National Theatre Live Screenings of The Magistrate, With John Lithgow and Nancy Carroll, Begin Jan. 17

By Michael Gioia
17 Jan 2013

John Lithgow
John Lithgow
Photo by Johan Persson

National Theatre Live, an initiative to broadcast live performances from the National Theatre's stages to cinemas worldwide, continues its fourth season with Arthur Wing Pinero's The Magistrate beginning Jan. 17.

The fourth season kicked off Sept. 6, 2012, with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and also included Steven Beresford's The Last of the Haussmans and a new production of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens.

The Magistrate, directed by Timothy Sheader, features Academy Award nominee and Tony Award winner John Lithgow in the title role of the Victorian farce opposite Olivier Award winner Nancy Carroll.

Following The Magistrate will be Alan Bennett's People (March 21). Directed by Nicolas Hytner, here is how the work is described: "People spoil things; there are so many of them and the last thing one wants is them traipsing through one's house. But with the park a jungle and a bath on the billiard table, what is one to do? Dorothy (Frances de la Tour) wonders if an attic sale could be a solution."

Also in NT Live's fourth season is James Graham's This House, directed by Jeremy Herrin (May 16). "It's 1974," according to press notes, "and the corridors of Westminster ring with the sound of infighting and backbiting as Britain's political parties battle to change the future of the nation, whatever it takes. In this hung parliament, the ruling party holds on by a thread. Votes are won and lost by one, fistfights erupt in the bars, and ill MPs are hauled in to cast their votes. It's a time when a staggering number of politicians die, and age-old traditions and allegiances are thrown aside in the struggle for power."

Since NT Live's first season in June 2009 with the acclaimed production of Phédre, starring Helen Mirren, over one million people have now experienced the National's work on movie screens worldwide.

For a complete list of dates, times and locations, visit NTLive.com.