Broadway and screen star Jonathan Groff is set to play Rosalind in a new all-male production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
Tony Award-winner Jonathan Groff is starring in the new production in Stratford-upon-Avon, as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s new season.
Directed by the RSC’s co-artistic director Daniel Evans, As You Like It will also star Fisayo Akinade (Heartstopper) as Celia, with further casting to be announced.
As You Like It will run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon from 26 September to 7 November 2026.
The wider creative team includes Set Designer Anisha Fields, Costume Designer Colin Richmond, Lighting Designer Ryan Day, Movement Director Michela Meazza, and Casting Director Charlotte Sutton CDG.
This new all-male As You Like It follows Cheek by Jowl’s memorable 1990’s production starring Adrian Lester.
“Holy f s**t” – that was the subject of the email I sent to Daniel Evans in response to his email asking me if I would be interested in playing “Rosalind” in an all-male production of “As You Like It” at the RSC.” – Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Groff is currently starring in Bobby Darin musical Just In Time on Broadway.
Groff won a Tony Award for his performance in Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along on Broadway, directed by Maria Friedman.
Jonathan Groff’s other Broadway credits include Hamilton and Spring Awakening. His TV roles include Mindhunter, Looking, and Glee.
More about As You Like It
In the play, Rosalind is banished from the court of Duke Frederick, but not before she and young Orlando fall for each other. Seeking out her exiled father in the Forest of Arden with her devoted cousin, Celia, Rosalind disguises herself as a young man, Ganymede.
In fear of his own life, Orlando also escapes to the forest and soon runs into Ganymede, who pledges to cure his lovesickness. But in order to do so, Orlando has to woo her… or rather, he has to woo ‘him’. Then the games commence.
Director Daniel Evans said in a statement that, “I have admired Jonathan for over twenty years” and that “his emotional availability and his total commitment are exactly the qualities I wanted for our Rosalind.”
RSC new season
The RSC’s new season for 2026 – 2027 also includes a new two-part adaptation of George Eliot’s Middlemarch; and Dame Harriet Walter, who returns to the role of Brutus for First Encounters: Julius Caesar.
Read more about the RSC’s new season for 2026-2027.
Performance Information
- Theatre: Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon
- Booking dates: 26 September to 7 November 2026
- Starring: Jonathan Groff, Fisayo Akinade
- More about As You Like It at the RSC
Related News
As You Like It Reviews: critics agree it’s a delightful romp that stays in the shallow end
Full cast announced for Jonathan Groff-led, all male company of As You Like It at the RSC
Sharon D Clarke postpones RSC’s Othello to undergo cancer treatment
RSC announces the full cast for upcoming stage adaptation of George Elliot’s Middlemarch
Latest News
Broadway legend Patti LuPone returns to the London Coliseum for Valentine’s Day 2027
Helen of Troy never got to tell her side. Watch the trailer for the play that does
After a sell-out world tour, The Choir of Man returns to the West End this Christmas
