Tessa Ross and Rufus Norris announce National Theatre plans for 2015
NEW Chief Executive Tessa Ross and Director Rufus Norris have announced plans for their opening year at the National Theatre. They said:
“It’s with great pleasure and excitement that we present our first season at the National.
“We want to make the very best theatre and share it with as many people as possible. So we’ve started by putting together a group of extraordinary performers, writers and theatre-makers, led by our new team of Associates: Paule Constable, Dominic Cooke, Marianne Elliott, Tom Morris, Ben Power and Lyndsey Turner.
“The work we make over the coming years will strive to be as open, as diverse, as collaborative and as national as possible. We want to inspire artists and audiences to think in new ways, to constantly re-imagine the act of making theatre. This first season is just a beginning, but it contains the seeds of what is to come.
“Thanks to our continuing partnership with Travelex, we’ll have over 100,000 tickets available at £15, and our building is more open and inviting than ever before. We hope there is something here for everyone, whether they’ve been to the National many times or are thinking about their first visit. We look forward to welcoming them all.”
The season includes:
New plays by Alice Birch, Caryl Churchill, Patrick Marber, Duncan Macmillan and Wallace Shawn.
Re-imagined classics: a new version of Everyman by Carol Ann Duffy with Chiwetel Ejiofor in the title role; a new musical, wonder.land, by Damon Albarn and Moira Buffini; new adaptations of Turgenev and D H Lawrence; new productions of Shakespeare, Farquhar and Granville Barker; and Sally Cookson’s staging of Jane Eyre.
Modern masterpieces by Caryl Churchill, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Timberlake Wertenbaker and August Wilson.
A commitment to regional relationships, beginning with co-productions with Bristol Old Vic, Headlong, Manchester International Festival and the Royal Exchange Theatre.
In the Temporary Theatre, work by RashDash, Alexander Zeldin, Tim Crouch and Islington Community Theatre.
Travelex’s sponsorship of £15 Tickets continues with almost half the tickets for four productions still at £15; Friday Rush £20 tickets introduced for all shows.
Paule Constable, Dominic Cooke, Marianne Elliott, Tom Morris, Ben Power and Lyndsey Turner to be NT Associate Directors; also directing at the NT this year are Sally Cookson, Nadia Fall, Polly Findlay, Simon Godwin, Jeremy Herrin, Roger Michell, Ian Rickson and Indhu Rubasingham.
National Theatre: On Demand in Schools launches with Frankenstein, King Lear and Othello available free in every secondary school in the UK.
National Theatre Live broadcasts Everyman from the NT and the Young Vic’s A View from the Bridge from the West End; the film of London Road will be released later in the year.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and One Man, Two Guvnors continue their UK tours.