National Theatre: Season Brochure

National Theatre Season Brochure
February – May 2009

National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX
No booking fee

Online
Select your own seat online nationaltheatre.org.uk/tickets
For an online version of this brochure
nationaltheatre.org.uk/season

By phone
020 7452 3000
Mon – Sat, 9.30am – 8pm

By fax
020 7452 3030

In person
Mon – Sat, 9.30am – 8pm

Public booking opens 21 November 2008
Opening Hours on public holidays Monday 13 April and Monday 4 May; by phone from 9.30am; in person from 4pm (includes the sale of day seats).
National Theatre will be closed all day on Good Friday 10 April and from 5pm on Tuesday 10 March.

Travelex £10 Tickets are sponsored by Travelex

Media Partner of Travelex £10 Tickets The Times

Television Media Partner of Travelex £10 Tickets Sky Arts

Matinees at the National Theatre are sponsored by Prudential

Innovation at the National Theatre is sponsored by Accenture

Philips and the National Theatre working in partnership to reduce energy consumption

The National Theatre is working in creative partnership with Corbis on photographs for its 2009 season

Programme details are published in good faith, but changes may occasionally be necessary.

Registered Charity No. 224223

Shows
England People Very Nice
Burnt By the Sun
Dido, Queen of Carthage
Death and the King's Horseman
Time and the Conways
Berlin
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
War Horse
Mrs Affleck
The Pitmen Painters
Stovepipe

NT on Tour

Platforms
Free Valentine's Day Screening
In Conversation with...
Paris Calling

Coming soon to the NT...

discover: National Theatre

Eating and Drinking at the National Theatre

Getting here

Seating Plans

Ticketing Information
Box Office
Concessions
Theatres
Ticket Exchange
For Your Safety and Comfort

England People Very Nice
a new play by Richard Bean

Olivier Theatre, from 4 February

Fucking Frogs! My grandfather didn’t die in the English Civil War so’s half the population of France could come over here and live off the soup!

A riotous journey through four waves of immigration from the 17th century to today. As the French Huguenots, the Irish, the Jews and the Bangladeshis in turn enter the chaotic world of Bethnal Green, each new influx provokes a surge of violent protest over housing, jobs, religion and culture. And the emerging pattern shows that white flight and anxiety over integration are anything but new.

Irish and Jewish, that’s the worst mix. You end up with a family of pissed up burglars run by a clever accountant.

Written with scurrilous bravura, Richard Bean’s great sweep of a comedy follows a pair of star-crossed lovers amid cutters’ mobs, Papists, Jewish anarchists and radical Islamists across four tempestuous centuries.

Cast includes
Jamie Beamish
Paul Chequer
Olivia Colman
Rudi Dharmalingam
Sacha Dhawan
Trevor Laird
Fred Ridgeway
Sophie Stanton
Howard Ward

Director Nicholas Hytner
Designer Mark Thompson
Director of Animation Pete Bishop
Lighting Designer Neil Austin
Composer Grant Olding
Sound Designer John Leonard

Travelex £10 Tickets

Captioned performances
Wednesday 15 April at 7.30pm
Audio-Described performances
Friday 20 March at 7.30pm, Saturday 21 March at 2pm

Lyttelton Theatre, from 24 February

Colonel Kotov, decorated hero of the Russian Revolution, is spending an idyllic summer in the country with his beloved young wife and family. But on one glorious sunny morning in 1936, his wife’s former lover returns from a long and unexplained absence. Amidst a tangle of sexual jealousy, retribution and remorseless political backstabbing, Kotov feels the full, horrifying reach of Stalin’s rule.

I’ll give you one chance. Go now and type your confession. I take you and the confession to Moscow tonight – two big feathers in my cap – and maybe, maybe… they’ll spare Maroussia… as the wife of a traitor. We all have a choice, Comrade.

Poised at the beginning of Stalin’s Great Terror, Burnt by the Sun shows a brutal future encroaching on the last days of a fading world.

Cast includes
Ciaran Hinds
Stephanie Jacob
Rory Kinnear
Pamela Merrick

Director Howard Davies
Designer Vicki Mortimer
Lighting Designer Mark Henderson
Music Ilona Sekacz
Choreographer Scarlett Mackmin
Sound Designer Christopher Shutt

Captioned performances
Tuesday 7 April at 7.30pm
Audio-Described performances
Friday 3 April at 7.30pm, Saturday 4 April at 2.15pm

Dido, Queen of Carthage
by Christopher Marlowe

Cottesloe Theatre, from 17 March
Seeking refuge from a violent storm, Aeneas lands on the shores of Carthage where Queen Dido, moved by his retelling of the fall of Troy and bewitched by a malevolent Cupid, soon burns with love. Their ensuing passion, manipulated by the watching, warring gods, can only end in tragedy.

It is Aeneas’ frown that ends my days.
If he forsake me not, I never die;
For in his looks I see eternity,
And he’ll make me immortal with a kiss.

Written when he was an undergraduate, the wit, the daring and the sheer poetry of Christopher Marlowe’s first play were so new and exciting in English theatre that Hamlet was still talking about it seventeen years later.

Cast to be announced

Director James Macdonald
Set Designer Tobias Hoheisel
Costume Designer Moritz Junge
Lighting Designer Adam Silverman
Sound Designer Christopher Shutt

Captioned performance
Tuesday 5 May at 7.30pm

Audio-described performances
Friday 24 April at 7.30pm, Saturday 25 April at 2.30pm

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Death and the King’s Horseman
by Wole Soyinka

Olivier Theatre, From 1 April

Nigeria, 1943. The King is dead, and tonight his Horseman must escort him to the Ancestors.

I am the master of my fate.
When the hour comes watch me dance
along the narrowing path...
My soul is eager. I shall not turn aside.

As Elesin Oba dances through the closing marketplace, flirting with the women, pursued by his praise-singer and an entourage of drummers, he promises to honour the ancient Yoruba custom of ritual suicide and so accompany his ruler on the final journey. But a life so rich is hard to leave, and this is a British colony where such customs are not tolerated, no matter how sacred.

Set against the conflict of indigenous and invader, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka’s extraordinary play uses Elesin’s transition from the living to the dead to examine the essence of corruption and the power of the human will.

You white races know how to survive; I’ve seen proof of that… But at least have the humility to let others survive in their own way.

Cast to be announced

Director Rufus Norris
Designer Katrina Lindsay
Lighting Designer Paule Constable
Sound Designer Ian Dickinson

Travelex £10 Tickets

Time and the Conways
By J B Priestley

Lyttelton Theatre, from 28 April

There’s a great devil in the universe, and we call it Time.

The Conways, celebrating Kay’s 21st birthday in 1919, seem a golden family – safe and well after the Great War, looking forward to future careers, marriages, and a brave new world. Through J B Priestley’s masterly manipulation of time, we see into their future and back again to where the seeds of their downfall were planted.

Time doesn’t destroy anything. It merely moves us on – in this life – from one peep-hole to the next.

Priestley was fascinated by the study of time. Writing in 1937, he saw how Britain was complacently failing to learn from history and charging headlong towards another conflagration.

The NT returns to Priestley for the first time since its ground-breaking production of An Inspector Calls.

Cast to be announced

Director Rupert Goold
Designer Laura Hopkins
Lighting Designer Mark Henderson
Music & Sound Adam Cork

Berlin
a reading by David Hare

Lyttelton Theatre
10, 12, 13 February
6, 9, 11, 19, 20 March
6pm start
Running time approx 55 mins
Tickets £10, no concessions

‘Berlin is the testicles of the West. Every time I want to make the West scream, I squeeze on Berlin.’
Nikita Khrushchev

For his whole adult life, David Hare has been visiting the city which so many young people regard as the most exciting in Europe. But there’s something in Berlin’s elusive character which makes him feel he’s always missing the point.

Now, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall, Hare reads a 55-minute meditation about Germany’s restored capital – both what it represents in European history, and the peculiar part it has played in his own life.

‘Of all British dramatists, Hare is the one who has always seemed to have the sharpest awareness of what is going on around him, which is what makes him such an eagerly sought-after journalist.’
Michael Billington

Cast
David Hare

Director Stephen Daldry

Audio-described performance
Wednesday 11 March at 6pm

The Political Romantic
BFI Southbank January 2009
A rare opportunity to see a retrospective of David Hare’s work for television plus hear him in conversation with Michael Billington. 020 7928 3232
www.bfi.org.uk

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Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
a play for actors and orchestra
by Tom Stoppard and André Previn

Olivier Theatre, 12 January – 25 February
Running time 65 mins
No interval

I assure you there is not much in it. Taken as a whole, the sane are out there and the sick are in here. For example, YOU are here because you have delusions, that sane people are put in mental hospitals.

A dissident is locked up in an asylum. If he accepts that he was ill, has been treated and is now cured, he will be released. He refuses.

Your opinions are your symptoms. Your disease is dissent.

Sharing his cell is a real lunatic who believes himself to be surrounded by an orchestra.

As the dissident’s son begs his father to free himself with a lie, Tom Stoppard’s darkly funny and provocative play asks if denying the truth is a price worth paying for liberty.

Collaborating with Tom Morris (co-director of War Horse) is Felix Barrett, artistic director of Punchdrunk (Faust, The Masque of the Red Death). With music composed by André Previn and staged with the pioneering orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia.

Cast includes
Bronagh Gallagher
Bryony Hannah
Dan Stevens

Orchestra Southbank Sinfonia
Conductor Simon Over
Directors Felix Barrett and Tom Morris
Designer Bob Crowley
Lighting Designer Bruno Poet
Choreographer Maxine Doyle
Sound Designer Christopher Shutt

Sponsored by Accenture

Promotional Partner Waterstone’s

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Mrs Affleck
a new play by Samuel Adamson
from Henrik Ibsen’s Little Eyolf

Cottesloe Theatre, ends 29 April

I know. No country matters. Not in the kitchen. Not on a Sunday. Not in England.

I want things how they were… My perfect poet… 1944, one afternoon in London – on the floor, every last undiluted drop
of you.

After six lonely weeks with nobody but her crippled little boy for company, Rita Affleck, wealthy, beautiful and consumed by jealous love, welcomes home her husband Alfred. But, far from the passionate reunion she so craves, there is only torment as Alfred’s possessive half-sister arrives, and he announces his great revelation.

Samuel Adamson’s new play takes Ibsen’s Little Eyolf as the inspiration for a passionate and tragic tale of obsessive love, set in 1950s England.

Cast
Josef Altin
Cassie Atkinson
Phil Cheadle
Naomi Frederick
Claire Skinner
Angus Wright

Director Marianne Elliott
Designer Bunny Christie
Lighting Designer Neil Austin
Music Stephen Warbeck
Sound Designer Christopher Shutt
Captioned performance
Thursday 26 February at 7.30pm

Audio-Described performances
Friday 27 February at 7.30pm, Saturday 28 February at 2.30pm

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The Pitmen Painters
by Lee Hall
inspired by a book by William Feaver

Lyttelton Theatre, 27 January – 14 April
Running time 2 hours 45 minutes

Evening Standard, Daily Express, Sunday Express

‘The Pitmen Painters, in Max Roberts’ perfectly pitched and acted production, manages to be tragic, funny and illuminating in one fell swoop of energy.’
Evening Standard

‘Lee Hall’s new play and Max Roberts’ sublime production are ablaze with intellectual vigour, political passion and incendiary emotional energy. A beautiful work of art that everybody should see.’
The Times

‘A wonderful piece of theatre: comic, sad and stirring in the same breath.’
The Times

Following sell-out seasons at Live Theatre Newcastle and the Cottesloe, The Pitmen Painters returns, this time to the Lyttelton. Lee Hall’s new play is a humorous, deeply moving and timely look at art, class and politics.

Cast includes
Christopher Connel
Michael Hodgson
Ian Kelly
Brian Lonsdale
Lisa McGrillis
Deka Walmsley
David Whitaker
Phillippa Wilson

Director Max Roberts
Designer Gary McCann
Lighting Designer Douglas Kuhrt
Sound Designer Martin Hodgson

Captioned performance
Saturday 7 March at 2.15pm

Audio-Described performances
Friday 6 February 7.30pm, Saturday 7 February 2.15pm, Wednesday 11 March at 7.45pm

A co-production between Live Theatre, Newcastle and the National Theatre

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A HighTide production
Stovepipe
a new play by Adam Brace

When a diver’s going to the depths, he has to go slowly. On the way down, he stops for a minute or two, treads water. Lets his body get used to the conditions.

That’s what Amman is for contractors. After Iraq. And before. We tread water.

When a mercenary goes missing en route to Iraq, his closest surviving friend embarks on a hunt across the post-war Middle East.

‘One of the best promenade dramas I’ve seen, truly effective and illuminating.’
Tom Stoppard

Cast includes
Christian Bradley
Shaun Dooley
Eleanor Matsuura
Sargon Yelda

Director Michael Longhurst
Producers Samuel Hodges and Steven Jon Atkinson
Dramaturg Jack Bradley
Design takis
Lighting Matt Prentice
Sound Steve Mayo

In collaboration with the National Theatre and The Bush Theatre

How to book: nationaltheatre.org.uk, 020 7452 3000
Dates: 3 March – 26 April
Calendar at nationaltheatre.org.uk/stovepipe
Prices: £20 (£15 concs); Preview prices 3 – 5 March £15

Running time 90 minutes
No interval. Suitable for 14yrs+

Stovepipe is an indoor promenade performance and patrons will be informed of its secret location in Shepherd’s Bush upon purchasing a ticket. Patrons are advised to wear comfortable shoes and to dress warmly.

NT on Tour

Gethsemane
a new play by David Hare
Gethsemane is David Hare’s fourteenth original play for the National Theatre and goes on tour following a sell-out run in the Cottesloe Theatre.

‘A writing career which is the most consistently adventurous of any British dramatist.’
Observer

3 – 7 March
Windsor Theatre Royal
theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk
Booking opens 24 October

10 – 14 March
Newcastle Theatre Royal
theatreroyal.co.uk
Booking opens 8 November

17 – 21 March
Cambridge Arts Theatre
cambridgeartstheatre.com
Booking opens late November

24 – 28 March
Bath Theatre Royal
theatreroyal.org.uk
Booking opens 1 December

31 March – 4 April
Brighton Theatre Royal
theambassadors.com/theatreroyal

Booking opens mid November for full information and on sale dates
nationaltheatre.org.uk/touring

Gethsemane plays in the Cottesloe Theatre until 24 February. £10 Day Seats available from Box Office in person on day of performance.

Cast
Anthony Calf
Pip Carter
Tamsin Greig
Adam James
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Jessica Raine
Daniel Ryan
Stanley Townsend
Nicola Walker

Director Howard Davies
Set Designer Bob Crowley
Costume Designer Fotini Dimou
Lighting Designer Mark Henderson
Projection Designers Jon Driscoll and Gemma Carrington
Music Dominic Muldowney
Sound Designer Christopher Shutt

Platforms
6pm (45mins) £3.50 / £2.50 (unless stated)

The marked Platforms are followed by booksigning with the author. Buy your copy from the NT Bookshop.

Ian Kelly on Casanova
Wed 4 Feb, Lyttelton
Historian and actor Ian Kelly, currently appearing in The Pitmen Painters, unveils a very different Casanova from the legendary lover, capturing the theatricality of the man and his times, and revealing an astonishingly modern way of looking at life, love... and food. booksigning

Samuel Adamson and Marianne Elliott on Mrs Affleck
Wed 11 Feb, Cottesloe
The playwright and director talk about this new production, inspired by Ibsen’s Little Eyolf. Chaired by Dan Rebellato. booksigning

The Satanic Verses – Twenty Years On
Sat 14 Feb, 12.30pm (1hr), Lyttelton
On 14 February 1989, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini sent a startling valentine to the prize-winning novelist Salman Rushdie, in the form of a fatwa which condemned the author and his novel, The Satanic Verses: a moment when global forces set religion and imaginative expression against one another. Twenty years on, English PEN and the National bring together actors and writers to read from the novel and discuss the implications of the fatwa against the writer.

Tom Stoppard on Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Sat 14 Feb, 5.30pm, Olivier
The playwright discusses his play for actors and orchestra. booksigning

Michael Kustow
Thu 26 Feb, Cottesloe
Outspoken writer, producer and cultural activist Michael Kustow, reflects on In Search of Jerusalem, his year-long spiritual journey from India to Israel and Palestine, revisiting the places, people and ideas that have formed his beliefs. booksigning

Richard Bean on England People Very Nice
Fri 27 Feb, Olivier
The writer discusses his new play about immigration into London’s
East End. booksigning

Sandi Toksvig presents The Great Feminist Quiz
Thu 5 March, Cottesloe
Sandi Toksvig, Fiona Laird and friends celebrate the post-feminist age. Marvel at the fact that women now own as much as 1% of the world’s assets and in as little as 187 years, women in Britain could be paid the same as men. Learn to love the glass ceiling: it makes your hair look nice!

Peter Flannery on Burnt by the Sun
Tue 24 March, Lyttelton
Peter Flannery talks about his theatrical adaptation of this story
set in Soviet Russia. booksigning

Alain de Botton
Thu 2 April, Lyttelton
We spend much of our lives at work – both one of the most exciting and most painful of all our activities. Alain de Botton introduces The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, exploring the modern workplace and what makes jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying. booksigning

James Macdonald on Dido, Queen of Carthage
Fri 3 April, Cottesloe
The director talks about his production of Marlowe’s intense
tale of love, betrayal and suicide.

Immigration in Literature
Wed 15 April, Olivier
The subject of immigration into London has inspired a wealth of fiction, biography and drama, most recently England People Very Nice. Writers, including Charles Nicholl and Robert McLiam Wilson, discuss the literary history of migrating Huguenots, Irish, Jewish and Bangladeshi communities. booksigning

Jonathan Dimbleby
Thu 16 April, Lyttelton
In Russia, Jonathan Dimbleby looks at how her past has shaped her current identity, and investigates what modern Russia means to her people now. booksigning

Rufus Norris on Death and the King’s Horseman
Wed 22 April, Olivier
Rufus Norris talks about his new production of Wole Soyinka’s play.

Ten Years of the Children’s Laureate
Mon 27 April, Olivier
Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Michael Rosen and Jacqueline Wilson celebrate the tenth anniversary of the inauguration of the Children’s Laureate. These illustrious writers gather together to reflect on the fun and challenges of being Laureate and discuss the current trend of dramatic adaptations of children’s novels. booksigning

Virginia McKenna
Tue 28 April, Cottesloe
Virginia McKenna’s autobiography looks back on a career which includes celebrated performances in The Cruel Sea and A Town Like Alice and her role in the conservation and animal welfare movement as founder of The Born Free Foundation. booksigning

Rupert Goold on Time and the Conways
Thu 14 May, Lyttelton
The director talks about his new production of Priestley’s ‘time play’.

A free outdoor screening of Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman’s ingenious love story about the rising young light of the Elizabethan stage. Bring blankets (and a date) to keep warm; best viewed from the Baylis Terrace.

Enjoy a romantic supper in Mezzanine restaurant after the film: two courses from the à la carte menu and a glass of pink champagne for £25 per person.
Reservations: 020 7452 3600, quoting ‘Valentine’s Offer’.

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In Conversation with…
3pm (1 hr), £5/4, Cottesloe
Company members chat informally about their work and answer your questions. Chaired by Al Senter.

Claire Skinner, Mon 2 March
Rory Kinnear, Fri 3 April

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PARIS CALLING
Thu 23 April, Cottesloe
Paris Calling: Readings
2.30pm – 4.30pm, £5/4
A chance to hear extracts from three newly translated contemporary French plays:
Holy Land by Mohamed Kacimi – a contemporary tragedy in occupied territories.
The beginning of by Pascal Rambert – a meditation on the surprise of love.
Moi aussi je suis Catherine Deneuve by Pierre Notte – a dark comedy of dysfunctional family life.

Paris Calling: Discussion 6pm
Playwrights from the series discuss the current state of
French playwriting and the genesis and development of the Paris Calling season.

Paris Calling is a Franco-British Season of Performing Arts launched by the French Institute, in association with the National Theatre Studio.
Visit pariscalling.org.uk for full details of the season.

Coming soon to the NT...

All’s Well That Ends Well
By William Shakespeare
Marianne Elliott directs her first Shakespeare for the National Theatre.

Mother Courage
By Bertolt Brecht
Following their acclaimed collaboration on Happy Days, Deborah Warner directs Fiona Shaw in the title role.

Phèdre
By Jean Racine
In a version by Ted Hughes
Helen Mirren makes a welcome return to the National in Racine’s great tragedy, directed by Nicholas Hytner.

NT Membership
For as little as £12.50 per year, you could become a Member of the NT and benefit from advance booking for these shows, ahead of the general public.
For information on our levels of membership visit nationaltheatre.org.uk/membership

discover: National Theatre

Family Workshops
Three sinister sisters, dastardly daggers and murderous plots will be explored through a range of games and creative activities. These workshops are a perfect introduction to the National Theatre’s Primary Classics production of Macbeth.

Macbeth Family Workshops
18 – 21 February, 12.30pm – 2pm
Suitable for 7yrs+
Tickets £2

Macbeth Primary Classics
10 – 21 February, Cottesloe Theatre
For tickets to workshop and production phone 020 7452 3000
or nationaltheatre.org.uk

Supported by The Behrens Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The Goldsmiths’ Company, The Ingram Trust, Newcomen Collett Foundation, St Olave’s & St Saviour’s School Foundation, The Topinambour Trust.

Secondary & Further Education
Exclusive £5 previews for teachers when you sign up to the discover: mailing list. Max 2 tickets per booking.

England People Very Nice: Thursday 5 February
Burnt by the Sun: Thursday 26 February
Dido, Queen of Carthage: Thursday 19 March
Death and the King’s Horseman: Thursday 2 April
Time and the Conways: Wednesday 29 April

The Discover Programme will provide directors’ workshops in preparation for the Shakespeare Schools Festival 2009.
For more information and to register, visit www.ssf.uk.com

Young People
New Connections 2009
200 schools and youth theatres nationwide will premiere the New Connections 2009 portfolio in February and March before transferring to a Partner Theatre Festival from April to June.

This year’s Partner Theatres are:
Bath Theatre Royal
Cardiff The Wales Millennium Centre
Chichester Festival Theatre
Edinburgh Lyceum Theatre
Kendal Brewery Arts Centre
Kingston The Rose Theatre
Leeds West Yorkshire Playhouse
London Hampstead Theatre
Northampton Royal and Derngate
Norwich Playhouse and Garage
Plymouth Theatre Royal
Salford The Lowry
Scarborough Stephen Joseph Theatre
Watford Palace Theatre

Adults
Theatreworks is a communication skills training programme for adults that draws on techniques from the rehearsal room. Delivered through short courses and personal coaching, the work is offered bespoke for organisations, or as open courses for individuals.

Theatreworks Partnerships works with specialist charities to provide training for employment for people entering into, or returning to the world of work.

Forthcoming open course dates:
Personal Impact
29 Jan, 4 Mar, 23 Apr, 10 Jun
Influence and Rapport
30 Jan, 11 Jun
A 40% discount on open course places is available for workers from charitable organisations.
To book call 020 7452 3770

More from the National Theatre

Free Exhibitions
Rae Smith: The War Horse Drawings
19 January – 21 March
Designer Rae Smith’s drawings provide the epic backdrop to
the National’s dramatic staging of War Horse. Beginning with evocations of the lost rural idyll of Devon in 1911, they take the audience on a journey to a very different kind of landscape – the terrifying world of the French trenches, seen through the eyes of a traumatised and terrified soldier. This exhibition offers an intimate insight into the artistic process behind one of the most spectacular shows the National has ever staged.

Ashington Group: The Pitmen Painters
23 January – 21 March
Following the success of The Pitmen Painters this exhibition returns to accompany its revival in the Lyttelton. The works on display, alongside other memorabilia, are from a private collection and include painting, drawing and sculpture by several members of the Ashington Group with a particular focus on Oliver Kilbourn, a key character in Lee Hall’s play.

Available from December:
Pitmen Painters: The Ashington Group 1934-1984, William Feaver’s book, the basis for Lee Hall’s play. Posters and postcards are also on sale, throughout the run of the play and exhibition.

Roxana Halls’ Tingle-Tangle
30 March – 9 May
A series of paintings on the theme of Cabaret by prize-winning contemporary artist Roxana Halls. The painter as impresario invites you to be the audience for a show taking in English variety theatre, burlesque, the heyday of Weimar, the current scene, and a range of imaginary performances only to be witnessed on canvas.

James Ravilious: An English Eye
6 April – 16 May
Best known for his seventeen-year study of rural life in North Devon (The Beaford Archive), James Ravilious (1939-1999) recorded everyday living both in Devon, and elsewhere. The photographs taken portray in detail the rich landscape and weather along with the people, their hardships and their entertainments. This exhibition celebrates his work and displays his beautiful, honest and warmly sympathetic black and white images of life in the country. 2009 marks the tenth anniversary of his death.
www.jamesravilious.com

Bookshop
Britain’s leading specialist theatre bookshop
Open Mon – Sat 9.30am – 10.45pm
Secure online ordering at: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk with hundreds more titles
Phone 020 7452 3456, or email bookshop@nationaltheatre.org.uk

War Horse
A recording of the music and songs, T–shirts, pencils, postcards, posters plus Mervyn Millar’s The Horse’s Mouth, and the War Horse novel.

Gifts
A range of shirts, an NT notebook, postcards from recent productions, plus many other gift ideas.

Playtexts
For much of the West End and National’s repertoire including:
England People Very Nice, Death and the King’s Horseman, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, The Pitmen Painters, War Horse, Time and the Conways, Mrs Affleck, Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Gethsemane.

Theatre Books
Biography, theatre-in-education, criticism, reference, technical, BA and MA course reading.

Posters and programmes
For current and past shows.

Performance on Stage and Screen: The Book, Paper and Visuals Fair
Saturday 18 April, Olivier Stalls foyer, 10.30am –7.15pm.

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Backstage Tours
A brilliant insight into the work behind the scenes bringing our productions to the stage. Tours run up to six times daily.
Tickets £6/£5, Family ticket
(2 adults and 2 under-18yrs) £13.
Book on 020 7452 3400.

Gift Vouchers
To buy National Theatre tickets.

Costume and Prop Hire
Thousands of top-quality costumes, furniture and props from past NT productions.
nationaltheatre.org.uk/hire
020 7735 4774

Free Live Music
The best in jazz, folk and world music in the main foyer, before evening performances and Saturday matinees.
nationaltheatre.org.uk/music

NT Membership
Get great benefits and access to tickets before the general public.

Advance Member £12.50
• Advance booking ahead of the general public
advance@nationaltheatre.org.uk

Priority Member £65
• Extended priority booking ahead of Advance Members and public
• Invitations to free Q&A events
priority@nationaltheatre.org.uk

Supporting Cast Member from £400
• First priority booking and hotline to the Box Office
• Use of the NT Members’ bar
support@nationaltheatre.org.uk

Corporate Member from £9,500
• Access to the NT hospitality areas
• Free tickets, dedicated account management and priority booking
ismith@nationaltheatre.org.uk

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Eating and Drinking at the National Theatre
Food & drink available throughout the building

Book online for Terrace Bar and Food and Mezzanine Restaurant
nationaltheatre.org.uk/restaurants
Functions and private hire
020 7452 3264
Catering for groups
020 7452 3600

Terrace Bar and Food
Have a drink, snack or meal in Terrace Bar and Food with the
best outside tables on the South Bank. Small plates of international mezze such as salt and pepper squid and babaganoush can be served with salads or frites to complete your meal.
OFFER: Mezze board of Chef’s selection, a carafe of wine to share and a choice of pudding each. £18.50 per person.
Level 2 (on the Lyttelton side of the building)
Terrace Reservations 020 7452 3555

Circle Café
Self-service menu includes fresh pizza, or pasta and salad from £6. Open before performances in the Olivier.
Level 2/3 (on the Olivier side of the building).

Mezzanine
Modern European menu comprises two courses for £21.95, with an emphasis on fresh fish and seasonal menus. Our lunch and post-theatre menu also includes a two-course fixed price menu with a glass of wine for £17.50. Also see Valentine’s Day offer on page 28.
Level 1 (on the Olivier side of the building)
Reservations 020 7452 3600

War Horse Children’s Food
OFFER: a two-course children’s menu for £7.50 is served in the Mezzanine. One child eats free from the children’s menu with a paying adult on mid-week matinees. Picnic boxes for £4.95 are on sale in both the Circle and Lyttelton Cafés.
Bars
Beat the interval queues! Orders for interval drinks and sandwiches are welcomed at all of our bars and Circle Café.

Lyttelton Café
Our self-service café serves a delicious menu of hot and cold dishes for pre-theatre eating, such as organic salmon fishcakes or lamb and apricot tagine. Complete your meal with a choice of salads, sandwiches, puddings and cakes cooked here in our kitchens at the National Theatre. Hot or cold main course and a quarter bottle of wine for £10.50.
Main foyer, ground floor, opposite the Long Bar.

NT Espresso Bar
At the front of the building on Theatre Square, our Espresso Bar sells an innovative range of food and drink including fresh coffee, baguettes, bagels, paninis and delectable cakes.

The Deck
‘One of the most exciting and commanding venues in London.’
The Architects’ Journal

The Deck is a contemporary and beautifully designed temporary structure located on one of the top-most terraces of the National Theatre and provides stunning panoramic views of the capital’s iconic skyline.

From April 2009, The Deck is available to hire exclusively for dinners up to 90, and receptions or conferences up to 120.

For further details see nationaltheatre.org.uk/thedeck

Getting to the National Theatre
South Bank, London SE1 9PX

Open
Mon – Sat, 9.30am – 11pm
Information
nationaltheatre.org.uk
020 7452 3400
Mon – Sat, 9.30am – 11pm
Opening Hours on public holidays Monday 13 April and Monday 4 May; by phone from 9.30am; in person from 4pm (includes the sale of day seats). Theatre will be closed all day on Good Friday 10 April and from 5pm on Tuesday 10 March.

Access
Audio-Described performances and touch tours for blind and visually impaired people. We also offer access guides and programme information in large print, braille and CD formats, and cast lists in large print and braille.
Captioned performances for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing. An infra red audio system is available in all theatres for every performance. Free headsets, available from the information desk, are essential.
Booking Access Tickets
by phone 020 7452 3000
Access Information
by phone 020 7452 3400 or email access@nationaltheatre.org.uk
nationaltheatre.org.uk/access

Getting Here
Rail
Waterloo, Waterloo East or walk over the river from Charing Cross.

Underground
Waterloo, Southwark or walk over the river from Embankment.

Bus
1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 76, 77, 139, 168, 171, 172, 176, 188, 211, 243, 341, 381, 507, 521, X68, Riverside Bus (RV1).
Coach
Setting-down point in Upper Ground at the back of the National.

Bicycle
Racks outside the Espresso Bar on the corner of Theatre Square, and opposite the Cottesloe entrance.

Car
Spaces in the NT car park are £7 after 5pm, or if you attend a daytime ticketed event and leave before 7pm.Combined matinee/evening show rate: £12. Sundays/public holidays: £7 all day (price is subject to review). Free parking for blue badge holders – validate at Information Desk. Congestion charge payment machines in the car park (credit cards only).

Programme details are published in good faith, but changes may occasionally be necessary.
Registered Charity No. 224223

Seating Plans
No booking fees
Select your own seat when booking online (except for Dido, Queen of Carthage)
nationaltheatre.org.uk
020 7452 3000

Olivier
Travelex £10 Tickets
£10 £15 £30

England People Very Nice
Preview prices
£10 £12.50 £20

Death and the King’s Horseman
Preview prices
£10 £12.50 £20

Olivier
£10 £22 £35 £41

War Horse
(All performances of War Horse are half price for under-18yrs)

Olivier
£10 £15 £30

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

Lyttelton
£10 £22 £29.50 £39.50 £41

Burnt by the Sun

Time and the Conways
Previews 1 & 2
£10 £17 £17 £22 £22

All remaining Previews
£10 £22 £22 £27 £27

The Pitmen Painters

Cottesloe
£10 £20 £29

Dido, Queen of Carthage
Previews 1 & 2
£10 £17 £22

All remaining Previews
£10 £17 £27

Ticketing Information

Box Office
Open Monday – Saturday, 9.30am – 8pm
Includes the sale of Day Seats.
Opening Hours on public holidays Monday 13 April and Monday 4 May; by phone from 9.30am; in person from 4pm (includes the sale of day seats). Theatre will be closed all day on Good Friday 10 April and from 5pm on Tuesday 10 March.

Tickets always available
Day Seats £10 from Box Office in person on the day of performance from 9.30am. See above for opening hours on bank holidays.

Tickets subject to availability
Standby £15 off top 3 prices in Lyttelton and top 2 prices in Olivier; £5 off top 2 prices in Cottesloe, for Travelex £10 productions and for Every Good Boy Deserves Favour.
All preview performances £20. Available from 90 minutes before
the performance.

Student Standby £10 from 45 mins before the performance.
Also Stage Pass, SOLT, NCA, theatre unions and unemployed. Bring ID.

Standing £5 after all tickets have been sold.

Concessions
Under-18 yrs Monday – Friday evenings and all matinees: £16.50. War Horse tickets are half price for under-18yrs (excludes £10 tickets and Travelex £10 productions).

Senior Citizen Midweek matinees: £20 off top 2 prices in Lyttelton; £20 off top 2 prices in Olivier, £10 off top price in Cottesloe, Travelex £10 productions and for Every Good Boy Deserves Favour.
Disabled People £12 + one companion at the same price.

Groups 020 7452 3010 12+ people: £5 off top two prices for The Pitmen Painters, Time and the Conways, Burnt by the Sun, War Horse (excludes previews, Travelex £10 productions and Cottesloe productions).

School group 10+ people 19-25yrs: £12 (excludes Saturday evenings and Travelex £10 productions).

College group 10+ people 19-25 yrs: £15 (excludes Saturday evenings and Travelex £10 productions).

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Theatres
Olivier Theatre
Open-stage with seating for 1,110 people. First three rows in the Front Stalls have no arm rests and are slightly narrower.

Lyttelton Theatre
Proscenium-stage with seating for 890 people. First four rows in the Front Stalls have no arm rests, are slightly narrower, and are on a flat floor (not raked).

Cottesloe Theatre
Studio theatre on three levels, with ﬂexible staging and seating for up to 300. For some productions certain seats have a semi-restricted view (at £20) or restricted view (at £10).

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Ticket Exchange
There are no refunds. However, tickets may be exchanged for a later performance or for credit, on condition that we receive the tickets at least 24 hours before the performance (7 days for group bookings). There is an administration fee of £2 per ticket.

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For your safety and comfort
Strobe lighting, smoke effects and gunshots are sometimes used in productions; details are available from the Information Desk after the ﬁrst preview. Latecomers may not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance. Children under four are welcome in the foyers, however they cannot be admitted to the auditoriums. If parents or guardians would like guidance on the content and suitability of individual NT plays, please call the Information Desk on 020 7452 3400.

In common with many public buildings in London, we have introduced extra measures to improve safety. You can make your visit, and that of all our other customers, more comfortable and secure by following a few simple instructions and using the free facilities provided. Small handbags only are allowed into the auditoriums. Bags, briefcases and packages must be left in the free cloakrooms in the foyers. Please avoid bringing large bags, rucksacks and luggage to the theatre.