National Theatre Live: wonder.land

Into the Woods

March 2011 •English

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.

Dancer in the Dark

September 2000 •English

Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, escaping life's troubles – even if just for a moment – by dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.

Porgy and Bess

June 1959 •English

In the early 1900s, the fictional Catfish Row section of Charleston, South Carolina serves as home to a black fishing community. Crippled beggar Porgy, who travels about in a goat-drawn cart, loves the drug-addicted Bess, who lives with stevedore Crown, the local bully.

The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan

February 1953 •English

The career of W. S. Gilbert, a barrister turned comic librettist, and Arthur Sullivan, a composer turned against his will to light music, who together wrote fifteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, to great public acclaim.

Bugsy Malone

July 1976 •English

New York, 1929, a war rages between two rival gangsters, Fat Sam and Dandy Dan. Dan is in possession of a new and deadly weapon, the dreaded "splurge gun". As the custard pies fly, Bugsy Malone, an all-round nice guy, falls for Blousey Brown, a singer at Fat Sam's speakeasy. His designs on her are disrupted by the seductive songstress Tallulah who wants Bugsy for herself.

Fanaa

May 2006 •Hindi

Zooni Ali Beg is a blind Kashmiri girl who travels without her parents for the first time with a dance troupe to Delhi to perform in a ceremony for independence day. On her journey, she meets Rehan Khan, a casanova and tour guide who flirts with her. Although her friends warn Zooni about him, she cannot resist falling in love with him and he takes her on a private tour of New Delhi. But there is more to Rehan than meets the eye and Zooni will have to make a heartbreaking decision.

The Lion King

June 1994 •English

Young lion prince Simba, eager to one day become king of the Pride Lands, grows up under the watchful eye of his father Mufasa; all the while his villainous uncle Scar conspires to take the throne for himself. Amid betrayal and tragedy, Simba must confront his past and find his rightful place in the Circle of Life.

National Theatre Live: The Habit of Art

April 2010 •English

National Theatre Live’s 2010 broadcast of Alan Bennett’s acclaimed play The Habit of Art, with Richard Griffiths, Alex Jennings and Frances de la Tour, returns to cinemas as part of the National Theatre's 50th anniversary celebrations. Benjamin Britten, sailing uncomfortably close to the wind with his new opera, Death in Venice, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, W H Auden. During this imagined meeting, their first for twenty-five years, they are observed and interrupted by, amongst others, their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station. Alan Bennett’s play is as much about the theatre as it is about poetry or music. It looks at the unsettling desires of two difficult men, and at the ethics of biography. It reflects on growing old, on creativity and inspiration, and on persisting when all passion’s spent: ultimately, on the habit of art.

Evita

December 1996 •English

The hit musical based on the life of Evita Duarte, a B-movie Argentinian actress who eventually became the wife of Argentinian president and dictator Juan Perón, and the most beloved and hated woman in Argentina.

Annette

July 2021 •French

The story of Henry, a stand-up comedian with a fierce sense of humour and Ann, a singer of international renown. In the spotlight, they are the perfect couple, healthy, happy, and glamourous. The birth of their first child, Annette, a mysterious girl with an exceptional destiny, will change their lives.

Veer-Zaara

November 2004 •Hindi

Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh, a pilot in the Indian Air Force, rescues the stranded Zaara, a woman from Pakistan, following a bus accident, and their lives are forever bound.

A Room in Town

October 1982 •French

Set against the backdrop of an increasingly violent strike, a worker falls in love with the middle-class daughter of his landlady.

Girltrash: All Night Long

February 2014 •English

The story of five girls and one epic night. The girls will find love, lust, girl-fights, rock and roll, and a whole lot of stoned sorority girls.

Gucha!

November 2006 •Serbian

Juliet, a white girl, falls in love with a dark-skinned romeo, a divine trumpet player from the Roma orchestra. But her father Satchmo doesn't accept Romeo. Romeo needs to fight for Juliet at the legendary Festival of the trumpeters in Gucha.

A Song for Miss Julie

February 1945 •English

Two playwrights and a former burlesque queen travel to Louisiana to research a musical they're planning on a local Southern hero.

Übermut im Salzkammergut

August 1963 •German

Birgit is a model from the city and sweetheart of the farmer's son Rolf. Incognito she takes a job as a maid on their farm.

Beyond the Sea

November 2004 •English

Based on the life and career of legendary entertainer, Bobby Darin, the biopic moves back and forth between his childhood and adulthood, to tell the tale of his life.

Dorian Gray, el retrato

April 2013 •Spanish

Cantando a la vida

March 1969 •Spanish

The Lion King

July 2019 •English

Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.