The National Theatre in London has announced a new production of Summerfolk, and the New York transfer of Hamlet.
Summerfolk
National Theatre Deputy Artistic Director Robert Hastie (Standing at the Sky’s Edge) will direct a new adaptation of the classic Russian drama by Nina Raine and Moses Raine in the Olivier Theatre.
This topical new version of Maxim Gorky’s Summerfolk promises to be a razor-sharp portrayal of class, privilege and denial, and will play at the National Theatre from 6 March to 29 April 2026.
Director Robert Hastie is joined for the show by set and costume designer Peter McKintosh, lighting designer Paul Pyant, sound designer Alexandra Faye Braithwaite, composer Nicola T. Chang, associate set designer Joseph Bisat Marshall, casting director Bryony Jarvis-Taylor CDG, and staff director Lilac Yosiphon.
Hamlet
Robert Hastie’s new production of Hamlet starring Hiran Abeysekera, which is now playing at the National’s Lyttelton theatre, will transfer to New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in spring 2026, from 19 April to 17 May 2026.
The transfer marks the start of a multi-year partnership between the National and BAM.
Hiran Abeysekera will reprise his role as Hamlet, with further casting to be announced.
The creative team will once again include set and costume designer Ben Stones, lighting designer Jessica Hung Han Yun, sound designer Alexandra Faye Braithwaite, composer Richard Taylor, movement director Ira Mandela Siobhan, fight director Kate Waters, casting directors Alastair Coomer CDG and Martin Poile CDG, associate director Georgie Staight and voice coach Shereen Ibrahim.
More National Theatre news
Also announced today, the National’s new revival of Christopher Hampton’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses directed by Marianne Elliott (War Horse) has announced further casting to join Aidan Turner and Lesley Manville in the hugely anticipated production. Read more here.
In other news, full casting has been announced for the NT’s revival of Terence Rattigan’s Man and Boy starring Ben Daniels, including Laurie Kynaston.
Yesterday the National Theatre announced two new executives who will lead the National’s transfers and tours, with Tim Levy appointed as the National’s new Director of Commercial Producing, and Pádraig Cusack as the NT’s new Touring Consultant.
Current shows at the National Theatre
National Theatre shows now playing at its three Southbank venues include Hamlet (until 22 November), Bacchae (until 1 November) and The Land of the Living (until 1 November). This year’s Christmas shows at the National include the return of Ballet Shoes.
Also, recent National Theatre hit The Importance of Being Earnest is now playing at the West End’s Noel Coward Theatre starring Stephen Fry. The National’s production of War Horse is currently touring the UK.
What They Said
Indhu Rubasingham, Director and Co-Chief Executive of the National Theatre, said in a statement: “As we mark 60 years of staging productions in the US, it’s deeply fitting to bring Hamlet to BAM next spring, a play with such profound and lasting legacy, especially here at the National Theatre. I can’t wait to share Robert Hastie’s bold and brilliant production and Hiran Abeysekera’s extraordinary performance with audiences in New York.
“Back on these shores, Robert directs a new version of Gorky’s Summerfolk, reimagined by Nina Raine and Moses Raine, opening in the Olivier in March. Both Hamlet and Summerfolk query how we live honestly in a world that’s shifting beneath our feet and the work we announce today embodies the Next Chapter of the NT – connecting our stories with global audiences and continuing to ask difficult questions through ambitious theatre.”
Kate Varah, Executive Director and Co-Chief Executive of the National Theatre, said: “‘At the National Theatre, our vision is bold: to make world-class theatre accessible to everyone, everywhere. As we celebrate 60 years of staging in the US, we are forging new paths with multi-year collaborations at BAM and The Shed – two iconic creative powerhouses in New York City. We recently announced a groundbreaking partnership with the Educational Theatre Association that will deliver the National Theatre Collection, free of charge, to 5,000 US schools in all 50 states, inspiring the next generation of theatre-makers across the Atlantic. These exciting projects alongside cinema broadcasts via National Theatre Live and National Theatre at Home streaming directly into American homes, means our productions will reach audiences across the US like never before.”
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