After the success of the RNT's transmisison of 'Live' theatre in Cineworld and other cinemas, now comes another first, this time for Sky digital television: Theatre Live. And for anyone involved in theatre in any way, shape or form, this has to be required viewing.

For those without Sky and Sky Arts 1 in particular the premise is this. Six novelists, with no prior playwriting experience, are asked to write a 30 minute play for televison to be broadcast 'live' on Sky Arts 1, at 9.00pm on Wednesday night. The series is hosted by Sandi Toksvig and each week a different writer, cast and director, take over Sky Studio 6 which as been turned into a 200 seat theatre and go out 'live'. The idea is to bring 'live' drama back to television; bearing in mind that early TV drama was always broadcast this way, warts,gaffs and all. It is also aimed at getting people back into theatre by experiencing the joy of live theatre. The first ten minutes or so feature interviews with cast and writer, and show the cast in rehearsal; almost like a theatre programme come alive and there is a ten minute section at the end when the writer joins Sandi for a final chat about the play.


Ironically I missed the 'live' broadcast, but was blown away last night on the repeat of a play dealing with the onset of dementia by poet and novelist Jackie Kay. It was stunning with laughter and drama equally balanced. The next play is written by Kate Moss, the author of Labyrinth and Sepulchre.

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Comment by Stephen Alan Whitehead on July 22, 2009 at 10:09
Okay, so Sky Arts 1 gets it right again. Morag Joss's 'Famous Last' with Pauline Collins and Laura Haddock dir by John Alderton, and set on the set of a Reality Game Show not a zillion miles from Celeb B.B. Two-handers aren't always the easiest plays to pull off, it depends on the standard of writing and the quality of the actors and the 'nous' of the director. Tonight proved that when those things come together and work - then they really work. Two women, left in a Celeb house and the night before the final; no heat, no food and not knowing whether the audience is still watching or not; and if they are, do they, in fact, give a toss about it. Two women who are just about getting on each other's nerves yet find a mutual support in adversity: them against the organisers. Why did no-one ever think of doing this before? This play lifted the lid on the shallowness of celebrity culture, at least for those who never realised that celeb culture had the propensity to be shallow. In Morag Joss, normnally an award winning crime writer, we now have a new playwright who has the bit between her teeth and wants to write more. As she said tonight, it's totally different to writing novels; once the novel leaves her it's out there, and it's up to the imagination of the reader to put faces etc to the characters. In theatre it's done for you; the characters are alive and the interpretation that night is the one that audiences carry away with them. And that's a frightening thing.
Next week the play is by Nicci French and is directed by Susan Tully, directing her first theatre play after directing in television. It has to be said that everyone taking part is finding this addictive. And about time too.
Comment by Stephen Alan Whitehead on July 22, 2009 at 7:41
This is to remind everyone that the next Theatre Live is on Sky Arts 1 tonight at 9.00pm. So far the standard of writing and acting has been terrific, and tonight's with Pauline Collins being directed by John Alderton promises to keep up the high standard set thus far. More after the programme round about 10.00pm
Comment by Stephen Alan Whitehead on July 15, 2009 at 10:16
Theatre Live! Sky Arts 1. 15th July 2009

Another cracking evening at the theatre. One day, when the series is over, no doubt these plays will be packed together in one volume and leapt on by just about every theatre group/company going; especially those who complain there's nothing, these days, for older women and whose acting membership is, mainly composed of just those people.

Syrinx, tonight's play explored the themes of guilt and blame; death and acceptance. Forgiveness was left brilliantly unanswered.
The set: twelve chairs suspended in mid air, a desk and chair, a car wheel and a jagged hole in the stage containing water and a white police 'accident' ribbon, was quite surreal whilst the play dealt with something which we can all associate: the death of a child and how we judge ourselves and each other when there's really no-one to blame, just a set of circumstances. Three women coming to terms with an event that happened years ago and the recriminations that have lingered over what was, at one time, a really strong friendship.

Kate Mosse has added yet another string to her bow. She mentioned in the post play talk with Sandi Toksvig, that in theatre you can show to an audience, the metaphors and meanings quickly and succinctly in ways that you cannot in the pages of a novel where you have to hammer the point home with descriptions.
By the way, in ths play the music was essential: Syrinx by Debussy. Funny how the flute can sound so haunting. Apt when this is a ghost story.

Next week's play, a two-hander, stars Pauline Collins and is directed by John Alderton.

The cast limit for these plays is 4, maximum.
Comment by Stephen Alan Whitehead on July 15, 2009 at 2:08
An article in Guardian G2 today about Theatre Live! On Sky Arts 1 9pm tonight.

"NT live kicked off last month with a screening of a performance of Phedre in cinemas around the country. Sky Arts are following a similar tack with Theatre Live!, broadcasting a newly commissioned play by a writer not usually known as a playwright. This weeks it's the turn of Kate Mosse. Theatre still has something of a fusty and exclusive reputation, so it's great to see such efforts to make it accessible to a wider audience, but whether it works without the atmosphere remains to be seen."

Fusty and exclusive? Atmosphere?
In Cineworld last month during Phedre, in an audience that was as varied in age as you could wish, not a bleepr, not a mobile, no sweet rustling, no coughing, nothing that could be classed as disruptive could be heard. It was as if we were in the Lyttleton watching it first hand; and in a sense we were. This was a theatre audience, watching a theatre play. There was little, or no doubt of that.
As far as Sky Arts is concerned; turn out the lights, sit facing the screen, refuse to answer the phone; make yourself comfortable before it starts and act as if you were in theatre, as part of the live audience in the studio theatre,and you're part of it. Better still, get a few of you together and watch it live. Say nothing, just listen and watch, then talk about it after, as you would over a drink in a theatre.

More live performances of theatre on screen have the potential to reintroduce those actors who normally rely on films or television for work, to what most really became actors to do; live theatre.
But if theatre is fusty, it's because either:
1) the actors/directors lacked energy and made it pedestrian and almost stale, and the audience didn't feel inspired or moved in any way.
2)audiences are so used to short attention spans because of commercials, they expect to get up every fifteen minutes or so for five minutes before coming back to it and it had no incessant background music that wasn't necessary. And before anyone says anything, yes, I know that in some cases music adds to the performance, indeed can become an integral part of it. The sounds in Phedre prove that.

And if it's exclusive? Its because only those who could afford the London or, for the sake of argument, New Theatre, WMC or Grand Theatre prices could go. The RNT (London) has a £10 per ticket season every year: result? Bums on seats.
The Globe has a groundling ticket for a fiver. And right now you can get 2 for £5 groundlings for certain performances. Result? Well, not bums on seats, but full houses.
I'd love to see/hear an audience leave the theatre fired up and want to come back because we made it possible, exciting and accessible in every way.
Comment by Stephen Alan Whitehead on July 13, 2009 at 0:09
Yes, Deborah, I believe it was. Phedre was terrific. The whole idea of making it a theatre event in the cinema was brilliant. Jeremy Irons was the host, filmed outside the RNT with Nick Hytner, the director of the play. The interview prior to the broadcast was interspersed with clips of the rehearsals and brief interviews with some of the cast before the play started. This gave the effect of having a theatre programme, even though copies of the actual programme, along the lines of that which you'd buy in the RNT was available by e-mail. Mine arrived twenty four hours after ordering, on the morning of the broadcast.
The next transmission is due on October 1st and will be Alls Well from the Olivier.
Future transmissions for those who, like me, are unable to get to the RNT include Terry Pratchet's latest: adapted by those who did Warhorse (forget the name for now, sorry!) and Alan Bennet's new play with Michael Gambon and Alex Jennings based on a meeting between WH Auden and Benjamin Britten. Wow! Those are for early 2010. Bring them on!

The idea of bringing theatre to the masses is not new, it's been a vital part of theatre since Adam was prompted to take the apple on tour out of Eden, but to bring theatre into cinemas is brilliant.
The New York Met opera has been doing these with great success in the USA and latently in the UK. If you've not seen those on Sky Arts they are almost mind-blowing. A major 'star' of that particular art, sometimes Renee Fleming, or Natalie Dusay, introduce the evening; they have interviews with cast, set designers, costume designers and show scene changes onstage during the interval(s) (something the theatre audience don't see- watch the scene change in La Boheme from the garret to Montmartre and weep, especially anyone who's ever worked crew or designed sets). If this trend is followed by the RNT and, who knows, maybe even the RSC at a later date, then get ready for the wave for a need for more live theatre to come to the audiences and not the other way round, it'll be coming.
Comment by Deborah Powell on July 12, 2009 at 23:31
So much streaming of content going on thesedays only a matter of time before Theatre was caught up in the wave!
I think its a great development opening up new access routes to the previously unreachable, aswell as potentially giving people the opportunity to re-live the experience & perhaps re-digest & savour it; an added means of sustainable connectivity between audience & performers.

Wasn't it over 30,000 viewers of the Phedre piece in one weekend?



http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/jun/26/national-theatre-live-phedre

Good job we're building-less - if we can catch this wave there won't be a trad venue out there big enough!

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