The Thursday Murder Club’s Dame Helen Mirren and The Crown’s Lesley Manville are among the acting legends set to appear in a series of National Theatre (NT) Live cinema shows in 2026.
The shows, captured in front of a live audience, will be shown in cinemas across the UK.
Mirren will star as Queen Elizabeth II in Olivier and Tony Award-winning hit production The Audience, which is returning to cinemas from 26th February (UK only) for the first time in over a decade.
The Audience, which is directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Peter Morgan, centres on weekly meetings between Queen Elizabeth II and each of her prime ministers. The production was the inspiration for Netflix hit The Crown, also penned by Morgan.
From 28th May, cinema audiences can watch Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton), Éanna Hardwicke (Saipan) and Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls) in John Millington Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World, directed by Caitriona McLaughlin (Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre).
The Playboy of the Western World tells the tale of Pegeen Flaherty, whose life is turned upside down when a young man walks into her pub claiming he has killed his father. Instead of being shunned, the killer, Christy Mahon, becomes a local hero. That is, until a second man arrives on the scene…
The cinematic production will be captured from its run in the Lyttelton theatre, where it will play until 28th February.
From 25th June, Manville will star alongside Aidan Turner (Rivals) and Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown) in a new staging of Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
The play follows Marquise de Merteuil, who is a master in the art of survival and joins forces with the magnetic Vicomte de Valmont in order to turn seduction into strategy and weaponise desire. That is, until their alliance collapses into rivalry, and the battle between them threatens to destroy everyone in their path.
The production will be captured from its run in the Lyttelton Theatre, where it will be playing from 21st March to 6th June.
The three productions join the previously announced Hamlet, which was captured from its run at the National Theatre earlier this year, which will kick off the 2026 NT Live Slate in cinemas on 22nd January.
Matt Risley, the National Theatre’s Chief Digital Officer, said in a statement: "It has been a blockbuster year for NT Live and 2026 is already shaping up to follow suit. This year we’ve had over 1.2 million admissions worldwide, across six releases, and the momentum shows no sign of slowing down. As we shape the programme of NT Live, we always place audiences at the centre of our programme, and we believe our growing slate will resonate with audiences around the world."
He continued: “It’s brilliant that we’re able to bring back The Audience to the UK after over ten years, an often-requested fan-favourite, alongside two of the most highly anticipated productions of the National Theatre’s new season.”
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