National Theatre Live: Bacchae(2025)

Hamlet(en)

David Tennant stars in a film of the Royal Shakespeare Company's award-winning production of Shakespeare's great play. Director Gregory Doran's modern-dress production was hailed by the critics as thrilling, fast-moving and, in parts, very funny.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds(en)

Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

Salomé(en)

After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.

Strange Weather(en)

Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.

Lucky Them(en)

More interested in partying and flirting with young musicians than work, veteran rock journalist Ellie Klug has one last chance to prove her value to her magazine’s editor: a no-stone-unturned search to discover what really happened to long lost rock god, Matt Smith, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Teaming up with an eccentric amateur documentary filmmaker, Ellie hits the road in search of answers.

Hamlet(en)

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge.

The Girl in the Book(en)

The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.

All Day and a Night(en)

While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.

Son of God(en)

In the Holy Land, the Roman occupation has produced a cauldron of oppression, anxiety and excessive taxes levied upon the Jewish people. Fearing the wrath of Roman governor Pontius Pilate , Jewish high priest Caiaphas tries to keep control of his people. That control is threatened when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, performing miracles and spreading messages of love and hope. Those who fear that Jesus will inspire a revolution decide that he must die.

Sky(en)

A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.

The Good Neighbor(en)

A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.

Conversations with God(en)

"Conversations with God" is the true story of Neale Donald Walsch that inspired and changed the lives of millions. The journey begins after he unexpectedly breaks his neck in a car accident and loses his job.

Tempest(en)

A sobering mid-life crisis fuels dissatisfaction in Philip Dimitrius, to the extent where the successful architect trades his marriage and career in for a spiritual exile on a remote Greek island where he hopes to conjure meaning into his life - trying the patience of his new girlfriend and angst-ridden teenage daughter.

The Operative(en)

A young Western woman is recruited by the Mossad to go undercover in Tehran where she becomes entangled in a complex triangle with her handler and her subject.

TalhotBlond(en)

Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.

Julia(en)

At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.

Kinds of Kindness(en)

A triptych fable following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.

Rose Plays Julie(en)

A story of a young woman searching for her biological mother. Set against a backdrop of misogyny, revenge, and longing, Rose undertakes a journey that leads her to revelations that are both devastating and dangerous.

Leave Her to Heaven(en)

A socialite marries a prominent novelist, which spurs a violent, obsessive, and dangerous jealousy in her.

Foxcatcher(en)

The greatest Olympic Wrestling Champion brother team joins Team Foxcatcher led by multimillionaire sponsor John E. du Pont as they train for the 1988 games in Seoul - a union that leads to unlikely circumstances.

Antigone(en)

Antigone asks the question of the difference between the spirit of the Law and the letter of the Law. This elemental ancient play about - honor, loyalty, love, betrayal and conviction - resonates as sharply and as damning today as it did when it was written 2,500 years ago.

The Myth(en)

Medusa is ruminating in her bedroom, recounting the events that occurred at Athena’s party. During the party Poseidon assaults Medusa. When she discloses this to Athena their friendship takes a sorrowful turn. The emotions and betrayal that arise, birth the legend of Medusa.

National Theatre Live: Dixon and Daughters(en)

Mary has just been released from prison. She wants to come home and forget all about it but Briana has other ideas. Over a tumultuous two days a family is forced to confront not just their past but themselves. Because even if you refuse to hear the truth, the truth doesn’t go away. Róisín McBrinn returns to Clean Break (Favour) to direct this powerful story of family and forgiveness by Deborah Bruce (The House They Grew Up In). A co-production from National Theatre and Clean Break.

John Gabriel Borkman(it)

John Gabriel Borkman, a former bank director, was imprisoned for fraud but believes he was wrongly convicted. He had invested clients' money in a major industrial venture but was reported by his friend Hinkel, who was in love with Borkman's former fiancée, Ella Rentheim. Borkman now lives on the first floor of the house, with his estranged wife, Gunhild, living on the ground floor. He occasionally receives visits from his friend Wilhelm Foldal, who supports Borkman's delusion that the bank will reinstate him. In his youth, Borkman betrayed his love for Ella by marrying her twin sister Gunhild to advance his career. After his conviction, Ella took care of their son Erhart and now wants him to live with her and take her name. Borkman agrees, but Gunhild refuses to let her sister take their son.

Medea(it)

Based on the plot of Euripides' Medea. Medea centers on the barbarian protagonist as she finds her position in the Greek world threatened, and the revenge she takes against her husband Jason who has betrayed her for another woman.

Prometheus(el)

This is a film of the 2013 Cambridge Greek Play production of Prometheus, presented at the Cambridge Arts Theatre.

Immortals(en)

Theseus is a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion, who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity.

My Naked Villainy(en)

Ian, a commercially successful stage director, mounts an avant-garde production of "Othello" for the sole purpose of destroying Tyson, the actor who stole his fiancee Anne from him. Fanatic in his commitment to art, personal integrity and Zen Buddhism, Tyson makes the mistake of accepting the role of Othello in good faith at Anne's urging, only to find himself trapped in Ian's vengeful scheme, an escalating nightmare of absurdly bad theatre that threatens to spin out of control and push them all to the breaking point.

The Colossus of Rhodes(it)

While on holiday in Rhodes, Athenian war hero Darios becomes involved in two different plots to overthrow the tyrannical king, one from Rhodian patriots and the other from sinister Phoenician agents.

Frine cortigiana d'Oriente(it)

Black Swan(en)

The story of Nina, a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica who zealously supports her daughter's professional ambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice.

Medea(sv)

Medea is a powerful witch who gets revenge on her cheating husband Jason by killing their children.

La Flambée(fr)

NENIKIKAMEN(el)

Pheidippides, a brave soldier and messenger of ancient Athens, is ordered by the Athenian general, Miltiades, to run to Sparta and request aid to confront the Persian army led by King Darius the 1st, in the Battle of Marathon.

Don Giovanni(it)

This production was originally staged for the Pepsico Summerfare Festival, The International Performing Arts Festival of the State University of New York at Purchase. Leaving the lyrics in their original Italian, acclaimed American director Peter Sellars transports Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Don Giovanni" to a modern-day metropolis, nestling the opera's beloved characters among the brownstones of New York City's Harlem. Sellars's contemporary retelling of a classic musical tale is one of three performances in a Mozart series that also includes "Le Nozze di Figaro" and "'Così Fan Tutte."

The Seagull(ru)

What if Konstantin Gavrilovich, from Anton Chekkov's famous play, did not commit suicide and was murdered instead? And who did it? Boris Akunin's take on The Seagull unfolds as a comedic murder mystery.

La Cerisaie(fr)

The last vestiges of a family that has gone from cherry season to sorrow... Madame Ranevskaya is a spoiled, aging aristocrat who, upon returning from a trip to Paris, must face the loss of her magnificent Cherry Orchard estate after defaulting on her mortgage. In denial, she continues to live in the past, deluding herself and her family, while the magnificent cherry trees are chopped down by the new owner Lopakhin, her former serf, who has his own agenda.

The Great Lillian Hall(en)

Lillian Hall, a Broadway actress, has never missed a performance throughout her long, illustrious career. Yet in rehearsals for a new play her confidence is challenged. People and events conspire to take away her ability to do what she loves most.

Sonata(en)

Before an important audition, a mute theater student summons his five core emotions as he deals with the loss of a close friend.

Oedipus Rex(en)

The story of Oedipus' gradual discovery of his primal crime, killing his father and marrying his mother, filmed by the famed British theatrical director Sir Tyrone Guthrie. This elegant version of Sophocles' play adds a brilliant stroke: the actors wear masks just as the Greeks did in the playwright's day.