01.06.2020 - SSI - Mrs Williams

THE MADNESS OF GEORGE III

Today, I watched the National Theatre show of The Madness of George III (the video has since been deleted from their YouTube channel).  It gave me a feel into the difference between seeing a show in person versus seeing it on screen.  Here are a few pointers on my experience (not on the actual performance).

• The show wasn't live streamed so what was happening wasn't in real time (due to social distancing)
• Although it wasn't happening in real time, the show was premiered on YouTube (this means that it was shown at a specific time, but people could still watch it if they came later)
• It didn't ever feel awkward as the audience was present at the time of the recording so there was still some aspect of an atmosphere
• It was free to watch which would make a lot of people happy as some people wouldn't be able to afford to see real shows
• There was still a fundraiser which had a generous amount of donations - shows the tight and supportive performing arts community
• The camera quality was HD and I could see more than when I actually watch plays in real life
• I could pause whenever if I needed to
• I was in the comfortable environment of my house 
• Although those last three comments were positive, I still do really miss the vibe of being in a theatre and the excitement live performance brings

Luckily, these performances were recorded before lockdown started due to NT Live.  NT Live is when the National Theatre's performances being streamed around the world in cinemas, live.  The technology to make this happen is incredible and this just so happened to come in handy in a time like this.  I watched this video which gave me a grasp on the complexities behind this.

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Next I want to look into the effect that coronavirus has had on Broadway and the West End as these are a massive part of the performing arts which has had to come to a complete halt.