Shakespeare’s Globe has become the first theatre in the world to create its own video-on-demand service after launching Globe Player, a brand new online platform offering full-length HD films of more than 50 of the venue’s past productions.
The videos, which are available to rent or buy from £2.99, include the Globe’s Olivier Award nominated hit Twelfth Night starring Mark Rylance and Stephen Fry, fellow 2012 hits Henry V and The Taming Of The Shrew, 2011’s Eve Best-led Much Ado About Nothing, All’s Well That Ends Wells starring Janie Dee and 2010’s Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, for which Roger Allam earned his third Olivier Award.
Adding to the plethora of productions on offer, every foreign language production from the Bankside venue’s 2012 Globe To Globe festival has also been made available on film. Last year’s haul of productions, which included Eve Best’s directorial debut Macbeth, The Tempest starring Allam and Colin Morgan, and Dromgoole’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, will be made available on the Globe Player in the near future.
Alongside the wealth of entertainment seen on the Globe’s stage in past years, the online platform will also host more than 100 free interviews on Shakespeare, with everyone from Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen to Ewan McGregor, Jude Law and Tom Hiddleston talking about the legendary playwright. The interviews were gathered by actors Dan Poole and Giles Terera as they travelled around the world to make their acclaimed documentary Muse Of Fire.
Talking about the Globe’s new way of engaging audiences, Artistic Director Dromgoole said: “Whether we’re touring the world, inviting the world to the Globe, or being the first to experiment with low ticket prices with our £5 groundling tickets, the Globe is always looking for bold new ways to take Shakespeare out into the world and share his astonishing plays with as many people as possible. Globe Player will allow us to reach brand new audiences and to make access to our productions simple and seamless for anyone with the internet.
You can check out all that the Globe Player has to offer at www.globeplayer.tv