Helen Mirren plays the title role in Racine’s PHEDRE, directed by Nicholas Hytner
Richard Eyre directs a new play by Matt Charman, THE OBSERVER

The Travelex £10 Tickets season continues with Shakespeare’s ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, directed by Marianne Elliott

Lee Hall’s THE PITMEN PAINTERS tours the UK

NT LIVE launches with a live broadcast of Phèdre into cinemas worldwide

NEW CONNECTIONS premieres new plays for young people by writers including William Boyd, Anthony Horowitz and David Mamet

Entry Pass offers free tickets for under 26s as part of ‘A Night Less Ordinary’

Watch This Space and Square2 return; Sunday performances resume from July; Platforms, Exhibitions and Discover

THE OBSERVER
Cottesloe Theatre. Previews from 13 May, press night 20 May, continuing in repertoire

THE OBSERVER, a new play by Matt Charman, will open in the Cottesloe Theatre on 20 May, directed by Richard Eyre. The production will be designed by Rob Howell, with lighting by Neil Austin, projection design by Jon Driscoll, music by Richard Hartley and sound by Rich Walsh. The cast is: Leo Bill, Daon Broni, Anna Chancellor, James Fleet, Peter Forbes, Lloyd Hutchinson, Chuk Iwuji, Aïcha Kossoko, Louis Mahoney, Cyril Nri, Isabel Pollen and Joy Richardson.

An international group of observers arrives in a West African country to oversee and rubber stamp its first democratic election. New voters queue in their thousands, but a senior member of the observation team find herself both horrified by the President’s suppressive tactics and, for once, in a position to do something about it. Yet as violence on the streets escalates and the country enters free fall, an increasingly angry young translator forces this well-meaning outsider to confront the impact of her intervention.

Matt Charman’s plays include The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder for the NT, and A Night at the Dogs (Soho) which won him a Verity Bargate Award in 2004. The Observer won the 2008 Catherine Johnson Award for Best Play, as part of the Pearson Playwrights’ Scheme. Anna Chancellor’s stage appearances include Never So Good and Stanley at the National; King Lear for the RSC (Stratford, London and Japan); and Creditors at the Donmar. She and James Fleet appeared in Richard Curtis’ Four Weddings and A Funeral.

James Fleet’s recent work in theatre includes Three Sisters and Art in the West End. He is perhaps best known to TV audiences for his role in the long-running BBC series, The Vicar of Dibley. Chuk Iwuji’s theatre work includes the title role in Henry VI Parts 1, 2 & 3 for the RSC; and Christy in The Playboy of the Western World at the Abbey, Dublin. Richard Eyre was Director of the National from 1988 – 1997. His recent work includes The Reporter at the NT, Hedda Gabler (Almeida and West End), which won Olivier Awards for Best Director and Best Revival; Mary Poppins (West End and Broadway); and the films Iris, Stage Beauty and Notes on a Scandal.

THE OBSERVER is sponsored by Accenture, supporters of Innovation at the National Theatre.

Press night: Wednesday 20 May
Contact: Jennifer Reynolds on 020 7452 3233; jreynolds@nationaltheatre.org.uk