Elizabeth Debicki will make history as the first woman to play the title role of Richard II in a Royal Shakespeare Company production, with the gender-swapped Shakespeare play set to open in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2027.
The Australian actress, 36, will make her RSC debut in a new production directed by Daniel Raggett. The show will run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from April 10 to May 22, 2027.
Debicki is best known internationally for playing Diana, Princess of Wales in the final two seasons of Netflix’s The Crown, a role that earned her an Emmy and a Golden Globe. Her screen credits also include The Night Manager and Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.
In the new production, Richard II will be portrayed as a woman, with the story examining questions of leadership, power and the contrast between public roles and private identity.
The role has previously been played at the RSC by actors including David Tennant, Derek Jacobi, Jeremy Irons, Michael Redgrave, Sam West and Alan Howard.
RSC co-artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey said they were “hugely excited” to see Debicki take on the role, praising her ability to combine vulnerability and courage.
They said Debicki and Raggett had discussed working together for several years and shared an interest in exploring what Shakespeare’s play can reveal about leadership and the tension between public and private identities.
Raggett, who has previously directed Macbeth and Edward II for the RSC, said he was particularly excited to collaborate with Debicki on what he described as one of Shakespeare’s most psychologically complex roles.
RSC announces 2027 summer programme
The announcement was made as the RSC unveiled its wider summer 2027 programme, featuring four Shakespeare productions and two world stage premieres based on novels by Virginia Woolf and Susanna Clarke.
The season will open with Coriolanus, starring Damien Molony. The production will examine Shakespeare’s political tragedy through themes including contemporary populism, social instability and competition for critical resources.
Other productions will include Joanna Bowman’s Romeo and Juliet and Born With Teeth, which replaces the previously scheduled Othello. The latter was postponed after its star, Sharon D Clarke, was diagnosed with cancer and began treatment.
The programme will also feature the world stage premiere of Mrs Dalloway, adapted from Woolf’s novel by Zoe Cooper, followed by Piranesi, based on Clarke’s novel and adapted for the stage by Sami Ibrahim.
The season will conclude with The Comedy of Errors, directed by Francesca Goodridge. The production is also scheduled to tour partner schools and theatres across England.
Priority booking for RSC members and supporters will open at 10am on October 5, with general public booking beginning on October 21.
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