Much of the early material will come out of the Bauhaus venue but Cavanagh is in early talks with companies including Theatre Works about bringing other shows to MotleyGO.

“Melbourne independent theatre scene has such a long and vibrant history and we really wanted to create a platform that supports that,” he said.

The digital pivot is here to stay at the big end of theatre, too. The Australian Ballet sells $25 tickets for occasional live-streamed performances: Harlequinade in June, and Romeo and Juliet coming up in October – it also ran free online “encore screenings” of audience favourites such as the 2008 Swan Lake and 1993 Merry Widow.

In 2021, Melbourne Theatre Company brought forward the launch of a digital theatre venture, using the Arts Centre’s in-house production team to film three productions for paid, on-demand viewing: Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, Berlin and As You Like It.

That year it hit 9300 views. Almost a quarter of those viewers were new to MTC, and more than one in eight from outside Melbourne.

Loading

“It breaks down the barriers, particularly for people who’ve never been to the theatre, and people who are geographically or socio-economically disadvantaged,” says MTC executive director Virginia Lovett.

“It’s a fantastic entry point to the live theatre experience. Younger audiences are so attuned to watching things on screens, we feel there’s a whole new audience development area there to really push ... it gives people the opportunity to sit in the privacy of their own home and go, ‘oh, actually you know that’s something I would like to experience.’ Instead of feeling alienated, they feel like they can belong.”

In July they’ll add rave-reviewed The Heartbreak Choir to the mix. They’ve shot 3D backstage tours and “cue to cue” videos of stage management, popular with schools and the Victorian College of the Arts. And they are working with the University of Melbourne to develop an immersive show viewable through VR goggles.

Lovett says they considered teaming with a major streaming platform to find a wider audience, but for the moment are content with an in-house model.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, too, is forging ahead with digital plans which accelerated during the pandemic. Its subscription service, MSO.Live, launched in late 2020 supported by philanthropic backing, offered 79 live concert streams, broad, online-only performances and panel discussions that reached viewers in 58 countries including Canada, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan and China.

The 30,000 views of MSO.Live streams in 2021 were, however, a small fraction of the company’s total digital audience which it estimated at over 2.4 million including 18,620 YouTube subscribers (a 12 per cent increase on the year before), according to the 2021 annual report.

MSO managing director Sophie Galaise says digital would never take over from live performances as their main business. But it was a good way to engage with a larger audience – the majority of their subscribers live outside Melbourne.

“We also have people who came to our live concerts – and want to see it again,” she says.

Memberships for MotleyGO can be purchased at motley-go.com.

A cultural guide to going out and loving your city. Sign up to our Culture Fix newsletter here.