Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend August 12-14
In-person shows have been back for over a year now, but sometimes we want to get our theatre fix at home. Thankfully, there are still wonderful stage performances to watch online. Our carefully curated list spotlights the five best performances to stream this weekend, Friday, August 12 to Sunday, August 14, for free or at low cost.
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Druid Theatre Company: The Playboy of the Western World
Recorded live on stage in 2005, Druid Theatre Company’s acclaimed production of John Millington Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World is Irish theatre at its most lyrical. Helmed by the troupe’s Tony-winning artistic director Garry Hynes, this comic masterpiece is set at the turn of the 20th century and centers on Christy Mahon, who wanders into a public house in County Mayo claiming he killed his father, a tale that captures the romantic attention of many women in the town. Obie winner Aaron Monaghan stars.
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The world’s largest arts festival, Scotland’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, is back in person this year, but many offerings are also being streamed to adventurous at-home audiences. Check out performances from artists around the world, including cutting-edge comedy, experimental theatre, wacky musicals and the indefinable. Some shows cost money, others are free; some are available on demand, others have specific start times. Browse the streaming options to see what piques your interest.
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Grace Aki’s hilarious and harrowing autobiographical solo show just finished up a run at the East Village’s Connelly Theater as part of the SheNYC Theater Festival, but you can stream a recording at home this weekend. Developed with frequent Mike Birbiglia collaborator Seth Barrish, To Free a Mockingbird chronicles Aki’s upbringing as a petite, Japanese-American Southerner grappling with bipolar disorder, sexual abuse and an alcoholic father. A combination of confessional storytelling and very dark stand-up.
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Top image: The cast of Netflix’s 13. Photo courtesy of Netflix.
RAVEN SNOOK