TILDA SWINTON RETURNS TO THE STAGE IN “MAN TO MAN” – LONDON 2026. NEW YORK 2027.
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Royal Court Press Contact:
Maisie Lawrence
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
ACADEMY AWARD WINNER
TILDA SWINTON
RETURNS TO THE STAGE IN
“MAN TO MAN”
BY MANFRED KARGE
TRANSLATED BY ANTHONY VIVIS
DIRECTED BY STEPHEN UNWIN
AT LONDON’S ROYAL COURT THEATRE IN SEPTEMBER 2026
AHEAD OF A NEW YORK RUN IN SPRING 2027
To download art, click here.
New York, NY (October 28, 2025) – The Royal Court Theatre, Berliner Ensemble and producers Brian and Dayna Lee announced today that Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton will return to the stage for the first time in more than three decades, reprising her extraordinary 1988 performance in Manfred Karge’s Man to Man at London’s Royal Court Theatre beginning September 5, 2026. This landmark revival reunites the multi-award-winning creative team, including director Stephen Unwin and designer Bunny Christie with translation by Anthony Vivis ahead of a New York run in Spring 2027.
For more information and to sign up for news about tickets, please visit www.mantomanplay.com and follow @mantomanplay on social media. For information about the London run, please visit https://royalcourttheatre.com.
In 1930s Germany, a woman puts on her dead husband’s trousers and never takes them off. As the world around her changes, she endures war and dictatorship, hunger and humiliation – always fighting to stay alive. More than 30 years after she first brought the role to life, Tilda Swinton makes a long-awaited return to stage as Ella/Max in Manfred Karge’s Man to Man – the role she originated in the acclaimed 1988 UK premiere at the Traverse Theatre and Royal Court.
Prior to the New York run in Spring 2027, the production will transfer to the Berliner Ensemble for a limited run in Germany.
This news comes on the heels of the Royal Court’s 70th Anniversary season announcement earlier today and the announcement of their ‘first look’ deal with the Lees earlier this month.
The previously announced multi-year exclusive ‘first look’ agreement will see Brian and Dayna Lee working with the Royal Court to develop the future life of productions originating in the Court’s Jerwood Theatre Downstairs. The partnership will increase investment in ambitious new work on the Royal Court’s main stage while growing pathways for new plays to reach wider national and international audiences.
The other projects Brian and Dayna are producing with the Royal Court this season include the world premiere of Guess How Much I Love You? by Luke Norris, The Shitheads by Jack Nicholls, and Archduke by Rajiv Joseph.
NVK / Nate Koch, Jenna Ready, Joanna Pisano will serve as general managers for the New York production of Man to Man.
Dubbed “Power Producers” by Forbes earlier this year, Brian and Dayna Lee are a Canadian born, New York based husband-and-wife team and founders of AF Creative Media, a three-time Tony Award and two-time Olivier Award winning production company. They were recently included in Variety’s Broadway “10 to Watch” for the 2025-2026 Broadway season.
Their first collaboration with the Royal Court was Mark Rosenblatt’s Giant, directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring John Lithgow as Roald Dahl. The production, which won multiple Olivier Awards, including Best New Play, enjoyed sold out runs at the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Downstairs in 2024 and broke capacity and box office records at Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End in 2025, now set to transfer to Broadway in 2026. Brian and Dayna Lee’s other credits include Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s Fiddler on The Roof, which received a record-breaking 13 Olivier nominations before transferring to the Barbican.
The Royal Court’s production of Giant will open on Broadway in March 2026 at the Music Box Theatre. It is lead produced by Brian and Dayna Lee, Stephanie Kramer and Nicole Kramer, Josh Fiedler and Robyn Goodman and the Royal Court Theatre.
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