Elizabeth Debicki makes RSC history with Richard II casting

The Crown star Elizabeth Debicki will become the first woman to play Richard II in a Royal Shakespeare Company production. She will take the title role in Shakespeare’s history play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon from 10 April to 22 May 2027.

The casting marks a first for this particular role in the company’s history. Women have previously played other traditionally male Shakespearean roles at the RSC, including Mercutio, Agamemnon and Timon.

Debicki is best known to television audiences for playing Diana, Princess of Wales, in the final two series of The Crown. Her next royal role will put her at the centre of a struggle for the English throne, as Richard’s decisions weaken his authority and turn powerful figures against him.

Daniel Raggett will direct the production, with previous credits including Macbeth and Edward II. Debicki’s casting was announced on 1 October as part of the RSC’s spring and summer 2027 programme.

For viewers who followed her performance as Diana, the production offers a chance to see Debicki take on a very different royal figure. Richard begins the play with the power of a king, but faces an increasingly fragile position as his cousin Henry Bolingbroke challenges him.

Their conflict deepens after Richard banishes Bolingbroke from England. When Bolingbroke’s father, John of Gaunt, dies, Richard seizes his property and denies his cousin the inheritance that should have passed to him.

Bolingbroke returns with an army while Richard is away in Ireland, declaring that he wants his inheritance restored. By the time Richard comes home, allies have turned against him and his hold on the country is slipping.

The play follows both the political confrontation and Richard’s response to losing the authority that has defined him. Alongside questions about who has the right to rule, it explores the vulnerability of a person forced to confront life without the status and protection of the crown.

Debicki’s screen work also includes Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, and she brings Golden Globe and Emmy Award recognition to the production. Her role as Richard will place her at the centre of one of Shakespeare’s studies of power, identity and the loss of royal authority.