BroadwayHD Announces Partnership With The RSC

In the bleak midwinter of 2021, while much of the world is still facing lockdown restrictions and the ongoing closure of theatres, some welcome and exciting news has been announced – BroadwayHD will be partnering with The RSC to release a collection of pre-recorded shows together.

What is BroadwayHD?

BroadwayHD is an on-demand digital streaming media company. The company records and distributes live theatre performances through its platform. BroadwayHD was founded by Tony Award-winning producers Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, who saw the potential in filming live productions and making them available to a wider audience through the internet. Thanks to their vision, BroadwayHD has managed to welcome theatre audiences old and new, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

To find out more about the background history and creation of BroadwayHD, you can replay the TheatreArtLife Webinar featuring Bonnie Comley, or catch up with the audio-only version on our Podcast that is available from 11^th February.

BroadwayHD initially launched in 2015 with 100 shows taken from Broadway and the West End, and the company has gone on to create an assortment of live-streamed shows, as well as the creation of new filmed productions. The company works with the 17 unions, guilds and associations behind Broadway shows and ensures that all of the show creators are compensated when filming a show.

The RSC Shows

There are plans for the partnership to share more shows during February and March, with both Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest rumoured to be added to the future collection in the coming months. The current list of productions available to watch on BroadwayHD are:

• Gregory Doran’s Vienna-set Measure for Measure (2019)
• Fiona Laird’s The Merry Wives of Windsor (2018), with David Troughton as Falstaff
• Simon Godwin’s Timon of Athens (2018), featuring Kathryn Hunter in the title role
• Polly Findlay’s Macbeth (2018), starring Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack
• Iqbal Khan’s Antony and Cleopatra (2017), with music composed by Laura Mvula
• Gregory Doran’s King Lear (2016), which featured Antony Sher as Lear and was revived in 2018
• Simon Godwin’s Hamlet (2016), with Paapa Essiedu playing the title character
• Christopher Luscombe’s Love’s Labour’s Lost (2014), which moved the play to just before World War I
• Simon Godwin’s modern-dress production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona (2014)

Upon the announcement of this exciting partnership, The RSC’s Artistic Director, Gregory Doran, said:

“Nothing can replace the experience of seeing a play live on stage. But with our theatres currently closed, and all of us spending much more time at home, we are delighted to be working with BroadwayHD to give audiences around the world the chance to experience RSC productions from home.”

With so many audiences still unsure of when there may be opportunities to attend the theatre in person again, BroadwayHD and the RSC partnership is undoubtedly a welcome dose of good news in challenging times. Additionally, the RSC has created a place for audiences to donate in order to assist them, with the campaign tag #KeepYourRSC.

Links:

BroadwayHD joins Marquee TV and BritBox in hosting RSC productions online while the theatres remain shut. If you’re already a BroadwayHD subscriber, you can sign in and watch the shows immediately, while new viewers can sign up for a 7-day free trial.

The RSC has continued to share its online collection with a variety of different ways for audiences to enjoy shows, features and other work online via their “At Home With Shakespeare” collection.

BroadwayHD Website

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