National Theatre Season June to August 2010

The National Theatre has announced new productions and platforms for its June to August Season.

Public booking opens 30 April 2010 for new shows.

New shows in The Olivier Theatre...

New shows in The Cottesloe Theatre...

Returning to The Lyttelton Theatre...

HABIT OF ART by Alan Bennett, closes 19 May, but returns 14 July 2010 with a new cast including Desmond Barrit (WH Auden), Malcolm Sinclair (Benjamin Britten) .

Confirmed at The Olivier Theatre in November...

FELA! Broadway show produced in London by National Theatre & several American Producers. Book by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones, and music and lyrics by Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, with additional lyrics by Jim Lewis and additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean. Opens 16 Nov 2010, following previews from 6 Nov - booking to 4 Dec 2010. Directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones. Starring Sahr Ngaujah, Kevin Mambo. Fela! is about the extravagant, decadent and rebellious world of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti. Using his pioneering music (a blend of jazz, funk and African rhythm and harmonies), Fela! explores Kuti's controversial life as artist, political activist and revolutionary musician.The show is a hybrid of concert, dance and musical theater.

Productions closing ....

London Assurance Closes 29 June
Women Beware Women Closes 4 July
The White Guard Closes 7 July
Love the Sinner Closes 10 July
Beyond the Horizon Closes 22 July
Spring Storm Closes 22 July
After the Dance Closes 11 Aug

New Platforms....

Unless stated: 6pm / Length 45 mins / £3.50

Thea Sharrock on After the Dance
17 June, Lyttelton
Director Thea Sharrock discusses her production of Terence Rattigan's study of pre-war hedonistic life.

In Conversation with... Benedict Cumberbatch
21 June / 3pm (1hr), £5 Cottesloe A series of informal afternoon Platforms with members of the company talking about their work and answering your questions. Chaired by Al Senter.

Anthony Horowitz
23 June, Cottesloe
Anthony Horowitz's Stormbreaker, the first novel about the teen superspy Alex Rider, appeared ten years ago; his eight action-packed missions have since been translated into 28 languages. He reflects on the success of the series, and his other work, including TV's Foyle's War and A Handbag for NT New Connections.

John Barrowman
24 June, Lyttelton
John Barrowman returns to the National with his new book, I Am What I Am, and shares his thoughts on Torchwood, talent shows, West End musicals and Saturday night TV.

Love the Sinner Discussions:
Love the Sinner addresses a number of the key moral challenges faced by the modern Christian church; these discussions examine and elaborate on two of the issues at the heart of the play.
Faith and Freedom: the church's complicated position regarding sexuality
28 June, Cottesloe

In Conversation with...Adrian Scarborough
28 June / 3pm (1hr), £5 Cottesloe A series of informal afternoon Platforms with members of the company talking about their work and answering your questions.
Chaired by Al Senter.

Orlando Figes
1 July, Lyttelton
As The White Guard ends its run in the Lyttelton, the historian and author discusses how the Bolshevik victory was made possible by the transformation of the Russian countryside prior to and during the revolution.

Joan Bakewell and Harriet Walter
2 July, Cottesloe
To celebrate the opening of her exhibition, Infinite Variety, Harriet Walter is joined by Joan Bakewell to ask why we don't celebrate the personality and variety that age brings to womankind.

Simon Callow
5 July, Lyttelton
My Life in Pieces reconstructs the highlights of a career through the people who have shaped Callow's work - Welles, Dickens, Laughton and Olivier - alongside commentaries on panto, nudity, homosexuality and the many other aspects of a rich and varied life.

In Conversation with... Nancy Carroll
5 July / 3pm (1hr), £5 Cottesloe
A series of informal afternoon Platforms with members of the company talking about their work and answering your questions.
Chaired by Al Senter.

Love the Sinner Discussions:
Love the Sinner addresses a number of the key moral challenges faced by the modern Christian church; these discussions examine and elaborate on two of the issues at the heart of the play.
Church and Culture: the cultural responsibility of the church in a post-colonial world
9 July, Cottesloe.

Mike Bradwell
16 July, Cottesloe
The former Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre discusses The Reluctant Escapologist, his unofficial history of the Fringe.

Louise Rennison
20 July, Cottesloe
Author Louise Rennison was voted the UK's Queen of Teen. She comes to the National to talk about Withering Tights, the first book in her new series set in a performing arts college, following the dramatic antics of Tallulah and her mates - boys, snogging and bad acting guaranteed.

Women in War: Ancient and Modern
28 July, Lyttelton
Welcome to Thebes focuses on a female leader of a fragile government in the aftermath of civil war. Playwright Moira Buffini, classicist Edith Hall and academic Nicola Pratt look at the effects of democratic autonomy and financial dependence on women in post-conflict situations.

Howard Brenton and Ruth Scurr
30 July, Lyttelton
Howard Brenton, whose version of Danton's Death is playing in the Olivier, is joined by author Ruth Scurr to talk about Danton, Robespierre and the French Revolution.

Mike Bartlett and Rupert Goold on Earthquakes in London
10 Aug, Cottesloe
Writer Mike Bartlett and director Rupert Goold discuss this new play.

In Conversation with... Toby Stephens
13 August / 3pm (1hr), £5 Cottesloe
A series of informal afternoon Platforms with members of the company talking about their work and answering your questions.
Chaired by Al Senter.