7 musicals and theatre shows you can stream for free

With the West End and theatres across the country currently closed following the coronavirus lockdown, the world's stage has temporarily shut down. But, don't worry, because creatives and venues are pulling together to ensure we can all still get our culture fix in our own home. And, this time, it's for free.

Following Andrew Lloyd Webber's announcement that he's going to keep the international community's spirits up with online streamings of his smash-hit musicals (think Joseph and Jesus Christ Superstar with more to be announced), we've rounded up some of our favourite ways to watch acclaimed plays and shows from the comfort of your own sofa, from iconic hits like Wind in the Willows to nightly shows from the Met Opera, there's something for everyone.

So sit back, open your ice cream, put your feet up and get ready to be thoroughly entertained...

The king of musical theatre himself, Andrew Lloyd Webber, will be streaming a production of one of his musicals on YouTube each week to lift our sprits during the coronavirus lockdown. He’s called his missive to entertain us all the aptly-named The Shows Must Go On!, and it will begin with his 2000 adaptation of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. Each show will be available for a limited 48-hour period online every Friday from 7pm, with Jesus Christ Superstar, starring Tim Minchin, Chris Moyles and Mel C being the next on the list.

WATCH HERE

Calling all Shakespeare fans! Shakespeare's Globe has announced it will release 40 productions (yes, that's right) on its Globe Player service over the next month for free. The shows will include Hamlet starring artistic director Michelle Terry (2018), Romeo and Juliet with Ellie Kendrick and Adetomiwa Edun (2009), A Midsummer Night's Dream with Michelle Terry (2013), The Winter's Tale with Annette Badland (2018), The Two Noble Kinsmen with Brian Dick (2018) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (2019) with Bryony Hannah. All Globe Player productions are captioned, with each show presented for two weeks on a rolling cycle from 6 April.

WATCH HERE

The National Theatre is kindly offering up entertainment one evening a week, for the next few weeks, with a selection of its much-loved National Theatre Live productions being made available to watch on YouTube. NT Live is the live transmission of a performance from a theatre straight into cinemas dotted around the world. Each production will be free and screened live every Thursday at 7pm, and will then be available on demand for seven days. The new initiative is called the National Theatre at Home and kicked off with One Man, Two Guvnors starring James Corden. It's also set to include Sally Cookson’s stage adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre on 9 April, Bryony Lavery’s adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island on 16 April, and Twelfth Night on 23 April featuring Tamsin Greig as Malvolia in Shakespeare's classic comedy. Get the popcorn ready...

WATCH HERE

This brilliantly fun West End production is being made available for free (although the theatre company are asking for you to make a small donation for a variety of theatrical charities). The musical opened back in June 2017 and starred Rufus Hound as Toad, Simon Lipkin as Ratty, Craig Mather as Mole, Neil McDermott as Chief Weisel, Denise Welch as Mrs Otter and Gary Wilmot as Badger. Based on the classic children’s story by Kenneth Grahame, the musical was adapted for the stage by Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes. One for the whole family to enjoy.

WATCH HERE

Catch up with recent hits from Hampstead Theatre as they bring archive productions online in collaboration with The Guardian. First up is Wild (2016), a whistle-blower story inspired by Edward Snowden, written by Mike Bartlett and directed by James Macdonald. Wild is available to stream on the Hampstead Theatre website and the Guardian website from 10am on Monday 30 March to 10pm on Sunday 5 April. Week two, from Monday 6 April to Sunday 12 April, sees Beth Steel's acclaimed 2014 play Wonderland, which gives an epic account of the miners' strikes and the political upheaval that framed them. Then, from Monday 13 April to Sunday 19 April, you can stream Howard Brenton's Drawing the Line (2013), a celebration of human spirit based around the partitioning of India in 1947.

WATCH HERE

The Met Opera is helping everyone through coronavirus lockdown by 'brightening the lives of our audience members even while our stage is dark'. It says: 'Each day, a different encore presentation from the company’s Live in HD series is being made available for free streaming on the Met website, with each performance available for a period of 23 hours, from 7:30 pm EDT until 6:30 pm the following day. The schedule will include outstanding complete performances from the past 14 years of cinema transmissions, starring all of opera’s greatest singers.' Wagner's Parsifal, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, and Verdi's Falstaff are all in the upcoming schedule. The streaming is free, but you have the option to donate towards helping to keep the Met running.

WATCH HERE

The BBC has announced that it will stream six RSC shows over the next few weeks as part of its "Culture in Quarantine" scheme to run while arts venues are locked down. The shows include: Macbeth with Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack; Othello with Hugh Quarshie in the title role and Lucian Msamati as Iago; Romeo and Juliet with Bally Gill as Romeo and Karen Fishwick as Juliet; The Merchant of Venice with Makram J Khoury as Shylock; Much Ado About Nothing with Edward Bennett as Benedick and Michelle Terry as Beatrice; and Hamlet with Paapa Essiedu in the title role.

WATCH HERE

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