NT Live: The Playboy of the Western World
Thursday 28 May 2026

Cinema

Filmed live from the National Theatre.

Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton) joins Éanna Hardwicke (The Sixth Commandment) and Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls) in John Millington Synge’s riveting play of youth and self-discovery.

Pegeen Flaherty’s life is turned upside down when a young man walks into her pub claiming that he’s killed his father. Instead of being shunned, the killer becomes a local hero and begins to win hearts, that is until a second man unexpectedly arrives on the scene…

Filmed live on stage at the National Theatre, Caitríona McLaughlin directs this darkly funny tale full to the brim with secrets.

Event Details

Time: 7:00pm
Date: Thursday 28 May 2026
Duration: 150 mins
Tickets: £13.50 - £17.00
Venue: Chelmsford Theatre Studio

Book Tickets

Chelmsford Theatre members get priority booking on all events, plus an extra £2.50 off each ticket (max 4) for The Playboy of the Western World. Become a member now to save and never miss out.

Contains graphic depictions of violence and injury, references to murder and violence, sexual references, complex family relationships and alcoholism.

Runtime Approx. 2 hours and 30 minutes with one 20 minute interval

Wheelchair accessible and essential companion tickets must be booked via our Access Scheme

Planning Your Visit

Getting Here

Located in the heart of Chelmsford's West End, we are only a 10-minute walk from Chelmsford train station and a short distance from many of the city's car parks.

Chelmsford Train Station is a short walk from the Theatre. You can look at Greater Anglia to check which trains stop at Chelmsford Station.

Chelmsford Bus Station is just around the corner from the Theatre. You can look at First Essex to check which buses stop at the Chelmsford Bus Station.

The closest parking to the Theatre can be found at Townfield Street car park (open till 11pm Mon to Sat but closes at 6pm on Sun), Coval Lane car park (entrance via Rainsford Lane, open all hours) and Fairfield Road car park, (entrance via Coval Lane, open all hours but there are restrictions in place Mon to Fri before 5pm, Fairfield Road car park is also used extensively by people visiting the city in general and travelling to London on the train so can be very busy at all times).

Visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/car-parks for information on all carparks before your visit. Charges apply at all times.

All Chelmsford City Council car parks are now cashless. You can still pay by card, contactless payment or the MiPermit app.