National Theatre launches NATIONAL THEATRE AT HOME, a new streaming service giving worldwide digital access to their much-loved filmed productions
– Titles available to watch from today include Coriolanus, Dara, I Want My Hat Back, Medea, Mosquitoes, The Cherry Orchard, Three Sisters, Phèdre and Yerma.
– With casts including Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, Adrian Lester, Helen McCrory, Michaela Coel, Helen Mirren, Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga, Zubin Varla, Prasanna Puwanarajah, Alfred Enoch and Lucian Msamati.
– The platform is now available to watch online and on smart TV, tablet and mobile apps.
– Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, National Theatre at Home will bring world-leading performances to a global audience.
National Theatre at Home is available now at ntathome.com
The National Theatre, in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, has today launched National Theatre at Home, a brand-new streaming platform making their much-loved productions available online to watch anytime, anywhere worldwide. Launching today with productions including the first ever National Theatre Live, Phèdre with Helen Mirren, Othello with Adrian Lester and the Young Vic’s Yerma with Billie Piper, new titles from the NT’s unrivalled catalogue of filmed theatre will be added to the platform every month. In addition to productions previously broadcast to cinemas by National Theatre Live, a selection of plays filmed for the NT’s Archive will be released online for the first time through National Theatre at Home, including Lucy Kirkwood’s Mosquitoes with Olivia Colman and Inua Ellams’ new version of Chekhov’s Three Sisters (a co-production with Fuel).
Viewers can choose a monthly or annual subscription to access the full catalogue and exclusive backstage content, or can opt to rent single plays for a 72-hour window. National Theatre at Home is available for streaming online through any web browser and in Apple (iOS / tvOS), Google (Android / Android TV), Roku TV and Amazon Fire TV.
National Theatre at Home’s digital streaming offer was first made available during the UK’s first COVID lockdown when theatres and cinemas were closed. For 16 weeks from the beginning of April until the end of July, productions were made available for free on the National Theatre’s YouTube channel every Thursday at 7pm UK time, which were then available on demand for the following seven days. This resulted in over 15 million views for 16 productions over four months and reached 173 countries around the world.
Following this overwhelming response, the NT today launches a new, lasting and extensive iteration of National Theatre at Home, with the ambition of bringing world-class performances to a global audience. The platform will also provide welcome support for artists and theatres during this unpredictable time.
Lisa Burger, Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive of the National Theatre, said: “We were overjoyed to have had 15 million views for National Theatre at Home earlier this year and to discover we had reached so many audiences new to theatre both in the UK and worldwide. At a time when many people were isolated at home, it was uplifting to see audiences recreate the shared experience of visiting the theatre. From homemade tickets to interval drinks, NT at Home was a way of making people feel more connected. And so, since the last stream finished in July, we have been determined to find a way to give our audiences access to these stunning filmed productions online once again. With the agreement from artists, we are now able to showcase an extraordinary range of fantastic NT Live productions and, for the first time, some treasured plays from our NT Archive. This is a really exciting day for the National Theatre as we launch a major, online streaming destination for our filmed theatre productions which we hope will continue to provide audiences with the power and joy of theatre for as long as it is needed. We want National Theatre at Home to once again bring people together from all over the world after what has been a very tough 2020 for so many.”
Jemma Read, Global Head of Corporate Philanthropy at Bloomberg LP said: “At Bloomberg Philanthropies, we believe in the transformative power of art and performance to inspire societal change and economic growth. The pandemic continues to impact creative communities and those with fewer resources disproportionately; as we adjust to a new normal, National Theatre at Home will generate artistic opportunity and will offer a safe way for an audience of unprecedented size and diversity to enjoy world-leading performances.”
For unlimited access to the catalogue on National Theatre at Home, a subscription will be £9.98 per month or £99.98 per year. For access to a single play in a 72 hour window, it will be £5.99 for an NT Archive title and National Theatre Live titles are available from £7.99.
The National Theatre will collaborate with Bloomberg Philanthropies to deliver a programme of free subscriptions and discounts to viewers in the UK and globally, reflecting our shared commitment of ensuring National Theatre at Home is available to all.
National Theatre at Home is available now at ntathome.com.
#NationalTheatreatHome
National Theatre Live titles launching today:
Amadeus
The 2016 National Theatre production of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus which first appeared on the National Theatre stage in 1979 and was later turned into an Oscar-winning film. This iconic drama follows rowdy young musical prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played by Adam Gillen (Fresh Meat, Benidorm). Awestruck by Mozart’s genius, Court Composer Antonio Salieri, played by Lucian Msamati (His Dark Materials, Master Harold and The Boys), has the power to promote his talent or destroy it. Seized by obsessive jealousy he begins a war with Mozart, with music and, ultimately, with God. Michael Longhurst’s acclaimed production features live orchestral accompaniment by Southbank Sinfonia.
Coriolanus
The Donmar Warehouse production of Coriolanus staged by former Artistic Director Josie Rourke (Mary Queen of Scots). When an old adversary threatens Rome, the city calls once more on her hero and defender: Coriolanus. But he has enemies at home too. In one of the Donmar’s most popular ever productions, Tom Hiddleston (Avengers, The Night Manager) plays the title role in Shakespeare’s searing tragedy of political manipulation and revenge. Cast also includes Alfred Enoch (Trust Me, Harry Potter), Deborah Findlay (Romeo & Juliet, The Split) and Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Dracula).
Medea
This exhilarating, modern adaptation ofMedea was originally staged in the National Theatre’s Olivier in 2014. Helen McCrory (Peaky Blinders, The Deep Blue Sea) plays the title role in Euripides’ powerful tragedy of heartbreak and revenge, as a woman stricken with grief plans appalling revenge on her ex-husband and to destroy everything she holds dear. The cast also includes Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You, Chewing Gum), Danny Sapani (Star Wars, Black Panther) and Dominic Rowan (Press, The Crown) in a version by Ben Power, directed by Carrie Cracknell with music written by Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp.
Othello
Nicholas Hytner’s (The History Boys, One Man, Two Guvnors) critically acclaimed 2013 Olivier theatre production of Othello, Shakespeare’s timeless tale of envy and brutal revenge. Adrian Lester plays Othello and Rory Kinnear is the duplicitous Iago, in the roles that jointly won them Best Actor at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Furious about being overlooked for promotion, Iago plots to take revenge against his General, Othello.
Phèdre
The very first National Theatre Live broadcast from the National Theatre’s Lyttelton theatre in 2009. Helen Mirren plays the title role in award-winning director Nicholas Hytner’s production of the classic Greek tragedy by Jean Racine, in a new version by Ted Hughes. Consumed by an uncontrollable passion for her young stepson, played by Dominic Cooper (The History Boys, Mamma Mia), and believing her absent husband is dead, Phèdre confesses her darkest desires and enters the world of nightmare. The cast includes Ruth Negga (Ad Astra, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D).
The Cherry Orchard
Zoë Wanamaker (My Family, Harry Potter) plays Ranyevskaya in Andrew Upton’s version of Chekhov’s classic play, set in Russia in 1904, which captures a poignant moment in Russia’s history. Ranyevskaya and her brother snub the lucrative scheme of a local entrepreneur to save their family estate and in doing so, they jeopardise the fate of their beloved cherry orchard. Directed by Howard Davies, the cast also includes Conleth Hill (The Antipodes, Game of Thrones), Charity Wakefield (The Great, Wolf Hall) and Mark Bonnar (Catastrophe, Line of Duty).
Yerma
The Young Vic’s Olivier Award winning 2017 production Yerma with Billie Piper (I Hate Suzie, Collateral) in the title role that made her the only female actor to have won all six of the currently available UK Theatre Best Actress awards for a single performance. After two sold-out runs at the Young Vic, it transferred to New York in 2018. A young woman is driven to the unthinkable by her desperate desire to have a child in director Simon Stone’s radical production of Lorca’s achingly powerful masterpiece. Set in contemporary London, this portrayal of a woman in her thirties desperate to conceive builds with elemental force to a staggering, shocking, climax. A production from the Young Vic, filmed by National Theatre Live. Yerma is currently not available in the USA.
National Theatre Archive titles launching today:
Dara
This 2015 celebrated production of Shahid Nadeem’s epic tale of the dispute that shaped modern-day India and Pakistan is directed by Nadia Fall (Three Sisters). Set in 1659 Mughal, India, the play follows a ferocious war of succession raging between the heirs to the Muslim empire and two brothers with very different visions of its future. Adapted by Tanya Ronder (Table, Vernon God Little), the play was originally performed by Ajoka Theatre, Pakistan. The cast includes Zubin Varla (Our Girl, Little Dorrit) in the title role and Prasanna Puwanarajah (Doctor Foster).
I Want My Hat Back
The Olivier Award nominated 2015 musical adaptation of Jon Klassen’s best-selling children’s picture book classic, I Want My Hat Back, features music by Arthur Darvill (The Antipodes, Doctor Who) with book and lyrics by Joel Horwood (The Ocean at the End of the Lane). Bear’s hat is gone. He loves his hat. He wants it back. He asks all the animals in the forest, but no one has seen it. WAIT! He has seen it somewhere… This production is suitable for children aged three years and older.
Mosquitoes
Olivia Colman (The Crown, The Favourite) and Olivia Williams (An Education, Tartuffe) play sisters in this critically acclaimed 2017 play by Lucy Kirkwood (The Welkin, Chimerica), directed by National Theatre Director Rufus Norris. In 2008, as the Large Hadron Collider searches for the Higgs boson, tragedy throws two sisters together. The collision threatens them all with chaos.
Three Sisters
Chekhov’s iconic characters are relocated to Nigeria on the brink of the Biafran Civil War in this adaptation by Inua Ellams (Barber Shop Chronicles). Set in Nigeria in 1967, three sisters are grieving the loss of their father and long to return to their former home in Lagos as conflict encroaches on their provincial village. Directed by Nadia Fall, the three sisters are played by Sarah Niles (I May Destroy You), Racheal Ofori (In The Long Run) and Natalie Simpson (Outlander). The production opened at the Lyttelton theatre in December 2019 and ran until 19 February 2020. Originally commissioned by Metta Theatre. A production from the National Theatre and Fuel.