Directed by Sam Mendes, The Motive and the Cue will screen at Courtyard Playhouse this Saturday.
For those who think Dubai lacks culture, listen up. Independent theatre Courtyard Playhouse, located in Al Quoz, is where it all happens – acting classes, improv workshops, theatrical productions by amateur theatre groups, and more. Culture vultures will love National Theatre Live, an initiative by National Theatre to broadcast the best of British theatre live from the London stage to cinemas around the world. And as the homegrown theatre is a partner venue, past screenings have included the likes of Fleabag, Hamlet, and Hedda Gabler.
As for what’s on the roster this month? The Motive and the Cue, which premiered at the National Theatre in London last year and will screen at Courtyard Playhouse at 8pm on Saturday, 18 May. Written by Jack Thorne and directed by Sam Mendes, it scooped the Best Play award at the prestigious 2023 Evening Standard Theatre Awards and enjoyed a sold-out run at the National Theatre, and for good reason.
A deeply meta play about rehearsals for a play and set in 1964, The Motive and the Cue follows Richard Burton (Johnny Flynn), who is newly married to Elizabeth Taylor (Tuppence Middleton) and playing the title role in an experimental new production of Hamlet under the exacting direction of John Gielgud (Mark Gatiss). Burton and Gielgud collide as rehearsals progress, offering audiences a hilarious glimpse into the politics of a rehearsal room and the relationship between art and celebrity.
The screening of The Motive and the Cue at Courtyard Playhouse is not a ticketed event, but you can register for temporary membership for only AED 100. Alternatively, you can upgrade to an annual membership for AED 700 and enjoy priority entry and seating to all National Theatre Live screenings, with a guaranteed minimum of ten per year. June, for starters, will bring with it the screening of Nye, starring Michael Sheen, who brilliantly depicts politician Aneurin “Nye” Bevan in a surreal take on the NHS origin story.
DSCVR: The Motive and the Cue screening. Courtyard Playhouse, The Courtyard, 4B Street, Al Quoz, Dubai. @courtyardplayhouse
