National Theatre launch new global streaming service of shows

'National Theatre at Home' will allow audiences to watch filmed productions anytime, anywhere.

Following the success of National Theatre at Home earlier this year, the National Theatre have announced a new streaming service. In partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the service will allow audiences to watch a series of productions wherever they are in the world, launching on 1 December.

National Theatre at Home was one of the first theatre streaming services, with 16 productions streamed from April to July 2020. During the four months, streams clocked up over 15 million views and were watched in 173 countries worldwide.

"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." said Lisa Burger, executive director and joint chief executive of the National Theatre. She continued to say: 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... 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." 

All titles available to watch today include:

Amadeus  - Lucian Msamati plays Antonio Salieri in this 2016 production, adapted from the Academy Award-winning film. Salieri begins a war with Mozart, with music and with God.

Coriolanus  - Tom Hiddleston plays the titular role in the 2013 Donmar Warehouse production, directed by Josie Rourke. Alfred Enoch, Deborah Findlay and Mark Gatiss also star.

Dara  - First performed in Pakistan, Shahid Nadeem's play sees a war develop between heirs to the Muslim future. Dara was at the National Theatre in 2015, starring Zubin Varla and Prasanna Puwanarajah.

I Want My Hat Back - Adapting the children's book of the same name into a musical, enjoy this Olivier Award-nominated production, with music by Arthur Darvill and a book and lyrics by Joel Horwood.

Medea - Helen McCrory plays the eponymous woman, who plans to seek revenge on her ex-husband. Staged in 2014, Ben Power's adaptation features Michaela Coel, Danny Sapani  and Dominic Rowan.

Mosquitoes  - As the Large Hadron Collider searches for the Higgs boson, the collision forces two sisters together. Olivia Colman and Olivia Williams star in Lucy Kirkwood's 2017 play.

Othello - Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear play Othello and Iago respectively in the 2013 production, which saw both actors winning Best Actor at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

Phèdre  - Helen Mirren plays the title role in Jean Racine's Greek tragedy, adapted by Ted Hughes. Phèdre made history as the first NT Live broadcast in 2009, starring Dominic Cooper and Ruth Negga.

The Cherry Orchard - Anton Chekhov's play is given a new twist in Andrew Upton's adaptation, with Zoe Wanamaker as Ranyevskaya. Set at the turn of the 1905 Russian Revolution, a family must save their estate and their beloved cherry orchard. The cast includes Conleth Hill, Charity Wakefield and Mark Bonnar.

Three Sisters - Sarah Niles, Rachael Ofori and Natalie Simpson play the sisterly trio in Chekhov's play, newly set in 1960s Nigeria. Inua Ellams' adaptation ran at the National Theatre in December 2019 to February 2020.

Yerma - Billie Piper's performance in this 2017 production saw her win every Best Actress award in the UK. Set in London, Simon Stone's adaptation follows a young woman who wants to conceive.

To access all content, viewers can select between a monthly or annual subscription. There will also be opportunity to access a single play, available for 72 hours. More information on subscriptions can be found here. 

^{Photo credit: National Theatre at Home artwork (Photo courtesy of National Theatre)}