Tilda Swinton to star in revival of MAN TO MAN at Royal Court Theatre

Tilda Swinton, who has starred in Doctor Strange and We Need To Talk About Kevin, will make a long-awaited return to the stage as Ella/Max in Man to Man as part of the Royal Court Theatre's 70th anniversary season next year.

Swinton will return to the role she first originated more than 30 years ago in the acclaimed 1988 UK premiere at the Traverse Theatre and the Royal Court. It returns to the stage in London next September is a landmark revival.

Written by Manfred Karge, the story follows a woman in 1930s Germany who 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.

The production will reunite the multi-award-winning creative team, including director Stephen Unwin (The Conquest of the South Pole) and designer Bunny Christie (People, Places and Things), ahead of transferring to the Berliner Ensemble and a run in New York City in Spring 2027.

Stephen Unwin says: “Never go back!”, it’s often said, but revisiting Manfred Karge’s Man to Man with Tilda Swinton once again wearing the Y-fronts, Bunny Christie designing and Ben Ormerod lighting, is a rare creative opportunity. I’ve developed and changed in countless ways since we first staged the play in the 1980s, but it has shaped many of my creative choices ever since. It will be thrilling to return to the Royal Court and see this remarkable play bloom again, and then take it to Karge’s home, the Berliner Ensemble, where he began his career under the leadership of Helene Weigel.”

Man to Man will play from 5 September - 24 October 2026.