<img src='' title='Event Category: Event Cinema' alt='' id='templ_icon_' width='' height='' /> Event Category: Event Cinema

National Theatre Live: The Misanthrope

Award-winner Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) plays the title role in this razor-sharp reimagining of Molière’s classic dark comedy.

Telling the truth isn’t always that simple. Alice, a brilliant novelist, despises the carefully constructed lies of modern society. But the more she challenges those around her, the fiercer the backlash becomes. Soon, she must confront the price of speaking her truth in a world that would rather silence her.

Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Indhu Rubasingham directs Martin Crimp’s (Cyrano de Bergerac) highly anticipated play.

GIANT – The Play

GIANT, the 5-star critically acclaimed play starring John Lithgow (Killers of the Flower Moon, The Crown) as Roald Dahl, comes to the big screen.

Winner of 3 Olivier Awards® including Best Play and a Tony Award® for Best Actor in a Play (John Lithgow), the production was filmed live in London’s West End ahead of its sold-out Broadway run. The stellar cast includes Aya Cash (The Boys, The Franchise, You’re the Worst), Elliot Levey (Cold War, Patriots, Good) and Rachael Stirling (The Divine Mrs S).

A world-famous children’s author under threat. A battle of wills in the wake of scandal. And one chance to make amends…It’s the summer of 1983, The Witches is about to hit the shelves and Roald Dahl is making last-minute edits. But the outcry at his recent, explicitly antisemitic article won’t die down. Across a single afternoon at his family home, and rocked by an unexpectedly explosive confrontation, Dahl is forced to choose: make a public apology or risk his name and reputation. Inspired by real events, GIANT explores with dark humour the difference between considered opinion and dangerous rhetoric offering a complicated portrait of a fiendishly charismatic icon.

Exhibition On Screen: David Hockney at the Royal Academy of Arts

Widely considered Britain’s most popular artist, David Hockney was a global sensation, with exhibitions in London, New York, Paris and beyond attracting millions of visitors worldwide. Even into his ninth decade, Hockney showed no evidence of slowing down or losing his trademark boldness, continuing to reinvent the possibilities of painting and image-making.

Now, following his recent passing, this film offers a timely and intimate opportunity to celebrate the life and work of a true 21st-century master.

Featuring in-depth interviews with Hockney himself, this revealing documentary focuses on two landmark exhibitions held at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2012 and 2016.

With privileged access, director Phil Grabsky crafts a cinematic tribute to an artist whose vision, vitality and influence will endure for generations.

Exhibition on Screen: Frida Kahlo

Discover the life and art of one of the world’s most iconic painters in Frida Kahlo, Exhibition on Screen’s acclaimed documentary.

Blending stunning visuals with expert insight and Kahlo’s own words, this intimate film reveals the woman behind the instantly recognisable image, exploring her creativity, resilience and the turbulent experiences that shaped her work.

Journey through her extraordinary life via a close examination of her most powerful paintings, brought to life using cutting-edge cinematic techniques. Drawing on personal letters, interviews and commentary from world experts, the film uncovers the emotion, symbolism and raw honesty that define Kahlo’s art. Featuring exclusive new material from the major Tate Britain and MFA Houston exhibition, this is a rich and immersive portrait of a truly revolutionary artist.

Due to popular demand, we’ve added a special extra screening on 6 July to celebrate Frida Kahlo’s birthday – don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience her story and her art on the big screen.

Manon – Royal Ballet & Opera 26/27

The Royal Ballet

In the seedy underbelly of 18th-century Paris, money is king. Nothing is sacred – even love itself can be bought for the right price. A native of this hedonistic underworld, Manon is caught between twin desires when she falls in love with the student Des Grieux. Steadfast and devoted, he offers the possibility of an honourable life. Yet, the riches promised by the world of Parisian society remain tempting…

Manon’s inner turmoil and struggle for survival lie at the devastating heart of Kenneth MacMillan’s 1974 adaptation of Abbé Prévost’s novel. In this signature work of The Royal Ballet, MacMillan’s nuanced understanding of human psychology makes for an unflinching look into the moral degradation of Manon’s Paris, while all its decadence and decay are brought to life through Jules Massenet’s score and Nicholas Georgiadis’s designs.

Romeo & Juliet – Royal Ballet & Opera 26/27

The Royal Ballet

Shakespeare’s timeless tale of star-crossed lovers is transformed in Kenneth MacMillan’s. mesmerising ballet.

The flourishing of young love is just as present in Romeo and Juliet’s meeting on the balcony as in their final moments when they desperately cling to life in the tomb. Prokofiev’s evocative music sets the scene for stolen romantic moments and deadly feuds and sweeps the ballet towards its inevitable and tragic conclusion.

Tosca – Royal Ballet & Opera 26/27

The Royal Opera

Floria Tosca and Mario Cavaradossi live for each other and for their art. But when Cavaradossi helps an escaped prisoner, the lovers make a deadly enemy in the form of Baron Scarpia, Chief of Police. At the mercy of Scarpia’s twisted desires, Tosca is forced to make a horrific bargain: sleeping with the man she hates, in order to save the man she loves. Can she find a way out?

Oliver Mears’s acclaimed production returns, setting Puccini’s operatic thriller in a contemporary, war-torn Rome. Daniel Oren conducts Aleksandra Kurzak, who returns to the title role, joined by Saimir Pirgu as Cavaradossi and Christopher Maltman as Baron Scarpia.

Swan Lake – Royal Ballet & Opera 26/27

The Royal Ballet

Princess Odette is bound by a curse, turned into a swan by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. The spell can only be broken by a pledge of eternal love. When she meets Prince Siegfried, he is immediately enamoured by her fragile beauty and pledges to free her. But freedom is not promised for Odette as Von Rothbart conspires to thwart the lovers’ plans.

Liam Scarlett’s production for The Royal Ballet brings together Tchaikovsky’s towering score and John Macfarlane’s picturesque designs to create an enduring ballet spectacle of love, treachery and forgiveness.

Così fan Tutte – Royal Ballet & Opera 26/27

The Royal Opera

Spurred on by a bet, two young men hatch a plan to test the fidelity of their girlfriends. What follows is a slippery game of seduction and power, the four lovers plunging into a dizzying world of shifting reality, where truth becomes increasingly unstable.

Così fan tutte has lost none of its sting since it first scandalised audiences in 1790. In her Main Stage debut, Netia Jones, Associate Director of The Royal Opera, reimagines Mozart’s comedy of manners through a sharp contemporary lens, where 18th-century romantic trickery meets deeply satirical high-tech deceit. Taking on the roles of the lovers is an exciting young cast led by Louise Alder, Simone McIntosh, Mingjie Lei and Huw Montague Rendall, with Gerald Finley as their manipulative game-master Don Alfonso and Emily Pogorelc as Despina. Thomas Hengelbrock conducts, bringing out the exquisite melodies that underpin the provocative, and resolutely modern, themes at the heart of the opera.

Götterdämmerung – Royal Ballet & Opera 26/27

The Royal Opera

An earth in ruin. The twilight of the Gods.

Deception leads to treachery, then devastation, when Siegfried is tricked into betraying Brünnhilde. Learning the truth of her beloved’s innocence, Brünnhilde at last returns the ring to the Rhinemaidens, before ordering that Valhalla be swallowed in flames. For the long-awaited finale of Wagner’s epic saga, director Barrie Kosky situates the rich apocalyptic drama in a contemporary world of dream-like turmoil. Antonio Pappano, Conductor Laureate of The Royal Opera, returns to take on the impassioned, otherworldly music – including Siegfried’s transporting Funeral March and Brünnhilde’s electrifying Immolation Scene. The brilliant cast is led by Elisabet Strid, Andreas Schager and Mika Kares, who together with the full forces of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus bring opera’s greatest journey to its shattering end.