Sir Kenneth Branagh is returning to the Royal Shakespeare Company for the first time in more than three decades, in what the RSC's artistic directors are calling a "once-in-a-generation theatrical event".
In a series of firsts for two of the great titans of British theatre, the Oscar-winning actor and director will play Prospero in The Tempest for the first time, at Stratford-upon-Avon's Royal Shakespeare Theatre in the Spring of 2026, directed for the first time by Sir Richard Eyre.
Sir Kenneth told the BBC: "When they asked me to come back to the company, my response was a swift and enthusiastic yes."
The actor added he's "been aware of a new creative energy spilling out of those theatres" under the new regime of Harvey and her fellow artistic director Daniel Evans.
He will also perform in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard opposite Academy-award winner Helen Hunt, directed by RSC co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey.
