Every Way to Stream British Theatrical Productions
Our rundown of all the different ways to watch professionally shot live theater performances in the U.S.
Of all the artistic disciplines, live theater was always going to be the last to be upended by the rise of the internet and streaming technology. While music, TV, film, and art each were pushed in turn onto the World Wide Web in the 1990s and early 2000s as speeds allowed, live theater’s unique combination of all these disciplines, and the added layer of experiencing live performers in front of a crowd, made it the hardest nut to crack.
Even though professionally shot live performances (known as “pro-shots”) have graced PBS for decades, it wasn’t until Hamilton’s arrival on Disney+ that streaming services – and film companies – saw the potential of delivering a well-made pro-shot to a generation raised on watching live bootleg concerts on YouTube. Even so, it took the recent smash success of Hadestown – filmed at London’s Lyric Theatre – to unlock the genre’s true potential.
Since the success of Hamilton, streaming services have been dipping their toes in adding pro-shots to their offerings. Apple TV has the Canadian heartwarmer Come From Away, and one imagines it will eventually stream the stage version of Schmigadoon. Paramount+ mostly has concerts since MTV and VH1 were folded into it, but also streams SpongeBob: The Musical.
However, in the past few years, with the rise of dedicated niche streaming services, there are now multiple options for people looking to stream professional recordings of theatrical productions they aren’t able to fly to London to see in person. Here’s our guide to the best streaming services to check out if you’re looking for more live theater “pro-shots.”
National Theatre at Home
The U.K.’s Royal National Theatre has been making pro-shots of its performances for years, starting in 2009 with the National Theatre Live program. At first, these were created to be presented in cinemas and movie houses, with new plays debuting in English theaters on Thursdays.
Then the pandemic happened, and in response, the company began streaming the recordings originally planned for theatrical release. Known as “National Theatre at Home,” it is the only streaming service that gives viewers a choice of how to pay for its offerings, with both a monthly subscription plan and a streaming rental service. This way, people who are only looking for one play in particular can rent just that title instead of subscribing to the entire service for a month – perfect for teachers who want to use it in the classroom.
(Amazon and Apple have streaming rental services, but the things on offer are not part of the monthly Prime/Apple TV subscription, and vice versa. NT@H is the only service that offers the same titles available in its subscription service as single rentals.)
National Theatre at Home is a little pricier than some niche services, coming in at $12.99/month or $129.99/year. However, because what they offer is so unique – British A-list actors performing timeless classics live, most of which are genuine exclusives that will never stream anywhere else – it’s worth the money.
Great Performances on PBS Passport
There’s only one outlet that has been offering pro-shots longer than the National Theatre, and that’s PBS, via its long-running Great Performances franchise. The series originally began on WNET as New York Playhouse, switching to the more generalized title starting with Season 4 in 1976. In 2007, it began telecasting pro-shots from the Metropolitan Opera in American theaters. The program’s success was actually the inspiration for the National Theatre Live program.
However, unlike the National Theatre’s pro-shots, all of which are done in-house, meaning the service has the rights to these recordings in some form of perpetuity, Great Performances only has the rights to the live theater shows they get for a limited time. Currently, PBS Passport has Seasons 50 through 53 available, with older episodes leaving when Season 54 kicks off. This rolling stock means members are constantly getting fresh new titles, while also needing to watch older stuff before it disappears for good.
Like I’ve said elsewhere, all methods for streaming PBS are well and good, but there’s nothing, and I mean nothing, that beats the PBS app with the PBS Passport tier.
Ani Bundel
Marquee TV
One of the many streaming services that launched in 2019, the American-based Marquee TV initially billed itself as “Netflix for the arts,” and planned to be the one-stop shop for streaming pro-shots. Unfortunately for it, PBS Passport launched less than six months later, and National Theatre at Home followed in under a year’s time. Having sudden competition in a field where there was none previously has put a crimp in the streaming service’s ultimate goal. However, it still boasts a well-rounded library of titles, including plays from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Italy’s La Scala.
Marquee TV also subscribes to the theory of “Slow Watching,” meaning it usually only adds one or two titles a month. As a globally focused service, those new titles are often American, Canadian, or European rather than from the U.K. But for those who are looking for pro-shots that are a bit more varied than straight British theater productions, this is the one for you. Even better, it’s priced very reasonably, at $8.33/month.
Netflix’s Broadway Collection
In the mainstream space, the streaming service with the most theatrical pro-shot titles is Netflix, hands down. After seeing the success of Hamilton on Disney+, the global everything streamer started scooping up Broadway shows left and right, including the Diana musical that folded due to the shuttering of theaters during the 2020 season.
If you have Netflix and want to see what’s available, search under “Broadway” to see all their offerings.
Disney+ Movies: “Musicals” Section
The success of Hamilton also means that Disney+ has invested in pro-shots along the way, though, as this is the most American of streaming services, most of what they have are American musicals and musicals based on their own films.
If you have Disney+ and want to see what’s available, search “Musicals” under “Movies” to see all their offerings.
HBO Max: Performances & Concerts
Finally, there’s HBO Max, which tried so hard to keep pace with Netflix and Disney+ even as the wheels started coming off, leading to the service’s current state of limbo as the antitrust lawsuit against its merger with Paramount goes forward. It too tried to scoop up some Broadway pro-shots after Hamilton’s success, the most successful of which was David Byrne’s American Utopia.
If you have HBO Max and want to see what’s available, search “Performances & Concerts” to see all their offerings.
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