Emma Rice's Wise Children and Almeida's Albion to be streamed by BBC as part of new arts offerings

The BBC has announced "Culture in Quarantine", a new scheme to provide arts offerings in the midst of the current coronavirus outbreak.

Director of BBC Arts Jonty Claypole has said: "exciting plans are emerging that promise a means of keeping culture alive even if our ability to enter the spaces that normally supports them is increasingly limited. Theatres are developing ways to keep producing and sharing work from behind closed doors, book festivals are working out how to stream talks and ideas most effectively, museums and galleries are already announcing virtual exhibitions based on those which are no longer open to the public."

The plans include using BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC Sounds, BBC iPlayer and digital platforms to provide entertainment for audiences, and to work with organisations like Arts Council England and other national funding and producing bodies.

Claypole has promised "a repertory theatre of broadcast", including Emma Rice's Wise Children, the Almeida Theatre's production of Albion and productions filmed at The Space. The BBC has also commissioned new plays created especially for broadcast. It is currently unconfirmed when these shows will be available to the public, with more details to be revealed.