It's not all about popcorn-munching blockbuster spectacle this autumn and winter. We're delighted to present you with a rich variety of the finest event cinema throughout the upcoming months. Scroll down to find out what's on.
Wise Children – Released 3rd October
What's it about? Multi-award-winning director Emma Rice brings her unique, exuberantly impish vision to Angela Carter's great last novel in this brand-new play. A big, bawdy tangle of theatrical joy and heartbreak, Wise Children is 'pure, unadulterated theatre' (Five-Stars Broadway World) performed by a talented ensemble cast. A celebration of show business, family, forgiveness and hope, with a generous dash of Shakespeare, scandal and mischief, this colourful all-singing and dancing show takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotion. Filmed live at York Theatre Royal in March 2019.
NT Live: One Man, Two Guv'nors encore – Released 5th October
What's it about? Featuring a Tony Award-winning performance from James Corden, the hilarious West End and Broadway hit One Man, Two Guvnors returns to cinemas to mark National Theatre Live's 10th birthday.
ROH Live Royal Opera: Don Giovanni – Released 8th October
What's it about? Sexual intrigue, jealousy, wit, anger...and retribution! The new Royal Opera Season begins with Mozart's engaging masterpiece, which follows Don Giovanni, the women he serially seduces, and the vengeance that finally catches up with him. The opera is renowned for its ever-shifting portrayals of complex characters, fast-moving action and mix of the comic and the heartfelt. A cast of international singers – both familiar and making Royal Opera debuts – under conductor Hartmut Haenchen perform the glorious arias and ensembles of this opera favourite.
MET Opera 2019/2020: Turandot – Released 12th October
What's it about? Franco Zeffirelli's spectacular production returns to cinemas with powerhouse soprano Christine Goerke taking on the titular role of the sharp Princess, sworn never to be possessed by a man. Calaf, an unknown suitor played by tenor Roberto Aronica, who sings the famed aria 'Nessun dorma', becomes lovestruck with the icy Princess, vowing to risk his life in attempting to answer the challenging three riddles that promise to unlock her heart. Yannick Nezet-Seguin, the Met's Music Director, conducts this powerful production of love, loss and loyalty.
Gauguin from the National Gallery in London – Released 15th October
What's it about? This fascinating new cinema event, Gauguin from the National Gallery, London, opens with a brand-new documentary about the life and work of Paul Gauguin, one of the world's most popular and important artists. Filmed in Tahiti, France, the Marquesas Islands and the UK, this cinematic film will explore Gauguin's extraordinary – and at times controversial – artistic achievement, with commentary from his descendants, artists and world experts. It will be followed by an exclusive private view of the National Gallery exhibition, The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Gauguin Portraits, just after it opens in London. The cinema audience will be given an engaging and lively guided tour by the exhibition curators and guest contributors, bringing this first ever exhibition of Gauguin's portraits to the big screen with stunning close-ups and illuminating insights.
NT Live: A Midsummer Night's Dream – Released 17th October
What's it about? 'The course of true love never did run smooth.' A feuding fairy King and Queen of the forest cross paths with four runaway lovers and a troupe of actors trying to rehearse a play. As their dispute grows, the magical royal couple meddle with mortal lives leading to love triangles, mistaken identities and transformations… with hilarious, but dark consequences. Shakespeare's most famous romantic comedy will be captured live from the Bridge Theatre in London. Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Oliver Chris (Green Wing, NT Live: Young Marx), David Moorst (NT Live: Allelujah!) and Hammed Animashaun (The Barber Shop Chronicles) lead the cast as Titania, Oberon, Puck and Bottom. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, this production of A Midsummer Night's Dream will build on the success of his immersive staging of Julius Caesar (NT Live 2018). The Bridge Theatre will become a forest – a dream world of flying fairies, contagious fogs and moonlight revels, surrounded by a roving audience following the action on foot.
Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet – Released 22nd October
What's it about? Matthew Bourne's Romeo and Juliet has been hailed as 'the single most eagerly awaited dance show for 2019' by The Daily Telegraph. This passionate and contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare's classic story of love and conflict is set in the not too distant future in 'The Verona Institute'. Here 'difficult' young people are mysteriously confined by a society that seeks to divide and crush their youthful spirit and individuality. Our two young lovers must follow their hearts as they risk everything to be together. A timeless story of forbidden love, repressed emotions and teenage discovery, filmed live at Sadler's Wells in London especially for cinemas. Bursting with youth, vitality and Matthew Bourne's trademark storytelling, the UK's brightest young dance talent join the New Adventures company, with direction and choreography by Matthew Bourne, design by Lez Brotherston, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Paul Groothuis and new orchestrations of the Prokofiev score by Terry Davies, played live by the New Adventures Orchestra conducted by Brett Morris.
ROH Live 2019/2020: Don Pasquale – Released 24th October
What's it about? Royal Opera favourite Bryn Terfel heads the cast for this new production of Donizetti’s comedy of domestic drama across two generations. The witty story of a middle-aged man whose supposed young wife runs rings around him – with her own ulterior romantic purpose in mind – has long delighted and surprised audiences, not least as presented with the sparkle of its music and the virtuoso skill of its performers. Damiano Michieletto’s exhilarating production shows how contemporary the characters still are and how immediate and touching the story remains.
MET Opera 2019/2010: Manon – Released 26th October
What's it about? Laurent Pelly's enchanting production, starring exhilarating soprano Lisette Oropesa in the effervescent title role, explores the devastating consequences when excess and passion collide. Maurizio Benini conducts Massenet’s sensual score with tenor Michael Fabiano as the besotted Chevalier des Grieux, whose desperate love for Manon proves to be the undoing of these unfortunate lovers.
Bolshoi Ballet 2019: Raymonda – Released 27th October
What's it about? To celebrate this 10th anniversary season of the Bolshoi Ballet in cinema, the company will offer you intense emotions through the repertoire's most popular titles. From Raymonda's romance to Le Corsaire's exotic adventure, via The Nutcracker's magical atmosphere and Romeo and Juliet's tragic passion, the most beautiful stories will be performed on the Bolshoi stage. Swan Lake will surely enchant audiences with a new cast, as well as canonical Giselle in Alexei Ratmansky's new production. Last, Balanchine's glittering Jewels will beautifully end this anniversary season.
ROH Royal Ballet Live 2019: Concerto/Enigma Variations/Raymonda Act III (Triple Bill) – Released 5th November
What's it about? From The Royal Ballet’s classical origins in the works of Petipa, to the home-grown choreographers who put British ballet on the world stage, this mixed programme highlights the versatility of the Company. Petipa’s Raymonda Act III is Russian classical ballet summarized in one act, full of sparkle and precise technique, while Ashton’s Enigma Variations is quintessentially British in every way – from its score by Elgar and period designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman, to Ashton’s signature style, the essence of British ballet. Concerto, MacMillan’s fusion of classical technique with a contemporary mind, completes a programme that shows the breadth of the Company’s heritage.
NT Live: Hansard – Released 7th November
What's it about? Hansard; noun - The official report of all parliamentary debates. See two-time Olivier Award winners, Lindsay Duncan (Birdman, About Time) and Alex Jennings (The Lady in the Van, The Queen), in this brand-new play by Simon Wood, broadcast live from the National Theatre in London. It's a summer's morning in 1988 and Tory politician Robin Hesketh has returned home to the idyllic Cotswold house he shares with his wife of 30 years, Diana. But all is not as blissful as it seems. Diana has a stinking hangover, a fox is destroying the garden, and secrets are being dug up all over the place. As the day draws on, what starts as gentle ribbing and the familiar rhythms of marital scrapping quickly turns to blood-sport. Don't miss this witty and devastating portrait of the governing class, directed by Simon Godwin (NT Live: Antony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night) and part of National Theatre Live's 10th birthday season.
MET Opera 2019: Madama Butterfly – Released 9th November
What's it about? Anthony Minghella's vividly cinematic staging of Puccini's tale of unrequited love returns to our screens featuring soprano Hui He in the devastating title role. One of the most frequently staged operas of our generation, Madama Butterfly follows the story of a young Japanese girl, Cio-Cio San, who falls in love with Pinkerton, an American naval officer. Tragedy unfolds in this sweeping production, which is a perennial audience favourite. Pier Giorgio Morandi conducts one of opera's most beautiful and heartbreaking scores. Placido Domingo adds another role to his remarkable repertoire, singing Sharpless for the first time and is joined by a cast that also includes tenor Piero Pretti as Pinkerton, and mezzosoprano Elizabeth DeShong as Suzuki.
42nd Street – The Musical – Released 10th November
What's it about? Telling the story of Peggy Sawyer, a talented young performer with stars in her eyes who gets her big break on Broadway, this is the largest ever staging of the Tony Award-winning musical and it was filmed live at the magnificent Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in the heart of London's West End. Directed by the show author, Mark Bramble, this 'achingly beautiful revival of an American classic' (5 Stars - Telegraph) stars national treasure Bonnie Langford as Dorothy Brock, Tom Lister as Julian Marsh, Clare Halse as Peggy Sawyer and Philip Bertioli as Billy Lawlor, performing with a dazzling tap-dancing and a show-stopping ensemble cast. Featuring iconic songs 42nd Street, We're In The Money, Lullaby Of Broadway, Shuffle Off To Buffalo, Dames, and I Only Have Eyes For You, this is pure musical magic on the big screen – entertainment doesn't get bigger than this!
Bolshoi Ballet 2019: Le Corsaire – Released 17th November
What's it about? To celebrate this 10th anniversary season of the Bolshoi Ballet in cinema, the company will offer you intense emotions through the repertoire's most popular titles. From Raymonda's romance to Le Corsaire's exotic adventure, via The Nutcracker's magical atmosphere and Romeo and Juliet's tragic passion, the most beautiful stories will be performed on the Bolshoi stage. Swan Lake will surely enchant audiences with a new cast, as well as canonical Giselle in Alexei Ratmansky's new production. Last, Balanchine's glittering Jewels will beautifully end this anniversary season.
MET Opera 2019: Akhnaten – Released 23rd November
What's it about? Star countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo headlines as the revolutionary Pharaoh who transformed ancient Egypt. Director Phelim McDermott, whose productions include the hugely successful Satyagraha by Philip Glass, returns to the Met to bring this contemporary production to life, with a virtuosic company and dramatic staging that features acrobatics and juggling. The striking soprano J'Nai Bridges makes her Met debut as Nefertiti with Karen Kamensek conducting Glass's ritualistic and hypnotic score.
NT Live: Present Laughter – Released 28th November
What's it about? Matthew Warchus directs Andrew Scott (BBC's Sherlock, Fleabag) in Noel Coward's provocative comedy Present Laughter. As he prepares to embark on an overseas tour, star actor Garry Essendine's colourful life is in danger of spiralling out of control. Engulfed by an escalating identity crisis as his many and various relationships compete for his attention, Garry's few remaining days at home are a chaotic whirlwind of love, sex, panic and soul-searching. Captured live from The Old Vic in London, Present Laughter is a giddy and surprisingly modern reflection on fame, desire and loneliness.
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