A selection of much-loved National Theatre Live productions will be made available to watch on YouTube, for free, over the next two months.

At the same time, The National Theatre Collection – an online resource for schools, universities, libraries and the wider education sector – is also available to access at home during the school closure period.

From Thursday 2nd April, a number of productions previously screened in cinemas globally as a part of National Theatre Live will be made available to watch via the National Theatre’s YouTube channel. The scheme - christened National Theatre At Home - has chosen Richard Bean’s One Man Two Guvnors to start the season, featuring a Tony Award-winning performance from James Corden.

Each production will be free and screened live every Thursday evening at 7:00pm GMT. It will then be available on demand for seven days.

Alongside the streamed productions, the National Theatre are making available interactive content including Q&As with cast and creative teams and post-stream talks, with further details of this programme to be announced.
 
Other productions set to be streamed as part of National Theatre At Home include Sally Cookson’s stage adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (9th April), Bryony Lavery’s adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (16th April) and Twelfth Night (23 April) with further titles to be announced. Lisa Burger, Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive said: 

“Our ambition at the National Theatre is to create work which is challenging, entertaining and inspiring and we’re committed to continuing that through these difficult times. I'm thrilled that we’re able to fulfil this ambition in a different way through our collaboration with YouTube.

"I am exceptionally proud of the team at the National Theatre for working so hard to create National Theatre At Home and also to the rights holders who have been so supportive of this new initiative allowing us to bring theatre to households right across the world.

"We have delved into the National Theatre Live archive and curated a programme that’s varied from comedy to new dramas to classics so there is something for everyone to enjoy from their own homes.

"We will be streaming each production at the same time each week in order to recreate, where possible, the communal viewing experience and we hope this will be an opportunity for people to share their enjoyment together online."
 
Like many other theatres - including Wolverhampton Grand, Birmingham Hippodrome, The Alexandra and Birmingham Rep, locally - The National Theatre is currently closed to audiences and performances won’t resume before July.
 
National Theatre At Home is provided free of charge - however, should viewers wish to make a donation to support the National Theatre, a public appeal has been launched at nationaltheatre.org.uk.
 
For more on National Theatre At Home, you can visit nationaltheatre.org.uk/at-home.