RSC announces Hamlet casting

The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced the principal casting for its 2025 production of Hamlet, directed by Rupert Goold.

As revealed during the summer, Luke Thallon takes on his first RSC role as Hamlet. BAFTA Award-winner Jared Harris will return to the RSC as Claudius, while Olivier Award winners Nancy Carroll and Elliot Levey take on the roles of Gertrude and Polonius. Making her debut with the RSC, Nia Towle will play Ophelia.

RSC associate artist Anton Lesser will portray the Ghost and the First Player, with Kel Matsena and Lewis Shepherd joining the cast as Horatio and Laertes, respectively.

Goold, currently the artistic director at the Almeida Theatre, has directed numerous productions for the RSC and other major theatres, including The Merchant of Venice, Albion, and Dear England. He said today: “I am thrilled to announce the principal cast for Hamlet. I have admired Jared Harris for years as a fantastic actor on both stage and screen and to bring him back to the RSC after over 40 years is incredibly exciting. I am equally delighted to work with Elliot Levey again after Cold War and with Nancy Carroll and Anton Lesser both of whose work I have adored over many years.

“Nia was exceptional in A View From The Bridge, and I know her Ophelia will be just as arresting. I worked with Kel and Lewis on Dear England and am thrilled to be coaching them as part of this team too. They join Luke whom I directed on Cold War and Patriots, and on his debut in Albion. His grace and sensitivity have always marked him as a future Hamlet and it’s a privilege to be working with him again.

“Returning to the RSC for me is a homecoming of sorts and to lead a world class classical ensemble in Stratford remains as magical a prospect as it did when I first joined the company.”

Set design for Hamlet is by Es Devlin, with costumes by Evie Gurney, lighting by Jack Knowles, and sound by Adam Cork. Hannes Langolf oversees movement direction, and video design is by Akhila Krishnan. Charlotte Sutton is the casting director for the production.

The show will run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from 8 February to 29 March 2025.

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