Watch: Trailer for National Theatre’s Romeo & Juliet
David Farnor | On 11, Mar 2021
It’s only a matter of weeks until Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley team up for a new take on Romeo & Juliet, and a trailer gives us a first look at the innovative production.
The play was originally to have been performed in the NT’s Olivier auditorium last summer, with the God’s Own Country and Wild Rose stars playing the star-crossed lovers. Now, the project has been reconceived for the screen in a new 90-minute version. Shot over three weeks with a collaborative team of theatre and film experts, the production turned the National’s Lyttleton Theatre into a film studio, embracing the architecture of the space in telling the story.
Directed by Simon Godwin (Antony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night) and adapted for screen by Emily Burns, it’s set in modern Italy in a world where Catholic and secular values clash, two young lovers strive to transcend a world of violence and corruption.
O’Connor and Buckley are joined by Adrian Lester as the Prince. They lead a cast that includes Fisayo Akinade (The Antipodes, Barber Shop Chronicles) as Mercutio, Deborah Findlay (Coriolanus, The Split) in the role of the Nurse, Tamsin Greig (Twelfth Night, Talking Heads) as Lady Capulet, Lucian Msamati (Master Harold…and the boys, His Dark Materials) as the Friar, Shubham Saraf (A Suitable Boy) as Benvolio, David Judge (My Brilliant Friend) as Tybalt, Alex Mugnaioni (The Visit) as Paris, Lloyd Hutchinson as Lord Capulet, Colin Tierney as Lord Montague, Ella Dacres as Peta and Ellis Howard (Catherine the Great) as Sampson.
The play will premiere on Sky Arts in the UK (Freeview channel 11, Freesat 147, or live online on Freeview Player) on Sunday 4th April. It will then be available on-demand through Sky TV and NOW.
First look: National Theatre’s Romeo & Juliet set for April premiere
28th January 2021
The National Theatre’s Romeo & Juliet, starring Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley, will premiere this April – and new images give us a first look at the innovative production.
The play was originally to have been performed in the NT’s Olivier auditorium last summer, with the God’s Own Country and Wild Rose stars playing the star-crossed lovers. Now, the project has been reconceived for the screen in a new 90-minute version. Shot over three weeks with a collaborative team of theatre and film experts, the production turned the National’s Lyttleton Theatre into a film studio, embracing the architecture of the space in telling the story.
Directed by Simon Godwin (Antony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night) and adapted for screen by Emily Burns, it’s set in modern Italy in a world where Catholic and secular values clash, two young lovers strive to transcend a world of violence and corruption.
O’Connor and Buckley are joined by Andrian Lester as the Prince. They lead a cast that includes Fisayo Akinade (The Antipodes, Barber Shop Chronicles) as Mercutio, Deborah Findlay (Coriolanus, The Split) in the role of the Nurse, Tamsin Greig (Twelfth Night, Talking Heads) as Lady Capulet, Lucian Msamati (Master Harold…and the boys, His Dark Materials) as the Friar, Shubham Saraf (A Suitable Boy) as Benvolio, David Judge (My Brilliant Friend) as Tybalt, Alex Mugnaioni (The Visit) as Paris, Lloyd Hutchinson as Lord Capulet, Colin Tierney as Lord Montague, Ella Dacres as Peta and Ellis Howard (Catherine the Great) as Sampson.
The play will premiere on Sky Arts on Sunday 4th April, following the channel’s launch as a free-to-air arts hub on Freeview channel 11. It will then be available on-demand through Sky TV and NOW.
National Theatre films Romeo & Juliet, starring Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley
27th October 2020
The National Theatre is filming a new version of Romeo & Juliet for television, starring Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley.
Romeo & Juliet was originally to have played to theatre audiences in the NT’s Olivier auditorium this summer, with the God’s Own Country and Wild Rose stars playing the star-crossed lovers. Now, the project is being reconceived for the screen in a new 90-minute version. Shot over three weeks with a collaborative team of theatre and film experts, the production will turn the National’s Lyttleton Theatre into a film studio, embracing the architecture of the space in telling the story.
The National Theatre has broadcast stage productions to cinemas for over a decade through its National Theatre Live programme, but this will be the first time an original production for screen has been created in its South Bank home. The film will premiere on Sky Arts in the UK, following the channel’s launch as a free-to-air arts hub (available on Freeview channel 11).
Romeo & Juliet will be directed by NT Associate Simon Godwin (Antony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night) and adapted for screen by Emily Burns. Set in modern Italy in a world where Catholic and secular values clash, two young lovers strive to transcend a world of violence and corruption.
As previously announced for the Olivier production, Fisayo Akinade (The Antipodes, Barber Shop Chronicles) will play Mercutio. Also announced as joining the cast of Romeo & Juliet is Deborah Findlay (Coriolanus, The Split) in the role of the Nurse, Tamsin Greig (Twelfth Night, Talking Heads) as Lady Capulet, Lucian Msamati (Master Harold…and the boys, His Dark Materials) as the Friar, Shubham Saraf (A Suitable Boy) as Benvolio, David Judge (My Brilliant Friend) as Tybalt, Alex Mugnaioni (The Visit) as Paris and Ellis Howard (Catherine the Great) as Sampson.
Uniting key talent from both theatre and film, the Director of Photography is Tim Sidell (I Hate Suzie), with production design by Soutra Gilmour, movement direction by Jonathan Goddard and Shelley Maxwell, fight direction by Kate Waters and composition by Michael Bruce. It will be produced by David Sabel, who created the National Theatre Live programme at the NT, at Sabel Productions. Executive Producers are Rufus Norris, Director and Joint Chief Executive of the National Theatre; Dixie Linder, Cuba Pictures (London Road, McMafia); David Horn, Great Performances; Christine Schwarzman & Darren Johnston, No Guarantees; and Philip Edgar Jones, Sky Arts.
Sky Arts is the headline sponsor of National Theatre Live in the UK and has just renewed its partnership for a further three years. Two hit National Theatre productions will be broadcast on the channel in December: Jane Eyre, directed by Sally Cookson and starring Madeleine Worrall and Felix Hayes, and Twelfth Night, directed by Simon Godwin and starring Tamsin Greig as Malvolia.
Rufus Norris, Director and Joint Chief Executive of the National Theatre, said: “Realising the Lyttelton theatre would need to remain shut to audiences during this time has been really difficult and meant we found ourselves in a unique set of circumstances. I wanted to find a way to use that space to create something exciting and special for audiences, that utilised the exceptional skill and craft of the National Theatre’s teams, freelancers and creative associates, and that could reach as many people as we can. That’s all going to be possible with this brilliant film of Romeo & Juliet and, in collaboration with Sky Arts, PBS and No Guarantees, it will be seen across the UK and US. I’m delighted that Simon, Jessie, Josh and the team have joined us for a National Theatre first and are going to create a truly fresh film of Shakespeare’s enduring love story.”
Simon Godwin, director of Romeo & Juliet, NT Associate and Artistic Director at the Shakespeare Theatre Company, said: “This has been a uniquely challenging time for the industry and so I have huge respect for Rufus and the team for meeting this challenge with creativity and deciding to use the Lyttelton theatre in this way for filmed work; I think it’s a genius idea and I’m honoured to be able to create the first film. I think I speak for myself, the creative team and the cast when I say how delighted we are to be focusing all our creativity into this version of Romeo & Juliet once more. Some ideas are staying, lots of new ones are coming in – I’m very excited about this new genre, combining film and theatre, and bringing together the remarkable talents of those industries. And the world will get to see Josh as Romeo and Jessie as Juliet, it had to happen!”
Rehearsals for Romeo & Juliet start in November at the National Theatre, with filming from December and the premiere expected to air in spring 2021.
