Plenty Tickets

Susan Traherne spent the Second World War as a Special Operations Executive agent in occupied France, working alongside the Resistance in a role that gave her life a clarity and purpose she has never since been able to replicate. As the decades of peacetime unfold around her: a marriage, a career, a country slowly changing shape, Susan finds herself increasingly unable to settle, haunted by the sense that nothing since has ever measured up.

David Hare’s landmark play examines post-war disillusionment through Susan’s story, tracing the gap between the ideals a generation fought for and the compromises of the world that followed. First staged at the National Theatre in 1978, Plenty has become one of the defining British plays of the 20th century, and its central role one of the great parts in modern drama — previously performed by Kate Nelligan, who originated the role, and Cate Blanchett, in a celebrated 1999 London revival.

This new production, directed by Richard Eyre, brings Plenty back to the National Theatre for the first time in nearly 50 years, staged ahead of the play’s own 50th anniversary and David Hare’s 80th birthday.

Who is in the cast of Plenty?

• Susan Traherne: Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), making her National Theatre debut

Who are the creative team of Plenty?

• Writer: David Hare (Skylight, Racing Demon)
• Director: Richard Eyre (former National Theatre Director)