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London’s National Theatre has unveiled its 2027 program, with Paul Mescal, Emma Corrin and Emilia Clarke topping a star-heavy slate of 18 productions, eight of them world premieres, spanning the venue’s three stages
and beyond.
Mescal returns to the Lyttelton theater for a repertory season, playing Biff Loman in Rebecca Frecknall’s staging of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” before switching to the role of Michael Carney in Caitríona McLaughlin’s production of Tom Murphy’s “A Whistle in the Dark,” a co-production with Ireland’s Abbey Theatre. Tracy Letts makes his U.K. stage acting debut as Willy Loman opposite Monica Dolan’s Linda Loman, with Ciarán Hinds also joining the cast.
Emma Corrin will star as Catharine Holly in Michael Grandage’s revival of Tennessee Williams’ “Suddenly Last Summer,” marking Grandage’s first National Theatre production since 2010, with Arty Froushan and Harriet Walter rounding out the cast. Emilia Clarke will make her National Theatre debut in David Hare’s “Plenty,” directed by former National Theatre director Richard Eyre, staged ahead of Hare’s 80th birthday and the play’s 50th anniversary.
Uzo Aduba, a three-time Emmy winner, also debuts at the venue in “The Adeyemis – A Family Saga,” Oladipo Agboluaje’s family drama in the Dorfman theater, directed by Lucian Msamati in his own National Theatre directing debut. Rosamund Pike will make her Broadway debut reprising her role in Suzie Miller’s “Inter Alia” when the hit transfers to the Music Box Theater from Nov. 10, directed by Justin Martin, with co-stars Jamie Glover and Cormac McAlinden also debuting on Broadway.
Indhu Rubasingham, director and co-chief executive of the National Theatre, said next year’s program “brings together a remarkable range of work that looks across the last century to explore the perspectives, cultures and conflicts that continue to shape our world.” Kate Varah, executive director and co-chief executive, said the 2027 slate “reflects a scale, ambition and reach that places us at the heart of the U.K.’s thriving cultural ecosystem,” pointing to a National Theatre audience that now spans 184 countries.
The remaining world premieres include James Graham’s “Major,” reuniting the writer with director Jeremy Herrin after their acclaimed “This House” to dramatize John Major’s rise to prime minister, and Rubasingham’s staging of Moira Buffini’s “The Great Indaba,” a co-production with MGC dramatizing the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Carmen Nasr’s “Samira,” set during the Arab Spring and directed by Emily Burns, stars May Calamawy, Joshua McGuire and Sirine Saba.
Also opening are Natasha Gordon’s stage adaptation of Bernardine Evaristo’s “Mr Loverman,” directed by Paulette Randall with a cast including Gary Beadle, Jo Martin and Danny Sapani; Phyllida Lloyd’s new musical “Glorious Madness,” built around songs written by Joan Armatrading, with Iman Qureshi penning the book and KPPL Productions co-producing; Punchdrunk’s immersive “Ghostlight,” conceived and directed by Felix Barrett and curated by Lucy Kirkwood to mark 50 years since the National Theatre’s South Bank home opened; and “The Last Wild,” a co-production with the Unicorn Theatre adapted by Jude Christian and directed by Unicorn Artistic Director Rachel Bagshaw for primary school and family audiences.
Beyond the rep season, the classics slate includes a revival of “West Side Story” co-directed by Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell, using Jerome Robbins’ original choreography as reproduced by Julio Monge, and Robert Hastie’s staging of Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” marking 60 years since its original London and Broadway productions and starring Mawaan Rizwan and George Fouracres.
On tour and in transfer, Jim Cartwright’s “The Rise and Fall of Little Voice” moves from its Dorfman run to seven regional theaters, directed by Hastie with a cast including Francesca Mills, Jill Halfpenny and Paul Chuckle. The stage adaptation of “Ballet Shoes” embarks on a U.K. tour with Chris Harper Productions as co-producer, with casting including Anton Du Beke; Frozen Light will provide multisensory performances for audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities at select venues, with separate access performances offered across the wider tour. The musical “Pride” transfers to London’s Bridge Theatre from Nov. 12 following sold-out runs at the Dorfman and Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre.
The National Theatre’s digital reach will also expand in 2027, with more than 25 new titles added to the National Theatre at Home streaming service, a free YouTube stream of Rubasingham’s staging of “The Jungle Book” through the Take Your Seats initiative, and six new titles joining the National Theatre Collection for schools.
