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I’m Not Running is an explosive new play by David Hare, premiering at the National Theatre and broadcast live to cinemas.
Pauline Gibson has spent her life as a doctor, the inspiring leader of a local health campaign. When she crosses paths with her old boyfriend, a stalwart loyalist in Labour Party politics, she’s faced with an agonising decision.
What’s involved in sacrificing your private life and your piece of mind for something more than a single issue? Does she dare?
Hare was recently described by The Washington Post as ‘the premiere political dramatist writing in English’. His other work includes Pravda and Skylight, broadcast by National Theatre Live in 2014.
Full of wit and invention, Donizetti’s comic opera is a delight. The famous aria “Ah, Mes Amis,” with its nine high Cs, is known as the Mount Everest for tenors one of opera’s most show-stopping numbers. Bel canto stars Pretty Yende and Javier Camarena takes on the challenging vocal fireworks in this revival, a co-production with London’s Royal Opera House and the Wiener StaatsoperLaurent Pelly’s hilarious staging. Orphaned as a small child and raised by an entire army regiment, the spirited Marie has grown up as the regiment’s ‘daughter’, raising morale and spreading joy. Tonio, a local man, falls in love with her and even joins the army for her sake. But a chance encounter with a noblewoman sparks a sudden revelation, and a tale unfolds of secret identities, long-lost family, and murky pasts.
Full of wit and invention, Donizetti’s comic opera is a delight. The famous aria “Ah, Mes Amis,” with its nine high Cs, is known as the Mount Everest for tenors one of opera’s most show-stopping numbers. Bel canto stars Pretty Yende and Javier Camarena takes on the challenging vocal fireworks in this revival, a co-production with London’s Royal Opera House and the Wiener StaatsoperLaurent Pelly’s hilarious staging. Orphaned as a small child and raised by an entire army regiment, the spirited Marie has grown up as the regiment’s ‘daughter’, raising morale and spreading joy. Tonio, a local man, falls in love with her and even joins the army for her sake. But a chance encounter with a noblewoman sparks a sudden revelation, and a tale unfolds of secret identities, long-lost family, and murky pasts.
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Yuri Grigorovich
Libretto after Ivan Vsevolojski and Marius Petipa
Cast: Olga Smirnova (Princess Aurora), Semyon Chudin (Prince Désiré), Alexei Loparevich (The Evil Fairy Carabosse), Yulia Stepanova (The Lilac Fairy), Vitaly Biktimirov (Catalabutte), Artemy Belyakov (Bluebird), Anastasia Denisova (Princess Florine)
The Princess Aurora falls under the curse of the Evil Fairy Carabosse on her sixtenth birthday, falling into a deep slumber of one hundred years. Only the kiss of a prince could break the spell. A resplendent fairytale ballet perfomed by the Bolshoi, The Sleeping Beauty features scores of magical characters including fairies, the Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, and a beautiful young Princess Aurora performed by Olga Smirnova, a “truly extraordinary talent” (The Telegraph). This is classical ballet at its finest.
Captured live on Jan. 22, 2017
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Yuri Grigorovich
Libretto after Ivan Vsevolojski and Marius Petipa
Cast: Olga Smirnova (Princess Aurora), Semyon Chudin (Prince Désiré), Alexei Loparevich (The Evil Fairy Carabosse), Yulia Stepanova (The Lilac Fairy), Vitaly Biktimirov (Catalabutte), Artemy Belyakov (Bluebird), Anastasia Denisova (Princess Florine)
The Princess Aurora falls under the curse of the Evil Fairy Carabosse on her sixtenth birthday, falling into a deep slumber of one hundred years. Only the kiss of a prince could break the spell. A resplendent fairytale ballet perfomed by the Bolshoi, The Sleeping Beauty features scores of magical characters including fairies, the Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, and a beautiful young Princess Aurora performed by Olga Smirnova, a “truly extraordinary talent” (The Telegraph). This is classical ballet at its finest.
Captured live on Jan. 22, 2017
Featuring some of the most glorious music ever written—including, of course, the Ride of the Valkyries —Die Walküre is the second of the four operas that comprise Wagner’s Ring cycle, a story of monsters, gods, and humans on a superhuman scale. When twins Siegmund and Sieglinde find each other at last, Siegmund promises to release Sieglinde from her forced marriage by killing her husband, Hunding. The god Wotan instructs Valkyrie warrior Brünnhilde to defend Hunding. But, moved by the twins’ mutual devotion, Brünnhilde refuses to obey, forging an alliance with Sieglinde that has far-reaching consequences for them both. Soprano Christine Goerke sings Brünnhilde, tenor Stuart Skelton and soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek are the love-struck twins, and Ring cycle veteran Philippe Jordan conducts.
Featuring some of the most glorious music ever written—including, of course, the Ride of the Valkyries —Die Walküre is the second of the four operas that comprise Wagner’s Ring cycle, a story of monsters, gods, and humans on a superhuman scale. When twins Siegmund and Sieglinde find each other at last, Siegmund promises to release Sieglinde from her forced marriage by killing her husband, Hunding. The god Wotan instructs Valkyrie warrior Brünnhilde to defend Hunding. But, moved by the twins’ mutual devotion, Brünnhilde refuses to obey, forging an alliance with Sieglinde that has far-reaching consequences for them both. Soprano Christine Goerke sings Brünnhilde, tenor Stuart Skelton and soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek are the love-struck twins, and Ring cycle veteran Philippe Jordan conducts.
Music: Dmitri Shostakovich
Choreography: Yuri Grigorovich
Libretto Yuri Grigorovich and Isaak Glikman
Cast: Nina Kaptsova (Rita), Ruslan Skvortsov (Boris), Mikhail Lobukhin (Yashka) and Ekaterina Krysanova (Lyuska)
In the 1920’s, The Golden Age cabaret is a favorite nightly haunt. The young fisherman Boris falls in love with Rita. He follows her to the cabaret and realizes that she is the beautiful dancer “Mademoiselle Margot,”, but also the love interest of the local gangster Yashka… With its jazzy score by Shostakovich and its music-hall atmosphere featuring beautiful tangos, The Golden Age is a refreshing and colorful dive into the roaring 20’s. A historic ballet that can be seen only at the Bolshoi!
In this new stage version of All About Eve, Gillian Anderson (X-Files, A Streetcar Named Desire) stars as Margo Channing, the role immortalised by Bette Davis in Joseph Mankiewicz’s 1950 film. Margo Channing, grande dame of the theatre, is a star actress at the peak of fame, worshipped by her fans but haunted by insecurity about ageing and a terror of the abyss. She finds her life invaded by the ingénue Eve Harrington (Lily James) who barely conceals her own ambition to usurp the star on her pedestal. One of the world’s most innovative and sought-after directors, Ivo van Hove (A View From The Bridge) delves into the ambition, jealousy, egocentricity and cynicism within the entertainment industry and asks what is it with our seeming never-ending obsession with youth and celebrity. With original music by P. J. Harvey.
Music: Dmitri Shostakovich
Choreography: Yuri Grigorovich
Libretto Yuri Grigorovich and Isaak Glikman
Cast: Nina Kaptsova (Rita), Ruslan Skvortsov (Boris), Mikhail Lobukhin (Yashka) and Ekaterina Krysanova (Lyuska)
In the 1920’s, The Golden Age cabaret is a favorite nightly haunt. The young fisherman Boris falls in love with Rita. He follows her to the cabaret and realizes that she is the beautiful dancer “Mademoiselle Margot,”, but also the love interest of the local gangster Yashka… With its jazzy score by Shostakovich and its music-hall atmosphere featuring beautiful tangos, The Golden Age is a refreshing and colorful dive into the roaring 20’s. A historic ballet that can be seen only at the Bolshoi!
From the National Gallery, London and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Every Rembrandt exhibition is eagerly anticipated but this major show hosted by London’s National Gallery and Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum was an event like no other. Given privileged access to both galleries the film documents this landmark exhibition, whilst interweaving Rembrandt’s life story, with behind-the-scenes preparations at these world famous institutions. Exploring many of the exhibition’s key works, through contributions from specially invited guests including curators and leading art historians, this Exhibition on Screen favourite makes a welcome return to the big screen marking the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt's death. For many, Rembrandt is the greatest artist that ever lived and this deeply moving film seeks to explore the truth about the man behind the legend.
Come into the forest; dare to change your state of mind.
Rosalind is banished, wrestling with her heart and her head. With her cousin by her side, she journeys to a world of exile where barriers are broken down and all can discover their deeper selves.
Kimberley Sykes (Dido, Queen of Carthage) directs a riotous, exhilarating version of Shakespeare's romantic comedy.
In this new stage version of All About Eve, Gillian Anderson (X-Files, A Streetcar Named Desire) stars as Margo Channing, the role immortalised by Bette Davis in Joseph Mankiewicz’s 1950 film. Margo Channing, grande dame of the theatre, is a star actress at the peak of fame, worshipped by her fans but haunted by insecurity about ageing and a terror of the abyss. She finds her life invaded by the ingénue Eve Harrington (Lily James) who barely conceals her own ambition to usurp the star on her pedestal. One of the world’s most innovative and sought-after directors, Ivo van Hove (A View From The Bridge) delves into the ambition, jealousy, egocentricity and cynicism within the entertainment industry and asks what is it with our seeming never-ending obsession with youth and celebrity. With original music by P. J. Harvey.
Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads Poulenc’s masterpiece. As the French Revolution begins, shy Blanche, sung by mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, becomes a novice nun under an elderly prioress—Met legend Karita Mattila. Blanche’s aristocratic family flees the Terror, but she remains behind, struggling between her fear of the guillotine and her duty to the convent. When the nuns are expelled from the convent and threatened with death, Blanche must make an agonising decision. In the shattering final scene, the nuns walk towards the guillotine singing Salve Regina: Their voices are cut off, one by one, with each stroke of the blade, until all are silenced. Poulenc’s devastating portrayal of faith and martyrdom is live in HD for the first time.
Academy Award winner Sally Field (Steel Magnolias, Brothers & Sisters) and Bill Pullman (The Sinner, Independence Day) star in Arthur Miller’s blistering drama All My Sons, broadcast live from The Old Vic in London.
America, 1947. Despite hard choices and even harder knocks, Joe and Kate Keller are a success story. They’ve built a home, raised two sons and established a thriving business. But nothing lasts forever and their contented lives, already shadowed by the loss of their eldest boy to war, are about to shatter. Long-buried truths are forced to the surface by the return of a figure from the past, and the price of their American dream is laid bare.
Jeremy Herrin (NT Live: This House) directs the cast, which also includes Jenna Coleman (Victoria), and Colin Morgan (Merlin) alongside Bessie Carter, Oliver Johnstone, Kayla Meikle and Sule Rimi.
Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads Poulenc’s masterpiece. As the French Revolution begins, shy Blanche, sung by mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, becomes a novice nun under an elderly prioress—Met legend Karita Mattila. Blanche’s aristocratic family flees the Terror, but she remains behind, struggling between her fear of the guillotine and her duty to the convent. When the nuns are expelled from the convent and threatened with death, Blanche must make an agonising decision. In the shattering final scene, the nuns walk towards the guillotine singing Salve Regina: Their voices are cut off, one by one, with each stroke of the blade, until all are silenced. Poulenc’s devastating portrayal of faith and martyrdom is live in HD for the first time.
Carmen Suite
Music: Georges Bizet and Rodion Shchedrin
Choreography: Alberto Alonso
Libretto Alberto Alonso after Carmen de Prosper Mérimée
Petrushka
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Choreography: Edward Clug
Cast: The Bolshoi Principals, Soloists and Corps de Ballet
Carmen is as passionate and free-spirited as ever as she finds herself caught in a love triangle. The passionate one act ballet by Cuban choreographer Alberto Alonso originally conceived for legendary Bolshoi prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya will captivate audiences alongside Petrushka, a new creation for the Bolshoi by contemporary choreographer Edward Clug, in an evening encapsulating the soul of Russian Ballet
Matthew Bourne’s bold and beautiful Swan Lake replaces the traditional female corps de ballet with a male ensemble which, when it was first performed in 1995, took the dance world by storm. No longer the dainty, sinuous swans of the original story but instead hissing, stamping birds, unpredictable, sometimes dangerous. Danced to Tchaikovsky’s spellbinding score, Bourne’s contemporary adaptation subverts the conventional tale of Odette, Prince Siegfried and the evil Baron von Rothbart, omitting some of the characters and twists of plot. Instead, his passionate story of male love tells of a lonely and repressed Prince Siegfried who is dominated by his regal mother and her Machiavellian press secretary. The Swan is everything the Prince needs and can’t have. Twenty-three years on, as vibrant as ever, Bourne’s Swan Lake comes to cinemas, re-imagined for the twenty-first century. Retaining Lez Brotherson’s award-winning designs, this new production was filmed last year at Sadler’s Wells in London.
Carmen Suite
Music: Georges Bizet and Rodion Shchedrin
Choreography: Alberto Alonso
Libretto Alberto Alonso after Carmen de Prosper Mérimée
Petrushka
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Choreography: Edward Clug
Cast: The Bolshoi Principals, Soloists and Corps de Ballet
Carmen is as passionate and free-spirited as ever as she finds herself caught in a love triangle. The passionate one act ballet by Cuban choreographer Alberto Alonso originally conceived for legendary Bolshoi prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya will captivate audiences alongside Petrushka, a new creation for the Bolshoi by contemporary choreographer Edward Clug, in an evening encapsulating the soul of Russian Ballet
Matthew Bourne’s bold and beautiful Swan Lake replaces the traditional female corps de ballet with a male ensemble which, when it was first performed in 1995, took the dance world by storm. No longer the dainty, sinuous swans of the original story but instead hissing, stamping birds, unpredictable, sometimes dangerous. Danced to Tchaikovsky’s spellbinding score, Bourne’s contemporary adaptation subverts the conventional tale of Odette, Prince Siegfried and the evil Baron von Rothbart, omitting some of the characters and twists of plot. Instead, his passionate story of male love tells of a lonely and repressed Prince Siegfried who is dominated by his regal mother and her Machiavellian press secretary. The Swan is everything the Prince needs and can’t have. Twenty-three years on, as vibrant as ever, Bourne’s Swan Lake comes to cinemas, re-imagined for the twenty-first century. Retaining Lez Brotherson’s award-winning designs, this new production was filmed last year at Sadler’s Wells in London.
Academy Award winner Sally Field (Steel Magnolias, Brothers & Sisters) and Bill Pullman (The Sinner, Independence Day) star in Arthur Miller’s blistering drama All My Sons, broadcast live from The Old Vic in London.
America, 1947. Despite hard choices and even harder knocks, Joe and Kate Keller are a success story. They’ve built a home, raised two sons and established a thriving business. But nothing lasts forever and their contented lives, already shadowed by the loss of their eldest boy to war, are about to shatter. Long-buried truths are forced to the surface by the return of a figure from the past, and the price of their American dream is laid bare.
Jeremy Herrin (NT Live: This House) directs the cast, which also includes Jenna Coleman (Victoria), and Colin Morgan (Merlin) alongside Bessie Carter, Oliver Johnstone, Kayla Meikle and Sule Rimi.
In a reimagined 1590, England is a matriarchy.
Baptista Minola is seeking to sell off her son Katherine to the highest bidder. Cue an explosive battle of the sexes in this electrically charged love story.
Justin Audibert (Snow in Midsummer, The Jew of Malta) turns Shakespeare's fierce, energetic comedy of gender and materialism on its head to offer a fresh perspective on its portrayal of hierarchy and power.
"I envy the Japanese" Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo. In the exhibition on which this film is based - VAN GOGH & JAPAN at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam - one can see why. Though Vincent van Gogh never visited Japan it is the country that had the most profound influence on him and his art. One cannot understand Van Gogh without understanding how Japanese art arrived in Paris in the middle of the 19th century and the profound impact it had on artists like Monet, Degas and, above all, Van Gogh.
Visiting the new galleries of Japanese art in Paris and then creating his own image of Japan – through in-depth research, print collecting and detailed discussions with other artists – Van Gogh’s encounter with Japanese artworks gave his work a new and exciting direction. After leaving Paris for the south of France – to what he thought of as near to a kind of Japan as he could find - the productive and yet troubled years that followed must all be seen in the context of Van Gogh bending Japanese influences to his will and defining himself as a modern artist with clear Asian precursors. In this little known story of Van Gogh’s art we see just how important his study of Japan was. The film travels not only to France and the Netherlands but also to Japan to further explore the remarkable heritage that so affected Van Gogh and made him the artist we know of today.
"I envy the Japanese" Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo. In the exhibition on which this film is based - VAN GOGH & JAPAN at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam - one can see why. Though Vincent van Gogh never visited Japan it is the country that had the most profound influence on him and his art. One cannot understand Van Gogh without understanding how Japanese art arrived in Paris in the middle of the 19th century and the profound impact it had on artists like Monet, Degas and, above all, Van Gogh.
Visiting the new galleries of Japanese art in Paris and then creating his own image of Japan – through in-depth research, print collecting and detailed discussions with other artists – Van Gogh’s encounter with Japanese artworks gave his work a new and exciting direction. After leaving Paris for the south of France – to what he thought of as near to a kind of Japan as he could find - the productive and yet troubled years that followed must all be seen in the context of Van Gogh bending Japanese influences to his will and defining himself as a modern artist with clear Asian precursors. In this little known story of Van Gogh’s art we see just how important his study of Japan was. The film travels not only to France and the Netherlands but also to Japan to further explore the remarkable heritage that so affected Van Gogh and made him the artist we know of today.
Double-meanings, disguises and dirty laundry abound in The Merry Wives of Windsor as Sir John Falstaff sets about improving his financial situation by wooing Mistress Page and Mistress Ford. But the 'Merry Wives' quickly cotton on to his tricks and decide to have a bit of fun of their own at Falstaff's expense...The Merry Wives of Windsor is the only comedy that Shakespeare set in his native land, and with its witty mix of verbal and physical humour, the play celebrates a tradition that reaches right down to the contemporary English sitcom. Directed by Nicole Charles and Elle While, and staged at the beautiful and iconic Globe Theatre in London, a reconstruction of an open-air Elizabethan playhouse on the bank of the River Thames, this new production of The Merry Wives of Windsor will be broadcast live to cinemas and will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes insights into the play.
This expressive new work, created for Northern Ballet, tells the story of Queen Victoria from the perspective of her youngest daughter and lifelong companion, Princess Beatrice. In a multi-layered narrative ballet, choreographer Cathy Marston (the acclaimed Jane Eyre, also for Northern Ballet) traces the life of the queen/wife/mother through chapters of passion and tragedy as Beatrice transcribes her mother’s intimate diaries. Going back in time from Victoria’s deathbed, the princess relives her memories of her mother as a secluded widow before discovering her anew through her challenging relationship with her own mother, the Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Beatrice also discovers the truth about her parents’ marriage and her mother’s ambiguous relationship with John Brown as well as revisiting political events such as the Opium Wars and the Great Exhibition. The ballet has a score commissioned from Philip Feeney and is a co-production between Northern Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada.
Andrea Levy’s Orange Prize-winning novel Small Island comes to life in an epic new theatre adaptation. Experience the play in cinemas, filmed live on stage as part of National Theatre Live’s 10th birthday.
Small Island embarks on a journey from Jamaica to Britain, through the Second World War to 1948 – the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury.
The play follows three intricately connected stories. Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Hope and humanity meet stubborn reality as the play traces the tangled history of Jamaica and the UK.
A company of 40 actors take to the stage of the National Theatre in this timely and moving story.
Andrea Levy’s Orange Prize-winning novel Small Island comes to life in an epic new theatre adaptation. Experience the play in cinemas, filmed live on stage as part of National Theatre Live’s 10th birthday.
Small Island embarks on a journey from Jamaica to Britain, through the Second World War to 1948 – the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury.
The play follows three intricately connected stories. Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Hope and humanity meet stubborn reality as the play traces the tangled history of Jamaica and the UK.
A company of 40 actors take to the stage of the National Theatre in this timely and moving story.
'To whom should I complain?'
When a young novice nun is compromised by a corrupt official, who offers to save her brother from execution in return for sex, she has no idea where to turn for help. When she threatens to expose him, he tells her that no one would believe her.
Shakespeare wrote this play in the early 1600s, yet it remains astonishingly resonant today. Artistic Director Gregory Doran directs this new production.
