Lots To Stream (Free or low cost)

Macbeth (Carol Pratt)

Theater lovers have a bounty of filmed stage productions from various companies around the globe that are providing free entertainment on their websites or on YouTube. Listed below are mostly Shakespearean productions. 

But here is another website jam-packed with British options: https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/stage-shows-musicals-opera-free-stream-online_51198.html

Here are some specifics and their date ranges:

NOW to 5/27/20

Much Ado About Nothing

This bold interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedic masterpiece features Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black, Broadway’s The Color Purple) and Grantham Coleman (Buzzer, The Americans) as the sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick. Filmed in the summer of 2019 at the Delacorte Theatre in New York’s Central Park, this Public Theatre production was directed by Kenny Leon.

PBS - https://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/much-ado-about-nothing-full-episode/10194/

NOW - $10/ticket each stream for a one week “rental”

Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2

These two productions feature former Seattle Shakespeare Company actor David Anthony Lewis (Wooden O Henry IV, Measure for Measure, Othello) as King Henry. See the streaming versions of American Shakespeare Center’s staging of this thrilling and poignant coming-of-age story.

https://americanshakespearecenter.com/events/henry-iv-part-1-digital/

https://americanshakespearecenter.com/events/henry-iv-part-2-digital/

American Shakespeare Center.com

NOW – 7/1

Macbeth – Parts 1 & 2

Shakespeare’s chilling Scottish tragedy is realized by Emmy-winning magician Teller (of Penn & Teller) and director Aaron Posner as a startling, supernatural show brimming with magic, mayhem, and madness.

Folger Theatre – FolgerLibrary YouTube

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OU0cuGuPSk&feature=youtu.be

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLc3w-yp3wk&feature=youtu.be

4/27-May 3, 2020

Twelfth Night

National Theatre at Home - YouTube

5/4-10, 2020

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

This 2013 production was at Shakespeare’s Globe

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre - Shakespeare’s Globe YouTube

5/25-31, 2020

The Two Noble Kinsmen

It’s not often you get to see a staging of Shakespeare and Fletcher’s tragicomedy.  In this 2018 production at Shakespeare’s Globe, two best friends are captured in battle and imprisoned. From their window they see a beautiful woman, and both fall instantly in love with her, turning from intimate friendship to jealous rivalry in the space of a minute. Absurd adventures and painful confusions reveal the intoxication and strangeness of love.

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre – Shakespeare’s Globe YouTube

6/1-7, 2020

The Winter’s Tale

Shakespeare’s great play of the irrational and inexplicable gets a new staging at Shakespeare’s Globe. Set in a world of monsters, gods and natural disasters, travel from the stifling atmosphere of the Sicilian court, to the unbuttoned joy of a Bohemian festival.

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre - Shakespeare’s Globe YouTube

6/15-21, 2020

The Merry Wives of Windsor

The Merry Wives of Windsor is the only comedy that Shakespeare set in his native land. This production draws influences from British 1930s fashion, music and dance, and with its witty mix of verbal and physical humor, rejoices in a tradition that reaches right down to the contemporary sitcom.

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre - Shakespeare’s Globe YouTube