The 50 best stage shows to stream right now: drama and comedy
Lockdown has led to a boom in audiences for digital work. Natasha Tripney has chosen the best drama and comedy streaming now
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A Woman of No Importance
Marquee TV
Dominic Dromgoole’s production of the Oscar Wilde play was the highlight of his season of Wilde’s work at London’s Vaudeville Theatre.
Available at: marquee.tv
Cyprus Avenue
Facebook/YouTube
First staged at the Royal Court, David Ireland’s play Cyprus Avenue was adapted for BBC4 in 2019. The film, starring Stephen Rea, is available for a month from March 27 via the Royal Court’s and the Space’s website and social media pages.
Available at: youtube.com
Fleabag
Soho Theatre On Demand
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s stage show, which sparked a phenomenon, is now available on Soho Theatre’s site. This NT Live production was filmed in the West End last September. Costing £4 for a 48-hour rental, the money will go to theatre freelancers affected by Covid-19.
Available at: ondemand.sohotheatre.com
Fragments (Beckett by Brook)
Vimeo
If ever there was a time to get into Beckett, it’s now. Peter Brook’s production of five Beckett short plays, filmed at the Bouffes du Nord in Paris in 2015, is available online. The quintet features Rough for Theatre I, Rockaby, Neither, Come and Go and Act Without Words II. Photo: Tristram Kenton
Available at:
The Habit of Art
OriginalTheatreCompany.com
The Original Theatre Company touring production of Alan Bennett’s play about the life of WH Auden was due to open in Eastbourne in March. Following closures, it was filmed on a closed set and made available for download. Photo: Helen Maybanks
Available at: originaltheatre.com
Pass Over
Amazon Prime
Antoinette Nwandu’s play was running at the Kiln Theatre in London when theatres closed. For those who didn’t get to see it, film-maker Spike Lee filmed the play at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago for Amazon Prime. The New York Times says Lee “puts you in with the characters, but also puts you with the audience”. Photo: Michael Brosilow
Available at: amazon.co.uk/Pass-Over
I Want My Hat Back
YouTube
The Little Angel Theatre presents a miniature version of John Klassen’s kids’ (and parents’) favourite. Directed and performed by Ian Nicholson, it tells the story of a bear’s pursuit of his elusive hat in a tabletop show. Photo: Richard Davenport
Available at:
Wise Children
BBC iPlayer
Filmed at York Theatre Royal last year, BBC iPlayer is streaming director Emma Rice’s “exuberantly impish” take on Angela Carter’s last novel. The play, which opened at the Old Vic in London, was a joy; by turns messy, magical, melancholy and pleasingly weird. Photo: Tristram Kenton
Available at: bbc.co.uk/programmes
Key Change
openclasp.org.uk
Open Clasp, a pioneering theatre company that makes work with women on the margins of society, has made its 2015 devised show Key Change, made in collaboration with prisoners at HM Prison Low Newton, available to stream via its website. Photo: Keith Pattison
Available at: openclasp.org.uk
We’re Gonna Die
Vimeo
US theatremaker and playwright Young Jean Lee’s play opened at New York’s Second Stage Theatre at the end of February. After its closure, Lee made a version of her 2011 gig-theatre show in which she also performs with her band Future Wife, available online. Photo: Joan Marcus
Available at: vimeo.com
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