Theatre News

Julie Walters Returns to Stage in NT Haussmans

Julie Walters will return to the National Theatre for the first time in over a decade to star in Stephen Beresford‘s The Last Of The Haussmans in the NT Lyttelton next summer.

The production marks Beresford’s playwriting debut, and the first part to be written specifically for Walters since she originated Willy Russell‘s Educating Rita for the RSC in 1980.

Described in today’s Daily Mail as “a very funny look at a mother living with the consequences of her misspent sixties hippie past”, The Last Of The Haussmans sees Walters return to the stage for the first time since appearing in Victoria Wood‘s 2005 musical Acorn Antiques.

The show will also see Walter’s return to the National for the first time since her Olivier Award-winning performance in Howard Davies‘ revival of All My Sons. The upcoming production will see Walters reunited with Davies, who is pegged to direct.

Walters is perhaps best known for her television and film roles in Dinner Ladies, Billy Elliot, Becoming Jane, Calendar Girls, Mamma Mia!, and the Harry Potter series. Her stage credits include Sharman Macdonald’s monologue When I Was A Girl I Used To Scream And Shout in 1986 and Peter Hall‘s 1991 production of Rose Tattoo.

Stephen Beresford is himself no stranger to the National’ stage, having appeared in both Simon Bowen‘s Free and April de AngelisA Laughing Matter. His other stage appearances have included Shopping And Fucking, Woyzeck and Our Country’s Good. He has recently concentrated on directing and writing.