The National Theatre adds five new productions to streaming platform
National Theatre at Home
The National Theatre has today announced the latest productions to be made available on its National Theatre at Home streaming platform. Launching today, Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum Dreams, the Young Vic’s A View from the Bridge directed by Ivo van Hove with Mark Strong and Nicola Walker, and Rufus Norris’ production of Everyman with Chiwetel Ejiofor will be available for all audiences worldwide to stream. Danny Boyle’s production of Frankenstein and Sonia Friedman Productions’ Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch will also be available for audiences outside the UK and Ireland.
The National Theatre productions of Medea with Helen McCrory and The Comedy of Errors with Lenny Henry are now streaming on the platform with audio-description.
Chewing Gum Dreams is the semi-autobiographical, one-woman play written and performed by Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You). The production was filmed for the National Theatre Archive in April 2014 and this is the first time this recording has been released for the public to stream. The play went on to become a television series on E4 in 2015, for which Coel would win two BAFTAs.
The Young Vic’s 2014 production of A View from the Bridge saw visionary Ivo Van Hove direct Mark Strong and Nicola Walker in Arthur Miller’s dark and passionate play. The critically acclaimed production won three Olivier Awards and transferred to the West End and Broadway. National Theatre Live filmed the production in the West End in 2015 and it becomes available on demand for the first time today.
Everyman, a new adaptation by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy from the 15th century morality play, was directed by Rufus Norris in 2015 in his first production as Director of the National Theatre and filmed live in the Olivier theatre with Chiwetel Ejiofor as Everyman.
For audiences outside of the UK and Ireland, Danny Boyle’s 2011 production of Frankenstein from the Olivier stage is available from today. Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch jointly won the Olivier Best Actor Award for alternately playing the roles of the creature and Victor Frankenstein. Both versions will be available on the platform to stream. Also Sonia Friedman Productions’ Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch, directed by NT Associate Lyndsey Turner, will be available for audiences outside the UK and Ireland. In 2015, the production was the fastest selling ticket in theatre history. Last month Amazon Prime Video made these two productions available exclusively to subscribers in the UK and Ireland as part of a collaboration with the National Theatre which also included Fleabag and Ian McKellen on Stage.
Emma Keith, Director of Digital Media at the National Theatre, said: “It’s fantastic to be able to make more of these impactful and enchanting productions available for audiences around the world to enjoy. I’m delighted to be able to showcase some important productions in our recent theatre history, such as Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum Dreams which went onto become the BAFTA-winning television series, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hamlet which was the fastest selling ticket in history, Chiwetel Ejiofor commanding the Olivier stage in Rufus Norris’ first production as National Theatre Director and Ivo van Hove’s seminal A View from the Bridge at the Young Vic… This is a very exciting month of titles on National Theatre at Home! I’m thrilled that we also have 15 productions available with audio-description to support blind and partially sighted audiences, as well as captions for every production. As we now reach seven months of the streaming platform, with new productions added monthly, it’s brilliant to see such a varied range of curated titles so there’s truly something for everybody to enjoy.”
New productions are added each month and National Theatre at Home now has 26 productions to stream on the platform available at any time, including Angels in America Parts One and Two with Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane and Russell Tovey, Medea with Helen McCrory and Michaela Coel, Mosquitoes with Olivia Colman and Olivia Williams, Phèdre with Helen Mirren, the Young Vic’s Yerma with Billie Piper and Othello with Adrian Lester.
All productions on National Theatre at Home are available with captions. Medea and A Comedy of Errors will now also be available with audio-description to support blind and partially sighted audiences worldwide. There are 15 National Theatre at Home titles available with audio-description.
National Theatre at Home is available at ntathome.com, with single titles available from £5.99 – £8.99, a monthly subscription for £9.99 or a yearly subscription for £99.99.
Bloomberg Philanthropies is Headline Sponsor of National Theatre at Home.
National Theatre at Home is also supported by The Linbury Trust.
#NationalTheatreatHome
Chewing Gum Dreams
Meet Tracey Gordon. Friendship, sex, UK garage, school, teachers, periods, emergency contraception, raves, tampons, white boys, God, money. Friendship.
The more she learns about the world the less she understands. Michaela Coel plays Tracey in this one-woman play that recalls the last days of innocence before adulthood.
Written and performed by Michaela Coel, directed by Nadia Fall with lighting design by Jamie Spirito and sound design by Mike Walker.
Originally developed with The Yard Theatre in association with the Bush Theatre, it received critical acclaim at the National Theatre in 2014 playing in the Temporary theatre, which opened on the South Bank between 2013 – 2016 during the refurbishment of the Dorfman theatre. The play went on to become a television series on E4 in 2015, for which Coel would win the BAFTA for Best Comedy Performance and BAFTA for Breakthrough Talent for her writing.
This is a recording from the National Theatre Archive from the production in the National Theatre’s Temporary theatre in 2014. This is the first time this Archive recording has been released for the public to stream.
Available worldwide until at least 12 July 2022.
A View from the Bridge
In Brooklyn, Eddie Carbone welcomes his Sicilian cousins to the land of freedom. But when one of them falls for his beautiful niece, they discover that freedom comes at a price.
Eddie’s jealous mistrust exposes a deep, unspeakable secret – one that drives him to commit the ultimate betrayal.
Ivo Van Hove directs Mark Strong and Nicola Walker in Arthur Miller’s dark and passionate play.
The cast also includes Emun Elliott as Marco, Phoebe Fox as Catherine, Michael Gould as Alfieri, Richard Hansell as Louis, Luke Norris as Rodolpho and Pádraig Lynch as Officer.
Direction by Ivo van Hove, design & light by Jan Versweyveld, costumes by An D’Huys, sound by Tom Gibbons, dramaturgy by Bart Van den Eynde, UK casting by Julia Horan CDG, US casting by Jim Carnahan, associate direction by Jeff James, associate design by James Turner, associate lighting design by Nicki Brown and associate sound design by Alex Twiselton.
This Young Vic production was filmed live at the Wyndham’s Theatre in March 2015.
Available worldwide until at least 12 July 2022.
Everyman
Chiwetel Ejiofor is Everyman in a new adaptation by Carol Ann Duffy, directed by Rufus Norris.
Everyman is successful, popular and riding high.
When Death comes calling, he is forced to abandon his hedonistic life and embark on a frantic search to find a friend that will speak in his defence. But with Death close behind, his time is running out.
Filmed in the Olivier theatre in 2015, this is a National Theatre production.
The cast includes Sharon D Clarke, Paul Bullion, Adam Burton, Michelle Butterfly, Kate Duchene, Dermot Crowley, Amy Griffiths, Nick Holder, Nicholas Karimi, Joshua Lacey, Penny Layden, Coral Messam, Amanda Minihan, Itxaso Moreno, Ira Mandela Siobhan, Kiruna Stamell, Clemmie Sveaas, Phillip Martin Brown, Jeshaiah Murray, Tumo Reetsang, Joshua Tikare and Stephen Aintree.
Directed by Rufus Norris, with choreography and movement direction by Javier De Frutos, set design by Ian MacNeil, costume design by Nicky Gillibrand, lighting design by Paul Anderson, video design by Tal Rosner, music by William Lyons, sound design by Paul Arditti and music production by Dominic Betmead.
Available worldwide until at least 12 July 2022.
Frankenstein
Filmed live in 2011 from the Olivier stage of the National Theatre in London, this thrilling production, directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle sold out at the National Theatre and became an international sensation in cinemas around the world.
Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch jointly won the Olivier Best Actor Award for alternately playing the roles of the creature and Victor Frankenstein. Naomie Harris plays Elizabeth, the fiancé of Victor Frankenstein.
Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel was adapted for the stage by Nick Dear.
Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein’s bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the increasingly desperate and vengeful Creature determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal.
The cast also includes Ella Smith, John Killoran, Steven Elliott, Lizzie Winkler, Karl Johnson, Daniel Millar, Jared Richard, George Harris, Martin Chamberlain, Daniel Ings, Mark Armstrong, John Stahl, Andreea Padurariu, John Killoran, Josie Daxter and William Nye.
Frankenstein is directed by Danny Boyle, with set design by Mark Tidesley, costume design by Suttirat Anne Larlarb, lighting design by Bruno Poet, music and sound score by Underworld, movement direction by Toby Sedgwick, fight direction by Kate Waters, music associate is Alex Baranowski and sound design by Underworld and Ed Clarke.
Available to audiences outside the UK and Ireland until at least 12 July 2022. In June, Amazon Prime Video made this production available exclusively to subscribers in the UK and Ireland as part of a collaboration with the National Theatre.
Hamlet
BAFTA winner Benedict Cumberbatch plays Hamlet with Ciarán Hinds as Claudius, Sian Brooke as Ophelia, Anastasia Hille as Gertrude and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Laertes in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, filmed live at the Barbican.
In 2015, this production was the fastest selling ticket in theatre history with all 100,000 tickets selling out in minutes.
As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father’s death but paralysed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.
The cast also includes Leo Bill, Karl Johnson, Jim Norton, Barry Aird, Eddie Arnold, Nigel Carrington, Ruairi Conaghan, Rudi Dharmalingam, Colin Haigh, Paul Ham, Diveen Henry, Amaka Okafor, Dan Parr, Jan Shepherd, Morag Siller, Matthew Steer, Sergo Vares and Dwane Walcott.
Directed by National Theatre Associate Lyndsey Turner, set designs are by Es Devlin with costume designs by Katrina Lindsay, video by Luke Halls, lighting by Jane Cox, music by Jon Hopkins, sound by Christopher Shutt, movement by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and fights by Bret Yount.
Presented by Sonia Friedman Productions and filmed live in 2015 from the Barbican Theatre.
Available to audiences outside the UK and Ireland until at least 12 July 2022. In June, Amazon Prime Video made this production available exclusively to subscribers in the UK and Ireland as part of a collaboration with the National Theatre.