Thursday, June 4, 2020

Coriolanus Watchathon (2020)

June 4, 2020: 

Fans were in for a special treat when Tom Hiddleston, joined director Josie Rourke, and many other cast members for a live watchathon of Coriolanus. It's more or less three hours of Tom playing with his hair - while giving you a history lesson and presenting his Master's thesis on Shakespeare. I support all those topics. 



Also. Josie Rourke + technology is the humor we all need right now. I need some of whatever wine Josie was drinking okay. 

The watchathon is in three parts because there were time limits on how long they could stream. 

Part 1   

Part 2   
Part 3

Here are some highlights: *no disrespect to Josie for cropping her out. I recorded these on my phone and notifications kept popping up over her and it just looked messy. 

Tom's advice to artists.


Hadley Fraser "I wonder what it was like kissing the beard. Ask (Tom Hiddleston what it was like kissing the beard."
Tom Hiddleston "The beard was very soft, just in case everyone was wondering." 



The Mullet Competition



Also, Tom Hiddleston was the top trending topic in Italy... while livestreaming a play that was set in Rome. 



If that wasn't enough. The National Theatre also recorded a reunion special that aired on their Youtube channel. Many of the things they talk about were also discussed during the watchathon. 



"The stories we tell on stage, the stories we tell in the theatre, we laugh together, we cry together, we learn together. We're a community. And, it's been the source of so many curiosities, avenues of thought, ideas, experiences in my life. It can open your mind to something you didn't know. And that's why I wanted to be an actor, I thought 'What a thing to be part of.'" And that's what I think we all hope we're doing every time we put on a play is we hope we are contributing to that tradition of community , and ideas, and fellow feeling." 






Ahead of the watchathon, Josie shared this video from their first week of rehearsals. 







Coriolanus is airing as a part of the National Theatre's At Home fundraising initiative. More than $20,000 was raised during the live streams. The play will be available to watch through Thursday, June 11 and you can continue to donate. 




During the broadcast, the Donmar Warehouse announced a new auction to raise funds while their theatre is closed down.  







Own a piece of theatrical history! In honour of our National Theatre At Home stream we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own the leather armour worn by @twhiddleston in the title role of the Donmar Warehouse production of Coriolanus, directed by @JosieRourke in 2013. Signed by Tom himself, it was created by the Donmar’s own costume department from designs by Lucy Osborne. Thanks to Bid In generously providing this platform free of charge in response to the Covid-19 emergency, all proceeds will go directly to the Donmar Warehouse to provide much needed funds during this difficult period of uncertainty while the theatre is shut, so please give generously. The armour will be securely delivered to you by courier wherever in the world you are (additional charges may apply for international shipping). Link to the auction in our bio and our stories - the auction closes 10pm Friday 12 June 2020
A post shared by Donmar Warehouse (@donmarwarehouse) on