National Theatre announces summer 2022 season

Samira Wiley and Laurie Davidson will star in productions.

The National Theatre has confirmed four new productions as part of their summer season. New shows include rescheduled dates for Jack Absolute Flies Again and All of Us, as well as Samira Wiley making her West End debut in Blues for an Alabama Sky.

The three current productions at the National Theatre are Small Island in the Olivier, Wuthering Heights in the Lyttelton and Our Generation in the Dorfman. A full list of shows announced by the National Theatre today are as follows, broken down by venue.

Olivier Theatre

Jack Absolute Flies Again will begin performances in the Olivier Theatre on 2 July, ahead of an opening night on 14 July and performances to 20 August. Jack Absolute Flies Again is a new version of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 1775 play, The Rivals, and is adapted by Richard Bean and Olivier Chris.

Laurie Davidson will play the title role in the play, joined by Caroline Quentin as Mrs Malaprop, Natalie Simpson as Lydia Languish, Kelvin Fletcher as Dudley Scunthorpe, Kerry Howard as Lucy and Peter Forbes as Anthony Absolute. The Jack Absolute Flies Again company includes James Corrigan, Theo Cowan, Jordan Metcalfe, George Kemp, Akshay Sharan, Tim Steed, Geoffrey Towers, Shona White and Helena Wilson.

Emily Burns directs Jack Absolute Flies Again, with a further creative team including set and costume design by Mark Thompson, lighting design by Tim Lutkin, sound design by Paul Arditti, and choreography by Lizzy Gee.

Lyttelton Theatre

Simon Godwin will direct a new production of Much Ado About Nothing, which is set in the Italian Riviera. The Much Ado About Nothing cast includes Katherine Parkinson as Beatrice and John Heffernan as Benedick. The creative team includes set design by Anna Fleischle, costume design by Evie Gurney and lighting design by Lucy Carter, and sound design by Christopher Shutt. Much Ado About Nothing begins previews on 7 July, ahead of an opening night on 18 July and performances to 10 September.

Blues for an Alabama Sky will then open in the Lyttelton, with previews from 20 September and an opening night on 27 September. Pearl Cleage's play follows four friends living in 1930s America during the Harlem Renaissance. 

The Handmaid's Tale and Orange is the New Black star Samira Wiley will play Angel Allen, joined by Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo as Delia Patterson, Osy Ikhile as Leland Cunningham, Sule Rimi as Sam Thomas and Giles Terera as Guy Jacobs. The Blues for an Alabama Sky creative team includes direction by Lynette Linton, set and costume design by Frankie Bradshaw, lighting design by Oli Fenwick, and sound design by George Dennis.

Dorfman Theatre

Francesca Martinez's debut play All of Us opens at the National Theatre this summer. All of Us follows how people on the outskirts of society who try to fit in and what it means to be abandoned.

Ian Rickson directs Martinez in the show, alongside Chris Anderson, Oliver Alvin-Wilson, Bryan Dick, Kevin Hely, Christopher-John Slater, Francesca Mills and Wanda Opalinska. Set and costume design is by Georgia Lowe, lighting design by Anna Watson, and sound design by Gregory Clarke. All of Us begins performances on 27 July, ahead of an opening night on 4 August and performances to 24 September.

^{Photo credit: Samira Wiley and Laurie Davidson (Photos courtesy of National Theatre)}