The Stage

Sky Arts forms in-house theatre company to broadcast plays live

Published Tuesday 26 May 2009 at 08:04 by Matthew Hemley

Sky Arts is to bring live theatre to television in a series that will see six popular authors make their debut as playwrights.

Called Sky Arts Theatre Live!, the series will draw on the talents of a specially-formed company of actors and directors, who will stage new work from novelists such as Kate Mosse, who penned the book Labyrinth, and crime writer Nicci French.

Each of the 30-minute plays will be broadcast live on Sky Arts 1 from a purpose-built Theatre Live! studio in West London, which will hold 140 invited audience members.

Production of each author’s original work will be overseen by Sandi Toksvig, who came up with the idea for Sky Arts Theatre Live! and has been appointed artistic director of the newly formed Theatre Live! company, which also includes Fiona Laird, Sue Tully and John Alderton as directors, and actress Pauline Collins. Further casting has yet to be announced.

Toksvig described the series as “genuine reality television” and said: “Live drama has a rawness and immediacy in which anything can happen.”

Other novelists who will write plays for the series include Jeremy Hardy, Morag Joss, Michael Dobbs and Jackie Kay. Rehearsals for each of their plays will begin at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, before being broadcast live from the purpose-built studio.

Each programme, hosted by Toksvig, will begin with behind-the-scenes footage detailing the making of each play.

Following the performance, the invited audience will be encouraged to offer their response to the plays, while the creative team behind each show will discuss the process of putting on the play in a live post-show discussion.

John Cassy, channel director for Sky Arts, said the show was “one of the most exciting projects” Sky Arts 1 has this year. He said each writer had been given some restrictions with regards to their writing, to take into consideration how they will appear on television. These include limiting the cast to four actors, and minimising scene changes.

Cassy admitted that there was an element of “risk” to the series and said: “No matter what happens - if someone forgets their lines or whatever - the show goes on. I think that adds to the overall attraction of the whole event. We’re absolutely convinced that a project as innovative and entertaining as Sky Arts Theatre Live! proves just how committed we are at Sky Arts to ensuring that arts on TV thrives.”