Theatre in Cinemas in UK

The Guardian reports that the National Theatre in London will begin broadcasting its plays to approximately 50 cinemas across the UK, beginning with Helen Mirren in the French classical tragedy Phèdre, written by Racine.

"It is something of an experiment," said the National director, Nicholas Hytner. "But we felt that somebody has got to try it and if somebody has got to try it then it has got to be us."

The season will be called NT Live. Initially there will be four plays beamed live by satellite for one night only to independent and arthouse cinemas across the UK to audiences that will have paid £10 a ticket. To try to regain some of the estimated £50,000 that it will cost to broadcast each play, the National also proposes to sell them for broadcast abroad.