Michael Boyd’s first year as Artistic Director at the RSC was due to close this winter with a revival of Hecuba, starring one the best ever stage, TV and film actresses, Vanessa Redgrave. The play will be staged in London but the Stratford performances have been cancelled to allow Ms Redgrave time to recover from an operation.
 | | RSC artistic director Michael Boyd |
Those with tickets will be offered a refund or alternative tickets for the production at the Albery Theatre from 26 March to 7 May. “I am very disappointed that I can’t play Hecuba at Stratford-upon-Avon, and that audiences who’ve made their bookings won’t be able to see the play there," said Ms Redgrave.
 | | Julius Caesar at the Swan for the RSC |
"I am grateful though that the RSC season in London gives time for me to fully recover from an operation, and that I can peform Hecuba at the end of March at the Albery theatre. "I am amazed by Tony Harrison’s translation of Euripides, and by Laurence Boswell’s vision of the play and so glad that I still have the chance to work with the company of Hecuba.”
 | | The Two Gentlemen of Verona at The Swan |
Ms Redgrave will be treading the boards on behalf of the company for the first time in more than 40 years – her last appearance was as Imogen in a 1962 production of Cymebline. She follows her brother Corin on to the RSC stage after he appeared in King Lear earlier in 2004. Meanwhile, the RSC is re-arranging its production schedule to replace Hecuba and more information will be released shortly. | 
