UK's National Theatre's ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL To Be Broadcast To 330 Cinemas Worldwide

Shakespeare's ALL'S WELL THAT ENS WELL, in a highly acclaimed production by MariAnne Elliott, will be filmed live at the National Theatre in London on October 1st and broadcast by satellite to cinemas worldwide. ALL'S WELL is the second play in the pilot season of NT Live, the National's ground-breaking initiative which launched in June with the hugely successful broadcast of Phedre with Helen Mirren, which was seen by 50,000 people in 19 countries around the globe. ALL'S WELL will be the first play broadcast from the largest of the National's three theatres, the Olivier, with its fan-shaped auditorium and open stage.

Set against a background of sexism, snobbery and a battle between the generations, ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL turns fairytale logic on its head in a wondrous, bittersweet story. The feisty but lowly Helena falls in love with Bertram, a haughty count. To gain his hand she is set a string of impossible tasks. Even if accomplished, they can hardly guarantee his love. He refuses to bed her and yet says he'll only be hers if she bears his child; and he lusts after another. Nevertheless, our heroine, whether wisely or no, refuses to give him up.

The cast is led by Oliver Ford Davies (as the King of France), Clare Higgins (the Countess of Rossillion), Conleth Hill (Parolles), George Rainsford (Bertram) and Michelle Terry (Helena).

NT Live performances are filmed live at the National Theatre in high definition and broadcast via satellite to over 330 cinemas and performing arts centres around the world, live in Europe and some US cities, and time-delayed in countries further afield. The performances at the National are nominated in advance to allow cameras greater freedom in the auditorium. NT Live screenings in international venues, including the USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Scandinavia and Europe, are supported by Travelex, the world's foreign exchange and business payments specialist.

"The hugely enthusiastic reaction of audiences around the world to the NT Live broadcast of Phèdre was thrilling," says NT Director Nicholas Hytner. "I'm confident that we have pioneered a new genre: not quite live theatre, certainly not cinema, but an exciting approximation of the real thing whose potential reach is limitless. It means we can reach tens of thousands of people in addition to our work in London and on tour." The next two plays in the pilot season will be Nation, based on a novel by Terry Pratchett, adapted by Mark Ravenhill, to be filmed on 30 January 2010 (tickets on sale from September); and Alan Bennett's new play The Habit of Art with Michael Gambon, Alex Jennings and Frances de la Tour, on 22 April 2010.

‘I chose to direct ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL partly because it's quite rarely done and I'd never seen it', says director MariAnne Elliott, who also co-directed the National's smash hit War Horse (now in London's West End). ‘It's often referred to as one of Shakespeare's "problem plays", but I think Helena is a very modern heroine in many ways: here is a girl who's relentlessly pursuing a boy who just isn't interested in her. It really divides audiences; everybody has a different opinion about whose side they are on.'

Marianne and the designer Rae Smith created a fairytale setting with echoes of Jan Pienkowski's silhouette illustrations and Mervyn Peake's fantastical drawings for Gormenghast.  They are supported by Peter Mumford (Lighting Design), Adam Cork (Music), Laila Diallo (Movement Director), Gemma Carrington and Jon Driscoll (Projection Design), Ian Dickinson (Sound Design), and Jeannette Nelson (Company Voice Work).

‘All's Well begins like a fairy-tale: somebody goes on a quest, cures a king and should earn their spouse and a "happy-ever-after" ending', says Marianne. ‘But unfortunately that person is a girl and the man she chooses does not want to marry her; that's where our fairytale starts getting complicated. The story comes from an archetypal world with characters we all understand, but Shakespeare keeps twisting the plot, fleshing out the characters and making them more complex and human. He's constantly juxtapositioning harsh reality against a conventional fairytale background.

NT Live is funded in partnership with Arts Council England and NESTA, and supported internationally by Travelex.  NT Live events are distributed outside the U.K. through New York-based By Experience, Inc.

For a list of participating locations and ticket information visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ntlive

The National Theatre, founded in 1963, and established on the South Bank of the River Thames in London in 1976, has three theatres - the Olivier, the Lyttelton and the Cottesloe. It presents an eclectic mix of new plays and classics, with seven or eight productions in repertory (sharing the stages) at any one time. Actors often appear in more than one play during a season: for example, Michelle Terry alternated her role as Helena in All's Well with a leading role in a new play, England People Very Nice. The National aims constantly to re-energise the great traditions of the British stage and to expand the horizons of audiences and artists alike, and aspires to reflect in its repertoire the diversity of the nation's culture. With its extensive programme of Platform performances, backstage tours, foyer music, exhibitions, and free outdoor entertainment the National recognises that the theatre doesn't begin and end with the rise and fall of the curtain. By touring - and now, NT Live - it shares its work with audiences in the UK and abroad. The first NT Live season aims to capture the diversity of the National's work: a classic tragedy, a Shakespeare, a family show (Nation) and a new play.

Oliver Ford Davies has played many Shakespearean roles, including Polonius to David Tennant's Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the title role in King Lear at the Almeida. His extensive film and TV work includes "Star Wars" 1, 2 & 3" and five series of "Kavanagh QC."

Clare Higgins' recent work at the National includes Jocasta in Oedipus with Ralph Fiennes, and Vincent in Brixton which transferred to Broadway and for which she won the Olivier, Evening Standard and London Critics' Circle Awards for Best Actress and was nominated for a Tony Award. She also won Olivier, Critics' Circle and Time Out Best Actress Awards for Sweet Bird of Youth in the West End; and another Olivier Award for Best Actress for Hecuba at the Donmar Warehouse.

Conleth Hill won Olivier Awards for Stones in his Pockets (also on Broadway) and The Producers in the West End; he has recently appeared at the National in Philistines, The Seafarer (also on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination and a Drama Desk Award) and Democracy.

George Rainsford's film and television credits includes "Doctors," "Waking the Dead" and "Wild Target;" he previously appeared at the National in Chatroom/Citizenship.

Michelle Terry's stage credits include England People Very Nice at the National (a role she alternated with ALL'S WELL); The Crucible, The Winter's Tale, Pericles and Days of Significance for the RSC; Blithe Spirit (Peter Hall Company) and Love's Labour's Lost (Shakespeare's Globe).

MariAnne Elliott is an Associate Director at the National, where her productions include Harper Regan, Saint Joan (Olivier Award for Best Revival), Pillars of the Community (Evening Standard Award for Best Director), Mrs. Affleck and War Horse (co-directed with Tom Morris); for the RSC, she directed Much Ado About Nothing.

NT Live is supported internationally by Travelex.
Lloyd Dorfman, Chairman of Travelex, says: "We're enormously proud to be part of NT Live - the result of a seven-year partnership with the National Theatre. Day-to-day, Travelex is committed to helping connect people and businesses across the globe. We really hope that this initiative makes world class theatre accessible on a truly worldwide scale."

Travelex is the world's foreign exchange and business payments specialist. With operations spanning 35 countries, the business operates three divisions focusing on retail foreign exchange, crossborder business payments and outsourcing partnerships.

The company serves a customer every other second and, through an expansive network covering 115 airports, has a global annual audience of 1.8bn people.

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