Performing Arts Archives

Home
Performing Arts
Events
Performing Arts

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES

by Christopher Hampton
based on the novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
directed by Marianne Elliott

BAFTA Award-winner Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) joins Aidan Turner (Rivals) in a striking new staging of Christopher Hampton’s celebrated adaptation of the classic novel, where among the glittering salons of the super-rich, one misstep can mean ruin.

Marquise de Merteuil is a master in the art of survival. Alongside the magnetic Vicomte de Valmont, they turn seduction into strategy and weaponise desire. But when their alliance collapses into rivalry, the battle between them threatens to destroy everyone in their path.

Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Marianne Elliott (Angels in America) directs this thrilling game of love, lies, and social warfare.

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: FRANKENSTEIN

by Nick Dear, based on the novel by Mary Shelley

Directed by Academy Award®-winner Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire), Frankenstein features Benedict Cumberbatch (Hamlet, BBC’s Sherlock) and Jonny Lee Miller (Elementary, Trainspotting) alternating between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and his creation.

Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein’s bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the increasingly desperate and vengeful Creature determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal.

Scientific responsibility, parental neglect, cognitive development and the nature of good and evil, are embedded within this thrilling and deeply disturbing classic tale.

Captured live on stage in 2011, this thrilling, sold-out production became an international sensation, experienced by almost half a million people in cinemas around the world.

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD

by John Millington Synge
directed by Caitríona McLaughlin

Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton) joins Éanna Hardwicke (The Sixth Commandment) and Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls) in John Millington Synge’s riveting play of youth and self-discovery.

Pegeen Flaherty’s life is turned upside down when a young man walks into her pub claiming that he’s killed his father. Instead of being shunned, the killer becomes a local hero and begins to win hearts, that is until a second man unexpectedly arrives on the scene…

Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Caitríona McLaughlin directs this darkly funny tale full to the brim with secrets.

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: ALL MY SONS

by Arthur Miller
directed by Ivo Van Hove
design by Jan Versweyveld

Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths) feature in a five-star, triumphantly acclaimed new production of Arthur Miller’s classic play, from visionary director Ivo Van Hove (A View from the Bridge).

One family, the heart of the American dream. When wartime delivers profits for Joe, it comes at a price when his partner is charged with criminal manufacturing deals, and his eldest son goes missing in action. Will peacetime bring peace of mind, or will he be confronted by the consequence of his actions?

Filmed live from the West End, Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You), Tom Glynn-Carney (House of the Dragon), and Hayley Squires (I, Daniel Blake) also feature in this disturbingly prescient play.

★★★★★
‘The stars of a dream cast align’
Guardian

★★★★★
‘I have never seen a better production of this play’
Independent

★★★★★
‘An astonishing piece of theatre’
Standard

★★★★★
‘Stupendously well-acted’
Financial Times

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: THE AUDIENCE

by Peter Morgan
directed by Stephen Daldry

Returning to cinemas for the first time in over a decade, Helen Mirren plays Queen Elizabeth II in the Olivier and Tony Award®-winning hit production, directed by Stephen Daldry.

For 60 years, Queen Elizabeth II met with each of her 12 prime ministers in a private weekly meeting. This meeting is known as The Audience. From Winston Churchill to Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron, the Queen advised her prime ministers on matters both public and personal. Through these private audiences, we see glimpses of the woman behind the crown and witness the moments that shaped a monarch.

Peter Morgan’s Netflix phenomenon The Crown was based on this hit play that was captured live from London’s West End in 2013 and went on to become one of the most-watched NT Live productions.

Run Time: 3 hours, one intermission

★★★★★
‘Wholly tremendous.’
Daily Telegraph

★★★★★
‘Funny and truthful.’
Times

★★★★
‘Helen Mirren is superb.’
Evening Standard

WINTER CLASSIC: PATHS OF GLORY

HamptonsFilm and Guild Hall’s Winter Classic series returns with HamptonsFilm Co-Chair Alec Baldwin and Chief Creative Officer David Nugent presenting Stanley Kubrick‘s 1957 epic film PATHS OF GLORY, starring Kirk Douglas.

PATHS OF GLORY remains a monument to the anti-human aspects of war. Kirk Douglas leads a consistently excellent cast as a man of peace who answers his country’s call to war. He and his regiment are set up for suicide missions and are generally manipulated in ways that show no regard for their lives. Time again, Douglas finds himself in the centre of a power struggle that has nothing to do with the war. And he is constantly frustrated in his attempts to do right by his men.

PATHS OF GLORY, even today, stands as one of the most moving studies of men in armed conflict ever to be recorded on film. This is the film that first brought Stanley Kubrick (DR. STRANGELOVE, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, THE SHINING) both wide acclaim and controversy.

Print from a new restoration by UCLA.

In a post-screening discussion, Baldwin and Nugent will look at the legacy and influence of the film nearly 60 years after its release.

Run Time: 90 Minutes

VOW: GIAN CARLO FELEPPA

Album Release Concert

Guild Hall presents the album release concert of Vow, a new collection of songs by composer, sitarist, and multi-instrumentalist Gian Carlo Feleppa.

Written and developed over several years, Vow features some of Feleppa’s most intimate works to date, exploring the layering of sounds, textures, and instruments shaped by the people and experiences that have influenced his life and practice.

This concert marks the first complete live performance of Vow. Vinyl will be available for purchase following the performance.

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: THE FIFTH STEP

The Fifth Step
by David Ireland

Directed by Finn den Hertog

Olivier Award-winner Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Dunkirk) is joined by Emmy and BAFTA-winner Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Responder) in the critically acclaimed and subversively funny new play by David Ireland.

After years in the 12-step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous, James becomes a sponsor to newcomer Luka. The pair bond over black coffee, trade stories and build a fragile friendship out of their shared experiences. But as Luka approaches step five – the moment of confession – dangerous truths emerge, threatening the trust on which both of their recoveries depend.

Finn den Hertog directs the provocative and entertaining production filmed live from @sohoplace on London’s West End.

Run Time:
1 hour, 40 minutes
No Intermission

★★★★★
‘Raw, excruciating and often alarmingly funny’
– Daily Mail
★★★★
‘Two actors at the top of their game’
– Evening Standard
★★★★
‘Jack Lowden is staggeringly good’
– Times
★★★★
‘Freeman and Lowden spar like champions’
– WhatsOnStage
★★★★
‘Hilarious two-hander’
– Guardian
★★★★
‘Taut, funny and richly compassionate’
– Financial Times

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

A Streetcar Named Desire
by Tennessee Williams

Directed by Benedict Andrews

Gillian Anderson (Sex Education), Vanessa Kirby (The Crown), and Ben Foster (Lone Survivor) lead the cast in Tennessee Williams’ timeless masterpiece, returning to cinemas. As Blanche’s fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella for solace – but her downward spiral brings her face to face with the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski.

From visionary director Benedict Andrews, this acclaimed production was filmed live during a sold-out run at the Young Vic Theatre in 2014.

Run Time:
3 hours, 38 minutes
One Intermission

Gillian Anderson won ‘Best Actress’ at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards and was nominated for the Olivier Award for ‘Best Actress’ for her performance.

★★★★★
‘Gripping. Gillian Anderson is unmissable’
‘Thoughtful and bold’
– Evening Standard
★★★★★
‘A first-rate performance from Vanessa Kirby as Stella’
‘Gillian Anderson is utterly compelling’
– Guardian
★★★★★
‘An absolute knock-out. Raw, emotional and deeply unsettling’
– Telegraph
★★★★
‘Ben Foster is chillingly thuggish
– Daily Mail
★★★★
‘Gillian Anderson gives a shatteringly powerful performance’
– Independent
★★★★
‘A stellar, modern-dress production’
– Times

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: LIFE OF PI

Life of Pi

by Yann Martel, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti
directed by Max Webster

Puppetry, magic and storytelling combine in a unique, Olivier Award-winning stage adaptation of the best-selling novel.

After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, a 16-year-old boy named Pi is stranded on a lifeboat with four other survivors – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a Royal Bengal tiger. Time is against them, nature is harsh, who will survive?

Filmed live in London’s West End and featuring state-of-the-art visuals, the epic journey of endurance and hope is bought to life in a breath-taking new way for cinemas screens.

Run Time:
2 hours, 30 minutes
One Intermission

★★★★★ ‘It will make you believe in theatre. A triumph.’ – Sunday Times
★★★★★ ‘Puppetry, projection and magic combine to stunning effect in a superlative stage adaptation.’ – The Stage
★★★★★ ‘A wonder to behold.’ – Daily Mail
★★★★★ ‘Everything about this production is amazing.’ – Observer
★★★★★ ‘The puppetry is out of this world.’ – Mail on Sunday
★★★★★ ‘Breath-taking. It will make you believe in the power of theatre. Roar it out: this is a hit.’ – The Times
★★★★ ‘Extraordinary. One of the most visually stunning shows I have ever seen.’ – Time Out