National Theatre Live: Salomé

Salomé ([salɔme] marketed as National Theatre Live: Salomé ) is a 2017 filmed stage production by the Royal National Theatre, captured and broadcast as part of the National Theatre Live initiative. The production was written and directed by Yaël Farber and co-directed by Matthew Amos.^[1]

First performed at the Olivier Theatre from May 2 to July 15, 2017,^[2] the play reimagines the biblical story of Salomé with a modern interpretation, "An occupied desert nation. A radical from the wilderness on hunger strike. A girl whose mysterious dance will change the course of the world." Salomé received positive reviews from critics, grossing $160,738 worldwide.^[3]

In a desert province under Roman occupation, King Herod rules as a puppet of the empire, with soldiers enforcing his authority in a tense city. The prophet Iokanaan (John the Baptist), imprisoned in a cistern beneath Herod’s palace, condemns corruption, inspiring rebellion among the people. Salomé, Herod’s stepdaughter, is drawn to Iokanaan’s voice and his message of defiance, portrayed here as a young woman seeking freedom rather than a mere seductress.

At a decadent palace banquet, Herod, increasingly unhinged, demands Salomé dance for him and his court. She initially resists but seizes the moment to gain influence, delivering a captivating performance. Enthralled, Herod offers her any reward. Salomé demands Iokanaan’s head, stunning the king, who fears the prophet’s sway but complies to save face. Iokanaan is executed, and his head is presented to her. She accepts it gravely, her act a protest against tyranny.

As Herod’s forces close in, Salomé stands alone with the prophet’s head, her choice sparking both her own doom and a wider uprising.

• Olwen Fouéré as Nameless Woman, serving as narrator and representing an older Salomé.
  • Isabella Nefar as Salomé, the young, largely silent figure at the centre of the story.
• Ramzi Choukair as Iokanaan (John the Baptist), the imprisoned prophet whose voice inspires Salomé.
• Paul Chahidi as Herod, the unstable ruler and Salomé’s stepfather.
• Raad Rawi as Annas, representing religious authority figures.
• Lloyd Hutchinson as Pontius Pilate, embodying Roman authority in the narrative.
• Philip Arditti as Caiaphas
• Shahar Isaac as Simon bar Giora  
• Aidan Kelly as Abaddon  
• Yasmin Levy as Woman of Song  
• Uriel Emil as Giora  
• Andrew Lewis as Ensemble  
• Roseanna Frascona as Ensemble  
• Theo Lowe as Yeshua

Additional performers included Lubana Al Quntar, billed as the "Women of Song," who provided a vocal accompaniment that contributed to the ritualistic atmosphere of the production.^[4]

Salomé was created by South African theatre-maker Yaël Farber, who wrote and directed the production for the Royal National Theatre. Farber is known for works that reframe biblical narratives through political and contemporary perspectives. The production opened at the Olivier Theatre on 2 May 2017 and ran until 15 July 2017.^[5]

Farber’s adaptation departed from traditional retellings of the story, including Oscar Wilde’s 1891 play, by positioning Salomé as a revolutionary figure rather than a passive temptress. The creative team included Susan Hilferty (set and costume design), Tim Lutkin (lighting), and Adam Cork (sound and music).^[6]

The production was filmed for cinema distribution as part of the National Theatre Live programme, which broadcasts stage productions to international audiences. National Theatre Live: Salomé was released in cinemas in the United Kingdom and abroad on 22 June 2017.^[7]

The broadcast made the production accessible to audiences beyond London and was later made available for home viewing through the streaming platform National Theatre at Home.^[8]

Upon release, National Theatre Live: Salomé received mixed reviews from critics. Several critics noted that Farber’s Salomé is a revisionist, feminist retelling:The Arts Desk and The Independent stated that she seeks to restore a “lost voice” to a historically sidelined female figure.^[9][10]

In his review for The Guardian, Michael Billington gave the film a 2 out of 4-star rating and the production a negative review, calling it "slow-moving and portentous." He did claim it was visually ambitious and that there was much to enjoy in its design elements, while Yaël Farber's script was "terrible," with florid, archaic language weakening the drama. Billington noted good performances from Olwen Fouéré and Isabella Nefar but concluded that the aesthetic power of the production was undermined by its overwrought text. He also noted that the stage pictures may be impressive, but they are tied to the ball and chain of a terrible text.^[11] Also Susannah Clapp of The Guardian criticised the production’s overall approach, describing Yaël Farber’s interpretation as “turgid” and arguing that it “leaves some fine actors stranded in the desert.” She wrote that while the production is filled with images that appear significant, “it is hard to know what anything means,” characterising it as a slow-moving tableau accompanied by ritualistic ululations and wrapped in Susan Hilferty’s “luscious” design.^[12]

Dan Rubins of A Younger Theatre observed that despite the director’s political framing of Salomé as a revolutionary, the narrative’s clarity suffers, making her ultimate goal – to reclaim Salomé’s agency – feel under-realized.^[13] Dom O'Hanlon of London Theatre, said that Farber’s staging emphasizes ritual and tableau over traditional dramatic narrative, which some critics felt left the play emotionally distant.^[14] Rosemary Waugh Exeunt Magazine also offered a delicate critique: although she described the design as “painterly” and ritualistic, and argued that the poetry sometimes “strays into cliché,” and the juxtaposition of historical and modern elements feels awkward.^[15] Matt Trueman of Whatsonstage, called the poetry “a sludge” and argued that “great actors [are] wasted,” due to the inaccessible, sing-song structure of the text.^[16]

In the Evening Standard, Henry Hitchings wrote that the production is “stylish but slow … the script strains for a poetic profundity that it never achieves.” He praised tableaux moments (such as a “spectral Last Supper”) but argued the political themes of revolution and erasure were undermined by overblown gestures.^[17]