5 Shakespeare scenes to enjoy (Part I) | National Theatre

From Rome's bloodiest battlefield to the Forest of Arden — five Shakespeare plays, five world-class casts, one unmissable compilation. Populism. Desire. Betrayal. Joy. Five Shakespeare plays as urgent as today's headlines — performed by the finest actors in Britain. 00:00 Romeo and Juliet Currently streaming on National Theatre at Home → ntathome.com/romeo-juliet Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor play Juliet and Romeo. Romeo and Juliet risk everything to be together. In defiance of their feuding families, they chase a future of joy and passion as violence erupts around them. This bold film brings to life the remarkable backstage spaces of the National Theatre in which desire, dreams and destiny collide to make Shakespeare's romantic tragedy sing in an entirely new way. The award-winning cast includes Tamsin Greig, Fisayo Akinade, Adrian Lester, Lucian Msamati, and Deborah Findlay. 02:56 Julius Caesar Currently streaming on National Theatre at Home → ntathome.com/julius-caesar Nicholas Hytner stages Shakespeare's play as a promenade production, with standing tickets and the audience forming the Roman mob itself — starring David Morrissey, Ben Whishaw, David Calder, and Michelle Fairley. It starts with a rock band at a political rally. Merch stands flog cheap red "CAESAR" caps to the crowd and posters show the man himself staring sternly out of the shadows. Ben Whishaw's Brutus is a charismatic but fatally flawed liberal thinker, and Fairley's Cassius is equally powerful — both giving detailed, insightful performances. 04:55 A Midsummer Night´s Dream Nicholas Hytner's Midsummer Night's Dream at the Bridge Theatre transformed the space once again into a promenade playground — a forest of chaos, desire, and mischief in which the audience moved through the action, surrounded by fairies, lovers, and the gloriously chaotic mechanicals. One of the most physically inventive Shakespeare productions in recent London theatrical memory, and one of the most joyful. 06:34 Coriolanus Currently streaming on National Theatre at Home → ntathome.com/coriolanus David Oyelowo (Selma, Lawmen: Bass Reeves) made his National Theatre debut in the title role, directed by Lyndsey Turner in a thrilling new production of Shakespeare's timeless political tragedy, performed in the Olivier Theatre in 2024. The creative team includes set designer Es Devlin, costume designer Annemarie Woods, lighting designer Tim Lutkin, and composer Angus MacRae. Who should lead in a land where political rules are rapidly shifting, class revolt is raging, and basic food has become unaffordable? Is there a place for Coriolanus — a noble war hero and uncompromising aristocrat, both admirable and detestable, who refuses to hide his contempt for the newly empowered plebeian citizens? 07:58 Much Ado About Nothing Currently streaming on National Theatre at Home → ntathome.com/videos/much-ado-about-nothing-full-play Director Simon Godwin and designer Anna Fleischle relocated the action to an Art Deco hotel in 1930s Italy — the legendary, family-run Hotel Messina — with Katherine Parkinson as Beatrice and John Heffernan as Benedick. Witty, warm, and irresistibly charming, this is Shakespeare's greatest romantic comedy. -- We believe that great theatre sparks imagination and brings people together. Every day we strive to make the world a better place through theatre; entertaining and inspiring audiences around the world, using our creativity, expertise and unique reach. You’ll find us in theatres. In cinemas. In schools. And online. -- Discover our work: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ Broadcast to cinemas worldwide: https://www.ntlive.com/ Streaming online: https://www.ntathome.com/ Subscribe on YouTube:    / nationaltheatre   National Theatre Facebook:   / nationaltheatre   National Theatre Instagram:   / nationaltheatre   National Theatre TikTok:   / nationaltheatre   National Theatre Twitter:   / nationaltheatre   National Theatre Live Facebook:   / ntlive   National Theatre Live Twitter:   / ntlive   -- #Shakespeare #NationalTheatre #BridgeTheatre #TomHiddleston #JoshOConnor #JessieBuckley #NTatHome