Theatre company ROYO announces Asian investment plans

Commercial theatre company Royo has announced a new phase of investment in Asia through its subsidiary RTS Entertainment, including a return to China for Rambert to mark the company’s centenary.

RTS will bring Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby to China in spring 2026 as part of Rambert’s 100-year celebrations. The production, created by Steven Knight and choreographed and directed by Rambert artistic director Benoit Swan Pouffer, will follow the Shelby family from the trenches of Flanders to post-war Birmingham, set to a live band and music from artists including Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Radiohead and Anna Calvi.

The tour marks the fifth production RTS has brought to Chinese audiences in the past 18 months, following presentations of Life of Pi (Simon Friend Entertainment) and Murder on the Orient Express (Fiery Angel).

Helen Shute, CEO of Rambert, said the company was “honoured to return in our centenary year, and with the support of Boris and the RTS team, to meet our audiences in China again”. RTS CEO Boris Cao added that “Chinese audiences will connect deeply with Peaky Blinders’ universal story of hope and rebirth”.

Royo Group CEO Tom De Keyser, currently in Shanghai for Murder on the Orient Express, confirmed that RTS will continue to expand, with plans to grow its Shanghai office and team. He said having RTS within the group allows Royo “to provide unparalleled support to British producers and performing arts institutions seeking to export their work to global audiences”.

Royo’s current productions include Here & Now – The Steps Musical, 13 Going on 30, Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical, NOW That’s What I Call a Musical, The Osmonds: A New Musical, Police Cops: The Musical and Oscar at the Crown, alongside new stagings of Kinky Boots and The Cher Show.

The company also produces live and family entertainment including Disney’s Winnie the Pooh and The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, and has previously presented and financed international productions of And Then There Were None, Life of Pi, The Last Five Years, Once and The Reunion with Ramin Karimloo.