Tilda Swinton & Gary Oldman Return To The London Stage To Celebrate The Royal Court Theatre’s 70th Anniversary
Tilda Swinton is returning to the stage for the first time in more than 35 years as part of the Royal Court Theatre’s 70th anniversary celebrations, which will see Gary Oldman back at the theater that helped launch his career.
Swinton will reprise her acclaimed 1988 performance in Manfred Karge’s Man to Manwhich will see her reunite with the play’s original director Stephen Unwin and designer Bunny Christie. The production will run in the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from September 5 next year.
Man to Man will also play the Berliner Ensemble before transferring to an off-Broadway theater in Spring 2027.
Oldman’s relationship with the Royal Court stretches back four decades when he appeared in a string of plays – the last one being Caryl Churchill’s Serious Money 39 years ago.
The Slow Horses star’s return is linked to the Royal Court’s earliest days. The actor will star in and direct Krapp’s Last Tape for a limited four week run from May 8. The actor performed the Samuel Beckett play earlier at the York Theatre Royal. It was originally performed at the Royal Court in 1958 with Patrick McGee. Oldman’s production will run in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from May 8, 2026.
The English Stage Company at the Royal Court was created by George Devine. And Tony Richardson and their first season was launched in 1956. However, the play that put the Royal Court on the map was the third production, John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger.
Royal Court artistic director David Byrne. Baz Bamigboye/Deadline
The theater, located in London’s Sloane Square district, also presented the 1956 UK premiere of Arthur Miller’s The Cruciblewhich is why it makes perfect sense to transfer Kimberly Belflower’s Tony Award winning play John Proctor is the Villain, a contemporary reassessment of Miller’s classic drama. The play directed by Dana Taymor will run at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from March 20, 2026.
The season was introduced by artistic director David Byrne.
Luke Norris’s Guess How Much I Love You? will launch the 70th anniversary from January 16, 2026 in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs. It stars Robert Aramayo (I Swear) and Rosie Sheehy, and will be directed by Jeremy Herrin.
