Australia's Post-Pandemic Digital Theatre: Global Inspiration, Digital Technology, and Learnings for Future Australian Performance

This article analyses the creative developments of two Australian theatre companies during and just after the Covid-19 pandemic who staged theatre works online for audiences in lockdown. Australian Theatre Live has filmed onstage performances for cinematic release since 2013, but experienced a high demand for their archival shows during the pandemic; Streamed Shakespeare, in contrast, formed during lockdowns and engaged with digital liveness via streaming platforms like Zoom and YouTube to create a theatre closer to high quality television broadcasts. Both group’s creative methods echo those of other companies around the world, but in the Australian context, represent new learnings which could be applied to ongoing national and international concerns such as reaching remote and rural Australians, accomplishing net zero targets, and improving international collaboration and creative reach.