Guthrie Theater

GUTHRIE THEATER TO CONTINUE PARTICIPATION
IN PILOT SEASON OF
NT LIVE
SCREENING HIGH-DEFINITION PRODUCTIONS
FROM THE UK'S NATIONAL THEATRE

All's Well That Ends Well - October 24 and 25 at 1 p.m.
Nation - February 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m.
The Habit of Art - May 1 at 7 p.m. and May 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets now on sale for all remaining 2009-10 NT Live dates at the Guthrie

(Minneapolis/St. Paul) The Guthrie announced today that it will continue its participation in the pilot season of NT Live - an initiative by the UK's National Theatre to broadcast high-definition performances of its plays to more than 300 venues worldwide - with screenings of Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well (October 24 and 25 at 1 p.m.), Mark Ravenhill's exhilarating adaptation of Terry Pratchett's witty adventure story Nation (February 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m.) and Alan Bennett's new play The Habit of Art (May 1 at 7 p.m. and May 2 at 7:30 p.m.). Single tickets for the upcoming screenings are $20 and now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6244 (Group Sales) and online at http://www.guthrietheater.org/.

Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well, in a highly acclaimed production by Marianne Elliott, will be filmed live at the National Theatre in London on October 1 and broadcast by satellite to cinemas worldwide. The production, which will be the first play broadcast from the Olivier (the largest of the National's three theaters), is the second play in the pilot season of NT Live, the National's ground-breaking initiative which launched in June with the hugely successful broadcast of Phèdre with Helen Mirren, which was seen by 50,000 people in 19 countries around the globe.

Set against a background of sexism, snobbery and a battle between generations, Shakespeare turns fairytale logic on its head in a wondrous, bittersweet story. The feisty but lowly Helena falls in love with Bertram, a haughty count. To gain his hand she is set a string of impossible tasks. Even if accomplished, they can hardly guarantee his love. He refuses to bed her and yet says he'll only be hers if she bears his child; and he lusts after another. Nevertheless, our heroine, whether wisely or no, refuses to give him up.

All's Well That Ends Well will be directed by Marianne Elliott, who also co-directed the National's smash hit War Horse (now in London's West End), with a cast featuring Oliver Ford Davies (as the King of France), Clare Higgins (the Countess of Rossillion), Conleth Hill (Parolles), George Rainsford (Bertram) and Michelle Terry (Helena).

"The hugely enthusiastic reaction of audiences around the world to the NT Live broadcast of Phèdre was thrilling," says National Theatre Director Nicholas Hytner, who will direct The Habit of Art. "I'm confident that we have pioneered a new genre: not quite live theatre, certainly not cinema, but an exciting approximation of the real thing whose potential reach is limitless. It means we can reach tens of thousands of people in addition to our work in London and on tour."

The next two plays in the NT Live pilot season will be Nation, based on a novel by Terry Pratchett, adapted by Mark Ravenhill, to be filmed on January 30, 2010, and Alan Bennett's new play The Habit of Art with actors Michael Gambon, Alex Jennings and Frances de la Tour (Tony Award and Drama Desk award winner for The History Boys), to be filmed on April 22, 2010.

For a complete list of participating locations and dates visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ntlive.