Indhu Rubasingham unveils her first season
Posted
Today, we announce the next chapter for the National Theatre, outlining our plans to offer the widest access to high-quality theatre, anywhere in the world.
Top stories announced today include:
- A whopping 16 new productions, including 9 world premieres and a season of repertory theatre.
- Monica Barbaro, Nicola Coughlan, Éanna Hardwicke, Paul Mescal, Marty Rea, Ukweli Roach, Aidan Turner and Letitia Wright will make their National Theatre debuts.
- Hiran Abeysekera, Ben Daniels, Lesley Manville, James McArdle, Siobhán McSweeney and Clare Perkins will also return to our stages.
- Incredible new partnerships that will support our creative sector, both nationally and internationally.
- Major new projects to support education and skills, including tours for primary and secondary schools.
Indhu’s first programme as Director is about heritage and renewal, inspired by our rich past and shaking up our future. Boldly disrupted classics will collide with contemporary voices, defining the modern mainstream and offering audiences a rich range of experiences.
Indhu Rubasingham, Director and Co-Chief Executive
Kate Varah, Executive Director and Co-Chief Executive
Our upcoming season
Shows opening Autumn 2025. Public booking from Thursday 15 May. Members enjoy priority booking from Thursday 8 May.*
Bacchae
Hamlet
The Playboy of the Western World
Ballet Shoes
*Tickets for Ballet Shoes are on sale now
Further ahead
A look ahead to 2026 and beyond. Become a member to get pre-sale access.
The Jungle Book
adapted by Anupama Chandrasekhar
from the stories of Rudyard Kipling
Olivier Theatre
Audiences will be transported into the jungle as the Olivier is transformed for this timeless classic tale of family, courage and loyalty. Directed by Indhu Rubasingham.
The Story
by Tracey Scott Wilson
Olivier Theatre
Letitia Wright makes her National Theatre debut in this examination of racial politics and journalistic ethics, inspired by real events. Directed by National Theatre Associate, Clint Dyer.
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
by Christopher Hampton
from the novel by Choderlos de Laclos
Lyttelton Theatre
Marianne Elliott directs a major revival of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ epistolary novel. With Monica Barbaro, Lesley Manville and Aidan Turner.
A Whistle in the Dark
by Tom Murphy
Lyttelton Theatre
In the first of two 20th Century classics playing in a repertory season, Paul Mescal makes his National Theatre debut directed by Caitríona McLaughlin.
Death of a Salesman
by Arthur Miller
Lyttelton Theatre
Alternating with A Whistle in the Dark, Paul Mescal leads the repertory company in the second of our 20th Century classics, directed by Rebecca Frecknall.
Cloud 9
by Caryl Churchill
Lyttelton Theatre
Director Dominic Cooke reunites with multi award-winning playwright Caryl Churchill to direct the play which examines the complexities of identity and change.
The Authenticator
by Winsome Pinnock
Dorfman Theatre
A new play by award-winning playwright Winsome Pinnock. Directed by National Theatre Associate, Miranda Cromwell, The Authenticator is a political, funny and theatrical take on Britain past and present.
Samira
by Carmen Nasr
Dorfman Theatre
Originally commissioned by Kiln Theatre, Samira by Carmen Nasr will mark her National Theatre debut. Inspired by real events, the play explores themes of authenticity, political upheaval and identity, focusing on a young Syrian blogger who is not all that she seems.
P&P Productions presents PRIDE
book and lyrics by Stephen Beresford, music by Chris Nightingale, DJ Walde, Josh Cohen
Dorfman Theatre
A brand-new musical based on the award-winning film. Reuniting director Matthew Warchus and writer Stephen Beresford, inspired by the true story of how a group of lesbian and gay activists joined the miners’ strike campaign of 1984.
Man and Boy
by Terence Rattigan
Dorfman Theatre
Approaching 50 years since the death of writer Terence Rattigan, Man and Boy sees Director Anthony Lau make his National Theatre debut, with Ben Daniels leading the cast.
Punchdrunk
Dorfman Theatre
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of groundbreaking immersive company Punchdrunk, we have commissioned a new piece of work which will be seen in the Dorfman in 2027.
Stormzy
And finally, stay tuned for news of a very exciting new collaboration with multi Brit Award-winning artist Stormzy, in a world premiere production.
Get your tickets first
Support our work as a member and you’ll get priority booking for our new shows, before tickets go onsale to the public.
Membership starts from just £7 per month, with your donations powering projects with schools and young people nationwide.
Exciting new partnerships
Resident Companies
In a new commitment to amplifying the work of theatre companies, we will now host a group of regionally based companies on a two-year cycle as National Theatre Resident Companies.
By platforming these innovative, ground-breaking companies this scheme not only aims to give these exciting theatre-makers the platform to grow and expand, but also for them to influence and inspire our work.
Our first companies in Residence will be LUNG Theatre and Middle Child.
LUNG Theatre hold social justice and campaigning at the root of all their projects, they have made verbatim theatre a superpower to get people talking about injustice and the pressing issues of our times.
Middle Child is a bold and ambitious new writing company rooted in Hull. They share our profound belief that by making work that speaks to the world we live in and responding to the challenges of our time, we can change who makes and experiences theatre.
Bank of America + Skills Centre
With the country, and the creative sector in particular, facing an urgent skills shortage, this next chapter will be defined by a focus on education and skills.
A new partnership with Bank of America and our Skills Centre will accelerate the nationwide expansion of skills development, career support, and entry-level to mid-career training programs, reaching 15,000 individuals over the next three years.
The partnership will unlock a series of new initiatives including a flagship programme of paid placements on every South Bank production starting in September 2025, providing individuals from backgrounds which are often underrepresented within the theatre industry, the unique opportunity to work alongside the National Theatre’s world-class creative teams and in-house technical experts.
New transatlantic partnerships in New York
Building on our commitment to share theatre with a global audience, we’re thrilled to announce new multi-year international collaborations with The Shed and BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) in New York.
The creative exchange with The Shed brings us closer together with one of New York City’s newest and most significant performing arts centres and represents an alliance that is rooted in a shared vision to produce innovative theatrical experiences that welcome a wide range of audiences. This builds on an association that started with the North American premiere of The Effect in March 2024 (in association with the Jamie Lloyd Company), followed by Sondheim’s Here We Are, now receiving its London premiere.
A new partnership with BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), America’s oldest performing arts centre, will bring classic National Theatre shows to BAM’s Harvey Theater, on screen at BAM’s Rose Cinemas and in schools across Brooklyn, to inspire learning within the classroom – with productions to be announced in the autumn.
Young People and Learning
As part of our bold new vision, we’re deepening our work with young people with an ambition to reach every schoolchild in the UK before they leave school.
A brand new schools tour
In an exciting move to take our main stage productions directly into schools, Bacchae will be adapted to tour secondary schools and colleges around the country, directed by Hannah Hauer-King.
Nima Taleghani’s (Heartstopper) exciting new version of Euripides’ ultimate tragedy will be brought to life through rhythm, movement and music.
A new touring partnership for primary schools
Our partnership with The Unicorn Theatre, the UK’s leading theatre for young audiences, exemplifies our commitment to entertain and inspire young people through daring and imaginative work.
Developing from our collaboration on the National Theatre Collection for primary schools, we will be co-producing a touring production, widening our reach for primary school audiences.
The Last Wild, in a new version for primary school audiences, adapted by Jude Christian from the award-winning novel by Piers Torday, will be directed by the Unicorn Theatre’s Artistic Director and former Peter Hall Associate, Rachel Bagshaw.
Opening at the Unicorn Theatre in February 2027, the production will tour to venues and schools in areas across England, doubling the reach of previous National Theatre primary tours.
The Next Morning
We’ve teamed up with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Imperial War Museums to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
A new film written by Olivier Award-winner James Graham focuses on the hopes, dreams and ambitions of young people after the Second World War and asks what this means for young people today.
The Next Morning featuring Julian Glover, Siân Phillips and Joseph Mydell is released nationwide on 8 May.
As part of our nationwide tour of Graham’s Dear England, a year-long schools engagement programme responding to the events of VE and VJ Day will collect and share the hopes that young people have for themselves and for young people in 2105, 80 years from now.
The National Theatre Collection
We’re also expanding our US and global education programmes, with the National Theatre Collection now available for free in all UK state-funded schools as well as over 200 New York schools.
This is planned to expand to schools across the US over the next three years. New titles will be added to the Collection in September 2025, in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing and available on their digital platform Drama Online. Titles will include Blues from an Alabama Sky, The Boy with Two Hearts, Ballet Shoes and Kin with more to be announced.
