Planet earth is on lockdown and while the world’s theatres remain closed artists and theatre companies are quickly innovating to bring the magic of the stage online to audiences around the world.
While we all stay home and work together to slow the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, here’s a look at some of the best theatre, performance, dance, ballet and opera that you can stream online from the comfort of your couch this week.
The Centre for the Less Good Idea Season 7
Season 7 of performances by The Centre for the Less Good Idea, William Kentridge’s experimental, collaborative arts space at Arts On Main, held its premiere on Facebook this month and now all six programmes of performances from Season 7 are available to stream in HD at your leisure on Vimeo.
Aside from their astonishing mix of music, dance, theatre, installation, video, animation and poetry by top African artists, what also makes these videos especially engrossing are the fantastic introductions to each performance by Kentridge and the performers outlining the inspirations and themes of the works.
Watch all programmes from Season 7 of the Centre for the Less Good Idea here on their website and on their Vimeo pages.
Market Theatre #TheatreWillRiseAgain
With the South African theatre world locked down for the time being, Joburg’s The Market Theatre Foundation has launched the #TheatreWillRiseAgain social media campaign with South Africa’s leading artists sharing dramatic monologues and solo performances online from iconic South African plays.
The intimate home-recorded videos offer a walk down memory lane of the many outstanding contemporary works staged at Joburg’s Market Theatre over the years.
Daily Shakespeare sonnets read by Sir Patrick Stewart
One of the world’s all-time greatest thesps, Sir Patrick Stewart, has dedicated himself to sharing a fresh performance of a Shakespeare sonnet every day until the crisis is over. There are 156 Shakespeare sonnets. As of April 6, Sir Stewart has shared 11. Watch and listen on his Twitter page here. If you’ve got any teens studying Shakespeare’s sonnets at school his insights into each work area also very educational.
National Theatre Live at Home
London’s National Theatre is streaming a play from its National Theatre Live series (usually screened in cinemas) every week online for free. Every Thursday a new play goes live online and the schedule includes some major powerhouses such as Twelfth Night, Jane Eyre and Treasure Island.
Find the schedule and watch online here https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/nt-at-home
The Bolshoi’s Golden Collection of opera and ballet classics
One of the world’s most acclaimed ballet and opera companies, The Bolshoi in Moscow is streaming iconic masterpieces from its so-called ‘Golden Collection’ on their youtube channel. Works on the schedule include Boris Godunov, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty. Each performance is available on their youtube channel for a 24hour period.
Watch here on youtube and view the schedule here on the Bolshoi website.
The Show Must Go On! West End musicals live
Musical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most iconic productions are going online for free this month as part of the The Show Must Go On! campaign. A new musical goes up on their youtube page every Friday where it will remain available for 48hours. Timed to coincide with the Easter weekend Jesus Christ Superstar goes live on Friday April 10.
Tune in to watch the musicals online here on youtube.
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