Paul Mescal will make his much-anticipated National Theatre debut in 2027, starring in two landmark productions at the Lyttelton Theatre: Tom Murphy’s A Whistle in the Dark and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.
The productions form part of Indhu Rubasingham’s first season as Artistic Director of the National Theatre and celebrate the Lyttelton’s return to repertory for the first time since 2020.
Directed by Caitríona McLaughlin, A Whistle in the Dark will be staged in a co-production with Dublin’s Abbey Theatre, and will subsequently transfer there following its London run. Mescal will also reunite with director Rebecca Frecknall for Death of a Salesman, following their acclaimed collaboration on A Streetcar Named Desire, which began at the Almeida Theatre before transferring to the West End and later to Broadway.
Both plays, while rooted in different cultural landscapes, explore the complexities of familial conflict, the search for identity, and the often-destructive pressures of societal expectation. “Despite their different settings and cultural backgrounds, both plays focus on dysfunctional family relationships, the struggle for identity, and the crushing weight of societal and familial expectations,” the National Theatre said in a statement.
The new repertory season promises to showcase the full capabilities of the Lyttelton’s design, offering audiences a dynamic season of complementary productions. A second set of repertory productions for the Lyttelton will be announced at a later date.
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman remains one of the most influential works of American theatre, chronicling the downfall of Willy Loman amidst the illusions of the American Dream. Tom Murphy’s A Whistle in the Dark, first staged in 1961, offers a searing portrayal of an Irish immigrant family’s violent struggles with identity, loyalty, and survival in a hostile environment.
Ticketing information and further casting announcements are to be announced.
More about Death of a Salesman tickets at the National Theatre
More about A Whistle in the Dark tickets at the National Theatre
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