London's National Theatre has announced further information about its 2026 productions, continuing Co-Chief Executives Indhu Rubasingham and Kate Varah’s vision to offer the widest access to high-quality theatre in the world.

Deputy Artistic Director Robert Hastie, in fact, will helm productions on both sides of the Atlantic in 2026. 

In spring 2026 Hastie will direct a new adaptation of Maxim Gorky’s Summerfolk, penned by Nina Raine and Moses Raine. Performances will run in the Olivier March 6-April 29, 2026, with an official opening March 17. Set in 1905 at an elite Russian retreat, the production will also have set and costume design by Peter McKintosh, lighting design by Paul Pyant, sound design by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite, music by composer Nicola T. Chang, and associate set design by Joseph Bisat Marshall. Casting, by Bryony Jarvis-Taylor, will be announced at a later date.

Internationally, the National will be represented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theater with its production of Hamlet starring Olivier winner Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi) with direction by Hastie, announced earlier today. Performances are set for April 19-May 17, 2026. The transfer is the inaugural production in a new partnership with the venue, where National shows will transfer to BAM’s Harvey and National Theatre Live productions will screen at BAM’s Rose Cinemas.

Back in London, the Lyttelton will welcome the previously announced revival of Christopher Hampton's Les Liaisons Dangereuses, directed by Tony winner Marianne Elliott (Angels in America), March 21-June 6 with an April 1 opening. This staging of the celebrated adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ classic novel will be led by Monica Barbaro as Madame de Tourvel, Gabrielle Drake as Madame de Rosemond, Lesley Manville as Marquise de Merteuil, Aidan Turner as Vicomte de Valmont, Sharif Afifi as Azolan, Nandi Bhebhe as Julie, Ali Goldsmith as Major-Domo, Darragh Hand as Chevalier Danceny, Cat Simmons as Madame de Volanges, and Hannah van der Westhuysen as Cécile Volanges.

The artistic team also includes set designer Rosanna Vize, costume designer Natalie Roar, choreographer Tom Jackson Greaves, composer Jasmin Kent Rodgman, lighting designer James Farncombe, sound designer Ian Dickson for Autograph, intimacy director Ingrid Mackinnon, fight director Sam Lyon-Behan, casting directors Alastair Coomer and Naomi Downham, dialect coach Hazel Holder, and voice coach Cathleen McCarron.

Terence Rattigan's Man and Boy will play the Dorfman January 30-March 14, 2026, with a press opening February 10. Director Anthony Lau, in his National Theatre debut, will bring a contemporary edge to Rattigan’s tale of paternity and corruption, with Ben Daniels (The Normal Heart) and Laurie Kynaston (Long Day’s Journey into Night) playing father and son.

Joining the duo will be Phoebe Campbell as Carol Penn, Ben Daniels as Gregor Antonescu, Laurie Kynaston as Basil Anthony, Isabella Laughland as Countess Antonescu, Malcolm Sinclair as Mark Herries, and Leo Wan as David Beeston. The creative team will also include set and costume designer Georgia Lowe, lighting designer Elliot Griggs, movement director Aline David, composer Angus MacRae, sound designer Giles Thomas, casting director Martin Poile, and staff director Rachel Lemon.

The Authenticator will subsequently play the Dorfman March 26-May 9 with an official opening April 2. This gothic psychological thriller will reunite playwright Winsome Pinnock and director Miranda Cromwell following their acclaimed work on Rockets and Blue Lights.

The complete cast includes Rakie Ayola as Abi, Sylvestra Le Touzel as Fen, and Cherrelle Skeete as Marva. Others on the creative team are set designer Jon Bausor, costume designer Kinnetia Isidore, lighting designer Aideen Malone, sound designer Tingying Dong, composer Femi Temowo, movement director Shelley Maxwell, casting director Alastair Coomer, voice coach Hazel Holder, and staff director Dubheasa Lanipekun.

In a statement Varah said, "At the National Theatre, our vision is bold: to make world-class theatre accessible to everyone, everywhere. As we celebrate 60 years of staging in the US, we are forging new paths with multi-year collaborations at BAM and The Shed —two iconic creative powerhouses in New York City. We recently announced a groundbreaking partnership with the Educational Theatre Association that will deliver the National Theatre Collection, free of charge, to 5,000 US schools in all 50 states, inspiring the next generation of theatre-makers across the Atlantic. These exciting projects alongside cinema broadcasts via National Theatre Live and National Theatre at Home streaming directly into American homes, means our productions will reach audiences across the U.S. like never before."

Visit NationalTheatre.org.uk.