I've been waiting for Cultural Capital to publish her thoughts about how the National Theatre saved lockdown and what it means for future audience relations.

We've discussed it a couple of times in recent weeks, having both noticed a change in the relationship between theatres and their audiences.

Photo by Brandan Keller on Unsplash

Without a communal space to congregate in, theatres have had to reach out like never before to find an audience - and without live performance, they've had to be inventive in their offer.

As the piece says, the National Theatre's NT Live has been a boon but even more so has been the 'behind the scenes' Zoom chats with the cast and creatives. You'll have to read the piece to get Cultural Capital's full thoughts about how this might fuel changes.

We have also discussed how theatres have been far more responsive on social media, again reaching out to engage with their audience noticeably more than has been done in the past.

Have theatres realised that they need to build a relationship with their audiences in a far more engaged and meaningful way than they have in the past?

Anyone who has followed my blog for a while will know my favourite actor is Ben Whishaw. It's an admiration of talent pure and simple, I may not always like the play (or film) he chooses but he never disappoints in what he brings to his roles.

Ben Whishaw in Bakkhai at Almeida Theatre. Photo: Marc Brenner

I'm always excited about his next project and ever hopeful that he treads the boards again.

It wouldn't be a theatre blog birthday celebration without reminiscing about some of my favourite Ben Whishaw performances...and encounters.

I don't stage door, apart from that one time in New York but our paths have crossed a few times. I've only spoken to him once (New York), the whole speaking to celebs thing makes me cringe, besides I'd only make a tit of myself and say something stupid which would haunt me.

(PS there is a bit of cheating in this list because some of these pre-date Rev Stan's Theatre Blog but if I make the rules, I can break them 😉)

The watch incident (Leaves of Glass, Soho Theatre, review from my old blog)

Mr Whishaw first came to my attention on the big screen in the film Perfume but it was around the same time I had started going to the theatre again.

I saw that he was in a play at the Soho Theatre and was curious to see him on stage.

A week or two earlier I'd been at the Soho Theatre seeing some comedy with an ex and passed him on the stairs but it was when watching the play that 'it' happened.

I was sat on the front row and during the play, there was a fight - a sort of scuffle/grappling sort of fight - during which Ben's watch flew off and hit me on the foot.

I never got to see Lungs when it was on stage and I nearly didn't get to see this live online version because of the Old Vic's odd approach to ticketing - charging normal theatre prices for people to sit in their own homes to watch.

But putting that to one side (I wrote about it here), on the final release of tickets, without expecting to find anything affordable, I managed to snag a £20 ticket.

The Old Vic has tried to inject as much of the live theatre atmosphere into the online experience as possible.

In the run-up to the live performance by Claire Foy and Matt Smith, you hear the hubbub of an audience and the bell that warns people the start is imminent and to take their seats.

It was a nice touch.

The performance itself looks like it's filmed on two cameras so you have the two actors appearing side by side on screen but in different shots.

You only get a sense that they are on the same stage in the occasional wide shot and when one of them walks across the other's shot to take up a new position.