ARTICLE well as the one with the biggest audience. Live Theatre on Screen is screened all over the world and provides theatre-makers with a truly global audience. It is estimated that Hamlet, starring Benedict Cumberbatch had an audience of 550,000 people in one live broadcast. That’s a hell of an audience and you certainly couldn’t fit that in a theatre! One of the first things I noticed was how quiet it was. It made me realise how unaware I am of mainstream film soundtracks. There was no background music to aid the senses – just actors on a stage relying on their craft. We soon found ourselves totally immersed in the dramas unfolding on the stage in front of us, just as we would be at live theatre. At the end of the first half we heard the audience clapping and I automatically went to join in before I realised it was a film and I wasn’t really there! The actors would not hear my applause. I stopped myself from clapping but the urge was most definitely there. When we returned to the theatre after interval, there was an interview with the director which provided great insight to the production and added to our enjoyment of it all. It was like watching the special features on a DVD and something you don’t get in mainstream cinema. And have I mentioned the quality of the acting? Superb! Again, at the end of the second half I had to fight the urge to applaud and ‘bravo’ the actors taking their curtain call. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. We chatted to a few other audience members who said they attend regularly and just love it.We talked about it all the way home. I pointed out to hubby that he watches his rugby league on the TV but still occasionally attends a live game and when we attend a concert by a major artist we end up watching it on the screens anyway because we’re too far away to see properly. How is this different? We discussed whether or not it would encourage non- theatre audiences to attend theatre and whether or not it would replace the theatre experience entirely. I think not.And I suspect that the audiences already attend live theatre and are completely aware of the quality that they are viewing and the opportunity Live Theatre on Screen represents for theatre audiences everywhere.Actually – it’s a bargain.The very highest quality at a fraction of the cost of a live theatrical experience. And when you are viewing that level of quality, the fact that it is not happening right in front of you is barely a concern and something you hardly notice. NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: SAINT JOAN NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: HAMLET 23 LEARN MORE