The Lehman Trilogy

National Theatre – 2018

The brief: Spanning 163 years, The Lehman Trilogy starts with the arrival of three German brothers in America in 1844, and ends with the collapse in 2008 of Lehman Brothers, the company they created, triggering the largest financial crisis in history.

Director Sam Mendes’ brief was to focus on the figure of the tightrope walker (a secondary character of the second act), whose collapse on the day of the Wall Street crash of 1929 made him the perfect symbol for the Lehman family’s risky venture. He hangs precariously over New York iconic skyline.

New York photography courtesy National Archives and Records Administration. Tightrope walker photography by Sorted.