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National Theatre Live
World Class Theatre in the Somer Valley
NT Live is the National Theatre’s groundbreaking project to broadcast world-class theatre live to cinemas in the UK and internationally. Launched in 2009, broadcasts have now been experienced by over 5.5 million people in over 2,000 venues around the world.
Using the latest satellite technology, High Definition Projection and full digital surround sound, Midsomer Norton residents can now experience some of the finest productions in world theatre right on their doorsteps. The fully licensed Sarah Ann Bar is available at all screenings.
King Lear (12A) – Thursday 27th September 2018, 7pm
★★★★★ ‘Ian McKellen reigns supreme in this triumphant production.’ (Daily Telegraph)
Broadcast live from London’s West End, see Ian McKellen’s ‘extraordinarily moving portrayal’ (Independent) of King Lear in cinemas.
Chichester Festival Theatre’s production received five-star reviews for its sell-out run, and transfers to the West End for a limited season. Jonathan Munby directs this ‘nuanced and powerful’ (The Times) contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s tender, violent, moving and shocking play.
Considered by many to be the greatest tragedy ever written, King Lear sees two ageing fathers – one a King, one his courtier – reject the children who truly love them. Their blindness unleashes a tornado of pitiless ambition and treachery, as family and state are plunged into a violent power struggle with bitter ends.
Allelujah! (12A) – Thursday 1st November 2018, 7pm
Filmed live in front of an audience
‘Leaves you bobbing on a wave of happiness’ Independent
Alan Bennett’s sharp and hilarious new play is ‘just what the doctor ordered’ (Daily Telegraph). Filmed live at London’s Bridge Theatre during its limited run, don’t miss this ‘rousing chorus line for the NHS’ (Observer) in your local cinema.
The Beth, an old fashioned cradle-to-grave hospital serving a town on the edge of the Pennines, is threatened with closure as part of an efficiency drive. A documentary crew, eager to capture its fight for survival, follows the daily struggle to find beds on the Dusty Springfield Geriatric Ward, and the triumphs of the old people’s choir.
Alan Bennett’s celebrated plays include The History Boys, The Lady in the Van and The Madness of George III, all of which were also seen on film. Allelujah! is his tenth collaboration with award-winning director Nicholas Hytner.
Letterpress graphic by Alan Kitching, art directed by Michael Mayhew.
The Madness of King George III (12A) – Tuesday 20th November 2018, 7pm
Multi-award-winning drama The Madness of George III will be broadcast live to cinemas, in National Theatre Live’s first ever broadcast from Nottingham Playhouse.
Written by one of Britain’s best-loved playwrights Alan Bennett (The History Boys, The Lady in the Van), this epic play was also adapted into a BAFTA Award-winning film following its premiere on stage in 1991.
The cast of this new production includes Olivier Award-winners Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Wolf Hall, NT Live Coriolanus) in the title role, and Adrian Scarborough (Gavin and Stacey, Upstairs Downstairs, After the Dance).
It’s 1786 and King George III is the most powerful man in the world. But his behaviour is becoming increasingly erratic as he succumbs to fits of lunacy. With the King’s mind unravelling at a dramatic pace, ambitious politicians and the scheming Prince of Wales threaten to undermine the power of the Crown, and expose the fine line between a King and a man.
Antony & Cleopatra (12A) – Thursday 6th December 2018, 7pm
Broadcast live from the National Theatre, Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo play Shakespeare’s famous fated couple in his great tragedy of politics, passion and power.
Caesar and his assassins are dead. General Mark Antony now rules alongside his fellow defenders of Rome. But at the fringes of a war-torn empire the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra and Mark Antony have fallen fiercely in love. In a tragic fight between devotion and duty, obsession becomes a catalyst for war.
Director Simon Godwin returns to National Theatre Live screens with this hotly anticipated production, following broadcasts of Twelfth Night, Man and Superman and The Beaux’ Stratagem.
I’m Not Running (12A) – Thursday 31st Jamuary 2019, 7pm
I’m Not Running is an explosive new play by David Hare, premiering at the National Theatre and broadcast live to cinemas.
Pauline Gibson has spent her life as a doctor, the inspiring leader of a local health campaign. When she crosses paths with her old boyfriend, a stalwart loyalist in Labour Party politics, she’s faced with an agonising decision.
What’s involved in sacrificing your private life and your piece of mind for something more than a single issue? Does she dare?
Hare was recently described by The Washington Post as ‘the premiere political dramatist writing in English’. His other work includes Pravda and Skylight, broadcast by National Theatre Live in 2014.
Head to our Events Diary for more information, including our full cinema listings.
Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances the above schedule could change. In the very rare event that changes are necessary, they will be announced on this page and in the local press
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Why a Community Cinema?
Following the closure of the Midsomer Norton Palladium in 1993, the town and indeed the whole Somer Valley lacked a cinema. Members of the community have regularly asked there was any way of being able to bring back the screenings of films.
We aim to provide an affordable and accessible entertainment venue for the local community. This has particular benefits for those who cannot afford or physically travel to cities such as Bristol or Bath. Any profits raised from the cinema go back into the community.
The cinema has helped create a great community spirit by creating a great local day or night out that people can walk to. This in turn benefits the High Street by bringing people into the town centre. It has also provided volunteering opportunities to and work experience in the community including members of Swallow and Duke of Edinburgh students from the local schools.