It’s already been quite the year for the National Theatre (NT) with productions starring Lesley Manville, Rafe Spall, and Maxine Peake winning rave reviews, and NT boss Rufus Norris signing up to another five years at the helm. There’s also been acclaimed new work from Clint Dyer, Inua Ellams, and Lucy Kirkwood to celebrate, so what else can we expect from the National this year? Backstage has been taking a look at 2020 and beyond.
Romeo & Juliet
Two of the UK’s hottest young talents Jessie Buckley (Judy, Wild Rose) and Josh O’Connor (The Crown, God’s Own Country) will make their NT debuts this summer. They’ll be taking to the Olivier stage as the star-crossed lovers in a contemporary Italian take on Romeo & Juliet, directed by National veteran Simon Godwin. Keep an eye out for when booking opens as its likely these tickets will go quickly. From August 2020.
Phaedra
Another perhaps surprising National debut will come from Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, who’ll pop her NT cherry in Phaedra later this year. Thomas will star opposite Assaad Bouab in the play adapted from the original work of Euripides, Seneca and Racine. If that sounds a little dry, the plot will perk you up. Scott Thomas plays Phaedra, wife of King Theseus of Athens, who becomes consumed with lust for her stepson. Racy! It runs in the Lyttelton from November 2020.
READ: What is the National Theatre?
Paradise
If Phaedra has fired up your desire for all things mythical, why not take a look at Kate Tempest’s Paradise, a new version of Sophocles’ Philoctetes? Theatrical grand-dame Lesley Sharp will star as the one-time war hero, now a wounded outcast tempted by revenge. Yep, those Greeks know how to write a plot. Ian Rickson directs and it runs from June 2020.
The Corn is Green
Nicola Walker may currently be dominating our TV screens in both glossy marital drama The Split and cosy Sunday night series Last Tango in Halifax, but later this year she’ll be back on the National stage in The Corn is Green. Written by Emlyn Williams, it’s the first major revival in 35 years of the inspiring Welsh classic and is directed by Dominic Cooke (Follies). Opens 17 June 2020.
Small Island
It was a smash hit for its director and National boss Rufus Norris in 2019 and now the critically acclaimed production of Andrea Levy’s epic novel is back for a second go on the Olivier stage. This adaptation features 40 actors tracing the complicated history of Jamaica and the UK from the second world war until 1948 when the Windrush docked, all told through three interconnected stories. From October 2020.
READ: How to Get an Acting Job in the West End
After Life
Tony and Oliver winning writer Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) brings his new play After Life to the National. Based on the film of the same name, After Life is set somewhere between life and death “where people passing through are asked to pick one memory that they will live in for eternity.” From Jan 2021.
Standing at the Sky’s Edge
Quiffed pop icon Richard Hawley wrote the music for this new British musical set in Sheffield’s Park Hill estate. It’s the story of three generations of three different families in the 60s, 80s, and just after the millennium. A critically acclaimed hit when it opened at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre, it was also named best musical production at the UK Theatre Awards. Opens in January 2021.
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