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Full casting has been announced for David Edgar’s new play The New Real produced by the RSC in association with Headlong.

The New Real is playing at the RSC’s The Other Place in Stratford-upon-Avon from 3 October to 2 November 2024.

The show stars Roderick Hill (Everybody) as Petr Lutsevic, Patrycja Kujawska (Don Juan, The Tin Drum) as Liudmilla Bezborodko, Martina Laird (Casualty, Unforgotten) as Rachel Moss, Jodie McNee (Minority Report) as Caro Wheeler, and Lloyd Owen (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) as Larry Yeates, alongside Daon Broni as Don/Justin, Edyta Budnik as Natalia, Ziggy Heath as Oleg and Sergo Vares as Zhudov.

The production is directed by Headlong’s Artistic Director Holly Race Roughan.

Edgar’s highly topical play explores the battle between mainstream politics and a new national-populist Right.

Set during presidential elections in a former communist Eastern European country, The New Real sees two American political strategists engaged in a grudge match far from home, working for competing candidates, and redrawing the political faultline.

Joining Holly Race Roughan in the creative team are: Set and Costume Designer: Alex Lowde; Lighting Designer: Joshie Harriette; Composer: Monika Dalach Sayers; Sound Designer: Max Perryment; Movement Director: Michela Meazza; Video Designer: Luke Halls; Dramaturg: Chris Campbell; Casting Director: Matthew Dewsbury CDG; Dialect Coach: Aundrea Fudge; Associate Video Designer: Zakk Hein; and Assistant Director: Masha Kevinovna.

David Edgar said in a statement: “Following the success of Marine le Pen’s National Rally and other national-populist parties in mainland Europe, the rise of the Reform Party in Britain, and the possibility of a second Trump term, a play about the rise of national populism couldn’t be more timely. I’m delighted that the play is being premiered in Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey’s first season at the RSC, in the 50th anniversary year of The Other Place, and directed by Headlong’s groundbreaking Artistic Director Holly Race Roughan. Critic Michael Billington described the original The Other Place as the most productive tin hut in history. I’m privileged that this will be the fifth of my plays to be premiered there.”

Director, Holly Race Roughan said: “It’s been such a privilege working with the legendary political playwright David Edgar on his fiercely timely new play. From my very first read, I was struck by its incisive examination of the intense political and cultural polarisation we’re all living through. The chance to stage it during a history-making year for international elections was irresistible. Through sharp characterisation, wit, and impeccable plotting, David has laid bare how the lines between truth and fiction have been blurred in the 21st Century’s pursuit of power, challenging our fundamental understanding of freedom and democracy. I’m thrilled to bring such a timely and thought-provoking story to life with such a tremendous cast in the newly re-configured The Other Place.”

Other David Edgar plays coming up include the premiere of Here in America at the Orange Tree in Richmond from 14 September and 19 October 2024.

The New Real is playing at the The Other Place in Stratford-upon-Avon from 3 October to 2 November 2024.

More about tickets to The New Real

More about the principle cast

Martina Laird as Rachel Moss
Perhaps best known for playing Comfort Jones in Casualty, Martina Laird’s theatre credits include The White Devil, Three Hours After Marriage, Troilus and Cressida and Coriolanus (RSC), Moon On A Rainbow Shawl (National Theatre), The House That Will Not Stand (Tricycle), and the all-female Shakespeare trilogy (Julius Caesar, Henry IV and The Tempest) directed by Phyllida Lloyd at the Donmar. Other screen credits include Bele in the ITV crime drama, Unforgotten (ITV), The Little Mermaid (Disney), and Diane in SKY Atlantic’s Margate-based comedy Dreamland.

Lloyd Owen as Larry Yeates
Lloyd Owen plays the role of Elendil in Amazon Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the second season of which premieres on 29 August. Lloyd’s other theatre credits include: Noises Off (Garrick), The End of Longing (Playhouse), Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf (Almeida/Aldwych), The Bodyguard (Adelphi), and Henry VI: The Battle for the Throne and The Beggar’s Opera (RSC). Other screen credits include: Miss Potter, Monarch of the Glen (BBC), The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and You, Me and the Apocalypse (SKY).

Roderick Hill as Petr Lutsevic
Roderick’s theatre credits include Everybody, The Bald Soprano, Edmond and Vernissage (Budapest).

Patrycja Kujawska as Liudmilla Bezborodko
Patrycja’s theatre credits include Don John (RSC), and extensive credits for Wise Children and Kneehigh, including Blue Beard and Little Match Girl (Wise Children), and The Tin Drum and Tristan and Yseult (Kneehigh).

Jodie McNee as Caro Wheeler
Previous RSC credits include: Venice Preserved, A Life of Galileo, Measure for Measure and Written on the Heart (also by David Edgar). Jodie’s other numerous stage credits include Orlando at the Wyndhams Theatre, and Cuckoo, Anatomy of a Suicide and Maryland at the Royal Court. Her television credits include: The Gathering; Breathtaking, Mrs Sidhu Investigates, Culprits, Hollington Drive, Anthony, Unprecedented/Fear Fatigue, Britannia 1-3, Agatha and the Death of X, Vera, Little Boy Blue, Ripper Street, Criminal Justice, Poirot. Her film credits include: Judy, Official Secrets, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, The Physician, Collider, One Happy Moment, A Picture of Me.

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Main photo: The New Real - RSC and Headlong - Casting

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