Lindsey Ferrentino's Acclaimed Ugly Lies the Bone Will Land at U.K.'s National Theatre; Full Season Announced

After garnering rave reviews off-Broadway, Lindsey Ferrentino's Ugly Lies the Bone will make its European premiere at the National Theatre in March 2017. In addition, works by Nina Raine, Yaёl Farber, Inua Ellams and DC Moore are in store for next year's season, which features an incredible roster of performers: Nathan Lane, Imelda Staunton and Andrew Garfield are just a few of the previously announced names included.

Ugly Lies the Bone centers on an American soldier who is injured on tour in Afghanistan and returns to her family home. Through the use of virtual reality video game therapy, she builds a new world to escape her pain. Ferrentino won the National Arts Club’s 2016 Kesselring Prize for the play, which will be helmed in the U.K. by Indhu Rubasingham.

Consent, by Raine, will receive its world premiere in a co-production with Out of Joint in the Dorfman Theatre in April 2017. The Roger Michell-directed play explores questions of law, justice and forgiveness.

Acclaimed writer and director Farber returns to the National with the European premiere of Salomé. This radical revision of the biblical tale, starring Olwen Fouere, focuses on a figure buried by history who gains her voice. The world premiere of Salomé was produced by Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington D.C.; the NT production will be on stage in May 2017.

Ellams’ Barber Shop Chronicles will have its world premiere at the National Theatre in June 2017, before moving to West Yorkshire Playhouse in July. This new play unfolds in a succession of barber shops across Africa and the U.K. The play is directed by Bijan Sheibani and is a co-production with Fuel and West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Common, a world premiere by Moore, will be directed by Jeremy Herrin in the Olivier Theatre. Set in the early days of the Industrial Revolution, the common land of England is under threat. This epic new history play is co-produced with Headlong.

In addition to new productions, the season also promises some much-buzzed about incarnations of favorited theatrical works. In May 2017, Marianne Elliott will direct Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, with Garfield returning to the National as Prior Walter. As reported, the company also includes Lane, Susan Brown, James McArdle, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Denise Gough and Russell Tovey. Also as announced, four-time Olivier winner Imelda Staunton will star in the Dominic Cooke-helmed Follies in its first production at the National. The cast will also include Janie Dee and Philip Quast.

Additional productions to look forward to this season include Twelfth Night with Tamsin Greig, Mosquitoes, Lost Without Words, Dublin Oldschool and Us/Them.