Measure for Measure

If you could slip from your skin, and walk the streets in the body of another, what might you learn about the world, about others - and about yourself?

An unusual case is brought before the stand-in ruler of a discontented city, and an unorthodox reprieve is offered for the crime. Should a sister give up her body for the life of her brother?

Sexual politics and the dynamics of power are picked apart in a centuries-old story that still hits home today. Continuing on our themes of justice and moral interrogation, Measure for Measure is a play of questions, difficult decisions, and controversial answers.

There have been over 20 productions of Shakespeare’s plays at Riverside over the last 50 years, but one of the first to be produced, in 1979, was a staging of the unusual and intriguing drama of Measure for Measure, starring Helen Mirren in the role of Isabella.

Other important productions include the 1992 staging of Hamlet, with Alan Rickman in the leading role, and the arrival of Declan Donnellan’s Cheek By Jowl theatre company with their Othello in 2004. Inspired by Donnellan’s visceral approach to Shakespeare’s work, we are staging an edition cut to its core, with focus on the struggle of the body in space against the injustice of power.

REP: RADICAL CLASSICAL

5 ACTORS. 5 PLAYS. 5 WEEKS.

Rep is back. Inspired by traditional companies of the past, Flywheel use one of the most intense formats of theatre-making to celebrate 50 years of the iconic Riverside Studios.

With a season of plays inspired by half a century of past productions, Flywheel breathe new life into classics. Expect a season of comedies and tragedies that reflect today’s world - exploring themes of  judgement, division, and the imbalance of power within family, society, and politics.