National Theatre stage in your living room...
ALL the world’s a stage including your living room now, with theatres closed and plays being streamed online instead.
The National Theatre has been showing a free play every week since April, making lockdown that little bit more bearable for theatre-lovers.
The programme so far has included hit productions such as Frankenstein and One Man, Two Guvnors.
Now the theatre company has revealed the next batch of plays to look forward to over the next four weeks, after tonight’s previously-announced streaming of Antony & Cleopatra, starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo as Shakespeare’s fated lovers.
Here are the plays coming up:
MAY 14 - BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES
This never-before-seen archive recording of Inua Ellams’ smash hit play leaps between African barber shops from Peckham to Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos and Accra over the course of a single day.
Directed by Olivier awardwinning director Bijan Sheibani and designed by Rae Smith(War Horse), the Fuel and Leeds Playhouse production is billed as ‘heart-warming, hilarious and insightful’.
MAY 21 - A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
Gillian Anderson (The X-Files, Sex Education) stars as Blanche DuBois in this Young Vic and Joshua Andrews co-production of the Tennessee Williams classic.
As Blanche’s fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella (Vanessa Kirby) for solace but her downward spiral brings her face to face with the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski (Ben Foster).
MAY 28 - THIS HOUSE Filmed live on stage in 2013, James Graham’s sell-out political production is set in 1974 within a hung parliament, where ‘the corridors of Westminster ring with the sound of infighting and backstabbing’.
The drama delves into the shadowy world of the Whips as they try to exert their influence on an unruly chorus of MPs.
JUNE 4 - CORIOLANUS
Tom Hiddleston stars as Coriolanus in Shakespeare’s tragedy of political manipulation and revenge.
The Roman general is called upon to defend Rome once again when the city faces a threat from an old adversary - but he has enemies at home too.
Each play will be released on YouTube and will be available to stream from 7pm on the Thursday it is released.
The National Theatre said it was their ‘way of sharing our work with you while we all have to stay at home during this extraordinary time’.
While plays are free to watch, the theatre is welcoming donations, which it says will help it withstand the ‘huge financial impact’ of its closure while continuing to share its work with as many people as possible.
Anyone who is in a position to donate can do so at nationaltheatre.org.uk/nt-athome.