Maximise Home Time: 3 Top Tips

1. The Playlist

Chill Lofi Study Beats is the perfect background music to leave on as you get down to business. No lyrics, just relaxing, easy flowing songs melding into one another. If you’re working or studying from home, this is the perfect thing to press play on, and forget about as you reply to emails, crunch numbers, do your readings, or write your essays. You can find it on both Spotify or Youtube and of course, it’s completely free.

For more kitchen dancing, life-affirming, energy stirring tracks, our Music Programmer Will Roper will be curating a weekly Spotify playlist. Check out playlist #1 here. It features tributes to Manu Dibango, Kenny Rogers, Bill Withers and Bob Andy – greats he has always admired who have recently passed.

2. The Good Read

There is no time like the present to get stuck into a good read, but this doesn’t need to involve a visit to the bookstore, or waiting for online delivery. We could all use a companion on our daily walks, so why not bring a great book along to listen to?

If you’re a member of your local library, you can search thousands of ebooks and audiobooks using the Libby App .You can borrow them, instantly, for free, using Libby, which is available for Android, iOS (iPhone/iPad/iPod touch), and Windows 10 devices. If you have not yet got around to joining the library, you can sign up to Audible instead who offer a free 30-day trial, plus you get your first book free.

Check out our social media on Sundays, for our newly launched book club! We’re giving our top recommendations for short, accessible, positive reads that we think you will like. Book #1 was Leonard & Hungry Paul by Rónán Hession  and book #2 will be announced this Sunday on our social media!

3. The Good Watch

But what to do in the evenings when you want to curl up, wind down, and just be entertained?

During this unprecedented time, theatres are thinking on their feet. National Theatre At Home allows you to stream NT Live productions for free via YouTube every Thursday at 7 pm, and it will then be available on-demand for seven days. The interval provides time to have a quick Zoom natter with friends and family who are also tuned in to the performance. Happily, it’s also perfectly timed for you to clap for the NHS! Next up, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.

If you’re one of the legions of Fleabag fans who did not get to see the sold-out run at London’s Wyndham’s theatre, we’ve got good news for you! Fleabag is available to stream from today in the UK and Ireland on Sohotheatre’s On Demand site. From 10 April it will also be available for a two-week period on Amazon Prime Video in the US and UK. Get yourself a 48-hour download for £4, with the option to donate larger amounts of money. Bargain, we say!

All proceeds raised will be donated to the National Emergencies Trust, NHS Charities Together and Acting for Others, which provides support to theatre practitioners in need.