The National Theatre has announced further details of its 2025 programme, featuring four world premieres and plays starring Clive Owen, Saskia Reeves, Tom Wlaschiha, Juliet Stevenson, Rosamund Pike, Adeel Akhtar, Jamie Glover and Jasper Talbot.
Inter Alia sees writer Suzie Miller and director Justin Martin reunite following the success of Prima Facie. This new play is described as a searing examination of modern masculinity and motherhood.
Jessica Parks is smart, compassionate, a true maverick at the top of her career as an eminent London Crown Court Judge. At work she’s changing and challenging the system one case at a time. But behind the robe Jessica is a karaoke fiend, a loving wife and a supportive parent. While managing the impossible juggling act faced by every working mother, an event threatens to throw her life completely off balance. Can she hold her family upright?
The cast includes Rosamund Pike (Saltburn) making her National Theatre debut alongside Jamie Glover (Waterloo Road) and Jasper Talbot (Redlands). It is directed by Justin Martin, who is joined by set and costume designer Miriam Buether, lighting designer Natasha Chivers, sound designers Ben and Max Ringham, video designer Willie Williams for Treatment Studio and casting directors Alastair Coomer and Naomi Downham.
It plays in the Lyttelton theatre from July 10 to September 13.
The Estate is the debut play by Shaan Sahota. Directed by Daniel Raggett (Accidental Death of an Anarchist), this new work is a “razor-sharp exploration of family, power and the lies we tell about ourselves.”
When the leader of the opposition is forced to resign in a scandal, Angad Singh emerges as the favourite in his party’s leadership contest. He could win, he could make history, he could really change things – as long as his sisters keep their mouths shut.
Casting includes Adeel Akhtar (Fool Me Once). Director Raggett is joined by set designer Chloe Lamford, costume designer Khadija Raza, lighting designer Jessica Hung Han Yun, sound designer Mike Winship and casting director Bryony Jarvis-Taylor.
It will play in the Dorfman theatre from July 9 to August 23.
The Land of the Living comes from writer David Lan. Directed by Stephen Daldry (The Jungle, The Inheritance), it is about the shapeshifting nature of memory and morality.
In Germany, 1945, Thomas is one of thousands of children stolen by the Nazis from Eastern Europe during WWII, and is now under the care of Ruth, a UN relief worker. Should she try to find his parents or leave him with those he’s grown up with? The choice she makes will shape his life. Years later in London, 1990, Thomas visits Ruth. As they untangle the past, the decisions Ruth made as a very young woman are called powerfully into question.
Casting includes Juliet Stevenson (The Doctor), who is joined by Atilla Akinci (Ghosts), Kate Duchêne (Hedda Gabler), Hubert Hanowicz (This is Going to Hurt), Caroline Loncq (The Protégé), Avital Lvova (Macbeth), Michael Marcus (The Inheritance), Anastasia Martin (Cold War) and Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones).
Director Daldry is joined by set designer Miriam Buether, lighting designer James Farncombe, sound designer Gareth Fry, composer Paul Englishby and casting director Naomi Downham.
It is playing in the Dorfman theatre from September 9 to November 1.
End sees the return of playwright David Eldridge (Beginning, Middle) to the National Theatre with the final play in his trilogy exploring love and relationships.
Alfie and Julie’s love story has been one of music, laughter and heartache. On one early morning in June, they must write their ending.
The full cast includes Clive Owen (Closer) and Saskia Reeves (Slow Horses). Director Rachel O’Riordan will be joined by set and costume designer Gary McCann, lighting designer Sally Ferguson, sound designer Donato Wharton, intimacy director Bethan Clark and casting director Alastair Coomer.
It will play in the Dorfman theatre from November 13.
The four shows mark the National director and co-chief executive Rufus Norris’s final season.
Tickets go on sale on Thursday, February 6. Details: nationaltheatre.org
The Dorfman theatre will reopen in June in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Connections,the National Theatre’s annual nationwide youth theatre programme with esteemed alumni including David Oyelowo, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Callum Scott Howells and Keira Knightley. The Connections Festival will take place from 24 to 28 June, with ten new plays being performed by ten youth theatre groups to represent talent from across the UK.Connections plays over the last three decades include those by Alice Birch, Chris Bush, James Graham and Lenny Henry to name a few.