NATIONAL THEATRE : TRANSFORMATION SEASON ANNOUNCED

NATIONAL THEATRE : TRANSFORMATION SEASON ANNOUNCED

The Royal National Theatre have announced their Transformation Season, a 5 month season presenting 13 world premieres in two theatre - one transformed and one entirely new.

From 29th April to 21st Sep 02, the National's most traditional auditorium, the Lyttelton, is being transformed by a sweep of seats from circle to stage to create a new intimacy between actor and audience. It will be home to 5 contemporary pieces of work by leading theatre innovators.

At the same time a wholly new 100-seat theatre, the Lyttelton Loft, is being created as a fully flexible space for 8 new plays.

The Lyttelton theatre will be restored to its original state after the season ends

Public Booking opens for the Transformation season in the Lyttelton & Loft on 15th April 02.

The 5 shows in the transformed Lyttelton are.....

The PowerBook
from a novel by Jeanette Winterson, devised by Jeanette Winterson, Deborah Warner & Fiona Shaw.
Opens 18th May, following previews from 9th May, closes 4th June 02
It is co produced with Theatre National de Chaillot, directed by Deborah Warner, with design & lighting by Tom Pye & Jean Kalman, and features Fiona Shaw and Saffron Burrows. "To avoid discovery I stay on the run.To discover things for myself I stay on the run....It's night, I'm sitting at my screen, there's an email for me. I unwrap it. It says - Freedom just for one night..."

A Prayer for Owen Meany
A novel by John Irving, adapted by Simon Bent
Opens 13th June, following previews from 10th June, closes 29th June 02
It is directed by Mick Gordon, designed by Dick Bird, with lighting by Neil Austin, and features Aidan McArdle. "I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice - not because of his voice , or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.

The Adventures of the Stoneheads
by Toby Wilsher
Opens 5th July , following previews from 4th July, closes 13th July 02
It is a co-production with Trestle Theatre Company, directed by Toby Wilsher, designed by Bridget Kimak, with lighting by Mark Jonathan, and features James Greaves, Simon Grover, Lisa Hammond, Stephen Harper, Samantha Mason, Alan Riley, Sarah Thom, Jason Webb. When the magical Stoneheads arrive on our shores they have one simple desire: to survive. Strangers in a strand land, it is love that will see them through, but love is tested to destruction...

The Birds
by Aristophanes, in a new version by Sean O'Brien
Opens 26th July , following previews from 22nd July, closes 14th Aug 02
It is a co-production with Mamaloucos Circus, directed by Kathryn Hunter, designed by Liz Cooke, with lighting by Paul Anderson, and features Dane Clarke, Matt Costain, Joel Howard, Matilda Leyser, Marcello Magni, Sophie Oldfield, Corinne Pierre, James Roberts, Fabio Santos, Dickon Savage.. A unique fusion of circus and theatre to reinterpret Aristophanes' The Birds.

Play Without Words
Devided by Matthew Bourne
Opens 23rd Aug, following previews from 20th Aug, closes 14th Sep 02
It is directed by Matthew Bourne, designed by Lez Brotherston, with lighting by Paule Constable. Chelsea 1963. Behind the privileged facade of domestic social order lies a struggle for power,. territory and sexual domination.

 

The 8 shows in the Loft are.....

Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads
by Roy Williams
Opens 1st may, following previews from 29th April, closes 15th May 02
It is directed by Simon Usher. Saturday 7th Oct 200. England v Germany, The King George V The Duke of York. Keegan resigns and Barry plays a blinder. Tensions erupt in a South London pub as England lose again.

Free
by Simon Bowen
Opens 23rd may, following previews from 20th May, closes 8th June 02
It is directed by Thea Sharrock. A temp takes off, a head-hunter wins a Dreamcast. a father hires a boy and a daughter needs an escort. The succesful and the damaged richochet around the metropolis. Emotion becomes a commodity with violent consequences..

Life After Life
A reportage play by Paul Jepson & Tony Parker
Opens 29th may, following previews from 28th May, closes 8th June 02
It is directed by Paul Jepson. Valere wants a job, Frank wants to run the marathon - Paul, Philip and Alan just want to hold on. This reportage draws on interviews with murderers to create stark, uncompromising portraits of people rebuilding their lives.

The Shadow of a Boy
by Gary Owen
Opens 17th June, following previews from 13th June, closes 29th June 02
It is directed by Erica Whyman. A story of a boy and his friend from outer space. The scheduled destruction of Earth alarms 11 year old Luke almost as much as starting at the comp.

The Mentalists
by Richard Bean
Opens 8th July, following previews from 4th July, closes 20th July 02
It is directed by Sean Holmes. War, poverty, corruption, spiralling taxes, bad behaviour, inter-personal violence and over-population. Do these things worry you? Middle-aged fleet manager Ted, hits on a utopian plan to change the way we live .

Sanctuary
by Tanika Gupta
Opens 29th July, following previews from 25th July, closes 10th Aug 02
It is directed by Hettie Macdonald. A London churchyard becomes a sancuary for the gardener Kabir. When a photograph of an African church appears in this little Eden, a complex drama of morality and concience unfolds.

The Associate
by Simon Bent
Opens 19th Aug, following previews from 15th Aug, closes 31st Aug 02
It is directed by Paul Miller. A pensioner has his council house re-decorated by two self-employed chancers. But there are worse crimes than benefit fraud. A comic study of politics and wallpapering.

Closing Times
by Owen McCafferty
Opens 9th Sep, following previews from 5th Sep, closes 21st Sep 02
It is directed by James Kerr. A run down hotel in Belfast acts as a refuge from reality for its regulars - and its owners. Gradually the night erodes their ability to cope with each other, or themselves. A portrait of the loney and the alone.


Platforms announced include....

ONSTAGE: Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads
3 May 02 / 6.45pm Loft (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

Richard Eyre and Nicholas Wright
7 May 02 / 6pm Cottesloe (£3.50)
Talk about 'Vincent in Brixton'

Dominic Dromgoole: The Full Room
14 May 02 / 6pm Cottesloe (£3.50)
Domonic Dromgoole witnessed the explosion of new writing that took place at the end of the new millennium, which took its cue from the political writing of the 60s and 70s. In a series of authoritative profiles of over 50 British playwrights, the director and producer offers his lively, provocative and uncompromising views.

Christopher Riopelle
17 May 02 / 6pm Cottesloe (£3.50)
National Gallery Curater, Christopher Riopelle, offers insight into the life and work of Van Gogh, and provides some context for Nicholas Wright's new play on the artist's early years in London.

Colin Teevan on Bacchai
20 May 02 / 6pm Olivier (£3.50)
Talks about his new adaptation.

ONSTAGE:Powerbook
20 May 02 / 7.15pm Lyttelton (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

Peter Hall on Bacchai
21 May 02 / 6pm Olivier (£3.50)
Talks about his work on Greek drama

ONSTAGE:Free
24 May 02 / 6.45pm Loft (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

ONSTAGE:Life After Life
30 May 02 / 6.45pm Loft (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

Greeks 1 : Achilles
by Elizabeth Cook 31 May 02 / 2pm Cottesloe (£5)
Reading, retelling of the epic tale of Achilles recreates Homer's fated hero in a new and vivid reality.

Patsy Rodenburg: speaking Shakespeare
5 June 02 / 6pm Cottesloe (£3.50)
Talks about her latest book.

Greeks 2 : IPH
by Colin Teevan 7 June 02 / 2pm Cottesloe (£5)
Reading of Colin Teevan's modern adaptation

ONSTAGE:A Prayer for Own Meany
14 June 02 / 6.15pm Lyttelton (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

ONSTAGE:The Shadow of a Boy
18 Jun 02 / 6.45pm Loft (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

ONSTAGE:The Mentalists
9 July 02 / 6.45pm Loft (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

ONSTAGE:Adventures of the Stoneheads
12 July 02 / 6.15pm Lyttelton (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

ONSTAGE:Sanctuary
30 Jul 02 / 6.45pm Loft (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

ONSTAGE:The Birds
2 Aug 02 / 6.15pm Lyttelton (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

ONSTAGE:The Associate
20 Aug 02 / 6.45pm Loft (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

ONSTAGE:Play Without Words
30 Aug 02 / 6.15pm Lyttelton (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

ONSTAGE:Closing Time
10 Sep 02 / 6.45pm Loft (Free, but ticketed!!!)
Production team talk about their work and answer questions

 

Originally published on

Subscribe to our newsletter to unlock exclusive London theatre updates!

Special offers, reviews and release dates for the best shows in town.

You can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy