The Audience to have regional premiere in Nuffield Southampton Theatres 2019 spring season

Nuffield Southampton Theatres artistic director Sam Hodges has announced the venue's 2019 spring and summer season.

Peter Morgan's play The Audience will have its regional premiere at the venue, directed by Hodges with design by Rosanna Vize. Running from 24 May to 22 June, the piece follows the conversations between the Queen of England and her numerous Prime Ministers. Helen Mirren won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for her portrayal of the Queen in the original production. Casting for the NST production is to be announced.

The stage version of Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns will have its European premiere, directed by Birmingham Rep's artistic director Roxana Silbert with design by Ana Inés Jabares-Pita. Adapted for the stage by Ursula Rani Sarma, the piece is set across three generations in Kabul and comes from the same writer as The Kite Runner. It plays from 25 June to 6 July and is produced by the Birmingham Rep and Northern Stage in association with Nuffield Southampton Theatres.

The NST City production of The Shadow Factory will return from 30 January to 2 March 2019, following its run earlier this year, while Barney Norris (Visitors, Nightfall) will curate The Line, in association with Up in Arms. Staged in a Ford transit van, the show explores the industrial decline in Southampton and the real-life experiences of former Ford employees. It is directed by Alice Hamilton and runs from July to August 2019.

Previously announced touring productions featured in the season include Abigail's Party by Mike
Leigh, Dan Gordon's adaptation of Rain Man, Princess and the Hustler, Marie Jones' Stones in his Pockets, The Remains of the Day adapted by Norris, Kneehigh's Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs), Jon Brittain's Olivier Award-winning play Rotterdam and Barber Shop Chronicles.