TONY AWARD® & OLIVIER AWARD®-WINNING DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
JAMIE LLOYD
ANNOUNCES
TOM HIDDLESTON & HAYLEY ATWELL
TO BRING THEIR CRITICALLY ADORED PERFORMANCES IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S
“MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING ”
TO BROADWAY FALL 2026 FOR
10 WEEKS ONLY AT A SHUBERT THEATER TO BE ANNOUNCED
New York, NY (February 19, 2026) – Today Tony Award® and multiple Olivier Award® winning director/producer Jamie Lloyd announced that Tony Award nominee and Golden Globe Award® winner Tom Hiddleston and three-time Olivier Award nominee and Golden Globe Award nominee Hayley Atwell, who enchanted London critics and set box office records last spring, will bring their critically adored performances as ‘Benedick’ and ‘Beatrice’ in William Shakespeare’s giddily funny and beautifully tender battle of wits Much Ado About Nothing to Broadway this fall for 10 weeks only at a Shubert theater to be announced.
Lloyd’s production of Much Ado About Nothing, which played the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London’s West End, was described as “a brilliantly inventive, much needed blast of fun” by The Telegraph, and Time Out, in their five-star review, exclaimed it was “an ecstatic, hilarious masterpiece” and called it “the #1 Best Show of the Year.” For his performance as ‘Benedick’ in Much Ado About Nothing Hiddleston was heralded as “superb” by the Financial Times and Atwell’s ‘Beatrice’ was described as “simply magnificent” by The Standard.
In November, the production was nominated for four Standard Theatre Awards, the most of any production, including Best Director for Lloyd, Best Actor for Hiddleston, and Best Actress for Atwell. And last week, the production was nominated for four Critics’ Circle Awards including Best Director for Lloyd, and Best Shakespearean Performances for both Hiddleston and Atwell.
Hiddleston previously collaborated with Lloyd in the Harold Pinter’s Betrayal which premiered in London and transferred to Broadway in 2019. The production was nominated for four Tony Awards including Hiddleston’s nomination for Best Actor in a Play.
Atwell will be making her Broadway debut in Much Ado About Nothing. She previously appeared in Lloyd’s 2013 London production of The Pride for which she received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play. She received additional nominations in 2009 for Miller’s A View from the Bridge and in 2020 for Ibsen’s Rosmersholm.
Lloyd said “Working with both Tom and Hayley again on Much Ado About Nothing at the Drury Lane was exhilarating. The chemistry between the two of them was palpable from the first rehearsal and I could sense it was a magical pairing for the ages. It’s an honor to bring their joyous performances in Shakespeare’s beloved comedy to Broadway this fall.”
Hiddleston said, “For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to play ‘Benedick’ in Much Ado About Nothing. Working with Jamie Lloyd and Hayley Atwell on Shakespeare’s most warm-hearted play has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my performing life. I could not be more thrilled to bring this jubilant and joyous production to Broadway. Jamie Lloyd has anchored Shakespeare’s profoundly romantic poetry and comedy at the heart of this production, and decorated the play with music, dancing, love, and laughter. It’s an honor to have been invited back to the stage in New York”.
Atwell said, “After 20 years on the stages of London’s West End, it is a huge honor for me to be invited to make my Broadway debut playing ‘Beatrice’ in this electric production of Much Ado About Nothing. We’re thrilled new audiences will experience this story through Jamie’s innovative direction. This is a modern celebration of universal themes.”
Much Ado About Nothing on Broadway is produced by The Jamie Lloyd Company. 101 Productions, Ltd. will serve as general managers.
Additional information about Much Ado About Nothing on Broadway’s strictly limited 10-week engagement including ticketing, theater, production dates, additional casting, and creative team will be announced shortly.
Sign up for additional details at muchadobroadway.com.
BIOGRAPHIES
Jamie Lloyd (Director) is an award-winning director and producer. His credits for The Jamie Lloyd Company include Waiting for Godot (Hudson Theatre, New York), Evita (The London Palladium), Much Ado About Nothing and The Tempest (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Romeo & Juliet (Duke of York’s Theatre), Sunset Blvd. (St. James Theatre, New York – winner of three Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical / Savoy Theatre – winner of seven Olivier Awards including Best Director and Best Musical Revival; Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Director), The Effect (National Theatre/The Shed, New York), A Doll’s House (Hudson Theatre, New York – nominated for six 2023 Tony Awards including Best Direction of a Play and Best Revival of a Play), The Seagull (Harold Pinter Theatre), Cyrano de Bergerac (Playhouse Theatre/Harold Pinter Theatre/Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York – Olivier Award for Best Revival; Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best Director), Betrayal (Harold Pinter Theatre/Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre – nominated for four 2021 Tony Awards including Best Direction of a Play and Best Revival of a Play; Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best Director), Pinter at the Pinter (Harold Pinter Theatre), The Maids, The Homecoming, The Ruling Class, Richard III, The Pride, The Hothouse, and Macbeth (Trafalgar Studios).
Tom Hiddleston (Benedick). For The Jamie Lloyd Company: Much Ado About Nothing (Theatre Royal Drury Lane - WhatsOnStage Award nominee for Best Performer in a Play, The Standard Theatre Award nominee for Best Actor), Betrayal (Harold Pinter Theatre/Broadway/Bernard B. Jacobs Theater - Tony Award nominee for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, Evening Standard Theatre Award nominee for Best Actor). Other theatre credits include: Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company), Coriolanus (Donmar Warehouse - Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor), Ivanov and Othello (Donmar Warhouse), Cymbeline (Cheek by Jowl - Olivier Award for Best Newcomer), and The Changeling (Cheek by Jowl). Television credits include: “The Night Manager” Season 2, “Loki” (Critics Choice’ Award Nomination, People's Choice Award), “The Essex” “Serpent,” “The Night Manager” (Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, Emmy Leading Actor Nomination), “Henry IV Parts 1&2” and “Henry V” (South Bank Sky Arts Award for Breakthrough performance), “Return to Cranford,” “Wallander,” “Miss Austen Regrets,” “The Gathering Storm,” “Conspiracy,” and “Nicholas Nickleby.” Film credits include: The Life of Chuck, Loki in Marvel's Thor, The Avengers (MTV Movie Awards for Best Villain and Best Fight), Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Early Man, Kong: Skull Island, I Saw the Light, High-Rise, Crimson Peak, Tinker Bell and The Pirate Fairy, Muppets Most Wanted, Only Lovers Left Alive, Exhibition, The Deep Blue Sea, War Horse, Midnight In Paris, Archipelago, and Unrelated. Forthcoming projects include: Tenzing and Avengers: Doomsday.
Hayley Atwell (Beatrice) is an award-winning actress, working extensively across all mediums of storytelling; theatre, film, television and voice work. Hayley trained in classical theatre at The Guildhall and was awarded the fellowship in 2018.
Hayley is perhaps best known for her outstanding performance and dazzling portrayal of ‘Margaret Schlegel’ in BBC Ones series “Howards End” and ‘Peggy Carter’ in the Marvel film franchise Captain America. Her theater credits for the Jamie Lloyd Company include Much Ado About Nothing (Theatre Royal Drury Lane, The Standard Theater Award nomination for Best Actress, WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play), The Pride (Trafalgar Studios – Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress, WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play). Other theatre credits include Rosmersholm (Duke of York’s Theatre – Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress), Measure for Measure (Donmar Warehouse), Dry Powder (Hampstead Theatre), The Faith Machine (Royal Court Theatre – Directed by Jamie Lloyd), A View from the Bridge (Duke of York’s Theatre – Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress), The Man of Mode (National Theatre), Major Barbara (National Theatre - Ian Charleson Commendation), Women Beware Women (RSC) and Prometheus Bound (Sound Theatre). Most recently, Hayley was seen playing the role of ‘Grace’ in the spy action thriller Paramount Pictures films Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Hayley has starred in numerous film and television projects over the years including the upcoming film Empire City directed by Michael Matthews starring opposite Gerard Butler, the second series of “Rivals” for Hulu, “Be Right Back” – the stand-out episode of Charlie Booker’s “Black Mirror,” a three-part adaptation of Andrea Levy’s award-winning, best-selling novel directed by Mahalia Belo. Recently, she starred opposite Ewan MacGregor in Disney’s Christopher Robin, Blinded By The Light directed by Gurinder Chadha, Brideshead Revisited directed by Julian Jarrold opposite Emma Thompson and the Netflix series “Criminal” alongside David Tennant. Other notable work includes television projects such as BBC Two’s “The Line of Beauty,” Channel 4’s adaptation of William Boyd’s “Any Human Heart” and Ken Follett's “Pillars of the Earth” for which, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Miniseries for this role. Hayley’s film credits include starring opposite Chris Evans in Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, and Avengers: Endgame. Hayleys character ‘Peggy Carter’ was given her own show, “Agent Carter” in 2015. This was the first ever Marvel spin-off to be fronted by a woman. She was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category at the 2008 British Independent Film Awards for The Duchess directed by Saul Dibb.
The Jamie Lloyd Company (Producer) is a multi-award-winning West End and Broadway production company that creates adventurous productions with the best talent in the world. Previous work includes radical reappraisals of Waiting For Godot, Evita, Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest, Romeo & Juliet, Sunset Blvd., The Effect, A Doll’s House, The Seagull, and Cyrano de Bergerac with casts including Uzo Aduba, Zawe Ashton, Hayley Atwell, Gemma Chan, Jessica Chastain, Emilia Clarke, Paapa Essiedu, Claire Foy, Martin Freeman, Kit Harington, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Holland, James McAvoy, Arian Moayed, Keanu Reeves, Simon Russell Beale, Taylor Russell, Nicole Scherzinger, Sigourney Weaver, Alex Winter, and Rachel Zegler.