National Theatre announces new shows – Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Phaedra, Romeo and Julie
National Theatre has unveiled a raft of new programming for the coming months.
Musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge, a co-production with Sheffield Theatres in association with Various Productions, will transfer to the Olivier theatre from 9 February – 25 March 2023.
Directed by Sheffield Theatres’ Artistic Director, Robert Hastie, featuring songs by Richard Hawley and with book by Chris Bush, the musical makes its London premiere following a return to the Crucible Theatre this winter.
A love letter to Sheffield and ode to the iconic Park Hill Estate, Standing at the Sky’s Edge charts the hopes and dreams of three generations over the course of six tumultuous decades.
The cast includes Darragh Cowley, Ahmed Hamad, Samuel Jordan, Bobbie Little, Robert Lonsdale, David McKechnie, Maimuna Memon, Baker Mukasa, Alastair Natkiel, Faith Omole, Adam Price, Nicola Sloane, Jake Small, Deborah Tracey, Rachael Wooding and Alex Young.
Set and costume designer is Ben Stones, with choreography by Lynne Page, music supervisor, arranger and orchestrator is Tom Deering, lighting design by Mark Henderson, sound design by Bobby Aitken, wigs, hair & make-up design by Cynthia De La Rosa, music director is John Rutledge, the associate choreographer is Thomas Herron, assistant music director is Ehsaan Shivarani, staff directors are Thomas Herron and Elin Schofield and casting by Stuart Burt CDG.
Simon Stone (Yerma, Young Vic) will make his National Theatre debut in the Lyttelton theatre directing his striking new play Phaedra (1 February – 8 April 2023) after Euripides, Seneca and Racine.
After years of fierce focus on her political career, Phaedra turns her attention to her personal life. The reappearance of her stepson shakes the foundations of her house and the beliefs that have underpinned her power. As buried lust and loneliness surge to the surface, Phaedra’s actions threaten to destroy everything she has built.
Janet McTeer (Ozark) takes the title role alongside Assaad Bouab (Call My Agent) and Mackenzie Davis (Station Eleven) who both make their UK stage debuts.
Set design is by Chloe Lamford, costume designer and associate set designer is Mel Page, lighting designer is James Farncombe, composer and sound designer is Stefan Gregory and associate director is Nimmo Ismail.
Also announced today is Romeo and Julie (14 February – 1 April 2023), a new play by Gary Owen and a co-production with Sherman Theatre, which will run in the Dorfman theatre.
Two Welsh teens raised a few streets apart – but from entirely different worlds – crash into first love and are knocked off their feet. But at the crossroads to the rest of their lives, Julie’s family fears the worst in a world of unequal opportunity.
Following their critically acclaimed productions Iphigenia in Splott and Killology, director Rachel O’Riordan reunites with Gary Owen to deliver his new play inspired by Romeo and Juliet. The cast includes Catrin Aaron, Paul Brennen, Anita Reynolds, Callum Scott Howells and Rosie Sheehy.
Set and costume design is by Hayley Grindle, with lighting design by Jack Knowles, sound design by Gregory Clarke and staff director is Kwame Owusu.
The new shows join the previously announced world premiere of April De Angelis’ biting new comedy, Kerry Jackson (30 November 2022 – 21 January 2023) starring Fay Ripley.
Meanwhile, a new retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet (20 – 28 March 2023) will return to the Dorfman theatre as part of a tour to 5,000 pupils in state schools
Plus, Emma Rice’s Wuthering Heights, a co-production with Wise Children, Bristol Old Vic and York Theatre Royal, in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, will run at St Ann’s Warehouse in New York this October before touring the US.
