today in the world there is not one place, where he opened the curtain. While theatrical managers calculate scenarios out of the economic crisis, the audience is forced to get used to digital product. But, alas, he is poor. Yes, and it can afford only the rich theatres. However, the European colleagues almost 30 years ago foresaw the advantage of theatrical streaming and now put unbelievable amounts of money. Are living theatre prepared a place in the Museum and the video version is the only option?
the leaders of the Moscow theatres has clearly outlined its position a month ago. “I am against the online theater” – not once categorically stated the Director of the theater. EV. Vakhtangov Kirill KROK. This is his support and artistic Director of “art Nouveau” Yuri Grymov. “First, high-quality recording is a very time-consuming and expensive process. And secondly, I think because of this pause the people who wanted to get into theaters, you may simply not want to come back,” – said Grymov in an April online meeting.
However, the Royal National theatre in England has something to say about this. The last 10 years, they not only show all the performances live in cinemas in Europe and America, but and thus it attracts viewers. This was proved by British scientists (not from Internet memes, but the real the staff of the British equivalent of our Institute). From 2009 to 2013 (i.e. 4 years of regular live broadcasts) the number of tickets bought for live performances increased by 54%.
it All started back in 1992. In London’s “Piccadilly circus” (Piccadilly Theatre) was the musical “Which witch” (Which Witch) in the Catholic treatise on witchcraft of the XV century “Hammer of witches”. 76th and last (critics completely zagnobili performance reviews, and it was removed from the repertoire) performances filmed on 2 professional cameras and edited in a 2-hour recording. She, by the way, can be found on YouTube. Then the aim was to attract producers to the troubled production to give her at least some chance at a life in the theatre. According to legend, this was delivered to Nicholas Hitner, who now heads the national theatre. He was so excited by the idea of remote displays, which since the 90s has started to nurture this idea.
“Think of it as a live sporting event. And once you do, the absurdity of the online theater will disappear. Of course, looking at film, there are things that make you cringe, but to go on stage in live amazing. We should monetize it!” – told Hittner in 2001 the British press.
In 2009, he implemented the plan. June 25, thanks to five multi-channel cameras and ten engineers, viewers in 70 cinemas across the UK and 200 more around the world saw the live broadcaste “Fedra” by Jean Racine, with Helen Mirren and Dominic Cooper in the lead roles. Critic of the Guardian newspaper, Michael Billington, watching “Phaedra” in a crowded movie theater in London’s Chelsea, delighted, wrote: “the national theatre has today made history. It was a big risk, but it is fully justified. Setting in the movie looked even better than the theater”.
Cash record set “hamlet” with Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. Only in the UK and Ireland theatre earned nearly $ 3 million in its first week of broadcasts. It may seem that the success of “alternative content” as it is called professionals rental in lower ticket prices compared to the theatrical. But it is not – they are 2 times higher than a normal movie ticket for the evening session.
Each stream is conducted in the audience hall. And equipment specially installed for the best places in the parterre and in the balcony so that virtual guests don’t just watch the play with the most presentable angles, but also felt the atmosphere of the room. The signal is instantly broadcast via satellite in world cinema, and then the technical team will adjust the subtitles for a particular country.
Sounds simple, but every online to prepare and rehearse for 2-3 weeks. First, the play in advance is removed. Create a kind of storyboard and evaluate where you want to take large, and the General plan. The Director of broadcasts of Vincent Bation once joked in an interview: “We, in fact, make the interpretation of the performance. You know how often people swear, complain the translator of a book or movie that he killed, destroyed something in the original work? But virtual spectator, without feeling the magic of a live performance gets a lot of advantages. Thanks to the multi-camera shooting, you can simultaneously be in the stalls, watching the close-UPS, and admire the geometry of the scene”.
the Fun is, I must say, not cheap. One live complete Royal National theatre 250 000 pounds. But it’s worth it. And if we look for the advantages in isolation, here, they, free, temporarily flooded to YouTube recordings of 2 performances of the theatre: “Frankenstein” in 2011 with the same Benedict Cumberbatch and johnny Lee Miller and “Antony and Cleopatra” 2018 with Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo.
Curiosity and interest in the spectacle of Danny Boyle’s genius and villainy fueled crazy turn (Director’s or marketing?): the performers changed roles – one night Cumberbatch was a genius Creator, and Lee Miller – it is a terrible and miserable creature, and Vice versa. The temptation of comparison work is unmistakable: what was a performance (not for long, as is customary in a foreign theatre) , it was a scrap, and in the finale the audience groan.
By the way, the latter withtrimming “Frankenstein”, where Cumberbatch and Lee Miller switching between the monster and his Creator, looked at 2.5 million people, and its online version is 1.2 million.
it is not Surprising that in the era of coronavirus hybrid model of the theater and screen was a hit. But even the most successful of them are painfully lacking in human interaction. This is the essence of “live” theatre. And this is what distinguishes it from TV and movies. Lost sharing the same space as the actors and the audience. Yes, under the circumstances, it is not fatal. And, perhaps, the online theater has it’s own way. We can only guess what the viewer chooses, out on the “will.” But now can’t be choosers. Network theatre is still better than nothing.
