Alan Bennett's ALLELUJAH! To Be Shown In UK Cinemas This November

Allelujah! - the new play by Alan Bennett which received its world premiere at the Bridge Theatre last month - will be in cinemas on 1st November with National Theatre Live.

The Beth, an old fashioned cradle-to-grave hospital serving a town on the edge of the Pennines, is threatened with closure as part of an NHS efficiency drive. Meanwhile, a documentary crew eager to capture its fight for survival follows the daily struggle to find beds on the Dusty Springfield Geriatric Ward, and the triumphs of the old people's choir (newest member: the Pudsey Nightingale).

Allelujah! is the tenth collaboration between the award winning Bennett and Hytner. They first worked together on Bennett's adaptation of The Wind in the Willows for the National Theatre in 1990. Then followed The Madness of King George III, The Lady in the Van and The History Boys, all of which were also seen on film, The Habit of Art, People and the double bill Untold Stories.

The ensemble cast comprises Samuel Barnett (The History Boys), Sam Bond (Coronation Street), Jacqueline Chan (Sherlock), Jacqueline Clarke (Last of the Summer Wine), Sacha Dhawan (The History Boys), Rosie Ede (A Streetcat Named Bob), Patricia England (Last of the Summer Wine), Deborah Findlay (Cranford), Peter Forbes (Follies), Julia Foster (Dad's Army), Manish Gandhi (Driftwood), Colin Haigh (The History Boys), Richie Hart (The Bloody Mary Show), Nadine Higgin (The Lion King West End), Nicola Hughes (Porgy and Bess Regent's Park Open Air Theatre), Anna Lindup (Tenko), Louis Mahoney (Holby City), David Moorst (Grantchester), Jeff Rawle (Drop the Dead Donkey), Cleo Sylvestre (Doctors), Gwen Taylor (Heartbeat), Sue Wallace (Coronation Street), Simon Williams (Upstairs, Downstairs), Duncan Wisbey (The Hive) and Gary Wood (Wicked West End). Design by Bob Crowley with choreography Arlene Phillips, lighting by Natasha Chivers and music by George Fenton.

Allelujah! will be filmed live during a performance at the Bridge Theatre where it runs until 29th September 2018. Allelujah! marks the third collaboration between NT Live and the Bridge following Young Marx and Julius Caesar.

Since launching in 2009, National Theatre Live broadcasts have been seen by an audience of over 8 million people at 2500 venues in 65 countries. The first season began in June 2009 with the acclaimed production of Phédre starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren. Recent broadcasts include Julius Caesar with David Morrissey and Ben Wishaw, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Sienna Miller, Follies with Imelda Staunton, Yerma with Billie Piper, Angels in America with Andrew Garfield and Russell Tovey, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill, Rosentcrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead with Daniel Radcliffe and Hedda Gabler with Ruth Wilson. Sky Arts is the UK sponsor for National Theatre Live.

The Bridge Theatre opened its doors in October 2017, co-founded by Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr, situated on the River Thames by Tower Bridge and City Hall. Its auditorium is a collaboration with Haworth Tompkins and Tait-Stage Technologies. The Bridge focuses on the production of new work as well as staging the occasional classic. Alan Bennett's Allelujah! is followed by the world premiere of Martin McDonagh's A Very Very Very Dark Matter which runs from 12 October 2018 to 6 January 2019.

To find your nearest cinema and more National Theatre Live broadcasts go to http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk

For more on the Bridge theatre go to https://bridgetheatre.co.uk/

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