A £1 million audio/video system is to be installed at the Barbican to enable live performances to be recorded and then transmitted on television or radio.

The system will not just be restricted to the main theatre but will include the Barbican Hall, the Pit, the foyer and the main cinema.

The BBC has been quoted as saying that this is the first time for such a tie-in between a multi-auditoria venue and a broadcasting company. Clearly it will give a further impetus to other organizations to consider the possibility of regular recordings and/or broadcasting of performances.

Even if only as a video record for a company's archives - or for the growing video record of West End plays at the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden - the Barbican is leading the way in this area. Which makes the RSC's decision to quit the Barbican as its London base, partly on the grounds of wanting to reach wider and more diverse audiences, all the more ironic.

—by Paul Webb Theatrenow