ESSEX audiences will have no need to pack hard hats at a special live cinema screening of the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time A production of the hit play made headlines around the world in February when the ornate ceiling of London’s Apollo theatre collapsed on to playgoers. But the incident has not quenched the appetite for the play from audiences, who have flocked back since the theatre was reopened.

The Curious Incident, the story of an autistic boy who turns Sherlock Holmes, will be given a special real-time live showing at the Empire cinema, Basildon, on May 22, direct from the Apollo stage.

The play is part of the latest programme of live screenings due to be relayed to the cinema.

Another live production likely to prove a major attraction is the Royal Shakespeare Company’s lavishly praised version of Shakespeare’s King Lear, starring Simon Russell Beale in the name part. It is directed by Sam Mendes, who as a film-director was behind the camera for the James Bond film Skyfall, and Best film Oscar winner American Beauty.

Also from the RSC will be the two separate parts of Henry IV. Screened on May 14 and June 18, they deal with the early life of the man who became Henry V, victor of Agincourt.

Opera buffs can look forward to a live screening of Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini on June 17, directed by Monty Python veteran Terry Gilliam, and to the Royal Opera House production of Puccini’s Manon Lascaut, on June 24.

In a different vein, Vikings Live from the British Museum will be screened on April 24, direct from the museum’s latest major exhibition. It will offer a live view of the BP exhibition Vikings: life and legend. It is introduced by British Museum director Neil MacGregor, and presented by historian and broadcaster Michael Wood Phil Peirce, general manager of the Basildon Empire cinema, said: “The huge success of our live screenings programme shows how the future of cinema is becoming more diversified. It’s evident that there is an increasing appetite for this content in Essex, and we are delighted to be in a position to satisfy this demand.”