Kneehigh's Tristan & Yseult revived by Emma Rice Company

Tristan & Yseult, said to be Cornwall's oldest love story, has had numerous retellings, including the opera Tristan and Isolde by Wagner and Kneehigh Theatre Company's 2003 production directed by Emma Rice with a script by Carl Grose and Anna Maria Murphy.

The Kneehigh production is being revived by the Emma Rice Company for a tour in 2026 and 2027 with a cast including John Leader as Tristan and Nandi Bhebhe as Yseult.

BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to them both when the show was still previewing in Bath about restaging the famous Kneehigh production of this 5,000-year-old story, what it is like to be in Emma Rice's rehearsal room, taking the production to New York and more.

Tristan & Yseult from the Emma Rice Company opened at Theatre Royal Bath on 11 September 2026 and will tour to Theatr Clwyd in Mold, Citizens Theatre Glasgow, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, St Ann's Warehouse in New York City, Oxford Playhouse, Nottingham Playhouse, Theatre Royal Plymouth and York Theatre Royal, where it will end on 17 April 2027.

(Photo of Nandi Bhebhe as Yseult & John Leader as Tristan, credit Steve Tanner)