National Theatre Collection 2

This second National Theatre collection offers 20 more performances, ranging from Greek legend and Shakespeare to a wealth of contemporary plays including musical theatre.

Watch trailers for several of the films in this collection here.

Also available: National Theatre Collection 1 and National Theatre Collection 3

Turn of the Century Plays for Contemporary Audiences

• Hedda Gabler: WhatsOnStage described this production, with Ruth Wilson in the title role, as 'A Hedda unlike any I have ever seen. Devastating.'
• Julie: Carrie Cracknell directs a cast including Vanessa Kirby and Eric Kofi Abrefa in this 'superlative production' (Time Out) set in contemporary London
• The Seagull: Chekhov's masterly meditation on how the old take revenge on the young is both comic and tragic, and marks the birth of the modern stage. 'Land-mark brilliant', The Independent
• Three Sisters: Chekhov's iconic characters are relocated to a 1960s Nigeria on the brink of the Biafran Civil War, in this bold adaptation by Inua Ellams. 'Brimming with Life. Enlightening and heart-breaking' Broadway World

20th Century Classics

• A View from the Bridge: Ivo van Hove directs this stunning production which The Times called 'One of the great theatrical productions of the decade.'
• All My Sons: From the Old Vic, Jeremy Herrin directs Sally Field and Bill Pullman in Arthur Miller's blistering drama
• Top Girls: Lyndsey Turner directs Caryl Churchill's wildly innovative play about a country divided by its own ambitions

Contemporary Plays

• After Life: If you could spend eternity with just one precious memory, what would it be? Adapted from Hirokazu Kore-eda's award-winning film
• Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches: In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a conservative Reagan administration, six New Yorkers with interconnected lives grapple with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell
• Angels in America Part Two: Perestroika: Prior, Joe, Belize, Louis, Harper and Roy continue their journeys through love, loss and loneliness to overcome abandonment and ultimately discover forgiveness
• Barber Shop Chronicles: Directed by Olivier award-winning director Bijan Sheibani. For generations, African men have gathered in barber shops to discuss the world. These are places where the banter can be barbed and the truth is always telling
• Chewing Gum Dreams: Written and performed by Michaela Coel, this award-winning, one-woman play recalls the last days of innocence before adulthood
• Home: Nadia Fall's vital verbatim play about people living on the margins of society features performances from Michaela Coel, Antonia Thomas and Kadiff Kirwan
• Rockets and Blue Lights: Directed by Miranda Cromwell, this fiercely political play by Winsome Pinnock won the 2018 Alfred Fagon Award
• This House: A timely, moving and funny insight into the workings of British politics. It's 1974 and to a backdrop of infighting and backstabbing the political parties battle to change the future of the nation

Shakespeare and Greek Classics

• Macbeth: Rufus Norris directs Rory Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff in Shakespeare's most intense and terrifying tragedy
• Paradise: Kae Tempest's epic new take on Greek legend is directed by Ian Rickson and performed by an all-female company including Lesley Sharp as Philoctetes
• Romeo and Juliet (2020): Starring Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor and filmed using the backstage spaces of the National Theatre during the Coronavirus pandemic

Musical Theatre

• I Want My Hat Back: Based on Jon Klassen's children's picture book classic, this production will support courses in theatre for young audiences as well as musical theatre
• The Threepenny Opera: Rory Kinnear is Mack the Knife in a new version of this landmark twentieth-century musical from the Olivier stage of the National Theatre

UK State Schools Provision

The National Theatre Collections are available to state-funded schools, sixth form colleges and FE colleges in the United Kingdom, free of charge. UK independent schools and secondary/high schools worldwide can request a trial and subscribe to the collection through JCS Online Resources: info@jcsonlineresources.org.

Find out more here

The National Theatre Collection is supported by Richard and Kara Gnodde, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), Sidney E. Frank Foundation, The Attwood Education Foundation, The Candide Trust, The Cranshaw Corporation for Mrs. Robert I. MacDonald, Barbara G. Fleischman, Linda Hackett, The Michael Marks Charitable Trust, and members of the NT Collection Syndicate.