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Director: Joel Hopkins.
Starring: Diane Keaton, Brendan Gleeson, Lesley Manville. UK 2017. 103 mins.
While looking out over the unspoilt parkland of Hampstead Heath from her attic window, American widow Emily Waters (Keaton) calls the police when she sees an unkempt man, Donald Horner (Gleeson), being attacked by thugs outside a ramshackle hut. Curious about the man she helped save from afar, she ventures out the next day to visit him and discovers that he has lived wild on the Heath for 17 years. As ruthless property developers adopt heavy-handed tactics to remove him from the area he calls home, an unlikely friendship – and then a romance – begins to blossom. With Last Chance Harvey, director Joel Hopkins demonstrated his talent for chronicling unlikely relationships, and his affinity for the Hampstead area adds resonance to this heartwarmingly quirky love story.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, we’re exploring our collective past through a season of exceptional British movies.
Love Is The Devil
Director: John Maybury. Starring: Derek Jacobi, Daniel Craig, Tilda Swinton. UK 1998. 90 mins.
John Maybury’s daring art biopic stars Derek Jacobi as Francis Bacon and Daniel Craig as his muse, a small-time thief drawn into the painter’s bohemian circle. Tilda Swinton gives a standout performance as the foul-mouthed proprietress of the legendary Colony Room, the Soho club that served as a hub for the group, which also included photographer John Deakin and artist Isabel Rawsthorne.
Director: Jonathan Teplitzky.
Starring: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery. UK 2017. 98 mins.
June 1944. Allied forces stand on the brink of invasion, but one man stands in their way: Winston Churchill. Exhausted by years of war, Churchill (Cox) fears that history will remember him as an architect of slaughter if the landings fail. Churchill is the untold story of the haunted frailty of Britain’s most celebrated leader, revealing his vital relationship with his wife Clementine (Richardson), the confidant who inspired him to greatness.
Director: Mark Webb.
Starring: Chris Evans, McKenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan. USA 2017. 101 mins.
Gifted is a moving story about choices, compassion and family, all underscored by a wicked sense of humour. Frank Adler (Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy – his spirited young niece Mary (Grace) – in a coastal town in Florida. Frank’s plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when her mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank’s formidable mother, Evelyn (Duncan), whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary.
Director: Roger Michell. Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen. USA/UK 2017. 106 mins.
After health problems determine that he must spend his winters in warmer climates, Ambrose (Glen), a wealthy landowner and guardian to his orphaned cousin Philip (Claflin), heads to Italy. Years later, Philip receives a letter from Ambrose announcing that he has fallen in love with and married a distant relation, the eponymous Rachel (Weisz). Soon after, Philip learns that his guardian is dangerously ill, but by the time he arrives in Italy, Ambrose is dead and Rachel has left for England, bound for her deceased husband’s estate in Cornwall. Racked by suspicion, Philip confronts Rachel, but he too soon finds himself under her beguiling spell. What is she? A femme fatale? A gold-digger? A tease? Thanks to skilled direction and first-rate performances, Roger Michell’s enticing period drama keeps the audience guessing throughout.
Director: Sunao Katabuchi.
Voices: Non, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Minori Omi. Japan 2016. 130 mins. Japanese with English subtitles.
This award-winning story follows a young girl named Suzu (Non), who in 1944 moves to the small town of Kure in Hiroshima, where she marries a young clerk at the local naval base. Living with his family, Suzu becomes essential to the running of the household. In 1945, intense bombings by the US military bring hardship and suffering to the area. Suzu's life is changed irrevocably, but through perseverance and courage, she manages to live it to the fullest.
Director: Joel Hopkins.
Starring: Diane Keaton, Brendan Gleeson, Lesley Manville. UK 2017. 103 mins.
While looking out over the unspoilt parkland of Hampstead Heath from her attic window, American widow Emily Waters (Keaton) calls the police when she sees an unkempt man, Donald Horner (Gleeson), being attacked by thugs outside a ramshackle hut. Curious about the man she helped save from afar, she ventures out the next day to visit him and discovers that he has lived wild on the Heath for 17 years. As ruthless property developers adopt heavy-handed tactics to remove him from the area he calls home, an unlikely friendship – and then a romance – begins to blossom. With Last Chance Harvey, director Joel Hopkins demonstrated his talent for chronicling unlikely relationships, and his affinity for the Hampstead area adds resonance to this heartwarmingly quirky love story.
World-famous tenor Jonas Kaufmann makes his role debut as Otello in Verdi's passionate retelling of Shakespeare's great tragedy of jealousy, deception and murder. Soprano Maria Agresta will be his Desdemona and baritone Marco Vratogna his nemesis Iago in a new production by Olivier Awardwinning director Keith Warner.
A major work of the opera repertory, Verdi's Otello draws on the full forces of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the Royal Opera Chorus and this stellar line-up of principal singers, with exquisite duets, emotionally potent solo numbers and thrilling choruses.
Particular highlights include Otello and Desdemona's rapturous love duet and Desdemona's poignant 'Willow Song'. Royal Opera Music Director Antonio Pappano conducts this Italian masterpiece.
Director: Jonathan Teplitzky.
Starring: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery. UK 2017. 98 mins.
June 1944. Allied forces stand on the brink of invasion, but one man stands in their way: Winston Churchill. Exhausted by years of war, Churchill (Cox) fears that history will remember him as an architect of slaughter if the landings fail. Churchill is the untold story of the haunted frailty of Britain’s most celebrated leader, revealing his vital relationship with his wife Clementine (Richardson), the confidant who inspired him to greatness.
Director: Mark Webb.
Starring: Chris Evans, McKenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan. USA 2017. 101 mins.
Gifted is a moving story about choices, compassion and family, all underscored by a wicked sense of humour. Frank Adler (Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy – his spirited young niece Mary (Grace) – in a coastal town in Florida. Frank’s plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when her mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank’s formidable mother, Evelyn (Duncan), whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary.
10.45Big Scream Subtitled: Exclusively for parents or carers with babies under the age of one. This screening also has subtitles for people with hearing loss.
Director: Roger Michell. Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen. USA/UK 2017. 106 mins.
After health problems determine that he must spend his winters in warmer climates, Ambrose (Glen), a wealthy landowner and guardian to his orphaned cousin Philip (Claflin), heads to Italy. Years later, Philip receives a letter from Ambrose announcing that he has fallen in love with and married a distant relation, the eponymous Rachel (Weisz). Soon after, Philip learns that his guardian is dangerously ill, but by the time he arrives in Italy, Ambrose is dead and Rachel has left for England, bound for her deceased husband’s estate in Cornwall. Racked by suspicion, Philip confronts Rachel, but he too soon finds himself under her beguiling spell. What is she? A femme fatale? A gold-digger? A tease? Thanks to skilled direction and first-rate performances, Roger Michell’s enticing period drama keeps the audience guessing throughout.
Director: Andew J. Cohen. Starring: Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Allison Tolman. USA 2017. 88mins.
After Scott and Kate Johansen (Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler) lose their daughter Alex’s college fund, they become desperate to earn it back so she can pursue her dream of attending a university. With the help of their neighbor Frank (Jason Mantzoukas), they decide to start an illegal casino in his house.
Director: Joel Hopkins.
Starring: Diane Keaton, Brendan Gleeson, Lesley Manville. UK 2017. 103 mins.
While looking out over the unspoilt parkland of Hampstead Heath from her attic window, American widow Emily Waters (Keaton) calls the police when she sees an unkempt man, Donald Horner (Gleeson), being attacked by thugs outside a ramshackle hut. Curious about the man she helped save from afar, she ventures out the next day to visit him and discovers that he has lived wild on the Heath for 17 years. As ruthless property developers adopt heavy-handed tactics to remove him from the area he calls home, an unlikely friendship – and then a romance – begins to blossom. With Last Chance Harvey, director Joel Hopkins demonstrated his talent for chronicling unlikely relationships, and his affinity for the Hampstead area adds resonance to this heartwarmingly quirky love story.
Director: Jonathan Teplitzky.
Starring: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery. UK 2017. 98 mins.
June 1944. Allied forces stand on the brink of invasion, but one man stands in their way: Winston Churchill. Exhausted by years of war, Churchill (Cox) fears that history will remember him as an architect of slaughter if the landings fail. Churchill is the untold story of the haunted frailty of Britain’s most celebrated leader, revealing his vital relationship with his wife Clementine (Richardson), the confidant who inspired him to greatness.
Director: Mark Webb.
Starring: Chris Evans, McKenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan. USA 2017. 101 mins.
Gifted is a moving story about choices, compassion and family, all underscored by a wicked sense of humour. Frank Adler (Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy – his spirited young niece Mary (Grace) – in a coastal town in Florida. Frank’s plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when her mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank’s formidable mother, Evelyn (Duncan), whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary.
10.30Silver 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.
Director: Roger Michell. Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen. USA/UK 2017. 106 mins.
After health problems determine that he must spend his winters in warmer climates, Ambrose (Glen), a wealthy landowner and guardian to his orphaned cousin Philip (Claflin), heads to Italy. Years later, Philip receives a letter from Ambrose announcing that he has fallen in love with and married a distant relation, the eponymous Rachel (Weisz). Soon after, Philip learns that his guardian is dangerously ill, but by the time he arrives in Italy, Ambrose is dead and Rachel has left for England, bound for her deceased husband’s estate in Cornwall. Racked by suspicion, Philip confronts Rachel, but he too soon finds himself under her beguiling spell. What is she? A femme fatale? A gold-digger? A tease? Thanks to skilled direction and first-rate performances, Roger Michell’s enticing period drama keeps the audience guessing throughout.
Director: Vincent Perez.
Starring: Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl. UK/France/Germany 2016. 103 mins.
Based on a true story, Hans Fallada’s bestselling novel Alone In Berlin was described by Primo Levi as “the greatest book ever written about German resistance to the Nazis.” Vincent Perez brings this powerful story to the big screen in an atmospheric film that boasts outstanding performances from its three leads. After learning that their only son has died in battle, and witnessing the persecution of an old Jewish woman living in their building, a working-class couple in Berlin (Gleeson and Thompson) risk execution with an extraordinary act of rebellion. They begin printing and circulating postcards attacking the Nazi regime, hoping to inspire others to take a stand. But in a city paralysed by fear, the postcards soon end up in the hands of Gestapo officer Escherich (Brühl), and so a dangerous game of cat and mouse unfolds. Contains moderate violence, threat, injury detail.
Director: Joel Hopkins.
Starring: Diane Keaton, Brendan Gleeson, Lesley Manville. UK 2017. 103 mins.
While looking out over the unspoilt parkland of Hampstead Heath from her attic window, American widow Emily Waters (Keaton) calls the police when she sees an unkempt man, Donald Horner (Gleeson), being attacked by thugs outside a ramshackle hut. Curious about the man she helped save from afar, she ventures out the next day to visit him and discovers that he has lived wild on the Heath for 17 years. As ruthless property developers adopt heavy-handed tactics to remove him from the area he calls home, an unlikely friendship – and then a romance – begins to blossom. With Last Chance Harvey, director Joel Hopkins demonstrated his talent for chronicling unlikely relationships, and his affinity for the Hampstead area adds resonance to this heartwarmingly quirky love story.
Director: Roger Michell. Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen. USA/UK 2017. 106 mins.
After health problems determine that he must spend his winters in warmer climates, Ambrose (Glen), a wealthy landowner and guardian to his orphaned cousin Philip (Claflin), heads to Italy. Years later, Philip receives a letter from Ambrose announcing that he has fallen in love with and married a distant relation, the eponymous Rachel (Weisz). Soon after, Philip learns that his guardian is dangerously ill, but by the time he arrives in Italy, Ambrose is dead and Rachel has left for England, bound for her deceased husband’s estate in Cornwall. Racked by suspicion, Philip confronts Rachel, but he too soon finds himself under her beguiling spell. What is she? A femme fatale? A gold-digger? A tease? Thanks to skilled direction and first-rate performances, Roger Michell’s enticing period drama keeps the audience guessing throughout.
Director: Vincent Perez.
Starring: Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl. UK/France/Germany 2016. 103 mins.
Based on a true story, Hans Fallada’s bestselling novel Alone In Berlin was described by Primo Levi as “the greatest book ever written about German resistance to the Nazis.” Vincent Perez brings this powerful story to the big screen in an atmospheric film that boasts outstanding performances from its three leads. After learning that their only son has died in battle, and witnessing the persecution of an old Jewish woman living in their building, a working-class couple in Berlin (Gleeson and Thompson) risk execution with an extraordinary act of rebellion. They begin printing and circulating postcards attacking the Nazi regime, hoping to inspire others to take a stand. But in a city paralysed by fear, the postcards soon end up in the hands of Gestapo officer Escherich (Brühl), and so a dangerous game of cat and mouse unfolds. Contains moderate violence, threat, injury detail.
Director: Joel Hopkins.
Starring: Diane Keaton, Brendan Gleeson, Lesley Manville. UK 2017. 103 mins.
While looking out over the unspoilt parkland of Hampstead Heath from her attic window, American widow Emily Waters (Keaton) calls the police when she sees an unkempt man, Donald Horner (Gleeson), being attacked by thugs outside a ramshackle hut. Curious about the man she helped save from afar, she ventures out the next day to visit him and discovers that he has lived wild on the Heath for 17 years. As ruthless property developers adopt heavy-handed tactics to remove him from the area he calls home, an unlikely friendship – and then a romance – begins to blossom. With Last Chance Harvey, director Joel Hopkins demonstrated his talent for chronicling unlikely relationships, and his affinity for the Hampstead area adds resonance to this heartwarmingly quirky love story.
Director: Roger Michell. Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen. USA/UK 2017. 106 mins.
After health problems determine that he must spend his winters in warmer climates, Ambrose (Glen), a wealthy landowner and guardian to his orphaned cousin Philip (Claflin), heads to Italy. Years later, Philip receives a letter from Ambrose announcing that he has fallen in love with and married a distant relation, the eponymous Rachel (Weisz). Soon after, Philip learns that his guardian is dangerously ill, but by the time he arrives in Italy, Ambrose is dead and Rachel has left for England, bound for her deceased husband’s estate in Cornwall. Racked by suspicion, Philip confronts Rachel, but he too soon finds himself under her beguiling spell. What is she? A femme fatale? A gold-digger? A tease? Thanks to skilled direction and first-rate performances, Roger Michell’s enticing period drama keeps the audience guessing throughout.
Director: Kelly Asbury.
Starring: Demi Lovato, Jack McBrayer, Joe Mananiello, Danny Pudi. USA 2017. 89 mins.
Shrek 2 director Kelly Asbury helms the latest computer-animated children’s adventure featuring the loveable little blue humanoids. This time around Smurfette (Lovato) briefly meets a very familiar-looking creature in the Forbidden Forest, who leaves behind a mysterious map that suggests the whereabouts of a magical lost village.
Intrigued, she sets out with her best friends Clumsy (McBrayer), Hefty (Mananiello) and Brainy (Pudi) to get there before their wicked wizard foe, Gargamel (Rainn Wilson), who’s out to harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf essence. After many madcap adventures full of action and danger, they discover the biggest secret in Smurf history. Fun for all the family, but especially for the under-10s.
Director: Vincent Perez.
Starring: Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl. UK/France/Germany 2016. 103 mins.
Based on a true story, Hans Fallada’s bestselling novel Alone In Berlin was described by Primo Levi as “the greatest book ever written about German resistance to the Nazis.” Vincent Perez brings this powerful story to the big screen in an atmospheric film that boasts outstanding performances from its three leads. After learning that their only son has died in battle, and witnessing the persecution of an old Jewish woman living in their building, a working-class couple in Berlin (Gleeson and Thompson) risk execution with an extraordinary act of rebellion. They begin printing and circulating postcards attacking the Nazi regime, hoping to inspire others to take a stand. But in a city paralysed by fear, the postcards soon end up in the hands of Gestapo officer Escherich (Brühl), and so a dangerous game of cat and mouse unfolds. Contains moderate violence, threat, injury detail.
Director: Joel Hopkins.
Starring: Diane Keaton, Brendan Gleeson, Lesley Manville. UK 2017. 103 mins.
While looking out over the unspoilt parkland of Hampstead Heath from her attic window, American widow Emily Waters (Keaton) calls the police when she sees an unkempt man, Donald Horner (Gleeson), being attacked by thugs outside a ramshackle hut. Curious about the man she helped save from afar, she ventures out the next day to visit him and discovers that he has lived wild on the Heath for 17 years. As ruthless property developers adopt heavy-handed tactics to remove him from the area he calls home, an unlikely friendship – and then a romance – begins to blossom. With Last Chance Harvey, director Joel Hopkins demonstrated his talent for chronicling unlikely relationships, and his affinity for the Hampstead area adds resonance to this heartwarmingly quirky love story.
Director: Roger Michell. Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen. USA/UK 2017. 106 mins.
After health problems determine that he must spend his winters in warmer climates, Ambrose (Glen), a wealthy landowner and guardian to his orphaned cousin Philip (Claflin), heads to Italy. Years later, Philip receives a letter from Ambrose announcing that he has fallen in love with and married a distant relation, the eponymous Rachel (Weisz). Soon after, Philip learns that his guardian is dangerously ill, but by the time he arrives in Italy, Ambrose is dead and Rachel has left for England, bound for her deceased husband’s estate in Cornwall. Racked by suspicion, Philip confronts Rachel, but he too soon finds himself under her beguiling spell. What is she? A femme fatale? A gold-digger? A tease? Thanks to skilled direction and first-rate performances, Roger Michell’s enticing period drama keeps the audience guessing throughout.
The fairy tale-inspired Disney classic is back on the big screen.
Set in a French village in the heart of a majestic forest, it tells the story of wholesome bookworm Belle (O'Hara, ENCHANTED), who sets out to rescue her father Maurice after he stumbles into the castle of the eponymous hirsute prince one fateful snowy night.
After making her way to the castle Belle offers to take her father's place as the Beast's prisoner, prompting a rescue mission led by egotistical local hunter Gaston, who wishes to make Belle his bride.
Having more than stood the test of time, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST remains one of the most captivating animated features of the past few decades.
Director: Vincent Perez.
Starring: Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl. UK/France/Germany 2016. 103 mins.
Based on a true story, Hans Fallada’s bestselling novel Alone In Berlin was described by Primo Levi as “the greatest book ever written about German resistance to the Nazis.” Vincent Perez brings this powerful story to the big screen in an atmospheric film that boasts outstanding performances from its three leads. After learning that their only son has died in battle, and witnessing the persecution of an old Jewish woman living in their building, a working-class couple in Berlin (Gleeson and Thompson) risk execution with an extraordinary act of rebellion. They begin printing and circulating postcards attacking the Nazi regime, hoping to inspire others to take a stand. But in a city paralysed by fear, the postcards soon end up in the hands of Gestapo officer Escherich (Brühl), and so a dangerous game of cat and mouse unfolds. Contains moderate violence, threat, injury detail.
Director: Joel Hopkins.
Starring: Diane Keaton, Brendan Gleeson, Lesley Manville. UK 2017. 103 mins.
While looking out over the unspoilt parkland of Hampstead Heath from her attic window, American widow Emily Waters (Keaton) calls the police when she sees an unkempt man, Donald Horner (Gleeson), being attacked by thugs outside a ramshackle hut. Curious about the man she helped save from afar, she ventures out the next day to visit him and discovers that he has lived wild on the Heath for 17 years. As ruthless property developers adopt heavy-handed tactics to remove him from the area he calls home, an unlikely friendship – and then a romance – begins to blossom. With Last Chance Harvey, director Joel Hopkins demonstrated his talent for chronicling unlikely relationships, and his affinity for the Hampstead area adds resonance to this heartwarmingly quirky love story.
After narrowly escaping death, young Rachel Rosenthal (Carice van Houten) becomes part of the Jewish resistance, assuming the name Ellis de Vries. Her superiors order her to seduce a Gestapo officer named Ludwig (Sebastian Koch). Ellis is successful in her mission but soon finds herself falling in love with her mortal enemy.
Director: Roger Michell. Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen. USA/UK 2017. 106 mins.
After health problems determine that he must spend his winters in warmer climates, Ambrose (Glen), a wealthy landowner and guardian to his orphaned cousin Philip (Claflin), heads to Italy. Years later, Philip receives a letter from Ambrose announcing that he has fallen in love with and married a distant relation, the eponymous Rachel (Weisz). Soon after, Philip learns that his guardian is dangerously ill, but by the time he arrives in Italy, Ambrose is dead and Rachel has left for England, bound for her deceased husband’s estate in Cornwall. Racked by suspicion, Philip confronts Rachel, but he too soon finds himself under her beguiling spell. What is she? A femme fatale? A gold-digger? A tease? Thanks to skilled direction and first-rate performances, Roger Michell’s enticing period drama keeps the audience guessing throughout.
Director: Vincent Perez.
Starring: Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl. UK/France/Germany 2016. 103 mins.
Based on a true story, Hans Fallada’s bestselling novel Alone In Berlin was described by Primo Levi as “the greatest book ever written about German resistance to the Nazis.” Vincent Perez brings this powerful story to the big screen in an atmospheric film that boasts outstanding performances from its three leads. After learning that their only son has died in battle, and witnessing the persecution of an old Jewish woman living in their building, a working-class couple in Berlin (Gleeson and Thompson) risk execution with an extraordinary act of rebellion. They begin printing and circulating postcards attacking the Nazi regime, hoping to inspire others to take a stand. But in a city paralysed by fear, the postcards soon end up in the hands of Gestapo officer Escherich (Brühl), and so a dangerous game of cat and mouse unfolds. Contains moderate violence, threat, injury detail.
10.30Silver 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.
A mystery dancer, a missing dance crew and the break-up of da Sugamice girl band provide Da Easy Crew with more musical mysteries and adventures.
Featuring episodes: Dancinderella, Da Bad Break and Sugar Gone Sour.
Author Michael De Souza says of his creation, “Rastamouse has a positive message for young children, promoting the need to understand what is right from what is wrong, and why, in a meaningful context.”
If you want to have more fun when you get home from the cinema, go to www.rastamouse.com to find out all about the nation’s favourite reggae-playing mouse, play games or just listen to Da Easy Crew’s crucial tunes. Rastamouse and Da Easy Crew also want to hear all about how you made a bad ting good – so send any pictures or stories in to them at goodtings@rastamouse.com.
“Through understanding, love an' respect; Rastamouse will always make a bad thing good.”
Director: Joel Hopkins.
Starring: Diane Keaton, Brendan Gleeson, Lesley Manville. UK 2017. 103 mins.
While looking out over the unspoilt parkland of Hampstead Heath from her attic window, American widow Emily Waters (Keaton) calls the police when she sees an unkempt man, Donald Horner (Gleeson), being attacked by thugs outside a ramshackle hut. Curious about the man she helped save from afar, she ventures out the next day to visit him and discovers that he has lived wild on the Heath for 17 years. As ruthless property developers adopt heavy-handed tactics to remove him from the area he calls home, an unlikely friendship – and then a romance – begins to blossom. With Last Chance Harvey, director Joel Hopkins demonstrated his talent for chronicling unlikely relationships, and his affinity for the Hampstead area adds resonance to this heartwarmingly quirky love story.
Director: Roger Michell. Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen. USA/UK 2017. 106 mins.
After health problems determine that he must spend his winters in warmer climates, Ambrose (Glen), a wealthy landowner and guardian to his orphaned cousin Philip (Claflin), heads to Italy. Years later, Philip receives a letter from Ambrose announcing that he has fallen in love with and married a distant relation, the eponymous Rachel (Weisz). Soon after, Philip learns that his guardian is dangerously ill, but by the time he arrives in Italy, Ambrose is dead and Rachel has left for England, bound for her deceased husband’s estate in Cornwall. Racked by suspicion, Philip confronts Rachel, but he too soon finds himself under her beguiling spell. What is she? A femme fatale? A gold-digger? A tease? Thanks to skilled direction and first-rate performances, Roger Michell’s enticing period drama keeps the audience guessing throughout.
Prolific Russian film and theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov explores blind compliance to overarching doctrines in this provocative yet timely tale about a student in the coastal town of Kaliningrad whose religious awakening spirals out of control.
An obsessive reader of the Bible, high-school student Venya (Skvortsov) urges both fellow pupils and his teachers to take the scriptures quite literally, even to the extent of successfully outlawing the clothing he considers provocative and forcing creationism into the curriculum. Venya’s fevered proselytism increasingly vexes his atheist biology teacher (Isakova) and overbearing mother (Aug), and as his fanatical embrace of Christian doctrine intensifies, chaos ensues.
Adapted from Marius von Mayenburg’s controversial play, Martyr, The Student is a beautifully shot bout of moral wrestling and a scathing satire on fundamentalism.
18.00Discover 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.
Director: Vincent Perez.
Starring: Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl. UK/France/Germany 2016. 103 mins.
Based on a true story, Hans Fallada’s bestselling novel Alone In Berlin was described by Primo Levi as “the greatest book ever written about German resistance to the Nazis.” Vincent Perez brings this powerful story to the big screen in an atmospheric film that boasts outstanding performances from its three leads. After learning that their only son has died in battle, and witnessing the persecution of an old Jewish woman living in their building, a working-class couple in Berlin (Gleeson and Thompson) risk execution with an extraordinary act of rebellion. They begin printing and circulating postcards attacking the Nazi regime, hoping to inspire others to take a stand. But in a city paralysed by fear, the postcards soon end up in the hands of Gestapo officer Escherich (Brühl), and so a dangerous game of cat and mouse unfolds. Contains moderate violence, threat, injury detail.
Perched high above the picturesque coast of Sicily and sitting under the shadow of Mt. Etna, Teatro Antico di Taormina has inspired artists for over 2000 years – from the ancient Greeks and Romans to Woody Allen and today’s opera stars.
Every summer, this romantic and dramatic setting welcomes opera lovers from all over the world. 2017 is no exception, with the staging of Puccini’s La bohème, the tragic love story between a young poet and a seamstress. Directed by Enrico Castiglione, this retelling of the timeless classic will enchant cinema audiences with its intense melodic lyrics, original and refined harmony, instrumental light feel and nuances which are all unmistakable and unique.
For one night only, come and experience this spectacular opera on the big screen, live from Taormina, Sicily!
Director: Joel Hopkins.
Starring: Diane Keaton, Brendan Gleeson, Lesley Manville. UK 2017. 103 mins.
While looking out over the unspoilt parkland of Hampstead Heath from her attic window, American widow Emily Waters (Keaton) calls the police when she sees an unkempt man, Donald Horner (Gleeson), being attacked by thugs outside a ramshackle hut. Curious about the man she helped save from afar, she ventures out the next day to visit him and discovers that he has lived wild on the Heath for 17 years. As ruthless property developers adopt heavy-handed tactics to remove him from the area he calls home, an unlikely friendship – and then a romance – begins to blossom. With Last Chance Harvey, director Joel Hopkins demonstrated his talent for chronicling unlikely relationships, and his affinity for the Hampstead area adds resonance to this heartwarmingly quirky love story.
Director: Roger Michell. Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen. USA/UK 2017. 106 mins.
After health problems determine that he must spend his winters in warmer climates, Ambrose (Glen), a wealthy landowner and guardian to his orphaned cousin Philip (Claflin), heads to Italy. Years later, Philip receives a letter from Ambrose announcing that he has fallen in love with and married a distant relation, the eponymous Rachel (Weisz). Soon after, Philip learns that his guardian is dangerously ill, but by the time he arrives in Italy, Ambrose is dead and Rachel has left for England, bound for her deceased husband’s estate in Cornwall. Racked by suspicion, Philip confronts Rachel, but he too soon finds himself under her beguiling spell. What is she? A femme fatale? A gold-digger? A tease? Thanks to skilled direction and first-rate performances, Roger Michell’s enticing period drama keeps the audience guessing throughout.
Director: Vincent Perez.
Starring: Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Brühl. UK/France/Germany 2016. 103 mins.
Based on a true story, Hans Fallada’s bestselling novel Alone In Berlin was described by Primo Levi as “the greatest book ever written about German resistance to the Nazis.” Vincent Perez brings this powerful story to the big screen in an atmospheric film that boasts outstanding performances from its three leads. After learning that their only son has died in battle, and witnessing the persecution of an old Jewish woman living in their building, a working-class couple in Berlin (Gleeson and Thompson) risk execution with an extraordinary act of rebellion. They begin printing and circulating postcards attacking the Nazi regime, hoping to inspire others to take a stand. But in a city paralysed by fear, the postcards soon end up in the hands of Gestapo officer Escherich (Brühl), and so a dangerous game of cat and mouse unfolds. Contains moderate violence, threat, injury detail.
10.30Silver 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.
Be part of a major new operatic work – join us for the world premiere of Brett Dean’s new opera based on Shakespeare’s best-known tragedy.
Brett Dean’s colourful, energetic, witty and richly lyrical music expertly captures the modernity of this timeless tale, while Matthew Jocelyn’s libretto is pure Shakespeare.
A cast of some of the finest singing actors of the moment will bring Hamlet to life. British tenor and Glyndebourne favourite Allan Clayton will play Hamlet. British mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly will play Gertrude and Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan will make her Glyndebourne debut as Ophelia. Legendary British bass John Tomlinson plays The Ghost of Old Hamlet.
Hamlet will be conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, Glyndebourne’s former Music Director.
Neil Armfield has directed numerous productions for Opera Australia, including their first full-length presentation of The Ring Cycle. He is the director of the acclaimed films Candy and Holding the Man.
‘The themes of life and death, love and betrayal have opera written all over them.’
—Brett Dean, Composer
Sung in English with English supertitles
Also on screen this summer: a timeless production of La traviata (captured live in 2014) and a new production of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito (live).
Director: Joel Hopkins.
Starring: Diane Keaton, Brendan Gleeson, Lesley Manville. UK 2017. 103 mins.
While looking out over the unspoilt parkland of Hampstead Heath from her attic window, American widow Emily Waters (Keaton) calls the police when she sees an unkempt man, Donald Horner (Gleeson), being attacked by thugs outside a ramshackle hut. Curious about the man she helped save from afar, she ventures out the next day to visit him and discovers that he has lived wild on the Heath for 17 years. As ruthless property developers adopt heavy-handed tactics to remove him from the area he calls home, an unlikely friendship – and then a romance – begins to blossom. With Last Chance Harvey, director Joel Hopkins demonstrated his talent for chronicling unlikely relationships, and his affinity for the Hampstead area adds resonance to this heartwarmingly quirky love story.
Director: Roger Michell. Starring: Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen. USA/UK 2017. 106 mins.
After health problems determine that he must spend his winters in warmer climates, Ambrose (Glen), a wealthy landowner and guardian to his orphaned cousin Philip (Claflin), heads to Italy. Years later, Philip receives a letter from Ambrose announcing that he has fallen in love with and married a distant relation, the eponymous Rachel (Weisz). Soon after, Philip learns that his guardian is dangerously ill, but by the time he arrives in Italy, Ambrose is dead and Rachel has left for England, bound for her deceased husband’s estate in Cornwall. Racked by suspicion, Philip confronts Rachel, but he too soon finds himself under her beguiling spell. What is she? A femme fatale? A gold-digger? A tease? Thanks to skilled direction and first-rate performances, Roger Michell’s enticing period drama keeps the audience guessing throughout.
Director: Sofia Coppola.
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning. USA 2017. 94 mins.
Academy Award-winner Sofia Coppola is one of those rare directors whose films feel like an event not to be missed. Her latest, a seductive drama with an all-star cast, is no different. A new adaptation of Thomas P. Cullinan’s Southern Gothic novel, A Painted Devil, the story unfolds at an all-girls boarding school in rural Virginia during the American Civil War. When the headmistress (Kidman) agrees to provide temporary refuge for a wounded Union soldier (Farrell), his sudden presence stirs up sexual tensions in the remote mansion. As each of the women falls for his charms, their tight-knit sisterhood buckles under the weight of deceit and jealousy, and taboos are broken in a dark and unexpected turn of events.
A collaboration between American film-maker Sofia Coppola and Italian haute couture king Valentino comes in the form of a revival of Giuseppe Verdi’s classic opera, LA TRAVIATA.
Violetta Valéry is a well-known courtesan in Paris whose life appears to be glamorous, but who also suffers from a serious illness. She lives on the money given to her by her male patrons. But when she meets Alfredo Germont, a young man from a good family, they fall in love and move to the country. Alfredo’s father disapproves of their relationship and comes to tell Violetta that her involvement with Alfredo will ruin his family’s reputation. Out of her love for Alfredo, Violetta agrees to leave him and returns to Paris. Thinking she has betrayed him, Alfredo is heartbroken. He follows her to a party and publicly insults her. A few months later, Violetta is close to death. Alfredo, who has learned why Violetta left him, returns to her. He is shocked by her weakness as she strains to get to her feet. They vow to be together forever, but she soon collapses and breathes her last.
Director: Mike Nichols. Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross. USA 1967. 105 mins.
This archly hilarious observation of smug, middle-class American mores remains a delight half a century after its release, as callow college graduate Dustin Hoffman is seduced by Mrs Robinson (Bancroft). Bancroft’s career-defining role is perfectly matched by Katharine Ross as her daughter, who ultimately takes Benjamin’s fancy. The Graduate confirmed director Mike Nichols’ talent for socially astute storytelling, with fabulous performances from some of his generation’s finest actors.
Following the sun-kissed VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, Woody Allen's European trip continues in more fantastical fashion with the delightful MIDNIGHT IN PARIS. Owen Wilson (THE DARJEELING LIMITED) stars as Gil, a novelist with a bad case of writer's block, who is on a pre-wedding shopping/business trip with his fiancée Inez (McAdams, SHERLOCK HOLMES) and meddlesome in-laws-to-be. With Inez more interested in hunting for bargains than soaking up culture, Gil sets off on an intoxicated stroll through the French capital. It becomes a transformative rendezvous with his literary idols, which takes him further from the real world and the woman he is soon to marry.
Director: D. A. Pennebaker.
Featuring: Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Ravi Shankar. UK 1968. 79mins.
On a beautiful June weekend in 1967, at the height of the Summer of Love, the first and only Monterey International Pop Festival roared forward, capturing a decade's spirit and ushering in a new era of rock and roll. Monterey would launch the careers of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Otis Redding, but they were just a few among a wildly diverse cast that included Simon and Garfunkel, the Mamas and the Papas, the Who, the Byrds, Hugh Masekela, and the extraordinary Ravi Shankar. With his characteristic verité style, D. A. Pennebaker captured it all, immortalising moments that have become legend: Pete Townshend destroying his guitar; Jimi Hendrix burning his.
18.30Discover 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.
The Donmar Warehouse presents the first part of Phyllida Lloyd's Shakespeare Trilogy in cinemas, which has been described by The Observer as “one of the most important theatrical events of the last twenty years”.
Julius Caesar depicts the catastrophic consequences of a political leader's extension of his powers beyond the remit of the constitution. As Brutus (Harriet Walter) wrestles with his moral conscience over the assassination of Julius Caesar (Jackie Clune), Mark Antony (Jade Anouka) manipulates the crowd through his subtle and incendiary rhetoric to frenzied mob violence.
“Lloyd's account of Julius Caesar seethes with menace, and here the prison setting makes perfect sense” ***** EVENING STANDARD
Phyllida Lloyd transforms her tense, arresting production of Shakespeare’s famous discourse on power, loyalty and tragic idealism into a gripping version for screen.
Petra, a successful fashion designer, conducts a sadomasochistic relationship with her assistant/lover Marlene until the ambitious model Karin upsets the balance of power. Filmed in long, elegant close-shot, confined to a camp, sumptuous apartment dedicated to erotic pleasure, Fassbinder’s first international success provoked accusations of misogyny. Openly bisexual, the director insisted that currents of dominance and submission underpin all relationships, gay or straight.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, we’re exploring our collective past through a season of exceptional British movies.
Weekend
Director: Andrew Haigh. Starring: Tom Cullen, Chris New. UK 2011. 97 mins.
Andrew Haigh’s modern classic, a breakout hit and a milestone in British cinema, sees two young men find a one-night-stand turning into something far more serious. As their relationship deepens, they debate their daily struggles in an overwhelmingly straight world, and come to realise that despite almost half a century of progress, the fight for social equality is far from over.
Fassbinder’s first venture into popular melodrama, this is a compelling study of the humiliating, self-perpetuated downfall of fruit vendor Hans, whose aspirations are undermined by his social circumstances, and whose disintegration is met with indifference by those around him.
America in the mid-1980s. In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell.
Andrew Garfield (Silence, Hacksaw Ridge) plays Prior Walter along with a cast including Denise Gough (People, Places and Things), Nathan Lane (The Producers), James McArdle (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Russell Tovey (The Pass).
This new staging of Tony Kushner’s multi-award winning two-part play is directed by Olivier and Tony award winning director Marianne Elliott (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and War Horse). Part One: Millennium Approaches was first performed at the National Theatre in 1992 and was followed by Part Two: Perestroika the following year.
Part One: Millennium Approaches will be broadcast live on 20 July 2017.
Known to millions as ‘The King of Waltz’, André Rieu is one of the world’s most popular music artists. His legendary annual Maastricht concert is the most eagerly anticipated cinema event of the year, last year setting new box office records in several countries.
Set against the stunning medieval backdrop of the town square in André’s Dutch hometown, the spectacular Maastricht concert features the maestro in his element, along with his 60-piece Johann Strauss Orchestra, sopranos, tenors and very special guests. André delivers an unforgettable musical experience full of humour, fun and emotion for all ages.
This year is a very special year because it is exactly 30 years ago that André Rieu started his Johann Strauss Orchestra in his hometown of Maastricht. From a small group of musicians rehearsing in the classroom of André’s son’s primary school to stadiums and concert halls around the world – what a journey it has been!
Just for cinema audiences, host Charlotte Hawkins will conduct an interview with André Rieu the moment he steps off stage.
Known to millions as ‘The King of Waltz’, André Rieu is one of the world’s most popular music artists. His legendary annual Maastricht concert is the most eagerly anticipated cinema event of the year, last year setting new box office records in several countries.
Set against the stunning medieval backdrop of the town square in André’s Dutch hometown, the spectacular Maastricht concert features the maestro in his element, along with his 60-piece Johann Strauss Orchestra, sopranos, tenors and very special guests. André delivers an unforgettable musical experience full of humour, fun and emotion for all ages.
This year is a very special year because it is exactly 30 years ago that André Rieu started his Johann Strauss Orchestra in his hometown of Maastricht. From a small group of musicians rehearsing in the classroom of André’s son’s primary school to stadiums and concert halls around the world – what a journey it has been!
Just for cinema audiences, host Charlotte Hawkins will conduct an interview with André Rieu the moment he steps off stage.
Director: Mohamed Diab.
Starring: Nelly Karim, Hany Adel. Egypt/France/Germany 2016. 97 mins. Arabic with English subtitles.
Egypt’s turbulent recent social upheavals, which saw Hosni Mubarak’s decades-long rule come to an end in a people-led revolution in 2011, is the focus of Mohamed Diab’s gripping new film, Clash. The nation’s most prominent cultural commentator, Diab co-wrote the screenplay for this powerful piece about his home nation’s troubles with his younger brother Khaled. Set almost entirely within the confines of a police truck, Clash is claustrophobic, hard-hitting and fuelled by an ambitious scope that belies its minimal setting. The emotionally and physically heated occupants of the police truck are made up of members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Army supporters and factionless troublemakers whose deep-seated differences are, unsurprisingly, exacerbated by the position they find themselves in. Set in 2013 during the period when the Muslim Brotherhood were ousted from power, Clash performed strongly at its domestic box office, and reaches these shores promising a confrontational, highly charged vision of contemporary Egypt.
The Discover Tuesday presentation of the film will be preceded by a short film in conjunction with Random Acts.
Wrath
Oscar-nominated composer Mica Levi and acclaimed choreographer Holly Blakey collaborate on this electric portrait of Nandi Bhebhe.
18.15Discover 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.
America in the mid-1980s. In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell.
Andrew Garfield (Silence, Hacksaw Ridge) plays Prior Walter along with a cast including Denise Gough (People, Places and Things), Nathan Lane (The Producers), James McArdle (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Russell Tovey (The Pass).
This new staging of Tony Kushner’s multi-award winning two-part play is directed by Olivier and Tony award winning director Marianne Elliott (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and War Horse). Part One: Millennium Approaches was first performed at the National Theatre in 1992 and was followed by Part Two: Perestroika the following year.
Part One: Millennium Approaches will be broadcast live on 20 July 2017.
America in the mid-1980s. In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell.
Andrew Garfield (Silence, Hacksaw Ridge) plays Prior Walter along with a cast including Denise Gough (People, Places and Things), Nathan Lane (The Producers), James McArdle (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Russell Tovey (The Pass).
This new staging of Tony Kushner’s multi-award winning two-part play is directed by Olivier and Tony award winning director Marianne Elliott (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and War Horse). Part One: Millennium Approaches was first performed at the National Theatre in 1992 and was followed by Part Two: Perestroika the following year.
Part One: Millennium Approaches will be broadcast live on 20 July 2017.
Director: Hope Dickson Leach. Starring: Ellie Kendrick, David Troughton, Joe Blakemore. UK 2016. 84mins.
The 2014 flood that hit the Somerset Levels provides the backdrop for writer-director Hope Dickson Leach’s highly assured debut The Levelling, which features a superb central performance from Game Of Thrones’ Ellie Kendrick. After the mysterious death of her brother Harry (Blakemore), veterinary student Clover (Kendrick) returns to the Somerset family farm where she grew up. Against the backdrop of the floods that devastated her home, Clover confronts her estranged father, Aubrey (Troughton), in an attempt to uncover the truth. Troughton gives a finely tempered performance, perfectly matched by Kendrick’s extraordinary presence in the breakout role of the year. Dickson Leach gives the talented duo a complex, finely crafted script to work with, offering a drama that works on many different levels.
18.15Discover 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.
Spurned by Tito, Vitellia seeks revenge. Besotted Sesto agrees to avenge her as a token of his love, but all does not go to plan. A brand new take on one of Mozart’s final works.
Vitellia’s path to the throne is thwarted by the man who deposed her father, so she presses her admirer Sesto to murder him.
Driven by love, Sesto does his worst. But in return, receives a lesson in forgiveness.
Conducted by Robin Ticciati and directed by Claus Guth, Mozart’s opera delivers all of the sublime musical beauty and heart-tugging humanity we expect of him.
Loosely based on the life of the Roman Emperor Titus, La clemenza di Tito distills the suspense of Don Giovanni, the warmth of The Marriage of Figaro, and the nobility of The Magic Flute into one powerful parable of love and friendship, vengeance and mercy.
Australian tenor Steve Davislim makes his Glyndebourne debut as Tito, with Alice Coote as Vitellia and Kate Lindsey as Sesto.
Sung in Italian with English supertitles.
Also on screen this summer: a timeless production of La traviata (captured live in 2014) and Brett Dean’s brand new Shakespeare-inspired opera, Hamlet (live).
Director: Richard Thorpe. Starring: Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy, Vaughn Taylor. USA 1957. 95 mins.
One of the best of Elvis Presley's pre-Army films, Jailhouse Rock offers us the sensual, ‘dangerous’ Elvis that won the hearts of the kids and earned the animosity of their elders. Presley plays Vince Everett, a young buck who accidentally kills a man while protecting the honour of a woman. He is thrown into prison, and following his performance in the prison show, where ol' swivel-hips score a hit, he decides to stay in showbiz after his release. He sets up his own record company but success goes to his head, and he is deserted by his flunkeys and hangers-on. Everett learns the value of friendship and slowly rebuilds his reputation and career. Seldom would Elvis be so well showcased in the future.
America in the mid-1980s. In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, New Yorkers grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell.
Andrew Garfield (Silence, Hacksaw Ridge) plays Prior Walter along with a cast including Denise Gough (People, Places and Things), Nathan Lane (The Producers), James McArdle (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Russell Tovey (The Pass).
This new staging of Tony Kushner’s multi-award winning two-part play is directed by Olivier and Tony award winning director Marianne Elliott (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and War Horse). Part One: Millennium Approaches was first performed at the National Theatre in 1992 and was followed by Part Two: Perestroika the following year.
Part One: Millennium Approaches will be broadcast live on 20 July 2017.
Hundreds of thousands of cats roam the metropolis of Istanbul freely. For thousands of years they’ve wandered in and out of people’s lives, becoming an essential part of the communities that make the city so rich. Claiming no owners, these animals live between two worlds, neither wild nor tame – and they bring joy and purpose to those people they choose to adopt. In Istanbul, cats are the mirrors to the people, allowing them to reflect on their lives in ways nothing else could.
18.15Discover 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.
The decay of Rome reaches violent depths in Shakespeare’s bloodiest play. Blanche McIntyre (The Two Noble Kinsmen) returns to the RSC to direct Shakespeare’s brutal revenge tragedy.
Titus is a ruler exhausted by war and loss. He relinquishes power, but leaves Rome in disorder. Rape, cannibalism and mutilation fill the moral void at the heart of this corrupt society.
Shakespeare presents us with murder as entertainment and, as the body count rises, poses questions about sexuality, family, class and society.
A superb, deceptively simple tale of the doomed love affair between an ageing cleaner and a young Moroccan immigrant, which exposes the racial prejudice and moral hypocrisy at the heart of West German society. Inspired by Douglas Sirk’s 'All That Heaven Allows', and drawing on the conventions of 1950s Hollywood melodrama, Fassbinder uses dramatic and visual excess to push everyday events to extremes, achieving a degree of political and psychological truth not accessible through mere social realism.
One of Merchant Ivory"s undisputed masterpieces, this adaptation of E.M. Forster"s classic 1910 novel is a saga of class relations and changing times in Edwardian England. Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson) and her sister Helen (Helena Bonham Carter) become involved with two couples: a wealthy, conservative industrialist (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife (Vanessa Redgrave), and a working-class man (Samuel West) and his mistress (Niccola Duffet). The interwoven fates and misfortunes of these three families and the diverging trajectories of the two sisters" lives are connected to the ownership of HOWARD"S END, a beloved country home. A compelling, brilliantly acted study of one woman"s struggle to maintain her ideals and integrity in the face of Edwardian society"s moribund conformist values.
In his adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s bittersweet novel set during New York’s gaudy jazz era, director Baz Luhrmann (ROMEO + JULIET, MOULIN ROUGE!) considerably upped the ante. Arguably eclipsing Robert Redford’s portrayal in the 1974 version, Leonardo DiCaprio as the maverick millionaire Jay Gatsby was an inspired casting move. Add to that Carey Mulligan (DRIVE) as Daisy, Gatsby’s sexy if unobtainable love interest, Joel Edgerton (ZERO DARK THIRTY) as her philandering husband, and Tobey Maguire (SPIDER-MAN) as Nick Carraway, the impressionable hick-from-the sticks writer who witnesses the unravelling of a precarious status quo, and you have an epic parable of excess and its consequences.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, we’re exploring our collective past through a season of exceptional British movies.
Early ’60s London, and gay men across the city are being blackmailed, threatening exposure at a time when consensual homosexual acts could still result in imprisonment. Basil Dearden’s classic thriller stars Dirk Bogarde in his most daring role, as a gay lawyer fighting back against the blackmailers who dare to target him.
This fender and genre-bending film takes us into the not-too-distant machine-driven future. Kokone should be diligently studying for her university entrance exams, but she just can’t seem to stay awake. Aside from stealing precious study time, her napping is even more distracting, as it brings on strange dreams with warring machines that hint at family secrets that have been dormant for years. She can’t ask her father, a hipster mechanic more talented and artful than his job requires, as he’s always busy modifying motorcycles and cars in flights of fancy. What are these visions that lead Kokone at once closer to and further away from her family?
A bitter young girl brings her emotionally estranged parents together at their country house for a weekend full of shocking revelations. Artfully shot, with a nosy, circling camera often revealing as much as Fassbinder’s script, 'Chinese Roulette' is a vicious indictment of victimhood, martyrdom and the games people will play in order to destroy one other.
After winning the lottery, a naive working-class carnival entertainer (Fassbinder in one of his most raw and astonishing performances) embarks down a tragic path as he searches for love and social betterment within an avaricious bourgeois clique of Munich’s gay community. The final scene of this biting social commentary is perhaps the most shocking in all of Fassbinder’s films.
In Fassbinder’s most popular international success, Maria, an impoverished young German war widow (a radiant Hanna Shygulla) takes up with an American soldier, only for her lost husband to unexpectedly return with devastating consequences. Determined to rebuild her life, Maria’s journey to the top is a searing indictment of post-war Germany’s ‘economic miracle’.
The incredible Billie Piper (Penny Dreadful, Great Britain) returns in her Evening Standard Best Actress award-winning role. A young woman is driven to the unthinkable by her desperate desire to have a child in Simon Stone’s radical production of Lorca’s achingly powerful masterpiece. The unmissable theatre phenomenon sold out at the Young Vic and critics call it “an extraordinary theatrical triumph” (The Times) and “stunning, searing, unmissable” (Mail on Sunday). Billie Piper’s lead performance is described as “spellbinding” (The Evening Standard), “astonishing” (iNews) and “devastatingly powerful” (The Daily Telegraph). Set in contemporary London, Piper’s portrayal of a woman in her thirties desperate to conceive builds with elemental force to a staggering, shocking, climax. Please note that this broadcast does not have an interval.
★★★★★
“Brutal yet ferociously funny” - Metro
★★★★★
“Billie Piper makes a shattering Yerma in Simon Stone’s inspired reworking of Lorca” - The Observer
★★★★★
“A shatteringly powerful reinvention of a familiar classic” - The Independent
In aid of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors without Borders (MSF)
7 September 2017
Join us for a unique celebration of John le Carré’s work as he discusses the full breadth of his career – from his extraordinary Cold War novels to his powerful descriptions of the arms trade and the war on terror – and reflects on the continuing story of his most famous creation, the tubby, bespectacled spy, George Smiley.
Featuring readings from his new novel A Legacy Of Spies, and a rare Q&A session, this will be an unmissable opportunity to experience the author direct and in his own words.
The event will be broadcast live to cinemas across the UK and Europe from London’s Royal Festival Hall.
In support of MSF, the leading emergency medical humanitarian aid organisation, John le Carré is donating his speaker’s fee, and the producers of the live cinema broadcast, The Ink Factory, are donating their share of the profits to the charity.
The incredible Billie Piper (Penny Dreadful, Great Britain) returns in her Evening Standard Best Actress award-winning role. A young woman is driven to the unthinkable by her desperate desire to have a child in Simon Stone’s radical production of Lorca’s achingly powerful masterpiece. The unmissable theatre phenomenon sold out at the Young Vic and critics call it “an extraordinary theatrical triumph” (The Times) and “stunning, searing, unmissable” (Mail on Sunday). Billie Piper’s lead performance is described as “spellbinding” (The Evening Standard), “astonishing” (iNews) and “devastatingly powerful” (The Daily Telegraph). Set in contemporary London, Piper’s portrayal of a woman in her thirties desperate to conceive builds with elemental force to a staggering, shocking, climax. Please note that this broadcast does not have an interval.
★★★★★
“Brutal yet ferociously funny” - Metro
★★★★★
“Billie Piper makes a shattering Yerma in Simon Stone’s inspired reworking of Lorca” - The Observer
★★★★★
“A shatteringly powerful reinvention of a familiar classic” - The Independent
45 years after Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour filmed ‘Live At Pompeii’ in the legendary Roman Amphitheatre there, he returned for two spectacular shows, part of his year-long tour in support of his No.1 album ‘Rattle That Lock’. The performances were the first-ever rock concerts for an audience in the stone Roman amphitheatre, and, for two nights only, the 2,600 strong crowd stood exactly where gladiators would have fought in the first century AD.
‘David Gilmour Live At Pompeii’ is an audio-visual spectacle, featuring lasers, pyrotechnics and a huge circular screen on which specially-created films complement selected songs, but paramount above all is the astonishing music and stellar performances from an all-star band. The show includes songs from throughout David's career, as well as many Pink Floyd classics, including 'One Of These Days', the only song that was also performed at the band’s 1971 show.
Both concerts also saw very special performances of 'The Great Gig In The Sky' from 'The Dark Side Of The Moon', which David rarely plays as a solo artist. This concert performance film includes highlights from both shows, filmed in 4k by director Gavin Elder . ‘David Gilmour Live At Pompeii’ shows an artist at the top of his artistic game, performing incredible material with his world-class band, in a unique setting, on one very special occasion.
Songs include the title tracks of his two most recent No. 1 solo albums: Rattle That Lock and On An Island, as well as other solo and Pink Floyd classics, including Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb.
Performed on the spectacular water stage of Lake Constance in Bregenz (Austria), George Bizet’s CARMEN is a story of passion, destiny and obsession. The French composer’s opera is most famous for its Spanish melodies, including the Flower Song, Habanera and the Toreador Song.
On 14 September, experience Carmen like never before – recorded live on the floating stage during the Bregenz Festival. As with their previous spectacular productions, you can expect the staging of this classic tale to have an extravagantly original and innovative design, with the waters of the lake being used as an extension of the stage.
This production of Carmen will be directed by Kasper Holten, Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House in London, with the set designed by the British artist Es Devlin. Her past work includes sets for such stars as Adele, Take That, U2, Pet Shop Boys and Kanye West.
Mozart’s glorious opera 'The Magic Flute' is brought enchantingly to life in David McVicar’s production with beautiful sets by John Macfarlane. Prince Tamino promises the Queen of the Night that he will rescue her daughter Pamina from the enchanter Sarastro. He begins his quest, accompanied by the bird-catcher Papageno – but all is not as it seems…
David McVicar’s classic production embraces both the seriousness and comedy of Mozart’s work. The audience is transported to a fantastical world of dancing animals, flying machines and dazzlingly starry skies. The setting provides a wonderful backdrop for Mozart’s kaleidoscopic score, from the Queen of the Night’s coloratura fireworks to Tamino and Pamina’s lyrical love duets and Papageno’s hearty, folksong-like arias.
As well as being a comedy 'The Magic Flute' is an expression of Mozart’s profound spiritual beliefs: Enlightenment concerns with the search for wisdom and virtue are at the heart of this enchanting tale. The Magic Flute was an instant success with audiences and Mozart’s supposed rival Salieri described it as an ‘operone’ – a great opera.
When Rodolfo, a penniless poet, meets Mimì, a seamstress, they fall instantly in love. But their happiness is threatened when Rodolfo learns that Mimì is gravely ill.
Acclaimed director Richard Jones (Boris Godunov, Il trittico) directs a new production of Puccini’s 'La bohème'. Irresistible in its witty, passionate blend of comedy and tragedy, the opera focusses on the lives of a groupof young artists as they eke out an existence on the bohemian fringes of Paris, the capital of the 19th century. Jones brings his characteristically acute insight to this much-loved classic, visualized in Stewart Laing’s spectacular, stylized 1850s setting.
Puccini’s romantic depiction of bohemian Paris, with memorable music and a love story drawn from everyday life, has captivated audiences around the world, making La bohème one of the best-loved of all operas. It was first performed in Covent Garden in 1897 and has had more than five hundred performances there since.
Bellini’s masterpiece boasts one of the most famous arias in all of opera, the beautiful “Casta diva”. Directed by Sir David McVicar, this evocative new production sets the action deep in a Druid forest, where nature and ancient ritual rule. The priestess Norma is torn between loyalty to her oppressed people and love for a Roman soldier. On the eve of a Druid revolt, she must choose between two agonising betrayals – only to learn that she herself has already been betrayed. Sondra Radvanovsky as Norma and Joyce DiDonato as her rival Adalgisa lead a cast of bel canto heavyweights, with Joseph Calleja as Norma’s unfaithful lover, Pollione, and British favourite Matthew Rose returning to the Met as Norma’s father, Oroveso.
A full-throttle war play that revels in the sweat of the battlefield, Coriolanus transports us back to the emergence of the republic of Rome.
Caius Martius Coriolanus is a fearless soldier but a reluctant leader. His ambitious mother attempts to carve him a path to political power, but he struggles to change his nature and do what is required to achieve greatness. In this new city state struggling to find its feet, where the gap between rich and poor is widening every day, Coriolanus must decide who he really is and where his allegiances lie.
Rome Season Director, Angus Jackson, completes the Royal Shakespeare Company’s collection of Shakespeare’s Roman plays with a visceral production which sees Sope Dirisu (One Night in Miami, Donmar Warehouse, 2016) take on the title role.
Experience Mozart’s irresistible fantasy in all its glory! Will brave Prince Tamino rescue Princess Pamina from the clutches of the evil Sarastro, and will Papageno the foolish bird catcher learn wisdom enough to help him? The Queen of the Night’s aria, with its stratospheric high notes, is just one of the countless highlights in this tale of love and magic, mysterious secrets, and whimsical fantasy. Julie Taymor’s (The Lion King) enchanting production captures both the opera’s earthy comedy and its enlightened nobility. Met Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts a cast of rising young stars.
Amidst a bustling market, the pirate Conrad falls in love at first sight with the beautiful Medora, the ward of the slave merchant Lankedem’s bazaar. Conrad kidnaps Medora when Lanquedem decides to sell her to the Pasha.
Inspired by Lord Byron’s epic poem and reworked by Alexei Ratmansky from Petipa’s exotic 19th century classic, this miracle of the repertoire is one of the Bolshoi’s most lavish productions. Complete with a magnificent awe-inspring shipwreck and dramatic scenery, this grand romance allows enough dancing for nearly the entire company and made especially for those who seek miracles in theatre.
At a garden party on a sunny afternoon, Alice is surprised to see her parents’ friend Lewis Carroll transform into a white rabbit. When she follows him down a rabbit hole events become curiouser and curiouser… As Alice journeys through Wonderland, she encounters countless strange creatures. She’s swept off her feet by the charming Knave of Hearts, who’s on the run for stealing the tarts. Confusion piles upon confusion. Then Alice wakes with a start. Was it all a daydream?
Christopher Wheeldon’s 'Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland' burst onto the stage in 2011 in an explosion of colour, stage magic and inventive, sophisticated choreography. Joby Talbot’s score combines contemporary soundworlds with sweeping melodies that gesture to ballet scores of the 19th century. Bob Crowley’s wildly imaginative, eye-popping designs draw on everything from puppetry to projections to make Wonderland wonderfully real.
Alice encounters a cast of extraordinary and instantly recognizable characters, from the highly strung Queen of Hearts – who performs a hilarious send-up of The Sleeping Beauty's famous Rose Adage – to a playing-card corps de ballet, a sinuous caterpillar and a tap-dancing Mad Hatter. But the ballet does not avoid the darker undercurrents of Lewis Carroll’s story: a nightmarish kitchen, an eerily disembodied Cheshire Cat and the unhinged tea party are all here in vivid detail. The delicious result shows The Royal Ballet at its best, bringing together world-class dance with enchanting family entertainment.
Leaving the world of J-pop behind her, Mima Kirigoe begins life as an actress on a crime drama show called Double Blind. When offered a lead role in the show as a rape victim, Mima accepts in spite of her manager’s reservations. However, the backlash from fans over her career change and a strange website called ‘Mima's Room’, written by a fake Mima, begin to worry her. When a stalker appears and people involved in Double Blind begin turning up dead, with all the evidence pointing to her, Mima is thrown into a state of confusion, madness and paranoia.
Baptista struggles to marry off his tempestuous daughter Katharina, a shrew who denies that any man could possibly be her match. However when she meets Petruchio, who is as ill-tempered as she, the two forces of nature ignite an unexpected and explosive encounter.
Acclaimed choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot brings out the wit, fast-paced athleticism and vibrancy from the Bolshoi Ballet dancers in Shakespeare’s rowdy comedy. Principals Ekaterina Krysanova and Vladislav Lantratov clash, challenge and eventually give themselves to one another in a wonderfully entertaining production that can only be seen at the Bolshoi!
Take a seat at the strangest dinner party of your life. The servants have absconded; the ragout is all over the floor; there’s a bear in the garden; your fellow guests are rapidly descending into savagery; and most mysteriously of all, no one seems able to leave. British composer Thomas Adès (The Tempest) conducts the American premiere of his latest opera. Co-commissioned by the Met and sung in English, this black comedy, with shades of JG Ballard/Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise, is based on the screenplay of Luis Buñuel’s 1962 surrealist film. The cast is filled with established British names including Sally Matthews, Sophie Bevan, Alice Coote, Christine Rice, Ieystn Davies and John Tomlinson. “Inventive and audacious… a major event” (New York Times).
As the clock strikes midnight on Christmas Eve, Marie’s wooden nutcracker doll comes to life and transforms into a prince! Soon joined by her other toys that have also come to life, Marie and her prince embark on a dreamy unforgettable adventure.
A holiday tradition for the whole family, The Nutcracker sweeps the Bolshoi stage for two hours of enchantment and magic. Along with Tchaikovsky’s cherished score and and some of the Bolshoi’s greatest artists, The Nutcracker remains a treasure not to be missed!
The young Clara creeps downstairs on Christmas Eve to play with her favourite present – a Nutcracker doll. But the mysterious magician Drosselmeyer is waiting to sweep her off on a magical adventure. After defeating the Mouse King, the Nutcracker and Clara travel through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets, where the Sugar Plum Fairy treats them to a wonderful display of dances. Back home, Clara thinks she must have been dreaming – but doesn’t she recognize Drosselmeyer’s nephew?
Peter Wright’s nigh-on definitive production for The Royal Ballet ranks as one of the most enduring and enchanting versions of 'The Nutcracker'. With its festive period setting, dancing snowflakes and enchanting stage magic, Lev Ivanov’s 1892 ballet has become the perfect Christmas entertainment, with Tchaikovsky’s sumptuous, sugar-spun music the most recognizable of all ballet scores.
Loosely based on the story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, the ballet opens with a lively Christmas party, its Victorian setting captured in opulent detail by Julia Trevelyan Oman’s designs. Wright’s choreography ingeniously incorporates surviving fragments of the ballet’s original material, including the sublime pas de deux for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince. But in emphasizing the relationship between Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, the production also gains a touching subtext of first love.
The corruption of innocence is at the heart of Verdi’s potent tragedy in David McVicar’s production for The Royal Opera. Rigoletto, court jester to the libertine Duke of Mantua, is cursed by the father of one of the Duke’s victims for his irreverent laughter. When the Duke seduces Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda, it seems the curse is taking effect…
David McVicar’s production highlights the cruelty at the heart of the court of Mantua. Richly dressed courtiers engage in orgies and revelries to Verdi’s heady, spirited dances. The opera’s many musical highlights include the ebullient ‘La donna è mobile’, in which the Duke boasts of his disregard for women; Gilda’s exquisite, plangent duets with Rigoletto and the Duke; and the gorgeous Act III quartet that beautifully weaves the voices together as the story quickens to its shattering conclusion.
Giuseppe Verdi wrote in 1855 that Rigoletto was his ‘best opera’. He had had to overcome state censorship to stage it – the censors objected to its depiction of an immoral ruler – but he was vindicated by the premiere’s huge success in 1851. Rigoletto was performed 250 times in the next 10 years and has remained one of the most popular of all operas.
In Verona, Romeo and Juliet fall madly in love while their respective families, the Montagues and the Capulets, are caught in a bitter rivalry ending in heart-wrenching tragedy…
Alexei Ratmansky, former artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, stages the company’s premiere of his production with dramatic urgency and a fresh re-telling of Shakespeare’s beloved classic. His brilliant and detailed adaptation set to Prokofiev’s romantic and cinematic score, reignites the story of literature’s most celebrated star-crossed lovers like no other classical ballet choreographer today.
Puccini’s thrilling Tosca is a story of love, terror, the abuse of power, and the unquenchable longing for freedom. When an escaped political prisoner takes refuge in a church, an opera singer and a painter are drawn into a twisting plot that puts them at the mercy of the secret police and its network of torturers and spies. Rivalling the splendour of Franco Zeffirelli’s Napoleonic-era sets and costumes, Sir David McVicar’s ravishing new production offers a splendid backdrop for extraordinary singing. Kristine Opolais stars as the titular prima donna, alongside Vittorio Grigolo as her artist lover and Bryn Terfel as the villainous police chief – one of his signature roles. Andris Nelsons conducts.
As he arrives in Paris for the first time, the young and naive Armand is utterly captivated after meeting the ravishing and most desirable courtesan Marguerite Gautier. Their encounter gives birth to a passionate yet doomed love…
Alexandre Dumas fils’s novel comes to life on the Bolshoi stage, with prima Svetlana Zakharova as the ailing Marguerite seeking love and redemption from her life as a courtesan. The Bolshoi brings choreographer John Neumeier’s work of rare beauty and tragic depth to new emotional heights, accompanied by Chopin’s romantic piano score.
'Tosca' is one of the great evenings of opera, and from its strident opening chords conjures up a world of political instability and menace.
Jonathan Kent’s production for The Royal Opera captures the dangerous political turbulence of Rome in 1800. The Chief of Police, Scarpia – one of the most malevolent villains in opera – ruthlessly pursues and tortures enemies of the state. His dark, demonic music contrasts with the expansive melodies of the idealistic lovers, Tosca and Cavaradossi, who express their passion in sublime arias, including ‘Vissi d’arte’ and ‘E lucevan le stelle’. Giacomo Puccini’s dramatic work was a hit with audiences on its 1900 premiere and it remains one of the most performed of all operas – with its gripping plot and glorious music, it’s easy to see why.
A candle-lit church, Scarpia’s gloomy study with its hidden torture chamber and the false optimism of a Roman dawn: this handsome production throws into relief the ruthlessly taut drama, as the tension is wound up towards a fateful conclusion. Puccini’s meticulously researched score is infused with the same authentic detail, from distant cannon fire during the Act I Te Deum to tolling church bells and the sounds of a firing squad.
The poor country boy Nemorino is in love with Adina, a confident landowner, but she is way out of his league – financially and otherwise. But when he buys a “love potion” from a travelling quack, the results are rather more than he bargained for. Charmingly staged by Bartlett Sher, Donizetti’s beloved masterpiece combines deft comic timing with touching emotional depth. The production stars Matthew Polenzani, who enthralled Met audiences as Nemorino in 2013 with his moving “Una furtiva lagrima.” Rising South African soprano Pretty Yende is the spirited Adina, Davide Luciano makes his Met debut as the arrogant soldier Belcore, and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo is the potion-peddling Doctor Dulcamara. Domingo Hindoyan conducts.
'I am all the daughters of my father's house,
And all the brothers too.'
Twelfth Night is a tale of unrequited love – hilarious and heartbreaking. Two twins are separated in a shipwreck, and forced to fend for themselves in a strange land. The first twin, Viola, falls in love with Orsino, who dotes on OIivia, who falls for Viola but is idolised by Malvolio. Enter Sebastian, who is the spitting image of his twin sister...
Christopher Luscombe, Director of the ‘glorious’ (Daily Telegraph) Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing (2014 and 2016), returns to the Royal Shakespeare Company to tackle Shakespeare’s greatest comedy, a brilliantly bittersweet account of "the whirligig of time".
The world’s most popular opera returns with an exciting young cast in Franco Zeffirelli’s legendary production. Poverty-stricken poet Rodolfo and his artist friends eke out a precarious existence in bohemian Paris, alternately practising their art, laughing, quarrelling, dodging the landlord, and living it up in their local cafe. When Rodolfo meets the delicate Mimì, the pair instantly fall in love. But Mimì is ill, Rodolfo is jealous, and their romance is doomed from the start. Opera superstars Sonya Yoncheva and Michael Fabiano play the heart-breaking couple, singing two sublime Puccini favourites – “Sì, mi chiamano Mimì” and “Che gelida manina.” Zeffirelli’s stupendous onstage recreations of 19th-century Paris are sure to take your breath away.
Christopher Wheeldon, Artistic Associate of The Royal Ballet, created his adaptation of Shakespeare’s late great romance 'The Winter’s Tale' for The Royal Ballet in 2014. Building on the success of 'Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland', T'he Winter’s Tale' received ecstatic praise at its premiere, acclaimed by critics and audiences alike for its intelligent, distinctive and emotionally powerful story, told through exquisite dance. It is now widely judged to be a modern ballet classic.
The story follows the destruction of a marriage through consuming jealousy, the abandonment of a child and a seemingly hopeless love. Yet, through remorse and regret – and after a seemingly miraculous return to life – the ending is one of forgiveness and reconciliation. With powerful designs by Bob Crowley and atmospheric music by Joby Talbot, The Winter’s Tale is a masterful modern narrative ballet.
In the era of the French Revolution, Jeanne and her brother Jérôme leave Marseille for Paris in support of the revolutionary effort that is taking over the capital. While fighting for freedom, they both encounter love along the way…
Very few ballets can properly depict the Bolshoi’s overflowing energy and fiery passion as can Alexei Ratmansky’s captivating revival of Vasily Vainonen’s The Flames of Paris. With powerful virtuosity and some of the most stunning pas de deux, the Bolshoi Ballet displays an exuberance almost too enormous for the Moscow stage.
'Carmen' is the best-known work by French composer Georges Bizet, and one of the most famous operas in the entire art form – numbers such as the Habanera and the Toreador Song have permeated the popular consciousness as little else has. The opera’s heady combination of passion, sensuality and violence initially proved too much for the stage, and it was a critical failure on its 1875 premiere. Bizet died shortly after, and never learned of the spectacular success his Carmen would achieve: the opera has been performed more than five hundred times at Covent Garden alone.
This ever-popular opera is given a fresh point of view in Barrie Kosky’s highly physical production, originally created for Frankfurt Opera. The Australian director is one of the world’s most sought-after opera directors, whose Royal Opera debut with Shostakovich’s The Nose in 2016 was greeted with delight. For Carmen he has devised a far-from-traditional version, incorporating music written by Bizet for the score but not usually heard, and giving a new voice to the opera’s endlessly fascinating central character.
Against the backdrop of the Hanging Gardens, Semiramide, Queen of Babylon, defies bad omens and supernatural threats in her quest to find a worthy successor to her late husband. But she harbours more than one dark secret, and whoever gains the throne may find that he has lost more than he has won. Based on a story by Voltaire, this rarely performed tragic opera reveals The Barber of Seville composer Giaochino Rossini in a whole new light. The title role – composed for Rossini’s wife, Isabella Colbran – features some of the most demanding vocal music he ever wrote. Angela Meade takes on the challenging vocal fireworks in this revival of a production last seen at the Met 25 years ago.
Leonard Bernstein was one of the first classical composers in America to achieve both popular and critical acclaim. He was eclectic in his sources – drawing on jazz and modernism, the traditions of Jewish music and the Broadway musical – and many of Bernstein’s scores are remarkably well suited to dance. He was particularly associated with Jerome Robbins, their credits together including Fancy Free and West Side Story. To celebrate the centenary year of the composer’s birth, The Royal Ballet has united all three of its associate choreographers to celebrate the dynamic range and danceability of Bernstein’s music.
The programme includes two world premieres by Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon, marking each artist’s first foray into Bernstein. At the heart of the programme is the first revival of Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett’s The Age of Anxiety, created in 2014 to Bernstein’s soul-searching Second Symphony. Both symphony and ballet are inspired by W.H. Auden’s masterful modernist poem, itself written in response to the atmosphere of disillusionment and uncertainty that followed the end of World War II.
Goaded by their cynical friend Don Alfonso, soldiers Ferrando and Guglielmo decide to test their fiancées’ fidelity. Pretending to leave with their regiment, they return in disguise and pay court to each other’s lover. Will the young women succumb to the charms of these two handsome ‘foreigners’? A co-production with English National Opera, this clever vision of the battle of the sexes is set in a carnivalesque environment inspired by 1950s Coney Island. The cast features Amanda Majeski and Serena Malfi as the sisters put to the test, with Broadway star Kelli O’Hara as their feisty maid, Ben Bliss and Adam Plachetka as their fiancés, and Christopher Maltman as Don Alfonso. David Robertson conducts Mozart’s delightful score.
Verdi’s life-long love affair with Shakespeare’s works began with Macbeth, a play he considered to be ‘one of the greatest creations of man’. With his librettist, Francesco Maria Piave, Verdi set out to create ‘something out of the ordinary’. Their success is borne out in every bar of a score that sees Verdi at his most theatrical: it bristles with demonic energy.
The warrior Macbeth fights on the side of the King of Scotland – but when a coven of witches prophesy that he shall become king himself, a ruthless ambition drives Macbeth and his wife to horrific acts.Murder makes Macbeth king, and intrigue and butchery are the hallmarks of his brief, doomed reign. The witches make another prediction, which also comes true: Macbeth and his lady lose their lives, and justice is restored.
Phyllida Lloyd’s 2002 production for The Royal Opera is richly hued, shot through with black, red and gold. The witches – imagined by designer Anthony Ward as strange, scarlet-turbaned creatures – are ever-present agents of fate. Lloyd depicts the Macbeths’ childlessness as the dark sadness lurking behind their terrible deeds. The Royal Opera’s production uses Verdi’s 1865 Paris revision of the opera, which includes Lady Macbeth’s riveting aria ‘La luce langue’.
When Giselle learns that her beloved Albrecht is promised to another woman, she dies of a broken heart in his arms. While Albrecht grieves, she returns from the dead as a Wili, a vengeful spirit meant to make unfaithful men dance until death…
Prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova personifies this ultimate ballerina role in the classical repertoire, alongside the sensational Sergei Polunin as Albrecht, in this chilling, yet luminous ballet that continues to captivate audiences for over 150 years at the Bolshoi.
James Levine and Plácido Domingo add yet another chapter to their legendary Met collaboration with this rarely performed Verdi gem, a heart-wrenching tragedy based on Friedrich Schiller’s novel Intrigue and Love. The young maiden Luisa loves Rodolfo, unaware that he is actually the son of the local lord. An unscrupulous rival for her affections tells her father of Rodolfo’s true identity, turning the old man against him. Jealousy, suspicion, and betrayal tear the lovers apart, but Luisa remains loyal to her father to the last. In the first Met performances of the opera in more than ten years, Sonya Yoncheva sings the title role opposite Piotr Beczała as Rodolfo, with Domingo as Luisa’s stern-yet-loving father.
A fairy godmother, a glass slipper, an opulent ball, an enchanted forest, and a Prince Charming who loves her – did all that really happen, or was it just a dream? Long-suffering Cendrillon lives a life of drudgery with her good-natured father and his imperious wife, until fate, romance, and a touch of fairy magic intervene. For the first time ever, Massenet’s sumptuous version of the Cinderella story comes to the Met in this imaginative storybook production directed by Laurent Pelly. Superstar Joyce DiDonato sings the title role, alongside British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote in the trouser role of Prince Charming, Kathleen Kim as the Fairy Godmother, and Stephanie Blythe as the archetypal wicked stepmother.
Manon’s brother Lescaut is offering her to the highest bidder when she meets Des Grieux and falls in love. They elope to Paris, but when Monsieur G.M. offers Manon a life of luxury as his mistress she can’t resist. With the Lescauts’ encouragement Des Grieux cheats at cards in an attempt to win Monsieur G.M.’s fortune. They are caught. Manon is arrested as a prostitute and deported to New Orleans, followed by Des Grieux. On the run, Manon dies from exhaustion.
Kenneth MacMillan’s source for Manon was the 18th-century French novel already adapted for opera by Massenet and Puccini. The premiere was given on 7 March 1974, with the lead roles danced by Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell. The ballet quickly became a staple of The Royal Ballet’s repertory, and a touchstone of adult, dramatic dance.
MacMillan found new sympathy with the capricious Manon and her struggle to escape poverty. Designs by his regular collaborator Nicholas Georgiadis reflect this, depicting a world of lavish splendour polluted by miserable destitution. MacMillan’s spectacular ensemble scenes for the whole Company create vivid, complex portraits of the distinct societies of Paris and New Orleans. But it is Manon and Des Grieux’s impassioned pas de deux – recalling the intensity of MacMillan’s earlier Romeo and Juliet – that drive this tragic story, and make Manon one of MacMillan’s most powerful dramas.
Swanhilda notices her fiancee Franz is infatuated with the beautiful Coppélia who sits reading on her balcony each day. Nearly breaking up the two sweethearts, Coppelia is not what she seems and Swanhilda decides to teach Franz a lesson…
The Bolshoi’s unique version of Coppélia exhibits a fascinating reconstruction of the original 19th century choreography of this ebullient comedy involving a feisty heroine, a boyish fiancee with a wandering eye, and an old dollmaker. The company’s stunning corps de ballet shines in the divertissements and famous “dance of the hours,” and its principals abound in youthful energy and irresistible humor in this effervescent production.
'Swan Lake' has had a special role in the repertory of The Royal Ballet since 1934. This Season The Royal Ballet creates a new production with additional choreography by Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett. While remaining faithful to the Petipa-Ivanov text, Scarlett will bring fresh eyes to the staging of this classic ballet, in collaboration with his long-term designer John Macfarlane.
Prince Siegfried chances upon a fl ock of swans while out hunting. When one of the swans turns into a beautiful woman, Odette, he is enraptured. But she is under a spell that holds her captive, allowing her to regain her human form only at night.
'Swan Lake' was Tchaikovsky’s first ballet score. Given its status today as arguably the best loved and most admired of all classical ballets, it is perhaps surprising that at its premiere in 1877 Swan Lake was poorly received. It is thanks to the 1895 production by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov that Swan Lake has become part of not only ballet consciousness but also wider popular culture. That success is secured not only by the sublime, symphonic sweep of Tchaikovsky’s score, but also by the striking choreographic contrasts between Petipa’s royal palace scenes and the lyric lakeside scenes created by Ivanov.
