Broadcasting theatre live on the BBC has turned the fortunes of many high profile shows. Doing the same for regional theatre may be just the ticket to create new audiences, says Lyn Gardner.
Kenneth Tynan’s memorable theatre review of Look Back in Anger, in which he declared that he could not love anybody who didn’t want to see it, swam against the critical tide and is often cited for the play’s success in the face of poor reviews. But far more important in box office terms was the fact that the BBC broadcast a 25-minute extract from the play, so alerting thousands of people to what was taking place on the stage in Sloane Square. Without TV, Look Back in Anger may have gone largely unnoticed.
The BBC has not always served theatre particularly well in recent years and its arts coverage has often been overly focused (as noted by David Anderson, director general of the National Museum Wales) on high profile, London-centric events. He has cited the continued coverage of the Turner prize and the failure to cover the Artes Mundi prize in Wales... Keep reading on The Guardian
Kenneth Tynan’s memorable theatre review of Look Back in Anger, in which he declared that he could not love anybody who didn’t want to see it, swam against the critical tide and is often cited for the play’s success in the face of poor reviews. But far more important in box office terms was the fact that the BBC broadcast a 25-minute extract from the play, so alerting thousands of people to what was taking place on the stage in Sloane Square. Without TV, Look Back in Anger may have gone largely unnoticed.
The BBC has not always served theatre particularly well in recent years and its arts coverage has often been overly focused (as noted by David Anderson, director general of the National Museum Wales) on high profile, London-centric events. He has cited the continued coverage of the Turner prize and the failure to cover the Artes Mundi prize in Wales... Keep reading on The Guardian