Rebels assemble – Blackpool Grand community performers take to the RSC stage for a new production of HENRY VI

Over 70 adult non-professional performers from England will have the opportunity to take to the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon this Spring, with the premiere of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s epic new production of Henry VI: Rebellion.

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HENRY VI: REBELLION, 1 April-28 May 2022
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, rsc.org.uk
Directed by Owen Horsley

The production, which features a cast of 118 people in total, opened on Friday 1 April with non-professional adult participants from Bradford (1 April) and Nottingham (2 April) taking up the roles of the people of England for the show’s first two public performances.

Among the cast of Henry VI: Rebellion are 25 professional actors who will be joined by 93 members of the Royal Shakespeare Community gathered from across England, including 74 adults from Blackpool, Bradford, Canterbury, Cornwall, Norwich and Nottingham who are part of the RSC’s Shakespeare Nation adult community participation programme, and 19 young performers aged 13-17 from the RSC’s Next Generation Act young acting company.

Henry VI: Rebellion, a fresh new take on Henry VI: Part Two, hurtles through one of the most turbulent periods in English history, asking the question: can the people ever really decide their own future?

Adam Knight, CEO of Blackpool Grand Theatre, said: “To see the excitement and enthusiasm of our participants as they headed off to Stratford to take part in a new RSC production was delightful. Blackpool’s Grand Theatre will continue to provide opportunities for all ages to participate in partner work like The RSC and its own developments within the building. Through this valuable ongoing partnership with The RSC we are delighted to see the confidence grow and a thirst for Shakespeare.”

Ian Wainwright, RSC Learning National Partnerships Producer, said: “Last week over 70 members of our adult community participation programme, Shakespeare Nation, gathered together on the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre to take part in technical rehearsals for Henry VI: Rebellion.  Hailing from 6 English towns and cities these are people from all walks of life, most of whom have little or no experience of Shakespeare either as a performer or theatre-goer.  It has been fantastic to see their confidence develop whilst gaining a passion for Shakespeare. Each group will take part in up to five performances of the play, and I can’t wait to see them take to the stage between now and June.”

Owen Horsley, Director of Henry VI: Rebellion, said: “Out of the 37 plays in the canon Henry VI Part Two – or as we are calling it, Henry VI: Rebellion – has more characters than any other play. There are 85 characters on the cast list, which may explain why these plays are rarely done. One of the reasons for this wide array of characters is a series of scenes that Shakespeare writes concerning the people of England, who in various ways interact with the royal family.

“This gave us an idea! For many years the RSC has built incredible relationships across the UK with partner theatres through Shakespeare Nation and our youth programme, Next Generation Act. After 18 months of developing these links online this production seemed the perfect opportunity to be ambitious. So, for the people of England, we have cast the people of England. This is an extremely exciting project as it allows this history play, written over 400 years ago, to respond directly to the state of the nation – and at points put nearly 50 people on the RSC stage.”

Jo Cleasby, Regional Theatre Partner Director Practitioner, said: “Our Blackpool Shakespeare Nation performers had a blast during the tech day at The RSC. The support and trust bestowed upon us were remarkable. Roll on the end of May when our Rebels will tread the hallowed Stratford boards again.”

Shakespeare Nation adult community participation group from Blackpool Grand Theatre

Philip Avenell, Stephen Coughlan, Liz Curran, Stephen Foster, Seamus Graeme, Beccy Hands, Ross Hewitt, Mickey Horrocks, Roger Lloyd Jones, Wendy Stevenson, Martyn Woodcock and Jeananne Young

Wednesday 25 May, 7:15pm
Thursday 26 May, 1:15pm (Audio Described and Captioned)
Friday 27 May, 7:15pm (BSL Signed)
Saturday 28 May, 1:15pm (Final Performance)

The professional cast for Henry VI: Rebellion includes: Oliver Alvin-Wilson (York), Lucy Benjamin (Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester), Richard Cant (Gloucester/Lord Saye), Daniel J Carver (Clifford/Horner), Angelina Chudi (Hume), Paola Dionisotti (Winchester/Humphrey), Felixe Forde (Bevis), Minnie Gale (Margaret), Ashley D Gayle (Smith), Conor Glean (Dick), Ben Hall (Suffolk), Jack Humphrey (Clerk), Nicholas Karimi (Warwick), Al Maxwell (Bolingbroke/ Holland), Georgia-Mae Myers (Margaret Jourdain), Peter Moreton (Salisbury), Sophia Papadopoulos (Suffolk’s Messenger), Mark Quartley (Henry VI), Aaron Sidwell (Jack Cade), Yasmin Taheri (Neighbour), John Tate (Captain/Stafford), Ibraheem Toure (Whitmore), Emma Tracey (Spirit), Daniel Ward (Buckingham) and Benjamin Westerby (Somerset).

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The RSC’s partner theatres are:

The Grand Theatre, Blackpool; The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford; The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury; Hall for Cornwall; Hull Truck Theatre, Hull; Intermission Youth, London; New Vic Theatre, Stoke on Trent; Northern Stage, Newcastle; Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham; Norwich Theatre; Silhouette Youth Theatre; York Theatre Royal, York.

For more information please contact: Dean Asker, Senior Media Relations Officer

dean.asker@rsc.org.uk,  0778 9937759

The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England

The RSC is generously supported by RSC America

The work of the RSC is supported by the Culture Recovery Fund

Henry VI: Rebellion is supported by RSC Production Circle Members Susan Tomasky and Ronald J Ungvarsky, and Marcia Whitaker

Royal Shakespeare Theatre productions sponsored by Darwin Escapes

The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation and The Kovner Foundation.

Next Generation Act Company bursary places are generously supported by The Leverhulme Trust Arts Scholarship

RSC Next Generation is generously supported by the Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust, Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation, John S Cohen Foundation and Noel Coward Foundation

The Shakespeare Nation adult engagement work is generously supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

The Oakley Charitable Trust: Supporting the involvement of Next Generation Act and Shakespeare Nation in Henry VI: Rebellion

The work of the RSC Learning and National Partnerships is generously supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Clore Duffield Foundation, The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust, GRoW@Annenberg, The Polonsky Foundation, Stratford Town Trust, The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity, Teale Charitable Trust, The Grimmitt Trust and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)

The Royal Shakespeare Companycreates world class theatre, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world, performing plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, as well as commissioning an exceptionally wide range of original work from contemporary writers. Our purpose is to ensure that Shakespeare is for everyone, and we do that by unlocking the power of his plays and of live performances, throughout the UK and across the world.

Arts Council England

Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk