Death of England: Delroy
National theatre, London

Crave
Chichester festival theatre

The National Theatre reopened on Wednesday 4 November having been shut since 16 March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It closed again the same day. The opening night of Death of England: Delroy fell just a few hours before the second national infection-suppressing lockdown imposed by Boris Johnson’s government.

Let’s hope the world eventually returns to a state in which future historians are able to find our times extraordinary. And in theatre history, this will be one of the most extraordinary events of all: the only National Theatre show ever to have closed immediately after press night. (Thankfully, the premiere was filmed and will become available on the National’s website.)

Ideally, it will be shown in a double bill with a predecessor piece, Death of England, premiered in February 2020 just before the National shut.