Shakespeare’s Globe announces casting for Emma Rice’s inaugural
season as Artistic Director
Tuesday 16 February 2016
Shakespeare’s Globe is delighted to announce casting for Emma Rice’s inaugural season as
Artistic Director. Singing sensation and performance artist Meow Meow will play Titania in A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, from 30 April. From 18 June, Tara Fitzgerald will play Lady
Macbeth, opposite Ray Fearon in the eponymous role.
The summer season will open with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Emma Rice.
Meow Meow stars as the fairy queen Titania, having worked with Emma previously on
Kneehigh’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and An Audience with Meow Meow (Berkeley Rep,
California). A Post-post-modern performance artist, her career has encompassed sell out
concerts at the Lincoln Centre New York and the Sydney Opera House. Opera credits
include Brecht/Weill’s Die Dreigroschenoper (London Philharmonic), Andriessen’s De
Materie (LA Philharmonic) and the Fest für Pina 40 season (Pina Bausch Company). In
2014, she won critical acclaim for her solo shows Feline Intimate and Apocalypse Meow,
both at London’s Southbank Centre.
From 18 June, Tara Fitzgerald and Ray Fearon will star in Iqbal Khan’s Macbeth. Tara
Fitzgerald, playing Lady Macbeth, has had an extensive career on both stage and screen.
Recent stage credits including Gaslight (Northampton Royal), The Winter’s Tale (RSC),
Broken Glass (Vaudeville), The Misanthrope (Comedy Theatre) and A Doll’s House (Donmar
Warehouse). Screen credits include Churchill’s Secret (ITV), The Musketeers (BBC One),
Legend, Child 44 and Exodus: Gods and Kings. She recently played the role of Selyse
Baratheon in HBO’s Game of Thrones.
Ray Fearon’s recent stage career has included Hecuba, Pericles, Othello, Romeo and Juliet,
The White Devil, Troilus and Cressida, Moby Dick and The Merchant of Venice (RSC), World
Music (Donmar Warehouse) and Sing Yer Heart out for the Lads (National Theatre). Ray
played the centaur Firenze in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and has recently
completed filming for Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.
Television includes Missing, Silk and Waking the Dead (BBC One). He is known for his longrunning role as mechanic Nathan Harding in ITV’s Coronation Street.
Other cast members for A Midsummer Night’s Dream include Katy Owen, Ankur Bahl, Ewan
Wardrop, Ncuti Gatwa, Nandi Bhebhe, Edmund Derrington, Anjana Vasan and Lucy
Thackeray. Several members of the company have previously worked with Emma Rice in
Kneehigh productions.
Ewan Wardrop will take the role of Bottom. Previous credits include the UK tour of Rebecca
(Kneehigh/ David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers), ENRON (West End), The Deep Blue Sea
(Chichester Festival Theatre), and he has previously worked with the RSC and Complicité.
Initially trained as a dancer, Ewan was a principal performer with Matthew Bourne’s company
Adventures in Motion Pictures, taking leading roles in Swan Lake, Nutcracker! and The Car
Man. Katy Owen will play Puck, having previously appeared in Kneehigh’s Rebecca and 946
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips.
Nandi Bhebhe’s theatre credits include 946 The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips
(Kneehigh), A Season in the Congo (Young Vic), Fela! (National Theatre/ Broadway/ US
Tour) and 5, 6, 7, 8 (Royal Court). As a dancer, credits include Vocab Dance Company’s
Kwenda Kwenda (Southbank Centre) and Strike Dance (Salsaroja Dance Festival,
Liverpool). Anjana Vasan’s recent credits include Dara, Behind the Beautiful Forevers
(National Theatre), The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing (RSC), Call the
Midwife (BBC One) and Fresh Meat (Channel 4).
Tanika Gupta will be dramaturg for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Tanika’s writing credits
include Voices on the Wind, The Waiting Room and Sanctuary (National Theatre), Skeleton
(Soho Theatre) Inside Out (Arcola Theatre), Hobson’s Choice (Young Vic), Fragile Land
(Hampstead Theatre), Catch (Royal Court Theatre), White Boy (National Youth Theatre/
Soho Theatre) and Great Expectations (Watford Palace Theatre). In 2015, she adapted
Meera Syal’s Anita and Me. Tanika has also written extensively for television, including for
EastEnders, Grange Hill, A Suitable Boy, The Bill and Crossroads.
ENDS
EDITORS’ NOTES
A Midsummer Night’s Dream 30 April – 11 September 2016
Press night: Thursday 5 May 2016
Macbeth 18 June – 1 October 2016
Press night: Thursday 23 June 2016
For more information please contact Claudia Conway or Danielle Pearson on +44 (0) 207
902 1491 / 1492 or email [email protected] /
[email protected]
Shakespeare’s Globe
Booking:
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Public booking is now open.
We are committed to making your visit as easy and enjoyable as possible, we will have a
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The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse: The candlelit Jacobean theatre at Shakespeare's
Globe opened in January 2014. The Playhouse hosts concerts and other events
throughout the summer season. Its main indoor theatre season runs from October to
April. The current winter season finishes on 22 April with Shakespeare’s sequence of late
plays, Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest playing in rep.
Globe Education: One of the largest arts education departments in the UK; each year, over
100,000 people of all ages and nationalities participate in its public events, workshops and
courses. Globe Education also runs extensive outreach programmes for students and teachers
in the Southwark community, nationally and internationally.
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Globe Exhibition & Tour: Open to the public all year round, the Globe Exhibition and
Tour explores the life of Shakespeare, the London where he lived, and the theatre for
which he wrote.
Globe On Tour: The Globe’s productions tour extensively in the UK and internationally.
Recent tours include: Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo & Juliet, King John and the
current production of Hamlet, which is travelling to every country in the world.
Globe Player: A brand new online platform offering full-length HD films of over 50
Shakespeare productions at the Globe to rent or buy.
Globe On Screen: Shakespeare's Globe on Screen returns to cinemas in 2016, bringing
highlights from the 2015 theatre season to cinemas worldwide. Globe on Screen 2016
will feature The Merchant of Venice, Richard II and Measure for Measure, all captured in
'live' high definition. For more information contact [email protected]
Globe Shop: Stocks a variety of products, including theatre season-specific
merchandise. All profits go towards supporting our educational mission.
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reservations and more information please call 020 7928 9444 or visit loveswan.co.uk
The Shakespeare Globe Trust: Registered UK charity No. 266916. Shakespeare’s
Globe receives no regular public subsidy.