For the first time ever, the public will be able to download or watch online four hugely popular Shakespeare’s Globe productions on Digital Theatre’s new performing arts platform, marking a new direction for the company that offers theatre lovers the chance to watched filmed plays online.
The newly launched Digital Theatre Collections will kick off with the alfresco venue’s acclaimed Kings And Rogues season which comprised The Merry Wives Of Windsor, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2 and Henry VIII. Using Shakespeare’s Globe’s own footage, which was originally recorded by the venue for its new cinema broadcasts scheme and saw the productions screened to over 325 cinemas worldwide last year, the productions will be available to watch online, download to your desktop or through Digital Theatre’s new Samsung Smart TV App.
Following the Globe productions, which include an Olivier Award-winning performance by Roger Allam in Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Digital Theatre Collections will form a catalogue of recorded work from the UK’s leading producers including new writing, opera, ballet and dance.
These productions will add to the company’s already impressive list of shows recorded specifically by them and available to rent or download, including the Young Vic theatre’s A Doll’s House, Abi Morgan’s Lovesong at the Lyric Hammersmith and the West End production of Much Ado About Nothing.
Speaking about the new project, Robert Delamere, who founded Digital Theatre in 2009 with Tom Shaw, said: “Through curating the live and recorded, Digital Theatre Collections sets out its stall as a trusted destination for quality arts and culture. The platform demonstrates Digital Theatre’s passion for bringing British culture, which is respected internationally, to a global audience. It is an honour to launch Digital Theatre Collections with Shakespeare’s Globe, an organisation with an absolute passion for the arts – demonstrated in each of their productions – and a theatre with a shared ambition for what world-class performing arts can accomplish.”
Chief Executive of Shakespeare’s Globe, Neil Constable, echoed his sentiments saying they were “delighted to be working alongside Digital Theatre Collections to bring these wonderful productions to a new global audience,” adding: “For the first time, future generations of audiences can continue to enjoy our past performances through the Digital Theatre player streaming the films directly to their home as if they were watching them in our world famous theatre on Bankside.”
You can watch a trailer of all four productions above.