Once again theatre lovers can feel like they’ve slid into the front row of the opera and shook hands with performers back stage, as Trail’s theatre goes live starting this weekend.
The Royal Theatre is now offering three different types of alternative content – bringing back the Bolshoi Ballet and Met Opera and introducing the National Theatre – on its big screen.
The theatre’s digital projector picks up a satellite signal, giving the Royal the ability to stream live shows, anything from the opera, an NHL game or even a Harvard lecture.
“I want to show the diversity firstly with the theatre, it’s great to have our Hollywood movies, but I want to show that the stuff that can be on screen now doesn’t just have to be a movie,” said theatre co-owner Lisa Milne.
She and her husband Jason purchased the 1920s theatre from the Martinelli family and have been updating it ever since.
“Bringing something that’s live to a small town is also really exciting for us because a lot of people haven’t had a chance to take this in – they’ve been admirers, lovers and followers of this form of art but they can’t get to New York.”
The alternative content 28-show season starts with the battle between white and black swan unfolding with savage grace in “Swan Lake.”
The show hits the theatre this Sunday at 1 p.m. for the first time, launching into a season full of returning favourites like “The Nutcracker” and new treats from the National Theatre like “The Kitchen,” which features actors actually cooking real food in a kitchen set on stage.
To really highlight the diversity offered, the Royal has introduced “Mix and Match,” a $144 pass that allows a viewer to take in eight performances for the price of six.
Customers are encouraged to dress to impress when they sink into their seats and view the production “through the eye of the camera,” eliminating a bad view from a nose-bleed section.
In addition, customers will get to know the performers in an intimate back-stage interview during intermission.
“One Man, Two Guvnors” will be the theatre’s first National Theatre show to go live next Thursday.
The story follows Francis Henshall, who becomes a minder to small-time hood Roscoe Crabbe, who’s really played by his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother.
The theatre will also be sticking with the Trail Society of Performing Arts’ performance series, which starts up next month.
Individual tickets can be picked up before the show starts while the Mix and Match pass is on sale now.
For more information on upcoming shows visit, www.royaltheatretrail.com