Eight world premieres and reimagined modern classics have been announced today as part of the National Theatre’s ambitious programme for 2027. Among them are new plays by leading British writers, major revivals of Broadway big-hitters and plays telling global stories of resilience and resistance.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the National Theatre’s South Bank home, immersive pioneers Punchdrunk will present Ghostlight, conceived and directed by company founder Felix Barrett and curated by writer Lucy Kirkwood (The Witches, The Children). While the National Theatre has a long relationship with Punchdrunk (supporting its breakthrough 2006 show Faust and co-producing its massive 2013 hit The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, among other shows), Punchdrunk have never taken over the building itself – until now.
The 2027 programme is also dotted with big stars. It had already been announced that Paul Mescal (Hamnet) will lead a repertory company that will present two different shows concurrently. Mescal will play Biff Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, and Michael Carney in Tom Murphy’s Irish masterpiece A Whistle in the Dark.
Emma Corrin (The Crown) will star in a new production of Suddenly Last Summer, a Tennessee Williams play which is rarely performed, directed by Michael Grandage, who will return to the National Theatre for the first time since 2010.
Rising comic stars Mawaan Rizwan (Juice) and George Fouracres (SNL UK) will unite in Tom Stoppard’s absurdist classic Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, presented 60 years after its original London production at the National Theatre.
Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) will make her National Theatre debut in a new, 50th anniversary production of David Hare’s award-winning play Plenty, which explores post-World War II disillusion through the perspective of an ex-secret agent.
Musical theatre fans will jump at the chance to see a sumptuous revival of West Side Story in the Olivier theatre, in a new production that will see directors Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell reunite after their award-winning West End revival of Death of a Salesman. Intriguingly, the production will use Academy Award-winning Jerome Robbins’s original choreography from 1957, reproduced by Julio Monge, who was artistic collaborator on Steven Spielberg’s 2021 film adaptation.
On the other end of the spectrum, the National Theatre will present a new British musical in the Dorfman theatre. Glorious Madness will reframe the songs of legendary Grammy and Brit Award-winning artist Joan Armatrading into a love story, with a book by Iman Qureshi (The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs and directed by Phyllida Lloyd (Grenfell: in the words of survivors).
In the Olivier theatre, two leading British playwrights will present work exploring pivotal political moments in the ’90s. Major will see writer James Graham (Dear England), teaming up with director Jeremy Herrin to dramatise the period in which John Major took over from Margaret Thatcher. The Great Indaba will see National Theatre director Indhu Rubasingham reunite with writer Moira Buffini after the success of this year’s Handbagged to dramatise another major political event: the influence that Nelson Mandela and his National Unity Government played in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland.
More new British writing comes in the form of Samira by British Lebanese playwright Carmen Nasr, set during the Arab Spring; Mr Loverman, an adaptation of Bernadine Evaristo’s beloved novel by Natasha Gordon (Nine Night); and The Adeyemis – A Family Saga by British Nigerian writer Oladipo Agboluaje, which will feature three-time Emmy winning actor Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black) making her National Theatre debut.
Rubasingham, who was named artistic director and co-chief executive in December 2023, said in a statement that a uniting theme for the programme is “truth”: “From new musicals and immersive theatre to filmed productions translated into local languages and plays interwoven in repertory, each of these shows is shaped by extraordinary artists and united by themes of resilience and hope. Above all, at a time when we’re constantly asking what’s true, this programme puts the experience of truth at its heart.”
Tickets for Suddenly Last Summer, Mr Loverman and Samira go on sale on Thursday, September 24 at midday. Tickets to all other shows will be announced later.
