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End draws David Eldridge’s trilogy to a satisfying conclusion at the National Theatre – review

It’s taken us about eight years, but we have now finally completed David Eldridge’s trilogy of plays exploring love and relationships. Like its predecessors Beginning and Middle, End is a two-hander which plays out as a real-time conversation. The focus of Beginning was on two young lovers on the night they met at a house party, while in Middle we met two people in an established relationship which had begun to go south. The narrative of End – as you may already have guessed – looks at two people who…

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Articles Culture National Theatre News Nicola Coughlan Originals Performance Siobhán McSweeney Theatre

Nicola Coughlan and Siobhán McSweeney star in revival of The Playboy of the Western World – review

When the National Theatre’s revival of JM Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World was announced, it grabbed headlines for starring not one, but two of the cast of the iconic Derry Girls: with Nicola Coughlan as the young Pegeen Mike and Siobhán McSweeney as the older Widow Quin, they take on two of the three lead roles (the trio being completed by Éanna Hardwicke who plays love interest Christy Mahon). Going into the theatre we didn’t really know anything about the show, beyond the attention-grabbing casting – so what…

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Ballet Shoes tells a heartwarming tale at the National Theatre this festive season – review

We were really rather taken with Ballet Shoes when we caught it at the National Theatre last Christmas – so much so that when we were offered an opportunity to review it again this year, we leapt at the chance. Kendall Feaver has adapted Noel Streatfeild’s beloved children’s novel for the stage, and it is playing once again at the Olivier Theatre – the largest of the three spaces within the National Theatre. So how does this year’s production fare? Unsurprisingly it’s very similar – some of the cast has…

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Articles Culture LGBTQ+ Theatre Movies Music National Theatre News Originals Performance Pride Theatre

Dates announced for new Pride musical, based on award-winning film, in Cardiff and London

We’re big fans of the 2014 film Pride, which picked up the Queer Palm award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The inspiring true story, set during the 1984 miners’ strike, sees a small group of gay men and lesbians lend their support to miners in a small village in south Wales. The film is being adapted to a new stage music, which will be brought to life on the National Theatre’s Dorfman stage from 11 June to 12 September 2026, following preview performances at Sherman Theatre in Cardiff from…

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Articles National Theatre News Performance Theatre

Adeel Akhtar is captivating in new political drama The Estate – review

We’re big fans of the Dorfman Theatre – the smallest of the three spaces inside the National Theatre, we’ve discovered lots of fantastic new shows that have subsequently transferred to much more major venues. Indeed one recent graduate of the Dorfman – last year’s astonishing Till the Stars Come Down – is currently enjoying a West End run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket this summer. Over the weekend, we went to check out the current Dorfman production, The Estate, which is a new political drama by Shaan Sahota. It tells…

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Articles Music Musical Theatre National Theatre News Performance Stephen Sondheim Theatre

All-star cast bring Sondheim’s final musical Here We Are to the National Theatre – review

Where to begin with Here We Are? It’s the final show from Stephen Sondheim – an absolute titan of musical theatre, who wrote the lyrics, or lyrics and music, for West Side Story, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd and countless more – and it’s making its European premiere in London at the National Theatre, following a short off-Broadway run in 2023. This production has Tony-winning director Joe Mantello at the helm, and features a hugely impressive cast. Did we also mention that it’s absolutely, certifiably, completely ridiculous? So, yes, where to begin…

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Articles National Theatre News Performance Theatre

Alterations is a hidden gem revived from the National Theatre’s Black Plays Archive – review

Alterations is new to us, but it’s far from a new play: written by Michael Abbensetts, it was first staged way back in 1978, and then… well, seems to have been quietly forgotten about. It was somewhat overshadowed by his groundbreaking TV series Empire Road, which was the first TV series by a black British writer to be commissioned by the BBC, and featured an almost entirely black cast and crew. This revival at the National Theatre (it is playing in their middle-sized space, The Lyttelton, until 5 April) is…

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Articles Culture National Theatre News Originals Theatre

Ballet Shoes is a beautiful adaptation of Noel Streatfeild’s beloved novel – review

The National Theatre always puts on a more family-friendly show over the festive season – last year they delighted us with a brilliant adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches, which was thoroughly charming and quite the spectacle. It was so impressive, in fact, that we wondered how this year’s offering could possibly top that. We needn’t have worried: this new production of beloved children’s novel Ballet Shoes, adapted by Kendall Feaver, is absolutely wonderful. It tells quite a ludicrous story: at the top of the show we’re introduced to Great…

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Articles Culture Meera Syal National Theatre News Originals Theatre

Meera Syal stars in achingly beautiful new play A Tupperware of Ashes – review

We’re big fans of the Dorfman Theatre, the smallest space housed within London’s National Theatre complex. It often premieres interesting and exciting new works: we’ve enjoyed catching shows – many of which have gone on to find success on the West End – in this intimate setting. A Tupperware of Ashes is one that we feel is destined for a bigger stage. Tanika Gupta’s new play focuses on the life of Queenie (Meera Syal), a Michelin-starred restaurateur, who has just been diagnosed in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Over the…

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Articles Culture National Theatre News Originals Shakespeare Theatre

National Theatre’s Coriolanus is Shakespeare on an absolutely epic scale – review

Having never seen a production of Coriolanus before, we weren’t quite sure what to expect when we ventured to the National Theatre earlier this week. Without wanting to make any assumptions, experience has generally taught us that the less frequently staged Shakespeare plays tend to be lesser-performed for a reason. With that in mind, we were quite pleasantly surprised to find that Coriolanus tells really quite an exciting, gripping tale. This new production, directed by Lyndsey Turner, stars David Oleyowo in the title role and it feels absolutely epic in…

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