Full casting announced for return of Kneehigh and Emma Rice’s TRISTAN & YSEULT

With their production of Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest currently on tour in the United States, the Emma Rice Company today announces full casting for Rice’s adaptation of Tristan & Yseult. The landmark production was originally produced in 2003 and last seen on stage in 2017.

John Leader and Nandi Bhebhe lead the cast as Tristan and Yseult. They are joined by Matthew Churcher (Frocin), Tom Fox (Morholt and Brangian), Jack Heydon (Love Spotter), Stephanie Hockley (Whitehands), Edward Rowe (King Mark) and Nigel Sudarkasa (Love Spotter). In the band are Pat Moran, Stu Barker, Harry Miller, Philippa Hogg and, as alternate for the New York run, Mary Johnson.

Co-produced with York Theatre Royal and Nottingham Playhouse, the show embarks on a UK tour, with previews at Theatre Royal Bath from 11 September 2026, as part of the company’s three-year partnership with the venue, entitled The Director’s Cut. The show will also run at St Ann’s Warehouse in New York from 1-22 November.

Originally produced by Kneehigh and Emma Rice, Tristan & Yseult opened in the open air at Restormel Castle in Cornwall and Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire. In 2004, it played the Minack Theatre, Porthcurno, before being reimagined as an indoor production for the Cottesloe at the National Theatre in 2005. This UK tour marks the first time Tristan & Yseult has been performed to audiences since 2017.

Written by Anna Maria Murphy and Carl Grose and adapted and directed by Rice, the creative team is completed by Stu Barker (Composer), Simon Baker (Sound Designer), Malcolm Rippeth (Lighting Designer), Etta Murfitt (Choreographer & Intimacy Coordinator), with the original set and costume design by Bill Mitchell, refreshed by Vicki Mortimer.

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