Lyndsey Turner (Under Milk Wood) will direct a revival of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible at London's National Theatre this fall, with previews set to begin September 14 prior to an official opening September 21 in the Olivier.
Brendan Cowell (Yerma) will make his National debut as John Proctor opposite Erin Doherty (The Crown) as Abigail. The cast will also include Fisayo Akinade, Rachelle Diedericks, Nick Fletcher, Karl Johnson, Gracie McGonigal, Matthew Marsh, and Eileen Walsh.
The production will have set design by Es Devlin, costume design by Catherine Fay, lighting design by Tim Lutkin, sound content design by Tingying Dong, and sound system design by Paul Arditti. The staff director is Blythe Stewart, and the dialect coaches are Majella Hurley and Hazel Holder.
In other National news, Wales Millennium Centre’s stage adaptation of The Boy With Two Hearts will open in the Dorfman in October. Directed by Amit Sharma (Badhaai Ho) and adapted for the stage by Phil Porter (The Miser), the play is based on the book of the same name by Hamed and Hessam Amiri and will feature the original cast of Afghan and Iranian performers returning to their roles, including Shamail Ali, Dana Haqjoo, Farshid Rokey, Ahmad Sakhi, Géhane Strehler, and award-winning Afghan vocalist and composer Elaha Soroor.
The Boy With Two Hearts will have set and costume design by Hayley Grindle, lighting design by Amy Mae, sound design and music by composer Tic Ashfield, movement direction by Jess Williams, and video design by Hayley Egan. Casting is by Sarah Hughes, and the associate director is Sepy Baghaei.
The National's new musical Hex will return to the Olivier for Christmas, directed by Rufus Norris. A retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Hex has a book by Tanya Ronder, music by Jim Fortune, and lyrics by Norris with an original concept by Katrina Lindsay and Norris.
The musical also has set and costume design by Katrina Lindsay, choreography by Jade Hackett, music supervision and vocal arrangements by Marc Tritschler, orchestrations by Simon Hale, music direction by Tarek Merchant, lighting design by Paul Anderson, sound design by Simon Baker, and video design by Ash J Woodward. The consultant choreographer is Bill Deamer, and Séimí Campbell is the associate director. Casting will be announced.
Further casting has also been announced for Simon Godwin’s production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, which will open in the Lyttelton in July. Set in the Italian Riviera, Katherine Parkinson (Home, I’m Darling) will play Beatrice with John Heffernan (The Pursuit of Love) as Benedick. They will be joined by Celeste Dodwell, Eben Figueiredo, Olivia Forrest, David Fynn, Ashley Gillard, Brandon Grace, Nick Harris, Phoebe Horn, David Judge, Kiren Kebaili-Dwyer, Wendy Kweh, Ioanna Kimbook, Marcia Lecky, Ewan Miller, Mateo Oxley, Rufus Wright, and Ashley Zhangazha.
The production will have set design by 2022 Tony nominee Anna Fleischle, costume design by Evie Gurney, lighting design by Lucy Carter, music by composer Michael Bruce, and sound design by Christopher Shutt. The staff director is Hannah Joss.
Tickets are also on sale for the previously announced production of Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky, which begins performances in the Lyttelton September 20 under the direction of Lynette Linton. Set in 1930 during the Harlem renaissance, the cast includes Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Angel Allen with Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo (Three Sisters) as Delia Patterson, Osy Ikhile (Sweat) as Leland Cunningham, Sule Rimi (Barber Shop Chronicles) as Sam Thomas, and Giles Terera (Hamilton) as Guy Jacobs.
Set and costume design are by Frankie Bradshaw with lighting design by Oliver Fenwick, music by composer Benjamin Kwasi Burrell, sound design by George Dennis, movement direction by Kane Husbands, and wigs, hair, and make-up design by Cynthia De La Rosa. TD Moyo is the staff director.
