Sky Arts free-to-view TV channel is set to premiere on 17 September and will be available on Freeview channel 11 for UK viewers and Freesat channel 147.
The initial programming for the series will include Tim Marlow’s Sky Arts Late, a monthly programme that will include debates, performances and more from the arts sector and the first of which will be inspired by the nation’s ongoing recovery from Covid-19.
Audiences will also have the opportunity to catch the English National Opera’s 90-minute Drive & Live performances of La bohème at Alexandra Palace, along with the co-production of No Masks with Theatre Royal Stratford East, starring Russell Tovey.
Harold Pinter fans will be pleased to learn that Danny Dyer, who has performed in a variety of Harold Pinter plays, will look back on the iconic playwright’s work in an original piece 12 years on from the famous playwright’s death.
A new series named Urban Myths will be looking at some of the most iconic artists of the last century including Jimi Hendrix (played by rising star Zach Wyatt), Joan Rivers (Ryan) and Barbra Streisand (Barden).
November will see a series of interviews hosted by Melvyn Bragg with featured guests including Bernardine Evaristo, Benjamin Zephaniah, Gillian Anderson and Simon Armitage. Additionally, Jude Law will appear in Punchdrunk’s immersive experience spectacular The Third Day.
Dance fans can enjoy Balletboyz’s double bill Them/Us as well as Matthew Bourne’s Olivier Award-winning take on Swan Lake.
Director Philip Edgar-Jones said: “There’s never been a stronger need or demand for the arts, nor a more important time to champion and celebrate creativity. That’s why we’re throwing open the doors to make Sky Arts free for everyone with our renewed focus and mission to increase accessibility and participation across the arts.”