Stage on Screen series presents six new plays from U.K. and Russia

EVANSTON--- Six new critically-acclaimed plays from the U.K. and Russia will be captured on film and featured in the National Theatre Live’s and Stage Russia HD’s popular Stage on Screen series at Northwestern this winter/spring.

 National Theatre Live broadcasts include “No Man’s Land,” “Saint Joan,” “Hedda Gabler” and “Amadeus.” Stage Russia HD programs include “Anna Karenina”from the Vakhtangov Theater and “The Black Monk” from the Moscow Young Generation Theater.

Presented by the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts, the Stage on Screen broadcasts will run from Jan. 28 to May 16, and each will be broadcast for one night only at the Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, on the Evanston campus.

The winter/spring schedule is as follows:

• Stage Russia HD: “Anna Karenina” 
Saturday, Jan. 28, 2 p.m.

Originally published in serial installments from 1875 to 1877 in the periodical “The Russian Messenger,” Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” is widely considered a pinnacle in realistic fiction. The novel tells the life story of the titular Anna, a St. Petersburg aristocrat, against the backdrop of late 19th-century Russian society.

Vakhtangov Theatre’s modern dance interpretation of “Anna Karenina” is directed and choreographed by Angelica Cholina, who strives to find the equivalent of Tolstoy's words in harmony and movement. Each gesture is filled with as much meaning as a word. Alfred Schnittke’s musical score reveals the depth of the novel’s characters and establishes an elegance and mood that matches the amplitude of the novel.

“Anna Karenina” is presented in Russian with English subtitles.

• National Theatre Live: “No Man’s Land”
Tuesday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m.

One summer evening, two aging writers, Hirst and Spooner, meet in a Hampstead pub and continue their drinking into the night at Hirst's stately house nearby.  As the pair become increasingly inebriated and their stories increasingly unbelievable, the lively conversation turns into a revealing power game, further complicated by the return home of two sinister younger men.

Stage legends Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart return to the West End stage in Harold Pinter’s “No Man's Land,” directed by Sean Mathias. Owen Teale and Damien Molony round out the cast of this glorious revival of Pinter’s darkly comic classic. The broadcast includes a post-show interview with the cast and director.

“No Man’s Land” is recommended for ages 15 and up. 

• National Theatre Live: “Saint Joan”
Wednesday, March 29, 7 p.m.

George Bernard Shaw’s modern classic follows the life and trials of a young country girl who declares a bloody mission to drive the English from France. One of the first Protestants and nationalists, Saint Joan threatens the very fabric of the European feudal society and the Catholic Church.

Josie Rourke (“Coriolanus,” “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”) directs Gemma Arterton as Joan of Arc in this electrifying production, broadcast live from the Donmar Warehouse.

• National Theatre Live: “Hedda Gabbler”
Thursday, March 30, 7 p.m.

Just married and bored already, Hedda longs to be free. Hedda and Tesman have just returned from their honeymoon, and the relationship is already in trouble. Trapped but determined, Hedda tries to control those around her, only to see her own world unravel.

Tony Award-winning director Ivo van Hove (“A View from the Bridge” at the Young Vic Theatre) directs this modern production of Henrik Ibsen’s masterpiece. Ruth Wilson (“Luther,” “The Affair,” “Jane Eyre”) plays the title role in a new adaptation by Patrick Marber (“Notes on a Scandal,” “Closer”).

“Hedda Gabbler” is recommended for ages 12 and up.

• Stage Russia HD: “The Black Monk”
Saturday, April 1, 2 p.m.

Based on the Anton Chekhov short story, “The Black Monk” tells the tragic tale of philosophy student Andrey Vasil'ich Kovrin. On the verge of a nervous breakdown, Kovrin decides to visit his childhood friend Tanya Pesotsky at the estate of her father. As he and Tanya develop a relationship and eventually marry, a black monk of legend begins appearing to Kovrin in visions. Though these hallucinations at first imbue the young man with joy and energy, they eventually lead to his ruin.

Kama Ginkas’ dramatization of Chekhov’s story for The Moscow Young Generation Theater has become a theater sensation. The show won the Grand Prix and the Critics’ Prize for best production at the Baltic House International Theatre Festival in St. Petersburg.

“The Black Monk” is presented in Russian with English subtitles.

• National Theatre Live: “Amadeus”
Tuesday, May 16, 7 p.m.

Music. Power. Jealousy. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a rowdy young prodigy, arrives in Vienna, the music capital of the world, determined to make a splash. Awestruck by his genius, court composer Antonio Salieri has the power to promote his talent or destroy his name. Seized by obsessive jealousy, Salieri begins a war with Mozart, with music and ultimately, with God. Peter Shaffer’s iconic play “Amadeus” received multiple Olivier and Tony awards following its National Theatre premiere in 1979 and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film.

Lucian Msamati (“Luther,” “Game of Thrones”) plays Salieri under the direction of Michael Longhurst, with live orchestral accompaniment by Southbank Sinfonia. Msamati appeared in National Theatre Live’s “The Comedy of Errors,” and in spring of 2015, he became the first black actor to play Iago in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of “Othello.”

“Amadeus” is recommended for age 12 and up.

The Wirtz Center's Stage on Screen broadcasts are sponsored by a generous grant from The Alumnae of Northwestern University. National Theatre Live is supported by funding from Arts Council England and AVIVA.

Tickets are $20 for general public and $10 for students with valid I.D. They are available online at the Wirtz Center website, by phone at 847-491-4819 or in person at the Wirtz Center box office in the Barber Theater lobby, 30 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston.     

The Wirtz Center is a member of the Northwestern Arts Circle.

The Arts Circle brings together film, humanities, literary arts, music, theatre, dance and visual arts. Search for events across all artistic disciplines at Northwestern Arts Circle.