After a sold-out run at London’s Almeida Theatre, National Theatre Live brings Golden Boy to the screen in Santa Barbara on Monday, November 9, at 7 p.m. at The SBIFF Film Center.
The story is set during 1930s New York, at the height of the Great Depression. Joe Bonaparte, played by Josh O’Connor (The Crown; Challengers), is a gifted young violinist who strives toward a career in music, until a chance occurrence lures him into the brutal world of professional boxing. The story follows Bonaparte as he navigates sacrifice and identity, and finding his place in a world that demands he choose a side.
The show is backed by a live string quartet and filmed live from the Almeida Theatre. The Telegraph called it “a gripping revival.” Directed by Olivier Award–winner Sam Yates, the show is an enticing exploration of ambition, identity, and the price of success. It runs approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes.
This screening offers a unique opportunity for Santa Barbara residents to experience the intrigue of outstanding British theater at a screen nearby. For over 15 years, National Theatre Live has run this initiative, which brings theater live from Britain’s stages to thousands of cinemas around the globe.
The next production from National Theatre Live is Hay Fever, scheduled to screen at the SBIFF Film Center on January 18, 2027. The show, filmed live from the West End, follows retired Judith Bliss, who misses performing on stage. She invites a young fan as her guest for the weekend, but finds out that her family has guests of their own arriving at the same time.
The production has been reviewed as a refreshingly silly comedy. Santa Barbara residents will have a chance to see it live on screen here at the SBIFF Film Center in January.
For tickets to the show on November 9, click here.
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