Following the closure of UK theatres to prevent the spread of coronavirus many producers and companies are making their work available to watch online. The Stage will be updating this list on a daily basis. Please contact us with information about upcoming projects at news@thestage.co.uk

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July 10

National Youth Theatre’s Playing Up Company to stream short film

The National Youth Theatre’s Playing Up Company is to stream short film Tiny Dancers from July 23 to 31 on its YouTube page. Originally planned to be a showcase at the Pleasance Theatre, since lockdown the company has made the film remotely under the guidance of writer Isley Lynn and director Milli Bhatia, who directed Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner.

July 1

Royal Exchange releases recording of The House of Bernarda Alba

Manchester’s Royal Exchange has released its archive recording of The House of Bernarda Alba online.

The co-production with Graeae, which is directed by Jenny Sealey, is available to watch until July 13.

The Royal Exchange’s production of The Almighty Sometimes is also available online until July 6.

Both productions are free to watch, with donations encouraged.

June 30

Twelfth Night to be performed live on Zoom by St Albans’ Maltings Theatre

 

The Maltings Theatre in St Albans has announced it is to perform its production of Twelfth Night live on Zoom.

Twelfth Night - Live, which is set on a cruise liner in the roaring 20s, will be performed at 8.15pm on July 3 and 10.

The production is directed by Adam Nichols.

June 25

Ancient Greek theatre company’s mini festival of readings to hit social media

Actors of Dionysus, a UK company that produces ancient Greek theatre, is set to hit the 100th day of its Daily Dose project of readings by actors and academics on Friday. Readers of the bitesize pieces of prose and poetry from the classical canon have included Stephen Fry, Jane Asher, Michael Scott and Edith Hall. For the 100th day, the company is planning a "mini festival of sorts" filling its Twitter feed with readings all day. The company has also released three of its productions online for schools and audiences under lockdown, which comprise Antigone, Medea and Lysistrata. It has also created a digital escape room game based on Lysistrata.

 

June 24

Immersive Sherlock Holmes theatre show launches

Online theatre group CtrlAlt_Repeat will tonight debut Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Symmetric Mailshot, which runs until Monday and then from July 1 to 5. Part immersive, part point-and-click adventure game, audiences join Dr Watson and Holmes for the Zoom-based mystery. The show is directed by David Alwyn and devised by the cast from a story by actor Sid Phoenix, who directed the company’s first show Midsummer Night Stream. For more information and tickets go to the show’s Eventbrite page.

June 12

Aimee Lou Wood and Laura Wade to feature in Playbox Theatre’s latest Chatterbox series

Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood and playwright Laura Wade will feature in Playbox Theatre’s second series of interviews as part of its Chatterbox initiative.

As part of the initiative, actor and writer Calum Finlay interviews artists about career choices, advice for young actors and the changing industry in 2020.

Chatterbox is free to watch, although donations are welcomed to support Playbox Theatre, which creates performance and training opportunities for young people.

The latest series will also feature video interviews with actors Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù, George Mackay and Abubakar Salim and actor and MP Tracy Brabin.

A new video will be released every Friday at 4pm, starting on June 12. The videos are available to watch for free on Playbox’s website.

June 11

National Theatre confirms final five titles for NT at Home

The National Theatre has announced that it is bringing its at-home streaming service to an end next month, as it reveals the final five shows that will be broadcast.

NT productions including Amadeus, Small Island, Les Blancs and The Deep Blue Sea will be streamed for free alongside the Bridge Theatre’s version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The Hired Man musical to be streamed in fundraising bid

Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Hull Truck and Oldham Coliseum’s production of The Hired Man will be streamed online to raise funds for the theatres’ futures.

The musical by Howard Goodall and Melvyn Bragg will be shown on YouTube and on each of the theatre’s websites on June 15 at 7:30pm, with audiences encouraged to donate.

The actor-musician production is directed by Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s artistic director Douglas Rintoul and presented in association with the Really Useful Group.

June 10

Flute Theatre adapt devised Pericles show for online audiences with autism

Flute Theatre has created an online, interactive version of Shakespeare’s Pericles for audiences with autism and their families.

The show, which was devised by Flute in 2019, was due to tour the UK this year, however the company has adapted the production, and the specialised games it comprises, for audiences online.

"The aim is to combat isolation as well as alleviate increased fears and anxiety experienced by those with autism during this crisis," the company said.

The production is based around the concept of an online fairground, with each ride representing a game that offers a different sensory experience. Audiences will be able to move through the show at their own pace and can also chat with the actors at the end.

A series of performances will run between June 22 and July 18, and more information can be found here.

June 9

Virtual production of Sebastian Faulks’ Birdsong announced

A new virtual production of Sebastian Faulks’ Birdsong has been announced.

Adapted from Faulks’ novel by Rachel Wagstaff, the production will be staged in full costume with digital scenic design.

It will be streamed online at 7pm on July 1, to mark the 104th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.

May 27

Tamasha to stream Made in India, co-produced with the Belgrade Theatre

Made in India, a co-production between Tamasha and the Belgrade Theatre, is to be streamed online from June 16 to 30.

Directed by Katie Posner, Satinder Chohan’s play toured in 2017 and is about birth and motherhood. It will be shown across Tamasha’s YouTube channel and on its Facebook page.

Lauren Samuels to star in virtual production of The Last Five Years

Lauren Samuels is to make her directorial debut and star in a virtual production of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years.

Samuels will play Cathy alongside Danny Becker as Jamie, with both actors recording their parts in isolation.

This will then be edited into a full-length show, directed by Samuels, which will be streamed for three nights on June 25, 26 and 27 at 7.30pm.

May 26

Hairspray Live! starring Ariana Grande to be streamed for free

Hairspray Live!, which was filmed in 2016 as a TV special in the US, will be shown online for free as part of The Shows Must Go On channel on YouTube.

The production, with music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, also stars Jennifer Hudson alongside Billy Eichner, Martin Short, Dove Cameron and Harvey Fierstein.

It will be shown for free on the channel from May 29, and remain available for 48 hours.

May 21

Belarus Free Theatre announces first online world premiere

As part of its 15th anniversary celebrations, Belarus Free Theatre has announced the online world premiere of A School for Fools.

The adaptation of Sasha Sokolov’s novella is will be performed live from the bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms of the 12-strong ensemble in Minsk on June 1 at 6pm.

A School For Fools, which is directed and adapted by Pavel Haradnitski, will then be performed live and broadcast on YouTube every Thursday at 6pm.

Advance booking for the production is required. Places are free, with donations welcomed.

Belarus Free Theatre has also announced the online return of Kitchen Revolutions.

The first Kitchen Revolution event, which will be a discussion on how to bring European audiences back to the theatre post Covid-19, will take place on June 10 at 7pm in partnership with the European Theatre Convention.

Participants will receive a recipe and how-to video so that they can enjoy a home cooked meal during the session.

May 15

Unicorn Theatre launches digital offering

The Unicorn Theatre has launched digital project Unicorn Online, which will begin with Anansi the Spider Re-spun. Streamed in partnership with the Guardian, a different online story about Anansi - based on the existing stage show - will be streamed for free on the Unicorn’s YouTube channel and the Guardian’s website, beginning on May 30.
They are directed by Justin Audibert, who is working alongside film company Illuminations and original cast members Afia Abusham, Sapphire Joy and Juliet Okotie, on the project.
Each scene will be captured by the cast at home and edited, “bringing each scene together with a live, spontaneous sense of performance”.

May 13

West End Live goes virtual with Sky tie-up

Annual theatre showcase West End Live will return this year as a virtual offering, featuring performances from shows including Mamma Mia!, & Juliet and Six.

Virtual West End Live will feature stars from a variety of West End musicals performing on a weekly basis, beginning on May 21, and continuing for the following five Thursdays. The performances will be available for Sky customers.

Sea Wall starring Andrew Scott made available to watch online

A filmed version of Andrew Scott’s performance in Sea Wall, by Simon Stephens, is being made available to watch online for free.

Scott has performed Sea Wall on stage at the Bush Theatre in 2009, as well as at the Traverse in Edinburgh and the Shed at the National Theatre. In 2018 the play was revived by the Old Vic in London.

The film of the monologue was first released in January 2012 and distributed via Distrify and Vimeo. The film will be available until May 18 via youtu.be/j01kVmBoJW0.

Half Moon Theatre company to stream plays for children online

Young people’s theatre company Half Moon Theatre is to offer plays for children and young people online for free. The plays will be available every Wednesday, available online at www.halfmoon.org.uk/live, alongside access to backstage interviews, production photos and information about how the shows were created.
The service includes Boys Don’t, for eight to 12-year-olds, and Butterflies, for those aged under eight.

May 12

Paapa Essiedu, Juliet Stevenson and Niamh Walsh feature in video series to support young people’s theatre company

Paapa Essiedu, Juliet Stevenson and Niamh Walsh are among those to feature in a series of video interviews to raise money for Playbox Theatre.

The series, called Chatterbox, sees actor and writer Calum Finlay interview artists about career choices, advice for young actors and the changing industry in 2020.

Chatterbox is free to watch, although donations are welcomed to support Playbox Theatre, which creates performance and training opportunities for young people.

Others who have taken part in the series so far include actors Charlie Russell, Dave Hearn, Nasia Thomas, Lucy Phelps, Jonathan Case and Jamie Ballard.

New videos will be released weekly, with the next to come out on May 15, featuring actor Kevin McNally.

The videos can be viewed here.

Activities and clips from hip-hop puppetry show Big Up! shared online

Theatre-Rites and 20 Stories High are streaming clips from hip-hop puppetry show Big Up! online, as well as family activities based on the production.

The family show was due to tour from April onwards, however the tour was cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Now clips and activities including beatbox lessons with Grace Savage will be shared as part of Big Up at Home on Theatre-Rites’ YouTube channel. New videos will be released throughout the period the show was meant to tour.

May 11

Duncan Sheik to present new work as part of new Signal Online concert

Spring Awakening composer Duncan Sheik will present new work as part of the next Signal Online concert, which presents international composers performing new musical theatre songs live and for free.

Others who will present work include Anoushka Lucas, Matt Winkworth, Kate Marlais and Alex Young, and Indy Angel.

The concert takes place on May 12 and is produced by Adam Lenson, who said the event would "bring together the global community of new musical theatre writers" and challenge "preconceptions of what musicals look like, sound like or are about".

The show can be watched at ALPmusicals.com/concerts, and audiences are encouraged to buy a "virtual ticket", with proceeds going to supporting new musical theatre writers.

May 7

National Theatre announced further productions to be streamed for free

Inua Ellam’s Barber Shop Chronicles and James Graham’s This House are among the further productions announced to be streamed as part of the National Theatre at Home initiative.

The initiative sees a new production streamed on the National Theatre’s YouTube channel every Thursday at 7pm, which will be available to watch for free for a week. Productions so far have included Frankenstein starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Sally Cookson’s devised adaptation of Jane Eyre.

Other productions announced include the Young Vic and Joshua Andrews co-production of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire and the Donmar Warehouse production of Coriolanus.

 

May 5

Open Clasp to stream play online with BSL

Theatre company Open Clasp is to make its production of Rattle Snake available for free online with British Sign Language, during Deaf Awareness Week.

The play, based on real stories of women who have survived coercive controlling domestic abuse, is being streamed with BSL to raise awareness of the fact that D/deaf women are twice as likely as hearing women to suffer domestic abuse, and as part of the company’s efforts to increase accessibility to its work.

Rattle Snake is online for 48 hours on May 5 and 6 and can be watched here.

Manchester International Festival announces latest digital line-up

Riz Ahmed and Shunt’s Nigel Barrett and Louise Mari are among the latest artists confirmed for Manchester International Festival’s digital programme.

Ahmed will take part in an in conversation event about his life and work, including his latest project, The Long Goodbye, which had been due to premiere at this year’s MIF. Meanwhile, theatremakers Barrett and Mari will reimagine their 2017 show Party Skills for the End of the World for audiences in isolation.

The MIF Live schedule, which is being broadcast on YouTube, also includes appearances from musician FKA Twigs and artist Lubaina Himid. More information can be found here.

Complicité’s The Encounter to be streamed online

Complicité’s The Encounter is to be made available to watch online for a week during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The production will be free to watch and available from May 15 to May 22.

Audiences will need to wear headphones to experience the show’s binaural sound design.

There will also be a live discussion and Q&A event at 7.30pm on May 20 with Complicité’s artistic director Simon McBurney and filmmaker Takumã Kuikuro.

The Encounter will be streamed on Complicité’s website and YouTube channel. The online streaming of The Encounter is supported by The Space.

 

April 30

Donmar Warehouse to stream online revival of Midnight Your Time

An online revival of Adam Brace’s Midnight Your Time has been announced by the Donmar Warehouse, and will be streamed for free online next month.

The play was first staged by HighTide Theatre in 2011, directed by Michael Longhurst and starring Diana Quick, and has been reconceived for online broadcast by the Donmar.

Longhurst and Quick have reunited for the new version of the play, which features the conversations between a retired lawyer in London and her daughter in Palestine.

Directed by Longhurst remotely, Midnight Your Time has been recorded at home on a webcam by Quick.

It will premiere on the Donmar’s YouTube channel on May 13, at 7:30, and will be available to watch for a week.

Opera North to stream Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti

Opera North is to make Trouble in Tahiti by Leonard Bernstein available to stream for free as part of its Opera North at Home digital programme.

The 50-minute opera will be streamed at 7pm on May 6 on the company’s YouTube channel and be on demand until the beginning of June.

Bernstein’s story of American life in the 1950s has also been produced in accessible formats for D/deaf and hard of hearing and blind or partially-sighted audiences, with British Sign Language interpretation, audio description and captioning.

April 27

Theatre company On the Run releases debut show online

Theatre company On the Run has released its debut production So it Goes online.

Created and performed by Hannah Moss and David Ralfe, So it Goes explores grief and is based on Moss’ experience of losing her father.

The production is available online from April 29 at 7.30 until midnight on May 29.

It is free to watch, with a suggested donation of £3. Half of any money raised will be donated to Marie Curie Hospice in Hampstead, where Moss’ father Mike spent his final days.

Olivia Colman, Indira Varma and Gary Oldman to feature in digital showcase of children’s writing

Olivia Colman, Indira Varma and Gary Oldman will star in a virtual gala showcasing the writing of children from Yorkshire.

The showcase, called Here Not There, will be streamed online at 2pm on May 2.

It has been created by children’s literacy charity Grimm and Co, which runs free writing workshops for young people.

Hosted by actor and writer Paul Clayton, who is one of the charity’s patrons, Here Not There will also feature performances by Mark Gatiss, Joanne Harris, Jeremy Dyson and David Mitchell.

Other actors who will take part include Ricky Champ, Lucy Benjamin, David Ames, Robert Bathurst and Connor Calland.

As well as showcasing stories, poems and songs created by young people across Yorkshire, Here Not There will also give an insight into Grimm and Co’s plans to create a new centre in Rotherham.

Grimm and Co’s founding chief executive, Deborah Bullivant, said, “During these challenging times, Grimm and Co believe it is vital to continue our work of nurturing and celebrating the creativity of children and young people.

"We hope that Here Not There will offer a fantastic showcase for our young people’s writing, and will provide some joy to all who view it."

The showcase will be streamed on YouTube and on the charity’s website.

April 23

Southwark Playhouse launches free streaming service

Southwark Playhouse has announced a new free online streaming service called #SouthwarkStayhouse to share shows online while it remains closed due to Covid-19.

Shows available to watch on the service include musical Wasted, which is directed by Adam Lenson with music by Christopher Ash and book and lyrics by Carl Miller.

Other productions include Twelfth Night, directed by Anna Girvan, Jesse Briton’s Bound and Philip Ridley’s The Beast Will Rise.

The service can be accessed here.

Teechers to be made available for free for schools

Blackeyed Theatre company is making a recording of its production of Teechers available for free to schools that are closed due to Covid-19. With the permission of playwright John Godber, a recording of the company’s 2018 staging will be free of charge to teachers and students of drama and theatre studies courses.

Teachers wishing to access the production should email info@blackeyedtheatre.co.uk from an official school email account to be sent a link to the show. The company has also produced education packs that coincide with the production, which can be accessed here.

Royal Exchange companies create online theatre/soap opera hybrid

More than 40 participants from the Royal Exchange Theatre’s resident Young Company and Elders Company have come together to make a brand-new piece of work called Connect Fest. Directed by Nickie Miles-Wildin and written by Testament, it is "inspired by the way in which music can transport, uplift and create incredible connections". It is described as a "theatre show, a music festival and a soap-opera rolled into one" and will be made up of five individual online episodes. The first episode will be aired on May 11 at 11am on the Royal Exchange Theatre website, with new episodes released at the same time daily.

Battersea Arts Centre premieres new immersive drama on BBC

Cheek by Jowl to screen Measure for Measure on YouTube

Cheek by Jowl’s production of Measure for Measure is to become available on YouTube for 30 days. It is directed by Declan Donnellan, and originally embarked on an international tour before opening at the Barbican in 2015.Performed in Russian with English subtitles, Measure for Measure joins the company’s production of The Winter’s Tale, which will now be streamed until May 25.

April 17

Orange Tree Theatre to stream Judi Dench in conversation

Judi Dench in conversation with Gyles Brandreth, recorded at the Orange Tree Theatre in 2017, is to be made available on its website from April 26. During the 90-minute show, the much-loved actor talks about everything from playing Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream to M in the James Bond films. It will cost £4.99, which will go to the Orange Tree’s Survival Fund set up to support the theatre following the shut down following the spread of coronavirus.

April 16

Sadler’s Wells to stream Russell Maliphant and Vangelis’ work The Thread

The latest show added to Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage programme is The Thread by choroeographer Russell Maliphant and Oscar-winning composer Vangelis. The piece, which received its world premiere at Sadler’s Wells last spring, will be screened tomorrow at 7.30pm on the venue’s Facebook page and be available for seven days.

The Barn Theatre launches new series of reimagined Shakespeare monologues

The Barn Theatre in Cirencester has announced Bard from the Barn, a series that reimagines Shakespeare monologues to fit into modern day lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. Beginning on April 20, the Barn will release a new monologue each weekday on its Twitter, Facebook and YouTube channels. The series is co-produced with actor Aaron Sidwell and Hal Chambers.

Chickenshed has launched #VirtualChickenshed

Inclusive theatre company Chickenshed has launched #VirtualChickenshed to offer access to a range of projects and acitivities as well as share ideas with its audience. Today the company posted the first programme to its Tales TV channel and its spring show Waiting for the Ship to Sail will be made available on its YouTube channel from Friday.

April 15

Hampstead Theatre extends streaming series

Hampstead Theatre has extended its streaming series in partnership with the Guardian. Recordings of Nina Raine’s Tiger Country and Howard Brenton’s #AIWW: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei will be available to watch as part of the #HampsteadTheatreAtHome series. Tiger Country, also directed by Raine, will be available to watch on the Hampstead Theatre and Guardian websites from 10am on April 20 to 10pm on April 26. #AIWW: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei will be available to watch on demand from 10am on April 27 to 10pm on May 3.

Roxana Silbert, artistic director of Hampstead Theatre said: “I am delighted that we have been able to extend our #HampsteadTheatreAtHome series with the Guardian.“It feels like there has never been a more apt time to share Tiger Country – Nina Raine meticulously studied the NHS and spent much time with its extraordinary employees who put their lives on the line, daily, to keep Britain safe.”

Silbert added: “AIWW: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei also reminds us of the importance of freedom of speech. Many questions will be asked over the next few months and it’s in everyone’s interest that we continue to strive for a society that’s built on truth and openness.”

Deafinitely launches digital platform to offer shows for free

Deafinitely Theatre has launched Deafinitely Digital, which will offer a selection of the company’s past productions available online to watch for free between April and June. These include Love’s Labour’s Lost from 2012, George Brant’s Grounded from 2015, and Mike Bartlett’s Contractions from 2017. They will be made available to watch for free at www.youtube.com/user/markdeafinitely. All productions are performed in British Sign Language and spoken English.

Pilot Theatre to stream its co-production of Crongton Knights

Crongton Knights, the adaptation of Alex Wheatle’s award-winning young adult novel is to be made available for free from Wednesday 22 April, the day it was due to open at the Theatre Peckham in London.

The co-production, between Pilot, Belgrade Theatre, Derby Theatre and York Theatre Royal, will be available to stream until May 9, the day the tour was due to close at Theatre Peckham, on Pilot Theatre’s website. Pilot will also make a series of talks and Q&As with the team behind the show available online.

Traverse Theatre puts new Rona Munro monologues online

After the cancellation of Rona Munro’s play Donny’s Brain, which was due to open at the Traverse tonight, the playwright, director Caitlin Skinner and the production’s cast and creative team have created brand new monologues to mark what would have been the opening week of the production. The monologues, Five from Inside, will be made available on the Traverse’s YouTube channel for five consecutive nights and will be available until May 2.

April 14

All the Web’s a Stage to broadcast throughout Shakespeare Day

A new collective of more than 60 artists and professionals called Theatre Together are putting on All the Web’s a Stage, an online event with a variety of live performances. The line-up includes Jo Clifton, Danny Mac, Jodie Prenger and Marisha Wallace and can be streamed for free on its website on April 23. It hopes to raise funds for those facing hardship in the arts as a result of Covid-19 via crowdfunding site Justgiving which will go to Acting for Others and Help Musicians.

Slung Low to premiere new short film online

Leeds-based theatre company Slung Low will stream The Good Book by James Phillips online from May 1 here. The short film stars Riana Duce, Angus Imrie and Katie Eldred. It is directed by Sheffield film maker Brett Chapman and is designed by Olivier award-winning designer David Farley, whose work includes Sunday in the Park withe George at the Whndhams Theatre and Menier Chocolate Factory, and The Comedy About a Bank Robbery. This is the first production for the newly formed Leed’s People’s Theatre.

April 9

Kander and Ebb’s Curtains to be streamed online in support of Fund for Freelancers

Curtains, starring Jason Manford, is to be streamed online to raise money for a fund aimed at helping freelances.

The Kander and Ebb musical, also starring Rebecca Lock, opened on tour in October last year and played in the West End over Christmas.

Producers have now announced a filmed version will be streamed online on April 14, costing £7.50 to watch. All profits will go towards Funds for Freelancers, an initiative established to raise money for those in the theatre industry on zero-hour contracts.

 

English Touring Opera to broadcast St John Passion on Easter Sunday

English Touring Opera is to make its debut broadcast with a performance of Bach’s St John Passion. The production premiered in London on March 5 and was due to tour nationally.

However the tour was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with ETO making a commitment to honour the company’s fees for the tour. The free broadcast of the production will take place on the company’s YouTube channel on April 12 at 4pm.

April 8

Hope Mill Theatre to stream free Rodgers and Hammerstein concert

Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre is to stream an online concert celebrating the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

The concert will be pre-recorded and streamed on the venue’s YouTube channel and social media platforms at 7pm on April 26.

It will feature the duo’s songs from shows including Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific and Cinderella.

April 6

Jasmin Vardimon Company to stream Pinocchio

Jasmin Vardimon Company has announced a special streaming of its production of Pinocchio this Easter weekend.

The production will available on Vimeo from April 10 at 7pm through to April 13 at 7pm.

Viewers will be invited to make a Pay As You Feel donation to support the company’s work.

The production, which is choreographed by Jasmin Vardimon, originally ran at Sadler’s Wells in 2016.

Fleabag to be streamed online as part of charity initiative

The live production of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag is to be made available online to raise money for charity, as the writer and actor launches a dedicated fund for theatre freelances affected by Covid-19.

The acclaimed show, which Waller-Bridge brought to the West End last year following the success of its television adaptation, has been added to Soho Theatre’s on-demand service for two weeks. It will then be made available more widely, including on Amazon Prime Video.

It will cost £4 per download, with all proceeds split between the National Emergencies Trust, NHS Charities Together and Acting for Others, as well as a newly-launched fund dedicated to freelances working in the UK theatre industry who have been impacted by the coronavirus crisis.

Chichester Festival Theatre to stream productions from archive online for free

Chichester Festival Theatre is to stream productions from its archive online for the first time, beginning with the musical Flowers for Mrs Harris.

The 2018 production stars Clare Burt, Joanna Riding and Gary Wilmot, and is directed by Chichester Festival Theatre’s artistic director Daniel Evans.

It will be available to watch for free on the theatre’s website from 1pm on April 9 until May 8.

 

April 3

Curve to show The Importance of Being Earnest for free online

Curve’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest will be live streamed for free this weekend. An archive recording of the production, made during final tech rehearsals for its run in 2016, will go live at 7pm on April 5 on Curve’s website and will then be available for a week.

The Leicester theatre said the screening had been timed as a warm up to ITV’s Olivier Awards – Greatest Moments show, which is airing at 10:15pm on ITV1 in lieu of the cancelled 2020 ceremony.

The Importance of Being Earnest is directed by Curve artistic director Nikolai Foster and was a co-production with Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Starring Cathy Tyson as Lady Bracknell, the production is a contemporary take on Oscar Wilde’s classic play.

Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals to be streamed on YouTube

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals are to be screened on a new YouTube channel called The Shows Must Go On.

The concept is to bring audiences to musicals that have made it to the screen. The series will kick off with the filmed version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starring Donny Osmond and Maria Friedman

Cirque Du Soleil to share work in weekly online programme

Cirque Du Soleil is to present weekly 60-minute programmes of its work online.

These will be presented on a new digital hub called CirqueConnect.

The first programme, which features performances from Cirque du Soleil Amaluna, Volta and Bazzar, will take place at 8pm today (April 3).

 

Mercury Theatre Colchester unveils online programme

The Mercury Theatre in Colchester has launched an online programme of work, featuring online content, live streaming and video conferencing platforms to bring theatre to audiences for free.

It includes Monday Mercury Masterclasses, which will run for five weeks and include a virtual learning session via a video conferencing platform, and Mercury Monologues in association with Josef Weinberger Ltd. This will invite creatives to submit a short monologue each week, which will be judged by a panel of industry professionals.

Each week a new winner will be announced, and will receive a £100 prize, as well as having their monologue read and streamed on the theatre’s social media channels and website.

Crazy Coqs announces online channel

Crazy Coqs has announced Stay at Home with Crazy Coqs, which will be updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and feature “a single song or sketch, a series of songs, a nearly full show or even a live-stream” via a YouTube channel.

The organisation said: “In these difficult times, we need a space to share stories and songs, and we at Crazy Coqs are very keen to keep our artists in the minds and hearts of our audience, and equally our audience connected to Crazy Coqs.”

Participants include Branden and James, Bounder and Cad, Marcel Lucont, Morgan James, Sandy Walsh, Melinda Hughes, Westdal and Hayward, Jessica Martin and Ryan Molloy.

April 1

Treehouse to stream The Ultimatum Game online

Theatre company Treehouse is to stream Jon Gracey’s The Ultimatum Game on live streaming platform Twitch. It will star Chazz Redhead and Chloe Mashiter, who are now in isolation together, directed by Charlotte Peters. Rehearsals took place online.

The play is described as “a high-tension dramedy exploring the consequences of two very different personality types trapped in a room together”. It will be live streamed on April 5, at 5pm.

Sadler’s Wells announces new production and workshops for digital service

Sadler’s Wells has unveiled the second production that will be available online as part of its Digital Stage programme. BalletLORENT’s Rumpelstiltskin – a collaboration between director Liv Lorent and poet Carol Ann Duffy – will be streamed on Facebook on April 3 at 3pm, in order to families to watch the show together. It will remain free to watch online for a week.

The first of Sadler’s Wells’ new online workshop series is also available from this week, featuring five workshops created for younger children and one for older people. More will be added in the coming weeks.

March 31

Old Vic and Digital Theatre link up to offer Endgame streaming

The Old Vic has announced a partnership with Digital Theatre, which will enable audiences with tickets to see its production of Endgame to access a recording of the show.

Endgame, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Alan Cumming, closed two weeks early this month when theatres shut due to coronavirus, and the Old Vic said it would explore ways for ticket holders to watch a filmed version of the performance if they donated the cost of their ticket rather than ask for a refund.

White

Children’s theatre company Catherine Wheels is releasing its well-loved show for young children, White by Andy Manley, online for the Easter weekend. It will be available from April 10-13 on YouTube.

March 30

Shakespeare’s Globe productions including Michelle Terry and Globe to Globe Festival

Shakespeare’s Globe has added six new free productions to Globe Player, its video-on-demand platform, including a 2018 production of Hamlet starring artistic director Michelle Terry and last year’s production of The Merry Wives of Windsor.

The 37 films from the Complete Walks series and the whole of 2012 Globe to Globe Festival are now available to watch for free.

Hampstead Theatre productions including Mike Bartlett’s Wild

Hampstead Theatre has announced that, in collaboration with the Guardian, it will re-release the live-stream recordings of three past productions, including Mike Bartlett’s Wild and Beth Steel’s Wonderland, for free. A new production will be released each week, starting with Wild at 10am on March 30. The re-released recordings will be available to watch on both the Guardian and Hampstead Theatre websites.

 

Operation Mincemeat

While SpitLip’s The Stage Debut Award-winning musical is not available online in its entirety, you can now listen to one of its best songs. The company has released Dear Bill, wonderfully sung by Jak Malone, on SoundCloud. Be prepared to sob.

March 27

The Winter’s Tale

Cheek by Jowl’s exhilarating and irreverent 2016 production of The Winter’s Tale, directed by Declan Donnellan and previously seen at the Barbican Centre in the UK, is now available to stream for free on YouTube.

 

Pentabus Theatre shows including Here I Belong

Pentabus Theatre has announced it will release recordings of past shows on its website and social media channels for free.

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 first show will be made available on March 27 and a new show will be released weekly on Fridays at 2pm. The shows will remain live for the next three months.

Amsterdam

Matthew Xia’s production of Maya Arad Yasur’s play Amsterdam, which had just commenced a national tour before it had to be cancelled, will be made available to watch online. Filmed at the Orange Tree, the co-production with Actors Touring Company and Theatre Royal Plymouth will released at 7.30pm on March 27 on OT on Screen and available to watch online for a limited time.

Styx

Second Body has made its moving Orpheus-inspired song cycle about coming to terms with dementia and loss available on YouTube. You’ll need a good supply of tissues for this one and possibly a tot of whisky.

Memoirs of an Asian Football Casual

On World Theatre Day, Leicester’s Curve will make available an archive recording of Memoirs of an Asian Football Casual online for free. Dougal Irvine’s adaptation of Riaz Khan’s autobiography will be available from 7pm on March 27 and will be available on Curve’s website for a week. Visit curveonline.co.uk

 

National Theatre productions including One Man, Two Guvnors and Jane Eyre

National Theatre Live productions will soon be available to watch for free on YouTube under plans for a new digital service from the National Theatre.

National Theatre at Home will stream productions into audience’s homes, in addition to making the theatre’s education collection available remotely while schools are closed.

Productions by the Schaubühne, Münchner Kammerspiele and Odéon Theatres

While people remain isolated during the coronavirus crisis, European theatres have been mining their archives and making them available online. Here’s a round-up of some of the best European theatre available to watch from your home.

Jasmin Vardimon Dance Company

The Jasmin Vardimon Dance Company will be offering its Pop Up Space dance classes for free online for one month via Zoom alongside free digital screenings of the company’s most popular productions beginning at 7pm on March 29.

Slung Low

Slung Low, who run the Leeds cultural community college the Holbeck, is doing a daily sharing from its archive on its Twitter account (@SlungLow). So far this has included a behind-the-scenes look at its epic show The Flood and It Happened Here, an audio tour of the Holbeck.

March 25

Henry V

The Barn Theatre will live stream its production of Henry V. Originally presented at the Cirencester venue in May and June 2019, Hal Chambers’ production starred Aaron Sidwell and Lauren Samuels. It will be available on YouTube and the Barn Theatre’s Facebook page from 6pm on March 27.

The Beanfield

Breach Theatre, creators of the acclaimed show It’s True, It’s True, It’s True, due to be performed at the Barbican Centre later this month, has released its 2015 debut show, The Beanfield, a reenactment of the 1985 “Battle of the Beanfield” on Vimeo. The music from the company’s recent show, Joan of Leeds, will also be available to stream from March 27.

 

Smashed

The Gandini juggling troupe’s skilful, witty and playful homage to the work of the choreographer Pina Bausch, with its abundance of airborne apples, is available to watch on Vimeo.

 

March 24

The Show Must Go Online

Following The Two Gentlemen of Verona last week, the next in the series of live streamed readings of Shakespeare’s plays will be The Taming of the Shrew, to be streamed at 7pm on March 26.

Deluxe

The dance piece by BalletBoyz will be the first in a series of new additions to Sadler’s Wells’ free digital platform, Digital Stage.

Other performances to be made available in this way include a new version of Wilkie Branson’s dance for camera installation TOM, and BalletLorent’s Rumpelstiltskin. There will also be a series of dance workshops.

Deluxe will be made available at 7.30pm on March 27, the same time the work was due to be performed live at Sadler’s Wells. It will also feature as part of the BBC’s Culture in Quarantine series.

 

Mass Bolero

Nottingham Playhouse is releasing a series of videos that will help keep communities in the East Midlands engaged with the arts. These include dance and choir tutorials and 2014’s Mass Bolero, in which Torvill and Dean’s iconic ice skating routine was recreated by 700 people in locations across the city Nottingham.

The Croft

The Original Theatre Company production of Ali Milles’ play The Croft, which was touring the UK until the closure of theatres due to the coronavirus outbreak, will be available to view on the company’s website from 7.30pm on March 27.

March 23

Ego

Northern Ballet’s new production of Kenneth Tindall’s Geisha premiered on March 14. Following the cancellation of the tour, Tindall’s film Ego, co-directed with Dan Lowenstein, and starring Northern Ballet leading dancers Antoinette Brooks-Daw and Kevin Poeung, breakdancer Sam Amos and krump dancer Jonadette Carpio is available to watch on the company’s digital platform from March 27.

 

Check Up: Our NHS at 70

Comedian, writer and performer Mark Thomas has made his show Check Up: Our NHS at 70 available to watch online. All proceeds will go to the Trussell Trust.

Directed by Nicolas Kent, the show is based on interviews with experts in the health service, and visits to hospitals and surgeries. It explores the reasons for the NHS’s foundation in 1948 and the challenges it faces now.

The show is available to download until March 26 with a donation of any amount to the Trussell Trust.

Royal Shakespeare Company productions including Richard II starring David Tennant

The Royal Shakespeare Company together with Marquee TV are offering a free 30 day trial allowing people to watch 18 productions for free. This will include Gregory Doran’s 2013 production of Richard II starring David Tennant, his 2016 production of The Tempest starring Simon Russell Beale and Christopher Luscombe’s 2017 production of Twelfth Night starring Adrian Edmondson and Kara Tointon.

Shows are available to stream on marquee.tv.

Where Do We Go Next?

London’s Bunker Theatre, which was already due to close at the end of the month because of the redevelopment of its Southwark home, has announced that it will make its final week of programming available online.

Where Do We Go Next?, the final week in the Bunker’s Takeover season, is a film project featuring six new short plays from underrepresented writers intended to explore the role of political theatre in a hostile environment. The films will be made available online on Vimeo on Demand from March 24-29.

 

March 21

It’s True, It’s True, It’s True

Breach’s acclaimed, award-winning show about the life of the 17th century artist Artemisia Gentileschi, the first woman to become a member of the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence, was due to play at the Barbican Centre at the end of March. The company will now stream it online via YouTube from March 31 for 30 days.

 

The Team Makes a Play

American theatre company the Team has made a documentary about its show Mission Drift – which played the National Theatre’s Shed in 2013 and was directed by Rachel Chavkin, who would go on to direct Hadestown – available to view on Vimeo.

March 20

Royal Opera and Royal Ballet productions including Acis and Galatea, Peter and the Wolf, and Così Fan Tutte

The Royal Opera House is offering selected productions on-demand free of charge as part of a wider package of online content available for audiences.

While its Covent Garden home remains closed, and all performances are suspended, the ROH has launched a programme of broadcasts and live content, from productions to masterclasses, via its Facebook and YouTube channels

I and You

Hampstead Theatre will make its 2018 production of I and You available to watch on Instagram. The play by US playwright Lauren Gunderson was directed by Edward Hall and starred Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams and Zach Wyatt. It was original filmed for IGTV in 2018 and will be released at 10am on March 23 and be available until March 29.

Luke Wright

The poet, performer and playwright – winner of The Stage Edinburgh Award for his performance in his 2015 play What I Learned From Johnny Bevan – will be performing a poetry set every night live on Twitter at 8pm.

The Show Must Go Online

This new digital project, led by actor and director Robert Myles, invites professional actors and experienced amateurs to perform readings of the works of Shakespeare, that will be made available to the public on YouTube. The first of these, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, was performed yesterday.

What I Heard About the World

Following the cancellation of the tour of its show, The Department of Distractions, Sheffield-based theatre company Third Angel has gathered together a collection of free-to-watch videos in the Film Room section of its website, including its 2013 show made in collaboration with Mala Voadora.

Metropolitan Opera

New York’s Metropolitan Opera is streaming past productions from its Live in HD series of cinema broadcasts. Every day for the duration of the building’s closure, a different encore presentation will be made available for free streaming. More details on @MetOpera.

March 19

The Wind in the Willows

The producers of the Stiles and Drewe musical version of The Wind in the Willows, which played at the London Palladium and starred Rufus Hound, have announced that it will be made available for free as a digital production, via willowsmusical.com.

The Habit of Art

The Original Theatre Company touring production of Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art starring Matthew Kelly was due to open at Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne on March 18. It will now be filmed in a closed performance and available for download.

Eugenius!

The producers of Eugenius!, the new British musical by Ben Adams and Chris Wilkins about a boy who dreams of being a superhero, which first played at London’s Other Palace in 2018, will release archive footage of the show online on Facebook on March 20 at 7pm.

Cyprus Avenue

First staged at the Royal Court, David Ireland’s play Cyprus Avenue was adapted for BBC Four in 2019, where it mixed stage performance with on-location footage in Belfast.

It will be available for free for a month from March 27 via the Royal Court’s and the Space’s website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages.

Bubble

Kieran Hurley’s new play Bubble will premiere online on March 23 at 8pm on the Theatre Uncut website and be released as a play text to download with performance rights for free until April 23.

Bubble will be set entirely on Facebook and be performed by actors from six universities who have never met before. Theatre Uncut describes it as “a simultaneous global theatrical debate, connecting live and online audiences across borders to discuss freedom of speech in the university community and the nature of online debate”.

YV:IDemystify

London’s Young Vic has announced the next event in its YV:IDemystify series. What’s Blocking You? was live-streamed from the Young Vic on March 18, 4pm–6pm, in partnership with ArtsMinds.

Key Change

Open Clasp Theatre Company will be making its award-winning prison drama, created with women at HMP Low Newton in County Durham and performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2015, available to watch online for free.

You can watch it on the company’s website from 1pm on March 20 via openclasp.org.uk.

The Accident Did Not Take Place

YesYesNoNo will be filming a version of its latest show The Accident Did Not Take Place at the Bunker Theatre in London starring Sophie Steer. The company’s earlier show, Five Encounters on a Site Called Craigslist, is able to view online for free.

The Accident Did Not Take Place will be available for streaming live online on March 21 at 7.25pm.

I, Cinna/I, Malvolio

Tim Crouch’s solo shows are both available online. I, Cinna is being hosted by the Royal Shakespeare Company and his production of I, Malvolio, filmed in Brighton in 2015, is no longer password protected on Vimeo.

The Time of Your Life

Physical theatre company Gecko has made The Time of Your Life, a piece originally broadcast as part of the BBC’s Live at Television Centre initiative is available on YouTube.

Ghost Quartet

A production of Dave Malloy’s song cycle opened Soho’s new Boulevard Theatre last year. Malloy has posted the full musical on YouTube in a version from 2015 in which he also performs.

 

We’re Gonna Die

American playwright and theatremaker Young Jean Lee’s show, performed at the Lincoln Centre with her band Future Wife, is currently available on her website.

Going Viral

Daniel Bye’s aptly titled 2015 show is now available to watch on YouTube along with the writer and performer’s other work The Price of Everything and How to Occupy an Oil Rig.

Lippy

Acclaimed Irish theatre company DeadCentre’s 2014 show Lippy, co-written by Ben Kidd and Bush Moukarzel, is available to view on Vimeo. You’ll need a password for this one: context.

Timpson: The Musical

We could all use a laugh at the moment. The Stage Edinburgh Award-winning company Gigglemug has made Timpson: The Musical available on YouTube. The Stage called it a “zany musical comedy that hits all the right notes.”

Since U Been Gone

Performer Teddy Lamb has made their hit fringe show of Since U Been Gone, seen at Edinburgh Festival Fringe at this year’s Vault Festival, on Youtube.

Five Soldiers

British choreographer Rosie Kay’s collaborative dance piece with the British army was created to give an insight into the psychology of soldiers on the front lines. It’s available to watch on YouTube.

Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom, the Belgian dance-theatre company behind the mind-bending Mother, Father and Son trilogy, performed in the UK at the Barbican Centre has made its earlier trilogy available on Vimeo.