London's National Theatre has announced new summer productions for all three of its South Bank stages: Jack Absolute Flies Again at the Olivier, Much Ado About Nothing at the Lyttelton Theatre, and All of Us at the Dorfman Theatre.
Richard Bean and Oliver Chris' Jack Absolute Flies Again, a new version of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals, will begin performances July 2 in the Olivier featuring Laurie Davidson in the title role. Rounding out the cast will be Caroline Quentin, Natalie Simpson, Kelvin Fletcher, and Kerry Howard with James Corrigan, Theo Cowan, Jordan Metcalfe, George Kemp, Akshay Sharan, Tim Steed, Geoffrey Towers, Shona White, and Helena Wilson comprising the ensemble.
Emily Burns will direct. Also on the creative team are costume designer Mark Thompson, lighting designer Tim Lutkin, composer Paul Englishby, sound designer Paul Arditti, video and projection designer Jeff Sugg, physical comedy director Toby Park, and choreographer Lizzi Gee. Cara Nolan is the staff director.
Set in a fictional hotel along the Italian Riviera, Much Ado About Nothing is set to run at the Lyttelton Theatre beginning July 7 under the direction of Simon Godwin. Taking on the roles of the main couple in this Shakespearean romantic comedy will be Katherine Parkinson as Beatrice and John Heffernan as Benedick. The creative team also includes set designer Anna Fleischle, costume designer Evie Gurney, lighting designer Lucy Carter, composer Michael Bruce, sound designer Christopher Shutt, and staff director Hannah Joss.
Writer and comedian Francesca Martinez's All of Us will play the Dorfman Theatre beginning July 27. The drama, Martinez' first for the National, explores the human cost of marginalizing those who don't fit in and will be directed by Ian Rickson. Martinez will also star alongside Chris Anderson, Oliver Alvin-Wilson, Bryan Dick, Kevin Hey, Christopher-John Slater, Francesca Mills, and Wanda Opalinska.
The production will have set and costume design by Georgia Lowe, lighting design by Anna Watson, movement direction by Lucy Cullingford, music composition by Stephen Warbeck, sound design by Gregory Clarke, and fight direction by Terry King. Hana Pascal Keegan will be the staff director.
Bush Theatre Artistic Director Lynette Linton will make her National Theatre debut with a new production of Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky at the Lyttelton Theatre in September. Set in 1930 in the Harlem Renaissance, the play follows the colliding lives of four friends in the wake of a new arrival from Alabama. Samira Wiley, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Osy Ikhile, Sule Rimi, and Giles Terera will star. Set and costume designer Frankie Bradshaw, lighting designer Obi Fenwick, movement director Kane Husbands, composer Ben Kwasi Burrell, sound designer George Dennis, and staff director TD Moyo constitute the creative team.
Assisted and accessible performances of Jack Absolute Flies Again, Much Ado About Nothing, and All of Us are scheduled for deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent audience members.
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