Death of England: Delroy by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams explores what it’s like to be a Black working-class man, searching for truth and confronting his relationship with Great Britain.
The streamed production is a recording of the final performance on 4 November before the theatre was forced to close due to the country’s second lockdown. It will be available for 24 hours for free, and viewers will be invited to make a donation. The National Theatre is making an up-front payment to the artists.
Dyer and Williams said, ‘We were hugely disappointed that Death of England: Delroy was unable to complete its full run in the Olivier theatre. The production team worked tirelessly, alongside the staff at the NT, throughout the rehearsal period and for the two weeks we were able to perform to the public and we want to thank them for their efforts.
‘We are thrilled that Michael Balogun’s remarkable performance will be streamed to audiences for a limited time period.’
Accompanying the broadcast will also be a pre-recorded discussion with Dyer, Williams and Balogun, hosted by NT Associate Roy Williams. They will discuss their experience of creating the show under coronavirus restrictions, and how the piece reflects the Black Lives Matter movement. The talk will be available for free on YouTube from 8.30pm on 27 November.
The play is due to return to the NT’s Olivier Theatre in Spring 2021, tickets for which will go on sale in the new year.
Death of England: Delroy will be available to watch here.