Tilda Swinton to star in solo show at the Royal Court

Tilda Swinton will return to the Royal Court next year as part of the venue’s 70th anniversary season.

Swinton will once more play the role of Ella Gericke in Man to Man for the show, running from 5 September to 24 October.

Manfred Karge’s play, originally titled Jacke Wie Hose in German, is a one-woman show detailing the life of Gericke, a German widow who assumes the male identity of her deceased husband, Max, to maintain his job in a factory and survive political turmoil. It is adapted by Anthony Vivis, with direction by Stephen Unwin and design by Bunny Christie.

Swinton’s stage debut in the role occurred in 1987 in the production staged by the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. This production, which used a translation by Anthony Vivis, was directed by Unwin, who now returns to helm this new revival. The production subsequently transferred to London, running at the Royal Court Theatre from early 1988. She then starred in the film adaptation of Man to Man in 1992.

The production is co-produced with the Berliner Ensemble and Brian and Dayna Lee, and will move first to Berlin then New York following its London spell.

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