National Theatre Live – bringing the West End to Frome

WITH a very large new satellite lurking on the roof of the Merlin, a high spec projection screen waiting inside – everything is in place for the launch of National Theatre Live, to be screened at the Merlin from May.

National Theatre Live is the National Theatre’s ground-breaking project to broadcast the best of British theatre live from the London stage to cinemas across the UK and around the world.

Launched in 2009 with a broadcast of Phèdre with Helen Mirren, NT Live has since broadcast more than 20 other productions including ‘War Horse’, Danny Boyle’s ‘Frankenstein’ with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller, ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ with James Corden and ‘The Last of the Haussmans’ with Julie Walters.

National Theatre Live is a brilliant way to bring the latest and most lauded of London’s groundbreaking theatre to our own doorstep at a fraction of the cost it would be to see the shows in the capital.

Tickets for all National Theatre Live screenings at the Merlin will be £15 for adults and £10 for students.

The first show to be screened will be an encore of the much lauded ‘The Curious Incident Of The Dog In the Night-Time’, on Thursday 22nd May at 7.00pm.

Based on the acclaimed novel by Mark Haddon, adapted by Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ has been hailed by The Times as ‘a phenomenal combination of storytelling and spectacle’ and is the winner of 7 Olivier Awards in 2013, including Best New Play.

Christopher, fifteen years old, has an extraordinary brain – exceptional at maths while ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. When he falls under suspicion of killing Mrs Shears’ dog Wellington, he records each fact about the event in the book he is writing to solve the mystery of the murder. But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a frightening journey that upturns his world.

The live-link to London does not stop at theatre. The Westway Cinema is currently preparing to launch Royal Opera House Cinema screening the very best opera and ballet the capital has to offer. Their Live cinema season 2013/14 includes performances of the Royal Ballet’s ‘The Sleeping Beauty’, ‘The Winter’s Tale’ and The Royal Opera’s performance of ‘Manon Lescaut’. Further details and the date of the launch will be announced soon.

‘The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time’ (Encore) will take place on Thursday 22nd May, at 7.00pm. Tickets are adults £15, students £10, from the Merlin Theatre box office: 01373 465 949 | www.merlintheatre.co.uk