Thanks to COVID-19 and the sad but very necessary shutdown of theatres everywhere, a lot of theatre companies have taken their craft online. I am sure that the theatre geeks amongst you will have already caught on to this and have already enjoyed watching some productions online. If you, like me, follow all of the theatre blogs, you will probably find yourself absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of shows offered and if you haven’t known about this yet, let me introduce you to the absolute legends and wonders that are theatres and their staff around the world who are sharing their art with us in these trying times!
In an effort to still provide the public with some quality theatre, a lot of theatres and theatre companies have decided to stream some of their productions online, so that you can watch a lot of shows in your own self-quarantine at home. And, most of them are free!
I am personally one of the people who miss theatre significantly and even though watching it through a computer screen isn’t the same as being “in the room where it happens” as it were, it still manages to bring so much joy nonetheless. And to share the joy with all of you guys, I have assembled a list of the hottest – virtual – ticket in town and would like to invite you to come on this theatrical journey with me.
Theatre Offered Online
Both London’s West End and NYC’s Broadway are doing their best to make shows accessible for audiences across the globe.
- The National Theatre in London lets you watch one of their NTLive performances for free on YouTube. Just as the Hampstead Theatre, the show changes every week and includes performances by actors such as Tom Hiddleston and Gillian Anderson.
- You can catch some fabulous pieces from the archives of the world famous Globe Theatre in London, which are all Shakespearean of course, on their website.
- On the YouTube channel The Show Must Go On, Andrew Lloyd Webber will release one of his shows every week for 48 hours for you to watch. They will be uploaded every Friday or Saturday morning depending where you are located, last week was Cats! and this weekend saw The Sound of Music stream.
- Eugenius! was one of the most popular musicals in 2018. Unfortunately, it has closed its doors since then, but now, an archive edition of the musical has been uploaded to Facebook for you to enjoy!
- Directly from Canada’s Stratford Festival into your home: watch their productions of Shakespeare’s classic Coriolanus here.
- In case you’re already done with your free trials for Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+, here is what you need to sign up for next: Broadway HD. Here, you can stream as many Broadway shows as you’d like and you get a 7 day free period!
- And speaking of Disney+; the streaming platform will show the hit show Hamilton on July 3rd with the original Broadway cast from 2016.
Theatre To Own
If you are the kind of person who likes to own their art, that is absolutely A-OK because there are a lot of plays and musicals to choose from.
I always recommend having a look at the National Theatre Shop for a variety of DVD’s for your viewing pleasure at home, but unfortunately it had to be closed due to the health crisis as well. But I encourage you to take a note of the shop in any case!
Unfortunately, my research on an online shop for Broadway DVD’s has been somewhat inconclusive, so if you have a recommendation for your fellow theatre nerds, I would very much appreciate if you left a comment.
In the meantime, I will send you over to Amazon for some theatre goodness.
Here are my most recommended plays to watch:
- The Tempest
- Rent
- The Phantom of the Opera
- Hamlet
- The Hollow Crown Trilogy
However and whatever you watch, I hope you enjoy it as much as if it were live!
We at the Nerd Daily would love to know if you watched any of these plays/musicals and how they were. If you have not yet managed to see a production, do let us know which one(s) you’re most excited about and leave us a comment below!
