Award-winning director Tim Crouch transports the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse into an isle full of noises and fresh springs this winter, in an enthralling new production of The Tempest. An atmospheric tale of shipwreck and sorcery, The Tempest takes place on a spellbinding island ruled by the vengeful Prospero and his unerring determination to wreak havoc on his former oppressors.

Transferring to the Barbican following its run in Stratford-Upon-Avon is the Prasanna Puwanarajah-directed Twelfth Night, Shakespeare's delightfully spirited tale of Viola, a shipwrecked orphan who takes matters into her own hands when stranded on the shores of the ancient isle of Illyria. With music by Matt Maltese bringing a contemporary flavour to this production, Twelfth Night includes Shakespearean mainstays - mistaken identity, mischief, a shipwreck and, of course, his deft wit, yet this RSC staging has been praised for its search in between the lines of the text, revealing new insight to an age-old classic.

Launching a major five-year Shakespeare series for Chris Harper Productions, Tom Morris (War Horse, Touching the Void) directs trailblazer David Harewood (Homeland, Supergirl) - the first Black actor to play Othello at the National Theatre in 1997 - in a searing, contemporary take on the Bard's tale of jealousy and betrayal, featuring music by Grammy nominated PJ Harvey.

For the first time ever, one of William Shakespeare's greatest comedies is staged at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, directed by Holly Race Roughan with Naeem Hayat! The tale of an enchanted forest full of fairy folk, and the unsuspecting mortals who stumble into it, is a brilliant example of the height of Shakespeare's comedy all wrapped up in the universal theme of love and the complications that are bound to come with it. Don't miss it!