Jack Lowden, Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton + more to broadcast with NT LIVE
National Theatre Live has announced a landmark slate of theatre broadcasting to cinemas around the world led by a roster of award-winning talent.
This line-up spans classic revivals and contemporary new works captured from the National Theatre and London’s West End, including the first broadcast from National Theatre Director Indhu Rubasingham's inaugural season.
Olivier Award-winner Jack Lowden is joined by Emmy and BAFTA-winner Martin Freeman in the ‘raw, excruciating and often alarmingly funny’ (★★★★★ Daily Mail) The Fifth Step by David Ireland. After years in Alcoholics Anonymous, James (Freeman) becomes a sponsor to newcomer Luka (Lowden). As Luka nears step five, a confession threatens the fragile friendship between them. Directed by Finn den Hertog, and originally presented in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow in 2024 by National Theatre of Scotland, the critically acclaimed new play was captured live from its sold-out London West End transfer in the intimate, in-the-round @sohoplace. It will release to cinemas from 27 November.
From 23 October, cinema audiences can watch five-time Olivier Award winner Imelda Staunton join forces with her daughter Bessie Carter for the first time, playing mother and daughter in Bernard Shaw’s incendiary moral classic, Mrs. Warren’s Profession. Filmed live from the West End, this ‘startingly fresh’ (★★★★ Time Out) production presented by Sonia Friedman Productions reunites Staunton with director Dominic Cooke, exploring the clash between morality and independence, traditions and progress.
Looking ahead to 2026, Hamlet - directed by National Theatre Deputy Artistic Director, Robert Hastie, with Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera as Hamlet - will release to cinemas from 26 January. This fearless, contemporary take on Shakespeare’s famous tragedy will be the first production from the National Theatre to broadcast in Indhu Rubasingham’s new programme.
These three productions join the previously announced Inter Alia which will broadcast live from the Lyttelton Stage across the UK on 4 September, with subsequent global screenings from 25 September. Oscar-nominated Rosamund Pike is Jessica in this searing examination of modern motherhood and masculinity by writer Suzie Miller and director Justin Martin, the team behind global phenomenon Prima Facie.
Director and Co-CEO of the National Theatre, Indhu Rubasingham, said: “From the moment I began this role, I knew that expanding our digital reach would be key to my vision to bring the world to the National Theatre and the National Theatre to the world. NT Live is a powerful way to open not just our work, but the work of our incredible peers in the West End and beyond, to audiences globally. This season is a fantastic example of that vision in action: reimagined classics and bold new writing, just as you'll see on our stages in London. It’s about accessibility, excellence, and expanding the joy of theatre far beyond our walls and city. It’s about breaking down barriers and inviting everyone in.”