National Theatre

The King is dead. Long live the King.
Join us for an evening of absurd comedy: http://bit.ly/ntexittheking

Can the cast of Exit the King recognise these stage royals?
Can you?
http://bit.ly/ntexittheking

'You're going to die at the end of the play.'
http://bit.ly/ntexittheking

We had so much fun with HOME Manchester at River Stage this weekend.
Here are a few highlights for you.
Missed out? You can join us again next week with Sadler's Wells

'Prepare for something life changing'
See how audiences are responding to The Jungle in the West End
Join the conversation: bit.ly/thejunglewestend

Help!
The Star Seekers' orbs have escaped into our other shows. Can you help us find them?
#TheStarSeekers, for ages 4-8: http://bit.ly/ntstarseekers

Today we say goodbye to An Octoroon.
Break a leg to the cast and crew for your final performance in the Dorfman Theatre. We'll miss you.

Heartbreaking. Hilarious. Slapstick?
Exit the King has its first preview tonight. Break a leg everyone.
Book now: http://bit.ly/ntexittheking

What a weekend!
Thank you to The Glory for making it magical.
Come to this weekend's River Stage for more free fun: http://bit.ly/HOMEatRiverStage
... All photos by Cameron Slater Photography
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Julie lives in technicolour... But she's never felt more alone.
See Vanessa Kirby in Julie: http://bit.ly/ntjulie

It's here. 5 weekends of outrageous fun. And food, lots of food.

'It will make a really fierce point about the choices we make
...and then it will completely undercut itself and make a joke about cake.'

What happens when you take lots of children to a rehearsal of The Star Seekers? You get pelted with asteroids that's what.
More: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/the-star -seekers

'Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety.'
More: http://bit.ly/NTAntonyandCleopatra

'Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety.'
Playing in the Olivier 8 Sep to 19 Jan. National Theatre Live broadcast 6 Dec.
... More info and tickets: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/antony-a nd-cleopatra
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Turn your sound on to hear something odd.

Happy #Pride. We hope you have all had a day full of love. Angels in America on Broadway

'Words are signals. They are not immortal.'

'In the heat of this night, it all goes down...'
Vanessa Kirby, Thalissa Teixeira and Eric Kofi Abrefa talk us through Polly Stenham's new version of Strindberg's 'Miss Julie'.

The King is dead. Long live the King! An absurd comedy by Eugène Ionesco.

Wonderful member of staff in your box office named Brandon. I got to the head of the queue for Network Friday Rush and had a few minutes to complete the purchase but the web form would not accept my postcode and go to the payment page. I rang the box office a gibbering wreck as have only got to 2000 or so in the queue before and thought success was to be snatched from me at the 11th hour. Brandon calmly took over the reins and guided me through. A huge thank you!!!

We went to see the matinee performance of Amadeus yesterday. It was magnificent. Superb performances and of course the music... It had me in tears at the end, simply stunning.

We saw, last Thurs 24th Nov, the revival of Stephen Sondheim’s musical - Follies - at the National Theatre.



My goodness, from the opening scene accompanied with a superb musical score the show is sensational, mesmerising, sentimental, emotional, funny and full of razzmatazz and absolutely awesome (a word often overused but not here). It truly wows you through to a point before you know it 2hrs 15 mins (no interval) are up and all around a standing ovation.



The stage set is stupendous and larger than life and really conveys the setting for the story...pulls you right there back in time. The musical score and songs cover the full range from those that gently pull your heartstrings to ones where you want to leap up and jig around to. The fantastic and vibrant costumes bring the whole show to life.



Imelda Staunton leads a hugely talented cast who give it their all - and the audience can feel it! The humour the raw and, at times, painful emotion emanating from each character. This is a study of all those things we recognise in ourselves(especially as we get older); what if, love, regrets, missed chances, grass is greener, happiness and sadness - also known as life. It shows us through the journey of the four key characters that quite often the very things we think we want and need are there right in front of us - we just need to look through clear eyes.



Finally, the clever use of having the younger characters on stage at the same time with their older selves is pure genius to convey the back stories.



Save yourself money on therapy and go and watch Follies...you’ll not regret it.

Visited the National Theatre for the first time to see Pinocchio - I was enthralled from start to finish by this magical production. The puppetry, staging and choreography were simply exquisite. It's a dark story, but the children sat behind me were as captivated as I was. A perfect outing for all ages!

Translations by Brian Friel �

Loved it

Set was great



Cast was excellent ( have always loved Ciaran Hinds!)

A really pertinent play.

It's been too long since I've been to The National ( last there when War Horse opened!)

So I'm currently surfing to get tickets to return!

A wonderful experience

The National Theatre's new Macbeth is filled with fantasy and gore, strange sounds shadowed by haunting silhouettes, fitful fiends flitting about filling one’s mind with spiders. Under Rufus Norris' virtuosic direction, the National Theatre's Macbeth brings to life (and death) all of the phtasmagoric imagery conjured by Shakepeare's timeless text. And there lies the rub.



Does one’s wonderment at the show’s visceral, oculary artistry distract? Do the Bard’s words get swallowed up like rafts awash on the gigantic churning rapids of the Olivier stage? Is it like going out to a magnificent dining experience in a 3 star Michelin guide restaurant where the food is so beautifully presented that one forgets what they are tasting? Hmmm… it sets one to thinking. But whatever the case, the Rufus Norris experience is always a visual feast, and in my opinion, Macbeth at the National Theatre weighs in as a winner!

Saw Translations yesterday and everything was fantastic!! The actors, the set, where we were sat and every member of staff that we came into contact with. For our first visit, it was a great experience. 🙂🙂

Only my second visit to the National and again I was blown away! This time I saw the wonderful Amadeus, the acting was wonderful and the setting just brilliant! I’ll be back for MacBeth but as excellence is clearly the mantra at the National i’ll be looking for many more visits

Network is the most amazing play of all time. I can‘t describe how wonderful it is to see Bryan Cranston performing live and playing his heart & soul out. Thank you for this, National Theatre. I had the best time of my life at Lyttelton yesterday.

It was my first visit to the National Theatre. Stephen Sondheim's 'Follies' is a masterwork that is notoriously difficult & costly to stage, given the large cast it requires plus a decent sized orchestra to do justice to a range of musical genres popular between the wars in Ziegfeld type revues. This production is a triumph on every level.

The astonishing set design of the old Weisman Theatre about to be demolished, is a remarkable artistic achievement. The distinguished cast led by Imelda Staunton, Philip Quast Janie Dee & Tracie Bennett give outstanding performances together with a heart-rending song from the great Dame Josephine Barstow as she duets with a ghost of herself as she appeared in 1918......stunning. The main characters even interact with their former selves conveying regrets, past glories, emotional mid-life crises with the angst of the early 70's where this reunion is happening. The brilliant 21 piece orchestra give the score a superb rendition & the show is played without an in interval - 2hours 15 mins fly by in a production of 'Follies' that it deserves & receives.

UNMISSABLE!

I have hung out at the National Theatre every chance I've had since 1981. It has been more than a set of theatres. It's a place to eat, drink, meet friends, look at exhibits, and sometimes sit on the balcony marking papers over spring break. I've seen dozens of plays there, many of them life-changing. The Mysteries, both productions. The Oresteia. Translations. Amadeus. Coriolanus. I'm eagerly awaiting the October schedule. It always feels like coming home to be there.

Fabulous evening watching the new production of “Julie” a reworking of “Miss Julie” (Strindberg). Imaginative set design which established the clear class divisions within this modern re-working. A tightly focused performance by Vanessa Kirby who explored the depths her character could descend to when desperation takes hold. Although this production is only in its preview stage, this production already is mesmerising and we truly feel the pain both Julie and Christina feel.

A brilliant production, especially Anne- Marie Duff. Her Lady Macbeth was so believable. Fantastic staging. I loved the tall poles and the witches. The whole dystopian feel trallyveirked. Rory Kinear was very moving as Macbeth, especially in the Tomorrow speech. I going the way he repeated ‘ enough’ st the end very significant. I’ve seen the RSC production and I preferred this. One of the best productions I’ve seen. Chilling. Go and see it.

Excellent customer service, Positioned well for good viewing, easy access to public transport, overall very well presented, To top it all, excellent night at the National watching a well written and delivered "Nine Night" Would have been 5 stars, but for the price of a glass of wine!

An interesting "Scottish Play". Hard work for the great actors; it's hard to give a monologue perched on a steep ramp. Scenery and set hard to describe. Costumes a melange. Some very good points and a lot to ponder. One of the Witches ran at the speed of an Olympic Sprinter that Stage is so big to run around. House Restaurant meal beforehand helped us cope - it was very good!

Absolute Hell was very good and I’d recommend it as a piece of theatre that lives with you long after the performance.

Would have liked more live singing though!

Another great show from The National Theatre.

Saw Macbeth 28/4, here goes, nice set, Mrs Macbeth was good but Macbeth himself spoke too quick, as alot of the actors, did they have somewhere else to be? Cut out most of the witches lines (I'ld have been upset getting that roll, "where's my lines & why am I stuck up a pole?".

I was looking forward to it having seen Kinnear at The Bridge, but he mumbled & even in the front row of the circle I didn't feel the emotion.

It's Shakespeare, I don't need lines cut, I don't need it made "relevent" I just want Shakespeare in all its wordy glory, rhyme & passion.

I don't mind modern staging (love it most the time) but leave the words alone.

A missed chance, 2 stars for Mrs Macbeth only.

I watched a performance of Absolute Hell on Thursday afternoon. I have notes for the director, where do I start? Best not. On second thoughts, just the one, lose the wandering prostitute, distracting, annoying, what purpose served? Director's indulgence? Oh yes, one for the deputy stage manager, check out the fall of the 'rag' in between acts/scenes. When it falls it catches on the rear of the radiogramme, looks as if the back of a ladies dress has been caught up in her knickers! Attention to detail, attention to detail.

As a fellow Actor myself. There were areas I would say that needed attention. But it was a birthday treat and I enjoyed the evening.

All the Actors had worked hard and you could see it. It had an interesting twist through the directors choices.



The girl on the bar right outside of the theatre was very sweet and very polite.



YouTube = Bobby Rudman.