Billie Piper stars in Richard Bean’s new play Great Britain; production opens at the National next week!

As previously rumoured, it has been announced that Billie Piper will star in Richard Bean’s new play Great Britain at the National Theatre.

The play's run begins at the Lyttelton Theatre next Monday (30th June) without any previews. The production will run until Saturday 23rd August 2014. 

Described as a "fast and furious new play", Great Britain is an anarchic satire about the press, the police and the political establishment. Billie Piper plays Paige Britain, ambitious young news editor of The Free Press, a tabloid newspaper locked in a never ending battle for more readers.

The full cast is: Sarah Annis, Ross Boatman, Robert Calvert, Oliver Chris, William Chubb, Dermot Crowley, Jo Dockery, Robert Glenister, Ian Hallard, James Harkness, Scott Karim, Barbara Kirby, Nicholas Lumley, Maggie McCarthy, Iain Mitchell, Miles Mitchell, Aaron Neil, Billie Piper, Nick Sampson, Kellie Shirley, Kiruna Stamell, Harriet Thorpe, Rupert Vansittart, Joseph Wilkins and Andrew Woodall.

Review: The Light Princess at the National Theatre

The Light Princess

National Theatre / Lyttelton 

Reviewed on Saturday 19th October 2013

Recently I've seen a few big new musicals which have been crying out for some love and attention and it has become rather frustrating. But following years of development, Tori Amos (music and lyrics) and Samuel Adamson's (book and lyrics) The Light Princess is the production I have been longing to see. It felt absolutely incredible to sit down and watch something completely new and fresh. The Light Princess takes many risks, many of which pay off, and while there may be some room for improvement and further development I was left in utter awe of the show. I could quite happily see it again and again and again.

Review: Scenes from an Execution at the National Theatre (Lyttelton)

Scenes from an Execution
National Theatre (Lyttelton)
Performance: Tuesday 23rd October 2012

Commissioned to paint a vast canvas celebrating the triumphant Battle of Lepanto, the free-spirited Galactia creates instead a breathtaking scene of war-torn carnage. In her fierce determination to stay true to herself, she alienates the authorities and faces incarceration. Her younger lover Carpeta is approached to take over and seizes the assignment for himself.

Howard Barker’s Scenes from an Execution makes sixteenth-century Venice the setting for a fearless exploration of sexual politics and the timeless tension between personal ambition and moral responsibility, between the patron’s demands and the artist’s autonomy.

Scenes from an Execution is a very interesting play. Fiona Shaw is simply amazing as Galactia who is such a complex and inspirational character. However as I tried to find my way out of the National Theatre (a very confusing place) I realised that I felt something was missing. Scenes from an Execution failed to draw me in and make me care, therefore leaving me feeling completely underwhelmed.