Plays for today: the best digital theatre to stream at home now

Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Wise Children, Bristol Old Vic
Wise Children/Bristol Old Vic

Theatre-lovers everywhere are hoping that, come next week, we’ll be able to come together again and finally enjoy the irreplaceable live experience – albeit at a safe distance, masked, in bubbles with people we’re sick of the sight of and probably without the traditional plastic glass of mediocre wine. In the meantime though, you can whet your theatre appetite with these brilliant digital productions - and the wine is likely to be significantly better, as well as being cheaper.  

Death of England: Delroy

Michael Balogun puts in a fierce and funny performance
Cameron Slater

It opened earlier this month to rave reviews - and closed the same night, the last before lockdown 2. Now Clint Dyer and Roy Williams’s furious, funny, smack-in-the-teeth of a play about what it means to be Black and British (a sequel of sorts to their Death of England, which starred Rafe Spall as a confused young white man in thrall to his racist father) has been announced as returning next year - but for 24 hours it’ll be available for free on the National Theatre’s YouTube channel. Do. Not. Miss. It.

The Last Five Years

Molly Lynch and Olli Higginson shine in this livestreamed version (for three nights only) of Jason Robert Brown’s bittersweet musical that charts the five years of a young couple’s relationship - his story chronologically, hers in reverse. Jonathan O’Boyle’s Southwark Playhouse production keeps both actors onstage at all times alongside the band.  

26-29 November, stream.theatre

For One Knight Only

OK technically this is a Zoom call rather than a play, but any theatre-lover worth their salt is going to be keen to hear this digital fireside chat between Dames Judi Dench and Maggi Smith, with Sirs Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi. Another knight, Kenneth Branagh, presides over proceedings, though I rather expect to be somewhat outgunned in the naughty thespian stakes. It’s £45 and it benefits the charity Acting for Others.

29 November, rtflockdown.com

A Christmas Carol

Andrew Lincoln will play Scrooge

The Old Vic’s production of the Dickens classic (written by Jack Thorne) has been their festive stalwart for the last few years and this year is no exception, except that this time it’s part of the theatre’s In Camera season of livestreamed, socially-distanced productions. Andrew Lincoln stars as the miserable miser Scrooge. Listen out for the bells at the end, if you haven’t already shed a tear, they’ll do the trick.  Previous productions, including Three Kings starring Andrew Scott, will now be available to watch on limited dates during December and January.

12-24 December, oldvictheatre.com

Petrichor

This interactive dystopian drama at Theatre Royal Stratford East can (they hope) be experienced in person at the newly socially distanced theatre, or in the comfort of your home - ideally, but not essentially, with a VR headset. Two unlikely individuals meet in a carefully controlled society where suffering and joy have been traded for predictability and stability. But how then are we human? They begin to question everything they’ve ever known...

8-12 Dec, Theatre Royal Stratford East and stratfordeast.com

Flying Lovers of Vitebsk

Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is a visual treat

Streamed live from the state of Bristol Old Vic, Emma Rice’s beautiful, sumptuous production of Daniel Jamieson’s play (based on the lives and love of the painter Marc Chagall and his writer wife Bella) is performed by a company that has been isolating together, so no social distancing will marr the intimacy of this story of two lovers living through some of the most devastating times in European history.  

3-5 Dec, ticketco.tv

good dog

Misty writer Arinzé Kene’s play looks at the creeping effects of want and deprivation on, culminating in the violence that erupted as the summer riots of 2011, through the eyes of a man looking back at his hard but hopeful youth. It’s sweet, beautiful, and delivers one hell of a gut punch. Now it has been adapted into this brilliant 20 minute film for Tiata Fahodzi, starring Anton Cross and directed by Andrew Gillman and Natalie Ibu. Short but richly textured and well worth a watch.  

tiatafahodzi.com

Emilia

Emilia is a riotous, raging celebration of female creativity
Morgan Lloyd-Malcom’s riotous, raging but joyous celebration of female creativity, inspired by the life of the 17th century poet Emilia Bassano (thought to be Shakespeare’s “dark lady”) was a smash hit at the Globe before taking the West End by storm at the Vaudeville. This filmed version might not quite get across the febrile atmosphere of a largely female audience becoming increasingly furious at the injustices portrayed onstage, but it’s a must-see nonetheless.  

To December 2, emilialive.com

What a Carve-up!

This production, adapted from Jonathan Coe’s novel by Henry Filloux-Bennett (artistic director of the Lawrence Batley in Huddersfield), marks a high point of theatre on screen. Alfred Enoch, as amateur detective and narrator Raymond Owen, leads a glorious cast that expertly brings to life Coe’s murder mystery alongside ingeniously deployed archival TV clips. Made with Tamara Harvey from Theatr Clwyd and co-produced with the Barn, Cirencester and the Wolsely, Ipswich, it’s an absolute treat.  

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