TRANSLATIONS
by Brian Friel
Previews from 22 May, Press night 30 May, on sale until 7 July with further performances to be announced
Owen, the prodigal son, returns to rural Donegal from Dublin. With him are two British army officers. Their ambition is to create a map of the area, replacing the Gaelic names with English. It is an administrative act with radical consequences.
Brian Friel’s modern classic is a powerful account of nationhood, which sees the turbulent relationship between England and Ireland play out in one quiet community. Cast includes Dermot Crowley, Aoife Duffin, Adetomiwa Edun, Michelle Fox, Ciarán Hinds,Laurence Kinlan, Colin Morgan, Seamus O’Hara, Judith Roddy and Rufus Wright.
Directed by Ian Rickson, with design by Rae Smith, lighting design by Neil Austin and music by Stephen Warbeck and sound design by Ian Dickinson.
Part of the Travelex Season with hundreds of tickets for every performance available at £15.
JULIE
by Polly Stenham
after Strindberg
Previews from 31 May, Press night 7 June, on sale until 4 August with further performances to be announced
Miss Julie finds a new home in contemporary London.
Wild and newly single, Julie throws a late night party. In the kitchen, Jean and Kristen clean up as the celebration heaves above them. Crossing the threshold, Julie initiates a power game with Jean. It descends into a savage fight for survival.
Fuelled by social division, Strindberg’s masterpiece remains shocking and fiercely relevant in this new adaptation by Polly Stenham(That Face, Neon Demon). Carrie Cracknell (The Deep Blue Sea) directs a cast including Vanessa Kirby (The Crown), Eric Kofi Abrefa (The Amen Corner) and Thalissa Teixeira (Yerma, Young Vic). Cast also includes Thomasin Gulgec, Dak Mashava, Beatriz Meireles, Michela Meazza, Ashley Morgan-Davies, Yuyu Rau and Petra Söör.
Design by Tom Scutt, with lighting design by Guy Hoare, movement direction by Ann Yee, music by Stuart Earl and sound design byChristopher Shutt.
Part of the Travelex Season with hundreds of tickets for every performance available at £15
THE LEHMAN TRILOGY
by Stefano Massini
adapted by Ben Power
a co-production with Neal Street Productions
Previews from 4 July, Press night 12 July, on sale until 8 August with further performances to be announced
The story of a family and a company that changed the world, told in three parts on a single evening.
On a cold September morning in 1844 a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York dockside. Dreaming of a new life in the new world, he is joined by his two brothers and an American epic begins. 163 years later, the firm they establish – Lehman Brothers – spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, and triggers the largest financial crisis in history.
Sam Mendes returns to the National to direct Ben Power‘s English version of Stefano Massini’s vast and poetic play, a hit across Europe.
Adam Godley, Ben Miles and Simon Russell Beale play the Lehman brothers, their sons and grandsons.
Set design by Es Devlin, with video design by Luke Halls, costume design by Katrina Lindsay, lighting design by Jon Clark and music and sound design by Nick Powell.
AN OCTOROON
by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
a co-production with the Orange Tree Theatre
Previews from 7 June, Press night 14 June playing until 18 July
Described by the New York Times as ‘this decade’s most eloquent statement on race in America today’, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ extraordinary and provocative play comes to the National Theatre after a sold out run at the Orange Tree Theatre. In 1859, white Irish playwright Dion Boucicault writes a hit play about America. Today, a black American playwright attempts to do the same.
Cast includes Cassie Clare, Emmanuella Cole, Celeste Dodwell, Iola Evans, Ken Nwosu, Vivan Oparah, Alistair Toovey and Kevin Trainor, and with cellist, James Douglas.
Directed by Ned Bennett, with design by Georgia Lowe, lighting design by Elliot Griggs, movement director Ivan Blackstock, music by Theo Vidgen, sound design by George Dennis, puppetry Jimmy Grimes, music director Michael Henry and fight direction by Kev McCurdy.