National Theatre season highlights

By Lucy Brooks on 3/5/2019

The latest partial season of six plays at the National Theatre has already caused controversy.
‘There is nothing “national” about a partial season of six plays all written by male writers, with only one female director and no ethnic minority women,’declared QI presenter Sandi Toksvig in an open letter the NT’s artistic director Rufus Norris.
Gender imbalances aside, the new shows at least offer a diversity in subject matter, spanning apartheid-era South Africa, to a musical take on a beloved children's book.

General booking for all six shows opens at 8:30am on Friday 3 May.

National Theatre: Master Harold and the boys

Master Harold and the boys, Lyttelton Theatre

Set in 1950s South Africa, Athold Fugard's semi-autobiographical play explores the uncomfortable dynamic of servitude and the way in which ingrained racisim plays out through a young man and his family's employees. Lucian Msamati returns to the National Theatre after dazzling in Amadeus to lead the cast.

WHEN

21 Sep 2019 – 26 Oct 2019, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

WHERE

National Theatre
South Bank, London, SE1 9PX

The beloved kids' book is sure to delight young audiences in musical form

Mr. Gum and the Dancing Bear, Dorfman Theatre

Who can resist the despicable Mr. Gum? No child we know, that's for sure. Happily, Andy Stanton and David Tazzyman's award-winning children's book, Mr. Gum and the Dancing Bear, is now a musical directed by Amy Hodge, with music by Jim Fortune. Silly singing, dancing, hilarity – even burping combine in what is sure to be a highlight of your summer holidays.

WHEN

25 Jul 2019 – 31 Aug 2019, various

WHERE

National Theatre
South Bank, London, SE1 9PX

Colin Morgan (Owen) in Translations, National Theatre. Image by Catherine Ashmore

Translations, Olivier Theatre

After a sellout run in 2018, Translations returns to the National Theatre. In Brian Friel's masterful play,the story of English cartographers anglicising Irish landmarks reveals the weight of history, nationhood and myth mingled into each and every place name.

Ciarán Hinds, Seamus O’Hara and Judith Roddy will all reprise their roles for the re-run, with further casting to be confirmed.

WHEN

15 Oct 2019 – 26 Oct 2019, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

WHERE

National Theatre
South Bank, London, SE1 9PX

Hansard, Lyttelton Theatre

New and established talents combine in Hansard, a drama described as a 'witty and devastating portrait of the governing class.' Director Simon Godwin, after the success of Antony and Cleopatra, directs stage heavyweights Alex Jennings and Lindsay Duncan.

WHEN

22 Aug 2019 – 24 Oct 2019, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

WHERE

National Theatre
South Bank, London, SE1 9PX

The Secret River, Olivier Theatre

Kate Grenville’s 2005 book The Secret River has become a seminal text in the Australian literary canon, taught in schools and a staple in bookstores across the country. The Sydney Theatre Company's multi-award-winning stage adaption of the novel comes to the National Theatre to throw us head first into 19th century Australia in a tense tale of early colonisation.

WHEN

22 Aug 2019 – 07 Sep 2019, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

WHERE

National Theatre
South Bank, London, SE1 9PX

Jellyfish, National Theatre

Jellyfish is a classic story of falling in love and overcoming obstacles, and a radical exploration of the experience of and the attitudes towards disability. The heartfelt drama comes to the National's Dorfman Theatre after a sold-out run at Bush Theatre in 2018.

WHEN

05 Jul 2019 – 16 Jul 2019, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

WHERE

National Theatre
South Bank, London, SE1 9PX