The National Theatre in London is shaking things up under the new creative direction of Indhu Rubasingham. And four of film and TV’s biggest names – Paul Mescal, Monica Barbaro, Letitia Wright and Nicola Coughlan – are set to make their stage debuts at what’s long been considered the UK’s top cultural institution.
While the names may be big, Rubasingham is quick to shut down the idea that this is a play for celebrity. “They’re proper actors,” she says. “This is about backing talent—on their terms.” And that’s not all. There’s a new project brewing with grime rapper Stormzy, plus collaborations with The Shed and BAM in New York. Productions will tour to schools, stream on NT at Home, and even hit cinemas around the world via National Theatre Live.
What will Paul Mescal be performing in?
Rubasingham is reimagining the NT’s future, and she’s doing it with actors who know their way around both a film set and a script in hand. Mescal, fresh from his Gladiator II press tour (and the announcement that he will soon be a Beatle) will join a repertory season at the Lyttelton Theatre in 2027. First up, he’ll star in A Whistle in the Dark, an intense Irish family drama, followed by a turn as Biff in Death of a Salesman. The second is a reunion with director Rebecca Frecknall, who previously worked with Mescal on A Streetcar Named Desire.
What will Monica Barbaro be performing in?
Barbaro, who turned heads as Joan Baez in James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, will be joining a major revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses alongside Lesley Manville and Aidan Turner. Directed by the always-brilliant Marianne Elliott, it promises to be a standout moment in the NT’s upcoming season.
What about Nicola Coughlan and Letitia Wright?
Over in the Lyttelton, Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan will take the lead in The Playboy of the Western World, while Black Panther star Letitia Wright will headline The Story, a sharp, politically charged new play about journalism and race.
