National Theatre Collection: Translations

Harold Pinter: A Celebration

In June 2009, a group Britain's leading actors gathered for one night only to perform a celebration of the work of Harold Pinter at the National Theatre, directed by Ian Rickson. The team who made the acclaimed Harold Pinter documentaries for BBC's Arena was there to record this unique performance.

National Theatre Live: All of Us

Jess has a great life: a job she loves, a sharp sense of humour and a close group of friends. When austerity threatens the world she has worked hard to build, Jess makes a stand to protect those she holds most dear. Inspired by real life experiences of disabled people in the UK, All of Us captures the humour, sadness and joy of everyday life, and is a passionate and timely look at the human cost of abandoning those who struggle to fit in.

Uncle Vanya

During a hot summer, Sonya and her uncle Vanya spend their days idle in a dilapidated farmhouse deep in the countryside. Alone and isolated, they only receive occasional visits from Astrov, the local doctor.

Far from China

A young female writer whose father was a militant activist struggles to come to terms with this cumbersome legacy.

Walden

After returning from a year-long Moon mission, Cassie, a NASA botanist, finds herself in a remote cabin in the woods, where her estranged twin sister, Stella, a former NASA architect, has found a new life with climate activist Bryan. Old wounds resurface as the sisters attempt to pick up the pieces of the rivalry that broke them apart.

Fallout

A London policeman returns to the estate where he grew up to investigate the murder of a young boy. Adapted by the playwright from his 2002 play.

Digital Theatre: Parlour Song

Demolition expert Ned lives in a nice new house on the edge of the English countryside. He loves his job. Barbeques. Car boot sales. His life is entirely unremarkable. So why has he not slept a wink in six months? Why is he so terrified of his wife? Parlour Song is a satirical exploration of deceit, paranoia and desire in leafy surburbia.

National Theatre Live: London Tide

A storm rages and, in the darkest part of the night, a body is pulled from the swirling river. Across the city, two young women confront an uncertain future.

Krapp's Last Tape

A 69 year old man sits alone on his last birthday and listens to the past. Krapp's Last Tape is an extraordinary study of mortality, creativity and memory. A television relay of the 2006 Royal Court Theatre production of Samuel Beckett's critically acclaimed play, starring Harold Pinter.

National Theatre Live: Paradise

When a young soldier appears, his hope of escape comes with suspicion. And as an old enemy also emerges, he is faced with an even greater temptation: revenge.

Christmas Encore

A struggling actress is cast in her last off (off) Broadway show - a modern take on “A Christmas Carol” - before giving up her dream and moving home. Instead, she finds romance with her director and a renewed passion for her craft and the city. But when the historic theater loses its lease and the show is set to fold, she and her cast mates are need of a Christmas miracle.

After the Rehearsal

Rational, exacting, and self-controlled theater director, Henrik Vogler, often stays after rehearsal to think and plan. On this day, Anna comes back, ostensibly looking for a bracelet. She is the lead in his new production of Strindberg's A Dream Play. She talks of her hatred for her mother, now dead, an alcoholic actress, who was Vogler's star and lover.

The Dresser

In a touring Shakespearean theater group, a backstage hand - the dresser - is devoted to the brilliant but tyrannical head of the company. He struggles to support the deteriorating star as the company struggles to carry on during the London Blitz. The pathos of his backstage efforts rival the pathos in the story of Lear and the Fool that is being presented on-stage, as the situation comes to a crisis.

Stage Door

A spirited heiress wishing to break into theatre on her own merit arrives at a boardinghouse where aspiring young actresses and showgirls are brought together through their cynicism and disappointments.

Cradle Will Rock

A true story of politics and art in the 1930s USA, centered around a leftist musical drama and attempts to stop its production.

Into the Woods

In a woods filled with magic and fairy tale characters, a baker and his wife set out to end the curse put on them by their neighbor, a spiteful witch.