Cast announced for The Winter's Tale & The Tempest

Shakespeare's Globe on London's South Bank have today announced cast details for two upcoming productions at their Sam Wanamaker Playhouse: The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. The plays are part of Dominic Dromgoole's final season as Artistic Director at the Globe.

The cast for The Winter's Tale will include John Light (King Leontes), Rachael Stirling (Hermione), Niamh Cusack (Paulina), Simon Armstrong, Jessica Baglow, Tia Bannon, Sam Cox, Steffan Donnelly, James Garnon, Dennis Herdman, Tom Kanji, Fergal McElherron, Ryan McKen, Daniel Rabin, Kirsty Woodward and David Yell. The tragi-comedy will run from 28 January 2016 to 22 April 2016, with an official opening on 4 February 2016. Michael Longhurst will direct.

Synopsis: "The Winter's Tale tells of how King Leontes loses his wife and newborn daughter through his furious yet baseless jealousy. A long journey through time and across borders eventually effects an astonishing and redemptive resolution. Boasting the most famous stage direction in history, 'Exit, pursued by a bear', this is one of Shakespeare's most imaginative, troubling and delightful plays."

Tim McMullan will play Prospero and Pippa Nixon will play Ariel in The Tempest, directed by Dominic Dromgoole, which runs from 17 February to 22 April 2016, with an official opening on 24 February 2016.

Synopsis: "Prospero, Duke of Milan, usurped and exiled by his own brother, holds sway over an enchanted island. He is comforted by his daughter Miranda and served by the spirit Ariel and by Caliban, a 'savage and deformed slave'. When Prospero raises a storm to wreck this brother and his confederates on the island, his long contemplated revenge at last seems within reach."

Other productions in the season include Pericles, by William Shakespeare & George Wilkins, running until 21 April 2016 and Cymbeline, also until 21 April 2016.

These four plays, written by Shakespeare to exploit the potential of the Blackfriars, the indoor playhouse his company made their winter home in 1609, share a host of thematic links and a delight in using the technical and imaginative possibilities of the indoor theatres.