Still We Thrive

The hour before actors go on stage at the National Theatre in London is a performance in and of itself.

Marking Play for Today’s 50th anniversary, Drama Out of a Crisis is a compelling exploration of the series, its origins, achievements, controversies and legacies. Featuring a rich and surprising range of archive extracts and original interviews with many who created the series, including producers Kenith Trodd, Margaret Matheson and Richard Eyre, and directors Mike Leigh, David Hare and Ken Loach.

An insight into the creative process of photographer Brigitte Lacombe, exploring her obsession with taking pictures and how her lens defines her relationship with her subjects and the world.

The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. With mermaids forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother now marrying the murderer... his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.

A woman during the Second World War opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him.

Melvin, a British author living in America, returns home to London for Christmas to introduce his American fiancée Lisa to his eccentric British-Caribbean family. Their relationship is put to the test as she discovers the world her fiancé has left behind.

A soldier recounts his relationship with a famous political prisoner attempting to overthrow their country's authoritarian government.

Noah, a farmer and family man, is instructed by an angel to build an ark in the middle of a desert in order to save both his family and the faithful from a devastating flood. A seemingly impossible task, especially when his sons refuse to believe him and help, Noah risks ridicule and humiliation from the degenerate townsfolk as well as his loving but exasperated family, in his quest to carry out his God-given task.

After his wife dies, middle-aged businessman Philip Emmenthal, at the prompting of his playboy son Storey, populates his Geneva villa with eight-and-a-half concubines. Three are from Kyoto, where Storey manages Pachinco palaces. Each has a distinctive personality: a nun, a child bearer, a gambler, a student of Kabuki, a horsewoman with a pet pig, a maid. As a year passes, the women begin asserting their own power.

Nine short stories based on the true experiences of London Underground passengers: "Mr. Cool" (Amy Jenkins, dir.); "Horny" (Stephen Hopkins); "Grasshopper" (Menhaj Huda); "My Father the Liar" (Bob Hoskins); "Bone" (Ewan McGregor); "Mouth" (Armando Iannucci); "A Bird in the Hand" (Jude Law); "Rosebud" (Gaby Dellal); "Steal Away" (Charles McDougall)

Indian mother Mrs Sethi's obsession with marrying off her daughter turns murderous. With jokes that routinely miss the mark and cringeworthy slapstick, this black comedy farce shouldn't work. Somehow, though, it does.

Stingy landlord Rigsby manages to scam his lodgers John, an art student, and Philip, an African medical student, making both pay for a room they must share. However Rigsby's favorite lodger, Miss Jones, flirts with Philip rather than him, despite his pitiful attempts at seduction.

Six scientists arrive at the creepy Headstone Manor to investigate a strange phenomena which was the site of a mysterious massacre years earlier where 18 guests were killed in one night. It turns out that the house is the place of a satanic cult lead by a sinister monk who plans to kill the scientists who are inhabiting this house of Satan.

When a celebrity chef walks off his show, prep cook Anna must step into the spotlight and make the show her own, with the help of her Aussie cameraman and Portuguese location scout.

Cymbeline is queen of ancient Britain. When her daughter, Innogen, secretly marries against her mother's will, her wife Posthumus is banished to Rome. In exile, Posthumus places a bet on Innogen's innocence, a gamble they will soon regret. As Rome readies for war, can Innogen bridge her two worlds to bring peace and reconciliation? Filmed live at the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.

On the anniversary of her sister’s death, a young woman is visited by her ex-girlfriend.

A period adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. After a change in circumstances, Marianne is torn between two men, while Elinor longs for a man beyond reach.

Shakona doesn't always want to be treated so nicely... sometimes she wants to feel like the world does: chaotic. Yet she can't get her devoted and loving boyfriend Eddie to meet her needs, so she goes to where all good decisions are made: a hookup app. Just as it seems like Shakona is finally letting go, she has the chance to take power into her own hands.

The first installment of Phyllida Lloyd’s groundbreaking all-female Shakespeare Trilogy sees Harriet Walter take on the role of Brutus, who wrestles with his moral conscience over the murder of Julius Caesar.

A full-throttle war play that revels in the sweat of the battlefield, Coriolanus transports us back to the emergence of the republic of Rome.Caius Martius Coriolanus is a fearless soldier but a reluctant leader. His ambitious mother attempts to carve him a path to political power, but he struggles to change his nature and do what is required to achieve greatness. In this new city state struggling to find its feet, where the gap between rich and poor is widening every day, Coriolanus must decide who he really is and where his allegiances lie.Rome Season Director, Angus Jackson, completes the Royal Shakespeare Company’s collection of Shakespeare’s Roman plays with a visceral production which sees Sope Dirisu (One Night in Miami, Donmar Warehouse, 2016) take on the title role.

An experimental short film influenced by the Mesopotamian deity Ishtar. Five guests - who are gender non-conforming, trans or non-binary - hold a feast in a fictionalised English country garden to explore both the history of their ancestors and their present-day selves.

Principal Boy follows the audition, rehearsal, and performance of the central character in British pantomime, known as the ‘principal boy’. Traditionally a young male protagonist, the character is conventionally played by a woman in drag. Using and subverting traditional British pantomime conventions, Principal Boy explores the presence and absence of trans and gender-nonconforming people in mainstream culture, including film and stage productions.⁠ ⁠