Where to Watch Theatre for Free and other #StayAtHome Activities.
23/04/2020
In March, every single theatre in the UK was ordered to close as part of the government’s measures to help fight the spread of COVID-19. It’s a challenging time for all of us who work in the industry and we encourage everyone to look out for one another and stay in contact wherever possible and safe to do so.
We also realise that, whilst theatre is a lot of our jobs, it’s also our passion and by having the venues closed, this means we’re unable to engage with a world that we all love. With that in mind, we have put together a list of venues/online platforms that are currently streaming their shows online. Unlike other lists currently out there, all of these shows are entirely free to watch and do not require you to sign up to any sort of subscription.
We hope you enjoy the below. In the meantime, stay safe and we look forward to seeing you all and working with you again hopefully in the not so distant future.
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre has announced that, in collaboration with the Guardian, it will re-release the live-stream recordings of past productions.
As part of the #HampsteadTheatreAtHome series, these productions will be released over several weeks. Nina Raine’s Tiger County will be available until 26 April. On 27 April Howard Brenton’s AIWW: THE ARREST OF AI WEIWEI, available until 3 May. More performances to be announced.
National Theatre
From Thursday 2 April, a number of productions previously screened in cinemas globally as a part of National Theatre Live have been made available to watch for free. All the productions will are screened live every Thursday at 7.00pm UK time and are then available on demand for seven days on the NT’s YouTube channel.
On April 23 there will be a streamed performance of Twelfth Night with Tamsin Greig which will be available on YouTube until April 29, Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch on April 30 and Simon Godwing’s Antony & Cleopatra with Ralpha Fiennes on May 7. Further titles are to be announced on a weekly basis.
Royal Court Theatre
The award-winning play Cyprus Avenue will be available to watch online for a month from 27 March.
David Ireland’s show will be available for free from 27 March via the Royal Court’s and The Space’s website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. This will be the first time the film can be seen internationally.
Cyprus Avenue tells the story of a father who experiences a psychotic episode and believes his five week-old granddaughter is the reincarnation of Gerry Adams. It was awarded Best New Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards and the James Tait Black Prize for Drama in 2017, with Rea taking the prize for Best Actor at the Irish Times Theatre Awards in the same year.
Royal Albert Home
Watch performances from the Royal Albert Hall, in their new series ‘Royal Albert Home’. On 25 April Jazz For Kids, 30 April KT Tunstall, 2 May Classical for Kids, 5 May This is The Kit, 10 May Richard Thompson, 11 May Jesca Hoop, 17 May Sea Shambles. More performances to be announced and past performances from 9 April onwards available on the archive.
Tune into Royal Albert Home here.
CURVE Theatre, Leicester
An archive recording of Curve Leicester’s critically acclaimed Memoirs of an Asian Football Casual is now available to watch on the theatre’s website.
Directed by the venue’s artistic director Nikolai Foster, the show is adapted from Riaz Khan’s 2012 book about growing up in a strict Pakistani family in Leicester in the 1980s, and about the hybrid youth culture of the time and its relationship with the world of football.
Globe Theatre
The Globe has announced that six of its previous productions will be available to watch for free on its on-demand service Globe Player over the next few weeks.
The six productions, Hamlet (2018), Romeo & Juliet (2009), The Winter’s Tale (2018), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2013), The Two Noble Kinsmen (2018) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (2019) will be streaming on a rotating basis, with each of them available for two weeks. This will be from from 6th April onwards.
In addition, the platform will also be making its selection of ‘Complete Walk’ films available at no cost — a series of 37 10-minute films that were released in 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
Pentabus Theatre Company
Pentabus Theatre has announced it will release recordings of past shows on its website and social media channels for free, in response to the coronavirus crisis.
The first production to be released in this way will be Here I Belong by Matt Hartley. Other shows will follow including Crossings by Deirdre Kinahan and Each Slow Dusk by Rory Mullarkey. The recordings will be accompanied by social media Q&As with cast and creative teams from the productions.
The Show Must Go Online
An initiative by Robert Myles, The Show Must Go Online is a weekly reading of the complete works of Shakespeare by a global cast. It is available on YouTube. Click here to watch.
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House has started the #OurHouseToYourHouse initiative, where they are offering a free programme of curated online broadcasts. A new performance is released every Friday at 7pm and is available for a month on average. On 24 April there will be a stream of Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana, Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale on 1 May. More broadcasts to be announced.
The Shows Must Go On!
Andrew Lloyd Webber is streaming his works on the The Shows Must Go On! YouTube channel with a new show every Friday, which is available for 48 hours. On 24 April, Love Never Dies – the sequel to the iconic Phantom of the Opera. New performances are announced on a week by week basis.
Click here to visit The Shows Must Go On! Channel
Southwark Playhouse
Today, Southwark Playhouse has announced their new free streaming service on their website. The service has launched with Jesse Briton’s Bound, Adam Lenson’s Wasted, Shakespeare’s Twelth Night and Philip Ridley’s The Beast Will Rise – a series of monologues which were due to premiere in April from The Beast of the Blue. New content will be added fortnightly.
National Theatre Quiz
Starting from 27 April at 7pm, every last Monday of the month, the National Theatre will be holding an online Quiz with some special quizmasters: Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Lenny Henry, Lesley Manville and Sir Ian McKellen. The topics will cover history, sport and of course National Theatre. The quizzes will be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube, so make sure you subscribe to these, so you can follow along from home.
From Secret Cinema to Secret Sofa
The Secret Cinema is bringing its franchise to the comfort of your home. They are hosting a weekly online cinema club with a different movie every week, to join other film fanatics online you can subscribe here.
The post Where to Watch Theatre for Free and other #StayAtHome Activities. appeared first on White Light.
