Based on the true story of Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford), from his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public.

Wrapped up in the pursuit are detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck), who becomes captivated with Forrest's commitment to his craft, and a woman (Sissy Spacek), who loves him in spite of his chosen profession. Like Redford, Spacek is still radiant onscreen, and these two legends - who, unbelievably, have never appeared together in a film before - have wonderful chemistry. Almost 50 years after Robert Redford rode into cinematic history with Paul Newman as ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’, he has announced that this will be his final film as an actor.

USA 2018 David Lowery 93m

Der Hauptmann

A young German soldier fighting for survival finds a Nazi captain's uniform. Impersonating an officer, the man quickly takes on the monstrous identity of the perpetrators he is trying to escape from.

Shot in a stark black and white, ‘The Captain’ follows a German army deserter (Max Hubacher), after he finds an abandoned Nazi captain's uniform. Citing direct orders from the Fuhrer himself, he soon takes command of a camp holding German soldiers accused of desertion and begins to dispense harsh justice. Increasingly intoxicated by the unquestioned authority, this enigmatic imposter soon discovers that many people will blindly follow the leader,. Simultaneously a historical docudrama and sociological examination with undertones of the absurd, ‘The Captain’ presents fascism as something of a game to be played by those most gullible and unscrupulous. (Subtitles)

Germany/ Poland/ France 2017 Robert Schwentke118m

After ‘A Bigger Splash’ and ‘Call Me by Your Name’, Luca Guadagnino has gone ‘off-piste’ with a remake of Dario Argento’s legendary witch tale.

Both the 1977 Argento original and this 2018 version take place at a dance company, both deal with a coven of witches, and both are incredible visual and musical achievements, but most of the parallels stop there. A darkness swirls at the center of this world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf former dancer Patricia (Chloë Grace Moretz), the troupe's artistic director (Tilda Swinton), an ambitious young dancer (Dakota Johnson), and the grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up. ‘Suspiria’ is a gorgeous, hideous, uncompromising film, with a befittingly unique soundtrack by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. (Some subtitles)

USA 2018 Luca Guadagnino 152m

Simon Callow returns in this much-lauded production of ‘A Christmas Carol’, playing at the Arts Theatre. Intensely dramatic and profoundly heart-warming, this is one of the greatest ghost stories ever written and storytelling at its very finest.

Using the adaptation Dickens made for his own public performances, Simon Callow and director and designer Tom Cairns have conjured up a moving, funny and fast-paced one-man theatrical spectacular that will leave you with a warm festive glow. Dickens takes us on a man’s astonishing journey through his past, his present and (terrifyingly) his future, led by his three ghostly guides. ‘A Christmas Carol’ has become a classic Christmas tale for generations of grown-ups and children alike. Brought to life by the magnificent Simon Callow, this is a Christmas must see for 8 to 108-year olds! 90m.

Tickets £12.50 (Friends/Students £10; Children £6)

A superbly involving French rural drama from Xavier Beauvois, with Nathalie Baye magnificent as a matriarch struggling to run the land when war breaks out.

Beauvois (‘Of Gods and Men’) reveals the heroic struggles of women on the rural home front in First World War France, in a gripping, terrifically acted ensemble drama. The ‘Gardiennes’ of the title are the women who roll up their sleeves to take charge of the land when war breaks out. Nathalie Baye, in the role of a lifetime, is utterly commanding as Hortense, the matriarch who will do anything to ensure that family and farm survive, as the men of the family make intermittent returns from the front, and the arrival of American troops brings its own unrest. Caroline Champetier’s magnificent landscape photography brings an elemental touch to the realism that gives this film the intensity of a French-style Thomas Hardy. (Subtitles)

France/Switzerland 2017 Xavier Beauvois 135m

Manbiki Kazoku

2018 Cannes Palme D’Or Winner! Hirokazu Kore-eda (Still Walking) brings us this story about a family of small-time crooks who take in a child they find on the street.

After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu's wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals some hidden secrets. Typically for Kore-eda, the generally becalmed, affectionate tone builds slowly towards scenes that are finally deeply moving. Boasting excellent performances all round, ‘Shoplifters’ is another charming, funny and very affecting example of Kore-eda’s special brand of tough-but-tender humanism.

(Subtitles)

Japan 2018 Hirokazu Kore-eda 121m

Set in contemporary Chicago, four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their husbands' criminal activities, take fate into their own hands.

We follow the four women (Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki. Cynthia Erivo) who just lost their husbands – men who, it is revealed in a thrilling opening sequence, were thieves who stole from those even worse than themselves. To repay this debt, the women – plus an outsider, who comes in after a very sly third-act twist – must pool their resources and finish the job their husbands couldn't. Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) helms this heist film masked on top of a treasure trove of ideas about class, race, history and who has the power to rise above their station. The film was chosen to open the recent London Film Festival.

USA 2018 Steve McQueen 128m

Live recording

With one of the finest scores ever written by Rodgers & Hammersmith including; Whistle a Happy Tune, Getting to Know You and Shall We Dance. Winner of 4 Tony Awards, including Best Musical Revival.

Featuring a company of over 50 world-class performers, The King and I is a testament to the lavish heritage of gloriously romantic musical theatre made famous by the Hollywood classic of 1956 starring Yul Brynner. Making their West End debuts are the original Broadway stars; reprising her Tony Award-winning performance as ‘Broadway musical’s undisputed Queen’ (The Sunday Times), Kelli O’Hara (Anna), Tony and Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe (The King).

Set in 1860's Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children.

180m approx including interval

Ticjets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

Delayed Live: Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Michael Mayer’s richly textured new production, featuring a dazzling 18th-century setting that changes with the seasons.

Soprano Diana Damrau plays the tragic heroine, Violetta, and tenor Juan Diego Flórez returns to the Met for the first time in five seasons to sing the role of Alfredo, Violetta’s hapless lover. Baritone Quinn Kelsey is Alfredo’s father, Germont, who destroys their love. Later performances feature Anita Hartig, Stephen Costello, Artur Ruciński, and Plácido Domingo.

205m approx inc intervals.

Tickets £20 (Friends/Students £17.50)

A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of the end of the war.

Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) has created a new film using original footage from Imperial War Museums’ (IWM) extensive archive, much of it previously unseen. Using the voices of the men involved, the film explores the reality of war on the front line; their attitudes to the conflict; how they ate; slept and formed friendships, as well what their lives were like away from the trenches during their periods of downtime. Footage has been colourised and transformed with modern production techniques to present never before seen detail. The film was recently given its World Premiere as the Special Presentation at the BFI London Film Festival.

UK/NZ 2018 Peter Jackson 99m

When the ‘Whos’ declare they are going to make Christmas three times bigger this year, the Grinch (Benedict Cumberbatch) realizes there is only one way for him to gain some peace and quiet: he must steal Christmas.

To do so, he decides he will pose as Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, even going so far as to trap a lackadaisical misfit reindeer to pull his sleigh. Meanwhile, down in Who-ville, Cindy-Lou Who-a young girl overflowing with holiday cheer-plots with her gang of friends to trap Santa Claus as he makes his Christmas Eve rounds so that she can thank him for help for her overworked single mother. As Christmas approaches, however, her good-natured scheme threatens to collide with the Grinch's more nefarious one. Will Cindy-Lou achieve her goal of finally meeting Santa Claus? Will the Grinch succeed in silencing the Whos' holiday cheer once and for all?

USA/China 2018 Yarrow Cheney & Scott Mosier 90m

Mirai no Mirai

A young boy encounters a magical garden which enables him to travel through time and meet his relatives from different eras, with guidance by his younger sister from the future.

When four-year-old Kun meets his new baby sister, his world is turned upside down. Named Mirai (meaning "future"), the baby quickly wins the hearts of Kun's entire family. Kun becomes increasingly jealous of baby Mirai... until one day he storms off into the garden, where he encounters strange guests from the past and future

Japan 2018 Mamoru Hosoda 98m

Le Sens de la Fête

A classically constructed ensemble comedy in the tradition of the greats from Eric Tolendo and Olivier Nackache, the new kings of French comedy who previously created ‘Intouchables’.

This very funny film successfully closed this year’s Chichester Film Festival, coming second in the Audience Award, is like a good wedding champagne - bubbly, frothy fun with an excellent structure and a hint of complexity that leaves you on a high. Not that wedding planner Max (Jean-Pierre Bacri) has any time to stop and have a glass, he's far too busy trying to ensure that the only hitch on a big day is between the bride and groom. Set over the course of one event, the directing duo prove adept at planning and crowd management, plunging us into the workings of the backstage staff and some of the wedding party without losing us in the melee.

France 2017 O.Nakache/E.Toedano 117m

“17th century Amsterdam comes to life with lavish sets, rapturous costumes, wonderful actors and the lush beauty of a Vermeer painting”. – The Observer.

An orphaned girl Sophia (Alicia Vikander) is the arranged and unhappy bride of a rich and powerful merchant, Cornelis Sandvoort (Christoph Waltz) saving her from poverty. When her husband commissions her portrait, she begins a passionate affair with the painter Jan Van Loos (Dane DeHaan). Set in 1634, when the tulip industry was beginning to change the history of The Netherlands, the film tells dual stories - as both a saga of passion and intrigue at a time when everyone was scheming to betray each other in the lucrative exotic bulbs market, and as a tale of reckless romance and the consequences of adultery. Cast includes Judi Dench and Tom Hollander.

UK/USA 2017 Justin Chadwick 105m

This is Alan Bennett's most recent play which is his first new work for the theatre for six years.

Alan Bennett’s sharp and witty new play is ‘just what the doctor ordered’ (Daily Telegraph). Set in a local hospital facing closure as part of an efficiency drive, this state-of-the-nation piece is a ‘rousing chorus line for the NHS’ (Observer). It will be an Alan Bennett double bill for NT Live in November, with the broadcast of his famous 'The Madness of George III' following shortly after. (Nov 20)

The cast includes Samuel Barnett, Sam Bond, Jacqueline Chan, Sacha Dhawan, Patricia England, Deborah Findlay, David Moorst, Jeff Rawle, Cleo Sylvestre and Gary Wood.

160m approx including interval

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

A festive tradition for the whole family, the timeless classic The Nutcracker is broadcast live from the Bolshoi stage for two hours of enchantment and magic on 23 December 2018.

On Christmas Eve, Marie’s Nutcracker doll magically transforms into a prince taking them both on a wonderful adventure. Along with Tchaikovsky’s cherished score, Yuri Grigorovich’s choreography, the Bolshoi’s Principals, Soloists and the accomplished Bolshoi corps de ballet this promises to be the perfect pre-Christmas treat for the whole family. Taking audiences of all ages on a magical journey through a world of enchantment complete with dancing snowflakes and dolls that have come to life, accompanied by Tchaikovsky’s beloved score. Once again audiences have the opportunity of also seeing or choosing the Royal Ballet’s production earlier on 9th December.                       140m approx including interval.

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15; Children £10)

The second instalment of the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ series set in J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World featuring the adventures of magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne).

The powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) is captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander. But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escapes custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings. In an effort to thwart Grindelwald's plans, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

UK/USA 2018 David Yates

Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton) a war-hardened Crusader and his Moorish commander (Jamie Foxx) mount an audacious revolt against the corrupt English crown.

This thrilling action-adventure can be seen as the dark revisionist prequel to the original Robin Hood story, and is packed with gritty battlefield exploits, and a timeless romance. The cast also includes Ben Mendelsohn as the Sheriff of Nottingham, Eve Hewson as maid Marian, Jamie Doornan as Will Scarlet, and Tim Minchin as Friar Tuck. The film is directed by Otto Bathurst who rose to fame directing the first three episodes of ‘Peaky Blinders’. He brings that same grittiness, mixed with pulsating action sequences, into this production.

USA 2018 Otto Bathurst 116m

Marvin ou la Belle Éducation

The thoughtful story of a young artist's journey to self-expression, featuring the rising Anglo-French actor Finnegan Oldfield in the titular role, and Isabelle Huppert as… Isabelle Huppert.

As he prepares to launch his one-man show on a Paris stage, Marvin is still working through the events that inspired it. Raised in a working-class family, the teen Marvin (Jules Porier) felt at odds with his earthy parents (Catherine Salee and Gregory Gadebois). Cruelly bullied at school for being different, he gets support from an understanding teacher (Catherine Mouchet) who steers him to drama school. Through all of this, the gnawing question of identity roars through Marvin's mind: is he a product of his parents or someone unique despite the environment he grew up in? As the film progresses, we come to realize how life experiences can be woven into a work of art.

France 2017 Anne Fontain 115m

A young computer hacker and her journalist friend find themselves caught in a web of spies, cybercriminals and corrupt government officials.

Lisbeth Salander (Claire Foy), the cult figure and title character of the acclaimed Millennium book series created by Stieg Larsson, returns to the screen in this first-time adaptation of the recent global bestseller. Sverrir Gudnason plays the role of journalist Mikael Blomkvist.

UK/Ger/Swe 2018 Fede Alvarez

In this third offering of remastered Comedy Genius from the BFI, a newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.

With Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in the leading roles trading whip-smart put-downs and wisecracks at breakneck speed, the movie’s reputation as the fastest-talking comedy in Hollywood history is well deserved. Howard Hawk’s film is about attraction, ambition and work, and hasn’t lost its gloss even after 78 years - it’s funny, and not in that appreciative-titter “Ah, that was the Golden Age” way. The movie bears reviewing because there is always something new in the confetti of one-liners, while its depiction of journalism remains relevant: “Take Hitler and stick him on the funny page! . . . Keep the rooster story - that’s human interest.”

USA 1940 Howard Hawks 92m

Celebrate the end of 2018 with the Berliner Philharmoniker’s glittering New Year’s Eve Concert.  The only live cinema broadcast of the 2018/19 Berliner Philharmoniker Concert season, this fantastic event will be conducted by Daniel Barenboim, and Broadcast LIVE from Berlin in high definition and 5.1 surround sound.

Barenboim, one of the Philharmoniker’s oldest friends, also takes on the role of soloist in Mozart’s Piano No. 26 – a work of sparkling beauty and nuanced expression. There are also four famous by Maurice Ravel, which create an impressive synthesis of elegance and originality. The highlight is the Boléro, perhaps the most stunning crescendo in music.

This broadcast will feature exclusive interviews and programme insights.

Piano and Conductor Daniel Barenboim              

120m (No Interval)

Tickets £12.50 (Friends/Students £10)

A young girl is transported into a magical world of gingerbread soldiers and an army of mice.

All Clara (Mackenzie Foy) wants is a key - a one-of-a-kind key that will unlock a box that holds a priceless gift from her late mother. A golden thread, presented to her at godfather Drosselmeyer's (Morgan Freeman) annual holiday party, leads her to the coveted key, which promptly disappears into a strange and mysterious parallel world. It's there that Clara encounters a soldier named Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight), a gang of mice and the regents who preside over three Realms: Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers and Land of Sweets. Clara and Phillip must brave the ominous Fourth Realm, home to the tyrant Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren), to retrieve Clara's key and hopefully return harmony to the unstable world.

USA 2018 Lasse Hallström & Joe Johnston 99m

Exhibition on Screen

From the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

We journey from the streets of Paris to the heart of a superb exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, whose extensive collection of Degas’ works is the most representative in Britain.

With exclusive access to view rare and diverse works, this film tells a fascinating story of Degas’ pursuit for perfection through both experimentation with new techniques and lessons learnt from studying the past masters. Sometimes frustrated by his own failings, Degas was consumed by obsessive principles and failing eye sight but his determination to capture everyday life was evident in every mark he made.

Using written accounts by friends and commentators, and the narration of letters written by Degas himself, this film reveals a more complex truth behind one of the most influential French artists of the late 19th-century. Directed by David Bickerstaff. 85m.

Tickets £12.50 (Friends/Students £10; Children £6)

A wife questions her life choices as she travels to Stockholm with her husband, where he is slated to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

After nearly forty years of marriage, Joan and Joe Castleman (Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce) are complements. Where Joe is casual, Joan is elegant. Where Joe is vain, Joan is self-effacing. And where Joe enjoys his very public role as Great American Novelist, Joan pours her considerable intellect, grace, charm, and diplomacy into the private role of Great Man's Wife. Joe is about to be awarded the Nobel Prize for his acclaimed and prolific body of work, his literary star has blazed since he and Joan first met in the late 1950. ‘The Wife’ interweaves the story of the couple's youthful passion and ambition with a portrait of a marriage, thirty-plus years later - a lifetime's shared compromises, secrets, betrayals, and mutual love. Glenn Close commands the film: still, formidable and impossible to look away from.

Sweden 2018 Björn Runge 100m

Ahlat Agaci

Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s (Palme D’Or Winner with ‘Winter Sleep’) new film sees an aspiring writer return to his native village, where his father's debts catch up to him.

While Ceylan usually deals with the conflicts and regrets of middle-aged men, here he focuses on a younger archetype - the angst-riddled young man who aspires to become a famous writer. Unfortunately, Sinan (Aydin Dogs Demirkol) is not particularly good at it. He resents his father (Murat Cemcir), a schoolteacher and gambling addict whose messy existence epitomizes everything Sinan doesn’t want in his life. Ceylan intersperses talky exposition with poetic imagery that deepens the story’s thematic concerns, from a majestic swing of the camera that goes up and into a tree, to the slow tracking shot toward the edge of a well at the movie’s taut and remarkable climax.

Turkey 2018 Nuri Bilge Ceylan 188m

A woman returns to her Orthodox Jewish community that shunned her for her attraction to a female childhood friend. Once back, their passions reignite as they explore the boundaries of faith and sexuality.

New York based photographer Ronit (Rachel Weisz) rushes home to London after hearing about her preacher father’s death. She didn’t know her two dearest childhood friends, Dovid (Alessandro Nivola) and Esti (Rachel McAdams), are now husband and wife. When Dovid, a disciple of her father’s, invites Ronit to stay with them, the fuse is lit and desire - long repressed - explodes between the two women. This delicately handled tale of romance and acceptance is Sebastián Lelio’s follow up to his Academy Award-winning ‘A Fantastic Woman’ (2017 Best Foreign Language Film).

UK 2017 Sebastián Lelio 114m

Every year there is a film that divides Festival audiences. This year, it was one of the usual suspects – Lars von Trier – which presented one such film that split Cannes in half.

Von Trier's new drama follows the highly intelligent Jack (Matt Dillon) over a span of 12 years and introduces the murders that define Jack's development as a serial killer. We experience the story from Jack's point of view, while he postulates each murder is an artwork in itself. As the inevitable police intervention is drawing nearer, he is taking greater and greater risks in his attempt to create the ultimate artwork. Dillon is depraved in the lead role, possibly a career best performance - the film also stars Uma Thurman and Bruno Ganz. Please note that this is a disturbing, graphic film. (Some Subtitles)

Denmark/Fra/Ger 2018 Lars von Trier 155m

Cannes Winner (Director’s Fortnight)

A father and his thirteen-year-old daughter are living in an ideal existence in a vast urban park in Portland, Oregon, when a small mistake derails their lives forever.

Will (Ben Foster) and his daughter Tom (Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie) have camped out in an Oregon nature reserve, apparently for years. Will’s motivations for doing so are never explicitly laid out, though references to his military service and general nerviness suggest enough about a general alienation from the world. He makes sure that Tom is healthy, fed, and educated, but stresses a need to remain hidden from others at all times. Though a teenager, Tom exhibits few signs of rebellion, trusting him entirely. Discovery tears them out of Eden and thrusts them into the social services system. Forcible reintegration into society initiates a gradual but inexorable change in this dynamic, as Tom becomes more curious about other people and more desiring of stability, while Will simply cannot change. The quest for home does not come to any grand destination, but instead an aching bittersweet inevitability. ‘Leave No Trace’s acute sense of place and how people relate to it makes for great, emotion-laden naturalism. Screened at Sundance and Cannes.

USA 2018 Debra Granik 109m

Three strangers are reunited by astonishing coincidence after being born identical triplets, separated at birth, and adopted by three different families.

Three boys. Three different cities. Three very different upbringings. When they are 19 years old, one of the three boys (Robert Shafran) heads off to an obscure school in upstate New York, where he’s told he bears an eerie resemblance to a former student named Eddy Galland. The two young men meet. They are identical twins, mysteriously separated at birth, but overjoyed to be reunited. Their story makes all the New York dailies, where another teen, David Kellman, happens to see his face reflected not once, but twice, on the front pages. Their jaw-dropping, feel-good story instantly becomes a global sensation complete with fame and celebrity, however, the fairy-tale reunion sets in motion a series of events that unearth an unimaginable secret.

USA 2018 Tim Wardle 96m

A caper film about the unlikely gang of retirees that pulled off the daring Hatton Garden jewellery heist of 2015.

The film tells the story of the epic multi-million-pound robbery initially believed to be undertaken by a gang of super-thieves. The actual perpetrators were a group of tough-guy retired criminals in their late 60s and 70s - with all kinds of physical maladies - who were mostly unoccupied and bored, until they consulted a bunch of how-to books and figured out a way to pull off one last hurrah. Entering the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company property via a lift shaft, they drilled through the 50cm thick vault walls with heavy machinery and escaped with a haul estimated to be worth around £200 million. The all-star cast of thieves includes Michael Caine, Jim Broadbent, Ray Winstone and Michael Gambon.

UK 2018 James Marsh 103m

Polina, Danser sa Vie

A celebration of dance and music, this is a mesmerizing example of visual storytelling.

Rigorously trained from an early age by a perfectionist instructor, Polina (played by Anastasia Shevtsova, a professional dancer who has performed with Saint Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre) is a promising classical ballet dancer. She is just about to join the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet when she discovers contemporary dance, a revelation that throws everything into question on a profound level. Diverting from her plan, she leaves all her exacting preparation behind and moves to France to work with famous choreographer Liria Elsaj (Juliette Binoche - who has danced with London-based dancer/choreographer Akram Khan). But once there she is quickly forced to grapple with the realization that determination and hard work don't always lead to success. (Subtitles)

France 2016 Valérie Müller & Angelin Preljocaj 108m

In Yorgos Lanthimos’ (‘The Lobster’, ‘Dogtooth’) new film, Olivia Colman is simply dazzling as a fragile, volatile and sometimes dotty Queen Anne.

Early 18th century. England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne's ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. As the politics of war become quite time consuming for Sarah, Abigail steps into the breach to fill in as the Queen's companion. Their burgeoning friendship gives her a chance to fulfil her ambitions and she will not let woman, man, politics or rabbit stand in her way. A wicked delight!

Ireland/UK 2018 Yorgos Lanthimos 120m

Three sessions appraising the contributions of three giants of film comedy – Buster Keaton, the Marx Bros and Jacques Tati.

Buster Keaton, with his masterpiece ‘The General’ (1926) as well as many other fascinating films, is arguably the greatest writer/director/performers of the Silent Cinema. The Marx Bros followed with a string of wonderful films, full of verbal dynamics and gags including ‘Duck Soup’. And then the Frenchman Jacques Tati continued this wonderful comedic tradition with ‘Jour de Fete’, ’Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday’ and others.

Coincidentally, the British Film Institute is touring a nationwide programme of films called ‘Comedy Genius’, and New Park is showing a number of these classics, including ‘The General’ (Nov 25 and 26), ‘Duck Soup’ (Dec 8 and 10) and ‘Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday’ (Jan 12 and 17).  

In this dark political period the world is going through at the moment, this is a wonderful opportunity to see comedy genius at work, and share some laughter rather than despair! The sessions are devised and led by Mike Jennings, Lead Trustee for Education. All very welcome.

Tickets £6 per session (3 for £15)

Fri 23 Nov 13:30 - Buster Keaton (Studio)

Fri 7 Dec 13:30 - The Marx Bros (Studio)

Fri 11 Jan 13:30 - Jacques Tati (Studio)

To try and overcome a lifetime of bitterness and resentment, eighty four year old Edie (Sheila Hancock) decides to climb a mountain in Scotland.

Having lived under the domineering restraints of her husband in the early years of their marriage, Edie then devotes thirty years of care a blood clot left him immobile and totally dependent. His final passing gives Edie a freedom she has long desired, even though her daughter (Wendy Morgan) would rather have peace of mind by slinging her into a local care home. But Edie, once a “wild child”, and in good health for her age, has other ideas - to fulfil a promise she and her now departed father had once planned … to climb mount Suilven together. Hancock anchors the film effortlessly in a stunning performance that seems almost tailor made for her, and it would be an understatement to say Scotland has never looked so incredibly awe-inspiring on film before.

UK 2017 Simon Hunter 102m

Den Skyldige

When police officer Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren) is demoted to desk work, he expects a sleepy beat as an emergency dispatcher. That all changes when he answers a panicked phone call from a kidnapped woman who then disconnects abruptly.

Asger, confined to the police station, is forced to use others as his eyes and ears as the severity of the crime slowly becomes clearer. This innovative and unrelenting Danish thriller uses a single location to great effect, ratcheting up the tension as twists pile up and secrets are revealed. Director Gustav Möller expertly frames the increasingly messy proceedings against the clean Scandinavian sterility of the police department, while Cedergren's strong performance anchors the film and places the audience squarely in Holm's tragically flawed yet well-intentioned mindspace. A remarkable, must-see thriller. (Subtitles)

Denmark 2018 Gustav Möller 85m

Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot

This is the fourth BFI remastered comedy this season, which sees Monsieur Hulot arrive at a beachside hotel for a vacation, where he accidentally (but good-naturedly) causes havoc.

This was the first film to introduce Jacques Tati’s much-loved alter ego Monsieur Hulot, it set the pattern for future appearances, throwing the bumbling hero unwittingly into the middle of the action and letting the ensuing mishaps provoke humour ranging from gentle observations to fairly biting satire. Nearly dialogue-free and driven more by episode than plot, standout set pieces include a disrupted funeral, an interrupted game of cards, and a game of tennis played with rules that can politely be called unconventional. Tati was the heir to the great comics of the silent era - Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd. If you have not seen this classic – make sure you see it this time around. (Some subtitles)

France 1953 Jacques Tati 114m

A taut, quiet and rigidly paced psychological drama based on the infamous 1892 murders of the Borden family.

In small-town Massachusetts in 1892, Lizzie (Chloe Sevigny) lives in a state of more-or-less repressed mutual hostility with her dictatorial and penny-pinching father (Jamey Sheridan) and her dour stepmother (Fiona Shaw). After a lifetime of loneliness, Lizzie finds a kindred spirit in housemaid Bridget Sullivan (Kristen Stewart) and their secret intimacy sparks an unthinkable act. Director Macneill explores the days leading up to the savage crimes in a dark tale of repression, exploitation and thwarted dreams.

USA 2018 Craig William Macneill 106m

Soprano Anna Netrebko joins the ranks of Renata Tebaldi, Montserrat Caballé, and Renata Scotto, taking on—for the first time at the Met—the title role of the real-life French actress who dazzled 18th-century audiences with her on-and offstage passion.

The soprano is joined by tenor Piotr Beczała as Adriana's lover, Maurizio. The principal cast also features mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili and baritone Ambrogio Maestri. Gianandrea Noseda conducts. Sir David McVicar's staging, which sets the action in a working replica of a Baroque theater, premiered at the Royal Opera House in London, where the Guardian praised the "elegant production, sumptuously designed ... The spectacle guarantees a good night out."

240m inc 2 Intervals.

Tickets £20.00 (Friends/Students £17.50)

NT Live from the Almeida Theatre

Simon Russell Beale (The Lehman Trilogy, King Lear) plays King Richard II in a visceral new production about the limits of power, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins (Little Revolution, Absolute Hell).

A nation in uproar. A leader in crisis. An unlikely successor waiting in the wings, ‘Richard II’ is Shakespeare’s great political drama about the seduction of power and the tragedy of losing it. Our first ever broadcast from the Almeida Theatre is a stripped back, modern interpretation of William Shakespeare’s play, and we’re delighted to see Simon Russell Beale return to NT Live screens, following broadcasts of ‘Timon of Athens’ (2012) and ‘King Lear’ (2014). 150m approx including interval.

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

This is a stunning, intimate and unflinching portrait of the free soloist climber Alex Honnold, as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world's most famous rock... the 3,000ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park... without a rope.

Celebrated as one of the greatest athletic feats of any kind, Honnold's climb set the ultimate standard: perfection or death. Succeeding in this challenge, Honnold enters his story in the annals of human achievement. ‘Free Solo’ is both an edge-of-your seat thriller and an inspiring portrait of an athlete who exceeded our current understanding of human physical and mental potential. The result is a triumph of the human spirit. Strange to think that the year's most outrageously harrowing action movie turns out to be an arthouse documentary from National Geographic.

USA 2018 Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi 100m

Laurel and Hardy, the world's most famous comedy duo, attempt to reignite their film careers as they embark on what becomes their swan song - a grueling theatre tour of post-war Britain.

The beloved comedy team of Stan Laurel (Steve Coogan) and Oliver Hardy (John C. Reilly) made more than 100 films together from 1921-1951, before abandoning the screen for the stage. They embark on one last variety hall tour in Great Britain in 1953, but are surprised by the modesty of the bookings and cramped little guesthouses. They struggle for audiences and their booking agent seems disinterested. But a series of TV guest spots and celebrity appearances soon rekindle the country’s interest in their genius and the buzz grows as they head towards a big London finale. As the attention builds, so do their struggles with health issues, the changing times and the stress of the road, all threatening to overshadow their creative partnership.

The world premiere of the film recently closed the 62nd London Film Festival.

USA 2018 Jon S. Baird

The epic story of Henri "Papillon" Charrière (Charlie Hunnam), a safecracker from the Parisian underworld who is framed for murder and condemned to life in the notorious penal colony on Devil's Island.

Determined to regain his freedom, Papillon forms an unlikely alliance with quirky convicted counterfeiter Louis Dega (Rami Malek), who in exchange for protection, agrees to finance Papillon's escape. The two struggle through many episodes, and in the end, Papillon and Dega’s care for each other will emerge as a celebration of humanity in adversity. This 2018 version of the story is visually richer and narratively tighter than the 1973 original, with the two new leads doing an impressive job to even be compared to Steve MacQueen and Dustin Hoffman.

USA 2018 Michael Noer 133m

La Bayadère is one of the greatest works classical ballet history – a story of love, death and vengeful judgement set in India.

The temple dancer Nikiya and the warrior Solor fall deeply in love, giving way to heated passions, and murderous intrigues when the Rajah and his daughter Gamzatti discover their forbidden love. Dazzling sets, costumes, and one of the most iconic scenes in ballet, the “Kingdom of the Shades,” illuminate the tragic tale of the temple dancer Nikiya’s doomed love for the warrior Solor, and their ulimate redemption. A must-see! And  chance to see this  Bolshoi production from the earlier Royal Ballet’s version in November. 200m approx including 2 intervals

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

Tchaikovsky - Royal Opera House LIVE

Tchaikovsy’s 'The Queen of Spades' is based on a short story by Pushkin, and comes to the Royal Opera House in a new rare production that has already garnered fivestar reviews in Amsterdam. An Opera in 3 Acts sung in Russian wth English subtitles.

In Tchaikovsky’s intense opera of obsession and the supernatural, Gherman is caught between the woman he loves and a destructive fixation. The production is set in 1890, the year of the opera’s premiere. In his study, Tchaikovsky imagines the opera into life as his own story, its characters giving voice to his unfulfilled desires. Aleksandrs Antonenko (Gherman) and Eva-Maria Westbroek (Liza) head the cast and Royal Opera Chorus, conducted by Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera. This is  an engrossing portrayal of a tortured creative artist and a gripping piece of gothic storytelling. The cast also includes Vladimir Stoyanov (Prince Yeletsky) and Felicity Palmer (Countess).

210m approx with interval.

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

Tues 22 Jan 18:45 LIVE

Sun 27 Jan 16:30 Encore    

Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios

A television actress encounters a variety of eccentric characters after embarking on a journey to discover why her lover abruptly left her. This is the film that brought Pedro Almodóvar to the cinema world.

Though the kinky characters and aberrant social behaviour common to the works of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar are very evident in his 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown', the film is at heart a door-slamming farce in the grand tradition.

The tiny apartment of pregnant actress Carmen Maura is the "Grand Central Station" set-piece for this dizzying tale. Distraught over her recent breakup with her lover, Carmen prepares to overdose on sleeping pills, which she blends into a gazpacho so they'll go down easier. She is diverted from her suicide by her best friend Maria Barranco, a fugitive from justice (her boy friend is a Shi'Ite terrorist) who needs a place to stay.

Later, when Carmen's apartment is empty, her ex-lover's grown son (Antonio Banderas) comes to the apartment with his fiance (Rossy de Palma) in answer to Carmen's "room to let" newspaper ad. The wife inadvertently ingests Carmen's "pill sauce," and as she blissfully snoozes, the husband inaugurates an affair with Carmen's friend Barranco.

The film's colour scheme is like a makeup counter display, and the narrative has the same sort of spirit, with dabs of humor that gloss over or disrupt the heroine's grief.

Verdi - Royal Opera House LIVE

Richard Eyre’s splendid production for The Royal Opera has lavish period sets and costumes enhancing the reality of a moving story based on true life.and includes Placido Domingo.

From the thrill of unexpected romance to a heartbreaking reconciliation that comes too late – Verdi’s 'La Traviata' is one of the most popular of all operas. Alfredo falls in love in with the courtesan Violetta in glamorous Paris society, but underneath the surface run darker undercurrents, leading to a tragic ending. The opera’s wealth of melodies includes the famous Brindisi and the exuberant ‘Sempre libera’ – both showing the lyricism of Italian opera at its most immediately appealing. Richard Eyre’s production for The Royal Opera brings out all the emotional colour, from the giddy discovery of love, through painful confrontation to the inevitable conclusion. Lavish period sets and costumes enhance the reality of a moving story based on true life. This will make an interesting comparison with new Met production earlier in December. The cast includes Ermonela Jaho (Violetta Valéry), Charles Castronovo (Alfredo Germont), Plácido Domingo (Giorgio Germont).

215m approx including 2 intervals

Wed 30 Jan 18:45 (LIVE) & Sun 3 Feb (Encore) 14:00  

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

NT Live:

An explosive new play by David Hare, premiering at the National Theatre.

Pauline Gibson has spent her life as a doctor, the inspiring leader of a local health campaign. When she crosses paths with her old boyfriend, a stalwart loyalist in Labour Party politics, she’s faced with an agonising decision. What’s involved in sacrificing your private life and your piece of mind for something more than a single issue? Does she dare?

Hare was recently described by The Washington Post as ‘the premiere political dramatist writing in English’.

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

Mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine reprises her remarkable portrayal of opera’s ultimate seductress, a triumph in her 2017 debut performances, with impassioned tenors Yonghoon Lee and Roberto Alagna as her lover, Don José.

Omer Meir Wellber and Louis Langrée share conducting duties for Sir Richard Eyre’s powerful production, a Met favorite since its 2009 premiere.

221m inc Interval

Tickets £20 (Friends/Students £17.50)

Broadcast live from the National Theatre, Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo play Shakespeare’s famous fated couple in his great tragedy of politics, passion and power.

Caesar and his assassins are dead. General Mark Antony now rules alongside his fellow defenders of Rome. But at the fringes of a war-torn empire the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra and Mark Antony have fallen fiercely in love. In a tragic fight between devotion and duty, obsession becomes a catalyst for war.

Director Simon Godwin returns to National Theatre Live screens with this hotly anticipated production, following broadcasts of Twelfth Night, Man and Superman and The Beaux’ Stratagem.

220m Inc Interval

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

Royal Ballet Encore

Carlos Acosta’s production of Don Quixote is a ballet as full of uplifting emotion as it is of astonishing ballet technique.

Cervantes’s story of the bumbling knight Don Quixote has inspired countless artistic interpretations. Marius Petipa choreographed this sparkling ballet about the encounters of the man from La Mancha and his faithful squire Sancho Panza. At its heart are virtuoso roles for the lovers Basilio and Kitri.

Carlos Acosta chose this joyful classic for his first production for The Royal Ballet. His vibrant staging brings together the whole Company in such roles as exuberant villagers, passionate gypsies and even fantasy flowers. The story follows Don Quixote’s picaresque journey to do deeds in honour of his imaginary noble lady, Dulcinea. Sunny, charming, funny and touching – Don Quixote is a ballet as full of uplifting emotion as it is of astonishing ballet technique.                                        

165m approx including interval

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

Tenor Javier Camarena and soprano Pretty Yende team up for a feast of bel canto vocal fireworks—including the show-stopping tenor aria “Ah! Mes amis,” with its nine high Cs.

Alessandro Corbelli and Maurizio Muraro trade off as the comic Sergeant Sulpice, with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe as the outlandish Marquise of Berkenfield. Enrique Mazzola conducts.

175m inc Interval

Tickets £20 (Friends/Students £17.50)

Bolshoi Ballet:
Tchaikovsky’s resplendent fairytale ballet performed by the Bolshoi, with Choreography by Yuri Grigorovich and Libretto after Ivan Vsevolojski and Marius Petipa.

The Princess Aurora falls under the curse of the Evil Fairy Carabosse on her sixtenth birthday, falling into a deep slumber of one hundred years. Only the kiss of a prince could break the spell. 'The Sleeping Beauty' features scores of magical characters including fairies, the Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, and a beautiful young Princess Aurora performed by Olga Smirnova, a “truly extraordinary talent” (The Telegraph). This is classical ballet at its finest. The other dancers include Semyon Chudin (Prince Désiré), Alexei Loparevich (The Evil Fairy Carabosse), Yulia Stepanova (The Lilac Fairy), Vitaly Biktimirov (Catalabutte), Artemy Belyakov (Bluebird) and Anastasia Denisova (Princess Florine). Captured live on Jan. 22, 2017.

170m approx including 2 intervals.

Sun 10 Mar 15:00 - 17:50 approx

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

In what is expected to be a Wagnerian event for the ages, soprano Christine Goerke plays Brünnhilde, Wotan’s willful warrior daughter, who loses her immortality in opera’s most famous act of filial defiance. Tenor Stuart Skelton and soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek play the incestuous twins Siegmund and Sieglinde. Greer Grimsley sings Wotan. Philippe Jordan conducts.

Die Walküre is set in mythological times, when gods, giants, dwarves, and humans all contended for power. While the first part of the cycle, Das Rheingold, moves between realms above and below the earth, Die Walküre takes place entirely in human territory, as the balance of power in the cosmic struggle tips ever so slowly toward humanity.

320m inc 2 intervals.

Tickets £20.00 (Friends/Students £17.50)

Verdi - Royal Opera House LIVE

Jonas Kaufmann and Anna Netrebko star in Verdi’s epic La forza del destino, an opera which demands the very best of singers for its powerful music and the fullest theatrical treatment . An opera in 4 Acts sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Leonora falls in love with Don Alvaro, but when her father forbids their marriage, a fatal accident triggers a drama of obsession, vengeance and tragedy. Jonas Kaufmann and Anna Netrebko star in Verdi’s epic 'La forza del destino' (The Force of Destiny) an opera which demands the very best of singers for its powerful music and the fullest theatrical treatment for its story of bitter revenge pursued across miles and years. The production comes to The Royal Opera in a sensational staging from Amsterdam packed with colour and action. It is directed by Christof Loy and conducted by Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera. Cast includes Anna Netrebko (Donna Leonora), Jonas Kaufmann (Don Alvaro) and Ludovic Tézier (Don Carlo Di Vargas).

255m including 2 intervals.

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

Bolshoi Ballet:

A jazzy ballet with a tango inflected score by Shostakovitch set in the roaring 20’s.

In the 1920’s, The Golden Age cabaret is a favourite nightly haunt. The young fisherman Boris falls in love with Rita. He follows her to the cabaret and realizes that she is the beautiful dancer “Mademoiselle Margot,” but also the love interest of the local gangster Yashka… With its jazzy score by Shostakovich and its music-hall atmosphere featuring beautiful tangos, 'The Golden Age' is a refreshing and colorful dive into the roaring 20’s. A historic ballet that can be seen only at the Bolshoi! Music Dimitri Shostakovich; Choreography Yuri Grigorovich; Libretto Yuri Grigorovich and Isaak Glikman. Dancers Nina Kaptsova (Rita); Ruslan Skvortsov (Boris); Mikhail Lobukhin (Yashka0 and  Ekaterina Krysanova (Lyuska).

140m approx including interval

Sun 14 Apr 15:00- 17:20 approx    

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

ROH Live:

The lavish scale of French grand opera is wonderfully in evidence in this production by David McVicar, set in 1870s Paris, with a large chorus, sensational sets, ballet and an ecstatic finale.

There are many versions of the story of Faust, who trades his soul with the Devil for youth and power, but Gounod’s opera remains one of the most constantly enthralling. Michael Fabiano stars as Faust, with Diana Damrau as his beloved Marguerite and Erwin Schrott as the diabolical Méphistophélès. Virtuoso leading roles, a large chorus, sensational sets, ballet and an ecstatic finale make this the epitome of theatrical spectacle – the lavish scale of French grand opera is wonderfully in evidence in this production by David McVicar, set in 1870s Paris. Above all, the music includes several of popular opera’s most recognizable numbers, performed by a cast of great international singers and the Royal Opera Chorus. The cast includes Michael Fabiano (Faust), Erwin Schrott (Méphistophélès), Diana Damrau (Marguerite). An opera in 5 acts sung in French with English subtitles. 255m approx including 2 intervals.

Tue30 Apr 18:45 (Live)  

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads the classic John Dexter production of Poulenc’s devastating story of faith and martyrdom.

Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard sings the touching role of Blanche and soprano Karita Mattila, a legend in her own time, returns to the Met as the Prioress.

209m inc Interval.

Tickets £20.00 (Friends/Students £17.50)

Royal Ballet Live:

A triple bill displaying the contemporary face of the Royal Ballet.

The contemporary face of The Royal Ballet is shown in works from three of today’s leading choreographers. Christopher Wheeldon’s 'Within the Golden Hour' is based around seven couples separating and intermingling, to music by Vivaldi and Bosso and lit with rich colours suggested by sunset. Crystal Pite’s 'Flight Pattern', revived for the first time, uses a large dance ensemble and Górecki’s familiar music from his 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs' for a poignant and passionate reflection on migration. Between them, a new work by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui created for The Royal Ballet, has its premiere to bring the contemporary truly up-to-date. Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Crystal Pite. Music: Ezio Bosso, TBC, Henryk  Górecki.

195m including 2 intervals.

Thu 16 May 19:15 (Live)

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)      

Bolshoi Ballet Live:

Our final ballets in this season’s programme is a tremendous live double bill of new Bolshoi productions: 'Carmen' Suite with music by Georges Bizet; Rodion Shchedrin and Igor Stravinsky’s 'Petrushka'.

Carmen: Impetuous Carmen seduces Don José in order to convince him to let her out of jail. Once outside, she thinks she’s finally free before realizing that she’s in fact prisoner of a love triangle: she wants to be with the famous Torero Escamillo, but she can’t make Don José go away.

Petrushka: At Saint-Petersburg’s carnival, three puppets are playing the same role over and over: the unhappy lover Petrushka, the coquette and a Moor. Fed up with this endless part that never goes well for him, Petrushka attacks his rival and flees from the puppets theatre.

'Carmen' is as passionate and free-spirited as ever as she finds herself caught in a love triangle. The passionate one act ballet by Cuban choreographer Alberto Alonso originally conceived for legendary Bolshoi prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya will captivate audiences alongside 'Petrushka', a new creation for the Bolshoi by contemporary choreographer Edward Clug, in an evening encapsulating the soul of Russian Ballet. Music Georges Bizet, Rodion Shchedrin and Igor Stravinsky; Choreography Alberto Alonso and Edward Clu; Libretto (For Carmen Suite) Alberto Alonso after Prosper Merimee.

140m approx including interval.

Sun 19 May 16:00 - 18:20 approx (Live)

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)

Royal Ballet Live:

Kenneth MacMillan’s choreography for 'Romeo and Juliet' has become a modern ballet classic and with Sergei Prokofiev’s overwhelming  dramatic music, this is the most popular ballet score.

Shakespeare’s enduring love story is known the world over. Since its 1965 premiere with The Royal Ballet, Kenneth MacMillan’s 'Romeo and Juliet' has become a modern ballet classic. The choreography captures the emotions of the young couple as they fall in love, despite the barriers that finally bring about the story’s tragic end. Each revival gives opportunities for new dancers to interpret the doomed lovers. The whole Company brings the colour and action of Renaissance Verona, where a busy market all too quickly bursts into sword fighting, and a family feud leads to tragedy for both the Montagues and Capulets. Cast to be confirmed.

195m approx including 2 intervals.

Tue 11 Jun 19:15 Live

Sun 16 Jun 14:00 Encore

Tickets £17.50 (Friends/Students £15)