It’s a brave new world

I WROTE in my most recent column about some of the reasons why theatre is so necessary (April 1): it feeds the entertainment industry, it acts as a communal meeting place and it helps us to understand ourselves and the world around us. Now, however, we have to find substitutes. What is startling is how quickly companies have responded to the current crisis by making their work available online; from Shakespeare’s Globe in London to the Schaubühne in Berlin, a huge range of productions is available.

This raises the question of whether a screening of a play can, starring Helen Mirren and Dominic Cooper, was shown in 73 cinemas in the UK and 200 around the world.