Royal National Theatre

AT THE NATIONAL, WE MAKE WORLD-CLASS THEATRE THAT IS ENTERTAINING, CHALLENGING AND INSPIRING. AND WE MAKE IT FOR EVERYONE.

OUR THEATRES ON THE SOUTH BANK WE PRESENTED 17 PRODUCTIONS ON THE SOUTH BANK IN 2022/23. WITH OUR THEATRES 84 PER CENT FULL, WE ARE PLEASED THAT OUR AUDIENCE NUMBERS SHOWED STRONG PROGRESSION TOWARDS PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS. WORLD-CLASS THEATRE-MAKERS BREATHED NEW LIFE INTO CLASSICS, WITH LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS OF OTHELLO, THE CRUCIBLE, BLUES FOR AN ALABAMA SKY, THE CORN IS GREEN AND MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. SIMON STONE TRANSFORMED THE ANCIENT STORY OF PHAEDRA, HEX SHOWED US THE DARKER SIDE OF SLEEPING BEAUTY, AND RICHARD BEAN AND OLIVER CHRIS TRANSPORTED THE RIVALS TO WORLD WAR II FOR JACK ABSOLUTE FLIES AGAIN. THERE WERE NEW PLAYS FROM GARY OWEN, APRIL DE ANGELIS, DAVID ELDRIDGE AND FRANCESCA MARTINEZ. STORIES ARE AT THE HEART OF WHAT WE DO, AND OUR STAGES REFLECTED THE WIDER WORLD OWEN, APRIL DE ANGELIS, DAVID ELDRIDGE AND FRANCESCA MARTINEZ. STORIES ARE AT THE HEART OF WHAT WE DO, AND OUR STAGES REFLECTED THE WIDER WORLD- FROM THE FIGHT FOR INDIA'S INDEPENDENCE IN ANUPAMA CHANDRASEKHAR'S EPIC THE FATHER AND THE ASSASSIN, TO 60 YEARS OF AN ICONIC SHEFFIELD HOUSING ESTATE IN THE OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING STANDING AT THE SKY'S EDGE. OUR AUDIENCE MEASUREMENTS CONTINUED TO SHOW STRONG ENGAGEMENT ACROSS AUDIENCE GROUPS, FROM THOSE EXPERIENCING WITH OUR WORK FOR THE FIRST TIME TO THOSE WHO ENGAGE ON A REGULAR BASIS. OUR POST-SHOW SURVEYS SHOWED THAT OVER 90 PER CENT OF FIRST-TIME VISITORS THOUGHT THE PRODUCTION THEY HAD SEEN WAS EITHER EXCELLENT OR VERY GOOD. WE WERE THRILLED TO BRING BACK THE RIVER STAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE PANDEMIC. OUR FREE OUTDOOR SUMMER FESTIVAL FEATURED FIVE WEEKENDS OF LIVE MUSIC, DANCE, PERFORMANCE AND WORKSHOPS WITH TAKEOVERS BY THE GLORY, HACKNEY EMPIRE'S YOUNG PRODUCERS, HOFESH SHECHTER COMPANY AND HOME MANCHESTER. WITH OVER 52,000 AUDIENCE MEMBERS ATTENDING OVER THE COURSE OF THE MONTH, THE RIVER STAGE IS LONDON'S LARGEST FREE OUTDOOR ARTS FESTIVAL. SHARING WORK BEYOND THE SOUTH BANK IN 2022/23, PRODUCTIONS OF THE LEHMAN TRILOGY, THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, SUCKER PUNCH, HAMLET AND SHUT UP, I'M DREAMING DELIGHTED AUDIENCES EVERYWHERE FROM LEICESTER TO LOS ANGELES. THE LEHMAN TRILOGY WAS THE MOST NOMINATED PLAY AT THE 2022 TONY AWARDS, WINNING FIVE AWARDS: BEST PLAY, BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY FOR SIMON RUSSELL BEALE, BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY FOR SAM MENDES, BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY FOR ES DEVLIN, AND BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY FOR JON CLARK. THE PRODUCTION PLAYED AT THE AHMANSON THEATRE IN LA BEFORE RETURNING TO LONDON FOR A RUN AT THE WEST END'S GILLIAN LYNNE THEATRE. OUR OLIVIER AWARD-NOMINATED ADAPTATION OF NEIL GAIMAN'S THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE BEGAN A 29-VENUE TOUR IN DECEMBER 2022. WE ANTICIPATE THAT THE TOUR WILL BE SEEN BY 250,000 PEOPLE OVER 40 WEEKS, BEFORE HEADING BACK TO LONDON FOR ANOTHER RUN IN THE WEST END. WUTHERING HEIGHTS, A CO-PRODUCTION WITH WISE CHILDREN, EMBARKED ON A UK TOUR AFTER ITS RUN IN THE LYTTELTON THEATRE, VISITING TRURO, NORWICH, NOTTINGHAM, SALFORD, BRIGHTON AND EDINBURGH. THE PRODUCTION THEN DELIGHTED AUDIENCES IN NEW YORK, CALIFORNIA AND CHICAGO. THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME COMPLETED ITS TENTH ANNIVERSARY NATIONAL TOUR WITH PERFORMANCES IN BIRMINGHAM, GLASGOW, LEEDS, TRURO, DUBLIN, NORWICH, DARTFORD AND HIGH WYCOMBE. THE TOUR WAS SEEN BY NEARLY 175,000 PEOPLE, AND THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME HAS NOW BEEN SEEN BY 3.7MILLION PEOPLE SINCE IT HAD ITS PREMIERE ON THE SOUTH BANK IN 2012. THEATRE NATION PARTNERSHIPS THEATRE NATION PARTNERSHIPS (TNP) IS OUR COLLABORATIVE NETWORK OF ARTS ORGANISATIONS AIMING TO STRENGTHEN THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOCAL AUDIENCES, SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES. CONVENED BY THE NATIONAL THEATRE, IT IS A NATIONAL NETWORK WITH LOCAL IMPACTS. IN 2022/23, FUNDING FROM ACE ALLOWED US TO EXPAND AND EXTEND TNP, WITH THE INCLUSION OF FIVE NEW PARTNERS: CURVE IN LEICESTER, LANDMARK THEATRES IN NORTH DEVON AND PETERBOROUGH, RESTOKE IN STOKE-ON-TRENT, REGENT THEATRE & VICTORIA HALL IN STOKE-ON-TRENT AND TROWBRIDGE TOWN HALL. THEY JOINED OUR FOUNDING PARTNERS: CAST IN DONCASTER, THE LOWRY IN SALFORD, QUEEN'S THEATRE HORNCHURCH, SUNDERLAND EMPIRE AND SUNDERLAND CULTURE, THEATRE ROYAL WAKEFIELD AND WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE. WE WORKED WITH OUR TNP PARTNERS ON TOURING PRODUCTIONS, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, IN-DEPTH SCHOOL PROGRAMMES, DIGITAL PLATFORMS AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES. IN 2022/23, WE SUPPORTED A PRODUCTION OF SUCKER PUNCH BY ROY WILLIAMS, PRODUCED BY QUEEN'S THEATRE HORNCHURCH, THAT TOURED TO NINE TNP VENUES - WE ARE PLEASED THAT 93 PER CENT OF AUDIENCES RATED THE PRODUCTION AS EXCELLENT OR GOOD, WITH 62 PER CENT TELLING US THEY WERE MORE LIKELY TO SEE A SHOW AT THEIR LOCAL VENUE AFTER SEEING THE PRODUCTION. GENERATE OUR GENERATE PROGRAMME SHARES THE SPACE AND RESOURCES OF OUR NEW WORK STUDIO WITH ARTISTS DEVELOPING WORK THAT IS DESTINED FOR STAGES OUTSIDE OF LONDON. THIS SUPPORT INCLUDES COSTS LIKE ARTIST FEES AND TRAVEL EXPENSES, AS WELL AS WORKSHOPPING AND WRITING SPACE, DRAMATURGICAL SUPPORT, AND INTRODUCTIONS TO CO-PRODUCING PARTNERS. THIS YEAR, ONCE AGAIN, A THIRD OF OUR NEW WORK DEPARTMENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS WERE DEVOTED TO SUPPORTING THEATRES AND COMPANIES FROM OUTSIDE OF LONDON THROUGH OUR GENERATE PROGRAMME, INCLUDING LEEDS PLAYHOUSE, EASTERN ANGLES IN IPSWICH AND THE LYRIC IN BELFAST. NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE, NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME AND THE NATIONAL THEATRE COLLECTION WE BROADCAST 11 PRODUCTIONS TO CINEMAS IN 65 COUNTRIES VIA NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE, WHICH WERE SEEN BY NEARLY 720,000 PEOPLE ACROSS 19,000 SCREENINGS. AS WELL AS PRODUCTIONS FROM OUR STAGES, WE BROADCAST WORK FROM OTHER THEATRES, INCLUDING STRAIGHT LINE CRAZY FROM THE BRIDGE THEATRE, HENRY V FROM THE DONMAR, AND THE SEAGULL DIRECTED BY JAMIE LLOYD. OUR BROADCAST OF PRIMA FACIE, WHICH FEATURED JODIE COMER IN HER AWARD-WINNING WEST END DEBUT, BECAME THE BIGGEST SELLING UK EVENT CINEMA RELEASE OF ALL TIME. IT IS THE SECOND TIME NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE BROADCAST HAS BROKEN THIS RECORD, THE FIRST WITH PHEOBE WALLER-BRIDGE'S FLEABAG IN 2019. A FURTHER 26 TITLES WERE ADDED TO OUR STREAMING PLATFORM NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME IN 2022/23, TAKING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PRODUCTIONS AVAILABLE TO 70. THEY INCLUDED THE WIFE OF WILLESDEN FROM KILN THEATRE, WHICH WAS THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE CAPTURED A PRODUCTION SPECIFICALLY FOR NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME FROM ANOTHER THEATRE. PEOPLE FROM MORE THAN 170 COUNTRIES STREAMED A PRODUCTION VIA NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME THIS YEAR. ALL PRODUCTIONS ARE AVAILABLE WITH CAPTIONS, 70 PER CENT HAVE AUDIO-DESCRIPTION, AND WE PILOTED BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE PROVISION. THE NATIONAL THEATRE COLLECTION, OUR FREE PLATFORM THAT PROVIDES SCHOOLS AND FURTHER EDUCATION COLLEGES WITH ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY RECORDINGS OF PRODUCTIONS AND SUPPLEMENTARY LEARNING MATERIALS, IS NOW BEING USED BY SCHOOLS FROM EVERY LOCAL AUTHORITY IN THE UK AND IN 85 PER CENT OF STATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS. WE CONTINUED OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO BRING THE COLLECTION TO 30,000 OF THE MOST ECONOMICALLY AND CULTURALLY UNDERSERVED STUDENTS FROM 180 SCHOOLS ACROSS THE CITY'S FIVE BOROUGHS. WE WILL BE EXPANDING THE COLLECTION WITH 20 NEW PRODUCTIONS, PROVIDING ACCESS TO A SELECTION OF PLAYS FOR FREE IN UK PUBLIC LIBRARIES, AND ADDING MORE PRODUCTIONS TO OUR BESPOKE COLLECTION FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNICORN THEATRE.