When West End theatre is good it sells out. You will struggle to get tickets
for the extraordinary “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” at Palace Theatre in
the next 12 months or for the Broadway transfer “Hamilton” which opened late
last year. Equally it is extraordinary that Tom Hiddleston's “Hamlet” directed
by Ken Branagh at RADA's 160 seat theatre as a fund raiser for the academy
should have such limited chance to raise funds which could have subsidised
places for those who might not otherwise attend the academy. Yet technology
does now allow such shows to reach a wider audience not just in UK but around
the world.
Anyone who saw Billie Piper's brilliant performance in “Yerma” this year,
broadcast live from the Young Vic, can confirm that the cinema not only allows
access to otherwise sold out shows but while retaining the essential
theatricality of the production, also adds to the overall enjoyment with
exclusive content & dramatic close ups that the theatre audience themselves
might miss.
Ever since I saw Zoe Wanamaker with tears running down her face as the
camera zoomed around the front of the Olivier stage during a production of the “Cherry
Orchard” live at a cinema near my home, I've been sold on the new medium. With
James Corden in “One Man, Two Governors”, the cinema audience went backstage in
the interval to see unique action with the drenched audience member from the
end of Act 1 in dispute with the cast. It added to the show and captured the
brilliant farce for a wider audience.
