Tim Samuels
2021RSC Live: Othello
Iqbal Khan
Hugh Quarshie, Lucian Msamati
Othello is the greatest general of his age. A fearsome warrior, loving husband and revered defender of Venice against its enemies. But he is also an outsider whose victories have created enemies of his own, men driven by prejudice and jealousy to destroy him. As they plot in the shadows, Othello realises too late that the greatest danger lies not in the hatred of others, but his own fragile and destructive pride.
RSC Live: Othello
National Theatre Live: Antigone
Polly Findlay
Jodie Whittaker, Christopher Eccleston
In the unstable aftermath of a civil war, Creon, the new King of Thebes, asserts his authority by forbidding anyone from honouring the death of the traitor Polyneices. But Antigone, Polyneices' sister, will not obey. When Creon's authority is challenged, a gripping conflict emerges between the power of an individual and the state. Polly Findlay's electric 2012 production brings Sophocles' tragedy into the modern world as a gripping political thriller.
National Theatre Live: Antigone
National Theatre Live: Treasure Island
Tim Van Someren
Arthur Darvill, David Sterne
It’s a dark, stormy night. The stars are out. Jim, the inn-keeper’s granddaughter, opens the door to a terrifying stranger. At the old sailor’s feet sits a huge sea-chest, full of secrets. Jim invites him in – and her dangerous voyage begins. Robert Louis Stevenson’s story of murder, money and mutiny is brought to life on the Olivier stage in a thrilling new adaptation by Bryony Lavery.
National Theatre Live: Treasure Island
RSC Live: Macbeth
Polly Findlay, Robin Lough
Christopher Eccleston, Niamh Cusack
Returning home from battle, the victorious Macbeth meets three witches on the heath. Driven by their disturbing prophecies, he sets out on the path to murder. This contemporary production of Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller marks both Christopher Eccleston’s RSC debut and the return of Niamh Cusack to the company.
RSC Live: Macbeth
National Theatre Live: The Cherry Orchard
Howard Davies
Claudie Blakley, Mark Bonnar
Early one May morning, after a long absence (during which she lived in Paris), the widow Madame Ranevsky returns home to her family estate to find that it has been heavily mortgaged to pay for her extravagances and that it is to be auctioned off.
National Theatre Live: The Cherry Orchard