Since The Show Must Go Online began livestreaming weekly readings of William Shakespeare’s plays on 19th March, the series has now attracted over 100,000 views in its first two months. Viewers hail from more than 50 countries, on 6 of the 7 continents. Created by actor-writer-director Robert Myles, the series is producing performed readings of the entire Shakespeare canon, with ten of the plays livestreamed so far, featuring over 200 actors and creatives.
The eleventh performance in the series will be Romeo and Juliet, available to watch live on Wednesday 27 May, 7pm BST here. Previous readings from the series can be watched here.
Robert Myles today said “We’re delighted to celebrate this milestone with our audiences, actors and theatremakers. We see everyone who takes part as a co-equal contributor in the mission to make Shakespeare for everyone, in what two months ago was a brand-new medium. Together we’ve pushed creative innovations every week, and we’ve received moving stories from audiences, sharing the joy this has brought to people in challenging circumstances, even those unrelated to Covid. We can’t wait to see what new discoveries lie ahead as we start to tackle some of Shakespeare’s best-known works.”
The Show Must Go Online aims to bring actors and audiences together to collectively enjoy and experience Shakespeare at a time when connecting in a traditional theatre space isn’t possible. The initiative has also established an opt-in hardship fund for actors who take part, which can be found here.
The viewing figures are independent of the initiative’s work with US Publisher Quirk Books, performing scenes from Ian Doescher’s pop-culture Shakespeare mashups including Shakespeare’s Star Wars, Taming Of The Clueless, Much Ado About Mean Girls, with Get Thee Back To The Future being performed on Mon 25th May, free tickets for which can be secured here.
#ShowMustGoOnline
FULL SCHEDULE
All performances will be streamed live from 7pm BST on Wednesdays.
27 May 2020
Romeo and Juliet (1595)
03 June 2020
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595)
10 June 2020
King John (1596)
17 June 2020
The Merchant of Venice (1596–1597)
24 June 2020
Henry IV, Part 1 (1596–1597)
01 July 2020
The Merry Wives of Windsor (1597)
08 July 2020
Henry IV, Part 2 (1597–1598)
15 July 2020
Much Ado About Nothing (1598–1599)
22 July 2020
Henry V (1599)
29 July 2020
Julius Caesar (1599)
05 August 2020
As You Like It (1599–1600)
12 August 2020
Hamlet (1599–1601)
19 August 2020
Twelfth Night (1601)
26 August 2020
Troilus and Cressida (1600–1602)
02 September 2020
Measure for Measure (1603–1604)
09 September 2020
Othello (1603–1604)
16 September 2020
All's Well That Ends Well (1604–1605)
23 September 2020
King Lear (1605–1606)
30 September 2020
Timon of Athens (1605–1606)
07 October 2020
Macbeth (1606)
14 October 2020
Antony and Cleopatra (1606)
21 October 2020
Coriolanus (1608)
28 October 2020
The Winter's Tale (1609–1611)
04 November 2020
Cymbeline (1610)
11 November 2020
The Tempest (1610–1611)
18 November 2020
Henry VIII (1612–1613)
