Phèdre
by Jean Racine
in a version by Ted Hughes
4 STARS
Daily Express, Daily Mail, Guardian, The Times, Evening Standard, Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Express
'Outstanding acting, direction and set design bring a classic tragedy powerfully to life.' Sunday Times
‘When Dominic Cooper and Helen Mirren appear onstage together... the moment is electric.' Evening Standard
Consumed by an uncontrollable passion for her young stepson and believing Theseus, her absent husband, to be dead, Phèdre confesses her darkest desires and enters the world of nightmare. When Theseus returns, alive and well, Phèdre, fearing exposure, accuses her stepson of rape. The result is carnage.
Helen Mirren takes the title role in this savage play by Jean Racine, translated into muscular free verse by Ted Hughes.
Please note: Tickets are limited to 4 per customer for this production
Please note: This show has a running time of 2 hours, without an interval. Owing to the nature of this performance, latecomers may not be admitted to the auditorium.
The Phèdre discover background pack is now available to download. Read a detailed synopsis of the play, learn about previous versions of Phèdre througout history, find a full glossary of terms from the world of the play, and read interviews with the play's designer Bob Crowley, and Ruth Negga who plays the part of Aricia.
Listen to short interviews about the play (MP3 files):
Audio interview with Helen Mirren
talking about her character, Phèdre.
Audio interview with Dominic Cooper
talking about his character, Hippolytus.
Audio interview with Nicholas Hytner
discussing Phèdre and NT Live.
Phèdre performance at the National Theatre on 25 June
This performance will be broadcast live to cinema screens as part of NT Live and there will be several cameras in the auditorium. Find out more details about this performance.
Phèdre will also tour to Epidaurus, Greece on 10 & 11 July, and Washington DC, USA, on 17-26 September 2009. For more details visit nationaltheatre.org.uk/touring.
NT Live: live theatre broadcast to cinema screens around the world.
NT Live is an exciting new initiative to broadcast live performances of plays onto cinema screens worldwide. The pilot season launched with Phèdre on 25 June, when the performance was filmed in high definition and broadcast via satellite to over 70 cinemas, reaching a widespread audience live across the UK. For more details go to www.ntlive.com
Audio Described Performances
Friday 3 July 8pm, Saturday 4 July 3pm, Saturday 1 August 3pm
Touch Tour Before the Performances
Saturday 4 July 1.30pm, Saturday 1 August 1.30pm
Captioned Performance Wednesday 22 July 8pm
Click here for more Access info
Phèdre finished on: 27 August 2009
