RSC Announces Ambitious Adaptations of Piranesi and Mrs Dalloway

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has announced a season of ambitious theatrical adaptations, including two highly experimental novels: Susanna Clarke's "Piranesi" (2020) and Virginia Woolf's "Mrs Dalloway" (1925). Co-artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey described the undertaking as a response to a "century-old theatrical preoccupation: the exploration of inner life on stage." These novels, separated by nearly a century, present significant challenges for adaptation due to their focus on internal consciousness and complex narrative structures.

Tamara Harvey will direct the adaptation of "Mrs Dalloway," which has been adapted by Zoe Cooper. Harvey stated that bringing the "inside out" from Woolf's novel, known for its stream of consciousness technique, will be "hugely challenging." The novel follows the eponymous heroine, Clarissa Dalloway, through a single day in London as her thoughts intermingle with those of her party guests and characters from her past. Cooper's adaptation aims to create a sense for the audience of "flowing in and out of people's minds, in and out of different moments in their histories." "Mrs Dalloway" is scheduled to open in the Swan theatre in April. This production marks the third major adaptation of the novel to be staged in England within a year, following Kit Green's one-woman performance, which recently toured, and Holly Robinson's new version that opens at the Yard Theatre in London in March.

The adaptation of Susanna Clarke's "Piranesi" will also be a significant undertaking. The novel, which won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2021, is set in a surreal, labyrinthine House filled with statues and tides, and is narrated by a character who believes himself to be one of only two living people. The RSC has not yet announced the director or adapter for "Piranesi," nor its specific performance dates beyond its inclusion in the season. The season also features other notable productions, including Elizabeth Debicki as Richard II and Damien Molony as Coriolanus, further underscoring the RSC's commitment to tackling complex and demanding dramatic material.

The RSC's decision to stage these particular novels reflects a broader trend in theatre to explore more introspective and psychologically complex narratives. The challenges lie in translating the internal monologues and subjective experiences that define these literary works into a compelling visual and auditory theatrical experience. The success of these adaptations will depend on the creative teams' ability to capture the essence of the novels' unique atmospheres and philosophical explorations, particularly the intricate workings of the human mind and the nature of reality as depicted in "Piranesi" and the societal observations embedded in "Mrs Dalloway."