The devilish radio hasn't killed off live concerts
Downloads haven’t reduced the number of sell-out music gigs, and Lyn Gardner suspects that digital platforms wont be a threat to theatre-going either – quite the reverse.
The early 20th-century conductor Sir Thomas Beecham was not a big fan of the radio. He thought that if people could listen to concerts relayed in their own home, they would be reluctant to visit concert halls. He chided the "wireless authorities" for doing "devilish work".
I thought about Sir Thomas – who no doubt would be delighted to learn that the devilish Radio 3 hasn't killed off the live concert – last week when Stephen Wood, executive director of the Stephen Joseph theatre in Scarborough, was reported in the Stage as taking issue with NT Live, which screens productions live to venues across the country and the world.
Upcoming productions include the Donmar's sellout Coriolanus with Tom Hiddleston. In a single evening, Coriolanus could stream to more people than it will play during its entire run in the 250-seater venue. Wood is concerned that these kind of broadcasts will become a substitute for actual theatregoing, saying: "We must be careful that we don't arrive at a situation where this type of thing is what people's only experience of live theatre really is."
The early 20th-century conductor Sir Thomas Beecham was not a big fan of the radio. He thought that if people could listen to concerts relayed in their own home, they would be reluctant to visit concert halls. He chided the "wireless authorities" for doing "devilish work".
I thought about Sir Thomas – who no doubt would be delighted to learn that the devilish Radio 3 hasn't killed off the live concert – last week when Stephen Wood, executive director of the Stephen Joseph theatre in Scarborough, was reported in the Stage as taking issue with NT Live, which screens productions live to venues across the country and the world.
Upcoming productions include the Donmar's sellout Coriolanus with Tom Hiddleston. In a single evening, Coriolanus could stream to more people than it will play during its entire run in the 250-seater venue. Wood is concerned that these kind of broadcasts will become a substitute for actual theatregoing, saying: "We must be careful that we don't arrive at a situation where this type of thing is what people's only experience of live theatre really is."