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| Author | DCM |
| Categories | Exhibitor News |
The National Theatre Live programme (NT Live) has recorded its highest audience figures ever for a live cinema broadcast of The Audience, starring Helen Mirren in her second outing as the Queen.
The 13 June broadcast from London's Gielgud Theatre was seen by nearly 80,000 people across the UK and 30,000 people in North America, which exceeded expectations.
Peter Morgan’s play imagines the private weekly meetings between the Queen and 11 prime ministers.
More cinema screenings of the production are planned this year, with nearly 800 in the UK and 700 in North America throughout the summer.
The NT Live programme began four years ago with a screening of Phedre also starring Dame Helen.
Eight shows a year are broadcast to cinemas around the world, using multiple cameras, tracking shots and close-ups. From an initial 280 cinemas, plays are now broadcast to almost 700 venues in 25 countries.
Plays scheduled for the fifth season will include Othello starring Adrian Lester and directed by Nicholas Hytner, as well as Macbeth with Kenneth Branagh.
In 2014 the Donmar Warehouse's production of Coriolanus will be shown, as well as War Horse.
David Sabel, executive producer of NT Live Sabel believes there will still be a huge audience for a cinema screening of War Horse: "There's going to be a lot of people who haven't had a chance to see it still or might want to see it again in a different guise," says Sabel. Continuing that seeing a play screened in a cinema is "Not a second-best experience. It's just a different experience. It reminds people of the excitement of going to live theatre."