National Theatre Live Season 2022-23

NEW PRODUCTION
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Max Webster

Captured Live from the Donmar Warehouse in London.

Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) plays the title role in Shakespeare’s thrilling study of nationalism, war and the psychology of power.

Fresh to the throne, King Henry V launches England into a bloody war with France. When his campaign encounters resistance, this inexperienced new ruler must prove he is fit to guide a country into war.

Captured live from the Donmar Warehouse in London, this exciting modern production directed by Max Webster (Life of Pi) explores what it means to be English and our relationship to Europe, asking: do we ever get the leaders we deserve?

★★★★
‘a broodingly impressive production.’
– Time Out

★★★★
‘A victory’
– Telegraph

★★★★
‘Violent, devastating, and astonishing in its power’
– The I

★★★★
‘A production that has scope, strength, and winning confidence’
– WhatsOnStage

★★★★
‘Kit Harington is resoundly good’
– The Times

★★★★★
‘richly passionate production’
– Theatre Weekly

★★★★★
‘burns with an epic intensity’
– West End Best Friend

ENCORE PRESENTATION (2020)
By Edmond Rostand, in a new version by Martin Crimp
Directed by Jamie Lloyd

Captured Live from the Playhouse Theatre in London.

James McAvoy (X-Men, Atonement) returns to the stage in an inventive adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, captured live in 2020 from the West End in London.

Fierce with a pen and notorious in combat, Cyrano almost has it all – if only he could win the heart of his true love Roxane. There’s just one big problem: he has a nose as huge as his heart. Will a society engulfed by narcissism get the better of Cyrano – or can his mastery of language set Roxane’s world alight?

Edmond Rostand’s masterwork is adapted by Martin Crimp, with direction by Jamie Lloyd (Betrayal). This classic play will be brought to life with linguistic ingenuity to celebrate Cyrano’s powerful and resonant resistance against overwhelming odds.

★★★★★
‘The most breathtakingly exciting show in London right now’
– Evening Standard

★★★★★
‘I defy anyone not to fall in love with it’
– The Telegraph

★★★★★
‘McAvoy is spellbinding as Cyrano’
– Metro

★★★★★
‘Funny, thrilling and deeply moving.’
– WhatsOnStage

★★★★
‘James McAvoy is fierce in radical reboot of romantic classic’
– Guardian

★★★★
‘James McAvoy shines as the lovelorn cavalier in this post- ‘Hamilton’ take on the iconic French rhyming play’
– TimeOut

NEW PRODUCTION
By Suzie Miller
Directed by Justin Martin

Captured Live from the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End.

Starring Jodie Comer, the Emmy and Bafta Award-winning star of Killing Eve and The Last Duel

Jodie Comer makes her West End debut in the UK premiere of Suzie Miller’s award-winning play.

Tessa is a young, brilliant barrister. She has worked her way up from working class origins to be at the top of her game; defending; cross examining and winning. An unexpected event forces her to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof and morals diverge.

Prima Facie takes us to the heart of where emotion and experience collide with the rules of the game.

Justin Martin directs this solo tour de force, captured live from the intimate Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End.

Trailer Coming Soon!

★★★★ ‘West End debuts don’t come much more astonishing than this’
– Telegraph

★★★★
‘Jodie Comer’s West End debut is like a punch in the guts’
– Telegraph

★★★★ ‘masterful West End debut’
– Guardian

★★★★
‘Jodie Comer takes the stage by storm’
– Times

★★★★
‘A solo tour de force’
– Times

★★★★
‘rest assured, you’re in for something special’
– Times

★★★★
‘Jodie Comer’s stage debut is nothing short of extraordinary’
– The Stage

★★★★
‘an extraordinarily gutsy and rich performance by Jodie Comer’
– Evening Standard

★★★★
‘an unforgettable moment of theatre’
– WhatsOnStage

★★★★ ‘Jodie Comer is phenomenal… a fearless, faultless performance’
– Deadline

NEW PRODUCTION
By David Hare
Directed by Nicholas Hytner

Captured Live from the Bridge Theatre in London.

Ralph Fiennes (Antony & Cleopatra) leads the cast in David Hare’s (Skylight) blazing account of the most powerful man in New York, a master manipulator whose legacy changed the city forever.

For forty uninterrupted years, Robert Moses exploited those in office through a mix of charm and intimidation. Motivated at first by a determination to improve the lives of New York City’s workers, he created parks, bridges and 627 miles of expressway to connect the people to the great outdoors.

Faced with resistance by protest groups campaigning for a very different idea of what the city should become, will the weakness of democracy be exposed in the face of his charismatic conviction?

Broadcast live from the Bridge Theatre in London, Nicholas Hytner directs this exhilarating new play.

Trailer Coming Soon!

★★★★★
‘Dramatically gripping and politically thoughtful’
‘Fiennes heads an electrifying cast’
– The Guardian

★★★★
‘Stirring, engrossing stuff smoothly directed by Nicholas Hytner’
– WhatsOnStage

★★★★
‘Ralph Fiennes excels in David Hare’s new play’
– Broadway World

★★★★
‘Nicholas Hytner’s production is brisk and energetic’
– Daily Mail

★★★★
‘Ralph Fiennes is firing on all cylinders in David Hare’s new play’
– Observer

‘Ralph Fiennes is magnetic’
– Time Out

‘Polished, witty, impeccably researched work’
– Evening Standard

NEW PRODUCTION
Directed by Emily Burns
By Richard Bean and Oliver Chris based on Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The Rivals

A rollicking new comedy by Richard Bean (One Man, Two Guvnors) and Oliver Chris (Twelfth Night).

After an aerial dog fight, Pilot Officer Jack Absolute flies home to win the heart of his old flame, Lydia Languish. Back on British soil, Jack’s advances soon turn to anarchy when the young heiress demands to be loved on her own, very particular, terms.

Emily Burns directs this spectacularly entertaining new version of Sheridan’s The Rivals. Featuring a cast including Caroline Quentin, Laurie Davidson, Natalie Simpson and Kelvin Fletcher.

‘One of the funniest productions in the National’s history.’ Guardian on One Man, Two Guvnors

Trailer Coming Soon!

Reviews Coming Soon!

NEW PRODUCTION
Directed by Simon Godwin
By William Shakespeare

Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd) and John Heffernan (Dracula) lead the cast in Shakespeare’s romcom of sun, sea and mistaken identity.

The legendary family-run Hotel Messina on the Italian Riveria has been visited by artists, celebrities and royalty. But when the owner’s daughter weds a dashing young soldier, not all guests are in the mood for love.

A string of scandalous deceptions soon surround not only the young couple, but also the adamantly single Beatrice and Benedick.

Following the award-winning success of National Theatre Live’s Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night and Antony and Cleopatra, director Simon Godwin returns with this irresistible comedy, broadcast live from the National Theatre stage.

Trailer Coming Soon!

Reviews Coming Soon!