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Shakespeare's war play, Coriolanus, is a tragedy based on the life of legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius, directed by Angus Jackson.

Caius Martius Coriolanus is a fearless soldier but a reluctant leader. His ambitious mother attempts to carve him a path to political power, but he struggles to change his nature and do what is required to achieve greatness. In this new city state struggling to find its feet, where the gap between rich and poor is widening every day, Coriolanus must decide who he really is and where his allegiances lie.

Sope Dirisu, 1991- Haydn Gwynne, 1957- Hannah Morrish, 1993-

King Henry's health is failing but he is uncertain Hal is a worthy heir. Meanwhile, Falstaff is sent to the countryside to recruit fresh troops, where he gleefully indulges in the business of lining his own pockets. As the King's health continues to worsen, Hal must choose between duty and loyalty to an old friend in Shakespeare's heartbreaking conclusion to this pair of plays.

"Shakespeare's two greatest plays have always been a defining experience for RSC directors. Gregory Doran now puts his decisive seal on the company by offering a production that, like last year's Richard II, combines richness of texture with psychological insight. It also contains a major performance from Antony Sher as Falstaff. But, although Sher's is the dominant performance, everything in Doran's production bespeaks long-range planning. Jasper Britton's fine Henry IV is a tormented usurper, first seen prostrate in self-abasing prayer, capable of volcanic violence: his brutal treatment of Trevor White's bolshie Hotspur in the opening scenes explains the ensuing rebellion." (The Guardian ★★★★)

"Performed on the mighty thrust stage of the RSC's main house in Stratford, the productions have an admirably assured grasp of the plays' panoramic sweep, moving with fluency and a fine feel for thematic counterpoint between care-racked court and lax, frowsty Eastcheap, boozer and battlefield, urban and pastoral. Sher is surrounded by a crack company – amongst whom I particularly enjoyed Paola Dionisotti's Dot Cotton-like take on Mistress Quickly and the Shallow and Silence combo of Oliver Ford Davies and Jim Hooper who sublimely blend fathomless gloom and mad merriment. Strongly recommended." (The Independent ★★★★)

"What a walloping spectacle the Royal Shakespeare Company gives us with its two Henry IV plays. They are staged in the expansive manner, the acting fruity, the lighting full of oranges and blues. Director Gregory Doran presents the panorama of Harry Bolingbroke’s England and the maturing of his heir Hal from wastrel to monarch. Here is Shakespeare perfect for both teenagers and old romantics. We have a pulsatingly deranged Hotspur, Sir Antony Sher’s typically mannered Falstaff, some memorable cameos — and hairdos worthy of a bonkers Hollywood B film. " (The Daily Mail ★★★★)

"He has played Richard III, Shylock, Leontes, Macbeth and Prospero to huge acclaim. But can Sir Antony Sher, one of our most Shakespeare-steeped theatrical knights, give us a Falstaff to remember? .... The answer is yes. A benign grin plastered on his rubicund face, this big-bearded, pot-bellied knave is first seen emerging from the bedclothes under which Alex Hassell’s lusty Harry has been romping with two maids....Jasper Britton’s anguished Henry, Trevor White’s mad-eyed (if weirdly modern-haired) Hotspur and Sam Marks’s Poins, in full bromance mode with Hal, while Paola Dionisotti’s Mistress Quickly is a touching, busybody delight. " (The Daily Telegraph ★★★★)

"Visually Greg Doran's new production is a treat. There are elements that recur from the recent successful Richard II but there is an earthiness and robustness to the design that counterparts well with the more ethereal quality of the first part of the tetralogy. At the centre of it all is the engaging and playful Hal of Alex Hassell. He wins the audience over from his first moments and he lights up the stage with all his interactions. I particularly enjoyed the close bond with Poins - played strongly by Sam Marks. Hassell is also well contrasted with Trevor White's almost manically impetuous Hotspur. Paola Dionisotti (Mistress Quickly) gives a masterclass in how to imbue a relatively minor role with richness and detail. Although she has all too little to say, she is always the most watchable person on stage. A great interpretation." (What's on Stage ★★★★)

"Antony Sher is an insatiable and ebullient Falstaff. It's a performance that combines clarity and complexity — fruity, throaty, here and there a little overripe but always generous and detailed. He captures the warmth of Shakespeare's famously flawed knight — his delight in excess, blustering vitality and sparks of youthful exuberance. And even when he's at his most outrageous, Sher's Falstaff wears the expression of an affronted storyteller who can't quite believe that we don't find him winningly modest." (The Evening Standard ★★★★)

Sir Antony Sher, 1949- Alex Hassell, 1980- Jasper Britton, 1962- Show more Show less

A rich merchant, Antonio is depressed for no good reason, until his good friend Bassanio comes to tell him how he's in love with Portia. Portia's father has died and left a very strange will: only the man that picks the correct casket out of three (silver, gold, and lead) can marry her. Bassanio, unfortunately, is strapped for cash with which to go wooing, and Antonio wants to help, so Antonio borrows the money from Shylock, the money-lender. But Shylock has been nursing a grudge against Antonio's insults, and makes unusual terms to the loan. And when Antonio's business fails, those terms threaten his life, and it's up to Bassanio and Portia to save him.

"this haunting production crackles with tension... There is evidence of crisp, fresh thinking in every scene of this excellent production" (The Evening Standard ★★★★★)

"Technically this is one of Shakespeare’s comedies, but I have never seen it so successfully given a hard edge without getting caught up in its own earnestness." (The Financial Times ★★★★)

"The Palestinian actor Makram J Khoury is a touching Shylock." (The Guardian)

Makram Jamil Khoury, 1945- Patsy Ferran, fl. 2015 Jamie Ballard, fl. 2003 Show more Show less

On a distant island a man waits. Robbed of his position, power and wealth, his enemies have left him in isolation. But this is no ordinary man, and this no ordinary island. Prospero is a magician, able to control the very elements and bend nature to his will. When a sail appears on the horizon, he reaches out across the ocean to the ship that carries the men who wronged him. Creating a vast magical storm he wrecks the ship and washes his enemies up on the shore. When they wake they find themselves lost on a fantastical island where nothing is as it seems.

"Simon Russell Beale’s return to the Royal Shakespeare Company after 20 years has been overshadowed by excitement about the production’s use of digital technology. While the effects are innovative, for me the kaleidoscopic visual spectacle pales besides the show’s human values and its moving affirmation of forgiveness. Fears that the technology would upstage the actors are firmly scotched by the presence of Beale as Prospero. He has the capacity not only to act mind but to convey moral gravity. The part requires the actor to suggest an internal struggle to compensate for the lack of outward drama, but Beale is also exceptional in stressing Prospero’s private guilt. He dwells on the phrase “twelve year” as if appalled at his prolonged exile, but also lets us see that it was Prospero’s bookish solitude that provoked his usurpation." (The Guardian ★★★★)

"The fruit of a two-year partnership involving Intel and Imaginarium, the visuals, particularly those that enhance the actions of Mark Quartley’s otherworldly Ariel are, true to the hype, of a breath-taking order.Beale, one of our most insightful, steady-as-she-goes Shakespeareans could always be relied upon to deliver the goods – and he does so in eloquent, emotionally piercing style. " (The Daily Telegraph ★★★★)

"Simon Russell Beale returns to the Royal Shakespeare Company after more than 20 years and marks the occasion by turning in one of the most profoundly moving performances of his career." (The Independent ★★★★)

Simon Russell Beale, 1961- Jenny Rainsford, fl. 2012 Mark Quartley, fl. 2013 Show more Show less