The Comedy of Errors

Beautiful Thing

Guidance 12+ • 1h 54m

This 20th anniversary production of Jonathan Harvey’s play about two working class teenage boys falling in love on a South East London council estate was captured by Digital Theatre live at the Arts Theatre in London’s Leicester Square. It was directed by Nikolai Foster and starred Suranne Jones as Sandra, a single mother trying to make the best for her and her sensitive son, Jamie. The production received wide critical acclaim and was revived again two years later.

Funny Girl

2h 21m

Based on the life and career of Broadway star Fanny Brice (a role made famous by Barbra Streisand) and her tempestuous relationship with entrepreneur Nick Arnstein, this classic musical is brought vibrantly to life in a career-defining performance from Sheridan Smith. Captured by Digital Theatre live at Manchester’s Palace Theatre, this critically acclaimed production features a host of iconic musical numbers including ‘People’, ‘I’m the Greatest Star’ and ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’."

King Lear

Guidance 12+ • 2h 43m

King Lear is considered by many to be Shakespeare’s finest tragedy. Lear, in dividing up his kingdom to his three daughters, gradually descends into madness, ultimately bringing tragedy upon all concerned. This production was captured by Digital Theatre live at London’s Almeida Theatre as part of the 2012 World Shakespeare Festival. Directed by the Almeida’s Artistic Director, Michael Attenborough, it starred the award-winning Jonathan Pryce as a Lear said to be “electrifying naturalistic” by the Independent on Sunday, “changeable as the weather, warm and gentle, shaken and ferociously raging.”"

The Blue Bird (Journey)

Guidance 12+ • 2h 50m

Two children embark on a whirlwind adventure to find the Blue Bird of happiness in part one of Boris Yukhananov's epic trilogy, based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s mystical play. Captured by the Stanislavsky Electrotheatre in Moscow and presented in partnership with Stage Russia HD, this visually compelling production features the reminiscences of Russian actors Vladimir Korenev and Aleftina Konstantinova, and experiments with various theatrical traditions including Japanese Noh theatre.

The Seagull

12+ • 3h 26m

Anton Chekhov’s first of four major plays dramatises the romantic and artistic conflicts between its four main characters: Boris Trigorin, a well-known writer, the ingenue Nina, the fading actress Irina Arkadina, and her son, the would-be playwright Konstantin Tréplev. This production is performed in Russian with English subtitles and was captured live by Stage Russia HD at the Satirikon Theatre in Moscow. Directed by Yury Butusov, one of the foremost directors in contemporary Russian theatre, this frenetic interpretation delves deep into the throes of artistic creation and the anguish of the artist who struggles to find a language of his own.

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

All Ages • 1h 41m

Featuring the acclaimed mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, this triple header includes Hector Berlioz' Waverley overture, Les nuits d'été and Symphonie fantastique. Valery Gergiev showcases his opulent interpretation of Berlioz' landmark piece Symphonie fantastique, the story of an artist’s ‘hopeless love’, complete with waltzes, witches and a hallucinogenic nightmare.

Macbeth

All Ages • 2h 18m

Shakespeare’s tale of a kingdom gained and lost unfolds in this Stratford Festival production, in which the Scottish throne changes hands with ever increasing violence. Filmed live in 2016, Ian Lake and Krystin Pellerin bring to life one of literature’s most infamous marriages, while Michael Blake takes on the adversarial role of Macduff.

DV8 - Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men

Guidance 18+ • 50m

Loosely based on the acts of serial killer Dennis Nilsen, this dance theatre piece by DV8 Physical Theatre explores the forces of societal homophobia and what drove Nilsen to kill for company. Created and performed by Lloyd Newson, Nigel Charnock, Russell Maliphant and Douglas Wright, this 1989 film is an emotionally raw look at lust and loneliness.

Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran

Guidance 12+ • 1h 12m

*If you have Instagram, we recommend watching our other, multi-screen, version of Rich Kids.* In 2015 Robert Mugabe’s son filmed himself pouring champagne over the £45,000 watch his father bought him, tagging it on Instagram as #daddyrunsthewholecountry. Based on the extravagant lives of young people in the Middle East, this virtual production co-directed and performed by Javaad Alipoor comments on social media’s complicity in the widening gap between rich and poor. This version of Rich Kids embeds an Instagram feed into the performance.

The Winter's Tale

Guidance All Ages • 2h 49m

King Leontes rips his family apart with his jealousy, but grief opens his heart. Will he find the child he abandoned before it is too late? Set across a 16-year span from the 1953 coronation to the moon landings, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2021 production imagines a world where the ghosts of fascist Europe collide with horrors reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale, before washing up on a joyful seashore. With lead performances from Joseph Kloska, Amanda Hadingue, Ben Caplan and Andrew French, Shakespeare's romantic comedy contains his most famous and challenging stage direction: 'Exit, pursued by a bear'. The Winter’s Tale was directed by Deputy Artistic Director Erica Whyman, and reimagined for the screen and broadcast on BBC Four. Production Photo by Topher McGrillis © RSC