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Tickets are now on sale for Cloud 9 at the National Theatre, London. Caryl Churchill’s (Top Girls) landmark play runs in the Lyttelton Theatre from Sunday 2 November 2026 to Wednesday 13 January 2027, in a bold new production directed by Dominic Cooke (A Normal Heart, The Crucible, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom). The cast is led by Charlotte Ritchie and Sam Troughton.

View live availability for Cloud 9 tickets at the National Theatre, London

As non-conforming in its structure as its subject, Cloud 9 is one of Churchill’s most radical plays. Act I is set in British colonial Africa in the Victorian era, and Act II in a London park in 1979: though only twenty-five years pass for the characters between acts.

Each actor plays a different role in Act I and II, swapping between genders and races, and in doing so, asking audiences to consider how the many of society’s norms are imposed rather than inherent.

With its audacious theatricality and razor-sharp wit, Cloud 9 continues to challenge how we think about gender, power and the legacies of empire and Cooke’s staging promises to bring it to the stage with aplomb.

The cast

  • Charlotte Ritchie playing Maud / Victoria — Best known on television as Alison Cooper in the BBC’s Ghosts (2019–2023) and Nurse Barbara Gilbert in Call the Midwife (2015–2018). Her stage work includes the West End production of The Philanthropist at Trafalgar Studios. Cloud 9 marks her National Theatre debut.
  • Sam Troughton playing Clive / Cathy — A hugely experienced stage actor whose theatre credits include Beginning at the National Theatre and Ambassadors Theatre, King Lear, Buried Child and The Coast of Utopia trilogy at the NT, and Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar and The Winter’s Tale for the RSC. On screen, he is known for Chernobyl, Black Doves and Litvinenko.
  • Rebecca Humphries playing Ellen / Mrs Saunders / Lin — Has appeared on stage in Pomona at the National Theatre, Temple at the Donmar Warehouse and Blackout Songs at the Hampstead Theatre. On screen she is known for Ten Percent and The Crown.

The cast also includes Tom Mothersdale (Harry Bagley / Martin), Ellen Robertson (Edward / Betty), Stuart Thompson (Betty / Edward) and Eloka Ivo (Joshua / Gerry).

The creative team

Director Dominic Cooke has a broad theatre repertoire including Mrs Warren’s Profession, Hello Dolly!, Medea and Good in the West End, as well as The Normal Heart and Follies at the National Theatre.

The design team is equally strong. Set designer Miriam Buether has multiple NT credits including Earthquakes in London and The Effect; costume designer Samuel Wyer created the looks for The Ocean at the End of the Lane in the West End and on tour; lighting designer Jessica Hung Han Yun recently lit Hamlet at the NT; and sound designer Donato Wharton’s credits here include Nye and The Grapes of Wrath.

A landmark revival

Cloud 9 was first staged by Joint Stock and premiered in London at the Royal Court Theatre in 1979 and has since been staged all over the world. Now, nearly half a century after it first appeared, it arrives on one of Britain’s largest stages for the first time.

An exciting season

Along with Cloud 9, tickets have also been released for more exciting productions at the National Theatre, including:

National Theatre Tickets | London Theatre Tickets | West End Theatre

More about tickets to Cloud 9 at the National Theatre in London.

Plan your visit

  • Show: Cloud 9 by Caryl Churchill
  • Venue: Lyttelton Theatre, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX
  • Dates: 2 November 2026 – 13 January 2027 (previews from 2 November)
Cloud 9

National Theatre - Lyttelton Theatre, London

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Cloud 9
Main photo: Cloud 9 - National Theatre - Tickets - London

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