Our programme
straight-line-crazy
Straight Line Crazy
In cinemas from 26 May
a new play by David Hare
directed by Nicholas Hytner
Ralph Fiennes (Antony & Cleopatra) leads the cast in David Hare’s (Skylight) blazing account of the most powerful man in New York, a master manipulator whose legacy changed the city forever.
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?
A Bridge Theatre production
BBFC rating 12A
prima-facie
Prima Facie
In cinemas from 21 July
by Suzie Miller
directed by Justin Martin
Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) makes her West End debut in the UK premiere of Suzie Miller’s award-winning play.
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.
Justin Martin directs this solo tour de force, captured live from the intimate Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End.
From Empire Street Productions
BBFC rating TBC
much-ado-about-nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
In cinemas from 8 September
directed by Simon Godwin
by William Shakespeare
Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd) and John Heffernan (Dracula) lead the cast in Shakespeare’s romcom of sun, sea and mistaken identity.
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.
A string of scandalous deceptions soon surround not only the young couple, but also the adamantly single Beatrice and Benedick.
Following his award-winning productions of Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night and Antony and Cleopatra, director Simon Godwin returns with this irresistible comedy, broadcast live from the National Theatre stage.
From the National Theatre
BBFC rating TBC
jack-absolute-flies-again
Jack Absolute Flies Again
In cinemas from 6 October
by Richard Bean and Oliver Chris
based on Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The Rivals
A rollicking new comedy by Richard Bean (One Man, Two Guvnors) and Oliver Chris (Twelfth Night).
After an aerial dog fight, Pilot Officer Jack Absolute flies home to win the heart of his old flame, Lydia Languish. Back on British soil, Jack’s advances soon turn to anarchy when the young heiress demands to be loved on her own, very particular, terms.
Emily Burns directs this spectacularly entertaining new version of Sheridan’s The Rivals. Featuring a cast including Caroline Quentin, Laurie Davidson, Natalie Simpson and Kelvin Fletcher.
From the National Theatre
BBFC rating TBC
henry-v
Henry V
In cinemas now
directed by Max Webster
by William Shakespeare
Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) plays the title role in Shakespeare’s thrilling study of nationalism, war and the psychology of power. Captured live from the Donmar Warehouse in London.
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.
Directed by Max Webster (Life of Pi), this exciting modern production explores what it means to be English and our relationship to Europe, asking: do we ever get the leaders we deserve??
From Donmar Warehouse
BBFC rating 15
the-book-of-dust-la-belle-sauvage
The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage
In cinemas now
by Philip Pullman, adapted by Bryony Lavery
directed by Nicholas Hytner, Emily Burns and James Cousins
Set twelve years before the 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 dæmons, 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 ground breaking production of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, director Nicholas Hytner returns to Pullman’s parallel universe. Broadcast live from London’s Bridge Theatre.
From Bridge Theatre
BBFC rating 12A
leopoldstadt
Leopoldstadt
In cinemas now
a new play by Tom Stoppard
directed by Patrick Marber
Tom Stoppard’s Olivier Award-winning new play Leopoldstadt is a passionate drama of love, family and endurance.
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. A company of 40 actors represent each generation of the family in this epic, but intimate play.
Filmed live on stage in London’s West End, ‘Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece is magnificent’ (Independent) and should not be missed.
From Sonia Friedman Productions
BBFC rating 12A
follies
Follies
In international cinemas
by Stephen Sondheim
Tracie Bennett, Janie Dee and Imelda Staunton play the magnificent Follies in this dazzling production. Featuring a cast of 37 and an orchestra of 21, Stephen Sondheim’s legendary musical was directed by Dominic Cooke and filmed live on stage at the National Theatre in 2017.
New York, 1971. There’s a party on the stage of the Weismann Theatre. Tomorrow the iconic building will be demolished. Thirty years after their final performance, the Follies girls gather to have a few drinks, sing a few songs and lie about themselves.
Winner of Academy, Tony, Grammy and Olivier awards, Sondheim’s previous work includes A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park with George.
From the National Theatre
BBFC rating 12A
skylight
Skylight
In international cinemas
by David Hare
Bill Nighy (Love Actually, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) and Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, The Dig) feature in David Hare’s Skylight, directed by Stephen Daldry, filmed live on-stage in London's West End.
On a bitterly cold London evening, schoolteacher Kyra Hollis (Carey Mulligan) receives an unexpected visit from her former lover, Tom Sergeant (Bill Nighy), a successful and charismatic restaurateur whose wife has recently died.
As the evening progresses, the two attempt to rekindle their once passionate relationship only to find themselves locked in a dangerous battle of opposing ideologies and mutual desires.
Presented by Robert Fox and Scott Rudin
BBFC rating 15
the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
In USA cinemas
based on the acclaimed novel by Mark Haddon, adapted by Simon Stephens
Captured live from the National Theatre in London, this critically acclaimed production directed by Marianne Elliot (Angels in America, War Horse) has astonished audiences around the world and has received seven Olivier and five Tony Awards.
Christopher, fifteen years old, stands beside Mrs Shears’ dead dog. It has been speared with a garden fork, it is seven minutes after midnight and Christopher is under suspicion.
He records each fact in the book he is writing to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington. He has an extraordinary brain, exceptional at maths while ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched and he distrusts strangers. But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a frightening journey that upturns his world.
A National Theatre production
BBFC rating 15
hansard
Hansard
In international cinemas
by Simon Woods
Hansard; noun
The official report of all parliamentary debates.
Olivier Award winners Lindsay Duncan (Birdman, About Time) and Alex Jennings (The Lady in the Van, The Queen) in Simon Woods' new play, filmed live on-stage from the National Theatre in London.
It’s a summer’s morning in 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. Diana has a stinking hangover, a fox is destroying the garden, and secrets are being dug up all over the place. As the day draws on, what starts as gentle ribbing and the familiar rhythms of marital scrapping quickly turns to blood-sport.
Don’t miss this witty and devastating portrait of the governing class, directed by Simon Godwin (Antony & Cleopatra, Twelfth Night).
A National Theatre production
BBFC rating 12A
cyrano-de-bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac
In international cinemas
by Edmond Rostand, in a new version by Martin Crimp
Directed by Jamie Lloyd
James McAvoy (X-Men, Atonement) returns to the stage in an inventive new adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac.
Fierce with a pen and notorious in combat, Cyrano almost has it all - if only he could win the heart of his true love Roxane. There’s just one big problem: he has a nose as huge as his heart. Will a society engulfed by narcissism get the better of Cyrano - or can his mastery of language set Roxane’s world alight?
Filmed live on stage from London's West End, this classic play will be brought to life with linguistic ingenuity to celebrate Cyrano’s powerful and resonant resistance against overwhelming odds.
From The Jamie Lloyd Company
BBFC rating: 15
the-lehman-trilogy
The Lehman Trilogy
In international cinemas
by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power
Directed by Sam Mendes
The story of a family and a company that changed the world, told in three parts in a single play.
Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes (Skyfall, The Ferryman) directs Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles who play the Lehman brothers, their sons and grandsons. Filmed live on stage in Londn's West End.
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.
A co-production from National Theatre and Neal Street Productions
BBFC rating 12A
no-mans-land
No Man's Land
In international cinemas
by Harold Pinter
Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart star in this glorious revival of Harold Pinter’s classic comedy, filmed live on stage from the West End in London.
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 conversation soon turns into a revealing power game, further complicated by the return home of two sinister younger men.
From Playful Productions
BBFC rating 15
war-horse
War Horse
In international cinemas
Based on the beloved novel by Michael Morpurgo
Adapted by Nick Stafford
In association with the award-winning Handspring Puppet Company
At the outbreak of World War One, Albert’s beloved horse, Joey, 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.
Now seen by more than 8 million people around the world, this powerfully moving and imaginative drama is a show of phenomenal inventiveness. At its heart are astonishing life-size puppets by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, who bring breathing, galloping, charging horses to thrilling life on stage.
A National Theatre Production
BBFC rating 12A
a-view-from-the-bridge
A View from the Bridge
In international cinemas
by Arthur Miller
directed by Ivo Van Hove
Arthur Miller’s dark and passionate play filmed live on-stage in London’s West End,
Ivo Van Hove (All About Eve, Network) directs Mark Strong (The Imitation Game; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Nicola Walker (The Split, Last Tango in Halifax) in this ‘magnetic, electrifying, astonishingly bold’ production (Evening Standard).
In Brooklyn, longshoreman 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.
A Young Vic production
BBFC rating 12A
romeo-juliet
Romeo & Juliet
In international cinemas
by William Shakespeare
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 new 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 (Wild Rose, Judy) and Josh O’Connor (The Crown, God’s Own Country) play Juliet and Romeo. The award-winning cast includes Tamsin Greig, Fisayo Akinade, Adrian Lester, Lucian Msamati, Deborah Findlay.
A National Theatre production
BBFC rating 12A