Rose Theatre Kingston, Exeter Northcott, Nuffield Southampton, Tom Burke

‘Love is only known by him who hopelessly persists in love’

Don Carlos faces the most profound of dilemmas. In a cruel twist of fate, his former fiancé and the love of his life, Elizabeth, has recently become his stepmother. His father and usurper is the tyrannical Philip II.

Abandoned by both man and decree, Don Carlos must fend for himself. But one man, Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa, has never forgotten the childhood act of sacrifice that the Prince made on his behalf. Dreaming of freedom for his people, Rodrigo becomes an unlikely power broker in the King’s duplicitous court.

A double edge story of loyalty, love and friendship, and the abuses of power and statesmanship, Don Carlos is as resonant today as it was at the time.

Israeli theatre director Gadi Roll brings his trademark dynamic imagery and haunting soundscapes to Schiller’s masterpiece.

Celebrated actor Tom Burke plays Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa. Best known for his role as Athos in the BBC series The Musketeers, as Dolokhov in the BBC literary-adaptation miniseries War & Peace and most recently for his role as the titular character Cormoran Strike in the BBC series Strike, Tom's theatre credits include The Deep Blue Sea at the National Theatre, Reasons to be Happy at Hampstead Theatre and Macbeth at the Almeida Theatre.