Streaming in two versions, a concept album at two hours available for free, and a four hour one for purchase, Kisses on a Postcard is an episodic piece which can be enjoyed in short bursts between 20 and 40 minutes each.
‘A fingernail under the surface of a world which only exists online’: THE COLLAB – The Space (Online Show) ★★★★
In The Collab writer Lauren Morley has created a piece totally on the pulse of the young people who live by their likes and engagements. Ella seeks that million followers and the validation that comes with it.
‘Fluid, flowing & fierce’: PRACTICE OF ZEN – Brighton Fringe (Online Show)
Practice of Zen considers the traditions, practicality, sensuality and strength of swordplay and resilience. Performed in Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles, this piece by Theatre Ronin of Hong Kong brings back the spirit of Wuxia through folklore and emotional connection.
‘Chatty, open & brave’: SHATTERED – Brighton Fringe (Online Show) ★★★★
Diana Varco brings her own experiences to this one-woman show, now streaming at the Brighton Fringe. The topics of abuse and sexual assault may not be an obvious choice for comedy, but Varco delivers her story in the form of a stand-up routine across 54 minutes.
‘An important show deservedly being shared with a wider audience’: RIOT ACT – Stream Theatre (Online review) ★★★★
This is a piece of verbatim theatre, telling three stories of queer activism from the mid-20th century to the present day; Alexis Gregory conducted interviews with Michael-Anthony Nozzi (a survivor of the Stonewall riots), Lavinia Co-op (a 70s drag artist), and Paul Burston (a 90s AIDS activist).
‘Treats its characters & subjects with respect & dignity’: RIOT ACT – Stream Theatre (Online review)
Alexis Gregory’s one-man show is a passionate and engrossing piece of theatre, created and assembled from verbatim accounts from gay men who have encountered key points in queer history.
Year in review: My favourite digital shows 2021
Despite the fact that theatres were once again up and running for about half the year (varying from place to place), there was still a massive appetite for digital productions going into 2021.
‘Immerses us totally in a community facing indescribable loss’: INTO THE NIGHT (Online review)
We are in Cornwall, forty years ago, on the 19 December 1981. A lifeboat in Penlee Station answers a distress call, but never returned, with the loss of sixteen lives.
‘Focuses on the battle in the trenches & between the classes’: INTO BATTLE (Online review)
The scene is set at Balliol College, Oxford, in 1910. A group of exceptional young men finish their education as the shadow of war slowly approaches.
‘The tension builds because we cannot see anything’: Some of Us Exist in the Future (Online review)
One of the three Papatango New Writing prize-winning audio plays now available to listen to at a theatre near you, Nkenna Akunna’s Some of Us Exist in the Future is an ambitious piece which centres on queer immigrant Chiamaka.
‘A lot of potential’: GOING THE DISTANCE — Lawrence Batley Theatre (Online)
Theatres were in trouble over the whole of 2020, and many are still waiting for audiences to return to their pre-pandemic levels.
‘The musical we perhaps all need’: COME FROM AWAY – Apple TV+ (Online review)
On 11 September 2021, it will mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. To commemorate the anniversary, Apple TV+ has filmed a performance of the Broadway production of Come From Away, released to subscribers on 10 September.
‘Just don’t expect your journey to be a comfortable one’: THE CONTAINER – Young Vic / Digital Theatre (Online review)
Site specific theatre hasn’t been easy over the last eighteen months – in fact you can take out the first two words of that statement. It’s been tricky enough getting regular venues open, let alone some of the more esoteric settings which were used before you know what kicked off. A production that it would probably be almost impossible to revive now is Clare Bayley’s The Container which happened at the Young Vic in 2009. Set in an actual shipping container near to the theatre it allowed for just 28 audience members each time crammed onto uncomfortable benches around the perimeter with a narrow central strip for the 6 performers to use. 34 bodies in close proximity packed into a metal box with no sense of social distancing and not a mask to be seen; even Covid deniers might baulk.
‘A completely successful piece of digital theatre’: WALDEN – Cinemas Nationwide (Online review)
Twin sisterhood, space, and the uncertain near future are at play in Amy Berryman’s debut play, Walden, which recently enjoyed a run on stage as part of the Re:Emerge season at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Now, it resurfaces in a filmed version to be released in cinemas on Wednesday.
‘Stylish, visceral & very contemporary’: SALOMÉ – Southwark Playhouse (Online review)
Currently running in stage in the Little at Southwark Playhouse, Lazarus Theatre’s version of Oscar Wilde’s Salomé proves to be a daring, electric, and exhausting feat of theatre.
‘Unapologetically both theatrical drama & a tense piece of work adapted for the screen’: THE SYSTEM (Online review)
Paul is dead, killed at his own party. Everyone is a suspect, and most of them had a motive. Written and performed by Emily Head, directed by Guy Unsworth, The System is filmed live in one take. We meet each suspect to see how they react under interrogation, and see if the mystery can be solved.
‘Definitely picks up the spirit of the era’: WARHOL: BULLET KARMA – Edinburgh Fringe (Online review)
Garry Roost’s play Warhol: Bullet Karma focuses on the events around his shooting by Valerie Solanas (this ground was covered from a more feminist perspective in Femme Fatale).
‘Takes care to balance the comical & tragical with flair’: LOST IN LOVE – Edinburgh Fringe (Online review)
Lost in Love is a new play presented by Flow Stage Productions. A brash and funny lady, Emily (Rachel Pryde) has something to tell about her life and the men in it.
‘A good balance of humour & compassion’: TILL LOVE DO US PART – Edinburgh Fringe (Online review) ★★★★
Till Love Do Us Part isn’t one of the flashiest productions on the digital fringe in terms of its technical style, but the writing carries it through.
‘Inventive & funny’: PLANET OF THE GRAPES – Edinburgh Fringe (Online review)
Over on the ZOOTV platform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, you’ll find Planet of the Grapes, a delicious livestream performed live in New York City. I’m told that on Sunday the city was being battered by a hurricane, but it didn’t seem to cast a shadow on the show.