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NASA’s vaults open for the first time to reveal exquisite audio and vivid film footage of its most celebrated mission: the one that first put men on the moon. The meandering cameras in Cape Canaveral capture a dreamy-eyed portrait of America as it steps into the future. From inside the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the amazingly jocular conversation of the astronauts punctuates each stage of the mission with lightness and charm. The crowds watching the rocket, however, are oblivious to the enormous pressure mission control is under to succeed.
Director Todd Miller takes you straight to the heart of this intense scientific and human endeavour, sharing the atmosphere and action from every stage of the mission. The footage is so clean and vibrant, it’s as if you’re there standing at the base of the rocket. Painstakingly crafted and realised, this jaw-dropping immersive experience offers a new look into one of humanity’s greatest achievements.
Enter our Apollo 11 book-to-win competition!
18.30True Stories: - A season of films exploring true stories: from individuals challenging society’s dominant cultural and political stories, no matter the risk to their own liberty; looking in from the outside at those seeking to sow stories of fear; artists telling stories on film, canvas and landscapes; and stories of death-defying courage in acts from the pioneering to the everyday. Playing across all Picturehouse cinemas from June to September.
Picturehouse Docs: Bringing you the best in new and topical documentaries covering issues around the world.
Preview: We're pleased to present exclusive previews of this film at Picturehouse Cinemas, prior to its general release.
Playing in cinemas for one night only, WHAT WE LEFT BEHIND takes a fascinating in-depth look at the past, present and future of DEEP SPACE NINE, a series whose dark, edgy take on Gene Roddenberry’s vision was often misunderstood when it premiered but has grown into a beloved mainstay in the Star Trek franchise.
Featuring extensive new interviews with the cast and crew of the show as well as newly remastered HD footage from the television series, this documentary also focuses on the original writers of the series as they craft a brand-new episode, developing what would be the eighth-season premiere if the show were to return to the air today.
To round off the evening, a recorded roundtable discussion with directors Ira Steven Behr, David Zappone and the film’s producers will provide a comprehensive look at the making of the film, the show’s fans and the series’ ongoing appeal to Trekkers of all ages.
It’s back – the jewel in Pixar’s crown and the story that changed cinema forever. The adventures of Woody, Buzz and the gang continue in another rollercoaster of a movie, which promises to pull on the heartstrings and tickle the funny bones of kids and grown-ups alike.
Woody (Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s prized but reluctant new toy, a disposable spork called Forky (Tony Hale), runs away during a family vacation, Woody and friends begin a quest to bring him back where he belongs. On their ensuing road-trip adventure alongside new faces and old friends, the charismatic pull-string cowboy learns just how big the world can be for a toy.
Enter our Toy Story 4 Book-To-Win competition
Katherine Newbury (Thompson) is a pioneer and legendary host on the late-night talk-show circuit. When she’s accused of being a “woman who hates women”, she puts affirmative action on the to-do list, and – presto! ¬– Molly (Kaling) is hired as the one woman in Katherine’s all-male writers’ room. But Molly might be too little too late, as the formidable Katherine also faces the reality of low ratings and a network that wants to replace her. Molly, wanting to prove she’s not simply a diversity hire who’s disrupting the comfort of the brotherhood, is determined to help Katherine by revitalising her show and career – and possibly effect even bigger change at the same time.
Thompson brings pathos and amusingly severe charm to the pantsuit-clad Katherine. Smartly written by Kaling and snappily directed by Nisha Ganatra, LATE NIGHT takes on white privilege, entitlement and a culture veering toward crassness and conservatism. Questioning how women in power are ‘supposed’ to act, it delivers a winsome, sophisticated comedy about the times in which we live.
Having never won a major tournament, ailing football giant SSC Napoli had criminally underachieved. Their fanatical support was unequalled in both passion and size. None were more feared, but they longed for success.
On 5 July 1984, Diego Maradona arrived in Naples for a world-record fee, and for seven years all hell broke loose. It was a perfect match: the world’s most celebrated footballer, blessed on the field but cursed off it, and the most dysfunctional city in Europe.
The charismatic Argentine quickly led the club to their first-ever title. In the sprawling chaos of Naples, where the devil would have needed bodyguards, Maradona became bigger than God himself. But there was a price: Diego could do as he pleased while performing miracles on the pitch, but when the magic faded he became almost a prisoner of the city.
Made by the award-winning team behind SENNA and AMY, using over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from Maradona’s personal archive, this is the wild and unforgettable story of God-given talent, glory, despair and betrayal, of corruption and ultimately redemption.
Contains infrequent strong language, nudity, bloody detail and drug references.
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.
It’s back – the jewel in Pixar’s crown and the story that changed cinema forever. The adventures of Woody, Buzz and the gang continue in another rollercoaster of a movie, which promises to pull on the heartstrings and tickle the funny bones of kids and grown-ups alike.
Woody (Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s prized but reluctant new toy, a disposable spork called Forky (Tony Hale), runs away during a family vacation, Woody and friends begin a quest to bring him back where he belongs. On their ensuing road-trip adventure alongside new faces and old friends, the charismatic pull-string cowboy learns just how big the world can be for a toy.
Enter our Toy Story 4 Book-To-Win competition
12.00Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
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14.15Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
HOH Subtitled: This screening has subtitles for people with hearing loss
Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Select:
16.30Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Select:
18.15Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
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20.30Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Based on the short story Triple Word Score by scriptwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce, this quirky and moving dramedy tells the story of a family with an exceptional Scrabble vocabulary who cannot put their words to use and communicate with each other. Bill Nighy stars as Alan, a father on a journey to reconnect with his two sons.
13.15Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Having never won a major tournament, ailing football giant SSC Napoli had criminally underachieved. Their fanatical support was unequalled in both passion and size. None were more feared, but they longed for success.
On 5 July 1984, Diego Maradona arrived in Naples for a world-record fee, and for seven years all hell broke loose. It was a perfect match: the world’s most celebrated footballer, blessed on the field but cursed off it, and the most dysfunctional city in Europe.
The charismatic Argentine quickly led the club to their first-ever title. In the sprawling chaos of Naples, where the devil would have needed bodyguards, Maradona became bigger than God himself. But there was a price: Diego could do as he pleased while performing miracles on the pitch, but when the magic faded he became almost a prisoner of the city.
Made by the award-winning team behind SENNA and AMY, using over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from Maradona’s personal archive, this is the wild and unforgettable story of God-given talent, glory, despair and betrayal, of corruption and ultimately redemption.
Contains infrequent strong language, nudity, bloody detail and drug references.
15.30Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
From Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis comes a British musical comedy about dreams of stardom and unexplained phenomena. Aspiring singer-songwriter Jack Malik (Patel) is struggling with his career. He’s just a man with big dreams and a guitar, loved and supported by his childhood best friend, Ellie (James); and he’s far from famous. Until one day, during a mysterious global blackout, a car hits him and he comes round to find that nobody remembers The Beatles – apart from him! Feeling obliged to bring the legendary melodies of the Fab Four back to life, and with a little help from his steely American agent (McKinnon), Jack rises to global stardom faster than you can say, ‘I believe in yesterday.’ But he may have taken on more than he can handle.
It’s back – the jewel in Pixar’s crown and the story that changed cinema forever. The adventures of Woody, Buzz and the gang continue in another rollercoaster of a movie, which promises to pull on the heartstrings and tickle the funny bones of kids and grown-ups alike.
Woody (Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s prized but reluctant new toy, a disposable spork called Forky (Tony Hale), runs away during a family vacation, Woody and friends begin a quest to bring him back where he belongs. On their ensuing road-trip adventure alongside new faces and old friends, the charismatic pull-string cowboy learns just how big the world can be for a toy.
Enter our Toy Story 4 Book-To-Win competition
From Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis comes a British musical comedy about dreams of stardom and unexplained phenomena. Aspiring singer-songwriter Jack Malik (Patel) is struggling with his career. He’s just a man with big dreams and a guitar, loved and supported by his childhood best friend, Ellie (James); and he’s far from famous. Until one day, during a mysterious global blackout, a car hits him and he comes round to find that nobody remembers The Beatles – apart from him! Feeling obliged to bring the legendary melodies of the Fab Four back to life, and with a little help from his steely American agent (McKinnon), Jack rises to global stardom faster than you can say, ‘I believe in yesterday.’ But he may have taken on more than he can handle.
It’s back – the jewel in Pixar’s crown and the story that changed cinema forever. The adventures of Woody, Buzz and the gang continue in another rollercoaster of a movie, which promises to pull on the heartstrings and tickle the funny bones of kids and grown-ups alike.
Woody (Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s prized but reluctant new toy, a disposable spork called Forky (Tony Hale), runs away during a family vacation, Woody and friends begin a quest to bring him back where he belongs. On their ensuing road-trip adventure alongside new faces and old friends, the charismatic pull-string cowboy learns just how big the world can be for a toy.
Enter our Toy Story 4 Book-To-Win competition
11.00HOH Subtitled: This screening has subtitles for people with hearing loss
Kids' Club: Exclusively for children and their parents or carers. Unaccompanied adults are not admitted.
From Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis comes a British musical comedy about dreams of stardom and unexplained phenomena. Aspiring singer-songwriter Jack Malik (Patel) is struggling with his career. He’s just a man with big dreams and a guitar, loved and supported by his childhood best friend, Ellie (James); and he’s far from famous. Until one day, during a mysterious global blackout, a car hits him and he comes round to find that nobody remembers The Beatles – apart from him! Feeling obliged to bring the legendary melodies of the Fab Four back to life, and with a little help from his steely American agent (McKinnon), Jack rises to global stardom faster than you can say, ‘I believe in yesterday.’ But he may have taken on more than he can handle.
It’s back – the jewel in Pixar’s crown and the story that changed cinema forever. The adventures of Woody, Buzz and the gang continue in another rollercoaster of a movie, which promises to pull on the heartstrings and tickle the funny bones of kids and grown-ups alike.
Woody (Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s prized but reluctant new toy, a disposable spork called Forky (Tony Hale), runs away during a family vacation, Woody and friends begin a quest to bring him back where he belongs. On their ensuing road-trip adventure alongside new faces and old friends, the charismatic pull-string cowboy learns just how big the world can be for a toy.
Enter our Toy Story 4 Book-To-Win competition
John and Laura Baxter are living in Venice when they meet a pair of elderly sisters, one of whom claims to be psychic. She insists that she sees the spirit of the Baxters' daughter, who recently drowned. Laura is intrigued, but John resists the idea. He, however, seems to have his own psychic flashes, seeing their daughter walk the streets in her red cloak, as well as Laura and the sisters on a funeral gondola. Nicolas Roeg’s thriller, evoking an aura of menace throughout, has a sexual honesty that is startling even today.
From Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis comes a British musical comedy about dreams of stardom and unexplained phenomena. Aspiring singer-songwriter Jack Malik (Patel) is struggling with his career. He’s just a man with big dreams and a guitar, loved and supported by his childhood best friend, Ellie (James); and he’s far from famous. Until one day, during a mysterious global blackout, a car hits him and he comes round to find that nobody remembers The Beatles – apart from him! Feeling obliged to bring the legendary melodies of the Fab Four back to life, and with a little help from his steely American agent (McKinnon), Jack rises to global stardom faster than you can say, ‘I believe in yesterday.’ But he may have taken on more than he can handle.
11.00Big Scream: Exclusively for parents or carers with babies under the age of one.
Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
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13.30Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
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16.00Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Select:
18.30Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Select:
21.00Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
It’s back – the jewel in Pixar’s crown and the story that changed cinema forever. The adventures of Woody, Buzz and the gang continue in another rollercoaster of a movie, which promises to pull on the heartstrings and tickle the funny bones of kids and grown-ups alike.
Woody (Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s prized but reluctant new toy, a disposable spork called Forky (Tony Hale), runs away during a family vacation, Woody and friends begin a quest to bring him back where he belongs. On their ensuing road-trip adventure alongside new faces and old friends, the charismatic pull-string cowboy learns just how big the world can be for a toy.
Enter our Toy Story 4 Book-To-Win competition
Tarantino’s assured debut is visceral and funny, evoking Stanley Kubrick's THE KILLING with a fractured, time-jumping narrative about robbery and betrayal among thieves. Six men, all professional criminals, are brought together by a shadowy mastermind to carry out a jewellery heist. None of them know each other. Each is given a code name, so that if one is caught he cannot divulge the identities of the others or the man who hired them. The heist goes ahead smoothly, but on the way out the police ambush them. The surviving members of the team meet up at the designated rendezvous – a disused warehouse – and this is where the drama really begins. In an atmosphere of mutual distrust, each one tries to analyse what happened. One of them is a traitor, but who is it?
21.30Culture Shock: Dedicated to bringing you the best in cult and genre films.
Quentin Tarantino Season: In the lead up to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, released Wed 14th Aug, we look back at some of Quentin's best films.
From Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis comes a British musical comedy about dreams of stardom and unexplained phenomena. Aspiring singer-songwriter Jack Malik (Patel) is struggling with his career. He’s just a man with big dreams and a guitar, loved and supported by his childhood best friend, Ellie (James); and he’s far from famous. Until one day, during a mysterious global blackout, a car hits him and he comes round to find that nobody remembers The Beatles – apart from him! Feeling obliged to bring the legendary melodies of the Fab Four back to life, and with a little help from his steely American agent (McKinnon), Jack rises to global stardom faster than you can say, ‘I believe in yesterday.’ But he may have taken on more than he can handle.
It’s back – the jewel in Pixar’s crown and the story that changed cinema forever. The adventures of Woody, Buzz and the gang continue in another rollercoaster of a movie, which promises to pull on the heartstrings and tickle the funny bones of kids and grown-ups alike.
Woody (Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s prized but reluctant new toy, a disposable spork called Forky (Tony Hale), runs away during a family vacation, Woody and friends begin a quest to bring him back where he belongs. On their ensuing road-trip adventure alongside new faces and old friends, the charismatic pull-string cowboy learns just how big the world can be for a toy.
Enter our Toy Story 4 Book-To-Win competition
From Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis comes a British musical comedy about dreams of stardom and unexplained phenomena. Aspiring singer-songwriter Jack Malik (Patel) is struggling with his career. He’s just a man with big dreams and a guitar, loved and supported by his childhood best friend, Ellie (James); and he’s far from famous. Until one day, during a mysterious global blackout, a car hits him and he comes round to find that nobody remembers The Beatles – apart from him! Feeling obliged to bring the legendary melodies of the Fab Four back to life, and with a little help from his steely American agent (McKinnon), Jack rises to global stardom faster than you can say, ‘I believe in yesterday.’ But he may have taken on more than he can handle.
It’s back – the jewel in Pixar’s crown and the story that changed cinema forever. The adventures of Woody, Buzz and the gang continue in another rollercoaster of a movie, which promises to pull on the heartstrings and tickle the funny bones of kids and grown-ups alike.
Woody (Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s prized but reluctant new toy, a disposable spork called Forky (Tony Hale), runs away during a family vacation, Woody and friends begin a quest to bring him back where he belongs. On their ensuing road-trip adventure alongside new faces and old friends, the charismatic pull-string cowboy learns just how big the world can be for a toy.
Enter our Toy Story 4 Book-To-Win competition
Playboy songwriter Brad Allen's (Rock Hudson) succession of romances annoys his neighbor, interior designer Jan Morrow (Doris Day), who shares a telephone party line with him and hears all his breezy routines. After Jan unsuccessfully lodges a complaint against him, Brad sets about to seduce her in the guise of a sincere and upstanding Texas rancher. When mutual friend Jonathan (Tony Randall) discovers that his best friend is moving in on the girl he desires, however, sparks fly.
10.30Dementia-Friendly Screening: Open to all but especially for people with dementia and their family, friends and carers. Join us for free tea, coffee and biscuits and a chance to socialise for 30 minutes before the film. The film will start at the time stated.
The Cold Blue is a tribute to the men who fought and risked their lives to help achieve victory 75 years ago. Extraordinary never-before-seen colour footage shot by one of the greatest directors, William Wyler, takes us 30,000 feet over Nazi Germany, battling killer flak, enemy fighters and the biting cold. All the odds were stacked against returning home alive; men died to bring this harrowing footage into cinemas today.
Wyler went to Europe in 1943 to document the air war in progress and flew actual combat missions with B-17s. Incredibly, all of the raw colour footage he shot for The Memphis Belle was recently discovered in the vaults of the National Archives, and a new film has been constructed out of the material.
The Cold Blue will play alongside an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. It includes an evocative look at the Second World War from a range of unique perspectives; how the UK viewed the support of the Allied troops; poignant and difficult moments brought to life via incredible colour footage; and interviews with veterans of the Eighth Air Force, director Erik Nelson and Wyler’s daughter Catherine.
12.00Picturehouse Docs: Bringing you the best in new and topical documentaries covering issues around the world.
Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
From Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis comes a British musical comedy about dreams of stardom and unexplained phenomena. Aspiring singer-songwriter Jack Malik (Patel) is struggling with his career. He’s just a man with big dreams and a guitar, loved and supported by his childhood best friend, Ellie (James); and he’s far from famous. Until one day, during a mysterious global blackout, a car hits him and he comes round to find that nobody remembers The Beatles – apart from him! Feeling obliged to bring the legendary melodies of the Fab Four back to life, and with a little help from his steely American agent (McKinnon), Jack rises to global stardom faster than you can say, ‘I believe in yesterday.’ But he may have taken on more than he can handle.
12.45Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Select:
15.30Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
HOH Subtitled: This screening has subtitles for people with hearing loss
Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Select:
18.15Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Select:
20.45Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
It’s back – the jewel in Pixar’s crown and the story that changed cinema forever. The adventures of Woody, Buzz and the gang continue in another rollercoaster of a movie, which promises to pull on the heartstrings and tickle the funny bones of kids and grown-ups alike.
Woody (Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s prized but reluctant new toy, a disposable spork called Forky (Tony Hale), runs away during a family vacation, Woody and friends begin a quest to bring him back where he belongs. On their ensuing road-trip adventure alongside new faces and old friends, the charismatic pull-string cowboy learns just how big the world can be for a toy.
Enter our Toy Story 4 Book-To-Win competition
15.45Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Select:
18.00Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Select:
20.30Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Four crazy antiheroes on the run. Their leader is the unworldly innocent, naive Marnie, a house cat who is not allowed to leave the house and only knows about real life from television. Based loosely on Grimms "The Bremen Town Musicians" a modern, hilarious road movie is told.
To some it’s a flashy, gratuitously violent triumph of style over content; to others it’s the film that confirmed Tarantino as one of the most distinguished and talented contemporary American directors. Unquestionably it’s one of the most influential films of its time. PULP FICTION is a superbly written, complex, ultra-violent, almost unbearably tense and often hilarious thriller with an outstanding cast and some surprising performances, most notably from John Travolta. Drawing his inspiration from the lurid low-life characters found in the cheap yellow-paged crime novels of the 1930s and ’40s, Tarantino weaves together three tales of small-time criminal life in Los Angeles.
18.00Culture Shock: Dedicated to bringing you the best in cult and genre films.
Quentin Tarantino Season: In the lead up to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, released Wed 14th Aug, we look back at some of Quentin's best films.
Acclaimed at the time of its release forty years ago as the most exciting, stirring and perceptive youth film since REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, QUADROPHENIA was the sensational feature debut from Franc Roddam, a successful TV director who has gone on to create AUF WIEDERSEHN PET and MASTERCHEF.
Like TOMMY before it, the film was based on a concept album by ‘The Who’ and became an instant cult classic both in the UK and in America, influencing an entire generation of filmmakers. Deliberately naturalistic, the film centres on a remarkable recreation of the world of the Mods and Rockers in the mid ’60s, brilliantly capturing the essence of the era and starkly portraying the notorious pitched battles on the Brighton seafront.
Dramatic, moving & deeply human, this is the definitive story of Neil Armstrong – the first man on the moon.Narrated by Harrison Ford, and featuring breath-taking NASA footage, re-mastered archive material and never-before-seen home movie footage, this intimate and often surprising documentary, tells the incredible untold story of a determined family man who became a reluctant world icon.
ARMSTRONG also includes major interviews with his family, an exceptional cast of fellow astronauts and aviators, those who knew him in his youth and later life, together with newly filmed sequences at some of the key locations from his life story.
When a mild-mannered Uber driver named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) picks up a passenger (Dave Bautista) who turns out to be a cop hot on the trail of a brutal killer, he’s thrust into a harrowing ordeal where he desperately tries to hold onto his wits, his life and his five-star rating. Directed by Michael Dowse, this action-comedy from 20th Century Fox also stars Iko Uwais, Natalie Morales, Betty Gilpin, Jimmy Tatro, Mira Sorvino and Karen Gillan.
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.
A locked door inside a Belgrade apartment has kept one family separated from their past for over 70 years. As the filmmaker begins an intimate conversation with her mother, the political fault line running through their home reveals a house and a country haunted by history. The chronicle of a family in Serbia turns into a searing portrait of an activist in times of great turmoil, questioning the responsibility of each generation to fight for their future.
18.30True Stories: - A season of films exploring true stories: from individuals challenging society’s dominant cultural and political stories, no matter the risk to their own liberty; looking in from the outside at those seeking to sow stories of fear; artists telling stories on film, canvas and landscapes; and stories of death-defying courage in acts from the pioneering to the everyday. Playing across all Picturehouse cinemas from June to September.
Exclusive preview with a satellite Q&A July 13th featuring an introduction from director Ron Howard, special guests and a Three Tenors aria remastered for the first time on the big screen.
Award-winning director Ron Howard and the team behind THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK celebrate the life of beloved opera star Luciano Pavarotti, who sold over 100 million records in his lifetime and brought opera to the people. Using footage from concerts, interviews and the Pavarotti family archives, Howard goes beyond the iconic public figure to reveal the man himself. Charting his rise from humble beginnings in Northern Italy through to superstardom, PAVAROTTI lifts the curtain on the great tenor as a husband and father, a committed philanthropist, and a fragile artist who had a complex relationship with his unique talents.
Rossini’s celebrated opera ‘buffa’ is a perfect marriage of wit, energy and musical invention. When Count Almaviva falls in love with Rosina, he enlists the help of his Mr-Fix-It barber, the irrepressible Figaro, to help him outwit Rosina’s guardian Bartolo. But Bartolo plans to marry Rosina himself, and a comic and fast-paced battle of wills ensues. Rossini’s masterpiece was completed, legend has it, in just 13 days. His score fizzes with virtuosic brilliance , from the stunning, ubiquitously known Overture to the bravura solo arias – including the immortal ‘Una Voce Poco Fa’ and Figaro’s ‘Largo Al Factotum’ - while breathtaking, intricate ensemble singing weaves together the strands of the comic tale. In this revival of Annabel Arden’s 2016 production for Glyndebourne, Danielle de Niese stars as Rosina. Opera’s greatest comedy, filled with its greatest hits. A treat for all.
The seaside town of Amity, Massachusetts depends on its summer tourist trade. So when a swimmer is killed by a great white shark, no one wants to take up Sheriff Brody’s (Scheider) suggestion of closing the beach.
Soon Brody himself, along with a mercenary shark hunter (Shaw) and an oceanographer (Dreyfuss), is locked in an unbearably tense duel at sea with the deadly creature.
With an iconic score by John Williams, this is the film that put Spielberg on the map.
Firmly stamped with Tarantino's trademark visual flair, hip dialogue, supreme soundtrack and cool stars, JACKIE BROWN is also his most mature and emotionally satisfying work. Brilliantly adapted from Elmore Leonard's novel RUM PUNCH, the film stars ’70s icon Pam Grier as an airline stewardess who, caught smuggling cash by the Feds, is offered the chance to save herself by leading them to Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson), the arms dealer she works for. With the help of a sympathetic bail bondsman (an Oscar-nominated Robert Forster), she comes up with a bold, almost foolhardy plan to play the violent Ordell off against the determined cops and walk away with a fortune.
Brilliantly adapted from Elmore Leonard's novel Rum Punch, the film stars '70s icon Pam Grier as an airline stewardess who, caught smuggling cash by the Feds, is offered the chance to save herself by leading them to Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson), the arms dealer she works for.
With the help of a sympathetic bail bondsman (an Oscar-nominated Robert Forster), she comes up with a bold, almost foolhardy plan to play the violent Ordell off against the determined cops and in doing so walk away with a fortune.
Influenced by the '70s chic, colourful characters, pumped-up music and non-stop action that were hallmarks of classic Blaxploitation films, Tarantino has imbued JACKIE BROWN with his distinctive touch.
But the real success of the film lies in the masterful performance of Pam Grier as a strong woman with the ability to take retribution on the men who challenge her.
18.00Culture Shock: Dedicated to bringing you the best in cult and genre films.
Quentin Tarantino Season: In the lead up to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, released Wed 14th Aug, we look back at some of Quentin's best films.
Eye-poppingly realistic CGI brings to life Disney’s cherished animation about a lion cub’s brave journey from pride outcast to proud king. Jon Favreau’s immersive vision gathers a majestic cast on the African savannah to honour all the seminal moments and iconic songs of the original film. James Earl Jones reprises his role as the wise and just King Mufasa, while Donald Glover is Simba, the young prince who takes his royal destiny to heart. Chiwetel Ejiofor lends his voice to Scar, the king’s scheming brother, who forms his own plans to take the throne.
Eye-poppingly realistic CGI brings to life Disney’s cherished animation about a lion cub’s brave journey from pride outcast to proud king. Jon Favreau’s immersive vision gathers a majestic cast on the African savannah to honour all the seminal moments and iconic songs of the original film. James Earl Jones reprises his role as the wise and just King Mufasa, while Donald Glover is Simba, the young prince who takes his royal destiny to heart. Chiwetel Ejiofor lends his voice to Scar, the king’s scheming brother, who forms his own plans to take the throne.
Eye-poppingly realistic CGI brings to life Disney’s cherished animation about a lion cub’s brave journey from pride outcast to proud king. Jon Favreau’s immersive vision gathers a majestic cast on the African savannah to honour all the seminal moments and iconic songs of the original film. James Earl Jones reprises his role as the wise and just King Mufasa, while Donald Glover is Simba, the young prince who takes his royal destiny to heart. Chiwetel Ejiofor lends his voice to Scar, the king’s scheming brother, who forms his own plans to take the throne.
11.00Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Autism-Friendly: Especially for people on the autism spectrum or with other special needs and their families, friends and carers. Adults without disabilities are only admitted if they are accompanying a child or a person on the autism spectrum/with special needs.
Whilst undertaking a highly publicised tour of Europe, a cloistered and naive princess rebels against her restrictive schedule.
One night she escapes her luxurious confinement and stumbles upon an American journalist posted to Rome. Peck and Hepburn (in her breakthrough role) make for one of cinema's most charming couples in this whimsical fantasy with a bittersweet finale.
Eye-poppingly realistic CGI brings to life Disney’s cherished animation about a lion cub’s brave journey from pride outcast to proud king. Jon Favreau’s immersive vision gathers a majestic cast on the African savannah to honour all the seminal moments and iconic songs of the original film. James Earl Jones reprises his role as the wise and just King Mufasa, while Donald Glover is Simba, the young prince who takes his royal destiny to heart. Chiwetel Ejiofor lends his voice to Scar, the king’s scheming brother, who forms his own plans to take the throne.
11.00Big Scream: Exclusively for parents or carers with babies under the age of one.
Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
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15.15Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
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18.00Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
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20.45Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
After surviving a bullet in the head on her wedding day, The Bride, aka Black Mamba (Uma Thurman), a former assassin, emerges from a coma and swears revenge on her old boss and his deadly squad of trained killers (played by Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A Fox and Tarantino regular Michael Madsen).
Tarantino’s first feature for six years after JACKIE BROWN, KILL BILL marked a welcome return from one of American cinema’s most visually inventive and zeitgeist-attuned filmmakers. Married to the director’s love of the minutiae of popular culture (there are a number of neat gags revolving around Charlie Brown, cereal and the hippest brands of trainers) is an indulgence of his love of the samurai genre, incorporating some stunning martial arts set pieces featuring choreography courtesy of the CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON team. In her Bruce Lee tracksuit, Thurman (for whom Tarantino wrote the part) makes a feisty heroine with Liu perhaps her most notable foil.
In KILL BILL: VOL. 2, as The Bride continues her vengeful assault on the four assassins who left her for dead, she inches ever closer to her ultimate goal of laying waste to her former employer – and the man who ordered the hit on her – Bill (David Carradine). Bringing some of the peripheral characters from the first instalment to the fore, KILL BILL: VOL. 2 is another bravura, adrenalin-inducing exercise in genre filmmaking.
18.15Culture Shock: Dedicated to bringing you the best in cult and genre films.
Quentin Tarantino Season: In the lead up to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, released Wed 14th Aug, we look back at some of Quentin's best films.
After the screening, there will be a recorded Q&A with director Nick Broomfield hosted by Jools Holland.
Marianne & Leonard - Words of Love is a beautiful yet tragic love story between Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian muse Marianne Ihlen. Their love began on the idyllic Greek island of Hydra in 1960 as part of a bohemian community of foreign artists, writers and musicians. The film follows their relationship from the early days on Hydra, a humble time of ‘free love’ and open marriage, to how their love evolved when Leonard became a successful musician. It was on Hydra in 1968 that director Nick Broomfield, then aged 20, first met Marianne Ihlen. Marianne introduced him to Leonard Cohen’s music and also encouraged Nick to make his first film and was an enormous influence on him. Marianne and Leonard's was a love story that would continue for the rest of their lives. Along the way we learn of the tragedy that befell those that could not survive the beauty of Hydra, the highs and lows of Leonard’s career, and the inspirational power that Marianne possessed. Marianne and Leonard died three months apart.
Eye-poppingly realistic CGI brings to life Disney’s cherished animation about a lion cub’s brave journey from pride outcast to proud king. Jon Favreau’s immersive vision gathers a majestic cast on the African savannah to honour all the seminal moments and iconic songs of the original film. James Earl Jones reprises his role as the wise and just King Mufasa, while Donald Glover is Simba, the young prince who takes his royal destiny to heart. Chiwetel Ejiofor lends his voice to Scar, the king’s scheming brother, who forms his own plans to take the throne.
When Steve Bannon left his position as White House chief strategist less than a week after the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally in August 2017, he was already a notorious figure in Trump's inner circle, and for bringing a far-right ideology into the highest echelons of American politics. Unconstrained by an official post - though some say he still has a direct line to the White House - he became free to peddle influence as a perceived kingmaker, turning his controversial brand of nationalism into a global movement. THE BRINK follows Bannon through the 2018 mid-term elections in the United States, shedding light on his efforts to mobilize and unify far-right parties in order to win seats in the May 2019 European Parliamentary elections. To maintain his power and influence, the former Goldman Sachs banker and media investor reinvents himself - as he has many times before - this time as the self-appointed leader of a global populist movement. Keen manipulator of the press and gifted self-promoter, Bannon continues to draw headlines and protests wherever he goes, feeding the powerful myth on which his survival relies.
18.30True Stories: - A season of films exploring true stories: from individuals challenging society’s dominant cultural and political stories, no matter the risk to their own liberty; looking in from the outside at those seeking to sow stories of fear; artists telling stories on film, canvas and landscapes; and stories of death-defying courage in acts from the pioneering to the everyday. Playing across all Picturehouse cinemas from June to September.
Discover Tuesdays: Discover stunning cinema. Whether it's a cult classic, an art-house gem or a riveting documentary, there will always be a chance to see something different and brilliant in our weekly slot.
From the 2006–07 season
Rossini's madcap comedy receives a spirited production by Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher and stars mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, tenor Juan Diego Flórez, and baritone
Peter Mattei. Maurizio Benini conducts.
Eye-poppingly realistic CGI brings to life Disney’s cherished animation about a lion cub’s brave journey from pride outcast to proud king. Jon Favreau’s immersive vision gathers a majestic cast on the African savannah to honour all the seminal moments and iconic songs of the original film. James Earl Jones reprises his role as the wise and just King Mufasa, while Donald Glover is Simba, the young prince who takes his royal destiny to heart. Chiwetel Ejiofor lends his voice to Scar, the king’s scheming brother, who forms his own plans to take the throne.
Force of Nature Natalia follows a season in the life dance superstar Natalia Osipova. With unique access to Natalia's personal archive, we follow her preparations for a fifth season as a principal of the Royal Ballet as she continues to champion contemporary dance with some of the world’s greatest choreographers. We watch the rehearsal process of new ballet Mother by Arthur Pita, a new commission with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and the Royal Ballet's legendary production of La Bayadere directed by Natalia Makarova.
Natalia opens up about her life and history, her childhood in Russia, her time with American Ballet Theatre and her journey to the Opera House. It is an unparalleled opportunity to get up close and personal with the leading ballerina of our generation and understand why critics and audiences all over the world call her a force of nature of the dance world.
The story of a family and a company that changed the world, told in three parts on a single evening.
Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes (Skyfall, The Ferryman) directs Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles who play the Lehman Brothers, their sons and grandsons.
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.
This critically acclaimed and five-time Olivier Award nominated play features stunning set design from Es Devlin (NT Live: Hamlet) and will be broadcast live from London’s West End as part of National Theatre Live’s 10th Birthday season.
Eye-poppingly realistic CGI brings to life Disney’s cherished animation about a lion cub’s brave journey from pride outcast to proud king. Jon Favreau’s immersive vision gathers a majestic cast on the African savannah to honour all the seminal moments and iconic songs of the original film. James Earl Jones reprises his role as the wise and just King Mufasa, while Donald Glover is Simba, the young prince who takes his royal destiny to heart. Chiwetel Ejiofor lends his voice to Scar, the king’s scheming brother, who forms his own plans to take the throne.
12.30Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
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15.15Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
HOH Subtitled: This screening has subtitles for people with hearing loss
Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
Select:
18.00Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Select:
20.45Audio Described: Everyone welcome. Audio Description is available for this film, and is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset
Force of Nature Natalia follows a season in the life dance superstar Natalia Osipova. With unique access to Natalia's personal archive, we follow her preparations for a fifth season as a principal of the Royal Ballet as she continues to champion contemporary dance with some of the world’s greatest choreographers. We watch the rehearsal process of new ballet Mother by Arthur Pita, a new commission with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and the Royal Ballet's legendary production of La Bayadere directed by Natalia Makarova.
Natalia opens up about her life and history, her childhood in Russia, her time with American Ballet Theatre and her journey to the Opera House. It is an unparalleled opportunity to get up close and personal with the leading ballerina of our generation and understand why critics and audiences all over the world call her a force of nature of the dance world.
12.00Picturehouse Docs: Bringing you the best in new and topical documentaries covering issues around the world.
Screen Arts.
Silver Screen: Aged over 60? Join the Silver Screen Club for discounted tickets and a free tea or coffee at these shows. Usual ticket prices apply to non-Members.
The Vinyl Revival explores the renaissance in all things vinyl. We hear from passionate new record shops owners as well the established die-hards still going and thriving. We speak with musicians and music industry pundits, experts on culture and music history. The film discusses the importance of the record shop and vinyl as a whole. We answer the why’s of vinyl’s revival, the human need for belonging, the love of history, and the stories of how the humble little record shop has shaped so many lives.
Contributors include: Philip Selway (Radiohead), Jen Otter Bikerdike (Rock and Roll Historian), Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) and Ade Utley (Portishead)
Each screening will be followed by a Q&A.
20.45+ Q&A with Pip Piper : The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Pip Piper.
Picturehouse Docs: Bringing you the best in new and topical documentaries covering issues around the world.
Tati's most consistently enjoyable comedy, a portrait of the gentle, clumsy, well meaning Hulot on vacation in a provincial seaside resort. A delight of quiet, delicately observed slapstick.
Featuring one of the most gripping opening scenes in recent memory and a breakout performance from Christoph Waltz as SS Colonel Hans ‘Jew Hunter’ Landa, Tarantino’s epic alternative history of the Second World War is bold, bloody and wildly entertaining. Set in Nazi-occupied France, the film tracks the converging fates of a marauding gang of American soldiers led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), and Shosanna (Melanie Durant), a vengeful Jewish orphan living under an alias in Paris.
“Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds is a big, bold, audacious war movie that will annoy some, startle others and demonstrate once again that he’s the real thing, a director of quixotic delights.” – Roger Ebert
20.30Culture Shock: Dedicated to bringing you the best in cult and genre films.
Quentin Tarantino Season: In the lead up to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, released Wed 14th Aug, we look back at some of Quentin's best films.
'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.
Come one, come all! On Thursday 1 August, Dead Heads near and far come together to celebrate the ninth annual Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies.
This unmissable event – the first to go global – features the previously unreleased full concert from 17 June 1991 at Giants Stadium. One of only two of the band’s shows recorded on 48-track, 6/17/91 sounds unlike any Dead concert you’ve ever heard, and is widely considered one of their greatest gigs in their final decade of performing. Mixed by Jeffrey Norman in glorious surround sound with video from the multi-camera live edit, this will be the first time the Bruce Hornsby and Vince Welnick line-up has ever appeared on the big screen.
Starting with a shocking ‘Eyes Of The World’, the Dead were firing on all cylinders from the opening notes of the show, mixing classics like ‘Truckin’’ and ‘Uncle John’s Band’ with rarities including ‘Saint Of Circumstance’, ‘Might As Well’, ‘New Speedway Boogie’ and ‘China Doll’. But the real standout was the recurrence of ‘Dark Star’, which wove in and out of the setlist, making no less than six distinct appearances and teases during the show. The Dead capped off the spectacular night with a perfect song to send the crowd on its way – The Band’s ‘The Weight’.
As a special treat, this extraordinary screening will also feature a reveal of the Grateful Dead’s 2019 box set, featuring the Dead’s legacy manager, archivist and producer David Lemieux.
Agnès Varda, photographer, installation artist and pioneer of the Nouvelle Vague, is an institution of French cinema. Taking a seat on a theatre stage, she uses photos and film excerpts to provide an insight into her unorthodox oeuvre.
18.15True Stories: - A season of films exploring true stories: from individuals challenging society’s dominant cultural and political stories, no matter the risk to their own liberty; looking in from the outside at those seeking to sow stories of fear; artists telling stories on film, canvas and landscapes; and stories of death-defying courage in acts from the pioneering to the everyday. Playing across all Picturehouse cinemas from June to September.
Enchantment meets the politics of the Enlightenment in Mozart’s fairy-tale opera, Die Zauberflöte. Prince Tamino is on a quest to rescue Princess Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night, who has been kidnapped by her father, the evil Sarastro. With the help of the foolish bird-catcher Papageno, Tamino must brave not only dragons and the forces of darkness, but trials of fire and water in order to arrive at the truth and win Pamina as his bride. Composed just months before Mozart’s death, Die Zauberflöte is a heady blend of knock-about comedy and fantasy, its beautiful melodies woven into an allegory of wicked queens, noble princes, ancient Egyptian mythology and the lore of the Freemasons. In this new production by Barbe & Doucet, Antonello Manacorda conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and a cast that includes Sofia Fomina, Björn Bürger and Caroline Wettergreen.
Tarantino’s first period western stars Jamie Foxx as freed slave turned bounty hunter Django. Aided by German gunslinger Dr King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), Django sets out to rescue his wife from brutal Mississippi plantation boss Calvin Candle (Leonardo DiCaprio). Django’s campaign of cold-blooded revenge is shot through with the director’s trademark black humour, sparky dialogue and visual flair, and features a star-studded cast at the top of their game. A cinematic treat from breathless start to brutal finish.
20.15Culture Shock: Dedicated to bringing you the best in cult and genre films.
Quentin Tarantino Season: In the lead up to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, released Wed 14th Aug, we look back at some of Quentin's best films.
From the 2013–14 season
Franco Zeffirelli's picturesque staging, an audience favorite for more than 30 years, features a winning young cast, including soprano Kristine Opolais and tenor Vittorio Grigolo as the lovers
Mimì and Rodolfo. Stefano Ranzani conducts.
Based on Nicholas Pileggi’s book Wiseguy, Martin Scorsese’s mob-movie masterpiece marked a revival of Hollywood interest in gangsters and gangsterdom. It chronicles three decades of a life in crime, following Brooklyn youngster Henry Hill’s graduation from petty criminal to big-time thief. Widely regarded as one of the greatest films in the crime genre, this is essential viewing for any movie fan.
The story of a family and a company that changed the world, told in three parts on a single evening.
Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes (Skyfall, The Ferryman) directs Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles who play the Lehman Brothers, their sons and grandsons.
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.
This critically acclaimed and five-time Olivier Award nominated play features stunning set design from Es Devlin (NT Live: Hamlet) and will be broadcast live from London’s West End as part of National Theatre Live’s 10th Birthday season.
A legendary warrior's stolen magic sword becomes the centerpiece of epic, intertwining love stories, set against the breathtaking landscapes of ancient China.
'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.
From the 2006–07 season
Rossini's madcap comedy receives a spirited production by Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher and stars mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, tenor Juan Diego Flórez, and baritone
Peter Mattei. Maurizio Benini conducts.
Inspired by the serialised matinee action films Steven Spielberg loved as a child, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK became one of the defining action/adventure films of its day and remains a hugely enjoyable movie experience.
Harrison Ford, fresh from his propulsion to super-stardom through the STAR WARS series, embodied the reluctant yet capable adventurer Indiana Jones, a serious and scholarly archaeology professor who is hired by the US government to track down the Ark of the Covenant ahead of their Nazi rivals.
The action set-pieces, tongue-in-cheek humour, impressive production values and a sheer love of cinema make RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK an irresistibly enjoyable big-screen treat.
Paul thomas Anderson reunites with several of his Boogie Nights stars in this ensemble drama comprised of six interwoven stories dealing with parents, children, love and lonliness. An epic mosaic of several interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
From the 2018–19 season
Soprano Anna Netrebko and mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili offer blazing performances in Verdi's grand drama of ancient Egypt, seen in a stunning production by Sonja Frisell. Nicola Luisotti conducts.
On Tuesday 10 September, Fane Productions present an evening with the Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic and inventor Margaret Atwood to mark the release of The Testaments, Atwood’s highly anticipated sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. The event will be broadcast live via satellite from the National Theatre in London.
The publication of The Handmaid’s Tale in 1985 and the current, Emmy Award-winning television series have created a cultural phenomenon, as handmaids have become a symbol of women’s rights and a protest against misogyny and oppression.
Atwood will be interviewed by broadcaster and author Samira Ahmed in a conversation spanning the length of Atwood’s remarkable career, her diverse range of works, and why she has returned to her seminal handmaid story, 34 years later.
“Dear Readers: Everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in.”
With exclusive readings from the new book by special guests, this will be an unmissable and intimate event with Atwood, spotlighting her signature insight, humour and intellect.
Compelling, blood-curdling and beautiful, Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece is being performed for the first time on the unique Bregenz lake stage. Once of Verdi’s most popular works, Rigoletto is an unforgettable tale of sacrifice and revenge, of a father’s rage and a daughter’s shame. It features several of opera’s best-known arias, including Rigoletto’s passionate denouncement ‘Cortigiani, vil razza dannata’, Gilda’s dreamy ‘Caro nome’ and the Duke’s instantly recognisable ‘La donna è mobile’.
Directed and designed by Philip Stölzl, this timeless tragedy will delight audiences with a powerhouse combination of entertainment and emotional intensity from the spectacular shore of Lake Constance.
Featuring a Tony Award-winning performance from host of the The Late Late Show, James Corden, the hilarious West End and Broadway hit One Man, Two Guvnors returns to cinemas to mark National Theatre Live’s 10th birthday.
Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from his fiancée’s dad. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who’s been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers.
Holed up at The Cricketers’ Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple.
Multi-award-winning director Emma Rice brings her unique, exuberantly impish vision to Angela Carter’s great last novel in this brand-new theatre production. A big, bawdy tangle of theatrical joy and heartbreak, Wise Children is a celebration of show business, family, forgiveness and hope, with a generous dash of Shakespeare, scandal and mischief, taking the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotion.
In Brixton, Nora and Dora Chance – twin chorus girls born and bred south of the river – are celebrating their 75th birthday. Over the river in Chelsea, their father – and the greatest actor of his generation – Melchior Hazard turns 100 on the same day. As does his twin brother Peregrine. If, in fact, he’s still alive. And if, in truth, Melchior is their real father after all...
Performed by a talented ensemble cast, this entertaining, all-singing and dancing show opened to a raft of four and five-star reviews at London’s Old Vic in 2018. Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the former Artistic Director of Kneehigh and Shakespeare’s Globe, it was filmed for the cinema screen at York Theatre Royal.
Sexual intrigue, jealousy, wit, anger… and retribution! The new Royal Opera Season begins with Mozart’s engaging masterpiece, which follows Don Giovanni, the women he serially seduces, and the vengeance that finally catches up with him. The opera is renowned for its ever-shifting portrayals of complex characters, fast-moving action and mix of the comic and the heartfelt. A cast of international singers – both familiar and making Royal Opera debuts – under conductor Hartmut Haenchen perform the glorious arias and ensembles of this opera favourite.
Co-production with Israeli Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, and Houston Grand Opera
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto: Lorenzo da Ponte
Conductor: Hartmut Haenchen
Director: Kasper Holten
Set designer: Es Devlin
Video designer: Luke Halls
Costume designer: Anja Vang Kragh
Lighting designer: Bruno Poet
Choreography: Signe Fabricius
Don Giovanni: Erwin Schrott
Leporello: Roberto Tagliavini
Donna Anna: Malin Byström
Donna Elvira: Christine Rice
Don Ottavio: Daniel Behle
Zerlina: Louise Alder
Commendatore: Lars Woldt
Masetto: Leon Košavić
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Featuring a Tony Award-winning performance from host of the The Late Late Show, James Corden, the hilarious West End and Broadway hit One Man, Two Guvnors returns to cinemas to mark National Theatre Live’s 10th birthday.
Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from his fiancée’s dad. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who’s been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers.
Holed up at The Cricketers’ Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple.
Multi-award-winning director Emma Rice brings her unique, exuberantly impish vision to Angela Carter’s great last novel in this brand-new theatre production. A big, bawdy tangle of theatrical joy and heartbreak, Wise Children is a celebration of show business, family, forgiveness and hope, with a generous dash of Shakespeare, scandal and mischief, taking the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotion.
In Brixton, Nora and Dora Chance – twin chorus girls born and bred south of the river – are celebrating their 75th birthday. Over the river in Chelsea, their father – and the greatest actor of his generation – Melchior Hazard turns 100 on the same day. As does his twin brother Peregrine. If, in fact, he’s still alive. And if, in truth, Melchior is their real father after all...
Performed by a talented ensemble cast, this entertaining, all-singing and dancing show opened to a raft of four and five-star reviews at London’s Old Vic in 2018. Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the former Artistic Director of Kneehigh and Shakespeare’s Globe, it was filmed for the cinema screen at York Theatre Royal.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Met’s Music Director, conducts this powerful production of love, loss and loyalty. Franco Zeffirelli’s spectacular staging returns to cinemas with powerhouse soprano Christine Goerke as the icy princess who has sworn never to be possessed by a man. But the unknown suitor Calaf, played by tenor Roberto Aronica, who sings the famed aria ‘Nessun dorma’, is love-struck, and risks his life by attempting to answer the challenging three riddles that promise to unlock her heart.
Sexual intrigue, jealousy, wit, anger… and retribution! The new Royal Opera Season begins with Mozart’s engaging masterpiece, which follows Don Giovanni, the women he serially seduces, and the vengeance that finally catches up with him. The opera is renowned for its ever-shifting portrayals of complex characters, fast-moving action and mix of the comic and the heartfelt. A cast of international singers – both familiar and making Royal Opera debuts – under conductor Hartmut Haenchen perform the glorious arias and ensembles of this opera favourite.
Co-production with Israeli Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, and Houston Grand Opera
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto: Lorenzo da Ponte
Conductor: Hartmut Haenchen
Director: Kasper Holten
Set designer: Es Devlin
Video designer: Luke Halls
Costume designer: Anja Vang Kragh
Lighting designer: Bruno Poet
Choreography: Signe Fabricius
Don Giovanni: Erwin Schrott
Leporello: Roberto Tagliavini
Donna Anna: Malin Byström
Donna Elvira: Christine Rice
Don Ottavio: Daniel Behle
Zerlina: Louise Alder
Commendatore: Lars Woldt
Masetto: Leon Košavić
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
This fascinating cinema event opens with a brand-new documentary about the life and work of Paul Gauguin, one of the world’s most popular and important artists. Filmed in Tahiti, France, the Marquesas Islands and the UK, this cinematic film will explore Gauguin’s extraordinary – and at times controversial – artistic achievement, with commentary from his descendants, artists and world experts. It will be followed by an exclusive private view of the National Gallery exhibition Gauguin Portraits, just after it opens in London. Exhibition curators and guest contributors will take cinema audiences on a lively and engaging guided tour, bringing this first ever exhibition of Gauguin’s portraits to the big screen with stunning close-ups and illuminating insights.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Met’s Music Director, conducts this powerful production of love, loss and loyalty. Franco Zeffirelli’s spectacular staging returns to cinemas with powerhouse soprano Christine Goerke as the icy princess who has sworn never to be possessed by a man. But the unknown suitor Calaf, played by tenor Roberto Aronica, who sings the famed aria ‘Nessun dorma’, is love-struck, and risks his life by attempting to answer the challenging three riddles that promise to unlock her heart.
'The course of true love never did run smooth.’
A feuding fairy King and Queen of the forest cross paths with four runaway lovers and a troupe of actors trying to rehearse a play. As their dispute grows, the magical royal couple meddle with mortal lives leading to love triangles, mistaken identities and transformations… with hilarious, but dark consequences.
Shakespeare’s most famous romantic comedy will be captured live from the Bridge Theatre in London. Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Oliver Chris (Green Wing, NT Live: Young Marx), David Moorst (NT Live: Allelujah!) and Hammed Animashaun (The Barber Shop Chronicles) lead the cast as Titania, Oberon, Puck and Bottom.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner, this production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will build on the success of his immersive staging of Julius Caesar (NT Live 2018). The Bridge Theatre will become a forest – a dream world of flying fairies, contagious fogs and moonlight revels, surrounded by a roving audience following the action on foot.
This fascinating cinema event opens with a brand-new documentary about the life and work of Paul Gauguin, one of the world’s most popular and important artists. Filmed in Tahiti, France, the Marquesas Islands and the UK, this cinematic film will explore Gauguin’s extraordinary – and at times controversial – artistic achievement, with commentary from his descendants, artists and world experts. It will be followed by an exclusive private view of the National Gallery exhibition Gauguin Portraits, just after it opens in London. Exhibition curators and guest contributors will take cinema audiences on a lively and engaging guided tour, bringing this first ever exhibition of Gauguin’s portraits to the big screen with stunning close-ups and illuminating insights.
Royal Opera favourite Bryn Terfel heads the cast for this new production of Donizetti’s comedy of domestic drama across two generations. The witty story of a middle-aged man whose supposed young wife runs rings around him – with her own ulterior romantic purpose in mind – has long delighted and surprised audiences, not least as presented with the sparkle of its music and the virtuoso skill of its performers. Damiano Michieletto’s exhilarating production shows how contemporary the characters still are and how immediate and touching the story remains.
Co-production with Opéra national de Paris and Teatro Massimo, Palermo
Music: Gaetano Donizetti
Lighting designer: Alessandro Carletti
Video designer: rocafilm
Libretto: Giovanni Ruffini and Gaetano Donizetti
Conductor: Evelino Pidò
Director: Damiano Michieletto
Set designer: Paolo Fantin
Costume designer: Agostino Cavalca
Don Pasquale: Bryn Terfel
Norina: Olga Peretyatko
Ernesto: Ioan Hotea
Malatesta: Mariusz Kwiecień
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Laurent Pelly’s enchanting production, starring soprano Lisette Oropesa in the effervescent title role, explores the devastating consequences when excess and passion collide. Tenor Michael Fabiano is the besotted Chevalier des Grieux, whose desperate love for Manon proves to be the undoing for both of them. Maurizio Benini conducts Massenet’s sensual score.
Music: Alexander Glazuno
Choerography: Yuri Grigorovich (after Marius Petipa)
Libretto: Yuri Grigorovich (after Lidia Pashkova)
Cast: The Bolshoi Principals, Soloists and Corps de Ballet
Synopsis: Raymondais betrothed to Jean de Brienne, a gallant knight who pledged to go on a crusade led by the King of Hungary. When her beloved leaves, Abderakhman, a foreign knight, makes a bid for the hand of Raymonda and threatens her fate when she rejects him...
The ballet: Raymondais a must-see of the Bolshoi, a work of living dance history. Being one of legendary choreographer Marius Petipa’s final works, he fully armed this ballet with beautiful court scenes, romantic corps de ballet dances, Hungarian czardas and a title role suited for the most outstanding ballerina.
Royal Opera favourite Bryn Terfel heads the cast for this new production of Donizetti’s comedy of domestic drama across two generations. The witty story of a middle-aged man whose supposed young wife runs rings around him – with her own ulterior romantic purpose in mind – has long delighted and surprised audiences, not least as presented with the sparkle of its music and the virtuoso skill of its performers. Damiano Michieletto’s exhilarating production shows how contemporary the characters still are and how immediate and touching the story remains.
Co-production with Opéra national de Paris and Teatro Massimo, Palermo
Music: Gaetano Donizetti
Lighting designer: Alessandro Carletti
Video designer: rocafilm
Libretto: Giovanni Ruffini and Gaetano Donizetti
Conductor: Evelino Pidò
Director: Damiano Michieletto
Set designer: Paolo Fantin
Costume designer: Agostino Cavalca
Don Pasquale: Bryn Terfel
Norina: Olga Peretyatko
Ernesto: Ioan Hotea
Malatesta: Mariusz Kwiecień
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Laurent Pelly’s enchanting production, starring soprano Lisette Oropesa in the effervescent title role, explores the devastating consequences when excess and passion collide. Tenor Michael Fabiano is the besotted Chevalier des Grieux, whose desperate love for Manon proves to be the undoing for both of them. Maurizio Benini conducts Massenet’s sensual score.
'The course of true love never did run smooth.’
A feuding fairy King and Queen of the forest cross paths with four runaway lovers and a troupe of actors trying to rehearse a play. As their dispute grows, the magical royal couple meddle with mortal lives leading to love triangles, mistaken identities and transformations… with hilarious, but dark consequences.
Shakespeare’s most famous romantic comedy will be captured live from the Bridge Theatre in London. Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Oliver Chris (Green Wing, NT Live: Young Marx), David Moorst (NT Live: Allelujah!) and Hammed Animashaun (The Barber Shop Chronicles) lead the cast as Titania, Oberon, Puck and Bottom.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner, this production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will build on the success of his immersive staging of Julius Caesar (NT Live 2018). The Bridge Theatre will become a forest – a dream world of flying fairies, contagious fogs and moonlight revels, surrounded by a roving audience following the action on foot.
Leonardo da Vinci is acclaimed as the world’s favourite artist. Many TV shows and feature films have showcased his extraordinary genius, but often not examined closely enough is the most crucial element of all: his art.
Leonardo’s peerless paintings and drawings will be the focus of LEONARDO: THE WORKS, which presents every single attributed painting in Ultra HD quality – something never seen before on the big screen. Key works include ‘The Mona Lisa’, ‘The Last Supper’, ‘Lady with an Ermine’, ‘Ginevra de’ Benci’, ‘Madonna Litta’, ‘Virgin of the Rocks’ and more than a dozen others.
This film also looks afresh at Leonardo’s life – his inventiveness, his sculptural skills, his military foresight and his ability to navigate the treacherous politics of the day – through the prism of his art. To be released on the 500th anniversary of his death, this is the definitive film about Leonardo – the first to truly tell the whole story.
From The Royal Ballet’s classical origins in the works of Marius Petipa, to the homegrown choreographers who put British ballet on the world stage, this mixed programme highlights the versatility of the Company. Petipa’s Raymonda Act III is Russian classical ballet summarised in one act, full of sparkle and precise technique, while Ashton’s Enigma Variations is quintessentially British in every way – from its score by Elgar and period designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman, to Ashton’s signature style, the essence of British ballet. Concerto, MacMillan’s fusion of classical technique with a contemporary mind, completes a programme that shows the breadth of The Royal Ballet’s heritage.
Hansard; noun
The official report of all parliamentary debates.
See two-time Olivier Award winners, Lindsay Duncan (Birdman, About Time) and Alex Jennings (The Lady in the Van, The Queen), in this brand-new play by Simon Wood, broadcast live from the National Theatre in London.
It’s a summer’s morning in 1988 and Tory politician Robin Hesketh has returned home to the idyllic Cotswold house he shares with his wife of 30 years, Diana. But all is not as blissful as it seems. Diana has a stinking hangover, a fox is destroying the garden, and secrets are being dug up all over the place. As the day draws on, what starts as gentle ribbing and the familiar rhythms of marital scrapping quickly turns to blood-sport.
Don’t miss this witty and devastating portrait of the governing class, directed by Simon Godwin (NT Live: Antony & Cleopatra, Twelfth Night) and part of National Theatre Live’s 10th birthday season.
Anthony Minghella’s vividly cinematic staging of Puccini’s tale of unrequited love returns to our screens featuring soprano Hui He in the devastating title role. One of the most frequently staged operas of our generation, Madama Butterfly tells the
story of a young Japanese girl, Cio-Cio San, who falls in love with Pinkerton, an American naval officer. Tragedy unfolds in this sweeping production, which is a perennial audience favourite.
Pier Giorgio Morandi conducts one of opera’s most beautiful and heartbreaking scores, and Plácido Domingo adds another role to his remarkable repertoire, singing ‘Sharpless’ for the first time. The cast also includes tenor Piero Pretti as Pinkerton and mezzosoprano Elizabeth DeShong as Suzuki.
From The Royal Ballet’s classical origins in the works of Marius Petipa, to the homegrown choreographers who put British ballet on the world stage, this mixed programme highlights the versatility of the Company. Petipa’s Raymonda Act III is Russian classical ballet summarised in one act, full of sparkle and precise technique, while Ashton’s Enigma Variations is quintessentially British in every way – from its score by Elgar and period designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman, to Ashton’s signature style, the essence of British ballet. Concerto, MacMillan’s fusion of classical technique with a contemporary mind, completes a programme that shows the breadth of The Royal Ballet’s heritage.
Anthony Minghella’s vividly cinematic staging of Puccini’s tale of unrequited love returns to our screens featuring soprano Hui He in the devastating title role. One of the most frequently staged operas of our generation, Madama Butterfly tells the
story of a young Japanese girl, Cio-Cio San, who falls in love with Pinkerton, an American naval officer. Tragedy unfolds in this sweeping production, which is a perennial audience favourite.
Pier Giorgio Morandi conducts one of opera’s most beautiful and heartbreaking scores, and Plácido Domingo adds another role to his remarkable repertoire, singing ‘Sharpless’ for the first time. The cast also includes tenor Piero Pretti as Pinkerton and mezzosoprano Elizabeth DeShong as Suzuki.
Leonardo da Vinci is acclaimed as the world’s favourite artist. Many TV shows and feature films have showcased his extraordinary genius, but often not examined closely enough is the most crucial element of all: his art.
Leonardo’s peerless paintings and drawings will be the focus of LEONARDO: THE WORKS, which presents every single attributed painting in Ultra HD quality – something never seen before on the big screen. Key works include ‘The Mona Lisa’, ‘The Last Supper’, ‘Lady with an Ermine’, ‘Ginevra de’ Benci’, ‘Madonna Litta’, ‘Virgin of the Rocks’ and more than a dozen others.
This film also looks afresh at Leonardo’s life – his inventiveness, his sculptural skills, his military foresight and his ability to navigate the treacherous politics of the day – through the prism of his art. To be released on the 500th anniversary of his death, this is the definitive film about Leonardo – the first to truly tell the whole story.
Music: Adolphe Adam
Choerography: Alexei Ratmansky
Libretto: Jules Henri Vernoy deSaint-Georges and Joseph Mazilier (edited by Marius Petipa)
Cast: Ekaterina Krysanova (Medora), Igor Tsvirko (Conrad), Denis Savin (Birbanto), Nelli Kobakhidze (Zulmea), Denis Rodkin (“Grand pas des éventails” Soloist), and the Corps de Ballet
Synopsis: On the bazaar square of Andrinopolis, the Pachais struck by the beauty of Medora and tries to buy her, but the lovely young woman is not for sale. As the transaction is about to come to a close, Medora is kidnaped by Conrad, a charming corsair who catches her eye...
The ballet: Bolshoi Prima Ballerina,the “mesmerizing” Ekaterina Krysanova and Leading Soloist Igor Tsvirko ignite Medora and Conrad’s passion with undeniable intensity. Le Corsaireremains a breathtaking production reworked by Alexei Ratmansky, who has created enough dancing for nearly the entire troupe, along with luxurious cinematic sets and a shipwreck, bringing the magic of this company to life.
Star countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo headlines as the revolutionary Pharaoh who transformed ancient Egypt. Director Phelim McDermott, whose productions include the hugely successful Satyagraha by Philip Glass, returns to the Met to bring this contemporary production to life, with a virtuosic company and dramatic staging that features acrobatics and juggling. The striking soprano J’Nai Bridges makes her Met debut as Nefertiti. Karen Kamensek conducts Glass’s ritualistic and hypnotic score.
Star countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo headlines as the revolutionary Pharaoh who transformed ancient Egypt. Director Phelim McDermott, whose productions include the hugely successful Satyagraha by Philip Glass, returns to the Met to bring this contemporary production to life, with a virtuosic company and dramatic staging that features acrobatics and juggling. The striking soprano J’Nai Bridges makes her Met debut as Nefertiti. Karen Kamensek conducts Glass’s ritualistic and hypnotic score.
Hansard; noun
The official report of all parliamentary debates.
See two-time Olivier Award winners, Lindsay Duncan (Birdman, About Time) and Alex Jennings (The Lady in the Van, The Queen), in this brand-new play by Simon Wood, broadcast live from the National Theatre in London.
It’s a summer’s morning in 1988 and Tory politician Robin Hesketh has returned home to the idyllic Cotswold house he shares with his wife of 30 years, Diana. But all is not as blissful as it seems. Diana has a stinking hangover, a fox is destroying the garden, and secrets are being dug up all over the place. As the day draws on, what starts as gentle ribbing and the familiar rhythms of marital scrapping quickly turns to blood-sport.
Don’t miss this witty and devastating portrait of the governing class, directed by Simon Godwin (NT Live: Antony & Cleopatra, Twelfth Night) and part of National Theatre Live’s 10th birthday season.
Matthew Warchus directs Andrew Scott (BBC’s Sherlock, Fleabag) in Noël Coward’s provocative comedy Present Laughter.
As he prepares to embark on an overseas tour, star actor Garry Essendine’s colourful life is in danger of spiralling out of control. Engulfed by an escalating identity crisis as his many and various relationships compete for his attention, Garry’s few remaining days at home are a chaotic whirlwind of love, sex, panic and soul-searching.
Captured live from The Old Vic in London, Present Laughter is a giddy and surprisingly modern reflection on fame, desire and loneliness.
A classic returns to The Royal Ballet repertory with Ninette de Valois’ charming and funny Coppélia – a story of love, mischief and mechanical dolls. The intricate choreography is set to Delibes’ delightful score and shows off the technical precision and comedic timing of the whole Company. Osbert Lancaster’s designs bring a colourful storybook world to life in this Christmas treat for the whole family.
Choreography: Ninette de Valois, after Lev Ivanov and Enrico Cecchetti
Music: Léo Delibes
Scenario: Charles Nuitter and Arthur Saint-Léon, after E.T.A. Hoffmann
Designer: Osbert Lancaster
Lighting designer: John B. Read
Conductor: Barry Wordsworth
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Matthew Warchus directs Andrew Scott (BBC’s Sherlock, Fleabag) in Noël Coward’s provocative comedy Present Laughter.
As he prepares to embark on an overseas tour, star actor Garry Essendine’s colourful life is in danger of spiralling out of control. Engulfed by an escalating identity crisis as his many and various relationships compete for his attention, Garry’s few remaining days at home are a chaotic whirlwind of love, sex, panic and soul-searching.
Captured live from The Old Vic in London, Present Laughter is a giddy and surprisingly modern reflection on fame, desire and loneliness.
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choerography: Yuri Grigorovich
Libretto: Yuri Grigorovich (after E.T.A. Hoffmann and Marius Petipa)
Cast: Margarita Shrainer (Marie), Semyon Chudin (The Nutcracker), Denis Savin (Drosselmeyer), Alexandre Vodopetov (The Mouse King), and the Corps de Ballet
Synopsis: On Christmas Eve, the mysterious Drosselmeyer brings a Nutcracker doll as a gift for his goddaughter Marie. At midnight, the doll comes to life and finds himself in a battle against the Mouse King, determined to save Marie from him.
The ballet: In this timeless story accompanied by Tchaikovsky’s beloved score, rising star Soloist Margarita Shrainer perfectly embodies Marie’s innocence and enchantment along with the supremely elegant Principal Dancer Semyon Chudin as The Nutcracker, captivating audiences of all ages and bringing them on an otherworldly journey.
A classic returns to The Royal Ballet repertory with Ninette de Valois’ charming and funny Coppélia – a story of love, mischief and mechanical dolls. The intricate choreography is set to Delibes’ delightful score and shows off the technical precision and comedic timing of the whole Company. Osbert Lancaster’s designs bring a colourful storybook world to life in this Christmas treat for the whole family.
Choreography: Ninette de Valois, after Lev Ivanov and Enrico Cecchetti
Music: Léo Delibes
Scenario: Charles Nuitter and Arthur Saint-Léon, after E.T.A. Hoffmann
Designer: Osbert Lancaster
Lighting designer: John B. Read
Conductor: Barry Wordsworth
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
The Royal Ballet's glorious production of The Nutcracker, created by Peter Wright in 1984, is the production par excellence of an all-time ballet favourite. On Christmas Eve, Herr Drosselmeyer the magician sweeps young Clara away on a fantasy adventure in which time is suspended, the family
living-room becomes a great battlefield, and a magical journey takes them through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets. Tchaikovsky's glittering score, the gorgeous festive stage designs, and The Royal Ballet's captivating dancing including an exquisite pas de deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince, make this Nutcracker the quintessential Christmas experience.
RECORDED LIVE AT THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Thursday 8 December 2016
Choreography: Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov
Music: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Original scenario: Marius Petipa after E.T.A.Hoffmann
Production and scenario: Peter Wright
Designer: Julia Trevelyan Oman
Lighting designer: Mark Henderson
Staging: Christopher Carr
Conductor: Boris Gruzin
The Sugar Plum Fairy: Lauren Cuthbertson
The Prince: Federico Bonelli
Clara: Francesca Hayward
Hans-Peter/The Nutcracker: Alexander Campbell
Herr Drosselmeyer: Gary Avis
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
The Royal Ballet's glorious production of The Nutcracker, created by Peter Wright in 1984, is the production par excellence of an all-time ballet favourite. On Christmas Eve, Herr Drosselmeyer the magician sweeps young Clara away on a fantasy adventure in which time is suspended, the family
living-room becomes a great battlefield, and a magical journey takes them through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets. Tchaikovsky's glittering score, the gorgeous festive stage designs, and The Royal Ballet's captivating dancing including an exquisite pas de deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince, make this Nutcracker the quintessential Christmas experience.
RECORDED LIVE AT THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Thursday 8 December 2016
Choreography: Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov
Music: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Original scenario: Marius Petipa after E.T.A.Hoffmann
Production and scenario: Peter Wright
Designer: Julia Trevelyan Oman
Lighting designer: Mark Henderson
Staging: Christopher Carr
Conductor: Boris Gruzin
The Sugar Plum Fairy: Lauren Cuthbertson
The Prince: Federico Bonelli
Clara: Francesca Hayward
Hans-Peter/The Nutcracker: Alexander Campbell
Herr Drosselmeyer: Gary Avis
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
After wowing audiences with his astounding production of Lulu in 2015, South African artist William Kentridge now focuses his extraordinary imagination on a new production of Berg’s other operatic masterpiece, which is set in an apocalyptic pre-First World War environment.
Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is on the podium for this important event, while baritone Peter Mattei makes his highly anticipated role debut as Wozzeck. Soprano Elza van den Heever is Wozzeck’s unfaithful mate, and the commanding cast also includes tenor Christopher Ventris as the Drum-Major, bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as the Doctor, and tenor Gerhard Siegel as the Captain.
After wowing audiences with his astounding production of Lulu in 2015, South African artist William Kentridge now focuses his extraordinary imagination on a new production of Berg’s other operatic masterpiece, which is set in an apocalyptic pre-First World War environment.
Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is on the podium for this important event, while baritone Peter Mattei makes his highly anticipated role debut as Wozzeck. Soprano Elza van den Heever is Wozzeck’s unfaithful mate, and the commanding cast also includes tenor Christopher Ventris as the Drum-Major, bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as the Doctor, and tenor Gerhard Siegel as the Captain.
This production of The Sleeping Beauty has delighted audiences in Covent Garden since 1946. A classic of Russian ballet, it established The Royal Ballet both in its new home after the Second World War and as a world-class company. Sixty years later, in 2006, the original staging was revived, returning Oliver Messel’s wonderful designs and glittering costumes to the stage. Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky’s enchanting score and Marius Petipa’s original choreography beautifully combine with sections created for The Royal Ballet by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon. This ballet is sure to cast its spell over anyone who sees it.
Choreography: Marius Petipa
Music: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Additional choreography: Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell, Christopher Wheeldon
Production: Monica Mason and Christopher Newton after Ninette de Valois and Nicholas Sergeyev
Original designs: Oliver Messel
Additional designs: Peter Farmer
Lighting designer: Mark Jonathan
Conductor: Simon Hewett
For the first time in history, the Royal Academy of Arts in London, in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, is bringing together Lucian Freud’s self-portraits. This intensely compelling exhibition will display more than 50 paintings, prints and drawings in which this modern master of British art turned his unflinching eye firmly on himself.
One of the most celebrated painters of our time, Lucian Freud is also one of very few twentieth-century artists who portrayed themselves with such consistency. Spanning nearly seven decades, his self-portraits give a fascinating insight into both his psyche and his development as a painter, from his earliest portrait painted in 1939 to the final one executed 64 years later. When seen together, his works represent an engrossing study of the dynamic of ageing and the process of self-representation.
This production of The Sleeping Beauty has delighted audiences in Covent Garden since 1946. A classic of Russian ballet, it established The Royal Ballet both in its new home after the Second World War and as a world-class company. Sixty years later, in 2006, the original staging was revived, returning Oliver Messel’s wonderful designs and glittering costumes to the stage. Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky’s enchanting score and Marius Petipa’s original choreography beautifully combine with sections created for The Royal Ballet by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon. This ballet is sure to cast its spell over anyone who sees it.
Choreography: Marius Petipa
Music: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Additional choreography: Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell, Christopher Wheeldon
Production: Monica Mason and Christopher Newton after Ninette de Valois and Nicholas Sergeyev
Original designs: Oliver Messel
Additional designs: Peter Farmer
Lighting designer: Mark Jonathan
Conductor: Simon Hewett
Music: Adolphe Adam
Choerography: Alexei Ratmansky
Libretto: Théophile Gautier and Jean-Henry Saint-Georges
Cast: The Bolshoi Principals, Soloists and Corps de Ballet
Synopsis: The young peasant girl Giselle dies when she learns that the man she loves, Albrecht, has betrayed her. Against her own will, she joins the Wilis, vengeful spirits of jilted brides who condemn Albrecht to dance until he dies of exhaustion...
The ballet: Giselle touches upon great and universal romantic themes. In this brand new production, renowned choreographer Alexei Ratmansky brings a fresh perspective to one of the oldest and greatest works of classical dance, giving the audience an opportunity to discover this iconic ballet anew.
Puccini’s opera of young love in 19th-century Paris is packed with beautiful music, including lyrical arias, celebratory choruses for Act II’s evocation of Christmas Eve in the Latin Quarter, and a poignant final scene over which the composer himself wept. Richard Jones’s character-led production perfectly captures La bohème’s mixture of comedy, romance and tragedy, with striking designs by Stewart Laing. The cast features some of the greatest interpreters of Puccini’s bohemian lovers performing today, as well as former members of The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artists Programme.
Co-production with Teatro Real, Madrid and Lyric Opera of Chicago
Music: Giacomo Puccini
Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
Director: Richard Jones
Designer: Stewart Laing
Lighting designer: Mimi Jordan Sherin
Movement director: Sarah Fahie
Mimì: Sonya Yoncheva
Rodolfo: Charles Castronovo
Marcello: Andrzej Filończyk
Musetta: Aida Garifullina
Schaunard: Gyula Nagy
Colline: Peter Kellner
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
For the first time in history, the Royal Academy of Arts in London, in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, is bringing together Lucian Freud’s self-portraits. This intensely compelling exhibition will display more than 50 paintings, prints and drawings in which this modern master of British art turned his unflinching eye firmly on himself.
One of the most celebrated painters of our time, Lucian Freud is also one of very few twentieth-century artists who portrayed themselves with such consistency. Spanning nearly seven decades, his self-portraits give a fascinating insight into both his psyche and his development as a painter, from his earliest portrait painted in 1939 to the final one executed 64 years later. When seen together, his works represent an engrossing study of the dynamic of ageing and the process of self-representation.
The final stage work of George Gershwin, Porgy and Bess is largely regarded as one of the greatest American operas of the twentieth century. It returns for its first Met performances in almost three decades, starring bass-baritone Eric Owens and soprano Angel Blue in the title roles.
This new co-production with the English National Opera and Dutch National Opera was hailed as a triumph at its premiere in London earlier this year. Featuring the much-loved arias ‘Summertime’ and ‘I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’, director James Robinson’s stylish production transports audiences to Catfish Row, a setting vibrant with the music, dancing, emotion and heartbreak of its inhabitants.
Puccini’s opera of young love in 19th-century Paris is packed with beautiful music, including lyrical arias, celebratory choruses for Act II’s evocation of Christmas Eve in the Latin Quarter, and a poignant final scene over which the composer himself wept. Richard Jones’s character-led production perfectly captures La bohème’s mixture of comedy, romance and tragedy, with striking designs by Stewart Laing. The cast features some of the greatest interpreters of Puccini’s bohemian lovers performing today, as well as former members of The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artists Programme.
Co-production with Teatro Real, Madrid and Lyric Opera of Chicago
Music: Giacomo Puccini
Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
Director: Richard Jones
Designer: Stewart Laing
Lighting designer: Mimi Jordan Sherin
Movement director: Sarah Fahie
Mimì: Sonya Yoncheva
Rodolfo: Charles Castronovo
Marcello: Andrzej Filończyk
Musetta: Aida Garifullina
Schaunard: Gyula Nagy
Colline: Peter Kellner
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
The final stage work of George Gershwin, Porgy and Bess is largely regarded as one of the greatest American operas of the twentieth century. It returns for its first Met performances in almost three decades, starring bass-baritone Eric Owens and soprano Angel Blue in the title roles.
This new co-production with the English National Opera and Dutch National Opera was hailed as a triumph at its premiere in London earlier this year. Featuring the much-loved arias ‘Summertime’ and ‘I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’, director James Robinson’s stylish production transports audiences to Catfish Row, a setting vibrant with the music, dancing, emotion and heartbreak of its inhabitants.
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choerography: Yuri Grigorovich
Libretto: Yuri Grigorovich
Cast: The Bolshoi Principals, Soloists and Corps de Ballet
Synopsis: Prince Siegfried is summoned by his parents to choose a bride. However, he encounters a mysterious swan-woman by the lake, Odette, and is captivated by her. His vow of eternal love to her will have irreversible consequences.
The ballet: Tchaikovsky’s essential masterpiece returns with a new cast for the most beloved ballet in the classical canon. Technically challenging and filled with vibrant emotion, with a stunning and world-famous corps de ballet in perfect unison, the legendary love story between Prince Siegfried and the dual personalities Odette/Odile, born at the Bolshoi Theatre, is a must-see.
Choreographer Cathy Marston is previously an Associate Artist of the Royal Opera House and Director of Bern Ballett, and much in demand internationally. The inspiration for her first work for The Royal Ballet Main Stage is the momentous life and career of the cellist Jacqueline du Pré. A new work by Liam Scarlett, The Royal Ballet’s Artist in Residence, provides the second part of the programme.
NEW CATHY MARSTON
Choreography: Cathy Marston
Music: Philip Feeney
Scenario: Cathy Marston and Edward Kemp
Set designer: Hildegard Bechtler
Costume designer: Bregje van Balen
Lighting designer: Jon Clark
Conductor: Andrea Molino
NEW LIAM SCARLETT
Choreographer: Liam Scarlett
In Ancient Rome, Agrippina plots the downfall of Emperor Claudius to secure the throne for her son Nero. Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato leads as the imperious empress in the Met’s first-ever performance of Handel’s first operatic triumph, a tale of deception and deceit. Harry Bicket conducts Sir David McVicar’s wry new production, which gives this Baroque black comedy a politically charged, modern updating.
Choreographer Cathy Marston is previously an Associate Artist of the Royal Opera House and Director of Bern Ballett, and much in demand internationally. The inspiration for her first work for The Royal Ballet Main Stage is the momentous life and career of the cellist Jacqueline du Pré. A new work by Liam Scarlett, The Royal Ballet’s Artist in Residence, provides the second part of the programme.
NEW CATHY MARSTON
Choreography: Cathy Marston
Music: Philip Feeney
Scenario: Cathy Marston and Edward Kemp
Set designer: Hildegard Bechtler
Costume designer: Bregje van Balen
Lighting designer: Jon Clark
Conductor: Andrea Molino
NEW LIAM SCARLETT
Choreographer: Liam Scarlett
In Ancient Rome, Agrippina plots the downfall of Emperor Claudius to secure the throne for her son Nero. Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato leads as the imperious empress in the Met’s first-ever performance of Handel’s first operatic triumph, a tale of deception and deceit. Harry Bicket conducts Sir David McVicar’s wry new production, which gives this Baroque black comedy a politically charged, modern updating.
The award-winning Sir Bryn Terfel CBE returns to the Met for the first time since 2012 as the mysterious seafarer searching for salvation. Condemned to sail the seas for eternity on his ghostly ship, the Captain is offered a chance of redemption by true love. François Girard, whose mesmerising staging of Parsifal recently wowed Met audiences, directs Wagner’s eerie early masterwork in this co-production with Puccini L’Opéra de Québec and Amsterdam’s Dutch National Opera.
Beethoven’s only opera is a masterpiece, an uplifting story of risk and triumph. In this new production, conducted by Antonio Pappano, Jonas Kaufmann plays the political prisoner Florestan, and Lise Davidsen his wife Leonore (disguised as ‘Fidelio’) who daringly sets out to rescue him. Set in strong counterpoint are the ingredients of domestic intrigue, determined love and the cruelty of an oppressive regime. The music is transcendent throughout and includes the famous Act I Quartet, the Prisoners’ Chorus and Florestan’s impassioned Act II cry in the darkness and vision of hope. Tobias Kratzer’s new staging brings together the dark reality of the French Revolutionary ‘Terror’ and our own time to illuminate Fidelio’s inspiring message of shared humanity.
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven
Libretto: Joseph Sonnleithner, Stephan von Breuning and George Friedrich Treitschke
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Director: Tobias Kratzer
Set and costume designer: Rainer Sellmaier
Lighting designer: Michael Bauer
Video designer: Manuel Braun
Dramaturg: Bettina Bartz
Leonore (Fidelio): Lise Davidsen
Florestan: Jonas Kaufmann
Rocco: Georg Zeppenfeld
Don Pizarro: Simon Neal
Marzelline: Amanda Forsythe
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
The award-winning Sir Bryn Terfel CBE returns to the Met for the first time since 2012 as the mysterious seafarer searching for salvation. Condemned to sail the seas for eternity on his ghostly ship, the Captain is offered a chance of redemption by true love. François Girard, whose mesmerising staging of Parsifal recently wowed Met audiences, directs Wagner’s eerie early masterwork in this co-production with Puccini L’Opéra de Québec and Amsterdam’s Dutch National Opera.
Beethoven’s only opera is a masterpiece, an uplifting story of risk and triumph. In this new production, conducted by Antonio Pappano, Jonas Kaufmann plays the political prisoner Florestan, and Lise Davidsen his wife Leonore (disguised as ‘Fidelio’) who daringly sets out to rescue him. Set in strong counterpoint are the ingredients of domestic intrigue, determined love and the cruelty of an oppressive regime. The music is transcendent throughout and includes the famous Act I Quartet, the Prisoners’ Chorus and Florestan’s impassioned Act II cry in the darkness and vision of hope. Tobias Kratzer’s new staging brings together the dark reality of the French Revolutionary ‘Terror’ and our own time to illuminate Fidelio’s inspiring message of shared humanity.
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven
Libretto: Joseph Sonnleithner, Stephan von Breuning and George Friedrich Treitschke
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Director: Tobias Kratzer
Set and costume designer: Rainer Sellmaier
Lighting designer: Michael Bauer
Video designer: Manuel Braun
Dramaturg: Bettina Bartz
Leonore (Fidelio): Lise Davidsen
Florestan: Jonas Kaufmann
Rocco: Georg Zeppenfeld
Don Pizarro: Simon Neal
Marzelline: Amanda Forsythe
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Music: Sergei Prokofiev
Choerography: Alexei Ratmansky
Libretto: Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Radlov and Adrian Piotrovsky (afte rWilliam Shakespeare)
Cast: Ekaterina Krysanova (Juliet), Vladislav Lantratov (Romeo), Igor Tsvirko (Mercutio), Dmitry Dorokhov (Benvolio), Vitaly Biktimirov (Tybalt), and the Corps de Ballet
Synopsis: In spite of each of their families being merciless enemies, Romeo and Juliet are deeply in love. The rivalry between the Capulets and the Montagues will cost Mercutio’s life, causing Romeo a desire of vengeance for the loss of his friend...
The ballet: The star-crossed lovers’ tragic fate inspired Prokofiev a remarkable cinematic score, from the delicate theme of Juliet to the ominous Dance of the Knights.Bolshoi stars Ekaterina Krysanova and Vladislav Lantratov wholly embody the two eternal lovers in Alexei Ratmansky’s stunning evocation of love at first sight.
Liam Scarlett’s glorious production of Swan Lake, new in 2018, returns for its first revival. While remaining faithful to the Marius Petipa/Lev Ivanov text, Scarlett’s additional choreography and John Macfarlane’s magnificent designs breathe new life into what is arguably the best-known and most-loved classical ballet. The entire Company shines in this eternal tale of doomed love, a masterpiece filled with iconic moments. Tchaikovsky’s first score for ballet soars with its symphonic sweep and combines perfectly with exquisite choreography from the grand pas de deux of Prince Siegfried and Odile to the swans at the lakeside. An intoxicating, irresistible mix of spectacle and intimate passion.
Choreography: Liam Scarlett after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov
Music: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Additional choreography:Frederick Ashton
Production: Liam Scarlett
Designer: John Macfarlane
Lighting designer: David Finn
Conductor: Koen Kessels
Liam Scarlett’s glorious production of Swan Lake, new in 2018, returns for its first revival. While remaining faithful to the Marius Petipa/Lev Ivanov text, Scarlett’s additional choreography and John Macfarlane’s magnificent designs breathe new life into what is arguably the best-known and most-loved classical ballet. The entire Company shines in this eternal tale of doomed love, a masterpiece filled with iconic moments. Tchaikovsky’s first score for ballet soars with its symphonic sweep and combines perfectly with exquisite choreography from the grand pas de deux of Prince Siegfried and Odile to the swans at the lakeside. An intoxicating, irresistible mix of spectacle and intimate passion.
Choreography: Liam Scarlett after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov
Music: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Additional choreography:Frederick Ashton
Production: Liam Scarlett
Designer: John Macfarlane
Lighting designer: David Finn
Conductor: Koen Kessels
The story of Christ’s death and resurrection has dominated western culture for the past 2000 years. It’s perhaps the most significant historical event of all time, as recounted by the gospels but, equally, as depicted by the greatest artists in history. From the triumphant to the savage, the ethereal to the tactile, some of western civilisation’s greatest artworks focus on this pivotal moment. This beautifully crafted film explores the Easter story as depicted in art, from the time of the early Christians to the present day. Shot on location in Jerusalem, United States and throughout Europe, it explores the different ways artists have depicted the Easter story through the ages and thus depicts the history of us all.
Superstar soprano Anna Netrebko returns in the title role as the explosive diva in Puccini’s best-loved operatic thriller. Set in Rome during the Napoleonic wars, this tragic tale of passion, murder, lust and love, set to a famously romantic score, is an enduring classic. Bertrand de Billy conducts Sir David McVicar’s evocative production, with tenor Brian Jagde as Tosca’s impassioned lover, Cavaradossi, and baritone Michael Volle as the sinister Scarpia.
Superstar soprano Anna Netrebko returns in the title role as the explosive diva in Puccini’s best-loved operatic thriller. Set in Rome during the Napoleonic wars, this tragic tale of passion, murder, lust and love, set to a famously romantic score, is an enduring classic. Bertrand de Billy conducts Sir David McVicar’s evocative production, with tenor Brian Jagde as Tosca’s impassioned lover, Cavaradossi, and baritone Michael Volle as the sinister Scarpia.
The story of Christ’s death and resurrection has dominated western culture for the past 2000 years. It’s perhaps the most significant historical event of all time, as recounted by the gospels but, equally, as depicted by the greatest artists in history. From the triumphant to the savage, the ethereal to the tactile, some of western civilisation’s greatest artworks focus on this pivotal moment. This beautifully crafted film explores the Easter story as depicted in art, from the time of the early Christians to the present day. Shot on location in Jerusalem, United States and throughout Europe, it explores the different ways artists have depicted the Easter story through the ages and thus depicts the history of us all.
Music: Gabriel Fauré, Igor Stravinsky, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choerography: George Balanchine
Cast: The Bolshoi Principals, Soloists and Corps de Ballet
Synopsis
This opulent triptych was inspired by Balanchine’s visit to the famous jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels on New York’s Fifth Avenue, celebrating the cities and dance schools of Paris, New York and St. Petersburg, each bound to its own precious stone: emerald, ruby and diamond.
The ballet
Balanchine built an homage of captivating beauty to the three dance schools that had forged his style, each represented by a contrasting gemstone. Jewels offers a unique occasion to enjoy the genius of choreographer’s visually captivating work performed by some of the world’s most dazzling dancers.
Two opera classics are drawn together in this wonderfully observed re-creation of life in a south Italian village as a travelling theatre visits and emotions erupt. The award-winning production by Damiano Michieletto presents vividly the fast-moving and shocking events brought about by secret love and uncontrollable jealousy. The music is full of Italianate melody in the great choruses that bring the villagers together in celebration and revelry, alongside the solo arias and tense confrontations that provoke violence and tragedy. With thrilling singing and intense drama, ‘Cav and Pag’ distils into one wonderful night out, the enduring appeal of Italian opera in its most familiar form.
A co-production with Opera Australia, La Monnaie, Brussels, and the Göteborg Opera.
Conductor: Daniel Oren
Director: Damiano Michieletto
Set designer: Paolo Fantin
Costume designer: Carla Teti
Lighting designer: Alessandro Carletti
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA
Music: Pietro Mascagni
Libretto: Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci
Turiddu: Yonghoon Lee
Santuzza: Liudmyla Monastyrska
Alfio: Dimitri Platanias
Lola: Josè Maria Lo Monaco
PAGLIACCI
Music: Ruggero Leoncavallo
Libretto: Ruggero Leoncavallo
Canio: Roberto Alagna
Tonio: Dimitri Platanias
Nedda: Aleksandra Kurzak
Silvio: Bogdan Baciu
Beppe: Mikeldi Atxlandabaso
Two opera classics are drawn together in this wonderfully observed re-creation of life in a south Italian village as a travelling theatre visits and emotions erupt. The award-winning production by Damiano Michieletto presents vividly the fast-moving and shocking events brought about by secret love and uncontrollable jealousy. The music is full of Italianate melody in the great choruses that bring the villagers together in celebration and revelry, alongside the solo arias and tense confrontations that provoke violence and tragedy. With thrilling singing and intense drama, ‘Cav and Pag’ distils into one wonderful night out, the enduring appeal of Italian opera in its most familiar form.
A co-production with Opera Australia, La Monnaie, Brussels, and the Göteborg Opera.
Conductor: Daniel Oren
Director: Damiano Michieletto
Set designer: Paolo Fantin
Costume designer: Carla Teti
Lighting designer: Alessandro Carletti
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA
Music: Pietro Mascagni
Libretto: Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci
Turiddu: Yonghoon Lee
Santuzza: Liudmyla Monastyrska
Alfio: Dimitri Platanias
Lola: Josè Maria Lo Monaco
PAGLIACCI
Music Ruggero Leoncavallo
Libretto Ruggero Leoncavallo
Canio Roberto Alagna
Tonio Dimitri Platanias
Nedda Aleksandra Kurzak
Silvio Bogdan Baciu
Beppe Mikeldi Atxlandabaso
Set in sixteenth-century Britain, Donizetti’s thrilling historical drama follows Mary, Queen of Scots and her bitter rivalry with the cousin responsible for imprisoning her, Queen Elizabeth I. Soprano Diana Damrau and mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton square off as two of history’s most formidable monarchs, and Maurizio Benini conducts.
Set in sixteenth-century Britain, Donizetti’s thrilling historical drama follows Mary, Queen of Scots and her bitter rivalry with the cousin responsible for imprisoning her, Queen Elizabeth I. Soprano Diana Damrau and mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton square off as two of history’s most formidable monarchs, and Maurizio Benini conducts.
Dante’s Divine Comedy is an epic journey through the afterlife: it encompasses the horrifying drama of Inferno and its damned, the lyrical mysticism of pilgrims on mount Purgatorio and the dazzling spheres of Paradiso with their endless configurations of light. The poem was inspired by the agony of Dante’s own exile, and traces his path from crisis to revelation guided by his literary hero Virgil and his lost love Beatrice. In this new work, The Royal Ballet’s trailblazing Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor collaborates with an award-winning team – contemporary composer Thomas Adès, artist Tacita Dean, lighting designer Lucy Carter and dramaturg Uzma Hameed – to bring us closer to Dante and his extraordinary vision.
A collaboration between Wayne McGregor, Thomas Adès, Tacita Dean, Lucy Carter
and Uzma Hameed
Choreography: Wayne McGregor
Music: Thomas Adès
Design: Tacita Dean
Lighting design (part one): Lucy Carter, Simon Bennison
Lighting design (parts two and three): Lucy Carter
Dramaturg: Uzma Hameed
Conductor: Koen Kessels
Dante’s Divine Comedy is an epic journey through the afterlife: it encompasses the horrifying drama of Inferno and its damned, the lyrical mysticism of pilgrims on mount Purgatorio and the dazzling spheres of Paradiso with their endless configurations of light. The poem was inspired by the agony of Dante’s own exile, and traces his path from crisis to revelation guided by his literary hero Virgil and his lost love Beatrice. In this new work, The Royal Ballet’s trailblazing Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor collaborates with an award-winning team – contemporary composer Thomas Adès, artist Tacita Dean, lighting designer Lucy Carter and dramaturg Uzma Hameed – to bring us closer to Dante and his extraordinary vision.
A collaboration between Wayne McGregor, Thomas Adès, Tacita Dean, Lucy Carter
and Uzma Hameed
Choreography: Wayne McGregor
Music: Thomas Adès
Design: Tacita Dean
Lighting design (part one): Lucy Carter, Simon Bennison
Lighting design (parts two and three): Lucy Carter
Dramaturg: Uzma Hameed
Conductor: Koen Kessels
Strauss’s thrilling and audacious adaptation of Greek tragedy receives a new staging by the award-winning director Christof Loy. This uncompromising opera, about a daughter intent on bloody revenge and a mother driven to madness, has provoked critics to lively debate and both shocked and excited audiences since its 1909 premiere. Antonio Pappano conducts music that combines violence with moments of exquisite tenderness in his first Strauss interpretation for The Royal Opera since 2002. The outstanding cast includes Nina Stemme (Brünnhilde in last Season’s Der Ring des Nibelungen) in the title role, and Karita Mattila in her role debut as the haunted queen Klytämnestra.
Music: Richard Strauss
Libretto: Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Director: Christof Loy
Designer: Johannes Leiacker
Lighting designer: Olaf Winter
Elektra Nina: Stemme
Chrysothemis: Sara Jakubiak
Klytämnestra: Karita Mattila
Orest: Christof Fischesser
Ägisth: Joseph Kaiser
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Strauss’s thrilling and audacious adaptation of Greek tragedy receives a new staging by the award-winning director Christof Loy. This uncompromising opera, about a daughter intent on bloody revenge and a mother driven to madness, has provoked critics to lively debate and both shocked and excited audiences since its 1909 premiere. Antonio Pappano conducts music that combines violence with moments of exquisite tenderness in his first Strauss interpretation for The Royal Opera since 2002. The outstanding cast includes Nina Stemme (Brünnhilde in last Season’s Der Ring des Nibelungen) in the title role, and Karita Mattila in her role debut as the haunted queen Klytämnestra.
Music: Richard Strauss
Libretto: Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Director: Christof Loy
Designer: Johannes Leiacker
Lighting designer: Olaf Winter
Elektra Nina: Stemme
Chrysothemis: Sara Jakubiak
Klytämnestra: Karita Mattila
Orest: Christof Fischesser
Ägisth: Joseph Kaiser
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
