This is a bit outside of video games, I must admit. It’s even a bit outside of Japanese art and culture, as we cover in the magazine. However, an absolutely amazing subscription service has just launched here in Australia. As DDNet readers know, I usually rage about subscription services, but this one is doing genuinely good things, and for good reasons.
This is one to support.
Australian Theatre Live has today launched a subscription plan for its digital theatre streaming service. For just $Aus7.99 per month, or $Aus74.99 per year you can enjoy unlimited access to a catalogue of recordings of performances from some top-flight companies here.
We’re talking about groups like the Sydney Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre Company, The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Sydney Festival, Kings Cross Theatre, and more.
The lineup of shows is updated monthly, you can watch it on-demand, and it covers theatre, opera, dance, acrobatics and music.
Now, of course, theatre is best enjoyed live. But that’s not always possible, for any number of reasons:
- With COVID-19 around, not everyone feels comfortable getting into a crowded theatre space.
- The experience isn’t always great for people with a disability.
- People that live outside of the cities and therefore have a tough time getting to where the performances are.
- People who simply cannot afford the tickets, with most performances costing $50 or more.
This streaming service is great, therefore, because it makes the genuinely inaccessible accessible to a lot of people.
And I really, truly, firmly believe that people should have more cultural experiences. While statistics consistently show that people do watch movies, listen to music, play games and otherwise engage with the arts, there’s a world of difference between settling down to Marvel blockbuster or Fortnite, and going to see a performance of A Streetcar Named Desire. The arts are only really doing their job if they engage the intellect while also entertaining and, as much as I’m sure what I’m about to say is going to get me roasted in the comments: you just don’t get that from popular media.
In addition to all of that, by supporting Australia Theatre Live, you’re doing your bit to support the most struggling end of the arts. Even before COVID-19 decimated audiences, people weren’t exactly getting into theatre and hoping to make a decent living.
I believe you can subscribe to the Australian Theatre Live from anywhere in the world and so, if you can enjoy performances in English (and I assume you can, given that you’re reading my words), then I beg of you to support this. THIS is a subscription service I see massive and long-term value in.
For more information and so on, click here.
That does sound great!
Another subscription service I can heartily recommend is the Berlin Philharmonic’s Digital Concert Hall. Live concerts and years of on-demand concerts from what I feel is again the world’s best orchestra these days. Their programming during covid times was mesmerizing. The short commentary pieces that accompany the concerts are exemplary, the sound and videography in the concerts themselves, perfection. It really couldn’t be better.
Oh NICE! Thanks for this head’s up. I’m going to check this out for sure.