In the week that sees Tony award-winning actor Jonathan Groff make his RSC debut in As You Like It at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Nina Raine’s two-part adaptation of Middlemarch begin previews in the Swan Theatre, the RSC today announces full details of its Summer 2027 programme, which sees Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actor Elizabeth Debicki make her debut with the company as Richard II, alongside Damien Molony in the role of Coriolanus. ​

The season comprises four Shakespeare plays - Coriolanus, Richard II, Romeo and Juliet and The Comedy of Errors - which demonstrate his continued relevance to who we are and how we understand the world around us, and two world premieres inspired by the original novels from Virginia Woolf and Susanna Clarke. Completing the season is a thrilling two-hander, arriving fresh from the West End, which vividly re-imagines the relationship between a young William Shakespeare and his sparring partner, Christopher Marlowe, for a new generation. 

The RSC continues to collaborate with the most exciting artists and to help nurture the creative talent of the future. Alongside those making their debut with the company in 2027, which include Sami Ibrahim and Ned Bennett, are returning directors Daniel Raggett and Elizabeth Freestone, alongside Joanna Bowman and Francesca Goodridge, both of whom have trained and developed their craft under Daniel and Tamara’s leadership. They are joined, for the first time, by former Writer-in-Residence Zoe Cooper, who - alongside Stewart Pringle - played an instrumental role in developing and commissioning new work for the RSC’s stages since their appointment in 2024.

For more information, visit the RSC's Website.

Opening the season in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, RSC Associate Director Elizabeth Freestone returns to the company following her acclaimed 2023 version of The Tempest to direct Damien Molony (Bergerac, Two Weeks in August) as Coriolanus. Running in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from 6 February - 20 March with press night on Tuesday 16 February, this timely reimagining examines Shakespeare’s political tragedy through the lens of contemporary populism, societal instability and elemental scarcities in a turbulent world, as power struggles surface, old hierarchies crumble and the race to control critical resources begins.

Marking her Royal Shakespeare Company debut in 2027, Elizabeth Debicki takes up the titular role in William Shakespeare’s Richard II, in a new production by Daniel Raggett, whose previous RSC credits include the 2025 production of Macbeth featuring Sam Heughan and Lia Williams in The Other Place and Edward II in the Swan Theatre, starring RSC Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans in the title role. The production opens in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from 10 April - 22 May with press night on Tuesday 20 April. 

Following her sell-out summer production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Joanna Bowman returns to direct Shakespeare’s timeless and devastating tragedy Romeo and Juliet from 6 July - 28 August in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre with press night on Thursday 15 July. Joanna is Associate Artist at the Citizens Theatre and was Associate Director at the Tron Theatre between 2022 and 2025.

In the Swan Theatre, RSC Co-Artistic Director Daniel Evans brings Liz Duffy Adams’ Born With Teeth to Stratford-upon-Avon following an acclaimed West End run, in a co-production with Playful Productions and Grain of Sand Productions. Running from 12 February - 3 April with press night on Wednesday 17th February, this ‘sizzling and intelligent slice of historical fiction’ (Guardian) explores the dangerous rivalry between two literary icons at odds with their world; Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe - a notorious freethinker and scandalous spy for the Crown - and Will Shakespeare, jobbing actor and ambitious young playwright still searching for his voice. Born With Teeth replaces the previously scheduled Othello, directed by Monique Touko and starring Sharon D Clarke in the title role, as Sharon takes time to undergo treatment for cancer. The production is currently postponed with further details to be announced in due course. 

Also in the Swan Theatre, making its world stage premiere from 16 April – 12 June with press night on Tuesday 27 April, RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey presents Mrs Dalloway, a new adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s pioneering novel by former RSC Writer-in-Residence Zoe Cooper in her playwriting debut for the company. Set in a city suspended between the aftermath of war and future unrest, Mrs Dalloway’s deep exploration of the interior lives of its central protagonists, socialite and political wife Clarissa Dalloway and war veteran Septimus Smith, is reimagined afresh in this artful new adaptation. Fragments of conversations and chance observations spark memories, yearnings and foreboding, as two lives, lived apart but in parallel, connect with life-changing consequences. 

This will be followed by the world stage premiere of Piranesi; an immersive theatrical world that invites audiences to turn detective in a treacherous labyrinth of shadow and illusion. Adapted for the stage by Sami Ibrahim and directed by Ned Bennett, Piranesi is based on the award-winning novel by Susanna Clarke, author of the New York Times bestseller Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. The production opens in the Swan Theatre from 3 July - 21 August with press night on Wednesday 14 July.

Joining the previously announced Brock’s Mill in The Other Place, Artistic Director of the Sherman Theatre, Francesca Goodridge directs Shakespeare's first comedy in a brand new First Encounters with Shakespeare production of The Comedy of Errors. The production, which opens in The Other Place from 16 July - 4 September with press night on Tuesday 27 July, is presented in association with Sherman Theatre and will go on to visit partner schools and theatres across England with full venue details to be announced later this Autumn. Edited by Associate Director of the Unicorn Theatre, Robin Belfield, this condensed, 80-minute version of Shakespeare’s fast-moving story of mistaken identity, near misses and a brave quest for reconciliation is the perfect introduction to his work for young people and those experiencing his work for the first time. 

Priority booking for Members and Supporters for all new productions opens from 10am on Monday 5 October with public booking opening from Wednesday 21 October. For further information on how to become an RSC Member or Supporter, visit the RSC website.