Category: National Theatre

For those unfamiliar with The House of Bernarda Alba, it was written by queer Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca against the backdrop of the Spanish civil war. It is considered part of his ‘rural trilogy’, alongside Blood Wedding and Yerma, detailing small town life in Spain during the 1930s. This adaptation, by Alice Birch, arrives at the National Theatre with some fanfare, boasting a stellar cast and creative team. Rebecca Frecknall (who directs London’s current production of Cabaret, and also directed this year’s celebrated production of A Streetcar Named Desire)…

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Where to start with a show like The Confessions? It’s far from a conventional play – we’re not here to see a straightforward story, a snapshot into a moment in time with everything nicely wrapped up two hours later. Instead, The Confessions is based on the life of Alice, who is the mother of the play’s writer Alexander Zeldin. We’re essentially navigating her life story here, told from the moment she graduates high school in Australia in 1943 through to a near present-day London. Alice considers herself to have lived…

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We heard really great things about last year’s production of The Father and the Assassin at the National Theatre, but unfortunately weren’t able to cover it when it played previously – so we were excited to see that it was returning to its former home. This production reunites Indian playwright Anupama Chandrasekhar with director Indhu Rubasingham, and stars Olivier-winner Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi) as the assassin Nathuram Godse. The story of Mahatma Gandhi (played in this show by Paul Bazely), the civil rights activist and leader of the successful…

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We had high hopes for The Effect, and thankfully this show more than lived up to expectations. Written by Lucy Prebble, one of the writers of hit TV series Succession, and directed by Olivier-winner Jamie Lloyd, it’s a brilliant, captivating observation of the world we inhabit, full of moral dilemmas. At its centre is the story of two young people, Tristan (Paapa Essiedu) and Connie (Taylor Russell), who have volunteered to take part in a new drugs trial. They live in a world which has woken up to the importance…

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Before the show begins we’re aware that this is likely to be an extremely affecting piece of theatre – there are signs around the bar area of the Dorfman Theatre (the smallest of the three spaces in the National Theatre) advising audience members that there are safe spaces available upstairs in the theatre if they’re required during the evening. Before act one begins, the actors introduce themselves – out of character – to give us some context about the play, to reassure the audience that no fire will be shown…

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Dixon and Daughters, a powerful new play by Deborah Bruce, has finally made its way to the stage at the National Theatre following a Covid-related delay. It’s an interesting, if at times difficult and unsettling, watch; while occasionally veering in the direction of comedy or drama, this is very much a story about domestic abuse, alongside trauma and grief. We’re introduced to matriarch figure Mary (Brid Brennan), who has returned from prison after she seemingly lied in court to protect her now-deceased husband. Two days in this family’s lives are…

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