14 replies to this topic

[Whenindisgrace]

Nicholas Hytner has announced a slew of interesting productions:  the Edward II with John Heffernan we were all expecting, the Tori Amos musical The Light Princess with Rosalie Craig and Clive Rowe opening in November, James Baldwin's The Amen Corner directed by Rufus Norris, Pirandello's La Liola directed by Richard Eyre, Georg Kaiser's From Morning to Midnight (German expressionism), Anne-Marie Duff in Strange Interlude directed by Simon Godwin, a couple of children's shows Emil and the Detectives in the Oliver directed by Bijan Sheibani and in the Shed The Elaphantom directed by Marianne Elliott.  Plus the Mendes/SRB Lear in January 2014.

I'm most looking forward to Strange Interlude as I've never seen it.  I was thinking about O'Neill the other day wondering what Kevin Spacey would be doing in his final two years.  I hope the Lear will be as good as it should be.  I have loved the work of both, but fear it can't live up to expectations, and  I do think that the Sam Mendes Bridge Project productions were only very good, rather than truly great.  They didn't have the power of his best work at the RSC and the Donmar.  I'm always interested to see good productions of European classics, but wonder if the NT is choosing the right plays.  With the Ferdinand Brückner a few years ago and the Kaiser now I wonder if they're not going for plays that are minor even in Germany.  And I've rarely been convinced by a British Pirandello production - it will need a major name in the cast I would have thought.

[wickedgrin]

I must be getting old and jaded, because there is nothing in the new season that I find especially exciting at all. Still good for the bank balance!

[popcultureboy]

There's plenty I'm finding exciting. Not least the much delayed A Light Princess.

[young offender]

This looks quite a promising line-up to me, especially the Heffernan Edward II and Strange Interlude. According to Wikipedia, the O'Neill runs to  'over four hours, [and] has sometimes been produced with a dinner break or on consecutive evenings'.

SRB might have waited another decade to give us his Lear. Frankly, after all the shows he has been in over the last 18 months he has delighted me long enough, but perhaps I'll be hungry for more by 2014.  Brave move to give Bijan Sheibani another show in the Olivier - I thought he might have been given his marching orders after Damned by Despair.

[Whenindisgrace]

No new plays mentioned.  Perhaps Hytner is waiting for a few things to be finished?  I assume The Shed will contain new stuff, of a more experimental nature, but it's rare not to have a biggish play by a biggish name to look forward to in one of the main theatres.

[Honoured Guest]

Details of seven new shows in The Shed have been announced along with two Edinburgh Fringe hit transfers and a Visitors' Festival in September. Bursting with new plays and other new theatre. Press releases are accessible to all in the Press section of the NT website (click at bottom of the homepage).

[Pharaoh's number 2]

Whenindisgrace, on 30 January 2013 - 02:45 PM, said:

No new plays mentioned.  Perhaps Hytner is waiting for a few things to be finished?  I assume The Shed will contain new stuff, of a more experimental nature, but it's rare not to have a biggish play by a biggish name to look forward to in one of the main theatres.

But we do have a big new musical

[paplazaroo]

There's a new Payne play for the shed early 2014.

[Whenindisgrace]

Honoured Guest, on 30 January 2013 - 02:55 PM, said:

Details of eight new shows in The Shed have been announced along with one Edinburgh Fringe hit transfer and a Visitors' Festival in September. Bursting with new plays and other new theatre. Press releases are accessible to all in the Press section of the NT website (click at bottom of the homepage).

Thanks for that.  New plays from Nick Payne, debbie tucker green and Tim Price.

[Epicoene]

Whenindisgrace, on 30 January 2013 - 02:45 PM, said:

No new plays mentioned.  Perhaps Hytner is waiting for a few things to be finished?  I assume The Shed will contain new stuff, of a more experimental nature, but it's rare not to have a biggish play by a biggish name to look forward to in one of the main theatres.

It is in the way of these announcements to contain one or two things that don't happen and omit several things that do.