Live streamed theatre is now at the heart of lockdown culture, saving theatres and bringing entertainment to the comfort of viewers homes.

On Saturday comedy fans were able to curl up on their sofas to enjoy Oxford Playhouse’s first live streamed show.

Sara Pascoe was joined by Mock The Week regular Rhys James, highly-acclaimed rising star Sophie Duker and Live at the Apollo star Ivo Graham.

The show was full of dark jokes about lockdown and the 'strange times' we live in.

Ivo Graham hosted the show and had a conversation with the audience that stumbled into talking about family deaths including pets.

Sara Pascoe made the audience roar with laughter as she brought on stage, and proceeded to put on, a pair of 'confusing' pants that were supposed to rekindle her marriage during what felt like a long lockdown.

Performing to a dispersed audience to follow social-distancing guidelines must have felt like telling jokes to an undersold and empty crowd, but that is far from the truth as the event did sell out.

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But what is live theatre actually like in a pandemic?

To make sure everything ran smoothly, the audience had arrival time slots and followed a one-way system to their seats which were, you've guessed it, socially-distanced.

Everyone apart from the acts had to wear a face mask. Although face masks serve an important purpose and keep the audience safe, masks do make it harder to enjoy a drink at the theatre.

Instead of being able to completely remove your mask to enjoy a drink, it is suggested you simply lift the mask out of the way for every sip.

The show was short and sweet as there was no interval to make sure the audience did not mix.

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Away from the new rules of watching live theatre in a pandemic there are a lot of positives to live streaming theatre and stand-up.

Firstly, the show can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home, whether you are sat on your sofa, in bed or in the kitchen you can still be there. You can enjoy your own food and drink away from social-distancing rules in a theatre and without the fear of being picked on in the front row but still with a good view.

The second advantage is live streaming shows is saving the arts.

Unable to fill up physical seats, the Playhouse was able to fill up virtual ones and sell more tickets.

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After months of not being able to open the theatre launched an appeal to save itself from closure.

In lockdown the playhouse was closed for 16 weeks, which was the longest it had been closed for 30 years. Now that it can open, the theatre still faces huge financial loss due to social distancing and a shortage of productions to be staged.

However, shortly after receiving the Culture Recovery Grant Sara Pascoe was live streamed and both physical and virtual audiences were able to enjoy a belly laugh and help support one of the city's best-loved cultural institutions.