The Stage

Stars queue up to participate in new online plays on demand service

Published Thursday 26 January 2012 at 13:07 by Matthew Hemley

Richard Eyre, Simon Callow and Tilda Swinton are among the names lined up to curate work for a new online video on demand service screening plays, dance productions and concerts alongside backstage and interview footage.

Hibrow is the brainchild of film-maker Don Boyd, and allows members of the public to watch entire productions and performances from a variety of arts organisations - including the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh - whose productions have been captured by a specially assembled production team.

The site, which goes live this week and is free to access, also includes documentaries to complement the performances available to watch. As well as theatre, dance and concerts, Hibrow includes coverage of art exhibitions, literary events and festivals. Launching with more than nine hours of content, it will add around seven hours of fresh material each month.

Boyd told The Stage: “I had realised that the arts was hugely undervalued in the broadcasting arenas all over the world and that this was shared by everyone I talked to who worked in it. I saw that the technology to capture performance and art and the internet was going to converge and it struck me there was no destination online to deal with all art forms. We can fill a gap the broadcasters are not filling.”

Other curators involved include performers Gary Kemp, Rupert Everett and Ruby Wax, and the Traverse’s former artistic director Dominic Hill.

Boyd explained they have the freedom to decide what they would like to produce for the site, which will feature a mixture of performances that have already been programmed by arts organisations and content created especially with the site in mind.

At launch, Hibrow’s theatre section includes Traverse’s All is Vanity by David Eldridge, which is supplemented by interviews with actors, writers and the play’s director, as well as footage of rehearsals. Boyd said the play had been produced by the Traverse as part of a season of works with Hibrow in mind.

He said: “In broadcasting, arts organisations create work to fit what broadcasters want. I take the view the people I am working with are brilliant enough and interesting enough to come up with things which we can then find a way of presenting.”

Hibrow has been in development for four years, and has been funded initially by private investors, including fund manager Anthony Bolton. In the long term, Boyd said the site will make money from sponsors and advertising. He added companies are paid for their content and will receive royalties in the future.

Boyd also revealed that Hibrow, which follows in the footsteps of initiatives such as Digital Theatre and NT Live in bringing theatre productions to a wider audience, is working with amateur theatre body NODA to launch a new awards programme recognising the best of amateur theatre. The site will also have a social media element, allowing users to interact and discuss content.

www.hibrow.tv