RSC announces casting for outdoor As You Like It

The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced the cast for its upcoming production of As You Like It – playing in the  the Holloway Garden Theatre.

The theatre will be located in Stratford-upon-Avon in the Swan Gardens, by the River Avon.

The outdoor venue will open on 1 July and host a variety of productions over the summer. These include a new 80-minute staging of Shakespeare’s As You Like It from 18 July to 1 September, The Two Gentlemen of Verona from 22 to 24 August (presented by the RSC’s Next Generation Act), and free weekend “Open Stage” community productions from 20 July to 1 September.

As You Like It will feature Luke Brady and Letty Thomas in their RSC debuts as Orlando and Rosalind. The cast also includes Ned Derrington (Oliver/Corin), Peter Dukes (Charles the Wrestler/Duke Senior), Trevor Fox (Jaques/William), Natasha Magigi (Phoebe/Amiens), Chris Nayak (Silvius/Duke Frederick), Christina Tedders (Celia), Susannah Van Den Berg (Audrey/Le Beau), Rachel Winters (understudy), and Duncan Wisbey (Touchstone/Adam).

The production is directed by Brendan O’Hea, whose work at London-based Shakespeare’s Globe includes The Comedy of Errors, Pericles, and Twelfth Night.

Joining O’Hea on the creative team are Liam Bunster (set and costume designer), Catherine Jayes (composer), Jonathan Ruddick (sound designer), Siân Williams (movement director), Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown (fight directors), and Matthew Dewsbury and Martin Poile (casting directors).

O’Hea said today: “I’ve always adored As You Like It. Not only is it peppered with eccentrics, it contains a wrestling match and more music than any other Shakespeare play. But above all it’s a celebration: Shakespeare sets off a confetti canon of love in all its different forms.”

For more information and to see the full performance schedule, visit the RSC’s website.