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One Man, Two Guvnors
Richard Bean’s riotous relocation of The Servant of Two Masters from 18th-century Venice to the British seaside in the 60s was a sensation at the National Theatre in 2011 and led to James Corden getting his own talkshow. The film of Nicholas Hytner’s production reached an audience of more than two million when it was streamed during the first lockdown in 2020. Whether you watch it with soup or “winerama!”, the first-rate farce is available globally on NT at Home from 13 January.
Big Night of Musicals by the National Lottery
From a rootin’-tootin’ Carrie Hope Fletcher as Calamity Jane to Marisha Wallace playing Sally Bowles in Cabaret, there are songs from some of the biggest musicals of 2025 in this glitzy shindig hosted by Jason Manford in Manchester. Billy Porter, Layton Williams and Ruthie Henshall are among the guests. On BBCiPlayer.
The Unquiet Podcast: Stories for Dark Nights
“I was awake – widely, cruelly awake.” So begins E Nesbit’s The Mass for the Dead, whose narrator despairs that his beloved is marrying another. The gothic tale is adapted for an audio experience to be enjoyed in the dark with sound design and music by Max Pappenheim. It begins a new series of audio dramas from Original Theatre.
Les Patineurs
No clinging to the side of the rink for these ice-skaters. An elite squad of Royal Ballet dancers conjure an afternoon on a frozen pond in a 2010 recording of Frederick Ashton’s elegant fantasy. An entrancing half-hour winter warmer. From Royal Ballet and Opera Stream.
Breaking Bach
How to introduce young audiences to the joys of JS Bach? Try breakdancing, suggests choreographer Kim Brandstrup whose collaboration with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment was acclaimed at the Edinburgh international festival in 2025. This film charts the baroque-meets-hip-hop project’s journey. On MarqueeTV.
Much Ado About Nothing
An impeccably performed 2023 production at Canada’s Stratford festival, directed by Chris Abraham, is bookended by new scenes from feminist playwright Erin Shields that allow Hero greater inner life and agency. With some other clever touches, it gives Shakespeare’s comedy an extra glow, making the final festivities sweeter. From Stratfest@Home.
Next to Normal
Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s musical about a family dealing with mental illness was a Pulitzer prize winner in 2010; its UK premiere at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 2023 was well worth the wait. Michael Longhurst’s searing production, filmed on its West End transfer, is available from National Theatre at Home
Murder at Midnight
A New Year’s Eve party in rural Kent holds deadly surprises in this new comedy thriller by Torben Betts, which is on tour until Easter with a cast led by Jason Durr. A filmed version of Philip Franks’ production is available throughout January from Original Theatre.
