The National Theatre has released first-look rehearsal images for Summerfolk, a new version of Maxim Gorky’s play adapted by Nina Raine and Moses Raine. Directed by Deputy Artistic Director Robert Hastie, the production opens in the Olivier theatre on 6 March 2026 and runs until 29 April 2026.
The cast features Alex Lawther, Doon Mackichan, Paul Ready and Sophie Rundle, offering a fresh take on Gorky’s razor-sharp portrait of privilege, escapism and looming unrest. Set in the heat of the Russian summer of 1905, the story follows a group of elites retreating to the countryside for leisure, while one of them, Varvara, senses that their carefree world cannot last.
The full ensemble includes Rebecca Banatvala, Thomas Barrett, Tamika Bennett, Pip Carter, Peter Forbes, Brandon Grace, Arthur Hughes, Sam Jenkins-Shaw, Gwyneth Keyworth, Daniel Lapaine, Adelle Leonce, Justine Mitchell, Sid Sagar and Richard Trinder, alongside Ivan Ivashkin, Aisha-Mae McCormick, Roisin Rae, Ellie Turner and Joe Usher.
The creative team includes designer Peter McKintosh, lighting designer Paul Pyant, sound designer Alexandra Faye Braithwaite, composer Nicola T. Chang, movement director Thomas Herron, music director Candida Caldicot, casting director Bryony Jarvis-Taylor CDG, voice coaches Shereen Ibrahim and Zoe Littleton, and associate set designer Joseph Bisat Marshall. Lilac Yosiphon serves as BSL and staff director.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
