Cloud 9 Tickets at the National Theatre
Caryl Churchill's Cloud 9 plays at the Lyttelton Theatre from 2 November 2026 to 13 January 2027, in a new production directed by Dominic Cooke. It's the play that starts in Victorian colonial Africa and jumps a hundred years to 1970s London, with men playing women and women playing men on purpose.
Who's Cloud 9 For?
- Anyone who studied Cloud Nine at school or university and wants to see it staged properly, on the Lyttelton's big stage.
- People who like satire with a point: it takes on empire, sex and who gets to be what.
- Anyone after something unusual: an on-stage ticket puts you up on the Lyttelton stage for the second half.
Not for you if the National's content warning, in the FAQs below, would put you off.
What Tickets Cost
Prices run from around £25 up to around £95 Monday to Thursday, and up to around £105 on Fridays and Saturdays, matinees included. The National prices by demand, so busy dates can move. Our pricing is all-in, so the price you see is what you pay.
What's Cloud 9 About?
Act one is set in Victorian Africa. Clive is a colonial administrator, and his wife Betty, his son Edward and his servant Joshua all try to be what he expects of them. Betty is played by a man, and Edward by a woman, which is Churchill's point: none of them is who they are being told to be.
Act two moves the same family to 1970s London, a hundred years later, but only 25 years older. Empire lingers, freedom calls, and they each work out what to make of themselves.
Performance Schedule
Evening performances start at 7:30pm and matinees at 2:30pm. Four evenings start early, at 6:30pm: Tuesday 24 November, Tuesday 1 December, Thursday 3 December and Thursday 10 December.
There is one interval, and the National warns that latecomers may not be admitted, so arrive 30 minutes before, no later.
Both performances on Wednesday 16 December, at 2:30pm and 7:30pm, will be filmed.
Best Seats for Cloud 9
The centre of Stalls rows G and H, or the front three rows of the Circle.
Wherever you sit, there will be an audience on the stage in act two. The Tickets and Best Seats tab goes into it.
Cast and Creative Team
Sam Troughton, Charlotte Ritchie, Stuart Thompson, Ellen Robertson, Tom Mothersdale, Rebecca Humphries and Eloka Ivo, most of them playing one part before the interval and a different one after it. Directed by Dominic Cooke.
Book Your Cloud 9 Tickets
Our pricing is all-in, so the price you see is what you pay. Ring 020 7193 9050 and we can tell you what is left on your date and which seat is the better buy.
Book tickets • Call us on 020 7193 9050
FAQs
From Monday 2 November 2026 to Wednesday 13 January 2027, in the Lyttelton Theatre.
The National has not published a running time yet. There is one interval.
No age guidance is given. The production contains explicit sexual content, including reference to sexual activity with a child, strong language, and themes of violence, racism and homophobia.
Caryl Churchill, who also wrote Top Girls. It was first performed in 1979.
Churchill wrote it that way. Betty, the wife, is played by a man in act one, and her son by a woman, to show people squeezing themselves into the roles expected of them.
A seat in the front two Stalls rows for act one, then a place on the stage for act two. The details are in the Tickets and Best Seats tab.
There will be people on the stage throughout act two, so expect some of them in your line of sight, more from the Stalls than from the Circle.
The National says latecomers may not be admitted and does not publish a point when they would be. Arrive 30 minutes early.
Yes. The dates are in the Venue and Travel tab. The National's own access team handles bookings and questions.
Cloud 9's On-Stage Tickets, Explained
Where am I in act one?
In the front two rows of the Stalls, in unallocated seats. You take whichever is free.
And after the interval?
You go up onto the Lyttelton stage and watch act two from there. You can sit, stand or move around.
Am I part of the show?
No. The National says there is no planned audience interaction and it isn't immersive theatre.
Can my group stay together?
Not guaranteed. The seats in act one and the places on stage are both unallocated, and you are limited to two tickets per customer.
What can I take on stage?
A small handbag or tote. Coats and anything bigger than a small rucksack (50 x 30 x 20cm) go to the cloakroom, which costs £1.50 an item. No glass on stage, so drinks go into plastic cups, and no hot food or drink.
Will I be filmed?
Only at the two performances on Wednesday 16 December. If you're on stage at either, the National asks you to avoid clothes with prominent logos, a football shirt being their example.
Can wheelchair users book them?
Yes. The National's access team arranges a wheelchair space for act one and a space on stage for act two.
Questions about them, or about any seat for Cloud 9? Our phone line can help: 020 7193 9050.
Where to Sit for Cloud 9
The Lyttelton has two levels, the Stalls and the Circle, with straight rows facing the stage. For this production:
- Stalls rows G and H, seats 8 to 29, are the ones to aim for at the top price, then row F, then J.
- Skip row E. It is the first raised row and barely higher than D.
- The front three rows of the Circle, towards the middle, see the whole stage from above for about what the back half of the Stalls costs.
- Stalls rows A and B are not on general sale, because on-stage ticket holders sit there before the interval.
In act two there are people on the stage. From the Circle you look down over them onto the action; from the Stalls they are at your eye level. If a clear view of act two matters most to you, book the Circle.
Row by row: the Lyttelton seating plan, the Stalls and the Circle.
Seating plan
Dates & tickets
Getting to the Lyttelton Theatre
The Lyttelton is one of the three theatres inside the National Theatre, on Upper Ground, South Bank, London SE1 9PX. Waterloo is the nearest station, 5 to 7 minutes on foot. Buses 1, 59, 68, 76, 139, 172, 176, 188, 243, 341 and SL6 stop at Waterloo Bridge / South Bank, about two minutes away.
Arrive 30 minutes before, no later, because this production may not let latecomers in. On-stage ticket holders in particular need the time, because larger bags and coats go to the cloakroom before the show.
Parking, food and the rest of the building are in the National Theatre building guide, and the auditorium itself is in our Lyttelton Theatre guide.
Accessible Performances
- Captioned: Friday 11 December 7:30pm, Monday 21 December 7:30pm, Saturday 9 January 2:30pm
- BSL interpreted: Friday 4 December 7:30pm
- Audio described: Saturday 28 November 2:30pm, Tuesday 12 January 7:30pm, each with a touch tour 90 minutes before
- Relaxed: Monday 14 December 7:30pm
Access bookings, and on-stage tickets for wheelchair users, are handled by the National's own access team rather than by us.
Address
National Theatre, Upper Ground, South Bank, London SE1 9PX
Nearest Tube
Waterloo
Cloud 9 Cast
| Actor | Act one | Act two |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Troughton | Clive | Cathy |
| Stuart Thompson | Betty | Edward |
| Ellen Robertson | Edward | Betty |
| Charlotte Ritchie | Maud | Victoria |
| Tom Mothersdale | Harry Bagley | Martin |
| Eloka Ivo | Joshua | Gerry |
| Rebecca Humphries | Ellen / Mrs Saunders | Lin |
Stuart Thompson and Ellen Robertson swap Betty and Edward between the acts, and Sam Troughton goes from Clive, the patriarch, to Cathy.
Creative Team
Written by Caryl Churchill. Directed by Dominic Cooke, who directed Mrs Warren's Profession. Set by Miriam Buether, costumes by Samuel Wyer, lighting by Jessica Hung Han Yun, sound by Donato Wharton, music by Andy Roberts.
About This Production
A new production of Cloud 9 for the National Theatre, opening in the Lyttelton on 2 November 2026. Churchill wrote it in 1979 with the Joint Stock company, and it was first seen in London at the Royal Court that March, directed by Max Stafford-Clark.