Performance can take on many forms, from puppetry to pantomime, and noh to naturalism.
We have curated some of the best performances across mutliple genres that are available to stream free online. Check out what's online below.
National Theatre at Home
The UK's National Theatre stream a new performance for free each week, available for a week only. Check out what's on offer this week.
Suzy Storck
Suzy Storck is the debut UK production of Jean-Pierre Baro, one of the most exciting new artists in French theatre, that dares to ask the question: what happens when you don’t want children – and you already have them? This production from Gate Theatre in the UK is written by Magali Mougel, Translated by Chris Campbell, Directed by Jean-Pierre Baro.
The One Day of the Year
Alan Seymour's Australian classic play was performed entirely remotely for this special ANZAC Day 2020 production.
Night of the Living Dead REMIX
Seven strangers take refuge from flesh eating ‘ghouls’ in an isolated farmhouse. As the night draws in, their situation becomes desperate, hope turns to despair, and the picket-fence American dream is smashed apart. Seven performers enter the stage armed with cameras. Can they recreate the film, shot-for-shot before our eyes, using whatever they can lay their hands on?
Geoffrey Atherden's LIberty Equality Fraternity
Geoffrey Atherden puts Australian politics and culture under the microscope. This rollicking story is about intelligence gathering, privacy and the government's right to know. Delivered with Atherden's brilliant comic rhythm. Originally produced by Ensemble Theatre.
The Unknown Island
The Unknown Island is a beautiful, inventive and rebellious adventure story about dreaming of the impossible and trying to cross the vast distances between ourselves and each other.
David Williamson's Emerald City
In David Williamson's Emerald City, Colin is not long in Sydney before he's seduced by its obsession with success. Teaming up with hack writer Mike, he finds himself in a tug of war between ambition, fame and big buck.
Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad’s extraordinarily influential novel, Heart of Darkness. Written more than 100 years ago amid the optimism at the turn of a new century, , Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness is a tale of lies and brutal greed and of the dark heart which beats within us all. Now re-sited in a timeless Europe, in a forsaken landscape lost to the destructive lust for power, it emerges as a tale absolutely for our time.
Musicals, Cabaret and Variety
Miss Saigon
A filmed production of the musical Miss Saigon for its 25th anniversary, performed live at London's Prince Edward Theatre, in London's West End.
The Shows Must Go On
Welcome to The Shows Must Go On the channel bringing you showtunes, backstage access and full performances from some of the best loved musicals in history! Each week, Universal will release an acclaimed musical for you to view free on YouTube for 48 hours only.
The Midnight Gang
This inventive tale of fun, friendship and the importance of kindness is adapted from David Walliams's biggest selling children’s book of 2016.
The Isolate Late Show
Lockdown and stay-up on Friday nights with Australia’s biggest little cabaret powerhouse as they band together for an online LIVE concert series to raise money for Queensland’s creative workforce who are facing perilous loss in the wake of COVID-19.
Wasted
Through the lens of a rock documentary, Wasted gives an access-all-areas account of the struggles, heartbreaks and triumphs of the three Brontë sisters Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and their brother Branwell.
Stars in the House
US Radio host Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley, bring you daily shows entitled “Stars In The House”! Featuring stars of stage and screen singing and performing live (from home!) on YouTube, this concert series promotes support for The Actors Fund’s services for those most vulnerable to the effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
21 Chump Street
This sort (14-minute) musical from Lin-Manuel Miranda (In The Heights, Hamilton), was developed from a short news segment and is a cautionary tale of a high school honours student who falls for a cute transfer girl. He goes to great lengths to oblige her request for marijuana in the hopes of winning her affection - only to find out his crush is actually an undercover cop planted in the school to find drug dealers.
Cirque Du Soleil
The legendary Cirque Du Soleil have released 60-minute specials of a number of their touring productions. Whether in person or on screen Cirque Du Soleil productions are mesmerising and truly beautiful.
YANK! 10th Anniversary Celebration
A special celebratory concert to mark the 10th anniversary of the musical Yank! opening off-Broadway. When this romantic gay love story set during WWII opened in 2010 at the York Theatre it was a surprise hit, garnering rave reviews and a raft of award nominations. Features a special appearance by Australian Naomi Price (The Isolate Late Show)
Keep the music going
Check out this playlist of musical theatre and showtune songs on Spotify.
With hits from shows like Rent, The Little Mermaid, Wicked, West Side Story and Once, there is something on this playlist for everyone.
So whether you're a massive fan, or just curious about musical theatre, give this list a listen.
MK Ultra
MK ULTRA explores the the rise of a strange, dark myth of our time. How, as millions of young people turn away from the established political systems, they are embracing bizarre conspiracies that they see hidden like a secret code in the culture and music that surrounds them.
Romeo & Juliet
#LincolnCenterAtHome brings you a stunning rebroadcast of San Francisco Ballet's Romeo & Juliet. Featuring a celebrated score by Sergei Prokofiev, and title roles danced by Maria Kochetkova and Davit Karapetyan, this can't-miss performance will be available on-demand for 2 weeks!
SPEAR
Acclaimed Artistic Director and Choreographer Stephen Page brings Bangarra Dance Theatre's outstanding dance work SPEAR to the screen. Using gesture and dance, SPEAR follows a young Aboriginal man named Djali from the outback to the streets of Sydney on his quest to understand what it means to be a man with ancient traditions in a modern world.
Pulcinella Variations
With a lively Stravinsky score, eye-catching, avant-garde costumes from Japanese designer Tsumori Chisato, and a nod to commedia dell’arte, Justin Peck's Pulcinella Variations is the choreographer's "love letter to classical ballet" for nine dancers.
Warumuk - In the Dark Night
A collaboration between Bangarra Dance Theatre and The Australian Ballet, Warumuk – in the dark night was commissioned to celebrate The Australian Ballet's 50th anniversary. This contemporary dance work is inspired by Aboriginal cultural stories of the night sky: it begins with the evening star and ends with the morning star.
Mass
You can watch Robert Battle’s mesmerising work ‘Mass’ starting May 14 at 7pm EST through May 21 at 7pm on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. “... for 16 dancers to an earnest score by John Mackey. Intense, serious, it shows the architectural skill with which Mr. Battle contrasts groups as well as individuals.” - The New York Times
Shakespeare
Macbeth
A psychological thriller examining the dangers of political ambition, Macbeth is a gripping, full-scale *90 minute performance* in the Globe Theatre, with no interval.
Coriolanus
From Canada’s Stratford Festival and genre-defying director Robert Lepage comes a landmark production of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus exploring the age-old tensions that still tear at the heart of democracy (Available until 22 May).
Twelfth Night
Whilst searching for her lost twin brother in Illyria, Viola stumbles upon something entirely unexpected – love. But in Illyria, love’s true course is never going to run smoothly.
Richard II
Richard II - the Bard’s great Play of England. Swinging the Lens brings a film version of the critically acclaimed first all women of colour Shakespeare on a UK stage - from the 2019 Globe Season.
The Tempest
Magic is in the air! In Shakespeare’s great drama of loss and reconciliation, a deposed ruler uses magic to summon the enemies who marooned her on a remote island. This elaborate, eye-popping production is anchored by a performance full of “passion and power” by theatre legend Martha Henry (Available until June 4).
Opera
Jerry Springer: The Opera
The award-winning, hit musical filmed live in London's West End. This theatrical spectacle made theatre history by receiving an unprecedented four awards for Best Musical.
Trouble in Tahiti
In 1950s suburbia, Sam (Quirijn de Lang) and Dinah (Wallis Giunta) appear to have the perfect life in their little white house. But their growing detachment exposes a mutual feeling that they are trapped in a life that has turned into a lie, as the American Dream turns suffocatingly sour (Available until 1 June)
Metropolitan Opera
Each day, a different encore presentation from the company’s Live in HD series is being made available for free streaming on the Met website, with each performance available for a period of 23 hours.
La Traviata - Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour
Violetta is the life of every party. A courtesan with a heart of gold, she’s free and free-spirited. Could a little love change everything? Experience the joy and heartache of the world’s most popular opera and the magic of Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour.