Theatre to Watch at Home: Digital Theatre Listings

We’ve put together a list of places that you can watch recorded and live theatre streamed online while you are sitting at home in quarantine. Hopefully this can give you the little dose of theatre you have been missing! With more exciting fringe theatre put online daily, we’ve added a separate list at the bottom, along with a section for audio dramas.

Feel free to comment on this post  or email us at contact@londonplaywrights.org if you know of anything we have missed or would like us to list your show!

 

Online Streaming Services

 

Shakespeare’s Globe Player

The Globe hosts their online streaming service Globe Player where you can pay to watch recordings and streams of past productions, as well as enjoy free content such as short renditions of Shakespeare plays such as The Winter’s Tale and Julius Caesar as part of their Shakespeare Lives series.

Marquee TV

Catch a number of live recordings of RSC plays, a spring season of Oscar Wilde classics, the Shakespeare Trilogy at the Donmar Warehouse and more. You can subscribe to a 7 day free trial or join their monthly subscription for £8.99 a month. Watch here.

Soho Theatre On Demand

Various original Soho Theatre shows, including stand-up comedy are available via their Theatre on Demand platform. Most of the shows are an affordable £4!

Digital Theatre

Digital Theatre offers a wide range of theatre, opera, film and dance. From Funny Girl starring Sheridan Smith, to It’s True, It’s True, It’s True by Breach Theatre. Subscribe for £9.99 a month or £7.99 for individual plays. Watch here. 

National Theatre At Home

Some of the most popular National Theatre shows (and more) from the past decade are available via National Theatre At Home. From Mosquitoes by Lucy Kirkwood starring Olivia Colman, to Nicholas Hytner’s critically acclaimed production of Othello, this is a real treat! You can rent an individual play for £7.99 or subscribe for £9.98 per month.

Stage 2 View

A good collection of plays and musicals such as Kinky Boots, Red and An American in Paris. Rent for £6.99 per show. Watch here.

Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage

Sadler’s Wells presents a programme of full-length dance performances, films and workshops online, to keep you entertained and connected through dance, wherever you are in the world. Watch here.

Southwark Playhouse

Southwark Playhouse have an ongoing line-up of shows to watch online. They are currently streaming Shook by Samuel Bailey, which is available until 28th March. Watch here.

Thespie

Less of a streaming service and more of a directory of lots of digital theatre and talks you can access, quite good if you want to search for something across multiple platforms. If there’s anything we’ve missed, it’ll be on here! https://thespie.com/

LIVR

LIVR is the home of theatre in Virtual Reality. If you want an immersive, 360° experience watching digital theatre, this is the place to go. You can stream some brilliant fringe shows here, such as Medea Electronica and First Time (I saw this at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019 and it was amazing!) You can subscribe to a one month free trial, then it’s £5.99 per month after that. They’ll also send you a free VR headset. Watch here.

UbuWeb (FREE)

An educational resource that complies avant-garde material available on the internet for free, such as Tracey Emin’s Why I Never Became a Dancer and Pina Bausch’s Café Müller. Watch here.

 

Individual Companies

 

Guildhall School of Music and Drama (FREE)

Guildhall have a really interesting line-up of digitally broadcast shows performed by their final year acting students. Productions include two collaborations with a couple of my favourite companies Breach and Barrel Organ from Friday 16th of April until Friday the 30th of April, as well as some well-known plays such as Mr Burns by Anne Washburn and Love and Information by Caryl Churchill. And it’s all FREE! Watch here.

The Old Vic

The Old Vic in London have commissioned various digital projects that you can watch online as part of ‘Your Old Vic’, including One Hand Tied Behind Us, a series of monologues curated by Maxime Peake in 2018 to mark 100 years since the Representation of the People Act. Watch here.

Battersea Arts Centre – ‘Wild Times’ Spring Season

The Battersea Arts Centre has a fantastic line-up of digital content in lots of different forms, including The Motherhood Project (a collection of 15 short films) and Lights Over Tesco Car Park: The Abductions by Poltergeist (a 360° experience). Check out the full line-up here.

Bristol Old Vic At Home

Bristol Old Vic have an ongoing line-up of digital theatre to stream, with something new to watch almost every week, including Pink Mist by Owen Sheers until 22nd of April. Watch here.

Rocket Box Theatre: Rocket Bytes (DONATIONS)

A season of digital audio theatre, with a new piece released every Monday, ranging from 30 minute radio plays to 5 minute spoken word shorts. Listen here.

Rifco Theatre

Rifco Theatre, a touring company celebrating British Asian contemporary experiences, has gone digital with various web series and digital recordings to enjoy. Watch here or check out their YouTube channel here.

The Mono Box: The Monologue Library (FREE)

More than 100 monologues performed by actors such as Simon Russell Beale, Riz Ahmed, Gina McKee, Sheila Atim and Denish Gough have been added to The Monologue Library. Watch here.

Morpheus Theatre

Morpheus Theatre are streaming a bunch of live, immersive experiences online: “a unique, mind-bending experience that you can try from the comfort of your own sofa – or table, or bed”. Tickets are all £39, book here.

Swamp Motel

Another immersive entertainment company offering theatrical thrillers made for the internet, including their critically acclaimed Plymouth Point. Group tickets are £55, book here.

Original Theatre Company

Original Theatre Company has moved online with online productions available to stream such as Good Grief by Lorien Haynes, starring Sian Clifford and Nikesh Patel; and Barnes’ People, a series of four theatrical monologues by Peter Barnes. Watch here.

The Space

The Space are streaming a variety of live productions. Find out more here.

Individual Productions

 

Misfits by Lekha Desai

A modern family comedy about Meera, a traditional Indian mother, with a status to maintain within her much-feared community steeped in old-fashioned values. To fit in, she sets out to find a bride via a dating website for her gay son Rajiv. Live performance takes place 29 June-3rd July and will stream for a fortnight. Book here.

ASSEMBLY by Nina Segal at the Donmar Warehouse (FREE)

Livestreamed from the Donmar Warehouse, ASSEMBLY is mixture of live performance, animation and sound that looks at the impact humans are having on nature, and the meaning of future. Watch here.

Royal Exchange Theatre: Oh Woman! (FREE)

Six female writers have been commissioned to create an original audio experience inspired by the extraordinary women in their lives. Each piece is accompanied by illustrations by Hannah McLennan-Jones. Watch here. 

Sound Stage by Pitlochry Festival Theatre and The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh

A new immersive audio theatre which, from late March, will première 8 new plays written by, amongst others, John Byrne, Mark Ravenhill, Roy Williams, Frances Poet and Lynda Radley. Check out the full line-up here.

Royal Court’s Living Newspaper 

The Royal Court are compiling short new pieces of writing into the form of a new ‘living newspaper’ released every week, telling the stories that matter to writers now. The 3rd and 4th editions are available now for £10 each, and you can get a four week deal for £36. Watch here.

National Theatre’s Romeo & Juliet 

Originally broadcast in early April, National Theatre’s first original film is still availible to watch via a Sky or NOW TV subscription (£9.99). Intended to be a live show in London last summer, the play starring Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley, directed by Simon Godwin, has been adapted into a film for us all to enjoy while the National is closed. Watch here.

HOME Part One at the Abbey Theatre

A direct response to the report on Mother and Baby Homes in January 2021 that investigated the discrimination experienced by vulnerable women and children in mother and baby institutions in Ireland, focusing on the testimonies of survivors. Available to watch until mid-July here.

Talking Heads on iPlayer (FREE)

You can still catch Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads on iPlayer. 12 monologues to choose from, performed by Imelda Staunton, Tamsin Grieg and more familiar faces. Watch here.

I Wish I Was A Mountain by Toby Thompson (FREE)

Written and performed by former Glastonbury Poetry Slam Champion Toby Thompson, I Wish I Was A Mountain uses rhyme, live music, and just a smattering of metaphysical philosophy to boldly reimagine Herman Hesse’s classic fairytale. Watch here.

A Winter’s Tale at the Barbican (FREE)

A production from Cheek by Jowl at the Barbican in 2017 is available to stream. Watch here.

Only the Brave, Presented by Soho Theatre/ Wales Millennium Centre/ Daniel Sparrow/ Birdsong (FREE)

Only the Brave, the hit musical starring Caroline Sheen and David Thaxton, is available for free online. Watch here.

Getting Better Slowly at Gain Charity (DONATIONS)

Commissioned by the GAIN charity Adam Pownall’s play about recovery is available to stream now. Watch here.

Uncle Vanya on iPlayer (FREE)

A recording of Ian Rickson’s production of Chekhov’s play performed to an empty auditorium in 2020, starring Toby Jones, Richard Armitage and Roger Allam. You can catch it on BBC iPlayer until the end of the year. Watch here.

Musicals: The Greatest Show

A concert recorded at the London Palladium celebrating of the best of musical theatre with showstoppers from the West End’s biggest productions, performed by familiar faces such as Sheridan Smith, Elaine Paige and Michael Ball. Available on BBC iPlayer until the end of the year. Watch here.

Hamilton on Disney+

Filmed in 2016 with the original cast, watch it on Disney+.

 

Fringe Theatre Streams

• REALLY WANT TO HURT ME by Ben SantaMaria. Watch here.
• A new version of King Lear adapted by Jo Emery, livestreamed from the Pump House Theatre Watford 12th – 15th May 2021. Book your tickets here.
• 5 Encounters on a Site Called Craigslist from YESYESNONO. Watch here.
• Matchstick Theatre Presents ‘N89‘ watch here
• Come To Where I Am – Theatre company Paines Plough has launched an app which houses 160 new short plays from writers about their relationships with home. More info here.
• Isolated But Open: Voices From Across the Shutdown – made up of 12 monologues which will be available to view for free online. Watch here.
• Bubble – Theatre Uncut’s new play has a cast who have never met, rehearsed on Skype and filmed their parts on their phones. Watch here.
• The ace @bloom_theatre are bringing their SAPLINGS 2.(0)LINE – a virtual showcase of new writing and performances – direct to your living rooms. Watch here.
• Clownspiracy by Strike Up Theatre. Watch here.
• Compacts: a series of original short plays and monologues. Watch here. 
• Four Thieves Vinegar 2020. Watch here.
• Breathe by Neil Bebber. Watch here. 
• Lost Souls Monologues is ‘Beauty Parlor’, starring Maggie Wheeler as Angie. Listen here.

Radio and audio dramas

• • Three Three Three by White Noise Theatre, an audio play following three women working at a callcentre. Listen via Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube.
  • Radio Drama Festival’s season of short form radio dramas. Listen here.
  • Hand to Mouth Sound Theatre’s series of short radio plays and stories. Listen here.
  • Placeprints a 10 part audio series by David Rudkin is streaming now on the New Perspectives Website. Listen here.
  • Bitter Pill Theatre Company releases a new audio play every fortnight as part of The Painkiller Podcast. Listen here.
  • Natura Contemporary Theatre free podcast of their production ‘The Tree Charter Tapestry. Listen here.
  • Retired Upstage by Benjamin Peel available on BBC Sounds. Listen here. 
  • Owdyado Theatre Company – Twisted Tales in Lockdown audio plays. Listen here.
  • Sorry I’m Late, I didn’t Want to Come (Radio Sitcom Pilot). Listen here. 
  • Babywall by Brian Coyle. Listen here.
  • The North Wall have some great digital work going on, including The Seekers Podcast and A Passion Play by Margaret Perry. More info here.
  • The Christopher Boy’s Communion by David Mamet on BBC Radio 4 Drama. Listen here.
  • Humane, a 6-part audio drama by Polly Creed/ True Name Theatre. Listen here.

Student Theatre

• Scottish Online Student Drama Festival is still hosting some of their very creative and interesting plays from the festival on their YouTube channel. Watch here.
• Chet: Behind the Mask by Patrick O’Brien and Shoot the Messenger Productions. Watch here.