Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Ralph Fiennes back on the London stage

- JILL LAWLESS

LONDON — New plays by theatrical giants Tom Stoppard and David Hare and the stage return of Ralph Fiennes are highlights of the next year at Britain’s National Theatre.

The theater announced recently that Hare’s adaptation of Katherine Boo’s acclaimed book about Bombay, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, will open in November. Stoppard’s as-yet- untitled play will run from January 2015.

Fiennes — currently onscreen in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel — will star in George Bernard Shaw’s political-philosophi­cal drama Man and Superman in February.

The coming year will also see a trilogy by Rona Munro about three 15th-century Scottish kings — a timely co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland as Scots prepare to vote on independen­ce in September.

Artistic director Nicholas Hytner said the plays are “very much about Scottish identity,” and the companies relished the thought that they would be performed as the independen­ce debate rages.

The season is the last under Hytner, who has led the London-based theater since 2003. His replacemen­t, Rufus Norris, takes over next year.

The National has often played to full houses during Hytner’s reign, which saw the company produce inter- national hits including War Horse, The History Boys and One Man, Two Guvnors.

The theater says it expects to break even financiall­y this year despite the cancellati­on of one of its West End production­s, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. The play’s run was called off after part of a ceiling at London’s Apollo Theater collapsed mid-performanc­e in December, injuring almost 80 people.

The National Theatre says it is waiting to learn whether a 3 million pound ($ 4.8 million) insurance claim over the incident will be accepted.

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