Overview
Perhaps you're a theatre-loving Melburnian currently navigating the city's latest lockdown. Or, you could've had your eye on Melbourne Theatre Company's 2021 program from elsewhere, but haven't been able to make the trip south to see a show. Either way, you'll find the arts organisation's new MTC Digital Theatre rather handy, with the just-launched platform making a selection of MTC's productions available to stream.
Currently online to watch from wherever you happen to be around the country: Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch's #MeToo-era interpretation of the familiar student–teacher narrative; and
Berlin, a romantic thriller from Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith. Both have had their time on MTC's physical stage this year, and were filmed while the cast was treading the boards, all so that theatre fans could check them out afterwards from their couches.
The two shows mark MTC's first leap into on-demand theatre, a new facet of its operations that it intends to expand. "It's been a dream of ours for some time, and audiences have been asking for it with increasing frequency, especially after last year when there was very little Australian theatre available to stream," explained MTC Executive Director and co-CEO Virginia Lovett.
When each show is filmed — in front of a live audience, and in 4K with 5.1 surround sound — the production's creative personnel works alongside the video team to make sure that the viewing experience reflects the play's creative intentions. Also pivotal: that it brings as much of the live experience as possible to the screen. That involves using multiple cameras throughout the auditorium, in order to get a wide range of audience perspectives.
If you're keen to check out Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes' tale about a prize-winning novelist and his university student — starring Dan Spielman and Izabella Yena — it's available to stream until 11.59pm on Sunday, June 6. If Berlin and its story about two strangers (Grace Cummings and Michael Wahr) meeting in a Berlin bar takes your fancy, it has just hit the streaming service, and will be available until 11.59pm on Sunday, July 4.
To access MTC Digital Theatre, you just need to head to MTC's website, purchase a $25 video pass per show, and then watch within 48 hours.
And, if you're in the mood for more theatre from your couch once you've viewed MTC's two current offerings, the UK's National Theatre also has its own streaming platform.
MTC Digital Theatre is now available online on a pay-per-view basis, with video passes costing $25 per show. For further details, or to watch Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes and Berlin, head to the service's website.