Basingstoke, March 13 2014 – Following the first ever live 4K theatre broadcast, National Theatre Live and Sony is pleased to announce the production of War Horse was seen by over 155,000 people around the world (120,000 people in the UK alone). This tops National Theatre Live’s previous live audience record of 110,000 people who saw The Audience with Helen Mirren, broadcast from the West End in June 2013 (80,000 of whom were in the UK).
On February 27th 2014, National Theatre Live (NT Live) broadcast War Horse live from the New London Theatre to cinemas across the world. The broadcast was filmed on six Sony F55 cameras and projected using a Sony 4K projector, ensuring cinema-goers enjoyed the best possible 4K viewing experience.
The recording is now available as a 4K DCP allowing many 4K enabled cinemas to also show encore screenings. 36 Vue Cinemas in the UK are showing the theatrical production of War Horse on Sony 4K projectors throughout March.
David McIntosh, VP at Sony Digital Cinema Europe, said: “Our collaboration with National Theatre Live pushed the technology boundaries by being able to project the first ever live 4K theatrical broadcast. Our aim was to allow people to watch the award-winning production of War Horse without having to travel the West End – the live production resulted in an audience of 155,000 people watching from around the world.”
About War Horse
Based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse is the powerful story of a young boy called Albert and his beloved horse, Joey, who has been requisitioned to fight for the British in World War I. Caught in enemy crossfire, Joey ends up serving on both sides during the war before landing in No Man’s Land, while Albert, not old enough to enlist, embarks on a treacherous mission to find his horse and bring him home. A remarkable tale of courage, loyalty and friendship, War Horse features ground-breaking puppetry work by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, which brings breathing and galloping horses to life on stage, seen by over 4 million people worldwide the broadcast of War Horse will be seen in over 1000 cinemas in more than 30 countries.