''Great Britain'' is a satirical play written by
Richard Bean. It received its world premiere at the
Royal National Theatre
The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
on 30 June 2014, before transferring to the
West End's
Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Production history
''Great Britain'' is written by English playwright
Richard Bean.
In May 2013,
it was revealed Bean was working on a new play based on the
phone hacking scandal, having been commissioned by National Theatre artistic director Sir
Nicholas Hytner, whilst still working on his play ''
One Man, Two Guvnors''. Speaking about the play he revealed that it would be set in a
tabloid newsroom
A newsroom is the central place where journalists—reporters, editing, editors, and Television producer, producers, associate producers, news anchors, news designers, photojournalists, videojournalists, associate editor, residence editor, visu ...
and is a play about the ''state-of-the-nation, press, politics and police in bed with each other''.
In March 2014, it was revealed that an undisclosed Bean play would premiere as part of the National Theatre 2014-15 season, Hytner's last as the National's artistic director. In May 2014, it was revealed that
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer who is best known for her portrayal as Rose Tyler in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010).
She initially gained recognition as a singer a ...
and
Oliver Chris were taking part in workshops for the play
and that the cast and crew had signed non-disclosure agreements for the as yet untitled production.
On 25 June 2014, the play was officially announced as ''Great Britain'' and that it would premiere without a preview period on 30 June, at the National Theatre's
Lyttelton Theatre. It is a satire about the press, police and politics, and stars Billie Piper as a newspaper editor, Paige Britain. The play is directed by Nicholas Hytner, with design by
Tim Hatley, lighting design by
Neil Austin, video design by Leo Warner, music by Grant Olding,
sound design by
Paul Arditti and
Clive Coleman acting as a story consultant.
The launch was slightly delayed by concerns over legal issues which might have been caused by running at the same time as ''
R v Coulson, Brooks and others''.
Following its premiere production the play transferred to the
West End's
Theatre Royal Haymarket on 9 September 2014, with its official opening night coming on 26 September,
booking until 10 January 2015. The transfer was announced only one day after opening at the national.
Lucy Punch took over the role of Paige Britain and
Ben Mansfield replaced
Oliver Chris as Asst. Commissioner Donald Doyle Davidson for the West End Run,
due to prior commitments. The play was reworked for its West End debut, with around twenty minutes cut from the running time.
Principal roles and original cast
References
External links
*
{{2011–12 News Corporation scandal
2014 plays
Plays by Richard Bean
News International phone hacking scandal
West End plays