Shakespeare on Screen: Coronavirus Edition, Part One

The Covid-19 lockdown disrupted lives and livelihoods, some beyond repair. Theatre companies were forced to cancel shows already open and others before opening. Some theatres used the internet to put their work before the public. Most of these streams were at no cost; others had tariffs of up to $19.99.

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Shakespeare’s Globe, Stratford Festival (SF), Flatwater Shakespeare Company, Cheek by Jowl, and the Barn Theatre presented some of Shakespeare’s plays. The National Theatre (NT), Deafinitely Theatre (DT), Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), and the American Shakespeare Center (ASC) mixed Shakespeare and other playwrights. This article had the modest ambition of cataloging Shakespeare productions streamed during the lockdown as a reference for future research. Included were to be comments as to why each company decided to stream, what each theatre hoped to gain by streaming, the reasons some productions were chosen instead of alternatives, and public reception. This goal was frustrated by some press officers who were unresponsive or answered questions with hype. Cheek by Jowl ignored multiple requests for information and Shakespeare’s Globe gave limited help, so this article will have no information about these companies not found in other sources. As some smaller theatres recorded plays for the first time, there emerged an interesting contrast between theatres with a backlog of plays previously shown in cinemas with companies learning digitization for the first time. I hope that observations about these will make up for information sometimes missing from the former. This article concentrates on plays, not other streamed content. Included are all companies known to me with pandemic-related streams of Shakespeare through September 2020 with some October additions. Some may have been missed and some theatres may have continued to stream or resumed streaming after this article wrapped. Some shows will no doubt become available through additional venues by the time this article is published. All dates are 2020 unless otherwise noted. We begin with theatre companies that had an inventory of plays already seen in cinemas.

National Theatre at Home

The National Theatre had twelve shows scheduled during the March through August booking period, though Hamlet was a sixty-five-minute production for students. NT seems to be the first to stream plays as a response to the pandemic presenting their National Theatre Live backlog under the new name National Theatre at Home.[1] First was the 2011 farce One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean on YouTube from 2 April. A new play became available each Thursday when the previous show was removed.

It took the National four weeks to stream one of Shakespeare’s plays, the popular 2017 Director’s Theatre production of Twelfth Night. Their 2018 Antony and Cleopatra followed two weeks later and after three more weeks came Coriolanus in the 2014 Donmar Warehouse production, one of the outside suppliers of National Theatre Live cinema events. The Bridge Theatre’s high concept A Midsummer Night’s Dream streamed a few weeks after that, another outside production. A quarter of the National’s streamed plays were by Shakespeare.

NT spokesperson Elaine Jones told me via a 3 May email, “We wanted to share some productions from our back catalogue with those at home during this time of theatre closures. By streaming the productions at 7pm BST each week, we wanted to create a shared experience, so that people can enjoy a production collectively as they would for an NT Live or in one of the National Theatre’s auditoriums.”

Since shows stream for a week, it seems unlikely that many people around the world, or even in the UK, share the experience. I certainly did not here in Oregon, picking the most convenient day of the week and time of day.

I received evasive answers as to why certain plays were chosen. Susie Newbury, another member of the press office, sent a 22 May message full of buzz words extolling the diversity of the National Theatre and its partners and their missions to present challenging and inspiring theatre. Newbury’s conclusion, “Titles chosen to broadcast on NT at Home reflect our mission.” I have nothing with this answer, Hamlet. Follow-up queries did not fetch me a better answer.

Newbury begs the question as to why one classic play was chosen and not another and why this instead of that contemporary work. As of this writing, National Theatre Live has screened 85 plays in cinemas, counting the two parts of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America as two, and that makes the reason these 16 were chosen interesting, though unanswered by the press office. The reason is obvious when companies such as OSF and the Barn Theatre have no backlog of recorded plays, but selection is an important question here.

The NT did not charge for YouTube showings, though the creative people received compensation. These streams ask viewers for donations, each program beginning with this message “Theatres around the world are closed. The industry and its talented workforce face a devastating impact from the coronavirus. Theatre and the arts are a positive force for our community in turbulent times. As you enjoy this recorded performance, please consider a donation to support this great industry. To support the National Theatre, please visit nationaltheatre.org.uk.” When the National presents work originated by another theatre, an invitation to support that theatre follows. There are also options to text donations of £10 or £20. This is a small price to pay to view these shows, especially without the many paratexts that precede these plays in cinemas. One National Theatre Live event I attended did not get to the actual play for thirty-five minutes. YouTube preliminaries were a mere minute, then on with the show.

The National originally planned to continue streaming plays until the theatres reopened but announced on 11 June that the final YouTube show would be Peter Schafer’s Amadeus. I asked twice why the NT changed its mind. Neither response answered the question. The success of National Theatre at Home was announced in a 23 July Facebook post. There were 15 million views in 9 million households located in 173 countries over the 16 weeks.

 Stratford Festival on Film

At the 2013 Shakespeare Association of America conference in Toronto the Stratford Festival announced plans to film Shakespeare’s thirty-seven play canon over a decade. The Festival began with its 2015 stagings of Hamlet, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and The Taming of the Shrew, released in cinemas and on DVD in 2016. The Festival had an inventory of twelve films when forced to postpone their 2020 season.

Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino and Executive Director Anita Gaffney decided to bring these films to YouTube as the Festival’s pandemic response. The shows remained available for a generous three weeks with a new play added every Thursday, the first appearing on 23 April, Shakespeare’s traditional birthday. Like the National, the Stratford Festival wanted people to tune in for what they called a “viewing party,” in this case at 7 p. m. Eastern Daylight Time. The Festival did a better job of marketing these launches. In addition to the viewing party branding, SF strategically released interviews on YouTube the week prior to each film then staged an interview with the director and one or more of the actors immediately preceding the film. On Saturdays, the Festival added more videos, including question and answer sessions with cast members. The National also produced ancillary videos but SF’s ancillaries were more obviously structured to support viewing parties. The original contracts for the creative people covered the Festival’s YouTube sowings, but actors were compensated for the interviews and question sessions.

SF is unique for organizing their films thematically and producing memes to announce them. Publicity Director Ann Swerdfager told me in a 7 May email that she grouped the films “into four pandemic-related themes: Social Order & Leadership, Isolation, Minds Pushed to the Edge, and Relationships.” The plays of isolation are an interesting group: The Tempest, Timon of Athens, and Love’s Labour’s Lost.

Over a million people saw the Festival’s work on YouTube when the final show streamed in mid-July. The local group StratfordOn immediately began a series of drive-in distanced movies that included a weekly Festival film.

Othello and The Merry Wives of Windsor were filmed in 2019, but Canadian cinemas were closed when these would have screened in March and April 2020. SF moved these to the online pay service Cineplex.[2] There is no plan for free YouTube showings as this is written, though both were televised by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on 25 October and 1 November, respectively.

Swerdfager wrote of SF’s Phase Two viewing parties in a 17 August email. These included some earlier SF films plus original content. The Shakespeare films were Twelfth Night (2011), Romeo and Juliet (1992), The Tempest (2011). Timothy Findley’s fanciful play Elizabeth Rex (filmed in 2004) features Shakespeare as a supporting character. A talk by Sir Stanley Wells and Paul Edmondson about the new order they have given Shakespeare’s sonnets and what this tells us featured Festival actors reading selected sonnets. Shows were on YouTube for just three days, then moved to the new Stratford Festival at Home pay website.[3]

Culture in Quarantine

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Arts Director Jonty Claypole announced the Culture in Quarantine initiative to support the arts and the artists who create them in a 25 March blog.[4] A follow-up on 22 April was mostly about William Shakespeare.[5]

It began with the common claim, falsified by James Shapiro, that Shakespeare wrote King Lear during a period of plague, adding that Shakespeare’s plays are appropriate for a time of quarantine because they “celebrate human communion and never shy away from confronting those forces – like illness and death – that threaten it.”[6] There follows an announcement that the BBC will present six of the cinema events produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, two from Shakespeare’s Globe, and two films created by the BBC: the 2016 dystopian adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Russell T. Davies and King Lear set in modern London by Richard Eyre from 2018. All ten were screened on Chanel Four then made available for three months on the BBC iPlayer.[7] Claypole also describes some ancillary Shakespeare programing.

John Wyver, Director of Screen Productions for the RSC, wrote in a 1 June email that the decision to make past cinema events available was widely discussed at the RSC, “both the constraints and the opportunities. A consensus view quickly emerged” to go with the BBC. Why not YouTube? “Our productions were made under agreements with casts and creatives which permitted commercial distribution in return for agreed royalty payments. It was important to respect these contractual arrangements, and we also wanted to support both the company and those artists and creatives with revenue shares, however modest. The BBC deal made all this possible, in addition to providing extensive free access for viewers.” iPlayer television is not accessible outside the U. K., free or otherwise.[8]

“The collaboration was especially important because of a tie-up with BBC Education to make a broad range of RSC learning resources available to schools and to those learning at home. The RSC has been working with BBC Bitesize to deliver a full two weeks of GCSE lessons themed around Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. BBC Bitesize is running a daily programme of online lessons whilst schools are closed. As well as introducing social and historical context, the lessons give students insights into how actors and directors work in the rehearsal room and get students to try out some scenes and speeches at home.[9] … The choice of productions was made by the BBC and was primarily determined by a wish to showcase plays on the curriculums of the various examining bodies this year.” All the RSC plays shown by the BBC were already available on the pay service Marquee TV.[10]

Globe on Screen

As this is written, the Globe has a backlog of thirty-one Shakespeare plays including two versions of Twelfth Night, plus productions of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi on the Globe’s pay service, Globe Player.[12] Many of these recordings have been shown in cinemas. Globe Player also makes available recordings of thirty-nine non-English language productions of Shakespeare seen during the 2012 Globe to Globe Festival.

Shakespeare’s Globe’s had a 97-minute schools production of Macbeth on stage when the closure came. That production went on YouTube 11 May so students and teachers could access it. Set to open 12 May was Romeo & Juliet starring Alfred Enoch and Rebekah Murrell. The show had to be scrapped after two weeks of rehearsal. A scene from the play, 3.5, was performed by Enoch and Murrell, with Murrell giving a short commentary on the scene, on BBC Radio 4’s program Front Row on 27 April via computer link as the actors distanced at home.[13] This may have influenced the Globe to stream their 2009 Romeo and Juliet as their second YouTube production, but the press office would not confirm this.

Shows streamed at a rate of one a fortnight and were then removed. A nice surprise was Two Noble Kinsmen by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare in Barrie Rutter’s 2018 staging. This is the only time that play has been professionally produced for the screen. The theatre’s website indicated that some Globe to Globe plays will become available, though they are not as I revised this in October. BBC screenings of the Globe’s Tempest (2014) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016) were already mentioned.

Except for the student Macbeth, each YouTube showing began with a graphic that welcomes viewers and defines the company, “While our doors are temporarily closed, our hearts and minds remain open online. Welcome to our Wooden O.” Infrequently during the stream viewers were invited to text donations to the Globe. This was repeated at the end along with an invitation to donate via the Globe website. According to a press release, in the first month the YouTube channel “received over 900,000 views. With 80,000 subscribers tuning in from all over the world, including America, India, Italy, and Australia. Hamlet, starring Artistic Director Michelle Terry, received over 600,000 views. Twitter impressions have increased by 200%.” Viewings were up to 1.9 million by 18 May the most recent update I could find.

This story is incomplete. Claudia Conway of the Globe’s Press Office understandably pleaded short staff due to the pandemic and could not answer any questions, only suppling a 22 April press release that I already had about streaming Globe shows. I wanted to know who made the decision to present these plays on YouTube, why certain plays were chosen, and to learn the benefits, real and hoped for, to the company. Given the invitation to donate, it seems likely that fundraising was a motive, though that is unconfirmed. Because the Globe does not receive government subsidy, CEO Neil Constable warned that the theatre may have to close permanently.[14] The announcement spurred donations and the Globe’s future is secure for now. It seems likely that exposure from streaming these plays helped, but that is also unconfirmed. It was announced on 24 October that the Globe would receive a £3 million government subsidy from the Culture Recovery Fund created to help arts organizations recover from closures forced by the pandemic.[15]

Deafinitely Digital

Love’s Labour’s Lost is the only Shakespeare play of the four streamed by Deafinitely Theatre (DT), a terrific name for a hearing-impaired theatre company. All productions are performed in British Sign Language (BSL) and spoken English. DT gave their streaming service a separate name, Deafinitely Digital. Artistic Director Paula Garfield told me in a 7 May email, “This production holds a special place in my heart. Love’s Labour’s Lost was performed in the company’s 10th anniversary year with a cast of deaf actors on Shakespeare’s Globe main stage in London’s open air! This was a breakthrough production for us and raised our profile and work to a new level.” This was part of the Globe to Globe Festival. The show then toured the United Kingdom.

Garfield wrote in the Guardian that this was the first time an entire Shakespeare play had been translated into BSL. She, the cast, and creative interpreter Kate Furby spent the first two weeks of rehearsals working on the translation, but there were difficulties because Shakespeare’s language has different syntax and rhythms than BSL. The cast used physical comedy to put the meaning across. “It was all about making the signing much bigger and more theatrical.” Adding the physical acting “gave us an opportunity to show the poetry, richness and beauty of BSL.”[16]

Why did DT decide to put some of their shows on the web? “To provide entertainment and light relief in this current situation to those Deaf BSL-users, for them to watch and enjoy a play performed fully in British Sign Language and spoken English.” The decision to stream was made by the DT team. Each play was available for a month without charge on the DT website.[17]

“We contacted all the creatives involved in the productions and they were all agreed that the productions could be made available with no additional fees. This generosity meant we are able to offer the online productions to be viewed and streamed online free of charge. We are so grateful to the artistic community for coming together at this time.”

Will DT continue streaming? “We’d love to keep our work available for anyone to watch and enjoy and certainly we will be researching all the rights/copyright issues going forward to make more of our productions accessible to anyone who wishes to watch and enjoy them.”

Cheek by Jowl

Cheek by Jowl did not acknowledge multiple requests for information so there is little here about the company. That is especially disappointing because Cheek by Jowl is known for its bold interpretations of Shakespeare’s plays. Their 2015 co-production of Measure for Measure was spoken in Russian with English subtitles. It played for a month on YouTube[18] as did their 2017 production of The Winter’s Tale, so these shows were in inventory before the pandemic. I saw WT and the trailer for MM. Both were in Cheek by Jowl’s style, showing powerful characters brutalizing weaker characters.

All these theatres and their recording partners were old hands at digitizing performances when the pandemic ended live performances. Each had a backlog of screen versions available for streaming. These productions met the expected professional standard. The theatres discussed below lacked the infrastructure to record and had no backlog of recorded plays. They did their best with mixed results.

BlkFrs TV

The American Shakespeare Center of Staunton, Virginia was performing both parts of Henry IV, Much Ado About Nothing, and A King and No King by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher in the Blackfriars Playhouse when the theatre had to close. The pandemic also closed three touring productions: Midsummer 90 (a severely abridged A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Imogen (Cymbeline renamed for political reasons),[19] and The Grapes of Wrath. Four June shows were in doubt, though two eventually opened.

With $50,000 in weekly expenses, most of the staff was furloughed or made part time, but that cut costs without generating income. The Washington Post reported the ASC would need $350,000 to restart and might close permanently unless rescued by donations.[20] 2,358 people donated. Furloughed staff returned in late May.

The ASC simultaneously developed another revenue stream. Director of Mission Ralph Alan Cohen, Artistic Director Ethan McSweeny, and Managing Director Amy Wratchford consulted other staff and created BlkFrs TV, streaming Midsummer 90 free on Facebook as an introduction to charging for streams of the other plays.

ASC spokesperson Sky Wilson explained some of the reasons for this, though there was hype in her comments. “When we realized we would have to close the Playhouse in March due to the global pandemic, we didn’t want to lose touch with our audience. We wanted to ensure that we could continue to bring joy and entertainment to people as they began to quarantine at home. Additionally, streaming our shows on the web has brought us vital income to help support our artists and staff during a troubling time.”[21] The other plays streamed on Vimeo for $10 a viewing. Plays are abundant on pay-per-view services, but the ASC was the first Shakespeare theatre to charge for streaming as a response to the pandemic.

I found Midsummer 90 irritating because viewers sent continual streams of “Like” and “Love” emojis up the screen, distracting the eye. Viewer comments on the right side of the screen were another distraction. I gave up after ten frustrating minutes but as sensitive and smart a Shakespeare viewer as Virginia Mason Vaughan told me privately that she liked the stream very much, though with the qualification that her viewing was informed by having seen the show on stage.[22]

Wilson writes that “the short-term goal was to bring the Blackfriars Playhouse into ‘your’ (the audience’s) house. We knew it would be vital to stay connected with our audience through streaming productions as we move forward as a company … Plus, we wanted to show the world that we weren’t giving up. And other theatres shouldn’t either! Shakespeare created some of his best work during the plagues; we wanted to show the world that we could too. We wanted to be a leading example of how theatres – including classical theatres like us – could pivot in the face of pandemic.” Shows were recorded in a nearly empty theatre, which could not have helped the comedies, and because ASC performers are famously interactive with audiences, the actors may have been thrown by their absence.

Some were members of the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the stage actor’s union, and streaming was not in the contract. The AEA consented to streams if ended on 19 April when the last show would have closed, and if purchases would be limited to the number of seats in the theatre multiplied by the number of dates each show was scheduled to play. Buyers were encouraged to donate when buying access. Demand rose as the ASC neared the close date, especially after a 9 April Wall Street Journal article about the enterprise,[23] so a three-week extension was negotiated. The casts were technically out of work once the shows had been recorded, but the ASC provided them with a weekly stipend throughout the streaming period as well as health insurance and housing for the remainder of their original contracts.

Were there long-term streaming goals? “We would like to see ASC remain a dual citizen of the physical and virtual worlds, making it possible for us to reach even more audiences, students, and friends of the theatre – no matter their geographic location. Covid-19 has put us on fast-forward. We want to remain an industry leader and continue to innovate and integrate our work with the virtual world. I think this has changed the nature of how our company will work for a long time to come.”

Realizing that they lacked the expertise to make professional recordings, the ASC enlisted Paladin Media Group of Charlottesville, VA, Deep Structure Productions of Staunton, and the Communication Lab at nearby Mary Baldwin University to record the plays and ready them for streaming. These services were provided pro bono. Streaming would have been impossible without this help, but BlkFrs TV was not well served by the arrangement.

I was dismayed at the quality of A King and No King. Mistakenly thinking that the ASC would appreciate suggestions for improvement from a knowledgeable viewer, I sent a detailed message about ways the show failed with suggestions for future recordings. I did not think to suggest camera rehearsals and add that here. An incomplete list of other problems include poor camera placement, the need to reblock certain scenes for the camera, retraining or replacing the person with the handheld camera, learning how to effectively use microphones, and eliminating the sound of feet walking across the stage unless that sound is used strategically. There was also the problem with the ensemble.

I have seen seven plays in the Blackfriars Playhouse. Not all were great, but some were, and all were at least good productions featuring strong ensembles. Most told the stories well and I understand that was true of A King and No King on stage. The cameras failed to capture this. Actors that have impressed me came across as mediocre and others seemed quite bad. The cameras failed to record the effectiveness of the ASC ensemble.

The response from the ASC was dismaying. A message signed “The Marketing Team” began, “I am sorry you were disappointed with your purchase … we worked extremely hard on filming this show for our audiences to enjoy from home & have been receiving positive feedback. I suppose not everything can suit everybody, though.” This suggested the ASC was complacent about the quality of this recording. Wilson offered some hope when I later asked if mistakes were made. “Of course! This was a whole new experiment for us! We are a stripped-down, Elizabethan theatre. Filming at a cinema-quality-level is not our typical MO. Some things we definitely want to improve down the line include the audio quality and access to closed captions for the hearing impaired. It has been excellent to receive feedback from our supporters so we can improve our digital presentations of performances in the future.”

It is good to know that the ASC has identified one mistake and thought of another improvement, but the rest is a bit vague. Perhaps they will eventually figure out the other problems. The reason I have gone into such detail about BlkFrs TV’s defects is my hope that the message will get through this time. It will, however, be a while before I take another chance on their streamed productions. There have already been more.

Othello and Twelfth Night debuted in July in what the ASC calls a SafeStart season with performances opening outdoors at the nearby Blackburn Inn before moving into the Blackfriars Playhouse.[24] Safety protocols established by the Commonwealth of Virginia were observed. The AEA was not impressed by these safety measures according to the New York Times, forbidding members to participate. Jessika D. Williams, who played Othello, renounced her AEA membership to appear.[25] The ASC is no longer AEA affiliated though they will negotiate a new agreement soon. The Company later announced their new streaming service, BlkFrs Live on Marquee TV.[26] An abridged Twelfth Night, originally announced as Twelfth Night 90 and intended as a touring production, was streamed live from the Blackfrairs on 21 August. Othello streamed seven days later. Both were to remain available for just a few weeks but were extended through 27 September, then Othello was further extended to 18 October. This probably indicates its popularity though reviewer Jesse Green wrote that the show failed to find “a coherent point of view or argument” and allowed “the novelty of the casting [to] stand in for interpretation.” Williams was praised for her technique, but the “raw, non-Equity” company could not match her.”[27] The streaming price was now $19.99.

The Center has created much web-only content such as ASC/Masterclass, six-week streaming courses taught by company members on subjects such as text, stage combat, and voice work. The masterclass teachers received additional income. The ASC hosted a series of Facebook conversations with scholars and practitioners on race, equality, and theatre. There was also a 10 May Zoom reading of Thomas Middleton’s A Chaste Maid in Cheapside offered free to those who purchased viewings of the first BlkFrs TV programs.

The Flatwater Shakespeare Company

The Flatwater Shakespeare Company of Lincoln, Nebraska[28] streamed Romeo and Juliet after Governor Pete Ricketts limited gatherings to fifty and then ten people. “We realized at this point for the health of the company and the health of the community, we needed to cancel the live performances and offer the filmed version as an alternative,” wrote Flatwater Executive Artistic Director Summer Lukasiewicz in a 4 May email.

Like the ASC, Flatwater had no video experience. The Company partnered with two Lincoln companies, Turbine Flats, where Romeo and Juliet was recorded, and Third Rail Content, which recorded the show. “Because we were producing the show at Turbine Flats, a building filled with brilliant technical minds and skilled artists, we were able to connect with a group willing to make it possible, so the year and half of planning and the six weeks of rehearsal did not result in the play dying that day.” Recording followed hard upon the decision to record, so the Third Rail team only saw one rehearsal and conducted just one camera rehearsal. Ticket holders to the cancelled show were offered the stream free of charge and non-ticket holders could watch for a fifteen-dollar fee. Flatwater is not an AEA company, so there was no need to renegotiate contracts, but artist contracts were fulfilled despite the closing. Romeo and Juliet will be available through the end of 2020 and possibly beyond.[29]

Lukasiewicz is considering recording selected future shows though aware that having an audience makes a profound difference. “Losing the opportunity to offer our work live-and-in-person remains devastating. Theatre is a collaborative art form, and that collaboration includes the audience. They are an invaluable variable of the chemical equation the artists have been concocting … Theatre is difficult to capture on film. With designated funding, large production teams, rehearsals specified for filming, and likely more elements of which I’m not aware, a filmed production can open doors for audiences over a much broader area, as proven by the National Theatre, the highly anticipated Disney+ Hamilton[30] and many other large theatre companies, but theatre-on-film remains a facsimile; it is not the same as being in the room, sharing the energy, synchronizing heartbeats across an audience witnessing and sharing in the experience of the moment. The handful of us who were in the room when these eight actors poured their heart and souls into R&J had a different experience than those watching the film of the same performance. … This is true of the many experiences we’ve been trying ‘virtually’ in 2020 – worship services, meetings, coffees and game nights with friends–and many experiences we’ve offered virtually for years. Watching a baseball game on TV pales in comparison to being at the stadium; listening to a favorite band’s album via streaming or radio is not the same experience as seeing them live with thousands of other fans. ‘Virtual’ is a great option when in-person is not an option. However, given the choice, give me the room! Give me the theatre! Give me the audience! Give me the stadium! I want to hear the shuffling of programs and the orchestra warming up before we begin. I want to share in the anticipation of the moment when the lights go down before the curtain goes up. I want to share in the collective gasps, laughter, joy, tears, and surprise. Being in the room and sharing in the experience are major factors in what make theatre Theatre.”

As Lukasiewicz admits, there were problems with the stream. My frustrations begin at the pay point. Flatwater took my $15. An email promising a link to the stream was generated instead of an actual link, which still has not arrived. Flatwater should make the link automatic. I was able to watch the recording thanks to a link sent by Flatwater dramaturg Stephen M. Buhler, and so was able to give Flatwater feedback. The company received it with grace.

As Lukasiewicz stated, the camera failed to capture the dynamics between the actors. The Tribune Flats room is a poor space for this play and Third Rail did not overcome the obstacles inherent there. Compositions were poor, the sound awful, the editing seemed arbitrary, and the coverage was incomplete. There were moments when the camera moved off the actors to a corner of the room before swiveling back. There is one interesting touch, showing the empty chairs where the audience would have sat had they been allowed to attend. These are stackable chairs and could easily been struck but knowing Lukasiewicz’s thoughts about the audience completing a production, I found this reminder of its absence meaningful. Lukasiewicz is clearly a person who learns from her mistakes so future Flatwater recordings should be improvements. Flatwater declined to reveal the number and locations of viewers. I learned by other means that the stream Buhler supplied had 311 views as of 27 August. This strikes me as a respectable number given the link problem and for a company with little reputation beyond Lincoln.

Flatwater wanted to mark their twentieth anniversary in September. The scheduled production of Twelfth Night could not be staged so an archival recording of the company’s 2019 Macbeth was made available through the Company website until the end of that month.[31] The stream was recorded by two cameras, one at either end of Flatwater’s usual stage, so it is not surprising that sound quality is poor changing with the distance of the speakers from the cameras or that the actors sometimes walked out of the frame. Still, this minimalist approach was far more effective than the Romeo and Juliet recording. Importantly, the audience was seen on both sides of the acting area.

The Barn Theatre

The Barn Theatre is a small venue in the Cotswolds town of Cirencester. The theatre recorded Henry V multiple times in May and June 2019 for archival and marketing purposes, not to stream. Cameras were placed in different places on different days, so multiple angles were used when these recordings were edited for streaming. This very modern production is at its best recounting Hal’s dissipated life in the ten-minute sequence before the Shakespeare begins. Included are a rave and television gossip shows covering Henry’s promiscuity and drug use. This sequence and later similar scenes are quite dazzling. There are problems. The lighting that worked with most of the cameras was washed out for the camera at the greatest distance. The coverage was generally good, though there were occasional lapses when images did not match the soundtrack. There were times a tighter shot would have been more dramatic and battle scenes lacked excitement. The sides of the stage were usually visible diffusing concentration, but Henry V is impressive for a film constructed of repurposed materials.[32] The editing was completed during the two weeks between theatre closures and the YouTube premiere. Director Hal Chambers said during intermission that he hopes Henry’s ability to rouse the troops will work on the imaginary forces of viewers to overcome difficulties caused by the pandemic and that the eventual reopening of theatres will help heal the nation. Comments at the end indicate the Barn intends to stream future shows. Henry V received 12,994 viewings on YouTube as of 17 August.

Barn spokesperson Aeron James wrote in a 23 August email that the Henry V stream “led to the creation of our online series ‘Bard From The Barn,’ which took iconic Shakespearean monologues and duologues and brought them to present day lockdown. The series sees the Barn reunite as co-producers with Aaron Sidwell, based on an original concept by Aaron Sidwell and Hal Chambers, with over 150 creatives involved and has just completed Series 2 which features 36 drama school graduates as the Barn wanted to provide a platform for new emerging talent that hasn’t had the graduation into the industry that they were expecting.”[33]

O!

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival had its usual slate of eleven plays scheduled for 2020. Five were newly opened or in dress rehearsal when Governor Kate Brown limited indoor gatherings. Two of the plays are obviously not by Shakespeare: Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice and The Copper Children by Karen Zacarías. Bring Down the House was less obviously not by Shakespeare. This two-part abridgement of the Henry VI trilogy was severely cut; the Festival estimated that about 40% of the three plays were used. These cuts and the fact that collaborators wrote much of the originals refutes OSF’s claim that House was written by Shakespeare.[34] The only play of these five with a strong Shakespeare pedigree was A Midsummer Night’s Dream, though Titania, Oberon, and Puck were the only fairies that spoke. These cuts skewed the balance of the Athenian and fairy worlds. The show was also turned into a musical through the addition of a dozen songs. It closed after its dress rehearsal.[35]

New Artistic Director Nataki Garrett came to OSF planning to record and stream Festival shows in 2021. A digital platform called O! was created for this, though it launched in late-April 2020 with archival content and new material plugging the 2020 season.[36] OSF spokesperson C. J. Martinez noted in a 16 July email that the goals of O! are “to engage current, and new global audiences, to bring OSF to wherever you are, and also to provide access to long-term supporters who may no longer be able to travel to OSF.” The Festival used O! to stream The Copper Children and MND for three weeks in July in response to the pandemic. Why the three-week limit? “There are a number of licensing and rights permissions required for each production including cost to compensate everyone involved. To meet those requirements, remain compliant with our union partners, that was the initial timeframe for a designated run. The Copper Children run has been extended due to unprecedented demand, which indicates there are options for extension, but everything has to be negotiated.” The first time anything is done is unprecedented, but Martinez refused to clarify.[37] The Copper Children extension was three days. MND was not extended. The actors received additional compensation for these streamed shows. Peter and the Starcatcher was streamed free for OSF members and other donors on the Festival’s main website from 18 – 31 August.

All these shows were recorded for marketing and archival purposes, not for streaming. Each was recorded just once but with multiple cameras, the recordings edited into the streamed versions. I did not see Copper Children, but MND was surprisingly fresh and watchable. The camera captured the interactions of the actors and everything essential was seen though sometimes awkwardly. Unlike the ASC streams, the experience was quite like being in the theatre. The still photographers are not seen during this stream, but with multiple cameras it was no doubt possible to choose angels excluding them from the frame.

Photographers can be seen snapping pictures during the opening moments of Peter and the Starcatcher, so it too must have been recorded during the dress rehearsal. Negotiations with the AEA, Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, the United Scenic Artists Local, and the Disney Theatricals, Music Theatre International allowed OSF to stream this recording. Possibly OSF did not want to sully the profit-making potential of O! by charging for the inferior recording that was captured by two cameras, I think, one that tracked. The images lacked dramatic impact, sound levels were uneven, and overall, the recording was far inferior to MND. Martinez would not answer questions about this recording, so my guesses about two cameras and the reason Peter and the Starcatcher was not streamed on O! may be incorrect.

O! streams are only available on computers and similar devices, but not Smart TVs. O! closed the internet when I tried to watch on my television. OSF is aware of the problem and is considering other platforms for future full length plays.

Was Bring Down the House recorded? Martinez would not answer the question. If so, it may stream later. He also did not deliver promised information about viewership of the O! shows nor answer reminding emails.

It is interesting that the obvious reasons for streaming, for publicity and to introduce the brand to new audiences, were not admitted by most of these theatres. I do not want to put words in mouths, but basic marketing principles insist this be a motive. I cannot prove that most of these theatre companies had this in mind. Perhaps some did not want to admit it?

The Barn and OSF streams fall short of videos by companies that filmed their plays for cinemas, but neither were recorded for this reason. Conceiving future recordings as films should have better results. These shows demonstrate that solid stage productions provide a foundation for a good stream. The stream of A King and No King indicates that a solid show can be botched in the recording. To state the obvious: a great staging and a great recording are both necessary for a satisfying stream.

I conclude by recommending two Arden Shakespeare books that Barn, OSF, ASC, Flatwater, and other theatre companies planning to stream may find helpful as they strategize ways to produce good recordings.

I complained in the last issue about the disappointing Shakespeare & the ‘Live’ Theatre Broadcast Experience (2018). The book, edited by Pascale Aebischer, Susanne Greenhalgh, and Laurie E. Osborne, purports to give a scholarly analysis of screening plays in cinemas. Many of the authors overthink the matter and some make unsupported assertions or consider evidence selectively. Artistic Directors ambitious to stream can read this book to cherry pick tips for creating good digitizations, such as having camera rehearsals, reblocking scenes to make them camera-friendly, allowing retakes, placing microphones carefully, and helping actors strategize ways to get their performances across in a different medium. Theatre companies with the best recordings do these things and more.

The other book is John Wyver’s Screening the Royal Shakespeare Company: A Critical History (2019). I was impressed by Wyver’s recounting of the strategies used to film or televise certain plays in ways that capture the unique strengths of the originating stage productions. Wyver does not cover the RSC’s cinema events in this way, but productions such as The Wars of The Roses television series (1965), the film Marat/Sade (1967), and several others show the importance of carefully placing cameras in auditoria and sometimes reconfiguring the auditoria to capture the strengths of productions in another medium. Strategies will be different for every show for each has its own strengths and, I daresay, weaknesses. I selfishly wish these companies the best of success. I want to watch great Shakespeare digitizations and I hope the ASC, Flatwater, Barn, and OSF will someday produce them.

Part two of this article will look at what I call Zoom Shakespeare, readings of Shakespeare plays on the internet. This will cover several productions including King Lear staring Stacy Keach, more than a dozen Play On! readings from various theatres, the Play Must Go Online series, the Delacorte Theatre’s cancelled Richard II reimagined for the radio, and if Santa Cruz Shakespeare finally answers my questions, they will be featured as well. If not, I will continue griping about uncooperative theatre companies.

Streamed Productions Listed by Originating Companies

All streamed plays by these companies are included. Dates are for original stagings.

 

American Shakespeare Center

The Grapes of Wrath, 2020

Henry IV, part one, 2020

Henry IV, part two, 2020

Imogen, 2020

A King and No King, 2020

Midsummer 90, 2020

Much Ado About Nothing, 2020

Othello, 2020

Twelfth Night 90, 2020

 

Barn Theatre

Henry V, 2019

 

BBC

King Lear, 2018

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2016

 

Cheek by Jowl

Measure for Measure, 2015

The Winter’s Tale, 2017

 

Deafinitely Theatre

4.48 Psychosis, 2018

Contractions, 2017

Grounded, 2015

Love’s Labour’s Lost, 2012

 

Flatwater Shakespeare Company

Macbeth, 2019

Romeo and Juliet, 2020

 

National Theatre at Home

Amadeus, 2017

Antony and Cleopatra, 2018

Barber Shop Chronicles, 2018

Coriolanus, 2014

The Deep Blue Sea, 2016

Frankenstein, 2011

Jane Eyre, 2015

Les Blancs, 2020

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2020

One Man, Two Guvrnors, 2011

A Streetcar Named Desire, 2020

The Madness of George III, 2018

Small Island, 2019

This House, 2013

Treasure Island, 2014

Twelfth Night, 2017

 

Oregon Shakespeare Festival

The Copper Children, 2020

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2020

Peter and the Starcatcher, 2020

 

Royal Shakespeare Company

Hamlet, 2016

Macbeth, 2018

The Merchant of Venice, 2015

Much Ado About Nothing, 2018

Othello, 2015

Romeo and Juliet, 2018

 

Shakespeares’ Globe

Macbeth, 2020

The Merry Wives of Windsor, 2019

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2013

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2016 (shown on the BBC)

The Tempest, 2013 (shown on the BBC)

Two Noble Kinsmen, 2018

The Winter’s Tale, 2018

 

Stratford Festival

Antony and Cleopatra, 2015

Coriolanus, 2018

Hamlet, 2015

King John, 2014

King Lear, 2014

Love’s Labour’s Lost, 2015

Macbeth, 2016

Pericles, Prince of Tyre, 2015

Romeo and Juliet, 2017

The Taming of the Shrew, 2015

The Tempest, 2018

Timon of Athens, 2017

All links were live as of 26 October 2020.

[1] https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/

[2] store.cineplex.com/StratfordFestival

[3] https://www.stratfordfestival.ca/AtHome

[4] Jonty Claypole, “BBC Arts announces Culture in Quarantine programme,” https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/wLvhN0VTSkB34Pm36c9qSY/bbc-arts-announces-culture-in-quarantine-programme

[5] Jonty Claypole, “The Bard comes to the BBC and launching Museums In Quarantine,” 22 April 2020, https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/entries/c410da71-3195-4bce-bc42-6293d62e166d?fbclid=IwAR2Wt1pp9SrqENw9dQLk8PLg1UoG12Gj3bGqjL-3amkWUwvh4mq1ZBK5ip0

[6] James Shapiro, “The Shakespeare Play That Presaged the Trump Administration’s Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic,” The New Yorker, 8 April 2020, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-shakespeare-play-that-presaged-the-trump-administrations-response-to-the-coronavirus-pandemic

[7] https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

[8] Many radio programs, however, are available worldwide.

[9] https://www.rsc.org.uk/news/daily-shakespeare-lessons-with-bbc-bitesize

[10] https://www.marquee.tv/

[11] BritBox is available in the United States, https://www.britbox.com/us/

[12] https://globeplayer.tv/all

[13] Thanks to Andrea Smith for supplying the link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000hmnq

[14] Tim Dams, “Shakespeare’s Globe Could Close Permanently Due to Coronavirus, U.K. Legislators Warn,” Variety, 18 May, 2020, https://variety.com/2020/legit/uncategorized/shakespeares-globe-theatre-risk-closure-coronavirus-1234609264/?fbclid=IwAR36AuBCzZnf34sDQ5zrTBPDPmR01tTAO6bGAcGoKRap97O3SG8xFfLuX6o

[15] https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-54664097?fbclid=IwAR1dkn68DdTAGgKTdILnwlB74gWzF9QzdkCojso3yAtjeqsxJFlHt5q6OCQ

[16] https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/jan/25/signing-shakespeare-bsl-loves-labours-lost-globe

[17] https://www.deafinitelytheatre.co.uk/

[18] https://www.cheekbyjowl.com/productions/measure-for-measure/

[19] https://americanshakespearecenter.com/events/imogen/

[20] https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/the-virus-is-already-pushing-small-theaters-to-the-brink-one-shakespeare-theater-hopes-it-can-make-it-back/2020/03/17/20b10688-6855-11ea-9923-57073adce27c_story.html

[21] I told Ms. Wilson that many of her comments read like spin. I was able to excise most of the cheerleading from other quotations but could not do so from this statement. I gave her the opportunity to amend her comment. Her response: “Contrary to your statements within the article and your communication with me, the quotes we provided are not spin.  They truly and accurately represent where we were, what we’ve gone through, and where we are headed.” Right.

[22] My thanks to Prof. Vaughan for permission to include our private correspondence.

[23] https://www.wsj.com/articles/henry-iv-and-much-ado-about-nothing-reviews-when-the-staging-makes-the-show-11586464942

[24] https://americanshakespearecenter.com/2020/06/safestart-summer-2020-news/

[25] Michael Paulson, “She Gave Up Much to Play the Moor,” New York Times, 5 September 2020, pp. C1-2.

[26] https://americanshakespearecenter.com/2020/08/blkfrs-live-marquee-tv-announcement/

[27] Jesse Green, “A Familiar Tragedy Keeps Its Distance,” New York Times, 5 September 2020, p. C2.

[28] http://www.flatwatershakespearecompany.org/

[29] http://www.flatwatershakespearecompany.org/tickets/bya1bq9x7yn6rs87d4gvdkwdqp6zar

[30] Hamilton subsequently streamed to acclaim on Disney +.

[31] http://www.flatwatershakespearecompany.org/?fbclid=IwAR36nRQsSu4hzyggfqiGJr9klo8VxmQws-eREDffc0lLYkihe8z2lEsSRTM

[32] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynSpVRu_8kE&t=350s

[33] The first series may be seen at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZNnxQWHbO9KPlCFGxNHGwD0O6hK-e7q5. I know of no other theatre that has taken it on themselves to give work to recent drama school graduates.

[34] OSF has removed the webpage for these plays. The Festival has a shameful history of publicizing Shakespeare’s sole authorship of plays that the Festival is aware are collaborative.

[35] https://www.osfashland.org/en/productions/2020-digital-plays/d-midsummer-nights-dream.aspx

[36] https://osfashland.uscreen.io/

[37] I gave Mr. Martinez the opportunity to rephrase this. He expressed contempt for me and declined to change his comment.