HELEN MIRREN IS “PHEDRE”

First there were local movie theaters hosting live performances of New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Now we have the Loft Cinema presenting the actors of England’s own National Theatre. Digital technology will be making it possible to see the Brits performing live in London at the company’s Lyttelton Theatre.

A series of four National Theatre productions taped live in High Definition Digital is scheduled for the Loft, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Academy Award-winning Helen Mirren (“The Queen”) opens the series, playing the title role in “Phedre” by French playwright Jean Racine. The gods and goddesses are behaving badly in this cautionary tale of a proud woman who falls in love with her own stepson, Hippolytus.

As Racine has written it, Phedre is considered one of the theater world’s top roles for women. Mirren has said the drama is so intense she stays in character through the entire play, whether she is onstage or not.

“There are no lulls. There will be no relaxation,” she said. “You just have to commit to it, to stay in the zone.”

In the mythology from which the plot is taken, Phedre is the second wife of heroic Theseus. Everyone believes Theseus has died during one of his adventures in a distant land. So in a weak moment of loneliness, Phedre confesses her love of Hippolytus. Their mutual desire is consummated.

Then Theseus comes back home. In a panic, Phedre claims Hippolytus raped her. After that, the woman’s situation deteriorates rapidly.

Nicholas Hytner has directed this production set on eight characters for the National Theatre. The show opened last month with exceptional reviews in the London press. “Phedre” was taped live on June 25 and broadcast internationally by satellite.

Hytner stresses that “We are not trying to make a movie. What we are trying to do is use the skills of a multi-video camera team to broadcast as vividly as possible the experience you might get if you were sitting in the theatre.”

Now that performance is being screened at the Loft on Sunday, July 19, at 1 p.m. and again Tuesday, July 21, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 Loft members. For details on the production, visit www.nationaltheare.org.uk

For details about the Loft Cinema, www.loftcinema.com or phone 795-7777