National Theatre Live: Man and Superman

Phoebe in Wonderland

February 2008 •English

The fantastical tale of a little girl who won't - or can't - follow the rules. Confounded by her clashes with the rule-obsessed world around her, Phoebe seeks enlightenment from her unconventional drama teacher, even as her brilliant but anguished mother looks to Phoebe herself for inspiration.

As You Like It

September 2006 •English

Witty, playful and utterly magical, the story is a compelling romantic adventure in which Rosalind and Orlando's celebrated courtship is played out against a backdrop of political rivalry, banishment and exile in the Forest of Arden - set in 19th-century Japan.

Walden

September 2021 •English

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.

Besos perdidos

August 1945 •Spanish

A man thinks he is not the father of his presumed daughter.

National Theatre Live: Skylight

July 2014 •English

On a bitterly cold London evening, schoolteacher Kyra Hollis receives an unexpected visit from her former lover, Tom Sergeant, a successful and charismatic restaurateur whose wife has recently died. As the evening progresses, the two attempt to rekindle their once passionate relationship only to find themselves locked in a dangerous battle of opposing ideologies and mutual desires.

Hamlet

January 1986 •Czech

The production of Shakespeare's Hamlet with František Němec in the title role (premiered at the Smetana Theatre in 1982) was far from enthusiastic at first. To some viewers, it seemed superficially unimpressive. On the spare stage of J. Svoboda, director M. Macháček focused on thinking through the relationships between the characters and their motivations, and cast great actors of the National Theatre in the roles. Macháček gradually revealed the story, like a detective story - from the message from the ghost of Hamlet's father about the manner of his death, through the play of the theatre company as proof of the murderer's guilt, to the final murderous finale... The production eventually became a Prague theatre hit and could certainly have been performed for a long time if it had not been withdrawn from the repertoire in 1988.

Jumbo

March 2025 •Indonesian

Desperate to prove to his peers that he’s more than a chubby kid that never wins at anything, little Don wishes to win his local talent show by performing a stageplay inspired from a storybook written by his late parents. When unfortunately a bully stole that book, at the same time a little ghost appeared from the spirit world asking for Don’s help to reunite her with her parents’ spirits. The two new friends then embark on an exciting adventure to help each other and learn the true meaning of friendship.

Kaaviya Thalaivan

November 2014 •Tamil

Two rival artists at Sivadas Swamigal's drama troupe compete in everything they do. While one of them goes on to become successful, the other fails in life.

Method

November 2017 •Korean

A seasoned actor and a pop star are cast as leads in a gay romantic play. As the actor teaches the pop star method acting, the line between fiction and reality is blurred and they become drawn to each other.

Better Than Escape

July 1993 •Serbian

A Yugoslav stage actor marries an American girl in Belgrade and has a child with her, when his career downhill out of political reasons he develops a drinking habit, his wife leaves him and takes their daughter to U.S.A.

Me

November 1973 •English

Tomby, a challenged teenage boy, manipulates his family who cater to his every desire. Only his twin brother Greg treats him as a human being capable of development. A powerful drama / dark comedy with a surprising ending.

The Making of a Man

October 1911 •English

A young woman becomes infatuated with the leading man of a traveling theatrical troupe. She sneaks away to join him in the next town, but her father forces her to return home...

Jakub Oberva

October 1956 •Czech

Její pastorkyňa

November 1956 •Czech

Nora

November 1956 •Czech

Oidipus vladař

December 1956 •Czech

The Beaver Coat

October 1949 •German

Mother Wolffen, a washerwoman, is a woman of principle: A poor man must do what he must to get through life, only he mustn't get caught doing it. All sorts of crooked deals contribute to the improvement of the daily menu and the increase of household funds. When everyone is searching for pensioner Krueger's missing beaverskin coat, Mother Wolffen and her family are calmly enjoying fresh roast venison.

Der Biberpelz

March 1962 •German

Where We Disappear

July 2019 •English

A story of survival about a woman's first night in a Soviet prison camp. After committing a crime to protect her son, Anastasia is sentenced to 12 years in a Soviet prison camp. Her arrival upsets the balance between the inmates. In a night of backstabbing and shifting alliances, she must find a way to escape and discover the hidden truth of her survival.

Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle

September 1994 •English

Dorothy Parker remembers the heyday of the Algonquin Round Table, a circle of friends whose barbed wit, like hers, was fueled by alcohol and flirted with despair.