A Little Life with James Norton | Cinema release clip

A Little Life is to be shown in cinemas across the nation.
Appearing in the stage production of Hanya Yanagihara’s novel are James Norton (Happy Valley) as Jude, Luke Thompson (Bridgerton) as Willem, Omari Douglas (Cabaret) as JB, Zach Wyatt (The Witcher) as Malcolm, Elliot Cowan (The Crown) as Brother Luke/Doctor Traylor/Caleb, Zubin Varla (Tammy Faye) as Harold, Nathalie Armin (Force Majeure) as Ana, and Emilio Doorgasingh (Best of Enemies) as Andy.
A Little Life follows four college friends in New York City as their lives are pulled apart by various forces. Hanya Yanagihara’s 2015 novel was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and in 2016 was also nominated for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
It will be shown in UK and selected European countries on 28 September 2023. Tickets will go on sale from 6 July. The box office record-breaking production will be filmed across four performances - 6 July, both performances on 8 July, and 9 July - at the Savoy Theatre. These performances are the last ones to be put on sale - offering the final opportunity to see the production live.
You can read our review of the show here.
Producers Wessex Grove’s Benjamin Lowy and Emily Vaughan-Barratt said today, “Producing Hanya’s ground-breaking novel A Little Life on stage has been an extraordinary privilege, and it’s been humbling to see how many people have embraced Ivo’s production. We’re grateful to be able to partner with Trafalgar Releasing to take this show to audiences across the UK and Europe, who otherwise have not had the opportunity to share in this one off piece of theatre making and the cast’s incredible performances.”
Marc Allenby, CEO of Trafalgar Releasing, commented, “Following the sold-out run of A Little Life in the West End, it’s great to partner with Wessex Grove, Gavin Kalin Productions and Playful Productions to bring the hottest London theatre event of 2023 to the big screen, sharing this acclaimed production with both theatre lovers and fans of the book across the UK and Europe.”
Yanagihara has adapted her seminal novel for the stage alongside Koen Tachelet and Ivo van Hove (who also directs). This English language premiere follows a Dutch-language production run in Edinburgh last August. That iteration was awarded the full five stars by WhatsOnStage.
Joining van Hove on the creative team are set and lighting designer (and regular collaborator) Jan Versweyveld, as well as costume designer An D’Huys, music and sound designer Eric Sleichim and casting director Julia Horan.

[@jenthejen]

I hope this get released for streaming someday I'm so sad I was never able to see it

[@franciscaampuero3378]

Sorry to break it to you but they don't have any intention to release it at all. Hanya said so. I already accepted it long ago and tried to avoid seeing anything related to the play but i caved in today i guess. It's sad for those who had 0 chance to watch the play live or at the cinema.

[@harrietelizabeth9195]

@@franciscaampuero3378 This really sucks because I saw it in the cinema and it was absolutely fantastic. Definitely not a perfect adaptation, it's very long even taking most of the book out of it, but it is fantastic. I thought I saw something about it coming to streaming and was so excited to rewatch and to show friends.

[@nourhanhamdy3262]

there isn't much to miss

[@Masonmadesunshines]

This broke my heart.

[@Journalistwoman]

@@nourhanhamdy3262 play script is awful, refigures the characters, distorts them textually and emotionally and in terms of dramatic motivation. Needs a re-write...Jude shouting, swearing, stomping...theatrically visual I suppose yet negates sympathy/empathy, I would argue.

[@vlogsbyrow]

Jude seems a lot more talkative and confident here than what I gathered from the novel

[@mariaGreenDay4ever]

also no limping

[@pestolover]

also jude should me skinny

[@MayLo]

exactly. Since Jude habitually self-harmed, I assumed he was extremely thin. why no limping. can't relate to the novel i am reading

[@11101nagw]

I started tearing up! Ahgg! I love this scene because I've read this bit before so I know it in depth I know what happened. I want to watch this soooo badly!!!

[@charlotteh2280]

Jude is so gentle and kind 💔

[@derekw1073]

This scene from The Postman is one of my absolute favourites!

[@anthonywatts2033]

Saw the filmed version of the play on Satuday (7 Oct 2023) Harrowing doesn't begin to describe it! Masterful acting by both James Norton and Luke Thompson.

[@An262.]

Did you see it in cinema or on a website? I'd love to watch it but no cinema in my country or near me shows me, i was fully willing to travel to a nearby country to watch it XD

[@anthonywatts2033]

I saw it at the Orpheum Theatre Mosman, Sydney Australia. I think it has finished its run there...

[@itsnlee]

I read the novel in 2020, yet as soon as the first second played, I remember the scene so vividly.

[@bocusfocus9714]

But they’ve mashed up two different scenes?

I suffer from many health problems, and I could not see this either on the stage or in a cinema. Surely isn't it time to see it released for streaming ? I think James Norton is a great actor, and his performance of Jude surely ranks ( from this clip alone ) as the Jude I would like to see after having read ' A Little Life. '

[@wildpikes]

I'm so happy Poland is on the list! I've already got the ticket, can't wait

[@lucienovakova2253]

When it is in Poland and where please? I cant find it. There are still tickets, right?❤

[@edgar2589]

I just saw this in Berlin. The acting is subpar. Overall, the recorded play was ok at best. It’s hard to produce a movie/play on this book-it needs a limited series that’s well funded with better actors that go more along with the book’s description of it.

[@scortina11]

Someone let me know when this is available in the US to watch pleaseee ):

[@juliaramosc.c]

One of my favorite scenes

[@whizzkidkis]

Seeing this the second time on screen, the scene really hits different. What would fairness mean to Jude?

[@despoina91ful]

guys can I find the full play somewhere online ? even to buy it I don’t care . please someone respond to me😢

[@shanebryant8606]

I'm really not feeling the affectation the actor portraying Harold is delivering. It sounds very artificial and inauthentic

[@Journalistwoman]

I think there is a dramatic artifice in that the actor is very skilled and charismatic yet I believe he is trained via musical theatre and so the delivery of his lines appear exaggerated, strongly melodic, and animated and perhaps in context lack inflected sensitivity to convey the character's growing awareness that Jude is a troubled vulnerable person who has suffered a punitive past.

[@sjshsnsjjs5531]

After watching the play, I can say that I agree with you. Harold, who embodies the definition of affection and tenderness, who is a good person, perhaps the best in the entire book. During the play, I had the impression that I was just watching someone acting, which is the worst thing in a play or a film. I didn't feel the character; he seemed artificial and forced. I really regret that the entire play was like that; I didn't like it at all. Perhaps the play in Dutch will seem better to you, just as it was for me.

[@Journalistwoman]

@@sjshsnsjjs5531 I find your comment really interesting, "you didn't like the play at all"....I greatly admire the book yet I find the script quite jarring and somehow so changeable of Jude's character that I felt very removed and detached as an observer and audience member. I did not cry or feel the empathy/poignant sorrow the book induced, I was puzzled. I did however, admire many of the performances and actors' input, especially Elliot Cowan - such a difficult role(s).

[@sjshsnsjjs5531]

@@Journalistwoman Was this comment ment for me ?

[@Journalistwoman]

@@sjshsnsjjs5531 Yes, sorry if it was unclear.

[@FelipeSouza-ic4yz]

Where can i watch this play???

[@Bethanysummer]

OK but can we have a usa release 😢

[@PANZERBRICKSOFFICIAL]

For real..

[@juanma03]

That's not my brain's Harold! But Jude...

[@Journalistwoman]

@@juanma03 I think Stanley Tucci would make a good Harold if casting for a film version. Gina Mckee as Julia (English in the novel). Jude - Enzo Vogrincic, though unsure of his height as Jude is tall 6ft 2 there about. James Norton is Willem or Sam Reid as Willem.

[@juanma03]

​@@Journalistwoman Couldn't agree more about Stanley Tucci playing Harold!

[@mokhtarisara6220]

This isn’t Jude at all …

[@AK-vb9fv]

What are you talking about? HE IS JUDE!!!

[@aasthasharma993]

The actor does NOT look, talk, walk AND behave like jude.. jude is quiet, underconfident, limpish, Not white, hesitant.. especially in this scene he was so unsure of why he was getting all these clothes! Nope.

[@Journalistwoman]

@@aasthasharma993 Yes, this Jude seemed so 'entitled' and over-confident. I think if Jude was putting a tie on in front of Harold his hands would be shaking with self-consciousness, self-doubt and wariness. He would not stomp about the physical space with such self-assurance. At this point in the book, as you say, he is unsure of Harold's motivation and quasi-paternalistic actions - will Harold want 'repaying' for his kindness.

[@Journalistwoman]

@@aasthasharma993 Yes and also Jude is 'not white' as you write, is ethnically 'ambiguous', and as many others say too, perhaps partly Native American/ indigenous given the place of his birth South Dakota.

[@sjshsnsjjs5531]

I will tell you my opinion about this, after loving both the book and the Dutch version of the play. Where to start? Firstly, the actors seemed completely inappropriate. I don't know any of them, so I can't say if they did a better job elsewhere, so I'll stick to what I saw. Everything seemed forced, like a play that had only one rehearsal. Jude could say the most beautiful things in the world, and it felt fake; I didn't care. Secondly, whoever did the casting should try again; maybe it will be better next time. Why is our Jude, who is mentioned so many times in the book as not being white, portrayed as white here? What did that mean? Couldn't you find a boy of mixed race anywhere on this planet? Do you realize that the entire chapter 'The Post Man' is about people in Jude's life who know nothing about him-don't know his sexuality, who his parents were, or what race he is? J.B., also, is fat, a detail that Hanya mentions not just once. I can't even comment on this; I didn't like his character, and I didn't hate him either. As for Willem, I think the real actor must have been on vacation or something because what on earth was his character? Why did the sweet Willem, the good and generous Willem, who is the only one who got the furthest with Jude and is a thoughtful, serious person when needed and amusing when he knows it's necessary, feel more like a character from a comedy? Was this supposed to make us forget the pain of the other minutes? Bad move! He didn't feel at all like the Willem I read about, and a bit better and funnier than J.B. Willem was not a comedic character in the book, but I see him on stage jumping around and all that? Why, just why? There's no point in talking about Harold because I didn't feel him as Harold at all. I didn't particularly like the actor's voice who played him, and I didn't understand what Harold meant for this play. I liked Ana's actress, but she didn't seem wow either, nor with the one who played Luke/Traylor/Caleb. Seriously, no one had money for some better actors (or maybe it's because a 700-page book can never be made into a film/play, or maybe it's the script, the director?) I have seen better plays made and directed by 16-year-olds from random high schools, and they had nothing of what you have. Especially when I heard that Hanya Yanagihara (I hope I'm not wrong) was involved in its production. I don't want you to think I'm a hater, but the Dutch play (which isn't also 5 stars) seemed much superior to this. I was really excited about this play because I love the book and I love the author and all her books. One thing I liked, however, was how the whole thing was filmed, so kudos to the people who handled the filming and all the beautiful shots. I expected there to be something bad about that too, but I was pleasantly surprised by it!

[@rafaelsadro5342]

I totally agree with you.

[@Journalistwoman]

Cast Enzo Vogrincic as Jude and Sam Reid as Willem (although I realise Jude is 6ft2 in the novel or thereabouts and Willem 'an inch shorter' in height as is stated in the book). The play needs a re-write/to be scripted in a more textually succinct and sensitive manner to reflect and portray the novel's compelling and disturbing characterisations.

[@beaniebean4885]

Am I dumb? Because I don't see how this is good acting I'm sorry. But I think it's the writing's fault and not solely the actors. The conversation is moving too fast, nothing simmers so it's like they go from 0 to 100

[@Journalistwoman]

I think it is the script, the need or necessity to embed within the the script pages of the novel, to shorten the novel's dialogue so in the play the actors' delivery/diction is quite staccato - quick, words spoken sharply and more rapidly.

[@AK-vb9fv]

It's not a movie where they'll take it at slow pace. A play needs to be short and pushy. You can only catch up with it if you read the novel, otherwise it's hard to catch up, that I agree.

[@johncarsone1579]

I agree with the previous comments. I love James Norton but there is a disconnect in the dialogue.

[@marce2135]

But Jude is always like that, even in the book he’s always going from 0 to 100

[@Journalistwoman]

@@marce2135 Not as voluminous perhaps, quieter in his responses because amongst friends/in domestic spaces he fears conflict and rejection and the ever-present dread of being 'found out' (his childhood and adolescense). He has attachment issues. Yet as I say below, the dramatic play version of Jude perhaps calls for a more animated response etc. There are some moments in the novel, however, which depict Jude being overtly withdrawn then suddenly 'snapping', so the essence of his suppressed temper is perhaps ever present. He is exhausted by the repression of post-traumatic anger and confusion and fear (the courtroom is an arena in which to channel and control this yet still with aloof and 'cold' logic).