Plan to open England's theatres with reduced capacity 'not viable'
Theatres and venues in England will be able to host socially distanced performances and gigs from 1 August under new government plans, but the move has been criticised for not being economically viable for most venues.
The culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, said the plan, which is the fourth stage of the government’s five-step plan for reopening arts venues, was a “welcome step in the path to a return to normal”. But industry figures said until stage five begins, when performances are allowed indoors and outdoors with “fuller audiences”, theatres and music venues would not be able to reopen and survive financially.
“From August indoor theatres, music venues and performance spaces will safely welcome audiences back across the country,” Dowden said. “This is a welcome step on the path to a return to normal and, coupled with our £1.57bn rescue package, will help secure the future of this important sector.”
Under the plan, venues are expected to operate at a reduced capacity to ensure social distancing, must use e-tickets, need to be deep-cleaned, performers must abide by social distancing, and limited entry points must be established.
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Jon Morgan, director of the Theatres Trust, a national advisory public body for theatres, said he welcomed the plan, but said full reopening was the only viable financial option for many venues’ survival.
“For most theatres it will not be economically viable to reopen with 30%-40% audience required under social distancing,” he said. “We now need to progress as quickly as possible to an announcement on the all-important stage five. Without this, most theatres cannot reopen viably, and we need the go-ahead for Christmas shows, on which the survival of many theatres depends, in the next few weeks at the very latest.”
The DCMS said it was working on pilot performances with socially distanced audiences – including a performance by the London Symphony Orchestra at St Luke’s, London – that will help provide guidelines for venues before 1 August.
The Music Venues Trust, an industry body, said because none of the pilot performances will take place in grassroots venues, it questioned whether the guidance would be comprehensive.
“It should be noted that we have already provided evidence to the government that staging live events with any level of social distancing measures would not be financially viable for the majority of grassroots music venues,” a spokesperson for the MVT said. “Therefore the progress towards normality within the sector will require subsidy for the date of 1 August to have any noticeable impact upon the number of shows actually taking place.”
The Live Comedy Association (LCA), which recently carried out research that found 77% of live comedy venues said they could close within a year, said the 1 August plan was not financially viable. Owen Donovan, vice-chair of LCA and managing director of comedy production company Berk’s Nest, said venues needed clear guidance and fair access to the government’s £1.57bn cultural rescue package.
He said: “Our members desperately want to get back to work, and to do so safely. While we therefore welcome this announcement, we have real concerns that most shows from August will not be financially viable for venues, promoters, or comics.”
The head of Bectu, Philippa Childs, called for clarity over which venues and institutions would receive money from the emergency arts fund, which was announced two weeks ago. “The industry still needs to know which organisations will be getting the money, how much they will get, and whether it will be in the form of a loan or a grant,” she said. “This information is crucial to help save the livelihoods of those working in the sector and to halt redundancy consultations.”
