Tilda Swinton to return to stage in MAN TO MAN at Royal Court
Artwork credit: Guy J Sanders
It has been announced that Tilda Swinton will return to the stage after more than three decades, reprising her extraordinary 1988 performance in Manfred Karge’s Man to Man at London’s Royal Court Theatre from 5 September - 24 October.
In 1930s Germany, a woman puts on her dead husband’s trousers and never takes them off.
As the world around her changes, she endures war and dictatorship, hunger and humiliation – always fighting to stay alive.
More than 30 years after she first brought the role to life, Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin, Orlando) makes a long-awaited return to stage as Ella/Max in Manfred Karge’s Man to Man - the role she originated in the acclaimed 1988 UK premiere at the Traverse Theatre and Royal Court.
This landmark revival reunites the multi-award-winning creative team, including director Stephen Unwin and designer Bunny Christie, ahead of transferring to the Berliner Ensemble and a run in New York City in Spring 2027.
Stephen Unwin said: “Never go back!”, it’s often said, but revisiting Manfred Karge’s Man to Man with Tilda Swinton once again wearing the Y-fronts, Bunny Christie designing and Ben Ormerod lighting, is a rare creative opportunity. I’ve developed and changed in countless ways since we first staged the play in the 1980s, but it has shaped many of my creative choices ever since. It will be thrilling to return to the Royal Court and see this remarkable play bloom again, and then take it to Karge’s home, the Berliner Ensemble, where he began his career under the leadership of Helene Weigel.”
