Northwestern University Libraries now has access to collection 2 of the National Theatre Collection (in addition to collection 1). Drawing on 10 years of NT Live broadcasts, alongside high-quality recordings never previously seen outside of the NT’s Archive, the collection includes the following films.
Access at the publisher’s website or through NUsearch. Part 2 titles are:
Turn of the Century Plays for Contemporary Audiences
Hedda Gabler: WhatsOnStage described this production, with Ruth Wilson in the title role, as ‘A Hedda unlike any I have ever seen. Devastating.’
Julie: Carrie Cracknell directs a cast including Vanessa Kirby and Eric Kofi Abrefa in this ‘superlative production’ (Time Out) set in contemporary London
The Seagull: Chekhov’s masterly meditation on how the old take revenge on the young is both comic and tragic, and marks the birth of the modern stage. ‘Land-mark brilliant’, The Independent
Three Sisters: Chekhov’s iconic characters are relocated to a 1960s Nigeria on the brink of the Biafran Civil War, in this bold adaptation by Inua Ellams. ‘Brimming with Life. Enlightening and heart-breaking’ Broadway World
20th Century Classics
A View from the Bridge: Ivo van Hove directs this stunning production which The Times called ‘One of the great theatrical productions of the decade.’
All My Sons: From the Old Vic, Jeremy Herrin directs Sally Field and Bill Pullman in Arthur Miller’s blistering drama
Top Girls: Lyndsey Turner directs Caryl Churchill’s wildly innovative play about a country divided by its own ambitions
Contemporary Plays
After Life: If you could spend eternity with just one precious memory, what would it be? Adapted from Hirokazu Kore-eda’s award-winning film
Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches: In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, six New Yorkers with interconnected lives grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell
Angels in America Part Two: Perestroika: Prior, Joe, Belize, Louis, Harper and Roy continue their journeys through love, loss and loneliness to overcome abandonment and ultimately discover forgiveness
Barber Shop Chronicles: Directed by Olivier award-winning director Bijan Sheibani. For generations, African men have gathered in barber shops to discuss the world. These are places where the banter can be barbed and the truth is always telling
Chewing Gum Dreams: Written and performed by Michaela Coel, this award-winning, one-woman play recalls the last days of innocence before adulthood
Home: Nadia Fall’s vital verbatim play about people living on the margins of society features performances from Michaela Coel, Antonia Thomas and Kadiff Kirwan
Rockets and Blue Lights: Directed by Miranda Cromwell, this fiercely political play by Winsome Pinnock won the 2018 Alfred Fagon Award
This House: A timely, moving and funny insight into the workings of British politics. It’s 1974 and to a backdrop of infighting and backstabbing the political parties battle to change the future of the nation
Shakespeare and Greek Classics
Macbeth: Rufus Norris directs Rory Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff in Shakespeare’s most intense and terrifying tragedy
Paradise: Kae Tempest’s epic new take on Greek legend is directed by Ian Rickson and performed by an all-female company including Lesley Sharp as Philoctetes
Romeo and Juliet (2020): Starring Jessie Buckley and Josh O’Connor and filmed using the backstage spaces of the National Theatre during the Coronavirus pandemic
Musical Theatre
I Want My Hat Back: Based on Jon Klassen’s children’s picture book classic, this production will support courses in theatre for young audiences as well as musical theatre
The Threepenny Opera: Rory Kinnear is Mack the Knife in a new version of this landmark twentieth-century musical from the Olivier stage of the National Theatre
