First look: National Theatre's 'Romeo and Juliet' ahead of Easter release

UPDATE: Romeo and Juliet trailer added 11 March. 

A series of images from the upcoming National Theatre film of Romeo and Juliet have been released, ahead of its April premiere. Originally scheduled to run at the Lyttelton Theatre in 2020, Romeo and Juliet has been filmed instead, available to watch from Easter Sunday, 4 April.

The title casting features Josh O'Connor as Romeo, with Jessie Buckley as Juliet. Fisayo Akinade plays Mercutio, with Deborah Findlay as the Nurse, Tamsin Greig as Lady Capulet, Adrian Lester as the Prince, Lucian Msamati as Friar Laurence, Shubham Saraf as Benvolio, David Judge as Tybalt, Alex Mugnaioni as Paris, Ellis Howard as Sampson, Lloyd Hutchinson as Lord Capulet, Colin Tierney as Lord Montague and Ella Dacres as Peta.

Romeo and Juliet was directed by Simon Godwin, with Shakespeare's tragedy adapted into a 90-minute version for screen by Emily Burns.

Speaking about the upcoming film, Godwin said: "Over 17 days of filming, the company was united by a sense of shared exploration. As well as being given intimate access to the thoughts and feelings of characters, we were able to bring to life remarkable, forgotten spaces at the National Theatre. Desire, dreams and destiny came together to make Romeo & Juliet sing in an entirely new way."

Romeo and Juliet is available to watch from 4 April in the UK, with a worldwide release date on 23 April. You can take a look at the cast of Romeo and Juliet in action below. 

^{Photo credit: Jessie Buckley, Lucian Msamati and Josh O'Connor (Photo by Rob Youngson)}