We know our readers at Must are proper culture vultures, and so like us are likely missing the joy of sitting less than two meters next to someone, with too little leg room, and not flinching when someone sniffs, in the hallowed walls of our country’s theatres.
After a solid eight months without live performances there’s a Royal Albert Hall sized hole in our lives…but luckily for us, the English National Ballet are here to save the day. They’re back again in lockdown 2.0, serving spectacles right to your TV room by relaunching their on-demand service, and keeping us pirouetting round the kitchen. There are ten titles available to stream, including documentaries, ballet shorts and full, 90 minute performances, and they start at just £3.49 for a three-day rental. Cheap as the gastropub chips we aren’t allowed to eat! And what a line up it is: there’s Akram Khan’s reimagining of Giselle, as well as his short Dust, which interprets the First World War, and the romantic classic, La Sylphide is also on there, ready to watch.
The ballet streamer gems have been listed in The Times’ list for the best in online arts, so, whilst your sofa may look slightly different to the Royal Opera House, you can still pop on your poshest pyjamas, fashion a pair of opera glasses out of some kebab sticks and a cereal box, and make your way to the royal box of your sofa to support British arts.