5 of the best
Theatre and dance to enjoy at home this week
AMADEUS 1 National Theatre Live, streaming July 16 to 23
Peter Shaffer’s monumental drama, which first appeared on the National Theatre stage in 1979 and was later turned into an Oscar winning film, follows rowdy young musical prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played by Adam Gillen (Fresh Meat, Benidorm). Awestruck by Mozart’s genius, Court Composer Antonio Salieri, played by Lucian Msamati (His Dark Materials, Master Harold and The Boys), has the power to promote his talent or destroy it. Seized by obsessive jealousy, he begins a war with Mozart, with music and, ultimately, with God. Michael Longhurst’s acclaimed 2016 production features live orchestral accompaniment by Southbank Sinfonia.
Where to watch: The National Theatre YouTube channel
CHARLIE WARD AT HOME 2 Sound&Fury, streaming until July 20
It’s 1914. In a makeshift hospital, behind the front line, the war’s first casualties are treated. To boost morale, medical staff arrange for a
Chaplin film to be shown for the bedridden, with the ward’s ceiling serving as the silver screen. For one soldier, Harry, the flickering images, whirring projector, and Chaplin’s perfect comic timing trigger complex emotions and memories. First staged in a makeshift hospital tent with beds for an audience of ten people with immersive surround sound, Sound&Fury’s Charlie Ward has been reimagined for 2020 so it can be presented as a theatrical installation in homes nationwide. Using Sound&Fury’s distinctive style, immersive sound design, and footage from Charlie Chaplin’s By the Sea, the extraordinary experience of being on Charlie Ward is conjured.
Where to watch: fueltheatre. com
3 DANCING AT DUSK — A MOMENT WITH PINA BAUSCH’S THE RITE OF SPRING Sadler’s Wells, streaming until July 31
Pina Bausch’s legendary choreography work The Rite of Spring is danced in an extraordinary setting, on the beach in Toubab Dialaw, Senegal. Filmed as the world descended into lockdown, it captures the last rehearsal of a specially assembled company of 38 dancers from 14 African countries.
Where to watch: sadlerswells. com
ASHPUTTEL 4 Bark at Crow, July 16 to 18
Your screen will be your portal into this fairytale adventure. Grab a Zoom portkey, fall down the rabbit hole and into the world of Ashputtel. It’s Cinderella – but not as you know it. Will she marry the Prince or will her step-sisters triumph instead? As an audience member you can help to change the course of the story – become a bird, chop down a tree and party at the palace.
Where to watch: barkatacrow. com
RICHARD II 5 Swinging the Lens, now streaming
Shakespeare’s great ‘play of England’ is presented in this acclaimed production featuring a cast comprising entirely women of colour, from the Globe in 2019.
Where to watch: The Swinging the Lens channel on YouTube