One silver lining in this quarantine season—seasons, I guess—is the amount of theatre that has been streamed on, and created for, internet platforms. Early on in the pandemic, a small group of friends and I learned that the National Theatre of London was making videos of past productions available for free streaming, one week at a time. We decided that we would watch each week’s production on our own, then meet up via Zoom to discuss what we saw. What a treat that was in those lonely and frightening times. The productions visited a range of sources: Shakespeare (Coriolanus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Anthony and Cleopatra), literature (Jane Eyre, Treasure Island, Frankenstein), and some American and British classics (Tennessee Williams, Terence Rattigan). There was a brilliant and energetic production called The Barbershop Chronicles, which looked at the African diaspora in England while Lorraine Hansberry’s devastating Les Blancs examined the pernicious effects of colonialism in Africa. There were at least a half dozen additional plays in this series. We didn’t like them all equally, of course, nor did we always agree, but the conversations were lively and, while there’s no real substitute for live theatre, these videos allowed us to have the best seats in the house. Although there was no charge to watch these plays, we were always invited to make a donation—critically important when the performing arts and those who make their livings by them are in such dire peril. I was happy to contribute; after all, the cost was much, much lower than plane fare to London.

When we’d exhausted the offerings from the National Theatre of London, we wanted to keep up the weekly meetings, so we widened our search for other opportunities. One of the first things I came across was something called The Line. This play was created specifically for the internet era. It took its text from first-hand accounts of first responders and other medical personnel in New York City during the earliest onslaught of the coronavirus. Each person was brought to life by a professional actor with vivid, dramatic realism. Their interwoven stories and experiences brought the crisis of the pandemic to us with unforgettable urgency. I considered this a powerful, creative way to use the tools of theatre to tell a story to a large audience which was mostly stuck at home. Bravo to all those involved.

Not all attempts to circumvent the logistical difficulties of making theatre in a pandemic were as successful as The Line, in my opinion. I’ll talk about some of the other options I encountered in my next blog post.