Norwich Theatre has teamed up with leading production company Fane and its newly launched venture, Fane Online, to bring a digital programme of live-streamed events direct to audiences in the comfort of their own home.

The series will feature an eclectic array of high-profile figures including Armisted Maupin, Ian McKellen, Elizabeth Day, Ovie Soko, Monty Don, Sir Trevor McDonald, Graham Norton, Fatima Bhutto, Brit Bennett, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Stephanie Yeboah, Sir Trevor MacDonald, Jay Rayner, William Boyd and Lady Glenconner – with all shows going on sale on Friday 17th July at 10am.

To book call Norwich Theatre Box Office on 01603 630 000 or visit norwichtheatre.org

The Fane Online programme is launched in partnership with eight regional theatres/theatre organisations and four independent bookshops across the UK, helping to support the theatre and literary ecosystem in these difficult times, with partner theatre organisations including Norwich Theatre, The Lowry Salford, Brighton Dome, HOME Manchester, Leeds Town Hall, The PAA Yarm, Today Tix, AHL Venues Singapore and The Apex in Bury St Edmunds. The majority of book sales will be fulfilled in partnership with the At Home with 4 Indies bookshops.

Audiences are offered the option to buy a ticket that includes a book, or a ticket to the show only, whilst worldwide viewing is available and the platform can host up to 100,000 viewers at any one time. All events will be filmed to the highest quality, delivering an at-home cinema-style experience that goes beyond the standard live stream.

Alex Fane, Managing Director of Fane, said: “It has been a tough few months for everyone involved in the arts, so it gives us huge joy to be able to collaborate with so many areas of the industry to deliver a new, creative, exciting proposition. Fane Online offers an unparalleled quality of at-home viewing with an incredibly broad list of shows. We believe that as soon as it is safe to do so audiences will rush back to theatres in great numbers, but until that point is reached we hope this comes as close as possible to being in the room with your favourite author, podcaster or actor.”

Details of the programme going on sale on Friday 17th July:

A Live Stream with Armistead Maupin in Conversation with Ian McKellen
12th August

Join the bestselling, much-loved author and LGBTQ+ activist, Armistead Maupin, live on stage in a special one-off event, as he discusses his career with Ian McKellen. Maupin has been blazing a trail through US popular culture since the 1970’s, when his iconic and ground-breaking series Tales of the City was first published as a column in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The novel series has been taking the literary world by storm ever since and was recently adapted by Netflix into a critically acclaimed series, starring Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis and Ellen Page.

Don’t miss the chance to join one of America’s greatest storytellers, as he recounts his favourite tales from the past four decades, offering his own engaging observations on society and the world we inhabit.

Ian McKellen is an actor and activist, who has received a multitude of international awards for his performances in the theatre, cinema and television. He has been an eloquent advocate for gay rights since he came out in 1988 and co-founded Stonewall, the charity which lobbies for legal and social equality for gay people. He was appointed Companion of Honour ‘for services to Drama and Equality’ in 2007.

A Live Stream with Brit Bennett
13th August

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Separated by many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined despite the fact that they have chosen to live in two very different worlds –one black and one white.

Described by critics as ‘utterly mesmerising’, Brit Bennet’s The Vanishing Half has set itself as a standard bearer within modern discussions of race, community and identity. Now, for one exclusive evening, join Bennett in a very special live stream conversation with the novelist and short-story writer Irenosen Okojie, as she talks about her life, her writing, and exploring some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins. Bennett’s work has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, and Jezebel. She is one of the National Book Foundation’s 2016 5 Under 35 honourees.

A Live Stream with Sir Trevor McDonald
16th August

Sir Trevor McDonald has truly led ‘An Improbable Life’. Born and raised in Trinidad, he built a career in Britain, and spent his life travelling around the globe. It’s safe to say Sir Trevor is known, respected and admired the world over as one of the greatest broadcasters the UK has ever seen.

Join Sir Trevor in conversation with the writer Viv Groskop, for this exclusive online event, as he recounts his fascinating stories and anecdotes; from reporting in Johannesburg on Nelson Mandela’s release from imprisonment, through to his infamous interview with Saddam Hussein–he was the first and the only British broadcaster to have interviewed the infamous dictator.

An intimate and unmissable evening with Sir Trevor to hear what life on the front lines of reporting truly entails

A Live Stream with Stephanie Yeboah
2nd September

Join thirty-one-year-old plus-size blogger Stephanie Yeboah for a very special live-streamed event to celebrate her debut book, Fattily Ever After. Having experienced first-hand racism and fatphobia throughout her life, Stephanie endured a long, painful journey towards self-acceptance. Fattily Ever After speaks openly and courageously about her own experience on navigating life as a black, plus-sized woman – telling it how it really is – and how she has managed to find self-worth in a world where judgement and discrimination are rife.

Stephanie will be in conversation for one night only, to raise a glass to this incredibly important book, discussing the treatment of black women throughout history, the marginalisation of black, plus-sized women in popular culture and the media, whilst drawing on wisdom from other black fat liberation champions along the way.

Fattily Ever After is essential reading for a generation of black, plus-sized women, helping them to live their life openly, unapologetically and with confidence. Do not miss the chance to experience the inspiring and powerful Stephanie Yeboah live, in this one-off event.

A Live Stream with Jay Rayner
4th September

Join award-winning restaurant critic, MasterChef judge and Kitchen Cabinet presenter Jay Rayner for a special one-off ‘in conversation’ to mark the paperback publication of his hit book My Last Supper, One Meal A Lifetime In The Making, streamed live from London’s Crazy Coqs at Brasserie Zedel. He’ll be grilled to a turn by his Guardian restaurant reviewing colleague and co-MasterChef judge the marvellous Grace Dent. They’ll discuss Jay’s raucous life in food, he’ll tell outrageous stories from his career in journalism, and explain what inspired him to set out across the world to find the dishes for his last meal on earth despite – he hopes – being a long way from the grave. They’ll also talk about the impact of the current crisis on the restaurant sector.

A Live Stream with Sir Ranulph Fiennes
6th September

Named by the Guinness Book of Records as ‘the world’s greatest living explorer’, Sir Ranulph Fiennes has spent his life in pursuit of extreme adventure, risking life and limb in some of the most ambitious private expeditions ever undertaken.

Amongst his many record-breaking achievements, he was the first to reach both Poles, the first to cross the Antarctic and Arctic Ocean, and the first to circumnavigate the world along its polar axis.

In an exclusive online event, Sir Ranulph offers a personal journey through his life, from his early years to the present day. Both light-hearted and strikingly poignant, the show spans Sir Ranulph’s childhood and school misdemeanours, his army life and early expeditions, right through the Transglobe

Expedition to his current Global Reach Challenge – his goal to become the first person in the world to cross both polar ice caps and climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ many endeavours have pushed his endurance levels to the very limits, inspiring generations and making him a pioneer of exploration with an unparalleled story to tell.

A Live Stream with Monty Don
17th September

Monty Don OBE is the UK’s leading garden writer and broadcaster. He has been making television programmes for over thirty years on a range of topics and has been lead presenter of the BBC’s Gardener’s World since 2003. Since 2011 the programme has come from his own garden, Longmeadow, in Herefordshire.

Join Monty for this exclusive online event, as he celebrates the publication of My Garden World: a personal journal of the natural year, observed from the immediate world around him. It is a timely and thought-provoking celebration of the wildlife that we all share. These last few months have given us the enforced opportunity to learn more about the fascinating natural world around us and whether you live in the countryside or the town, Monty’s observations and insights are relevant to each and every one of us.

‘Gardens are the last bastion of many species as a result of the ravages of modern agriculture and the front line of climate change. ‘Wildlife’ or being ‘In Nature’ is not something that exists on the other side of the world but right here, right now outside your back door.’

A Live Stream with Graham Norton
27th September

As a hugely successful Friday night BBC One chat show host with his blend of tongue-in-cheek humour and often outrageous candour, Graham Norton has captured the hearts of millions. Now, Fane present a very special opportunity for you to tune in live, as he celebrates the publication of his new novel, Home Stretch.

Following on from the success of his first two best-selling novels – Holding and A Keeper – this will be Norton’s first Home Stretch event. Set in 1987, and a small Irish community is preparing for a wedding. The day before the ceremony a group of young friends, including bride and groom, drive out to the beach. There is an accident. Three survive, but three are killed.

A powerful and timely novel, this book is a story of power, stigma and secrecy.

Broadcast live, Graham will be discussing his life, career and what inspired him to write his most personal story to date. Don’t miss this one-off event to enjoy an evening with one of the UK’s most loved personalities.

A Live Stream with Ovie Soko
30th September

Professional British Basketball player Ovie Soko won hearts all over the world during his time on Love Island UK with his openness, authenticity and wise insights. Now, he has a message for everyone: You Are Dope.

You, yes, YOU, are exactly where you’re meant to be right now. For one exclusive evening, Join Ovie live in conversation as he takes you on a voyage of self-discovery, self-love and self-respect. You Are Dope, Ovie’s new inspiring book, will show you that you’re ready for what life is going to throw at you and you’re ready to embrace all its glorious complications that come with it, on your journey to happiness and fulfilment.

You Are Dope is your roadmap to dopeness. Exploring Ovie’s own journey, with a chance to ask him your own questions about his life and career, you’ll learn to follow your internal compass, love who you are right now and embrace who you are going to be.

It’s time to take chances, be vulnerable and allow people to love you for who you truly are. Don’t miss the chance to hear from the man himself in this one-off live-streamed event.

A Live Stream with Elizabeth Day
2nd October

Join the bestselling author, and creator of the award-winning podcast How To Fail With Elizabeth Day, to celebrate Failosophy: A Handbook For When Things Go Wrong. For one night only, Elizabeth will be live on stage and in conversation, bringing together all the lessons she has learned from her own life, from conversations with her podcast guests, and from meeting readers and listeners who have shared their stories with her. Following the success of her sell-out How To Fail Live tour, this will be her first ever Failosophy event and promises to be a powerful – and deeply empowering – evening.

Failosophy outlines the seven key principles of failure, which build on the words of wisdom Elizabeth has gleaned from her podcast guests, including Malcolm Gladwell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lemn Sissay, Nigel Slater, Emeli Sande, Meera Syal, Dame Kelly Holmes, Andrew Scott and many, many more.

Practical, reassuring and inspirational, this is the equivalent of having a chat with a good friend who wants to make you feel better. In short, it’s an evening you do not want to miss.

A Live Stream with William Boyd
4th October

Join William Boyd, interviewed by the actor Tamsin Greig, in a live-streamed interview where he will talk about his new novel, TRIO. His other many fictions will be also be part of the conversation, as will the crazy adventures he experienced during his long career in the movie business, working with, among others, Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig –not to mention David Bowie and the art world hoax he and Boyd concocted together, writing a James Bond novel, and the eleven-year law suit he fought against his French publisher –for theft! It should bean intriguing and revelatory encounter…

A Live Stream with Fatima Bhutto
1st November

What does it mean to be a citizen? With nationalist politics on the rise around the world, what do we really mean when we speak of extremism? How are these narratives shaped by race and identity? In an age obsessed with “post-truth”, where do the true deceptions lie?

Fatima Bhutto is the bestselling author of Songs of Blood and Sword, a memoir about her father’s life and assassination, and the highly praised The Runaways, an unflinching and moving portrait of radicalism, belonging and Muslim identity.

Don’t miss this important and thought-provoking evening of live conversation.

A Live Stream with Lady Glenconner
12th November

Lady Glenconner has spent her life as a close friend of the royal family; she was Maid of Honour at the Queen’s Coronation and was subsequently appointed Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret. Her worldwide bestselling novel Lady In Waiting detailed her story, capturing a generation, a social class, and a first-hand view of royal life.

Now, Lady Glenconner brings her love of storytelling to life with her debut novel, Murder on Mustique. The gripping and endlessly entertaining story draws on Lady Glenconner’s wealth of knowledge about the island, which she bought with her husband Lord Glenconner and transformed into a paradise for the rich and famous (including music royalty like Mick Jagger and David Bowie).

Join Lady Glenconner for a one-off online event, as she shares the inspirations for her gripping murder mystery and cast of entertaining characters, giving us a taste of the lifestyle, the physical beauty of the island and its history. With her characteristic warmth and wit, and riveting anecdotes, Lady Glenconner will be live in conversation for a perfect evening of escapism.

The initial programme of online shows will go on sale at 10am on Friday 17th July. Further shows will be announced in due course. To book call Norwich Theatre Box Office on 01603 630 000 or visit norwichtheatre.org