The National Theatre has announced two new productions for its autumn 2024 season, and full casting for two of its summer shows.
The two shows include the world premiere of a new play from Tanika Gupta, titled A Tupperware of Ashes, directed by Pooja Ghai and starring Meera Syal.
Joining Meera Syal in the cast will be Raj Bajaj, Natalie Dew, Marc Elliott, Stephen Fewell, Shobna Gulati, Avita Jay and Zubin Varla.
A Tupperware of Ashes will play the Dorfman theatre from 25 September 2024.
Also new is The Other Place, a new play inspired by Antigone from National Theatre Associate Alexander Zeldin.
The Other Place will be performed in the Lyttelton theatre from 27 September 2024 and star Emma D’Arcy (House of the Dragon), Tobias Menzies (Game of Thrones), Nina Sosanya (Love Actually), Lee Braithwaite (Cowbois) and Jeremy Killick (The Confessions). Further cast are to be announced.
As previously announced, the other new National Theatre production this autumn is Lyndsey Turner directing David Oyelowo in his National Theatre debut in Shakespeare’s Coriolanus.
The cast will also include Luke Aquilina, Anushka Chakravarti, Anton Cross, Patrick Elue, Peter Forbes, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Conor McLeod, Jordan Metcalfe, Richard Pryal, Jordan Rhys, Stephanie Street and John Vernon, with further casting to be announced.
Coriolanus will play the Olivier theatre from 11 September 2024.
Also full casting has been announced for the National’s summer shows The Hot Wing King and The Grapes of Wrath.
Katori Hall’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy The Hot Wing King will get its UK premiere in the Dorfman theatre from 11 July to 14 September 2024, directed by Roy Alexander Weise.
The show will feature previously announced Kadiff Kirwan, alongside Jason Barnett, Kaireece Denton, Olisa Odele, Simon-Anthony Rhoden and Dwane Walcott.
Frank Galati’s award-winning adaptation of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath will play the Lyttelton theatre from 17 July to 14 September 2024, directed by Carrie Cracknell (Julie, The Deep Blue Sea).
The production will star the previously announced Tony Award-winner Cherry Jones (Succession), plus Zoë Aldrich, Afolabi Alli, Rhys Bailey, Rachel Barnes, Brandon Bassir, Lin Blakley, Morgan Burgess, Tom Bulpett, Ryan Ellsworth, Amelia Gabriel, Christopher Godwin, Valentine Hanson, Greg Hicks, Harley Johnston, Natey Jones, William Lawlor, Mirren Mack, Maimuna Memon, Matthew Romain, Anish Roy, Michael Shaeffer, Robyn Sinclair, Tucker St Ivany, Emma Tracey, Harry Treadaway and Cath Whitefield.
In other news, the National Theatre’s Dorfman theatre is set to temporarily close from mid-November 2024 to mid 2025 for urgent infrastructure work. Funding for the work is coming from the £26.4 capital investment from the government announced in the spring budget.
This work will address a complete rewiring of the space, replacement of the ‘get in’ lift and flying system, and the replacement of lighting and dimming systems.
Last week the National Theatre announced casting for its forthcoming revival of Mnemonic, coming to the Olivier Theatre from 22 June 2024; and last month they announced a new production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, coming to the Lyttelton Theatre from 20 November starring Ncuti Gatwa, Sharon D Clarke and Hugh Skinner and directed by Max Webster.
This Christmas 2024 the National Theatre will produce a new stage adaptation of Noel Streatfeild’s much-loved, best-selling book Ballet Shoes, at the Olivier theatre from 23 November 2024. The show is adapted by Kendall Feaver and directed by Katy Rudd (The Ocean at the End of the Lane).
There’s still no news on whether the National’s big-budget production of Roald Dahl’s The Witches, which was a hit for the National last Christmas, will get a further run in the West End.
The National’s current West End transfers include Standing at the Sky’s Edge, which is playing the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London until 3 August 2024.
What They Said
Outgoing Artistic Director of the National Theatre Rufus Norris said in a statement: “We are delighted to be welcoming three new productions to our South Bank stages this autumn, all created by some of the world’s greatest modern theatre-makers.
“These shows exemplify what we strive to do here at the National Theatre: to reinvestigate classics with Lyndsey Turner’s fresh take on Shakespeare’s Coriolanus in the Olivier; reimagine old stories into new plays that speak to audiences today with Alexander Zeldin’s The Other Place after Antigone in the Lyttelton; and staging new work from contemporary voices with Tanika Gupta’s A Tupperware of Ashes with Meera Syal in the central role in the Dorfman theatre. It is a rich slate exploring resonant stories and I cannot wait to share them with you all.
“We will also undertake some important infrastructure work in the Dorfman theatre from mid-November. This work, made possible by significant investment from the government in the spring budget, will ensure the rich and varied new work we present will have the best possible environment in which to be brought to life for our audiences. We remain hugely grateful for this important, visionary investment in the future of the National Theatre.”
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