The National Theatre today announces the on-sale dates of upcoming productions Trouble in Mind, Wuthering Heights and Small Island, as well as the return of daytime opening for visitors. Tickets go on sale to the public on 7 October.
For the first time since March 2020, the public spaces at the National Theatre will be open during the day for visitors and audiences alike. The National Theatre has partnered with independent street food pioneers KERB on a completely refreshed food and drink experience. With a focus on locally-sourced produce, KERB will curate an outstanding food offering throughout the 11 spaces and restaurants with their renowned network of street food start-ups and independent restaurateurs. The first phase of this transformation will begin from today with KERB at The Understudy and the opening of the Atrium Café on the ground floor. Further restaurant and bar redevelopments will follow this year and next.
On the stages, Alice Childress’ play Trouble in Mind will be performed in the Dorfman theatre from the 2 December. In 1950s America, protests for racial equality erupt in the face of voter suppression. On Broadway, Wiletta Mayer, a talented black actress, begins rehearsals for a new play about racism – written and directed by two white men. When Wiletta finds that her arguments to tell the truth of the story are dismissed, she decides to take action. First staged over 60 years ago, Trouble in Mind is widely considered the masterpiece of actress and playwright Alice Childress.
Nancy Medina directs Tanya Moodie in this wry and radical satire of racism in theatre, alongside Daniel Adeosun, Naana Agyei-Ampadu, Joe Bannister, Emma Canning, John Hollingworth, Rory Keenan, Gary Lilburn and Cyril Nri.
Set and costume design by Rajha Shakiry, lighting design by Nao Nagai, music by Nubiya Brandon and Raffy Bushman, sound design by Elena Peña and Rachael Nanyonjo as movement director.
In the Lyttelton theatre Emma Rice directs a new version of Wuthering Heights with performances from Thursday 3 February. A co-production with Wise Children, Bristol Old Vic and York Theatre Royal, this adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic, opens at Bristol Old Vic next month before a UK wide tour through 2022.
Lucy McCormick is cast as Cathy, Ash Hunter as Heathcliff and Sam Archer, Nandi Bhebhe, Mirabelle Gremaud, TJ Holmes, Craig Johnson, Jordan Laviniere, Kandaka Moore, Katy Owen, Tama Phethean and Witney White complete the company.
Set and costume design by Vicki Mortimer, compositions by Ian Ross, sound and video by Simon Baker, lighting design by Jai Morjaria, movement and choreography by Etta Murfitt and music performed by Sid Goldsmith, Nadine Lee and Renell Shaw.
On the Olivier stage, the critically acclaimed production of Andrea Levy’s prize-winning novel, Small Island, returns opening on 24 February 2022 having been postponed by Covid from its planned revival. Adapted by Helen Edmundson and directed by Rufus Norris, Small Island brings to life the tangled history of Jamaica and the UK. Following the intricately connected stories of Hortense, newly arrived in London, landlady Queenie and servicemen Gilbert and Bernard, hope and humanity meet stubborn reality in their epic revival.
Set and costume design by Katrina Lindsay, projection design by Jon Driscoll and associate projection designer Gino Ricardo Green, lighting design by Paul Anderson, composer and rehearsal music direction by Benjamin Kwasi Burrell, sound design by Ian Dickinson for Autograph, movement direction by Coral Messam and fight direction by Kate Waters. Associate Director Denzel Wesley-Sanderson with casting by Isabella Odoffin CDG.
The previously announced production The Father and the Assassin by Anupama Chandrasekhar, to be directed by Indhu Rubasingham, will be performed later in 2022.
