credits include Little Revolution (Almeida), The Amen Corner and The Comedy of Errors (both National) and Clybourne Park (Royal Court and West End). In the Swan Theatre, there will be productions of Marlowe's The Jew of Malta, Ford's Love Sacrifice and Ben Jonson's Volpone.
The Jew of Malta will begin performances March 18 prior to an official opening March 26, for a run in rep through Sept. 8. It will be directed by Justin Audibert, who previously worked as assistant director with the company, in his debut production for the RSC.
The rarely performed revenge tragedy Love's Sacrifice will begin performances April 11 prior to an official opening April 20, for a run in rep through June 24. It will be directed by Matthew Dunster, who has previously directed The Lightning Child at Shakespeare's Globe and A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park.
Volpone will begin performances July 3 prior to an official opening July 14, for a run in rep through Sep. 12. Trevor Nunn, who last worked with the company in 2007 to direct King Lear and The Seagull that toured internationally after opening in Stratford-upon-Avon and subsequently played a West End season at the New London Theatre, directs Henry Goodman in the title role. They have regularly collaborated, most recently in The Merhant of Venice and Summerfolk at the National in 1999. Goodman was most recently seen on the London stage in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui that transferred from Chichester to the West End's Duchess Theatre in 2013.
In a press statement, Gregory Doran, RSC artistic director, comnented, "I am looking forward to a summer of great theatre. We have a fantastic programme for 2015 with some truly exciting actors and directors on board. We mark the Arthur Miller centenary with one of the greatest plays of the 20th Century, Death of a Salesman, and we have taken Venice as a starting point for the summer season. We have programmed main stage work which draws on our heritage as the world’s greatest Shakespeare company, and we celebrate the Swan Theatre as the home of work by Shakespeare’s contemporaries, with powerful plays from Marlowe, Ford and Jonson, which resonate with Shakespeare’s themes and the Venice setting as they too explore the idea of the outsider."
To book tickets, which are on public sale from Oct. 22 (with priority booking for members beforehand), contact the box office on 0844 800 1110 or visit www.rsc.org.uk for more details.
