Following Vincent in Brixton and The Reporter, Nicholas Wright’s new play is a funny and fascinating tribute to the Eastern European immigrants who became major players in Hollywood’s golden age. The award-winning Antony Sher – whose previous work with the National Theatre includes Primo and Stanley – returns to play Jacob.
How had a twenty–two–year–old pretentious layabout made a discovery that would elude everyother cinematic pioneer for years to come?
In a remote village in Eastern Europe, around 1900, the young Motl Mendl is entranced by the flickering silent images on his father’s cinematograph. Bankrolled by Jacob, the ebullient local timber merchant, and inspired by Anna, the girl sent to help him make moving pictures of their village, he stumbles on a revolutionary
way of story-telling. Forty years on, Motl – now a famed American film director – looks back on his early life and confronts the cost of fulfilling his dreams. (Estmated running time is 2hrs 30mins)
The National Theater of London, one of the world's leading theater producers of Shakespeare, international classic drama and contemporary playwrights, is offering an exciting new initiative - broadcasting live performances of plays in high definition onto cinema screens worldwide. The Strand will be one of 100 venues world wide to broadcast the new HD series in this exciting international partnership. The broadcasts will also feature behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with artists.
