National Theatre ‘Romeo and Juliet’ film to premiere on television this Easter

Adrian Lester joins the cast as the Prince.

Following the news that the National Theatre will stage a feature film of Romeo and Juliet, release dates have been announced. The film will be available to watch in the UK on Easter Sunday, 4 April, while US viewers will be able to watch from 23 April.

Further casting has also been revealed for the production, which was originally due to play to in-person performances at the National Theatre in 2020. Adrian Lester will play the Prince, whose National Theatre credits include Sweeney Todd and Henry V. Lloyd Hutchinson plays Lord Capulet, with Colin Tierney as Lord Montague and Ella Dacres as Peta.

Titular roles will be portrayed by Josh O'Connor as Romeo, who has starred in television series including Les Miserables and The Crown. Jessie Buckley plays Juliet, whose West End credits include A Little Night Music and Henry V opposite Jude Law.

The cast is completed by Fisayo Akinade as Mercutio, Deborah Findlay as the Nurse, Tamsin Greig as Lady Capulet, Lucian Msamati as the Friar, Shubham Saraf as Benvolio, David Judge as Tybalt, Alex Mugnaioni as Paris and Ellis Howard as Sampson.

Romeo and Juliet was filmed over the course of three weeks inside the Lyttelton Theatre. The abridged version runs for 90 minutes, and is adapted by Emily Burns with direction by Simon Godwin.

Romeo and Juliet is available to watch in the UK on 4 April at 9pm on Sky Arts. Prior to the film, a first-look image has been released, which you can see below.

^{Photo credit: Josh O' Connor and Jessie Buckley (Photos courtesy of National Theatre)}