NT announces productions for Sep 2005 to Feb 2006

NT announces productions for Sep 2005 to Feb 2006

The National Theatre has announced productions for Sep 2005 to Feb 2006

Public booking opens 27 July 2005 for the following productions

Repertoire dates can be found at: HERE

In the Olivier...

Coram Boy
adapted by Helen Edmundson, from a novel by Jamila Gavin.
Opens 15 Nov 2005, following previews from 2 Nov, booking to 4 Feb 2006
Directed by Melly Still, designed by Ti Green and Melly Still, lighting by Paule Constable.
A tale of two cities: Gloucester and London. A tale of two orphans at the Coram Hospital for Deserted Children: Toby, saved from an African slave ship and Aaron, the abandoned son of the heir to a great estate. A tale of fathers and sons, set in the dark heart of 18th-century England. An epic adventure filled with danger and excitement. (A rich and almost gothic drama unfolds, full of dastardly villains, cold-hearted aristocrats, devoted friends and passionate lovers, and set against a background of cruelty, music and murder.' Philip Pullman)

Once in a Lifetime
by George S Kaufman and Moss Hart.
Opens 15 Dec 2005, following previews from 5 Dec, booking to 1 Feb 2006).
Directed by Edward Hall, designed by Mark Thompson, lighting by Hugh Vanstone.
As the talkies hit the headlines, three New York actors abandon their clapped-out vaudeville act to make it big in Hollywood. Jerry and May have a brilliant idea: a voice school for the brainless stars of the silent movies. Their sweet pal, George, tags along for the ride. He's dumb enough to impress the mighty Glogauer, head of Glogauer Studios, and when Jerry and May are drummed out of town, George comes up smelling of roses.

In the Lyttelton...

The History Boys
by Alan Bennett.
from 21 to 28 Sep 2005 & from 2 Dec 2005 to 1 Feb 2006.
Starring Desmond Barrit (Hector)
Directed by Nicholas Hytner, recreated by Simon Cox, designed by Bob Crowley, lighting by Mark Henderson.
A drama about adolescent schoolboys. A group of bright, funny sixth-form boys in pursuit of sex, sport and a place at university. A maverick English teacher at odds with the young and shrewd supply teacher. A headmaster obsessed with results, and a history teacher who thinks he's a fool.

Pillars of the Community
by Henrik Ibsen, in a new version by Samuel Adamson.
Opens 1 Nov 2005, following previews from 21 Oct 2005, booking to 4 Feb 2006.
Directed by Marianne Elliott, designed by Rae Smith, lighting by Chris Davey.
Calamity strikes when Bernick's business prowess and pristine reputation are threatened by the revelation of a long-buried secret. Desperate to dodge exposure in the kowtowing local community, Bernick devises a pitiless plan which, by a shocking twist of fate, risks the one life he holds dear. (The National marks the centenary of Ibsen's death with a vital new version of this rarely performed thriller, set amid a society struggling against the rush of capitalism, the lure of America and the passionate beginnings of the fight for female emancipation. )

Just for Show
a work by Lloyd Newson for DV8 Physical Theatre.
from 10 to 19 Nov 2005.
Directed by Lloyd Newson, designed by Lloyd Newson and Naomi Wilkinson, lighting by Jack Thompson , costumes by Christina Cunningham, produced by Romaeuropa Festival and Accademia Filarmonica, Rome; National Theatre, London; Theare de la Ville and the Festival d'Automne, Paris and spielzeiteuropa / Berliner Festspiele, Berlin.
Just for Show is about showing and showing off in a world where looking good has become more essential than being good; where faking it has become synonymous with making it and where beautiful lies hide grubby truths. Just for Show uses virtual projection, visual illusion and word play - 'extraordinary physicality, witty text, dark humour and beautiful observations of human behaviour'.
(**Contains nudity and strong language.)

In the Cottesloe...

New Play by Mike Leigh (Title tbc)
Opens 15 Sep 2005, following previews from 8 Sep 2005, closes 31 Jan 2006.
Starring John Burgess, Ben Caplan, Allan Corduner, Adam Godley, Caroline Gruber, Nitzan Sharron, Samantha Spiro, Alexis Zegerman
For the first time, the National Theatre has commissioned Mike Leigh to create an original play. Following his usual methods, Leigh has been working with his team to explore characters, relationships, themes and ideas.

Paul
by Howard Brenton.
Opens 6 Oct 2005, following previews from 30 Sep 2005, booking to 4 Feb 2006.
Directed by Howard Davies, designed by Vicki Mortimer, lighting by Paule Constable.
A divine revelation on the road to Damascus moves Saul to renounce his former life. He changes his name, converts from Judaism, and devotes himself to preaching the Gospel.Taking the life and moral teachings of this religious thinker, Howard Brenton explores the phenomenon of faith. While offering a secular reading of the story of Christ's resurrection, at the play's heart Paul preaches from his Letter to the Corinthians.

Translations
by Brian Friel.
Opens 16 Nov 2005, following previews from 15 Nov 2005, closes 1 Dec 2005
Produced by NT Education Mobile Production.
In 1830s Donegal, British troops attempt to map the landscape and convert the Irish place-names to the King's English. For the local headmaster, his sons and the handful of Gaelic-speaking villagers, their actions have irrevocable and far-reaching consequences.

Productions extended

Theatre of Blood
will now end 10 Sep 2005

Aristocrats
will now close 13 Oct 2005

New Platforms announced....
(6pm (45 mins) £3·50 unless stated

Laurence Olivier: The Authorised Biography 26 September, Olivier
Terry Coleman discusses his authorised biography of the clergyman's son who became a West End matinee idol, film star and the National Theatre's first Director.

Howard Brenton on Paul
19 Oct, Cottesloe Howard Brenton talks about Paul, his new play, which explores the phenomenon of faith.

Park Honan on Christopher Marlowe
2 Nov, Cottesloe
Park Honan talks about his vivid new account of Marlowe's spectacular life.

Declan Donnellan: The Actor and the Target
9 Nov, Cottesloe
The director Declan Donnellan talks about the new revised edition of his best-selling book.

Lloyd Newson on Just for Show
16 Nov, Lyttelton
Lloyd Newson, creator of Just for Show and Artistic Director of DV8, talks about his work.

Sean Holmes on Translations
18 Nov, Cottesloe
The director of Translations, by Brian Friel, talks about his production of the play for NT Education's Mobile tour.

Melly Still on Coram Boy
22 Nov, Olivier
As Whitbread award-winning novel, Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin, arrives in the Olivier Theatre, the director and co-designer, Melly Still, talks about her production.

An evening with Private Eye
7 Dec, Lyttelton
Eye editor Ian Hislop is joined by Craig Brown, John Sessions and Eleanor Bron to take a wry and skewed look at 2005.

Theatre Quiz
21 Dec 21, Lyttelton

Marianne Elliott and Samuel Adamson on Pillars of the Community
6 Jan, Lyttelton
Director Marianne Elliott discusses her production of Ibsen's Pillars of the Community, with Samuel Adamson, who has written the new version of the play.

Edward Hall on Once In A Lifetime
16 Jan, Olivier
The director of Once In A Lifetime by Kaufman and Hart talks about his production of the best comic play ever written about the Hollywood golden age.