THE Regent Centre in Christchurch is screening the brand new hit comedy The Magistrate on Thursday as part of the National Theatre Live season. Academy Award nominee and Tony Award-winner John Lithgow takes the title role in this farce set in Victorian London.

He is joined by Nancy Carroll, returning to the National Theatre following her Olivier award-winning performance in After the Dance. In a similar vein to the National Theatre’s classic comedy, She Stoops to Conquer, The Magistrate is packed with laughs.