As ARC’s cinema continues to broadcast an ecletic mix of breathtaking theatre, the ground breaking National Theatre Live programme has enabled a global audience to experience a selection of the National Theatre’s critically acclaimed plays live on the big screen from 500 venues across the world.
As the programme celebrates reaching 1.2 million viewers around the world, National Theatre Live is encouraging new audiences to experience the best of the National Theatre for themselves at their local cinema.
For one night the National Theatre introduces cameras into the auditorium to broadcast selected plays live from stage to screen throughout the year. The summer National Theatre Live broadcast will see Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren reprising her role as Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience, which will broadcast at ARC on Thursday 13 June, followed by Shakespeares classic tale of jealousy, Othello on Thursday 26 September.
A live broadcast performance of Alan Bennett’s latest play, People, took place at the end of March. Alan Bennett is one of Britain’s most celebrated playwrights, and People is the sixth of his plays to have its premiere at the NT. The production saw him reunited with director Nicholas Hytner and Olivier Award-winning actress Frances de la Tour alongside a cast including Linda Bassett, Selina Cadell, Peter Egan and Miles Jupp.
The National Theatre’s initiative to broadcast live performances of plays to cinemas and performing arts venues has been welcomed by theatre fans worldwide with 1.2 million viewers since its launch in 2009. For more information on upcoming broadcasts at ARC, click here.