Full cast announced for the return of Emma Rice's Tristan & Yseult
by Best of Theatre Staff on Tuesday 28 July 2026, 11:18 am in Cast Changes and Announcements
The Emma Rice Company has revealed the full cast for the return of Tristan & Yseult, the landmark Kneehigh production adapted and directed by Emma Rice. John Leader and Nandi Bhebhe take the title roles as the show embarks on its first UK tour in almost a decade.
The Emma Rice Company has announced the full cast for the return of Tristan & Yseult, one of the most influential British theatre productions of the 21st century. Originally produced by Kneehigh in 2003 and last seen on stage in 2017, the show is adapted and directed by Emma Rice and co-produced with York Theatre Royal and Nottingham Playhouse. The announcement comes while the company's production of Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest is on tour in the United States.
John Leader and Nandi Bhebhe lead the cast as Tristan and Yseult. They are joined by Matthew Churcher as Frocin, Tom Fox as Morholt and Brangian, Stephanie Hockley as Whitehands, Edward Rowe as King Mark, and Jack Heydon and Nigel Sudarkasa as the Love Spotters. The band is made up of Stu Barker, Philippa Hogg, Harry Miller and Pat Moran, with Mary Johnson joining as alternate for the New York run.
The production has a remarkable history. It opened in the open air at Restormel Castle in Cornwall and Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire, played the Minack Theatre in Porthcurno in 2004, and was then reimagined as an indoor production for the Cottesloe at the National Theatre in 2005. Blending myth, music, movement and storytelling, it has been described as "a poem to love and its madness".
Written by Anna Maria Murphy and Carl Grose, the show has music by composer Stu Barker, sound design by Simon Baker, lighting design by Malcolm Rippeth, and choreography and intimacy coordination by Etta Murfitt. The original set and costume design by Bill Mitchell has been refreshed by Vicki Mortimer.
The tour opens with previews at Theatre Royal Bath from 11 September 2026, as part of the company's three-year partnership with the venue under the banner The Director's Cut, with press night on 17 September. It then travels to Theatr Clwyd in Mold, the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford and the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, before a New York run at St Ann's Warehouse from 1 to 22 November 2026. The tour resumes in 2027 at Oxford Playhouse, Nottingham Playhouse and York Theatre Royal, where it closes on 17 April.