Royal Opera House 2023/24: Das Rheingold (2023)

Good Night, and Good Luck

Livestreamed from the penultimate show at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City, this stage adaptation of George Clooney's 2005 film follows the story of journalist Edward R. Murrow's stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witch-hunts in the early 1950s.

Acis and Galatea (The Royal Ballet / The Royal Opera)

The Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera collaborate in Wayne McGregor's production of Handel and Gay's classic opera, in which the nymph Galatea falls in love with a shepherd named Acis.

The Pirates of Penzance

As a young child, Frederic had been apprenticed to a pirate by mistake when he should have been apprenticed to a pilot. Now, having reached his 21st year, Frederic's indentures are at last over and he happily leaves the service of the pirates. When Frederic meets the beautiful Mabel, one of the many daughters (or wards in Chancery) of Major-General Stanley, they fall in love and decide to marry. However, complications arise when the pirates decide to marry the rest of the Major-General's daughters, themselves - and Frederic's birthdate turns out to be not all it seems.

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner

Based on a local legend and set in an unknown era, it deals with universal themes of love, possessiveness, family, jealousy and power. Beautifully shot, and acted by Inuit people, it portrays a time when people fought duels by taking turns to punch each other until one was unconscious, made love on the way to the caribou hunt, ate walrus meat and lit their igloos with seal-oil lamps.

National Theatre Live: Medea

Medea is a wife and a mother. For the sake of her husband, Jason, she’s left her home and borne two sons in exile. But when he abandons his family for a new life, Medea faces banishment and separation from her children. Cornered, she begs for one day’s grace. It’s time enough. She exacts an appalling revenge and destroys everything she holds dear.

Orphée aux enfers

Marc Minkowski conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opera National de Lyon in this 1997 production of Offenbach's opera starring Natalie Dessay, Yann Beuron, Jean-Paul Fouchecourt and Laurent Naouri.

Antigone

Having defied the ban on Creon and offered a burial to Polynice, her treacherous homeland brother, Antigone is condemned to a slow death in a stone tomb, despite the interposition of Hémon, her fiance, the son of Creon . Nevertheless, Creon ends up following the advice of his diviner Tiresias and, fearing the wrath of the gods, buries Polynices with dignity. When he is about to free Antigone, the young woman had already hanged herself. Mad with pain, Hémon commits suicide by his side.

Porgy and Bess

In the early 1900s, the fictional Catfish Row section of Charleston, South Carolina serves as home to a black fishing community. Crippled beggar Porgy, who travels about in a goat-drawn cart, loves the drug-addicted Bess, who lives with stevedore Crown, the local bully.

Arsena

XIX century peasants' revolt and the life story of bandit Arsena Odzelashvili.

Faust

God and Satan wager on the soul of a learned and prayerful alchemist as part of their eternal war over Earth.

National Theatre Live: Good

As the world faces its Second World War, John Halder, a good, intelligent German professor, finds himself pulled into a movement with unthinkable consequences.

Beowulf & Grendel

The blood-soaked tale of a Norse warrior's battle against the great and murderous troll, Grendel. Heads will roll. Out of allegiance to the King Hrothgar, the much respected Lord of the Danes, Beowulf leads a troop of warriors across the sea to rid a village of the marauding monster.

Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy

Siegfried of Xanten snatches the Nibelung treasure from the king of the underworld and slays the dragon Fafnir, whose blood makes him invulnerable. Siegfried falls in love with Kriemhild, the sister of the Burgundian king. But only if Siegfried helps Gunther marry Brunhild will he be allowed to marry Kriemhild. He fulfills this condition, but the two women bring ruin upon Xanten and Burgundy...

Die Nibelungen: Siegfried

Siegfried, son of King Siegmund of Xanten, travels to Worms, capital of the Burgundian kingdom, to ask King Gunther for the hand of his sister, the beautiful Kriemhild.

Mulan: Rise of a Warrior

When barbarian hordes threaten her homeland, the brave and cunning Mulan disguises herself as a male soldier to swell the ranks in her aging father's stead. The warrior's remarkable courage drives her through powerful battle scenes and brutal wartime strategy. Mulan loses dear friends to the enemy's blade as she rises to become one of her country's most valuable leaders — but can she win the war before her secret is exposed?

Sita Sings the Blues

Utilizing the 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, the epic Indian tale of exiled prince Ramayana and his bride Sita is mirrored by a spurned woman's contemporary personal life, and light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of Indian shadow puppets.

Walden

After returning from a year-long Moon mission, Cassie, a NASA botanist, finds herself in a remote cabin in the woods, where her estranged twin sister, Stella, a former NASA architect, has found a new life with climate activist Bryan. Old wounds resurface as the sisters attempt to pick up the pieces of the rivalry that broke them apart.

Newsies

A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.

Fulet

Two bullies decide to play an evil prank on an unpopular girl in their class but things quickly spiral out of their control.

The Minaret of Death

Based on an old Bukharan mythical tale from the 16th century. Dzhemal, daughter of the Khiva khan, and her milk sister Selekha set off from Bukhara to Khiva. On the way the caravan is attacked by robbers. The ataman of the gang Kur-bashi is struck by Dzhemal's beauty, but the girl rejects the brigand's love. His concubine Gul-Saryk, jealous of her new rival, helps the girls escape...

The Boy and the Heron

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

Yeelen

A young man with magical powers journeys to his uncle to request help in fighting his sorcerer father.

The Cathedral Builder

The story of the legendary architect Petr Parléř, who is charged by the king Charles IV with the task of building a Gothic cathedral in Prague.

Naughty Marietta

In order to avoid a prearranged marriage, a rebellious French princess sheds her identity and escapes to colonial New Orleans, where she finds an unlikely true love.

Daniel

Taken from his people, Daniel is exiled inside the perilous kingdom of Babylon. As he navigates this new life, will his trust in God remain steadfast through every test of faith?

Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes

In this Australian premiere production, Dan Spielman and Izabella Yena embody Hannah Moscovitch’s whipsmart #MeToo-era take on the archetypal student–teacher romance.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Exploring every facet of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon’ to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle, this biopic takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time.

Who Said Macbeth

Although the past two years have been challenging for the Theatre industry, they also showed its incredible strength and resilience. Through interviews with West End performers and creatives, this documentary outlines the difficulties presented to our industry over the course of the pandemic, as well as highlighting changes - both positive and negative - that have come from it. An emotional reflection on a battle it was worth fighting for. All profits will be going to 'Acting for Others', an organisation that provides support to all theatre workers through 14 member charities. We hope these stories full of passion for Theatre inspire you just as much as they inspired us!

Royal Opera House: Andrea Chénier

At a glittering party in 18th-century Paris, the poet Andréa Chenier delivers an impassioned denunciation of Louis XVI. Five years later, the Revolution has given way to the Terror, transforming the power balance between Chénier, his beloved Maddalena, and Gérard, the man who could destroy him...

National Theatre Live: The Fifth Step

After years in the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, James becomes a sponsor to newcomer Luka. The pair bond over black coffee, trade stories and build a fragile friendship out of their shared experiences. But as Luka approaches step five – the moment of confession – dangerous truths emerge, threatening the trust on which both of their recoveries depend.

Black Orpheus

Young lovers Orfeu and Eurydice run through the favelas of Rio during Carnaval, on the lam from a hitman dressed like Death and Orfeu's vengeful fiancée Mira and passing between moments of fantasy and stark reality. This impressionistic retelling of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice introduced bossa nova to the world with its soundtrack by young Brazilian composers Luiz Bonfá and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical

Filmed at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane during its two scheduled performances on January 17-18, 2022, tells the story of Bonnie and Clyde. At the height of the Great Depression, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow went from two small-town nobodies in West Texas to America's most renowned folk heroes and the Texas law enforcement's worst nightmares. Fearless, shameless, and alluring, Bonnie & Clyde is the electrifying story of love, adventure and crime that captured the attention of an entire country.

The Death of Robin Hood

Grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, Robin Hood finds himself gravely injured after a battle he thought would be his last. In the hands of a mysterious woman, he is offered a chance at salvation.

The Hunter

Osman is a jealous and proud gentleman. Zala, who must have married him at a young age is unhappy. Avci, caught in a storm and had to take refuge in his hut, is an attractive young man who knows how to take advantage of his environment.