Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from his fiancée’s dad. Holed up at The Cricketers’ Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2011, and featuring a Tony Award-winning performance from James Corden as Francis Henshall.
Charlotte Brontë’s story of the trailblazing Jane Eyre is as inspiring as ever in a production that uncovers one woman’s fight for freedom and fulfilment on her own terms - facing obstacles, surviving poverty, injustice and the discovery of a bitter betrayal, before taking the ultimate decision to follow her heart. This bold and dynamic production is directed by Sally Cookson. Filmed live at the Bristol Old Vic in 2015.
It’s a dark, stormy night. The stars are out. Jim, the inn-keeper's granddaughter, opens the door to a terrifying stranger. At the old sailor’s feet sits a huge sea-chest, full of secrets. Jim invites him in – and her dangerous voyage begins. Patsy Ferran is Jim and Arthur Darvill is Long John Silver in this rip-roaring adventure for the whole family. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2015.
A ship is wrecked on the rocks. Viola is washed ashore but her twin brother Sebastian is lost. Determined to survive on her own, she steps out to explore a new land. So begins a whirlwind of mistaken identity and unrequited love. Simon Godwin (Antony & Cleopatra, Hansard) directs this joyous new production with Tamsin Greig as a transformed Malvolia, and an ensemble cast that includes Daniel Rigby, Tamara Lawrence, Oliver Chris, Doon Mackichan and Daniel Ezra. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2017.
Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein’s bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the increasingly desperate and vengeful Creature determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal. Directed by Academy Award-winner Danny Boyle, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature and Jonny Lee Miller as Victor Frankenstein. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2011.
Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein’s bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the increasingly desperate and vengeful Creature determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal. Directed by Academy Award-winner Danny Boyle, featuring Jonny Lee Miller as the creature and Benedict Cumberbatch as Victor Frankenstein. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2011.
Caesar and his assassins are dead. General Mark Antony now rules alongside his fellow defenders of Rome. But at the fringes of a war-torn empire the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra and Mark Antony have fallen fiercely in love. In a tragic fight between devotion and duty, obsession becomes a catalyst for war. Politics and passion are violently intertwined in Shakespeare’s gripping tale of power. Simon Godwin directs Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo as the famous fated couple. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2018.
Inua Ellams’ generously funny, heart-warming and insightful smash-hit play is set in five African cities: Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos, Accra, and London. Inspired in part by the story of a Leeds barber, Barber Shop Chronicles invites the audience into a unique environment where the banter may be barbed, but the truth always telling. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in 2017.
Gillian Anderson is Blanche DuBois, Ben Foster is Stanley, and Vanessa Kirby is Stella in Tennessee Williams’ timeless masterpiece. As Blanche’s fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella for solace – but her downward spiral brings her face to face with the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski. Filmed live at the Young Vic in 2014.
It’s 1974, and Britain has a hung Parliament. The corridors of Westminster ring with the sound of infighting and backstabbing as the political parties battle to change the future of a nation. This House is a moving and funny insight into the works of British politics, written by James Graham and directed by Jeremy Herrin. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2013.
Tom Hiddleston plays the title role in Shakespeare’s searing tragedy of political manipulation and revenge. When an old adversary threatens Rome, the city calls once more on her hero and defender: Coriolanus. But he has enemies at home too. As famine threatens the city, the citizens’ hunger swells to an appetite for change, and, on returning from the field, Coriolanus must confront the march of realpolitik and the voice of an angry people. Filmed live at the Donmar Warehouse in 2014.
1788. King George III is the most powerful man in the world. But with his mind unravelling at a dramatic pace, ambitious politicians and a scheming prince threaten to undermine the power of the crown. Mark Gatiss, Adrian Scarborough, and Debra Gillet feature in this acclaimed production of Alan Bennett's award-winning drama. Filmed live at the Nottingham Playhouse in 2018.
Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Small Island follows their lives through the Second World War until the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury, where hopes for the future soon meet the stubborn reality of post-war Britain. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2019.
Deep in the magical forest a feuding King and Queen cross paths with four runaway lovers and a troupe of actors, resulting in tempestuous love triangles, contagious fogs and moonlight revels, surrounded by a roving audience following the action on foot. Gwendoline Christie, Oliver Chris, David Moorst, and Hammed Animashaun lead the cast as Titania, Oberon, Puck, and Bottom, in Shakespeare's’ most famous romantic comedy. Filmed live at the Bridge Theatre in 2019.
An African country teeters on the edge of civil war. A society prepares to drive out its colonial present and claim an independent future. Racial tensions boil over. Tshembe, returned home from England for his father’s funeral, finds himself in the eye of the storm. Yaël Farber directs the final play by Lorraine Hansberry - a brave, illuminating and powerful work that confronts the hope and tragedy of revolution. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2016.
A flat in Ladbroke Grove, West London. 1952. When Hester Collyer is found by her neighbours in the aftermath of a failed suicide attempt, the story of her tempestuous affair with a former RAF pilot and the breakdown of her marriage to a High Court judge begins to emerge. Helen McCrory features alongside Tom Burke in Terence Rattigan’s devastating masterpiece. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2016.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a rowdy young prodigy, arrives in Vienna determined to make a splash. Awestruck by his genius and seized by obsessive jealousy, court composer Antonio Salieri begins a war with Mozart, with music, and ultimately, with God. Peter Shaffer’s iconic play features a live orchestral accompaniment by Southbank Sinfonia. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2017.
Russia, 1904. Ranyevskaya and her brother snub the lucrative scheme of a local entrepreneur to save their family estate. In so doing, they put up their lives up for auction and jeopardise the future of their beloved cherry orchard. Zoë Wanamaker is Ranyevskaya in Andrew Upton's version of Chekhov's classic play. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2011.
1659 Mughal India. A ferocious war of succession rages between the heirs to the Muslim empire; two brothers with very different visions of its future. Shahid Nadeem's epic tale of the dispute that shaped modern-day India and Pakistan is directed by Nadia Fall. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2015.
Bear's hat is gone. He loves his hat. He wants it back. He asks all the animals in the forest, but no one has seen it. WAIT! He has seen it somewhere... Wils Wilson directs Jon Klassen’s children’s picture book classic, I Want My Hat Back. Featuring music by Arthur Darvill and a book and lyrics by Joel Horwood. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Temporary Space in 2015.
Heartbroken and stricken with grief, Medea plans appalling revenge on her ex-husband, Jason, to destroy everything she holds dear. Helen McCrory plays the title role in Euripides’ powerful tragedy, directed by Ben Power and with music written by Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2014.
In 2008, as the Large Hadron Collider searches for the Higgs boson, tragedy throws two sisters together. The collision threatens them all with chaos. Olivia Colman and Olivia Williams play the sisters in this drama from writer Lucy Kirkwood. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in 2017.
Furious about being overlooked for promotion, Iago plots to take revenge against his General, Othello. In this acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s timeless tale of envy and brutal revenge, Adrian Lester plays Othello and Rory Kinnear is the duplicitous Iago. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2013.
Consumed by an uncontrollable passion for her young stepson, and believing her absent husband is dead, Phèdre confesses her darkest desires and enters the world of nightmare. Helen Mirren plays the title role in this acclaimed production of the classic Greek tragedy. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2009.
Nigeria, 1967. Three sisters, grieving the loss of their father, long to return to their former home in Lagos as conflict encroaches on their provincial village. Chekhov’s iconic characters are relocated to Nigeria on the brink of the Biafran Civil War in this bold adaptation by Inua Ellams. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2019.
A young woman is driven to the unthinkable by her desperate desire to have a child. Set in contemporary London, this radical production of Lorca’s classic tragedy builds with elemental force to a staggering, shocking, climax. Billie Piper plays the title role. Filmed live at the Young Vic in 2017.
At the outbreak of World War One, Albert’s horse is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. Though still not old enough to enlist he embarks on a treacherous mission to find him and bring him home. Based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford, in association with the award-winning Handspring Puppet Company. Filmed live at the Gillian Flynn Theatre in 2014.
Dick Whittington and friends are on an adventure to save the true spirit of London. A hilarious and heartfelt new version of the classic tale that's packed with the cheekiest of jokes, the chattiest of animals, the awesomest of songs and the messiest of silliness. First opening at the Lyric Hammersmith in 2018, this production was streamed live on YouTube from the stage of the National Theatre in 2020.
Wild and single, Julie throws a huge party in her luxurious London house which rapidly descends into a fight for her own survival. Vanessa Kirby plays Julie in Polly Stenham’s shocking and fiercely relevant new version of August Strindberg’s play Miss Julie. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2018.
America in the mid-1980s. In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, six New Yorkers with interconnected lives grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell. This multi-award-winning production of Tony Kushner’s two-part play is directed by Marianne Elliott, with a cast including Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane, Denise Gough and Russell Tovey. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2017.
As the play continues, Part Two picks up the threads of our six New Yorkers whose relationships are in tatters and fates are rapidly intertwining. Prior, Joe, Belize, Louis, Harper and Roy continue their journeys through love, loss and loneliness to overcome abandonment and ultimately discover forgiveness. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2017.
The new King Creon is desperate to gain control over a city ravaged by civil war and refuses to bury the body of Antigone's rebellious brother. Outraged, she defies him and honours her brother. Creon takes action against her, risking the wrath of the gods. Christopher Eccleston and Jodie Whittaker feature in this thrilling contemporary staging of Antigone, directed by Polly Findlay. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2012.
In India’s biggest slum, beyond the luxury hotels surrounding Mumbai airport, lives Zehrunisa and her 16-year old son Abdul whose gift for trash sorting is the source of his family’s income and ambitions to fund a new life. Their dreams are big, but fragile - and just one accusation could shatter the whole neighbourhood. Meera Syal and Thusitha Jayasundera play paralleled neighbours in this drama based on the book by Katherine Boo. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2015.
A Mississippi family gather at their country property to celebrate Big Daddy’s birthday. The scorching heat is almost as oppressive as the lies they tell each other. Brick and Maggie dance around the secrets and sexual tensions that threaten to destroy their marriage. Which version of the truth is real – and which will win out? Sienna Miller and Jack O’Connell feature in this powerful masterpiece by Tennesse Williams. Filmed live at the Young Vic in 2018.
Friends take opposing briefs in a rape case. The key witness is a woman whose life seems a world away from theirs. At home, their own lives begin to unravel as every version of the truth is challenged. Nina Raine’s funny, painful and challenging play sifts the evidence from every side and puts justice herself in the dock. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in 2017.
Caesar returns in triumph to Rome and the people pour out of their homes to celebrate his victory. Alarmed by his popularity and growing power, a small group plot to bring him down. After his assassination, civil war erupts on the streets of the capital. The audience surrounds the action in this dynamic promenade staging of Julius Caesar with a cast including Ben Whishaw, Michelle Fairley, David Calder and David Morrissey. Filmed live at the Bridge Theatre in 2018.
Aegeon of Syracuse has come to Ephesus to seek his son, who went in search of his missing twin and mother months ago. Unfortunately, Ephesus has just declared war on Syracuse, and will instantly put to death any Syracusean found within their borders unless a ransom's paid. Meanwhile, the son, Antipholus, and his servant, Dromio (also an identical twin), keep running into strangers who seem to know them... Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2012.
America, 1947. Despite hard choices and even harder knocks, Joe and Kate Keller are a success story. They have built a home, raised two sons and established a thriving business. But nothing lasts forever, and long buried truths are forced to the surface and the price of their American dream is laid bare. Jeremy Herrin directs Academy Award-winner Sally Field and Bill Pullman in Arthur Miller’s blistering drama. Filmed live at the Old Vic in 2019.
Meet Tracey Gordon. Friendship, sex, UK garage, school, teachers, periods, emergency contraception, raves, tampons, white boys, God, money... Friendship? The more she learns about the world, the less she understands. Michaela Coel plays Tracey in this one-woman play that recalls the last days of innocence before adulthood. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Shed in 2014.
Everyman is successful, popular, and riding high. When Death comes calling, he is forced to abandon his hedonistic life and embark on a frantic search to find a friend that will speak in his defence. But with Death close behind, his time is running out. Chiwetel Ejiofor is Everyman, adapted by Carol Ann Duffy and directed by Rufus Norris. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2015.
Benedict Cumberbatch plays the title role of Shakespeare's great tragedy. As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father’s death but paralysed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state. Filmed live at the Barbican in 2015.
In Brooklyn, Eddie Carbone welcomes his Sicilian cousins to the land of freedom. But when one of them falls for his beautiful niece, they discover that freedom comes at a price. Eddie’s jealous mistrust exposes a deep, unspeakable secret – one that drives him to commit the ultimate betrayal. Ivo Van Hove directs Mark Strong and Nicola Walker in Arthur Miller’s dark and passionate play. Filmed live at the Young Vic in 2015.
It’s 1988 and Tory politician Robin Hesketh has returned home to the idyllic Cotswold house he shares with his wife of 30 years Diana. But all is not as blissful as it seems. As the day draws on, what starts as gentle ribbing and the familiar rhythms of marital scrapping quickly turns to blood-sport. Directed by Simon Godwin and featuring two-time Olivier Award winners Lindsay Duncan and Alex Jennings in this thrilling play by Simon Woods. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2019.
Bullet doesn’t want to call a hostel home. Eritrean Girl was smuggled here in a lorry. Singing Boy dreams of seeing his name in lights and Garden Boy just wants to feel safe. Homelessness amongst young people in the UK is at a record high, so when the big society doesn’t work – where do you go? An inner-city high-rise hostel, TargetEast, offers a roof. Nadia Fall’s verbatim play features performances from Michaela Coel, Antonia Thomas and Kadiff Kirwan. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Shed in 2013.
The retired sea captain yearning for his lost love. The landlady living in terror of her guests. A father who can no longer access his memories. A son in search of redemption. As they awake to boiled eggs and the postman, the residents of a small Welsh village juggle old secrets and new realities. Michael Sheen, Karl Johnson and Siân Phillips feature in the acting company breathing new life into Dylan Thomas’ poetic masterpiece. Lyndsey Turner directs. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2021.
Romeo and Juliet risk everything to be together. In defiance of their feuding families, they chase a future of joy and passion as violence erupts around them. This bold film brings to life the remarkable backstage spaces of the National Theatre in which desire, dreams and destiny collide to make Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy sing in an entirely new way. Jessie Buckley and Josh O’Connor play Juliet and Romeo. The award-winning cast includes Tamsin Greig, Fisayo Akinade, Adrian Lester, Lucian Msamati, Deborah Findlay. An original film from National Theatre.
Marlene hosts a dinner party in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of 'Top Girls' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past: Isabella Bird, the adventurous Victorian traveller; Lady Nijo, the Buddhist nun who travelled on foot through Japan; Dull Gret, who led a crowd of women on a charge through hell in a Bruegel painting; Pope Joan, the transvestite early female pope; and last but not least Patient Griselda, an obedient wife out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. As the evening continues the stories of all five women influence the impending crisis in Marlene's own life. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2019.
The all-female company, with Lesley Sharp as Philoctetes: once a celebrated wartime hero, now a wounded outcast on a desolate island. When a young soldier appears, his hope of escape comes with suspicion. And as an old enemy also emerges, he is faced with an even greater temptation, revenge. Kae Tempest, the astonishing writer, recording artist and performer forges an epic new take on Greek legend. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2021.
On the set of a new film about Victorian artist JMW Turner, young actress Lou is haunted by an unresolved history. Meanwhile, in 1840 Londoners Lucy and Thomas try to come to terms with the meaning of freedom. Moving between London past and present, we embark on a powerfully personal voyage through time. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in 2021.
Salford, 1971. George Khan wants to raise his family in the traditional Pakistani way, but his children have other ideas. Abdul and Tariq aren't ready to be married off, Saleem is pushing artistic boundaries, Meenah's skirt is too short, and Sajit just wants to hide in his parka. As relations reach breaking point, their English mother, Ella, is torn between her loyalty to George and the happiness of her children. Ayub Khan Din’s much-loved comedy drama, adapted into a BAFTA Award-winning film, returns to the stage as part of a 25th anniversary tour. Filmed at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2021.
Ruth Wilson plays Hedda and Rafe Spall is Brack in a modern production of Ibsen’s masterpiece. Just married, bored already, Hedda longs to be free. She and Tesman have just returned from their honeymoon and the relationship is already in trouble. Trapped but determined, Hedda tries to control those around her, only to see her own world unravel. Ivo van Hove (A View from the Bridge) directs. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2017.
An occupied desert nation. A radical from the wilderness on hunger strike. A girl whose mysterious dance will change the course of the world. This charged retelling turns the infamous biblical tale on its head, placing the girl we call Salomé at the centre of a revolution. Internationally acclaimed director Yaël Farber (Les Blancs, Hamlet) draws on multiple accounts to create her urgent, hypnotic production. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2017.
Margo Channing. Legend. True star of the theatre. The spotlight is hers, always has been. But now there’s Eve. Her biggest fan. Young, beautiful Eve. The golden girl, the girl next door. But you know all about Eve... don’t you? Directed by Ivo van Hove and with Gillan Anderson and Lily James in the lead roles, All About Eve lifts the curtain on a world of jealousy and ambition, asking why our fascination with celebrity, youth, and identity never seems to get old. Filmed live at the Noël Coward Theatre in 2019.
Benjamin Britten, sailing uncomfortably close to the wind with his new opera, Death in Venice, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, W H Auden. During this imagined meeting, their first for twenty-five years, they are observed and interrupted by amongst others, their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station. Richard Griffiths, Alex Jennings, Adrian Scarborough and Frances de la Tour lead the cast in this multi-layered production. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2010.
All children, except one, grow up... JM Barrie’s spellbinding classic tale Peter Pan takes flight. When Peter Pan, leader of the Lost Boys, loses his shadow, headstrong Wendy helps him to reattach it. In return, she is invited to Neverland, where Tinker Bell the fairy, Tiger Lily and the vengeful Captain Hook await. A riot of magic, music and make-believe ensues. Sally Cookson directs this wondrously inventive production of a much-loved story for all ages. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2017.
Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart lead the cast in this glorious revival of Harold Pinter’s comic classic. One summer's evening, two ageing writers, Hirst and Spooner, meet in a Hampstead pub and continue their drinking into the night at Hirst's stately house nearby. As the pair become increasingly inebriated, and their stories increasingly unbelievable, the lively conversations turns into a revealing power game, further complicated by the return home of two sinister younger men. Filmed live at Wyndham's Theatre in 2016.
Born into poverty and misfortune, Oliver Twist escapes the workhouse for a life of adventure where he joins Artful Dodger, Fagin and their mischievous gang of pick pockets. But the enjoyment is short-lived as he falls under the influence of the vicious Bill Sykes. Bold, brutal, and beautiful, this highly acclaimed version of Oliver Twist sends you on a dark adventure through the twisted streets of London. Adapted by award-winning playwright Bryony Lavery, the production features creatively integrated sign language, audio description and captioning. Filmed lived at Leeds Playhouse in 2020.
In the run up to Christmas, three families are placed into cramped temporary accommodation. A middle-aged man and his elderly mum, a young family with a baby on the way, a newly arrived woman from Sudan. Strangers. Forced together. No space is personal. You are invited to bear witness to an intimate story of family love for our times. A 2022 feature film version of the original production, first staged at the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in 2016.
Sir Harcourt Courtly is lured away from the epicentre of fashionable London by the promise of a rich and beautiful bride, Grace, several decades his junior. Arriving at Oak Hall, Gloucestershire, he marvels at this rural Venus until her charms are eclipsed by her hearty cousin, the foxhunting Lady Gay Spanker. Meanwhile, his disguised son turns up in flight from his creditors and falls head over heels for Grace. When Lady Spanker discovers the young couple, she needs little prompting from the visiting chancer Dazzle to lead Sir Harcourt astray. Fiona Shaw and Simon Russell-Beale take the lead in two of the greatest comic roles of the English stage, in this brilliantly funny play. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2010.
In 1950s America, protests for racial equality erupt in the face of voter suppression. On Broadway, Wiletta Mayer, a talented black actress, begins rehearsals for a new play about racism – written and directed by two white men. When Wiletta finds that her arguments to tell the truth of the story are dismissed, she decides to take action. First staged over 60 years ago, Trouble in Mind is widely considered the masterpiece of actress and playwright Alice Childress. Nancy Medina directs Tanya Moodie in this wry and radical satire of racism in theatre. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in 2021.
In a run-down community hall on the edge of town, a woman has been cooking lunch for those in need. A choir is starting up, run by a volunteer who’s looking for a new beginning. A mother is seeking help in her fight to keep her young daughter from being taken into care. An older man sits silently in the corner, the first to arrive, the last to leave. Outside the rain continues falling. Following LOVE, Alexander Zeldin offers another uncompromising theatrical experience that goes to the heart of our uncertain times. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in 2019.
After the death of his dad, Michael is powerless and angry. In a state of heartbreak, he confronts the difficult truths about his father’s legacy and the country that shaped him. At the funeral, unannounced and unprepared, Michael decides it is time to speak. Rafe Spall performs this fearless one-person play that asks explosive and enduring questions about identity, race and class in Britain. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in 2020.
The story of a Black working class man searching for truth and confronting his relationship with Great Britain. Michael Balogun plays Delroy in this new play by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams, a sequel to their first Death of England play. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2020.
January 2021. Britain is locked down, divided, and facing some difficult truths. Old friends Michael and Delroy are dealing with issues much closer to home. Tensions are running high. During an explosive afternoon in Delroy’s East London flat, the pair are forced to confront their relationship with their country and with each other. Written by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams and directed by Clint Dyer, and with Neil Maskell and Giles Terera playing Michael and Delroy, this feature film is the final part of the Death of England trilogy.
When her mother Helen runs off with a car salesman, feisty teenager Jo takes up with Jimmie, a sailor who promises to marry her, before he heads for the seas. Art student Geof moves in and assumes the role of a surrogate parent until, misguidedly, he sends for Helen and their unconventional setup unravels. Lesley Sharp leads the cast as Helen in this gritty depiction of working-class life in post-war Britain. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2014.
St George's Park Tea Room, Port Elizabeth, 1950. On a long rainy afternoon, employees Sam and Willie practise their steps for the finals of the ballroom dancing championship. Hally arrives from school to hide out in his parents’ tea room. These two men have been unlikely best friends to Hally his whole life. But it is apartheid-era South Africa: he's Master Harold, and they are the boys. Tony Award-winning playwright, Athol Fugard’s semi-autobiographical and blistering play explores the nature of friendship, and the ways people can hurt even those they love. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Theatre Lyttelton Theatre in 2019.
With her father the Duke in exile, Rosalind and her cousin Celia leave their lives in the court behind them and journey into the Forest of Arden. There, released from convention, Rosalind experiences the liberating rush of transformation. Disguising herself as a boy, she embraces a different way of living and falls spectacularly in love with Orlando. This fresh, funny and invigorating production of As You Like It, directed by Polly Findlay and with Rosalie Craig as Rosalind. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2016.
King Lear sees two ageing fathers – one a King, one his courtier – reject the children who truly love them. Their blindness unleashes a tornado of pitiless ambition and treachery, as family and state are plunged into a violent power struggle with bitter ends. Considered by many to be the greatest tragedy ever written, Ian McKellen is King Lear in Shakespeare’s tender, violent, moving and shocking play, directed by Johnathan Munby. Filmed live at the Duke of York's Theatre in 2018.
1850, and Europe’s most feared terrorist is hiding in Dean Street, Soho. Broke, restless and horny, the thirty-two-year-old revolutionary is a frothing combination of intellectual brilliance, invective, satiric wit, and child-like emotional illiteracy. Creditors, spies, rival revolutionary factions and prospective seducers of his beautiful wife all circle like vultures. His writing blocked, his marriage dying, and his friend Engels in despair at his wasted genius, his only hope is a job on the railway. But there’s still no one in the capital who can show you a better night on the piss than Karl Heinrich Marx. Rory Kinnear is Marx and Oliver Chris is Engels in this comedy directed by Nicholas Hytner. Filmed live at the Bridge Theatre in 2017.
Set twelve years before his epic His Dark Materials trilogy, this gripping adaptation revisits Phillip Pullman's fantastical world in which waters are rising and storms are brewing. Two young people and their daemons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others. Eighteen years after his groundbreaking production of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, director Nicholas Hytner returns to Pullman's parallel universe. Filmed live at the Bridge Theatre in 2022.
Tessa is a young, brilliant barrister. She has worked her way up from working class origins to be at the top of her game; defending, cross examining, and winning. An unexpected event forces her to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof, and morals diverge. Prima Facie takes us to the heart of where emotion and experience collide with the rules of the game. Jodie Comer makes her West End debut in the UK premiere of Suzie Miller’s award-winning play, directed by Justin Martin. Filmed live at the Harold Pinter Theatre in 2022.
The ‘Beaux’: Mr Aimwell and Mr Archer, two charming, dissolute young men who have blown their fortunes in giddy London. Shamed and debt-ridden, they flee to provincial Litchfield. Their ‘Stratagem’: to marry for money. Lodged at the local inn, posing as master and servant, they encounter a teeming variety of human obstacles: a crooked landlord, a fearsome highwayman, a fervent French Count, a maid on the make, a drunken husband, a furious butler, a natural healer and a strange, turbulent priest. But their greatest obstacle is love. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2015.
Jess has a great life: a job she loves, a sharp sense of humour and a close group of friends. When austerity threatens the world she has worked hard to build, Jess makes a stand to protect those she holds most dear. Inspired by real life experiences of disabled people in the UK, All of Us captures the humour, sadness and joy of everyday life, and is a passionate and timely look at the human cost of abandoning those who struggle to fit in. From Francesca Martinez, the award-winning author, comedian and actor, comes an unmissable new play directed by Ian Rickson. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in 2022.
For forty uninterrupted years, Robert Moses exploited those in office through a mix of charm and intimidation. Motivated at first by a determination to improve the lives of New York City’s workers, he created parks, bridges and 627 miles of expressway to connect the people to the great outdoors. Faced with resistance by protest groups campaigning for a very different idea of what the city should become, will the weakness of democracy be exposed in the face of his charismatic conviction? Ralph Fiennes leads the cast in David Hare’s blazing account of the most powerful man in New York, a master manipulator whose legacy changed the city forever. Filmed live at the Bridge Theatre in 2022.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Leopoldstadt was the old, crowded Jewish quarter of Vienna, Austria. But Hermann Merz, a factory owner and baptised Jew now married to Catholic Gretl, has moved up in the world. We follow his family’s story across half a century, passing through the convulsions of war, revolution, impoverishment, annexation by Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Tom Stoppard’s Olivier Award and Tony award-winning new play Leopoldstadt is a passionate drama of love, family and endurance, featuring a company of 40 actors representing each generation of the family. Filmed live at Wyndham's Theatre in 2020.
"Beauty is but skin deep, ugly lies the bone; beauty dies and fades away, but ugly holds its own." After three tours in Afghanistan, Jess finally returns to Florida. In a small town on the Space Coast, as the final shuttle is about to launch, Jess must confront her scars – and a home that may have changed even more than her. Experimenting with a pioneering virtual reality therapy, she builds a breath-taking new world where she can escape her pain. There, she begins to restore her relationships, her life and, slowly, herself. Award-winning American playwright Lindsey Ferrentino makes her UK debut with this honest and funny new drama, directed by Indhu Rubasingham. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2017.
Herat, Afghanistan, 2000. When a young mother speaks out against the Taliban, she and her husband are forced to flee their home and country with their three sons. Embarking on a long and terrifying journey across Russia and through Europe, they seek final refuge in the UK. But, as their eldest son’s life-threatening heart condition worsens and requires urgent surgery, their escape soon becomes a race against time. Amit Sharma directs this widely acclaimed stage version of The Boy with Two Hearts. Based on extraordinary real-life experiences, it is a powerful story of hope, courage, and humanity – and a heartfelt tribute to the NHS. Filmed live at the Wales Millennium Centre in 2021.
Fresh to the throne, King Henry V launches England into a bloody war with France. When his campaign encounters resistance, this inexperienced new ruler must prove he is fit to guide a country into war. Kit Harington plays the title role in Shakespeare’s thrilling study of nationalism, war and the psychology of power, directed by Max Webster, which explores what it means to be English and our relationship to Europe. Do we ever get the leaders we deserve? Filmed live at the Donmar Warehouse in 2022.
Created from five years of interviews with 12 young people from across the UK, Our Generation is a captivating portrait of their journey into adulthood. Often too extraordinary to be fiction, this funny and moving play is for anyone who is – or has ever been – a teenage. Writer Alecky Blythe (London Road) brings her new verbatim play that tells the stories of a generation, with Daniel Evans making his directorial debut at the National Theatre. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in 2022.
After an aerial dog fight, Pilot Officer Jack Absolute flies home to rejoin his fearless young Hurricane squadron at RAF Fontwell. Once back on British soil, Jack is shocked to find his old flame, Lydia, on the base. He sets his sights on winning her heart, but with turbulence and hilarity never far away, his advances quickly turn to anarchy. Staged to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, this joyous farce features a cast including Caroline Quentin and Kelvin Fletcher. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2022.
A young woman is desperate for fame and a way out. A young man is pining after the woman of his dreams. A successful writer longs for a sense of achievement. An actress wants to fight the changing of the times. In an isolated home in the countryside, dreams lie in tatters, hopes are dashed, and hearts broken. With nowhere left to turn, the only option is to turn on each other. Emilia Clarke makes her West End debut in this 21st century retelling of Anton Chekhov’s tale of love and loneliness, directed by Jamie Lloyd. Filmed live at the Harold Pinter Theatre in 2022.
New York, 1930. Following a decade of creative explosion, the Harlem Renaissance is starting to feel the bite of the Great Depression. In the face of hardship and dwindling opportunity, Angel and her friends battle to keep their artistic dreams alive - but when Angel falls for a stranger from Alabama, their romance forces the group to make good on their ambitions, or give in to the reality of the time. Lynette Linton directs a startling revival of this extraordinary play by Pearl Cleage. Samira Wiley makes her UK stage debut alongside a cast that includes Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Osy Ikhile, Sule Rimi, and Giles Terera. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2022.
The legendary family-run Hotel Messina on the Italian Riveria has been visited by artists, celebrities and royalty. But when the owner’s daughter weds a dashing young soldier, not all guests are in the mood for love. Award-winning director Simon Godwin returns with Katherine Parkinson and John Heffernan leading the cast in Shakespeare’s romcom of sun, sea and mistaken identity. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2022.
After years of fierce focus on her political career, a politician turns her attention to her personal life. The reappearance of a figure from her past shakes the foundations of her house and the beliefs that have underpinned her power. Writer-Director Simon Stone reimagines Seneca’s famous tragedy in this striking new play, with Assaad Bouab making his London stage debut alongside an Oliver Award-nominated performance from Janet McTeer. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2023.
A proper local legend. Married five times. Mother. Lover. Aunt. Friend. Alvita will tell her life story to anyone in the pub – there’s no shame in her game. The question is: are you ready to hear it? Because this woman’s got the gift of the gab: she can rewrite mistakes into triumphs, turn pain into parables, and her love life’s an epic poem. They call her The Wife of Willesden. In a play that celebrates the human knack for telling elaborate tales, especially about our own lives, Zadie Smith transports Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath to 21st Century North West London. Filmed live at the Kiln Theatre in 2023.
Mary has just been released from prison. She wants to come home and forget all about it but Briana has other ideas. Over a tumultuous two days a family is forced to confront not just their past but themselves. Because even if you refuse to hear the truth, the truth doesn’t go away. Róisín McBrinn directs this powerful story of family and forgiveness by Deborah Bruce. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in 2023.
Deep in the wood, a lonely fairy longs for someone to bless. When she is summoned to the palace to help the princess sleep, her dream turns into a nightmare and her blessing becomes a curse. Rufus Norris directs this vividly original retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale with music by Jim Fortune, book by Tanya Ronder, designs by Katrina Lindsay, and choreography by Jade Hackett. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2022.
Filmed live in London’s West End, David Harewood (Homeland) and Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) play feuding political rivals in James Graham’s (Sherwood) multiple award-winning drama, inspired by the documentary film by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon.
Directed by Clint Dyer with a cast that includes Giles Terera (Hamilton), Rosy McEwen (The Alienist), Paul Hilton (The Inheritance) and Tanya Franks (Mum). Wed in secret, Desdemona and Othello crave a new life together. But as unseen forces conspire against them, they find their future is not theirs to decide in this 2023 production.
Olivier Award-nominated Nicola Walker (Unforgotten, The Split) plays the visionary Miss Moffat. Arriving in rural North Wales, determined to help young local miners out of poverty by teaching them to read and write, Miss Moffat soon faces resistance from the community when she spots the potential of a talented young writer. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2022.
Fleabag is a rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea pig café struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose. The award-winning play that inspired BBC’s hit TV series, written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Raised to be seen but not heard, a group of young women in Salem suddenly find their words have an almighty power. Directed by Lyndsey Turner (Hamlet), this contemporary new staging was captured live from the Olivier Stage in 2022.
El Barco is the newest tapas restaurant in fashionable Walthamstow Village, and it’s Kerry Jackson’s pride and joy. Wearing her working-class roots as a badge of honour, Kerry navigates the local characters in a bid to make the business a success – without losing herself in the process. Fay Ripley (Cold Feet) is Kerry in this biting new comedy from April De Angelis (My Brilliant Friend) and directed by Indhu Rubasingham (The Father and the Assassin, The Great Wave).
As two young volunteers in a clinical drug trial, their illicit romance poses startling dilemmas for the supervising doctors. Is their sudden and intoxicating chemistry real, or a side effect of a new antidepressant? Starring Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You) and Taylor Russell (Bones and All), directed by Jamie Lloyd (Cyrano de Bergerac) and written by Lucy Prebble (Succession).
A powerful new verbatim play derived from the testimony of residents at the heart of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Created from interviews conducted with a group of survivors and bereaved, this new play from Gillian Slovo (Another World: Losing our Children to Islamic State), is co-directed by Phyllida Lloyd (The Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy) and Anthony Simpson-Pike (The P Word).
Mahatma Gandhi: lawyer, champion of non-violence, beloved leader. Nathuram Godse: journalist, nationalist – and the man who murdered Gandhi. This gripping play traces Godse’s life over 30 years during India’s fight for independence: from a devout follower of Gandhi, through to his radicalisation and their tragic final encounter in Delhi in 1948. Originally recorded at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre in 2023.
In the domain of Bernarda Alba, a daughter who disobeys is no longer a daughter. Forced to live under their mother’s tight grip as they mourn their father’s death, can five sisters survive when young Adela dares for passion and freedom? Olivier Award-winner Harriet Walter (Succession) plays the formidable matriarch, guarding her reputation against the rising tide of her family’s desires in this pitch-black drama exploring the consequences of oppressing women. Filmed live at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in 2023.
This powerful piece by acclaimed physical theatre company Gecko is a provocative story of desperation, compassion and acceptance, inspired by the migration stories of Gecko’s international performers and the extraordinary voyage Leah undertook as a young child.
A quantum physicist and a beekeeper meet at a barbeque. They hit it off, or perhaps they don’t. They go home together, or maybe they go their separate ways. In the multiverse, with every possible future ahead of them, a love of honey could make all the difference. Filmed at the Donmar Warehouse.
A quantum physicist and a beekeeper meet at a barbeque. They hit it off, or perhaps they don’t. They go home together, or maybe they go their separate ways. In the multiverse, with every possible future ahead of them, a love of honey could make all the difference. Filmed at the Donmar Warehouse.
A quantum physicist and a beekeeper meet at a barbeque. They hit it off, or perhaps they don’t. They go home together, or maybe they go their separate ways. In the multiverse, with every possible future ahead of them, a love of honey could make all the difference. Filmed at the Donmar Warehouse.
A quantum physicist and a beekeeper meet at a barbeque. They hit it off, or perhaps they don’t. They go home together, or maybe they go their separate ways. In the multiverse, with every possible future ahead of them, a love of honey could make all the difference. Filmed at the Donmar Warehouse.
An extraordinary true story about an ordinary family. When one moment changes everything, Henry’s family are split between a past they no longer recognise, and a future they could never foresee. Based on the Sunday Times best-selling autobiography by Henry Fraser, The Little Big Things is a uplifting and colourful new British musical with an explosive theatrical pop soundtrack in a world premiere production.
A passionate, heartbreaking and hilarious portrayal of a larger-than-life family struggling to come to terms with a changing world.
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. Lindsay Duncan (Hansard) plays Dora in this beautiful, contemporary production, directed by Emily Burns (Jack Absolute Flies Again).
This is not a story about well-behaved women. Charlotte Brontë has a confession about how one sister became an idol, and the other became known as the third sister. You know the one. No, not that one. The other, other one… Anne.
Andrew Scott (Fleabag) brings multiple characters to life in Simon Stephens’ (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) radical new version of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. Hopes, dreams, and regrets are thrust into sharp focus in this one-man adaptation which explores the complexities of human emotions.
Denise Gough reprises her Olivier Award-winning role as Emma, a struggling actress whose life is spinning recklessly out of control, in Duncan Macmillan’s (Lungs, 1984) intoxicating hit play, directed by Jeremy Herrin (Best of Enemies, Wolf Hall, This House) and designed by Tony Award-winner Bunny Christie.
Based on Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend, this romantic and propulsive thriller is a hymn to the city and the river that runs through it. Starring Bella Maclean (Sex Education) and Joe Armstrong (Fool Me Once). Directed by Ian Rickson (Translations) and adapted by Ben Power (The Lehman Trilogy), with original songs throughout, the genius of Dickens meets the fierce musical imagination of acclaimed singer-songwriter, PJ Harvey.
Tony and BAFTA Award winner Ralph Fiennes and Olivier Award winner Indira Varma star in a brand-new production of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Michael Sheen (Under Milk Wood) is Nye Bevan in this surreal and spectacular journey through the life and legacy of the man who transformed Britain’s welfare state and created the NHS. Written by Tim Price (Teh Internet is Serious Business) and directed by Rufus Norris (Small Island).
Kadiff Kirwan is Cordell in this hot new comedy told with the love language of food; about family, Black Masculinity, sexuality and the journey to finding home.
The multi award-winning production of Noël Coward‘s provocative comedy features Andrew Scott as Garry Essendine’s, as his colourful life is in danger of spiralling out of control.
Carrie Cracknell directs Frank Galati’s award-winning adaptation of John Steinbeck’s masterpiece. Tony Award-winner Cherry Jones is joined by Harry Treadaway in this moving and deeply atmospheric story of a struggle against a hostile climate to find a place to call home.
With stories and anecdotes from his illustrious career on stage and screen, McKellen performs extracts from his most iconic performances, including Shakespeare's King Lear and Tolkien's Gandalf from Lord of the Rings.
In 2013 the National Theatre celebrated 50 years of unforgettable theatre, with extracts of iconic plays of the last five decades. Some of the greatest names in British theatre from Judi Dench, Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Scott reprise classic performances and stories of the National Theatre.
