Phaedra
a new play by Simon Stone
after Euripides, Seneca and Racine
Booking and details
This production played in the Lyttelton Theatre from 1 February – 8 April 2023.
In a house of glass, one must not throw stones.
After years of fierce focus on her political career, a politician turns her attention to her personal life.
The reappearance of a figure from her past shakes the foundations of her house and the beliefs that have underpinned her power.
As buried lust and loneliness surge to the surface, her actions threaten to destroy everything she has built.
Writer-Director Simon Stone (Yerma, Young Vic) reimagines Seneca’s famous tragedy in this striking new play.
The cast includes Janet McTeer (Ozark, The Menu) and Assaad Bouab (Call My Agent, Bad Sisters) in his London stage debut.
Olivier Awards 2023 Nomination
Best Actress – Janet McTeer
Performed 1 February — 8 April 2023 in the Lyttelton Theatre.
Reviews
★★★★
A stunningly sharp, hugely entertaining evening.
The Times
★★★★
A masterfully staged tale for the 21st century.
Telegraph
Suitability
Please note: This is a multilingual production with English subtitles. It also contains very strong language, offensive language, sexual references, sexual content, nudity, description of graphic violence and self harm, depiction of suicide and themes which some people may find upsetting. There will be periods of sustained darkness throughout the performance.
Galleries
Production gallery
Rehearsal gallery
Videos
Cast
Rhys Bailey
For the National Theatre: The Grapes of Wrath and Phaedra
Archie Barnes
For the National: Phaedra
Assaad Bouab
For the National: Phaedra
Paul Chahidi
For the National: Salomé, As You Like It
Mackenzie Davis
For the National: Phaedra
Nicholas Gauci
For the National: Phaedra
Mohsen Ghaffari
For the National: Phaedra and we’re here because we’re here (also for 14–18 NOW)
Akiya Henry
For the National: Phaedra, Coram Boy, Once in a Lifetime, Anything Goes and Love’s Labour’s Lost.
John Macmillan
For the National: Phaedra
Johanne Murdock
For the National: Phaedra
Janet McTeer
For the National: Phaedra, The Duchess of Malfi and Uncle Vanya.
Nadia Nadif
For the National: Phaedra
Emmanuel Olusanya
For the National: Phaedra
Sirine Saba
For the National: Phaedra, Another World: Losing Our Children to Islamic State, Nation, Sparkleshark
Dot Williams
For the National: Phaedra
Production team
Director
Simon Stone
Simon Stone
Set Designer
Chloe Lamford
Chloe Lamford
For the National: Phaedra, Othello, The Antipodes (co-director), John, Amadeus, Rules for Living and The World of Extreme Happiness.
Costume Designer and Associate Set Designer
Mel Page
Mel Page
Mel Page is an award-winning set and costume designer working across theatre, opera and film.
Lighting Designer
James Farncombe
James Farncombe
For the National Theatre: The Other Place in association with A Zeldin Company, Phaedra, People, Places and Things (also West End, on UK tour and at St Ann’s Warehouse, New York), When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, The Plough and the Stars, Man and Superman, Three Winters, Edward II, People, The Magistrate, London Road, Juno and the Paycock, Men Should Weep and Double Feature
Composer and Sound Designer
Casting
Alastair Coomer CDG
Alastair Coomer CDG
For the National Theatre: over 50 productions including Alterations, The Other Place, The Grapes of Wrath, Mnemonic (2024), Nye (also Wales Millennium Centre), The House of Bernarda Alba, Othello, The Crucible (also West End), Blues for an Alabama Sky, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Mosquitoes, This House, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, One Man, Two Guvnors and War Horse
Associate Director
Nimmo Ismail
Nimmo Ismail
Nimmo Ismail is a theatre director and writer. She is a Sky Arts Artistic Associate at Theatre Royal Stratford East and was named as one of The Stage 25 in 2022.
Intimacy Coordinator
Ingrid Mackinnon
Ingrid Mackinnon
For the National Theatre: Coriolanus, Underdog: The Other Other Brontë (also Northern Stage), The House of Bernarda Alba, The Effect (also The Shed, New York) and Phaedra
Dialect Coach
Danièle Lydon
Danièle Lydon
For the National: Phaedra, The Crucible and Rutherford and Son.
Photography (Assaad Bouab and Janet McTeer) by Sebastian Nevols