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NT Announces Dates & Casting for Spring Rep

The National Theatre has today (23 February 2011) confirmed dates and casting for its March to July repertoire season. The NT has also announced a major new partnership with American Express in which the financial services giant will provide headline sponsorship of one prominent production each year.

Travelex £12 Tickets

As previously reported the new Travelex-sponsored season - which this year sees ticket prices rise from £10 to £12 - will open with Andrew Upton's new version of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard directed by Howard Davies. The production will open in the NT Olivier on 17 May (previews from 10 May) and will be broadcast to cinemas around the world through NT Live on 30 June 2011.

The cast will be led by Whatsonstage.com Award-winner Zoe Wanamaker as Ranyevskaya alongside Claudie Blakley (Varya), Mark Bonnar (Trofimov), Pip Carter (Yepihodov), Charity Wakefield (Anya), Sarah Woodward (Charlotta), Kenneth Cranham (Firs) Conleth Hill (Lopakhin), Emily Taaffe (Dunyasha), Tim McMullan (Simyonov-Pischik), Gerald Kyd (Yasha), James Laurenson (Gaev).

The full cast also includes Paul Dodds, Craige Els, Mark Fleischmann, Colin Haigh, Jessica Regan, Tim Samuels, Stephanie Thomas, Joseph Thompson, Rosie Thomson and Ellie Turner.

Next in the Travelex £12 Ticket season, Jonathan Kent directs Ibsen's Emperor and Galilean in a new version by Ben Power. Opening in the NT Olivier on 15 June 2011 (previews from 7 June), the production brings Andrew Scott back to the National for the first time since the 2005 production of Brian Friel's Aristocrats. Scott plays Julian alongside Ian McDiarmid as Maximus.

The cast also includes: Jamie Ballard, Simon Coombs, Daniel Flynn, John Heffernan, Chris Jared, James McArdle, Simon Merrells, Carole Nimmons, Genevieve O'Reilly, Lara Rossi, Prasanna Puwanarajah and Sargon Yelda.

The production will be designed by Paul Brown with lighting by Mark Henderson, music by Jonathan Dove, video by Nina Dunn, movement by Denni Sayers and sound by Christopher Shutt.

Finally in the Travelex £12 season, Katie Mitchell directs A Woman Killed With Kindness in the NT Lyttelton from 19 July 2011 (previews from 12 July). A domestic thriller written in 1603 by Thomas Heywood, the play is one of the earliest tragedies ever to be written about ordinary people.

Casting has still to be announced for the production, which will be designed by Lizzie Clachan and Vicki Mortimer, with lighting by Jon Clark, movement by Joseph Alford and sound by Gareth Fry.

In the Travelex £12 season, half of all tickets for the production are sold at £12, the rest are sold at £20 and £30.

One Man, Two Guvnors

Based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, Nicholas Hytner directs One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean in the NT Lyttelton, opening on 24 May 2011 (previews from 17 May).

With a cast led by Gavin and Stacey star James Corden - who returns to the National for the first time since History Boys - the show will also tour to Plymouth, Salford, Birmingham and Edinburgh from 4 October 2011.

The full cast for One Man, Two Guvnors was today announced as Oliver Chris, Martyn Ellis, Trevor Laird, Claire Lams, Fred Ridgeway, Daniel Rigby, Jemima Rooper and Suzie Toase.

Richard Bean’s plays include England People Very Nice for the National. His drama about an ostracised climate change scientist The Heretic is at the Royal Court until 19 March starring Juliet Stevenson.

The production will be designed by Mark Thompson, with lighting by Mark Henderson, music by Grant Olding and sound design by Paul Arditti. The associate director will be Cal McCrystal.

It was also confirmed today that, as previously reported, Hytner's Whatsonstage.com Award-winning production of Hamlet - which played the NT Olivier prior to a national tour - will return for 12 performances in the NT Lyttelton from 13 to 23 April with Travelex £12 Tickets.

Rory Kinnear continues his acclaimed performance in the title role, leading a cast which also includes David Calder, Clare Higgins, Patrick Malahide and James Laurenson. Ellie Turner replaces Ruth Negga in the role of Ophelia for the Lyttelton dates.

The National's production of Hamlet won the SHAKESPEARE 4 KIDZ Best Shakespearean Production prize at the 2011 Whatsonstage.com Awards, which were presented on Sunday (20 February 2011) at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

London Road

Verbatim drama London Road, telling the story of the Ipswich community coming to terms with the 2006 serial murders through the words of local residents, will open in the NT Cottesloe on 14 April 2011 (previews from 7 April), continuing in rep until 18 June.

With a book and lyrics by The Girlfriend Experience playwright Alecky Blythe, developed from extensive recorded interviews with the people of Ipswich, and music and lyrics by Adam Cork the "experimental and challenging work" is directed by Rufus Norris.

The cast for London Road have been confirmed as: Clare Burt, Rosalie Craig, Kate Fleetwood, Hal Fowler, Nick Holder, Claire Moore, Michael Shaeffer, Nicola Sloane, Paul Thornley, Howard Ward and Duncan Wisbey.

The production is designed by Katrina Lindsay, with lighting by Bruno Poet, musical direction by David Shrubsole, movement by Javier de Frutos and sound by Paul Arditti.

Norris' previous work for the National includes Death and the King’s Horseman and Market Boy at the National, his second production of Vernon God Little is currently playing the Young Vic.

American Express sponsorship

Building on their relationships with financial services companies, the National Theatre have announced a "major new multi-year deal" with American Express which the theatre have said will "support several different strands of commercial and philanthropic activity on both sides of the Atlantic".

The deal will see American Express as the headline sponsor of one prominent production at the National Theatre each year, as well as supporting the gala performance of the National's War Horse which opens at New York's Lincoln Center in April.

The National has been supported by AmEx through their American Express Foundation for a number for years with funding supporting productions such as Tom Stoppard's Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Mikhail Bulgakov's The White Guard. The new relationship will now see American Express add the National to their Preferred Seating programme, which offers their customers priority tickets and ‘meet and greet’ opportunities at a range of cultural events.

Speaking about the partnership, Nicholas Hytner said: "I warmly welcome our new partnership with American Express, which expands and builds on our very successful established relationship. The loyalty and commitment of our corporate partners is vital in enabling the National to thrive; the generosity of American Express will help us to continue programming an exciting and adventurous repertoire for the widest possible audience."

- by Andrew Girvan

Related Content

Booking Tickets & Show Listings
	The Cherry Orchard Listing Page
	Emperor and Galilean Listing Page
	One Man, Two Guvnors Listing Page

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	Prenger & Spearritt join Haymarket cast of One Man, Two Guvnors - 20th Jan 2012 news
	One Man, Two Guvnors Transfers to Haymarket, Arthur Replaces Corden - 15th Dec 2011 news
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	Ian McDiarmid: Why You Should Come & See ... Emperor & Galilean - 20th Jun 2011 interviews
	Summer These Days - 17th Jun 2011 blog
	Emperor & Galilean - 16th Jun 2011 reviews
	More Travelex Season, Full NT Autumn Line-up - 3rd Jun 2011 news
	Will Corden Serve Two Guvnors in the West End??? - 2nd Jun 2011 gossip
	One Man, Two Guvnors - 25th May 2011 reviews
	Big Night at the National - 25th May 2011 blog
	Review Round-up: Corden Wins Big with Guvnors - 25th May 2011 news
	Opening: NT Guvnors, Open Air Flies, Pygmalion - 23rd May 2011 news
	Review Round-up: Wanamaker Takes on NT Orchard - 19th May 2011 roundup
	Star Turns in Company Values - 18th May 2011 blog
	The Cherry Orchard - 18th May 2011 reviews
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	Opening: NT Orchard, Silence, Barbican Scandal - 16th May 2011 news