Platforms

(6pm unless stated/ Length 45 mins) £3.50 unless stated.......

Michael Morpurgo's Private Peaceful
10 Nov - Lyttleton
Powerful, lyrical songs and evocative readings tell the story of two brothers-in-arms in the First World War battlefields of Ypres.

Mike Brearley on The Oedipus Complex
14 Nov 2008 - Olivier
The psychoanalyst and former England cricket captain explores the connection between Sophocles’ telling of the Oedipus story, and Freud’s analysis.

IN CONVERSATION WITH...
3pm (1 hour), Cottesloe Theatre, £5/£4
A series of informal afternoon Platforms with company members talking about their careers, their current role and answering questions from the audience, chaired by Al Senter.
Clare Higgins 17 Nov
Prior to ‘In Conversation’, the National Theatre Archive will present a free screening of one of the guests’ previous performances, accompanied by an illustrated talk with photos, programmes and other archive material (numbers limited to 25)

Bill Paterson
19 Nov 2008 - Cottesloe
Actor Bill Paterson, brought up in 50s Glasgow, reads from Tales from the Back Green

Michael Holroyd and Richard Briers on Ellen Terry and Henry Irving
28 Nov 2008 - Cottesloe
Michael Holroyd is joined by fellow Irving-enthusiast, Richard Briers, to examine the dramatic lives of Ellen Terry and Henry Irving.

Tracy Letts and Anna D Shapiro on August: Osage County
28 Nov 2008 - Lyttelton
The playwright, Tracy Letts, and director, Anna D Shapiro, discuss Steppenwolf’s award-winning production.

An Evening with Private Eye
1 Dec 2008 - Lyttelton

Julie Walters
4 Dec 2008 - Lyttelton
As her autobiography is published, a comedy legend returns to the National to reflect on her hugely diverse 25-year career.

Seeing Landscapes
8 Dec; 9 Dec; 5 Jan; 6 Jan at 11.30am
in Terrace Cafe
Four talks from renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite.

Christopher Bigsby on Arthur Miller
10 Dec 2008 - Cottesloe
Christopher Bigsby introduces his much-anticipated biography of one of the 20th century’s greatest playwrights.

Jonathan Croall on Sybil Thorndike
16 Dec 2008 - Cottesloe
Biographer Jonathan Croall talks about Sybil Thorndike’s glittering career.

Theatre Quiz
19 Dec 2008 - Olivier
Two rival National Theatre companies do battle over theatrical knowledge in the festive annual quiz.

Michael Morpurgo
22 Jan 2009 - Olivier
As the revival of War Horse continues in the Olivier, the author reflects on Joey’s journey to the stage.

Ian Kelly on Casanova
4 Feb 2009 - Lyttelton
Ian Kelly reveals a very different Casanova from the legendary lover in his new biography.

Marianne Elliott and Samuel Adamson on Mrs Affleck
11 Feb 2009 - Cottesloe
The director and playwright talk about this new production, inspired by Ibsen’s Little Eyolf.

Berlin – a reading by David Hare
Lyttelton Theatre
10, 11, 12 February, 6, 9, 11, 19, 20 March at 6pm. Tickets £10. Running time approx 55 mins.
Hare reads a 55-minute meditation about Germany’s restored capital – both what it represents in European history, and the peculiar part it has played in his own life. The reading is directed by Stephen Daldry.

The Satanic Verses – Twenty Years On
14 February, 12.30pm (1hr), Lyttelton
On 14 February 1989, Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini sent a startling valentine to the prize-winning novelist Salman Rushdie, in the form of a fatwa which condemned the author and his novel, The Satanic Verses: a moment when global forces set religion and imaginative expression against one another. Twenty years on, English PEN and the National bring together actors and writers to read from the novel and discuss the implications of the fatwa against the writer.

Tom Stoppard on Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
14 February, 5.30pm, Olivier
The playwright discusses his play for actors and orchestra.

Michael Kustow
26 February, Cottesloe
Outspoken writer, producer and cultural activist Michael Kustow, reflects on In Search of Jerusalem, his year-long spiritual journey from India to Israel and Palestine, revisiting the places, people and ideas that have formed his beliefs.

Richard Bean on England People Very Nice
27 February, Olivier
The writer discusses his new play about immigration into London’s East End.

In Conversation with… Claire Skinner
2 March, 3pm (1 hour) £5
The actress talks about playing the title role in Mrs Affleck.

Sandi Toksvig presents The Great Feminist Quiz
5 March, Cottesloe
Sandi Toksvig, Fiona Laird and friends celebrate the post-feminist age. Marvel at the fact that women now own as much as 1% of the world's assets and in as little as 187 years, women in Britain could be paid the same as men.

Peter Flannery on Burnt by the Sun
24 March, Lyttelton
Peter Flannery talks about his theatrical adaptation of this story set in Soviet Russia.

Alain de Botton
2 April, Lyttelton
We spend much of our lives at work – both one of the most exciting and most painful of all our activities. Alain de Botton introduces The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, exploring the modern workplace and what makes jobs either fulfilling or soul-destroying.

James Macdonald on Dido, Queen of Carthage
3 April, Cottesloe
The director talks about his production of Marlowe’s intense tale of love, betrayal and suicide.

In Conversation with… Rory Kinnear
3 April, 3pm (1 hour) £5
Rory Kinnear talks about his career.

Immigration in Literature
15 April, Olivier
The subject of immigration into London has inspired a wealth of fiction, biography and drama, most recently England People Very Nice. Writers, including Charles Nicholl and Robert McLiam Wilson, discuss the literary history of migrating Huguenots, Irish, Jewish and Bangladeshi communities.

Jonathan Dimbleby
16 April, Lyttelton
In Russia, Jonathan Dimbleby looks at how her past has shaped her current identity, and investigates what modern Russia means to her people now.

Rufus Norris on Death and the King’s Horseman
22 April, Olivier
Rufus Norris talks about his new production of Wole Soyinka’s play.

Paris Calling
Paris Calling is a Franco-British Season of Performing Arts launched by the French Institute, in association with the National Theatre Studio.
Readings 23 April, Cottesloe, 2.30pm – 4.30pm, £5
A chance to hear extracts from three newly translated contemporary French plays: Holy Land by Mohamed Kacimi – a contemporary tragedy in occupied territories. The beginning of by Pascal Rambert – a meditation on the surprise of love. Moi aussi je suis Catherine Deneuve by Pierre Notte – a dark comedy of dysfunctional family life.

Paris Calling: Discussion
23 April, Cottesloe, 6pm
Playwrights from the series discuss the current state of French playwriting and the genesis and development of the Paris Calling season.

Ten Years of the Children’s Laureate
27 April, Olivier
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the inauguration of the Children’s Laureate, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Michael Rosen and Jacqueline Wilson reflect on the fun and challenges of being Laureate and discuss the current trend of dramatic adaptations of children’s novels.

Virginia McKenna
28 April, Cottesloe
Virginia McKenna’s autobiography looks back on a career which includes celebrated performances in The Cruel Sea and A Town Like Alice and her role in the conservation and animal welfare movement as founder of The Born Free Foundation.

Rupert Goold on Time and the Conways
14 May, Lyttelton
The director talks about his new production of Priestley’s ‘time play’.