Additional Imports Announced! National Theatre's WAR HORSE And THE PITMAN PAINTERS To Play Broadway

The National Theatre could quite possibly be the only institution not suffering from the residue of last year's economic setback. They report 817,000 paid attendances for the 25 productions (17 of which were original) that ran throughout the 2008-2009 the financial year. This figure marks the highest total attendance in the last seven years, at 93 percent of capacity for a total of 1,106 performances.

It has recently been announced that two of the highest earners from this successful crop of shows, War Horse and THE PITMAN PAINTERS will achieve Broadway transfers in the near future.

THE War Horse, now playing on the West End, earned £2.7 million at the box office at 99 percent capacity while at the National.  The National's director Nicholas Hytner and executive producer Nick Starr have confirmed plans to take War Horse on tour in the U.K and internationally, with a Broadway transfer to finish. 

In his introduction to the published report, Nicholas Hytner has commented, "Most years, taking into account our extensive touring and our work in the West End and very often on Broadway, we reach well over a million [people]. According to the Society of London Theatres, we are responsible for about a third of the entire play-going public in London." And now, with the recently launched NT Live program, in which live performances are filmed and broadcast from the National to cinemas all over the world, he adds, "There now appears to be no limit to the number of people we can reach both nationally and internationally, and at the very time that we have harnessed new technology to our determination to get out as widely as possible, we are embarking on an expanded touring programme that will see, over the next couple of years, productions on the road of Lee Hall's THE PITMAN PAINTERS, Alan Bennett's THE HABIT OF ART, War Horse and HAMLET."

THE PITMAN PAINTERS will tour from September 29th- November 28th, traveling to Newcastle's Theatre Royal, Dublin's Gaiety Theatre, Cardiff's New Theatre, Milton Keynes Theatre, Salford's Lyric Theatre, Norwich's Theatre Royal, Bath's Theatre Royal and Plymouth Theatre Royal. It will return to National's Lyttelton Theatre for a run beginning Dec. 2nd 2009 through Jan. 18th. Nick Starr said that Broadway producer Bob Boyett will then transfer it to a Broadway theatre to be announced, for an April 2010 opening.

The National has three theatres - the Olivier, Lyttelton and Cottesloe - that present up to three different shows daily. The theatre also sponsors a program of talks and events - Platforms - giving insight into the work of the theatre, plus outdoor events in summer. Every day there is also free music in the main foyer, prior to performances, and free exhibitions.