The National Theatre is making some of its best productions available for free - here's how to watch

As the prospect of continued social restrictions to fight the ongoing coronavirus pandemic stretches out in front of us, many will be wondering just how they'll fill an indeterminate amount of free time.

And with non-essential venues closed for the foreseeable, it's not like you can go out, even if it was legal to do so.

So what to do?

Thankfully, the National Theatre is stepping up to give fans of performance something to do every Thursday night for the next few weeks.

And the best part? It's all free!

What's going on?

A selection of much-loved National Theatre Live productions are to be made available to watch on YouTube for free over the next two months.

Spokeswoman Elaine Jones said: “During this unprecedented time which has seen the closure of theatres, cinemas and schools, the National Theatre announces a new initiative National Theatre at Home providing access to content online to serve audiences in their homes.

“Audiences around the world can stream NT Live productions for free via YouTube, and students and teachers have access to the National Theatre Collection at home."

How can I watch?

From Thursday 2 April, a number of productions previously screened in cinemas globally as a part of National Theatre Live will be made available to watch via the National Theatre’s YouTube channel.

The first production to be broadcast as part of National Theatre at Home will be Richard Bean’s One Man Two Guvnors featuring a Tony Award-winning performance from James Corden.

Each production will be free and screened live every Thursday at 7pm BST. It will then be available on demand for seven days.

Alongside the streamed productions, National Theatre at Home will also feature accompanying interactive content such as Q&As with cast and creative teams and post-stream talks.