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Home , Helen McCrory, James McAvoy, National Theatre Live, Sophie Okonedo

THE NATIONAL THEATRE ANNOUNCES FINAL TITLES

TO BE STREAMED FOR FREE THIS SUMMER

AS PART OF NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME Thursday 11 June Production images available to download HERE

The National Theatre today announces a further five productions that will be streamed as a part of the National Theatre at Home series. Established in April to bring culture and entertainment to audiences around the world during this unprecedented period, National Theatre at Home has so far seen 10 productions streamed via the NT’s YouTube channel, with over 12 million views to date. These will be the final titles to be shared for free via YouTube in this period. However, future digital activity to connect with audiences in the UK and beyond is planned, with further details to be announced soon.

The productions will be broadcast each Thursday at 7pm BST for free and will then be available on demand for seven days. Titles added to the programme today include A Midsummer Night’s from the , alongside Small Island, Les Blancs, and from the National Theatre.

The 2019 epic theatre adaptation of Andrea Levy’s Orange Prize-winning novel Small Island will be streamed on 18 June. Directed by National Theatre Director and adapted by Helen Edmundson (Coram Boy, War and Peace), Small Island embarks on a journey from Jamaica to Britain, through the Second World War to 1948 – the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury. The play traces the tangled history of Jamaica and the UK through three intricately connected stories. Hortense (Leah Harvey Emilia, Julius Cesar) yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert (Gershwyn Eustace Jr Pinocchio, Home) dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie (Aisling Loftus War and Peace, Noises Off) longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. This timely and moving story played on the Olivier stage featuring a company of 40 actors. The production coincides with Windrush Day on the 22 June.

On 25 June the National Theatre will stream A Midsummer Night's Dream captured live from the Bridge Theatre in 2019. Shakespeare’s most famous , sees Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Oliver Chris (One Man, Two Guvnors), David Moorst (Allelujah!) and Hammed Animashaun (Barber Shop Chronicles) lead the cast as Titania, Oberon, Puck and Bottom. This production re-unites the team from the 2018 smash hit including Tony and Olivier award winning director (The History Boys, One Man, Two Guvnors).

The 2016 archive recording of ’s () drama Les Blancs, will be streamed on 2 July. Directed by Yaël Farber ( (Old Vic), Mies Julie, Nirbhaya), this powerful play confronts the hope and tragedy of revolution when a family and a post-colonial African nation fall apart under the pressure to determine their own identity. The cast includes Danny Sapani (, Black Panther, Killing Eve), Siân Phillips (People, Clash of the Titans) and (Network, Antony & ).

Carrie Cracknell’s critically-acclaimed production The Deep Blue Sea, will be streamed on 9 July. This devastating masterpiece by Terence Rattigan, sees Helen McCrory (Medea, Peaky Blinders) playing one of the greatest female roles in contemporary drama. Filmed live from the Lyttelton Theatre in 2016, The Deep Blue Sea tells the story of a woman’s tempestuous affair with a former RAF pilot and the breakdown of her marriage to a High Court judge.

The 2016 National Theatre production of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, will be streamed on 16 July. This iconic drama, which first appeared on the National Theatre stage in 1979 and was later turned into an Oscar winning film, follows rowdy young musical prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played by Adam Gillen (Fresh Meat, Benidorm). Awestruck by Mozart’s genius, Court Composer Antonio Salieri, played by Lucian Msamati (, Master Harold and The Boys), has the power to promote his talent or destroy . Seized by obsessive jealousy he begins a war with Mozart, with music and, ultimately, with God. Michael Longhurst's acclaimed production features live orchestral accompaniment by Southbank Sinfonia.

Small Island, The Deep Blue Sea and Amadeus will also be available on YouTube with Audio- Description.

Each title will also feature additional content alongside the production available on the NT’s YouTube channel for audiences to engage further with the work. For Small Island and Les Blancs NT Dramaturg Ola Animashawun will be curating content that explores these plays in the context of the current global conversation around race and their potential to provide meaningful and timely contributions to that discourse.

Lisa Burger, Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive said – “During what has been such an isolating time for many people right across the world it has been wonderful to be able to share these productions with both new and existing audiences, and to have the opportunity to showcase the exceptional creative talent working in our industry. The support we, and our partner organisations have received, not only in terms of donations, but through messages of thanks has been so encouraging. We’re delighted to be able to bring these final titles to audiences around the world for free and we look forward to announcing the next stage of our NT at Home programming in due course.”

The final National Theatre at Home will be available from 7pm on Monday 29 June with Ben Power, Adam Godley, Ben Miles, , Tamsin Greig, , and Meera Syal posing the questions on topics including the Lehman Brothers, entertainment, and general knowledge. The Quiz is available via the NT’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Productions shown as part of National Theatre at Home are available to watch for free but should viewers wish to make a donation to support the National Theatre, we have launched a public appeal on our home page: nationaltheatre.org.uk.

For more information on NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME go to https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/at-home

++ ENDS ++ Notes to editors For further information please contact Sophie Wilkinson on [email protected]

About The National Theatre The National Theatre’s mission is to make world class theatre that’s entertaining, challenging and inspiring – and to make it for everyone. It aims to reach the widest possible audience and to be as inclusive, diverse and national as possible with a broad range of productions that play in , on tour around the UK, on Broadway and across the globe. The National Theatre's extensive UK-wide learning and participation programme supports young people and schools through performance and writing programmes like Connections, New Views and Let’s Play, while Public Acts creates ambitious new works of participatory theatre in sustained partnership with theatres and community organisations around the country. The National Theatre extends its reach through digital programmes including NT Live, which broadcasts some of the best of British theatre to over 2,500 venues in 65 countries, and the National Theatre Collection, which makes recordings of shows available to UK schools and the global education sector. The National Theatre invests in the future of theatre by developing talent, creating bold new work and building audiences, partnering with a range of UK theatres and theatre companies.

For more information, please visit https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/.

@NationalTheatre / @NT_PressOffice

About National Theatre Live turned ten on 25th June last year - the date of the first ever NT Live broadcast which was Phédre starring Academy Award® winner . Over ten years over 80 theatre productions have been shown in 3500 venues worldwide, reaching an overall audience of more than 10 million people. NT Live currently screens in 2500 venues across 65 countries. Recent broadcasts include Cyrano de Bergerac with James McAvoy, with , Fleabag with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, with Sally Field and Bill Pullman, with and Lily James, Antony & Cleopatra with and Sophie Okonedo, Julius Caesar with David Morrissey and , with Sienna Miller.

For more information on screenings and to sign up to the NT Live newsletter, go to http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Sky Arts is Headline Sponsor of NT Live in the UK.

About YouTube Launched in May 2005, YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch, and share originally- created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube is a Google company.

For more information, please contact Susan Cadrecha, Head of Comms, YouTube UK, [email protected]

About Bridge Theatre The Bridge Theatre opened in 2017, the first new commercial theatre of scale to be built in London for fifty years. It is home to London Theatre Company whose second theatre, in King’s Cross, will open in 2022. www.bridgetheatre.co.uk