National Theatre Archives - Page 3 of 4

Celebrate summer at the National Theatre with unmissable entertainment on the South Bank

31Mar

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

NEWS

Celebrate summer at the National Theatre with unmissable entertainment on the South Bank

River Stage, the NT's free outdoor festival packed with music, dance and unforgettable live performances returns in July; alongside KERB’s open-air market featuring some of London’s best street food traders. For the first time since 2019 the National Theatre’s River Stage festival will return to the South Bank. Over five weekends, starting in July, leading arts and performance companies will take over the stage to celebrate the best of British culture including performances from drag artists, dance performances, live streamed theatre and plenty of activities for the whole family to enjoy. This year’s River Stage partners include The Glory, HOME Manchester, Hackney Empire Young Producers, Hofesh Shechter and the National Theatre. The Glory: 15th – 17th July The Glory returns to ...

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Liverpool Empire

23Mar

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Liverpool Empire

Striking in its complexity, modern in its production and exceptional in its execution, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time provides a theatre experience like no other. Full of sensory elements and pacy dialogue, the audience is fully drawn into the mindset of the lead character and remain relentlessly so for the whole show. This stage adaptation by Simon Stephens of the renowned best-selling book by Mark Haddon did not disappoint. A National Theatre production, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is centred on Christopher Boone (David Breeds) a 15yr old teenager that is describes himself as having "some behavioural difficulties". It is an emotionally charged journey from childhood into independence; naivety to an awareness of being in the world. Opening...

8Oct

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Eulogy – National Theatre Courtyard

Before I even arrived at the courtyard outside the National Theatre, I could see the large white container with EULOGY written in black letters along the side. In the ten minutes I was waiting for the performance to begin, two people came up to me and asked me what it was. It’s unusual for something to stick out on the Southbank – there are street performers and installations most weeks – but there’s something mysterious about the Eulogy set up that immediately captures your interest. Performance isn’t quite the right word; Eulogy is billed as an in-person, immersive experience and I can’t think of another way to sum it up. We take our seats in our “suite” don a pair of headphones and are plunged into such extreme darkness that at times I wasn’t sure if my eyes were open or closed. I’ve...

4Apr

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Romeo & Juliet – The National Theatre

Faint heart never won fair lady, so it is only right that under the direction of Simon Goodwin, the National Theatre, following in the wake of Zeffirelli’s 1968 tour de force and Luhrmann’s wonderful 1996 translation, have boldly reimagined Shakespeare’s classic tale of love to serve up a Romeo & Juliet fit for the 21st Century. Filmed over seventeen days in an empty Lyttelton Theatre, the contrast between scene and unseen spaces offers the perfect parallel for a play which whilst on the surface is a love story, at its heart is riddled with tension, twists, and turns. The Prince (an assured Adrian Lester) provides the authoritative voice of calm and reason after Tybalt (David Judge) and Benvolio (Shubham Saraf) clash before the respective heads of their families, Lord and Lady Ca...

24Dec

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Dick Whittington – National Theatre

It’s always a courageous move to update a traditional piece of theatre but it’s especially courageous to update a pantomime when generally the audience have an ‘inkling’ of what to expect. However, this is what Jude Christian and Cariad Lloyd had in mind for their production of The National Theatres 2020 version of Dick Whittington. Having first premiered at The Lyric Hammersmith in 2018, the production had been updated for 2020. Filmed following only its fourth preview performance on 15th December this year due to Government lockdown restrictions, the National Theatre pulled off an incredible feat in filming the pantomime. With some work still in progress, their wish to share the panto for free was based on acknowledging that all components of theatres have been massively affected by t...

National Theatre pantomime Dick Whittington available to watch for free in December

9Dec

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

National Theatre pantomime Dick Whittington available to watch for free in December

The National Theatre is to stream Dick Whittington, for free via the National Theatre and The Shows Must Go On YouTube channels on the 23rd December at 3pm GMT. The stream will then be available on demand until midnight on 27th December. The production will be filmed live during the performance in the Olivier theatre on the 19th December, in front of a socially distanced audience. Following the limited-window YouTube streams, it will then be made available on the newly launched National Theatre at Home platform from the 11th January for six weeks. At a time when many theatres across the country have sadly been forced to cancel or postpone their pantomimes, the National Theatre is celebrating panto’s place at the heart of British theatre. The free stream of Jude Christian and Cariad Lloy...

Death of England: Delroy – National Theatre Live

29Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Death of England: Delroy – National Theatre Live

The sequel to the play that went out earlier this year where Raef Spall played Michael, friend of Delroy. Death of England: Delroy is a new play that premiered and closed on 4th November this year and subsequently is now being streamed live on YouTube in order to give it the airing it deserves. And of course, adjusting to the social distancing measures that have rocked the foundations of theatre this year. A refreshing new play written by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams is at least getting to reach a wider audience tonight who may not be able to visit the Olivier Theatre in London or not think to watch it so there’s some positivity to be gleaned from this. The writer Dyer tells us that out of adversity, things happen, and enthuses there has been a shift in consciousness this year due ...

17Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Amadeus – National Theatre

Director Michael Longhurst’s 2016 production of Peter Shaffer’s iconic play is a stunning piece of theatre starring Lucian Msamati as Salieri alongside Adam Gillen as Mozart with the musicians of Southbank Sinfonia cleverly weaved into the action providing live accompaniment to the story. We begin at Salieri’s end as he recalls the almost Faustian bargain he made with God at the age of sixteen: to become a fêted and famous composer in exchange for living a virtuous life and honouring God at every turn. Fast forward to 1881 Vienna and all Salieri’s dreams have come true in the court of Emperor Joseph II (Tom Edden). But nobody expected Mozart. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A rowdy young prodigy who arrives with his wife to be, Constanze (Karla Crome), determined to leave his mark Whi...

10Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

The Deep Blue Sea – National Theatre

Terence Rattigan was one of the finest playwrights of his generation and over the course of many years he wrote some outstanding pieces of work for the theatre. The Deep Blue Sea is probably the best play from his repertoire, an absolute masterpiece set in post-war Britain and centred around a woman caught between worlds and realising that passion can sometimes suffocate and harm. Rattigan’s beautifully constructed play explores many issues including those of mental health, self-worth and self-esteem. The play is set over one day in a flat in West London, it’s 1952 where we first meet Hester Collyer (Helen McCrory) trying to “end it all” but through the intervention of other people who also live in the building, she thankfully fails. Hester just needs to be heard, to be loved and ...

Theatre Cash Injection – A Wise Investment?

6Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Blogs

Theatre Cash Injection – A Wise Investment?

Given we made two appeals for government support for theatres to survive beyond the pandemic it would be churlish not to welcome the government’s £1.57 billion cash injection to protect our world leading cultural sector. Now it’s true that money has to go a long way across theatres, museums and live venues, but considering yesterday we had no support this is a significant acknowledgement that many big and small theatres were on the brink of going under. And, make no mistake, once they went dark the reality was they would never come back like the Nuffield in Southampton. You can’t help but think the National Theatre’s decision to lay off its front of house staff, or the announcement by regional powerhouse the Royal Exchange of potential redundancies must have focused the government’s ...