Theatre News

Cerys Matthews composing music for National's Our Country's Good

The Catatonia star is the latest pop artist to work at the National

Cerys Matthews
Cerys Matthews at Glastonbury

Cerys Matthews is to make her debut as a stage composer by collaborating on the National Theatre's upcoming production of Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker.

Matthews, the former lead singer of chart-topping Welsh band Catatonia, will write original music for Nadia Fall's production, which runs in the National's Olivier Theatre from 26 August to 17 October 2015.

She's the latest of a number of influential pop artists to work at the National. Goldfrapp recently composed the score for Medea, while Tori Amos musical The Light Princess premiered in 2013. Damon Albarn musical wonder.land will run there later this year.

Our Country's Good centres on the first convict ship to arrive in Australia in 1788, and the struggles of a group of officers and inmates to stage a production of The Recruiting Officer.

The cast includes Jonathan Dryden Taylor, Caoifhionn Dunne, Peter Forbes, Paul Kaye, Ashley McGuire, Jodie McNee and Tadhg Murphy.

Half the tickets for every performance are Travelex £15 tickets, with the rest priced at £25 and £35.