Royal Opera House live broadcast

National Theatre Live
By William Shakespeare

★★★★★ ‘Ian McKellen reigns supreme in this triumphant production.’ (Daily Telegraph)

Broadcast live from London’s West End, see Ian McKellen’s ‘extraordinarily moving portrayal’ (Independent) of King Lear in cinemas.

Chichester Festival Theatre’s production received five-star reviews for its sell-out run, and transfers to the West End for a limited season.  Jonathan Munby directs this ‘nuanced and powerful’ (The Times) contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s tender, violent, moving and shocking play.

Considered by many to be the greatest tragedy ever written, King Lear sees two ageing fathers – one a King, one his courtier – reject the children who truly love them.  Their blindness unleashes a tornado of pitiless ambition and treachery, as family and state are plunged into a violent power struggle with bitter ends.

The star of Radio 4’s Just a Minute demonstrates his talent as a solo performer and raconteur in this anecdotal show based on his personal and professional life. His ability to laugh at himself and his struggles to be an actor (while serving an Engineering Apprenticeship in Clydeside) along with other stories will keep the audience thoroughly entertained.

DIRECTOR: Isabel Coixet, 2018
DURATION: 1hour 53 minutes
STARRING: Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, Patricia Clarkson

Set in a small town in 1959 England, the story of a woman who decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop, a decision which becomes a political minefield.

Norwich Puppet Theatre

A skilful mix of puppetry, foot-tapping music and storytelling and will have audiences young and old entranced.