THE THREE Musketeers will be running riot at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford this Christmas.
This year’s RSC’s festive show will be a re-telling of Alexandre Dumas’ classic in new co-production with Told by an Idiot, running from November 28 to January 9.
It is part of the new season which includes the already announced Game of Thrones: The Mad King coming this summer. Although dates have still not been confirmed, priority booking for the much-anticipated first ever stage play arising from George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy series, opens on April 14.
Shakeaspare productions include an all-male As You Like It, directed by RSC co-artistic director Daniel Evans, and a revival of the acclaimed all-female Julius Caesar, set in a women’s prison, and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, and featuring Olivier Award-winning actress Harriet Walter returning to the RSC to play Brutus.
Another Warwickshire writer also gets a look-in, with George Eliot’s expansive study of provincial life, Middlemarch, coming to the stage in a two-part adaptation by Nina Raine.
RSC co-artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey said: “We are delighted to share our new season, which brings together five productions including an epic fantasy, a 19th century literary masterpiece, a swashbuckling adventure and two plays from our in-house playwright. Each of these productions, in their own way, celebrate how time-honoured stories, when viewed through fresh eyes, can defy expectations, and help us to see the world around us anew.
“From the sweet-natured romance of As You Like It to the righteous anger of Phyllida Lloyd’s Julius Caesar, the anarchic adventures of The Three Musketeers to the sweeping societal shifts of George Eliot’s Middlemarch, themes of identity, transformation, freedom, justice and the liberation that comes from breaking free of expectations loom large this autumn, as classic stories and universal struggles take on powerful new resonance in the hands of some of the most exciting artists of today.
“As ever, our commitment to the dual mission of making theatre and education through theatre remains at the heart of who we are as a company. In 2026, we celebrate the milestone of 20 years working in long-term partnership with schools across the UK. Since 2006, we have seen our network of Associate Schools expand to reach over 280 schools in 100 towns and cities across England, transforming the lives of thousands of young people in the process.
“We know, from our own evidence-based research, what a very real difference our pioneering theatre-based teaching approaches to Shakespeare make to the way children see themselves, and the way that the adults in their lives see them, which is why we are thrilled to be working with KPPL productions to bring the seminal production of Julius Caesar to the heart of communities across England. This landmark tour represents a new milestone in the RSC’s long-term partnership work with schools and is one of a series of celebratory events taking place throughout 2026 to showcase the life-changing impact this work has, empowering young people to see themselves and the world with fresh eyes.”
