Last Thursday, as Rosamund Pike delivered a high-octane performance as an overextended judge and mother in “Inter Alia” at the National Theater in London, several hundred people were in the seats in front of her — and about 52,000 watched via livestream across 680 movie theaters in Britain.
The screening of “Inter Alia,” a new production from the team behind the Broadway hit “Prima Facie,” was the latest offering from NT Live, an arm of the National Theater. NT Live streams performances in Britain and Ireland, and distributes the recordings to venues in 74 other countries. Starting Sept. 25, viewers around the world will be able to watch “Inter Alia” at their local movie theaters.
Since its launch in 70 British cinemas in 2009, NT Live has performed a feat of arts democratization, bringing productions from the National Theater and other playhouses to more than 900 venues around Britain and Ireland, and more than 8,000 around the world.
That serves people in cities like Vienna, Sydney or Shanghai for whom a trip to London is a rare treat or impossible. Even for those who live closer, the cost of travel and theater tickets can be prohibitive.
“It’s often a huge financial commitment to go to the National Theater,” said Kirsty Sedgman, a theater lecturer at the University of Bristol who researches audiences. “Increasingly, we know, given the cost-of-living crisis, people are just not able to prioritize theatergoing, even if it’s something they absolutely love.”
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