Emperor And Galilean charts the true odyssey of an astonishing man, Julian, as he struggles to find spiritual fulfilment and political pre-eminence. Ibsen’s lost masterpiece sweeps across Greece and the Middle East from AD 351 covering 12 crucial years in the history of civilisation.
Made Emperor, Julian attempts to abolish Christianity and restore the old gods. But met with fierce resistance, this great free thinker becomes a tyrant more hated than his brutal predecessor Constantius, and in arousing the Christians from their apathy he advances their cause, his life and death altering the course of history in stark opposition to his intent.
Ibsen’s magnificent farewell to epic drama Emperor And Galilean tackles faith head on.
The National Theatre production of Ben Powers’s new version of Emperor And Galilean is a UK premiere and features a cast of 50 led by Andrew Scott (an Olivier Award-winner for a Girl In A Car With A Man) and Ian McDiarmid (A Tony Award winner for The Faith Healer and Olivier Award-winner for Insignificance).
For more about Emperor And Galilean at the National Theatre read the Big Interview with Andrew Scott or the First Night Feature.