Photos: First Look At DEAR OCTOPUS At The National Theatre

The National Theatre has released production photos for Dear Octopus by Dodie Smith (I Capture the Castle), which will open in the Lyttelton theatre on 14 February.

Directed by Emily Burns (Jack Absolute Flies Again), in its first revival since the 1960s, Dear Octopus is a heartbreaking and moving dissection of family and what it means to grow up and return home.

When a golden wedding anniversary reunites the Randolph family on the eve of WWII, Dora and Charles must reckon with the adults their children have become. Their children, meanwhile, are haunted by the memory of the family they once were. As the weekend’s celebrations unfold, the family walks a tightrope between intimacy and estrangement, camaraderie and rivalry, love and hate.

Olivier Award-winner Lindsay Duncan (Hansard) plays the Randolph matriarch Dora, Billy Howle (On Chesil Beach) plays her youngest child Nicholas and Bessie Carter (Bridgerton) plays Dora's companion Fenny.

They are joined by Amaia Naima Aguinaga, Alice Bounsall, Pandora Colin, Miriam Cooper, Bethan Cullinane, Kate Fahy, Tom Glenister, Jo Herbert, Ethan Hughes, Deven Modha, Syakira Moeladi, Amy Morgan, Celia Nelson, Dharmesh Patel, Malcolm Sinclair, Natalie Thomas and John Vernon. Nine children will perform the roles of Kathleen (Scrap), Bill and Guinevere (Flouncy) over the course of the season - Kalyani D’Ambra, Ariella Elkins-Green, Serena Guo, Isla Ithier, Molly Jin, Felix Tandon, Ashwin Sakthivel, Tarun Sivakanesh and Asha Sthanakiya.

The children performing on Press Night are Ariella Elkins-Green (Flouncy), Isla Ithier (Scrap) and Felix Tandon (Bill). 

The creative team includes director Emily Burns, set and costume designer Frankie Bradshaw, lighting designer Oliver Fenwick, sound designer Tingying Dong, composer Nico Mulhy, casting director Bryony Jarvis-Taylor, company voice work by Shereen Ibrahim and Liz Flint and staff director Júlia Levai.

Dear Octopus is playing in the Lyttelton theatre until 27 March.

Tickets are available from £20 and are on sale now via the National Theatre website. For further information, including details about assisted performances, please visit nationaltheatre.org.uk.

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