Simon Russell Beale to tour with Greg Doran’s Venus and Adonis

Former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Greg Doran, will revive his celebrated staging of Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis for a UK tour this June.

Narrated by Simon Russell Beale and brought to life by a team of world-class puppeteers with live musical accompaniment, the production blends comedy and tragedy with Shakespeare’s poetry to chart the story of Venus and her obsessive love for the beautiful Adonis.

The production will tour venues across the UK in June 2026, including Arts Theatre Cambridge (9 and 10 June), Oxford Playhouse (17 to 20 June), The Pit at the Barbican Centre (23 to 27 June), and York Theatre Royal (30 June and 1 July), with tickets now on sale.

Drawing inspiration from the intricate artistry of Japanese Bunraku puppetry and the spectacle of the Jacobean court masque, the production employs a range of techniques including marionette, rod, shadow and tabletop puppetry.

The cast and creative team for the tour includes puppeteers Bartolomeo Bartolini, Edie Edmundson, Rachel Leonard, Lee Maeda and Sarah Wright, alongside musician Nick Lee and stage manager Rachael Barber.

The original production’s creative team featured director of puppetry Steve Tiplady, designer Robert Jones, lighting designer Vince Herbert and music arranger John Woolf. It was originally produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in collaboration with Little Angel Theatre.

This new staging is supported by the Backstage Trust, the Sidney E Frank Foundation and executive producer Mark Pigott