A couple of months ago, my sister and I decided to take a little trip down to our local independent cinema to see a movie. We checked the film times online, established what we wanted to see and then made the trip ten minutes down the road to watch the film. However, upon arrival, we discovered that the film we had wanted to see wasn't showing because the National Theatre were showing in that screen. We did not really think much of it, chose a different film and watched that instead. It was not until about half way through the film, sitting in this tiny cinema screen, with a capacity of only about two hundred, that the idea of the National Theatre Company performing in one of these screens sunk in, or more to the point, how impossible it would be.
When I got home, I looked up the NTC to see what was going on and made one of the greatest discoveries of my life, secondly only to ice cream. I discovered that the National Theatre had started up a new system whereby they would show, via live satellite link, various performances from the National Theatre Company in small, independent cinemas around the county and around the world. Not only that, but there was ballet, opera and concerts. There was a whole years worth of functions, across all the arts from around the world and I could go and watch them from my local cinema.
At first I thought the idea was a bad one, because if I wanted to go to the theatre, I would just get on the train to London and go. However, the more I thought about it, the better and better it got. For one thing, it is considerably cheaper. The ticket prices are about a quarter of the theatre, there is no train ticket involved and I wouldn't have to pay to park the car. On top of that, there would be no worrying about catching the last train home and the seats in my cinema are by far the most comfortable event seats I have ever sat in. In the last three months, I have seen Derek Jacobi in King Leah, Roy Kinnear in Hamlet, The Missing Number and War Horse, and all without leaving my local town!
I think this is truly fantastic! I can go to the theatre practically every week in a stress free, cheap manner and my local cinema, which is struggling to keep up with the bigger chains gets a life-line that is drawing in a full house every week.
When I got home, I looked up the NTC to see what was going on and made one of the greatest discoveries of my life, secondly only to ice cream. I discovered that the National Theatre had started up a new system whereby they would show, via live satellite link, various performances from the National Theatre Company in small, independent cinemas around the county and around the world. Not only that, but there was ballet, opera and concerts. There was a whole years worth of functions, across all the arts from around the world and I could go and watch them from my local cinema.
At first I thought the idea was a bad one, because if I wanted to go to the theatre, I would just get on the train to London and go. However, the more I thought about it, the better and better it got. For one thing, it is considerably cheaper. The ticket prices are about a quarter of the theatre, there is no train ticket involved and I wouldn't have to pay to park the car. On top of that, there would be no worrying about catching the last train home and the seats in my cinema are by far the most comfortable event seats I have ever sat in. In the last three months, I have seen Derek Jacobi in King Leah, Roy Kinnear in Hamlet, The Missing Number and War Horse, and all without leaving my local town!
I think this is truly fantastic! I can go to the theatre practically every week in a stress free, cheap manner and my local cinema, which is struggling to keep up with the bigger chains gets a life-line that is drawing in a full house every week.
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