Shakespeare’s Globe has unveiled its cast and creative team for the 2026 production of Romeo and Juliet, part of its long-running Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank programme. The revival returns to the Globe Theatre with an educational mission, continuing a project that provides thousands of theatre experiences to young audiences.

Shakespeare’s Globe will stage Romeo and Juliet from 5 March to 12 April 2026, directed by the Globe’s director of education, Lucy Cuthbertson. The production will feature several returning performers from the 2024 staging, including Sharon Ballard as Lady Capulet and Hayden Mampasi as Romeo, alongside new cast members such as Chaya Gupta as Benvolio and Keanu Adolphus Johnson as Mercutio.

The production’s creative team includes assistant director Jessica Warbeck, with musical contributions from Ben Hales and David Price. Other key collaborators are costume supervisor Kate Hemstock, designer Natalie Pryce, fight director Kevin McCurdy, intimacy director Claire Llewellyn, movement director Katie Webster, and voice director Ellen Hartley. The project’s casting is led by Becky Paris, head of casting at the Globe, with Alice Walters as casting associate.

This staging marks the 20th anniversary of the Globe’s Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank programme, which annually gives more than 26,000 free tickets to pupils aged 11 to 16 from non-selective state secondary schools across London and Birmingham. Schools’ performances are scheduled between 26 February and 25 March, preceding the public run.

Since its inception, the programme has provided over 333,000 pupils with free tickets and a further 65,000 with subsidised access. It has also offered more than 2,200 workshops attended by over 55,000 students and delivered upwards of 100 continuing professional development sessions for more than 2,500 teachers.

Alongside the production, Shakespeare’s Globe will run family workshops during the Easter half term for children aged nine to 11 and 12 to 14. These sessions aim to engage younger audiences with the language, characters, and themes of Romeo and Juliet through interactive activities, which can be combined with attending the play or a guided theatre tour.