How’s this for a cast for Network at the National Theatre: Bryan Cranston – yes, that’s Walter White, amongst plenty of other award-winning stage and screen turns – alongside the likes of Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery and Primeval’s Douglas Henshall. Oh, and they’re directed by the international sensation Ivo van Hove, on top of that. Mark us “excited”.
And with Our Ladies Of Perpetual Succour writer Lee Hall adapting Paddy Chayefsky’s multi Academy Award-winning film at the Southbank venue, the stars are certainly aligning for an incredible production. Check out the first rehearsal shots, taken by the brilliant Jan Versweyveld, above.
Network depicts a dystopian media landscape where opinion trumps fact – a theme more pertinent now in the public eye than perhaps ever before.
Howard Beale, news anchor-man, isn’t pulling in the viewers. In his final broadcast he unravels live on screen. But when the ratings soar, the network seizes on their new found populist prophet, and Howard becomes the biggest thing on TV.
Network begins previews on 4 November. Find out more about the show here.