20 July to 22 October 2016
Running Time: 2 hours 40 minutes inc 20 min interval
From November 1915 to Easter 1916, as the rebellion builds to a climax half a mile away, the disparate residents of a Dublin tenement go about their lives, peripheral to Ireland’s history.
A dozen vivid characters come and go – selfless, hilarious and desperate by turns – while the heroic myth of Ireland is fought over elsewhere.
To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, the National stages an epic new production of Sean O’Casey’s greatest play.
Get the playtext from the National Theatre bookshop.
Jeremy Herrin and Sean McEvoy on The Plough and the Stars, Fri 21 Oct, 6pm
A co-production with
From November 1915 to Easter 1916, as the rebellion builds to a climax half a mile away, the disparate residents of a Dublin tenement go about their lives, peripheral to Ireland’s history.
Watch how a scene develops from rehearsal to production with this fight from The Plough and the Stars. Sean O'Casey's classic is playing until 22 October.
Immerse yourself in the history of The Plough and the Stars through a new virtual reality experience.
Step into one man’s memories of a moment that changed Irish history forever: the 1916 Easter Rising.
Free, upstairs in the Lyttelton Lounge.
Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel is brought to you by BBC Learning, Crossover Labs, VRTOV and Oculus.
The Plough and the Stars, which is set in the Dublin tenements during the Easter Rising of 1916, tackles one of the biggest events in Irish history and is rightly considered one of the greatest pieces from a nation with a proud theatrical tradition. To mark the end of the production, here are five of the best plays by Irish authors, selected by our Archivist, Erin Lee.
