National Theatre Announces Lineup For First Half of 2019
By: Stephi Wild Jan. 18, 2019
The National Theatre has announced its upcoming lineup for the first half of 2019.
Inua Ellams' Barber Shop Chronicles will play at the Roundhouse, Camden for a limited run from July as part of a UK tour
Gershwyn Eustache Jnr, Leah Harvey and Aisling Loftus lead the cast of Small Island, adapted by Helen Edmundson from Andrea Levy's prize-winning novel, directed by Rufus Norris in the Olivier Theatre
Justine Mitchell joins Roger Allam in Rutherford and Son by Githa Sowerby, directed by Polly Findlay
Phoebe Fox takes the title role of ANNA in Ella Hickson and Ben and Max Ringham's tense thriller directed by Natalie Abrahami
Further casting released for Peter Gynt, directed by Jonathan Kent, written by David Hare, after Henrik Ibsen
War Horse will return to London as part of the 2019 UK and international tour, playing at a new venue, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, for a limited run in October
Olivier Theatre
SMALL ISLAND
adapted by Helen Edmundson
based on the novel by Andrea Levy
Previews from 17 April, press night 1 May, in repertoire until 10 August
Andrea Levy's epic, Orange Prize-winning novel bursts into new life on the Olivier Stage. A cast of 40 tell a story which journeys from Jamaica to Britain through the Second World War to 1948, the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury.
Adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson Small Island follows the intricately connected stories of two couples. Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Hope and humanity meet stubborn reality as the play traces the tangled history of Jamaica and the UK.
Initial casting includes Leah Harvey as Hortense, Aisling Loftus as Queenie and Gershwyn Eustache Jnr as Gilbert.
They will perform alongside: CJ Beckford, Jacqueline Boatswain, Phoebe Frances Brown, Chereen Buckley, Cavan Clarke, Shiloh Coke, Beatie Edney, Adam Ewan, David Fielder, Amy Forrest, John Hastings, Stephanie Jacob, Sandra James-Young, Natey Jones, Trevor Laird, Johann Myers and Andrew Rothney.
Directed by Rufus Norris, set and costume design by Katrina Lindsay, projection design by Jon Driscoll, lighting design by Paul Anderson, composer Benjamin Kwasi Burrell, sound design by Ian Dickinson, movement direction by Coral Messam and fight direction by Kate Waters.
Production supported by Areté Foundation / Betsy & Ed Cohen.
Hundreds of £15 tickets available for every performance.
Broadcast as part of the NT Live Season on 27 June.
PETER GYNT
by David Hare
after Henrik Ibsen
a co-production with Edinburgh International Festival
Previews from Thursday 27 June, press night 9 July, playing until 8 October with additional performance to be announced
Playing at Edinburgh International Festival in August
Peter Gynt has always set his heart on being special, on being a unique individual, on being unlike anyone else. When he steals the bride from a local wedding, he sets off on a lifetime journey which will take him to Florida, to Egypt, to a mountain of trolls, and finally, only when death approaches, back to his home in Scotland.
In this radical new version David Hare kidnaps Ibsen's most famous hero and runs away with him into the 21st century. James McArdle takes the title role in this epic story of transformation, following his acclaimed performances in Platonov and Angels in America. He is reunited with David Hare and Jonathan Kent, the partnership behind the triumphant Young Chekhov at Chichester Festival Theatre and the National Theatre.
Cast also includes Caroline Deyga, Jonathan Coy and Ann Louise Ross with further cast to be announced.
Directed by Jonathan Kent, set and costume design by Richard Hudson, lighting design by Mark Henderson, sound design by Christopher Shutt and movement direction by Polly Bennett.
Lyttelton Theatre
RUTHERFORD AND SON
Previews from 16 May, press night 28 May, performances until 19 June with additional performances to be announced
In a Northern industrial town, John Rutherford rules both factory and family with an iron will. But even as the furnaces burn relentlessly at the Glassworks, at home his children begin to turn against him.
Githa Sowerby's astonishing play was inspired by her own experience of growing up in a family-run factory in Gateshead. Writing in 1912, when female voices were seldom heard on British stages, she now claims her place alongside Ibsen and Bernard Shaw with this searing depiction of class, gender and generational warfare.
Roger Allam (Les Miserables, The Thick of It) returns to the National for the first time in a decade to play Rutherford in this new production directed by Polly Findlay (Beginning). Justine Mitchell joins Roger Allam in the role of Janet Rutherford.
Set and costume design by Lizzie Clachan, lighting design by Charles Balfour, movement direction by Polly Bennett, sound design by Paul Arditti, and music by Kerry Andrew.
Dorfman Theatre
ANNA
created by Ella Hickson, Ben and Max Ringham
Previews from May 11, press night 21 May, playing until 15 June
Anna and Hans are married, in love and moving up in the world - but it is a world ruled by suspicion. Who can be trusted when everyone is listening? Can we ever escape our past?
Phoebe Fox (Twelfth Night, A View from the Bridge) performs the role of Anna and is cast alongside Nathalie Armin, Max Bennett, Jamie Bradley, Georgia Landers and Dwane Walcott.
Created by Ella Hickson (The Writer), Ben and Max Ringham with story by Ella Hickson and composition and sound design by Ben and Max Ringham, Natalie Abrahami (Machinal) directs this tense new thriller which uses individual audio headsets to give the audience intimate access to events as they unfold over one evening.
Set and costume design by Vicki Mortimer, lighting design by Jon Clark and movement direction by Anna Morrissey.
Productions currently on sale
Olivier Theatre
FOLLIES
book by James Goldman
music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Previews from 12 February, press night 22 February, in repertory until 11 May
After a sold-out run, Follies, winner of the 2018 Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival and best costume design returns in 2019.
Stephen Sondheim's legendary musical includes such classic songs as 'Broadway Baby', 'I'm Still Here' and 'Losing My Mind'.
Featuring a cast of 40 and an orchestra of 21, Follies is directed by Dominic Cooke. Janie Dee and Peter Forbes return to reprise their roles, Alexander Hanson and Joanna Riding join the cast as Ben and Sally. Cast also includes Julie Armstrong, Lindsay Atherton, Josephine Barstow, Rosanna Bates, Jeremy Batt, Tracie Bennett, Billy Boyle, Kaye Brown, Anouska Eaton, Liz Ewing, Vanessa Fisher, Caroline Fitzgerald, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Bruce Graham, Adrian Grove, Alyn Hawke, Harry Hepple, Aimee Hodnett, Dawn Hope, Liz Izen, Jasmine Kerr, Alison Langer, Felicity Lott, Sarah-Marie Maxwell, Ian McIntosh, Ian McLarnon, Claire Moore, Tom Partridge, Gary Raymond, Michael Remick, Rohan Richards, Lisa Ritchie, Myra Sands, Gemma Sutton, Monica Swayne, Christine Tucker and Liam Wrate.
Designed by Vicki Mortimer, choreography by Bill Deamer, music supervisor Nicholas Skilbeck, orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick with Josh Clayton, music director Nigel Lilley, lighting design by Paule Constable and sound design by Paul Groothuis.
Supported by the Follies production syndicate.
Lyttelton Theatre
TARTUFFE
by Molière
in a new version by John Donnelly
Previews from 9 February, press night 21 February, in repertoire until 30 April
A ferocious new version of Molière's comic masterpiece by John Donnelly, directed by Blanche McIntyre (The Writer) who makes her NT debut.
Orgon is the man who has everything. Money, power, a beautiful home and family. But lately he's been questioning the point of it all. When he invites the irresistible Tartuffe into his seemingly perfect household, the stranger unleashes a whirlwind of deception and seduction that threatens everything.
With Orgon under Tartuffe's spell, can his family outwit this charismatic trickster? Are Tartuffe's wild claims truth or fiction? This mysterious stranger may not be quite the villain he appears.
Kevin Doyle as Orgon and Denis O'Hare as Tartuffe are joined by Adeyinka Akinrinade, Kitty Archer, Nathan Armarkwei-Laryea, Fayez Bakhsh, Kathy Kiera Clarke, Hari Dhillon, Matthew Duckett, Susan Engel, Henry Everett, Will Kelly, Geoffrey Lumb, Penelope McGhie, Kevin Murphy, Enyi Okoronkwo, Roisin Rae, Dominik Tiefenthaler and Olivia Williams.
With set and costume design by Robert Jones, lighting design by Oliver Fenwick, composition and sound design by Ben and Max Ringham and physical comedy direction
Hundreds of £15 tickets for every performance.
TOP GIRLS
Previews from 26 March, press night 3 April, playing until 22 June with additional
performances to be announced
Marlene is the first woman to head the Top Girls employment agency. But she has no plans to stop there. With Maggie in at Number 10 and a spirit of optimism consuming the country, Marlene knows that the future belongs to women like her.
For the first time, the National Theatre stages Caryl Churchill's (Far Away, A Number and Escaped Alone) wildly innovative play about a country divided by its own ambitions. Lyndsey Turner (Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, Chimerica) directs.
Cast includes: Lucy Black, Jessica Brindle, Lucy Ellinson, Amanda Hadingue, Liv Hill, Ebony Jonelle, Katherine Kingsley, Wendy Kweh, Amanda Lawrence, Charlotte Lucas, Ashley McGuire, Siobhán Redmond, Ashna Rabheru, Roisin Rae, Nadia Williams and Naomi Yang.
With set design by Ian MacNeil, costume design by Merle Hensel, lighting design by Jack Knowles and sound design by Christopher Shutt. The composer is Cassie Kinoshi.
Dorfman Theatre
DOWNSTATE
a new play by Bruce Norris
a co-production with Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Previews from 12 March, press night 20 March, playing until 27 April
In downstate Illinois, four men convicted of sex crimes against minors share a group home where they live out their lives in the shadow of the offences they committed. A man shows up to confront his childhood abuser - but does he want closure or retribution?
This provocative new play zeroes in on the limits of our compassion and what happens when society deems anyone beyond forgiveness.
By Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Clybourne Park and The Low Road Bruce Norris and directed by Tony Award-winner Pam MacKinnon.
The American and British cast includes Steppenwolf ensemble members Glenn Davis, K. Todd Freeman, Francis Guinan and Tim Hopper, together with Aimee Lou Wood, Cecilia Noble, Eddie Torres and Matilda Ziegler.
With scenic design by Todd Rosenthal, costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Adam Silverman and sound design by Carolyn Downing.
The New American Work Programme is supported by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Lawton W Fitt & James I McLaren Foundation and Kathleen J Yoh.
WHEN WE HAVE SUFFICIENTLY TORTURED EACH OTHER
12 Variations on Samuel Richardson's Pamela
a new play by Martin Crimp
Press night on 23 January, playing until 2 March
A new play by Martin Crimp (Attempts on Her Life, In the Republic of Happiness). Directed by Katie Mitchell (Waves, Cleansed) with a cast including Cate Blanchett, who makes her National Theatre debut alongside Stephen Dillane returning to the National Theatre for the first time since The Coast of Utopia in 2002.
Martin Crimp's play breaks through the surface of contemporary debate to explore the messy, often violent nature of desire, and the fluid, complicated roles that men and women play.
Using Richardson's novel as a provocation, six characters act out a dangerous game of sexual domination and resistance.
The cast also includes Babirye Bukilwa, Jessica Gunning, Emma Hindle and Craig Miller.
With set design by Vicki Mortimer, costume design by Sussie Juhlin-Wallén, lighting design by James Farncombe, sound design and composition by Melanie Wilson, composition of song (Scene IX) by Roald van Oosten and fight direction by Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown of Rc-Annie Ltd.
A limited number of Day Tickets for £18/£15 are available in person on the day of the performance.
In the West End
NINE NIGHT
a new play by Natasha Gordon
Trafalgar Studios
until 23 February
Natasha Gordon's critically acclaimed debut play, Nine Night, is now playing at Trafalgar Studios in a co-production with Trafalgar Theatre Productions until 23 February.
Directed by Roy Alexander Weise (The Mountaintop), Nine Night is a touching and exuberantly funny exploration of the rituals of family. Gloria is gravely sick. When her time comes, the celebration begins; the traditional Jamaican Nine Night Wake. But for Gloria's children and grandchildren, marking her death with a party that lasts over a week is a test. Nine rum-fuelled nights of music, food, storytelling and laughter - and an endless parade of mourners.
The cast includes Oliver Alvin-Wilson, Karl Collins, Natasha Gordon, Michelle Greenidge, Jade Hackett, Adele James, Hattie Ladbury, Kevin Mathurin, Rebekah Murrell, Cecilia Noble and Rebecca Todd.
The production is designed by Rajha Shakiry, with lighting design by Paule Constable, sound design by George Dennis, movement direction by Shelley Maxwell, fight direction by Bret Yount, company voice work and dialect coaching by Hazel Holder. The Resident Director is Jade Lewis.
HOME, I'M DARLING
a new play by Laura Wade
a co-production with Theatre Clwyd and Fiery Angel
Duke of York's Theatre
26 January - 13 April, opening night 5 February
Following a sold-out run at the National Theatre, Laura Wade's new play transfers to the West End for 11 weeks only. Home, I'm Darling begins performances at the Duke of York's Theatre on 26 January, with an opening night on Tuesday 5 February. The production will then tour to the Theatre Royal Bath, and The Lowry, Salford, before returning to Theatr Clwyd following a sold-out run in July 2018.
Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd, Humans) reprises her acclaimed role as Judy in Laura Wade's fizzing comedy about one woman's quest to be the perfect 1950's housewife. She is joined by Sara Gregory as Alex and Richard Harrington as Johnny (for the West End run, with tour casting for the role of Johnny to be announced), reprising the roles they played at Theatr Clwyd and the National Theatre in 2018. Charlie Allen, Susan Brown, Ellie Burrow, Siubhan Harrison, Jane MacFarlane and Hywel Morgan complete the cast.
The set and costume designer is Anna Fleischle, with lighting design by Lucy Carter, sound design by Tom Gibbons, choreography by Charlotte Broom, associate lighting design by Sean Gleason, and Hannah Noone as Resident Director.
Home, I'm Darling in the West End is supported by American Express, the National Theatre's preferred Card Partner.
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
based on the novel by Mark Haddon
adapted by Simon Stephens
Piccadilly Theatre
until 27 April
The internationally acclaimed smash-hit National Theatre production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is now playing for a strictly limited run at the Piccadilly theatre until 27 April.
Winner of seven Olivier Awards and five Tony Awards including 'Best Play' The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is adapted by Simon Stephens from Mark Haddon's best-selling book, and directed by Marianne Elliott.
The production is designed by Bunny Christie, with lighting design by Paule Constable, video design by Finn Ross, movement by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, music by Adrian Sutton and sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph. The Associate Director is Katy Rudd, the Resident Director is Kim Pierce.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in the West End is supported by American Express, the National Theatre's preferred Card Partner.
For more information, visit www.curiousonstage.com
THE LEHMAN TRILOGY
by Stefano Massini
adapted by Ben Power
a co-production with Neal Street Productions
Piccadilly Theatre
From 11 May, opening night 22 May
Following a sold-out run at the National Theatre, this acclaimed co-production with Neal Street Productions transfers to the Piccadilly Theatre in May.
The story of a family and a company that changed the world, told in three parts on a single evening. Sam Mendes directs Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles who play the Lehman brothers, their sons and grandsons.
On a cold September morning in 1844 a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside. Dreaming of a new life in the new world. He is joined by his two brothers and an American epic begins.163 years later, the firm they establish - Lehman Brothers - spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, and triggers the largest financial crisis in history.
The set designer is Es Devlin, video designer is Luke Halls, costume designer is Katrina Lindsay, lighting designer is Jon Clark, composer and sound designer is Nick Powell, music director is Candida Caldicot, with movement by Polly Bennett. The Associate Director is Zoe Ford Burnett.
Media Sponsors of The Lehman Trilogy: Wall Street Journal and Financial News.
National Theatre on tour
based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford
presented in association with the award-winning Handspring Puppet Company
Having visited 11 countries around the world and playing to nearly 8 million people over the past 11 years, including a recent sold-out return to the National Theatre, the NT's acclaimed play War Horse is now on a UK and international tour throughout 2019.
As part of the tour, War Horse will return to London for a strictly limited run at an exciting new venue Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, located steps away from Wembley Stadium from 18 October - 23 November.
Troubadour Theatres, who specialise in the creation of temporary and semi-permanent theatre venues including Kings Cross Theatre, will open Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre this summer. The six week run of War Horse will include a programme of activity which engages with schools and the local community in Brent in the lead up to the yearlong Brent Borough of Culture collaborative project in 2020.
War Horse will also tour to Glasgow SEC (until 2 February); Sunderland Empire (6 - 23 February), Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (27 February - 16 March), Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent (27 March - 6 April), Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin (10 - 27 April), Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong (from 10 May), Civic Theatre, Auckland (from 21 June), Liverpool Empire Theatre (31 July - 17 August), New Theatre, Oxford (22 August - 7 September) and Curve, Leicester (18 September - 12 October), with further international dates to be announced.
War Horse is directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, designed by Rae Smith, with puppet direction, design and fabrication by Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler for Handspring Puppet Company, lighting by Paule Constable, and movement and horse choreography by Toby Sedgwick, with video design by Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer for 59 Productions, songmaker John Tams, music by Adrian Sutton and sound by Christopher Shutt.
Katie Henry is the UK & International Tour Director and Craig Leo is the Associate Puppetry Director. Charlotte Peters is the Associate Director and Matthew Forbes is the Associate Puppetry Director. They are joined by Resident Director, Charlie Kenber and Resident Puppetry Director, Gareth Aled.
War Horse is produced on tour by the National Theatre.
For more information, visit warhorseonstage.com
War Horse at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre is supported by American Express, the National Theatre's preferred Card Partner.
MACBETH
by William Shakespeare
Macbeth continues its 18-venue tour of the UK and Ireland until March. Directed by Rufus Norris with set designs by Rae Smith, this epic new production propels Shakespeare's classic title into a post-apocalyptic world of anarchy and uncertainty.
The tour will continue at the following venues: Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin (until 19 January); Theatre Royal, Nottingham (22 - 26 January); New Theatre, Hull (5 - 9 February); Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (12 - 16 February); Theatre Royal, Glasgow (19 - 23 February); Mayflower Theatre, Southampton (26 February - 2 March); Grand Opera House, Belfast (5 - 9 March); Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton (12 - 16 March); and Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff (19 - 23 March).
Set design is by Rae Smith, costume design by Moritz Junge, tour lighting design by Paul Pyant, music by Orlando Gough and Marc Tritschler, sound design by Paul Arditti, tour movement direction by Cydney Uffindell-Phillips, with original movement direction by Imogen Knight. The associate Director is Liz Stevenson, associate set design by Aaron Marsden, associate tour lighting design by Ed Locke, associate sound design by Mike Winship. Fight direction by Kev McCurdy and company voice by Jeannette Nelson.
Macbeth is produced on tour by the National Theatre.
Macbeth on tour in partnership with Lloyds Bank Private Banking. Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England's cross-border touring programme, The Thompson Family Charitable Trust, Jacqueline & Richard Worswick and The Royal National Theatre Foundation.
BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES
by Inua Ellams
a National Theatre, Fuel and Leeds Playhouse co-production in association with the Roundhouse
18 July - 24 August, with an opening night on 22 July
Following two sell-out runs at the National Theatre and a world tour, Inua Ellams' acclaimed Barber Shop Chronicles returns to London this summer for strictly-limited season at the Roundhouse, London's most iconic in-the-round performance space.
Newsroom, political platform, local hotspot, confession box, preacher-pulpit and football stadium. For generations, African men have gathered in barber shops to discuss the world. These are places where the banter can be barbed and the truth is always telling.
Directed by Bijan Sheibani and designed by Rae Smith, Barber Shop Chronicles is a heart-warming, hilarious and insightful new play, that leaps from barber shop in Peckham to Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos, and Accra over the course of a single day.
Barber Shop Chronicles will also visit the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester (12 -23 March); Curve, Leicester (3 - 6 April); Bristol Old Vic (2 - 18 May); Sheffield Crucible (22 May - 1 June). Casting to be announced.
Barber Shop Chronicles features lighting design by Jack Knowles, movement direction by Aline David and sound design by Gareth Fry.
Co-commissioned by Fuel and the National Theatre. Development funded by Arts Council England with the support of Fuel, National Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, The Binks Trust, British Council ZA, Òran Mór and A Play, a Pie and a Pint.
The tour has received National Lottery funding through Arts Council England's Project Grants programme.
Barbershop Chronicles at the Roundhouse is supported by American Express, the National Theatre's preferred Card Partner.
International
Following its sold-out run at the National Theatre, Network continues its run on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre, now extended due to demand until 28 April. Based on the Paddy Chayefsky Academy Award-winning film, writer Lee Hall and director Ivo van Hove bring his masterwork to Broadway with Olivier Award-winning Bryan Cranston as Howard Beale. Production supported by Northern Trust and by Marcia Grand in memory of Richard Grand.
The Lehman Trilogy opens in New York at the Park Avenue Armory on 22 March running until 20 April, before returning to London for its run at the Piccadilly Theatre in May. Adam Godley, Ben Miles, and Simon Russell Beale reprise their critically acclaimed portrayals of the Lehman brothers, their sons, and grandsons spanning nearly two centuries and told in three parts on a single evening, directed by Sam Mendes.
Hadestown, the acclaimed new musical by Anaïs Mitchell, developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin, heads to Broadway this Spring, opening at the Walter Kerr Theatre, New York, on 22 March.
After acclaimed runs in New York and London, the West Coast Premiere of the Good Chance Theatre, National Theatre and Young Vic production of The Jungle by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, will take place at San Francisco's Curran this spring.
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