National Theatre Live: Present Laughter(2019)

National Theatre Live: Hamlet(en)

As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father's death but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.

Don't Think Twice(en)

An improv group deals with several crises, including the loss of their lease and one member hitting the big time.

Feel the Beat(en)

After failing to make it on Broadway, April returns to her hometown and reluctantly begins training a misfit group of young dancers for a competition.

Stage Door(en)

A spirited heiress wishing to break into theatre on her own merit arrives at a boardinghouse where aspiring young actresses and showgirls are brought together through their cynicism and disappointments.

It Runs in the Family(en)

This is the story of a dysfunctional New York family, and their attempts to reconcile

The Comedy(en)

Indifferent to the notion of inheriting his father's estate, a restless, aging New Yorker passes time with his friends in games of mock sincerity, irreverence, and recreational cruelty towards those around them.

Deathtrap(en)

A Broadway playwright puts murder in his plan to take credit for a student's script.

The Trip to Italy(en)

Years after their successful restaurant review tour of Northern England, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are commissioned for a new tour in Italy.

Sometimes Always Never(en)

Alan is a stylish tailor with moves as sharp as his suits. He has spent years searching tirelessly for his missing son Michael who stormed out over a game of Scrabble. With a body to identify and his family torn apart, Alan must repair the relationship with his youngest son and solve the mystery of an online player who he thinks could be Michael, so he can finally move on and reunite his family.

The Racer(en)

Summer 1998 - the opening stages of Le Tour de France are relocated to Ireland. Belgian rider Dom Chabol (late 30s) has been one of the best “Domestiques” (support riders) on the Tour for the last 20 years. It’s a sacrificial role – setting pace, blocking wind, and providing support to enable the team’s sprinter to victory - winning is not an option. But Dom secretly harbours a desire to wear the yellow jersey - just once before his career is over. At the start of what will likely be his last Tour, Dom is unceremoniously dropped from the Team he has dedicated his life to. His best mate Sonny, the team masseur, fails to reassure him about his future. But a chance liaison with Lynn, a young Irish doctor, softens the blow, and Dom starts to accept - and even enjoy - the idea of civilian life. But as he gears up to go home and to face his estranged sister, a massive doping error knocks another teammate off the Tour and Dom is thrown back in the saddle…

Class Act(en)

Duncan is a genius straight A student, Blade is ajuvenile delinquent. But because of a mix up with their school records, everyone thinks each is the other one. Now, Duncan kind of likes the attention from being thought of as a real bad dude, if only the school bully would stop trying to rough him up. And Blade definitely likes being thought of as important instead of as trouble.

Best Man Down(en)

A newlywed couple cancels their honeymoon and returns to the snowy Midwest to make the funeral arrangements for their best man, who died unexpectedly after their ceremony.

Hellzapoppin'(en)

Olsen and Johnson, a pair of stage comedians, try to turn their play into a movie and bring together a young couple in love, while breaking the fourth wall every step of the way.

Little Sister(en)

After returning to her childhood home, young nun Colleen finds her old room exactly how she left it: painted black and covered in goth and metal posters. Her parents are happy enough to see her, but her brother is living as a recluse in the guesthouse since returning home from the Iraq war.

Wild Oats(en)

Everything changes for Eva when she receives an insurance settlement check accidentally made out for $5,000,000 instead of the expected $50,000. She and her best friend take the money and head out for the adventure of a lifetime.

Donald Glover: Weirdo(en)

Fearlessly funny stand-up comic and sitcom star Donald Glover puts on a live show in New York, confessing his love for Cocoa Puffs and Toys "R" Us.

Ziegfeld Follies(en)

The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.

The Program(en)

An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.

The Honey Pot(en)

In Venice, a millionaire hires an actor to help him prank three greedy exes into thinking he's dying and leaving his fortune to one of them.

Buffaloed(en)

Set in the underworld of debt-collecting, homegrown hustler Peg Dahl will do anything to escape Buffalo, NY.

Le syndrome de l'écossais(fr)

Bruno and Florence invited Sophie and Alex for the evening, but nothing goes as planned between the successful author, the brilliant entrepreneur and their respective wives, two sisters. Contradictions, anxieties, bad faith and pettiness come around the table. A delightful cascade of incidents quickly transforms the family reunion into a crazy night where secrets, bottles and unsaid are shattered until the two couples, caught in an irresistible whirlwind, formulate the most unexpected.

Cinema Twain(en)

Val Kilmer, master of reinvention, becomes Mark Twain, in a funny, moving, contemporary and reflective performance, based on the life of the man who was Samuel Clemens and on his writings as Mark Twain: his thoughts on politics, his family, his faith and God… Twain shows the greatness of his incomparable wit.

Dare(en)

When a pompous actor tells good girl Alexa that she hasn't lived, she embarks on a bold journey that takes her to mysterious bad boy Johnny. Envious, her shy best friend Ben also dares to pursue Johnny.

Impresário ze Smyrny(cs)

A wealthy Turk intends to establish an opera house in Smyrna with the help of opera lover Count Čipera. Opera singers are applying for the engagement, and the female singers are also fighting fiercely for the position of prima donna. The Turk has a weakness for women, but will he be the one to make the final decision? And how will this bold project turn out? A recording of a theater performance by Prague's Činoherní klub.

Kiss Me, Kate(en)

A pair of divorced actors are brought together to participate in a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew. Of course, the couple seem to act a great deal like the characters they play, and they must work together when mistaken identities get them mixed up with the mafia.

Pippin(en)

A mysterious performance troupe led by a Leading Player tells the story of Pippin, a young prince on his search for meaning and significance. Taped at Hamilton Place in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire(en)

As Blanche’s fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella for solace – but her downward spiral brings her face to face with the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski.

A Little Life(nl)

In this worldwide bestseller, we watch four men over a period of more than thirty years: lawyer Jude, actor Willem, visual artist JB and architect Malcolm. The story is the history of their friendship, as they remain closely connected with each other during the rest of their lives. They develop their careers in the city where ambition and success are the indicators of a successful life: New York. Ivo van Hove adapts Hanya Yanagihara’s novel to theater and creates a penetrating performance.

Method(ko)

A seasoned actor and a pop star are cast as leads in a gay romantic play. As the actor teaches the pop star method acting, the line between fiction and reality is blurred and they become drawn to each other.

National Theatre Live: Timon of Athens(en)

Based on Shakespeare’s play, Timon of Athens tells the tale of conspicuous consumption, debt and ruin. Timon of Athens is a wealthy friend to the rich and powerful. With his riches, he showers hospitality on the city’s elite. Unfortunately, his associates don’t lend him a helping hand when he accidentally spends more than he has on resources. After a final banquet, Timon is forced to withdraw himself to a wasteland, living off nothing but roots and cursing bankrupt Athens.

A Sporting Chance(en)

John Stonehouse (William Russell) checks into a hotel, intending to commit suicide. But instead he winds up helping a girl, Gilberte Bonheur (Fritzi Brunette), out of a jam. He finds her bending over a man who she has apparently killed, and since he's about to kill himself anyway, he offers to assume the blame. Throw a valuable emerald into the works, and the fact that the dead man suddenly comes back to life, and Stonehouse -- not to mention the audience -- becomes thoroughly befuddled by it all. Everything clears up, however, when Gilberte gives him a theater ticket -- it turns out that everything he went through was the plot to a stage play, enacted in real life by the actors. The critics roasted the play, saying it wasn't true to life, and this was their proof that the situations really could happen. Gilberte retires from acting when Stonehouse proposes.

Ztracený prsten(cs)

King Lear: Live at Shakespeare's Globe(en)

King Lear has three daughters, but no sons. Boldly he makes a decision to divide his kingdom among his children, but fails to anticipate the consequences of his actions. His generosity is cruelly repaid and Lear finds himself adrift, wandering homeless and destitute. As he comes to realize the false values by which he has lived, he finally encounters his own humanity.

That Christmas(en)

It's an unforgettable Christmas for the townsfolk of Wellington-on-Sea when the worst snowstorm in history alters everyone's plans — including Santa's.

Njaan(ml)

Ravi, a critic, comes across the writings of K T N Kottoor. Highly inspired by what he reads, he travels to a village in Kerala in search of the author.

Much Ado About Nothing(en)

Dame Maggie Smith stars in the 1967 screen version of Franco Zeffirelli's exuberant National Theatre production of Shakespeare's romantic comedy, in which young lovers Hero and Claudio conspire to make sharp-tongued rivals Beatrice and Benedick fall in love with each other.

Lazarus Come Out(it)

45 year old Don Valter is a traditional priest who still wears an old fashioned black tunic out of nostalgia. One day young Claudio and his exuberant troupe of actors appear, proposing to perform an avant-garde show based on the Gospel's miracle of the rebirth of Lazarus*. The powerless priest is overwhelmed by this young upstart, who stirs within him emotions that will, whether he likes it or not, pull him into the modern era.

Jo(fr)

A writer plots to murder a blackmailer.

National Theatre Live: Of Mice and Men(en)

A powerful portrait of the American spirit and a heartbreaking testament to the bonds of friendship.

Cher Trésor(fr)