Primary Times - the definitive what’s on and where to go family guide of activities and events for children of primary school age. Things to do with your kids during the school holidays including arts and craft activities, music and theatre for children, parties, competitions, days out, and family attractions along with term time drama schools, dance classes, after school clubs and sports activities. Things to do at a place near you!
A diverse new season announced for National Theatre Live in 2017
The National Theatre has announced details of new productions to be broadcast live to cinemas across the UK and internationally from April as part of National Theatre Live.
New shows to be given the NT Live treatment include Tom Stoppard’s landmark play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead starring Daniel Radcliffe (The Cripple of Inishmaan, Equus, Harry Potter), Joshua McGuire (Posh, Mr Turner) and David Haig (Guys and Dolls, The Witness for the Prosecution), which will broadcast on 20th April. One of the critics picks of 2016 Yerma with Billie Piper (Doctor Who, Penny Dreadful) will broadcast on 31st August live from the Young Vic and Sally Cookson’s new take on the children’s classic Peter Pan, filmed live during it’s run at the National will be available in cinemas on 10th June.
American masterpiece Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes which returns to the National Theatre twenty five years after its debut, will be screened over a week in July with Part 1 – Millennium Approaches on the 20th
July and Part 2 - Perestroika on the 27th. The all star cast – directed by Olivier and Tony Award winner Marianne Elliot (War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) – is made up of Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spiderman, Hacksaw Ridge), Nathan Lane (The Birdcage, The Producers), Russell Tovey (Him & Her, The History Boys), James McArdle (Young Chekov, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens) and Denise Gough (People, Places and Things).
Salomé, a re-working of Oscar Wilde’s play which tells the story of the title character’s political awakening, will broadcast on 22nd June. Adapted and directed by award-winning South African director Yaël Farber (The Crucible) and starring Irish actress Olwen Fouéré (The Taming of the Shrew, Medea).
Macbeth, starring Olivier award winner and National Theatre regular Rory Kinnear (Hamlet, Skyfall) and Anne Marie Duff (Saint Joan, Shameless) directed by Artistic Director Rufus Norris will be broadcast in 2018.
Tickets are currently available for previously announced NT Live shows Amadeus, Saint Joan (from the Donmar Warehouse), Hedda Gabler and Twelfth Night.
Emma Keith, Head of Broadcast and National Theatre Live said about the upcoming shows:‘’When we began NT Live in 2009, our main aim was to bring our work to audiences who might not have otherwise had the opportunity to see it. Eight years later, we feel we’re more than fulfilling that original objective as we now screen to 700 cinemas across the UK. Screening in more than 60 countries, bringing the best that UK theatre has to offer to audiences across the world we screen our shows, as well as partner venue productions.
This year NT Live has increased in scale in terms of the range of shows we will be broadcasting. There’s something for everyone whether you’re a Shakespeare fan, love contemporary theatre or a parent looking for something for the family to experience together. From your local cinema or theatre, you’ll be able to watch Olivier and TONY award winning actors in a variety of plays and NT Live is thrilled to be bringing these shows to audiences across the UK and beyond.’’
Launched in 2009, National Theatre Live broadcasts have been seen by an audience of over 6 million people at 2500 venues in 60 countries. The first season began in June 2009 with the acclaimed production of Phédre starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren. Recent broadcasts include Benedict Cumberbatch in Sonia Friedman Production’s Hamlet live from the Barbican, Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus from the Donmar Warehouse, Gillian Anderson in A Streetcar Named Desire from the Young Vic, James Corden in One Man, Two Guvnors, Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch in Frankenstein and the multi award-winning War Horse.
Upcoming productions:
- Amadeus by Peter Shaffer. Lucian Msamati plays Salieri, with live orchestral accompaniment by Southbank Sinfonia. Broadcast live from the NT on Thursday 2 February.
- Saint Joan - Josie Rourke directs Gemma Arterton as Joan of Arc in Bernard Shaw’s electrifying classic. Broadcast live from the Donmar Warehouse on Thursday 16 February.
- Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen in a new version by Patrick Marber. Ruth Wilson plays the title role in Ivo van Hove’s production. Broadcast live from the NT on Thursday 9 March.
- Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Tamsin Greig plays Malvolia in Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identity. Directed by Simon Godwin. Broadcast live from the NT on Thursday 6 April.
- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard. Fifty years after the play premiered at The Old Vic, David Leveaux directs Daniel Radcliffe and Joshua McGuire as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern alongside David Haig as The Player in this iconic mind bending situation comedy. Broadcast live from The Old Vic on Thursday 20 April, this marks The Old Vic’s first collaboration with NT Live.
- Salomé - a radical retelling of the Biblical story of one young woman’s political awakening. Directed by Yaël Farber. Broadcast live from the NT on Thursday 22 June.
- Peter Pan, Sally Cookson’s wondrously inventive production recorded live during its run at the NT following a sell out run at the Bristol Old Vic will be broadcast on Saturday 10 June
- Marianne Elliott’s new production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America will be broadcast live from the NT in two parts. Part 1: Millennium Approaches on Thursday 20 July and Part 2: Perestroika on Thursday 27 July.
- Yerma - Billie Piper stars in Yerma as a woman driven to the unthinkable by her desperate desire to have a child. Simon Stone creates a radical production of Lorcha’s achingly powerful masterpiece. Broadcast live from the Young Vic on Thursday 31 August (international screenings from 21 September).
Find your nearest venue at ntlive.com