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INSANE: 2 - The Real Truth

The Playboy of the Western World: National Theatre staging ensures Irish play remains essential viewing

A revival of a beloved and notorious Irish play from 1907, Catriona McLaughlin’s production of The Playboy of the Western World treats J.M Synge’s play as a work with urgent contemporary force, creating a story with resonance in 2026.

The Conversation

Letitia Wright, Cate Blanchett and Sandra Oh to star in National Theatre shows

Lineup for 2026 includes a Molière adaptation and a mash-up of Sophocles and Ingmar Bergman

The Guardian - UK

Oscar winner to headline star-studded National Theatre 2026 line-up

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The Independent UK

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Cate Blanchett to headline National Theatre’s ambitious 2026 line-up

Oscar-winning actor will star alongside Nina Hoss and Ella Lily Hyland in Benedict Andrews’ new production Electra / Persona this August

The Independent UK

Cate Blanchett to perform at National Theatre as 2026 programme released

Killing Eve star Sandra Oh will also make her debut at the London theatre, while The Crown’s Lesley Manville will perform alongside Aiden Turner.

Evening Standard

A new Henry V is a barometer of our times – what can Shakespeare’s war play tell us amid global chaos?

Revivals of this history play usually reflect the politics of the moment. Now a fresh RSC retelling arrives in a world of instability and fractured alliances

The Guardian - UK

Lovers and fighters: how Les Liaisons Dangereuses reveals the passions of Christopher Hampton

As the writer turns 80, his masterful adaptation of the French novel is being revived at the National Theatre. It highlights his lifelong interest in political power play

The Guardian - UK

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Nicola Coughlan issues health update during West End play run

The Bridgerton favourite is currently appearing at the National Theatre with former Derry Girls co-star Siobhán McSweeney

Evening Standard

‘We are no longer apologising’: Éanna Hardwicke on Ireland’s cultural confidence and what it’s like to play Roy Keane

Currently on stage in a play that provoked riots, the rising Irish actor is also stepping into Keane’s boots to replay a notorious footballing feud. But, he says, his country feels more empowered than ever before

The Guardian - UK

The Playboy of the Western World: A strong turn from Nicola Coughlan

3/5 The Bridgerton star plays a feisty barmaid in this revival of JM Synge’s 1907 comedy that once caused riots

Evening Standard

Sir Tom Stoppard obituary

One of Britain’s most outstanding playwrights famed for the ‘hypnotised brilliance’ of his prose and dialogue

The Guardian - UK

Sir Tom Stoppard obituary: Iconic playwright lit up the screen with his humour and wit

Sir Tom Stoppard has passed away at the age of 88 but leaves a lasting legacy behind

The Independent UK

The Standard Theatre Awards Shortlist 2025 revealed

Cate Blanchett, Tom Hiddleston and Rachel Zegler are shortlisted as the Standard’s historic celebration of the stage returns

Evening Standard

Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre: 'Gung-ho warmth'

4/5 The return of this adaptation of a children’s classic book is a thrilling delight

Evening Standard

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The Guardian - UK

Clive Owen and Saskia Reeves’s screen history makes their stage reunion all the more emotional

Stephen Poliakoff’s 1991 film Close My Eyes, about incestuous siblings, echoes as the actors return in David Eldridge’s End, playing a couple facing a cancer diagnosis

Evening Standard

End at National Theatre: 'Performed with great subtlety by Clive Owen and Saskia Reeves'

4/5 Clive Owen and Saskia Reeves reunite to complete David Eldridge’s trilogy about couples

The Independent UK

London borough calls for a tourist tax to be introduced in the capital

Attractions in the borough include the London Eye, the National Theatre and Brixton’s O2 Academy

The Guardian - UK

Adrian Sutton obituary

Acclaimed British composer best known for War Horse, Coram Boy and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

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The Guardian - UK

Nabil Shaban obituary

Actor and founder of Graeae, a theatre company and platform for disabled and neurodivergent performers

The Guardian - UK

Prunella Scales was a queen of comedy with a passion for classical theatre

The actor best known as TV’s Sybil Fawlty dazzled over five decades on stage, in roles from from Shakespeare to Alan Bennett

The Guardian - UK

Awkward flirting, 4am breakdowns and a last kiss: David Eldridge on a decade of writing about love

Beginning, Middle and End form a trilogy charting the ups and downs of different relationships. Audiences have taken them to their heart – one couple saw the first play on a date, got married and had its title engraved on their rings

Evening Standard

Hamlet at National Theatre: the Prince has ADHD in uneven production

3/5 Hiran Abeysekera in Hamlet at the Lyttelton Theatre is a production with plenty of ideas even if it is hit and miss

The Conversation

Bacchae is bold first choice for National Theatre’s new director

Warning: this article contains spoilers.

The Guardian - UK

The Importance of Being Earnest review – Stephen Fry’s Lady Bracknell presides over merrily queered comedy

Max Webster’s frisky Oscar Wilde revival, first seen at the National Theatre, arrives in the West End with a new cast

The Guardian - UK

Hit and myth: Bacchae brings into view the National’s history of revamping Greek tragedies

Following in the footsteps of Peter Hall and Katie Mitchell, Indhu Rubasingham directs an ancient epic at the National Theatre. Bacchae reveals the virtues and vices of creating a new play from old

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