RSC Live: Hamlet

Hamlet has the world at his feet. Young, wealthy and living a hedonistic life studying abroad. Then word reaches him that his father is dead. Returning home he finds his world is utterly changed, his certainties smashed and his home a foreign land. Struggling to understand his place in a new world order he faces a stark choice. Submit, or rage against the injustice of his new reality. Simon Godwin directs Paapa Essiedu as Hamlet in Shakespeare's searing tragedy. As relevant today as when it was written, Hamlet confronts each of us with the mirror of our own mortality in an imperfect world. Hamlet played in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon until throughout summer 2016.

Mariša

Dom Juan

Nadan

Nadan is the story of a popular drama troupe owned by Devadas Sargavedi (Jayaram), which was previously possessed by his father and grandfather in the past, and speaks about the problems faced by the owner and his survival. The revival of this mighty art through the sustained effort of the talented theatre artists forms the crux of the narrative.

Gazdina roba

Lakomec

In 1972, Czechoslovak Television recorded a performance by the Vinohrady Theatre, which was very well received. Moliere's comedy The Miser was staged on a turntable, but in period costumes and scenery, without any hint of updating, in a traditional translation. However, it was modern and contemporary mainly thanks to the stage direction of Jaroslav Dudek and the excellent acting performances of the main actors, led by Miloš Kopecký in the role of Harpagon. His civil speech, which was not devoid of majesty, anger, imperiousness, dislike and lack of feeling towards those closest to him, was supported by the equally precise performance of Jaromír Hanzlík and Daniela Kolářová in the roles of his children, Jiřina Bohdalová as the matchmaker, and the other actors. The comedy in their performance is timeless and will delight lovers of classical theatre even today.

National Theatre Live: War Horse

Based on Michael Morpurgo's novel and adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford, War Horse takes audiences on an extraordinary journey from the fields of rural Devon to the trenches of First World War France.

Merlin aneb Pustá zem

National Theatre: My Fair Lady

Eliza Doolittle is a young flower seller with an unmistakable Cockney accent which keeps her in the lower rungs of Edwardian society. When Professor Henry Higgins tries to teach her how to speak like a proper lady, an unlikely friendship begins to flourish.

Tartuffe

Orgon and his mother swear by Tartuffe, the self-styled devout who lives off them. The other members of the family, scandalized by the clergyman's hold over them, will do anything to expose his hypocrisy. Michel Bouquet plays an almost monstrous Tartuffe, whose only weakness lies in his feelings for Elmire.

National Theatre Live: After Life

A group of strangers grapple with this impossible question as they find themselves in a bureaucratic waiting room between life and death. Encouraged by enigmatic officials, they must sift through their past lives to choose their forever. Adapted from Hirokazu Kore-eda's award-winning film, After Life is a surreal and powerfully human look at the way we view our lives, and a haunting meditation on what it is to live – and to die.

National Theatre Live: Timon of Athens

Based on Shakespeare’s play, Timon of Athens tells the tale of conspicuous consumption, debt and ruin. Timon of Athens is a wealthy friend to the rich and powerful. With his riches, he showers hospitality on the city’s elite. Unfortunately, his associates don’t lend him a helping hand when he accidentally spends more than he has on resources. After a final banquet, Timon is forced to withdraw himself to a wasteland, living off nothing but roots and cursing bankrupt Athens.

'O tuono 'e marzo

Sofia, Don Saverio's sister, confesses to her brother that she was the victim of a fateful event: while she accompanied her brother to Rome, while he was resting at a hotel, a terrible storm broke out during the night, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Frightened, she left her room to seek refuge in her brother's, when, after the lights went out, she accidentally entered a stranger's room in the darkness and fainted from fear of a violent clap of thunder. The unknown individual seized the opportunity and took advantage of her. From that turbulent encounter, Don Felice Sciosciammocca was born, Sofia's illegitimate son, now engaged to Marietta, Don Saverio's daughter.

The Den

A struggling actress becomes entangled in an abusive relationship with her idol at a cult-like New York theatre company.

Amitiés sincères

L'abito nuovo

In Naples, where the modest clerk Michele Crispucci lives with his daughter Assuntina, his ex-wife arrives with her circus. The young Concettino confides to a friend that he wants to give up his marriage to Assuntina, because twenty years earlier the girl's mother had abandoned the family and become rich by giving herself to wealthy lovers.

A Matança Ritual de Gorge Mastromas

Tiago Guedes returns to Dennis Kelly, the British playwright with whom he has already enjoyed success in his dizzying descent into the depths of human complexity. After Órfãos, the director and stage director now tackles The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas, a 2013 text about the banality of evil in the person of the man that Kelly's play scrutinizes in retrospect: "Existence is not what you thought it was until now. It is not honest, it is not kind, it is not fair. Most of the world has no idea about this; they believe in God, or Daddy, or Marx, or the invisible hand of the market, or honesty, or kindness. They go through life with their eyes closed, getting beaten up and screwed over. He's like that. You're like that. But a tiny part of us, let's call ourselves the resistance, knows the true nature of life. The world is ours for the taking. We are powerful and rich and have everything, because we will do whatever it takes.

Christmas Encore

A struggling actress is cast in her last off (off) Broadway show - a modern take on “A Christmas Carol” - before giving up her dream and moving home. Instead, she finds romance with her director and a renewed passion for her craft and the city. But when the historic theater loses its lease and the show is set to fold, she and her cast mates are need of a Christmas miracle.

Bogeyman

A raucous, angry exorcism of relationships and assorted fears, shadowed by the Big One: the plague of AIDS.

Gazdina roba

Gabriela Preissová wrote her two most famous dramas, Gazdina roba and Její pastorkyňa, when she was not yet thirty. Both were set to music and became famous. The first opera, entitled Eva, was written by J. B. Foerster, and the second by Leoš Janáček. The fame of Janáček's work greatly overshadowed the original. On the other hand, "Gazdina roba," the author's debut work, is still performed on Czech stages, regardless of the era. That is how powerful and impressive this drama is. The production by director Zdeněk Kaloč premiered at the Vinohrady Theater in May 1992. Dagmar Veškrnová endowed the title role of Eva the seamstress with warmth, temperament, pride, and tragic shadows.

National Theatre Live: Hamlet

As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father's death but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.

Vanya on 42nd Street

An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya' plays out by a company of actors. The setting: their run-down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest of breaks to move props or for refreshments. The lack of costumes, real props and scenery is soon forgotten.

Killer's Kiss

Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.

Bastard Out of Carolina

A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds

Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

Sky

A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.

The Young One

A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.

The Visit

Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...

The Truth About Emanuel

A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.

Hands of Stone

The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.

What Maisie Knew

In New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle.

The Girl in the Book

The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.

Girl in the Box

The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.

The Good Neighbor

A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.

The Safety of Objects

In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.

My Neighbor Adolf

South America, 1960. A lonely and grumpy Holocaust survivor convinces himself that his new neighbor is none other than Adolf Hitler. Not being taken seriously, he starts an independent investigation to prove his claim, but when the evidence still appears to be inconclusive, Polsky is forced to engage in a relationship with the enemy in order to obtain irrefutable proof.

God's Pocket

A boozy lowlife tries to bury the truth about his crazy stepson's suspicious death, but a nosy newspaper columnist and the young man's mother complicate matters.

Salomé

After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.

Electricity

A woman leaves her seaside hometown to search for her long-lost brother, experiencing hallucinations brought on by her epilepsy during her trip.

Return

Back from a tour of duty, Kelli struggles to find her place in her family and the rust-belt town she no longer recognizes.