Cinema Nouveau is set to be the first movie theatre in South Africa to screen live performances of plays in High Definition, as part of the National Theatre Live project.

The NT Live initiative “[is] designed to bring what we do on the stages of the National [Theatre] to a far greater number of people than we would ever be able to reach otherwise,” says Nicholas Hytner, director for National Theatre. “Through high definition broadcasts, we have the technology at our disposal to present our productions beyond the four walls of the National [Theatre], to reach passionate theatre-goers all over the world, and to do it really well.”

The first screenings will be broadcast nationwide exclusively in Cinema Nouveau theatres on July 15 and July 23. The first play brodcasted will be Jean Racine’s classic tragedy Phèdre adapted by Ted Hughes, the late British poet laureate. The cast includes Academy Award winner Helen Mirren, Dominic Cooper, and Margaret Tyzack.