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with our colleagues across the industry to expand the project.” ● Visit homemcr.org
Digital Theatre
Manchester’s theatres may have closed their doors for now, but you can relive some of their most popular productions through Digital Theatre.
The digital arts platform has more than 100 world class theatre experiences to watch, including Maxine Peake as Hamlet at the Royal Exchange Theatre, and Funny Girl, starring Sheridan Smith, captured during its run at the Palace Theatre.
Other highlights from theatres up and down the country include Richard Armitage in The Crucible at London’s Old Vic, and Oedipus, starring Steven Berkoff, at Nottingham Playhouse.
● You can rent productions from £7.99 each or sign up for unlimited streaming for £9.99 a month.
Broadway HD
A trip to New York is going to be out of the question until the pandemic is under control and travel restrictions are relaxed.
But you can take a virtual trip to Broadway with this streaming platform, which has a library of more than 200 recorded performances.
You can watch Hugh Jackman in Oklahoma!, Ian McKellen as King Lear, Orlando Bloom in Romeo and
London’s reconstructed Elizabethan playhouse is the official home of Shakespeare and you can watch more or less all the Bard’s plays on its Globe Player.
The theatre has been recording its productions for years, amassing a library of most of Shakespeare’s tragedies, comedies and histories.
Plays are available to rent or buy from £4.99 - no more than the cost of a standing ticket if you were to visit.
With theatres now facing a tough time financially, your money will help to keep one of the country’s most iconic institutions ticking over until it can reopen.
There’s also a bank of free content to watch including Shakespeare Lives, a collection of contemporary short films re-imagining his work, and the Sonnet Project NYC series, where Shakespeare’s poems meet the urban poetry of New York.
● Visit globeplayer.tv.
Marquee TV
On-demand dance, opera and theatre streaming service Marquee TV has extended its free trial period to 30 days - giving you plenty of time to get stuck in to its catalogue.
Theatre highlights include Royal
Shakespeare Company productions of Hamlet, The Tempest and The Merchant of Venice, and Kathy Burke’s revival of Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan, starring Jennifer Saunders.
Elsewhere you’ll find performances from some of the world’s leading dance companies and choreographers, including The Royal Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Alexander Ekman and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.
● Plans cost £8.99 a month or £69.99 for the first year, rising to £89.99 annually afterwards. Visit marquee.tv
National Theatre
Responsible for broadcasting the best of British theatre into cinemas around the country, the National Theatre has a rich bank of content at its disposal.
Among the plays it’s screened in the past are Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s one-woman play Fleabag, which spawned the award-winning TV show; Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and The Bridge Theatre’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
While they’ve yet to confirm plans to stream plays online, they have said: “We’re very actively looking at what we can offer our audiences who are not able to visit their local theatre or National Theatre Live venue at this time - we hope to have more news on that very soon.”
● Visit ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk