Customer Spotlight

National Theatre: Expanding the stage globally with Vimeo

Founded in 1963 and based in London, the National Theatre is one of the UK’s most prestigious performing arts institutions. Its dedicated team of over 1,000 employees includes actors, directors, playwrights, and technical staff, all committed to bringing groundbreaking productions to the stage.

31M

minutes viewed in 2024

184

countries reached

5

team members managing growing content library

Challenge

When the pandemic forced theaters to go dark, the National Theatre faced an urgent challenge: How to keep theater alive when audiences couldn’t take their seats. Enter National Theatre at Home, the organization’s digital streaming platform. With the opportunity to expand beyond physical venues, it needed a high-quality viewing experience that maintained the integrity of its productions while making them accessible to a broader audience.

At the same time, with a small but growing digital team, content management had to be streamlined and efficient. The objective was not just about bringing theater to screens but preserving the immersive experience that defines live performance. “It was vitally important during Covid that we continued our mission of access to theater for everyone,” explains Callum Stewart, the Head of National Theatre at Home. “That was something that the National Theatre feels very strongly about and something that could be done through National Theatre at Home.”


“From the initial kickoff call straight through to launching the platform, the Vimeo team were there every step of the way for us. They were extremely proactive.”
Callum Stewart, Head of National Theatre at Home

Solution

“When the pandemic first hit, we were uploading plays every week to YouTube. However, this wasn't giving us the audience engagement and insight that we needed,” continues Callum. “We chose Vimeo because of the ease of use for both the team and the audience, the ease of uploads, and the specialized features”.

Vimeo’s intuitive platform means that even a small team can effectively manage an extensive content library. High-quality live streaming ensures that productions retain their visual and audio integrity, giving audiences not only in the UK but around the world an experience that feels as close to live theater as possible. Vimeo’s analytics tools also provide key insights, helping the National Theatre optimize content and engage audiences more effectively.

“Features like dynamic categories are absolutely great for keeping our content fresh for the customer,” adds Callum. “It means that when they go onto the platform, they're unearthing and viewing content they might not have seen the last time, which means that there's more eyeballs on plays, there's more content getting viewed, and there's more subscribers staying on the platform for longer.”


Outcome

The impact of National Theatre at Home was immediate and far-reaching. What began as a crisis response evolved into a powerful digital extension of the National Theatre’s mission and strategy — powered by Vimeo. Today, the platform reaches audiences in 184 countries, making world-class theater more accessible than ever before.

What’s more, growth has been consistent, with month-on-month subscription increases since the platform's launch. Viewership numbers also speak to its success: 23 million minutes of content were watched in 2023, climbing to 31 million minutes in 2024.


“They were ready to answer any of the questions that me or my stakeholders had, which really put our minds at ease.”
Callum Stewart, Head of National Theatre at Home

What’s next for theater?

Rather than replacing in-person experiences, streaming has complemented them, increasing the visibility of productions and keeping audiences engaged year-round. As Callum puts it, “With this partnership with Vimeo, it’s really giving us a sustainable future for theater, both in person but also in the digital world” — proving that the show doesn’t just go on, it evolves.

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