Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and dance to watch online | Stage | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/mar/17/hottest-front-room-seats-the-best-theatre-and-dance-to-watch-online

Fantastic @guardianculture and @guardianstage

Pinned to my Twitter feed is the Online Play ‘Breathe’ by @NeilBWriter featuring myself and directed by the wonderful Natalie.

On the 21st of March, a minnow in the acting circle lost his job in hospitality - me - and I also

lost all future acting work. On that weekend our artistic and marketing team of 3 people decided we were to make “Breathe”. I climbed up to the loft, with a car phone holder in hand, strapped it to the bars on the window, found my light and our week of production meetings began.

Everyday we rehearsed for 3 weeks. Rehearsing over @zoom_us Recording rehearsals, transferring them via @WeTransfer and @Dropbox Waiting for notes. Baking in the sun. We dragged ourselves to a dress run.

We got ourselves to a performance and recording week. I also got approved for Universal Credit that week (kerching!). After 2 weeks of battling yells for lost cats, my neighbours penchant for loud reggae and hovering helicopters we agreed on take. Job done? No! God, no.

HOW THE HELL DO WE GET PEOPLE OTHER THAN OUR MUMS TO WATCH THIS? Posters, Trailers, famous friends? I don’t have the platform to save theatre. I’m not able to be in a socially distanced play or a star studded read through. Read throughs and scratch nights were my thing...

That’s my profile. Now the big names have their script in hand performances over zoom. And it’s them, rightly so, along with celebrated writers and directors with the support their huge theatre following and the platform of theatre house behind them...

.... them along with The UK Government who can save theatre, I pray they do!
What about us? HOW DID WE GET 3000 views in one week? We hustled. We got more views than some of those featured in this article...

I’d love it if you considered watching this play @guardianstage @guardianculture @Arifa_Akbar I’d love a review. I’d love it to be seen. I can’t help but worry for myself. And people of a similar profile.

Will Tom Cruise now be the feature of a Scratch Night above a theatre pub? Whilst actors like myself work the bar? Is this the beginnings the gentrification of fringe theatre? Am I being dramatic? I don’t think so... the anxiety is real.

Sorry for the typos.