RSC announces casting for THE FAIR MAID OF THE WEST

The RSC have announced casting for The Fair Maid of the West, which runs in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon from 2 December 2023 to Sunday 14 January 2024.

The production is adapted and directed by Isobel McArthur from the original by Thomas Heywood, and tells the story of Liz Bridges, a good landlady who pacifies the vexed, enlightens the perplexed, and always knows who's next. Thomas Heywood’s Elizabethan romp will be a celebratory, music-filled, ensemble comedy about the life-saving powers of community, compromise and compassion.

Commenting on the production, Isobel McArthur said: “One thing that excited me about staging a version of The Fair Maid of The West is how much of the action takes places in pubs. These theatres of the human condition! Where we may choose to perform or be the audience – and all of human life plays out! So often in portside public houses a carousel of remarkable eccentrics pass through the harbours and doorways, leaving lasting impressions on all those bearing witness. Of course, all are in search of something: shelter, sustenance, company, often love.

“With this in mind, we knew we needed a cast who could bring great humour and heart, including brilliantly funny multi-rollers with keen dramaturgical minds, possessing of a great facility for both language and music. Our whole ensemble needed to be able to sing, play multiple musical instruments, move beautifully through Ana Inés Jabares Pita’s set and truly take over the Swan Theatre space with their luminescent, celebratory energy.”

Liz Bridges will be played by Amber James (On the Ropes, Park Theatre), with Philip Labey as Spencer (Village Idiot, Stratford Theatre Royal/Nottingham Playhouse), alongside Richard Katz (Cabaret, West End), Tom Babbage (The Motive and the Cue, National Theatre), Aruhan Galieva (Kinky Boots, New Wolsey/Queens Theatre Hornchurch), Marc Giro (professional debut), Melissa Lowe (Orlando, West End), William Pennington (Hay Fever, The Mill at Sonning), David Rankine (Kidnapped, NTS), Emmy Stonelake (Pride and Prejudice *sort of, UK tour), Christina Tedders (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, West End/UK tour), and Matthew Woodyatt (Berlusconi, Southwark Playhouse).

The Fair Maid of the West features design by Ana Inés Jabares-Pita, lighting by Sinéad McKenna, music by Michael John McCarthy, sound by Niamh Gaffney, movement by Emily Jane Boyle, and casting by Martin Poile. 

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