Drama Online Announces New Partnership With The National Theatre

Today, the award-winning Drama Online announces a significant expansion of its video offering with new world-class content from the National Theatre. Drawing on 10 years of NT Live broadcasts, alongside high-quality archive recordings never previously seen outside of the NT's Archive, the National Theatre Collection will make its rich body of work available to students in schools, universities and libraries around the world.

The National Theatre Collection will go live in September with 15 plays, growing to 30 titles by March 2020. Unique in its scope the collection will encompass:

• Greek classics such as Medea by Euripides, in a contemporary adaptation by Ben Power, directed by Carrie Cracknell with Helen McCrory in the title role
• Vibrant modern stagings of Shakespeare, such as Twelfth Night, directed by Simon Godwin, with Tamsin Greig in the role of 'Malvolia'
• 20th century classics such as Lorraine Hansberry's Les Blancs and the Young Vic's production of Lorca's Yerma, adapted and directed by Simon Stone with Billie Piper in the title role
• Literary adaptations, such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein adapted by Nick Dear and directed by Danny Boyle, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller
• Comedies such as She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, directed by Jamie Lloyd with a cast including Cush Jumbo and Katherine Kelly and One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean, directed by Nicholas Hytner, and featuring James Corden's Tony Award-winning performance
• Alongside many more

The National Theatre Collection will be available via two models: a one-time payment for the full collection, or via an annual subscription.

Jenny Ridout, Global Head of Academic Publishing, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC said, "It is exciting to be taking our longstanding publishing relationship with the National Theatre forward in this landmark digital collaboration. The National Theatre Collection on our educational platform Drama Online will give students and scholars the world over the opportunity to study and enjoy a wealth of plays alongside the playtexts and works of scholarship in one expertly curated digital space. Drama Online exemplifies Bloomsbury's strategic investment in creating dynamic and authoritative digital resources for universities and schools around the world. This new partnership will ensure that world-class theatre has a lasting impact, inspiring the theatre makers and performers of the future.

Lisa Burger, Joint Chief Executive of the National Theatre said, "This new service will provide a comprehensive insight into British theatre-making and aims to transform learning in schools, libraries and universities across the globe in today's increasingly digital age. We believe that accessibility to theatre is of paramount importance and would like to express our continued gratitude to the rightsholders of these materials who have made this new service possible and helped us to share a rich and broad collection across the globe".

The National Theatre Collection is supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Fondation Hoffmann, the Sidney E. Frank Foundation and The Attwood Education Foundation.

Developed in partnership by Bloomsbury Publishing and Faber & Faber, Drama Online was created as a response to the need for a high-quality online research tool for drama and literature students, professors and teachers. Drama Online is a fast growing study resource which now features over 2,500 playtexts from 800 playwrights, 400 audio plays, 260 hours of video, and 330 scholarly books from leading theatre publishers and companies, offering a complete multimedia experience of theatre. It is the only resource to combine exclusively available playtext content and scholarly publications with filmed live performances, film adaptations and audio plays. www.dramaonlinelibrary.com

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is an award-winning, innovative and global independent publisher of fiction, non-fiction, children's education, specialist trade and academic publishing. The group's overall mission is to publish works of excellence and originality in print and digital formats, serving our communities of authors, customers and readers with the highest possible quality content that will inspire, educate and entertain. Our award wins across the group are testament to this focus on quality, be it the latest Booker prize-winning novelist, awards for book design and layout, the highest quality academic scholarship or industry recognition for our digital innovation. We aim to generate a lasting legacy for our products and can demonstrate long term commitment to the authors and content partners we serve.

The National Theatre's mission is to make world class theatre that's entertaining, challenging and inspiring - and to make it for everyone. It aims to reach the widest possible audience and to be as inclusive, diverse and national as possible with a broad range of productions that play in London, on tour around the UK, on Broadway and across the globe. The National Theatre extends its reach through digital programmes including NT Live, which broadcasts some of the best of British theatre to over 2,500 venues in 65 countries. The National Theatre invests in the future of theatre by developing talent, creating bold new work and building audiences, partnering with a range of UK theatres and theatre companies. For more information, please visit https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/.

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