National Theatre Live: Bacchae

After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.

In the Holy Land, the Roman occupation has produced a cauldron of oppression, anxiety and excessive taxes levied upon the Jewish people. Fearing the wrath of Roman governor Pontius Pilate , Jewish high priest Caiaphas tries to keep control of his people. That control is threatened when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, performing miracles and spreading messages of love and hope. Those who fear that Jesus will inspire a revolution decide that he must die.

A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.

Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.

A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.

While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.

More interested in partying and flirting with young musicians than work, veteran rock journalist Ellie Klug has one last chance to prove her value to her magazine’s editor: a no-stone-unturned search to discover what really happened to long lost rock god, Matt Smith, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Teaming up with an eccentric amateur documentary filmmaker, Ellie hits the road in search of answers.

A young Western woman is recruited by the Mossad to go undercover in Tehran where she becomes entangled in a complex triangle with her handler and her subject.

Titus Andronicus returns from the wars and sees his sons and daughters taken from him, one by one. Shakespeare's goriest and earliest tragedy.

A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.

The greatest Olympic Wrestling Champion brother team joins Team Foxcatcher led by multimillionaire sponsor John E. du Pont as they train for the 1988 games in Seoul - a union that leads to unlikely circumstances.

A successful woman in New York City finds her life upended when she is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.

When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.

The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.

After twenty years away, Odysseus washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The king has finally returned home, but much has changed in his kingdom since he left to fight in the Trojan war.

In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.

The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.

During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.

A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.

While on holiday in Rhodes, Athenian war hero Darios becomes involved in two different plots to overthrow the tyrannical king, one from Rhodian patriots and the other from sinister Phoenician agents.

Layar, a popular film star who feels bored with his career wants to make a musical theater set in a family history that is always linked to Indonesian film history.

Alexander, the King of Macedonia, leads his legions against the giant Persian Empire. After defeating the Persians, he leads his army across the then known world, venturing farther than any westerner had ever gone, all the way to India.

An actress goes to Azores to take part in the theatrical tour of The Tempest and on her arrival she finds no one from the company, there is not even a theatre. After meeting Ariel, the actress discovers that the play has already started, the whole island is a theatre and its inhabitants are characters.

Romeo & Julia is a landmark Estonian rock musical that first captured the nation's heart at its 2006 premiere. Based on William Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy, this modern reimagining transports the "star-crossed lovers" to a contemporary setting, replacing ancient swords with a clash of modern values and social classes. The story follows Romeo (a working-class youth) and Julia (the daughter of a wealthy banker) as they navigate a forbidden romance amidst a decades-long feud between their families. It is a powerful exploration of the struggle between true emotion and a material world, where a tragic end brings reconciliation only after it is too late to save the young lovers.

The true story of the famed British actor David Garrick and his love for Ada Ingot.

Max and Celine exit each other’s lives about as fast as they enter. How much can they really change one another?

This National Theatre Production was filmed for the National Theatre Archive in November 2022. ‘To be or not to be…’ Hamlet’s dad is dead. His uncle has taken over the kingdom and married Hamlet’s mum. The whole world feels like it’s turned upside down. A ghostly encounter reveals a dreadful deed has been done. Should Hamlet take revenge? ‘That is the question.’ Join us for this energetic and engaging retelling of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedy.

The Trojan Women takes place in the immediate aftermath of Troy's defeat, which ended the ten-year Trojan War, fought between the Trojans and the Greeks. The night before the play's events, the Greeks infiltrated the city hidden inside a giant wooden horse, which the Trojans took to be an offering to the gods. The Greeks have now killed the Trojan men and are in the process of enslaving the surviving women and children before they head back to Greece.

A Channel Four special presentation of the Royal Court Theatre 1989 production, London. with Paul Bhattacharjee, Nabil Shaban and Fiona Victory. "Iranian Nights" was a play written and produced as a direct response by writers and artists to the notorious Feb 14 1989 Fatwa (a sentence of death) from Iran's leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, placed on Salman Rushdie for his novel "The Satanic Verses", regarded by fundamentalist Muslims as blasphemous.

In 1960, two legendary couples stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. Simone Signoret and Yves Montand stayed in bungalow 20: they loved each other, they were beautiful, still young, full of life, at the height of their fame. But Marilyn Monroe, staying in the neighboring bungalow, was an irresistible woman whose relationship with writer Arthur Miller was on the rocks. Simone became friends with Marilyn, while Yves filmed with her, trying to resist her seduction. Unfortunately, Arthur left. The lives of four people are shattered. Neither woman will ever truly recover from this affair, and each will be plagued by doubt. Recorded on January 12 and 13, 2024, at the Théâtre de la Madeleine in Paris's 8th arrondissement.

Theseus is a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion, who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity.

For her first production, Marina Hands chose "Six Characters in Search of an Author," a play by Luigi Pirandello that premiered in Rome in 1921. A team rehearsing is interrupted by six characters in search of an author willing to write their story, which has gone from drama to drama. Luigi Pirandello had the brilliant idea of doubling the conflictual relationships within this dysfunctional family with another type of dispute: the characters rebel against the false truth of the actors and actresses playing out their story. Filmed at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris's 6th arrondissement.

A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."

Greek general Themistocles attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war. Themistocles faces the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god, Xerxes and Artemesia, the vengeful commander of the Persian navy.

Jin, a young woman with incurable hallucinations, joins a mysterious cult that offers her love, belonging, and the promise of miracles. As she becomes the chosen one and abandons her medication, she loses herself completely, blurring reality with illusion and ultimately remaining in the cult forever.