Rufus Norris' Plans Caryl Churchill, Alice in Wonderland Musical and U.K. Premiere of The Motherf**ker with The Hat for His National Bow | Playbill

News Rufus Norris' Plans Caryl Churchill, Alice in Wonderland Musical and U.K. Premiere of The Motherf**ker with The Hat for His National Bow Rufus Norris, who is to take over from Nick Hytner as director of the National Theatre in April, has announced plans for the opening year with new chief executive Tessa Rose. It will include new plays by Caryl Churchill, Patrick Marber and Wallace Shawn, a new musical by Damon Albarn, and the U.K. premiere of Stephen Adley Guirgis' The Motherf**ker with the Hat.


In addition, there will be revivals of work by Churchill, Timberlake Wertenbaker and August Wilson, plus classics by Shakespeare, Farquhar and Granville Parker and new adaptations of Turgenev and D.H. Lawrence.

A new group of associates has been announced that comprises Paule Constable, Dominic Cooke, Marianne Elliott, Tom Morris, Ben Power and Lyndsey Turner. Also directing at the NT this year are Sally Cookson, Nadia Fall, Polly Findlay, Simon Godwin, Jeremy Herrin, Roger Michell, Ian Rickson and Indhu Rubasingham.




The Travelex season will continue offering over 100,000 tickets at £15,, and will be launched by Norris himself directing Everyman, a cornerstone of English drama since the 15th century, that begins performances April 22 in the Olivier Theatre, prior to an official opening April 29. Adapted by the U.K's Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, it will star Chiwetel Ejiofor in the title role. One of the great primal, spiritual myths, Everyman asks whether it is only in death that we can understand our lives. A cornerstone of English drama since the 15th century, this new production has words by Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate.



The Travelex season will also comprise revivals of Caryl Churchill's Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, beginning performances April 15 prior to an official opening April 23 in the Littleton Theatre, directed by Lyndsey Turner, with a cast that includes Trystan Gravelle, Joshua James, Amanda Lawrence, Ashley McGuire, Simon Manyonda and Alan Williams; and George Farquhar's The Beaux Stratagem, beginning performances May 19 prior to an official opening May 26 in the Olivier Theatre, directed by Simon Godwin.



Damon Albarn and playwright Moira Buffini, the latter of whom is currently represented Off-Broadway with Dying for It at the Atlatnic Theater, willl collaborate on wonder.land, a new musical inspired by Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," that is co-commissioned by the National, Manchester International Festival and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. It will premiere at Manchester International Festival, where it will run July 2 to 12, then transfer to the National's Olivier Theatre in November. Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Motherf**er with the Hat, that premiered on Broadway in 2011 where it received six Tony nominations, will receive its U.K. premiere, beginning performances June 10 prior to an official opening June 17 in the Littleton Theatre. It will be directed by Indhu Rubasingham, artistic director of the Tricycle Theatre in London whose production there of Red Velvet transferred to New York.

Patrick Marber's The Red Lion will receive its world premiere in the Dorfman Theatre, beginning performances June 3 prior to an official opening June 10. Ian Rickson, currently represented on Broadway by his production of The River, will direct the play which is set in the world of semi-professional, non-league English football. Calvin Demba, Daniel Mays and Peter Wight star in a play in which a young player touched with brilliance arrives from nowhere. An ambitious manager determines to make him his own. And the old soul of the club still has dreams of glory. Barber's previous plays for the National include Dealer’s Choice, Closer and Howard Katz.



A series of plays have also been announced for the National's Temporary Theatre (formerly The Shed). Beyond Caring, premiered at London's The Yar Theatre last year, will begin performances April 28 prior to an official opening May 1, for a run through May 16. We Want You to Watch, co-produced with RashDash, will begin performances June 11 prior to an official opening June 15 for a run through July 11. Tom Crouch will present a revival of An Oak Tree, beginning performances June 23 for a run to July 11. Brainstorm, by Ned Glasier, Emily Lim and the company, will run from July 21 to 25, presented by Islington Community Theatre.



Plans for the summer and beyond have also been announced. Patrick Marber will direct his own "unfaithful" version of Turgenev's Three Days in the Country in July in the Lyttelton. Nadia Fall will revive Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Country's Good in August in the Olivier. Duncan Macmillan's People, Places and Things will receive its world premiere in the Dorfman Theatre in August, directed by Jeremy Herirn; Macmillan's Every Brilliant Thing is currently running at Off-Broadway's Barrow Street Theatre and Herrin's RSC productions of Wolf Hall/Bring Up the Bodies are transferring to Broadway's Winter Garden Theatre this season.



In addition, Bristol Old Vic will bring their production of Jane Eyre, devised by the company based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë, to the Lyttelton in September. Directed by Sally Cookson, it was originally presented in two parts, but will now come to the National in a single evening co-production. The Naitonal will also co-produce D.H. Lawrence's Husbands and Sons, with Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre, opening in the Dorfman Theatre in October then transferring to Manchester in February 2016. Marianne Elliott will direct a cast that will be led by Anne-Marie Duff in this adaptation of Lawrence’s trilogy of mining dramas The Daughter-in-Law, A Collier’s Friday Night and The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd, compressed into a single play by Ben Power.



Shakespeare's As You Like It will be directed by Polly Findlay in the Olivier Theatre in November, and Roger Michell will direct Harley Granville Barker's Waste in the Littleton in November.



Finally, there will be new plays by Wallace Shawn and Caryl Churchill, both in the Dorfman. In November, Shawn's Evening at the Talk House will premiere under the direction of Ian Rickson, produced in association with Scott Rudin. In December, Dominic Cooke will direct Churchill's Here We Go, before he then goes on to direct a revival of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom in the Lyttelton Theatre in January 2016.



The National is also introducing a rush ticket scheme; from April 10, every Friday at 1 PM an allocation of £20 tickets for the following week’s performances will be released to buy online.



Public booking for Everyman, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, The Beaux’ Stratagem, The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Beyond Caring, We Want You To Watch, An Oak Tree and Brainstorm opens Feb. 12, and for The Red Lion Feb. 26. To book tickets, contact the box office on 020 7452 3000, or visit nationaltheatre.o rg.uk

 
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