Concrete Playground

Last year Concrete Playgrounders were introduced to NT Live, the ingenious, democratising brainchild of the UK’s National Theatre, whereby stage performances are beamed into cinemas around the world. While Australia doesn’t quite get the show ‘live’, we do benefit from having the recorded shows screened for us over a weekend.

The Chauvel, Hayden Orpheum, and Dendy Opera Quays have all signed up for NT Live’s latest broadcast: the stage adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s Nation. Beloved for his Discworld series, Pratchett now maroons an oddly-coupled nineteenth century boy and girl on an island in the wake of a tsunami. The dramatisation sees acclaimed playwright Mark Ravenhill following in the footsteps of previous family-friendly NT shows, including a production of Philip Pullman’s best-selling His Dark Materials series.

Pratchett’s colourful parallel world is brought to exuberant life on stage, where Nation promises to be an enthralling adventure for adults and children alike.