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Helen Mirren play The Audience to be broadcast live in cinemas Helen Mirren play The Audience to be broadcast live in cinemas
(7 months later)
Helen Mirren's return to the role of Queen Elizabeth II has already made The Audience one of the most eagerly anticipated West End events of the year. Now, a global audience will get to see Peter Morgan's new play when it is live-broadcast to cinemas as part of National Theatre Live.Helen Mirren's return to the role of Queen Elizabeth II has already made The Audience one of the most eagerly anticipated West End events of the year. Now, a global audience will get to see Peter Morgan's new play when it is live-broadcast to cinemas as part of National Theatre Live.
The Audience will be the third non-National theatre production to be broadcast under its NT Live scheme, following similar showings of the Donmar Warehouse's production of King Lear and Complicite's A Disappearing Number. It will be shown in cinemas in the UK and around the world on 13 June, live from the Gielgud theatre in London, with further international and repeat screenings planned throughout the summer.The Audience will be the third non-National theatre production to be broadcast under its NT Live scheme, following similar showings of the Donmar Warehouse's production of King Lear and Complicite's A Disappearing Number. It will be shown in cinemas in the UK and around the world on 13 June, live from the Gielgud theatre in London, with further international and repeat screenings planned throughout the summer.
Morgan's play, which opens on 5 March, shows a series of the Queen's weekly meetings with various prime ministers to have held office during her reign, including Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron. One notable exception, judging from cast lists released by the production, is Tony Blair.Morgan's play, which opens on 5 March, shows a series of the Queen's weekly meetings with various prime ministers to have held office during her reign, including Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron. One notable exception, judging from cast lists released by the production, is Tony Blair.
It will be Mirren's second outing as part of the NT Live scheme. She starred in the first play to be broadcast, playing the title role in Jean Racine's Phèdre at the National theatre in 2009. That performance was broadcast to 73 cinemas in the UK and a further 200 worldwide, attracting an audience of more than 50,000 people – approximately equivalent to a seven-week sold-out run in the National's Lyttelton theatre.It will be Mirren's second outing as part of the NT Live scheme. She starred in the first play to be broadcast, playing the title role in Jean Racine's Phèdre at the National theatre in 2009. That performance was broadcast to 73 cinemas in the UK and a further 200 worldwide, attracting an audience of more than 50,000 people – approximately equivalent to a seven-week sold-out run in the National's Lyttelton theatre.
Since then, more than one million people have watched an NT Live broadcast in one of 23 countries, and 250 cinemas and performing arts venues around the UK have participated.Since then, more than one million people have watched an NT Live broadcast in one of 23 countries, and 250 cinemas and performing arts venues around the UK have participated.
To date, live-broadcast performances have been the preserve of the subsidised sector in the UK, with other notable examples being National Theatre Wales and the Royal Opera House, on account of the costs of the technology involved. However, commercial producers are increasingly joining the fray. The Audience, which is being produced by Playful Productions' Matthew Byam Shaw, Robert Fox and Andy Harries, follows last week's broadcast of Great Expectations live from the West End, which screened in 120 UK cinemas and took £80,000 at the box office.To date, live-broadcast performances have been the preserve of the subsidised sector in the UK, with other notable examples being National Theatre Wales and the Royal Opera House, on account of the costs of the technology involved. However, commercial producers are increasingly joining the fray. The Audience, which is being produced by Playful Productions' Matthew Byam Shaw, Robert Fox and Andy Harries, follows last week's broadcast of Great Expectations live from the West End, which screened in 120 UK cinemas and took £80,000 at the box office.
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