National Theatre 2012 Season
January 5, 2012
The National Theatre of Great Britain is one of the world’s major theatre producing houses, staging over 20 theatre productions a year across three auditoriums – the Olivier, Lyttelton and Cottesloe Theatres – and presenting a mix of new plays and classics, with up to six productions in repertory at any one time.
National Theatre 2012 Season
13
Set in a dark and magical landscape of singing pensioners, fanatical atheists and imminent apocalypse, more
Can We Talk About This?
DV8′s new production examines how events have reflected and influenced multicultural policies, more
Juno and the Paycock
One of the great plays of the twentieth century, Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock offers a devastating more
She Stoops to Conquer
One of the great, generous-hearted and ingenious comedies of the English language, Oliver Goldsmith’s more
The Comedy Of Errors
Shakespeare’s furiously paced comedy will be staged in a contemporary world and stars Lenny Henry. more
Travelling Light
Following Vincent in Brixton and The Reporter, Nicholas Wright’s new play is a funny and fascinating more
… And now playing in the West End
The Pitmen Painters
Following celebrated seasons at the National Theatre and on Broadway, Lee Hall’s The Pitmen Painters more
War Horse
The National Theatre’s sell out production transfers to the New London Theatre. Life sized puppets depict more
NATIONAL THEATRE September 2011 – January 2012
September 2, 2011
- Dominic Cooke directs Shakespeare’s THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, with Lenny Henry making his NT debut in the Olivier Theatre
- Sinéad Cusack and Ciarán Hinds lead the cast of JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK by Sean O’Casey, directed by Howard Davies, in the Lyttelton
- Nicholas Hytner directs Alex Jennings and Simon Russell Beale in COLLABORATORS, a new play by John Hodge in the Cottesloe
- Visitors to the National include 1927’s THE ANIMALS AND CHILDREN TOOK TO THE STREETS; Daniel Kitson; and Mark Thomas
- Bristol Old Vic’s production of SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS comes to the West End
- The third season of NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE includes One Man, Two Guvnors (prior to a UK tour and West End run), The Kitchen, Collaborators and The Comedy of Errors
COLLABORATORS
Cottesloe Theatre
Previews from 25 October, press night 1 November, continuing in repertoire
National Theatre Live broadcast on 1 December 2011
Nicholas Hytner directs COLLABORATORS, a new play by John Hodge, opening in the Cottesloe Theatre on Tuesday 1 November. NT Associates Alex Jennings and Simon Russell Beale lead the cast, alongside Mark Addy, Sarah Annis, Marcus Cunningham, Jacqueline Defferary, Patrick Godfrey, Michael Jenn, Jess Murphy, William Postlethwaite, Pierce Reid, Nick Sampson, Maggie Service and Perri Snowdon. The production will be designed by Bob Crowley, with lighting by Jon Clark, music by George Fenton and sound by Paul Arditti; with thanks to Simon Sebag Montefiore.
Moscow, 1938. A dangerous to place to have a sense of humour; even more so a sense of freedom. Mikhail Bulgakov, living among dissidents, stalked by secret police, has both. And then he’s offered a poisoned chalice: a commission to write a play about Stalin to celebrate his sixtieth birthday.
Inspired by historical fact, COLLABORATORS embarks on a surreal journey into the fevered imagination of the writer as he loses himself in a macabre and disturbingly funny relationship with the omnipotent subject of his drama.
John Hodge’s blistering new play depicts a lethal game of cat and mouse through which the appalling compromises and humiliations inflicted on any artist by those with power are held up to scrutiny. Alex Jennings plays Bulgakov and Simon Russell Beale, Stalin.
John Hodge’s screenplays include Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach, The Final Curtain and The Dark is Rising.
Alex Jennings’s many appearances at the National include The Habit of Art, Present Laughter, The Alchemist, Stuff Happens, His Girl Friday, The Relapse and The Winter’s Tale (for which two roles he won the 2001 Evening Standard Award for Best Actor), Albert Speer, and My Fair Lady at Drury Lane (Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical).
Simon Russell Beale’s extensive theatre work includes London Assurance, Major Barbara, Much Ado About Nothing, The Alchemist, The Life of Galileo, Hamlet (Evening Standard & Critics’ Circle Awards) and Humble Boy for the National; The Winter’s Tale and The Cherry Orchard (New York and Old Vic); and Bluebird (New York).
Since he became Director of the National in April 2003, Nicholas Hytner has directed Henry V, His Dark Materials, The History Boys, Stuff Happens, Henry IV, Southwark Fair, The Alchemist, The Man of Mode, The Rose Tattoo (with Stephen Pimlott), Rafta, Rafta… , Much Ado About Nothing, Major Barbara, England People Very Nice, Phèdre, The Habit of Art, London Assurance, Hamlet and One Man, Two Guvnors.
COLLABORATORS will be broadcast to cinemas worldwide as part of National Theatre Live on 1 December.
The National Theatre’s Cottesloe Partner is Neptune Investment Management.
JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK
Lyttelton Theatre
A co-production with the Abbey Theatre, Ireland
Previews from 11 November, press night 16 November, continuing in repertoire
Howard Davies directs JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK by Sean O’Casey in a co-production with the Abbey Theatre, Ireland, opening at the National’s Lyttelton Theatre on 16 November. The cast is led by Sinéad Cusack as Juno and Ciarán Hinds as Jack Boyle, with: Cornelius Clarke, Risteárd Cooper, Clare Dunne, Kieran Gough, Luke Hayden, Dermot Kerrigan, Nick Lee, Gillian McCarthy, Bernadette McKenna, Brian Martin, Janet Moran, Kevin Murphy, Ronan Raftery, Sophie Robinson, Eoin Slattery and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor. Bob Crowley will design the set and costumes, with lighting by James Farncombe, music by Anna Rice and sound by Ben Delaney. This is the National Theatre’s first co-production with Ireland’s national theatre, the Abbey, and the production will open the Dublin Theatre Festival in September before coming to the Lyttelton.
One of the great plays of the twentieth century, Sean O’Casey’s JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK offers a devastating portrait of wasted potential in a Dublin torn apart by the chaos of the Irish War of Independence, 1922.
Jack Boyle is out of work and determined to stay that way. He postures and drinks with his sidekick Joxer while the long-suffering Juno balances threats with cajolement to preserve the semblance of family in a squalid tenement flat. Their son Johnny, crippled fighting for the IRA, cowers indoors, terrified of reprisal; his sister Mary has joined the labour movement and is on strike. Sudden news of an inheritance provokes dreams of escape but, even before their rowdy celebrations are done, reality asserts itself as a neighbour’s corpse is carried down the stairs, another victim of the bitter civil war. Mary falls for an educated man as the loans stack up. Tragedy ensues.
Sinéad Cusack’s last appearance at the National Theatre was in Sebastian Barry’s Our Lady of Sligo, for which she won the Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Best Actress Awards. Her extensive theatre work also includes The Cherry Orchard and The Winter’s Tale (New York and Old Vic), Rock ‘n’ Roll (Royal Court), and Three Sisters (Gate Dublin / Royal Court).
Ciarán Hinds’s work in theatre includes, for the National, Burnt by the Sun, Closer (also on Broadway), Machinal, and The Seafarer on Broadway. His recent TV credits include Rome. Film includes: Persuasion, There Will Be Blood, Munich, The Phantom of the Opera, Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life, Calendar Girls and Circle of Friends.
Howard Davies is an Associate Director at the NT, where his recent productions include The Cherry Orchard, The White Guard (Evening Standard Award for Best Director), Burnt by the Sun, Never So Good and Philistines.
JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK is supported by American Express and Culture Ireland.
The production runs at the Abbey Theatre, Ireland from 21 September – 5 November (press night: 29 September) www.abbeytheatre.ie
THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
Olivier Theatre
Previews from 22 November, press night 29 November, continuing in repertoire
Dominic Cooke, Artistic Director of the Royal Court, makes his NT debut directing Shakespeare’s THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, opening in the Olivier Theatre on 29 November. Lenny Henry, in his first appearance at the National, plays Antipholus of Syracuse; the cast also includes Claudie Blakley (Adriana), Clare Cathcart, Chris Jarman (Antipholus of Ephesus), Lucian Msamati (Dromio of Syracuse), Joseph Mydell (Aegeon), Pamela Nomvete, Daniel Poyser (Dromio of Ephesus), Amit Shah and Michelle Terry (Luciana). It will be designed by Bunny Christie, with lighting by Paule Constable, music by Gary Yershon, movement by Ann Yee, sound by Christopher Shutt and fight direction by Kate Waters.
Two sets of twins separated at birth collide in the same city without meeting for one crazy day, as multiple mistaken identities lead to confusion on a grand scale. And for no one more so than Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant Dromio who, in search of their brothers, arrive in a land entirely foreign to their distant home. A buzzing metropolis, to the outsiders it appears a place of wonderment and terror, where baffling gifts and unexplained hostilities abound.
Consistently recognised by strangers, the visitors question their very selves as the turmoil escalates. Meanwhile, Aegeon, father to the Antipholus twins, has been captured searching for his sons and, as an illegal immigrant, is sentenced to death at sunset.
Shakespeare’s furiously paced comedy will be staged in a contemporary world into which walk three prohibited foreigners who see everything for the first time.
Lenny Henry made his Shakespearean debut in the title role in Othello for Northern Broadsides/West Yorkshire Playhouse, which transferred to the West End and for which he won the 2009 Evening Standard Outstanding Newcomer Award. He has toured worldwide with his stand-up comedy shows, and has appeared in and presented innumerable television dramas, comedies and documentaries, including Three of a Kind, The Lenny Henry Show, Alive and Kicking, Chef!, Hope & Glory and Lenny Henry in Pieces. His many awards include the Lifetime Achievement – Performance Award at the 2003 British Comedy Awards, and a Golden Rose at the Montreux Television Festival.
Dominic Cooke is Artistic Director of the Royal Court, where his productions have included Chicken Soup with Barley, Clybourne Park (also West End), Aunt Dan and Lemon, The Fever, Wig Out!, Now Or Later, Rhinoceros and The Pain and the Itch. He was Associate Director of the RSC from 2002-06, where his work included Arabian Nights, Pericles, The Winter’s Tale, The Crucible (Olivier Awards for Best Director and Best Revival), As You Like It and Cymbeline.
THE COMEDY OF ERRORS will be broadcast to cinemas worldwide as part of National Theatre Live on 1 March 2012.
The production is sponsored by KPMG.
THE ANIMALS AND CHILDREN TOOK TO THE STREETS
Cottesloe Theatre
7 December – 3 January, 15 performances
Seamlessly synchronizing live music, performance and storytelling with stunning film and animation, THE ANIMALS AND CHILDREN TOOK TO THE STREETS is the wickedly twisted second show from multiple award-winning company 1927, visiting the Cottesloe Theatre for 15 performances between 7 December and 3 January.
Trust no-one. Suspect even your own shadow. Welcome to the Bayou, a part of the city feared and loathed, wherein lies the infamous Bayou Mansions: a stinking sprawling tenement block, where curtain-twitchers and peeping-toms live side by side, and the wolf… is always at the door. When Agnes Eaves and her daughter arrive late one night, does it signal hope in this hopeless place, or has the real horror only just begun?
1927 invite you on a theatrical journey of startling originality, like a giant graphic novel burst into life.
The Animals and Children Took to the Streets is created by 1927 and directed and written by Suzanne Andrade, with film, animation and design by Paul Barritt. It is produced by Joanna Crowley, with music by Lillian Henley and costume by Sarah Munro and Esme Appleton. It was co-commissioned by BAC, Malthouse Theatre Melbourne & The Showroom (University of Chichester).
The National Theatre’s Cottesloe partner is Neptune Management.
IT’S ALWAYS RIGHT NOW, UNTIL IT’S LATER
Lyttelton Theatre
A new show by Daniel Kitson about Everything and Nothing
7 – 21 October, 19 – 22 December (day seats & returns only). All tickets £12.
Extra December dates have been added for Daniel Kitson’s show about every single one of us, the past in our pockets, the future in our hearts and us, ourselves, very much stuck, trapped forever, in the tiny eternal moment between the two. Written and performed by Daniel Kitson, designed by Susannah Henry and Daniel Kitson; the technical director is Jon Meggat.
MARK THOMAS: EXTREME RAMBLING
Lyttelton Theatre
Friday 23 December, 7.30pm, followed by a booksigning. All tickets £12.
During 2010, Mark Thomas decided to go rambling in the Middle East and walked the entire length of the Israeli Separation Barrier, crossing between the Israeli and the Palestinian side. Extreme Rambling is the story of 300,000 settlers, a 750km wall, six arrests, one stoning, too much hummus and one simple question… can you ever get away from it all with a good walk?
SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS
Vaudeville Theatre, West End
15 December 2011 – 14 January 2012, suitable for 6 years+
The critically acclaimed Bristol Old Vic production of SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS, a new musical play with book by Helen Edmundson and songs by Neil Hannon, comes to the West End’s Vaudeville Theatre this Christmas for a strictly limited 5-week run from 15 December – 14 January (press night: 19 December), presented by the National Theatre and The Children’s Touring Partnership.
Based on the much-loved book by Arthur Ransome, this delightful and imaginative production is directed by Tom Morris, Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic and co-director of the National Theatre’s Tony Award-winning smash hit War Horse. SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS has music and lyrics by Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy and is written by Helen Edmundson, who adapted the National’s Coram Boy.
All aboard The Swallow! Follow Captain John and his able crew as they set sail to Wildcat Island on an exotic adventure to encounter savages, capture dastardly pirates and defeat mortal enemies.
An action-packed musical adventure for the whole family (ages 6+), SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS is a story of an idyllic era, of endless summer evenings and the beauty of youthful imagination.
SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS opened at Bristol Old Vic in December 2010 for a sell-out run and was a critical and popular hit; it was originally developed at the National Theatre Studio. Following its run at the Vaudeville Theatre, the production will embark on a UK tour (for more information please visit www.swallowsamazons.co.uk).
The director of movement is Toby Sedgwick, who won an Olivier Award for War Horse; with set design by Robert Innes Hopkins, costume design by Robert Innes Hopkins & Liesel Corp, musical direction and arrangements by Sam Kenyon, lighting design by James Farncombe, sound by Jason Barnes and additional musical arrangements by Andrew Skeet.
Published in 1930, Swallows and Amazons was the first in a series of twelve books by Arthur Ransome (1884-1967). Set in 1929 in the Lake District, it tells of the school holiday exploits of the Walker and Blackett children and their sailing dinghies – the Swallow and the Amazon.
Helen Edmundson’s many adaptations include Coram Boy, which played two sell-out seasons at the National Theatre, and Anna Karenina, Mill on the Floss, War and Peace and Gone to Earth for Shared Experience. Other work includes The Clearing (Bush Theatre), Mother Teresa is Dead (Royal Court), and a version of Calderon’s Life is a Dream (Donmar). Her new play, The Heresy of Love, opens for the RSC at the Swan in February 2012.
Neil Hannon is a singer, lyricist and composer. Although he is best known for writing, recording and performing as The Divine Comedy, he has also written extensively for TV and film, including the music to Father Ted and The IT Crowd. He has collaborated with everyone from Michael Nyman to Tom Jones, and his cricket-themed project The Duckworth Lewis Method was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award. Swallows and Amazons is his first venture into the world of musical theatre.
Tom Morris was appointed Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic in September 2009. As Associate Director of the National Theatre (2004 – 2009), he developed and co-directed (with Marianne Elliott) War Horse which is currently running in the West End and on Broadway, where it received 6 Tony Awards; and co-directed Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. Previously he was Artistic Director at Battersea Arts Centre from 1995 to 2004. He sits on the board of Complicite and is Chair of the JMK Trust.
Established in 2010 and led by independent producer Fiery Angel and Chichester Festival Theatre, the Children’s Touring Partnership receives generous support from Arts Council England. Their inaugural production, Goodnight Mister Tom, premiered at Chichester in January 2011 and subsequently toured the UK for fourteen weeks. The Children’s Touring Partnership will be presenting the tour of Bristol Old Vic’s stage adaptation of Swallows and Amazons throughout spring 2012.
NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE
ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS opens a new season of NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE, sponsored by Aviva, when it is broadcast live to over 100 UK cinemas and 300 more abroad on 15 September (varying dates internationally). Since National Theatre Live’s first season, which began in June 2009 with Phèdre starring Helen Mirren, over half a million people have now experienced the National’s work on movie screens around the world.
One Man, Two Guvnors will be followed by THE KITCHEN by Arnold Wesker on 6 October and John Hodge’s COLLABORATORS on 1 December; future screenings will include THE COMEDY OF ERRORS on 1 March 2012 with additional titles to be announced. For further information and booking details for all cinemas, please visit www.ntlive.com
ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS
UK tour and West End
Following its run at the National, Nicholas Hytner’s hit production of ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS will tour the UK, visiting: Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury (27 September – 1 October); Theatre Royal, Plymouth (4 – 8 October); The Lowry, Salford (11 – 15 October); New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham (18 – 22 October); and King’s Theatre, Edinburgh (25 – 29 October). Richard Bean’s adaptation, with songs by Grant Olding, then transfers to the West End’s Adelphi Theatre from 8 November 2011 – 25 February 2012. James Corden continues in his original role of Francis Henshall, along with his two ‘guvnors’ Oliver Chris and Jemima Rooper, and the rest of the original cast.
MIKE LEIGH’S new play visits Bath and Cambridge
Mike Leigh’s new play will visit Theatre Royal, Bath (25 – 29 October) and Cambridge Arts Theatre (1 – 5 November), during its Cottesloe run.
PRODUCTION AND CASTING UPDATES
A new play by Mike Leigh
The full cast for Mike Leigh’s new play, opening in the Cottesloe on 21 September, is: Marion Bailey, Ruby Bentall, Dorothy Duffy, David Horovitch, Sam Kelly, Lesley Manville and Wendy Nottingham.
THE VEIL
Conor McPherson directs his own new play The Veil, opening in the Lyttelton on 4 October. The full cast is: Bríd Brennan, Caoilfhionn Dunne, Abigail Guiver, Claudia Hall, Ursula Jones, Peter McDonald, Felicity McHardy-Costaine Brown, Mary Mallen, Ursula Mohan, Alan Mooney, Jim Norton, Alice Parsloe, Adrian Schiller, Emily Taaffe, Geoffrey Towers and Fenella Woolgar.
13
The cast for Mike Bartlett’s new play 13, opening in the Olivier on 25 October as part of the Travelex £12 Tickets season, directed by Thea Sharrock, is: Matthew Barker, Nick Blakeley, Katie Brayben, Natasha Broomfield, Kirsty Bushell, Martin Chamberlain, Grace Cooper Milton, Davood Ghadami, Trystan Gravelle, Jadie-Rose Hobson, Adam James, Geraldine James, Sioned Jones, Barbara Kirby, Esther McAuley, Genevieve O’Reilly, Lara Rossi, Helen Ryan, Nick Sidi, Zara Tempest-Walters, Danny Webb, John Webber and Shane Zaza.
KING JAMES BIBLE
Nikki Amuka-Bird, David Calder, Nancy Carroll, Lindsay Duncan, Alan Howard, Alex Jennings, Paterson Joseph, Maureen Lipman, Paul Ready, Patricia Routledge, Simon Russell Beale and John Shrapnel will be among the ensemble of leading NT actors reading extracts (edited by Edward Kemp) from the KING JAMES BIBLE as part of its 400th anniversary celebrations. The twelve extracts will be directed by Nicholas Hytner, James Dacre and Polly Findlay in the Lyttelton Theatre from 8 October – 6 November.
Dates and times of the readings vary and can be found in the rep leaflet or NT website, alongside casting details.
Release issued by: National Theatre
LINKS
Nicholas Hytner announces plans for 2011 and beyond at the National Theatre
January 26, 2011
Highlights of the forthcoming productions at the National Theatre, announced today by Nicholas Hytner, include Howard Davies’s production of The Cherry Orchard; Jonathan Kent’s staging of Ibsen’s Emperor and Galilean; Katie Mitchell’s production of A Woman Killed with Kindness; Alecky Blythe and Adam Cork’s London Road; Dominic Cooke’s NT debut with The Comedy of Errors; and Nicholas Hytner’s production of Richard Bean’s One Man,Two Guvnors. There will be a new musical by Tori Amos and Sam Adamson; new plays by John Hodge, Mike Leigh and Conor McPherson; revivals of classic 20th-century plays by Odets, Wesker and O’Casey; and Jonathan Miller’s staging of Bach’s St Matthew Passion.
Olivier Theatre
Tickets for the ninth Travelex season at the National Theatre will continue to offer exciting and ambitious work at the equivalent of cinema prices, with almost half the tickets for every performance at £12 and the rest at £20 and £30. The season opens on 17 May with Howard Davies’s production of THE CHERRY ORCHARD by Anton Chekhov, in a version by Andrew Upton; Zoë Wanamaker as Madame Ranevskaya and Conleth Hill as Lopakhin head the cast, which also includes Claudie Blakley, Mark Bonnar, Pip Carter, Gerald Kyd, James Laurenson, Tim McMullan, Emily Taaffe, Charity Wakefield and Sarah Woodward.
Ibsen’s EMPEROR AND GALILEAN, in a new version by Ben Power, will be directed by Jonathan Kent, opening on 15 June; Andrew Scott plays Julian and the cast also includes James McArdle, Jamie Ballard, John Heffernan, Ian McDiarmid (as Maximus), Genevieve O’Reilly and Prasanna Puwanarajah.
The Travelex £12 Season will continue in September with a production yet to be confirmed, directed by Thea Sharrock; and will conclude in October with a new production of Arnold Wesker’s 1957 play THE KITCHEN, directed by Bijan Sheibani.
Jonathan Miller’s staging of Bach’s ST MATTHEW PASSION, in collaboration with Southbank Sinfonia, will have nine performances in September as part of the four hundredth anniversary celebrations for the King James Bible. The National will also present readings from the Old and New Testaments, abridged by Edward Kemp, by a company of leading actors from the NT’s last 25 years; Nicholas Hytner will be the supervisory director and the readings will take place in the Olivier and Lyttelton Theatres.
Dominic Cooke, Artistic Director of The Royal Court, will make his National Theatre debut with Shakespeare’s THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, opening in the Olivier in November.
As already announced, earlier in the year Danny Boyle directs FRANKENSTEIN, a new play by Nick Dear, based on the novel by Mary Shelley. Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternate the roles of Victor Frankenstein and The Creature; the cast also includes Karl Johnson and Naomie Harris. The production, sponsored by Coutts & Co, has press nights on 22 and 23 February.
Lyttelton Theatre
The 2011 Lyttelton season opens on 1 February, as previously announced, with GREENLAND by Moira Buffini, Matt Charman, Penelope Skinner and Jack Thorne. NT associate directors Bijan Sheibani and Ben Power are the director and dramaturg respectively; the production is sponsored by Accenture.
Angus Jackson directs ROCKET TO THE MOON by Clifford Odets, opening on 30 March, with a cast led by Keeley Hawes, Joseph Millson, Jessica Raine and Nicholas Woodeson.
In May, Nicholas Hytner directs ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS by Richard Bean, based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni; James Corden heads the cast. The production will tour the UK in October following its Lyttelton run.
A WOMAN KILLED WITH KINDNESS by Thomas Heywood will be directed by Katie Mitchell, opening in July.
A new play written and directed by Conor McPherson will open in the Lyttelton in October. As yet untitled, the play is set in 19th-century Ireland.
Howard Davies will direct Sean O’Casey’s JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK, with Sinead Cusack as Juno and Ciaran Hinds as Captain Boyle. This will be a co-production with the Abbey Theatre, Ireland, where it premieres in September before opening at the Lyttelton in November.
Cottesloe Theatre
Ryan Craig’s new play, THE HOLY ROSENBERGS, opens on 16 March directed by Laurie Sansom, with a cast led by Henry Goodman and also including Philip Arditti, Stephen Boxer, Paul Freeman, Tilly Tremayne, Alex Waldmann and Susannah Wise.
Rufus Norris will direct LONDON ROAD, with book and lyrics by Alecky Blythe, and music and lyrics by Adam Cork, opening on 14 April; the cast includes Rosalie Craig, Kate Fleetwood, Nick Holder, Claire Moore, Michael Shaeffer and Paul Thornley. (Alecky Blythe’s award-winning play Do We Look Like Refugees?, seen at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010, will visit Riverside Studios in May, in a co-production by the NT Studio/Rustaveli Theatre, Georgia.)
In July, four new one-hour plays commissioned from emerging writers new to the National Theatre will be directed by Polly Findlay and Lyndsey Turner, presented in alternating double-bills.
Mike Leigh returns to the National with a new play, opening in September; the cast will include Ruby Bentall and Lesley Manville.
A new play by John Hodge will be directed by Nicholas Hytner, opening in October. The play centres on an imaginary encounter between Joseph Stalin and the playwright Mikhail Bulgakov; Alex Jennings will play Bulgakov and Simon Russell Beale will play Stalin.
Winter and beyond
Looking further ahead, a production of THE WAY OF THE WORLD by William Congreve will open in the Olivier in January 2012.
A new musical with music and lyrics by Tori Amos and book and additional lyrics by Samuel Adamson, suggested by a story by George MacDonald, will be directed by Marianne Elliott, opening in April 2012 in the Lyttelton Theatre.
Beyond the National: National Theatre Live, on tour, in the West End and on Broadway
Following its sell-out run at the Olivier, Nicholas Hytner’s production of HAMLET will tour from mid-February to Salford, Nottingham, Woking, Milton Keynes, Plymouth and Luxembourg.
Richard Bean’s ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS, with the original cast led by James Corden, will visit Plymouth, Salford, Birmingham and Edinburgh in October.
Mike Leigh’s new play will visit Bath and Cambridge in the autumn, during its Cottesloe run.
The second season of National Theatre Live (now on 360 screens across 20 countries, sponsored by Aviva) continues with the Donmar Warehouse’s production of KING LEAR, with Derek Jacobi directed in the title role by Michael Grandage, filmed at the Donmar’s home in Covent Garden on 3 February; Danny Boyle’s production of FRANKENSTEIN on 17 March; and Howard Davies’s production of THE CHERRY ORCHARD on 30 June. A third season of National Theatre Live will begin in the autumn.
WAR HORSE, based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford, continues its run at the New London Theatre where it is now booking until February 2012. The National’s production opens at Lincoln Center Theater, New York, with the original creative team working with a new American cast, from 15 March 2011.
Watch This Space Festival
The National’s free summer festival of outdoor entertainment will return with the giant grass furniture in Theatre Square in June 2011, featuring theatre, fire, circus, juggling, hula-hooping, dance and street performance.
Release issued by: National Theatre press office
LINKS
National Theatre venue information: Lyttleton Theatre | Olivier Theatre
National Theatre website
OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Comedy Winners
June 14, 2010
OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Comedy Winners
Best New Comedy
2010 The Priory
2009 God of Carnage
2008 Rafta Rafta
2007 John Buchan’s The 39 Steps adapted by Patrick Barlow from an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon
2006 Heroes by Gerald Sibleyras translated by Tom Stoppard
Best Comedy
2003 The Lieutenant Of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh
2002 The Play What I Wrote by Hamish McColl, Sean Foley and Eddie Braben
2001 Stones In His Pockets by Marie Jones
2000 The Memory Of Water by Shelagh Stephenson
1999 Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle And Dick by Terry Johnson
1998 Popcorn by Ben Elton
1997 Art by Yasmina Reza
1996 Mojo by Jez Butterworth
1995 My Night With Reg by Kevin Elyot
1994 Hysteria by Terry Johnson
1993 The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice by Jim Cartwright
1992 La Bête by David Hirson
1991 Out Of Order by Ray Cooney
1989/90 Single Spies by Alan Bennett
1988 Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell
1987 Three Men On A Horse by John Cecil Holm and George Abbott
1986 When We Are Married by J.B. Priestley
1985 A Chorus Of Disapproval by Alan Ayckbourn
1984 Up’N’Under by John Godber
1983 Daisy Pulls It Off by Denise Deegan
1982 Noises Off by Michael Frayn
1981 Steaming by Nell Dunn
1980 Educating Rita by Willy Russell
1979 Middle Age Spread by Roger Hall
1978 Filumena by Eduardo de Filippo, adapted by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall
1977 Privates On Parade by Peter Nichols
1976 Donkey’s Years by Michael Frayn
Best Comedy Performance
1995 Niall Buggy for Dead Funny
1994 Griff Rhys Jones for An Absolute Turkey
1993 Simon Cadell for Travels With My Aunt
1992 Desmond Barrit for The Comedy Of Errors
1991 Alan Cumming for Accidental Death Of An Anarchist
1989/90 Michael Gambon for Man Of The Moment
1988 Alex Jennings for Too Clever By Half
1987 John Woodvine for The Henrys
1986 Bill Fraser for When We Are Married
1985 Michael Gambon for A Chorus Of Disapproval
1984 Maureen Lipman for See How They Run
1983 Griff Rhys Jones for Charley’s Aunt
1982 Geoffrey Hutchings for Poppy
1981 Rowan Atkinson for Rowan Atkinson in Revue
1980 Beryl Reid for Born In The Gardens
1979 Barry Humphries for A Night With Dame Edna
1978 Ian McKellen for The Alchemist
1977 Denis Quilley for Privates On Parade
1976 Penelope Keith for Donkey’s Years
OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Musicals Winners
June 13, 2010
OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Musicals Winners
Best New Musical
2011 Legally Blonde – The Musical book by Heather Hach, music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin at the Savoy
2010 Spring Awakening, music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater, based on the play by Frank Wedekind, at the Novello theatre
2009 Jersey Boys, book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice, music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe at the Prince Edward theatre
2008 Hairspray, book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, based on the John Waters film,
2007 Caroline, Or Change, book and lyrics by Tony Kushner, music by Jeanine Tesori
2006 Billy Elliot – The Musical, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, music by Elton John
2005 The Producers book by Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan; music and lyrics by Mel Brooks and by special arrangement with StudioCanal
2004 Jerry Springer – The Opera music by Richard Thomas, book and lyrics by Stewart Lee & Richard Thomas
2003 Our House by Tim Firth, music and lyrics by Madness
2001 Merrily We Roll Along — music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by George Furth, suggested by a play by George S Kaufman and Moss Hart
2000 Honk! The Ugly Duckling – music by George Stiles, book and lyrics by Anthony Drewe, based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen
1999 Kat And The Kings by David Kramer and Taliep Petersen
1998 Beauty And The Beast – music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, book by Linda Woolverton
1997 Martin Guerre – book by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Edward Hardy and Stephen Clark, original French text by Alain Boublil, additional lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
1996 Jolson The Musical – written by Francis Essex and Rob Bettinson
1995 Once On This Island – book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty, based upon the novel My Love My Love by Rosa Guy
1994 City Of Angels – book by Larry Gelbart, music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel
1993 Crazy For You – music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, book by Ken Ludwig
1992 Carmen Jones by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Meilhac and Halévy’s adaptation of Prosper Merimée’s Carmen with original music by Bizet
1991 Sunday In The Park with George – music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine
1989/90 Return To The Forbidden Planet by Bob Carlton
1988 Candide – book adapted from Voltaire by Hugh Wheeler, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Richard Wilbur
1987 Follies – music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Goldman
1986 The Phantom Of The Opera – music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe
1985 Me And My Girl – book and lyrics by L. Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber, music by Noel Gay
1984 42nd Street – music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Al Dubin, book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, based on a novel by Bradford Ropes
1983 Blood Brothers by Willy Russell
1982 Poppy – book and lyrics by Peter Nichols, music by Monty Norman
1981 Cats – music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot
1980 Sweeney Todd – music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, based on the play by Christopher Bond
1979 Songbook – music by Monty Norman, lyrics by Julian More, book by Monty Norman and Julian More
1978 Evita – lyrics by Tim Rice, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
1977 The Comedy Of Errors by William Shakespeare, music by Guy Woolfenden
1976 A Chorus Line – book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban
Outstanding Musical Production
2007 Sunday In The Park With George, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine
2006 Guys And Dolls, based on a story and characters of Damon Runyon, music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
2005 Grand Hotel book by Luther Davis; music & lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest; additional music and lyrics by Maury Yeston; based on Vicki Baum’s Grand Hotel
2004 Pacific Overtures music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman, additional material by Hugh Wheeler
2003 Anything Goes music and lyrics by Cole Porter, original book by PG Wodehouse and Guy Bolton and Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse, new book by Timothy Crouse & John Weidman
2002 My Fair Lady book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, music by Frederick Loewe, adapted from Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture
2001 Singin’ In The Rain — based on the MGM film, original choreography by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, screenplay and adaptation by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed
2000 Candide – music by Leonard Bernstein, book adapted from Voltaire by Hugh Wheeler, in a new version by John Caird, lyrics by Richard Wilbur, additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and Leonard Bernstein
1999 Oklahoma! music by Richard Rodgers, book & lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
1998 Chicago – lyrics by Fred Ebb, music by John Kander, book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse
1997 Tommy – music and lyrics by Pete Townshend, book by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff
Best Musical Revival
2011 Into the Woods at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
2010 Hello Dolly!, book by Michael Stewart, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, based on the play The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder, at the Open Air theatre
2009 La Cage aux Folles, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the play “La Cage Aux Folles” by Jean Poiret, at the Playhouse theatre
2008 The Magic Flute – Impempe Yomlingo
1995 She Loves Me – book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and based on a play by Miklos Laszlo
1994 Sweeney Todd – music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, from an adaptation by Christopher Bond
1993 Carousel – music by Richard Rodgers, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on the play Liliom by Ferenc Molnár as adapted by Benjamin F Glazer
1992 The Boys From Syracuse – music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, book by George Abbott
1991 Show Boat – book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, music by Jerome Kern
Performance of the Year in a Musical
1978 Elaine Paige for Evita
1977 Ann Sharkey for Maggie
Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Musicals
1984 Ned Sherrin for the conception of The Ratepayers’ Iolanthe
1982 Guys And Dolls
1981 Gillian Lynne, choreographer of Cats
OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Set and Design Winners
June 9, 2010
OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Set and Design Winners
Best Set Design
2011 The White Guard designed by Bunny Christie
2010 Jerusalem designed by Ultz
2009 August: Osage County designed by Todd Rosenthal
2008 Rae Smith and the Handspring Puppet Company for War Horse
2007 Sunday In The Park With George, designed by David Farley and Timothy Bird
2006 Hedda Gabler designed by Rob Howell
2005 His Dark Materials designed by Giles Cadle
2004 Hitchcock Blonde designed by William Dudley
2003 A Streetcar Named Desire designed by Bunny Christie
Best Set Designer
2002 Tim Hatley for Humble Boy and Private Lives
2001 William Dudley for All My Sons
2000 Rob Howell for Richard III, Troilus and Cressida and Vassa
1999 Anthony Ward for Oklahoma!
1998 Tim Goodchild for Three Hours After Marriage
1997 Tim Hatley for Stanley
1996 John Napier for Burning Blue
1995 Stephen Brimson Lewis for Design for Living and Les Parents Terribles
1994 Mark Thompson for Hysteria
1993 Ian MacNeil for An Inspector Calls
1992 Mark Thompson for The Comedy Of Errors
1991 Mark Thompson for The Wind In The Willows
Designer of the Year
1989/90Bob Crowley for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hedda Gabler, Ghetto and The Plantagenets
1988 Richard Hudson for his season at The Old Vic
1987 Lucio Fanti (with Design Team) for The Hairy Ape
1986 William Dudley for Futurists, Kafka’s Dick and The Merry Wives Of Windsor
1985 William Dudley for The Mysteries and The Critics
1984 John Gunter for Wild Honey
1983 Ralph Koltai for Cyrano De Bergerac
1982 John Gunter for Guys And Dolls
1981 Carl Toms for The Provok’d Wife
1980 John Napier and Dermot Hayes for Nicholas Nickleby
1979 William Dudley for Undiscovered Country
1978 Ralph Koltai for Brand
1977 John Napier for King Lear
1976 Farrah for Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2) and Henry V
OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Costume Winners
June 7, 2010
OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Costume Winners
Best Costume Design
2011 After the Dance designed by Hildegard Bechtler
2010 Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert – The Musical designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner
2009 The Histories designed by Tom Piper and Emma Williams
2008 Vicki Mortimer for The Man Of Mode at the National
2007 The Voysey Inheritance, designed by Alison Chitty at the National Lyttelton
2006 The Dog In The Manger designed by Es Devlin at the Playhouse
2005 All’s Well That Ends Well designed by Deirdre Clancey at the Gielgud
2004 Power designed by Christopher Oram
2003 Twelfth Night designed by Jenny Tirimani
Best Costume Designer
2002 Jenny Beavan for Private Lives
2001 Alison Chitty for Remembrance Of Things Past
2000 Julie Taymor for The Lion King
1999 William Dudley for Amadeus and The London Cuckolds
1998 Tim Goodchild for Three Hours After Marriage
1997 Tim Goodchild for The Relapse
1996 Anthony Ward for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Way Of The World and La Grande Magia
1995 Deirdre Clancy for Love’s Labour’s Lost and A Month In The Country
1994 Gerald Scarfe for An Absolute Turkey
1993 William Dudley for Heartbreak House, Pygmalion and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
1992 Mark Thompson for The Comedy Of Errors
1991 Jasper Conran for The Rehearsal
Hot new shows in June
May 28, 2010
June is proving to be a busy month for West End Theatre with a number of high-profile openings, including work from big name directors such as Sam Mendes, Richard Eyre and Matthew Warchus.
Tap Dogs at the Novello Theatre
At the National Theatre, a revival of Terence Rattigan’s After The Dance starts previews from 1 June 2010 featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, and Richard Eye directs Moira Buffini’s new play Welcome to Thebes from 15 June. Also starting on the 15th is Tap Dogs at the Novello Theatre, which returns to London starring hot song and dance man Adam Garcia.
Wartime land girls play Lilies on the Land begins previews at the Arts Theatre from 8 June, and at the Almeida Ruth Wilson stars in a stage version of Ingmar Bergman’s Through a Glass Darkly from 10 June.
The Old Vic sees the next of its Bridge Project plays start on 12 June, in a new Sam Mendes production of As You Like It starring Stephen Dillane and Juliet Rylance.
Sticking with the Shakespeare theme, the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park starts previews of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors on 24 June, and the following day the Lyric Hammersmith transfers its sell-out fright-night chiller Ghost Stories to the Duke of York’s Theatre.
Finally, all-star, Broadway-bound comedy La Bete opens at the Comedy Theatre from 26 June starring Joanna Lumley, Mark Rylance and David Hyde Pierce.
MORE INFORMATION AND BOOKING
National Theatre, from 1 June 2010
With next year’s centenary of playwright Terence Rattigan fast approaching, expect to see a number of high-profile revivals of his work – both on stage and screen.
This new production of his 1939 play After the Dance is directed for the National by Thea Sharrock (The Misanthrope, Equus) and is a subtle expose of the hedonistic 1920s generation, dealing with themes of repression and love.
As the world races towards catastrophe, a crowd of Mayfair socialites party their way to oblivion. At its centre is David, who idles away his sober moments researching a futile book until the beautiful Helen decides to save him, shattering his marriage and learning too late the depth of both David’s indolence and his wife’s undeclared love. But with finances about to crash and humanity on the brink of global conflict, the drink keeps flowing and the revellers dance on.
Book tickets to After the Dance at the National Theatre in London
Arts Theatre, from 8 June 2010
Lilies On The Land is moving and funny portrait of some of Britain’s pluckiest, unsung heroes. This charming, gripping tale celebrates the Women’s Land Army during World War II – an extraordinary episode in Britain’s history. This play charts the personal journeys of four women who sign up to become Land Girls, determined to work backbreaking hours on the land in a bid to do their bit for the war effort.
Based on letters and interviews with the original Land Girls, these women, who are all from different backgrounds and torn from their families, must survive the hardships of farming and the pressures of war. The cast of this compelling play features Rosalind Cressy, Sarah Finch, Dorothy Lawrence and Kali Peacock.
Book tickets to Lilies on the Land at the Arts Theatre in London
The Old Vic, from 12 June
Part of the successful Bridge Project – a transatlantic collaboration between the Old Vic in London and the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York – this year sees Oscar winning director Sam Mendes direct Shakespeare’s As You Like It and The Tempest.
The company is led by Stephan Dillane, Christian Camargo, Ron Cephas Jones and Juliet Rylance.
As You Like It is Shakespeare’s pastoral romantic comedy that features Juliet Rylance and Michelle Beck as the heroines Rosalind and Celia, and Christian Camargo and Thomas Sadoski as Orlando and Touchstone.
Young British actress Rylance, the daughter of acclaimed actor Mark Rylance, has appeared on stage both in New York and London, including Shakespeare’s Globe. Dillane, who plays Jacques in As You Like It, returns to the stage for the first time since winning a Tony Award for Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing.
Books tickets to As You Like It at the Old Vic Theatre in London
Novello Theatre, from 15 June 2010
Adam Garcia will return to the London stage this June in the Australian dance show Tap Dogs.
Tap Dogs is a worldwide hit that combines the strength and power of workmen with the precision and talent of tap dancing. The adrenalin-pumped cast of this award-winning show inject raw passion and power into the ultimate visual dance spectacular.
Adam Garcia started his career in 1992 in the Australian tour of Hot Shoe Shuffle – which transferred to the West End – and went on to perform in Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Wicked and as a judge on Sky 1 entertainment show Got To Dance.
Book tickets to Tap Dogs at the Novello Theatre in London
Duke of York’s Theatre, from 25 June 2010
A truly terrifying theatrical experience written and directed by The League of Gentlemen’s master of the macabre, Jeremy Dyson, and Andy Nyman, co-creator and director of Derren Brown’s television and stage shows and star of Dead Set and Severance.
As three men gather together, each has an uncanny, chilling tale to tell. Ghost Stories played a hugely successful run at the Lyric Hammersmith before transferring to the Duke of York’s theatre in the West End. The show stars Nicholas Burns, David Cardy, Ryan Gage and Andy Nyman.
Strictly for theatregoers aged 16 and older.
“Brilliant and deeply unsettling” The Telegraph
“A pant-wetter of a night. It’s terrifying” Daily Mail
“Yes, I gulped and others screeched” The Times
“Hugely entertaining piece of theatre” The Stage
Book tickets to Ghost Stories at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London
Comedy Theatre, from 26 June 2010
American playwright David Hirson’s rollicking 1991 play, La Bete is a comic tour de force about Elomire (David Hyde Pierce – “Frasier”), a high-minded classical dramatist who loves only the theatre, and Valere (Mark Rylance – “Jerusalem”), a low-brow street clown who loves only himself. When the fickle princess (Joanna Lumley – “Absolutely Fabulous”) decides she’s grown weary of Elomire’s royal theatre troupe, he and Valere are left fighting for survival as art squares off with ego in a literary showdown for the ages.
Other cast include Stephen Ouimette, Lisa Joyce, Greta Lee, Robert Lonsdale, Michael Milligan, Liza Sadovy and Sally Wingert. The play will be directed by Matthew Warchus and run for a limited season at the Comedy Theatre before heading to Broadway.
Book tickets to La Bete at the Comedy Theatre in London
