Culture that’s worth staying at home for this Easter
Arts and cultural organisations and venues will keep you entertained at home throughout the long weekend
- Demand for online content surges as people stay indoors and spend more time online
This Easter weekend, millions of people across the UK will be able to access new arts and culture offerings from their homes as museums and theatres launch special events for the Bank Holiday weekend.
In recent weeks, cultural organisations who have had to close their doors to visitors have continued to engage and entertain audiences online. The series of digital initiatives, ranging from live premieres to literature festivals is helping to make sure that no one is missing out on the best of British creativity by having to stay in.
Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:
No matter where you are in the UK, our outstanding cultural institutions can keep you entertained throughout the whole Easter weekend.
Thanks to these digital events, you can watch a play, learn a craft or see an exhibition with a world class institution while staying at home, protecting the amazing NHS, and saving lives.
Internet usage has boomed as people stay indoors with broadband providers reporting an up to 65 per cent increase in daytime traffic. This is expected to continue over the Easter long weekend - a time when many would normally be heading outdoors on holiday.
Industry is playing its part and has announced a series of measures to help consumers during this time, including free boosts to data allowances, which will mean even more people can take up the fantastic online offerings from the UK’s brilliant arts and cultural organisations.
Easter events to keep you entertained include:
You can see some of this year’s top exhibitions and popular shows you may have missed without leaving home.
On Monday 13 April, a new online tour of Tate Britain’s Aubrey Beardsley exhibition will launch on the Tate website and YouTube channel.
From Thursday 9 April, Jane Eyre, the collaboration between Bristol Old Vic and the National Theatre, will be available to watch for one week as part of the National Theatre At Home programme.
Museums have plenty for families to do over the long weekend from creative craft ideas, like the V&A’s guide to making a paper peepshow, to the Science Museum’s fun experiments that can be done in the kitchen. The Natural History Museum is holding a Digital Dino Family Festival full of themed crafts for the whole family to try, including T.Rex origami and making footprint cookies.
For a traditional Easter experience, the National Gallery is telling the story of the Passion through paintings in their collection.
Historic England has an interactive quiz to help you discover your ideal Easter tradition, from egg rolling to Morris dancing, and learn more about ways we have celebrated this springtime occasion throughout history.
Sunderland Museum and the National Glass Centre have teamed up to provide a daily family fun activity including make-your-own decorative Easter eggs.
Fun Palaces’ are collating ‘Tiny Revolutions of Connection’ - activities suggested from around the UK of things to do with others or in isolation, supporting community connection at a distance.
Wiltshire Creative’s Young Ambassadors (14-21) have been working with Wiltshire Creative staff to plan their first Takeover Festival – an exciting mix of events, performances and activities – over the Easter Holidays.
Fleabag for Charity - Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s stage play Fleabag will be available to watch online on the Soho Theatre’s website to raise money for charities helping stop the coronavirus pandemic.
The Royal Shakespeare Company are streaming a number of productions such as Shakespeare’s King Lear and Tim Crouch’s I, Cinna. They also run interactive online backstage tours and provide a range of free resources for young people to enable them learn from home, including live lessons on Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet.
On Sat 11 April the British Museum will host a special virtual version of its monthly, autism-friendly Early Morning Explorers event: a relaxed and sensory-friendly early opening for kids. The online experience will include storytelling.