As previously announced, Rose Leslie makes her RSC debut in the role of Constance Middleton. Rose is best known for her work on screen including the recent hit BBC series Miss Austen, Vigil and the multi-award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones. Other screen credits include: The Time Traveller’s Wife, The Good Fight, Luther, The Great Fire, Blandings, Utopia, Vera, Case Histories, Downton Abbey and New Town. Rose’s previous theatre credits include Contractions (Sheffield Crucible) and Bedlam (Globe Theatre).
Joining Rose is Kate Burton who will play Mrs Culver, Constance’s mother. Kate is best known for her recurring roles in multi-award-winning TV series Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal. On stage, Kate played Constance in the 2005 production of The Constant Wife on Broadway, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award. Other Broadway credits include Present Laughter (St James Theatre), Spring Awakening (Eugene O’Neil), The Elephant Man (Royale) and Hedda Gabler (Ambassador). In the UK, Kate’s theatre credits include Three Sisters (The Playhouse) and the UK/Ireland tour of The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Other television credits include Inventing Anna, The Dropout, Bosch Legacy, Ransom Canyon, The Beast in Me and The First Lady.
Raj Bajaj will play Bernard Kersal. Raj’s previous RSC credits include The Buddha of Suburbia, The Empress, Tartuffe, Tamburlaine and Much Ado About Nothing. Other theatre includes Tupperware Of Ashes, Treasure Island (National Theatre), The Empress (Lyric Hammersmith), Tartuffe (Birmingham Rep), Wildfire Road (Sheffield Crucible) and Hobson’s Choice (Royal Exchange, Manchester). His TV credits include Casualty, Midsomer Murders, The Offenders, Killing Eve, Doctor Who and Doctors.
Emma McDonald will make her RSC debut as Marie-Louise Durham. Other theatre includes: Foreverland (Southwark Playhouse), Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night (Watermill Theatre, UK Tour and International Tour), The Sweet Science of Bruising (Wilton’s Musical Hall) and Pride and Prejudice (Sheffield Crucible Theatre). Her film credits include The Picture of Dorian Gray which was a co-production of Barn Theatre, Oxford Playhouse, New Wolsey Theatre, Theatre Clwyd and Lawrence Batley Theatre. Television credits include The Serpent Queen, Moonhaven, The Chelsea Detective and Queens of Mystery.
Mark Meadows will play Bentley. He was previously seen at the RSC in The Magician’s Elephant. Other theatre includes Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Theatre Royal Bath), The Secret Life of Bees, The House of Shades (Almeida Theatre), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Tartuffe (Tobacco Factory Theatres), A Woman of No Importance (Classic Spring UK tour), Orpheus Descending (Menier Chocolate Factory), Flowers for Mrs Harris (Sheffield Theatres/Chichester Festival Theatre) and Quiz (Minerva Theatre/ Chichester Festival Theatre/West End). Film credits include Mr. Burton, Nicholas Nickleby, High Heels & Lowlifes, Letters from Baghdad and TV credits include McDonald and Dodds, Kiri, EastEnders, Casualty and Doctors.
Daniel Millar will play Mortimer Durham. His previous RSC credits include Twelfth Night, The Winter’s Tale. Other theatre includes: The Play That Goes Wrong (Duchess Theatre, West End), The Pillowman (Duke of York’s, West End), Antony & Cleopatra, Measure for Measure (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Government Inspector (Marylebone Theatre), House of Shades (Almeida), King Lear, Edward II, Frankenstein, The White Guard, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (National Theatre), The Wonderful World of Dissocia (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Winston Machine, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (Kandinsky/Royal Exchange Theatre) and Against Captain’s Orders, The Crash of the Elysium, The Black Diamond, The Night Chauffeur and The Drowned Man (Punchdrunk). TV credits include Casualty, London Kills, Britannia, Warren and Trying Again. Film credits include Downton Abbey and The Current War. Daniel is a co-founder of Admada Theatre, specialising in immersive productions for young audiences.
Amy Morgan will make her RSC debut as Martha. Previous theatre includes Dear Octopus, Exit The King, The Beaux Stratagem (National Theatre), A Kind of People (Royal Court), Noises Off (Lyric Hammersmith), Touch (Soho Theatre), Travesties (Apollo Theatre and Menier Chocolate Factory), Red Velvet (Kenneth Branagh Company), The Broken Heart (Sam Wanamaker at The Globe) and An Ideal Husband (Chichester Festival Theatre). TV credits include Beyond Paradise, Death Valley, Playing Nice, The Cleaner, Steeltown Murders, Marriage and Call the Midwife. Film credits include We Live in Time and No Time To Die.
Luke Norris will play John Middleton. Luke’s previous RSC credits include Hamlet, As You Like It, God’s Weep, Days of Significance. Other theatre includes The Motive and the Cue, The Normal Heart, Antigone, The Kitchen, The Habit of Art, War Horse (National Theatre), Blue/Orange, A View From The Bridge, Nora: A Doll’s House (Young Vic), Orpheus Descending (Royal Exchange, Manchester), Filumena (Almeida Theatre), Remembrance Day (Royal Court), Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat (Paines Plough) and White Boy (Soho Theatre). Luke is best known on screen for the role of Dr Dwight Enys in Poldark. Other TV credits include Strike: The Ink Black Heart, Babies, Our World War also for the BBC.
Also making their RSC debuts off-stage understudies are Connor Going and Jess Nesling. Connor’s previous credits include Noises Off, The Wind in the Willows and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical for Pitlochry Festival Theatre and he featured in the original cast for The Choir of Man for the USA and Australia tour. Jess was last seen on stage in Henry V at the Donmar Warehouse and was previously in Blithe Spirit and The Winter's Tale for Changeling Theatre.
RSC Co-Artistic Director and Director of The Constant Wife, Tamara Harvey said: ““I am so excited to welcome our company for The Constant Wife to the rehearsal room, bringing together internationally renowned talent, new voices making their RSC debuts, as well as some familiar faces.
We are thrilled to welcome Kate Burton, who received a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Constance on Broadway in 2005, and who now returns to the play as Constance’s mother Mrs. Culver. I can’t wait to discover what her experience of the play will bring to the room. Joining Kate and Rose in their RSC debuts are Amy Morgan and Emma McDonald. We are also delighted to welcome back familiar faces, including Raj Bajaj, who starred in our acclaimed production of The Buddha of Suburbia last year, as well as Mark Meadows, Daniel Millar, and Luke Norris. Thanks to the RSC’s flexible working practices, many members of our acting company are also parents, and we feel privileged that they have chosen to join us.”
The full company comprises: Raj Bajaj (Bernard Kersal), Kate Burton (Mrs Culver), Connor Going (Off-stage understudy), Rose Leslie (Constance Middleton), Emma McDonald (Marie-Louise Durham), Mark Meadows (Bentley), Daniel Millar (Mortimer Durham), Amy Morgan (Martha), Jess Nesling (Off-stage understudy) and Luke Norris (John Middleton).
Joining Wade and Harvey on the creative team are Set and Co-Costume Designer, Anna Fleischle; Co-Costume Designer Cat Fuller; Lighting Designer, Ryan Day; Composer Jamie Cullum; Sound Designer, Claire Windsor; Movement and Intimacy Director Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster and Casting Director, Charlotte Sutton CDG.
This production is commissioned by and presented in association with David Pugh Limited.
For more press information please contact:
Bethany Arnold, Senior Publicist
