Given that our dramatic heritage here in the UK is the envy of the world and 
generates millions of pounds especially via foreign tourism, why is there 
such a glaring absence of good classic and contemporary theatrical drama 
available to the general public in the form of recordings on Video/DVD?

There are a few recordings of performances either recorded directly within 
the relevant Theatre/Opera House or in a Studio held in the archives of the 
British Film Institute and the Theatre Museum here in the UK, but these are 
available only to performing arts students or arts organisations to be 
viewed only on the premises.

Over 95% of the general public are unable either by (in some cases) 
distance, or time and finance to view quality drama and acting - especially 
if a production is mounted solely in the West End of London and does not 
even tour to the major centres outside.

Even with the plethora of television channels now available, there are 
rarely (if any) classic or contemporary theatre productions available - even 
on Artsworld. The Performance channel appears to have no drama at all. The 
major terrestrial channels (especially the BBC via BBC Research Central) 
have massive archive material, the contents of which are not available 
except to researchers or television/film companies. And then there are the 
European/American/Australian television channels and archives as 
well.........

Surely it should be possible to release first a list of what is held in the 
UK television archives (including those dramas which used to be aired on the 
Schools programme) - possibly initially on the television companies web 
sites - so that at least we know what is held and how often it has been 
repeated apart from the initial transmission. After that, if enough people 
make a request, either it could be shown again, or become commercially 
available initially via their shops and then later to the High Street chains 
and smaller retailers.



http://theatremuseum.org/natvidarc/listing.php

http://ftvdb.sigmer.net/search.php?category=Titles&needle=performance

And in America:

http://www.broadwayarchive.com/catalog.asp


-- 
Derry Barbour
www.arts-info.co.uk