National Theatre Live Spring 2020 starring James McAvoy & more

The Hammer Theatre Center in downtown San Jose continues to bring the best of National Theatre Live screenings to the South Bay in 2020. Starring internationally acclaimed actors such as James McAvoy, Sally Field, Gwendoline Christie, and more, the Spring 2020 line-up will include a thrilling selection of the West End’s hit plays from January through May. A cinematic experience for the ages, these National Theatre Live screenings will be presented in high definition, accompanied by state-of-the-art audiovisual technology. Each broadcast was filmed in front of a live audience in London, with cameras carefully positioned to ensure that every viewer gets the “best seat in the house.” PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a live performance; it is a high-definition film of the stage show productions captured live in London’s West End.

Fleabag (7pm, Thursday, January 9)

See the hilarious, award-winning, one-woman show that inspired the BBCs hit TV series “Fleabag.” Written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and directed by Vicky Jones, “Fleabag” is a rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life. Fleabag may seem oversexed, emotionally unfiltered and self-obsessed, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea pig struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose.

All My Sons (7pm, Thursday, January 30 & 2pm, Sunday, February 2)

Academy Award-winner Sally Field and Bill Pullman star in Arthur Miller’s blistering drama “All My Sons.” It’s America, 1947: Despite hard choices and even harder knocks, Joe and Kate Keller are a success story. They have built a home, raised two sons and established a thriving business. But nothing lasts forever and their contented lives, already shadowed by the loss of their eldest boy to war, are about to shatter. With the return of a figure from the past, long buried truths are forced to the surface and the price of their American dream is laid bare.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (7pm, Friday, February 14 & 2pm, Sunday, February 16)

The course of true love never did run smooth. A feuding fairy King and Queen of the forest cross paths with four runaway lovers and a troupe of actors trying to rehearse a play. As their dispute grows, the magical royal couple meddle with mortal lives leading to love triangles, mistaken identities and transformations with hilarious, but dark consequences. Gwendoline Christie, Oliver Chris, David Moorst, and Hammed Animashaun lead the cast as Titania, Oberon, Puck and Bottom in this dream world of flying fairies, contagious fogs and moonlight revels, surrounded by a roving audience following the action on foot.

Present Laughter (7pm, Thursday, February 20 & 2pm, Sunday, April 5)

As he prepares to embark on an overseas tour, star actor Garry Essendine’s colorful life is in danger of spiraling out of control. Engulfed by an escalating identity crisis as his many and various relationships compete for his attention, Garry’s few remaining days at home are a chaotic whirlwind of love, sex, panic, and soul-searching.

Hansard (7pm, Friday, April 3)

See two-time Olivier Award winners Lindsay Duncan and Alex Jennings in this witty and devastating portrait of the governing class. It’s a summer’s morning in 1988 and Tory politician Robin Hesketh has returned home to the idyllic Cotswold house he shares with his wife of 30 years, Diana. But all is not as blissful as it seems. Diana has a stinking hangover, a fox is destroying the garden, and secrets are being dug up all over the place. As the day draws on, what starts as gentle ribbing and the familiar rhythms of marital scrapping quickly turns to blood-sport.

Cyrano de Bergerac (7pm, Thursday, May 28 & 2pm, Sunday, May 31)

James McAvoy returns to the stage in an inventive new adaptation of “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Fierce with a pen and notorious in combat, Cyrano almost has it all - if only he could win the heart of his true love Roxane. There’s just one big problem: he has a nose as huge as his heart. Will a society engulfed by narcissism get the better of Cyrano - or can his mastery of language set Roxane’s world alight? This classic play will be brought to life with linguistic ingenuity to celebrate Cyrano’s powerful and resonant resistance against overwhelming odds.

Tickets ($19-23, group discounts available) for National Theatre Live Spring 2020 screenings are available at www.hammertheatre.com or by calling (408) 924-8501.