David Farnor | On 17, May 2021

The UK’s theatres are reopening their doors as coronavirus safety restrictions are gradually eased across the UK and Ireland. But streaming platforms are still providing a way to get your culture fix from home, while a growing number of theatres are embracing a hybrid approach to cater for those able to get to venues and those remaining indoors – a way to help support the creative talents involved on stage and behind the scenes.

From theatre plays to stream live in your living room and all-you-can-stream collections of people treading the boards to Broadway shows, West End plays and RSC productions, this is your digital theatre guide:

Old Vic Theatre

After its “In Camera” streaming of special lockdown productions, the Old Vic is reopening its doors with a blend of online and in-person productions. Two new online-only shows – Queers, curated by Mark Gatiss (2nd, 30th June), and Home?, curated by Noma Dumezweni (14th to 20th June) – kick things off, followed by in-person productions of Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter (7th to 10th July) and Percy and Eleonore Adlon’s Bagdad Cafe (19th July to 28th August), which will both be recorded and streamed online over the summer.

Cost
£10+

Ways to watch
Zoom

Shakespeare’s Globe

As well as its Globe Player hosting archive on-demand recordings, the Globe Theatre will be live-streaming productions throughout its 2021 season. The line-up begins with the Globe’s raucous 2019 production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (5th June and 25th September), and is followed by Romeo & Juliet, starring Alfred Enoch and Rebekah Murrell (10th July and 7th August), Metamorphoses at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (27th to 30th October) and Twelfth Night (4th September and 23rd October).

Cost
£5+

Ways to watch
Streaming link emailed to audiences

The Winter’s Tale (RSC)

The RSC production of The Winter’s Tale was scheduled to run in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Summer 2020 and then go on tour, but was postponed due to the pandemic. This film adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, directed by Erica Whyman, will air on 25th April at 7pm on BBC Four and then be available on BBC iPlayer.

Set across a 16-year span from the 1953 coronation to the moon landings, this new production imagines a world where the ghosts of fascist Europe collide with horrors of The Handmaid’s Tale, before washing up on a joyful seashore. King Leontes rips his family apart with his jealousy but grief opens his heart. Will he find the child he abandoned before it is too late?

Cost
Free

Ways to watch
BBC iPlayer

Lights Up

This new BBC Four season brings together productions that were either closed, or never even opened to the public, due to the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 18 new plays will be presented across TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds and radio. On BBC Four, that includes Yasmin Joseph’s J’Ouvert, winner of the James Tait Black Drama Prize, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions and filmed at the Harold Pinter Theatre where it plays as part of SFP’s RE:EMERGE season; and Orpheus in the Record Shop, written by acclaimed rapper and playwright Testament (Black Men Walking, The Beatboxer), which fuses spoken word and beatboxing with classical music in a collaboration between Opera North and Leeds Playhouse.

Cost
Free

Notable productions
Sitting (Katherine Parkinson)

Ways to watch
BBC iPlayer

The Greatest Play

A universal love story that celebrates the human race in all its glorious messiness, confusion and joy. A man wakes in the middle of the night to discover that the world has stopped. Through the crack in his bedroom curtains he can see no signs of life at all… other than a light in the house opposite where a woman in an over-sized Bowie T-shirt stands, looking back at him. Starring Julie Hesmondhalgh (Coronation Street, Broadchurch), The Greatest Play… is squashed full of exquisite observation and heartbreaking beauty. It’s streaming from 26th to 30th May via Chester Storyhouse, and from 7th June to 12th via Hull Truck Theatre.

Cost
£10+

Ways to watch
Various

Southwark Playhouse

The theatre is also presenting productions both in-person and online. Productions include Charles Dyer’s comedy Staircase (3rd July), and Neil Bartram and Brian Hill’s musical You Are Here, starring Wendi Peters (22nd May).

Cost
£22

Ways to watch
Southwark Playhouse website

The Shows Must Go On!

The Shows Must Go On is a YouTube channel that has been streaming musicals for free on Fridays during the past year – although they have become a lot more intermittent in recent months. Now, it’s returning with a special live concert presented by Theatre Support Fund+, The Shows Must Go On! and National Theatre Live. It will be streamed from the Palace Theatre on Sunday 6th June at 7pm.

Cost
Free

Notable productions
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starring Donny Osmond
Jesus Chris Superstar, starring Tim Minchin
Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds

Ways to watch
YouTube

Harrogate Theatre

This theatre is streaming several productions. Flux follows Kate, a physicist in the male-dominated labs of the 1980s. With puppetry, an electrifying set of shadow and light and a filmic score, Flux journeys into the kaleidoscope of Kate’s mind; the neon glow, the radioactive tunes and the ride of a lifetime. Streaming on 3rd and 4th June.

It’s followed by Aidy the Awesome on 13th June. Aidy is a normal 8 year old girl… or so she thinks! One day she discovers a family secret that changes everything. Aidy and her granny embark on an adventure that turns their world upside down. An aerial theatre show for all the family, it’s been reimagined for film and when you book you’ll get a superhero activity pack delivered to your home.

Cost
£10

Ways to watch
TBC

Touching the Void

Perched on an unstable snow-cliff and battered by freezing winds, Simon is desperate to rescue his injured climbing partner who hangs from a rope below him. Meanwhile, Joe teeters on the brink of death and despair in a crevasse from which he can’t possibly climb to safety. What happens when you look death squarely in the face and how do you find the strength to crawl back towards life? Following its sold-out world premiere in Bristol and critically acclaimed West End run, Touching the Void returns for one week only for a global broadcast, live from Bristol Old Vic – from 26th to 29th May. Directed by Tony Award-winning Tom Morris (War Horse) and adapted from Joe Simpson’s bestselling memoir turned BAFTA-winning film by David Greig. Virtual doors open at 7.30pm and the show starts at 8pm.

Cost
£15

Ways to watch
Bristol Old Vic website

Uncle Vanya

2020’s West End production of the iconic Chekhov play, directed by Ian Rickson, was performed at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre. After its run was curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the BBC has stepped in to film a version of the production, which was produced during lockdown without an audience. The impressive cast were present, though, including Toby Jones, Richard Armitage, Rosalind Eleazar, Aimee Lou Wood, Anna Calder-Marshall, Dearbhla Molloy and Peter Wight, with Roger Allam replacing Ciarán Hinds. It’s available until November 2021.

Cost
Free

Notable productions
Uncle Vanya

Ways to watch
BBC iPlayer

Sky Arts

After broadcasting Twelfth Night and Jane Eyre, Sky Arts has premiered a new National Theatre production of Romeo & Juliet, starring Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley. The production is available on-demand until 3rd May. Watch out for the Almeida Theatre’s superb production of Hymn, starring Adrian Lester and Danny Sapani, at 11pm on 22nd April. Also streaming are Billy Elliot, Phantom of the Opera (25th anniversary production), Martin Sherman’s Rose starring Maureen Lipman, The Wiz Live, The Sound Of Music Live, New Order: Live At Alexandra Palace, The Three Tenors: From Caracalla To The World and Muse: Drones World Tour

Ways to watch
Sky TV
NOW (£9.99 a month)

Soho Theatre

Soho Theatre On Demand has a range of plays available to stream, including the Boss of It All, “probably the best Danish office comedy in the world” based on Lars Von Trier’s cult film (filmed on Zoom in September 2020), and Typical, a specially filmed version of the Edinburgh and Soho hit starring Richard Blackwood.

Cost
Various

Ways to watch
Soho Theatre website

Royal Court Theatre

In a damaged world, four characters search for the light. Angry, funny, defiant, kind and cruel, Crave is a deeply personal meditation on the meaning of love. Last year , the production of Sarah Kane’s seminal was live streamed from Chichester Festival Theatre for eight performances. Now, it’s available on-demand until 29th May. Click here for more information.

Cost
£10-£20

Ways to watch
YouTube

The Mermaid’s Tongue

The line between plays and escape rooms has been brilliantly blurred by this fun puzzle from immersive storytellers, Swamp Motel. Your help is needed to track down an ancient lost artefact. Thrown into a murky underworld, you’ll have to hack into CCTV, outbid a high-end art dealer, and decipher messages from beyond the grave. Every click will immerse you deeper in the mystery. What is the Mermaid’s Tongue? And who are the dark forces who will stop at nothing to beat you to it? Running until 30th May 2021.

Cost
£55 (group ticket)

Ways to watch
The Mermaid’s Tongue website

BritBox

BritBox has bagged a collection of productions from the Royal Opera, RSC and Donmar Warehouse, with 25 Shakespeare plays, a host of ballet performances and operatic recordings. They’re joined by a bunch of notable Universal titles, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats (1998), Jesus Christ Superstar (2012), Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (2000) and The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall. Performances of Billy Elliot (2014) and the 25th anniversary performance of Miss Saigon (2016).

Cost
£4.99 a month

Notable productions

King Lear, starring Antony Sher
Richard II, starring David Tennant
Macbeth, starring Christopher Eccleston.
Phylidda Lloyd’s all-female The Tempest, Henry IV and Julius Caesar with Harriet Walter
Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty (2017)
Puccini’s Madame Butterfly (2017)

Ways to watch
Britbox.co.uk

The Wind in the Willows

Join Ratty, Badger, Mole and the impulsive Toad as they embark on a series of riotous adventures spiralling from Toad’s insatiable need for speed. Featuring eye-popping design and exuberant choreography, this music adaptation is written by creator of Downton Abbey Julian Fellowes and Olivier-award winning composer and lyricist George Stiles and Anthony Drewe.
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Cost
£4.99

Ways to watch
The Wind in the Willows website

National Theatre at Home

The National Theatre has finished streaming its selection of NT Live productions for free on YouTube every Thursday. Now, it’s launched its own streaming platform, which includes a number of NT recordings – from Angels in America to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – available to rent from £5.99 each or stream as part of a £9.98 monthly subscription.

Cost
£9.98 a month

Ways to watch
Official website

Notable Productions
Coriolanus (Tom Hiddleston)
Othello (Adrian Lester)
Yerma (Billie Piper)

Stream.Theatre

Stream.Theatre has become a digital hub for a range of productions, including For One Knight Only, an intimate Q&A with Dame Judi Dench, Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Maggie Smith hosted by Sir Kenneth Branagh (21st to 23rd May, 28th to 30th May), Philip Ridley’s Tarantula directed by Wiebke Green (18th to 30th May), Shaun McKenna’s new thriller Rocky Road (30th May to 1st June).

Cost
Various

Ways to watch
stream.theatre

Original Theatre

The Original Theatre Company has become a mainstay for digital theatre productions in the past year, with a range of interesting and often starry productions on its slate, includin The Haunting of Alice Bowles, adapted from the ghost story The Experiment by MR James and starring Tamzin Outhwaite, and a production of The Habit of Art, as well as Good Grief, starring Sian Clifford. Barnes’ People, a series of four theatrical monologues starring Jon Culshaw, Matthew Kelly, Jemma Redgrave and Adrian Scarborough is available until 31st July, along with A Splinter of Ice, a new play by Ben Brown starring Oliver Ford Davies, Stephen Boxer and Sara Crowe. Being Mr Wickham, starring Adrian Lukis, will stream live from the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds on 30th April and 1st May.

Notable productions
Barnes’ People

Cost
From £10

Ways to watch
OriginalTheatre.com

Young Vic Theatre

The Young Vic has launched its own innovative Best Seat in Your House platform, a multi-camera system that will give audiences a choice of views while streaming. Changing Destiny will be the first show the theatre will broadcast with its new streaming system. Dates and ticket information, plus future productions, will be announced soon.

Royal Opera House: Live from Covent Garden

The Royal Opera House has been streaming special performances live from the Royal Opera House over the past year. The line-up has included Dance of the Blessed Spirits, performed by Vadim Muntagirov, Das Lied von der Erde, performed by the Royal Opera House Orchestra and J.S. Bach: Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, as well as Flight Pattern (2019), a poignant response to one of the biggest humanitarian crises facing current society, and Andrea Chénier, David McVicar’s production of Umberto Giordano’s opera set in late 18th-century Paris. Now playing is The Seven Deadly Sins / Mahagonny Songspiel, available until 9th May.

Cost
Various

Notable Productions
Gounod’s Faust
The Sleeping Beauty (Royal Ballet)

Ways to watch
Roh.org.uk

Beethoven’s Fidelo

Antonio Pappano introduces a new production of Beethoven’s only opera, a story of risk and triumph against a backdrop of revolution, starring Lise Davidsen and David Butt Philip. Broadcast on BBC Four, it’s available on BBC iPlayer until July 2021.

Cost
Free

Ways to watch
BBC iPlayer

London Symphony Orchestra

Live music has returned to LSO St Luke’s, even with the doors officially closed. These concerts are available on the LSO YouTube channel and on the streaming service Marquee TV – and, on Fridays, lunchtime recitals are streamed live on YouTube for free and available for a week after the broadcast. Visit the LSO site for more information.

Cost
Various

Notable productions
After Romanticism
Schumann Symphony No. 3

Ways to watch
YouTube / Marquee TV

Mozart’s Requiem

BBC Two broadcast Mozart’s Requiem from English National Opera. It is presented by Danielle De Niese. Performed and recorded specially for a lockdown television audience at the London Coliseum, Mark Wigglesworth makes a welcome return to the podium to conduct the award-winning ENO Chorus and Orchestra and a stellar line up of soloists: Elizabeth Llewellyn, Dame Sarah Connolly, Ed Lyon and Gerald Finley. It is available on BBC iPlayer until October 2021.

Cost
Free

Notable productions
Mozart’s Requiem

Ways to watch
BBC iPlayer

Royal Albert Home

The Royal Albert Hall streamed exclusive sets and performances from artists all summer – ranging from music to drawing – from either the empty Albert Hall, the individual artist’s home, or from the venue’s own archive of recordings throughout the lockdown. You can catch all of them on-demand still for free. Here’s the full line-up. Also streaming this month is a concert from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and their Music Director Designate Vasily Petrenko with Nicola Benedetti, performing music by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky. Available from 15th to 29th April, tickets start from £10.

Cost
Free

Notable Productions
Kaiser Chiefs
KT Tunstall

Ways to watch
YouTube

DigitalTheatre

DigitalTheatre lives up to its name, leading the way with its impressive catalogue of sleekly recorded productions, which hail from theatres across the UK, including the Old Vic, the Young Vic, Manchester’s Palace Theatre and the RSC. There’s also some opera, dance and classical music on offer. If you’re an academic institution, you can also get free access to the whole lot, plus curriculum-linked resources including backstage insights, practitioner interviews and written analysis.

Cost
£7.99 rentals / £9.99 a month

Notable Productions
The Crucible with Richard Armitage (Old Vic)
Hamlet with Maxine Peake (Royal Exchange Theatre)
King Lear with Jonathan Pryce (Almeida Theatre)
Richard II with David Tennant (Barbican)
Into the Woods (Regent Park Open Air)
All My Sons with David Suchet (Apollo Theatre)

Ways to watch
TV, desktop, tablet and mobile through your web browser. Cast to your TV via Apple TV or Chromecast.

Marquee TV

Marquee TV is subscription platform that offers culture on-demand, serving up a collection of dance, opera, theatre, music and documentaries from around the world. Partners include the Globe Theatre, the RSC and the Royal Opera House. Stream everything from the Royal Opera House’s La Traviata, directed by Richard Eyre, to a decent collection of Shakespeare titles.

Cost
£8.99 a month (30-day free trial)

Notable productions
Phylidda Lloyd’s all-female The Tempest, Henry IV and Julius Caesar with Harriet Walter
David Tennant’s Richard II

Ways to watch
iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV and Apple TV apps are all available

OperaVision

If you like opera, this is the place for you. Organised by Opera Europe, it’s an online hub for video streaming of opera productions, which essentially hosts YouTube recordings that are available for free – both live and for several weeks after on-demand. Expiry dates are clear and easy to spot.

Cost
Free

Notable productions
The Turn of the Screw (Britten)

Ways to watch
YouTube

Globe Player

The Globe Theatre on London’s Southbank has its own on-demand platform that contains recordings of its own productions, mostly centred on Shakespeare – including, most impressively, every foreign-language production from its 2012 Globe to Globe festival.

Cost
£3.99 to £11.99

Ways to watch
Globeplayer.tv

Met Opera On Demand

Moe than 700 full-length Met performances are brought together in this online streaming service, which is available worldwide. Titles are broken into chapters for handy viewing, especially for opera newbies.

Cost
$14.99 a month (7-day free trial)

Notable productions
Turandot (Puccini)
Manon (Massenet)

Ways to watch
Fire TV, iOS, Apple TV, Android, Roku

Medici.tv

A platform dedicated entirely to classical music, this is a wonderful collection of concerts and recitals, which lets you watch a decent number of them for free (anything labelled “Replay”). Subscriptions give you full access to the whole lot, with no ads and full HD.

Cost
£9.90 a month

Notable productions
Martha Argerich – Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3
Janine Jansen – Bernstein, Sibelius and Nielsen
Leif Ove Andsnes – Mozart and Strauss

BroadwayHD

This American streaming service is surprisingly available for UK theatre fans too and comprises a strong selection of recorded Broadway productions, ranging from recent revivals of Shakespeare to old musical favourites.

Cost
$10.79 a month (7-day free trial)

Notable productions
Noel Coward’s Present Laughter with Kevin Kline
Romeo & Juliet with Orlando Bloom
Phylidda Lloyd’s all-female The Tempest, Henry IV and Julius Caesar with Harriet Walter
Oklahoma! with Hugh Jackman
An American in Paris (2018)
Holiday Inn (2017)
Jerry Springer The Opera
RSC’s King Lear with Ian McKellen

Come from Away (Apple TV+)

Apple TV+ is getting in on the streaming theatre game, with a recording of the musical Come from Away. Winner of 4 Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical, the show shares the incredible real-life story of the 7,000 air passengers from all over the world who were grounded in Canada during the wake of 9/11, and the small Newfoundland community that invited these “come from aways” into their lives. As uneasiness turned into trust and music soared into the night, gratitude grew into friendships and their stories became a celebration of hope, humanity and unity. A September release is expected.

Cost
£4.99 a month

Ways to watch
Apple TV+

Wigmore Hall

Wigmore Hall already has a collection of chamber music recordings from its Edwardian hall uploaded to its YouTube channel for on-demand streaming.

Cost
Free

Notable productions
Beethoven Festival Weekend

Ways to watch
YouTube

LIVR

A curio among the theatre streaming crowd, LIVR is a virtual reality platform that aims to put you on the front row of the theatre – and even lets you turn around to look at the rest of the audience mid-performance. Compatible with Google Cardboard, you can get a free headset sent to you in the post when you sign up, or choose a free credit instead to unlock a show for 30 days.

Cost
£5.99 a month (1-month free trial)

Notable productions
RUST

Ways to watch
iOS, Android, Samsung Gear VR, Oculus, PlayStation VR, HTC Vive

Netflix

Netflix is already host to a number o stage recordings, including Rodney King, Oh, Hello on Broadway, Springsteen on Broadway and a film adaptation of hard-hitting social drama American Son, plus a film adaptation of The Prom. Now, it’s bringing Diana: A New Musical to our screens before its Broadway debut. The musical – starring Jeanne de Wall – was filmed in the empty Longacre Theatre, directed by Christopher Ashley. Jeanne is joined by Roe Hartrampf as Prince Charles, Erin Davie as Camilla Parker Bowles, and Judy Kaye as Queen Elizabeth.

Cost
£9.99 a month (1-month free trial)

Radiohead

Radiohead is releasing a gig every week once again on YouTube – until they run out of concerts to dig up from their archive recordings.

Cost
Free

Notable Productions
Live at Summer Sonic
Live in Berlin
Live in Buenos Aires

Ways to watch
YouTube

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